Monday, December 28, 2015

Fruit

John 15:5,8 NLT
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Knowing who we are in Christ is key to walking out our Christian walk. The first step on that walk is believing in Jesus. We become born again asking Jesus into our heart because we believe in who He is and why He came. He becomes Lord of our life and sends Holy Spirit to live in us.

It is key to a fruitful walk that we remain in Him. If we do so, we cannot help but do as Jesus would do in our daily journey. There are many scriptural references to remind us who we are. Here are but a few:

I have been given power and authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt me (Luke 10.19). I can rejoice because my name is written in heaven (Luke 10.20). In Him I have life and that Life is Light to all men (John 1.4). I am a child of God (John 1.12). In Him I will never perish, but I have Eternal Life (1 John 3.15-16).

On our own we can do nothing lasting. Sure, with the knowledge we have obtained both in earthly matters and in knowledge of God's Word we can do great things here on earth and even teach others what we have learned in our studies of the Bible.

Real power comes from our walking out in who we are in Christ. In Him we have all the anointing of Jesus because He dwells in us--His spirit and ours are one. As we practice His presence allowing Him to work through us as we reach out and touch others we have His authority and power to do the miraculous things He did and more.

And the more we walk out, the more Holy Spirit teaches us and the more we grow in our relationship with Him. The fruit in our lives will be evident to all we come in contact with and we give all glory to God the Father.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Chasing

Colossians 1:27 NKJV
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

When the popular music groups are in town many flock to see them. And the same is true when known Christian ministries are nearby. We run to see what God is doing and maybe get closer to Him because of it. We seek the anointing others have. We chase the anointing of God. We chase the people we see as having more of it.

When Jesus walked the earth many chased after Him They wanted to hear Him speak. They wanted to see Him heal the sick. They wanted to witness demons coming out of people because of a touch from Jesus. They wanted to just touch the hem of His garment.

The same happens today. People chase the healers of today. Big ministries command big audiences eager to see God work at today. They flock by the thousands to get a glimpse of the signs and wonders.

Others go from church to church to find the one, the one that has the anointing of God. The one church that God is moving in Power. They want to see and feel God every Sunday. They want more of Him.

But it is not about the church, certain people, or those with gifts of healing, miracles, or prophecy. The Christ they seek, the anointing they seek is within each and every believer. All of the anointing Jesus has is in us. All the power to even raise the dead is in us. Seek that which is in your Spirit. Practice the presence of God every day and let Jesus out to work through your hands and your mouth.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Testify

1 Chronicles 16:8 NLT
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.

Our kids are playing soccer and everyone can tell. We have a bumper sticker on all our vehicles that says so. And we wear adult versions of their soccer shirts. When they win, we tell everyone and post pictures and video all over our Facebook page. We let the whole world know what they have done.

Perhaps this is your story. "Went to a small group last night and God healed me. That pain I had been experiencing all week left just like that! Wow, God is good and I thank Him for those at the group that laid hands on me."

The next day you go to work and do what you always do eight to five. When you leave they know no more about what God had done then they did yesterday when you were in pain. You thanked God when the healing occurred and all the way home in the car. But when you got to work you went on with your day like nothing had happened at all.

I believe Father God wants us to let the whole world know what He did. What about this addition to your story? "I have to tell you what happened to me last evening. I was with a group of friends and complaining about the pain I had been having. They asked if they could lay hands on me and pray. When I said "Yes", they proceeded to pray, in the name of Jesus, and all my pain left immediately! I am still pain free. Isn't Jesus wonderful?"

Our story, the history of our life with Jesus, is His story. The way to tell others about Jesus is to tell them, to testify, about what Jesus has done for us. We tell others how our relationship with Him has changed our lives and ask them if they would like to get to know Him, too.

Testify. Share your story with someone today.

Monday, December 07, 2015

Words

Colossians 3:17 NLT
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Have you ever found yourself with some people you have not seen in a long time and it is like you went back in time? Your mannerisms, your words, your thinking seems to just revert back to who you used to be.

In our conversations with others our words can easily drift back to our old worldly ways. After all we are not yet who we are becoming. We are a work in progress. But when we get that check in our Spirit, we need to stop and evaluate what is coming out of our mouth.

As I understand it, when you represent someone others see you as being that person. What you say and do reflects on the person you are representing. When you are working for a company and representing them in the field others decide to do or not do business with your company based on your words and your behavior.

We tell others we are followers of Jesus. They watch us closely and look to see that our actions line up with their understanding of how a Christian should act. And our words are included in what they watch.

May our words and our actions correctly represent Jesus. And in whatever we do, may we always give glory to God

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Next

Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

We live in a country where many proclaim to be Christian. They claim to be a follower of Jesus. And yet, their lifestyle does not live up to the lifestyle we see coming off the pages of our Bibles.

Think about it. If your primary concern is for self and making yourself happy with the latest toys, are you a follower of Jesus or just a name dropper? In this world we get places often because of who we know, whose name we can drop at the right moment.

At the time of your acceptance of Jesus for who He is, you became a believer, but not necessarily a follower. That is the next step in your walk with Jesus, the creator of the universe. You accepted Him as your Lord and He saved you. You have your ticket to eternity with Him. But to live a life filled with the benefit of knowing Him, you have to take the next step.

Jumping right back into the lifestyle you had been living is not taking the next step; it is avoiding it. To be who you are in Christ you need to discover what that is and it is not about being pious. It is about walking with Jesus. He is in you and to discover what that means you have to dig into His Word, your Bible.

Read about the men and women that were in Christ and see what they had to say. As you take that next step and read, the words jump off the page and you begin to understand. You begin to walk with Jesus and everything changes. What was once so important to you in this life takes a backseat to your walk with Him.

Make that choice today. Take the next step and begin to allow your roots in Jesus to go down deeper and deeper each day.