Romans 1 - Warning to a Judged Generation

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

Beginning our study of the Book of Romans.

Colossians 3-4: Godly Submission

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Colossians 3:18-19.

Submission to spiritual authority is important in the body of Christ, especially in the area of marriage. Why? Because marriage is a picture of the bride/wife of Christ being one with Him, being part of His body. How can two or more walk together unless they agree? Can you imagine your arm or leg deciding to rebel and not want to function with the rest of your body? Yes, some of us have seen that and it creates great chaos. There is wonderful harmony when all the parts of our body work in harmony with our head/mind.

This is true for marriage, the church, parent/child, employer/employee, and even master/servant situation (although the Bible does NOT condone indentured servitude!) The point is that everything should be done to the Glory of God!

Colossians is a wonderful book filled with spiritual treasure for those willing to dig it out!

Colossians 3 continued - Put on Love!

And above all these things put on charity [love], which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Colossians 3:14-15

As a new creation IN Christ Jesus, we have the ability to forgive people who have hurt us and to love them unconditionally, even when they don't deserve it. Even when they are the most unlovable people in the world! This is something the flesh cannot do, but the Heavenly Father, through the Holy Spirit, can do as He works through us. It is a miracle!

We also began a discussion of human relationships, particularly between a Christian husband and wife. Wives are to submit to their own husbands while husbands are to love their wives and not despise them. This is a controversial issue, but one that is easy and pain-free if done in accordance with the Spirit.

This is a two part video, so make sure you tune into part 2 for more discussion on submission!

Colossians 3 - Put Off the Old Man!

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Colossians 3:8-10.

Now that we have become new creations IN Christ Jesus and are considered to be righteous children of God, we have the unique ability, authority, and power to mortify or deaden the fleshly desires of this mortal body. 

Before we were born again IN HIM, this would have been impossible, since we were natural men who could only rely on our will power - which is always short-lived, as every dieter knows! But when we go through the new birth, we attain the ability to put those things away, to figuratively kill them, to take control of our earthly bodies and not let them control us. We do this by keeping our thoughts on things above, where Christ Jesus dwells, and not on things below, the things that are here on earth.

We need to reject any teaching that tells us we are still pathetic sinners with no ability to control our raging hormones, earthly desires, and emotions. All of that is a lie from the enemy working through well-meaning men. We must remember that IN Christ Jesus we have authority and power over all of that. It may take some time for manifestation to come, but if we stand firm, contiuing in the faith, listening to the father and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will see results!

The Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth, and the heavenly father will help us and show us what we need to do to overcome. He's a good God!

Colossians 2 - Completeness IN Him

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:9-10

Join us as we continue to look at the Apostle Paul's words to the Colossian church.

Just like today, there was much false teaching in the first century church that tarnished the pure Gospel of Grace given by the Lord Jesus Christ to Paul. As a result, he was vigilant in encouraging the believers to hold fast to the sound doctrine and truth that they had originally heard and come to believe. Most of us Christians know that this takes diligence and discipline, especially when surrounded by negative circumstances and negative people!

Paul tells us that Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily AND that we are complete IN Him! Just meditate on that a while and let it change you from the inside out! This takes spiritual eyes and ears to fathom!

There are so many more wonderful truths shared in this magnificent letter. Read it and be blessed!

Colossians 1 - Translated into the Kingdom of Light

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Colossians 1:12-14.

The letter to the church at Colossae is such an uplifting word to the body of Christ. It is one of my favorite letters written by the Apostle Paul, because it has given me so much encouragement over the years. In particular, it is interesting to note how he begins this letter (as he does all of his letters except for Galatians) praising God, giving thanks, expressing his joy in knowing the Lord, and then reminding his hearers/readers of who they are IN Christ and what the Lord Jesus has done for them by taking sins away on the cross. This is a good pattern to follow when teaching the Word of God. Most Christians need to be reminded of who they really are, not what they have failed to do or not do. The enemy does a pretty good job of that without our help!

Chapter 1 is full of wonderful truths, particularly the truth that we have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, which is the kingdom ruled by Jesus. And not only that, we are partakers in the inheritance that comes with being a part of this new kingdom. None of us truly has any idea of how glorious this inheritance is! It certainly exceeds anything we could think or imagine with our human minds!

Also, we are told in Chapter 1 that we can pray for the knowledge of God's will and to expect wisdom, revelation, and understanding to be given to us. How many of us actually stop to consider what an awesome gift this is? I have to remind myself many times, and still I find it hard to fully fathom.

We serve such a wonderful, marvelous, awesome God!

No Condemnation To Those IN Christ Jesus!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 1-2

To those who have been born again and are children of God IN Christ Jesus, there is a wonderful liberty of walking in accordance with the Spirit of God. There is no more condemnation or shame from having fallen short of keeping the law. The law has now been written on our hearts, the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts, and we go from being under the curse of the law of sin and death to now living free under the law of the spirit and life. We have the self control to not be ruled by our flesh and the carnal mind - no, we now want to live in accordance to what God's spirit is telling us and showing us.

This is exciting news which we must accept in these last days! Thanks be to the heavenly father and Jesus Christ for this wonderful gift!

Live Free From the Law of Sin & Death

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:22-25a

The Apostle Paul teaches us from the Book of Romans that the law of sin and death reigns in our mortal bodies so that the good that we want to do we can't seem to do! We seem to keep on sinning no matter how hard we try! How frustrating!

But the cure has been given in the person of Jesus Christ! He is the answer. When we get born again IN HIM, we come under a different law, the law of spirit and life! Now, there is no more condemnation and shame. We now live a life of liberty and freedom!

Be Freed From a Guilty Conscience!

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, andnot the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. Hebrews 10:1-2  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22

The heavenly father does not want you to have a guilty conscience but to have a purged, clear conscience before Him. Come boldly to Him and get the help you need and the revelation to spiritually see all you are IN Him!

As we look at Romans 6, we see that the old sinner man died on the cross with Jesus and has been raised up with Him as a new creation! Sin no longer has mastery over us. That's very good news indeed!

Seated at the Father's Right Hand

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenlyplaces, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to bethe head over all things to the church,Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Ephesians 1:17-23

Come look at the Book of Ephesians and see what the Holy Spirit tells us through the Apostle Paul regarding our spiritual authority in Christ Jesus. In Him, we are seated at the heavenly father's own right hand far above every name that can be named! Now, that is good news!

Becoming a New Creation in Christ Jesus

Join me in this two part video were we discuss being a new creation in Christ Jesus upon our new birth IN Him AND what all that entails. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that we have been raised to sit together WITH Him in heavenly places. That is certainly good news!

Rejoice and Be Thankful!

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

For some of us, 'tis the season to feel sorry for ourselves, especially when we look around and consider all the evil and mayhem going on in the world. Or when we consider our personal lives, state of our businesses and employment, or our personal finances.  Some of us may be suffering from sickness and disease or strife in our family relationships. And then when we turn on the news, things only seem worse!

It's times like these that we have to force ourselves to "look at the birds," as Jesus instructed, and see the good that the heavenly father is doing. Consider the blessings in your life and rejoice over those wonderful things, just like the Apostle Paul did when he wrote these words to the church at Philippi while suffering horribly in a dank, smelly prison.

For me, all I have to do is look at one of my darling children and I crumble with thankfulness! If I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on my table, and gas in my car, then I am thankful still. 

And yet, for most of us Americans, we possess so much more than the bare necessities of life. There are many people on this planet who would consider all of us kings if they saw how we lived. Our grocery stores are filled with goodies and our pantries and freezers are full to overflowing. We ladies have clothes, shoes, and purses bulging out of our closets. And most of us have 2 cars in the garage.

But these are mere material blessings that will rot and fade away with time. Even family will grow up and move away and then grow older and die (aside, I plan on going up at the Rapture! ).

But what of the spiritual blessings we have been given in Christ Jesus? These are more precious than refined gold and priceless jewels. These are like untapped treasures that overflow into our lives like those clothes and shoes that protrude from most of our closets.  If we truly had eyes to see and ears to hear all the Lord has given us, we would fall to our knees and rejoice with thankfulness!

The Apostle Paul obviously had eyes to see and ears to hear the wonderful things of God. He prayed that the church in Ephesus would likewise have this revelation - it is a wonderful prayer found in Ephesians 1:17-23 that I often pray over myself.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: [18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, [19] And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, [20] Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places , [21] Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: [22] And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, [23] Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

If we consider these truths, then we can only rejoice and be thankful that we have such a marvelous heavenly father!

Happy Thanksgiving! May you continue to be richly blessed!

Praise Him in the Midnight Hour!

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. Acts16:25-26.

Are you going through a figurative midnight hour of your life? That would be a time when darkness surrounds you, perhaps the darkness of sickness and disease, depression, financial pressure or relationship issues. The darkness lies to you, telling you that light will never come and that the circumstances of the time will never improve. But as a son of Abba, father, we look to the Word and see that light always comes, and when it does, it dispels the darkness! Darkness must flee when the light comes. 

Think about the Apostle Paul and Silas in the Book of Acts. They were rebuked, publicly humiliated, beaten, and then thrown into a dark prison for preaching the Gospel - a freedom that we in the US take for granted today. And yet, at midnight, during the darkest time, instead of getting into fear and distress and crying in despair, they praised God and sang songs and hymns loudly so that the entire prison could hear them! That sounds counter intuitive to us! Why should God be praised when we, His children, are going through extreme trials - especially for preaching the Gospel of His son, Jesus?

I have to confess that I do not understand with my mind why or how this works, but when the Heavenly Father is praised, especially during our darkest times, suddenly and with great power, the bonds of depression and despair are loosed in our lives. It is a spiritual law. Yes, perhaps the circumstances may not be any different - at least not initially - but there will be a shalom peace in your heart that will come like a bright light and with it, a knowing that God loves you and that all will be well.

If you read further in Acts 16, you will find that the prison guard and his entire household were saved that night and then Paul and Silas were declared free men the next morning. Even though they were physically bound in that prison, they were not spiritually bound because they knew Jesus. Despite their circumstances, they knew they were free and praised Him for that truth. And then suddenly everything changed! There was a great shaking that loosed all of their bonds. Light came and they were set free.

Praise Him for all He is and for all He is doing in your life right now, especially if you are in a midnight hour. The circumstances may be less than ideal, but light is coming and the bonds will soon be loosed!