Look what a dear sister painted for me. Beautiful, isn't it? I'm always amazed at the talent in this bible study! All from our abba daddy!
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
A look at Hebrews
Well, we have started out slowly looking at the first chapter of Hebrews which describes Jesus Christ as the son of God, the creator, and the exact representation of the nature and character of God--the complete expression of His glory! As the body of Christ, we are part of all of that and share in it as joint heirs with Jesus! How exciting! Can't wait to learn more and will share it here on this blog.
Look what a dear sister painted for me. Beautiful, isn't it? I'm always amazed at the talent in this bible study! All from our abba daddy!
Look what a dear sister painted for me. Beautiful, isn't it? I'm always amazed at the talent in this bible study! All from our abba daddy!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
God the Creator--In Us!
We are back from a nice, long summer and are studying the spirit of sonship before launching into a study of Hebrews. As born again believers, we are full grown sons of God and have been given the spirit that cries out Abba, Daddy! We are no longer under the spirit of fear that is common to a servant or a slave. We are God's sons and He is our Daddy through Christ Jesus! If you've never had a loving, earthly daddy, you have a heavenly one now. And He can make up for all the areas where our earthly parents fall short--and then some! We are very blessed!
Check out what our sister, Chris, painted over the summer. It was selected for a juried art show at our church, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, and was inspired by the theme of brokenness. Truly anointed by God. We can't wait to see what more wonderful paintings the Lord will pour out into her in the coming days!
Check out what our sister, Chris, painted over the summer. It was selected for a juried art show at our church, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, and was inspired by the theme of brokenness. Truly anointed by God. We can't wait to see what more wonderful paintings the Lord will pour out into her in the coming days!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Jesus in the Heavens
This is a picture provided by NASA. Isn't it amazing? When I first looked at it, I saw a pair of praying hands in the middle, but then when I looked closer, I saw a ram with ram's horns and white fleece in the lower left-hand corner, worshipers in the lower right-hand corner, and then Jesus in the middle with His powerful right hand holding something to his chest - maybe an injured child - I'm not sure. I also see columns behind Jesus' head, which looked like buildings in a city - the new Jerusalem.
Here is what a sister in the bible study saw: In addition to the Ram, Jesus and the church kneeling I see the newness of life in Christ symbolized by the butterfly in the bottom left corner and I see the Glory of God laying on the head and shoulders of Jesus as His head is bowed. I also see defeated satan in the background on his way to the pit of fire.
That's pretty amazing! Some people may scoff at us seeing spiritual sights in the heavens, but we are spiritual people who are children of a spiritual God. It should be normal for us to be aware of God's spiritual realm and abnormal for us to be scoffers and doubters. Even David said this about the heavens:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which [is] as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, [and] rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth [is] from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. Psalms 19: 1-6.
I can't help but get excited every time I see Jesus revealed through nature, and this solar eruption is one of the highlights of nature showing off the glory of God. When Jesus comes again and reveals Himself to the world, perhaps it will be in a similar manner. Take a look and tell us what you see!
| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/x-class-solar-flare-sunspot_n_1670668.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl11%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D178696 |
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Be Blessed!
We had a wonderful brunch at Heidi's lovely home, talking, catching up, sharing, laughing, and most of all, eating fabulous food! Terri and I got there early, so we received the tour of the house, delighting in all of Heidi's crafty decorating ideas. I especially liked Genevieve's room with the pink and black-n-white zebra print and the tennis racket art over the bed!I love this card that I received! It is encrusted with multi-colored beads with a green bow and I love shoes--especially high heels. Also, I especially love the gorgeous antique sofa that you all gave me! Wow! I have had my eye on for a very long time, from the moment I saw it in Chris' garage and could visualize it in our ministry house. Here is a picture:
When I get it all cleaned up, etc., it will be lovely! I thank all of you from the depths of my heart! I told Chris I was thinking that morning about this sofa and asking the Lord what I should pay her for it, and then there it was several hours later! Every time I look at it and sit on it, I will think of our time together in this season when we all got a new revelation of the Gospel of grace!
We're not sure where we will be in August when the new school year rolls around, but the Lord knows, and it will be fabulous! He has worked wonders in all of our lives. Many of us have grown in the Gospel of grace--the pure gospel that Paul preached--and we have come to understant how much God LOVES us and how much He desires to BLESS us in every area, exceedingly, abuntantly above ALL we can ask or think! My prayer is that all of us continue to receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, wisdom that supercedes the wisdom of the world, and experience that shalom peace as we sit at His feet and bask in all He is doing. All of us have MUCH to look forward to and expect in the coming days!
I love all of you ladies and can't wait to see you some over the summer and then reconvene in accordance with the Lord's plan come August. Love to all!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
He's In You!
We finished up our bible study for this term and are breaking for the summer. All of us have grown so much, learning more about the Gospel of Grace - which is the same gospel that Paul preached. We all shared the scriptures that spoke to us during the study that we have come to claim as prayers and declarations to ensure that our faith is strong and properly grounded on a daily basis.
Some one in the group mentioned 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. This is one of my favorite scriptures and I've meditated on it for years, but this time it resonated with me in a fresh way. Christ Jesus is IN us. Think about that - how can you ever go wrong if He's IN you?
In Acts 17:28, Paul told the men in Athens that IN HIM we live and move and have our being. That means every thing that I do, even the mundane, ordinary things, are done with Him moving and breathing and living inside of me, guiding and directing my steps! Don't you already sense a spirit of peace come over you as you rest in that revelation? If Christ is IN you, is there ever a reason to worry or be anxious or fearful? This is a deep, rich treasure that has been laid up for us in Christ Jesus, and He desires that we receive it - which means He wants us to believe it, seize it, and take hold of it and never let go. Mary did this as she sat at His feet and allowed Him to pour Himself into her while her sister, Martha, was busy in the kitchen, suffering from anxiety and stress. Mary was in a place of peace and rest, and Jesus said in Luke 10:42 that it would not be taken away from her. This place of rest is what many of us in the study have come to understand.
Jesus Christ of Nazreth is IN you, and He's never going to leave. This is a profound truth that ends all worldly concerns. Mediate on that truth and rest in the knowledge that your savior is IN you. In Him you live and move and have your being. Praise God!
Some one in the group mentioned 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. This is one of my favorite scriptures and I've meditated on it for years, but this time it resonated with me in a fresh way. Christ Jesus is IN us. Think about that - how can you ever go wrong if He's IN you?
In Acts 17:28, Paul told the men in Athens that IN HIM we live and move and have our being. That means every thing that I do, even the mundane, ordinary things, are done with Him moving and breathing and living inside of me, guiding and directing my steps! Don't you already sense a spirit of peace come over you as you rest in that revelation? If Christ is IN you, is there ever a reason to worry or be anxious or fearful? This is a deep, rich treasure that has been laid up for us in Christ Jesus, and He desires that we receive it - which means He wants us to believe it, seize it, and take hold of it and never let go. Mary did this as she sat at His feet and allowed Him to pour Himself into her while her sister, Martha, was busy in the kitchen, suffering from anxiety and stress. Mary was in a place of peace and rest, and Jesus said in Luke 10:42 that it would not be taken away from her. This place of rest is what many of us in the study have come to understand.
Jesus Christ of Nazreth is IN you, and He's never going to leave. This is a profound truth that ends all worldly concerns. Mediate on that truth and rest in the knowledge that your savior is IN you. In Him you live and move and have your being. Praise God!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Receive the Gift Righteousness!
We finished up with Pastor Prince's grace teaching and made a commitment to write our own prayer/declaration/confession of righteousness based on the truths we've learned from this study. It is always a great idea to read scripture on your own, memorize it, mediate on it, and then incorporate it into a personal prayer that will build your faith in believing who you truly are in Christ Jesus.
The scripture that means so much to me is Romans 5:17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) So many Christians are not reigning in life--and that included me for many years. They are dying early from sickness and disease, getting divorced, suffering from poverty and lack, and under a general spirit of oppression. They live like the world and see only from the natural perspective. If you asked many of them about the supernatural realm, they might think you are talking about the latest Hollywood horror flick. But the irony is, they have been made the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21). In other words, they are as right with God as they are ever going to be because of what Jesus did on the cross. In fact, they are as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself! So what is the problem? Why are they living like cursed sinners? Because they haven't received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness!
One of the great advantages of technology is access to the original Greek language in the Bible. I love using www.blueletterbible.org and have an app on my IPhone so that I can quickly look at the original language of a word in Scripture and get a better understanding of what the Holy Spirit is saying. My prayer/study partner and I are always on our BLB apps looking through the concordance and searching out the root meanings of scriptural references. With respect to the word "receive" in Romans 5:17, I was amazed to learn that it doesn't mean what we may think, coming from a western society--that grace and righteousness have been plopped into our lap like rain from the sky. Yes, we have been saved by grace, and yes we have been made the righteousness of God, but in order to receive all of that, we must seize it, take hold of it, and appropriate it for our own use. This is what the original Greek word means.
Wow! I had never done that before. I had never grabbed hold of the abundance of grace and free gift of righteousness and appropriated it as my own. I just assumed it was mine and that it would mystically manifest in my life somehow when God was willing (mainly after I had obediently performed enough righteous acts to make Him pleased with me - ugh - Jesus did it all on the cross!). But that's not what scripture says! I am required to take hold of it, which means I must believe it and speak it, mediate on it, believe it even more, and speak it again, over and over, until it becomes a manifestation in my life, enabling me to rule and reign now, in this lifetime. It's all about me discovering and coming to believe something that has already taken place in the spiritual realm on the very day I became a believer. It has absolutely nothing to do with me rooting out my sin--what nonsense! Sin was dealt with 2000 years ago! It's all about discovering my righteousness in Christ Jesus!
The scripture that means so much to me is Romans 5:17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) So many Christians are not reigning in life--and that included me for many years. They are dying early from sickness and disease, getting divorced, suffering from poverty and lack, and under a general spirit of oppression. They live like the world and see only from the natural perspective. If you asked many of them about the supernatural realm, they might think you are talking about the latest Hollywood horror flick. But the irony is, they have been made the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21). In other words, they are as right with God as they are ever going to be because of what Jesus did on the cross. In fact, they are as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself! So what is the problem? Why are they living like cursed sinners? Because they haven't received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness!
One of the great advantages of technology is access to the original Greek language in the Bible. I love using www.blueletterbible.org and have an app on my IPhone so that I can quickly look at the original language of a word in Scripture and get a better understanding of what the Holy Spirit is saying. My prayer/study partner and I are always on our BLB apps looking through the concordance and searching out the root meanings of scriptural references. With respect to the word "receive" in Romans 5:17, I was amazed to learn that it doesn't mean what we may think, coming from a western society--that grace and righteousness have been plopped into our lap like rain from the sky. Yes, we have been saved by grace, and yes we have been made the righteousness of God, but in order to receive all of that, we must seize it, take hold of it, and appropriate it for our own use. This is what the original Greek word means.
Wow! I had never done that before. I had never grabbed hold of the abundance of grace and free gift of righteousness and appropriated it as my own. I just assumed it was mine and that it would mystically manifest in my life somehow when God was willing (mainly after I had obediently performed enough righteous acts to make Him pleased with me - ugh - Jesus did it all on the cross!). But that's not what scripture says! I am required to take hold of it, which means I must believe it and speak it, mediate on it, believe it even more, and speak it again, over and over, until it becomes a manifestation in my life, enabling me to rule and reign now, in this lifetime. It's all about me discovering and coming to believe something that has already taken place in the spiritual realm on the very day I became a believer. It has absolutely nothing to do with me rooting out my sin--what nonsense! Sin was dealt with 2000 years ago! It's all about discovering my righteousness in Christ Jesus!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Adam's Reign is Over!
Romans 5:17. NKJV. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
We continued in Pastor Prince's teaching on grace where we focused on this scripture from Romans. Once Adam sinned against the Lord by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (which is a picture of the law), sin came alive, the curse descended on man and death reigned over all of creation. It wasn't until the second (or last) Adam arrived, Jesus Christ, that death's reign ended and eternal life was given.
Once we become born again children of God, we are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, as the Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians. And yet, there are so many Christians who don't believe this truth, despite what they may say. How do we know they don't believe? Just listen to their every day speech. Much of it is peppered with words of death and their conduct indicates a great fear of death. You can even examine some of the hymns and lyrics to current Christian songs, and you will find that some of them (not all) are chocked full of doubt, unbelief, and death.
If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind who paid for all sin on the cross, then you are spiritually alive and are no longer ruled by death. Just as Paul did, you can boldly state: O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57.
Check your speech and conduct--are you speaking death over yourself, your children, and your circumstances? Are you in fear of sickness, disease, poverty, lack, or calamity? If so, then death is ruling over you, because you still see yourself as an offspring of sinful Adam. But you are not a sinner any more! You are the offspring of God Himself! What does God have in common with death? Nothing! God is life and life eternal! Celebrate this wonderful gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and let it reign over you every day!
We continued in Pastor Prince's teaching on grace where we focused on this scripture from Romans. Once Adam sinned against the Lord by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (which is a picture of the law), sin came alive, the curse descended on man and death reigned over all of creation. It wasn't until the second (or last) Adam arrived, Jesus Christ, that death's reign ended and eternal life was given.
Once we become born again children of God, we are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, as the Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians. And yet, there are so many Christians who don't believe this truth, despite what they may say. How do we know they don't believe? Just listen to their every day speech. Much of it is peppered with words of death and their conduct indicates a great fear of death. You can even examine some of the hymns and lyrics to current Christian songs, and you will find that some of them (not all) are chocked full of doubt, unbelief, and death.
If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind who paid for all sin on the cross, then you are spiritually alive and are no longer ruled by death. Just as Paul did, you can boldly state: O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57.
Check your speech and conduct--are you speaking death over yourself, your children, and your circumstances? Are you in fear of sickness, disease, poverty, lack, or calamity? If so, then death is ruling over you, because you still see yourself as an offspring of sinful Adam. But you are not a sinner any more! You are the offspring of God Himself! What does God have in common with death? Nothing! God is life and life eternal! Celebrate this wonderful gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and let it reign over you every day!
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