One more reason

Ephesians 4:20-22

²⁰ But you have not so learned Christ, ²¹ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

Beautiful Scripture. We are to learn Christ. And when we learn him, he teaches us to put off the old man. Halleluyah! Overcoming sin is a product of eternal life. One more reason why we should not agree to allow anything stop us from fellowshiping with God continually.

We know that as children of God, we can enter into his presence boldly no matter what our state is, because God has no oprphans. We also know that nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ.

If you are a child of God, you have eternal life in Jesus Christ and eternal life is knowing God. According to God's design, we do not overcome sin and then come to God because we cannot overcome our sinful nature without God. Instead, we are to come to God just as we are and then receive eternal life which will enable us to live above sin. Then we are to live  by our new nature which is above sin.

Romans 8:1
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.


Having the Holy Spirit in us, is our only hope of living a life that pleases God. When we receive his power to do right,  we are now able to put off sin and the works of sin. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us and God teaches us how to put on the new man as we learn Christ. As we fellowship with him through the Holy Spirit in his Word, Worship, Prayer, Praise we grow and become more like him as discussed in Practically In Love

We have discussed some of the effects and benefits of eternal life and of having a living relationship with God in previous posts. The ability to live right is one more/main reason why we must keep our relationship with God thriving and ongoing. Sometimes we feel we cannot relate with God because of our sin but it doesnt work that way, it is supposed to be the other way around. When we make mistakes or have problems, if we allow guilt or anger seperate us from God, that is when we  would begin to do more and more things that we do not want to do.

We must, protect our relationship activities with God, fight to keep your spirit alive, fed and taught. It is by learing Christ that we over come sin. You are always welcome in God's presence. He gives you the knowledge and the enablement to put away the old man. The order is, come to God, learn, and do away with the old self.  Remember the practical tip about how to read a passage of scripture? Okay do that with this inspiring passage below.

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
 The New Man
¹⁷ This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of^[d] the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, ¹⁸ having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; ¹⁹ who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

²⁰ But you have not so learned Christ, ²¹ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
 Do Not Grieve the Spirit
²⁵ Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. ²⁶ “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. ²⁹ Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:11-32)

One more reason to fight every tought or feeling that tries to keep you from God's presence: You need God to Win over your old self. The first two parts of this passage show us the right order

In summary: You become a new man as a result of what Jesus Chirst sacrificed on the cross. Receive God's forgiveness and righteousness. Learn how to be like Christ. Act on what is being learnt and make a consious choice to do the right thing.

Knowing the right thing to do and having the enablement to do the right thing and even wanting to do the right thing are all the things we get from God by excersizing our eternal life and interacting with the Holy Spirit. Having all these things doesnt mean we will automatically do the right thing.

We have to make the consious decision to use this leverage to do what is right. Never accept sin in your life and never allow it keep you away from God either, keep coming into Gods presence keep feeding your spirit. Keep fighting against temptation and keep winning. If you have fallen 6 times, it only proves that you have stood 6 times, you are getting better at standing strong. Never accept sin as  permanent feature in your life no matter how strong the tempation, keep standing, keep rising, keep growing. Through it all, God is never going to turn his back on you, Jesus made sure of that, when he took your sins on the cross. Our sin grieves the spirit of God but the blood of Jesus atones on our behalf and we have right standing with God when we repent. Dont let anything stop you from repenting and coming back to God. Keep your relationship with God inseperable. Fill youself with his word always. it is the tool with which he transfoms us.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

If the enemy can come and tempt you while you are praying, then dont stop yourself from praying when you have fallen.

Fight For Your Life.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord my God, maker of heaven and earth. Help me to live a life that is pleasing unto you. In Jesus Name Amen.



Do  you want to start a personal relationship with God to please him?  It needs to be through the sacrifice of Jesus, God sent Jesus to pay for our sins because no man can pay for his sins by himself. You DONT have to try to become a bit cleaner or better or holier before you approach God. Dont hate yourself, God loves ou. You only need to accept his sacrifice and ask him to make you clean. The natural nature of man since Adam sinned was to be bound to sin, but eternal life gives us the power to become a new person with power over sin who can plese God. Please pray this prayer today and unlock within you, a new level of ability to please God.

PRAYER

Lord I thank you for your love, thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins so that I do not have to pay for them before I can approach you. I cannot pay for my sins. I accept the sacrifice of Jesus who died and rose again to shed his blood and wash away my sins. I ask you Lord to wash my sins away and make me a new person. Come and live in my heart and teach me to live a life that is pleasing unto you by your Holy spirit. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen

Get Connected...Stay Connected - Practical 2

Matthew 6:32-33

³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If you give yourself to God, you will be amazed what he will give you in return.

 

Falling in love is easy in most cases, because it just happens. Remaining in love on the other hand, is a truly different story, it requires work. There is no sweetness in a loveless relationship and therefore any relationship worth keeping is worth investing in.

Man is called to KNOW God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. God put everything we need in life inside himself. That way, he could give them to us when we need them. Unfortunalty sin came and separated us from God and offered cheap substitutes to the original plan of utter greatness God had  for man. Imagine man (ADAM) who had the abilitiy to name all the animals and know their names, now we (man) with the same body and configuration now strugglesto remember up to ten phone numbers by heart. Mans greatest ability is revealed when we are connected to God and that is what God wants us to have. Man was designed to remain connected with God and this is the reason he sent Jesus Christ to die, cleanse us and connect us.

John 3:16

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Eternal life is knowing God

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Knowing God is an ongoing process of relationship and communication and in knowing God, lies all the riches of the power of his Glory which is revealed in us as we become like him.

Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

One of the benefits of eternal life is that we can worship God in the way he desires.

John 4:22-24

²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God Loves worship! And when we worship God amazing things happen.

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Here are practical tips for getting your worship going.

Key Tip: Remember to be present. Worship is one of the most amazing intimate activities we can have with God. It is important to have our minds on God.

Worship, just like praise and prayer can and should take place anywhere and anytime. As a result of this, sometimes it is difficult to be present when we worship. One’s mind may stray to what to cook for dinner even while still on his/her knees singing a ‘love’ song to God. Or in many cases it becomes a time to excersize vocal cords and try different parts of the song. Sometimes our minds may stray to worry or something stressing us. There are so many things that try to creep into our minds when we are worshiping God.

But worship isn’t a song, a tone of voice or a place. We worship God with our whole selves through our spirit and the Holy Spirit.

TIP 2: Speak to the Holy Spirit, ask him to help you worship God. Take a deep breathe and clear your mind.

TIP 3: Whenever you catch your mind going places when you are worshiping God, just put your mind on him, think of how awesome his love is, remember how he continues to love and save you, consciously fill your mind with thoughts of his greatness. Imagine his presence, how mighty He is and how much he loves you. Make it all about him and even when your voice sounds nice or coarse, evenwhen you remember something you are supposed to do just don’t dwell on it.

Concentrate on your father who sent Jesus all the way to suffer and die, JUST so that you may know him. Halleluyah! Let him have your company, Jesus died to make that possible.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends...John 15:13

Remember that when we interact with God, we become an the best versions of ourselves, great things occur and heaven comes into our everyday lives (Miracles Happen).

TIP 4: Being present doesnt mean we cannot pray, worship or meditate on God's word all through the day.  It just means that we need to be conscious of what we are doing, when we are doing it. In a relationship we need to be aware of the other person.

Dont be suprised when God talks back...it is so definite that he will. Infact, mix the Word, Worship and Prayer into your everyday life and watch what happens.

Halleluyah!

Glory!

 

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Thank you Jesus for the work you did on the cross. Thank you father for your grace and interest in my life. Hallowed be your most holy name. Help me live my life on earth according to your purpose for me at my highest level of ability in you. Refine me like Gold into who you made me to be without anything holding me back from your best. I am the head and not the tail. My family is a source of blessing. Strengthen my pastors in their walk with you lord, though the enemy may come like a flood, Lord raise them high above sustain them by your power that they will not fall in Jesus Name. My finances are blessed. Help me to forgive all, including myself of all wrong doing and come boldly into your presence. Forgive me Lord for my own wrong. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen. This is a blessed day.

 

PS: Take out 5 minutes today to give God exclusive Worship time.