Talking about what the adulterous spirit is between us and God and us and others and how it’s purged from our lives. Incredibly important truth for these days for our actions are being revealed for what they are … thus we are living out the consequences of our thoughts/actions.
Hosea 4:10 For they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the LORD.
1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
John 3:21 “But he who DOES the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been DONE In GOD.”
God’s voice comes to us from deep from within. His call is to follow His ways, which lead us from an existence of torment, angst, pain, and suffering and into green pastures and still waters. His wisdom leads to rest; internal and external rest (for the two are deeply intertwined). If you are in Him, you have His wisdom and your physical life reflects that gift, power, and peace.
If You Are Listening …
If you follow God’s leading, your life reflects His presence. You are ever increasing in wisdom, truth, knowledge, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, peace, blessing, protection, favor, health, loving kindness and the purest of love for all. This is how you know you are in Him. Your life testifies to it. And in these days this growth is accelerating for those who are following Him because Christ is gathering those who love Him to Him. He is truth.
The truth, Christ, is here, calling from within. The stone has been rolled back from the well of living waters. Truth is gushing out and meeting you where you are at, in your soul where His seed is sown. At first, you’ll perceive His leading as a good/cleansed/renewed conscience, which in time becomes apparent is His voice. You’ll be prompted to let go of bad habits and thoughts and embrace new ones. To forgive, to let go, and to give mercy instead of judgment. You’ll change your ways, priorities, and how you live. You’ll leave some friends and embrace others. Honor will grow for all people. You’ll start to care for the temple, your body, as His precious vessel. A loving spirit will replace a judging and adulterous one. Wisdom will fill your decisions and choices; thus creating paths of peace instead of angst/hardship. As you follow these promptings, your desires will start to change until they are in unity with His. Then you will abide in total freedom as a child as you no longer have a battle in your mind, because your desire is His. Mark 10:15 Then your entrance is granted into the kingdom of heaven as you are adorned in light. 2 Peter 1:10-11
This transformation occurs because you are moving deeper into truth; the mind/body of Christ. Your soul will become adorned with garments of light (truth/righteousness). Revelation 3:5 These garments of light are your protection from the increasing evils of the days, as light repels darkness. They hide you from the enemy, for they allow you entrance into the kingdom of heaven, which is the ark of safety, rest and peace. Revelation 3:10 As you listen to the voice of truth teaching you good from evil, for until now many have called what is evil good and what is good evil, God’s presence will engulf you leading you out of the pit. He’ll “rapture” you from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light (truth). It is a “rapture” of the mind and spirit. With the faith of God, you create life for He is life. Without these garments of truth, you can’t enter into the kingdom of heaven (light) for the kingdom is truth. You have to become it, to be in it. Once you start to become as Christ, then you truly start to see Him as He is. With spiritual truths, you only know them when you become them and they are a part of you.
If You AREN’T Listening …
By our faith, we create.
Those who DON’T listen to the Great Shepherd’s voice calling from within for whatever reason (religion, ways of world, thinking He is coming from outside them, Matthew 13:1-8) will continue to follow the paths of death. With their minds, they are creating the paths they walk. If your mind is full of darkness that is what you create. If it is full of life, then that is what you create. The works of your hands (beliefs) judge you because they manifest in your life and you have to live by them. If darkness, then suffering. If light, then peace and rest.
As the truth springs out of the earth, it will reveal all the works of darkness. Those souls who have walked contrary to God will manifest what they have chosen; paths that have no wisdom. As God’s mercy is lifted all will be revealed for what it is as the works are exposed for what they are. Wisdom will flee from their lives increasing the hardships. The will will become uncontrollable as darkness consumes it. Thus, they will create their own reality of strife, hardship, pain and suffering as they chose what wasn’t of the true God, His truth. This is their judgment inflicted by their own hands. Ezekiel 24:14
This depravity is a downward spiral, for the more angst you have in your life, the harder it is to follow the truth. God’s voice comes as a still small voice. When our souls are in a peaceful state it is easiest to hear Him. This is why the morning is the best time to seek truth and the voice of God, for your mind is the most peaceful. But as lives grow in travail, the anxiousness of people’s minds will make it harder to discern, hear, and trust that voice from within. Fear drives us with a horrific compulsion, which once strong in us it rules us to follow it to its demise. We all have had those times when our soul is stressed and how much harder it is to hear God. Imagine that amplified. In this state, to turn to God’s ways (true repentance) and stop the increasing strife will be harder. True repentance = in the moment of decision; choosing to following God’s prompting instead of any other drive/motive. This is why it is so important to seek the truth of God now. For when you listen and follow God it creates rest and peace, which allows more rest and peace to manifest.
Yet, this growing angst in people’s souls isn’t without perfect purpose by a loving God. It will serve them who think they are rich and don’t need to trust God or have a false image of God. Revelation 3:17 In time, by the salvation of God in the power of Christ’s love, their eyes will be opened to see the depravity of their ways, though great shame will follow especially for those who followed a false image of God. This awareness will bring them to truly becoming poor in spirit. The rich can not enter the kingdom of heaven (and there are many forms of riches), but God knows how to make a spirit poor. Matthew 19:23-26 He is The Creator. Their ways and strongholds of false powerless idols will be revealed for what they are. This awareness is a great gift for it in many will truly desire to cease walking in their ways and embrace the wisdom of God, which is His perfect will.
What to do?
Create a place and time of stillness, peace and quiet in your life. Some will have to make a lot of changes to their daily habits. Start to listen to Christ, the truth, calling to you with bands of love from within. Follow His promptings in our situations and in how He teaches you to think. Feast on Him. Eat His body, truth, and drink His blood, spirit. John 6:53 In the union of these two; spirit and truth, spiritual life is born. Seek to find the pearl of wisdom, Christ’s spirit in you, and you know when you have found it for you sell all else (all other things that direct/influence your soul; religion and ways of world), and embrace the presence of God wanting to fill and enrapture you into His marvelous kingdom of peace.
John 5:25Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
In the Old Testament (OT) covenant, God clearly laid out the choice between life and death and what each path manifested. Deuteronomy 30:19 He granted them forgiveness for their transgressions against Him, yet very few repented and turned to His ways. If and when they did turn because of the painful afflictions of going their own way, He was right there to heal and restore them. Yet, even after the outpourings of mercy and blessing, they soon again rebelled in following the dictates of their own hearts. Isaiah 65:12 They lacked the power to truly believe.
Why was it so hard to believe?
The Israelites had God’s forgiveness and help. They saw His wondrous works. So, why couldn’t they follow Him; what was missing? Without God’s spirit in us, we can’t believe as we ought. This is why the Israelites fell so quickly into rebellion and why you see the same thing throughout history. The only way we truly believe is by the power of God’s spirit working in us. John 6:45
Corrupted Spirit vs. God’s Spirit
We are either governed by a corrupted spirit or by God’s pure spirit of righteous love. Soon after birth, we become imprisoned by the lies (what appears as our truth) of the world flooding into our spirit taking us captive to do their will. 2 Timothy 2:26 This corrupted spirit opposes God’s wisdom and love; therefore all we do is sin for we’re slaves to sin. John 8:34 Under its reign, we are blind as our truths are lies, therefore we can’t truly believe in God, thus walk in righteousness leading to eternal life. How can a soul believe in life if it is consumed in darkness and deception; holding lies as truth? How can it find its way out of the pit of darkness and death? The answer lies in the power and victory of Christ’s spirit filling us. God gives us His spirit to govern us instead; this is the new birth. Our Father births us to life, by His will, not our own, by giving us His seed of life. This seed holds His faith which enables us to believe unto eternal life. This Seed of His spirit within us is our deliverance and salvation from the pit of eternal darkness in which people now dwell.
God’s Plan of Salvation
God made a promise to Abraham, that ALL the nations would be blessed through him and his seed. Genesis 22:18, 28:14 He was promised that his descendents would be as the dust of the earth; a promise of giving salvation to many many souls. Have you seen dust recently? What we do see is a huge gap between ALL nations being blessed and just a few truly believing unto obedience that leads to righteousness and abundant life. As I talked about true belief in a previous post, as it stands right now very few would move into eternal life because very few truly believe, yet this doesn’t fit with God’s promise to Abraham.
When true belief has shown to be extremely trying at best, what hope is there that ALL nations will be blessed? Revelation 15:4
This powerlessness to truly believe is why Christ gave up His spirit. He offered up His Spirit on the cross, so it could be resurrected in many in the end days. John 12:23-24, Joel 2:28, 1 Peter 1:13 With the seed of His spirit in us, we are able to grow unto eternal life because we now have the ability to believe because of His spirit within us giving us His faith. Hebrews 12:2 This is why some will not die, but be changed. 1 Corin 15:51 As the spirit of Christ is being raised in souls, then eternal life will begin to exist on earth, for He is eternal life. Since Christ’s flesh resurrection over 2000 years ago, there has been the Holy Spirit, God’s wisdom, in grace enabling some to believe in the hope of salvation. Romans 15:13 Yet, we haven’t see the fulfillment of that hope of salvation as people are still living lives of sin leading to death. The Holy Spirit is a guarantee of what is to come; the union of our spirit with Christ’s. Ephesians 1:13-14 As the wedding feast fast approaches; as Christ spirit starts resurrecting in people thus being “married” to their soul, they will start walking in righteousness leading to eternal life and therefore not taste death.
Marrying Christ’s Spirit
Now is the time to draw near to God, for Christ has sowed His seed in the field, our souls, to bring in His Kingdom. Hosea 10:12, Matthew 13 He has given us the grace and power by giving us His faith to believe in a world of death and lies. Now we have to step into that grace and power by sowing truth into our lives which allows the seed to grow in us.
Sowing the Seed
We sow the seed of Christ’s spirit by seeking truth, for God is truth. As we do then His spirit of wisdom grows in the depths of our soul. John 12:25 Wisdom is truth driving our lives. We gain wisdom by listening to and following His gentle whisperings to our soul, leading us into all truth. John 6:32, 45, 57, 63, James 1:21 It isn’t religious doctrine we heed and follow; it is the perfect spirit of God communing with us in the depths of our being. Psalm 85:8 The spirit of wisdom grows within us as we listen and obey God’s voice, which is now possible because we have Christ’s spirit of faith in us enabling us to believe. James 2:14-26 In time, we are trained in righteousness, so we can walk in righteousness. Sin ibrings death. Right-mindedness brings immortality. Proverbs 12:28
Further, God takes our transgressions, now under the umbrella of His forgiveness, and they become part of our training ground as we are chastened by them and delivered from them by a loving Father. In time, our minds are renewed and we become holy eternal creations. In God’s perfect timing, all will learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9 First those of the “elect”; then the rest. 1 Corin 15:22-24 The elect serve the rest by preparing the way and bringing in the Kingdom by Christ’s spirit in them.
As we sow truth, we start to yearn for God’s will over all else because we become aware of the perfection of His ways and how it is His ways we truly desire in everything. We realize we are truly poor in spirit, and need His spirit of wisdom. Matthew 5:3 When we gain these understandings, we abandon all other “wills” to be fully governed by His spirit. Our part is to know and embrace the will of God and forsake all other paths; for love involves choice. Mark 8:34
Now is the time to listen for the voice of the Son of God; because those who will hear will live; for the kingdom is at hand.
John 6:38-39 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.
Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ‘
Talking about how we can understand the deep truths of the Bible in the union of Christ’s spirit within us and the words of life.
God speaks to us in a still, small voice .. by Christ, His spirit becomes our good conscience to lead us into the paths of righteousness. True repentance is listening and following His counsel, direction and word to us within our spirit (harmonizing with the Bible) that leads us in the details of our lives. This is truly the helmet of salvation because as we walk this path of repentance, we gain the mind of Christ. Christ is our salvation – this mind is our salvation for it saves us from ourselves, our controlling self-will. That newness of mind is our protection these days and the days ahead as Christ will destroy all that is not of Him. He is the truth. If we hold onto the lies and don’t embrace His counsel to each one of us, we are going to suffer in the coming tribulation. Now is the time to repent .. truly repent
With the flooding, earthquakes, fires, and tornados, our hearts should be stirring to repentance. Some think they’ve already repented … back in 1989 when they were “saved” and answered that alter call … but let’s ponder deeper …
Repentance is turning completely in the other direction and walking in it. It’s turning from our self-will, which has dictated our lives since birth, to seek and walk in God’s will and let Him dictate our lives. It’s a very deep soul choice between us and God; our way and His. Luke 13:3 Various sins are simply symptoms of going our own way. Therefore, true repentance is going to the source, our self-will, and choosing not to follow it at all, but choosing to follow God. This requires knowing and trusting God; two things that come from diligently seeking Him. Turning from individual sins is important, but they are only the symptoms to a much deeper repentance, a repentance you come to understand as you seek God with all your heart.
Jesus stood in our place and paid the penalty (death) for our sins (going our way instead of God’s) so we didn’t have to. By paying the penalty, He reconciled us back to God so that now we can live in God’s presence. In removing the barrier of sin, He opened the door so we could dwell in unity with God. NOW it’s our part to walk through that door and the journey entails learning of God and repentance. We can’t walk in God’s way when we are walking in ours. We can’t do what we don’t know, thus the need to seek. As we learn God’s ways, we turn from self and turn to God.
Proof of repentance is abiding in the Bible with the instruction of the Holy Spirit with the motive to know God, because it shows we are seeking God’s will so we can walk in it. We long to know God so we can walk in His ways and be sanctified to become His living temple. Thus, deep repentance is the response to the gift of grace from Christ.
Because of this gift of grace, for some the compelling need for deep repentance is dampened, when it should be heightened. It was for me. I thought because all sins were forgiven that my obedience wasn’t that big of a deal because I was covered. Yes I should obey, but it wasn’t critical. Therefore, abiding in the Bible wasn’t critical. How misled I was. My lack of desire to obey was a sign something was off; I didn’t bear my cross (crucify my self-will) because I was still following self. Therefore, nothing had really changed. My belief was in vain. Not truly turning from self means there is a lack of understanding of what the sacrifice of Jesus was for.
Luke 14:26 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Coming to understand what Jesus did for us and our falleness is only an acknowledgement of what is. At this point though we may recognize what is, the deep soul choice between following self and following God is still in favor of self. At this infancy of our understanding, we have no idea of the extent in which we follow self verses God.
What should be happening next is an intense journey of individually seeking God to know Him as He is so we can walk in His will. We are to walk through that door that was opened for us by Christ. We are to learn of God from the Holy Spirit given to us by Christ. It’s God’s truth constantly invading our soul that reveals the depths by which we are dominated by self-will. This is the path of sanctification. It’s the natural progression for one who is a child of God. Therefore, if we knowingly continue in habitual sins, we have neglected to understand Christ’s gift.
Repentance isn’t just an acknowledgement that we have sinned against God; it’s the action of turning away from following self and following God. But we can’t follow what we don’t know. This is why God commands that we seek Him and that we abide in His Word, so we can know His ways and walk in them, thus truly repent. This is why abiding in His Word being taught by Him is proof we are on the path of sanctification. John 17:17
Repentance is key and yet sometimes overlooked in the doctrine of grace. God won’t be mocked. What we sow we will reap. Galatians 6:7Grace and repentance work hand in hand. Repentance is the manifestation of Christ’s gift of grace in our lives. Jesus and the apostles taught repentance and the kingdom of God. Repentance is how we come to abide in the kingdom of God; which is God’s reign in our soul with His will dominating.
If you are truly born of God, you’ll hate sin. You’ll long to walk in truth and love. You will hunger for His Word, so you know His will. You’ll be taught by God. John 6:45 You’ll want to know HIS will not someone’s thoughts on His will. You come to this point of desire through the grace of God showing you the truth. You come to it because you have sought God. Romans 8:29-30
Have you experienced a deep hearted repentance? Not just from various sins but from your self-will? This is true repentance. Are you walking more in truth today than a couple of months ago? Do you have a LOVE for the truth so that your life is moving to living in God’s will? You can only know His will for YOU if YOU personally seek it from Him. It’s a lifetime and daily activity. Seeking His will isn’t doing what your church says or some religious leader; it’s seeking God’s personal instruction in your life.
If you said no to these, get to know God by seeking Him in the Bible with the instruction of the Holy Spirit. When you come to know Him, you will want nothing of your self-will and everything of His.
Romans 2:4b that the goodness of God leads you to repentance
A new PODCAST (click here to listen) is available on the second part on living in God’s wisdom.
Overview: This show continues the discussion on seeking and gaining the wisdom of God from the previous show, Sister Wisdom. I talk about how we come to know God’s wisdom and obstacles that we face along the way.
The source of our truth affects everything in our lives. To live in the abundant life that Christ Jesus came to give, we have to seek His truth and walk in it. As long as we are walking contrary to Him, we will be creating destruction in our lives. Seeking wisdom is a core act for every true believer.
Overview: Wisdom and understanding form the foundations from which we think, feel and act. Our philosophies and beliefs that make up our wisdom or lack of it are what we live by every moment of our lives. They create filters through which we see ourselves, others, God, circumstances, everything. Therefore, our wisdom and the source of it are of the utmost importance and God is calling us to forsake the world’s masquerade of enlightenment and grab a hold of His pure Truth. In this show, I talk about gaining the wisdom of God and three areas of our lives it greatly impacts. This topic is essential for every true believer.
The ultimate choice we have to make is between following God and following self. Following God leads to eternal life and following self leads to death. To be in unity with God, we have to turn from our self-will (true repentance) and follow God’s will. In following God we seek to do only His will, just as Jesus did. John 5:30 But we don’t know God’s will unless we seek to know – thus why God tells us to seek and live. Amos 5:4 When following self we do what we think is good and right – whatever it is.
To learn about God through the Bible a similar approach must be taken in order to draw near to God in truth and spirit – we have to deny self.
God tells us to believe in Him. The Bible with the instruction of the Holy Spirit is a gateway to deeply knowing God so we can believe in Him as He is. This venue isn’t everyone’s; for we are all unique. But it is a part of my journey, and for you who feel called to this thought-provoking venue will resonate with my journey.
Reading the Bible isn’t about learning “techniques of good living” to then fulfill our own purposes and desires. We have to let go of all our self-will in coming to God in order to really know God and for Him to be our Lord.
There are three areas of denying our self-will when abiding in the Bible in order to learn about God, thus draw near in truth and Spirit.
The first area is in regards to making time to seek God. It’s putting abiding in the Bible to be taught by the Holy Spirit as the priority. Consider all the times you’ve put something above spending time with God, when God has told you to seek Him first. Matthew 6:33 Times you choose to sleep in, attend to another person, do a task, or get consumed in work. At those times, YOU are deciding what is more important versus doing what GOD has told you to do – love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, to put Him first, and to diligently seek Him. This choice to do what you want is following your self-will. When you continue this pattern, deep down you think you know better, otherwise you would do what God says. So who’s will is dominating in you?
The second area is who you focus on when you do abide in the Bible. To get to know God through the Bible, you have to set your needs, wants, and expectations aside and focus on God. If you read the Bible with the mindset and motive that is focused on you, then you aren’t denying self, you are putting self first. You are putting your self-will and what you think the time in the Bible should be about above seeking to know God. Instead of saying, God, what do you want to teach me? What do you want me to know about you? It’s always about fixing you, searching for a certain answer, or preparing for a Bible study. Whose will is in control at this point?
If your interactions with your spouse were always about you, you would learn very little about her/him. There would be no true intimacy or bond. You would do what you thought that person wanted, but you really wouldn’t have a clue. You haven’t sought to know him/her intimately because every interaction has been about you. Therefore you wouldn’t have a real relationship, certainly not a healthy one. With God it’s the same. We have to realize we don’t know God unless we individually seek to know Him. Until we do we have a false image of Him, which means we have a false relationship. It’s necessary to seek Him while putting ourselves aside to know Him as He is. Then we’ll start to develop a real relationship.
The third area has to do with conforming the Bible to your beliefs versus the Bible molding your beliefs. It’s realizing that you have filters and ways of viewing God and the Bible that are wrong. That you hold ideas that you think are “truth” but aren’t. When you come to learn of God, you have come with a humble heart which is willing to receive and hear anything God may teach you instead of trying to fit the Bible to your paradigms. If you think you already know, you don’t really seek. You conform what you read and hear to what you already believe. If you think you already know then who are you following when you abide in the Bible?
In order to know God through the Bible, there is a choice to make, God or self. It’s a prelude to the ultimate choice of choosing Him in everyway over our self-will.
The way to life is choosing God. The only way for the Bible to be unsealed to you so you can draw near to God in truth and spirit is to choose God in these areas. If you don’t deny self when coming to the Bible to be taught by the Holy Spirit, then you are reading for your own purposes and goals based on what you think is good. Your will is in control. This is how the Pharisees could know the scriptures, but be totally off. They used them to fulfill what they determined was right and good.
God has to be first. He is Lord. He can’t be second.
One side note, letting go of self-will isn’t about losing your identity. It’s coming to the understanding that God’s will is good and leads to true life and therefore that is what you want to do. If you were walking through a dense forest and you had a guide with you who knew the best and safest way to get through it, what would you do? You would follow him. Same with God. God knows the path to life. We walk with Him when our will is submitted to Him because then we are walking in His footsteps. The journey leads us to what we’ve always truly and deeply desired, because God is that good.
Tomorrow when you sit down to learn about God through the Bible consider these three areas. Ask the Spirit to examine your heart; are you really making this about God and seeking Him or about you?
Living Light 