He chose us.

Just realizing how blessed we are who have taken part in the Lords "harvest". Loved by God, bought with the price of Jesus Christ, called to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, now part of the Family of God. We always hear the preaching about "the harvest is great but the laborers are few" but seldom hear about the blessings of "being the one harvested." Christ, perfecting the harvest of the seed (us) by "winnowing" out the chaff of our lives and empowering us to be conformed into His image and likeness.

What an amazing blessing to be taken out of our sin by the Creator of all that exists, and just for coming out by His promise, to be "washed and cleansed" white as snow, our sins forgiven. On top of that we receive a "position" in His ranks of believers to serve Him, and then He empowers us to do the things He asks us to with the power of he Holy Spirit. Not leaving us on our own but "working through us" to do His will. When we need to pray He says "pray in the Holy Spirit. When we need strength He is our strength in weakness. When we are hungry He is our "meat" and when we thirst He is the "living waters."

He promises to "meet our needs" and to do more than we can think or ask.

All this because, from before the beginning, He loved us with an Unconditional Love, even though He knew our sin and rebellion against Him, but Love never fails, and God can not fail because God is Love. This kind of Love has been available for all men for all of time, past, present and future.

"He stands at the door and knocks" with forgiveness and position to all who will "answer the calling."

We did and we have not been disappointed but blessed.

Love

J&E in Tn

More on Unconditional Love and Life

Everything that can be done during our short time here needs doing. Sounds like a simple application but it's not. 
I think the first effort on that list is to have an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ so we can learn to Love Unconditionally. This is the first and most difficult item to accomplish. Why? Because it's an exercise that is "life long", a continuing growing process with endless blessings for both the giver and the receiver, this "growing" with God and in His Unconditional Love.
If we follow the First Commandment with passion:
Matthew 22:36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Following these verses automatically means that you have an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ so the foundation is already built to "grow" the Unconditional Love on.
Then the Second Commandment will naturally follow which is the carrying out of Unconditional Love that you received from God to others.
Practicing this will not only make us "hearers of the Word but doers of the Word", a healthy position to be in spiritually and physically. We then can "Love as Jesus Loves" thereby fulfilling all Scripture and bringing "glory to our Father in Heaven."
God can use believers like that to bring His Kingdom "on earth as it is in Heaven."
This being in place and growing daily will help doing the rest of the "need to do" list of life go smoother and more efficiently.
God bless and keep.
Love
J&E in Tn

Being "One with God"

Your Christian experience will only be as miraculous as your faith is to walk in the Spirit (Holy Spirit)! Faith in Jesus Christ was never meant to be a ritual of liturgical motions, but a becoming of One with Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. We have been given the best example of a perfect Father, and the best example of a Brother in Jesus Christ. in fact it was so important that Jesus prayed the Father about that "oneness."

John 17: 20-23

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

"And the glory thou has given me I have given them", "that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me". The world knows the truth by witnessing that we are one with Jesus and with our Father because we share the Fathers glory through Jesus Christ the same way He did. "The Truth shall (not maybe, but shall,) set you free!"

So this begs the question to be asked: "are you free today?"

Is your "Oneness" with God making you free more and more each new day?

Does the reward of being One with God cause your "faith" to grow" in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ daily?

Is your "Christian" experience ALIVE like it's portrayed in Scripture to be?

Do you uses up all your grace fighting your own demons instead of putting them to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection?

Is there an abundance enough of grace to make a joyful noise unto the Lord of the earth, regardless of whether you are "happy, glad, sad or mad"?

Being one with God, and Jesus comes with the blessing of being in His presence which should bring "joy unspeakable and full of glory". How can that cause any other reaction then throwing ones hands up into the air and singing the Hallelujah course from the heart?

If your Christian experience is not somehow acclimating to a higher form every day then you need to pray about becoming deeper in oneness with Jesus and the Father.

I have found that "let God be True and every man a liar" to be just so, and those that esteem His Word as Truth will be set free to a greater degree as their "walk" with Him deepens. If we select areas in His Word to deem "unnecessary" or "false" because the "times have changed", then we will miss the "hand of God" in our lives to it's fullest application because of lack of faith. How do we get faith? "Now faith comes by hearing and that by hearing the Word of God." To "hear God's Word" is to is to "obey God's Word!" There are only two choices: obey, or disobey! If you are not doing the first one (obeying) then you are automatically doing the second one.

Remember that God never maid His Word an option in anyone's life. It's the same for both the Jew and the Gentile. We all know that the word Gentile covers everyone else on the planet outside the Jewish race. Regardless of religious faction, race, creed, color, ect.

Resurrection Celebration Day is a good time to "reconfigure" our "Walking in the Spirit" application of Christianity to bring us deeper in our "oneness" with God our Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

God bless and sanctify through Jesus Christ.

Love

J&E in Tn

A quick look at the "lack of motivation" in the faith.

It is of the utmost importance for everyone who calls themselves "a believer in Jesus Christ" to search out their "calling and elections" and make sure their administration. For all that are called of Christ will be used of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. To fail in this "searching out" brings about the lack of "motivation", and "manifestation" of the reality of Christianity in our lives, first to ourselves then to others as proof that God is real.

God's plan from the beginning was to "reveal" Himself to all mankind through Jesus Christ working through His believers. When we know what His Word says and "not just hear the Word but be doers the Word" then God promises us that He will "manifest His glory in all the earth". We have the only faith that carries these powerful and precious promises:

1. That God will bare witness to His Word of Truth.

2. That He will use His people to do it.

This is why He gave us His Holy Spirit (to give gifts severally according to His will), and the name above all names Jesus Christ (wherein at it's mention "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord").

Many believers grow "weary" of well doing because they are not taught that Christianity is a living experience and not just a blind, mundane following of rules and practices that cannot encourage them. We serve a Living and True God who delights in using His believers to "deliver" the oppressed, needy, and hurting of this world. He proves His Unconditional Love for us by doing this and gives hope to the hopeless by proving to them their value in that He cares enough for them that He will Divinely intervene in their lives.

His promises are sure in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If every believer would lay hold of the faith being not just a hearer of the Word but a doer of the Word, seeking out their administrations and gifts of the Holy Spirit, our faith would turn this world upside down once again. We all would experience Love, Joy and Peace in the Holy Spirit because we would see God's divine manifestations in our own lives, being encouraged by this, and thereby "a witness" to others.

The Christian faith is to be lived, experienced, and grown in daily so that both the believer, and those who witness their lives, will all seek a place in God's Kingdom as He designed it.

May the Holy Spirit encourage your hearts in the Truth that sets free and empowers.

God bless and keep in Jesus name.

Love

J&E inTn

A short thought on James 4:14

James 4:14

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Many people only see the warning about the "shortness of life" in this verse, and if in context it's about the pride of success and gain from planning. A kind of boasting, but this is not all that can be taken from this scripture.

I always viewed it as a promise that "like a vapour" that appears for a little time our lives have an affect on people just, as a vapour lets some of it's elements or residue on the objects it passes. Depending on "what our vapour consists of" it could be the cooling, refreshing effect, or it could be the rampaging, damaging effect.

For the one who's vapour/life comes from a very real, living, relationship with God through Jesus Christ what's left behind will be love, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.

From the one who's vapour/life comes from sin, malice, and wickedness what's left behind is hurt, pain, and worthlessness.

That's how you will be remembered, "by your mist."

Being that the scripture also states that "our vapour appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" places the importance for our lives to have the most uplifting and encouraging effect on as many others as possible because "a little time" isn't very long in relationship to eternity.

"Work while it is day for the night cometh when no man worketh."

Your life will be filled with innumerable acquaintance so redeem the time as the days are evil.

Choose to be "love, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.

Love

J&E inTn

Who is your God?

Everybody has a different "idea" about what's important in living the Christian way.
We all agree that our journey starts with "faith in Jesus Christ". The "Confessing with our lips that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that He rose from the dead."
But from here on out the field of "application" broadens depending on where you fellowship and "who's feet you sit by."
"From the beginning" Scripture shows that man had an attraction for sin, and having a free will he decided to exercise that function.
Let me make clear how profound that "sin side" was in this "free will process."
Adam "was in the presence of God" when he first was created. Soon followed Eve to be his help meet and to "complete" Adam so that "they" could fill up "all the earth." They both walked with God in the garden daily and enjoyed His presence, Love, wisdom and instruction. Adam and Eve were face to face with God. They experienced His power and glory.
But still deep within the hearts of mankind represented by them even that kind of intimacy with God wasn't enough to keep their decisions on obedience to His Word. They eventually "ate of the fruit" and sinned/fell from "fellowship with God." We all bear the results of that first sinful decision of disobedience to God's Word. Remember that the "Word was with God from the beginning", then later "became flesh" and "dwelt among us" in God's perfect timing. It would seem like this disobedient streak would be replayed again when the "Word became flesh" and He went to His own and His own knew Him not. Adam and Eve were literally God's own and it didn't take them long to "know Him not" seemed like time clouded their hearts enough to allow for the temptation of sin to be stronger than the "glory of God." And so it was with "He came to His own, and His own knew Him not."
To make this thought crystal clear: The Jews had the Law, the prophets, and the writing of Moses, all of which pointed to the coming of their King. They should of recognized Him due to the Scriptures of their time and "obeyed Him" once again. Strike 2 for mankind. By the way, God wasn't ignorant to the fact that this would happen "from the beginning" before he created "man and woman", but followed through with His plan. The plan of Unconditional Love and redemption.
Sin had held the reins of mans heart exhibiting his "free will" choice of rebellion against God, (mankind's Father), up to the time of Christs appearance on earth, even until this very day, and until the judgement of it through the book of Revelations. Lets face it sin is still mankind's master until man "believes" in Jesus Christ for salvation then it becomes man's constant temptress until the grave. At this point I am sure that there are those who would argue different saying that after we believe in Jesus Christ we don't sin anymore but that is very wrong.
1 John 1: 8-10
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and His Word is not in us.
Believers are "sinners saved by grace." The difference is that the believer has Divine Intervention by our Father to resist sin by grace and the sacrifice of Jesus to cover our sin if we fail.
So this is a good point to jump off of to get to the Main Topic of this post:
Your Christian walk will only be as successful as "your Revelation of Jesus Christ."
So what does the Scriptural Word "Revelation" mean?
It simply means "Revealed".
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ" means that God divinely "opens our understanding in our spirit" so that we can "see" Jesus for who He is. He gives us a Revelation. Not a study, not a doctrine, not an idea, but an actual "experience", "fellowship", "understanding" of who He actually is in all His glory, Majesty, and Love. Something that we cannot get in any other way. A start to our "Revelation" of Jesus Christ. Many Christians know, (head knowledge), "about" Jesus but not many "experience" Jesus the way God our Father designed it to happen. Don't think that I am "busting chops" here for the sake of knit picking, not at all. I am sharing what a "growing Revelation of Jesus Christ" should consist of based on the "faith experience" that I have (and still continue to) walk through. This Revelation can only take place by faith, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God", correct? The Word is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ comes to us by faith as a Revelation. The Holy Spirit revealing the "Deity" of God the Son to us. Again: He is revealing the Heart of God to us through Jesus Christ by showing us what He did, how He listened to His Father, and how He did the very same things that He seen His Father doing. In other word He (Jesus) was obedient in thought, Word, and deed preforming His Fathers will. As should we during our "walk with Emmanuel, God with us" here in our only short lifetime. We will be conformed to "His image and likeness, us decreasing Him increasing, thereby working the very miracles He worked and greater because He has gone to the Father in heaven." This is a promise from God that we can only receive "through" Jesus Christ and that only by faith. So if our "revelation of Jesus Christ" is growing daily by faith, the eyes of our understanding being opened by the Holy Spirit, then we will not be unproductive in our walk. Jesus said: "if you don't believe what I say then believe the miracles." The miracles were always God's way to prove that what is being preached, the Gospel of Good news, was His pure Word and Truth and that He is "bearing witness" to that Truth through incredible "signs and wonders."
If you read the Bible out of the Spirit, out of faith, your unbelief will stifle your faith, and your "experience" of Scripture will be at best lacking. Scripture was meant to be both exciting and a warning for mankind. On one hand warning to that we will rely on the Holy Spirit to "keep us from sin", but on the other hand exciting to read all the precious promises in God through Jesus Christ to motivate us to "good works." When we see God working through the name of Jesus in our lives it humbles us to think that His Love has deemed us worthy of use, and our experience in the faith propels us to seek out more of His promises for us. He is willing to "equip" us to glorify His name in a way that no other religious following can. Giving us power over evil, sickness, infirmity of all kinds, and in some cases over death itself.
Christianity is ALIVE, LIVING, EXCITING and POWERFUL "because" our God is an awesome God, He reigns over heaven above, with wisdom, power and Love our God is an awesome God! He is confident that we, with the Holy Spirits help, can "turn this world upside down," in the name of Jesus. I am sure there are those out there that just shuts this kind of Truth off because "they haven't had it happen to them, but let me clear something up; if God made these promises and God cannot change, nor can His Word, then who's fault is it? Lets make this next statement clear: YOURS and yours only.
God cannot lie, He cannot change, He cannot mislead nor does He change His mind, there is no wavering in Him, that only leaves you! The sinner saved by grace. Rather you cried out to Jesus like the man with the demon possessed son that was thrown into fire and water to kill him, "Lord help my unbelief!"
Many will say that there is no such thing as a Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Word has been written and nothing else can be known. I agree with the written Word, but I also know that the amount of Truth that we as Christians over all time past have experienced of Scripture has hardly been a "scratch and sniff" revealing of what the Holy Spirit could actually reveal if "we" weren't such a "stiff necked and rebellious flock. Can you imagine the patience of God with us His children? Having given us all these promises, commands and blessings to call our own? And we stand before Him and ask for the frivolous when we could be taking authority over this lost and dying generation, with powerful signs and wonders, glorifying our Father in Heaven with the Truth that sets free?
As the "Lord lives" I can tell you that you will only be as close to God through Jesus Christ as "YOU" want to be. If you want to be a "second person believer" that has to hang on to only man for your relationship with God then you will be a babe all your Christian walk and have only your salvation to show for your faith. But if you on the other hand let the Word (both written and living, Jesus Christ) by Gods Holy Spirit, lead you and guide you into "all Truth" humbly seeking His promises, and being obedient to His commands, then you will have the doorways of heaven opened up to you, and you will receive "power" when that the Holy Spirit continually fills you for service with power and anointing to do Gods will.
Believe it or not "that's the way it is and it works!"
Arguments and opinions mean nothing to God when it comes to His design for man and his use. His Word is what matters and what you do with it. Dispensate all you want, craft "doctrines of man" till your heart dies from "lack of Truth", but your life will be without power, joy, and confidence, being swayed by every rumor and being filled with confusion. This is not God's plan for His people.
Your choice. How do you view God now?
That's why the most important factor in how we will walk out our Christian faith depends on what/who you believe God to be. Will you believe by faith that all that Scripture says about God and the Word is true or will you believe only what others say about a Christianity that has been stripped of power because "they have never seen such things."
Faith giving Power?
Or doubt giving defeat?
Who is your God?
My God is the King of Kings and the Lord of Glory. He is the Holy one of Israel. The Alpha and Omega, the God of creation, and the King of Glory. He never changes and He keeps all His promises. He Loved us with an Unconditional Love the depth of which was show when He gave His only begotten Son to save our sinful souls. He gave us light and life so that we could "have life more abundantly."
That's my God!
Because He is who He is I have gone from faith to faith, and grown in grace to the point that I can hear His voice, have the mind of Christ, and by His promise I can humbly agree to Him "conforming me unto the life of Jesus Christ." With His help I can die to myself and He can increase in me. At the present time He is working His Unconditional Love in me and through me for others at an ever increasing rate. By His grace my fellowship with the Holy Spirit is growing stronger and I am becoming more sensitive to His heart. I believe that God is True, His promises are sure, and His blessings are real. This "seed of faith" that He started with in me will continue to grow until it has become a tree able to support others by His hand. My wife, family and I have seen and received many miracles and manifestations by the hand of God in the name of Jesus, some so powerful that they have actually restored both life and the quality of life back to others.
That's my God.
Again "who is your God?"
"Choose ye this day who you shall fallow, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
"Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you."
Love
J&E inTn

The power to persevere

The willingness to persevere is a very needed attribute in today's world.
Notice that I didn't say "willingness to persevere" in hard times? Or "willingness to persevere" in good times?
Just the "willingness to persevere" all the time, day or night, in season and out of season, everyday of your life. Everyday we are alive we will need to continue to make decisions, set examples, be a witness to Christ and every valuable character trait that we have in Him.
Life takes perseverance.
Life has challenges at all levels, daily, that need addressing. We can even get weary from "well doing", let alone getting weary from "not doing so well."
So what then gives us the "willingness or motivation" to persevere everyday of our lives, and be available to the needs of family, friends, neighbors, and others that just happen to "fall into the mix?"
What can possibly inspire us to have fresh energy to wake up every morning "meet" for the day?
Personally I believe that when we have someone we represent that has a plan for us, and what we are to do, we are stimulated by purpose. We are working for a Higher Authority, in the case of a Christian "God Himself", not only our "employer" but our Father also. So we are pressing on out of obedience at two levels of authority: Gods Word and our Father. Did anyone ever work for their father? Well this is different because our Father is Unconditional Love. He is not out to just make us better at a certain skill set, but He is out to conform us to be like Jesus our Brother and teach us about Unconditional Love so that we can Love others as ourselves. It's easy to work for an all Loving Father because "Love never fails" in His love for us or in our Love for others. Love is the great promoter of perseverance, because it can only reap a "good harvest" when sown with the help of the Spirit of God.
What does scripture say about weariness?
Matthew 11:28,29
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest."
We get rid of our weariness and burdens in the presence of Christ. This scripture is speaking to us, His brothers and sisters, it's speaking about a ever refreshing "oneness" with Christ through daily worship. That's how we "come to Him." When we "come to Him" with all the efforts that we need to make for the day (knowing that every effort, good or difficult, are burdens), and present them before Christ, He then takes them and gives us rest because they are now in "His hands."
First we come to Him in worship, then once in His presence we set our petitions before Him in prayer, by faith, so He can exchange them for a joy and peace so powerful that it manifests itself as rest. We experience His Loving "Yoke" (we are gently restrained to Him) so that we can "learn from Him". We learn that He is "gentle and humble in heart (towards all who will be yoked to Him) and that's where we find rest. The assurance that our burdens are going to be taken by Him and our weariness relieved.
This is how we willingly persevere on a continuing basis throughout our lives. We stay in worship and prayer in the spirit realm, and we stay persevering in this carnal realm refreshed and empowered by the Spirit of God.
Feed on the Word. Worship God, pray without ceasing in the Holy Spirit, then go out and set the captives free.
Love
J&E inTn