Getting to Know Your Heavenly Father

I’m learning to put God first and to cast away everything else. My only concern is pleasing Him. All else doesn’t matter. I want to be one with the One. I live to please Jesus and to love Him who first loved me. He wants my love…all of it.

When we gave our life to Christ, so many things in the spirit realm happened. One of them being that we became a new creation with a new heart that has the desire to please God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” Yet, all throughout the Pauline epistles we see that although we are new creatures with new hearts, we still have a daily role to play in our ongoing sanctification. Jesus paid the penalty of sin for you and broke the power of sin over you so that you, by the Holy Spirit, kill sin that so desperately wants to stay alive in your flesh. The problem I see is that because many don’t understand what has occurred to them at this new birth, they don’t know how to live moving forward. In this post, I’m going to talk about what it means to be a new creation, what “old things” have passed, what is “new”, and what that means for us every day. THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION I believe that 1 Corinthians 5:17 is one of the deepest truths in regards to the miraculous wonder of being born again found in Scripture. It’s this miracle of salvation “ the prophets inquired and searched to know more about.” (1 Peter 1:10) In John 3, Jesus described being born again as being born of water and the Spirit…this is miraculous! Paul’s declaration, that when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior we become a new creation in Christ with all things becoming new, has vast implications. The “he” that is a new creation is your spirit man. All things pertaining to your spirit become new. The real you is your spirit man which is alive in Christ. Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. This new creation that we are is one bound to God in Christ in the freedom Jesus bought for us. Below are some wonderful Scriptures that prove what I just said. Galatians 3:21-22 - Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Galatians 4:4-5 - But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children . Romans 6:14 - Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Galatians 5:13 - For you have been called to live in freedom , my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. Ephesians 1:7 - He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. THE BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL The Gospel of Christ is beautiful, but we often treat it as common and uninteresting. Yet it was the precious blood of God’s Son, who is also God, that was shed. This is more beautiful than we can fully comprehend! Breaking down 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul talks about old things and new things, let’s check it out. Old things passed away: Before Christ, we were under condemnation before God. We were powerless before sin (at the heart level). We were under darkness, lacking the ability to understand the Word, or to receive God’s divine direction for our life. We were destitute, without hope of a good future in God. All things have become new: Since accepting Jesus as our Lord & Savior, our lives have been transformed and now we are accepted and enjoyed by God. Our former powerlessness and darkness have passed away and now we have the authority of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers us. Now we can resist sin and Satan, walk in victory over sin, and receive understanding of God, His Word, and His will. Now we have a significant destiny in God. The Gospel is the good news of salvation, and it’s more comprehensive than what most understand it to be. Yet, in this salvation, it can be broken down into three different stages: Justification : our legal position—past tense focused on my spirit (I have been saved) Sanctification : our living condition—present tense focused on my soul (I am being saved) Glorification : our eternal exaltation—future tense focused on my body (I will be saved). We experience the fullness of our salvation in three time frames. One third of our salvation is complete, the salvation of our spirit. Our spirit was created anew in holiness (past tense). Because Adam sinned, we all became spiritually dead and lost our ability to relate to God. Since that time, we have all lived under the control of our body and soul. That looked like doing whatever our body/flesh desires and whatever we feel like doing, depending on our mood and attitude. We’ve lived under the tyranny of sin subjected to what our body and soul desired. At the new birth, our spirit is joined to the Lord, and we are filled with His supernatural life and power. And now by the renewing of our mind and restoration of our soul, we are able to live as righteous as we are in our spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 - But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him . When we become born again, our spirit is instantly and completely made new. As we walk in communion with the Lord, our mind is being progressively renewed by agreeing with the Word, declaring it, and being a doer of the Word. THE TRUTH ABOUT BEING A NEW CREATION As I’m sure you know, when we are born again, sinful desires remain in our body (body of sin; Romans 6:6). Sinful desires also leave traces in our memory, reminding us of things we have done or seen that stirred up lust. Lust is further stirred up by being in wrong circumstances, seeking to please people by doing ungodly things, and by demonic attacks. Although we are a new creation, our impulses of sin do not all go away. But the amazing thing is that now we have the power to effectively overcome them! We have an effective defense against them. The truth is that while we still have the old thought patterns and emotions that were formed in us while we lived under the reign of sin, as long as we seek first His Kingdom and righteousness, all else will be added to us…including the renewal of our mind. LIVING AND WALKING BY THE SPIRIT Galatians 5:16-17 - I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. The reign of sin can look like condemnation, powerlessness, darkness, and being destitute. Many have lived under the tyranny of slavery to sin for so many years that they have established thought patterns and emotions related to it and they don’t even realize it. It’s our duty to live like the new creation we are by devoting ourselves to Jesus, walking uprightly with Him, reading and studying His Word. Because if we do not develop an awareness of who we are in Christ, then we end up continuing to live as a slave to our physical appetites and five senses. We will go on to live as though we’re helpless; enslaved to the sinful desires that arise within us. & beloved, Jesus didn’t die for you to live that way. Romans 6:6-7 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. Romans 8:2-3 …because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Praying for you!

Last night, this revelation hit me… I have no claim to anything in this life. My possessions are His. My husband and children are His. I have nothing except Jesus.

Before we become born again, we live in one mode: flesh…carnality. We’re out in the world enjoying and participating in the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh (1 John 2:16). Yet, once we are born of the Spirit, God makes us a new creation with a heart that is no longer hardened towards God. Christ sets us free and gives us a heart that is softened to God, inclined to please Him. Because God gives us free will, He lets us choose whether or not we will obey Him. It’s a choice we have to make every moment of every day: obey God or my flesh. Romans 8:5 (NLT) 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, the things of the Spirit. Paul contrasts two orientations to life that each believer must choose between. For clarity, when I say orientation(s), I speak of the mode of how we live our lives… What is our default mode of operation when it comes to living? Our primary orientation is determined by the information that we rely on the most. So in this case, we’ll either depend heavily on the information that we receive from our five senses or we’ll depend heavily from the information we receive from our spirit, which is one with Christ and His Holy Spirit. I have to make this known, that it is SO pertinent to our maturity in Christ that we shift our primary orientation from living by our five senses, physical appetites, and emotions to what the Holy Spirit is saying and relaying to our spirit. In order to live by the Spirit, we must continuously renew our minds, spend time knowing the Lord personally and experientially, and moment by moment surrendering our sinful desires, feelings, and emotions over to the Holy Spirit. It’s a CHOICE that we make in every moment: follow the Spirit or follow our flesh? A key to living according to the Spirit is to recognize that just as our body has five senses which enable us to receive information from the physical world, our spirit man has senses that enable us to receive information from the Holy Spirit, who rules the spiritual world. Yet many born again believers choose to live by their flesh, whether by choice or ignorance, and end up suffering because although they’ve been a Christian for many years, spiritually they’re a baby because they haven’t learned and continue to learn how to be obedient and live by the Spirit. So today, you have a choice…you can live in freedom, which is according to the Spirit, or you can choose to live in bondage to your flesh and sinful desires.

Written 09/10/2022 10:40pm Last night I was in tears. I found myself burning with first love again, a fresh fire to give Him my all, to live for Him in faith, and that He would live in me, through me. Philippians 3:8-9 NLT Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I desire that He would testify of me on …calling me a burning and shining lamp, like He did, John the Baptist. John 5:35 AMPC John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you the way]... My heart is set on living a consecrated life unto Him, and denying myself of legitimate pleasures of this world, so I can take part and be consumed with the superior and supreme pleasures of Him. I want to find all my pleasure in Him. Psalm 36:8 AMPC They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures. I’ve tasted and seen… I need Him. I WANT Him. He’s my ONE desire.

So often when we think about eternal life, we sum it up to being in Heaven forever with God. But the truth is that eternal life is not something we’ll experience once we die. In fact, it’s something that we can experience NOW, like right this second. Jesus clearly defined what eternal life is in John 17:3: John 17:3 NKJV And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. This is beautiful because that word “know” means to experience and continue experiencing! It’s through this experience that we get to commune with God and grow in intimacy with Him, and then God uses it to birth the fruit of oneness in our daily lives. STORYTIME I spent the greater part of my walk (nine out of 12 years) with Christ believing that eternal life was something to be experienced after this life here on earth. I often felt like I was doing this walk alone and my understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in my life was close to none. I felt like I couldn’t hear God clearly, so maybe He really didn’t talk to me. When I prayed, I wasn’t confident that God would answer me…maybe He only spoke to pastors and prophets, I thought. I accepted that and just tried my best to do what I could to not sin and live my best life. But that was NOTHING compared to what the Holy Spirit revealed to me in 2020. He woke my heart up to His abundant life and allowed me to experience His Presence and His love. John 10:10 NKJV I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jesus came to give you and I abundant life that can be experienced and enjoyed! 1 John 2:24-25 NLT So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. “Enjoy” points to experiencing, John says this is something we experience now. We should not experience Jesus once in a while, it should be a daily thing, where we are growing in our knowledge of Him. Eternal life is enjoying communion with God. Communion with God brings about oneness. For clarity, when I say communion, I mean the shared thoughts, feelings, and intimate moments between two people, and in this case the two people are you and God. The continuous sharing of thoughts, feelings, and intimate moments between you and God causes you to be conformed to His image, causes fruit to bear in your life… you’ll know and recognize His voice better, you’ll know His heart more intimately, and you’ll be empowered to live out His will every day. 2 Peter 1:3 NKJV His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him So don’t cheapen eternal life to just when you die. Know that today, right now, you can experience eternal life. Just turn your heart to Jesus, seek Him with all your heart, and before you know it, you’ll experience the joy of His Presence. Praying for you!

Written 04/13/2021 9:44am I woke up this morning completely convinced that the only reason for existence is to love Jesus and encourage and exhort others of the same thing through teaching His word. There’s absolutely no other reason to live. I feel like it’s a burden I feel in my heart. Strongly. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. I honestly feel like I’ve found my purpose, my reason for living. To love Him with everything and tell others, convince them of the same truth.

God is looking for faithfulness, loyalty, and trust in the hearts of His people. He’s looking for your trust and commitment to Him through the thick and thin…will you give it to Him? 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. You see, oftentimes we want to believe that if we love Jesus our lives are going to work out great and our lives will be perfect. I know I used to think that, but fortunately, that’s just not true. If we’re honest, it’s difficult to fully entrust our lives to God, who isn’t afraid to let us suffer and endure hardship or challenges. So instead of fully trusting God, giving Him our full loyalty, and surrendering our lives to Him, we do our best to control our lives and be our own god. We wouldn’t dare say it outloud or even think about it this way, but we think that if we can hold our lives in our hands, make all the decisions, and do what we think is right , then we can make ourselves happy and everything will be a-okay. But that’s false and very short lived. The truth is that no matter what we face, God has a purpose for all of it and when surrendered to Him, He makes it all work together for your good because you love Him. Surrendering to God is living with a heart and mind set on God with a firm “God, I'm committed to You and You alone. No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere!” This is the loyalty and trust God desires from you. If God is searching the whole earth for loyal hearts to show Himself strong on their behalf, that means in order for Him to display His strength, the one with the loyal heart must be weak. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” If you want to see God move in your life, heart, your situations, if you want Him to show Himself strong in your circumstances…someone has got to be the weak one and it can’t be Christ. So embrace your weaknesses and surrender them into the strong arms of Jesus and rest in Him. Listen to Him, learn from Him, and trust Him. His leadership is perfect and He will show Himself strong on your behalf.

Written 02/12/2021 6:55am It’s clear as day that He is infinitely Good . Every day is about Him. I turn 30 tomorrow. And it is clearer than it’s ever been. Life, my life, is about one thing , knowing Him. Jesus. It’s all about Him. He’s my daily bread. The reason why I wake up each day is to know Him more, spend time with Him, and fall deeper in love with Him. Everything else will fade away, my love for Him shall not. He is my life and I NEED Him.