Cascading riches

“Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace.”Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Open my eyes to the riches You have poured out on me! Thank You for salvation Lord!

I awoke to hearing a song this morning:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=R6qL709aNis&si=QEsXCXzQMAdLrPSx

Our God is a promise keeper. He spoke of bringing us Gentiles into His family long long ago. We are grated into the Israeli branch. For us who believe we receive all the goodness He made available at the cross. He broke the power of sin over our lives and brought us into completion in Him.

I am based in Nepal and in the monsoon season we see many cascading waterfalls. There is power in those falls, they are refreshing and bring life to that upon which they fall. They actually remind me of the falls crossing over the Great Dividing Range from Tamworth to Coffs Harbour. In the rainy season waterfalls cascade down the mountains. They are a delight and a danger to the unwary. If full appreciation of their power is not taken into consideration injury can result. In some years of serious rainfall landslides happen, yes, even in Australia.

I must fully and respectfully come to my God, for He is able to turn all things around! Amen! He works all things out! He is the restorer of the breach, the broken and deliverer of all who are harassed by the devil. Amen! We serve a mighty God! He is worthy of praise!

My rock

“Yahweh, you’re the bedrock beneath my feet, my faith-fortress, my wonderful deliverer, my God, my rock of rescue where none can reach me. You’re the shield around me, the mighty power that saves me, and my high place.”Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I have come to know, in God I trust alone, all else is sinking sand. It ai not a place for self-pity but rejoicing that God has got me, He is my rock.

I have to trust Him to be my shield for I am unable to deliver or protect myself. He has proven Himself to be an excellent protector. So much has come against me, but He has delivered me out of it all.

People may promise to be there, to not let me down but they do not anticipate their circumstances. They are unable to forecast what is coming, but God can.

American movies almost always have someone saying, “I promise things will work out!” They do not have that power. They can do their best but trust in God alone will bring them through.

In God alone I am safe. In God alone I am strong! In God alone I will make it through! Amen!

Love is large

“Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.”1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭TPT‬‬

We do not understand love being large and patient, if we are honest. Our love ebbs and flows according to how a person makes us feel. If they are being difficult our love is tested. 

Our kindness also ebbs and flows according to how we feel. If we have spent a lot of time with the Lord we might see more kindness and patience, however, spend a week with the devils kids and all is lost. Irritability exhibits with tiredness. 

Our love does not stop us from being jealous, only the abiding presence of God does that. When we are blessed we tend to brag thinking God has finally got it right, I am his best kid. Ha!

The Holy Spirit is love personified. As I yield to Him all is well. Jesus told His disciples to abide:

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The answer then is: remain or abide in Him! Amen!

Control the thief

“A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!”John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I am a prayer and follow what is happening in various parts of the world. We see the thief at work destroying countries through war, destroying lives through terrorizm. However, in the midst of all the destruction people are finding Jesus.

Here in Nepal God has shown me to pray against the destroyer. I realise I have an important task. I rebuke bad weather, I pray into government and pray for the rounding up of human traffickers. The times God calls me to fast I partner with my Lord to see miracles in prayer. 

As a Christian I know ny God has given me authority in prayer, He has every Christian. I do not need to waste time with namby pamby prayers. If I cannot pray with authority I am wasting my time. He is not impressed with faithless prayers.

Rise up Christians and pray! You have authority to stop the works of darkness right were you live. Bring the kingdom of God to that place. Control the thief! Amen!

What is sin?

“If we boast that we have no sin, we’re only fooling ourselves and are strangers to the truth. But if we freely admit our sins when his light uncovers them, he will be faithful to forgive us every time. God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ, and he will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we claim that we’re not guilty of sin when God uncovers it with his light, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭TPT‬‬

If we are spending time in God’s word, having fellowship with other Christians and have a living relationship with our God His light will shine on our darkness and sin. The way forward is repentance. Repentance cleanses us from sin.

It is foolish to deny the existence of sin. Sin is the stuff we do in darkness, the wrong way we treat others, the wrong attitudes we take to God’s people. We cannot sit and be a critic and judge and expect we do not sin, when God alone is the judge.

If God’s word convicts us we must repent. Repentance clears the way for a powerful relationship with God and others.

I want powerful relations with God and others and therefore I will repent of all and any misdeed He shows me. Amen!

Love deeply

““So this is my command: Love each other deeply, as much as I have loved you.”John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬ ‭TPT‬‬

How do we love deeply? We pray and work for the best in each other. When we are frustrated with a particular behaviour we must confront in love before it becomes something that causes us to confront in anger. Anger does not work for good for anyone, unless it is the rare righteous anger that Jesus displayed. We may think our anger is righteous but it is only self-righteous anger. There is a big difference. How does it leave us? Still fuming and upset and tending towards bitterness or is our heart clean?

Paul teaches a lot about proper treatment of others in his epistles. In 1 Cor 13 he lays out the true qualities of love:  “Love is patient and kind. Love is not boastful or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We need to dwell on these qualities, chew them over and allow the Holy Spirit convict us of the better way. His way is best! Amen!

Crucifixion

“Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus Christ have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah.”Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Do you not know crucifixion? Daily we must take up our cross and follow Jesus. What is our cross? For most westerners is dying to the rights we have believed to be ours: ‘right to an opinion’, ‘right to be treated fairly’, ‘right to decide what happens with our money’, right to go where and when we please’.

Our biggest enemy is our flesh, not Satan. Our flesh lusts after sinful things. Our flesh behaves like a baby wanting all the attention.

Paul lists fleshly behaviours, they are not pretty:

“The behavior of the self-life is obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭TPT‬‬

He then gives us a list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives:

“But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.”Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬

He is battling with the Galatian’s who have allowed teachers to come in who are demanding they become circumcised. The whole chapter is a good read. When we are tempted to add to the free gift Jesus gave us we are falling under the law again. Paul’s argument is ‘if you partake in one aspect of the law you may as well submit to all of it’. However, he points out that the law cannot save. Jesus is the only saviour!

We demean Jesus when we thing His free gift is not enough. He is more than enough! Amen!