4 – Pithy and Profound Changing the Atmosphere

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Life is what you make it. Is this true or false? I think it is a matter of perspective. You can look at a flat tire as a loss of time or more money out of pocket. But what if you meet someone on the road at that time or at the tire store later that asked you about Jesus?

Instead of thinking these first thoughts, maybe we can think of: where is God working today and how can I join in. You can change the atmosphere with your presence. If your attitude is focused on the Kingdom of God and not of this world you can usher in God’s Shekinah glory and reconcile someone back to God. You know we all have a ministry as children of God, it is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NKJV)

You are an ambassador for Christ in the Kingdom of God. Where ever you go you are representing God’s Kingdom and your mission is to reconcile others back to God “as though God were pleading though us:” or you to let others know on Christ’s behalf that God loves them and wants them to live a more abundant life in His kingdom.

You can change the atmosphere. Walk as children of light to bring hope, joy and peace into a world that seems to be getting darker. Change the atmosphere today where ever you go.

In Christ,

 

Greg

The Holy Spirit and you, Sspirit Part 2

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The Holy Spirit has drawn us to God, quickened us unto salvation, and empowered us with the gifts and fruits of the Spirit and the Divine Nature of God.  He now dwells in us as the seal of God’s promises and our contract of the New Covenant. Have you been thinking about what your temple looks like from the Sspirit’s aspect?

A covenant is a contract. The Christian’s contract is signed in innocent blood. This goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. When God sacrificed (an) innocent animal(s) to atone for their sin. Now we have an eternal covenant with God purchased by our Saviour Jesus Christ whose temple you are. (See Hebrews chapters 9 and 10).

“Yet our bodies are fragile vessels, which contain treasures so immense that they cannot be expended.  Just as great earthly temples are temporary, even though some have been around for hundreds of years, so are we temporary.  These temples or churches are decorated with paintings; structures built with stained glass windows which depict a moment of the gospel and life of Christ and His apostles; statues, images, crosses, baptismal and hopefully the Spirit of God.

Our bodies are such temples in which the Holy Spirit places such decorations in, to reflect the knowledge of God and to glorify God.

If we see ourselves decked out such as these massive churches, we can reflect on the paintings of Michael Angelo, i.e. the two fingers, which point to each other.  It is like God touching mankind from heaven to reconcile His creation back to Himself.  He has called us like the apostles, which are crafted into every stained glass window in our temple.  Each window holds a specific truth of the gospel.  Can you hear their testimonies in the gospel books, which are inspired by the Holy Ghost speaking to you?  I have seen the Christ!  He is risen!

Look at the cross and baptismal in the church.  These represent the death, burial, resurrection unto eternal life and the ascension, which allows us to receive the Holy Spirit.(John 16:7)  The Holy Spirit has super imposed these images on our heart, in His temple, as the permanent indweller and the One, Who resides in our hearts to influence our lives.

Therefore, we must learn to give honor and respect to the Holy Spirit, which is the presence of God in our lives.  We can do this by obeying God’s commandments, “Be ye holy, for I am Holy,” (I Peter 1:16).  Be ye separate from the world. Live knowing where ever you go He is there with you.  James 4:4 say, “That the friendship with the world is enmity with God?”  Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit by two timing Him.  Serving God and then going out into the world to serve it.  You will become a Sunday saint and a Monday ain’t.

Thus the Holy Spirit’s lust (or strong desire) to keep you, His temple, Holy and sanctified.  When we live like the world, it is like throwing rocks through the stained glass windows of our temple.  It is like tearing down the decoration of the Holy Spirit’s work.  It is like painting graffiti over all the paintings and walls of our temples.  It is like pouring black dye into the baptismal.  It is like throwing mud in the face of God.  O!  What grief!  To see the temple of God in such disarray…this is why the Holy Spirit lusts to envy over His dwelling place!

Lust is the Greek word, epipothei, an intense, abnormal, excessive yearning.  A supernatural desire to keep His temple holy, sanctified, and ready for inspection for the glory of God.

The Holy Spirit’s desire is:  to help us be Christ-like; to grow us into the image of Christ, and into mature Christians; to help us witness; and to understand God’s word and presence in our lives.  He has worked a work in us and does not desire to see His work destroyed by the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes or the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

So how do we grieve the Holy Spirit of grace, who has so much love for us?  That is, when we put or choose the worldly desires over God’s will, we are committing adultery.  Just like a husband and a wife would feel jealousy or envy if one of them cheated on the other one, so does the Holy Spirit feel, jealousy and envy.  Let this settle into your heart.  Think about how you would feel if you found out that your spouse had cheated on you; or you walked into your bedroom on your spouse and someone else.  This is how the Holy Spirit feels.  He is indwelling in you and every time you serve the world and its desires the Holy Spirit is right there feeling the betrayal of sin, adultery.” Or idolatry. We need to be responsible for our actions, for the Holy Spirit desires to keep us to envy.

Let us therefore take a stand for God and not give way to our worldly desires, which will make the Holy Spirit jealous and grievous.  Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:30)  Don’t make Him sad. Excerpt from “The Journey to the Renewing of the Mind”

In Christ,

Greg

3 – Pithy and Profound You are as valuable as Jesus Christ

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Value do you know how much God values you?

You are worth so much that God gave the most valuable possession He had… His only Son. If you were worth one cent less than His Son He would never have given Him for an eternal sacrifice in the first place.

Know that God loves you and you are valuable to Him. Accept HIs gift, today.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

 

In Christ,

 

Greg

 

Coming soon at Tate Publishing!

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Author of: The Journey to the Renewing of the Mind
Coming soon at Tate Publishing

The Holy Spirit and you. Part 1

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“What?  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price:  therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20)

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”  (II Corinthians 1:22)

God’s Spirit dwells in us.  Each one of us is a temple for the Holy Spirit.  Each one of us has a responsibility to know how to possess our individual vessel.

“That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor;” (I Thessalonians 4:4)

I want to share with you now something that may sound so profound that when you first hear it you may not want to believe the wording.  The Holy Spirit lusts to envy or yearns to jealousy, who dwells in you.  If it were not in scripture, I would think that God would not lust after anything, but He yearns to keep His Temple Holy pure and holy.  He does not want to share His temple with worldly idols.  Let us take a closer look.

“You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  Do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy?”  (James 4:4-5)

The Holy Spirit’s desire for you is seen in His responsibilities to you.  As the permanent indweller in you, the Holy Spirit “that dwells in us lusts to envy?”  Why does He lust to envy in us?  Because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and vessels of the treasures of God; “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” (Ephesians 3:8; also see Philippians 4:19).

The Holy Spirit has drawn us to God, quickened us unto salvation, and empowered us with the gifts and fruits of the Spirit and the Divine Nature of God.  He now dwells in us as the seal of God’s promises and our eternal contract of the New Covenant.

Knowing this truth now, the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart with your spirit, “Sspirit” how are you keeping God’s Temple set apart from the world? What does your Temple look like from the Sspirit’s point of view?

Selah, mediate on this until next time….

In Christ,

Greg

 2 – Pithy and Profound Spiritual Manna is available today

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Spiritual manna

God gave the Hebrews Manna from heaven and sustained them for 40 years on this heavenly food.

God now gives us spiritual manna through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah 33:33 says, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their heart. David cried out I desire to do Your will, O my God; your law is written on my heart. Psalms 40:8. Both of these verses are heart messages. God dwells in our heart, Ephesians 3:17 and 2 Corinthians 1:22. The Holy Spirit and our spirit, communion as one Sspirit, providing us with God’s spiritual manna today. Are you communion with the Holy Spirit to receive your spiritual manna today?

<<A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.>> O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; {thirsty: Heb. weary} {where…: without water} To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. (Psalms 63:1-3 KJV)

LORD impress your will on my heart and my spirit so I will follow you with all my heart, mind and soul.

 

In CHrist,

 

Greg

Bundled gift of God’s Grace – Part 1 of 4

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I was reminded this morning 3/26/15, that we can do nothing without Christ (John 15:5). When we are converted we receive the Holy Spirit, but that’s not all. The Holy Spirit brings with His divine nature a Bundled gift of God’s graces. Like the fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. There are other gifts that are imputed and imparted gifts like justification, righteousness, purity, holiness, and sanctification.

These gifts are like seeds which we must water and nurture so they may grow into fruition. Just like we nourished our old sinful nature. Here is an excerpt from “The Journey to the Renewing of the Mind”

“When we grew from babies into adults we learned who we were. We had all the seeds of a sinful nature grow and blossom from our fallen nature. Some of these seeds are: immorality, impurity, pride, greed, selfishness, envy and the list can go on. Each seed was watered, nourished and then coveted.

Now we must eradicate the old nature and put on the new. This nature comes with a bundled grace package, (seeds of grace); in which we, through diligent efforts, find our undeserved qualities, (which came from a supernatural divine source and is beyond our capable knowledge), and grow into them by watering and coveting them for God’s glory. God works in us to bring us through each growth stage from babies in need of milk unto spiritual adults eating meat. O, the joy of eating a well prepared steak! Who would want to go back to eating mush and pureed food, (Hebrews 5:11-14; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3; 1 Peter 2:1-5).”

It all starts from within. Our thoughts place our desires before the heart and the heart eventual bows down to the desires. Our desires then become our outward actions, habits and lifestyle. Let us remember to covet and desire what God desires by keeping an intimate relationship with Him and staying focused on the bundled gift of God’s graces. When we do so our thoughts will place God’s desires before our heart and our heart will bow down to our Creator’s desires which will become our outward actions, habits and lifestyle.

May you live a lifestyle that brings happiness and joy both into your life and others.

This starts a discourse on the Holy Spirit and you. Sspirit will be used representing the Holy Spirit and your spirit in the communion and relationship with God. It will be a 4 part series please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thank you and God bless you.

In Christ,

Greg

1 – Pithy and Profound God is waiting to be used?

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This is from  a devotional God Calling.

“My children, I am here, your waiting Lord, ready at your call. I am among you as one that serves, Meek and Holy, ready to be used and commanded. Remember that is the finest quality of greatness —service. I, who command the universe — I await the commands of my children. Bring Me into everything…. No position just a servant.”

 

How profound God is waiting for you ready to be used and commanded. I believe God our loving Father is ready to be used and commanded; if your will and desires line up with His. Also your petitions glorifies Him and not you. Remember to be the greatest in God’s kingdom we must become the servant. Jesus is our example.

 

In Christ,

 

Greg

 

Faith, knowledge Kingdom of God

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Faith is a sacrifice for knowledge.

Faith is based on the knowledge of God. So when we walk by faith not knowing where God is leading or what the future of our life on earth will bring towards us, continue to walk by faith to find the knowledge of God. Listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and He will lead you in your faith as you sacrifice it to gain the knowledge you are seeking.

Jesus was led to the cross by the Holy Spirit as He sought God’s will on the Mount of Olives. Not my will, but Thine, be done. When we are praying and seeking an answer from God, it may seem at times that God is hiding the future from us, this may be a blessing in disguise. When this happens we must continue to walk by faith to gain the knowledge of God’s will and receive the blessing He has for us. It may look like this “Lord Your word says “…” and I only have the faith of a mustard seed. I believe Lord help my unbelief.” When we put our faith before Him, even as a grain of the smallest seed as a sacrifice, that is all He needs when we base it on His word.

Christ went to the cross and it is through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension that we can receive the Holy Spirit. Ahhh, here may be our lesson as we walk by faith and gain the knowledge of the Holy. The Holy Spirit leads us to the cross to reconcile us back to God the Father through God the Son to receive God the Holy Spirit so we too, like Christ, can lead others to the Holy Spirit. Once someone else receives the Holy Spirit the Kingdom of God is enlarged with another soul, advancing God’s kingdom right here on earth.

Our Father who are in heaven hollowed be thy name the Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come. As we walk by faith we receive godly knowledge to lead others to God so they too can receive the Holy Spirit and become part of God’s kingdom. As we walk with the Lord let us remember Kingdom work and God will lead us in the right paths when we sacrifice faith for His knowledge and purpose for our immediate supplications.

Lord lead us and guide us so we may continue to do kingdom work and advance Your kingdom on earth, knowing that when we “Delight [ourselves] also in the LORD;” You will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalms 37:4) Our omniscient God knows what is best for us and the desires of our heart. Let us walk in faith and take that step to sacrifice our faith toward God and He will give us our supplications when they line up with His will.

In His Service,

Greg

Center Down

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In a devotional, God’s truths were deepened within me. A Quaker term “center down” a term for “entering deep stillness” to get into God’s presence, came to mind. We must “center down” and get into God’s presence.

There are times in our lives where God’s word pierces our heart. This is the very center of feeling. Sin blocks our feelings, but God’s word touches our very center of being with truth. If we don’t get hurt out of every deception the world has feed us, the word of God is not having its way with us. God’s word is not fulfilling His purpose in our lives.

The word of God hurts like no sin can. This is where we, the children of God, find the true meaning, the true revelation, in which God is revealing to us. A quote from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, says “Unless we get hurt out of every deception about ourselves, the word of God is not having its way with us.” “The word of God pierces even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit.”

Only this kind of pain can bring us to the change we need and to follow Jesus. This also brings the healing of God’s truths into our lives, gives us peace and the ability to be and live a lifestyle which is tried and true, pure and holy a living sacrifice for Him.

Center down each and every day. Get into God’s presence and let the word of God cleanse you, heal you and set you free from the World’s deceptions.

God Bless you today and may He always be with you.

In Christ,

Greg