How We Are Filled With The Holy Sprirt

“He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [from the penalty of death]: but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Who it sets forth] will be condemned.” Mark 16:16 Amplified Bible

The first step to being filled with the Holy Spirit is to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus, to accept and make Him Lord of our lives.

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking under the power and influence of the [Holy] Spirit of God can [ever] say, Jesus be cursed! And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3

Jesus is our way, the Truth, and the Light, He is our doorway into salvation and no man can enter in except they go through Christ! “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9 And none of us can even begin to seek Jesus unless the Holy Spirit first empowers us to seek Him.

"And Phillip said, If you believe with all of your heart [if you have a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the Kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then] you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Acts 8:37 Amplified Bible

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:4

"For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2

I wrote all of these scriptures out to show that Jesus is the only way to salvation, if we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to believe with all our heart, if we trust in and rely on Him, and confess Him as our Lord and Savior, we will be saved. There are no maybes about it, if we seek, we will find, if we knock, the door will be opened, and if we ask, we will receive, Matthew 7:7. And the salvation of Jesus Christ is freely available for everyone, our Father does not limit it to a certain race, a gender, a denomination, or a social class. Salvation is for all who truly have been empowered to believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. Our Father also wants us to know the Truth that now is the time of His salvation, and His Truth sets us free! We don’t have to wait; all who want salvation can freely have salvation, and we can have it with all of its benefits here on the earth, right now!

Jesus said that salvation is for all who believe and are baptized. Believing is easily understood, but what does Jesus mean by baptized? Is baptized being sprinkled with water as an infant, is it being dunked in water as an adult, or is it something else? Turn in your Bible to Mark 1:8, “I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” (The Holy Ghost and The Holy Spirit are the same thing) This scripture was John the Baptist talking about the power of Jesus. John was baptizing people with water as an evidence of them turning from their sin. It was a testimony to others. As he did this, he began to prophesy about Jesus, and he said, “He Who was coming after him, was stronger than he was, and that He (Jesus) wouldn’t baptize with water but with the Holy Spirit.” “And I knew Him not, but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.” John 1:33 The baptism of Jesus isn’t an action by us, or a testimony we provide as an evidence of doing something, it is an action by Jesus. It is Jesus’ testimony that He did something, that He saved us and empowered us to be free from the power of death. “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive evermore, A-men; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18

OK, so we see that Jesus doesn’t use water to baptize us with, He uses the Holy Ghost, but what is being baptized with the Holy Ghost? That’s a great question, and to start let’s look at the Greek word this verse uses to translate baptized from, it’s baptizo, Strong’s Concordance number 907. The example given in the Strong’s Concordance to explain baptized is a cucumber becoming a pickle. The cucumber is first washed, that is a cleansing from all dirt, that word in the Greek is bapto, than after it is cleaned, you baptizo, or baptize, the cucumber, submerging it in the pickling spices. That act forever changes the cucumber into a pickle, the spices become one with the cucumber and it is changed into a pickle. That is baptizo, or baptized. So if you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, you have become one with God, His Spirit is now in you, on you, through you, and you are a new creature in Christ, which is God’s Anointing, old things are passed away and behold all things are new to you!

“At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” John 14:20 In the verses right before this one, Jesus is proclaiming that the Holy Ghost was coming, so the day Jesus is referring to is the day of us being filled with the Holy Ghost! The day you will know that Jesus is in you and that you are truly in the Father, is the day you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, the day you are filled with Him, the day He is on you, through you, and one with you! Remember Jesus said for us to be saved is not just believing on Him, but when we believe and are baptized with the Holy Ghost. There are many people who believe in Jesus, think about how many people you know who say they believe that Jesus lived? Yet they don’t trust Him as their Savior. Man on his own can’t do the things that God has required for a full and rich life. We could never continue to believe in Jesus throughout our lives without the power of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, within us to insure it. That assurance of salvation is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The power of God that birthed Jesus into this world and the power that allowed Him to serve God and us, is the same power that we have been given and the same power that we have been birthed of!

Now is the time for this baptism, it is for everyone, and Jesus is the way for God to do it for us, because today is the day of salvation! Salvation is believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and being baptized by Him with the Holy Spirit of God! To finish up, let’s look at some scriptures that explain how the Baptism of the Holy Spirit happens. Jesus teaches us that there are two distinct things, believing and being baptized; keep that Truth in mind!

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:2-4

Jesus had told the disciples to go into an upper room after His ascension into Heaven and pray and wait and that He would send the Holy Ghost unto them. This is how it happened for my mother, she was alone in her bedroom and the Holy Ghost fell upon her as she was seeking out the Lord. She was already a believer, as those in the Book of Acts were; yet she had not been filled with the Holy Spirit of God. I was filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands in a church service after being baptized with water. I was eleven years old and had believed in Jesus long before that. “Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” Acts 8:15-17

“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” Acts 19:1-6

The Bible shows different ways that we may be baptized with the Holy Spirit, while praying or by the laying on of hands. Our Father is God; He can baptize us with His Spirit however He wants. If our Father wants to turn a stone into something He can, never limit our Father to your own experiences. He can do greater things than we can ask or think and He will do it by His power that is now within us! Some may be filled right when they accept Jesus, some may be filled later, but the important thing is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The common ground is the Holy Spirit Himself first causing us to have a believing and accepting heart. We receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit, it is His actions empowering us, not our actions. If you don’t know if you have been baptized with the Holy Ghost, you haven’t! If you can’t testify of the exact moment when it happened, than you haven’t. I am not trying to be mean, but look at what Jesus said. “He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:38-39

How can we have rivers of living water flowing from us and not know it? Our lives will be changed and as we read in the Book of Acts, when people were baptized with the Holy Ghost, supernatural things happened as a result of the act. They prophesied, they prayed in tongues, there were healings, mass conversions; power was always associated with the baptism of the Holy Ghost! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He changes not, so the same holds true today! “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6 The baptism and indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not an uneventful or uncertain event in our lives!

Be blessed, the Word of God is Truth, and the Truth will set us free, and our Father's Word will never fall void to the earth. The Holy Ghost is the power of our salvation and together we can walk in the fullness of Him. Together with Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, we can be used by our Father to heal the sick, save the lost, prophesy to the needs of the people, ask and receive, seek and find, and through the power of God all things are possible! The Anointing of the Holy Ghost allows God to be fully Who He is within us! We are born of Him, we’re His offspring, we are because He is, He willed us into life, and He chose us! We have passed from death unto life, and He has delivered us out of darkness and has placed us in His glorious Light. He has saved us to the uttermost, and with Him all things are possible. He is willing and able to do all that He has spoken, and He loves us every bit as much as He loves Jesus! You my brother and sisters are strong in the power of His might, and we are more than conquerors through Christ that loves us!

Evangelic Chritians

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:14

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15

After this last Presidential Election, the news media has really been focused on what they call “Evangelic Christians.” The Truth is that according to the Word of God all Christians are evangelic! Telling people about Jesus is just born into us, it’s the very purpose of the new heart that God has given us, Ezekiel 36:26-27. Proclaiming Jesus and His grace is in the Anointed mind that we now have, 1 Corinthians 2:16, and sharing the Gospel is the purpose of the Holy Spirit that we have been filled with, John 16:14! If we are truly saved then we will be evangelic! “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

The other thing that I want to talk about is how the news only focuses on how we believe that abortion is murder and that it is wrong for homosexuals to be allowed to marry. The Truth is we believe that a lot of things are wrong: lying, stealing, jealousy, fornication, and whatever else. But these things are not our focus as so many would want the world to believe. Our focus is the power of our Father working within us to preach the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. What is in abundance in our hearts is telling people about the freedom that can be found in Jesus Christ, the freedom from the weight of sin and from the fear of the tribulation of the world. The Light that has been lit within us by the Holy Spirit is to talk about the peace that can be found in Christ. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 The joy that can be found in Christ. “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:11-12 The love that can be found in Christ. “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.” John 17:23 “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17: 25-26 These are the core values that God has born into us.

We have no idea if the people being interviewed on the news believe these things, because the only thing we hear coming from them is what people are doing wrong. They may have said more and it was edited out, we just don’t know. But for those of us who are in Christ there is now no more condemnation, there is none for ourselves and there is none for others! “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1

“And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:9-11 This woman was caught in the very act of adultery, and under Jewish law she could have been executed for it, and Jesus said that He didn’t condemn her. This is the heart that has been born again into us; it’s one of compassion and forgiveness, because we have been forgiven. Sin is sin, there is no greater sin than another and our focus is the freedom that salvation brings! When Jesus was at the well and a woman who was living with a man in sin, and who had done it several times before with several other men came to Him, He never condemned her. Jesus preached Truth to her and set her and the whole town free! True Christians love, we can’t help it, it’s the incorruptible Seed of God that we have been born of! Our Father is love and we are of our Father. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8

When Jesus came upon a person who was in sin, He didn’t condemn them; He set them free. He never said the woman would burn in hell for her adultery. That her sinful act would destroy the society, He never sought out the local media to tell all of Israel of the dangers of adultery! Jesus never had the Disciples make a sign proclaiming that fornication was a sin and that all of those who had done it were in danger of damnation! He went and confronted the person in love and showed them the Truth of who they could be in Him, and that in Him there is only Light and the Light is better than the darkness! Jesus glorified the Light of God and focused on it, instead of focusing on the darkness of man! Wrongs are wrongs, we all know it and we really don’t have to be told it. But faith in the Truth does come from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 And the Truth is what sets us free! “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

The glorious church, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish that Jesus is returning for will act this way. “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” Ephesians 5:27 Right now there are so many of us who are far more concerned with pointing out the wrongs of others than proclaiming the glory of Jesus! We are concerned with our candidates and our causes, when the Bible teaches us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual, and that they are mighty to the bringing done of strongholds! The other thing that is wrong with religion in America is that we talk about America way too much! Jesus is the Savior of the World, and our hearts and focus should be on the world and not just America! I truly believe that our Father has blessed America, and I thank Him daily for allowing me to be an American, but I far more thank Him for allowing me to be part of His Kingdom. God has blessed America so that through us He may pour out His blessing on the World! Our focus should always be that the world be saved!

Until a candidate for any office stands up and boldly proclaims to the masses that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, take what they say with a grain of salt! I hear way to much from our leaders that they believe in God, but they really never say they believe in Jesus, when Jesus is the Name that has been placed above every other Name, and if we declare Him before men, then He will declare us before the Father. “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32

My point is really this, if when someone stands up and proclaims that they are a Christian and they only want to talk about what others are doing wrong, turn them off. If they don’t pray for those whom they confess to be wrong, turn them off. If they only talk about knowing God and not that they are able to know God because of Jesus, turn them off. There are many false prophets, who seem to be lambs, but who actually are wolves in sheep’s clothing!

I ask you to pray with me that Jesus is magnified throughout the world. That His love, peace, joy, hope, forgiveness, faith, wisdom, knowledge, healing, and glory is revealed through all of us who believe. That His Name is magnified above every Name and that God’s Truth is preached from the rooftops! I thank You Father that the Gospel is preached and that the beam is removed from our eyes, so that we may clearly see to remove the speak from our brothers! I thank You Father that our hearts desire is to share the Truth that will set the people free and not preach the condemnation of sin that binds them! Father I ask you that Your love towards the homosexual community is shown through us in abundance as they are set free and that Your compassion and forgiveness flows from us as rivers of living water towards those who have had abortions! Father I thank You that Your Gospel is preached throughout the world and that they will know that You have loved them, just as You have loved Jesus! A-men.

Jesus loves us and He is Lord!

The Power of The Holy Spirit Within Us

“And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them.” Ezekiel 36:27

There is so much power for us in this one little verse. The first thing that I want you to notice is that our Father says that He will put His Own Spirit within us. When we are empowered to say yes to Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives, and are baptized with and filled with God’s His Holy Spirit, we just don’t receive a rejuvenated human spirit, or an angelic spirit, we receive God’s very Own Spirit. Stop and allow the Anointing of the Holy Spirit to reveal all of the Truth of what our Father is actually saying to us here. Think of God for a minute, think of His power, His wisdom, His forgiveness, His abilities, His presence, His love, His knowledge, all of His glory, and think on the indescribable awesomeness of God. This is the Spirit that our Father wants us to have and this is His Spirit that He gave us. Our Father did not give us a spirit that is like His, that would be awesome in and of itself, but He gave us His very Own Spirit, the exact same one He has! We have the Spirit of the Living God abiding in us. We are sharing the exact same Spirit as God!

Our Father does not say that He will only place part of His Spirit within us either. He does not limit His Spirit to only as much as a man can handle. God is never limited by man, look, a man couldn’t save us, so God sent Jesus, born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Ghost, and bam, salvation came into the world! No, there are no limits with our Father, He is the great I Am and He knows how to solve every problem. Our Father will place His entire Spirit within us, and through His Spirit He will cause us to walk in His statutes. Therefore He will cause us not to sin and He will cause us to do what is right and what will bring life and glory.

Remember how the Greek Word for saved, “sozo,” means to be saved from the power, the presence, the pleasure, and the penalty of sin? Well, we have all of this redemption because we have our Father's Spirit dwelling within us and He is able and willing to save us completely! "Wherein He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. Seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25 The things that man has struggled with from the time of Adam, have been removed from us by the power of Christ. Our Father has provided an escape for us! Our Father does it for us by His power that is within us, God causes us to stop sinning, God leads us in the paths of righteousness, and God causes us to no longer stumble and fall short of His righteousness. God, and God alone, possesses the power needed for us not to sin. Our Father has given us the complete power of His Spirit, and He has held nothing back from us. Our Father has given us all of Himself! Our Father's Spirit of forgiveness, His Spirit of Love, His Spirit of Power, the exact same Spirit He has, He has given us! I could write here for pages about the glorious Truths of having God’s whole Spirit dwelling within us, but entire books wouldn’t begin to adequately describe the glory of it! But that doesn’t hinder us for one second, we can know the full glory of it, because God dwells within us. We are the Temples of the Holy Ghost, and His Spirit will teach us all things!

“And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfect in one; and that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” John 17:22-23

Paul under the direction of the Holy Spirit prayed that we may be filled with the fullness of God. “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:18-20 Our Father had Paul write that His desire is for us to be filled with all of His fullness, filled with God’s whole Spirit. Ezekiel prophesied of it, Paul prayed for it, and Jesus taught of it and prayed that we may be made perfect by it. We walk in total power, because God walks in total power, and He walks fully within us!

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26

How much did Jesus say the Holy Ghost would teach us? Jesus said that He would teach us all things! Remember this Truth, Jesus said it; Jesus said all, the Creator of everything said all, and He said that we would have His glory and be one with Him. Jesus said that we would be filled with the fullness of God, and that we would be perfect in our oneness with Him! Don’t limit God; Jesus said all, so expect all, look unto Jesus to Author and Finish your faith to live in all! We have the Spirit of God living within us that desires for us to have all. We are one with Jesus who came and died so that we could have all. We are born again of God, Who has it all! Look at what God said through Paul in Ephesians 3, “unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,” and how is God able to do this for us? “According to the power that worketh in us,” the Holy Spirit! The Spirit causes us to walk in the full power of God, the Spirit teaches us all things, the very Spirit of God is why we have life and have it abundantly! Humility is not denying that man can be filled with the fullness of God and thus be perfect and free from sin. Humility is accepting these Truth’s and giving God all of the praise and glory for them! Humility is truly allowing God to walk fully through us, so that the world can see His greatness and receive His salvation!

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” John 16:7 The Comforter, the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, will cause us to walk uprightly. He is the Spirit of our Righteousness, of our Sanctification, and the Spirit of Truth, and the Truth has set us free! He is ours, He will comfort us, He will give us peace that passes all understanding, eternal and everlasting joy, and from the moment that we are filled with Him, yes, here and on this earth, from today and for all eternity we now have these things!

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shew it unto you. All things the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.” John 16:12-15

The Holy Ghost will guide us into all Truth, He shall teach us all things, and He will do superabundantly more than we can ask or even think! And praise God we can think of some awesome things! The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus through us. He will cause us not to sin and He will cause us to do the works of the Lord! He will cause us to do the works that Jesus did, and even greater works! “Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.” John 14:12 The healings, the prophesies, the wisdom, the miracles, the forgiveness, think of what Jesus did, the Holy Ghost will allow these things and even greater things to be done through us, because Jesus has paid the price and the New Covenant has been ratified with His glorious sin free blood! “How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?” Hebrews 9:14 The Blood of Christ has now allowed God to work through us, with all of His fullness, because the forces of sin that caused our separation from God, have been destroyed!

Now you may be thinking, yeah, but He was Jesus! He sure was, and here is what He had to say. “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father in Me, He doth the works.” John 14:10 It was God in Jesus Who did the Works, the Holy Spirit did the works through Jesus, the exact same Holy Spirit you and I have, and the same exact same Spirit we have been filled with! And that Spirit has the freedom to work under the power of the New Covenant, a covenant ratified and placed into effect by the Blood of Jesus, that was shed on the Cross, the sacrifice of Jesus our Lord and Savior! Remember, Jesus is the one Who said that God would do the same works, and yes even greater works through us, than He did through Him! That is why it was better that Jesus went away, remember, one of the works that Jesus did while on the earth as a man, was to have unbroken fellowship with God. Through the Holy Spirit, we too can have the exact same thing! We are one, Jesus is in us, we are in Jesus, and everyone is in God, sealed with and filled with the Holy Spirit!

The pressure has been removed from us! God knew who we were, and what we were. So He did something about it, He sent Jesus to pay the price, and then He sent the Holy Ghost to empower us. Notice God says that He, His Spirit, will cause us to walk rightly! His Spirit will teach us all things! Jesus said it was better that He left, so that God’s Spirit would come. There is a truth here that only the Holy Ghost can teach us, and it is this: God placed the responsibility and burden of us walking uprightly on Himself, not on us! Religion and man have placed it all on us, claiming that if we do what is right than we can have some of the glory that God has to offer. Yet that is not what God has said, no way! God said I will cause you to walk in My statutes and My judgments. God said that He would teach us all Truth. God said that He would do superabundant things through us by the power of the Holy Ghost that is at work within us. There is so much freedom here! My experience with religion is that the burden is placed squarely and completely on us, and our success or failure is measured solely on our desire and ability to perform. Yet God He would lead us into the paths of righteousness, Psalm 23:3. You know we only have one work according to Jesus. “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29 We only have to do this one thing, believe on Jesus, and everything else God will perform through us, and God will even assist us in believing on Jesus, He will Author and Finish our faith, Hebrews 12:2.

Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly, John 10:10. Well, with the Holy Ghost, abundance is measured on God’s level, not on man’s! Love, hope, faith, service, forgiveness, miracles, and unbroken fellowship, that is abundance and all that we can ask or think of, God can do more, and He can and will do it through us. We are born of God, He is not ashamed of us, He has saved us to the uttermost. We are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood. Abundance on God’s level, and it’s the Father in us, He does the works! A-men!

Now Is The Time Our Salvation

"For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2

If you have been empowered by the Holy SPirit to make Jesus the Lord of your life, then now is the day of your salvation, not tomorrow, not when you get to Heaven, not yesterday, but right now you are saved, this very moment, this is the time of our salvation. That is an awesome Truth, and when we realize that we don’t have to wait for our salvation, or earn it over time, there is a godly peace and joy that will totally consume and empower us to be used fully by our Father to further His Kingdom! God’s Truth set’s us free and through His peace that passes all understanding and through His love that passes knowledge, we can enjoy and live completely in this Truth, it is eternal and it is for each one of us who have Jesus as Lord! But here is a question that I would like to ask you, and one that our Father asked me several years ago, what does salvation really mean? What does it mean to be saved and why should someone want God’s salvation, what good is it? How will possessing salvation affect a person’s life right now, as well as in the future?

When I was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, I was eleven years old. I didn’t think about salvation, I hadn’t studied about it; and I wasn’t searching for it, it just overtook me and consumed me. I knew in my heart, at that very moment when the Holy Spirit called me that I wanted it, and our Father accepted me and filled me completely with Himself, and I have never doubted for one second since then that I am saved! I wasn’t even at an alter call when God called me and chose me to have eternal life. Years later, when I was in my late twenties, our Father started directing me to ask people what they thought His salvation meant. Even though He had called me and I had come to Him without asking these questions, our Father really laid it on my heart to ask them of others, and He led me into many people’s lives that did have these questions. Now from my experience the Church seems to assume that the world already knows what salvation really means and that they just haven’t accepted it. I certainly assumed that most people knew, at least in the circles that I ran in. But when our Father had me to begin to ask people questions about salvation, they really struggled with definitive answers; our Father had me even asking preachers what salvation meant. And as I heard the answers, God quoted this verse to me, “How shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher.” Romans 10:14 In my family room, on Havens Corners Road, God directed me to allow Him to use me to clearly show what His salvation through our Savior Jesus Christ means, and why people should want it right now! So, here we go, in the power of our Father's might and through the strength of His Anointing, armed with the Truth of His gospel of peace, with the sword of His Word, and in the power of His Spirit, we are going to study what it means to be saved and why we should want it!

To begin to explain salvation, let's first look at the word salvation. The Dictionary and Concordance describe salvation as: preservation, deliverance from danger, evil, and the deliverance from the power, presence, pleasure, and penalty of sin. Now don't just read these meanings and go on, stop and allow the Holy Ghost to bring you peace and joy and the fullness of hope in believing the meanings of salvation, and allow salvations meaning to sink into your thought process. We have the mind of Christ, these Truths of God’s Word are food for our souls, and the Truth will set us free! Preservation, deliverance from danger, safe from evil, delivered from, not only the penalty of sin, but also sins power, this is what salvation means! When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are freed from the power of sin, the pleasure of sin, and the presence of sin. Our Father has so many Truths to share with us on this freedom, and we will study them, but not right now. We will first lay the foundation of the house; then we will build upon it with lively stones of God’s Truth, His Word.

The Greek word used in the Bible for salvation is soteria {so-tay-ree'ah}. Its meaning can be found in a Strong's Concordance, number 4991. Soteria means: deliverer, health, rescue, and safety. Fourfold salvation: saved from the penalty, power, presence and most importantly the pleasure of sin. Deliverance from the molestation of enemies, future salvation: the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.

The Greek Word for saved is sozo, Strong's 4982. Sozo means to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger and destruction. To save one from perishing, to save from disease, to make well, to heal, to restore. To preserve, to deliver from the penalties of sin and judgment and finally to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of deliverance.

When our Father first had me to ask the question: what is salvation, the primary response I received was, "to go to Heaven." The real Truth to grab hold of here, is that while the Greek words for salvation and saved and their definitions mention and include future benefits, they overwhelmingly address salvations benefits for today. We need to look to Jesus to Author and Finish our faith with this, and through the power of His might, He will strengthen us to take hold of and see that the definitions of salvation include powerful benefits for this day, for this place, and for this time. Faith comes from hearing God’s Truths, and our Father's Truths set us free! When I began to ask people about salvation, their response was overwhelmingly directing salvation's benefits towards the future, not for their lives today? After hearing the same response several times, I realized why God had asked me to ask the question in the first place, and I realized the nature of the ministry that He had called me too. Our Father had called me to teach the power, nature, benefits, and the timing of salvation. If you want to have a great study, find the words salvation and saved in the New Testament and replace them with their complete meanings and then see how powerfully the scripture reads.

For instance put soteria's meanings in 2 Corinthians 6:2. Behold now is the day of preservation, now is the day of deliverance from danger and evil. Behold now is the day of deliverance from the power, pleasure, presence, and penalty of sin. Now is the day of safety and health: now, this day, on this earth we have all of these things. When someone tells you that they are saved, is this what they mean? Is this what they think, is this how they feel, and is this what they desire for others to have? Is this what they believe God wants for us, and do they believe that we can actually live with this freedom and power on the earth? My experience is that most Christians don't. Hosea 4:6 teaches us that God's people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Well no more, in Jesus’ Name, no more! We have been given the Holy Ghost to teach us all things, we have Jesus Who Authors and Finishes our faith, we have the Bible, and we have a Father Who wants us to know everything about Him. We are now new creatures in Christ and old things are passed away, so with the power and strength of the Holy Spirit, salvation will be fully understood and fully realized by all who call on Jesus as Lord, and the world will see Him fully through us! “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; And on My servants and on your handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire, and vapor and smoke.” Acts 2:17-19

As Christians we love to talk about yesterday, Moses, David, and the Apostles; the Bible is full of great men and women of faith, and we love to tell of their heroic adventures, and we should! We love to talk about tomorrow, Heaven, when Jesus returns, and how wonderful it will be, our glorious future, our redeemed bodies, it is awesome, it's glorious, and we should talk about it! While our past was great and our future is glorious, we live in today and we tend to shy away from today, yet today is where the needs are. Tell someone that lives in a dangerous neighborhood, with gangs and killings, or someone who is dying, that in the future, Heaven and the return of Christ will be better. Sure you will be proclaiming a truth, but they have an overwhelming need for God’s eternal solutions today. Today is where the need is and today there is an answer, and the answer is salvation through Jesus Christ. Salvation provides health, safety, and protection! Salvation, offers physical, spiritual, and soulful benefits for this day. The nice thing about this day, is it will always be here. Tomorrows never come, it will always and forever be today, and salvation is always and forever for today. Be blessed in this Truth, and you may already know fully about salvation, praise God if you do, but there are a lot of people, even Christians, who don’t. That’s not our Father's will and while most people will confess that God has an interest in their life today, they really don’t have a full and complete revelation that their salvation is as complete for them today as it will be when Christ returns for them!

“For whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall (now be preserved and delivered from danger and evil, shall now be safe, shall now be healthy and free from disease, shall now be set free from the pleasure, presence, penalty, and power of sin) be saved.” Romans 10:13

Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, if you don’t have the hope for this, ask the Holy Ghost to give it to you, He will! "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:13

How We Obtain Salvation

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." John 5:24-25

Some want to make salvation a process, something that we are constantly trying to obtain. Some want to make receiving the benefits of salvation a difficult task, which no one is ever really able to receive fully while we are on the this earth. Salvation and its benefits are anything but these things, obtaining salvation is easy and salvation is for us right now, and all of salvations benefits are completely for us from the very moment that we are empowered to say yes to Jesus, and they will last and benefit us forever. The hour of complete and total victory through Christ has come for those of us who have been called and chosen, we have passed from death to life, and we are now preserved; the power, presence, penalty, and pleasure of sin have been removed from us! Now through the strength of Christ, that God has applied to our lives, we are removed from danger and evil, now we are healed, and now any obstacle that would hinder our full reception of the benefits of salvation have been removed from us, we are now saved! All that salvation means, all of its eternal Truth’s, and all of its benefits are for us right now. Completely and totally provided by the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ! We have passed from death unto life and we shall never come into condemnation, because through Christ we have everlasting life! We have heard the Truth of God’s Word and we now live, Jesus has given us life and He has given us life abundantly!

Salvation really boils down to us being empowered by the Holy Spirit to believe that God loved us enough to do something about our situation and trusting in our Father to always be there for us. We are going to study God's Word, most of the Word that we study will be powerful and beyond earthly minded comprehension, yet for us who are saved, and who have been Anointed with the Holy Spirit, the Words we read and study will be easy to hear and clearly understood. For we have the Spirit of the living God dwelling within us and the Holy Spirit gives us life, power, and understanding.

"But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, and bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you." John 14:26 Amplified

Salvation is given, by us being empowered to trust that our Father loves us, trusting is believing, and believing is hearing and accepting God's Truth. We are not alone on this journey; God has not left it up to us alone to find Him, He is right here, with us every step of the way. He will never leave us or forsake us! Our Father has given us His Holy Spirit and He has strengthened us with His Anointing so that we are empowered to believe and accept what He has provided for us. We now have Jesus as our Head and Jesus Authors and Finishes our faith, so that we can truly trust in and truly rely on God! I know people who never went to the altar, yet they believe and trust in God's Word. I know many who are not actively involved with a church, yet more than those who go to church, they believe God's Word and believe that Jesus came and died for them, so that they might have life and have life abundantly. Our Father transcends the world’s traditions and concepts and He looks towards the heart. Our Father discerns the thoughts and intents of a person and He seeks to covenant with those who truly desire Him.

“And He said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves among men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15

God knows our hearts, He knows our innermost thoughts and intents, and there is no ability for us to fool Him. We may say that we believe in Him and that we trust Him, yet God knows what we really are thinking and He knows what our hearts truly believe. He will not give salvation and pour out salvations blessings on those who truly don’t accept Him. This is a very important Truth of salvation, because God will not choose us and allow us to have His salvation unless we truly have a heart that believes and accepts Him!

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name; Which were born not of flesh and blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

Our Father does not allow us to be born again solely by our own will, He must will it as well, and He looks at our hearts to see what the Truth is! "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:4 God wants everyone to be saved and He wants all of us to be filled with the knowledge of His Truth. God wants us to be saved to the uttermost and He holds nothing back from His children. Our Father has all and He is more than willing and able to give all!

We must truly accept Him and believe in Him, there is no half way, and God knows what we truly believe! There is a great comfort and peace with this Truth, because our Father has chosen us, we are not illegitimate, or ugly stepchildren. We are a chosen generation and we are a royal priesthood, 1 Peter 2:9. Our Father has chosen us and He has called us out of the worlds darkness. There is an unspeakable confidence when you know that God has chosen you and that you are now able to be called His child, 1 John 3:1.

If you want salvation and don’t have it, just ask, ask God and He will give it. No process, no long drawn out prayers, just honestly ask God to show you and to give you His complete and powerful salvation. If you are being led to ask, it is because the Holy Spirit is drawing you to ask. You will know you have been born again, salvation will consume you, you will be drawn towards our Father, your thoughts will turn towards Him, your actions will be redirected, and you will loose all doubt. God will place a new heart within you, one that longs for and desires Him, a loving heart that is able to act in ways of love that will confound the world. You be able to have trust in things that the world cannot even see. You will love those that hate you, you will bless them that curse you, and you will pray and eagerly desire good for those who persecute you. You wont be able to help it, it’s what you will have been born of, and it’s the seed you have come from! God looks at our hearts, so don’t worry about what to pray, if you are truly looking for Him, you will realize that you have already been found by Him!

Once we truly have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to make Jesus Lord, we pass from death to life in one single instance, and we know that God loves us and we know that we are now His children! Our spirits become one with His and our flesh becomes one with His and no one, no man, and no spirit is able to steal our belief in His favor and grace that is His salvation. Just simply ask; God gives to all who ask, Acts 8:37. If we believe as Phillip told the Eunuch to believe, than we are born again of God’s holy and incorruptible seed, 1 Peter 1:23. We are birthed by the very Spirit of God, the same Spirit that birthed Jesus through Mary, has birthed us.

When I was eleven years old I was baptized in the Holy Ghost. Instantly I was filled with the very Spirit of God. I began to speak in tongues and I was instantly healed. I had a cut on my hand and my jaw would not completely close, but at that very moment both were instantly healed. The great thing about the experience was that it was real. It was not just some poetic words being spoken over me; I was forever changed in one distinct moment. I was born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible. The penalty of sin was wiped out for me and I instantly was accepted and permitted to become one with the Living God! I was forever changed, death had become life for me, old things passed away, and all things become new for me. I have since had people tell me things like the Holy Ghost no longer indwells man and that healings have passed away, but I was there, I was filled and I was healed and no one can ever take it away. But I also have God’s Spirit within me and He has strengthened me to have confidence in His ways. As time passes, if our faith was just based on our own personal experiences, it would fade, but we have Jesus Who now Authors and Finishes our faith, so our faith is now as His faith is, strong and eternal! If you truly desire salvation, you already have it. If there is any doubt that you have it, stay until you too have a defining and life changing moment. God is not a respecter of persons, if He gave it to me, He will give it to you and you will know. A man cannot have a fire within his belly and not show the effects thereof! Read about salvation in the Book of Acts, when God truly comes into your life, things change, you don’t just kinda and maybe know you were saved, you know!

You will know that our Father has chosen you and that He loves you, just as He loves Jesus, John 17:23. That is probably the greatest Truth that God has given me and God has to give this Truth to us, no man can, and most people won't even try to preach about it. But when I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, I knew right then that God loved me every bit as much as He loved Jesus. I knew that God had not provided things for Jesus that He had not provided for us. I knew that Jesus loved us so much that He wanted us to have everything that He has! Our Father instantly gave me a spirit that knew, He sent Jesus to die for us, so that He would have the ability to provide for us everything that He had provided for Jesus. I have just always known this; God gave it to me long before I had ever studied it in His Word. One thing is for sure; God is not limited in blessing us based on our study habits! Thank you Lord!

Be blessed in who you are, you are a chosen child of the Living God! You have passed from death unto life and you will never, and God said never, come into condemnation, you have heard, and you live! Jesus is Lord!

Salvation Is For Everyone

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:4

"For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2

Remember in older posts how I said to take notice of the awesome power and completeness of our Father's Word? Just look at what is said in these three verses: whosoever, all, and now! It is absolutely awesome how powerfully God speaks of us! We should talk as our Father talks, because it’s His Spirit within us that is leading and guiding us. Our Father talks like this, why don’t we? I’ll let you in to a little Truth, it’s coming! In the last days God is going to pour His Spirit out on all men, and watch how the vocabulary of the Church changes!

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; And on My servants and on your handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire, and vapor and smoke.” Acts 2:17-19

Look at how our Father says His children will speak then!

The Truth is our Father wants all men to be saved right now and He wants all men to come to the knowledge of His truth. No one is ever left out with God. That is the power of the Cross, your nationality does not matter, your age, your gender, your political affiliation, none of these worldly emotions or circumstances matter. Our Father wants all people to be saved, He provided for all to be saved, and He will take all. Notice the absoluteness of Romans 10:13, “shall be saved.” No doubt there with God is there? Shall be saved, whosoever shall call upon the Name of Jesus, shall be saved! Our Father doesn’t say that you need a study course, or a membership in a denomination, no, we call upon Jesus and we are saved! Now our Father knows the heart, so we aren’t going to fool Him. If we truly call upon Him, we will be saved!

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name; Which were born not of flesh and blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

That is such a great Truth, we are born of God, we are born of His will. Our Father knows us, He knows our innermost thoughts, so even if we seem to be saved, He knows the truth. We don’t choose Him, He chooses us! Yet all that truly believe on Him and trust in Jesus’ Name are chosen!

I know we have just begun our studies together, and there is so much we are going to study, but right now, this very second, the Holy Spirit needs to empower our prayer lives and our hearts to allow our Father to begin to speak and use phrases through us just as the scriptures we study do. We should talk like our Father talks. The Holy Spirit needs to begin to cause us to desire to speak and use words like, "Today I am saved." When we see someone that angers us, disappoints us, or appears to us to be the scourge of the earth, we need to be empowered to have the faith to believe that, "God wants all men saved, and so do we, and in Jesus' Name that person is saved." There is nothing wrong with boldly seeking and proclaiming openly God's Truths! We should talk like our Father talks, we are born of Him, He is within us, it’s our heritage, it’s who we are in Him, and it’s Who He is in us! Out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths will speak!

Over the next several posts we are going to discuss what salvation means. Before we move on though, ask yourself this one simple question, what exactly is salvation? Think about it, pray about it, and ask others about it. If your experience is anything like mine, you will marvel at what you hear. Several years ago, when I first asked the question, it was amazing how others and I struggled to put in words a full meaning of our salvation. Even though the term is used in virtually every church service, and leading people to salvation is the purpose and goal of all believers, it was an extremely difficult question to answer: what exactly is salvation? Our Father showed me right then and there that it shouldn’t be. He is not a Father of confusion; He wants each one of His children to be fully enlightened with the Truth. He wants us all to know Him intimately, and He wants us all to be completely and accurately equipped with the Truth that will set us free! Salvation is awesome; it for everyone, and it is now! And we have been given the Holy Spirit to teach us all of the things that pertain to our salvation through Jesus Christ! We are all one in Christ and through Him we should be of one heart, one mind, and one accord!

Be blessed this day! And hold on, because what we are about to study together will absolutely set us, our families, our friends, our coworkers, and the church, free. A-men!

Iraqi Christians

We don’t hear about them a lot, but we have many brothers and sisters in the Lord who live in Iraq. I really believe that one of the greatest things that is going to come from this war is that God is going to empower our brothers in Iraq to rise up in power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit! There is only one answer for the problems of the Middle East, and for the world, and that answer is salvation through Jesus Christ! Only through the power of Jesus can we walk in forgiveness, love, hope, and faith! Democracy doesn’t provide these things, look at how many of us in America are hopeless. The thing that allows people to rise to their fullest potential is accepting Jesus as Lord! “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 This is the Truth that will set the people free and the Truth that will bring peace to the Middle East!

The Christians who were assembled together on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem were under fierce attack. Jesus had been killed, and even though He had been raised from the dead and they had seen Him, He had left them alone and ascended into Heaven. Judas had betrayed them, the Chief Priests and the rulers hated and actively rebuked and outlawed what Jesus had done and what He had taught. The hatred for Jesus was fierce, that those who were opposed to Him even wanted to kill Lazarus because Jesus had raised him from the dead. “Much people of the Jews therefore knew that He was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.” John 12:9-11 Does this sound like the Middle East today or what?

But God is bigger than hatred and God wants all men saved! “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4 When things looked bad, God did something about it, He sent His Holy Spirit! “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” Acts 2:1-11 God sent His Spirit and He spoke through His children so that all of those around could hear the Truth that would set them free! God changes not and He can do the exact same thing today in Iraq!

My prayer today is that God does a mighty work like this through the Christians in Iraq! God can use them miraculously so that the Sunnis will hear, the Shiites will hear, and the Kurds will hear and Christ will be magnified! Over 5000 people were saved in a moment when God moved in Jerusalem some 2000 years ago, and God never changes! In one moment the fear was turned to faith, the hatred was turned to favor and God was glorified! “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God, and having favor with the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 2:46-47

The world doubts that there can be peace in the Middle East and if they believe that there can be peace, they believe it will take decades, but God is God! When there looked like there was no hope for our forefathers in Jerusalem, God sent His Spirit, and in one day salvation abounded in the very people that had shouted out for Jesus to be crucified. When God moves favor is restored, even in a place where hatred had just recently abounded! The first Christians had favor with all men and they were blessed even in the Temple! The very symbol of the turmoil and hatred against Christ was turned into a place where favor and joy was found! The same thing can happen in Iraq, God is willing and He is able, and God wants all men saved and that includes all Iraqi’s! Mosques can be turned into houses where Jesus is glorified and magnified and that fire can spread throughout the entire Middle East! The Iraqi people can be unified through Christ! The world talks about the divisions in Iraq, through the power of God let’s pray for and talk about the unity He can bring to Iraq!

I ask you to pray with Beth and I that God’s glory and His magnificence is poured out through the people of Iraq and that it becomes a nation of Godly hope and joy that inspires the world to seek out Jesus! Be blessed in the power of His might! Jesus loves us and because of Him we are able to truly love each other!

The Power of God's Word

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." 2 Timothy 2:15

Now there is a powerful Truth that will allow us to walk in the fullness of God’s victory and peace through Jesus Christ, we are to study to show ourselves approved unto God. But here is even a more powerful Truth, we are not alone in our studying. No loving parent ever leaves the education of their child solely up to the child. And God has not left us alone, we have Jesus with us, He is empowering us and strengthening us to rightly divide the Word of Truth, and because we are one with Him, we will never be ashamed. “I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 The same Spirit of power that God gave to Jesus, His Holy Spirit, has been given us, to strengthen us and help us in studying and in living God’s Truth. Through Christ we are definitely never alone! “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom that Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring to remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 Notice here that our Father will teach us all things, there is no limit with God, and we can know all things by the power of the Holy Spirit that is now within us! That is one of the major Truths of Salvation that we will be going over and over again, we are not limited, our Father is with us, and nothing is impossible when God is involved. Matthew 19:26

So knowing that there is a blessing when we study the Word of God, and knowing that our Father is right here with us strengthening us and leading us in all of His Truth, let’s begin to study His Word! Let’s study His Word together, and praise God let’s study His Truth when we are alone. Through the power of Christ let’s live to see the glory within our Father's Eternal Word! The Holy Spirit will cause us to desire it, long for it, dwell within it, and desire to glorify others with it! Jesus will empower us to be sowers of God’s precious seed, His Word, the Word of Life. We can never do this alone; we absolutely need God to be the Head here, if He isn’t than we have nothing to offer the world except lies and deception. With God, and only with Him, can we become workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

Right now I ask our Father, in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to lead us and guide us in the paths of righteousness. Father teach us all things, and glorify us with Your presences and Your knowledge and wisdom. Father give us all of the things that pertain unto life and unto godliness. We praise you Father for making us one with Your Word, we thank You that it flows from us as rivers of living waters, as freely and as powerfully as it flowed from Jesus. We thank You that You cause us to use it in complete and total love, that it is You Father within us fulfilling Your will in every aspect of our lives. We know that You will never leave us or forsake us, and that with You Father, everything is possible! We praise Your Holy Name and A-men!

"The Words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 12:6

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

"For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and morrow, and is a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

"If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7