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Loving God as We are Obedient

“If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy.”  —Job 36:11

One of the most important aspects of our Christian life is obedience, which reveals our love for God. We simply will not make progress with God unless we are willing to obey Him. Disobedience of any kind, on any level, is sin.

I encourage you to make up your mind that you are going to be extremely, even radically, obedient to God. First John 3:22 says: “We receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders.” Does that mean we have to be perfect? No. It is true that God in His grace will bless those who make mistakes, but we should not be satisfied to stay the way we are. God blesses us even though we are not perfect, but at the same time, our hearts need to be longing for growth and improvement. We cannot deliberately and habitually sin and then expect God to give us a life filled with His blessings. Our attitudes need to send God a message that says: “I don’t want to stay this way. I want to grow. I want to change and I’m pressing toward that mark.”

If we do the best we can and we are sincerely sorry when we make mistakes, then we know that God will continue blessing us because He is very merciful. But, on the other hand, if we remain in disobedience, knowing we are disobeying God, and not making an honest effort to grow spiritually, then we really do not need to be blessed because if God blesses us in the midst of that attitude or behavior, we will not want to change or grow.

We hurt ourselves every time we do not obey God. But when we do obey God, we position ourselves for great blessings and become people that God can work through for His glory.

The Power of Hope

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” — John 16:33 (AMP)

Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it’s an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter what situation we’re facing. Zechariah 9:12 (AMP) says, “Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.”

I like the phrase “prisoners of hope.” Think about it… If you’re a prisoner, you have no choice about it – you can’t be negative. And when times are tough or you’re dealing with disappointment, hope will cause you to rise up in faith and say, “God, I praise You and I believe You’re working on this situation and working in me. My faith, trust and hope are in You!”

Hope is determined and doesn’t give up. God wants us to be locked up in hope, trusting that He can change what needs to be changed, that we can do what He wants us to do, and that all things are possible with God. If we will be steadfast in our hope, we can’t lose – we have to be winners in life.

When God called me to ministry, it didn’t happen overnight. There were many years of preparation and building up. During those years, I wanted to quit many times. But my testimony is, I’m still here! And if you won’t give up, you’ll have victory too.

Human nature is impatient, selfish and wants things quickly. Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?  In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we are going to have tribulation, trials, distress and frustration in this world, but in spite of that, we can be of good cheer and take heart. Why? Because He has overcome the world. And when we live in Him, we become overcomers too!

That’s why Jesus died for us. He came to save us from sin and death and to give us abundant life – now. And I’m determined to have everything Jesus died to give me.

Make a decision to have everything Jesus died to give you. You have to do it on purpose. Be determined to do what God wants you to do and refuse to live with negative expectations. Ask God to help you live in hope and declare by faith, “Something good is going to happen to me!”

The Power of God in You

“But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you….” —I John 2:27 (AMP)

There’s nothing more valuable than the presence of God in our lives. And my goal for teaching about God’s presence and anointing is to increase your desire to completely and promptly obey God. Because the more we love, trust and obey God, the stronger His anointing will be in our lives.

Now God’s love for you is perfect, complete, and unconditional. He couldn’t love you any more than He does right now and His love for you never changes. But we can grow in our love for God. As we learn more about His character and have experience with Him through a personal relationship with Him, our trust in Him and love for Him grows. And this causes more of the anointing of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.

The Anointing Abides in You.

Jesus Christ is the Anointed One, so when we are born again, His anointing abides in us. The word anoint means “to smear or rub all over.” It’s wonderful to think about how in Christ, we are “rubbed in and smeared all over” with the Holy Spirit.

In one way the anointing is a free gift from God that comes by His grace and mercy, and in another way, there is a price to pay for it.

First John 2:27 (AMP) says, “But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you….” Notice how this scripture says that the anointing abides permanently—it won’t go away.

I also like that word “unction”—it’s like having Holy Spirit “umph!” or power to do what God is calling us to do. And it’s the gentle promptings, urges and leadership of the Holy Spirit in us that shows us how to live. When we follow the anointing, we feel peace and joy because we’re making wise decisions.

More than anything, we need to protect the anointing in our lives.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

“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

In John 16:7 Jesus uses several different words to describe the incredible work of the Holy Spirit: Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener and Standby. Let’s take a look at what this means for our lives…

Comforter I believe one of the greatest lessons we can learn is to run to God first when we have a problem. When we are hurting, so many times we look to other people to help us feel better, only to discover they don’t have everything we need.

The Bible says that God is “the God of all comfort,” (2 Corinthians 1:3). The Holy Spirit who dwells on the inside of us knows us better than anyone else and, when life is painful, He has the ability to bring strength and healing right where we hurt. Yes, the Lord will often use others to bring us comfort, but running to God first opens the door for Him to help us in the best way possible.

Counselor It is simply amazing what can happen when we begin asking the Holy Spirit for help and answers to our problems.

Recently, I was having episodes of feeling really weak and tired. As I sought the Lord about it, He showed me I wasn’t eating often enough and my blood sugar was dipping too low. I adjusted my diet and everything went back to normal! When I later went to the doctor, he confirmed this was the problem. I believe we often spin our wheels looking for solutions when the Lord has our answers all along. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, and as we seek Him, He can reveal in a few moments things we could never discover on our own.

Helper Did you know the Holy Spirit wants to help you with every little detail of your life? Maybe you are like I was. For years, I felt like it was okay to bring my “serious problems” to God, but I didn’t want to bother Him with the smaller things.

The truth is, the Holy Spirit is concerned about everything that concerns you—whether it’s a “serious” matter like a relationship issue…or something as simple as fixing your hair in the morning. “Help me!” has become one of my favorite prayers to pray. And the more we acknowledge the Holy Spirit and ask for help, the more we’ll discover His presence and ability in everything we do.

Advocate The Bible tells us that Satan is our adversary. In fact, it even calls him “the accuser of the brethren” (Revelation 12:10 NKJV). But there’s good news: We have an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Who pleads to God on our behalf.

He’s not only our Advocate to the Father, but the Holy Spirit also accompanies us through life—helping us, defending us and giving us favor with others when we need it. Whatever situation you’re facing, you can take comfort knowing that God Himself is on your side.

Intercessor I don’t know where I’d be without the help of the Holy Spirit in my prayer life. The Bible says He not only intercedes on our behalf to the Father, but He also comes to our aid and helps us to pray that perfect prayer when we don’t know what or how to pray (Romans 8:26). First Corinthians 2:11 says no one knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God. That means regardless of the situation, the Holy Spirit can always help us pray the right prayer at the right time.  I encourage you to begin asking the Holy Spirit for strength as you go about your day.  

Boldness in Christ

“But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you….” — I John 2:27

God has great plans for our lives. It’s exciting when He puts dreams and desires in our hearts, but it can also be challenging. Because fear always comes against us when we try new things. That’s how the enemy tries to keep us from moving forward—through fear. But instead of giving in to our fears, we can choose to be bold, confident and courageous through Christ.

It’s important to understand that courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s moving forward when you feel afraid. And if we will do that, God will lead us straight through our fears into His perfect will for our lives.

God doesn’t want us to live timid, shy, weak, wimpy, fearful, boring lives. He wants us to be bold, confident and courageous, unafraid to try new things. And it never ceases to amaze me what God will do through a person who simply steps out in faith.

In the Bible, Joshua is a great example of someone who took a step of faith in the face of fear. You see, when Moses died, God charged Joshua with the huge task of leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Fear must have come against him at every turn. But Joshua pressed past his fears so he could embrace his God-given destiny.

When God asks you to leave the familiar behind, let His Word encourage you to keep moving forward. Because when you step into what God has for you, His anointing makes the impossible possible.

First John 2:27 says, “But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you….”

I want you to let that sink in: God’s anointing abides permanently in you. So why should you live a boring life when there’s a great life available to you?

I encourage you to trust that what you feel down deep in your heart really is God.

You may not get a lot of encouragement from your family and friends, especially in the beginning. But if you’ll be bold enough to follow God instead of your fears, He will prove Himself to you.

Following & Trusting the Holy Spirit

So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free. —John 8:36

I once read that we believers are like ships that God wants to turn out to sea to sail wherever the wind and waves carry us. That sea represents the freedom we have in God, and the wind is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. But as new believers, we are tied to the dock because that is the only place we can avoid becoming shipwrecked until we learn how to follow Him.

When we learn to follow those inner promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can be untied from the dock and sail the seas of life under His leadership without the fear of becoming lost.

Paul explains, We [Jewish Christians] also, when we were minors, were kept like slaves under [the rules of the Hebrew ritual and subject to] the elementary teachings of a system of external observations and regulations. But when the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to [the regulations of] the Law, to purchase the freedom of (to ransom, to redeem, to atone for) those who were subject to the Law, that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us [and be recognized as God’s sons]. And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! (Galatians 4:3-6)

When the Spirit of God is in you, the law of God is written in your heart. You no longer have to memorize the law because you can follow the leadership of the Holy Ghost, who will lead you in the right direction.

Let God Do the Healing

O Lord my God, I cried out to You and You have healed me. —Psalm 30:2

James A. Garfield became president of the United States in 1880 and was shot in the back six months later, in July 1881.

After the shooting, a doctor tried to remove the bullet, but couldn’t. In the following weeks, more doctors probed his wound to try to locate the bullet, to no avail. Eventually, Alexander Graham Bell provided an electrical device doctors thought might locate the bullet, but that didn’t work. Doctors later learned that sometimes removing a bullet causes more trouble than leaving it alone.

Garfield died on September 19, 1881, not as a result of his wound, but because of infection and hemorrhage that probably developed after so much probing for the bullet. The very thing physicians thought would heal Garfield ended up killing him.

When you have a “wound” of some sort, whether it’s a disappointment, a betrayal, being abandoned or rejected or some other hurtful situation, don’t keep probing it. Go to God and ask Him to heal you in the way He knows is best for you. Then take your hands off. Don’t try to “fix” yourself, but do follow the Holy Spirit as He leads you into healing and wholeness.

Love Yourself Today: Is there a wound in your heart that you have probed too much? Ask God to heal it; stay sensitive to His Spirit; and let Him bring new life and strength to you.

Increasing Your Peace

1. See the value of peace. Maybe you need to take peace a little more seriously. If you don’t think it’s a big deal to lose your temper, worry all day or get stressed out, you may have underappreciated the gift of peace more than you realize. Read 1 Peter 3:11.

2. Take inventory of where you spend your time. Do you have an unsustainable life? Maybe you have way too much on your plate, but you keep saying yes to things and filling up your calendar. Remember that Jesus designed us to be fruitful, not busy. So cut away the branches that are not bearing fruit.

3. Trust God. Believers in Christ are supposed to believe, right? That means we trust what He says in His Word and completely give everything over to Him. When we do that, we enter His rest (peace). Read Proverbs 3:5.

4. Decide not to be a people pleaser. It’s impossible to keep all the people in your life happy all the time. This doesn’t mean you should be rude to them. Just don’t try to please someone at the expense of displeasing or being disobedient to God. Live to please Him first.

5. Mind your own business. I’ve learned that usually, the less I know about other people, the better off I am. Being nosy and spending energy trying to learn what others are doing or saying produces anything but peace in life. Read 1 Thes 4:11.

6. Let peace be the umpire of your life.  If you are thinking about doing something, but you don’t have peace about it, don’t do it—because if it’s not peaceful, it’s not God.

7. Do whatever you can to work toward simplicity. I’ve learned that the busier you are, the more important it is to have simplicity, which means sometimes it’s best to let things go instead of starting a war over something petty. Also, it might be simpler to not own so much stuff. Trying to take care of too much can just overwhelm and frustrate you.

Who’s Will? God or your own?

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. — I Corinthians 2:14

It’s challenging sometimes to discern if what we want is in line with what God wants for us, because when we feel strongly about something, we can easily deceive ourselves into thinking it’s God’s will―and the devil will help us do it. He will even lead us to take Scripture out of context if it will keep us deceived and living in sin.

First Corinthians 2:14 says that to those in the world, truths revealed by the Spirit sound like foolishness. Only spiritual people can understand the things of the Spirit. And sometimes it’s even very difficult for spiritual people to do!

I can tell you that when you’re truly being led by the Spirit, your head can have a hard time understanding what God is doing, because He often seems unreasonable. He will do many things in your life that you just cannot understand.

I used to be so confused about some of the things God allowed to happen in my life. But when I look back at them today, I can say, “Now I know why that had to happen. Now I know why that took place.”
God knows more than we know, His ways are above our ways, and He has a better plan for our lives than we do. Instead of being led by our feelings, we need to be led by God, even when we don’t understand.

How to Manage Unstable Emotions

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.— Colossians 3:2

If we want to improve in this area, we have to let God show us some truth about ourselves. We need Him to reveal the root of our problem because if we see it, we can deal with it, and then we can avoid the feelings that come from it. So we can pray for God to reveal those things to us. But feelings are unpredictable by nature, so we also need to learn how to manage them when they change unexpectedly.

It’s amazing how you can straighten up your attitude just by having a little chat with yourself. Your family may not be everything you’d like them to be, but you have a family. Your house might not be everything you’d like it to be, but you’re not on the street. You may not like your job, but somebody out there wants it. You may not even like your spouse, but I guarantee you there’s someone out there who would be happy to take them off your hands.

Victory is pretty much impossible until we learn how to live beyond our feelings.

They can change so quickly! Feelings make us cry one hour and laugh the next. They behave better when circumstances are good, and they act up during periods of waiting and change. I want you to master your feelings. I want you to own your emotions, not let them own you.

Colossians 3:2 says we should set our mind and keep it set on things above. If you will make a decision today to live by the Word instead of how you feel, I guarantee that a year from now you will be a different person—and I hope, very pleased with your progress.