Knowing Jesus

The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian Gospel. Because Jesus defeated Hell and death, He can understand our weaknesses. God gives peace to those who trust Him, and He knows how we feel. Jesus can help us through our temptations and sufferings because of what He did at the Cross (He was blamed for every sin that would ever be committed).

When Jesus heard the voice of His Father He got away from the crowd and sought alone time with Him in prayer. We ought to do the same, devoting time to spend just with God, alone in prayer.

Make Jesus your #1 focus and everything else will fall into place. God is a Holy God and cannot tolerate sin (what separates us from God is sin). Our efforts to save ourselves will only fail. God is a vine keeper, coaxing the best out of the vines (even when at times it may seem difficult). Jesus is the vine we must abide in to bear fruit that honors Him.

The cost of our sins is so much more than we could ever pay. We are all equally guilty before a Holy God. Jesus has made a way for us to experience forgiveness by making us right in His sight. Grace means your past is forgiven and forgotten. The Blood of Jesus has blotted out our sins and the record of them has been erased.

Jesus was robed in humility and righteousness as He wore our sin and shame to the Cross. Jesus offers us His own robe of seamless purity-Jesus’ forgiveness has clothed us in salvation. His ways are higher than our ways and He is with us in every storm.

Grace does not mean you can sin freely and ask for forgiveness later (not reaping the consequences). Grace is God’s forgiveness in that even if you have messed up, you can still seek God because He forgives you and loves you. In other words, it isn’t a license to sin, but to seek forgiveness and fellowship with God when you are repentant. God gives us the desire to do what pleases Him; we can put down the flesh (unsanctified feelings, pride, doubt etc.), abide in and submit to Christ to be free of sin. Jesus Christ paid the full price for our sins!

God gives us grace because He loves us. God’s grace is where love and justice meet to provide our salvation. God loves you because He has chosen to have a family. Because He loved us, Jesus endured all things. God proved His love by sacrificing His Son for us. Nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God. To love as God loves, we must first receive God’s love. God’s seeds grow better if the soil of the heart is cleared through confession.

Jesus invites you to leave your sins and your worries at the Cross. Once Jesus forgives the sin we confess, we need never to bring it up again. We are commanded to forgive, just as we have been forgiven. Even if we don’t feel forgiven, it is a fact of our salvation.

People in this world are blinded by sin, pride etc. The devil has blinded their minds and unless the Holy Spirit is working through us, Christians cannot reach them. Jesus wants us to witness to sinners with grace and truth, not judgement.

Every temptation from the enemy must be combated with trust in God’s Word and work at the Cross. Rebuke the enemy with the Name (authority) and Blood (protection, forgiveness) of Jesus, and the Word (truth, power). We must believe that Jesus is king of every situation.

However, we must live righteously to be effective. We can live righteously by abiding in the Vine as we are righteous by the power of God and the Holy Spirit, not our own efforts. We bear fruit when we abide, it is a sign that we have fellowship with our Creator. True good works are not due to our own efforts.

Faith in God is faith in His Word, presence, and power. It is your rags for His riches etc. Your weakness to a transfer/manifestation of His power. The power we need is in Jesus, not in our prayers. Jesus responds to our honesty, not the eloquence of our prayers. Pray that God would occupy every corner of your life. We have access to God’s throne and have the privilege of making our requests known to God. When waiting for an answer in prayer or fasting, spend time ministering to the Lord.

Take up your bed and walk! By faith you must stand up (take action), Pick up your mat (make a clean break with the past), And walk (assume that something good is going to happen. Set your sights on a new destination and begin the hike).

God allows us to make our own choices. Because God gives us choices, we must realize that all choices have consequences good and bad. No matter how many bad choices we have made in the past, they are all redeemed by one good choice-to follow Jesus. Jesus loves us enough to let us choose.

Our heart is like our control tower where our thoughts and desires and faith are found. You cannot fix the roots of any problem by making external changes. You can change your life by having a changed heart. Real joy is not dependent on our actions or emotions.

We must let go of our own security to experience lasting peace even when God doesn’t remove our troubles right away. Lasting peace comes only from God. We cannot have the peace of God until we have peace with God.

Despite all Jesus had to endure, He was joyful. Sacred delight is an inner exuberance that comes from God. To know Jesus, we must spend time in His presence. Those who share the joy of Jesus have a stubborn, unshakeable peace.

Joy is the result of an extensive reconstruction of our hearts. The more we allow God to change us, the greater our joy will be.

1 Corinthians 13 describes the measureless love of Christ. Let Jesus cover all things in your life. Many people tell us to love. Only God gives us the power to do so. Jesus invites us to live in the overflow of God’s love. Hatred and bitterness are heavy burdens to bear, only love will last forever.

God’s Word is the ultimate authority. God’s will is love and obeying His Word is walking in love. God is love and only operates in love. We must forgive to create an atmosphere of love.

Faith grows more easily in an atmosphere of love. Faith/Love gets ready for the results before they happen. We have God-given authority as believers because that is God's will. We also must pray according to God's will for results. That is what true prayer is and that is the kind of prayer that God answers (and prayers of faith). Taking authority is not blasphemous when the Holy Spirit is working through you. The authority has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with God working through us. As a rule, authority should be taken over sickness, sin, the devil etc. Pray in faith for God to change circumstances or for His blessings (that would be more of a request in faith).

Even though the Bible was written by imperfect people, the Holy Spirit made their efforts perfect.

God loves each one of us and we all have a unique calling on our lives. Our future in heaven includes a new home, a new body, a new life, and a new name. Having a vision of our eternity helps to keep us motivated and gives us hope for the future while here on earth.

As believers, we must be vigilant, expectant, and patiently waiting for the rapture. We must also live holy lives while we wait. One day we will be conformed to Christ’s image.

Why God Needs Our Prayers: https://www.getbibleanswers.org/needs-us-to-pray.html

What it Means to Be 'Dead to Sin': https://www.gotquestions.org/dead-to-sin.html