Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Revelations During My Morning Drive

I was asking God about how to deal with some challenging people at work. He told me "You can't change them, only I can. You need to pray for them and leave the rest to me."

More revelation: God told me "People will ask you 'how do you know for sure that it's God talking to you?' You can tell them that, the more you talk to Me, the more you know Me. And the more you know Me, the more you know My voice. My Spirit is upon you, and It guides you into all truth."

Then He reminded me of John 16:13 (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.)

We know that, if a voice talks to us, if we're unsure whether it's God talking to us, we can ask God if it was Him, and to confirm it in our hearts. We've seen on so many occasions that God will repeat what He said, some times many times, until we finally know in our spirit that it's Him. And that confirmation comes from Him! Praise God - How awesome is that?!  John 10:27 says "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..."

You know the old phrase "let your conscience be your guide"?  Well, for a believer, it's always "let God's Spirit be your guide".  When it's not, we KNOW where our thoughts are coming from!

Another revelation: The bible says "let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). It doesn't say "let your 'needs' be made known unto God"; God already knows our needs (Matthew 6:8). If we struggle about a need, I really believe we are to either give it to God and not take it back, or we need to ask Him how He wants us to deal with it.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Mnemonics For Verses

Romans 8:31 says "...If God be for us, who can be against us?"

I like to use mnemonics to help me remember verses. The mnemonic that God gave me for this one is:

8 = Infinity

3 = The Trinity

1 = Me

For all eternity (8), God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (3) are for me (1).

(God, in His infinite love for me, wants His best for my life.)

How awesome is God and His love for each one of us!!

With that said, I believe it's no coincidence that there is another verse in the same book that uses the same numbers and with a similar message (Romans 13:8 - Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.)

One of the ways this verse speaks to my heart is with regards to "debt"; that God's will for us is to not be in ANY debt, but to be prosperous (spiritually, physically and financially). But another way it speaks to my heart is that, if God IS love, and we are in Christ, we are to love every person with the same love.

One mnemonic could be "I / We (1) are to show the all encompassing love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (3) towards every person we come into contact with, all our lives (8)".

Our love should last for eternity because it is to be ever present in us, all our days, remaining all our days in eternity with God, because as soon as we are raptured up with Jesus, we will come into the fullness of who He created each of us to be. The bible says that Jesus is the "author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), and I fully agree with this, but I also like to think of Him as the "author and "perfector" of our faith" because HE IS perfect and will "perfect us" when we see Him face to face and spend eternity with Him.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Christ ("Which" vs "Who")

Why is Philippians 4:13 written as "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"?

In a nutshell, the verse is referring to the power of Christ (His all encompassing love for us, and power through us), not just "the man" Jesus.

The bible tells us in multiple passages that Jesus IS God, and God is not a "who".  He is far more than that; words cannot describe His Love and Power.  The members of the Holy Trinity are individual "persons", but simply referring to any of them as a "who" would be limiting them or putting them in a box.

*UPDATE (2019-01-28)*
When I woke up today, the very first thing I heard God speaking to my heart was this verse.  And it's interesting the way that God will bring into remembrance things that He's already told us at an earlier date, which I believe ultimately happens because His Holy Spirit wants to lead us into ALL truth (John 16:13).

He reminded me that "Christ" means "The Anointed One and His Anointing".  So Philippians 4:13 could be spoken as "I can do all things through The Anointed One and His Anointing which strengthens me".

It's Him AND His Anointing (His Power) that strengthens us.

If there was ever a time that I need to see that verse manifested in my life, it's NOW!