DO NOT FORGET

2 Peter 1:8-11 (KJV)
"8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

- Our greatest ability to help others is to never forget we have been helped -

HERE IS THERE AND THERE IS HERE

Psalm 148
You may have heard it said “We must think globally as we act locally.” Well, Psalm 148 implies this: We must think heavenly as we act earthly. The Psalmist calls upon all that is above and below to give praise to God.
As we exalt God we must put ourselves within the mindset of the universe and participate with all that is created above and below. We need to think beyond what is familiar to us here and include the unfamiliar there.
If we expect to have heavenly results as we act upon the earth then we must be willing to join with heaven in our efforts as we praise Father God in our being and doing; when we do, here becomes there and there becomes here one in the same.

INEXHAUSTABLE

Ephesians 3:14-19 (KJV)
“14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; ...
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
I have learned this and continue to learn this, through Christ I am a member of a family much larger than this earth. We have family members in heaven beyond the members we have had on earth who have passed from this life and are dead; members we have not known.
There is only one Father God by which we are named; one Father we all come from. Regardless our race culture is a choice. Our family in heaven has much culture to impart that cannot be embedded or learned by earthly influence. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” God’s desire is we connect with our family in heaven and reflect the culture they have to this earth.
Just one family member from heaven has made all the difference in the world and we all have connected to this member whether we have acknowledged it or not; His name is Jesus. The love He has brought to us is beyond any knowledge we can receive from earthly families. In fact, I have found it to be inexhaustible.

SLOW DOWN SPEEDY

2 Timothy 2:23-26 (KJV)
“23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
We may win the argument in strife filled conversations; however, we lose the war in winning the heart of the person we argue with. Relationship is more important than proving we are right and they are wrong. We serve the prince of peace, of which, we should reflect His peace.
Being wise as serpents and harmless as a dove comes into focus (Matthew 10:16). This takes tremendous conscious effort; conscious of where those opposing themselves are, and the understanding they need to be heard.
So, “Speedy” slow down and think about the pain sounding off in the self-destructive person needing grace from us as much as they need it from God.

MISSION

1 Corinthians 16:1-3 ESV “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.”
As Paul carried the message of Christ relationally through proclamation (preaching), communication (teaching), activation (spiritual gifts), and impartation (relational exchange) throughout his missionary journey’s; he carried in his heart a burden to give to the needy among his own people in Jerusalem.
In other words, as he gave relationally to the mission field he extracted gifts from them to send back to those in need among his own people; imagine that, supporting the needy among his own from the mission field. “Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings” (Acts 24:17).
“For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem” (Romans 15:22-26).
When it comes to missions it is about mission. The mission is The Commission, of which, is simply creating disciples as we teach them Jesus. We weaken the mission field if we do not teach them the responsibility of mission.

FEEL AFTER HIM

Acts 17:23-27 (KJV)
“23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things...;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”
Verse 21 reveals the paradigm the Athenians were thinking from: “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.” Paul’s audience was a people always looking for the newest mystery to discuss. There are those who actually measure their intellectual strength on their ability to perceive or find what others have not been able to grasp.
In their discussions they are lost not knowing God they have no name for. Operating without a net to believe primitive reasoning for plagues and sickness as being a manifestation of an angry god, then, when the plague or sickness ceases this god (idol) is no longer angry. This is how they came to inscribe on this altar “To the unknown god.”
The power of reason will never touch God; reason alone can never make Him tangible or understood rightly. It will take our hearts groping after Him; we must feel our way towards Him to find Him. Virgin birth, from another world, resurrected from the dead and alive forever more; yes, beyond reason.
With a longing grope our consciousness takes on spiritual vision and we simply catch a glimpse. There He is, desiring to live in our hearts.

ABLE MINISTERS

2 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV)
“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
Paul kept the content of the covenant distinct from the concept of "written laws" (Romans 7:12-16). The letter in our text follows the concept of written laws; therefore, it is not as much the letter or the spirit, it is the minister and their ability. We are only able ministers if we choose to minister in the spirit of the New Covenant opposed to the letter of the Law.
The Word was sent to heal and to deliver (Psalm 107:20). It becomes “letter” when we use it as a document to condemn void of solution whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament. The Word in and of itself and in its nature is given to heal and to deliver.
Furthermore, Jesus said I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly; He also said His words were spirit and they are life (John 6:63). Spirit in this scripture implies relationship as in our text.
As ministers of the New Testament we are to give life relationally. After all, we are living epistles read and known by those who are in our lives. We might possibly be the only Bible some will read. It is the Spirit that quickens and gives life; He takes the Word and makes it alive in us and in our living.

GIVE IT UP

Luke 21:19 (KJV)
“In your patience possess ye your souls.”
Patience in the original language means to endure or constancy. Simply means circumstance and events will not move us from our position. Before times, during times, or end times, our position must remain the same. Our intimacy with God must be pursued regardless of the times and one time from another should not measure our submission to God; our submission should always be available.
If we are intimate with God before the end times arrive, we will not struggle with being intimate with him when they do. Jesus also said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24).
Life is perplexing all in itself regardless of the times. The only moment we can control is the time at hand or the moment we hold in our hands. Therefore, give it up for Jesus; we will never lose our lives if we do. No matter what comes or what goes we must begin our passion for God and maintain our passion for God, this is patience, this is endurance, and this is constancy.

BELIEVING MAKES IT POSSIBLE

Romans 11:23 (NASB77)
“And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.”
Believing changes everything. God does not work from rocket science where it takes a genius to acquire His demands; He works from heart science where even a child can get it and understand. Believing impacts God greatly. He will even shift our theology at the expense of believing. Not that He will neglect truth, but rather, shift our faulty paradigms to fit His when we believe.
Think not God cannot do what Paul is telling the church in Rome He can do, and believing on a consistent level can and will shift everything.

ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Romans 10:11 (NASB77)
“For the Scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’"
The most apparent difference between Law and Grace is JESUS. When we look into the Law we see God telling people what to do; in Grace we see Jesus showing us what to do. This does not mean Jesus was not telling us things; He gets all up in here with us (Emanuel) as He tells us.
The difference between our doing then and now, Jesus is with us. He has made all the difference; He is the difference. We do not have to sacrifice anymore, He became our sacrifice. Grace did not come so we do not have to do anything; grace has come to do it with us. Grace has come to be in us, to get inside our being, grace is Jesus working in us and through us.
What was right before grace is right after grace; grace moves us from doing right to being right. There is just something right about Jesus working in us the Father’s will; this is when our doing right comes out of being right.
Without Jesus we are disappointed; with Jesus, we are never disappointed. Without Jesus no matter how much right we do, we can never be right. It is only in Him we become the righteousness of God.

TOGETHER WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
‘I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them’” (John 17:18-26 ESV).
This great Love between the Father and the Son needs to be between us. It would bring us together as it did them. All that comes out of them would begin to come out of us. The world has struggled because we cannot come together; because we have kept ourselves from coming together they struggle with believing we have anything between us of any value to offer.
Where the two sticks crossed our saviors head bowed. Where the two sticks crossed the humble King showed us how. Where the two sticks become one is where we too become one.
The greatest common ground we have in Christianity is the Cross where Jesus bled and died. Our enmities began on a tree in the garden and they have ended on the tree at Calvary. Reconciled to God and reconciled to each other we stand at the Cross and proclaim His name among the nations. It is here our voice become as one. It is here the Father and the Son made their love clear, and it is only here where the two sticks cross our love become clear.

REGENERATION

Titus 3:3-7 (NASB77)
“3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Regeneration is the work of the Holy Ghost transforming us from the deception of serving our lusts and pleasures to being overtaken by the Father’s kindness and love. This transformation gives us the hope of eternal life. Otherwise, we are lost in a cesspool of deception blinding us from the freedom eternal life offers.
The Holy Ghost takes us from being dead in our trespasses and sin to being alive in the kindness and love of God. The Holy Ghost simply changes our lifestyle. This spiritual transformation, this new and fresh birth is Regeneration.

EVERYTHING

1 John 2:27 (NASB77)
“And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
Everything we receive from God is dynamic. This means it is alive, pulsating, and moving; it is never static, dead, or unmoving. The initial reception is an encounter within itself but never an end. To make sense of it all we get all systematic about it.
With each encounter it takes desire, submission, and total abandonment; nothing systematic about that. The longing in our hearts for God is the basis for each encounter; and when it is all said and done, His presence, Him in Himself above the encounter is our stay.
Justification, regeneration, salvation, sanctification, Holy Ghost Baptism etc… are like liquid flowing into each other, into us, and they are all a work of His mercy and grace. It is all a salvific move of God in our hearts; once again, God is who we are longing for.
There are two things stationary in our encounters, God and our longing. The simplicity in all this is God desires us and we desire Him.  More God, more; cannot get enough of You.

SECRET SOLVED IN THE HOLY GHOST

1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
It is not a secret because it is withheld, it is a secret because it is beyond us; it is beyond all rational conclusions. Simply, our minds just cannot wrap completely around it. This design of godliness and holiness obtainable in Christ can only be justified in the Spirit (Holy Ghost). He is the only one who can make sense of this great Gospel in our hearts.
He not only reconciles us to the Father, He reconciles the unexplainable and what seems to be unattainable. Christ in us the hope of glory is justified in us by the Holy Ghost. The mystery is solved in Him.

LIVING IN THE SPIRIT

Galatians 3:3 (KJV)
“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
Being will never be a manifestation of doing; doing is a manifestation of being. If it is not in us to do, we simply cannot. Our spirit is made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit; therefore, the righteousness of God is when our doing is a result of who we become in Christ Jesus.
Consequently, being responsible to the Spirit is greater responsibility than that of the flesh. The flesh is sinful in nature; the Spirit (“S” Holy Spirit) is supernatural and is righteous in nature. The Spirit in our text is not the spiritual realm of things or us being spiritual; it is a person, the Holy Ghost. We begin in Him, move, breathe, and have our being in Him. Outside of Him it is all us.
“But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). Being in the Spirit can never be a work of the flesh. Flesh motivating our doing and the Spirit working it in us are two different things. The person behind the doing makes all the difference. When the Holy Ghost comes upon us we receive power to be. When His person is involved all we need to know is available.
Paul being filled with the Holy Ghost set his eyes on Barjesus (Acts 13). When the Holy Ghost is involved our spirit is able to do the supernatural.
Yeppers, the person behind the action makes all the difference. The sons of Sceva was stripped naked by demons simply because the person behind their action was them and not the Holy Ghost (Acts 19). If the Holy Ghost is not the person behind our righteousness it is simply flesh hogging out on itself.
We have got to be graveyard dead to ourselves to be alive in Christ Jesus. “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. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:20-2).
Living in the Spirit is living in a person – the Holy Ghost – this is the spirit of Christ in us. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9 ESV).

REPLENISH

Ephesians 5:30-32 (KJV)
“30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
We become one flesh with Christ. His interest becomes our interest, His need becomes our responsibility. His purpose in this world now becomes our purpose. We no longer live to ourselves; and in this love, this deep passionate intimacy, our whole being will receive, multiply, and reproduce all He gives us.

DISQUALIFY OR QUALIFY?

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (KJV)
“21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”
There were some folks trying to discredit Paul’s intentions concerning his itinerary upon his schedule to visit them. It is common to have those who are looking for ways to disqualify us rather than qualify.
However, as believers we should always look for reasons to qualify each other. Therefore, Paul’s defense was not a reaction of defending himself; he took it as an opportunity to defend the consistency and faithfulness of the Spirit living inside us.
It is the Holy Spirit who establishes us in Christ; He brings us to Him, connects us to Him, and He teaches us Him. “Who also sealed us…” what does this mean? It means He marks us as they did in those days with a stamp of wax over a package to be given with the protection that what is inside has not been taken or messed with.
Once we have allowed Jesus inside our living, the Holy Ghost stamps us as a packaged deal. He assures what is inside stays there so when it is delivered it remains. When our accuser seeks to destroy us the seal reminds him of who is inside.
He becomes our earnest for all God has planned for us. Earnest here is of a Hebrew origin and means a pledge, part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest that is to come. (Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary)
This simply means the Holy Spirit is teaching us Jesus and working His character into us. He is our down payment to legally work this work in us, and the stamp is there saying this work on the inside cannot and will not be messed with until it gets to where it is going.
This work is the qualifying we need to exalt in each other and this is what Paul was teaching them. We must not seek to disqualify but rather exalt the qualifying of the work the Holy Ghost is working in us.

STANDING FAST

1 Thessalonians 3:8 (KJV)
“For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.”
To stand fast is to be stationary or to persevere. We cannot allow ourselves to wonder off if we really want to live; get all up in here and stay here.
Something to be said about being stationary, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). ...
It takes some suffering to persevere; we are not really living up in here until we have worked through some things and come out on the other end still up in here.

APOSTLE

 1Thessalonians 2:4-8 (KJV)
"4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
5 For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us."
For us to come into the unity of the faith, until every joint is supplying itself in Love, and until we become the one man Christ Jesus, we will need working among us the ministry of the apostle. It is not in the heart of a true apostle to be a burden. They are gentle as a nurse, willing to be drawn from.
We do not offer apostle license in our organization, nonetheless, we need them; we need their nurturing as individuals and nurturing corporately. This ministry was given to the church as a gift. We can let them set on the shelf because we do not understand their place or purpose, or maybe we might be afraid we would lose control to their place of authority.
In heaven we cast our crowns at His feet and we lift ourselves from our seats to do so. What we do in the heavens will manifest in the earth. After all, He has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven. A true apostle is not out to condemn or to challenge polity just simply supply the Gospel. If we are not giving Jesus we are not giving what we should be giving whether we be apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, or saint.
We are gifts by grace; otherwise, we are about ourselves.

MR. RELATIONSHIP

John 7:37-39 (KJV)
"37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"
The Holy Ghost is pure Love. God is Love and the Holy Ghost is God. He is the activator, comforter, teacher, and motivator; the one telling us, He speaks of the Father and the Son, yet not one word of Himself (carrier of the Word). He brings them both to us in spirit. Sounds like Love to me. He is the river flowing out of the throne. In one scripture (Daniel) the river is fire, and in another scripture (Revelation) the river is crystal clear water.
Jesus knows this River and is telling them of this River out of this knowing. This River is constantly flowing out of the Father and the Son (belly). This River is everything going on between them (relationship). Actually, a tangible description of Him, this river, would be relationship or pure Love.
The greatest act of Love had to take place before He would be sent to us by the Father, sent to us uncorked as the River (relationship); after all, He is Mr. Relationship Himself. He is the cultivator cuddling us into the arms of the Father and the Son. This (Love) brings us into the family and the union between them – we become family.
This River “Mr. Relationship” flows out of our belly as a call for others to become family and to enter into this union between us.

ME, MYSELF, AND I

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 (KJV)
“10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The righteousness of God is simply God at work in us reconciling us to Himself, the opposite of that is the absence of God as we work on our own.
We have been taught self-reliance from every angle we turn; Secularism, Individualism, and humanism, has given us rights to refuse boundaries set by any outside source other than ourselves. Anything disagreeing with us is viewed as rejection and militant. Anything disagreeing with us cannot be imagined as right. God working in us transforming us can only be viewed as God against us. After all, God transforming us would be a violation of our “rights of self-preservation.”
For this cause God sends strong delusion helping us to believe what we choose to believe. Delusion is a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact. In such cases God gives us the ability to live with faulty paradigms as we block every opposing idea that cannot fit our choices.
I could expound more on this, however, I will let the Word say what it is saying and let it be at that. We must have a love for truth to hear truth. In other words, we must choose to believe we are not God.