That said, the Bible mentions several ways of ministering healing to someone else. Perhaps the most known and practiced is laying on of hands.

“While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.” (Luke 4:40) Jesus often healed people while laying His hands on them. Jesus told His disciples that this was a model for them also, saying that the believer would “lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:18) While this method for ministering is not the only way to minister, it is the most prevalent in the Bible. We read that Paul ministered the gifts of the Spirit through laying on of hands (1 Tim. 4:14, 2 Tim. 1:6), as well as ministering the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17); and in Mark 10:16, blessings were ministered through the laying on of hands.

You can see the importance of touch when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus’ clothes and virtue was transferred to her. (Matt. 9) The anointing is tangible. The anointing is transferable. The anointing is real. When we lay hands on someone, the power of the Holy Spirit in us is active (with faith) to touch the person we are ministering to. Just like in the sotry of the issue of blood where Jesus said that he felt "virtue" leave Him.

Whatever it is that we have "obtained" of God, it was given us by faith, as a free gift. 1 Corinthians 2:12 tells us, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,"

So the power to heal is free to the believer. Jesus tells us, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give." (Matt. 10:8) When the power of God (or virtue) is transfered from us to someone else through whatever method of ministry God instructs us to use, we should give freely, knowing that we have received freely, and that when we give we shall receive.

Some of you are familiar with laying on of hands, whiles some of you may not be. The fact is that Jesus died so that we could do the things that He did – and get the same results (miracles).

Now, let me clear something up here; laying hands on someone is not going to automatically heal them. What I mean is this: if I lay hands on someone for them to be healed, they may feel the power of God rush through their body, yet go away sick. Why? Because if there is no faith and corresponding action, even with the greatest gifts of healing, the results just won’t be there. Look at the scripture where Jesus went to His hometown and could “do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” (Mark 6:5) If anyone was anointed, Jesus was. He was God Himself; and yet only a few people could be healed. The next verse tells us that Jesus “wondered at their unbelief.” (v. 6)

So, as with anything from God, faith is the key – not dipping in a river seven times, not having the biggest names lay hands on you, and not praying the hardest, longest, and loudest prayers; Just simple, childlike faith.

Now, all of these "Methods of Ministry" that we will be discussing in the next couple of weeks should all be used by the directions of the Holy Spirit. Jesus often said that He did nothing except what He saw His Father do. This is the same with us, and we will be discussing that later on in this series on healing. In our next teaching we will discuss the spoken word as a method of ministering healing. Until then, please read 1 TImothy 5:22.

Faith Is the Key

Let’s see what the Bible says about faith and various instances where people were healed. Firstly, the Bible says that, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Faith comes when we hear God’s word – when the will of God is made known. We know what the will of God is by reading His word, we also know what is ours, and how to receive it… this builds faith.

Also, faith is a gift from God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 KJV) We are saved by grace through faith – and even it [faith] is a gift from God… we can confirm this when we read Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” So, God has given faith to everyone.

The Bible instructs us on faith to fix, “our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NASB) look to Jesus for faith. Don’t look to your goodness or your church attendance or your knowledge of the original Greek… look to Jesus and let faith be a gift. Do not make faith hard. It is not something you strive for or work to produce of attain…

Faith Is Past-Tense

Faith is past-tense? Let me explain. Many people confess that they believe that God will do something… but Jesus taught us to believe that God has already done it. Let’s look at Mark 11, start in verse 22 where Jesus tells us, “Have faith in God.” The command was not, “have faith,” but rather, “have faith in God.” This is not an issue of having faith, but as to where your faith is. Some people trust in their money, or their acclaim, but Jesus says to put all of our faith in God.

In verse 24 Jesus continues, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Look here. “Believe that you have [already] received [past-tense] them, and they will be granted you.”  This is a marvelous truth, and one that we will see in many of the Biblical stories that we will look at, and in future installments in this series you will see this principle in modern-day miracles… including one that happened to me personally.

Faith Is Action

Now I would like to talk about something very serious, and something that should be well understood before applied. The Bible says that, “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” (James 2:17) This can be understood better when we look at a few healings in the Bible.

First, let’s look at the story of the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years. The Bible tells us that she pressed through the crowd and touch Jesus’ garment (that is action mixed with faith) and was made completely whole. Jesus turned to her and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” (Mark 5:34) You can easily see faith in action in the woman in that story… she pressed in herself, others did not; yet Jesus commanded them to do something in order to be healed. Let’s look at a few more healings.

Let’s look at the story of the man who could not walk. Jesus passes by him and the Bible says, “A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. “When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well? The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.” (John 5:6-9)

You can see that Jesus did not say, “You’re healed” and then just go his way – had He done that the man may have not gotten up and may have never been healed. Jesus told the man to get up and take his mat and walk. The man had been sick for thirty-eight years, and Jesus says, “Walk!” There must have been faith in the heart of the man, as he did get up, and was completely healed. Had the man lied there, we could assume that he had very little faith.

You can read how action (the fruit of true faith) was always seen when a miracle occurred. Even when Jesus turned water into wine, he told the servants to serve the water to the master of the feast – that took faith to do. (John 2:1-11)

Even in the story of Jairus’ daughter – where Jairus asked Jesus to come and heal his daughter, who was close to death, and on the way, Jairus was informed that the child had already died. “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.” (Mark 6:36) Even when the man’s daughter had died, God still required faith evident in action – do not be afraid, only believe.  And as Jesus went into the home where the dead little girl was, he commanded the hired mourners to leave the house.

You can also see faith in action where Jesus told Peter to come out to Him on the water (Matthew 14:29); when he told the man to get up who had been lowered through the roof (Mark 2:9); when he told the blind man to wash his eyes in the pool of siloam (John 9:7)… all of these things required faith, and faith without works is dead. (James 2:17)

Hope, Faith and Presumption

It is vitally important that you understand what I am about to say. Hope, faith and presumption are very different. Hope is a longing or a desire in the heart. Faith is spiritual, and is evident by action and results in the impossible. Presumption originates in the mind and though can be evident by actions, often results in devastation.

While we cannot have faith without hope, hope alone will do us no good. It would be like the lame man whom Jesus commanded to rise and take his mat, turning toward Jesus and saying, “I believe” and not rising up. Hope alone (that is, a belief, desire or longing without actions) is dead and does not produce miracles.

Nearly just as important to understand is the differences between faith and presumption. Faith is a spiritual belief in God’s word met with action. Presumption is a mental acceptance of something, or an attempt to do “reverse faith” (instead of starting with belief which produces action, presumption starts with action in an attempt to produce faith). Presumption can do more than leave you feeling empty; it could be devastating to your belief in God, your health, and your life itself.

We can see a clear example of faith and presumption in the temptations of Jesus. “Then the devil taketh him [Jesus] up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” (Matthew 4:5-7 KJV)

You can begin to see the difference between faith (spiritual) and presumption (mental) in the above verses. If I believe that Christ took my sicknesses, diseases and afflictions upon Himself, and I appropriate healing (more on that later), I should get out of my wheelchair and walk – not to see if I am healed, but because I am healed. On the other hand, if you are wheelchair-bound and have a mental assent that you are healed – not based on the full council of God, but on mentally accepting a truth – and you attempt to get out of that wheelchair, you could fall and bust your head open!

Action is the fruit of faith, but action is not faith itself. If you have a medical condition and it is where you can – like a knee that was painful when moved – than perhaps you should move that joint when you believe you are healed… if you have a condition where action could be dangerous, please, go to the doctor and tell them you want checked out.

In short, faith with works is dead – but works without faith could kill you! So please read your Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit on what to do. (More on this later in our series.)

Isaiah 53, verse 5 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (KJV) This of course is a messianic prophecy about Jesus Christ, and what His beating and death would provide for those who believe on His name… part of which, is healing.

How do we know that Jesus fulfilled this verse? Matthew 8:16, 17 tell us, ‘When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”’ So, this is proof that Jesus was the fulfillment to the prophecy.

1 Peter 2:24 declares, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (KJV) Look at what we are told here. He bore our sins on the cross, and we have become righteous; He took the stripes, and we were healed. The redemption that Christ provided was both spirit, emotional and physical… today, we will focus primarily on the physical aspect of Christ’s atonement made for us.  (Also see Psalms 103:1-3)
Now, if healing was provided on the cross along with the forgiveness of sins, wouldn’t both be available today? Of course they would – or why would Jesus have bore them? Look at what we are told in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (NASB) If healing was part of the atonement, and God was willing to heal then, He must be willing to heal today.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was exactly the same as the Father, and that He did nothing except that which He saw His Father do. (John 8:18, 8:28, 10:30, 17:1) If Jesus was the exact representation of the Father, and Jesus healed all (Matt. 4:24, 8:16, 12:15, 14:36), don’t you think the Father wants to heal all too? Of course He does; but if all of this is true, than we need to be asking another question:

If Christ provided healing, why isn’t everyone healed?

This is a very common question, and one that many people are asking. It is also simple to answer. We are told in 1 Timothy 2:3, 4, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This verse tells us that it is the desire of God that all people become saved, yet many are not, why? Because they have not put faith in Christ and repented of their sins.

Why aren’t all healed? Because, for the most part, people are not sure that God wants them to be healed, and because of that, do not believe that healing was provided by Christ for them once and for all; consequently, they are not healed. Just as Christ died for the sins of everyone, and yet no one is saved until they appropriate salvation through faith and repentance, so too, there is appropriation and principles to healing which we will discuss in greater detail a little later on in this series.
Look at the example the Christ gave us in the model prayer in Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” If God’s will were automatically enforced upon the earth, why are we told by Jesus to ask for it?

God’s Will Concerning Healing

God’s will concerning healing is already known, because it was provided when Christ was gruesomely beaten. When leading someone to the Lord, we do not wonder if God will accept their repentant heart, because Christ made the atonement, and that is the basis of us being forgiven, not our goodness or the quality of our prayer. The same is true with healing. Because Christ provided healing, we need never wonder if it is God’s will to heal… like salvation, we should already know the answer.

If you came to me, would expect me to give you one million dollars? Of course not, because I have not told you that I wanted to give you that money, and therefore, you would have no confidence that I would give you the money.Instead, you would simply beg and see if I would give you something. This is how we often are with God, because we do not understand what His will is. So, we start begging God to do something for us when all the while it is faith that we must have in order to receive anything from God… not lengthy prayers(James 1:6,7; Mark 12:40). So then, there is no need to need to wonder if God will give us something He has promised us. His promises are yes and amen, aren’t they? (2 Corinthians 1:20)

We are told numerous times how Christ told someone, “your faith has made you whole.” (Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34, 10:53; Luke 8:48, 17:19)We are also told, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6, 7) But how can we have faith for something, if we have never been told that it is God’s will for us to have it? We cannot have faith until the will of God is known to us… otherwise we ask not knowing what God will do, and hence, have no faith for it at all. I hope I made that as clear as possible, because it is important, and is the biggest reason that people are not healed.

So it should not surprise us when, in the times we feel so down and depressed, that we think that our behavior has upset God and so now He is pushing us away. This is the logic of many believers, and many churches today; but this is a lie.

We are, as born-again, blood-bought Christians, never rejected by God. We get ourselves into a pickle and then we begin to feel unworthy, and so we in our worthlessness shut ourselves off from receiving God’s love and His presence… but all the while, God has not stopped loving, He has not stop inviting you into His secret chambers to fellowship with Him. We believe the lie that God will reject us every time we mess up. Don’t you see? God did not receive us because of our goodness; He received us because Christ died to take the punishment for our sins. When Christ died for our sins, He died for all of them for all time, past, present and future.

When we mess up, we should confess our sins to God, turn away from our sins and get back into fellowship with God. Doesn’t it seem foolish in hindsight, to run away from the God who is the only remedy to our problems? Yet we do, we run away like Adam in the garden and overlook the blood of Christ that brought us to God to begin with. Paul asks in the Bible, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Don’t you see? The same blood of Christ that completely wiped away your sins when you first believed is the same blood – same in power, potency and availability – that now covers you today. Didn’t Paul teach is that it was no longer through offering after offering that we are forgiven, but Christ who died once for all? Hebrew 9:12 says, “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. “ and resounds in verse 26, “Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (See also Romans 6:10, Hebrew 7:27)

It seems in Churches today that the blood of Christ is good enough to bring the sinner to Christ, but it is only through merit that a believer may stay with Christ… yet this sort of teaching is totally unbiblical!

Just look at how the Church treats John 14:15. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Yet the Church seems to be preaching , “If you obey God, you'll prove your love for God,” but this of course, is not what Christ said.

The church today teaches that obedience is the root of love for God. Yet the Bible teaches differently, the Bible says that obedience is the fruit of love for God. We do not obey trying to prove or muster our love for God… no, we obey God because we already love Him, and our love for Him makes us naturally gravitate toward wanting to obey Him.

There really hasn’t been another teaching that has so impacted my life than the teaching of God’s grace through Christ’s blood, by faith apart from (though evident by) works. And I hope you don’t just take my word for it – study the scripture, it cannot be broken. Seek God for yourself, and start receiving His forgiveness and fellowship by faith.

And though many do not present it as such, the Gospel is still very good news! God bless.

Am I condoning sin? Never! Am I saying that no matter what you’re struggling with, God’s grace is sufficient to see you through it? Yes. I don’t know what you have done, or what you are fighting against, but I do know that God has fixed His love upon you. He did not choose to love you because you were good enough. If He had, no one would qualify to be loved by God. He chose forever to set His love upon you – not because you are lovely – but because Christ died to pay the penalty for every single one of your sins. For God to reject you would mean that Christ died for nothing.

Christ died for your sins, and for the sins of the whole world. Since Christ took the punishment for your sins, if God punished you for them, it would be the same as double jeopardy. Christ died for all sins, for all people, for all time. Your sins were paid for, and now there is nothing standing between you and God. God did not forgive you because you were good enough, but because of His grace and your faith. As it is written, “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20) so, why did He forgive your sins? Because Christ was perfect, and Christ chose to die in your place. If the substitution was made – if Christ paid everything to make your right with God – than why would God reject you now? Doesn’t it say, “The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind”? (1 Samuel 15:29)

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Put off the lies of Satan, and accept what God says; that you are accepted by God, that your sins are forgiven, and that God has set His love on you, never to tacit off. 2,000 years ago, when Christ died, God proved once and for all that He had chosen –forever- to set His love upon humanity.

And as you fight to understand God’s love and put aside the lies and become free, remember, there is no struggle too great; for our God is merciful in every trial we face - even if we caused it. And there is no struggle too great to fight and to conquer – for our King is worth it. Knowing Christ is worth the struggle with sin, temptation, the flesh, the world and the devil … it will be worth it… because Jesus is worth every struggle we’ll face in this life. What does God say about you? It really does mean everything.

I was told that God loved me, and that Christ died for our sins, but, perhaps for dull ears, or lack of clarity in the church, I pictured God as a distant, angry God who was setting me up to fail for all the times I had sinned. I pictured a God who was harsh, overbearing, controlling and manipulative. It was about five years ago, that after spending some time with God, I began to radically reevaluate everything I thought I knew about God. I had learned in God’s presence that He was not a controlling God who had an angry disposition against mankind… but instead, was a loving Father who was deeply, actively and passionately in love with His creation.

I began to see that God’s love was so much larger than I had ever known or ever heard preached. So, I put down the lies that said I was rejected by God, and began to believe that by Christ’s blood I was accepted no matter how bad I acted, or how unfaithful I had been. This revolutionized my life and changed everything about me, right down to my personality – which for so long was dictated by what I felt I had to do to be accepted by people, the church, and God Himself.

Let me show you something in scripture to clarify and echo what I’m saying. In 1 John 4:8, 16 we read that, “God is love.” Then, in 1 Corinthians 13:4 we read, “Love is patient.” Let me stop there to ask you this question: If God is Love, than wouldn’t it be safe to say that God is patient, since love is patient? Of course it would. So, what else is Love (God)? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…”

God bears all things? Yes. God is not provoked? Right, yet the church paints a picture of God as a fierce man in the clouds looking for a person to mess up so he can hit them with lightning; but God isn’t like that. The God I know is not easily upset, He is not angry, He is not easy to offend, and keeps no count of wrongs. The God I know is merciful and longsuffering, the God I know is satisfied by us – simply because we are His children; the God I know is consumed with a passionate love for the creation He created to love. That’s the God I know…

God is not keeping a record of every time we mess up. He is not cheering for us to fail. Instead, God delights in us prospering, and He cheers us on. God Almighty believes in our abilities a lot more than we believe in His. I know that this may sound radical, or challenging to you, but seek God and read you Bible and find out if what I’m saying isn’t true.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:32) That word “know" is the same word that Mary used when she told the angel that she “knew” no man, and therefore could not be pregnant. This Greek word more adequately means, “To know intimately;” and that is how we need to know God and God’s word (truth). When we begin to know God intimately, we begin to let our man-made beliefs about God fall away as we enter a passionate pursuit for the God who has passionately pursued us.

God loves us so deeply, yet we, through our feelings of unworthiness and rejection, hold God away at arm’s length thinking that a God who was close would know and reveal our failure. God has forgiven your sins if you have put your faith on Christ; and He welcomes you to come boldly before Him and to know Him. He is not far off, but near to all. He does not want to expose your failures, but to heal your wounds.

For a moment, close your eyes, and ask God to reveal His true nature to you as you begin to seek to know Him intimately. Getting to know God is a long journey – but one worth any price.

We have in Jesus the best friend, the closed and most intimate lover, the help of a brother, the love of a father, the care of a shepherd, and the redemption only found in Him. How can we not be thankful for the overflowing blessings which He has so freely poured out upon us? We can have no other reaction, having tasted and having seen, than to express our overflowing gratitude to the one who has given us all things.

Praise is not merely a show of hands, a shout of exclamation, or the singing of a beautiful hymn. Can I praise by clapping my hands? Yes. Is clapping my hands, praise? No. Let me explain briefly. When we begin to feast on the goodness of the Lord, our heart will automatically overflow with thankfulness, and gratitude to Him. Praise is simply any expression of such gratitude towards our Savior and God.
At the same time though, many people clap their hands at the leading of a preacher, sing along with the power-point slides, and dance in the isles never knowing or experiencing true praise. Praise is from the heart. Praise is not done to appease men. Praise is never heartless or even emotionless. Praise is real. Praise is genuine. Praise is honest.

Let me also explain that there are times when we don’t particularly feel like praising him. Times when our hearts are full of sorrow and pain, when our minds are captured by the problems we are facing, or simply a feeling of apathy. Praise is a choice. It has to be your choice, though. It is when we are praising in the middle of crisis, suffering, sorrow and misery, that we will truly begin, to not only learn the true meaning of praise, but to begin to walk in victory.

It would be easy to say “my situation is so bad, why should I praise?” it would be easy to say, “Woe is me, I have it so much worse off than everyone else.” But the word of God tells us story after story of people who were really down and out – some facing death itself, as you may be, and yet they decided to praise God and believe God’s report about the situations at hand. Look at David. He was being chanced down by the king he had served loyally for years; the king whom he had attended to and had trusted. David didn’t just run off and hide and say “o brother, here it is – the end has come.” No, he rose up and declared praises to God, and after much trial, after being hunted like wild game in the wilderness for years, God promoted David to kingship.

Look at Paul and Silas. They were serving Jesus when they were arrested, beat, and thrown in jail like common criminals. They could have said, “Look God, we were doing your work – is this how you repay us?” but instead, they praised God at the midnight hour and were miraculously released from jail after being able to share Jesus with the jailer.

I don’t know what you’re going through today. I have no idea the amount of trouble you’re facing. You could be facing jail, disease, heartbreak, even death. You and I have the choice, do we have a pity-party and get everyone to feel sorry for us, or do we thank God for keeping the promises in His word even though we can’t see them yet with our eyes? We have the choice as Elijah did when he was being chanced and wanted dead by Jezebel. We can say that God hasn’t sent us help, that we have no way out, and we can give up and go down in defeat; or we can choose to believe as Elijah did, that God was at work all around us, even if we couldn’t see Him with our eyes.

What is your choice? Will you rise up and praise Him for all the good things that He has done, or just lay in the bed of grief and give up and go home? You may say, “What do I have to be thankful for?” Are your breathing? Thank Him for that. Do you have life? Praise Him for that. Right now, release your praise and watch God work in your life as He did for Elijah, David, and Paul & Silas. Can you see? The Heavenly Host is all about you - you have no need to fear. Defeat is up to you. Victory is your choice. Let us rejoice and be glad in the God who has given and sustained our lives.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17 NASB)

The verse above says that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We are suppose to be kingdom people with kingdom authority and kingdom living with a kingdom mindset – the truth however, is that many Christians are not joyful in the least bit. So man believers are run down, hopeless, depressed and simply burned-out. This doesn’t seem like Kingdom living does it?

Have you ever stopped and pondered the order of the words in that verse? Why is it righteousness, peace and then joy? If we do enough prayer and meditation on God’s word, we’ll soon find that our joy will fluctuate in direct proportion to our peace. It only makes since that if we are living without peace we will naturally be living without joy. We will also discover that our level of peace will fluctuate in direct proportion to the level of the amount of righteousness that we understand. Notice that I said the level of righteousness that we understand – if we are born-again than we are righteous – the blood of Christ was sufficient for that. The righteousness we understand is the amount that we know that we are absolutely blameless before God. Now, the amount of understood righteousness will fluctuate in direct proportion to the level that we go to God for identity, acceptance and affirmation.

If we get our identity from the world, our friends, the news media – even our pastors – we will always come out with a false belief system that tells us that we are not who God says that we are. The world will come with lies that you need to be smarter, work harder, get in better shape, make more money and act nicer before you’ll ever become acceptable. But it doesn’t stop there; no matter how “good” we think we are we always think that we are somehow barred from acceptance – never able to be good enough, no matter how hard we try.

Satan will come at us with the “who do you think you are? Don’t you remember that sin you committed last week?” and we are often apt to simple give in and believe the lies. What does God’s word say? It says that we don’t deserve it – but by the blood of Christ we have been made worthy. The word of God says that we are acceptable before God and that we can come before Him without fear because of His love for us. The Bible says that there is now therefore no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Are you in Christ Jesus? If you have accepted Christ into your life than you are – so why believe the lies that you’ll never be good enough, that you were never wanted, that no one needs you, that we’d all just be better if you were gone? No! We turn to God for identity and purpose. We turn to Him to find out who we are and if we are acceptable. The blood of Christ was enough for us.

The Bible makes much mention of lineages, especially who a person’s father was. Why is that so important? In a father’s name there was honor, acclaim and authority. A father’s name was thought of as an identity for the children, and this is true with our Heavenly Father. If we want to know who we are, we need look no further that our Father in Heaven. Who is He? Who does that make you? The deepest part of each one of us is just like God - we were created in His image. So, who do say that you are? As a man thinks in His heart, so is he. Accept who God has called you to be - taking that identity upon yourself and walking in it, you’ll find much satisfaction in it and the struggle you’ve found in trying to please everyone through a masquerade of lies and masks will fade away and you’ll finally be free to simply be you – the you that God designed. And the destiny that He has planned for you will become clear and open for you to walk in. What can you do? Where are you going? What authority do you have? That all depends on who you are, and who you are depends on who your Father is… and our Father is the creator of the universe. And who does that make you? You're his child. You are beloved of God. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You are above and not beneath. You are loved no matter what, simply because you are his child.

I hope to share about what God has been leading me into concerning the Kingdom soon... Lord willing.

Just picture it: the endless ocean of God’s love and power, both gentle and vehement. And instead of diving in head first with no regard to the cost or what you may attain, we dabble in the things of God. We simply dip our fingers and then quickly pull them out, we splash ourselves and laugh and scream “isn’t this fun!!!” but we neglect to ever explore, to even plunge deep into the endless riches made for us… the riches we ourselves were created for. O that we would stop skimming the surface and just let go and dive in regardless of the cost or what we may never get.

Sure, we don’t know what to expect; sure, we may never see our dreams, our hopes and our visions for the future become reality… but there’s something about the water, when you stop dabbling and really look out deeper, it beckons you, it fascinates you. It cries for you to come and enjoy its pleasures. Look out over the endless ocean, gaze into the waters deeper than you thought deep could be, taste if you wish, but if you taste you must decide, do you come to the ocean for a dip of the hands and splash of a clap in the water, or do you just take off swimming and never come back, and just keep swimming with no thought for land at all? Picture that endless ocean. Do you see it? What do you want to do?

You say, “I’m not a very good swimmer, I may sink and grow tired.” But it is okay to sink, its okay to grow weak, just as long as you’re in the water, after all, it’s the current that takes us along. What will you do with his presence? We can get so busy that we pass it by, or we can simply stop and open our hearts and allow Jesus to fill us up. What will you do? You must make a choice.