Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23

Our thoughts are what determine our success.  It is our thoughts which determine our behaviors, but more than that, it is our thoughts which determine how we feel, and our values.

Beyond the natural, it is also in the realm of our thoughts in which our faith is founded.  We have faith in God’s Word.  Faith in His promise to heal.  And, it is in keeping the realm of our thoughts rooted and grounded in God’s Word that we are able to keep our hearts from doubting what He has told us.  So important are our thoughts that they are, indeed, the realm of our salvation, as it is written, if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romanbs 10:9).  Our thoughts are what make our lives.

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For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Matthew 6:14-15

Jesus’ words on the subject of forgiveness are well known by many, and yet, still, the root of so many difficulties within the life of a believer stem from this issue of forgiveness.

The truth is, the heart is a complex, and very deep matter.  As Jeremiah said, the heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it?  (Jeremiah 17:9).  But, speaking a little while later, the prophet wrote, “Heal me, and I will be healed;  save me, and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” (Jeremiah 17:14).  I do not believe we have a wicked heart, as believers, but we do have one that requires the faithful purification of a loving savior. Read more…

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:4-5

John the Apostle said that the victory that overcomes the world is our faith.  It is the seed the produces the harvest, and as it is planted, it grows, and when it is ripe, it is harvested (Mark 4:26-29).

So, we see, as are sowing good seed into the soil, the Word of the Kingdom, the harvest should be determined upon the quality of the soil (Mark 4:3-9).

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For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

Mark 8:35

If this life is about giving it all away, then the pathway many of us must first take is to take ownership of that which is ours.

It may seem counter-intuitive at first, to have to take possession of something, only with the intent to then lose it, but unless you take ownership of something, unless you decide that something is your right to do whatever you please with it, you will never have the authority to release that authority to whomever you choose.

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For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:14

I think one of the hardest walks is the walk of Faith and Life in the Gospel, and yet, light and easy at the same time.

The walk is one by the Spirit, and not by the flesh, and requires faith to walk it.  It requires a hatred and a crucifixion of everything of this life, but when done as a response to a revelation, it is always with joy.

But, he calls us to learn this way of His, and to call others to it.

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Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

John 5:33-35

Light reveals.  Light illuminates.  Light is righteousness, and darkness is evil.

In all places, the true light that gives light to every man, Jesus Christ, is always a portrait of illumination, but also of righteousness.  It is the voice of Him who is above, who is true light, the Father of Lights.

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The fullness of the Spiritual life is a heart inspired by love that walks in responsibility.

Jesus, our Pattern and Teacher, was a man under authority.  Much was given to Him, and much was required of Him from the Father.

When the Life of the Spirit and the love of our Savior grows to such a point, it encompasses and takes the place of every other thing.  It is our all in all.  While for some, this may come quickly, for others, it has grown over time.

But, the place of the Spiritual man is life in Christ.

There is no life in another.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

For Paul said that when our obedience is made perfect, our every disobedience would be punished.

Is this at odds with the Cross and the Grace of God?  No more than continuing to sin that Grace would abound.

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You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

Matthew 23:26

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).  Once we have purified our souls by obeying the truth unto the point where we can love for real, we should love each other fervently, as we ought to (1 Peter 1:22).

This is the point of the Gospel.  This is the work of the cross and the path of life.  If your gospel is not aimed at producing this life here and now, a life that is demonstrated by a visible, recognizable love (John 13:35), that does not tolerate sin so much to eat with an immoral brother (1 Corinthians 5:11), what are you living?

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“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

John 17:16

Kingdom Now?  Not quite…

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

John 18:36

Kingdom Here…

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luke 10:19

Kingdom, At Hand, Looks at a different place, and, similar to the power of sin in the individual life of a believer, accomplishes the visible by means of an invisible change.

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By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:3

The whole of the Christian walk is in the unseen, which manifests into the seen.

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