This Is Who We Are Growing Into

Less of me; more of Him! Another day of growth.

[thejesuszone]

Kindness may be free to receive but it will cost you to give; and that makes it a wonderful gift.

[thejesuszone]

The premise of everything Christian is this one thing: God is good and he is good all the time.

It is out of this goodness that we know he will always want the best for us. Out of this goodness came the cross. It is out of this goodness he has inhabited us, never to leave us, never to forsake us. It is out of this goodness that he does what is necessary to grow us up into the fullness of Christ. It is because he is good that we can trust his promises, his instructions and his purposes. God is good.

[thejesuszone]

Telling people Jesus loves them is as dull as telling them that aunt Mae loves them. Without relationship it means nothing. It is more profitable for everyone concerned if we show them what that love looks like.

[thejesuszone]

Sharing our thoughts with total strangers is one of the most dangerous acts in which we partake because they cannot understand the words we speak outside of the context of our life. Remember, what we speak is often the culmination of years of thought and experience. We speak to an audience that has not benefited from our journey.

[thejesuszone]

The enemy of your soul will always try to get you to hide. But Father has given us a spirit that is powerful, loving and self-controlled. We were sent to stand out not blend in.

[thejesuszone]

We Are In Process

We do not expect perfection from a 3 year old who attempts to make a peanut butter and jam sandwich. He will wear more of it then will go on the bread. But as he keeps practicing, following instructions, he will become very good at making peanut butter sandwiches.

It is no different for those who are followers of Jesus. As the Spirit instructs us through the Word, we must obey but it does not mean perfection. But as we continue to obey we will grow in maturity.

So when Jesus instructed us to love as he loved us. we follow the instructions. We may fail and fail again but it is no excuse to give up. With maturity we gain better skills and revelation on love and soon we find we are able to love as Jesus loves. But the process can be messy and that is why the Body of Christ must be a place of patience, encouragement and forgiveness.

We are all in process.

“His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. As a result, we aren’t supposed to be infants any longer who can be tossed and blown around by every wind that comes from teaching with deceitful scheming and the tricks people play to deliberately mislead others. Instead, by speaking the truth with love, let’s grow in every way into Christ, who is the head. The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does its part.”  (Ephesians 4:12-16)

Stop beating yourself up over your failures. Confess it to Jesus, get back on your feet and follow his instructions. God is good. He loves you. He is for you, not against you. You are in process. Continue to grow.

[thejesuszone]

What I have or don't have does not define me. The joy and peace of the Kingdom of God, of the King, defines me.

[thejesuszone]

[thejesuszone]

[thejesuszone]

There is a difference between theology (knowing the Word) and faith (mature experience of doing the Word).

[thejesuszone]

There’s a lot of negativity going around these days; a lot of anti-”something”. It all looks a little bit different when you look from the vantage point of sitting with Jesus at the right hand of the Father. From that perspective you can see that he is for us, not against us, and he wants to see us succeed in him. Father is not anti-humanity. Jesus’ sacrifice should be enough proof of that.

[thejesuszone]

It is obvious that we have division in the Body of Christ (in complete disobedience to the King's spoken desire) because most followers of Jesus are not even aware of our cultural identity. Without Kingdom culture awareness we live the culture of the world, from which we were saved and transferred to the Kingdom. So we are trying to live in the Kingdom by a culture that does not fit, causing all kinds of problems in the unity that is the will of the King.

[thejesuszone]

Scriptures tell us to renew our mind but renewing our mind is not just the gaining of Biblical knowledge. An indication of a mind being renewed is when we start living the truths of the Scriptures as being more solid and real than the ground on which we stand. They become the basis of our living, like food and water. And just like food and water, we do not question their necessity for life. A mind renewed does not make a neat wall poster of the truth but allows it transform who we are.

[thejesuszone]

The Kingdom of God is occupied with transforming the culture of man with Kingdom culture, not building mini kingdoms based on the principles of this world.

[thejesuszone]

Jesus told the people that if they did not see him do what his Father does, they should not believe what he spoke. Can we say to the world, “Unless we do what the King does, do not believe our words”? Jesus told us to have the same relationship with him that he has with the Father.

[thejesuszone]

A great explanation of the state of the Church today: you aren't going to cash the cheque if you don't know the money is in the bank. The Church does not act on what was promised because she is not confident of her relationship with the King. She has forgotten who she is. She is having an identity crisis and so is not confident that the promises are for her today.

[christ-our-glory]

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV) Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.