Called to A Relationship

 

 

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

—1 Corinthians 1:9

 

We are called to be in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. 

 

When we are in fellowship with the Lord, we can know His will. When our minds are transformed by the Word, we seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. We conform to the image of the new person the Holy Spirit has birthed in us. God is faithful to perform His will in us. We don’t have to struggle to figure out what He wants us to do. When we believe the Father is in us and we are in Him—that we are one spirit with Him, we have an intimate relationship with Him. We “know” Him. We hear the Word of faith rising in our hearts. The Holy Spirit guides us.

 

The Holy Spirit draws you into a relationship with love and grace. You don’t have to hide from His presence because you may feel guilt and shame. All your sin is forgiven. All your debt is paid. Quit trying to make right what God no longer sees in you. Jesus’ blood has cleansed you. You don’t have to hold yourself together anymore. Drop the mask that hides the pain in your heart. Accept His unconditional love for you. Jesus is your real identity. That is who you are. You are His. New life is yours. Your old life is gone. Don’t live in fear that you are His for just a moment. His love for you doesn’t depend on your behavior. If it did depend on what you do, you would have never received God’s love in the first place. God is love. He loves you because of His Son—not because of who you are. You are His because of Jesus, and you are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. 

 

Freedom from sin and its shame is never found in what you do. You don’t need to fear condemnation. There is no condemnation in Jesus. Freedom is found in the perfect love of Jesus. Jesus, who had no sin, became your sin, so you could become His righteousness. Quit making your faith about what you lack, and continually be renewed in your mind to believe the complete work of grace you have received in Jesus.

 

God is faithful. His love is constant. He never moves away from you. He has judged you righteous because He sees Jesus’ perfect and complete work of grace in you. The love of Jesus isn’t about how well you can love God. You could never love God as He loves you. God loved you first when you weren’t perfect. Your identity in Christ is not how much you love Him. Your identity is about how much He loves you.

 

“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls. All Your waves and billows have gone over me” (Psalms 42:7).

 

The Holy Spirit calls you into the depths of a relationship with Jesus full of love and grace— a relationship with Him where you come freely to Him knowing nothing separates you from His love. Will you let go of your need to reason everything out—make everything right—and just walk by faith in Jesus? Will you let go of the lies that wear you down? Will you let go of what you see—what you hear, and just trust the Holy Spirit? 

 

Let go of your attempts to prove yourself. Let go of the old person you were before you received Jesus as your Savior. He is dead. Why do you hold on to him? Open yourself to the new life He has given you. You aren’t meant to thirst and never be filled. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new life that is yours. Believe who Jesus is in you, and out of your heart, His life will flow. You will live in Him. You will be used by Him. You will love because you know His love.

 

How completely do you wish to “know” the one who lives in you? God has called you into fellowship with Him, and He is faithful to that relationship. As God loves His Son, He also loves you.  

 

***

 

(Romans 12:1-3, Ephesians 1:13, 17-18, 1 Corinthians 6:17, Romans 10:17, John 16:13, 2 Peter 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21, 1 John 4:17-18, John 3:16,17, Romans 8:1, 1 John 4:8,16, Ephesians 4:23-24, John 7:38)

 

 

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My Beloved Child

 

If this is for you, I am praying for you...

 

 

Years ago, you asked me into your heart and received my love. You walked in my love. We shared. We enjoyed times of sweet fellowship. Then something happened. A lie grew in your mind, and you chose to believe that lie in your heart. The lie is that you were unworthy of my love. You believed that lie and gave it power. Night and day your thoughts were claimed by its deceit. You tried to feel my love and presence but believed you were not good enough. The enemy had you right where he wanted you—in fear of me. 

 

You ache so much to feel my love and presence again. I know you're hurt, my child, but I can’t make you believe my love for you. I have never left you. I have never forsaken you. You ache for me, but you can’t feel fellowship with me because of guilt and shame. There is no fear in my perfect love for you. There is no punishment. I took your punishment. I don’t see you as you see yourself. You see yourself as the sinful person you were before I saved you. I see you as the new creation I gave my life to save. I see you clean, whole, and without fault. I don’t remember your sin. I see no sin. I became your sin so you might become my righteousness.

 

When I first came into your heart, you freely and joyfully received my love. Now you question and doubt my love for you. You constantly fear that I won’t love you because you can’t feel me in your heart. Your mind is consumed with that sin you continually confess—the one from which you have no relief of guilt. You don’t trust that my blood cleansed you. My beloved child, you have hindered knowing my love by trying to continually pay for your sin. Nothing you do will change anything. It is not your place to pay. It is my place, and I have already paid the price. You have isolated yourself from the love you so desperately need. You have isolated yourself from those who love and pray for you.

 

My child, please believe who I say you are. You are debt-free. You are forgiven as far as the east is from the west. I see no sin. You have nothing to pay—nothing to prove—nothing to do. I did everything necessary for your freedom from condemnation. Please stop trying to earn my love. It is destroying you. Just believe who I say you are. You are my righteousness!  You have all my forgiveness! Choose my love and grace! To think you have any power to pay for your sin is not humility. It is pride, my beloved child. The voice you hear telling you that you must pay is not mine. Rebuke again and again that voice that constantly reminds you that I find you unworthy! Choose to believe in the debt-free life I died to give you! I completely paid your debt on the cross! I have redeemed you! It is so painful for you to be free and not know you are free. It keeps you from feeling my love in your heart. I am always telling you that you are loved. You are free. You are mine. 

 

I’m right here—waiting for you to believe me—waiting for you to receive my love. I will never force you to believe me. You will always have the choice to receive my love. The moment you choose to believe I love you with an everlasting love and that nothing separates you from my love is the moment you begin your journey back to joy and fellowship with me.

 

My, little one, I came after you. I gave up my life to rescue you. It is never too late. But it is your choice to believe and receive my love. Come and enjoy sweet fellowship with me again. I am always here with open arms.

 

***

 

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

—1 Corinthians 1:9 

 

 

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The Blessing of God’s Goodness

 

 

Since God healed me four years ago, I have sought a deeper spiritual understanding of His goodness. He healed me deeply in ways I had never dreamed of. I yearned to spiritually understand this love that healed me. I began to see that my human perception of His love and goodness had limited His blessings in my life. I had tried to measure the unlimited love of God with my limited understanding. I had constrained His love to fit my definition. I cannot measure God’s immeasurable goodness with my human understanding. His goodness can only be received completely and unreservedly as it is given. It is ever-present, unchanging, and unshakable. 

 

I have grown spiritually to see that faith has everything to do with how we see God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God in our hearts (Romans 10:17). How we “see” God affects how we "hear” Him. If we see God as angry, upset, and never quite satisfied with us, we will live a superficial life of ups and downs, questions and doubts, and a lack of faith and peace. What we will most probably “hear” will be our conscience condemning us and pointing out our flaws and shortcomings.

 

Once we truly have a spiritual understanding of God’s goodness and His love, we are transformed by it (Romans 12:2). His goodness rises up within us. The fruit of the Spirit is actually God’s love and goodness manifested in us. In His goodness, faith is normal. Doubt, worry, and fear vanish. Trust is the condition of our hearts. We are blessed because we trust in Him.

 

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good,” David wrote. “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him” (Psalm 34:8)!

 

In the spiritual understanding of His goodness, we hear God as we never have before. We move from an uncertain life of questioning Him to a life of peace in any situation. We no longer ask why we are perishing. We trust and know that we aren’t.

 

“The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever” (Isaiah 32:17). 

 

When we truthfully see God’s goodness, we have a secure, protected, and unshakeable foundation in this changeable life. We are grounded deeply in Him. We bear fruit from which others can eat. 

 

“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3).

 

A revelation of God’s goodness will quieten your heart, encourage your faith, and give you peace in this fallen world. 

 

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).

 

Never lose heart. If you focus on God’s goodness, you look for His blessings, and your heart is filled with gratitude. You look for His benefits. You choose the joy of His presence (Psalm 16:11), and the benefit of His peace (John 14:1). You choose to see what God is doing in your life instead of what the enemy is doing.

 

This might seem too simple, but I have discovered I have more confidence to help others if I am conscious of His blessings instead of being preoccupied with the world’s darkness. I can only help others if I have something positive to offer. Many times, we agree on how bad things are instead of agreeing on how good God is. 

 

Do you agree with God’s goodness? Do you agree with His Word?

 

“Surely blessing I will bless you,” He says, “and multiplying I will multiply you” (Hebrews 6:14).

 

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalms 37:3-5).

 

Trust in the Lord. Dwell in Him. Feed on His faithfulness and goodness. Delight yourself in Him. Commit yourself to Him. And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/the-blessing-of-gods-goodness.html

 

 

 

 

Confident Faith

 

 

 

Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!

—1 Samuel 17:46

 

David was only a youth when he stood before Goliath and declared these powerful words to him. You don’t just threaten a giant with such words in the heat of battle without great confidence. But David’s words radiated His confidence. He did not speak a simple warning. He spoke a mighty promise to the giant. David knew His God. He knew His strength, and He trusted in God to deliver him. David acted on his words. Facing the taunting giant, he brought him down with his sling. Then he ran to the fallen enemy, used Goliath’s own weapon, and cut off his head. He finished what He had declared to Goliath.

 

Do we have such confident faith to declare similar words to Satan who taunts us?  Do we follow through on what we declare to him? 

 

We cannot relinquish the authority Jesus has given us. The peace we have in Jesus—our righteousness in Him—is our victory over the works of the enemy. This means we can trust God and rest in the authority which is ours in Jesus. We cannot waiver from the authority we have been given. We either have confident faith in the power of Jesus’ finished work for us, or we just hope that His finished work will give us victory. “Maybe” has no power over the enemy.

 

We must understand that even though we live in this world, we are not of this world, nor do we wage war as man does (2 Corinthians 10:3). Our battle is against spiritual forces in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Our confident faith in God’s resurrection power declares our righteousness. It gives us a powerful inheritance.

 

A large part of our inheritance is that we can operate in the authority Jesus has given us (Luke 10:19). We don’t have to wage war in our own strength and knowledge or live our lives based on man’s standards. We have God’s strength. We have His Word and knowledge. We have the tools we need to fight. We can declare a resurrection “NO” to the enemy, and resist him.

 

The war between good and evil is not over in this world. But in the spiritual realm, the war is over. It is forever finished through the blood of Christ! When Jesus took His last breath, the Law, which had given sin its power, no longer had any power to determine our standing with God. What had been the rule of Law became a relationship in Christ. Jesus, who knew no sin, became our sin so we could receive His righteousness. Sin, sickness, fear, all the lies of the enemy, and the sting of death were destroyed once and for all (I Corinthians 15:56, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 7:27; 10:10).

 

Jesus descended into hell to take the keys from the enemy. Like David’s final blow to Goliath, Jesus struck the final blow to the devil. Don’t judge your life by what you see in this world or by what you hear. Look into the spiritual realm. In God's realm, the war is won. The enemy is defeated once and for all. He has no authority. He has no power unless our flesh allows him into our circumstances and our lives. 

 

Will we wield that sling? Will we exercise confident faith in our Father? Will we stand strong in His peace—in our relationship with Him, not shrink back in fear, and allow Him to fight our battles? Distractions and taunts will come. Questions will rise up. Will we choose our authority bought with the precious blood of Jesus and continually walk in it? 

 

Declare your confidence to the enemy. Trust God. Keep your mind fixed on Him and not the battle. Allow the devil to have no power in your life! He came into the battle already defeated and not knowing it. Remind him. Put him in his place. Cut off his head!  

 

Is this the confidence you have? When you know that His righteousness is your righteousness, you surrender your strength to receive His strength. You know you have a relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. You shall condemn every lie that rises against you (Isaiah 54:17). 

 

Jesus’ work is finished. But you choose to allow Him to finish His work in you. Have confident faith in the One who redeemed you. Take the authority that is yours. Declare your confidence in God, and follow through in faith. Render the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, powerless in your life. Again and again and again. 

 

 

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He is Your Source

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

—Psalm 136:1

 

 

The strength of your faith is the revelation of truth that God is your Source. He is the Creator—the giver and sustainer of life. He is the living Word. When you really believe in your heart that God is your Source, you know that every good and perfect gift is from your Father in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17). 

 

Your Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His goodness is unchanging and endures forever. God does not play games with you. He is not loving you one moment and then tormenting you the next. Your Father is not the author of anguish. He is not the author of illness. He is not the author of evil. Your Father is the author of all that is good. Satan is the author of evil. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Satan sends his messengers to buffet you.

Adam “loosed” death upon the earth (Genesis 2:17), and death spread to all men (Romans 5:12). Mankind brought suffering upon himself. Suffering is the consequence of Adam’s choice in the Garden. Suffering can be the consequence of personal sin and choices made without God. Suffering also comes to those who share their faith. The Good News of the Gospel is an offense to the enemy. It is an offense to those in this fallen world who refuse its message of God’s goodness.

God is your Source of all that is good. When you believe God is your enduring and unchanging Source, no matter what happens you can say as Paul said, “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12). 

 

How do you know when you have the revelation in your heart that God is your Source? 

 

“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

 

When God is your Source, you have peace. You know you are safe. You do not struggle to trust Him. You are free from doubt, worry, and the torment of fear. When you are living in God’s peace, faith is not hard. You believe in God. You know He is for you. You know His promises are true and that His redemption is your victory.

 

“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:4-6).

 

When God is your Source, you choose to see yourself as He sees you. You understand the potential of the “new creation” you are in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Psalm 8:6 says God has created you to have dominion over the works of His hands, and that He has put all things under your feet. Death spread from Adam to all men, but everything changed in Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus to redeem His creation! To redeem you! God's redeeming love has been shed abroad in your heart (Romans 5:5). You have His love to love others as He first loved you. You have His authority to bless others (Luke 10:19). You have a purpose.

 

“For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me (Psalm 31:3)

 

When God is your Source, you know He is your rock. You know He never leaves you, plays games with you, or makes you question His love. He is faithful to perform His work in you. You expect Him to always lead you. You see with the eyes of faith. 

 

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God”’ (Psalm 31:14).

 

When you trust God as your Source, life is filled with His joy and abundance. Your vision is not upon your circumstances. It is not on any illness or symptom or what the enemy tells you that you lack. You see with the eyes of faith. You are no longer dependent on your own strength and knowledge. He is your God. You are dependent on Him.

 

“My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalms 73:26)

 

Your personal strength has limits, but God’s strength is limitless. When you abide and trust in Him, you can do all things in His power (Philippians 4:13). He is your strength. He is your hiding place. He shall preserve you from trouble. He shall surround you with songs of deliverance (Psalm 32:7). You know His mercy endures forever. You give Him thanks from a grateful heart.

 

God is your Source. When you submit to His authority and by faith act upon it, the enemy will flee (James 4:7). Choose to know the One in whom you have believed. 

 

Father, you are the Source of all that is good. You are my help and my deliverer. You are my King. You are the strength of my heart and my abundance forever. Not for just a moment. But forever. Always. Your goodness is unending. You are my refuge. You are my hope in the day of disaster. You are my greatest weapon of war. No weapon formed against me will prosper. Every lie that comes against your truth, I condemn. You are in me, and I am in you. Praise you, Jesus, for without you, I would suffer death. But I have life and have it more abundantly. I give you praise from an overflowing and grateful heart. Surely, your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will shall abide in you forever.

 

 

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Ask Him

 

Are there times you question God’s willingness to take care of you and meet your needs?  Do you feel unworthy of His blessings? Your Father doesn’t regard you as unworthy. He doesn’t withhold His blessings from you. He loved you enough to die for you. Through Jesus, you have received all of God’s blessings (Hebrews 6:13-18). It pleases God to bless you (Luke 12:32). In blessing you, God glorifies Himself (John 14:13), and it is His goodness that draws you to Him (Romans 2:4). 

 

When we doubt God, we are complacent and “contented” with living beneath the abundant life Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). Instead of believing God meets our needs, we become resigned to our insufficiency. We settle for less than God has for us. We might not say it out loud because we don’t want others to think we don’t trust God, but we think of our Father as limited. Just like we are.

 

The Word says, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). All is all. His riches in glory are greater than anything we can imagine. He is our infinite and limitless Father. 

 

Take the time to meditate on the following verses. Not just read them, but listen to them. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into His truth. For the Word to become alive in you, you can’t just be in the Word. The Word has to be in you. 

 

What is your need? Ask yourself if God means what He says. Better than asking yourself, ask Him.

 

***

 

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).

 

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).

 

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven (Matthew 18:19).

 

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Matthew 21:22).

 

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).

 

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13).

 

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:14).

 

Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you (John 15:6-7).

 

And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24).

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

 

Yet you do not have because you do not ask (James 4:2).

 

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (1 John 5:14-15).

 

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

 

***

When you meditate on the Father’s Words, you cannot help but hear His love for you. You are His child. He deeply cares about your needs and the concerns of your heart. He wants to bless your life. If you abide in Him, His Word will abide in you. His Word will be alive in you. Ask according to the Word you believe in your heart, and it will be done for you (Matthew 9:29, John 15:6-7).

 

Never doubt your Father’s love for you. Jesus is always praying for you. Keep sowing His Word in your heart. Nourish it with meditation and prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal its truth to you. Believe His revelation. Receive out of the riches of His glory.

 

 

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Walk in Him

 

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Colossians 2:6).

 

 

If we followed what this verse says, it would end a lot of error in how we live. Paul says that the way we received Jesus as our Savior is the same way we should live our lives.

 

We received Jesus Christ by completely placing our faith in His grace. We had no holiness to offer Him. We had yet to fast or pray or read the Word. We came just as we were. We were sinners needing His forgiveness and grace.

 

But some Christians, after receiving Christ by faith, believe after they are saved God responds to them according to what they do for Him. They believe they receive from God based on their ability to live for Him. Instead of walking by faith in the assurance of their right standing with God, their need to feel God’s approval drives them to prove to God they are worthy of His love. What they do for God is driven by the flesh’s need for acceptance and recognition. Instead of trusting that they are loved by God, they strive to prove to themselves that God loves them enough to never leave or forsake them. They doubt God and are unsure of their relationship with Him. Their focus—their drive—their lives become all about what they do for Him instead of what He has done for them.

 

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

Jesus became our sin so we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We have no need to prove our right standing to God. Because of Jesus, we are worthy to God. Attempting to prove to God our righteousness is trying to earn His approval. That is nothing but pride, self-righteousness, and placing trust in ourselves instead of God. It is not walking in the righteousness Christ has given us. As we received Christ, we are to continue in the same way. If we began our lives in Christ by faith in His perfect work on the cross for us, we should continue to live our lives in Christ by faith in His perfect work. This is the exact point Paul made to the Galatians when they began to fall away from the grace they had found in Christ:

 

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3).

 

We can never make ourselves perfect through what we do. No one can ever prove themselves righteous by keeping the law. We did not receive Christ through our works. We received Him through faith. Having begun by faith in Jesus, why do some believe the works they do perfect them? You cannot perfect yourself or make yourself any better or more appealing to God through any work that you do. He receives you in Jesus just as you are. 

 

Jesus—the perfect Lamb of God who became our sin—is the One who proves us worthy to God. When we truly believe we are the righteousness of God in Jesus, we walk by faith in what Jesus has done for us. We “do” because of what Christ has done for us, not to make ourselves feel good about what we accomplish. Our works are of faith in Him and not of faith in ourselves. We walk by faith in His gift of righteousness. We know we don’t have to prove to God how much we love Him. We know Jesus has proved us worthy to God. What is important to us is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6). Spiritual understanding of our righteousness in Him drives us. His grace fuels our lives. We love Him and others—we serve Him and others—not to prove anything but because we know He first loved us (1 John 4:10-11). 

 

If we came to Christ for salvation by faith, why do we sometimes hesitate to come to Him for other things we need in our lives? Perhaps, because we don’t feel worthy of His love? Perhaps, we believe if we pray enough, fast enough, give enough, and do enough God will respond to us? God’s response to us is never based on our "worthiness" or what we do. We receive from God based on Christ’s worthiness and His perfect work. 

 

God has already responded to all our needs in Jesus Christ. Jesus earned the salvation we were unable to earn. He has earned the healing we were unable to earn. He has earned the deliverance and provision we were unable to earn. We cannot earn what Christ has earned for us. We are not “inherent heirs” waiting for our inheritance. Christ's work is finished. We are “coheirs” with Him. We receive from God by faith in what Christ has already accomplished. 

 

Believe in Him by faith. Receive from Him by faith. Walk in Him by faith. Not according to anything you have done or anything you do. You don’t need to turn the grace you received by faith into something you must do to get God to respond to you. Grow in your knowledge of Jesus’ love on the cross for you and the truths His grace has earned for you. His truth establishes your life. Beware of anyone—anything—any custom—any voice that deceives you. You cannot walk in Him in empty deceit. As you received Jesus, walk in Him. You will abound in joy in His love that loved you despite all your inadequacy.

 

“As you received Jesus Christ your Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8).

 

 

© 2024 Lynn Lacher

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The Kingdom of God in You

Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 

—Mark 4:30 NKJV

 

A kingdom is a sovereignty—a dominion—a realm ruled over by a king. Since God rules over everything, all of creation is God’s kingdom (Psalm 103:19). However, God’s kingdom applies to His rule in and through those who are surrendered to Him. The “Kingdom of God” specifically refers to Jesus Christ living and ruling in our hearts. When we pray “thy kingdom come,'” we are praying for the growth and impact of God's rule in the hearts of all men and for His physical Kingdom—the Second Coming— to come on earth (Revelation 11:15; 20:4).

 

During Jesus' ministry on earth, the Jews kept looking for Him to launch a physical kingdom and deliver them from Roman domination. Even though one day the physical Kingdom of God will rule the world, Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God to be received in the hearts of men (Mark 1:15, Matthew 9:35).

 

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation,” Jesus told the Pharisees. “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20b,21b).

 

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness,” Paul wrote, “and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13). 

 

As believers, God has saved us from the power of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His Son, Jesus. The Kingdom of His Son is not seen in our hearts. It is invisible. It is where He resides. We have His invisible Kingdom in us. 

 

Our new birth in Jesus brings us into the Kingdom of God which is infinitely greater and more wonderful than our finite minds can comprehend. To the degree we start to understand how God's Kingdom works and apply it to our lives, we can experience the power of His Kingdom working in us. 

 

“The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade” (Mark 4:31-32).

 

A mustard seed is tiny. In these verses, Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of God starts out very small in our lives. Just like the seed of a tree cannot be seen when it is sown, you cannot see the seed’s growth under the ground. However, sprouting occurs and roots grow down into the earth. Few are willing to take the time alone with the Lord so His Word can put down deep roots. They rely on what they sense and experience. They must see the visible to believe what the Word promises. They must see or hear they are healed physically to believe they are healed. They must physically see their lives filled with abundance to believe their lives are abundant. The growth the Word brings cannot be sustained without our roots going deeply into God’s truth. But when the truth of His Kingdom is deeply rooted in our hearts, the truth of God’s Word is abundantly produced in us, and we reap the life of its promise. 

 

Earth is just earth until a seed is sown. But when a seed is sown in the earth, it activates the soil, causing the seed to germinate and begin to grow. The incorruptible seed of God’s Word has the power to transform your life, but it has no opportunity until it is sown in your heart. Once sown, the powerful seed of God’s truth activates the soil of your heart, causing that seed of truth to germinate and begin to grow.

 

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come (Mark 4:26-29).

 

You have been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible seed, through the word of God which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23). When you keep putting the incorruptible seed of God’s Word in your heart, the miraculous power of the Word that lives forever—that discerns and separates truth from untruth—starts coming to life in you. When you protect the Word from the world and the enemy, the truth of the Word will ultimately be reaped in your life. 

 

Time passes with seed, time, and harvest. You sow the seed of His truth. First comes the blade—the beginning of the spiritual understanding of the truth you have sown, and then comes the head—the increasing of spiritual understanding of the truth by the Spirit. Then the full grain in the head will come—the revelation of the Holy Spirit that comes forth from that little seed of faith sown in your heart. There is a harvest of God’s truth in your life. When that Word ripens, you take that sickle of faith. You receive the harvest. You reap the fruit of the seed you have sown. 

 

His Word cannot be corrupted by anything—by any lie of the enemy—or any word anyone speaks over you. The imperishable and undying seed of God’s truth will produce the fruit His Word promises. But just like a seed takes time to grow, your promise can take time to become your reality. 

 

Jesus is the King who rules and reigns in the kingdom of your heart. You submit to the power of His truth. He came to give you abundant life. You submit to His truth for abundant life by sowing the Word in your heart, protecting it, and nourishing it with prayer and with the renewing of your mind. 

 

Jesus’ perfect work on your behalf is finished. There is nothing more for Him to do. Don’t doubt His Word just because you don’t experience it physically working in your life. Believe in God’s truth above anything you see, hear, or feel. When you are submitted to the truth of the spiritual Kingdom of God, the physical realm will be exceedingly and abundantly impacted by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through you (Ephesians 3:20).

 

“Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9:35).

 

When the gospel of grace is heard in your heart, the measure of faith God has given you is motivated (Romans 12:3, Romans 10:17). What truth has His gospel stirred in you? Plant His seed of truth in your heart, and guard your heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). His truth will flourish and give life. The blind will see, and the lame will walk. The deaf will hear, and the dead will live again (Matthew 11:5). 

 

You receive from God through faith in what Jesus has already provided by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, Matthew 9:29, Mark 11:22-24). Sow the Word of Jesus’ healing grace, and reap its fruit. Sow the Word of your promise, and reap what has had no life, receiving His resurrection life.

 

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