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Monday, August 31, 2020

New in Christ



Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

—Mark 10:52 (AMP)

 

 

Our pastor taught yesterday on Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, who was determined to get Jesus’ attention. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was the reason for the large crowd, he began crying out loudly for the Lord to have mercy on him. Several in the crowd told him to be still and quiet, but Bartimaeus cried out louder. It didn’t matter that they were upset. Jesus heard Bartimaeus and called him to come to him. When some in the crowd heard Jesus calling him, they said to Bartimaeus, “Take courage. He is calling you.” Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus. Jesus asked him what we wanted, and Bartimaeus said he wanted to regain his sight. And Jesus told him that his faith had made him well.

 

This blind beggar believed that Jesus could heal him. He took responsibility for what he needed in his life. It didn’t matter about the taunts of the crowd or what they thought of him. When Bartimaeus moved forward toward Jesus, he stepped away from his identity as a blind man. And he received what Jesus had for him—a new identity as a man who could see.

 

Often, we identify with an illness we experience—or a problem we have—or a failure we encounter, instead of identifying with Jesus. Jesus waits for us to move forward in faith, believing all things are possible in Him. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says. If Bartimaeus had waited for the perfect opportunity, he would have missed his healing. Jesus made it clear to Bartimaeus why he received his sight. "Your faith [and confident trust in My power]," Jesus said, "has made you well" (Mark 10:52, AMP). 

 

Sometimes an illness or problem or failure we identify with becomes our comfort zone. It becomes our identity. We see ourselves less than Jesus sees us. But if we move toward Jesus believing He will heal us, we move away from the emotional and physical things we experience toward the spiritual truth of healing in Him. Feelings become less important. We start to see ourselves through the truth of His Word. Our perception changes and we identify with Jesus. He becomes our identity. 

 

After Jesus told Bartimaeus that his faith had made him well, Bartimaeus immediately began following Jesus down the road. He went with the person who had changed his life. Yes, Bartimaeus could see with his eyes, but he could see so much more. He no longer saw himself as the man who had sat by the road's side, begging in his need. Bartimaeus identified with Jesus, who had told him that his faith had made him well. 

 

With what do you identify?  Is it Jesus, or is it an illness—your failure—your past? "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]" (2 Corinthians 5:17, AMP).

 

You are new in Jesus—reborn by His Spirit. Jesus doesn't see you as sinful or infirmed or a failure. He wishes you to see and understand what He has given you at Calvary. You are grafted and joined to Him by faith. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal in His Word your new identity in Christ. Leave the baggage of your old self behind. Have confident faith. When you identify with Jesus, all things are possible. You will know His truth, and it will set you free. Just like Bartimaeus, fight the obstacles and believe.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/new-in-christ.html

Friday, August 28, 2020

Relationship or Religion



 

For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ. For He was foreordained (foreknown) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared [publicly] in these last times for your sake.

—1 Peter 1:18-20 (AMP)

 

 

Are you in bondage to an image of God inspired by tradition? Perhaps, you haven’t experienced the grace-filled depth of your redemption in Jesus. Maybe, you unknowingly have thought of the blood of Christ that saved you as something perishable like gold or silver, when, in fact, His precious blood has saved you for eternity from sin. For your sake, God put His perfect answer for sin into place before the world's foundation. Like a spotless and sinless lamb, Jesus Christ purchased you with His precious blood that never perishes. You are free to experience the fullness of His grace—not to live in bondage.

 

In Mark 7, the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, "Why do your disciples not live their lives according to the elders' tradition but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

 

Jesus replied, “Isaiah rightly prophesied correctly about you, hypocrites!” And then He quoted what Isaiah had written. “These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures]” (Mark 7:6a-7, AMP).

 

“’You disregard and neglect the commandment of God,” Jesus told the Pharisees, “and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.’ He was also saying to them, ‘You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and regulations’” (Mark 7:8-9, AMP).

 

Religion will keep you in the tradition of men instead of the fullness of God. You don't find Jesus in the teachings of men. The imperishable freedom that Jesus offers comes in a relationship with Him. The traditions established by religion can grow more important in your life than the Truth of His Word. The Pharisees stated that Jesus ignored the traditions of their faith. Yet, some, like Nicodemus, were amazed at the miraculous before them and sensed the relationship Jesus offered.

 

Are you in bondage to tradition? Are you willing to look at your faith honestly? Is your faith religion, or is it a relationship?  In worshiping or honoring God, do you feel far away from Him?  Like you can't reach Him? Religion didn't die for you and purchase you with its tradition. Jesus Christ died for you and paid the price for your sin with His precious blood.

 

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]” (2 Corinthians 3:17, AMP). 

 

Are you hungry for a relationship with Jesus? Where Jesus is, there is emancipation from bondage—from the religion of men! You have real freedom! You can't draw close to a tradition. Draw near to the person of Jesus Christ and experience the depth of His love for you. His grace is freedom from religion. His grace is a relationship and revelation of love that sets you free.

 

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, you can be there, too.

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/relationship-or-religion.html

 


Thursday, August 27, 2020

The Real You



 

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

—John 6:63 (NKJV)

 

 

Only the Holy Spirit gives life. The flesh earns nothing. The words that Jesus speaks to you are of His Spirit, and they bring His life to your spirit. Your body is the home in which your spirit lives, but it is not the real you. 

 

The spirit in you gives life to your body. If you take the spirit out of the body, all you have left is a body with no life. Hence, the spirit in you is the real you. Death is not ceasing to exist. It is separation from the physical body. When you were born into this world, you had a spirit, which was separated from God. When you were born-again, your spirit was reborn by God's Spirit.

 

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT). When your spirit has been born-again, the Spirit of God lives in you. His Spirit has become new life in you.

 

Believers have the same Spirit of God that we received. We can't relate to each other in the natural, because we miss who we really are. To know each other, we recognize the Spirit of God within. We know each other spirit-to-spirit and should never judge someone by their physical appearance, such as skin color or physical deformity. Jesus didn’t judge you by your appearance. Jesus saw you—the real you—and forgiving you, died for your sins so you could have a new life. When you believed in Him, His Spirit came to give you His life. 

 

“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature,” Paul wrote to the Romans. “You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:9-11, NLT).

 

Are you controlled by your senses—what you taste, see, or feel? But you were created to be a spirit, and that is how you know God—spirit-to-spirit. God didn't create you to live by your senses. Christ lives within you. It is how He reveals His truth and grace to you. And it how He knows you intimately. When your spirit has been reborn by His Spirit, death can’t separate you from God. Even though your mortal body will die one day, your soul, which was transformed by the Spirit of God living within you, never will. The life of His Spirit within you lives forever. Just as God raised Jesus from death, He also gives your body life by His Spirit living within you.

 

The real you lives in your relationship with Jesus—spirit-to-spirit. He lives within you—prays within you—reveals himself to you—rejoices with you. Open your mind to receive all that He has given you. You have nothing to fear. Life on earth has no power to separate you from the finished work of the Cross. Death to your body doesn’t separate you from the love of God. You live with Him forever.

 

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 38-39, NLT)!

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/the-real-you.html

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

His Timing

 

 

Be still in the presence of the Lord,

    and wait patiently for him to act.

—Psalm 37:7a (NLT)

 

 

Why is there a picture of a springing tiger, and I'm writing about waiting for the Lord to act?  Keep reading if you want to know. 


Quit doing and rushing and pushing to make something happen. Be still—not waiting impatiently or desperately for a sign from God, but waiting in absolute confidence that God will act. In His presence, there is no struggle to be patient. Peace in His presence wipes away any thought that you have anything to do. You abundantly receive His love. 

 

 “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV). 

 

What do you find waiting in His presence? Your strength renews. You can rise above anything that concerns you. Circumstances don't control you because you realize that God fixes what you can't. As you soar in God’s strength, you believe He will act. You move in His Spirit and never grow weary. Trusting Him, you walk by faith and don’t grow faint with discouragement. When you remain still in His presence, confident faith rises to appropriate your promise. You believe and have no doubt. You can speak to your mountain, knowing that God will act (Mark 11:23-24).

 

"Take delight in the Lord," David writes, "and he will give you your heart's desires" (Psalm 37:4, NLT). When you delight in God, you spend time in His presence, receiving what your heart desires. Jesus gave you the overflowing bounty of God at Calvary. He saved you—healed you—and entirely provided for your every need. Take delight in Him! His grace covers you.

 

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised” (Hebrews 10:23, 35-36, NLT).

 

Does waiting for God to act and telling your mountain to move have anything in common? Oh yes! Perfect timing in the grace of God is what they have in common. The Holy Spirit directs you when the time is right for the mountain to move in your life. Speaking too early will bring discouragement. Waiting until the time is right makes all the difference. The verb “wait” in Isaiah 40:31 means you wait with intention. You wait as if you are a tiger ready for its prey to come into sight. Your muscles are coiled tightly, equipped to spring into action when the time is right. You are prepared to speak to your mountain when God has brought all the elements into play. The Holy Spirit guides you. Your faith, leaping to take hold of its promise, activates what God has already accomplished in the spiritual. 

 

Hold tightly without wavering—without doubting—to what you believe. God is faithful to keep His promises. Be confident in the Lord and His mighty power! Your confidence grows when your relationship with Him strengthens. Your relationship is strengthened and empowered by the Word in His presence.

 

God’s timing is perfect. You believe and speak, and He acts. God is faithful.


 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/his-timing.html

 

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Breathe in Me


 

For He remembered that they were but flesh,

A breath that passes away and does not come again.

—Psalm 78:39 (NLT)

 

 

         You remember that I am flesh—only a breath that passes away. But you made me, Lord. You breathed your life into me. I am your creation. Not my own. Yours. You have fashioned me for eternity!  I may be like a flower that is here today and gone tomorrow, but I am never gone from your presence. I am forever with you.

 

         You are the breath in my lungs and the heartbeat of my soul. You are my comfort and my joy—my peace and power. I remain strong in you. You have given me your mind and your words. I choose to speak your words. My words have no power. Your words are all-knowing and all-forgiving. Your words are grace. Let your breath in me speak hope and life and truth.

 

         While I am here, that is your call for me. You have bought me with the most perfect love. Always breathe in me. Be my words, and be my heart. Often, we speak death in the thoughts we allow—in the decisions we make—in the forgiveness we withhold. Lord, make me aware. Keep me soft, malleable, and yielding. Speak your truth and life through me.

 

         You live in this body that will one day die, Lord. But my soul is forever alive in you. You have called me with your everlasting love. Fill me continually to fulfill the joy of my calling to share your grace. Lord, I pray for your wisdom and for Holy Spirit-breathed revelation. Teach me the heights of your Word. Breathe into my life. And claim me as your emissary of grace.

 

         In this world, I am but a breath that passes away and never comes again. My time here is never enough to breathe your grace. But in the time that I have, I shall tell of your love that has taken my breath and given me your own. I shall write of your grace that breathes new life into lungs starved for the life of your heart.

 

         All my life you have been faithful and so good to me. With every breath, I will share your goodness, Lord. Let everything that has breath praise you, faithful God!  

 

         Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22, NLT).

 

         Breathe in me, Holy Spirit.

 

©200 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/breathe-in-me.html

Monday, August 24, 2020

By His Stripes


Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

—1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV)

 

 

Jesus bore our sins so that we might be free of sin and filled with His righteousness. Peter writes that by His stripes—by the wounds He took for us—we WERE healed. His death on the Cross not only paid for our sins. It paid for our illnesses. And He paid it all in FULL. We are saved and healed by the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. 

 

I have been on a journey in the last few months, learning what the Word says about healing. And I discovered something that I wanted to explore in-depth. Jesus not only saved me at Calvary. He also healed me. The Scripture very clearly teaches me that Jesus didn’t do a partial work on the Cross. It was a complete work. I am sharing some of my journey with you. I’m not here to tell you what to believe. I’m just sharing what the Word has revealed to me.

 

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV). By the beating He took—by the deep gashes in His torn flesh—by the gift of His precious blood, I am healed.  I am whole in my spirit, in my mind (aka soul), and in my body.

 

I can be healed in the spiritual realm, but that healing may not be revealed in my physical body. Just because I feel sick or have an illness doesn’t mean that Jesus hasn’t healed me. To take hold of the Truth that Jesus did a complete healing work for me on the Cross, I choose to believe in His healing just as I once chose to believe in Jesus’ salvation by faith. When I believe the Word about healing, I choose His spiritual Truth over what I feel. His Truth transforms my mind and the way I perceive. I have greater hope. Healing progresses as my faith grows stronger each day to believe that I am whole.

 

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases" (Psalm 103:2-3, NLT). Don't we sometimes forget the good things He does for us?  The Word says never to forget these good things. We must choose to hold on to His Truth deliberately. And what is the Truth in this Scripture? Not only does He heal all my sins. He heals all my diseases.

 

"He sent His Word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death" (Psalm 107:20, NLT). God sent His Word and snatched me from the door of death. Yes, this refers to salvation from spiritual death, but I believe that it also refers to deliverance from physical death. Healing is part of Christ's payment for our sins (Isaiah 53:5). 

 

How do we get this kind of faith to believe? “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17, NKJV).  Faith is our response to the grace of Jesus. We learn from hearing His Word. Because faith without works is dead, we must act on what we believe. Don’t we want an alive faith? We know that without faith, we can't please God (Hebrews 11:6). 

 

My measure of faith grows stronger by taking in and digesting the Word of God.  “My child,” God says, “pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them and healing to their whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22, NLT). His Words are life, and they bring healing.

 

“Have faith in God,” Jesus said. “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours” (Mark 11:22-24, NLT).

 

What mountain in your life do you wish to throw into the sea? Is it an illness? Is it fear? Have faith in God. You don't throw your mountain into the sea. God does when you speak by faith what you believe. When doubt is conquered by faith, nothing holds back the power of God. You believe. If you believe Jesus said, it will be yours.

 

“Because you believed,” Jesus told the Roman officer, “it has happened” (Matthew 8:13, NLT). And the officer’s servant was healed within that very hour—because he believed.  The woman with the issue of blood was healed by her faith when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. We believe by faith. We speak what we believe because Jesus died so we might have life.

 

I believe by faith in the healing Jesus bought for me with His life. He personally carried my sin to the Cross. Now I am dead to sin and alive in Him. But not only just alive spiritually. By His wounds, I am healed.

 

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10, NLT).  Thank you, Jesus, for loving me with your life. I won’t let the enemy steal the seed of faith you have planted in my heart.  I choose your purpose for me—to have a rich and satisfying life.

 

“Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17:14, NIV).

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/by-his-stripes.html

Friday, August 21, 2020

Live to Give


 

You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

—Acts 20:35b (NLT)

 

 

Live to give. Don’t live to get. Jesus lived and died to give. He knew that it was more blessed to give than to receive. “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul wrote. “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NLT). Jesus was rich in mercy. And at the Cross He made himself poor for your sake so you might be made rich by His generous grace.

 

Do you know you are rich in His abounding grace? Giving yourself away is something that comes from entering into the finished work of Jesus. You cannot have the unselfishness of Jesus without entering into His presence. Daily time in His presence is where you find His generosity of Spirit. Without that day-to-day intimacy, your desire to be as He is fades away. It is like Moses covering His face not because God's presence was too powerful to be seen, but because God’s presence in His life was waning. If you don’t regularly enter and re-enter into God’s presence, you lack growth in faith. The power that you receive from His presence also fades. Day to day is where you find God—not week to week. 

 

Jesus shared from what He had. Share from what you have. “And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed” (Hebrews 7:7, NLT). When you help someone in need out of His abundant grace, you are the one who is blessed. Your heart is soft and pliant. Your spirit is sensitive to Him. You say “yes” to whatever He asks because He is your joy. 

 

“Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly” (2 Corinthians 8:11b-12a, NLT). “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives cheerfully’” (2 Corinthians 9:7, (NLT). Don’t give because it is required. Give when the Holy Spirit has reached out to you. Cheerful giving comes from the heart of Jesus.

 

Many people live to make as much money as they can so they will feel secure. Their security is in something that can be lost tomorrow. They live to get. They forget that the only real safety is in God. But there are those to live to give. They know the joyful freedom of giving. They don’t give to receive. They give to bless others and then end up being the ones who are blessed.

 

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs" (Matthew 5:1, NLT).  When you realize you are "poor" in your need for Him, you seek Him daily. And then you, who were poor, become rich in His Spirit. God promises you the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Kingdom of Heaven comes in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. You daily enter into His finished work of grace.

 

Have you experienced that it is more blessed than to receive?  Giving is an attitude of your heart, just as Jesus giving His life was the attitude of His heart. You don't have to be rich monetarily to give. You have to be rich in His Spirit. Don’t live to get the world’s riches. Live to give His.

 

2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/live-to-give.html

Thursday, August 20, 2020

His Truth Goes On


 

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

—Psalm 23:1-3 (NKJV)

 

 

Who you believe you are, is who you are. Wrong beliefs can keep you from knowing the wholeness and healing that Jesus has given you. The “I can’ts” that fill your mind reinforce the lies that hold you back. Knowing your identity in Christ is absolutely critical to experience a fulfilling life of freedom that overflows in Him. 

 

When you grasp the Truth the Holy Spirit reveals in His Word, it sets you free. You become a conduit of God’s love and grace—filled with peace and joy instead of fear and anxiety. When you are ready to defeat the “I can’ts" in your life, you are prepared to experience the fullness of grace Jesus won for you on Calvary.

 

In Psalm 23:1-3, there are truths that tell you who you are in Jesus and what He accomplishes in your life. These are truths that overthrow lies that have convinced you that you are someone you aren't.  

 

The lie is: The Lord doesn't care about you. The Truth is: The Lord is your shepherd. The Holy Spirit guides you and rescues you in trouble. He teaches you what His forgiveness means in your life. Perhaps, you have believed that you aren’t “good enough” for His love. That is a lie the enemy uses to defeat your faith. You are more than “good enough” to Jesus. He sees value in your life when you don’t. The Holy Spirit is your shepherd, who fills you with Truth and His power to believe it.

 

The lie is: I am in need.  The Truth is: You shall not want. You aren't in need. You have the fullness of Christ's finished work on the Cross. But you can’t live what you don’t believe. Allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your mind with His Truth teaches you who you are. You choose to believe what He reveals. And who are you? You are pardoned and healed in the gift of His grace. When you believe that you are righteous in Jesus—forgiven in Him—healed in Him, you live a life of freedom from guilt and shame. You have His acceptance and approval. Your assurance overflows into the lives of others. 

 

The lie is: Rest is not of God, and He always wants you striving and working to prove that you love Him. The Truth is: He makes you lie down in green pastures. He leads you beside still waters. The Holy Spirit convinces you of the Truth of your new life that Jesus has given you. But sometimes you are just too busy with worrying and working for Jesus to take the time to experience His peace. When you work for Jesus without taking the time to be renewed and refreshed by His Spirit, you burn out. You make your life about you instead of Him. Get off the treadmill of working for His approval and rest in His love. Allow Him to show you what it means to be His. Slow down. Listen and wait. Be patient as the Holy Spirit molds you. He wants you to rest in His grace and receive from His bounty. He leads you beside still waters to reveal the next Truth.

 

The Lord restores your soul. You don't have to accept the lie that you will forever experience rejection, fear, illness, and failure. Jesus doesn't see you as a victim. He sees you as He has made you—victorious. The Holy Spirit wishes to restore you to wholeness and healing that Jesus has purchased with His life. Choose to believe the gift of His grace has set you free. Accept what Jesus says is true. He overcomes any emotion that is out of control. He restores you to believe in your mind what you have received in your born-again spirit.

 

The lie is: I can never live a godly life. The Truth is: He leads you in paths of righteousness. Jesus has made you righteous! Without understanding this, you will strive to be righteous—struggling for His approval—instead of resting in the identity He has given you. When you entirely believe the precious gift of His righteousness, you are overwhelmed with His grace. You have the desire and power to make good choices because you experience His love's cleansing depth. You believe and accept what the Word reveals about your life in Christ. You walk in His grace, overflowing with His love and empowered by His Spirit.

 

Do you believe that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus? Do you experience the unmasked freedom of that truth?  When you accept the Holy-Spirit revealed truth of your identity in Jesus, you live in God's fullness. The “I cans” in Jesus outweigh the “I can’ts.”  You refuse and rebuke the lies of the enemy. You know that you amount to something because of Jesus. You are worth His life. He loves you with the most incredible love.

 

Why does He do all this for you? He does it for His name’s sake—for His own glory. What Jesus has done for you can’t be undone. The lies and the “I can’ts” don’t have to rule your life. Accept who Jesus says you are. Believe who you are.

Forgiven. Saved. Healed. Righteous. Victorious. Free. And His Truth goes on.

 

© 2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/his-truth-goes-on.html

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Clueless No More


The Lord is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

The Lord protects the unwary;

when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you.

For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

—Psalm 116:5-9, NIV

 

 

Return to your rest, my soul! Mind, you have nothing to worry about! 

 

God has delivered me from death—my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling! He is my Savior, Protector, and Healer! Full of compassion and righteousness and graciousness, Jesus has claimed me as His own. He loves me.

 

When life brought me low, Jesus saved me. When I was careless, He rescued me from stupidity, Oh, the mistakes I made! But He saw value in me that I never saw in myself. His love swept me off my feet! He has been so good to me!

 

I will never forget how “the cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘Lord, save me’” (Psalm 116:3-4, NIV)! And He did!

 

Each day my mind returns to rest in Him. Each day I choose His peace over worry and fear of things that are out my control. I will not allow my mind to question—to be clueless or careless again! I trust the Savior who raised me from death!

 

“I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy” (Psalm 116:1, NIV)! I walk in His incredible grace in the land of the living. I live with Him now, and I will live with Him for eternity! 

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/clueless-no-more.html

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Possess His Joy




Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

—Psalm 37:4 (NLT)

 

 

Do you find joy in knowing Jesus Christ? This verse says to “take delight in the Lord.”  When you take something, you possess it. You own it. Joy is yours in Jesus. The Holy Spirit calls for you to take it—to own the joy Jesus has given you. Jesus didn’t give His life for you to strive in shame and live in fear. He wants you to possess what He has possessed for you. Righteousness in Him. Freedom in Him. Strength in Him. Peace in Him. Rest in Him. To own any of these you understand the value Jesus has imparted to them—you grasp the change they bring—you believe by faith beyond any doubt that they are yours. And when you believe, you have joy. 

 

“Always be full of joy in the Lord,” Paul wrote. “I say it again—rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, NLT). Paul reminds the Philippians that when they choose to rejoice in the joy Jesus has given them, they shall be full of joy in Him. Your attitude determines the value of His gift. If you choose to believe and praise Him for His righteousness—His freedom—His strength—His peace—His rest, then they are yours. When you take delight in them, they are real to you. When you believe in your mind—when you take on the new identity He has purchased for you, you own that identity. You possess it. You take delight in the joy of your salvation.

 

Jesus knows your heart’s desires. He placed His own within you the moment you were born again. He fulfilled them in the spiritual realm the moment you believed in Him. For you to understand what this means for you, the Holy Spirit changes your perception in the spirit of your mind. He renews your thoughts. He transforms your understanding from the natural realm to the spiritual. You no longer believe what the natural says is true. You believe what can’t be seen, heard, or felt. Evidence is the reality of what is not seen. In the spiritual, His truth exists. It becomes real in the natural when you believe in what you have received.

 

“The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, NLT)! You own joy from a position of strength. Joy is yours when you know the worth and value He has placed on your life. And when you know your value, you can “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” (Ephesians 6:10, NLT). 

 

Allow the value of righteousness Jesus poured into your life to change your perception of who you are. Be transformed by that truth. Take joy in the change He has brought. You are His heart’s desire, and He is yours. Possess His joy!

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/possess-his-joy.html

Monday, August 17, 2020

His Fruit in You

 

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

—Galatians 5:22-24 (NLT)

 

 

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are all part of one fruit. Aren’t these wonderful attributes to have? God’s love that flows without restriction—His joy that brings contentment—His peace that calms—His patience that perseveres—His kindness that forgives—His goodness filled with virtue —His faithfulness that believes—His gentleness that quietens—His control that gives self-control. All of these make up one fruit. And that fruit is produced by the Holy Spirit within you. When you have the fruit of His Spirit, you need no law to guide. The Holy Spirit guides you. You belong to Jesus Christ. The desires of your sinful nature are nailed to the Cross and crucified with Him. 

 

All of these facets of the fruit that Jesus has birthed in you work together in His perfect grace. At times one aspect is more prevalent than another, but all are in your life because you received the fruit in your spirit when you were born-again by His Spirit. Your soul grows in each fruit's facet as you allow the Holy Spirit to transform your mind. 

 

One synonym for "fruit" is "harvest." The Holy Spirit grows each facet of the fruit in you, such as love and patience and faithfulness, and then brings to harvest each one's fullness. He brings out the best He has grown in you. Another synonym for “fruit” is “bounty.” When you allow the Holy Spirit to harvest kindness, goodness, gentleness, and each facet of the fruit in your life, you bountifully receive the Holy Spirit's overflowing power. 

 

Don’t ever say that you don’t have what Jesus died to give you. The fruit might not be fully grown and harvested in your life, but it is real because He identifies you as His own. Allow the Holy Spirit to develop within you the fullness of each facet. You flow in His love. His joy claims you. The peace of Jesus calms you. You persevere in His patience. Without any selfishness, His kindness forgives. Goodness is His virtue that you freely live. In His faithfulness, you believe and stay His course. His gentleness in you quietens any storm. His control is your self-control. You have the fullness of God, and it flows out of your life into others' lives.

 

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:19-20, NLT).

 

Isn’t it miraculous that God can accomplish the growth of His fruit in you?  He accomplishes much more than you might ask or even think. He promises that you will experience His love and power more thoroughly than you have ever known. You will know His abundant life that comes from the fruit of the Spirit flowing in you. Each day surrender to the Holy Spirit's work and allow Him to develop what He has given you. 

 

“I thank God continually for you and I never give up praying for you; and this is my prayer. That God, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the all-glorious Father, will give you spiritual wisdom and the insight to know more of him: that you may receive that inner illumination of the spirit which will make you realize how great is the hope to which he is calling you—the magnificence and splendor of the inheritance promised to Christians—and how tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God” (Ephesians 1:17-19, Phillips).

 

 

©2020 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2020/08/his-fruit-in-you.html

 

Faith is Your Evidence

    How often do we doubt God’s willingness to meet our needs or give us the desires of our hearts? Perhaps we don’t believe because we are ...