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Friday, December 31, 2021

With Confidence



 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

—Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

 

Can you approach God with freedom and confidence? Or are you hindered by failures and disappointments and shame?  You are the child of a loving God and belong to Him (John 1:12, Ephesians 1:5, 1 Corinthians 6:20). You have unhindered access to your Father with anything (Ephesians 3:18). But if don’t experience the freedom of a relationship with your Father, you haven’t experienced the truth of what Christ has done for you.

 

The gift of Christ’s life has given you a vast inheritance—all the riches of His glory (Ephesians 1:18) And the gift of His life brings you into the intimate presence of a loving Father who waits patiently for you to know who He is in your life. He wants you to experience His love for you.

 

As God’s redeemed child, you can freely approach Him with boldness (Ephesians 3:11-12). You have nothing to fear from God (2 Timothy 1:7). His love for you is perfect (1 John 4:18). Your relationship with God is no longer one that fears judgment but knows the merciful Grace of Christ. Jesus took the judgment you once deserved, and now you have a healed heart. God is your Father of mercy waiting with open arms. He is the God of Grace that fills you and completes you (Ephesians 3:19). You don’t have to live a fragmented life with raging emotions and pains and fears. The Word reveals that you are complete in every way in Him (Colossians 2:10). You are whole and healed and free.

 

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2), NKJV).

 

When Jesus died for you, He made your relationship right with God. He not only took your sins to the Cross but also your fear of failure—your fear of never being good enough—your shame—and said that you are clean and righteous and a child of His Father. When you believe by faith in the finished work of Jesus, you are justified by His Grace. You have free access to your Abba Father. The truth of your freedom is real, but you have to access that truth by faith. You choose to believe. And when you stand, believing, in that truth, you rejoice in the marvelous hope of His glory!

 

You have a relationship with God because of Jesus. You have peace with God and peace in your life because of Jesus. There is no reason to doubt God’s love for you or for you to struggle with shame or guilt. Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn you but to set you free from condemnation (John 3:17). You can go boldly into God’s presence not fearing Him but KNOWING His love (Hebrews 4:16).

 

You are qualified by Christ to share in His inheritance (Colossians 1:12). What belongs to Him belongs to you. His relationship with His Father is also your relationship. Know who you are in Christ. Pray with freedom and confidence. You don’t have to beg God to hear your petitions. You don’t have to crawl to the Cross. You can run to God in the freedom of His Resurrection life that is yours. 

 

“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” (I John 5:14-15, NKJV).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/with-confidence.html

 

 

 

Thursday, December 30, 2021

By His Stripes



 

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

—3 John 2 (NKJV)

 

 

There is an authority in the living Word of God. It is absolute Truth. When the Word is believed and received in your heart, nothing can hinder its power. Many fight illnesses and struggle to believe in healing. The Word makes it clear that God’s desire is for us to be well. But so many have trouble believing it.  

 

“He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death” (Psalm 107:20, NLT). 

 

Do you know that Jesus is the Word? God sent His Son into the world to forgive your sins, heal your illnesses, and deliver you from oppression.  That is what the grace of Jesus purchased for you—a complete and finished work of healing.

 

“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. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2-4, NLT). 

 

Yes, He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. You are redeemed by His grace. Don’t ever forget this Truth. 

 

“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 1:24, NKJV). 

 

By the wounds Christ took for us, we WERE healed. The finished work of His grace has healed you.

 

God sent His Word to heal us. He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. He redeems us from death. God sends His Word to accomplish His purpose in our lives, and that purpose is to believe and receive His Truth. 

 

“And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38, NLT). 

 

Jesus didn’t do anything on His own. God was with Him, anointing Him with power. Jesus healed all those who were oppressed by the enemy. He never placed sickness on anyone, because illness is not of God. 

 

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14, NLT). 

 

God is abundant life. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy life (John 10:10). But in dying for us Jesus broke the power of the enemy and of death.

 

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NKJV). 

 

We receive healing like we receive salvation—by faith. We chose by faith to receive Jesus' gift of salvation. In the same way, we also accept His gift of healing. We believe in our hearts that God wants us to have good health.

 

Why do we have trouble believing in healing? Because it is hard to believe in what we don’t see or feel. It is hard to believe in the intangible. We often doubt, and a double-minded man will not receive from God (James 1:6-8). Sometimes God heals immediately, but most often, He heals progressively as our souls prosper in Him—as the Truth of God's Word transforms our minds (Romans 12:2). 

 

Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into God’s Word and to renew your mind (John 16:13, Romans 12:2). Hold on to God’s Truth without wavering (Hebrews 10:23). Don’t base what you believe on how you feel or what you hear or what you see. Keep on believing no matter if what you pray for is not seen or felt. Believe that "by His stripes, you were healed."

 

Have confidence when you pray that you have asked according to God's will. You know your prayer will be answered (1 John 5:14-15). Believe that you receive what you pray for and that one day it will happen. Believe that God wishes above all things that you be in health and prosper even as your soul prospers. And believe the Word instead of what you feel or see or experience. 

 

“My child,” God instructs, “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).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/by-his-stripes.html

 

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Believe It


 

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

—Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

 

Do you believe it? Are you convinced that nothing that comes against you—no death or life situation—no power of darkness—nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God you have received in Jesus? Nothing can separate you from the power of God's love. When you believe this Truth, you are convinced of God's love. You live the confidence that His love gives you. You persevere and believe in what you are promised.

 

“Endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:4, NIV). 

 

Persevere for the promises of God. Develop a strong character that exhibits confident hope. Faith is your response to the finished work of the Cross. You choose to believe that Jesus is more than enough. If God gave His Son, won't He give you all things (Romans 8:32)? Confident hope takes root in your heart and blossoms as God's Truth transforms your spiritual understanding.

 

“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 10:35-36, NLT). 

 

Hold on to God’s Truth, and claim the promises of your new life in Christ. He is the Lord who completely restores—your Healer of sin and sickness and fear and grief and every pain of life. God’s will for you is living life in the fullness of His grace. Persevere and believe by faith. You receive from the bounty of His overwhelming love for you.

 

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20, NKJV).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/believe-it.html

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Have Faith Not Doubt




Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

—Hebrews 10:23 (NKJV)

 

 

Do you believe God is faithful to do as He promises, or do you doubt Him? Doubt comes against the power of faith. The opposite of doubt is certainty—confidence—trust. What God promises is certain. When you place trust in God, your faith grows. Confidence grows. And you find it easier to believe in God’s promises even when they feel impossible.

 

Believing is the answer to receiving from God. 

 

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24, NKJV). 

 

Don’t doubt your mountain will move. Don't doubt your promise. Believe what you ask will be done. When you pray believing that you receive, you shall receive.

 

What hope has God placed within your heart? You can believe it without doubting. But God is not going to pour confident trust into your heart so that you can believe Him. Believing comes by applying faith in God. God keeps His promises. He doesn’t lie. You choose not to doubt and to believe by faith in the evidence of what you can’t see right now. God has already done the work in His realm. For it to be real in yours, you place confident trust in God and believe Him.

 

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let, not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8, NKJV). 

 

A person who can’t make up his mind to believe one way or the other is unstable. He doesn’t know what He thinks. How can this man receive God’s promise if he doesn’t really understand what He believes?

 

“As you have believed,” Jesus told the centurion, “it will be done for you” (Matthew 8:13). Within the next hour, the centurion’s servant was healed. 

 

“According to your faith let it be to you,” Jesus told the two blind men, and they were healed (Matthew 9:29).

 

What do you believe God has promised you?  And do you believe strongly—without doubting or wavering? Do you speak your hope? The power of life or death is in what you speak. You will experience the result of what you believe and declare (Proverbs 18:21). 

 

Take hold of the measure of faith God has given you (Romans 12:3). Believe and speak your hope without wavering. Your God, who promised you, is faithful.


© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/have-faith-not-doubt.html

Monday, December 27, 2021

God's Final Word



Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

—Psalms 119:89 (NKJV)

 

When you believe by faith—when you take the Word at its unfailing value—you receive. His Word is settled in heaven. It is the final authority.

 

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, NKJV). Faith and the Word of God are synonymous. You can’t have faith without hearing the Word, and the Word can’t be heard without it building your faith. Hence, you can’t have one without the other.

 

The Word connects our healing with our hearing. A few examples are Matthew 13:15, Luke 5:15, and Luke 6:17. 

 

Read Matthew 13:15: “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them” (NKJV). 

 

This verse states that when you understand the Word with your heart, you receive God’s healing. To hear the Truth of the Word over what the world or what any other person says, the truths of who you are in Christ need to be known and understood. You have the mind of Christ to understand these truths (1 Corinthians 2:16). And when you allow these truths to renew your mind, you believe (Romans 12:2).

 

Faith pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). When you appropriate (take) by faith what Jesus has given His life for you to have, it pleases Him. Faith means nothing without the Word and has no power without the Word. An alive faith comes by HEARING the Word (present tense) and not by just having HEARD the Word in the past. God rewards those who diligently seek Him with the revealed Truth of His Word. You seek God, and you receive His Word (John 1:1, Matthew 7:8).

 

We experience this natural world through our senses—what we see, hear, feel, taste, or touch. The Word of God is the substance of things hoped for. It is the Truth of things not perceived by our senses (Hebrews 11:1). The Word of God is the spiritual realm of what can’t be seen but is true.

 

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).  What we speak is what we receive (Proverbs 18:21). When we speak of what we feel and experience as Truth—we confess what is felt by our senses. But when we speak the Truth of the Word—no matter how we feel or what our circumstance—we confess the Truth of the supernatural realm of God. We speak the authority of God’s unseen over what is seen. 

 

The world says to be afraid. God has not given you a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7) The world says you are sick and have no chance of healing. God says that by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). The world says your needs won’t be met. The Word says He supplies all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ (Philippians 4:19). If you really believed the Word, wouldn’t you confess His truth instead of what the world says or what the enemy says about you? Wouldn’t you believe the Savior who died for you over the one who attempts to steal, kill and destroy you?  

 

The atoning sacrifice of Christ not only gave you the forgiveness of your sins but included the healing of your body from sickness and disease (Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:23-24, Matthew 9:5, James 5:15). 

 

The physical pain you feel or the circumstances you face are real. You don’t deny you have pain, and you don’t deny that something hurts you. But when you give something more authority in your life than God’s Truth, you are giving the world and the world’s reports more power than His Word. When you yield to the enemy’s lies instead of being renewed in your mind by God’s Truth, you reap the results of the lies that have been sown (Galatians 6:7). 

 

Walking by faith and not by sight is believing in the unseen Truth of God over what you see, feel, taste, or touch. Take the measure of faith God has given you and renew your mind with His Truth (Romans 12:2-3). The Holy Spirit guides you into all of God’s Truth—into the unseen of God’s spiritual realm that fills you with every spiritual blessing (John 14:17, 16:13, Ephesians 1:3).

 

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed (Isaiah 53:1, NKJV). You received forgiveness for your sins when you believed in Christ and spoke what you believed. You receive healing the same way. You persevere in believing and speaking God’s good report for your life instead of any report of this world. 

 

God’s Word is Truth, and He has the Last Word. Not knowing the Word keeps you from receiving what Christ has given you. But when you believe in God’s Word, you sow His Good News in your heart, and you reap its good benefits. 

 

Hear God’s Word in your heart. Believe in His good report. Allow His Truth to renew your mind and receive the healing freedom of His Grace. When you know the Truth, you have the power and the authority of His final Word that sets you free (John 8:32).

 

And His final Word? It is finished. It is done (John 19:30).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/gods-final-word.html

 

 

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Awaken to His Grace


 

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

~Isaiah 61:3 (NLT)

 

There are things in this world that can bring mourning. Death. Illness. Prejudice. Circumstances. There is just one answer for peace. Only Jesus Christ gives freedom in the hard times in life. Just His Grace, which looks beyond our sin and hurt and illness and loss and says “I love you,” brings healing. When we believe in our hearts the freedom Christ has purchased for us, our whole perspective changes. We view life differently. The power He has given us is greater than our circumstances. We believe in His promises.

 

Instead of mourning, Jesus replaces the burned-out ashes of life with a beauty only He gives. He imparts joy-filled blessings that wipe away mourning. He inspires praise instead of despair.  Those who know Him receive His righteousness, and they have deep roots in His Truth. Because Jesus finished His work on Calvary, the Lord has planted each believer for His glory.

 

Is this what you experience? Joy in spite of the world’s pain? Peace no matter man’s hurt and bitterness toward his fellow man? You are free in His Grace, but have you grown in revelation understanding of His Grace? Until you have been renewed in your mind by the power of the Word, your roots in your faith will give you little strength. Peace will be elusive. In fact, fear and anger will be your initial responses. Jesus is forgiveness. He forgave the world in spite of their hatred of him. But if someone doesn’t know that truth and hasn’t allowed Christ’s forgiveness to change his heart, he will experience frustration and bitterness. He will be unable to forgive and experience freedom.

 

Christmas is almost here, and we have a broken world desperate for peace and seeking the answer. Man doesn’t have the answer. Only the Grace of Jesus awakens a hardened heart. This Christmas let’s allow His Grace to awaken ours. Let’s receive His forgiveness in depths that we have never before received. 

 

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, NKJV).

 

©2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/awaken-to-his-grace.html

 

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Let Him Be Your Answer



 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

—Psalm 34:18 (NLT)

 

Christmas is a time when the absence of those we have had in our lives leaves a void, and the pain of loss seems greater. This verse in Psalm 34 reminds us that we are never alone. We are never deserted. The Lord is with us through everything—the times of loss, illness, and hard circumstances. He is close to us when our hearts are breaking. He is more than close. Because of the grace of Jesus, He now lives in us. He wants us to receive the benefits of His healing love.

 

And what does His closeness—the fact that He is within us—promise?  If we let Him, He rescues and restores those with crushed spirits. The Lord doesn’t want us dwelling on loss or sickness or problems, but rather discovering the healing grace He has given us.

 

Jesus is your answer, and He just waits for you to receive His healing. Open His gift of wholeness He has for you. Don’t allow your pain and loss to hurt you any longer. Don’t allow your sickness or circumstances to define you. They are not who you are. He is who you are. Open yourself to His healing grace and receive His peace for your breaking heart and crushed spirit.

 

He takes care of the things for which you have no answers. Let Him be your answer.

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/let-him-be-your-answer.html

 

 

Monday, December 20, 2021

Absolutely Trustworthy


 

 

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, 

to the glory of God through us.

—2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV)

 

A promise is a vow that someone will do what they say. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul makes a clear statement that God does what He says. Every promise of God is guaranteed because the Word says God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). If God were to break His promises—if He were to break His Word, this world would destroy itself. It is only kept together by the power of God’s Word (Hebrews 1:3).

 

God’s Word is absolutely trustworthy. All His promises are true and faithful. He doesn’t say one thing and means something different. If God has promised you something, He is faithful to do it. 


David wrote in the Psalms that God magnifies His Word above His own name.

 

“I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name” (Psalms 138:2, NKJV).

 

The name of the Lord is all-powerful. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). If God’s name is the name above all names and His Word is greater than His name, this gives us great assurance that the Word of God is absolutely true and His promises are guaranteed (Psalms 19:7-13).

 

In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul spoke about the faithfulness of God’s promises because he had told the Corinthians he was coming back to see them, and he hadn’t yet returned. Paul didn’t want them to believe that he didn’t keep his word. If the validity of Paul’s personal word was questionable, then what he had shared with them about Christ would also be questionable. Paul told the Corinthians that his word was as good as the Gospel he had preached to them. Whether we like it not, people judge what we say by our integrity. What we do always speaks louder than what we say. If we lack personal integrity, we lose the respect of others. When we have integrity, we honor God. Our lives worship him.

 

God, you magnify your Word above your own name. We honor you when we believe in the truth of your Word, and we allow your truth to transform our minds. Your promises are yes and amen! They are guaranteed. You are faithful to live up to all your promises! Lord, help us to live our lives with integrity—faithfully living up to the promises that we make. We want to glorify you in everything we do so that your revelation of grace is received in the lives of others. When we believe in the truth of your Word—when we know who we are in your love, we absolutely believe in the trustworthiness of your promises. We know that we shall receive what you have promised. 


 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/absolutely-trustworthy.html

 

 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

My Christmas Promise




The promise of hope for the world is found in Jesus Christ. In one miraculous moment, Christ came into our world as an innocent child. He grew in God's wisdom and understanding. Completely human yet also completely God, He understood our pain and suffering. He knew the gift of His life was the only way to pay the debt of sin we could never pay. With the greatest love, Jesus, who had no sin, carried my sin to the Cross and died for me. I stand in awe of His grace and incredible gift of righteousness. He rose from death to live again and fills me with new life! His righteousness frees me from the weight of sin and condemnation. Jesus is my Christmas promise that my old sinful nature is gone, and I am a new person—reborn by His grace.

 

I yearn to fathom the depths of the gift of His life for mine. My heart rejoices in its promise! He is my hope of glory! Jesus paid my debt so I might be delivered from sin and suffering, illness and shame, despair and defeat. I praise Him for His power and victory in my life. I rejoice in the revelation of His grace I discover each day—for this journey that continually fulfills my heart. He is my peace through each day and my joy in each moment. When Jesus cried out, “it is finished,” everything changed. His gift of grace became real to all who would receive it.  

 

My friend, I pray you would allow His love and grace to fill your heart this Christmas! 

 

“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen” (Jude 1:24-25, NLT)!

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/my-christmas-promise.html

 

 

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

His Amazing Love


 

God sees you. This is the comforting truth Hagar experienced in her rejection by Sarah. She called God by the name, El Roi—the God-who-sees-me.

 

God sees us right where we are. He is there for us in all things. He is the God of many amazing names that declare His love for us. At one time, we only received from God based upon our conduct. His love judged our performance.

 

And then everything changed in a moment in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The all-powerful God of forgiveness and healing and provision and wholeness came to us in the flesh of a little child. He became God-with-us. God became Jesus, our Immanuel (Matthew 1:23).

 

But His purpose—His greatest gift was yet to come. Years later on Calvary, the humanness of God surrendered to the cross out of the purest of love for us. He paid the price for all our sins—all our sickness—all our fragmented and shattered lives. Christ was perfect. His conduct was perfect. God’s love no longer judged our behavior but, instead, bestowed on us the power of His Resurrection Life. The grace of God met all that God required. What man could never be was accomplished by the greatest love. The sin that separated us was no more. Wholeness, healing, and deliverance came. God, who at the birth of Jesus had become God-with-us, now became God-in-us (Isaiah 53, 1 Peter 2:21-24, 1 Corinthians 6:17, John 17:22-23).

 

El Roi—the God Who Sees, Elohim—the God of Power, Yahweh—the Great I AM, El Elyon—the Most High God, El Shaddai—God Almighty, Jehovah Jireh—the God Who Provides, Jehovah Nissi—the God Who Protects and Delivers, Jehovah Rapha—the God Who Heals—all of these truths of God's character came to live within us the moment we accepted Jesus as our Savior. God became our Abba Father living within us (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6).

 

The physical birth that brought God to be with us became the spiritual birth that brought all of God to live within us (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

God is no longer without. He is now within. He is no longer that little baby Jesus. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus fulfilled all that He was born to accomplish. And now God lives within us. 

 

This is the amazing love of God—that He who knew no sin would become sin that we might receive His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). The love of God died so we could be reborn in new life. There is no greater love.

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/his-amazing-love.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

As He Loved You



A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

—John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

 

The love of God is patient and kind. His love isn’t boastful or jealous or proud or rude. It never demands its own way and doesn't keep a record of those who have caused pain or been unfair (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

 

We can’t love with the pure love of God until the Holy Spirit gives us a spiritual revelation of what the love of God is. That spiritual understanding of God’s love comes from the truth of His living Word. God becomes the center of everything we are instead of any self-centeredness. And when self is out of the way, we set others free from emotional debt with His love that set us free.

 

When we don’t spiritually understand the depth of the love we have received in Christ and who we are because of it, His love doesn’t happen easily. A problem can escalate into a crisis. But when we know in our hearts who we are in Christ, it is much easier to share the love He has poured into our lives. We know God has given us everything we need. We have His insight and wisdom beyond our own reasoning. We realize solutions to problems before they become overwhelming. We release others from emotional debt. We give His unconditional love away because we understand with His understanding instead of our own. 

 

Does your life seem like a crisis? Are you struggling in a relationship with someone? You will continue to struggle without the love of Jesus that forgives easily. Until you deal with the selfishness and unforgiveness in your own heart, you are the problem. And you won’t be free.

 

Do others know you belong to Christ by His love in your life?

 

Jesus never said others would know we are His disciples by our doctrine, or how much we hate sin, or even by the way we show our love for God. He said the one thing that would cause the world to recognize us as his followers was our love for one another. Without the love of God flowing through our lives—our works—our spiritual gifts—our faith that can move mountains, what we have to offer is meaningless. Only the love of God means anything and never fails. We don’t have the full capacity to love as He loved until we receive a spiritual understanding of His love and grace. That revelation of His love changes everything.

 

Learn who God says you are in His Word. Believe that He chose to love you first. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you His love that is within you. Choose to deny self and place others first. And love with His love that first loved you.

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/as-he-loved-you.html

 

 

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Spiritually Minded



To be spiritually minded is life and peace.

—Romans 8:6 

And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

—1 John 5:4 (NKJV)

 


 

Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. Your measure of faith is from God (Romans 12:3), and it has the power to overcome anything that tries to come against it. Exercising the measure of faith that you have received from God is a deliberate choice you make. You take the truth of the Word by faith. When you continually do this, God’s truth renews your mind. When your mind is renewed, your heart is able to believe God’s Word. Believing in the truth of God’s Word makes the difference in whether you live a defeated or victorious life. 

 

When what you are taught becomes established in your heart, you believe it. If it is the truth of God's Word, it speaks of life and peace. If it is wrong teaching, it speaks death and curse. Wrong teaching is a roadblock to believing the Word of God. To believe, you must know God's truth. 

 

“For to be carnally minded is death,” (Romans 8:6a, NKJV).

 

Any belief that is based on what you feel comes from your natural mind—what you sense and your emotions. Living by your feelings is detrimental to believing the Word of God. If you experience something that is a disappointment or a disillusionment, emotions try to overwhelm your heart. When your emotions and senses tell you that believing in God’s Word isn’t working, then you begin to doubt. When you give in to doubt, you give in to defeat. You judge God’s truth with your feelings. When those feelings dominate your thoughts instead of faith in God’s Word, you are carnal—worldly—and naturally minded. 

 

“But to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6b, NKJV)

 

Don’t allow your emotions to mold your mind and what you believe. Renewing your mind with the Word is essential to overcome your feelings and believe that the Word of God is true (Romans 12:2). When you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into God’s truth, you renew your mind to believe and prepare your heart to receive. Being spiritually minded means you act and react out of the truth of God’s Word no matter how you feel. Thinking on things that God says are true and just and pure and lovely and are of a good report brings peace. (Philippians 4:8-9). When your mind is focused on God, you experience His goodness and His peace (Isaiah 26:3).

 

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:13-14).

 

God’s truth is only discerned spiritually. The natural man lives by what he senses and cannot understand the things of God. A man who is ruled by his feelings believes one way one day and another way the next. A double-minded man is unstable in all His ways (James 1:8). His opinion changes based on how he feels. When you are double-minded, you have not decided in your heart what you really believe. But when you allow the Word of God to take root and grow in your heart, you experience transformation. A heart change from unbelieving to believing is difficult when you doubt the truth of God’s Word. 

 

Not believing the truth of God's Word holds us back from receiving from Him. To help us grow spiritually, the Holy Spirit meets us where we are in our measure of faith and encourages us to believe in God’s truth. And as we are transformed by the revealed truth of God’s Word, feelings are easier to control. We can walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) We can believe because we know Jesus has given us victory. His peace has overcome our world (John 16:33).

 

The Holy Spirit wants you to experience victory in every area of your life. When you know God’s truth, it sets you free (John 8:32), and when you exercise faith by choosing to believe God’s truth over what your emotions tell you is true, you overcome doubt. 

 

We might be flawed in our natural ability to discern the things of God, but through the Holy Spirit, we receive understanding. When we surrender our feelings and seek God, the Holy Spirit guides us into His truth. 

 

Choose to set your mind on the things of the Spirit. Believe in God’s Word over how you feel. Be spiritually minded, and choose life and peace. You have the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit within you so you can know without a doubt and believe (1 Corinthians 2:11-12,16).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/12/spiritually-minded.html

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