Expecting Hope

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

—Proverbs 13:12, NKJV

 

 

All of us have expectations in life. Some expectations are spoken and some aren’t. Whether spoken or not—conscious or subconscious, our expectations form our lives. An expectation can be described as strong anticipation, and it can be either positive or negative. Hope is a resilient and positive expectation of good. Without hope, the heart becomes sick with despair. But with hope, faith rises from deep within and brings forth life.

 

We are either positive in our outlook or negative. Some people expect to never have enough money, to always fail, to have problems, or never be well. And some of these same people declare that they are believing God for their promise. But a negative outlook keeps them from exercising their faith to believe. Your views of life, of God, and of yourself are always found in your expectations. And your expectations will either kill your faith or encourage it. You cannot believe the promises of God at the same time you are expecting a life of failure and defeat. 

 

If faith is the substance of hope (Hebrews 11:1) and hope is strong anticipation of something good, then it is impossible to believe the truth of God’s promises when you live with negative expectations. If your expectations in life are negative, faith has no fertile soil to take root in your heart and grow. This is why what you think in your heart is so important. As you think you are in your heart, you are (Proverbs 23:7). A negative outlook is death to faith. A positive outlook is the heart of Holy Spirit faith.

 

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34b-35, NKJV).

 

What you speak comes out of the abundance of your heart—either that which offers no hope or that which gives life. When you are negative in your expectations, your heart overflows with things that speak fear and despair. When you are positive and believing God, you are full of hope and good expectations. 

 

Hopeful expectations are powerful when the Word of God is believed in your heart. Without knowing who you are in Christ, you cannot have hope in the promises Christ has given you. God has given you victory in Christ. You realize His victory when you believe His promises are true. 

 

Come against the negative expectations that steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Be renewed by the Word (Ephesians 4:23). Put on the hope Christ gives (Ephesians 4:24). Let it flourish in your heart and change your perspective. The hope Christ places in your heart brings forth life. 

 

Your promise is fulfilled in Christ. When you believe that Christ is the fulfillment—the completion—the beginning and the end—of everything you have ever desired or needed, you know you have received life! His promises are yours, and they are yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/expecting-hope.html

 

As You Believe

 

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

—Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

 

Your faith is what pleases God. He rewards those who diligently seek Him with all their heart. And persistent seeking of His truth rewards you. The truth of His Word takes root and comes alive within you. You believe without seeing with your natural eyes because you believe who He says you are in Christ. You know His promises are true.

 

The power of the Word is real within you when you act upon it and choose to live its truth—even when what you experience is not seen, heard, or felt with your natural senses. When you take God’s truth and make it your own, it becomes the foundation for what you believe. Your attitude about your life changes. You see beyond what you experience. 

 

You cannot understand God’s Word with your natural mind. It seems foolish to you. His truth can only be understood spiritually by the Holy Spirit revealing it to you (1 Corinthians 2:14). God’s truth is real for you when it becomes yours. When the Holy Spirit reveals something in God’s Word to you, you have to choose to take possession of it and make it your own. It must renew your mind again and again (Romans 12:2). God’s truth then becomes what you believe. Now it is your truth. It is real and powerful in your life. 

 

When you believe God, you see with faith what has not been seen or experienced. Believing His truth by faith pleases God, and He rewards you according to what you believe (Hebrews 11:6). If you believe His Word and envision His promise, you receive its benefit. If you don’t believe, then you don’t live the abundant life Jesus died to give you.

 

To be carnal or naturally minded is death to your faith. To be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6). Draw a line in the sand, and choose to believe. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God—not with just your mind but with your heart (Romans 10:17). Walk by faith and not by what you see (2 Corinthians 5:7). If you doubt, you won’t receive God’s promises (James 1:6-7). But when you believe, nothing is impossible with God (Mark 9:23). 

 

Do you believe that God rewards you when you seek Him? To receive the benefits of God’s truth, you believe it. Reach out believing—without doubting—and seek God’s truth with all your heart. You will find it (Matthew 7:8).

 

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, NKJV).

 

As you believe He is, you are. 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/as-you-believe.html

 

 

Know His Truth to Know His Good Plans

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

—Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV)

 

God has good plans for you. He does not want you living in anguish and despair. But the only way you can know and realize His good plans is to search for Him with your whole heart. If you want peace—if you want hope—you will let go of your own efforts to feel temporary relief and seek to know the new life Jesus has given you. His new life of righteousness and peace is within you (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). When you seek to know the change Christ has made in you, the knowledge of His truth will eventually set you free of the darkness (John 8:32). You will stop struggling to pay a debt you do not owe—a debt that is no longer there. When you seek Him with all that you have, you will find Him and His truth that sets you free.

 

The only place you can find His truth is in His Word. When you read His truth, it comes against any lie that you have believed. When His Word directly challenges something you have erroneously believed to be true, you cannot expect to “feel” right away what His truth tells you. You have to renew your mind again and again with the Word (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23). And when you plant the incorruptible seed of God’s Word in your heart and allow it to flourish, it fuels your faith (1 Peter 1:23, Matthew 13:23). You receive the benefits of His grace. You know that when you pray, He listens. You have the confidence to ask believing for the good plans He has for you because you know they are true (1 John 5:14-15). The Word has convinced you.

 

Whether you feel it or not, God’s truth is always greater than what the world or your natural mind tells you is true. When your heart is filled with untruth, your heart is filled with lies, and it will condemn you (1 John 3:20). Your deceived heart will be quick to tell you that you have no future. And the truth is God has already given you all of His future. God is greater and knows all things. He is greater than your heart (1 John 3:20). The only way you can know and experience God’s good plans for your life is to seek His truth and to plant it in your heart. Don’t allow any lie of the enemy to keep you from knowing His truth and choosing to believe it. Truth has already defeated any lie you have believed, but you won’t experience His freedom until you know and believe His truth in your heart.

 

Do you want greater faith to believe in God’s good plans that He has for you? The Word says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, NKJV). Once you have heard and experienced God’s truth in your heart, you know and believe the good plans God has for you. 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/know-his-truth-to-know-his-good-plans.html

 

Cast Your Cares

 

Perhaps, you’re enduring a battle you thought you’d never face. Perhaps, you’re ill and fighting to regain your health. You may have suffered emotional grief that rips your heart to shreds. Wherever you are right now, God never leaves you or forsakes you. He is with you. He loves you. 

                                           

God’s very nature is love (1 John 4:8). He is good. He didn’t cause your torment and pain. The enemy is the one who kills, steals, and destroys. Fear torments, and the enemy is the one who torments. Christ came so you could have abundant life (John 10:10). When you believe in your heart that God loves you, fear doesn’t overwhelm you. His perfect love for you has the power to cast out any fear (1 John 4:18). 

 

You’re tired, and in your discouragement and pain may have even questioned God’s love for you. God, who gave His own Son to die for you, wants you to cast your cares upon Him and let Him fight what you cannot fight. He is able to save and deliver and heal.

 

Don’t hold on to your doubt and fear—your pain and circumstances—the grief that never ends. Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Nothing can separate you from the love God has for you (Romans 8:39). Choose to trust Him. He fights your battle. He regains your health. He heals your heart. We are human and will fail. But God never fails in His love for you. Just believe Him in your heart.

 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).

 

Cast your cares upon Him. 

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/cast-your-cares.html

 

Just Stand

By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

—1 Peter 5:12 (NKJV)

 

Peter said that his letter emphasized the true Gospel of the Grace of God. The true Gospel of Grace does not demand our right standing with God. If it did, the work of redemption would place the work of holiness upon us. The Gospel of Grace is a gift given to those who believe by faith in the finished work of Jesus. It is nothing we do. It is all He did. Right standing with God only comes through faith in what Jesus did for us. We are encouraged in this verse that it is the true Grace of God in which we stand. 

 

“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). 

 

Being justified—having right-standing with God—is peace. We can only stand in the true Grace of God—in His peace—when we believe that Jesus gave us right-standing with God. We can only live His righteousness when we believe we have received His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we truly know we have peace with God, then we have peace. We choose to stand strong in that peace. We let God fight because we know He will. We put on His armor that by right-standing is ours. And having done all, we stand (Ephesians 6:13).

 

Right-standing with God—peace with God—only comes through faith in what Christ did for us. True Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live soberly and righteously (Titus 2:12). But true Grace also teaches us that it is only by His righteousness we live and have our being (Acts 17:28). When we know our righteous standing with God through the Grace of Christ, we live out of that truth. We rest in that peace.

 

Faith comes out of our identity. We have peace with God and are His. That is who we are. We are blameless and holy because of Jesus (Ephesians 1:4). Faith comes out of knowing we have peace with God. And having peace with God is the only way we can walk in faith. Otherwise, we are going to try to do something to get God to do something. When we believe the work is finished and has already been done, there is nothing for us to do but rest in God’s love for us. 

 

You have access by faith into this Grace in which you stand. Know who you are in the finished work of Christ, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2). Experience the peace of knowing your right relationship with God, your Father. Where you have peace, you have faith. Follow your faith and peace. And be at rest in God. Having done all, just stand. 

 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/just-stand.html

 

 

Renewed to Know

 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

—Romans 12:2 (NLT)

 

 

If we want to live peaceful and fulfilling lives, we must know the new identity Christ has given us. We must know who we are. To know who you are and to experience the fullness of your new life, you let God transform the way you think.

 

When you were born again and became new in Christ, what changed?  Did your mind and the way you think suddenly change?  Did your body change? No!  But your spirit changed completely. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6, NKJV). You are spirit, soul (mind), and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Your spirit was completely reborn by God, but for your mind and body to experience the benefits of the new person Christ has made you, your mind has to be renewed. Faithful is God who calls you to do this because He does the work (1 Thessalonians 5:24). It is always God’s responsibility to do the work. It is your responsibility to seek His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind.

 

“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes,” Paul wrote. “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:23-24, NLT). Your nature is new because your spirit has been born-again by His Spirit, but for you to believe this truth the way you think must change from what your natural mind reasons as true to what God reveals as true. You “put on your new nature” that is yours. You choose for your mind to be renewed continuously and molded by the Holy Spirit. God’s Word is what changes your mind, and it is the Spirit who guides you into the revealed knowledge of God’s truth (John 16:13). 

 

 “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think!” Paul declares in Romans 12:2. When you surrender to receive God’s truth—when you choose to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, He brings all the fullness of God’s power to transform your thoughts and desires. It is your decision “to make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7, NIV). When you purposely choose these qualities in 2 Peter 1, you put on the new nature that you received when your spirit was born again.

 

When you choose over and over again to grow spiritually to understand the new person God has made you, the Holy Spirit faithfully changes your attitude and the way you think. Your self-focused mind, which has fought fear and doubt, believes in His promises. You focus, instead, on God. When you consistently surrender your mind to the power of the Holy Spirit and choose to add these qualities to your life, you will be continually renewed in the way you think. You shall not only be effective in what you do for God, but you shall never look again at anything with a mind that has closed itself to possibilities. His renewing power will change your whole perspective. You shall experience the depths of His Grace, which continually convinces you.

 

Don't copy the world or make yourself like anyone else or compare yourself to anyone else. You are God’s unique creation to be molded by His Truth and Spirit. When you allow Him to renew your mind, you come to believe in your heart the new nature you received in your spirit when you were born again. You experience the healing wholeness of spirit, mind, and body—the triune God alive and living in you.

 

“Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:10, NKJV). 

 

And when you are renewed in the way you think, you shall know His good, pleasing, and perfect will for your life (Romans 12:2).

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/renewed-to-know.html

 

 

You in Me and I in You

 

Jesus spoke to His disciples the night before His crucifixion. 

 

“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:19-20, NKJV).

 

Jesus was speaking of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that assures us that God is within us. God has given us His Holy Spirit as proof that we are in Him and He in us (1 John 4:13).

 

“When I am raised to life again,” Jesus told the disciples, “you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

 

When we really know in our hearts that we are in Him and He is in us, we live in the freedom of His grace. We experience the fullness of the new life He has given us. Feelings will try to tell us something different. But when doubt and fear try to claim our thoughts, they are defeated. We believe that greater is Christ within us than anything that comes against us (1 John 4:4).

 

Do you believe that this is true? That Christ is greater within you? We have been crucified with Christ. It is Christ who lives in us. And we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave His life for us (Galatians 2:20). To experience the fullness of the new life that is ours, we have to believe what we have received in Christ. The battle to believe what we have been given is within the mind. We have the Holy Spirit to teach us. When we allow the same faith we had for salvation to convince us of the new life Christ has given us, we grow to believe the old person has passed away. Fear has no place in us. Doubt is defeated. Christ, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:17), lives within us. All things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2, NKJV). 

 

Our beliefs mold us. What we believe becomes who we are. To believe who God says we are, we can’t conform to any belief other than God’s truth. We can’t allow the world or our natural minds to tell us what is true. We conform to the image that God has of us by the renewing of our minds with the truth of His Word. Only then are we able to agree with what God says about us and experience the plans He has for our lives.

 

God is in you, and you are in Him. Do you believe He is within you? Are you convinced of the righteous image He has of you? You draw from the truth of whom He says you are. When self becomes less, His truth becomes more. He convinces you of the new person He has made you. You believe that His glory is yours.

 

And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one.

—John 17:22-23a (NKJV)

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/you-in-me-and-i-in-you.html

The Same Measure of Faith

  

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

—Romans 12:3 (KJV)

 

This verse clearly states that God has given to every Christian “the” measure of faith and not “a” measure of faith. There are no different measures of faith. God doesn’t give one believer great faith and another believer less faith. When we were saved, we all received an equal amount of faith. The problem with many Christians is not that they lack faith. They haven’t allowed the Word to renew their minds to understand the faith that they have been given (Romans 12:2) or exercised the measure of faith that is theirs.

 

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

—Galatians 2:20 (KJV)

 

Paul said that he lived his life by the faith of the Son of God. Since we all have been given the same measure of faith as Paul, then we all have the faith of the Son of God. His faith in us is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). When fear robs us of peace, it is not from a lack of faith. We experience the result of our minds not knowing and exercising the faith that is ours.

 

In Romans 12:3 Paul says that we have to “sober” up and be “clear-headed” about the measure of faith we have been given—not thinking more highly or lowly of ourselves than another Christian. God wants us to have a correct understanding of who we are in Christ. The faith we have is a gift that every believer has. Some experience greater benefit from their faith because they have allowed God’s truth to renew their minds, and they have exercised what they believe. They believe the promises God has given them in His Word, and they also realize it is only the grace of God that makes it possible for them to receive anything.

 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

—Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

 

We choose to allow the measure of faith that is ours to renew our thoughts and attitudes. If we don’t allow our minds to be renewed, we will not exercise the faith Christ has given us. Paul said he lived by the faith of the Son of God. Like Paul, we have the faith of the Son of God, but that faith won’t benefit our lives until we renew our minds with the Word.

 

Never believe that someone else has greater faith than you have. We all have the same measure of faith. It is possible to only use a small portion of the measure of faith God has given us or even use none of it. But His measure of faith is in us. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We have to recognize and acknowledge what we have (Philemon 6), and then learn how to use it. When your mustard-sized measure of faith is planted in the fertile soil of your heart and nourished, nothing is impossible (Matthew 17:20).

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/the-same-measure-of-faith.html

 

 

Thirsty No More

 

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

—Isaiah 44:3 (NIV)

 

Life may appear dry and without hope to some, but to someone who knows they are filled with you—who believes in your promises—it is a life flowing with milk and honey and bursting with great promise. My heart hungers to know the new person that you have made me, Lord. My thirsty soul drinks in all of you—consuming your Word and receiving your truth. 

 

“I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland,” you impart, “to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isaiah 43:20b-21, NIV). 

 

You created me to know you, Lord—not just know about you. You have chosen me to be yours. You have blessed me (Ephesians 1:3-4). When I hunger and thirst to know the righteousness you have given me, I am filled (Matthew 5:6). I see your spiritual blessings instead of my own natural limitations. When I continually receive your ever-flowing truth, I am renewed by it (Romans 12:2). I see with your eyes instead of my own. I see your promises instead of a life without hope. 

 

My life reaches beyond myself, Lord Jesus. It impacts those you love. My life speaks life or death. It offers either despair or hope. It imparts failure or success. It either kills a heart or encourages someone to reach beyond their natural limitations to receive spiritual understanding of what you have given them. If I don’t know whom you have made me, Lord, I can’t encourage others to receive what I don’t spiritually understand in my own life. Teach me, always, Holy Spirit. Teach me the depths of your joy. My soul renews like the eagle. I soar above everything that comes against the knowledge of who I am in your love and grace (Psalm 103:5, Isaiah 40:31).

 

I was created to praise you, Lord. I was created to know you—to have a relationship with you—to be filled with a spirit of wisdom and revelation in my knowledge of you—to be enlightened to know the hope of your calling—to know your power toward us who believe (Ephesians 1:17-19).

 

You pour living water on my thirsty ground. I shall continually drink of your living water to never thirst again (John 4:14). I am loved, cherished, and blameless in your unending love. You have made everything right. There is nothing I need to make right. I am yours. I have hope and promise. And upon those I love—my offspring and upon theirs—upon those I care for—upon those I pray for—upon those you have brought into my life—you pour your life and your blessing. 

 

Grace gives more grace (James 4:6). Love breeds love through the generations to come. It is your promise that I am yours and that you never forget those you love.

 

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. And great shall be the peace of your children” (Joel 2:25, Isaiah 54:13, NKJV).

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/thirsty-no-more.html

 

 

 

Open to Receive

Your words were found, and I ate them,

And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name,

O Lord God of hosts.

—Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV)

 

Have you ever read a verse in the Bible and the Holy Spirit spoke to you suddenly through the words in that verse? He gave you certain direction and insight where you had sought Him. And you knew without a doubt that you had received a divine revelation from the Holy Spirit. 

 

There is nothing like knowing you have heard His Word that is just for you. You take it into your heart. You digest its promise. It becomes who you are. It is the joy and the rejoicing of your heart. 

 

The Lord God has called you by name. You are His. He has a divine revelation for you. Trust Him. Open your mind and heart to receive the Word He speaks to you. Whatever He imparts to you, just believe. Whatever He says to you, just do. According to what you believe, you receive.

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/open-to-receive.html

 

Know and Believe

 

Do you know that, as a believer in Christ, “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light?” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)

 

If you believe you are special to God and chosen by Him to receive the grace of His Son’s righteousness, then you know that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2, NLT).

 

You are a believer in Christ. Has the Holy Spirit transformed your understanding of your relationship with God to the place where you believe you are totally forgiven and you can live guilt-free? When you know you owe nothing, then you know you are guilt-free. You are in right-standing with God. When you believe that Christ has paid your debt, then you live in the freedom of His grace.

 

When you first received Christ, you received His finished work of grace in your born-again spirit. In your spirit, you became His new creation—thoroughly debt-free of your sin and forever forgiven by His grace. In your reborn spirit, you received the righteousness of Christ, and in your spirit lives the fullness of God. But in your mind, you are all too aware of the failures of your flesh. You know you aren’t perfect. You know you make mistakes. But guess what? Having a repentant heart is not having crippling feelings of guilt and shame. It is a decision you make to turn from what drew you away from God’s presence. It is unnecessary and spiritually unhealthy for you to live in condemnation when Christ doesn’t condemn you. He has given you His righteousness. What is necessary and spiritually healthy is for you to be renewed in your mind to understand the righteousness Christ has given you. 

 

When you learn to know the new person Christ has made you, you live in the freedom of that new life. Knowing who you are in Christ changes your perspective from perpetually experiencing guilt over your failures to knowing “in your heart—in your belly” that you are free. You know that you know Jesus paid it all! You believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You believe you had no righteousness of your own, but because of His love and mercy, Jesus gave you His. You do not need to prove you have His forgiveness! There is no penance you have to perform. There is no perfection you have to maintain. You owe nothing because of His grace. There is no greater love than His—that He would give His life for you. No other love could fulfill God’s law, setting you free from the demand of its requirements. That law was never able to save you from your sin. Only Jesus could meet those requirements so you could be free.

 

“The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature,” Paul writes. “So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4, NLT).

 

Jesus did what the law could never accomplish! Through His sacrifice for us on Calvary, Jesus rendered a complete, thorough, and finished work of grace—declaring with His life that sin no longer has control. He fully satisfied the requirements of the law because we were unable to meet them. Where we once were weak, He gives us the power to live the righteousness He has given us. 

 

Jesus has given you abundant life! The power of darkness is utterly defeated! The prerequisites of the law are completely satisfied. When you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth of God’s Word so you will understand what it means to be debt-free, the knowledge of His Truth sets you free.

 

This is Truth! God loves you! You don't have to live in fear of not being good enough. You are forgiven! There is no debt you have to pay. Jesus paid it. There is no guilt or shame or condemnation you need to wear. When you believe in your heart that you owe nothing for your sins, you know you are forgiven. And when you believe you are “debt-free” you are free indeed. Out of your belly flows rivers of living water—Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 

(Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:2-4, 12:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5: 17, 21; Ephesians 1:4-5, 13-14, 22-23; John 8:32, 10:10, 8:36, 7:38, 10:10; Colossians 1:27)

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/know-and-believe.html

 

 

 

Confident Trust

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence.

—Proverbs 14:26, NKJV

 

Living in the fear of the Lord is not being afraid of Him! It is having peace in your relationship with Him. It is honoring and trusting Him with everything in your life. Living in the fear and respect of God is a powerful truth that sets you free from the opinions of men. It gives you strong confidence in your relationship with God and the way He directs you to minister to others. 

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). It is the way Jesus ministered and the only way we ought to minister. The Holy Spirit guides us to make good decisions that are impartial and not subject to the opinions of those with self-interests. When we fear and respect God’s opinion over any man’s, we have no reason to fear anything. We have confidence that God, who began a good work in us, is the only one with the power and authority to complete it. We know that within ourselves or within the opinion of any other person, there is no power.

 

Even though we do not live by the opinions of men, it is to our greatest benefit and the benefit of others to seek wise godly counsel from those that we completely trust. 

 

“Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days” (Proverbs 19:20, NKJV).

 

We need the counsel of others to help us fulfill the vision God has given us. He never calls us to achieve His purposes alone. Being open to godly counsel helps us to see more clearly God’s plans and how to fulfill His will. It also helps us to help others to fulfill God’s will in their lives.

 

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17, NKJV).

 

Sometimes the counsel you have sought does not bear witness with you. But do not immediately refuse it. Wait. Put what you believe is from God and what you have been told on a shelf for a while. Pray about the counsel you have received. Do not allow your vision or the advice you have been given to dominate you. Your vision is never about you. It is about God’s plan to work through you—to disciple and edify others. Be teachable. After praying about the counsel you have received and allowing the Holy Spirit time to show you, you have prepared your heart to follow God’s direction. Whatever you have peace about is from God.  

 

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward” (Hebrews 10:35, NKJV). 

 

Confidence rises from knowing Christ within us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Persevere to have confidence in your relationship with God. When doubt or fear rises, keep reminding yourself of what Christ has given you—right-standing with God that assures you of peace in your relationship with Him. Believe and hold on to it with diligence. The reward is great.

 

 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV).

 

When we honor and respect God above all others, we have peace and trust in Him. We have strong confidence in the fact that God does abundantly more than we ask or think through the work He does in us. And when we believe, we walk by faith and not by sight. We confidently live His truth and see the result of that which He has promised.

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2022/02/confident-trust.html