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Thursday, April 27, 2023

Hearing in Prayer



 

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

—Colossians 4:2

 

Prayer is intimacy with the Father where you hear Him sharing His heart with you. There are no perfect words you can say. The words that He speaks to you are the ones that are perfect. You can share with Him all the little details that concern you, but you don’t have to give Him a long list. He already knows. You can come to the Father in the peace that Jesus has given you in His presence. You can come to Him knowing you will hear and receive what He wishes to reveal to you.

 

“Continuing earnestly in prayer” is being diligent and persevering in spiritually communing with the Father. It is presenting to Him the concerns of your heart and leaving them with Him. It is not begging the Father for His goodness in your life. It is praising the Father for His goodness in your life. Earnestly praying is resting in the faithfulness of His love for you. It is having the confidence that when you pray He hears you. And having heard you, you have what you have asked of Him.

 

The Father is always speaking to you. Seek Him. Listen in anticipation. He speaks in so many different ways. Through the Word. In a still small voice. In something someone says to you. There is no definitive way you hear from Him. His answer never contradicts His Word. This is why it is so important to pray His Word. And to pray His Word, you need to know His Word. His answer is already revealed in His Word., and the Holy Spirit gives the Word life and quickens it to your heart.

 

Yes, you have to be diligent and persevere in prayer. But prayer is not your work. Prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit in you. If prayer was your work, it would be in vain. The Holy Spirit knows what He has placed in your heart, and He prays it best. You surrender in prayer by getting yourself—your feelings—your preconceptions out of the way. 

 

What is on your heart today? You can pray specifically believing for your answer when you know what the Father has said in His Word. When His will is not known, you can pray and receive His answer in your heart from the Holy Spirit. 

 

Come confidently to the throne of grace—come in the assurance that you shall hear from the Father and receive His grace to help in time of your need. 

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/hearing-in-prayer.html

 

 

 

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Ask in Prayer Believing



 

 

Prayer is mentioned 279 times in the New Testament. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. He is the only way we have access to the Father. We have received the righteousness of God in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21), and, as the Father’s beloved, we can come before Him unhindered in our requests. We pray for our pastor, Bill Snow. 

 

 

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers.

—1 Peter 3:12

 

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 14:16

 

Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

—Ephesians 6:17-18

 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

—Philippians 4:6

 

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

—Mark 11:24

 

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

—Matthew 18:19-20

 

And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

—1 John 5:15

 

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

—Matthew 21:22

 

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

—Colossians 4:2

 

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

—James 5:15

 

Praise you, Jesus. We believe.

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/ask-in-prayer-believing.html

 

 

Trust, Delight, Commit


 

 

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalm 37:3-4 (NKJV)

 

 

When we trust in the Lord and do what He leads us to do, we have His promise that we will dwell in the land and receive His provision. The land spoken of in Psalm 37:1 was the Jews’ Promised Land. We, who are reborn as the children of God in Jesus Christ, will dwell in the fulfillment of God’s promises to us and receive His provision. We will not only inhabit the life He has for us but will receive it abundantly (John 10:10). 

 

Psalm 37:2 does not promise that when we trust in the Lord, He will give us whatever we desire. However, it does say that when we trust in the Lord, He will place His desires in our hearts. When we delight in the Lord, we trust Him. This is one of the humblest and most predominant ways to receive guidance and direction from the Lord.


The word “delight” was translated from the Hebrew word `ANAG. Strong’s Concordance states that it means, “to be soft or pliable.”  To receive guidance from the Lord, our hearts must be “soft and pliable” toward Him.


What we “dwell” on—or think about—is what we become sensitive to. If we want to “dwell” in God’s promises, our hearts need to be trusting, leaning, pliable, and listening to Him. If we don’t “dwell” on God, our hearts become hardened to His guidance and direction. Focusing on the things of God keeps our hearts soft and pliable and able to hear His voice. If our hearts are humble and sensitive toward the Lord, then His desires shall be in our hearts, and what we do shall be what He desires. 

In Psalm 1:2, David said those whose delight is in the Word of God and who meditate in it day and night will be blessed. This expresses what David also expressed in Psalm 37:4. When you “delight” yourself in the Word, you meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8).

Delighting yourself in the Lord and in His Word does not happen automatically.  You choose to delight and place your trust in the Lord. You commit yourself not to be distracted by what your physical eyes see and your physical ears hear. You focus on God’s truth and not anything else. You believe what He has promised. You place faith in the abundant and life-affirming promises of God revealed to you in Jesus Christ.

Are you looking for your promise?  

 

“Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/trust-delight-commit.html

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, April 21, 2023

The Tradition of Men


 

 

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

—Colossians 2:8-10 (NKJV)

 

 

It is incredible the result tradition has on us. Tradition can give us a sense of security and keep us from having to learn something that is already known. But it can also hinder progress by making us unreceptive to new ideas. Many people do what they do just because it has always been done that way. When it comes to religion, tradition can become rote. Religion is not a relationship with God, and the tradition of what we have always done can keep us from being challenged by the truth of the Word of God. It can keep up from seeking an intimate relationship with God that Jesus gave His life for us to have. 

 

Paul gives a warning to the Colossians not to let any man’s tradition deceive them and rob them of their understanding of who they are in Christ. He states that man’s tradition comes through philosophy and empty deceit. A man’s tradition is logical to him. What is logical to a man’s natural mind is carnal and leads to spiritual death. What is truth in God’s realm—what is logical to God— is spirit and life (Romans 8:6, John 6:63).  

 

What is truth Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38?  In John 17:17, Jesus says that God’s Word is truth, and that God’s truth sanctifies us. In John 14:6, Jesus says that He is the truth. Jesus is the truth—the atonement—that sanctifies us and presents us without blemish to God. And John 8:32 says that you can know the truth, and it shall set you free. 

 

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” (2 Corinthians 2:14).  

 

Essentially, philosophy is a system of thought or logic. The logic of the world—the logic of your natural reasoning mind—can deceive and cheat you of what is yours in Christ. You cannot understand the truth of God’s Word with the logic of your natural mind. You have to understand with your spiritual mind.

                                                                    

Three of the eight definitions of “philosophy” found in The American Heritage Dictionary (4thedition) are:

1.   The love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.

2.   The investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. 

3.   The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.


Colossians 2:8 in the Phillips New Testament reads:

“Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense. Such stuff is at best founded on men’s ideas of the nature of the world and disregards Christ” (Colossians 2:8, PHILLIPS).

 

The Phillips New Testament translates the phrase “empty deceit” found in the NKJV Colossians as “high-sounding nonsense.” The Greek words literally mean “empty delusion.” The philosophy or wisdom of the world is foolish compared to God’s wisdom. The wisdom of God seems a delusion to the natural mind.

You can never find security in the wisdom of the world. You can never find security in tradition in religion. You may enjoy tradition, but when it robs you of the spiritual wisdom that is yours in Christ, you miss the truth and life Jesus has for you.


Tradition is not the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus Christ is. Colossians 2:9-10 says that in Christ the fullness of God physically resided. It also says that you are complete in Christ. The fullness of God is in you. I John 4:17 says that the love of Christ has been perfected so we can stand with boldness in the day of judgment. As Christ is, so are we in this world. 


You cannot overcome the flesh if you don’t believe the resurrection power of God is alive in you. Yet many believers don’t understand the authority they have received in Christ. They don’t believe they have the resurrection power of the living God within them. It appears illogical to their natural mind. But with the spiritual mind of Christ, God’s wisdom comes alive.


Don’t let the world or religion rob you of what you have received in Christ. 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/the-tradition-of-men.html

 

 

 

 

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Christ in You Overcomes



 

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead [bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

—Colossians 2:9-10

 

Only in Jesus Christ are you complete. According to Colossians 2:9-10, all the fullness of God lives in Christ. Jesus wasn’t just God-like. Jesus had the fullness of God’s nature in Him. Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. If you are in Christ, you are complete in Him. You have the fullness of God’s nature. You have the resurrection power of God that is in Christ in you.  

 

However, no one should have the boldness to profess they are completely like Jesus in their actions or thoughts. That just isn’t true. Not one of us can claim to be like Jesus in our flesh. But in our spirits where we are born again, we are new creatures in Christ (John 3:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17). In our born-again spirits the power of the Godhead resides. To experience the resurrection power of the new life that is ours in Christ, we must surrender our flesh’s control to the power of the Holy Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit must convince us of the truth of our new identity until we conform to the new person Christ has made us (Romans 12:2). 

 

Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for our sins has made us worthy to receive the love and the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is amazing news! Sin no longer separates us from the love of God. We don’t have to live defeated lives! We don’t have to succumb to the flesh. We don’t have to give in to sin or sickness. We don’t have to give in to our circumstances and allow them to rule us. Nothing that comes against us has more power than God’s resurrection power within us. This is our heritage in Christ, and we have God’s power to condemn—to overcome—whatever comes against us. Our righteousness is from Him (Isaiah 54:17). 

 

God’s love has been justified for you in Jesus. 

 

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17, NKJV).

 

Don’t give in to the enemy’s lies! Jesus has overcome, and He has come to give you life “more abundantly” (John 10:10). If Jesus has overcome, you, also, have overcome.  

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/christ-in-you-overcomes.html

 

 

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

The Goodness of God



 

In Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Levin is having a meal with his friend, Stepan. Levin is speaking to his friend about his life, and how, because of the consciousness of sin in his life, he feels unworthy to ask for the hand of a young woman whom he considers pure and above reproach.

 

“When with loathing I go over my life,” Levin says. “I shudder and curse and bitterly regret it.” The one comfort Levin tells his friend is like that prayer, “Forgive me not according to my unworthiness, but according to Thy lovingkindness.”  

 

God doesn’t forgive us according to what we have done or who we have been. God forgives us according to His lovingkindness in the gift of His Son for our sins. 

 

"Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Romans 2:4)?

 

One day the Holy Spirit stirs the Word in your heart. You become aware there is something more you need. You begin to feel incomplete. God, who loves you, is drawing you to Himself. But God is holy. You begin to be conscious of things in your life that keep you from finding Him. You feel your unworthiness to come to Him. Yet, you still feel Him reaching for you. The more God patiently draws you toward His love and goodness, the more you become aware of your unworthiness. The more God wants to love you and have a relationship with you, the more you bitterly regret your life. If only you could get rid of this feeling of unworthiness standing in your way, so you could reach Him. If only the sins that separate you from Him could be gone. You yearn for a way to find God who is seeking you. 

 

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:16).

 

No matter how much you try to find God in your own worthiness, you never will. Jesus is the goodness of God that draws you to repentance. Jesus is God’s gift of love. He is the only way to God. He is God’s truth of forgiveness and new life for you (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is only in receiving Jesus as your way to God, that you receive His forgiveness. And when you receive Jesus in your heart, you receive God’s righteousness and worthiness (2 Corinthians 5:21). And when you receive God’s righteousness, you know your sins are gone. They are no more. Nothing separates you from God. 

 

Are you conscious of your own unworthiness? Does it keep you from God who is pure and above reproach?  Jesus alone makes you worthy with God. He only destroys sin. The goodness of God draws you. 

 

Just ask Jesus into your heart, and you will receive the righteousness of God that gives you the worthiness to come freely to Him without any reproach. You will receive all of His worthiness, goodness, and love. 

 

What you have sought is found.

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/the-goodness-of-god.html

 

 

Monday, April 17, 2023

Accepted in the Beloved



 

 

Even before God created the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. But the powerful God who made us was pure and holy, and sin separated us from His presence. God loved us so much that He made a way for us to have an intimate and loving relationship with Him. It was God’s great pleasure to send His dear Son, Jesus, to us—not to condemn us but to save us from our sin so that we can have a relationship with Him (Ephesians 1:4-5, John 3:16-17).

 

When we accept Christ as our Savior, our sinful nature dies. It is crucified with Him (Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:20). We are newly reborn creations in the redeeming grace of Jesus—all the old is dead and gone (2 Corinthians 5:17). We receive the righteousness of God as our new identity (2 Corinthians 5:21). By His grace, Jesus redeemed us from all sin—he redeemed us from the curse of sin by becoming the payment for our sin (Galatians 3:13). We, who once were orphaned by our sin, are no longer orphans. God in Christ has adopted us as His own children. We are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).

 

—And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

—Galatians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

 

The presence of the Holy Spirit within us proves that we are the  children of God (Romans 8:16). The Holy Spirit within us cries out to God saying, “Abba.” “Abba” is a term of endearment that indicates a deeply loving and intimate relationship with God. God is our Abba Father—our loving Father who looks past the sinful nature that once identified us and sees Christ as our identity. Instead of being a slave in bondage to sin, we are “slaves” to God. When we believe without a doubt who we are in Christ, we live the fruit of God's righteousness imputed to us (Romans 6:22, Galatians 5:22-23). 

 

God sees the identity of His Son when He sees us. He sees the new creation Christ has made. When we see ourselves as God sees us, we see the new identity He has given us. We see who we are in Christ, and our sonship to God brings a sense of worthiness that we are at complete peace with Him—that we are without fault in His eyes.

 

Believing God loves and accepts us because Christ has made us worthy is the opposite of believing we are slaves to sin. Considering ourselves as slaves to sin instead of being children of God who are alive in Christ, comes against the power of His grace in our lives. It creates the need in us to earn God’s acceptance and love. There is no way to be at peace in the presence of God if we believe we have to earn His love. When we continue to believe we are still unworthy in God’s eyes after receiving Christ, then we remain a slave to the old person we were before we received Christ. Praise God!  We are no longer slaves to that old sinful person who lived in fear of God’s wrath and tried to prove his own righteousness. We are heirs to God’s love that was revealed to us in Christ.

 

—For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

—Romans 8:15 (NKJV)

 

The Law made God our judge but the Grace of Jesus made God our Father. We are no longer under the Law but under Grace (Romans 6:14). God desires for us to know Him, not as the Father who judges, but as the Father who loves us. As His adopted children, we don’t need to fear His judgment. He doesn’t want us to have a fearful relationship with Him. God longs for us to know that we have the freedom to boldly come to Him in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

 

When you believe you have to earn God’s love, you don’t walk in the redemption of Christ. You try to find your identity, acceptance, and approval in people and circumstances instead of Jesus who has already made you worthy. The Law makes you insecure because it creates the need to earn acceptance. But the Grace of Jesus gives you unshakeable security because Christ has earned your acceptance and approval. He has given you His identity. And Christ is within you crying out that we are no longer slaves to the law, but a child of His Grace. 

 

—To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

—Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

 

The love of God has been made known to us in Christ. Christ lives within us, the hope of glory. We receive our identity and our acceptance from being His and being in Him. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). When God sees us, He sees the identity of His Son. Just as much as God loved and accepted His Son, He loves and accepts us.

 

The person we believe we are in Christ—our identity in Him—our sense of worthiness in Him—makes all the difference between living a defeated or victorious life.

 

—For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

—Romans 8:29-30 (NLT)

 

You were chosen by God to receive His love in Christ. He has called you to come to Him. And when you come to Him, don’t miss the truths of your relationship with Him. You have right standing with God. And having right standing with God, you have received His glory. You have Christ within you, the hope of glory.

 

We praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son (Ephesians 1:6)!

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/accepted-in-beloved.html

 

 

Friday, April 14, 2023

Healing for the Whole Person


 

The Good News of Christ is a gospel of healing for the whole person.

 

Isaiah 53:5 prophesies the healing that will come in Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:24 declares the healing that was finished and completed in Christ’s finished work of grace. Some believe that Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 speak only of spiritual healing. But Jesus revealed that His healing is not just spiritual when, following the physical healing of the sick, he declared that Isaiah’s prophecy had been fulfilled (Matthew 8:16-17). The healing Jesus accomplished for us was complete. It lacks nothing. 

 

When we were born again—thoroughly and completely forgiven by the grace of Jesus—we were spiritually reborn a new person. We were spiritually healed.

 

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, and spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6, PHILLIPS). 

Our spirits were reborn by the Holy Spirit. 

 

“By His stripes we were healed” (1 Peter 2:24, NKJV) does not speak of the rebirth and healing of our spirit. It speaks of the results that the spiritual healing of our spirit brings. When Christ destroyed sin, He destroyed the root of all sickness. We were healed spiritually and physically in Him. And we are “complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10, NKJC).

 

We are created in God’s likeness. He created us in three parts—spirit, soul (mind), and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23), and it is only in our born-again spirit that we have been completely reborn, made new, and complete in Christ. It is only in our born-again spirit that we have received the righteousness of God and are whole. 

 

For us to receive Christ’s healing in our minds and bodies, we have to know and believe who the new person is that the Holy Spirit has birthed in our born-again spirit. We must be renewed in our minds by God’s truth. When we believe in our minds the truths that are real in our born-again spirit, those truths of who we are in Christ are planted in our hearts. They impact our spirit, mind, and body. We believe we are newly recreated no matter what our physical eyes may see or our physical body may experience. By faith, we put on our new identity that is complete in Him. We put on the new creation—the new person—which God has created within us in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24).

 

If we are going to understand the healing power of the finished work of Jesus, it is imperative that we understand that it is only within our spirit that we are completely reborn as a new creation in Christ. Our minds and bodies are not perfectly reborn. In our minds and bodies, we still deal with temptation and destructive emotions, and pain. When we look at ourselves, it is hard to believe we have been made new in Christ. But when we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we can see the new person that Christ has made us (James 3:23-25).

 

We need to press on to believe the truth of the new person God reveals in His Word. “By His stripes, you were healed.”  

 

“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17, NKJV). We are joined to the Lord spirit to spirit. Our spirit is one with His.

 

“For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9-10, NKJV). 

 

All the fullness of the Godhead—is complete within our born-again spirit. We must be renewed in our minds by the Word to conform to the truth of the new person God has made us (Romans 12:2).

 

Christ, the healer, is in you. In your born-again spirit, you are thoroughly forgiven, healed, delivered, and filled with all the fullness of God. For all three parts of you—for your mind and body to be impacted by the truth of healing that is yours in your born-again, be renewed by God’s Word over and over. Hear it in your heart again and again until you see His truth as your outcome. Praise Him for your healing. Just as you stir up faith to walk in holiness, take the grace that is yours in Christ and walk by faith and not by what you think or feel. Walk by faith in the healing that He died for you to receive.

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/04/healing-for-the-whole-person.html

Trust in the Lord

    Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give yo...