Stay in Peace and Walk in Love

 

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2).

 

 

There is a higher dimension of living that many of us never experience. It is the dimension of walking in love. Look at the life of Jesus. He had a purpose of the greatest love—to give His life for us. Jesus had many adversaries. Nevertheless, He was able to stay in peace. He looked beyond all our ugliness and forgave us. He held nothing against us, and he held nothing back. He loved us unconditionally. The peace Jesus has given us with God is powerful. When we allow His peace to rule in our hearts, we can walk in love. "As Jesus is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17). If we are as He is, we have His power to walk in love. 

 

Peace and love are the fruit of the Spirit that we have received, but we must allow them to be activated in our lives. The peace we have in our relationship with God is powerful. When we allow His peace to rule in our hearts, we have His power not to hold grudges or to be offended. We live out of the peace of our relationship with Jesus. His love defines us. We forgive as He has forgiven us. His love becomes our choice and our purpose. 

 

We are on this earth to make God’s goodness and love known to others.  When our only purpose is to bless others, we have no fear of circumstances or people. Circumstances and people can be difficult but staying in His love keeps us in peace.  

 

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).

 

What is your response to difficult people?  Do you say, “I can’t forgive them! Do you know what they did to me?” Jesus was hanging on the cross when He said, “Father, forgive them.” Is it possible to live as Jesus did? Yes, it is. The Holy Spirit has equipped us to do just that.

 

“. . . the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

 

If you are born again, the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart. You are ready to walk in love. God wouldn’t expect something from you if it wasn’t possible. You have been forgiven, cleansed, made new, and filled with the love of God. The way to live in peace is to walk in love with everyone. His peace empowers you to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

 

Jesus gave Himself as an offering for us. He took our offense. His offering was sweet and acceptable to God on our behalf. There is no reason for us to live with a spirit of offense. If Jesus can stay in peace with those who wanted to kill Him, we can stay in peace with those who hurt us. When His peace rules in our hearts, His love reigns in our hearts. We surrender our fleshly feelings to His desire within us to love, and we choose to be as kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving as Jesus.

 

“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:14-15).

 

Let His peace rule in your heart, changing your life. His peace reveals His love in your heart. His love defeats fear. His peace allows love to flow unhindered, transforming you and flowing into the lives of others. You have the power of the Holy Spirit to stay in the peace of God and walk in His love. 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/stay-in-peace-and-walk-in-love.html

 

 

Reconciled and Restored Through Faith

 

 

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

—Hebrews 2:14-15

 

God needed to become flesh and blood so He could destroy the devil. Satan still exists, but his power has been destroyed. He only wields power in our lives because of our ignorance of the Word. His only weapon is deception. That is why knowing the truth sets us free (John 8:32).

 

Hebrews 2:14 states that Jesus destroyed the devil, who had the power of death, by dying Himself. Adam and Eve put the control of death into the hands of the devil when they ate of the tree (Genesis 3:6). The Lord told them not to do it or they would die (Genesis 2:16). Mankind's choice brought death, and the enemy has taken every advantage of it. Sin is the result of this choice. It is the root of all sickness that brings death. God does not want death for us. He wants us to receive life. God sent Jesus to purchase salvation and all its truth for us—to restore the relationship we had with Him in the Garden. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and reconcile us to God (Romans 5:11). God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).

 

Jesus was the exact image of His Father (Hebrews 1:3). The Father was in Him, and He was in the Father (John 17:21). Jesus did nothing that was not the expressed wish of His Father. 

 

“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).

 

God anointed His Son, Jesus, with power. He healed all who were oppressed by the devil. Since Jesus is the exact image of God (Hebrews 1:3), Jesus’ healing of all oppressed by the devil was God’s will. Scripture states that through Jesus’ finished work of grace, healing is part of the atonement (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17,1 Peter 2:24). We, having died to sin now may live in His righteousness. By His stripes, we were healed. 

 

God does not respond to us because of our work on His behalf. He responds to us because of Jesus’ perfect work on our behalf. When we don't put our faith in Him, we end up trying to earn what He has already purchased for us with His precious blood. Praying to receive anything from the Lord based on our work or how good we are is like a Pharisee trying to prove he is righteous. Putting faith in our own effort instead of putting faith in Jesus’ grace ultimately opens the door to fear.

 

And fear is one of the greatest hindrances to faith.

 

“While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.’ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well’” (Luke 8:49-50).

 

The story of Jairus and his recently deceased daughter reveals that fear is one of the greatest hindrances to faith. Jesus made it clear to Jairus that his daughter’s healing depended on believing in Him and not on fear. Fear and faith cannot exist together. Fear destroys our faith.

 

Many Christians who deal with sickness have fear. They have a fear of death, doctors, medical reports, medicine, and a fear of financial problems. They may fear losing someone or the fear of overwhelming circumstances. Many know God’s will concerning their health, and they are hopeful that they might get healed. But deep down there is fear that is killing their faith.

 

Through His death Jesus destroyed Satan, who had the power of death, and released those held in bondage from the fear of death (Heb. 2:15). Death is the greatest fear of mankind. Jesus destroyed Satan’s power of death. Jesus came to release us from the fear of death.

 

The root fear from which other fears grow is the fear of death. When the fear of death is destroyed, the bondage of other fears is destroyed. You will live in peace, joy, and love. Your faith will come to life. 

 

Why would a Christian ever fear death? Isn’t death just moving into the presence of God—into the everlasting and unending perfect love of our Father where there is joy unspeakable and full of glory? Those who fear death choose to live in the bondage of other fears. When you are bound up in fear, you do not have the abundant life Jesus came to give you. 

 

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

 

Just as fear destroys faith, love destroys fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Fear is torment, but knowing the love of God is the most liberating power there is. 

 

The perfect love of God casts out fear. If you don't believe your faith is “working,” trusting in God's love is an issue. Fear is an issue. Just because you don’t see God’s Word working in your life, don’t devalue its truth by speaking: “I’ll be like this forever. Nothing will ever change.” The Gospel either saves or does not save. It either heals or does not heal. It either works or does not work. 

 

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2).

 

Fear destroys your faith and hinders the harvest of God’s truth in your life. The Word profits you—it brings a harvest in your life—when you mix it with faith.  

 

When you know how much God loves you, you will not fear death. 

 

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4).

 

The threat of death will not cause fear in those who trust that the Lord will never leave or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5). David wrote that even if he walked “through the valley of the shadow of death” he would fear no evil. Death is not an end. It’s just something we walk through into the next life. Seeing death in this way helps remove the sting of the fear of death.

 

Healing is God’s will for this life and for the next. Out of the abundance of your heart, you speak (Matthew 12:34). Never speak less of yourself than God speaks of you. Faith comes in our hearts by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). A person of faith speaks God’s truth even when it is not seen. He believes it is the truth for his life, and He receives God’s truth through faith.

 

The Word comes to life in your heart by faith. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 3:23). Believe His truth in your heart. By the stripes of Jesus, you were healed for now and eternity. Put on the new life He has given you (Ephesians 4:24). Receive through faith the abundant life of reconciliation and restoration Jesus gave His life for you to receive.

 

His gift is offered, but it only becomes ours through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/reconciled-and-restored-through-faith.html

 

 

Called to A Relationship

 

 

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

—1 Corinthians 1:9

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

***

 

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

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/called-to-relationship.html

 

 

 

My Beloved Child

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

***

 

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

—1 Corinthians 1:9 

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/my-beloved-child.html

 

The Blessing of God’s Goodness

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Confident Faith

 

 

 

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

—1 Samuel 17:46

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/confident-faith.html

 

 

 

 

He is Your Source

 

 

 

 

 

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

—Psalm 136:1

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/he-is-your-source.html

 

Ask Him

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

***

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2024/04/ask-him.html