It Is Finished!

The last words of Jesus are so profound and clear for our understanding. However, because of the complexity of our brokenness we just don’t get it. Jesus breathes His last breath and completes the first part of His sacrifice by saying “It is finished.” As we live our lives we act differently then what our Savior claims. We live walking on egg shells or focused on our past mistakes. Rarely do you find someone ready to be thankful or praising God for their past. Many of us want people to know what we have survived almost like wearing a badge of honor. These are the battles I have fought and look at how strong and cold hearted I have become. Look at how selfish this has made me! I know these feelings because this has been me in my solitude. Then Jesus has revealed to me what He meant by His statement.  I am here, breathing, smiling and walking only because of the sacrifice He made on that cross. I have received God’s mercy and favor so many times over.  When Jesus said it was finished, He meant that it was the beginning for us. The battle is not against the wrongs we don’t want to do, the battle is against believing we are worth God’s Love.  Scripture says that perfect Love (Christ) cast out fear and when we grab a hold of that truth we truly are being sanctified.  Jesus wants us so badly to be in love with Him as He is with us. That longing is being fulfilled in knowing that we have the righteousness of Christ in us because of the cross. He took all of our sins on and into Him and in return God gave us His righteousness.  We can live this life with the confidence of Champions because as Christ has said ” It is Finished!”  This wisdom is key in our walks. I learned as the Holy Spirit shared with me the other day. The reason the devil brings up our past failures, our bloopers reel, is because he has nothing new! Wow think about that even when you sin today, once it is finished it is in the past and becomes void when we repent and turn to Jesus. Amen and Amen to our One True Amazing, Awesome, Powerful, Loving, Graceful and All Knowing God! Selah!

One Love, One King, All Christ!

When the scales fall off, Leave them on the ground!

When Paul converted his life to follow Jesus he did it the moment the scales fell from his eyes and he could see.  He was no longer blind and with his renewed eyes looked at the World and each person differently. I do this often, the being blind part and out in the wilderness all alone.  That’s the lie I tell myself and when the Devil comes whispering and tempting I give in.  The temptations seem to flow with how we are feeling or do not want to feel.  The truth is Jesus is with us and the Holy Spirit is in us.  We have a Warrior King dwelling inside of us who will fight the good fight.  However, because the strongholds have been branded into our souls and minds we must seek refuge in our fortress of Christ.  We can’t expect to change over night or even in weeks or months, completely that is.  We can see the transformation happening and that is an amazing thing to be a part of in my own life.  I need to know the scales have fallen off and I need not pick them back up.  It is almost like I force myself to try and put them back on because when I can’t see I have all the excuses in the World of  why I “needed” to choose sin when in reality I wanted it! OUCH!  The importance of Jesus in our life is the mission He gives each of us to serve.  I believe what Paul learned in those three days was how much Jesus needed to get done on Earth.  When those scales fell off Paul took off and walked with Christ from then on.

Paul realized in this wisdom that he needed to focus all his energies on forgetting the past and looking to what lies ahead.  Those are big words considering he needed to forget being a murderer of the very thing he became, A Christian.  I am learning to not pre-judge or make assumptions of anyone, including the ones we do not like.  We don’t know what they are going through.  It is within our walk with Jesus and the Holy Spirit that we truly start to transform.  Jesus frees us and then the Spirit through us reaches out to all those in our path.  Paul says with conviction that there is no condemnation in those that are in Jesus Christ.  He can say this because he lived it and had the Holy Spirit with him.  Paul says to confess your thoughts and feelings before they can even become temptations.  When you have the eyes of your Heart open, the scales have no appeal! We do not want to be blind when we can truly see.  The whisper of the Holy Spirit speaks peace into us while the “Warrior King” deals with everything else.  The very moment we ask He(Jesus) says YES.  The moment the scales fall off , let them fall do not try and salvage any of the old ways of being blind to Christ!  Our past brings comfort which is not peace, Comfort leads us to laziness which then leads us to sin.  I am leaving the scales on the ground, IN JESUS NAME! I CHOOSE SIGHT, COME, HOLY SPIRIT, VISINE ME! Amen!

One Love, One King, All Christ!

Holy Spirit- the Hammer that shatters glass and forges iron

Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are consumed and filled with the Holy Spirit.  He is much like a bodyguard or better yet a soul guard.  He is prepared to do battle for us and He is also there to love on us.  He can even pray for us when we can not or do not know what to pray for.  There are so many of us with the Holy Spirit in us but rarely do we utilize His services like we should.  The amazing thing is as humans, even with God in us, we still choose our own god(self).  Every choice we make in “self” is like a hammer shattering a plane of glass.  Every hope and dream we try and obtain on our own and without God is shattered.  Notice I did not mention success, because we know in this world you can have “success” and not know or believe in God.  Our hopes and dreams come from our souls and they are the desires that were woven into our minds when God created us.  I have not only experienced the shattered glass in my choices, but I took it one step further and walked barefoot around all those shards just prolonging my stubbornness and selfishness.  The image of the Hammer(Holy Spirit) striking down on that glass and shattering it is a vision my mind can see and hear clearly.  It is such a chaotic and violent sound and there is no order.  The glass is broken and spread out across a vast area.  When we try and live this life alone, this is how our thoughts end up. The glass has no chance against the Hammer!

However, when we choose to finally surrender and allow the God in us, the one true Lover of us, who consumed our all when we said yes to him, Victory begins.  When this happens and the Hammer begins its violent descent upon us, it is like the forging of Iron.  The same velocity used to shatter the glass simply shapes the iron.  Jesus lets us know that iron sharpens iron and if we allow the Holy Spirit to reign, He will make us strong.  When we allow the Holy Spirit to be our frontman we are molded and protected by the impact He(The Hammer) makes in our life.  As he continues to forge us He reminds us to hold true to the power and strength of what He offers and not turn to the weakness and chaos of the shattered glass.  The shattered glass is what we are use to.  We love to go places we know even if they are dangerous.  The truth is as The Holy Spirit forges the iron, God shows me He Loves me so much that once I say yes to Him my sins are forgiven and forgotten.  The impact of “The Hammer” on my life is clear and expressed with power and majesty in:

1st Corinthians 13:4-7

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Now what resonates in my heart and soul is the beginning of verse 8 which says “Love Never Fails!” Amen.

This lesson has impacted me the most as I am learning what Agape love is.  I have been so selfish in my life that I have always, even subconsciously, expected something in return.  I can say that I am now better at loving just to give through prayer and humility.  I know this love I am experiencing is real because I seriously just want happiness for them, regardless if they will be a part of my life or not.  I want them to be healed of their pain and prayer for their favor and happiness.  I honestly for the first time in my life, where I usually would NOT do this, I am doing this for them and not me.  There are few I have met that I have prayed for their salvation and a hope they can meet someone to share Christ with them.  Jesus is teaching me and breaking me and it’s all so new to me.  You see my friends the honest truth is I have never truly been in love and now for the first time I think I am.  He is becoming my everything and as He pours into me He opens my eyes to those around me.  I do realize Loving like God is about truly giving and  not receiving or expecting something in return.  It is pouring into others and then rest assured God will pour back into me.  He is my return, He is my expectation, He is my Gift!  As I am learning to put my hope in Him, I am realizing that I love well and I battle when I start to “feel” the pull like I should get something.  I am putting my childish ways behind me and asking Jesus and the Holy Spirit to show me how to Love.  I am learning not to put my hope or validation in people but in every situation turn to Him and Holy Spirit.  Making sure that everything I do is for His glory.  I do surrender all of me to Him and simply say with conviction ” I’M ALL IN!”  Let me finish with my new life verse from the Great 8… Romans 8 that is! And it’s:

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. AMEN

One Love, One King, All Christ!