"The time
has come for you to walk on water. You are My water walker and
this is what you must meditate on above all you see, feel or hear
from any other source. Hear Me, believe Me, and proclaim only
what I say and your crack in the sky shall become an open
heaven." |
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MOTIVES
"And we pray this in order that you may live a life
worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit
in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being
strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so
that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in
the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light"
(Colossians 1:10-12)
Spirit of the heart:
When God created Adam and Eve, He blessed them with sufficient
knowledge and ability to thrive in successful loving relationship
with Him, themselves, and the rest of God's creation. The
Lord God was an intimate friend who walked together with them in
the Garden of Eden, which was their home. They existed in a pure
state of harmonious relationship with God whereas intellectual
delights and satisfactions were, most certainly, in
abundance.
But God had given Adam and Eve the freedom to choose: whether to
love and trust Him in humility and obedience or reject Him
through prideful unbelief and self-determination. (For God knew
that we must choose to trust Him, in order to truly love Him).
So, God made an opportunity for them to demonstrate their trust
in Him to provide every good and necessary thing for fullness of
life. God commanded them:
"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for
when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis
2:16-17)
Now the serpent also spied an opportunity in this. And he
approached Eve in an effort to generate discontent with her
present state of being. About eating from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, the devil suggested to Eve:
"You will not surely die...For God knows that when you
eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil". (Genesis 3:4-5)
The devil hoped that Eve would accept his implication that God
was struggling with a selfish and paranoid insecurity and had
deliberately deprived her of something wonderful that would make
her equal in knowledge to God. (As though God might be concerned
that, by the attainment of sufficient knowledge, His creation
might rival Him.) But Eve, imprudently entertaining the
temptation before her, came to believe this lie and by doing so,
she chose to abandon the accurate and true knowledge she had
possessed regarding the goodness and holiness of God.
The devil's successful plan was to initiate a godless
self-determination within Eve, by encouraging a selfish ambition
for personal advancement. Interestingly, these are the same sins
of which the devil himself was guilty in his initial rebellion
against God. And these are the same sins the devil commonly
tempts us with today (Matt. 4:1-11; Acts 5:1-11).
Lies are The Doorway to Temptation
A lie, once believed, has a way of increasing, through the agency
of vain imagination, the desirability of that which is evil.
Because Eve believed a supposed truth based on imperfect
knowledge and derived from an ungodly source, she became
vulnerable to the cosmetically deceptive allure of ungodly
temptation. (As true for us today as it was for Eve)
When Eve believed the lie, a very dangerous dynamic began to take
place. A dynamic that repeats itself over and over again in the
lives of many relationships today. As she believed the lie that
God did not have her best interests at heart, her positive
feelings toward God began to diminish and the strength of the
temptation began to increase. The temptation now appeared to
contain multi-level enticements that were seemingly
irresistible:
"When the woman saw that the fruit was good for food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she
took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was
with her and he ate it". (Genesis 3:6)
Once again: a lie, once believed, has a way of increasing,
through the agency of vain imagination, the desirability of that
which is evil. Just as with Adam and Eve, it is lies that we
believe that cause the temptation to sin to have such power in
our lives. Our susceptibility to temptation will always be
proportionate to the depth and strength of the lies we believe in
our inner being. Root out the lies by repenting of them and
surrendering them to be destroyed by the power of the Holy Spirit
and the strength of the temptations associated with the lies will
greatly diminish!
Most lies are ultimately rooted in an active disbelief in the
goodness and provision of God. And so it is within a marriage.
When this active disbelief in the goodness and provision of God
was first exercised by Adam and Eve, the nature of man and all of
creation underwent a ruinous transformation. These are some of
the changes that have occurred in the nature of man:
"The understanding is darkened" (Eph. 4:18; 1
Cor. 2:14); "the heart is deceitful and wicked"
(Jer. 17:9-10); "the mind and conscience are
defiled" (Gen. 6:5; Titus 1:15); "the flesh and
spirit are defiled" (2 Cor. 7:5); "the will is
enfeebled" (Rom. 7:18); "and we are utterly
destitute of any God-like qualities which meet the requirements
of God's holiness" (Rom. 7:18). And as for the world
and man's interaction with it, God declared:
"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful
toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will
produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants
of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your
food..." (Gen. 3:17-19).
If we were able to examine the intent of the heart of Adam and
Eve at that very moment, that terrible moment of giving in to
this first temptation, I believe we would clearly see a
reflection of the attitude of the heart of all of humanity from
that day forward. If we were to summarize into a single statement
the intent of the heart of Adam and Eve at the time of their
temptation, that statement could accurately represent the intent
of the heart of every man and woman born into this world from
that day forward. For what Adam and Eve essentially declared by
the choice they had made in believing the devil's lie, was -
man must reach out with his own hands and take whatever he needs
for fulfillment of self. This is what is meant by "an active
disbelief in the goodness and provision of God." Man, from
the delusion of his corrupted nature, believes in his heart that
he must take what he has determined he needs, because God will
not provide this for him.
This corrupted attitude of the heart has become the basic belief
system enthusiastically embraced by the whole of sinful humanity
since that day. And amazingly, those who are most proficient at
bringing to fruition this corrupted attitude of the heart are
showered with admiration and adulation. We raise up as heroes, as
little gods, those who are the most effective at reaching out
with their own hands and taking whatever they believe they need
for fulfillment of self. This is what we define as success. Our
society worships the materialistically successful,
self-determined man. And we are all encouraged in many ways
throughout our lives to strive to be like him or her.
The delusion that fulfillment of self is found primarily in the
determination of our own wills has now become the daily
motivating force within most people's lives. Every television
commercial, every advertisement, virtually every school book read
by our children, and almost every person we speak to and nearly
every workplace atmosphere throughout the world continuously
reinforce the deception that we can, and must, acquire by our own
efforts what is necessary for fulfillment of "self". It
is what we believe as we get out of bed in the morning and it is
what we believe when we lie down again at night.
And that too is a lie!
Adam and Eve believed the devil's implication that God was
keeping them from what they really needed (Genesis 3:4-5). And
they believed that acquiring knowledge from a source other than
God (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) could make them
more "like God." This active disbelief in the goodness
and provision of God has developed into a universal mentality
that has become intricately woven into the tapestry of the sin
nature of mankind to this day (Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Tim. 1:3-7 and
4:1-8; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Cor. 11:3-6).
Ever since his descent into sin, man has succumbed to the
prideful delusion that by leaning on his own understanding, he
can overcome the effects of the sin curse on himself and the
world around him. Man strives to accomplish this by using
techniques and methods developed through information he has
gathered throughout his history of struggling for survival in
this sin-darkened world.
Whenever, by human invention, a scientific or medical
breakthrough occurs, making our lives substantially safer or
easier; we will characterize it as "a miracle"! The
knowledge accumulated from each successful endeavor to restrain
or subdue the effects of the original sin curse upon humanity is
carefully preserved for future reference in books, magazines,
computers etc. The knowledge we compile is greatly treasured and,
in our limited understanding, we look to it as a source of hope,
a source of pride, even a source of life. As Jesus cautioned:
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also". (Matthew 6:21)
Man's Impure Motives
Pride in human reasoning will always emanate from a practiced
dependence upon humanistic knowledge. This pride even enters the
religious community enticing many people to believe that their
dedication and sacrifice at work, or in their family, church, or
community will be viewed as an adequate compensation for their
sins before God. They have equated the profitability of their
efforts with personal righteousness. But, of course, this is not
God's view. As Psalm 51:16-17 reveals:
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you
will not despise".
and also,
"but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not
attained it." Why not? "Because they pursued it not by
faith but as if it were by works". (Rom. 9:30-10:4)
Our Creator is not impressed by our attempts to justify or
sanctify ourselves by the use of personal effort based on worldly
knowledge. Though our efforts and sacrifices may not in
themselves be altogether ignoble, our motives behind those
efforts are often suspect. As Proverbs 16:2 informs us,
"All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives
are weighed by the Lord".
The shrewd practical usage of worldly knowledge can bring
financial reward, social acclaim, physical well-being, or even
enhanced self-esteem. And, the truth be told, as long as we are
able to successfully secure the comfort of these kind of
temporary benefits by relying on the "little god" of
our own knowledge and efforts, there is little incentive to
examine the motivation of the heart. The most accurate and
telling resource available to us for the discernment of motives
is the word of God:
For the word of God is living and active.... it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God's sight. Every thing is uncovered and laid
bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
(Hebrews 4:12-13)
It is not only what we accomplish with the knowledge we possess,
but also why we accomplish it, that is important to the Lord.
According to the word of God, we are to do all things for the
glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Yet God is certainly aware that
apart from the supernatural transformation of our souls by
sanctification through our faith in Christ Jesus, it is never our
priority to glorify Him. As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one
who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they
have together become worthless; there is no one who does good,
not even one". (Romans 3:10-12)
Our stubborn and desperate dependence on worldly knowledge has
only helped to blind our eyes to God's plan of restoration
through the knowledge of Him. God offers us this instructional
promise: "His divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who
called us by his own glory and goodness"(2 Peter
1:3)
His plan is to restore us, through our faith in the sacrifice of
Christ Jesus and by the workings of the power of the Holy Spirit,
to intimate relationship with Him; and also with your wife. By
repenting of your presumptuous and vain dependence on temporal
knowledge, you are able, by faith, to enter into a process of
spiritual transformation. As Colossians 3:9-10 reveals:
"you have taken off your old self with its practices and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in
the image of its Creator".
In His mercy and love, God is offering a restoration to you,
bringing you into intimate relationship with Him, through a
spiritual transformation of self. But, once again, you are free
to select the fruit of our choice... Death, sin, shame, every
kind of disease, wars, heartache, natural disasters, genocide,
prejudice; these are some of the bitter fruits you have tasted
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Or, you may now choose the fruit of the Tree of Life which is
produced by the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self control".(Gal. 5:22-23)
This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast
of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich
man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who
exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in
these I delight, declares the Lord".(Jeremiah
9:23-24)
The primary building block of society is the biblical based male
- female family unit. It is what separates us from a complete
social and spiritual breakdown. Without it we are threatened with
an unrestricted immoral free for all of hate, lust and
selfishness not unlike that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Satan hates
marriage and loves divorce. It allows him to curse the minds and
hearts of all involved, turning what once was love into hate,
bitterness and deceit.
When God designed Adam and Eve, He knew what choices our race,
and what we as individuals would make. He created mankind, as
both male and female, making each sex different, but in
complementary ways. Where one sex was weak He made the other
strong. That is why "opposites attract" in courtship.
However, because of our fallen natures, these same beneficial
differences between a man and his wife will always become the
basis for friction, disagreement and estrangement without the
sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. When mankind fell and
inherited a sinful predisposition, the basis for a balanced,
equal relationship between male and female fell with it. The
resultant separation caused by sin broke not only the backbone of
the intimate friendship between God and man, but also between a
man and wife. The seeds of unrepentant sin and the full-grown
death crop it produces are always at the center of every broken
home. Behind each divorce lie the broken laws and the rejected
love of God. This is why there can be no solution to the present
collapse of morality within the Church except by the pure
application of the Word of God, through the power of the Holy
Spirit. Nothing else will do!
The Moral Law of God
The moral laws of God are still in effect and the standard of all
those who follow Christ. They prohibit sex with animals,
homosexuality, incest and adultery. They also speak against
stealing, cheating, lying, swearing falsely, slander, witchcraft,
divination, seeking revenge, and bearing a grudge. It starts out
saying:
"If you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life
through them." (Leviticus 18:5)
Saved by Grace
What this all means is that if we try to keep any law in order to
be justified before God, it is not good enough. In order to be
saved by keeping the law, we must then keep all the laws
perfectly from the moment we were conceived until the moment we
die. That is impossible! No one who ever lived would qualify
except Jesus Christ. That is the point.
Salvation is only from the Grace of God through the atoning death
of Jesus Christ our Lord. But as Jesus said, the moral law of God
as expressed in the Scriptures is still in effect. "Do
not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your
neighbor's wife" (Leviticus 18:), "Do not
have intercourse with your brother's wife, this would violate
your brother." (Leviticus 18:16), "Never seek
revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor
as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18).
So, if you are contemplating divorce I would begin to think of
other options. You are not only opening the door to sin for
yourself - but also unto your wife.
Until we hate divorce as God hates it in Malachi, the Church is
on an opposing side, fighting God! God does not allow divorce and
remarriage for anyone! It is not within His revealed, permissible
will. All the wishful thinking to the contrary, no matter how
much it disagrees with what is commonly taught and practiced,
regardless of how it may limit our own choices, it is strictly
forbidden by the Word of God under any circumstances. Jesus
said:
"Don't imagine that I came to bring
peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword. I have come to
part asunder a man from his father, and a daughter from her
mother, and a married wife from her mother-in-law. And man's
foe will be they of his own household. If you love your father or
mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine;
or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not
worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and
follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your
life you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will
find it". (Matthew 10:34-39)
Just as Adam and Eve had to learn - so does husband and wife.
Scriptures clearly states that man is completely responsible for
his wife on every level of her life - especially her marriage to
you. But there are many circumstances in a marriage that must be
resolved on a daily bases. Marriage is an institution created by
God that consistently needs nourishment, nurtured, and building
upon each and every single day.... And so you may know; your
marriage to your wife is your career - not your J.O.B.. Your
marriage is your life and responsibility from the moment you said
"I Do" and until death. Most men will place other
priorities over their wife. And if you are guilty of this then
learn real fast that your wife IS your first and only
priority. Under any circumstances or situation do you attempt to
place your sins upon your wife as Adam attempted to do with Eve.
If you do; then God will stop you dead in your tracks. You are
guilty of your own sins. Though you may feel your wife is
responsible for bringing on your sins - may it be anger;
discontentment; lack of love; low-esteem; self-worthiness; or any
other negative feelings you may have - just remember; you are the
one that has the choice in making the right choices on saving
your marriage. According to God - your feelings are squat compare
to your counter part. Just turn to God and He will show you the
way - the right way.
 
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God's
Love From Genesis Through The Revelation.
How well do I know
you? I knew you before time was I knew ever speck of dust and
water it would take to make you. When I created Adam from the
dust of the earth I was already intimately acquainted with every
speck - acquainted with every cell of your
physical being and every essence of your spiritual being. To know
you is to love you. It is as simple as that.
Know this without a doubt, My living water flows in and through
you to reshape your land - to reshape your way of
thinking. I reshape all things until they line up with My
intended design and purpose. How much easier it would be for Me
if you just agreed regardless of what you see or feel. Many times
you do and many times you don't.
Don't forget My eternal Word and come into
agreement with all I have told you. Eternity begins
now. |
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