Daciple Ministries

[Daciple]

Eat, Pray, Love​

I was praying the other night and as I was laying out my heart to God, telling Him all about the struggles I have been facing and dealing with, Thanking Him for His Goodness and Praising His Name these three words came upon my heart. Eat, Pray, Love. Now I know that there is a book with this title and there was also a movie made based on this book, however, I have never read the book nor seen the movie, so I decided to look up a summary to see what it was about, or if it really had any relation to what God was stirring in my heart concerning those 3 words.

If you are like me and never saw or read the book, in short, it is about a woman who has come out of a bad marriage and a bad rebound who is struggling in her life. So she decides to leave her home in search of “finding herself” essentially and begins to travel too three different places, Italy, India and Indonesia. In Italy she Eats the food enjoying the Cuisine, then she travels to India and starts a “Spiritual Journey”. This consists of her entering into a Guru’s Ashram where she practices yoga and “finds God”. She then leaves and heads to Indonesia where eventually she finds true love.

I am sure there is more to it but that is what I read is the basic summary of the book, and I have been meditating and pondering what if anything this book has to do with what God laid on my heart concerning Eat, Pray, Love. Honestly after thinking about this and feeling after where God would have me to go in these thoughts I would have to say there isn't much in the details that have any relevance to what God has put on my heart. However there are some generalities that I can see parallels in, and just want to give you what God has given me about our need to Eat, Pray and Love.

So as I look at the life of this fictional character I can see something that speaks to each of us in our human experience, that speaks to me in my life and that is the endurance of trials and tribulations. In the midst of these trials and tribulations she decides that she wants to make changes and has a desire to find something she feels is missing or lost to her where she is at presently, she then takes a physical journey to look for these things.

I think if we are all honest with ourselves, we all are facing trials and tribulations in some form and fashion, I know that I personally am. I have recently lost my job in a way that is disheartening and has caused me to be filled with anger and regret. I have also been dealing with depression and anxiety because of the lost of my job and the way it is affecting me and my family. There are other aspects of my life that I feel I am in a trial with and am experiencing tribulation in, and it seems to be a regular occurrence in my life.

Yet I don't feel that I am alone in being the only one that is suffering in trials and tribulations, I believe that most everyone in life is constantly moving from one trial to another, one tribulation to another, I think that is the process of what we call life. So I can identify with her in that aspect and I can also identify with her in the aspect of desiring or wanting a change because of the trials or tribulations I have been in. Again I think that is just a facet of our human nature, to desire to see or find change in the midst of our adversities.

I can also identify with the desire to travel searching for these changes, but I think like most, I am not in a position where I can basically leave my current life and go travel the world in search of answers, so it is from this point forward that I diverge from this fictional character. And as I have thought about these things I see that God isn't calling me to physically travel anywhere, but He has shown me that there is a way we can escape these trials and tribulations and attain the things we are looking for, and it's not by a Physical or Literal journey, but a Spiritual one, one in which we look to Him to guide us out of the storm, to make sense of the trials and find the things we are searching for that we feel are missing in our lives.

There is a time in the Scriptures where Jesus faced His hardest trail apart from the Cross, where He was led out into the desert and was tempted by Satan, and there is something in this Scripture that I see that pertains to the title of the message. When Jesus was in the midst of the Trial He needed to eat, and what was it He said was His food?

Matt 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live

Jesus reminded the Devil and reminds us that the Bread we need to feast upon when we are in the midst of our trials and tribulations isn't delicious sweets or wonderful food found in that book, no the Bread we need to eat is the Word of God, every Word that comes from the mouth of God.

It can be a hard thing to do at times in the middle of a trial, to actually turn to and look towards the Word of God, I know many times I struggle to stay consistent in my reading, especially once I face adversity. I find myself being angry and overwhelmed and start focusing on the trial itself, or look to worldly things to deal with my problems, Tv and Movies to distract me. Staring at my phone for hours mindless scrolling thru Facebook or Youtube. However none of that ever helps me deal with, get past or make sense of my trials or tribulations.

Yet when I turn to the Word of God, when I start to truly search the Scriptures looking for answers, looking for help, when I start to feast upon that Bread, then I can see changes in my life. I can see the clouds begin to break, I can see the light and the path out, I can come to understand the purpose and reason for why I am going thru what I am going thru.
I can tell you that when I find a purpose and a reason for what I am going thru it helps to ease the pain of the trial and tribulation. It gives me hope that I will make it out and that I will be better off once I reach the end of it. All of that is found when we begin to turn to and eat the Bread that comes from the mouth of God, His Word.

Not only should we be feasting on Gods Word, but Scripture tells us that the Word of God isn't just what is recorded in the Bible, the Word of God is more than just pages in a Book. What does Scripture tell us the Word is?

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Word who is God, became Flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ and Jesus also taught that He is that Bread of God, the True Manna:

John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

He then tells us in the middle of Passover dinner not long before He was Crucified:

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

The Word of God isn't just the Bible, but it is Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus IS that Bread of Life in which we ought to eat from, and when we enter into these trials and tribulations we should not only be reading from the Word, eating of the Bread of God, but we need to also be sure to spend time with Jesus, fellowshiping with Him, talking to Him, looking for Him because He is the True Bread of Life.

In the Scriptures quoted above there was something that stood out to me as I was wondering what does it mean to eat from the Bread of God who is Jesus. How are we to eat of this Bread, what do I do in order to feast from this Bread of Life? It seems like something that is impossible, and even seem weird when you say it, how do you eat Jesus?

Clearly Christ isn't telling us to Physically eat His Flesh or anything to that effect, this is a Spiritual application, still how is it that we Spiritually eat the Bread of Life? Look back at Scriptures, there are 2 specific ways in which Jesus tells us how we eat of the Bread of Life.
The first is by believing, Jesus called out those who were with Him there across the sea from Capernaum, that they see Him but don't believe and He tells them it is Gods Will that they believe on Him. When we want to eat the Bread of Life we start by belief, belief in who Jesus is, and having Faith in His Promises for us.

During Passover when He broke the Bread what did He tell the Disciples why it is they should do it? It was in remembrance of Him. If we want to eat of this Bread of Life not only should we start by believing and having Faith in who Jesus is and what His Promises are for us, but we need to be in remembrance of what it is that He has already done for us.

Remember what He did on the Cross, taking our Sins upon Himself, paying the debt we never could, enduring the Wrath of God we deserve so that we can by believing in Him be given Forgiveness, Atonement and Eternal Life. Remembering what He did for us in the day of our Salvation. If you don't have a Born Again Experience, I am praying you come to have one because there is nothing in the World that inspire me more, that gives me hope that everything will be ok in the middle of my trials and tribulations than for me to go back to the day God brought me to Salvation. The day I realized truly that I was Lost and the day I called out to God to save me and He answered and proved He was real, and that He was going to be with me from then on no matter what.

Go back and remember all the times that Jesus has moved in your life, all the Testimonies He has given you, the blessings He has poured out, the other valleys He has led you thru, the Mountaintops He has helped you climb. If we want to truly eat of the Bread of Life that is Jesus then we must believe in who He is and His promises to us and remember what it is He has already done, that will stir up the Holy Spirit in us and produce the Faith we need to endure our current trials, and give us perspective that there is a reason and purpose for what we are experiencing.

That is the first step in getting past, thru and finding a reason and purpose for our trials, the next step is closely related to the first. It is one of the ways in which we do Eat of that Bread of Life, and that is to Pray. How often I neglect not only to read the Word of God, but to take the time to pray when I am in the middle of a trial. Many times I let the trial harden my heart, I react in my Flesh with Anger and personally I am the type that shuts down when I get hurt and angry. However that isn't what God wants from me or you when we find ourselves in trials and tribulations. What He really wants is for us to use that trial to look less and less to ourselves and more and more to Him, and the best way to do that is to spend time in Prayer.

Paul in his letter to the Roman Church when he is telling them how to go about using their Gifts in the Spirits tells them:

Rom 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

In our tribulations we need to rejoice in hope, which we do when we Eat of that Bread of Life, believing on Christ and remembering what He has done for us, but we all need to continue to be instant in prayer. Instant in prayer means to be steadfast in our prayers, not letting the trials, the valleys stop us from our prayer life.

Paul tells the Church at Colossi:

Col 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

They should continue in prayers and with thanksgiving. He tells the Church at Ephesus:

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

They and thus we are to pray always in supplication in the Spirit. To the Phillpians he commanded:

Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

To the Thessalonians he told them:

1 Thes 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

He says to Timothy:

1 Tim 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

James in his epistle tells us:

James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.

Over and over in the Scriptures we are told to pray, we are told it changes situations, brings peace, increases joy, gives perspective, alleviates fear, on and on we can go concerning the benefits of Prayer in our lives. My mother made me a Prayer box when I was young, where we filled it with names and would pull them out to pray for them, I still have it 20 years later. On it she wrote something that has always stuck with me and that is, Prayer is the Key to Gods Heart.

If we want to know what Gods Heart is towards us, let us Pray. If we want to know Gods Heart in our trial, let us Pray. If we want to know Gods Heart in our purpose, let us Pray. In all things we need to be Praying, spending that time with Him getting to know Him more and more and letting Him mold us into the persons and purposes He wants for us to be.

The final thing God has laid upon my heart was Love, and it is the most important aspect of everything spoken of so far. Paul wrote to us and told us just how important Love is:

1 Corth 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

If we read the whole chapter we see that there is nothing greater than Love, or Charity which is Love in action. We can have tongues, we can understand all things with all wisdom and knowledge, we can have faith to move mountains, we can give all we own to the poor, even give our lives on a stake but if we don't have Love in action, if we don't have Charity then all of that is worthless.

Love is the beginning and Love is the end, all things will end, but Love that will last into Eternity. How do we come to know true Love? By eating the Bread of Life and by Praying, Scripture tells us this:

1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Love isn't our Love, Love is knowing what Jesus did for us, that is the basis of our Love.

1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

All the fruits of the Spirit stem from Love, Love is patient, Love is kind, it keeps us from pride and boasting, it doesn't rejoice in things that are wrong, but in the Truth. Love is everything and most of all God Himself is Love. It also the Commandment of Jesus Christ Himself, it is His only Commandment along with belief:

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

If we want to get out of the valleys we are in, if we want to make sense of what it is we are going thru, if we want to see things change in our lives then we need to follow what God has given us today, we need to Eat Pray and Love.

Let us Eat the Bread of Life, reading and meditating on His Word, let us send time with Him in Prayer never ceasing and let us always look to Christ so that He can fill us with His Love and cause us to be the Love in action that He was in the Flesh when He gave His Life for us.

If you are Lost then you need come to Salvation today by having Faith in Christ, eating of the Word of God, the Bread of Life who is Jesus. Pray to Him asking forgiveness for your Sins and reach out from your Heart believing in Him for Atonement and Restoration with God. Accept that He Loved you first and has shown it by going to the Cross and you will be Born Again and filled with His Love which surpasses all understanding, that calms every fear and covers all Sins.

God is Good today and every day and I am thankful to know that no matter where I am in Life I have a Savior that loved me at my absolute worst, when I was Lost, and His Love was so great that He would and has done any and everything needed to rescue me. Having this knowledge and Faith, knowing Him and His Love, I am able to make it thru every Valley, Storm, Trial and Tribulation I will ever face. Thank you Jesus for enduring with me and never leaving, for your Promises to abide with me forever no matter what! What a Promise and what a Savior we Serve!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord! If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
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Existence

1 John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us

Eat, Pray, Love

I was praying the other night and as I was laying out my heart to God, telling Him all about the struggles I have been facing and dealing with, Thanking Him for His Goodness and Praising His Name these three words came upon my heart. Eat, Pray, Love. Now I know that there is a book with this...

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[Red Sky at Morning]

I remember learning a similar lesson first hand.

The verse I was drawn to over this period was Romans 12:21 (an interesting numeric reversal) which states “do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good”. At the same time the Lord gave me an image of the way you avoid an accident when slipping on ice whilst driving - you steer into the skid.

When things go wrong we almost always become like the disciples in the boat during the storm... and panic!

Doing what we should during the trial is perhaps the hardest test of all.

Eat - we mostly prefer to look to our own resources rather than look to the Word of God.

Pray - our flesh is like Job’s wife, saying “curse God and die” - do the opposite!

Love - when we have troubles of our own, our hearts shut the doors to others, so open them and seek to be a blessing.

I was once blessed by this song in a storm...

 

[Daciple]

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Drying Up Egypt​

I came before the Lord tonight in prayer, in honest prayer asking God to reveal to me where it is I stand before Him. I have had so many things go on in my life over the past few months, I have become incredibly worried as to where it is I stand before Him. The things going on in my life have been causing me grief and worry, heartache and burdens. I have been in the midst of Sin, a constant raging battle in my heart and mind. I have been deluged with terrible thoughts and all of it has brought me to my knees to cry out before the Righteous and Holy Lord and beg Him to reveal exactly where it is I stand with Him.

I prayed that He please in His Grace manifest Himself where I was, to show me where I stand because I can tell you with zero doubts that I do not want to be standing on the wrong side of God. I asked Him if He could please as He manifested Himself in my presence to do one of two things, either bring the full weight of Conviction upon, to make Hell seem real, to bring a burden on me I have never felt before, if it is that I am not in Right Standing with Him. Either that or as He began to manifest Himself to me, to bring Peace, Love, to lift the burden I am carrying to wrap me up in His arms, to show me that I am indeed Right before Him.

And I say Right before Him, not because of anything I have ever done, but because of His Grace and Mercy that was seen as He shed His Blood upon the Cross. If I am Right before Him it is because of belief in Him, what He has done on the Cross and because He Resurrected from the Grave. So as I prayed and waited I didn't feel any type of Conviction at all, I didn't feel any greater burden, I didn't feel any fear, what I did feel was that Jesus was coming and sitting beside me and He began to speak to me in my heart of hearts.

If I sat down beside you, what do you think I would do? How do you think I would act? And I know what would happen if Jesus literally manifested in my room and sat down beside me. He wouldn't begin to berate me, He wouldn't chastise me, He wouldn't bring terror into my heart, no instead He would put His arm around me as I sat there crying. He would pull me in close, put His head on my shoulder, He would pour Love into me and He would begin to comfort me in my distress. Then He would start talking to me, lifting my head and giving me some understanding as to what was going on in my life, to give me strength and wisdom to endure what I am facing.

And that is exactly what He did, He sat down beside me and I could feel in my Spirit, in my Soul the manifestation of His Love and Grace and Mercy. I began to feel a sense of Peace, and even some Joy which has been eluding me as of late. And then when He allowed me to feel that Peace, to assure me that I am in Right Standing with Him, not because of me but because of Faith in Him, He began to speak to me, and what He spoke to me I would like to share with you.

I want to share this because I believe there are other people out here that are in a similar situation. Not only that I believe that there are people who are about to face a similar situation, and if not that then you have already came thru on the other side and what I write you will quickly be able to identify that yes that happened to me as well. I believe every person that lays eyes on this, you are going to be in one of these categories. I don't believe that God allows us to go thru things for no purpose or reason, there is a reason and purpose behind everything we face and it is up to us to reach out to God to find meaning in these times.

As soon as God began to speak to my heart, I immediately heard Isaiah 19, turn there and I will show you what is going on in your life and we will read it together, so I picked up my Bible and turned to that chapter. If you are following along, I strongly recommend that you turn to that chapter in your Bible and read it before going further because I am going to go over the entire chapter almost verse by verse, but at first I picked it up and read it, and it didn't seem to make much sense, but God went back and lead me thru it and that is what I would like to do with you today.

The first verse starts with, the burden of Egypt and when I first read it all I just couldn't understand why God would be leading me to read about Egypt. Egypt isn't a Good Place in Scripture so how is this chapter ever going to relate to me, or what I am going thru in a Positive Way. I was even wondering is God trying to show me that I am not in a Right Standing with Him? Am I Lost in Egypt? Here I feel this sense of Peace and Love, but then I'm being told in Scripture I am Egypt? So I stopped, prayed again and God spoke and lead me thru the chapter again and gave me an understanding completely different than what I originally thought on the first and surface reading.

There are some who want to take this as literal, and I am sure in some peoples mind they believe this chapter is about the End Times, and that is fine and dandy IDC what you believe in that aspect but I am telling you that this chapter has a significant Spiritual meaning and there is no need for us to wait till the End of Time for it to be fulfilled in your life and my life, it is and can be fulfilled now.

I began to think and dwell on Egypt and ask what is the overall meaning of Egypt in relation to what it is you are wanting to reveal to me in this Chapter God, and He turned my mind to what it is that Egypt represents in the Word of God. Egypt is almost always related as a Symbol of the World. Israel being in bondage for 490 years then coming out of Egypt and going into Canaan, the Promised Land is representative of us as people being enslaved in the Word and in Sin and being set free by Christ in Salvation and going into Heaven or the Kingdom of God. And God revealed that it is in that context of Egypt being the World, Sin and my Flesh is how He wanted me to read and understand this Chapter. So keep this in mind as we begin to read thru it, Egypt represents the World, Sin and your Flesh.

Is 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

As I went back and read this for the second time, with that mindset, God began to reveal what He was doing in my life, and I believe as I stated originally, He either is going to, He is or He has been doing this in others who read this lives as well. I hope that God can give you some perspective about your situation as He has me thru these Scriptures. What God showed me is that there is a point and purpose to what I am going thru, and the first thing we see is that God came into Egypt. God came into Egypt for a point and a purpose and when He came into Egypt things began to take place, when God begins to come into your life, He is doing it for a point and a purpose and things are going to begin to take place.

God showed me that the things I am going thru is because God is showing up to deal with my Flesh, with my Sin and with the World around me and the influence I’ve let it have on me. When God showed up in verse 1 it caused the idols in Egypt to be moved and the heart of Egypt to be melted. What do you think the trial and tribulation your facing, with God showing up, is supposed to be doing in your life right now?

I can tell you it is to move the idols out of your life and to cause your Flesh to start melting or dying before the Presence of the Lord. I looked up the Hebrew Word for melt, and it means to dissolve. It is also translated as waste away, completely lose heart, and worthless. God is telling us that what we are going thru right now or will be or just have gone thru, the purpose of it is to cause our Flesh to become worthless, to make it lose heart, to force it to waste away.

I don't know about any of you, but I can say that my Flesh has been a roaring monster, it is always fighting against me, it is always trying to be strong and lead me the wrong way, it always has a massive grip on my thoughts, feelings, actions and my Faith. Even tho what I am facing right now is not fun, what a different perspective it is to know that it's because God is showing up to cause my Flesh to dissolve it's grip on me, to cause my Flesh to begin to lose heart in it's fight against me and the Spirit, to cause it to become worthless in it's mission to stop me from following God and His Will. I don't know about anyone else but that excites me, it turns the hardship of what I am going thru into a reason to rejoice!!!

Is 19:2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof:

In these verses I can see very clearly how my Flesh and Mind and the Sin I have found myself in are acting. My Flesh and Mind are in a constant war within themselves, my Flesh desiring to Sin, my Mind trying to tell me all sorts of negative things, my fight to get them to stop and failing at it, it is a warfare, I wonder who can relate? But God showed me that He is the one that set that aspect in motion, He has shown up, He has done this for a point and a purpose and that is to cause My Flesh and my Mind to lose their Spirit, to finally give up and fail. And I can see that working out now, that I have been in this cycle of temptation and sometimes falling into Sin by my Flesh, and then my mind tearing me apart for it, and watched it go round and round until it has driven the Spirit of my Flesh to begin to fail causing me to turn from my Flesh and this merry go round and call out to the Lord to overcome and defeat it all. And God has answered and said, I will cause the counsel, the thoughts, the path of what your Flesh wants to do, to fail, I am going to destroy its mission. Amen that is Good News!!

Is 19:5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

As I read this I had my mind turned to what I have learned about the real world Egypt, the Nile River, that it is the life of Egypt. And when God placed that on my heart He revealed to me what these verses mean to my life now. Just as if God were to dry up the literal waters in Egypt how it would cause Egypt to begin to die, the fruits, and all that need to survive from the waters, so to is it the same with God drying up the waters to my Fleshly Egypt to cause it to die. What I am going thru is for a point and a purpose and God is cutting off the water that brings life to my Flesh. The defenses that my Flesh throws up to protect itself, to keep it alive and constantly attacking me and the will of God, He is drying that up as well. God is using these situations to kill off and destroy all the Fruits of my Flesh.

It hasnt been a pleasant experience, it hurts to have the things my Flesh needs to survive begin to be cut off, but when I start to see what the point and the purpose of these things are, I see that the pain is going to be worth it because it is leading to my Flesh drying up and it's defenses being moved away!!!

Is 19:8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

As I read back over these verses, I could see these fishermen casting out their nets and not being able to draw back anything of substance and what I began to see here is that these fishermen are those negative thoughts that have hounded me so much in my life and situation. These thoughts they cast out onto my Flesh, they derive their substance from the misdeeds and failures of my Flesh and they bring my mind into disarray, but God is choking out my Flesh, drying it up so that when my thoughts try and go fishing on that Flesh, they are not going to be able to pull back anything. The purpose of those negative thoughts are to keep me in bondage to my Flesh, but the Word says here that God by drying up my Flesh is going to break the purpose of those negative thoughts. I am so looking forward to the end result of Gods Work in this area of my life!!!

Is 19:15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

Amen, how glorious is that to hear!!! God is going to get us to a point where there will be no work for our Flesh to do any longer in our lives!!! This may only be fully completed once we move into Heaven but I am trusting that God is moving in my life in such a way to exceedingly decrease the ability for my Flesh to work any longer!!

Is 19:16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

Here is where God really began to stir my heart, where I could really feel the Spirit moving as He lead me thru these Scriptures. In that day, well what day is that? Is it some End Times day? Do we have to wait God knows how long for this to take place? No not at all, in that day is NOW. It was when God revealed this to me, THAT was the day, for you when you read it, if you hadn't already understood what was going on, guess what TODAY is THAT DAY!!!

What is God telling us in these verses? In that day, when God had cut off the supply of water or the things in our lives that are feeding our Flesh, when He dries it up so that it has no power, so that it has become worthless, so that it dissolves out of your way, in THAT DAY, your Flesh will be going from the mighty powerful thing in your life to being weak and afraid just like the Women in Egypt. God is going to move so mightily in our lives over our Flesh that instead of it boasting and shouting in our ears, it is going to be scared to speak up because it knows the Power of the Lord is on it.

Is 19:19 In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.
20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

In that day, which is today, right in the middle of our Flesh, God is building an Altar and that Altar where He is at, it is going to be a sign and a witness not only to our Flesh as to who is really in Power but to the rest of the World. This Altar will be set up to declare exactly who that Great Savior is that has Delivered us, and that is Jesus Christ!!!

Is 19:21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.
22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

In that day, which is TODAY, it says our Flesh is going to vow a vow unto the Lord and not only vow it, it is going to perform it!!! Praise the Lord, it is amazing to know that God is going to bring our Flesh into Subjection so that it can stop warring so powerfully against us and that He is going to bring it into Submission so that it can begin to perform the things which He would will it to do, all for His Glory!!!

God smites our Flesh, and in the middle of the smiting it is sure to hurt, it is sure to be painful but thank God it's not just to leave us there, but He smites AND He heals, all for the purpose of causing us, and our Flesh to return back to Him where we shall be intreated and He shall be intreated by us!!

I am thankful today for Salvation, to know that God is working in my favor for a point and a purpose, to destroy the thing that is my biggest enemy and that is my own self, my own Flesh and my own mind. I am praising Him right now for what is surely to come, when I know my Flesh is under His subjection for His Glory and my Good!!!

I am thankful for God showing this to me today thru His Holy and Precious Word, it has made the trials much easier to endure, when I can have some clarity and see a finish line and the prize that awaits me!!! I am excited to reach that goal and I hope you are too, because that is an exciting and wonderful place that we will be in and at!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord! If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
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Gal 5: 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

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Finding Yourself In The Gospel​

Over the past few weeks, maybe a month, God has been putting a thought on my heart over and over, so much so I can not shake it whatsoever, and it started from a place in time where I truly wondered what is it that the World needs more of? I can't tell you why that popped in my head, but it was there, replaying over and over, what is it that the World really needs to have more of?

I began to think on that, dwell on that and there were a few things that came to mind. One of them is maybe the people in the World need more money. Isn't that what we are conditioned to think or believe, if I just had more money then the problems I am facing could be alleviated. I mean even I have thought that same thing, man I am so broke right now, if I just had more money then my life would be so much better, so much easier.

Then I look to Hollywood, a sect of people who have all the money in the World and I look at their lives, and when I examine them truly, it's very obvious that their lives are just as if not more screwed up than mine. Sure they may have a bigger house, better car, trips, but their lives all reflect a shallow existence, an existence that cries out for help. An existence that proves that they struggle as much if not more with the things those of us who are not millionaires deal with on a daily basis.

So money really isn't what the World needs more of, it doesn't actually help to address the problems we all face, problems like loneliness, unworthiness, sadness and depression. Problems like anger and bitterness, lust, addictions and violent reactions. Money may cover up these problems temporarily but inevitably they will rear their head once again, and we have to figure out how to confront them.

As I continued to think about this, suddenly it was as if God grabbed a bullhorn and just shouted to my heart, what the World needs more of is the Gospel. And for days that thought has been stirring on my heart, what does the World need more of, the Gospel!!! The Gospel is mentioned 98 times in the Word of God. Taking out the times it is repeated in the same verse, there are 93 verses that speak of the Gospel. That is a lot of verses that have the Gospel specifically named in them. If something is mentioned that many times in the New Testament, then I think we ought to pay attention to it!!!

Some may wonder, well what is the Gospel, and the quickest answer to that is that the Gospel is the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the absolute embodiment of what the Gospel is. The Gospel solely revolves around Jesus Christ, who He was, what He did, how He lived, why He died, and when He Resurrected!!!

A bit more in detail of the Gospel is that Sin entered the World, and this Sin which we all take part in at some point, has caused us to be Separated from God. If we were to die in this state of Separation of God, then we will forever remain in this state which is called Hell. However God loved us so much that He became Man in the Form of the Son of God, Jesus Christ and lived perfectly so that He could lay down His Life as a Sacrifice, taking up our Sins upon Himself and the Wrath we all are due for our Sins on the Cross.

After He died on the Cross, because of His Blood He made Atonement for us, reconciling us back to God and 3 days later He Resurrected, showing that the Sacrifice was Perfect and Accepted by God, and proving that He had conquered Sin, Death and Hell. He then Ascended to the Right Hand of the Father in Power and Glory and is now making intercession for us day and night.

That is the basics of the Gospel, however does that really answer the question what does the World need more of? What does it mean that the World needs more of the Gospel? As I asked God what does that look like, what does that mean, He laid this upon my heart, What the World needs is to find themselves in the Gospel!!!

That changed everything, it went from this abstract thought, this far away idea, to becoming a very personal answer. What does it look like when YOU find YOURSELF in the Gospel, and that is what I want to expand upon today. I want you to ask yourself that question, where do I find myself in the Gospel. I want the Gospel to be PERSONAL to you individually, I want you to identify yourself in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As I go forward, these are just some of the things revealed to me about finding ourselves in the Gospel. Some of them may describe you perfectly, some of them may kind of hit home, or you may not see yourself in them at all. Regardless I know for a fact that if you come to God with an honest heart and you pray a sincere prayer asking Him, Lord how can I find myself in the Gospel, He will without a doubt show you exactly where you are in the Gospel.

Every person, regardless of Race, Culture or Creed, regardless of upbringing, regardless of Class, Wealth, Prestige or lack thereof, no matter what you have gone through or endured, absolutely every person in the World can be and is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!

I believe there are certain aspects of Life that we all share in, certain things in which we all can relate to, and one of these things is physical sickness. I have been blessed so far in that I haven't had to go through or endure any major medical problems, but that doesn't mean sickness hasn't touched my life in redefining ways. Back in 2014 my Mother was diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer, and I watched as that horrible disease took her bit by bit until she was a shell of her former self. I watched her fight the best fight, I watched her struggle and endure, I watched her put everything into overcoming that monster that was raging within her body.

Today as I write this I am watching my Father start a battle with Cancer as well, it's not as pervasive as my Mother's Cancer but I just went with him to surgery and watched as he had to have radiation treatment in his eye. I have never seen my Father like this before, he is a tough man, one who has been in control of everything, the one who has been there at all times for me and my Mother, to bail us out, to stand by us, to help us no matter what. And now he is in a position where he is in need, where he is having to look to others to help him out, he is facing something of which he has no real control over.

Can I ask, is that you today? Are you struggling right now in the midst of a battle with a Physical Disease? Are you watching someone you know, love and care about try and fight and endure a Major Sickness? Is this something that hits right on the head of the nail? Something that hits close to home? If it is I want to show you something, something you may have never noticed. Something you may have never heard. I want to show you yourself in the Gospel.

Mark 5:24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

What is it that we see in this woman's life? In the events that take place here? So here we see a woman who has an issue of blood, it doesn't describe the exact issue she has but we can see it was a serious issue, a serious Physical Ailment. We also see that it was something that utterly consumed her life for an extremely long time, 12 years in fact. I can't imagine enduring and fighting something that overtook my life for 12 entire years, and it was all to no avail whatsoever

Look at the toll this aliment took on this poor woman's life. She had given up 12 years of her life to this issue, and she clearly was frantic and had been looking everywhere for the help she needed. She went to doctor after doctor, day after day, week after week, month after month searching for something, anything that could help her get over this terrible disease. The Scriptures say she literally went broke, she spent her whole living on finding a cure for what she was dealing with.

She had come to the end of her rope, she had come to the end of the road, she had looked everywhere, high and low, in the valleys and mountains, behind every closed door. She has spent all her time, and every last penny looking and here we find her at the very end of all she had.

Let me ask is that you today? Have you been dealing with something, but can't find any help no matter where you turn? Is it consuming you and even when you pour all your time, and investments into it, nothing avails, it only gets worse and worse? I can relate, I have been there, I have watched love ones be there, but what did this woman do?

She heard of Jesus, that's the start of everything!!! Someone, somewhere declared to her something about this man named Jesus!!! I don't know how she came to hear of Him, I don't even know when she came to hear of Him, but it is clear that not only had she heard about Him, but she heard of what He could do for her!!!

That is what I am here today for, to declare to you this man named Jesus, to tell you all about what He has done for me, what He has done for others and what He can and will do for you today, if only you come to Him just as this woman did!!!

We see this woman come to the end of herself and have finally been in a position to give up on the World. If we really want to get to Jesus we too need to get to that place, a place where we give up on ourselves, give up on the World, where all we have left is only this man named Jesus. Not only had she finally came to the end of herself and her hope in the things of this world, she also had a purposeful determination.

She had already determined two things, one is that she WAS going to get to Jesus, the second was that she WAS going to be healed. How can we know she had this purposeful determination? Look at verse 24, it says much people followed him, and thronged him. There was a great crowd around Jesus and in my mind's eye I see a sickly older woman, can you see her, starting on the outside of this enormous crowd all surrounding Jesus. And when she heard of Jesus, she set it in her heart that no matter how big the crowd, no matter how strong the others may be, no matter how many times I may trip and fall, I AM going to get to Jesus.

I am telling you if we want help today, we too need to have that purposeful determination to get to Jesus. I don't know what specific things that crowd represents to you, but what I can tell you is that you have to purpose in your heart that you will be fighting through these obstacles no matter what and you will make it to Jesus. The second thing and the most important thing in her purposeful determination is that she had already proposed in her heart that if she can just TOUCH Him she WOULD be healed.

It wasn't if I get His attention I might be healed, if I could just touch Him then maybe He might help a little bit. If I can get Him to notice me, I can ask Him to please help and then maybe there could be a possibility that He might slow it down. I mean look at that purpose and that determination, she didn't even look to ASK Him to heal her, she straight up purposed that if she gets to just TOUCH Him she WILL be healed.

We need to come to Jesus in that same manner today, with that same purposeful determination, that when we get to Him, if we can just touch Him then He WILL heal us positively. Just imagine yourself on the outside of that Crowd, and I want you to think of whatever it is that you know has been keeping you from Jesus, from getting the help you need and I want you to see yourself moving through that crowd. See yourself going under arms, sliding around people, stepping over feet, getting closer and closer until you are right there by Jesus, can you see Him?

Now I want you to purpose it in your heart that when you reach out and touch Him, that you will get the healing you need, to cast away all the doubts you have and believe that if you touch Jesus He will heal you. Now see your hand reach out to Him, and touch Him, imagine the feel of His robe and the virtue coursing from Him into you.

If you can imagine this in your mind's eye, I want to tell you that there you are finding yourself in the Gospel today!!!

There are some of us who may not be dealing with Physical Ailments today, instead our Ailments are Spiritual and Emotional, things not as easily seen. I have personally been affected by these Ailments, in many ways throughout my life. And I don't know how these things may have affected you if you have dealt with them, but I know that many times they make me feel as if I am completely Spiritually, Mentally and Emotionally Crippled. It's like there is no way I can get over this Depression, I can't even get out of bed, how can I think to get to any help. This Anxiety and Worry is so bad about everything, I can't even sort my thoughts out as they run a million miles a minute throughout my head, how can I possibly stop for a moment to figure out how to get the help I really need?

I've lived this, and I have seen it lived out in those I love, and it is like we can see that there is help, we can even see others get help, but it's like we can't even get to the help we so desperately need. Does this sound like you today? Is this something that is hitting the nail on the head, starting to hit home? If it is I want to show you something, something you may have never noticed. Something you may have never heard. I want to show you yourself in the Gospel.

John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

What is it we see in this man’s life? We see a man that had been suffering for 38 years in his condition, and what's worse is that this man could SEE the help he needed, it was just in front of him. He sat there day after day, month after month, year after year with help right next to him but never could get into the place of help. We see that he was alone, there was never another person there for him, he was isolated and cut off from others. On top of that not only could he see where the help was, and knew where to go, he saw OTHERS getting help all the time.

Can you see that poor man, sitting outside this pool, watching the Angels stir up the pool, getting excited that help was right there and then watch as someone else who didn't seem to be as bad off as himself walk right up and get help? Think if that was you, what kind of emotions would that bring up in you? Sadness and Depression maybe? Anger and Frustration? Fear of never being helped? Jealousy and Envy? As I am listing these things off, as you imagine being that man and the emotions he felt, I want you to think, are you actually the one trapped in these emotions, these Spiritual and Mental Ailments?

If that's you, if God is showing you through His Word and these writings, this preaching, that you are in the same position Mentally, Spiritually and Emotionally as this man was, then I want to draw your attention to how this man got the help He needed!! The first thing is that this man was honest, he was honest about his position before Jesus. Can I say that some of us today need to live out what that man did?

There are people who absolutely refuse to be honest with themselves and with God about their needs, about their position before Him. They are full of Pride and Self glory, they believe they are fine and dandy where they are. They put on this front like nothing is ever the matter with them. There are Christians that are just too “Christian” to even admit their need for help, they are just perfect and fine, they say as they lie to themselves and everyone around them.

However you KNOW that's not True, you know the feelings you have swirling around your mind and heart right now, so BE HONEST before God, tell Him exactly where you are, exactly how you feel, and cast all your cares on Him!!!

So first that man was honest, second is that man listened to Jesus. Jesus first asked Him a question, will you be made whole? I can tell you that that man didn't understand who he was speaking to, because if he did he could have just said yes and it would have been done for him. But at least he listened to Jesus, when Jesus spoke, he acknowledged Him. I want to ask you, are you listening for Jesus today? Do you even acknowledge Him when He speaks? Sometimes we get so distracted, we get so off focus of what really matters and so focused on our own Ailments that we can't even be in a place to hear Jesus speak to us.

Not only did this man hear what Jesus said, he then listened and had Faith in what Jesus commanded him to do. Jesus tells him Rise up, take your bed and walk, I want to tell you that Jesus is speaking to you today, are you ready to hear Him? Are you ready to listen and then do what He is telling you to do?

I mean the first thing Jesus told this man was RISE UP.

Don't you think that's a good place to start for us who are suffering from these Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Ailments that have us bogged down and trapped, feeling helpless and crippled? Rise up!!! Sounds simple, but it can seem hard, but the real key here is BELIEVING that it is Jesus telling you to do this. If this man didn't believe that Jesus could actually get him to Rise up, he would have died crippled. However this man believed and then took a step on Faith, he ROSE UP because he believed that Jesus was telling him to do so and that whatever Jesus would tell him to do Jesus would equip him with the ability to do it.

The same applies for us, I know Jesus is calling us to Rise Up today, and I know that if we believe this and step out on Faith that He is calling us, that He will also equip us with the ability to actually Rise Up!!! And that is something that applies to every call Jesus puts on our lives, Jesus isn't going to call us into something He wouldn't equip us to follow thru in.

So I want you to imagine in your minds eye Jesus standing before you as you sit there in your crippled state of whatever Spiritual Mental and Emotional Aliment you have been battling with for years upon years. And I want you to see yourself being Honest with Jesus about exactly where you are, how you feel, and casting all of your cares on Him.

Then I want you to imagine Jesus looking down on you, smiling and then saying to you in a caring and stern voice of confidence, Rise Up and Walk. See yourself standing up, rising above these problems and walking right over and away from them with Jesus leading you by the hand.

If you can imagine this in your mind's eye, I want to tell you that there you are finding yourself in the Gospel today!!!

There are two other things I want to show you in Scripture, one of them applies to every single person that has ever existed and the other doesn't but they both have their starting point in the same exact place.

Matt 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

What is it we see in these Scriptures? We see Jesus being led away to be Crucified, and I just want you to imagine that scene in your minds eye, really see the events unfolding. Can you see Jesus being Judged and then handed over for execution? The heat of the day beating down on Him as the sweat rolls down His face? Can you see the dust and the dirt on Him as they begin to lead Him away? Can you see them begin to beat and scourge Him, the blood drenching His garments with each terrible blow?

Can you see the Soldiers as they strip Him down and put a Scarlet Robe on Him, mocking Him, laughing at Him as they pretend to worship Him? Can you see them press the crown of thorns onto His head, the blood streaming down His face as He looks into the eyes of the men that curse and belittle Him?

Can you see Jesus start the Journey to the place of His Death, being made to carry that huge heavy portion of His Cross? Can you see Him stumbling, tripping, falling as He begins to die, trying to carry that weight on His Shoulders?

Can you see them arrive at the place of Skull, at Calvary as the men strap Jesus to the Cross, as the Nail Him to Cross? Can you see the Nails being driven into His hands one by one? Can you see them raise Him up as He hangs there struggling to breath?

Can you see that crowd forming around Jesus as He is there dying on the Cross? Can you hear the shouts, the taunts, the laughter, the mocking, the deriding? Can you feel the hate being poured out against Him, the anger of the people in the Crowd as they yell and scream at Him?

Can you see the 2 thieves that hang on each side of Him? Can you see their Blood, can you see their tears?

I want you to look at that crowd, I want you to see them, what are they wearing? What sandals do they have on? What color eyes, and hair? I want you to really concentrate on the crowd that surrounds Jesus, that mocks Him and taunts Him and screams at Him, what do you see there?

As you are looking at this crowd I want you to zero in on one face, I want you to see that face full of hate, spittle on their lips as they yell and mock Jesus. As you concentrate on this face I want you to see the details slowly start coming into focus, like a fog being lifted, and just as you wipe it away after a hot shower, I want you to see your face reflecting back at you.

Why do I want you to see yourself in that Crowd? Because the fact of the matter is, each and every one of us not only would have been, but were in that crowd on that day. We were there pouring our hate onto Christ, pouring our derision onto Him, mocking Him, throwing things at Him, laughing as the Nails were driven into each hand. Spitting on Him as He hung there absorbing all the things we were projecting onto Him.

“Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don’t really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross.” ― C.J. Mahaney

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” ― John R.W. Stott

The Truth lies within these quotes, we must needs to see ourselves in that Crowd who mocked Jesus Christ, we must confess our position, our complicitness in the act of putting Christ on the Cross. The culmination of Jesus Christs life is found upon that Cross, the culmination of the finding oneself in the Gospel resides right there in the crowd that stood by and watched the Sinless and Perfect Son of God take upon Himself all the Sins of the World, all the Wrath of the Father upon that Cross. If you see yourself there then you are finding yourself in the Gospel!!!

Now the fact is, some people will remain right there as onlookers, as participants in the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They stand there just as guilty as the literal men who drove the nails into His hands, that drove the spear into His side, that beat Him and scourged Him. But I want to show you one last thing, and my hope out of all of this is that if you haven't already that you will come to see yourself here in the Gospel.

Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

There were 2 men that hung on the sides of Jesus, one at the right and one at the left. Can you see them more clearly now? Can you see them beaten, sweating, bloody? Can you see their tear stained faces mixed with dirt and blood? Can you see the two of them there, as they watch Christ die with them? I am telling you today that one of them represents you in the Crowd and one represents you Saved by the Blood being shed by that man that hangs next to you on the Cross.

Which one are you going to identify with today? My prayer, my hope is that you identify with the one who is Saved, and if you want to do that I am going to show you how by the illustration of one of the thieves. Now it is of no coincidence that the men beside Jesus were of the same background, and it is of no coincidence that both of them were thieves.

Throughout the Bible and in most every Society thieves have been one of the most hated types of people. I mean thievery is listed as one of the 10 Commandments. What is it to be a thief, think about it, it is to survive by taking from others the fruit of their hard work. When someone steals $20 from someone, in reality what he has stolen is a person's time and value. Someone somewhere had to put in their time and effort to be given that $20. When someone steals that $20 they just took from that man their time and effort, and the fact is while they may find another way to get themselves a $20 bill back, they are never going to recover that time and effort.

When we look at the grander scale of things we can see an Analogy here on that hillside, where 2 men who are thieves hang alongside Jesus. These men represent every person in existence and the fact is every one of us have stolen the very precious life of Jesus Christ. We have taken from Him His Life by our Sins. Jesus Christ never deserved to die, never, but we stole His Life by our Sins that He had to give His Life to Atone for. So it is of no wonder that thieves stood by Christ as He paid the penalty for our Sins!!!

It's of no coincidence that they both had the same background because as I said they both represent Humanity, however there is a distinction between them, one of them remained Lost, and one of them was Saved, so my question is, as you look upon these thieves that hang beside Jesus, which one of them is you?

If you want to be the one Saved then you MUST follow that man's example and the first thing he did was realized who he was. He realized that the Wrath being poured out on Him was justly due, if you ever want to be Saved then you MUST come to a point where you truly believe and know that you are a Sinner on whom the Judgement of God is justly due!!!

Once this man admitted his position before God, he then recognized who Jesus was. If you want to be Saved then you too MUST recognize who Jesus is.

The man recognized that Jesus was Sinless and there is only one who is Sinless and that is God Himself. This man recognized that Jesus was Perfect and unblamable, if you wish to be Saved you must come to a place where you recognize and believe that Jesus is God who took on Flesh and was Perfect and Sinless.

After the man admitted his position before God and recognized that Jesus was God and Sinless he stepped out in Faith and believed that Jesus was taking his punishment, and called on Jesus to bring him into the Kingdom. If you wish to be saved today then you MUST also believe in Faith that Jesus came to take up your Sins on the Cross, to take up your Punishment on the Cross and you must call out to Him believing in Faith that He will Save and Deliver you from Death and Hell and bring you into His Kingdom!!!

I pray today that you started out seeing yourself in that Crowd that was yelling out Crucify Christ, but I hope that you end the day as the thief on the Cross, believing on Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and asking Him will you please remember me when you come into your Kingdom!!!

We all have issues we are dealing with, we all have battles and struggles, but I know that when we take the time to find ourselves in the Gospel, then we will begin to overcome these issues, battles and struggles and we will come out Victorious, giving God the Praise He is due!!!

I hope today each of you find yourselves in the Gospel!!!

I love you all, have a great day and blessed day in the Lord! If you need prayer or anything else please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you the best I can and if I can't help I know one man that can, this man named Jesus!

Disciples
Are
Continually
Influencing
Peoples
Living
Existence

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

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