God Chooses The Weak To Bring Down The Mighty

God is interested in your success.  If you are not the strongest, wisest, swiftest, most knowledgeable and most skillful in this world, God can still bless you with good success when you depend on His grace.  You can rise above mediocrity through his unearned and undeserved favor.  The system of the world only rewards the strong, while those who are weak are neglected and sometimes despised.  But, in Jesus, there is hope for the weak.

God’s way is completely opposite from the world’s way.  Scripture says that God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.  When you give your weaknesses to the Lord, supernatural things happen.  When you give your weaknesses to the Lord you stop being conscious of your weaknesses and the Lord instead supplies you with his strength.  There is countless people that have given their weaknesses to the Lord only for Him to make it a strength.

Pastor Joseph Prince when he was a child had a severe stuttering problem, now he is a world renowned preacher.  He turned his stuttering over to the Lord, depended on Him and in turn the Lord blessed him with a gift of speaking.  In my opinion this is done so we may not boast of our own successes and power but give credit to Him who is our supply.  Others can look at what we were once weak in and then say, “That must be God.”

It is those who are proud and who depend on their human strength that God cannot use.  So when you look at yourself and see only weaknesses, depend on God’s unmerited favor and know that God can and will use you!

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.   —   1 Corinthians 1:26-27

In God’s hands of grace, the foolish and weak things become even wiser and mightier than the wise and mighty things of the world.

How To Increase In God’s Unmerited Favor

In the scripture it tells us that we first increase in favor with God and then with man.  Your “vertical relationship” with God should always be given priority over your “horizontal relationship” with the people around you.

Just like Jesus we can increase in wisdom and in God’s unmerited favor.  Romans says that we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.  To gain access we need to have is faith, faith to believe that YOU, are highly favored!  One thing we do in our family and have posted at our front door is that our covenant as family is, “Because of Jesus perfect work on the cross, we are righteous by His blood and we are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.  We expect good things to come our way.  We expect good success and have confidence expectations of good because of His finished work.”

What an incredibly powerful statement to be reminded of on a daily basis.

How do you we know we are greatly blessed?
Hebrews 6:13-14 says that He will bless us, the seed of Abraham.

How do we know we are highly favored?
Ephesians 1:6 tells us that by God’s grace, God made us accepted in the Beloved.  In the original Greek text, the word “accepted” is the word charitoo, which means “highly favored.”

How do we know we are deeply loved?
Probably the most famous verse in the bible says that God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son.

Even if you do not believe what I am saying, start speaking the above that is posted by our front door.  Just because you do not believe something, does not mean that it is not true.  Speak this daily!  Whether you want to believe it or not, the truth is you are favor ground and no longer on condemnation ground, God looks at you as His favorite child.

God is interested in your life and because we are God’s children and Abraham’s seed we are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.

The truth is God is a loving and giving God and His favor is at our disposal all the time in a unlimited fashion.  Your access to this favor is to simply believe by faith.  When you stop relying on yourself and start trusting in the promises of what is and who God is then the power of God will reign in life!

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.   —   Romans 5:1-2

Because of Jesus’ perfect work on the cross, you are righteous by His blood, and you are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved!

The Righteousness Of Faith Speaks

Faith cannot happen without speaking it.  If we are going by the bible then Romans 10 says, “the righteousness which is of the law … does … But the righteousness of faith speaks.”  The law is about doing, whereas faith is about speaking and believing.  It is not enough to just know in your mind that you are righteous, it is not just enough to hear someone speak and mentally agree you are righteous, you need to open your mouth and say by faith, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”  Believers miss out because they are not speaking their righteousness by faith.

So when something happens in our body, when something goes wrong of any kind we have two options,

1. To let the evil one win and accept and believe that we deserve this and we are no good
2. Speak, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ”

Paul said, “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak…”  The spirit of faith is clearly about believing and speaking.  So it does not matter how many sermons or books on righteousness you have heard and read.  You need to believe it and speak it.

When you fall short of the laws perfect standard (which you will), that is the time you should exercise your faith to say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”  When you say it do you know what happens?  If you are angry, anxious, fearful or whatever it may be, when you speak that message of faith out-loud you will feel like you have ushered something good into that situation.  You take a step back and start to relax, and all the problems and worries dissipate and you begin to realize your true identity in Christ.

Being sin-conscious will draw you to succumb to your temptation, whereas being righteous-conscious gives you the power to overcome every temptation.  That is why the enemy wants you to remain sin-conscious.  Confessing your sins all the time keeps you sin-conscious.  It is as if Jesus did not become your sin on the cross.  Righteous-conscious keeps your conscious of Jesus.  So believe and speak the truth:  “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”  Then, you cannot help but see the results of magnifying the Lord Jesus and His finished work!

My challenge to you today is to choose to be righteous-conscious.  Speak that you are “The righteousness of God in Christ,” and begin to see yourself be worthy.  Let that be your reality, let that be your truth and see what happens to you.

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”  But the righteousness of faith speaks…   —   Romans 10:5-6

Our first response when we discover a symptom in our body, when we receive a bad report or when we are faced with a trial, should always be to say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”

Rest And Receive Your Miracle

Hebrews 4:9
9There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

In the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–16), Jesus knew that for 38 years, the man had been flat on his back, unable to do anything for himself or others, no matter how hard he struggled.

In the case of the woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:10–13), Jesus knew that the woman had been bowed over for 18 years. And in that condition, she saw very little that was beautiful in life, only thedusty ground, dirty sandals and bruised feet.

What about the man with a withered hand? (Luke 6:6–10) Jesus knew from His carpenter days how a useless hand could have easily given the man a very poor sense of self-worth.

I believe that all three of them must have struggled for so long to get back on their feet, to try to lift themselves up, to attempt to do something about their situations, only to be disappointed each time they failed. In fact, they got so frustrated with striving to get better that by the time they met Jesus, they had probably given up trying to change their situations.

It was then that Jesus came and extended His offer to turn their situations around. And when they embraced His offer, they received the miracles that they had sought for so long.

You too may have been struggling to get back on your feet, or to lift yourself out of the problem that has sorely weighed you down. You have attempted to do whatever you could, hoping that it would amount to something, but you have been frustrated time and again. My friend, God wants you to cease from all your struggling and accept the offer He extends to turn your situation around.

It is no coincidence that all three of them received their miracles on the Sabbath, the day of rest for the Jews. God’s Word says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” The day you cease from your own laboring and striving, and rest in the finished work of Christ, is the day you receive your miracle.

Jesus has done all the work. Whatever you need has been provided for at the cross. So just be at rest and receive your miracle!

Jesus Overpaid Our Debt!

Hebrews 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Do you know that we once owed God a huge debt? No, it was not a money debt, it was a sin debt. We owed God a sin debt which we could never pay. But God so loved us that He came up with a plan to pay the debt — He gave us His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus was without sin. So when He went to the cross as punishment for our sins, He paid for us a debt He did not owe.

My friend, the reality is that our sin debt has been more than paid in full. In fact, Jesus overpaid it! Jesus’ sacrifice was an overpayment because it was not just a good man, revered for his saintly qualities and good character, who died for us. It was the Son of the living God, the Creator of the universe, the perfect Man, who died for us!

Because Jesus is God, His sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of all good men — past, present and future — put together. His sacrifice avails for all who lived in the past, all who are currently alive and all who will live in the future. And His one sacrifice forever took away all our sins.

Jesus’ sacrifice was also an overpayment because His blood is of far more value to God than the blood of bulls and goats used in the past to atone for the sins of the Israelites. His blood is the blood of God Himself, not of animals. Because His blood is eternal, His blood cleanses us forever, so we have eternal forgiveness!

My friend, the next time you are mindful of a bad deed, remember that Jesus, your sacrifice for sins, not only paid 100 per cent for your sin, but His sacrifice was also an overpayment. You can therefore truly and completely rest in the presence of God, knowing that He is fully satisfied and completely at rest concerning you. He is not going to find some sin you had committed that Jesus’ blood failed to cover.

Beloved, God can righteously give you His blessings and you can expect to receive them because Jesus overpaid your debt!

Jesus Is Your Sweet Aroma To God

Leviticus 1:13  the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

In Old Testament times, when a burnt offering is killed, its head is severed, the fat removed, and the entrails and legs washed. Then, everything is placed on an altar and burnt, and the sacrifice is a sweet aroma to God.

All this speaks of the death of Jesus, who has “given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2)

The head of the sacrificed animal speaks of the mind of Christ offered as a covering for our minds. This means that although our minds are often clouded with unbelief, worries, foolishness, filth and human reasoning, God treats us as if we have the mind of Christ, without wrong or displeasing thoughts, bringing pleasure to Him like a sweet aroma.

The fat of the animal speaks of the riches of Christ, His best, for God equates the fat of something with the best of that entity. (Genesis 45:18) The fat of the burnt sacrifice speaks of Jesus giving us His riches, His best, as our covering. So God does not see us in our lack, but in the riches and excellence of Jesus going up to Him as a sweet aroma.

The entrails or intestines speak of Jesus’ motivations, feelings, affections and desires. We often feel fearful, anxious, stressed out or angry (and it affects our stomach and intestines). But God sees only Jesus’ feelings and desires, which are always pure, beautiful and acceptable to Him — a sweet aroma.

The legs refer to Jesus’ perfect walk — His power to serve and obey the Father — imputed to our weak and faltering walk. And the fact they are washed shows that even our crooked walk has been cleansed.

Beloved, God does not see your foolish mind, weak nature, inadequate feelings or faulty walk. Instead, He sees you in the perfection of His Son, who gave Himself up for you as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.

Do The One Thing That Is Needful

Is it practical to be occupied with Jesus?  Does it help you?  Does it put food on the table?  Does it prosper your finances?  Does it make your physical body healthy?  Let’s explore these questions!

Mary and Martha were in Jesus presence when the Lord came to visit them.  The differences in Martha and Mary are drastic.  Martha was busy serving Jesus and was frantic running around making sure that she was serving Him, sound familiar?  Mary on the other hand simply rested at Jesus feet, beholding His beauty, beholding His glory and hanging on to every word that proceeded from His lips.  While Mary was resting and drawing living water from Jesus, her sister Martha was restless, frantic and stressed from serving Jesus.  One sister was focused on serving, while the other was focused on receiving.

And what happened?  Martha’s stress from serving finally led to the outburst of frustration.  The Lord looked at her and said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  WOW!  I didn’t say it!  The Lord said it!!!

The absolute greatest way that you and I can minister to God when He is in your home is to sit at His feet and keep drawing from Him!  That is what delights our Lord.  So is the one thing that is needed to be so occupied in serving the Lord, to be troubled by many things or is the one thing that needed to simply rest at Jesus’ feet and keep your eyes, ears and heart on Him?  Which of the sisters do you think complimented Jesus and made Him feel like the God that He is?

I really think that one of the hardest things for us to do is sit and cease from our efforts and worries and simply rest on Jesus unmerited favor.  We are like Martha — worried, busy and troubled about many things.  We can have the best of intentions by trying to serve the Lord day and night but in reality we are missing out on the one thing that is actually needful.  Believers who do that one thing that is needful are not worried about anything else.  On the other hand, believers who fail to do that one thing end up being troubled and many things.

So to answer the original question, YES it is practical to be occupied with Jesus!  But the best time is right now.  In scripture Mary knew this and took a time when she could be serving Jesus and rather did what was needful and washed His feet with her hair with expensive oil.  On resurrection morning women went to the tomb with oil and where ready to anoint Jesus but there was a problem, He had already risen.  Their intentions where good, their timing was bad.  This should prove to you that when you do the one thing that is needful that you will do the right thing at the right time, and God will cause all that you touch to be amazingly blessed.

You have a choice and choose to focus on the beauty, glory and love of Jesus.  Choose not to be troubled about many things or constantly occupied with yourself.  Choose to focus on the Lord and rest in His finished work.  As Jesus is, so are you in this world!

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”   —   Luke 10:41-42

Are small, frequent meals good for teens?  Are they good for anyone?  The quick answer is YES!

Make Jesus Your Priority And See Blessings Added To You

The scripture today is all about what we all do very well and that is worry.  There are plenty of things on the bible about worry but the truth of the matter is no matter how much we worry it will not help the circumstances, many times it will hurt our circumstances.  You can worry all you want about your current problems, but worrying will not improve or change your situation one bit.  I do not make light of your situations or my situations, I simply am giving you the best solution to worry that I know.  The only solution that I have ever found does not come as a result of your struggling, it will come alone by resting in the person of Jesus and His finished work.

In the scripture Jesus tells us not to worry about certain things as “your heavenly Father knows what you need” and promises “that all these things will be added to you.”

Ok here is a little review.  How is God’s righteousness?  Jesus!  And are we completely in Jesus and He in us?  Yes!  So if Jesus is God’s righteousness then because we are in Him and He is in us then we are the righteousness of God through Christ.

The scripture Jesus is actually preaching of himself.  Because Him and God are one in the same the scripture says that when you seek Jesus first in your life and make Him a priority each day, all the material possessions (what you eat, drink and wear) will be added to you.  No matter what anyone tells you, God does not delight in taking things away from you, He only delights in adding to you, increasing you, promoting you and enriching you.  The Lord’s goodness and grace is available for us every single morning we awake.

I can tell you that putting Jesus first in your life, reading His word, practicing His presence and the consciousness that He is with you is the key to success, but I am not going to tell you to do that.  There is too much preaching in this world so another blog telling you what you should and should not do is not what you need.  I want to tell you what brings success to your life but I do not want to demand that you do it.  I want to simply encourage you to know Jesus, find out who He is and who you are in Him.  Once you do and seek that you will fall in love with Him.  Once you fall in love with Him you will want to spend time with Him.  Once you spend time with Him you will do all that it takes to be a success.  Demanding you do it is not the answer, encouraging that you learn more about Him and who you are in Him is the only way to you making the choice to fall in love with your Savior.

The scripture today is all about what we all do very well and that is worry.  There are plenty of things on the bible about worry but the truth of the matter is no matter how much we worry it will not help the circumstances, many times it will hurt our circumstances.  You can worry all you want about your current problems, but worrying will not improve or change your situation one bit.  I do not make light of your situations or my situations, I simply am giving you the best solution to worry that I know.  The only solution that I have ever found does not come as a result of your struggling, it will come alone by resting in the person of Jesus and His finished work.

In the scripture Jesus tells us not to worry about certain things as “your heavenly Father knows what you need” and promises “that all these things will be added to you.”

Ok here is a little review.  How is God’s righteousness?  Jesus!  And are we completely in Jesus and He in us?  Yes!  So if Jesus is God’s righteousness then because we are in Him and He is in us then we are the righteousness of God through Christ.

The scripture Jesus is actually preaching of himself.  Because Him and God are one in the same the scripture says that when you seek Jesus first in your life and make Him a priority each day, all the material possessions (what you eat, drink and wear) will be added to you.  No matter what anyone tells you, God does not delight in taking things away from you, He only delights in adding to you, increasing you, promoting you and enriching you.  The Lord’s goodness and grace is available for us every single morning we awake.

I can tell you that putting Jesus first in your life, reading His word, practicing His presence and the consciousness that He is with you is the key to success, but I am not going to tell you to do that.  There is too much preaching in this world so another blog telling you what you should and should not do is not what you need.  I want to tell you what brings success to your life but I do not want to demand that you do it.  I want to simply encourage you to know Jesus, find out who He is and who you are in Him.  Once you do and seek that you will fall in love with Him.  Once you fall in love with Him you will want to spend time with Him.  Once you spend time with Him you will do all that it takes to be a success.  Demanding you do it is not the answer, encouraging that you learn more about Him and who you are in Him is the only way to you making the choice to fall in love with your Savior.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” … For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.   —   Matthew 6:31-33

The Lord loads us with benefits daily!

Go Forth Neither Poor Nor Feeble!

Psalm 105:37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.

When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, they lived in poverty and faced daily hardships from their cruel taskmasters. Scars and fresh lashes from their masters’ whips covered their bodies. The blistering heat of Egypt caused excruciating sores to fester. Many of them were bent over because of the long hours spent carrying tons of bricks and mortar. Slaving away for long hours under harsh conditions added years to them. And with no proper nourishment, many of them were feeble and emaciated.

But something happened to them on the night of the Passover. (Exodus 12) With the blood of the lamb applied on their doorposts, they came under God’s protection. And inside their homes, as instructed by God, they ate the lamb roasted in fire.

I believe that those who were blind ate the eyes of the lamb, believing that the perfect eyes of the lamb would give them perfect vision. If they had heart conditions, they ate the heart of the lamb, believing that their hearts would beat strong again. And if they were lame, they ate the legs of the lamb, believing that they would be frisking like lambs.

And when morning came, something new and miraculous happened to them. They went forth with God no longer as slaves but free people. They were no longer poor and needy, but possessed silver and gold given to them by the Egyptians. And none of them — there were about 2.5 million of them — were feeble or sickly!

If this was what the children of Israel experienced after partaking of the Passover lamb, which was only a shadow or type of Christ, how much more will we who have come under the covering of the holy blood of Jesus, the true Lamb of God, experience such blessings?

When you put your trust in the Lamb of God who was burnt by God’s fiery judgment meant for us, you will go forth daily, neither poor nor feeble, but richly supplied and divinely strengthened in Christ!

See The Work Accomplished

John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

What do you see when it comes to healing for your sick body, restoration for your failing marriage or breakthroughs for your financial woes? Do you see a finished work or a work that is yet to be completed?

God wants you to know that what you desperately need Him to do for you has already been done! Jesus’ finished work at the cross so satisfied the Father’s heart that from heaven’s throne came the pronouncement, “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17) in response to Jesus’ cry, “It is finished!” on earth. So God wants you to have this revelation that whatever you need Him to do for you has already been done because Jesus has accomplished it all for you.

If you need healing, know that your healing has been accomplished. If you need restoration for your marriage, know that your restoration has been accomplished. You are not going to die from any lack — you have been abundantly supplied. All these things have been accomplished, not by you, but by Christ alone!

My friend, if you are bothered by a pain in your body, God wants you to see your healing finished or accomplished for you by His Son’s death on the cross. If it is a loss or debt you face, or a certain sin that you are struggling with, believe that your provision, restoration and deliverance have been accomplished for you.

Don’t worry about what you see or feel, or the presence of contradicting reports. These are lying symptoms and though they may seem very real, they are temporal and not the truth. God’s Word is the truth and it will remain because it is eternal. And when you believe that only what God’s Word says about your situation is the truth, all the lying symptoms will eventually have to line up with His Word.

God the Son says, “It is finished!”

God the Father says, “It is done!”

What do you say?