To Be Like You Jesus

Lord, I want to see as You see. I want to say as You say. I want to do as You do. Make my heart completely Yours. I want to be Your image, I want to be totally for Your use Lord. My desire is to show Your glory. I want to show Your beauty.

Give me words to say, fill my lips Lord and guard them from evil. Cleanse my lips so they do not speak death or destruction to anyone. Let me lift Your children up. Let me encourage them to edify them in Your name.

I was created to worship You Lord, let me do this through my words, through my actions, through my life. God I want to show others Your light that they may grow toward You. They are my brothers, I want to love them as you love. I want to be exactly like You, Jesus. 

Let me move when You move, live my life as You do Lord. Let my prayers be nothing but Your will. Let the love and blessing You give me pour out to others God. Let the Heaven in me rain on others Father. Lord- that all were like You. 

For Your Children

I have heard your heart's cry. I have granted your heart's desire. My Word is true. Stop praying for them, start praising me now. I have answered your prayers. Stop asking me, and start praising Me for your children.

The Lord says: Don't cry any longer, for I have heard your prayers and you will see them again; they will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and your children will come again to their own land.

Jeremiah 31:15-17

My children are important to Me. They are My heart. Your children are My children. I love them no matter what they do, no matter where they have been. I always welcome them home. This was the purpose of My Son, Jesus Christ, dying on the Cross, to bring My children back from sin. He took care of the cost. My children are beckoned to come home. I dust them off, I clean them up. They will be righteous, I will make them pure and holy. 

And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:7

Keep praising Me that they have come home because they will turn around and be here soon. Like the prodigal son that turned back to his father whom he knew loved him before, so your children will turn back to Me. 

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. Acts 16:31

I will take care of your family; your family will be fruitful. You are My child; therefore your children are My children. They are My fruit. They will serve Me with their whole heart, they will live for Me, they will live with Me. I love you. Your children are coming My way, they are looking My direction. They are going to please Me. They are a sweet smelling aroma to Me. Your children are My delight. The light is peeking through. 

I will give you huge harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines.

Ezekiel 36:30

Reach Up, Reach Out, Re-Treat

Reach Up, Reach Out, Re-Treat

We should be reaching out to the Lord just like a toddler does as he reaches for his mommy wanting to be held. At times, mom isn’t paying attention so the little one grabs ahold of her. We can do the same with the Lord, even though our Father is always paying attention to us. We can be comforted and know we are safe and secure in His arms. We don’t have to wait until we need something to reach up, we just need to want to be with Him. Desiring to be in the presence of God pleases Him. He tells us to draw near to Him, and He will draw near to us.

Many will go on a retreat looking for His presence. Getting ahold of God is refreshing and your faith can be recharged when you’re sitting at the feet of Jesus.

The word “retreat” is defined as -

1. the forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy, or the withdrawing of a naval force from action.

2. the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

3. a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy

4. an asylum, as for the insane.

5. a retirement or a period of retirement for religious exercises and meditation.

Retreat is an old French word meaning to draw back. Often times we need to draw back from the world and all its busy-ness… draw back from all the noise around us, all the confusion going on in our life. We need to focus on the Lord. We need to RE-TREAT ourselves to God’s presence. Often times we forget that we can step into the Throne room and just be with our Heavenly Father.

Treat yourself to the Lord just like Mary did. She chose to sit at Jesus feet instead of worrying about everything going on. She wanted to be in His presence and grab ahold of every word He was speaking to her. Mary wanted to shake off this world and be in His glory, breathe His goodness, His very essence. Give yourself this gift. Reach out for the Lord. Soak yourself in His presence and know His existence. Receive His love, His joy, His peace. Mary chose the good thing. She chose to be revived, replenished, and refilled with God’s gifts.

I have a little collection of angels. My favorite one is on her knees, looking and reaching her hands up to the Lord. She could just be reaching out to God as if to be with Him or praising Him. As this little trinket represents, whether we hold our hands out in worship and praise or desiring to be with Him, it blesses God. This also blesses our own soul. Choosing God brings Him honor.

The Lord is always with you. He never leaves you. If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:2) Expect His presence, especially when you reach out to Him. Make it your heart’s desire to want to be with your Father. Follow the Lord wherever He takes you. Follow His glory. You can be in His continuous presence.  

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22 The word "cloud" in the Bible is representative of God’s glory, His love, His radiance, His brightness- His light. Follow the Lord wherever He leads you. Stay in His presence. Look for the Him- watch for Him at all times. Seek His ways and yearn to walk in them. Pursue God! Hunger and thirst after Jesus. Be passionate for Him and set your heart on Him alone. Make Jesus your FIRST desire, your first thought. Forsake all others and everything else. When Jesus comes first in your life, everything else will follow. He tells us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel (Psalm 68:8) 

Prayer to the Lord:

Lord, Your presence is powerful, it causes the earth to shake. Heavens pour out rain in Your presence. Mountains quake at Your presence. Your voice is in Your presence, inspiration comes from You in Your presence. The earth trembles, I tremble. I am in awe in Your presence Father. My favorite place to be is in your presence Lord. I long to be with You Father.

The Lord to His children: My favorite place to be is in your presence child. Open your heart. When you do this, My rain comes into your presence, My voice comes to your presence. My inspiration comes into your presence. You are filled with awe in My presence and I am blessed with yours. I long to be with you. My presence is powerful.

Open your heart up to the Lord and let Him in. Give Him your praise, worship Him, and give Him all the glory. Reach out to the Lord and grasp His blessings. Put your head on His chest and hear His heartbeat. Treat yourself to the presence of God; bless Him with your presence.

The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on His in truth. (Psalm 145:18) Call upon Jesus- Draw near to Him, and He’ll draw near to you.

Sacrifice the things of the world, put them away. Sacrifice brings down the fire of the Lord. Step into His presence and re-treat yourself to His gloriousness.

Jacob's Ladder- Our Access to Heaven

In Genesis 28:12-17 Jacob is dreaming of a ladder reaching from Heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending on it. Before his dream, Jacob had to flee his home because he had taken his brother Esau’s birthrights. Jacob took advantage of his father Isaac’s blindness and age, and deceived him into giving the blessings to himself. When Isaac had spoken this blessing, it was passed on to Jacob and it could not be taken away. All that was suppose to be given to Esau, the bulk of Isaac’s estate, was now given to Jacob. Esau wanted to kill Jacob as soon as their father died, so Jacob ran.

Now Jacob is out in the wilderness, headed to Haran- which means parched, or dry. He is tired, probably exhausted, from running in fear of his brother. The sun is setting and Jacob laid down using a rock for a pillow. Being between a rock and a hard place, you have nowhere else to look but to the Lord. Jacob had gotten himself in trouble and this is where he indeed, seen the Lord. Falling asleep, God came to him in a dream.

Genesis 28:12-15 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

John 1:51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus Christ is the ladder, the way to get to heaven. He is the way to get to God the Father. There is no other way.

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

There is a great canyon, or gulf, between the Lord and us. This gulf is called sin. Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’  

Lots of people are climbing other ladders, the ladder of success, the ladder of religion, the ladder of righteousness, but these ladders are leaning on the wrong wall and go to the wrong places. The only ladder that gets to God is Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is One God, and One mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He is our way to the promised land. He came down from Heaven, made and provided the path through the Cross on Calvary so we can now ascend up. Jesus is our stairway to Heaven.

As Jacob seen the angels ascending and descending, God spoke and gave him promises. He personally reveals Himself through His Word- just like He did to Abraham and Isaac. This voice was the voice of revelation. All that He promised Jacob, we possess, if we have accepted Christ as our Savoir. We have the promise of His presence as stated in verse 15. God told Jacob He would keep him in all places, wherever he goes. To keep is translated as to protect, or guard. We have the Lord’s protection at all times, wherever we go. God says He will bring us back to the place intended for us in the first place, the land promised to us, which is with Him in Heaven forever. We also have the promise that our children will be blessed, and the promise that He will never leave us.

Just as Jacob had blessings here on earth and promises of blessings yet to come, so do we. We are not alone in our walk with God. We have angels helping us along the way and we also have His Holy Spirit teaching and guiding us. (John 14:26) Jesus Christ Himself is within us. The Lord’s ministering angels are helping us along the way with our walk toward heaven. Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation? There is constant communication between heaven and earth of these promises, just as Jacob saw the angels go up and down the ladder. The angels are always bringing tidbits of heaven down and helping us on our walk up.

Through this ladder, heaven and earth are joined together. Through Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled back to the Father. All of God’s graces are given to us by Him, and we can ascend to Heaven by Him. Because of this ladder, we are not earth bound forever. We are not even earth bound now. We have access to heavenly places here while we are on earth. The purpose of a ladder is to get somewhere that we could not otherwise get.  

Psalm 91:11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. God’s angels are with us 24 hours a day protecting us no matter where we are. They help us with each step toward the top of the ladder- the head of the ladder, which is Jesus Christ. This ladder reaches from heaven to earth. Sending His angels show God’s concern for His people. He wants us protected, guided, and safe. We are His children. The Lord can do this Himself, but He has appointed His subjects to help. Just as a king has his knights, lords and squires to protect and serve his kingdom, God sends His angels to help do His work.

Hell was not intended for us. Jesus said it was prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41) We are given a way of escape, a ladder to climb up- a very long, sturdy, strong ladder. Angels help us every step, holding us up, guarding us, keeping us from falling, lest we dash our foot against a stone (Psalm 91:11-12). They catch us when we  fall.

If we are willing to let all of Gods heavenly influence- Himself, His Holy Spirit, Jesus, His angels- take care of us and lead us, we will make it to the top of the ladder. If we are not willing to accept help and push God away, we can fall.

Jacob was born into a Godly family, but he didn’t know the Lord. He knew about God, but was not saved. Just being brought up in a Christian home does not save you. Even though God was with Jacob all the days of his life, Jacob didn’t realize that God was there. It is like having company over and ignoring the special guest. It is sad not to acknowledge the Lord is in your presence. It is also sad to not recognize when He has let you go.

Jacob was sleeping, just as those who fall asleep on the pew while in church. But now he is awakened from his sleep, his eyes are wide open to the fact that he had just been with the Lord. God had ripped the veil from Jacob’s face and he now realizes that God was with him the whole time. God had been with him from the beginning, during all his sins, deceiving, running, and troubles. Genesis 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.       

God’s voice opened his eyes, went into his ears, and penetrated his heart. His life was changed forever. This is when Jacob received salvation. He wasn’t saved because of a dream, but by hearing God’s Word. His faith kicked in (faith comes by hearing the Word of God) and he received and accepted the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ Himself.

Genesis 28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Jacob realized that the gate of Heaven is where man meets God. We can come to the door of Heaven as a sinner, but when we pass through that door, we become saints and can walk into the House of God. We come to Jesus as a sinner, He washes us clean. We are now free to climb the ladder up to the House of the Lord. All during our travels, we have God’s ministering angels, His Holy Spirit, His Word guiding us. We have constant communication going to and from Heaven.

The place where Jacob had been was called “Luz” which means separation. He renamed it “Bethel” which means House of God. He had been separated from God before, but now he can go to the House of the Lord because of Jesus Christ, the ladder. God is standing above the ladder.

You can always be in the House of God. You have the promise of “Bethel”. You can always meet God right here. Acknowledge His presence, don’t ignore your special guest. You yourself are a temple of God when you have invited Jesus into your heart. He resides within you. Don’t ignore Him, think about and communicate with Jesus always, and let Him know He is welcome. Thank God for Jesus Christ, our access to Him daily.

Excercise Your Faith, Walk with God

Exercise Your Faith, Walk with God

Everyone knows exercising is good for the body and good for the heart. Exercise takes making up your mind to do it and putting that thought into action. Walking with God is excellent exercise; it's good for your body, soul, and heart, besides keeping you spiritually healthy. You have to make up your mind to walk with Him daily, and put that thought into action. Genesis 5:21-24 tells how Enoch walked with God for 300 years, he had a long life.  Psalm 91:14-16 explains how a long life with the Lord will be satisfying.

The longer you live, the more you can tell and testify of the Lord. Adam lived 930 years and seen many grandchildren and generations born. All these years Adam could tell his loved ones about walking with the Lord, he could tell of conversations he had with the Heavenly Father. He could speak with the wisdom and knowledge of God because he was personally with the Lord. He could tell of creation as God spoke it to him, how he named the animals, and even how their great grandmother came to be. Adam could tell his children of the beautiful Garden and how satan came into the picture.

Enoch apparently listened to the stories of great grandpa Adam because he walked with God too. He was with the Lord, always moving along with Him. He didn’t just sit still and watch God. He didn’t watch Him walk away, but stayed with Him every step of the way. He never stopped, he was faithfully with the Lord each moment. Enoch kept getting closer and closer, knowing more, absorbing more, communicating with the Lord, and believing every Word his Father spoke to him. Exercising his faith, he lived for the Lord. Enoch had so much faith and belief in God, that one day the Lord just took him right into eternity. Enoch knew the Almighty personally, lived for Him daily, and was taken up to Heaven by the Lord Himself. Enoch was translated from earth to Heaven, from physical to spiritual. Hebrews 11:5 says before this happened that God was pleased with Enoch. His lifestyle was very pleasing to the Lord. “Enoch’s translation was a testimony to the whole world of God’s approval of his conduct”- John A James.

We are created for God’s pleasure (Eph 1:5) and Enoch was definitely pleasing to the Lord. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. How did Enoch please God? Faith. He pleased God, therefore he had faith. He walked with his Father daily, so he had continual ongoing faith. “God removed him in so unusual manner from the earth that all might know how dear he was to the heart of God”- Calvin. God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek after Him. (Hebrews 11:6) The Lord rewarded Enoch for seeking after Him.

Enoch never did anything special or out of the ordinary. He wasn’t a hero and he probably was not sinless because he was human, but it was his faith that pleased God. It’s impossible to please Him without faith in Him.

When you put your foot forward, God wants you to keep going onward believing Him and all He says, not just part. You can’t pick and choose which truth to believe. God wants you to lean on Him. Walk in His direction, with His assistance. Under the influence of the Lord is a good place to be.

Believe every Word our Heavenly Father has written. Jesus is the Word. Believe in Jesus, have faith, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is real. Every Word spoken by Him is true. Jesus lives and reigns. He lives within your heart. God has spoken His Word in you. Just believe and receive what He tells you don’t ignore or cast it out.

Jesus is the pathway, the only way to the Father. Why turn away and deny your only access to Him? Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Why would you not want to believe? Why would you not have faith in God? He does not speak lies. Not believing God’s Word, which is Jesus Christ, is condemning yourself. To condemn means to judge against, to sentence. Don’t sentence yourself to damnation.

Not walking with God, or putting faith in Him, could result in being trampled by the enemy or being snatched away. He is your safeguard. Once the first step has been taken by receiving Christ, you have received solid ground for growing. You can now continue to grow and be built up in Him, having a firm foundation to stand and walk on; you can now be developed in Him and His image.

Colossians 2:6-7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Receiving Jesus into your heart, you have seen the light, your eyes are now open and can see which way to go, which is with the Lord. He wants you to advance with Him. Just as you have received the Lord in faith, you should live in faith. Don’t stop having faith but exercise that faith and go on walking with Him.

The Lord wants you to build your faith in Him. You have that solid foundation in Jesus now. He doesn’t want you to build your house with hay or twigs, you have access to the sturdy things. You have access to gold and silver. You have access to Him. God wants you to grow up to be His holy temple. He wants your faith established, confirmed in Him. Establish means to be prop, lean upon, or take hold of. To be propped up against the Lord is to be in a place that will not falter.

Receiving Christ is just the beginning. It’s the first step. Just like a baby learning to walk, God has your hand and will guide you the rest of the way. Put your faith in Him, put your hand in His and He will help and show you the way. Don’t be stubborn and sit down or throw a fit because you can’t have what you want. God knows exactly what you have need of and what is best. Just keep moving with Him and things will go the way they are supposed to, which is His way. Have faith that He will lead you the right direction. The Lord wants you to be rooted in Him, like an oak tree, growing in His strength and truth. He wants His children to grow up to be like Him.

Growing in Christ is not hard. Walking with Him is not hard. He provided the instruction book on how to do this and His Holy Spirit to guide us. Read the Bible, believe it. Keep the faith and belief in Him alone. Listen for His voice. Don’t let the world and it’s lies come between you and God. Having faith in the Lord is putting your foot toward Him, putting your hand out to touch Him, reaching your arms out to receive Him, and knowing He is there. It is opening your heart to receive His love, believing He loves you, opening your eyes to behold His beauty and glory. In faith, you can open your ears to hear and take in His wisdom and knowledge.

Believers have hidden treasures. The treasure of wisdom and God’s knowledge and His love. Everything of Christ’s is yours if you believe, if you have faith. The closer you walk with God, the more treasure is unearthed and revealed to you. Walking with God is like being on a treasure hunt.  The Lord wants to be alone with you on a deserted island, just you and Him communicating and walking together, hand in hand. God stops and points out the beauty of a flower, or shows you knowledge of a situation, or tells you to dig a little deeper and you find wisdom. He will show you different treasures. He can paint a sunset and reveal His peace, mercy and grace to you. He can point out pearls along the seashore and tell you of the joy He gives.

All this time of walking, God keeps you safe from the devourer and the evils of the world. He has placed His seal upon you, His protection surrounds you. God is holding you, have faith that He keeps you safe. The devil cannot take your soul when you are walking with the Lord in His will.

Luke 7:50 And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." If are just now realizing that Jesus is Lord and He loves you enough to forgive your every sin, or if you haven’t been walking with God the way you should be, your faith in Jesus HAS made you whole, your faith HAS saved you from evil. You are forgiven. You can now go along in peace again. Don’t worry about paying for your sins because they’ve already been paid for. Go in peace and walk along in His presence, back in His grace and mercy. Along with faith in the Lord comes forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, glory, joy and all the other fringe benefits of Jesus.

Colossians 2:6 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him. Receiving Christ through faith, you can now go on God’s path.  John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. Jesus is our pathway. You are on the right road, walk in faith. Having faith in God is far better that just having knowledge of Him. You can have faith in eternal life and salvation, have faith that Jesus is alive and living in you, have faith in all Jesus says, but your knowledge alone cannot comprehend these facts.

We cannot see things that are invisible. 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. Our natural mind isn’t made to see the Lord but our spiritual mind can, our faith through the Word can. Being born again, our natural mind is now open to the spiritual aspects of life, therefore, we can now walk with God. Our faith lets us see all the beauty He has to offer. Our faith is a gift given by God, a grace He has afforded us. Faith is the eye of our soul that looks towards Jesus and all His splendor. We must walk by faith, not by sight. When we look into the sun, we are blinded and cannot see. We have to look away. We can look towards the sun, but not directly at it. Our eyes cannot handle the brightness. We know that the sun is there, we can still see the light with our eyes closed. We cannot look at Jesus directly, His glory is too much to behold, but we can walk by faith towards the Light knowing He is there.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen, with faith we can see the invisible glories of God. Just as we can still see shades of light when our eyes are closed when facing the sun, our faith is like seeing through a dark glass, not a full sight of the Lord and all He is or has. That will come when our life on earth ends and our faith is turned into reality. Then we will see what our faith has believed in, we will finally have our eyes wide open and see Jesus in all His beauty and all that was ours that we could have had on earth if we only knew… and we will walk with God every single moment, eternally in His presence. But, why not exercise your faith, please God, and walk with Him here and now, every single moment?