Month: March 2017

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Heaven: The River Of Life and Serving God

I just can’t stop thinking of how close we are to being in Heaven…

This is a great time to be rejoicing in the Lord as we anticipate all the wonders we’ll soon be experiencing.  As the Lord keeps replacing my thoughts of the things of earth with His healing thoughts and joy, Heaven’s becoming more preeminent in my thoughts every day.  I love it!

The Perfect Life

22 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),  2 in the middle of its street.  On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  3 There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion]; 4 they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  5 And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.
Revelation 22:1-5

The other morning, Ann and I were talking about God and Heaven.  Ann was wondering what the river of life would be like.  We sat just thinking about what it could mean.  River of life…Paints a pretty picture in our minds.  Fun to think about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other item that speaks to me in the above passage of scripture is that we will serve God.  I’ve had a lot of different bosses over time.  It’s really fun to think that I’ll be serving for the best boss possible, forever.  ☺

Let your spirit soar as you remember Heaven, and its ingredients, this weekend.  Thoughts of Heaven bring newness of life to each of us.

God bless, and we’ll have more fun next week.

Mark

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The Veil Is Torn, We No Longer Need To “Worry”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head gave up His spirit…And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
John 19:30; Matthew 27:51-54

The thief (the devil) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they might have life (life free from sins like worry and fear), and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3:8

Wow, I just read 1 John 3:8 again and lights went on in me.  It was like the Holy Spirit said to me, “Mark, do you see what’s going on in your earthly life?  Because of the fall, you’re a sinner.  But, Jesus came to die for your sins to re-establish the same incredible relationship and fellowship Adam and Eve enjoyed with God in Eden.  Sin is the work of the devil.  Satan’s whole agenda was to use sin to separate you from your loving Heavenly Father.

Your Father, your Abba, sent Jesus to die on the cross to bring you back to Eden, to that precious place of living closely with God.

Now, worry, fear, doubt, confusion, unforgiveness, bitterness, hate – all sin – has been conquered and you no longer need to live with it in your life.  You are free from it in Jesus because Jesus will always take care of your heart.  Jesus’s death on the cross tore the temple veil so you can now come boldly to the very throne of grace, to the very Presence of Your Abba, Father, Daddy.  The separation is finished!”

Oh, praise You Jesus.  Thank You, God.

Wow, it’s no wonder the devil fights so hard to keep us in sin, to keep us worrying, fearful, bound, to tell us to doubt God.  If we truly realize what Jesus has done for us, satan’s grip on us will cease.  Our freedom will impact others and help us all to get back to the Eden relationship we had with our Father – That close, amazing relationship the devil has stolen through the fall.

Can you sense it?  Can you feel, even a little bit, what it would be like to get back to the Father, to live once again in the light of His Glory.  Thrilling, isn’t it?

What all does God have in store for me today?  Well, I don’t know yet.  But I do know that “worry, fear, and the fear of man” aren’t three of them.  Why?  Because, “It is finished!”  ☺

The veil’s down.  It (Christ has broken sin’s power in your life) is finished!  All things are working together for my good!  Now we can run into the Holy Of Holies!  We’re back with our Father.  There’s no longer any need to worry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God bless,

Mark

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Dynasties Of Righteousness: Encourage Each Other With These Words…

It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Psalm 119:71

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:6-8

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.  For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3:25-26

The last two above scripture references are commands from God meaning that He’s serious about setting us free from fear to enjoy His rest and peace all the time – Even in today’s world.  He has the power to do it!  What a great, faithful God we have.

My dear neighbor, Linda, replies to the daily emails with such enthusiasm.  She’s really a blessing, and like me, really wants to walk in the full liberty Jesus died on the cross to give us, in this life.

Last week, another dear friend, Lori, replied to one of the “Choosing Jesus Every Day” emails with the following:

“You are such an amazing man of faith and I’m so THANKFUL that God placed your friendship in my life!! Thank you for daily being a reminder in “my” life that God works and does all things for good!! He loves us and wants us to TRUST in him fully…not “sorta” trust in Him, but FULLY trust and to cast ALL of our worry upon him. Thank you!! ”

What a blessing it was to see that Lori wants to break through in her life and that God means to bless her as she trusts in Him “fully” with all her heart, all the time.  Lori reminds us all that God wants to richly bless us by casting all of our worry upon Him.  We’re truly “rich” when we learn to do this.  God is SO GOOD, saints.  And, it only gets gooder.  ☺

Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
Jeremiah 1:12

At one service in our Oregon church, Pastor Jon asked Ann and me to come forward so he and the church members could pray over us.  I think he could sense that many generational strongholds (sins) needed to be uprooted so they could no longer harm us.  Jon prayed that God would establish a “Dynasty of Righteousness” in our family and future generations.  Over the ensuing years, we would discover what it all entailed.

Growing up, I was taught to worry.  Even though many of the Christians I knew talked about the Word, their lives and actions were often examples of worry, doubt and fear.  It was like they didn’t really believe what they knew in their heads about scripture.  Like in the parable of the sower in the Bible (Matthew 13), for one reason or another, the Word’s promises never took root in their hearts where it could set them free deep in their souls.  It may sound strange, but I had so many health issues that I had to learn to apply the Word to my life (Psalm 119:71).  Honestly, it was the only way I could deal with all of the fear and worry I was experiencing on a daily basis.

Talk the Word out loud, precious people.  Get it deep into your souls where it will protect you.  Teach it to your spouse and children.  Whatever you do, stop speaking and acting out fear and worry.  Instead, quote Romans 8:28, and other verses that will build and instill a trust and confidence in Jesus.  Doing so, will stop worry and fear in your generations.  Doing so will bring an abiding peace and strength to your lives and the lives of your children.   And, at those times when you slip up and still display worry, ask your spouse or child to forgive you.  Say you’re sorry and that you intend to live in faith trusting in God’s Word.  Keep doing this until it becomes automatic and reflexive in your souls.

And I (Jesus) will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.”
John 14:16

The Holy Spirit, living in us, watches over our hearts.  He reminds us of The Word we have in our hearts to help us have victory in our thoughts and lives.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

I’ve found that it’s so much easier to trust in the Lord with all my heart when I memorize Romans 8:28 (and many others) in order to realize that Romans 8:28 is true.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

I truly believe that Jesus is leading us to break through in our lives to establish Dynasties of Righteousness both now and into the future.  Lives that will be richly blessed by entering His rest, now, in this life, as we believe and act on His Word.

I’d like to pray the “Aaronic blessing” over you as noted in Numbers 6:24-27

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance[a] upon you and give you peace.
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name.

Mark