The consecration of people to God is a basic concept that goes back to our creation in the Garden. Deep inside of people is the knowledge that we were created by God. Most of the world allows their intellect to rule them while neglecting their spirit. However, a few people appreciate our Creator enough to dedicate their lives to Him. This requires help from God’s Spirit and it is called the anointing. In the Old Testament it was symbolized by pouring oil on the head of a chosen person. Today, God anoints directly because the veil between us is gone. The anointing still signifies the wholeness of a person as their life gains its purpose. This total person is now ready to serve God with the power necessary to do God’s will. Today, we have the opportunity to receive God’s anointing with the Spirit. This can empower us to live a righteous life that leads to eternity.
Continually doing the will of God is forever. This is the reason Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to live in us. When we accept the message of salvation into us, the Spirit teaches us what God desires in our life. A Christian must also be willing to accept an anointing from Jesus after they are saved. This anointing can bring a Christian into a mature spiritual life. As the power of the Spirit interacts with the Gospel truth, it becomes a strong influence in our Christian walk. As the Spirit reveals the truth of God’s plan to us, we establish a relationship with both Jesus and the Father. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you…just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:27) Remaining in Jesus and having God in us is possible when this anointing is kept foremost in our life. This is the power that supports our new life for God. We should humbly accept the anointing and repent of all worldly ways.
The individual Christian normally chooses how much of God they want. This is not the correct way of faith. We are being told that setting a goal and believing God will give it to us is the kind faith we need. Not true, God wants to set our goals for us. Christians do not need worldly help with religion because God deals with us directly. Serving is about obedience but we must learn “the proper way” to obey. Jesus explained, You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you. (John 15:14) In other words, serving because of love for the master is entirely different from serving by using our own decisions to please Him. It is easy to trust a friend.
The Fathers business that Jesus makes known to us is empowered by the Spirit. This information privilege makes it possible to serve in a trusting, loving, friendly relationship. Our spiritual knowledge is from the Holy Spirit. Jesus has anointed us to serve in love as the Spirit directs. Not trusting God’s leading is disastrous. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. (James 4:17) We should never do things our own way because God has made it clear we are to serve Him in truth. Jesus is the truth of every thing spiritual in our life. In Him we find, righteousness, confidence, honesty, worth, virtue, conviction, and all other eternal values. These are guidelines for our work as servants of Jesus our Lord or Master. Therefore, these things must be gifts to us because Jesus assures us that his burden is light.
A union with God is beyond our comprehension. Our anointing helps us to accept this unbelievable union a little at a time. It requires faith just as our first step of belief was in Jesus as Savior. The Spirit teaches us the Fathers plan and our faith leads us into a union with God. We could say that there is a triangle of success to our new life. Jesus as Savior and Priest is at the top point. One of the other corners is the truth contained in the Gospel of the Bible. The third corner is the Anointing with the Spirit and his power. This divine combination is what we are seek in our life. With this anointing we become a light to this world. We are trusted by God.
Witnessing is a key factor in our fruit bearing. We must be righteous in order to give the proper response to people. The Spirit of Jesus empowers us with the righteous speech that we need in a given situation. The habitual spiritual life is constantly purifying us as we serve God. This righteous living provides the enlargement of our Christian life that God wants for us. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, (2 Cor 1:21) The love of God has given us the Savior and our obedience in love is a result of the indwelling Spirit. This divine relationship will last forever. The truth of the Scriptures is our source and the Spirit is the power that makes real our spiritual life.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Selected By God
There are humans that will someday leave this universe to live in a majestic new home. They are the privileged few that have been accepted for a life of beauty and love in a massive city called Heaven. The ruler of this grand metropolis is God the Father. His plans for this city were made long before the creation of our own world. God knew what kind of people would eventually become His family. Have you ever wondered what kind of a family you would have picked? Anyway, God knew exactly who he needed because only Holy beings can exist in His home. The English word “predestinate” does not exist in the original Bible. A translation of this Greek word is “I have set boundaries ahead of time”. We must understand that the main reason for our selection is to meet a standard.
Our language is creating some misunderstanding. Some folks like to say that God chooses his children. What is not being said, in this statement, is what kind of children. They are not little babies. Babies cannot live within boundaries. God is adopting people with cognitive powers who are willing to live a Holy life. The question now becomes, how can we accomplish this Holy life. The Scripture says, Those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many (Holy) brothers. (Ro 8:28,29) This verse plainly states that people who love God will be conformed to the likeness of God’s son. This is the boundary that was set for us.
A long time ago, God gave us Jesus Christ who gave his blood to redeem people from there sin. Our Savior is the tremendous act of grace that allowed the salvation process to proceed. Remember that we are not talking about walking to the front of a Church. What we need for Heaven is walking with God in a Holy life. This actually takes another act of incredible grace. After Jesus returned to heaven, God sent his Holy Spirit to live inside of us. This enables the children of God to conform to the likeness of Jesus. There is no other way to have the will God revealed to us. In order to live a godly life we must have this information available through the Spirit.
Many people misunderstand this plan of God and it is sad that the good news has been distorted. God’s will is to complete the creation age by receiving his family to Himself and judging all others that do not receive the truth. Out of all the creations of God, we are the Holy ones selected to be his family. We are selected to be a Glory to the Almighty forever. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Ro 8:30) The people that God knows will live within the set boundaries, God calls, and He makes them clean so they enter into the Glory of His Son. The Holy people who are the body of Christ are the inheritance of God. They are guaranteed a glorious eternity.
If this truth is difficult to understand it is because only a spirit filled person is given the meaning of it. Paul said it this way, We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. (1 Cor 2:6-10) The Lord will bless those who trust in His truth.
Our language is creating some misunderstanding. Some folks like to say that God chooses his children. What is not being said, in this statement, is what kind of children. They are not little babies. Babies cannot live within boundaries. God is adopting people with cognitive powers who are willing to live a Holy life. The question now becomes, how can we accomplish this Holy life. The Scripture says, Those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many (Holy) brothers. (Ro 8:28,29) This verse plainly states that people who love God will be conformed to the likeness of God’s son. This is the boundary that was set for us.
A long time ago, God gave us Jesus Christ who gave his blood to redeem people from there sin. Our Savior is the tremendous act of grace that allowed the salvation process to proceed. Remember that we are not talking about walking to the front of a Church. What we need for Heaven is walking with God in a Holy life. This actually takes another act of incredible grace. After Jesus returned to heaven, God sent his Holy Spirit to live inside of us. This enables the children of God to conform to the likeness of Jesus. There is no other way to have the will God revealed to us. In order to live a godly life we must have this information available through the Spirit.
Many people misunderstand this plan of God and it is sad that the good news has been distorted. God’s will is to complete the creation age by receiving his family to Himself and judging all others that do not receive the truth. Out of all the creations of God, we are the Holy ones selected to be his family. We are selected to be a Glory to the Almighty forever. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Ro 8:30) The people that God knows will live within the set boundaries, God calls, and He makes them clean so they enter into the Glory of His Son. The Holy people who are the body of Christ are the inheritance of God. They are guaranteed a glorious eternity.
If this truth is difficult to understand it is because only a spirit filled person is given the meaning of it. Paul said it this way, We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. (1 Cor 2:6-10) The Lord will bless those who trust in His truth.
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