My child, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave lives in you. My Spirit is able to accomplish what you can’t. Always be ready to hear My voice and do what I tell you. I am speaking to you and showing you My plan for your life. I have not called you to a life of mediocrity. I came that you would have life, and have it abundantly.
Romans 8:11 John 10:27 John 10:10
Scripture tells us that God is righteous. We commonly define righteousness as being in right standing with God. But what does it mean for God to be righteous? It would be silly to think that He has achieved some sort of excellence that allows Him to be good enough to be God. No, God doesn’t need to meet a standard of righteousness; He intrinsically is that standard. God’s righteousness means that He is by nature the essence of all that is good and just. Explaining God’s righteousness in The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer says:
“In the inspired Scriptures, justice and righteousness are scarcely to be distinguished from each other. The same word in the original becomes in English justice or righteousness…Justice, when used of God, is a name we give to the way God is, nothing more; and when God acts justly He is not doing so to conform to an independent criterion, but simply acting like Himself in a given situation…Everything in the universe is good to the degree that it conforms to the nature of God and evil if it fails to do so. God is His own self-existent principle of moral equity…”
Now since God’s righteousness (justice) is the benchmark by which He will ultimately judge His creation, He had to provide mankind with the means to relate to His standard of perfection. He revealed that standard to man through law. So a good understanding of biblical law is essential, because it’s impossible to fully comprehend God’s amazing provision for our own righteousness (justification) without it.
My child, don’t be a stiff-necked rebellious person. Remember that childlike faith you used to have? I want you to return to that life where you believed Me, trusted Me and loved Me. You cannot live out your calling being a cynic, jaded or negative. I require you to have faith.
Hebrews 11:6
“My child, what drives you? What is your main focus and what motivates you? What is the first thing you think about when you wake up and the last thing on your mind when you go to bed? I want to be number one in your life. Let Me take that place and I will give you the desires of your heart. Let Me be your greatest delight and you will have far more abundantly beyond all that you ask or think.”
Psalm 37:4 Ephesians 3:20
My child, I am taking you on an adventure of a lifetime. Be ready to experience miracles. Be open to the move of My Spirit in ways you have never seen before. Have an expectant open mind. Wash away all doubts, fears and unbelief. Get rid of the negative mind set and let Me move you into the miraculous.
My Child, all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Learn from the discipline I am taking you through. Yield to Me and My ways. I have so much in store for you, but you must learn to obey Me.
Hebrews 12:11
God has given each of us a sense of right and wrong—a moral awareness which speaks of His existence from the very core of our being. This is why people in all civilizations throughout history have felt obliged by their conscience to appease, in one way or another, what they perceive as their god.
But God has given an incomplete revelation of Himself to most men, which has confined them to a limited perception of Him. So they set about instituting religious practices designed to placate this awesome presence, which they don’t understand but instinctively know exists. These practices commonly take the form of works and rituals rooted in fear. In other words, “I have to do something to try to please this god (or gods), in order to avoid their wrath and thus have some hope of blessing in my life.” Fear is the foundation of most religions in our world today, as well as those down through history.
However, fear of an angry, vengeful deity is never what God had in mind in revealing Himself to man. The fear of God— accurately defined as a profound and healthy respect for His awesome Person and power—is indeed the basis for our Christian faith, but it’s not the cowering dread assumed by people in most religions. Why not? Because, along with His many other attributes, the very nature of God is love, kindness, faithfulness, mercy, goodness and holiness. God always intended that He be perceived by mankind in this very way. Right from the start He has wanted us to have a healthy sense of His personal reality.
My child, I am your everything. Never look to anything or anyone else to fill that emptiness that only I can fill. You will be incomplete until you open every area of your being to Me. Let go and experience true life, true joy, true peace and true power in your life.
My Child, I prepare your heart and mind to meet with Me in the inner room. I draw you there and give you the desire to spend time with Me. I am the One who calls you and I will do it. Your job is to be willing and obedient. Let Me do My job and you do yours.
Jeremiah 1:5 1 Thessalonians 5:24
I think I’ve acquired a pretty good understanding of God’s truths over the years, and can’t help but be a little put off by those who haven’t applied themselves to the same degree. But frankly, I’d be appalled if those who’ve gone further looked down on me the same way. My immediate response would go something like this: “Try not to be so judgmental!” Kind of humorous, isn’t it?
The criticism I dislike so much in others is the same criticism I don’t have much trouble dishing out. Well, this paints a pretty good picture of what I was like in my early life as a Christian, and the truth be told, to some degree still am. Yes, my parents named me wisely!
But let’s be honest, aren’t you a bit like me—maybe just a little? I thought so. It’s a rare person who has been able to totally eradicate this weakness so common to human nature. Why do we so easily fall into the snare of judgment? It’s law that’s behind it all. Rather, I should say it’s the weakness of our sinful flesh with its predisposition to pride that’s at the bottom of it. But without law, we’d never recognize this Achilles’ heel for what it really is. Nor would any basis for judgment even exist.
Because of the Bible, we know what a Christian’s behavior ought to be like. God’s law makes sin so obvious in those around us. It’s so easy to become critics! We find it quite natural to fall into the trap of judgment the moment we witness somebody violating His commandments. But on the other hand, we fail to keep His law ourselves, not thinking much about the hypocrisy it must provoke. It’s Pharisaism at its core! And yet we’d be shocked to think of ourselves as such.