BTZ Blog

Why do so many people hide there insides behind false outsides? Don’t allow your insecurities to be the reason you avoid people. We see the outside of people and think they are happy, well-adjusted people who have all their ducks in a row. Compared to that, you feel insecure? You’re fighting to process your disappointments, circumstances and failures. Your insides are telling you to hide because you don’t measure up to their outsides. This is a lie-based message that must be filtered out. Break free from the bondage of trying to measure up to other people. God loves you for you,  His love for you is not based on your lining up with or conforming to someone else's outside covering that hides the inside reality.

Truth, Acceptance and Forgiveness has nothing to do with condemnation and judgement, it has to do with Grace, Mercy and Compassion.

Some religious preachers can tell you “you are going to hell” and tell it in such a way that you almost look forward to taking the trip, especially if the road to heaven is filled with such self righteous condemning hypocrites as the preacher!

Between life and death there is only one life…live a life that counts...by being UNDERSTANDING, KIND LOVING and FORGIVING!

A fresh perspective regarding doctrinal issues which divide the Body of Christ urgently needs to be re-visited from the perspective of what distinguishes latent religious viruses of propaganda and ideology concerning these doctrinal issues which divide rather than unite. It is not enough to maintain that no matter how much we claim we are united spiritual through Jesus, yet divided over Bible interpretation and doctrinal beliefs that leads to denominational segregation that we are still in unity. Jesus said; “by this shall ALL MEN KNOW you are my DISCIPLES, by the LOVE you have for one another. All men do not see into or comprehend the spiritual realm to see the spiritual unity that religion seems to be satisfied with. The manifestation of spiritual unity is the external unity of togetherness that will end the segregation of the body to become united under it’s Head, Jesus Christ. Propaganda and self-deception exist in religion that claims spiritual unity while practicing physical segr...

A problem with the religious mentality is that it completely disregards the heart condition of people, their culture and their circumstances. It forces a one-size-fits-all standard on everyone, regardless of the circumstances. Such rational is absolutely heartless and compassionless because it’s based on knowledge rather than love. It assumes that every rule and regulation within religion is for every person of every generation no matter their circumstance, that shows a blatant  disregard of their past or present. People are forced into a mould of their religious persuasion and if a person refuses to fit the mold they have to move to a different religious mould until they find one they fit comfortable into. There is a scriptural account in the Bible where Jesus told the people that Moses allowed them to divorce, even though the law forbade it, because he knew their hearts were hard. Moses goes to God and gets the 10 commandments. He literally watches the fire of God carve each co...

It is difficult to distinguish the Church Jesus is building amidst the proliferation of religious organizations and the adoration of man instituted denominations formed by the different organizations! The optimization of the manipulation carried out by these denominations to validate the spiritual dramatization of the manifestations is a cultivation of deception of man-made conceptions leading to the  infusion of confusion and a false conclusion as to the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes it is not WHAT YOU SAY that makes a difference but, HOW YOU SAY what you say!    How you say what you say makes a difference in what you say therefore, say what you say with understanding, kindness and love!

No amount of passion, compassion, concentration, zeal or doctrine, can compensate for religious barriers or consummate law keeping salvation! These religious barriers and the religious system people's conduct, practice and methodology compromises the true message of God’s gospel of grace with law keeping maintenance of our salvation! This compromising of the truth of the gospel makes it  irrelevant and the sad part about it is, it makes God seem irrelevant.

The law-keeper proponents have been maintaining that law keeping is the priority for believers, this under minds the finished work of Christ's sacrifice by, if not negating it, adding to His grace message and shows a lack of confidence and trust in what He has accomplished. This gospel of doing to keep the law is a subtle way to lure  people away from God's grace message to maintain religious control over the people. The purpose of the commandment is not to maintain control from a legalistic point of view, but to love from a pure heart, love without regard for any self-interest. Law keeping is turning aside from the gospel of grace, a life open to God, and returning to something that it is impossible for man to do as no man has or can keep the commandments save the man Christ Jesus. To return to law keeping brings no more righteousness than the nutrition than a person would get from eating his own vomit. Those who maintain that the law produces godliness, right standing with Go...

I wonder...if speakers understood that it is better to talk to people rather than preach at them, would their presentation be better accepted especially if there was room for dialoguing? A monologuist is deficient in that what they think they understand and think what they are saying is understandable may not be understood or, may be misunderstood by the people they think needs to understand what they think they understand. It is possible with dialoguing the speaker may come to an understanding that what he/she thought they understood was not understood by the listeners because the speaker did not understand or misunderstood what he/she thought they understood?

If religion is failing to show God for who He truly is, that would be a reason many people in the “church” and outside the “church” conclude that God is irrelevant in their lives. If the different religious denominations stopped trying to define God to suit their own beliefs and stopped trying to control Him to work inside their belief system, in their way at their timing, and instead allowed God to define the Church and work in His way through His Church, He would be more relevant in church going and non-church going people’s lives because He would be more relevant in daily living.

It is hard to find your own identity when you keep trying to identify and be what other people think you should be.

Some people after sitting through Sunday-programmed-event-driven-meetings or week long revival meetings, feel as if they went through hell…I wonder...is that because preachers are trying to sell hell! If religion did not sell the fear of hell would religion cease to exist? Religion is portrayed as a system that is filled with good intentions and good will and I have been told by religious ministers in religious meetings that “the road to hell is paved with both”....Mmmmm, that causes me to wonder...are they also on a slippery path to hell! Now...now...now, don’t jump to accusing me that I said “they were”...but, it causes me to wonder! If there was no hell to go to...then what? If it wasn’t for the selling of hell would religion survive? I mean...how could religion convince people to come to God, what would be their selling point to get people to join their religion. Would the religious preachers stilled be fired up to win souls to the kingdom of God if there was no hell to fear? ...

There was a song we use to sing when I was a young fella that contained the phrase “I’d rather be on the inside looking out than to be on the outside looking in”...I wonder...is that because most institutional churches are organized to serve the interests of the insiders rather then interests of the outsiders? Is not the way we do church prone to keeping the insiders in and the outsiders out, especially if those on the outside believes different than those on the inside? Then again, nowadays I am even beginning to wonder if church is not designed to drive even some of the insiders out! Especially the insiders who want a genuine relationship with God through Jesus. Is it that insiders have to become outsiders to find outside what they did not find inside because Who they want to find inside has moved outside or is so well hidden under religious trappings that there is to much difficulty in finding Him on the inside.

Should we as believers, read the Old Testament merely from a understanding that it leads to the Gospel? Or should we read it with the understanding that the Old Testament is transformed and revolutionized by the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Should we accept and interpret the Old Testament at face value, only as a text that points to Jesus? Or should we accept and interpret the Old Testament by interpreting it through the lens of Jesus, the exact representation of God? Should we accept and interpret the Bible as God's Word with final authority? Or should we accept Jesus Who is God's Word as having final authority, by whom the Bible must conform to?

Because we do church the way we like it, the way we program it, the way we control it, the way benefit from it, the way we enjoy it, and the way we want it, does not mean it is the way God designed it!

Religion testifies of heaven and hell without seeing either…is it possible they do not have all the facts on neither. Heaven is not assured for people who agree with their religion nor is Hell is assured for people who disagree with their religion.

For far to long I have been guilty of letting institutionalized religion define my view of God, Jesus, the role of the Holy Spirit and what the Church is about. To be honest, I lived in the confusion of delusion and accepted the illusions of religion as to what the grace gospel was. This confusion of illusion as to what is the gospel, was due to my allowing the delusion of people’s opinionated religious biases to form my understanding as to what and who the Church is. I thank God that I allowed the Holy Spirit to teach me and give me a richer understanding of God’s gospel of grace. I now know that God desires me to have a relationship with Him, through His Son minus the religious trappings. Do I have it all down pat...of course not. But, as I continue to allow the Holy Spirit to be my teacher I will come to a greater understanding  that it is God who defines His Church, empowers His Church, infuses His Church, works through His Church and loves His Church instead of religious delud...

During my time as a part of the institutional church system, one of the words that kept coming to the forefront to help me as a weak believer was REDEDICATION. When i failed I was taught to rededicate my life to Christ and try harder to be more sincere in my efforts to live for Him. Rededication became a way to regain some resemblance of holiness for awhile...at least until I made another mistake and needed to rededicate myself again. Since coming to a fuller understanding of the gospel of grace, I have learned that rededication will never bring me to a sustaining meaningful relationship with Christ, for it meant to o try harder and trying harder is not the answer to an intimate sustaining walk with God even though we may rededicate ourselves to Christ with all sincerity. It is the wrong approach to maintain a commitment to Him even though it sounds religiously spiritual. The problem with our rededication is that it is a self initiated act and is just another name f...

Understanding the nature and purpose of the Church as doing church on Sundays in programmed-event-meetings presents a number of problems as to the nature and purpose of the Church and deludes people in the wrong understanding of what the Church is It defines the the Church functionally...in terms of what the Church does in an hour or so in segregated buildings because of different beliefs about God. The danger with this philosophy is that it dulls our understanding from recognizing the Church as a unique community of Gods people united under its Head Jesus Christ. This leads us to view the Church as a series of ministry functions such as, worship, preaching, singing, education, service and wittiness...not that there is anything wrong with these functions but, they should not define the Church! It defines the Church organizationally...in terms of its hierarchical structures that supposedly creates spiritual elitism of generals, sergeants, captains and pew-warming privates...this...

Matthew 17:4, Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Then what happens? A cloud overshadows them and the voice of God is heard..."this is my beloved Son, hear Him. Peter wanted to establish three “churches” with a flare to house what God was doing. God cannot be housed in the smallness of buildings called “churches”, agendaized by the smallness of man-made agendas or organized by the smallness of “event-driven-programmed meetings”. He desires us to forsake religious buildings, programs and gimmicks to simply follow Jesus. Because of a relationship with God through Jesus the same glory that was present with Peter is present with us, why have we reverted to programmed religiosity, man-initiated-form and spiritually dead works instead of trusting what Jesus accomplished for us to establish a vibrant relationship with God is beyond explanation?

Genuine TRUST has nothing to do with actions, external proof or becoming worthy. If we ask God for something and we get it we say we trust Him and say God is good, if we don’t receive what we ask for, many of us mistrust Him and some even accuse Him.  Trust is not based on a outward physical condition or thing being met, trust is a inward spiritual and heart condition! God is faithful and trustworthy no matter if we receive what we want or not. The one thing we can be assured of is that He “never leaves us of forsakes us." He is going through it with us!

Some churched people feel they are unchurched by what takes place in church as Church! Is the unchurched unchurched because they also feel that church for the churched is not really Church? The present church way is for the unchurched to come to the church to be amongst the churched to experience church. Should not the Church be out among the unchurched so they can experience Church as Church life in action? Church is a life to be lived and life is not lived in Sunday-go-meeting church! Live as the Church out of the church so the unchurched can see the Church in action.

Doing something because it is expected by the expectations of some person or group who expects you to do according to their expectations in order to be accepted, you are succumbing to a form of group manipulation. Doing something because you appreciate the appreciation shown by the appreciating person or group who appreciate you for you and not what you do, brings much more meaning to life than doing the expected because it is expected! Showing appreciation and being appreciated accomplishes more than expectations and is indicative of love!

    When God is a distant concept to you instead of a personal real presence.     When you find yourself idolizing a man, woman, or following a set of principles instead of following Jesus.     When the fear of eternity, not measuring up, or falling into error drives your doing.     When you find yourself performing empty rituals that do not connect you in a real way to Him.     When you are burdened by the expectations of others and feel guilty when you don't meet those expectations.     When you look at others who struggle with failure with contempt and condemnation instead of love and compassion.     When the approval of others means more to you than remaining in the reality of His love.     When you hesitate to be honest about your doubts or struggles because others will judge you.     When you think of holiness as achievable by law keeping, rather than...

A great discredit to the gospel of Jesus Christ is that many leaders in christendom are using manipulation to control people by creating hype and alluding to it as spirituality while working the illusion to convince people that God is real! The hype that is created appeals to the carnal nature of man through the hyped charged atmosphere that becomes further illusionary by promises of a Santa-Clause-God who will give people prosperity and immediate gratification from life struggles, “for a financial gift to their ministry...of course”. No wonder people are turned off from God while the deluded people sink further into the delusionary delusion illusion.  Do not validate a preacher by the affected tone of his voice, by his rhetoric, by the prosperity afforded him by his manipulation of the gospel in order to fleece the gullible, nor his flashes of wit or by the large crowds that may follow his illusionary spiritually because of His charismatic show-man-ship laced with spiritual overto...

Most people in Christendom pay lip service to the prayer and teaching of Jesus concerning unity. While they may agree that God wants His Church to be "unified," they continue to take part in the fracturing and splintering that takes place yet promote it by their dogmatic doctrinal stance and the practice of excluding people who do not believe things their way. Historically, the Institutional Church came about by well-intentioned men who set out to keep doctrinal purity. They were denominational-appointed guardians of the "truth," the keepers of orthodoxy. These men assumed that God placed in their hands the responsibility and the authority to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). Institutional religions make the same assumption. Their idea of keeping the people unified follows this mode of thinking: 1) God has assigned them the task of interpreting and determining what the truth is on spiritual matters; 2) All of God's people ...

Love that expects the expectation of reciprocation and an exchange of benefits is not TRUE LOVE! TRUE LOVE is a selfless love of the heart that is not based on expectation, reciprocation or any exchange from those you love. Exchange may happen, but that is not why you love if your love is truly genuine.

"Denominational churches" diversity of beliefs has led to its brokenness, and its disunity to the segregation of the Body of Christ. Therefore, religious elitism brought about by denominational segregation is in opposition to the unity of oneness Jesus prayed for His Church. Denominational churches maintain they are united in Spirit while being divided in beliefs. The Spirit does not bring unity by teaching diversity of beliefs that causes the fragmentation of the Body of Christ. Jesus prayed that His "church" would be one as He and His Father are one...it is unimaginable that God would start His own church because of differing beliefs from that of His Son Jesus...yet that is exactly what denominationalism has done! ONENESS is not formed by BROKENNESS nor is UNITY formed by DIVERSITY! Yet, in the Body of Christ UNITED under its Head Jesus Christ, there is room for DIVERSITY among UNIFIED believers. That does not give the right for the diversification to cause segreg...

Why is It is very important to know and believe what God says in scripture about people as believers? Because people will not act consistently in ways that are contrary to what they normally believe about themselves or view themselves as.  Truth about us is not determined by our feelings, by what others opinions of us are, or by our behavior. Truth is determined by who God says we are.

Is it possible that believers in the western world have been deceived by the "Christendom" ideology?  Is it possible that what we thought was, and still do think of as the gospel, is influencing the people in our sphere of influence or abroad, to our belief system so as to gain converts for our denomination by their adherence to our religious standards?  As believers we must understand, this type of presentation of the gospel is nothing more than superficial religiosity that mystifies, polarizes, sectionalizes and disfunctionalizes the missional purpose of the Church!  The Church cannot do what God created it to do without being what God designed it to be! I am of the persuasion that the "Christendom" ideology does not give a proper understanding of what the Church is designed to do let alone what it is supposed to be! The DOING of Church without BEING the Church is a warped presentation of the purpose of the Church that Jesus said He would build...

If we believe a falsehood to be truth, or a distorted truth to be truth...we believe a lie to be truth!  If we preach and teach the distorted truth we believe to be truth as truth, we propagate the lie as truth and deceive people to believe a lie to be truth!  Therefore, it is wisely wise to be sure that what we teach as truth is truly truth! If we are not sure it is truth we should share it as an opinion that may or may not be truth!  And remember, because something is truly stated does not necessarily make it a statement of truth!

Being approachable, available, accountable, accessible, appreciable, accreditable, affirmable, adjustable and agreeable; is achievable, attainable, applicable, advisable and admirable!

Who will be honest enough to admit they have read portions of the Bible without understanding what they were reading? I admit, I have and I still do. To truly understand the truth of the Old Testament we must first understand the truth of the stories of New Testament as pertaining to Christ! A proper understanding of the NT as pertaining to the Church will give us a different understanding of doing “church”, in fact, we will come to the proper conclusion that “Church” is not about DOING but about BEING. Also we would experience a rich, accurate and exciting life living experience that is not confined to Sunday-event-driven meetings, week long seminars or revival meetings. Instead we would experience a living breathing atmosphere of the heart and mind of Christ in experiencing Church as life living in living life daily! We would move beyond the narrowness of the narrow minded people running the narrow minded religions as a segregated routine gathering of narrow like minded people in bui...

“With friends like that you don’t need enemies” is a well known statement that holds much validity. Thus, if you want to distance yourself from some of your enemies it may mean you may have to distance yourself from some whom you may consider your friends! But keep the door to restoration open by loving them and doing good to them.

In Old Testament times people PAID a TITHE from the goods they owned. The New Testament is silent about the tithe because the way under the NEW COVENANT is to GIVE out of a LOVING LOVE RELATIONSHIP with God! There is a difference in PAYING because of OBLIGATION and GIVING because of LOVING!

Godliness, Holiness and Righteousness are a result of being in Him, it is not measured by our doing for Him. Godliness, Holiness and Righteousness are the fruit of our walk with Him.  No mater how much we focus on or view those attributes as something that we can attain because of law keeping, it is futile. There is nothing a person can do to attain Godliness, Holiness or Righteousness, we can only attain them by BEING in Him and Him BEING in us! “Be ye holy as I am holy.” Holiness is a result of BEING not DOING!

God enables us to use our adverse circumstance as opportunities for us to show His grace and love to people even though the circumstance is difficult. God abides in us, He wants His grace, compassion and love to flow through us even in our difficult circumstances. That is one way people realize God is real! Adverse Circumstances Hide Opportunities!

Some believers believe spiritual people should never experience adversity, opposition, discouragement or sickness. Along with that belief they believe people who are facing adversity must be doing wrong and God is getting back at them. This isn’t biblical, Jesus the sinless Son of God learned obedience through suffering and “those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”. Suffering produces perseverance, LOVE doesn't  learn to persevere, LOVE simply perseveres! Those of you, who think you are spiritual giants because you have no adversity, check your LOVE LIFE, maybe you are lacking TRUE LOVE that springs from godliness by being in Christ Jesus!

A fundamental differences in approach between the religious leaders of Jesus’ day and Jesus Himself was that the religious leaders demanded anyone wanting to come to God to clean up their act first. Jesus on the other hand, encouraged them to come to God as they were, and then allow God to change them from the inside out. Religionists today segregate themselves from people outside their religion, especially those considered to be on the outside of the family of God, until they “make a decision for God”. On the other hand, Jesus ate with them and befriended them, went to their parties and weddings, accepted them relationally and emotionally, before they made a decision about His life-changing message. Should we not give people a sense of “belonging” even if we deem them to be “nonbelievers.” When people go through periods of doubt or disillusionment, and do things that religion deems “non Christian”, they should not be ostracized, departmentalized, de-socialized, despised or demonized b...

Being called a Pharisee among religious people is denoted as a negative connotation, (without warrant) against them. Pharisees were a religious group that deemed their beliefs to be more important than people to the point where they cried out “crucify Him”. Would that not connote that a Pharisee today is a person or group that seeks to protect and preserve their system without regard for people or the teaching of Jesus?

Knowing about and talking about God does not constitute a relationship with Him! It is communion with Him, communicating with Him, listening to Him, walking with Him, partnering with Him, loving like Him and depending on Him and Him alone that constitutes a relationship with Him.

Most people view the "position" of a leader as being filled by a denominational person posted by a denomination, who was trained in a denominational institution to learn denominational doctrine, to make disciples for the denomination and to have people who are denominated under their denomination so as not to cease being a denomination. I see a pastor as God ordained from among believers in the Body of Christ, who make disciples of Christ and is not influenced by a  hierarchy man-made structure controlling the spiritual affairs of the body and usurping the authority of Christ nor leads people into denominationalism, denominating that person under a denomination.

There are those in law keeping circles that preach and warn people that God does not overlook sin and will punish people who break the law of God. The question I pose to the law keepers is; Does God punish you for the sins that you commit? You may say; I am a believer and have been forgiven of my sin and now I do not sin. If that is so, what do you do with; 1 John 1:8, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Or, 1 John 1:10, If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. God overlooks sin every day we live, if He didn’t we’d all be dead. The question is; why is it that post-cross, God can and does overlook our sin and doesn’t punish us when we commit sin? Because of Jesus! Every sin of our past, every sin of our present, every sin in our future Jesus took upon Himself,  paid the penalty for and God was and still is, satisfied with that payment thus, Jesus cried “it is finished”. Does that mean that we can c...

Nobody is as poor as a person who has nothing but money! Nobody is as rich as a person with laugh and a satisfied mind! It isn’t what you have in your wallet that makes you satisfied! It is what is in your heart expressed through your mind that brings satisfaction!

Because He is the great “I Am” “He can” and “He will”. “You are”, therefore “He can” and “He will”. If you abide in Him and He abides in you “He will” do what “He will”. Because “you will” “will” nothing that is not “His will” , therefore, “you will” be in“His will”, doing “His will”. When “our will” is “His will”, “His will” will be done on this earth thus, fulfilling the prayer of Jesus, “thy will be done on earth as in heaven.

Before a person can influence us towards Godly righteousness we are going to have to change our old way of thinking, believing, speaking, and acting from a religious traditional way of thinking. Closed mindedness in that way of thinking limits your spiritual progress and hinders the Holy Spirit from being able to show you progressive revelation on truth.

There is no doubt about it, sin is an enemy against living the Christ life...and believers battle it continuously! Would you knowingly give any tools to your enemy so that he could overpower you and keep you ineffective? Off course not! By just trying to follow the law you are actually supplying the enemy the tools to defeat you! Before you condemn and sentence me by banishment to hell consider the following. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (1 Corinthians 15:56) What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. (Romans 7:7-8) What! What!! What!!! Are you saying that God's holy, righteous and good law, established by God Hi...

If our knowledge of God is wrong, our understanding of God is wrong thus, our action and reaction to God will be wrong. Thus, "in vain do we worship Him" To RIGHTLY REST in God you must RIGHTLY KNOW God! To RIGHTLY KNOW God you must RIGHTLY KNOW Jesus, because Jesus is the lens through which God revealed Himself to the people of the world. If our view of God is something other than what is revealed in Jesus, our view of God is WRONG!

An inaccurate view of God produces an inaccurate view of ourselves and other people. It produces an inaccurate view of heaven, hell and our purpose in life. It produces an inaccurate view of godliness, holiness, relationships and who the Church and what its purpose is. I am also deeply aware that the way I viewed God as a religionist was instrumental in the misunderstood way I understood God. My understanding of God was so different as a religionist than the way I now understand Him through the lens of Jesus, who was the express image of God on earth. The things as a religionist that I believed would help me to be favored and loved by God more...avoid drinking, drugs, movies, swearing, separate from people who were unbelievers was due to my inaccurate view of God. This inaccurate view of God prevents us from being who we are supposed to be and prevents us from experiencing all that He desires for people whom He loved so much He died for. The heart of the problem of being lukew...

In the religious setting the benchmark of success is more about quantity than quality, doing than being, tithing than good tiding, bondage than freedom, information than transformation, self-focused consumers than sacrificing servants and man control rather than Spirit control. A search of scripture reveals there is a big difference between what we know about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit operation than what takes place in the Sunday-programmed-event-meeting. I believe there is to much man control and to little Holy Spirit control. Man control results in human size results and leaves the people wondering where the Spirit size results are or, if there is any such thing as Spirit size results. Within the confides of religion there are to many sub-spiritual people attributing super-spirituality to self-proclaimed supernatural people who call down supernatural power at their whim. Sorry to break your egotistic spiritual bubble...but, no human is or will be supernatural other than the man...

We live in a society that commends, expects, and even demands effort. In life, our parents, teachers, preachers and bosses encourage us to try harder. In the physical world, and trying harder is a commendable, self-effort aids in achieving our goals. However, to carry that philosophy over to the spiritual realm is a mistake because God’s ways are not man's ways and His ways are much higher than ours. Trying harder in the spiritual realm is detrimental to our spiritual life and will bring failure every time. Salvation, justification, righteousness, satisfaction, acceptance by God, and our victory is not by TRYING  harder, it  is by TRUSTING in God! These qualities are gifts of God to be received not trophies to be earned. There is no way people can becomes believers by their trying even a little bit. It is by  grace and grace alone. Grace plus anything is not grace! Paul says in Rom. 11:6, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace...”....

Loving is power giving! By God loving transfers to us loves power.  All activities in God's kingdom are validated, activated and appreciated by the power of love. Loving people is giving them the power to discredit you but, trusting them enough not to.

The Apostle Paul very clearly states in Titus 2:11-12 that it is the grace of the grace gospel that teaches people how to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live morally, righteously, compassionately, and godly in the here and now. It is God’s gracious grace that provides the power to overcome the things the law keepers fail to keep by trying to adhere to the laws and doing religious duty to be accepted by the religious world. You are accepted by God because of His grace and His Grace alone. His grace is the remedy for ungodliness!

Why is it that a lot of religious people do not like the God revealed in Jesus Christ? They are more comfortable with the way they see the God of the Old Testament. A killing, waring, revengeful, man hating and a punishing God that is watching your every move to beat you back in line with a big stick. Why people recoil from the God who tells them to love their enemies and to overcome good with evil as Jesus (the express image of God reveals) is ironic indeed. Many religiously influenced believers believe in retribution.  They want a God who tells them that there should be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life and they become upset when anyone suggests a God who asks them to be merciful, loving, compassionate and forgiving. The God of grace is not to their liking.  Instead, they want a God who punishes people beyond a just punishment for their wrong doings, they want a God who will provide infinite punishment for limited sin. The God of grace revea...

The grace life is not a life of inactivity, God did not give us His abundant grace for us to waste by treating this world as a waiting room, Then go to heaven!  This world is a divine workshop where because of His grace we rest from OUR doing because we are grounded in BEING an expression of His life in this world as He works His life through us. BEING in Christ does not mean there is no DOING! It does means the doing is not a legalistic list of do's or don'ts, it is being in Him actively involved in doing what He is doing through us by participating in the expression of Divine Life in this world.  When we understand that we live in union with Deity, we want to do things that honor Him in this life! Our life is a unique expression of His infinite life and love. Our life is a part of eternity’s divine drama. It is the love story of Jesus Christ and us and other people. His grace empowers us we will accomplish our role with confidence and live out our life in a active...

Is there a seemingly insurmountable circumstance you are facing in your life that you are trying in your own strength and ability to overcome? Is there a particular sin in your life that holds you in its sway that you have given up trying to overcome? Is the fear of not living up to imposed standards keeping you paralyzed, unable to move forward with God? If the answer is yes to these questions, it is time to consider moving from living pre-cross defeat to post-cross victory! People, we have had the good news (The Gospel of Grace) proclaimed to us by Paul the apostle as truly as the Israelites had the good news of deliverance from the bondage of Egypt proclaimed to them, but if we do not correctly understand the Grace Gospel it is of no benefit to us as the deliverance message they heard was no use to them. It was no benefit to them because the message they heard was not mixed with their leaning on the entire personality of God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and...

Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we have deliverance from sin, reconciliation providing a right relationship with God, and we are set us free to choose to receive His abundant life! The Israelites wandered in the wilderness on the wrong side of the Jordan living in the flesh, bondage and defeat because they trusted the appearance of their circumstances more than they trusted God at His word.  It is the same way for believers today when they choose the pre-cross gospel and live their life by rule and regulation keeping, trusting in their own strengths and abilities rather than trusting in their relationship with Christ and His accomplishments on the cross.   Joshua was able to finally lead the Israelites to possess their promise land when they had learned to trust God at His word over the appearance of their circumstances.  Similarly believers can experience the abundant life when they learn to trust in a relationship that is based on the revelation of C...