Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What does that mean? The Christian heart should be fixed on things above, on the things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). When our hearts are geared towards the Lord’s will more than the things that pertain to our life on earth, treasures in heaven will be our portion. If our hearts are set on the pride of life, or making a name for ourselves, and we’re making good money doing it, your treasures are for earthly gain, not heavenly. Where our treasure is, there will also be the manifestation of your heart’s desire. The christians participating in God’s plan of reconciliation on a regular basis are demonstrating where their hearts are, and so shall their treasure be waiting for them in heaven. Those that remain steadfast under the trials and storms that come shall receive the crown of life (James 1:12). Keeping the Lord’s commandments shows the Lord we love Him (John 14:15). Once our hearts are fixed on the Lord and not the pleasures of this life, we’ve positioned our hearts for treasures in heaven because our hearts are there, more than planet earth (Psalm 57:7). By serving God and not this world, the grace and favor of God gets activated in our lives to cause riches and honor to come our way.

We have been made conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. That means we must follow the In-Christ rules for life on planet earth. The kingdom of God has a standard of life waiting for believers who understand that life struggles are harder without Christ. God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Using the name of Jesus, with total faith in the name, can move the biggest mountain of problems out of our lives (Acts 3:16). We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). We are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37). Jesus was victorious over sin, and He rose from the dead for our justification, gaining all power and authority. That power and authority was given to us to rule our flesh (emotions and inordinate desires), and to live above the evil in the world (Matthew 28:18-20). As we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, He’ll direct our path (Proverbs 3:6). A lifestyle conducive to God’s will is a lifestyle for victorious living. Nothing in this world of great value is easy to come by. But allow your labor to be worth the effort and live for God. He has the plan for your entire life span. Return to the source of life for life’s road map for the abundant life He promised those who love Him.

Darkness has never been able to put out the light. You can light a match in a big room of pitch blackness and dispel the darkness. Light will always be greater than darkness because of the nature of light. God represents the light and Satan represents the darkness on the spiritual end of things. The devil will never be able to overshadow the light of God in any way. Darkness represents weakness, doubt, fear, anxiety, worry, and any other negative force in this world. Jesus is the light the lights the world (John 8:12), but satan came to steal, kill, and destroy anything or anyone that is associated with God (John 10:10). Then called Lucifer, Satan tried ascending above the throne of God in heaven long ago (Isaiah 14:12-15). So he got the holy beat down in heaven and cast down to the earth in exile (Luke 10:18). He has been used by God to help develop God’s family in faith development. When a Christian is connected properly to the Lord in thought, purpose, and action he becomes unstoppable. We christians must shine in the darkness, our light can never be extinguished. Guard the light within you, and never light it go dim.

The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your soul and all of your intellect. The Bible goes on to say and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as you do yourself. If we could all just love each other as we do ourselves there would be no killing, stealing or destroying life of any kind (John 10:10-29). The only way you can do this is by changing your nature. To change our nature from being dead to God spiritually to being alive in Christ Jesus, you need to be born again (John 3:3). Not of flesh and blood but by the Spirit of the living God. Once we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of our life, our heart gets changed into a heart that is alive to God, hence the ability to love in a deeper way. Love is so important in this life as it releases God on the scene on your behalf when you walk in it. The agape love of God is a love that doesn’t have the mentality of expecting something in return when it gives in a sacrificial way. Love is patient and kind all the time (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). We grow up into that love after much opposition with others flesh, their unruly emotions caused by agitating spirits and moral conflicts. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. It will change everything about your life in a beautiful way.

The Thanksgiving That Matters Most

We give thanks to the Lord because His loving kindness endures forever. Without the Loving kindness of God we’d all be in the dog house. We were enemies with God due to the habitual sin in every person’s heart (Romans 5:10). No one is exempt from having sin in their life; we are born into sin and shaped in iniquity (Psalm 51:5). Until we receive the Lord’s loving kindness through the new birth, we are hell bound. But thank God He made a way to get out of that damning situation. The Loving kindness of God is what caused Him to send Jesus into the world to eradicate send for those who choose salvation (John 3:3). Giving thanks to the Lord has at least a two fold meaning to it. First thing is you are acknowledging that God is there and that’s faith in itself. Second thing is to give thanks often for the answers to our prayers can accentuate a possible miracle if God warrants it. Thanksgiving to the Lord is a constant reminder to Him you believe He’s there without the ocular proof. His love endures forever because He is God.

How Deep is Your Love? Sounds like a Song

To love deeply is the only way we can disregard the offenses of others. It is that intense and unfailing love for one another that covers a multitude of sins. Many people are quick to spread the bad news of someone else’s wrong doings. None of that is edifying to the body of Christ, but only glorifies the works of the devil in a person. Once the love of God has been spread abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5), it’s our obligation to develop that seed of love into a harvest that has the heart of God’s purpose and plans for mankind. We see people seemingly getting blessed and they don’t serve God like others, and we wonder what’s up with that. Once we’ve truly grown enough in God’s agape love, it no longer becomes about the sin of man, but about God’s plan. We don’t need to understand everything all the time. Because we walk by faith, and faith works by love (Galatians 5:6), it keeps us shielded from all the fiery darts of the devil and the people following him to do us harm (Ephesians 6:16). Above all things have intense unfailing love ruling in your life, thereby allowing God to take the helm of your life’s success.

God reconciled us to Himself through Christ. The Lord fixed the sin problem so we could stand in the presence of God without being burned up because of our former sin nature. Once born again there’s no partition between us and God anymore, because Jesus eliminated habitual sin. Our hearts had to be changed so we could approach the Lord at all. Now that we have become christians, it is our reasonable service to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Romans 12:1-2). Sharing what happened to us through the new birth to others so they can come into the family of God. The Lord doesn’t want anyone going to hell, but it’s not up to Him, it’s up to you to receive salvation through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). Hell was originally created for the fallen angels that followed Lucifer out of heaven and for all who follow Lucifer here on earth (Matthew 25:41). For the sake of clarity, Lucifer is now called Satan or the devil, which means father of lies, and the deceiver (John 8:44). As Christians the plan of reconciliation is our portion. We must tell others about this truth which matters more than anything concerning our lives, and especially the life to come.

Endurance and encouragement are key factors in living together and having the same attitude of mind towards each other that Christ Jesus had. Patience and endurance are necessary to bear the shortcomings of another person who may well irritate the heck out of you. Encouragement is for staying the course having the mind of Christ to complete the assignment (1 Corinthians 2:16). God supplies endurance and encouragement to support and keep the attitude of mind that Christ Jesus had towards mankind when He walked the earth. Everything done by Jesus during His assignment on earth was out of love for us. To be crucified on a cross for something He never did wrong is clear cut He loved mankind, and He died a horrible death (Matthew 27:32-56). Today all He’s asking is that we strive towards having this same attitude of mind He had towards people. With God’s help there’s no excuse not to do this other than you don’t feel like doing it. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind that Christ Jesus had towards mankind.

Jesus is the living word of God. He became flesh and dwelt among us. This is nothing to try and figure out in your head because it’s a supernatural thing, not well understood with natural minds. We do have the mind of Christ which can be exercised in our everyday lives (1 Corinthians 2:16). After renewing our minds with God’s word, (His way of doing things) we can imagine more easily Jesus being the word of God Who was made flesh, human incarnate and lived in a natural human body. Jesus walked the earth demonstrating how to use God’s word to live the abundant life. The written word (bible) of God supplies us with the knowledge and understanding on how to live a victorious life and to combat the enemy Satan, because he hates God and His children, us. Jesus came down so Father God could get a more sure, and detailed understanding of the fallen nature of mankind so He could fix us. We were dead to God before Jesus came and hell bound because of the sin nature in humans (Ephesians 2:5). Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, fixes us and keeps us out of hell after we die (Romans 10:9-10). Selah
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The name of the Lord is a strong tower that the righteous men and women of God can run into and be safe. The name of Jesus has the fullness of the Godhead’s power residing in it (Colossians 2:9). In bodily form does the power of Almighty God reside in us because of Jesus. He is the Head, and we are the body of Christ, which is our spiritual connection to the Lord. Because of this spiritual connection with God, we can pull from the power that lives in Jesus. Spiritually speaking, we are the body attached to the Head of Christ. By faith we can wield this power by the Holy Spirit working in and through us. We will never have the Spirit without measure but it will be given according to our faith to believe (Matthew 9:29). This makes the name of the Lord a strong tower for any faith believing Christian. Understanding our place in Christ, the do’s and don’t’s of, and the boundaries for the Kingdom of God. We are under kingdom rules when following the righteousness of God for our lives. The Lord’s name is a strong tower, and the righteous run in and are safe.