A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OF GOD 

Similar to a family in the natural, the family of God comes with many different dynamics. The most wonderful thing about it, is that you get to navigate throughout the Body holding different or multiple positions as you go|journey. Another spectacular thing about being a part or, a portion of the Body of Christ is that you are truly never alone. Whether, in close proximity, at a distance, across the globe or in the prayers of another believer; you really are, never on your faith journey alone. 

Matthew 28:20

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Don’t get me wrong, you may at times feel lonely; but know, that you are never alone. You are eternally joined to a group of people that believe the same things as you, have the burning desire to please the same Father, just as much (and sometimes more than) you do. They are infatuated with the King of Kings just as much as you are; and they are determined to bring Him glory, just like you.

Can you picture, or even imagine it? That as I am writing this blog, to encourage you, sparring you on, so to speak. There is someone standing on a stage ministering the gospel truth, with the same fire and the same zeal to someone else, sparring (contending) them on as well. 

Can you imagine that as you weep after the King in your prayer closet that there is someone on the other side of the world crying out, to the Father, for you? 

Can you imagine the roaring Army of the Lord all around you as you move forward with faith and assurance in the things that God has called you to? (2 Timothy 2:4, Psalm 29:11) Can you imagine the world shaking at the prayers of the righteous? (James 5:16) Can you imagine demons fleeing in seven different ways? (Deuteronomy 28:7) Can you imagine the power that comes upon you when you join hands with another believer, praying and agreeing on some things? (Matthew 18:19) Can you imagine taking the hand of your child(ren) and imparting the faith on the inside of you, to them as you pray at the beginning of your day? (Joshua 1:8) 

I really hope so! I hope you believe in the shaking that is taking place in the Spirit as you read this blog and are stirred in your faith. (2 Timothy 1:6) 

Yes, just like a natural family there are clear and distinct differences within the Body of Christ, but above those differences reign, the main things. The Main Things that sit above everything;?and that remind us, that we are all scoring for the same team. We, The Body of Christ are on the same team. You score, we all score, and vice versa. You need to be corrected, we all heed the correction, and vice versa. (Hebrews 4:12, Galatians 6:2-5, Proverbs 27:6, Romans 12:9-10) As we grow individually, we grow collectively. As we are sharpened collectively, we are sharpened individually. God may be ridding us all of offenses and impurities in the process (Proverbs 19:11, Ephesians 5:27), of the functioning and maturing of the Body. He is confident in us all. Confident that we can take the ball and, not fumble it. Confident that we are sure when to pass, when to protect and when to score the ball. Confident that we are more than capable of living out everything He has called us to. 

He knows what He has called each of us to the The Body for and when we are to operate in what office(s). He knows our innermost being and can strategically place us where He chooses, for greater glory. He is the God of all humanity and He has designed The Body to function, as One, being well oiled. He has designed The Body to allow His Spirit to flow freely through it. 

He has decided to settle here. He has decided to settle amongst and within The Body of Christ, to operate in and through such a Body, fluidly and with power; assured that we are built for the assignment. 

There is a collectiveness designed specifically for the Body of Christ to behold. As a member of The Body of Christ, you were made to behold her (Proverbs 8:22-31), as well. Don’t forget to be joined to The Source, and then don’t forget to take part in the reaping of what He has collectively designed for His Body here on earth. 

His Bride, By Design 

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HOME TO|OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 

He is the Third Person of the Trinity, equally important, equally as much, and equally valued. We know God the Father, we know His Touch and we know His Love. We know the Son, our Lord and Savior, Co Heir and Brother who is also, very relatable at the exact same time (Hebrews 4:15). But have you met God, the Holy Spirit? The most underrated (not that there could ever be such a thing), underemphasized, and underestimated member of the Trinity and Godhead. 

Acts 1:4-7

Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 

How valuable? That Jesus Himself, would request that He, (the person of the Holy Spirit) be waited on|for. How valuable? That He would be the member of the Trinity that we should pant and thirst after. How valuable? That we should welcome Him with our posture and eagerness for Him to abide within the debts of us. How marvelous? That He would even be willing to live in such a damsel as humanity suggests. How humbling? That He would like nothing more than to live in someone like you, or someone like me; into the ends of time.

How powerful? That in all of His glory He is willing to rest on us. How powerful? That with all that He is capable of He would choose to dwell, choose to make a home of|in you and I. He would choose to say that the human vessel is where He’d plan to live. And it is not, because He needs to; it is because we need Him to. We need The Holy Spirit to dwell in us for potency. We need the Holy Spirit to rest on us with power. We need the presence of the Holy Spirit to usher and bring forth the will of God, concerning us and others here on earth. We need the Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the four corners of the earth. We need the Holy Spirit to preach the truth of God in boldness and assertion. 

We need the Holy Spirit to raise our families. We need the Holy Spirit along our day to day activities. We need the Holy Spirit for our overall decision making. We need Him, and He’s never needed us. But He has chosen us…

What is the worst thing you’ve ever done? The thing that you think about the either makes you cringe, gives you the icks or if you think about it for 2 seconds longer than you should, shame may start knocking. Stop! Don’t continue thinking about it for more than you need to. You are made new, you are not the old you, and you have been born again. Can you image a Holy God wanting to, one day, live in and|or abide in someone who used to live in a way that was totally and completely unworthy of His presence? I hope you can, because He does. God has the ability to see you exactly the way He created you to be, and with all the help of the Holy Spirit that you’ll ever need to live a life that completely pleases Him and brings Him full and total glory. 

Just like everything else we receive from God, the Holy Spirit is a gift and a result of repentance and baptism. Most of what is received from God is a gift, He has given it to us providing that we meet the qualifications. The qualifications aren’t ever too far out of our reach; contrary to that, they are typically too easy for anyone to say that it couldn’t be done. 

1 John 5:3-4 AMP

For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey]. For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].

Jesus Christ knew that you would need God, the Holy Spirit. He knew you’d need Him to navigate life here on earth. He knew that you’d need the comfort of the Holy Spirit as you journeyed towards Him daily. He knew you’d need a bodily engine, ignition, kindling and the like to function the way that you should. 

He knew that if you didn’t have Him (Jesus) in a|the person, you should still have His Person (The Person of the Holy Spirit), within you…

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Romans 15:13

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

John 14:26

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

His Bride, By Design 

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SANCTIFIED

Romans 6:17-19

Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

CSB

But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. 

While preparing for this blog I got stirred up a bit on the inside regarding newly found revelation and what is to be taken as application. Here are some things that stood out:

1. There is no in between, either an individual is a slave to sin or they are enslaved to righteousness. They are two separate kingdoms and two completely different patterns of living. The fact of the matter is; is that the individual must completely give themselves over to righteous living in order to undergo the process of sanctification. 
2. Being bound to righteousness results in a right heart and boldness before the Lord. You are sanctified by your actions and that sanctification leads to confidence and surety in the Lord. To the person who might believe that being bound to righteousness is a burden; you may be looking at the call to righteous living wrong. You see, it is all a gift from God, the fact that you are even able to live righteously is God’s gift to you. Your fruit, all the right living, all the sanctification attached to your living, it is all a gift from God, and shouldn’t be taken on as a burden to bear. Your enslavement to what is right is your literal release from sin and death. Romans 6:22 But now, since you have been liberated from sin and become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification-and the end is eternal life!
3. For the Christian, righteousness is found in what you do, it is your actions. Your actions are your fruit, and|or is what produces your fruit. Righteousness, and things like it (sacrifice, pursuing Jesus wholly, practicing the fruit of the Spirit etc.) are a sure road to fruit. And, if the fruit of|that righteous living produces wasn’t enough, God has also enabled that fruit to provide the sum of sanctification in you. Sealing your identity with enslavement to God is and equals (to) fruit. Sealing your identity through action is the same as understanding that “God is Love”. Enslavement to God, and being bound to God is fruit and sanctification. Just as 2+2 = (is) 4 and “God is the Alpha and Omega” or “God is the “I Am”. Your willful capturing by God’s grace, ensures fruit, righteous living and sanctification. 
4. Why is fruit so important, anyway? Similar to natural fruits that you eat, your spiritual “fruit” becomes your consumption. Which is why your fruit and the fruit of righteousness leads to and produces sanctification. Proverb 18:21 NIV The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. The scripture above exemplifies the principal perfectly. Imagine that the life you lived before coming to Christ was producing “death”, every action you took was leading you to consume more and more of what leads to death. Contrary to that, the life you now live in Christ is contributing to your consumption of more and more life, but not just any life, but life in Christ. Well, why is sanctification even necessary? Sanctification is necessary for the life you will live into eternity. The goal of the Christian life is to mature into the image of God (2 Corinthians 3:18), as we grow each and everyday through righteous living. The goal is to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, and this renewal has everything to do with what we do (also known as our righteous living).
   What the Christian Life Cycle – Expectations & Goals Should Hypothetically Read:
   a. Become A Slave of God
   b. Live Righteously
   c. Produce Fruit
   d. Be Holy – Continually Undergo Sanctification 
   e. Outcome|Output – Experience Eternal Life  
5. Ultimately our living and life is a gift from God; intended and meant to be lived in a specific way, and that way has been served on a platter to us by such a gracious God. Isaiah 30:21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. | “Here it is. Here is how you live.” “You’re Welcome.” “I am returning soon, be good – and be sure to be ready.” Revelation 22:12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. | “I have given to you as a gift everything you will ever need to live a life trapped in My love, and in My radiant Presence.”  2 Peter 1:3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. Don’t lose it, don’t lose or let go of the gift of being bound to the will of God the Father, through and in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is a gift and a privilege to be enslaved to and set free by way(the only way) of Jesus Christ. John 17:4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. John 18:9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”
6. 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. You can never live for and please God enough. And if that sounds like it might be too much pressure, remember that without even ever having done anything, you were pleasing to God, your very existence pleases Him. Genesis 1:27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!  These should be scriptures that you know to be true about your existence. And if without ever doing anything, you pleased God, how much more will your “doing” and righteous living be pleasing to Him as well. We do not “do” or live righteously out of a place of getting something from God; we do and live righteously as a result of what God has already done for us, given to us and has prepared for us, now and into eternity. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 CSB For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you keep away from… AMP For this is the will of God, that you be sanctified [separated and set apart from sin]: that you abstain and back away from…
7. Have you ever seen the lifecycle of a specific animal? For example the lifecycle of a butterfly or tadpole or a frog. There is a process they undergo from start to finish. For the believer this process is sanctification, to which there is no end. As we live here on earth we are constantly undergoing the process of sanctification, so that when we enter into eternity we would have look more are more like Him. If you are undergoing the never ending process of sanctification, be of good courage. You are in process but can confidently go through, because God has equipped you with all that you need in order to do so. You will also gain deeper revelation and thicker understanding of; the Nature of God, Biblical Truths & Concepts, and the like as you grow. God will allow these truths to become One in you, producing the fruit that He has planed as a gift to your life, process and sanctification long ago. The process may differ in time and space and from person to person, but the goal is always the same. 

If Jesus reiterated truth’s definition in His own prayer how much more should we? 

John 17:17 CSB

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 CSB

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Takeaways: 

My writing in this blog has been a bit colorful. I use words like “slave and enslaved” “bound to righteousness” etc. in order to paint a broader picture. The same extremities that the devil uses to keep one locked in on his divisive plan for their life, means something radically different under the reigns of God. Words like “trapped” and “enslaved” have the same definition, but depending on the “of” and the “who” they are attached to or flow out form, the same words produce fruit you’d either want to eat, or fruit that you should never dare to go near. Hoping this blog is be a blessing to you!

His Bride, By Design 

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AN HEIR

You are an heir

no matter what you have been called, how you’ve been treated, or who others say you are…

Once you are made right with Christ, you have been separated from what was, permanently severed for the past,

and never again to be joined to it.

You are now one with God, the old you is dead and gone, and the new you is now risen with Christ. Your new identity, joined to you, through the sharing of His heir. You are a joint heir with Jesus Christ, every other identity can no longer cling to you, you belong to and display Christlikeness. You are obligated to the identity you have in Jesus Christ now.

It is easy to allow others or other things to define you. It isn’t hard to find your value in what you do, where you are going in life and what is said about you when you are introduced to a room. The thing about finding worth and value in those things is that they are subject to change. Your identity in Christ, however, is not. You are an heir:

heir:

1 : one who receives property from an ancestor : one who is entitled to inherit property

2 : one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office

3 : one who receives or is entitled to receive something other than property from a parent or predecessor

:inherit

Belonging to the body of Christ and being born again into the family of God, entities you to a specific identity, but in addition to this you inherit the blessing and ranking given to the Son of God. You now share in the positioning of Jesus Christ as a son or a daughter of God.

Galatians 4:7

Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Romans 8:17

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory…

Luke 12:32

“So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

Some Christians go throughout their entire Christian walk believing that God is a Father, but not grasping or connecting with how much He is their own Father. You are a child of God from the moment of repentance to that of accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and with that, there comes an inheritance.

God does not or would not give to his children what is inadequate or unwanted. As God’s heir, you get to share in His glory. You get to share in a lifestyle that would otherwise be unattainable. You get to share in the Kingdom of God, and in the way(s) of that Kingdom. You get a new set of guidelines to live by that reaps a harvest of blessing, every time. You automatically become entitled to what you did not work towards and what goes with being an heir of God. He has not welcomed you into His Kingdom and left you to fend for yourself. You are entitled to some things as a daughter, belonging to God.

His Bride, By Design

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ADOPTED

The truth of the matter is, that humankind is complicated. The truth of the matter is that there are a sea of experiences as it relates to parents and their offspring. There are family dynamics that differ from our intended design, and there are also family dynamics that mirror it perfectly.

To those who have had great parents and phenomenal upbringings, it can be quite simple to invite God into our lives as, God the Father. Some have grown from infancy into adulthood knowing Him as such; and regardless of their relationship with one or both of their parents, they have been raised to know God as Father. Now, to the one who hasn’t always, or ever had the ideal relationship or reference of a parent and|or father; learning to know, trust and personify their personal and individual relationship with God the Father, can prove to be rather tricky.

What I have learned through my own personal testimony and, through the countless testimonies of others, is that in spite of your relationships with one or both of your parents…

We, as humankind, are, wired to cry out “Abba Father!” (Romans 8:15-17)

No matter how much we try to run from it, our relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ (John 10:30-38), we have been made to never fully be complete until we are united with Them (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit).

For those who have known Him all their lives, and for those who just met Him yesterday alike, there are for sure, a series of events that will prove our individual need for Him.

Now what we do with those series of events is left up to us; but it is certain and a sure thing that it|they (the series of events) will come.

Here, I want to encourage you or to remind you that God already set your invitation and process to becoming His child in motion. He has accomplished all that there is or all that is needed, the legalities, and total cost, in order for you to be rightfully His. He has completed the work of your adoption and has no greater joy than to have you as His own.

John 1:12

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Ephesians 1:5

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Romans 8:15-17

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

You are legally His own, once you decide to accept His position as Father over your life.

Every word that Jesus once spoke as He referenced the Father, you can now speak and reference as well. I know that the dynamic you have with your earthly parents can easily affect your view of God the Father, for the better or for the worse. But the difference between the two has now and will forever be that God the Father is perfect, and quite frankly everyone else is not. And, He isn’t a make believer, or fantasy type of perfect. He is actually and factually The Perfect One. You can trust Him with your life, heart, mind, soul and spirit. All of you could use a Father of that magnitude, believe that He is a God, available to you as, God The Father.

Matthew 6:9

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

John 5:19 (the Son being Jesus)

So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

John 14:20

When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

His Bride, By Design

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