What Does It Mean To Love Your Neighbour As Much As You Love Yourself?

Jesus commanded us to love God and to love our neighbour as much as we love ourselves (Luke 10:27). The first part appears easy as we can love God who loves us unconditionally. Only God and I know about this. However the second part is where the real test of our love is. How do we love our neighbour who is offensive? God says we must love our enemies. How can we love our enemies when we find it difficult to love our friends? This is why it is impossible for man to do this in his own strength. What God commands us to do we can only do through His strength.

 

God saved us from our sin nature and gave us a new nature. We are a new creation in Him. Now we can operate in our new nature. Our spirit is renewed and He comes and resides in us through His Holy Spirit. Now when we operate in the Spirit we are able to love like He does. This is a supernatural love. We can only love ourselves when we see ourselves as He sees us: complete in Him. In our depraved state it is impossible to love ourselves. We only see our sinfulness and hate ourselves. However in Him a transformation takes place and we see ourselves as whole. Through His eyes now we can see our enemies as He sees them, lost and depraved. Now we can love them because He loves us.

 

Some of His ways are difficult to follow because we want to do it in our strength rather than His. God made a way for us through Jesus to do it through us. His Holy Spirit gives us the strength and the ability to do what is impossible for us. This is why we need to be filled withHis Spirit and to walk in His Spirit. He has made it easy for us but we make it difficult by disobedience and unbelief. We fail to see the salvation wrought for us on Calvary through His sacrifice. We fail to surrender all to Him. To love God is to surrender to Him our all. To love our neighbour as ourselves is only possible when we surrender all to Him. The key to fulfilling His commandment to love God and love your neighbour is only possible through total surrender.

Love Turned Inward Is Lust. Lust Is A Spirit.

 

Love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. God is love. God loves His creation. You and I were created in the image of God. Love always thinks outwardly and feels for others. Love is the most powerful force that can change even the vilest heart. Love never fails. God's love is called agape love. It is unconditional and accepts all without judgement. Love is what led God to send His Son, Jesus, to die for us. This is the practical demonstration of love's ultimate act. There is no greater love than laying down one's life for another. This is also called self-sacrificial love. God has called us to walk in love and to love our neighbour as much as we love ourself.

 

Lust however is what happened when sin entered our life. Lust is a sensuous desire of the flesh that is the opposite of love. Lust always thinks of self before others. This is what turns relationships sour. Lust always destroys. What the world calls love is truly lust. It is a demonic infestation that seeks to control the other. Lust will drive you to do things that obsess you. When lust controls you there is nothing that you will spare to get your desires fulfilled. It is a powerful force that drives you to distraction and destruction. Many murders are committed because of lust. Be watchful and do not give in to lust.

 

For every good fruit of the Spirit there is an opposite. Love's opposite is hate, joy's opposite is unhappiness, peace's opposite is disharmony, etc. We know by the fruit what spirit is behind it. Therefore discern and deal with the relevant spirit: for example, lust, hate, jealousy or pride. The only solution is through repentance and forgiveness. The blood of Jesus can cleanse like no other. His blood is the guarantee of our salvation from the power of sin. Therefore let us seek to cultivate the fruits of righteousness today as we face this world of chaos and confusion. There is no safer place than in the heart of God. Here we will find love, peace and joy everlasting.

Transformed Into His Image In The Throne Room Of God.

God said be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). How do we get our mind renewed? His word and Spirit are at work in us to transform us. This is a process dependent on our submission and obedience to His word. Our spirit is born again and does not need transformation. However our soul needs to be redeemed (1 Peter 1:9). This is where most Christians fail to walk the talk. We think because we are born again in the spirit that there is no need for any further work. The work of sanctification by the Spirit is ignored or not heeded. We therefore operate like we did before in our soul realm. No wonder most of us are no different from the world.

God’s word says that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ (Eph 2:6). This is where we are seated but we operate from our soul realm. We need to operate from the spirit realm to be transformed. Could this be the reason why we face so many difficulties, trials, temptations and disease? In the spirit realm we are protected from demonic interference and distractions. We are one with the Lord. How much time do we spend in the spirit realm? I must confess that most of the time I am operating from the soul realm and therefore don't see much change. 

God has given us a new spirit and He has placed His own Spirit within us. What more can God do? Yet like the Israelites who saw and experienced many miracles, we too choose to walk according to the flesh. Romans 8 gives us a way out but we prefer to struggle as in Romans 7. God satisfies the hungry and if we hunger and thirst after Him, we will be satisfied. He will transform us but we hold the key to the speed of transformation. When we operate from the throne room of God we will see rapid transformation. Lord help us to spend more time with You in Your throne room and be transformed more quickly .

God Spoke, Wrote, Saw And Lived His Word.

 

God created the worlds through His spoken word. There is power in His spoken word. From nothing He created the worlds. Imagine the power of His spoken word. Yet He formed man from dust (Gen 2:7). He breathed His Spirit into man and gave man life. Man was created in the image of God. He had the same potential as God. He could speak the word and create like God. This ability was lost when man fell from grace and came under law. So we see the evidence of it today in lawlessness. Yet God was merciful and gave man a way out of his mess.

 

God gave man His written word. The Bible is the infallible, Holy-Spirit-inspired word of God. His word contains power that when released by faith can perform wonders. His word has stood the test of time. It is still the best seller amongst books sold. Yet many treat it as just a work of literature. Satan tries to cancel the power of His word by claiming it is just a book of fables for bed-time stories. However those who are enlightened can see and believe.

 

God saw it was good when He created the worlds and all that is in them. The stars, moon and sun and galaxies are His creation. We need to see His word with the eyes of our heart to believe. Vision is the language of the heart. Those who fail to see are blind. This blindness causes them to miss the life that flows from the living word. The blind man asked Jesus to heal him. Many ask the same question today but fail to see. Sight comes when we believe. Unbelief keeps us in our blindness. Lies then replace the truth. Truth always enlightens and makes us see.

 

Jesus came as the living word. He was the word made flesh. He was from the beginning and came as the seed of God and lived amongst man. God knew that man needed to see before they could believe. Thomas said I will believe when I see the nail prints in His hands. Yet many believe having not seen and to them faith made them see and believe. We must trust His Word for it is living and gives life to all who will believe. Today trust Him for His salvation full and free.

Speak Boldly To Your Mountain And See It Removed

 

God spoke His Word and created the world and all that is in it. God's word has creative power. God has given us the ability to speak the creative word and obtain the same results. We were created in His image with the same ability. Jesus said we would do His works and greater works to the glory of God (John 14:12, 13). Why don't we see this in our everyday lives? We don't see it because of the lack of knowledge and faith. Jesus said whatever things you ask, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24). Only believe. There is a gap between what we say we believe and what we actually believe. This gap keeps us from realising the desired outcome of our belief. How can we redress this gap?

 

Jesus said anyone who confesses Him as Lord and Saviour will be saved and have eternal life. We believe this yet our lives do not appear to evidence this belief. We may believe this with our head but not our heart. Heart belief is not the same as head belief. We must believe in our heart to see change happen. Maybe this is the reason for so many unbelieving Christians? If God's word is true then what He says in His word must come to pass. Those who believe will see their mountains move. These mountains can be disease or disorder. Whatever you are struggling with or is hindering your life is a mountain. We can see that mountain removed in Jesus’ Name. Do we believe this ?

 

Believing is central to any change. Prayer is based on belief. I believe God hears our prayers but most prayers do not go beyond our ceiling. Why not? Because the prayers are not backed by a belief that what is spoken will come to pass. There should be no ifs or buts when we pray. When we pray we must believe that what we pray will be done on earth as it is in heaven. There is no disease or disorder in heaven. Therefore we can believe that when we pray that our mountain be removed, it will be so. Come today by faith and speak to your mountain and see it removed in Jesus Name.

Heaven Is Real. Hell Is Real. God Is Real.

 

Heaven and Hell are real places and we can choose our destiny here on earth today. We live like there is no tomorrow. We are so taken up by what we see and hear, and what appears real is the only reality we know. However there is a greater reality we don't know because it is hidden by the overwhelming input from our senses. We think this earthly reality is all there is to it, until death knocks on our door. Death is the reality of an end to this life. We don't want to think of death because it is a reality that appears so distant. When sickness strikes us, we realise we are not immortal.

 

God becomes real when we are faced with a crisis. Our sense of reality is challenged. We come face to face with something that threatens our being. We appear to operate in this realm of here and not here.We lose a grip onr eality as we know it. We want to hang on to something or someone that can save us. This someone is beyond ourselves. We come close to knowing a reality beyond what we sense. We approach the realm of the spirit. We suddenly become aware of a greater power beyond ourselves. This power comes close to us and calls us to come follow Him. 

 

God has revealed Himself through Jesus. We can know Him through Jesus the Son of God. He has reserved a place for us in heaven. Without Him there is only hell. Jesus came to save us from an eternity in hell. We know this because when death knocks on our door we cry out,“Oh my God" . Even an atheist will cry out for God when faced with death. Death is a reality that we face daily but ignore it. We are only a breath away from death. Suddenly we can be faced with this reality and all we hold dear loses its grip. We become a persona non grata. Come now to Him who can save to the utmost. He is the only reality that we need. All else is an illusion of the real.

God Knows The End From The Beginning

 

God is omnipotent, He knows all things and He dwells in the Heavenly realm. He operates in a timeless dimension where there is no beginning and no end. Therefore He operates in eternity while we operate in a earthly dimension which is limited by time. He knows the end from the beginning. We are caught up with current news and situations and therefore are controlled by our circumstances. When things go well all things appear good. When things go bad our whole world crashes and we think we are at the end. God operates in the spirit realm, while we operate in the earthly or fleshly realm.

 

God created us as spirit beings. He has thus given us the ability to operate in the spirit realm. We can operate in the Kingdom of righteousness or the kingdom of darkness. They are both spiritual dimensions. God resides in the third heaven while the devil resides in the second heaven. The devil has no access to the third heaven.. The redeemed of the Lord are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6). We therefore can operate from the third heaven. How many of us do so? This is our privilege as the redeemed of the Lord. However due to a lack of knowledge most of us operate from the earthly realm. Our knowledge and teaching can be contaminated by lying spirits from the second heaven. This is the realm of the knowledge of good and evil. This mixture then is taught and the church is undermined by this teaching.

 

 Those who do operate from the third heaven have access to the same knowledge that Christ has. This is the knowledge and wisdom of God that transcends all other knowledge. To operate from the third heaven is to know what God knows. The prophets who operate from this realm are able to know the future and the outcome of any disaster as it is known in heaven. This enables us to then implement what God has said and not be distracted by the devil's lies of doom and disaster. God is calling His church to operate from the third heaven and implement His plans on earth. No devil can know His plans for they are only revealed to the sons of God. Come now and be encouraged for we have access to God's plans which are good and righteous.

This World Revolves Around Lies And Money

This world system is controlled by Satan. He is the god of this world. He is the father of lies. His main occupation is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). The children of this world are caught up with his lies and deception. How does one cope in a world where it is the norm to lie? Lies become the truth after repeatedly telling oneself it is the norm. We have heard about white lies and being politically correct so that we don't offend anyone. All these are lies in a different form. God is Truth and He never lies. Yet the church is also caught up with lies. 

 

Money is the fuel that keeps us lying. We lie to cover up or to get our own way. When lying becomes a habit our conscience becomes seared. We don't feel guilty anymore and fool ourselves by saying things to justify our lies. We lie to each other in our marriage, friendships and everyday life. We reap the consequences of our lies. We steal from each other and trust begins to fade. We become .prisoners in the world of lies we have created. This then leads to anxiety and depression. Our sleep is disturbed and we become suicidal.

 

What is the way out of this mess? Jesus said He is the Truth. He calls us to be holy as He is holy. We need to trust Him to be our judge, but we first need to judge ourselves. He will judge the world. We need to lean on Him and not fear the world and its way of lying. We need to reverse this trend. If we all do this and stand up for the truth then we will see a change. The church is to be the light and salt in the world. We are called to be in the world but not of the world. We can only do this if we completely surrender to Him and live to please Him.

What Is Your Worldview? Does It Transcend God's View?

 

Worldview is important to understand the world we operate in. Your worldview determines how you see yourself and others in the world. A godless worldview will always see things in human ways. Human ways are limited and based on man's view of the world. This is usually a limited view and therefore limited to this world. Most world views are man's view of the world based on philosophy or science. These are views that are based on reason as man understands his world through reason. If we can't understand then we will reject that view. The biblical view goes beyond man's view because God's view is beyond the reasonings of man.

 

The biblical view sees man as a created being. Man was made in the image of God. There is also good and evil in God's view. Man was born in sin after the fall and Satan is a fallen angel who now rules this world. This view contrasts with man's view of the world. The clash of world views then results in how we see others and therefore how we deal with matters in all spheres of life. This is why it is important to understand one's worldview in discussions to do with life and death. This clash of world views is evidenced in politics, science and every aspect of human life. 

 

Communism rejects God. It is a philosophy based on man and makes sense in human terms. However ignoring God is at a cost. This is why we see that communism cannot survive in the long term. Socialism likewise tries to make God a social being rather than seeing God as a  Spirit. This is to accommodate God in one’s life as a thing that can be manipulated to serve one's own end. This may work in a world of political correctness. However it will fail because it is based on lies and compromise.

 

God needs to be the centre of all our living. Without God our living is limited to this world. For example, money becomes our god. The world is controlled by money. Power replaces God and man manipulates the systems to achieve his ends. We see this in all walks of life. Man needs to come back to God as death is real and Satan is real. This is the time for the world to see that a virus can hold us hostage to death. We are powerless and all we can do is turn to God and cry for mercy. Turn now and be saved in the Name of Jesus and return to God.

God's Love Drives Out All Fear

 

God's love is the only answer to a world gripped with fear. Fear is of the devil. Fear is based on false evidence, which is a copy of the real. Therefore never give in to fear, which is false evidence appearing as real. Satan is a master deceiver and he deceives people into believing the lies rather than the truth. The truth is God loves His creation. He does not want anyone to go to hell. However God has given us a choice. We can choose His way or our way. Our way leads to destruction because we have given evil a platform to blind us from the truth. When we surrender to His way our blindness is lifted.

 

God's way is Jesus. Jesus came to make the way for us by revealing the Truth. He is the Truth. There are no lies in Him. Yet we find it difficult to believe the Truth. The god of this world blinds us to the Truth. Now is the time to repent and run to Him to be saved. This is not the time to procrastinate. The time is now to turn away from our wicked ways and turn to Him for mercy and salvation.

 

God is calling His people to come to Him and find shelter under His wings. No disease or disorder can strike us for He is our shield and our rear guard. He covers us with His love. His love is tangible. It is not a flaky love that comes and goes. It is a solid foundation and  steady rock in times of trouble. The waves may come and the storms may rage but His love never fades. He said He would never leave us or forsake us. He is true to His word. We can trust Him to the end. Never let go for He holds us in the palm of His hand. We can choose whom we will serve. I have chosen to serve the Lord.

Satan Is The God Of This World.

 

Satan is the god of this world. This is why we see so much disorder and chaos in this world. Sickness and disease are also the product of this. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. This is his mission. Therefore what we see in this world is the works of his activity in every sphere of life. Physical and mental illness can be attributed to his works. The demons are active to infest people and cause these conditions. Why then is there so little done to reverse this? One needs to be spiritually aware to discern the demonic realm. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. The world does not know and is blind to Satan. The world in its blindness will look to other factors to explain illness and disease. This is a cover up to the works of darkness.

 

Jesus came to give sight to the blind. This is not just physical blindness but spiritual blindness. When our spiritual eyes are opened to the spirit world then we see things we were blind to before. We become enlightened to the real forces behind the negative manifestations. Satan can come as an angel of light. One needs discernmentt o know what is of darkness and what is of the light. The church has also compromised with the spirit of the world and lost its discernment. This is why the church is so powerless and needs to return to its original design.

 

When the works of darkness are exposed then they can be cancelled in the Name of Jesus and by the blood of Jesus. Satan cannot stand the Name of Jesus or His blood. This is the way to reverse the effects of the works of darkness. We suffer the effects of sin. The effects of sin on our spirit were cancelled when we received Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Now we have to be renewed in our minds to reverse the effects of sin on our soul (Rom 12:2). This is a process and for some it is faster than for others. It is dependent on our submission to Him and obedience. We will have to fight the forces of darkness on earth till we die. In heaven we will be totally free from Satanic forces. Hallelujah.

Hear, Listen, Understand, Believe.

 

We hear a lot of things because we have ears to hear. The sounds are  received by our hearing sense. This does not mean that we listen to the sounds. There are many things we hear but we decide which ones we will listen to. There are many sounds happening right now that we hear from our surroundings. We can hear the birds singing, the cars running, the washing machine washing, etc.  etc. We hear these sounds but do not listen to them.

 

Listening is a higher function where we receive what we hear and absorb it. We need to listen to  help our brains understand what we hear. If we don't listen then we allow the sounds to pass. Like a bird that flies past till we allow it to build a nest. When we listen we are seeking to understand what we hear.  This involves our attention so that we can receive the sounds to decipher the message.

 

Once we listen our brain then interprets the message. This is a higher level of functioning where we have to interpret what we have received. The whole process happens so quickly that most of the time we are unaware of this process. When we listen attentively we will understand the message. Just like a message sent by telegraph is just a series of unintelligible sounds to an untrained person, but a trained receiver understands the sounds sent. The sounds are then interpreted as a message. The message must then be understood and believed.

 

Believing is a state of the heart. I can understand but still not believe. My head understands but my heart refuses to believe. Therefore we have a lot of unbelieving Christians. Head belief is not heart belief. Many will say, Lord, we have done wonders in Your name, but Jesus will say, I never knew you (Matt 7:22, 23). What a sad condition is this? We must believe what is written in the Word of God. Just understanding is not enough. When we believe and obey we will see His workings and manifestations. Choose today to believe and not just to understand.

I Was Born In Adam. I am Born Again In Jesus.

 

I was born in sin and carried the DNA of Adam. I therefore had no ability to commune with God as my spirit was dead. However being made in the image of God I had the desire to be like God. In my search for God I was faced with the challenge of Jesus to accept Him as my Lord and Saviour. I did this and my spirit was born again. I now am in Jesus and have communion with my Father in heaven. This is the heavenly transaction for all. Jesus accomplished this to save His creation from the power of sin. Satan however wants to keep us bound to sin as he wants to take us to hell with him.

 

Now I have the DNA of Jesus flowing through me. He replaced the DNA of Adam with His DNA. This now means that I have the same power over sin and can be like Jesus when He walked on earth. More than this I can now operate in the resurrection power of Jesus. The possibilities are immense and all I have to do is to submit to His will. Now there is no limitation although I am still living in my body. I can now operate in the Spirit rather than in the flesh. I am filled with His Spirit and walk in His Spirit.

 

In Jesus I have been given a purpose to live for on earth. This is to do His will rather than my will. I have died to my self and now Christ has replaced the I. My greatest joy now is to serve Him and to live for Him. He is the pearl of great price. Now I can look forward to eternal life in Him. The power of eternal life in me now propels me to higher and greater realms of glory. This is the privilege of all who will make Him Lord. This is the time to leave all and to follow Him. All His promises are yes and amen.