Tag: abiding

There Will Be Miracles (Manifesting Sonship Series Part VII)

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When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt [profound] compassion for them and healed their sick,~Matthew 14:14 (Amp) 

Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you,~Ephesians 4:32 (Amp). 

Miracle: a wonderful or unusual event that is believed to be caused by the power of God. An extraordinary event involving divine intervention. 

Adaptation from online Webster Dictionary. 

One of the greatest miracles is salvation. 

The birth of Jesus is an extraordinary event that involved divine intervention. God provided a way for all of humanity to come to know Him. 

The life of Jesus is filled with miracles. Scripture tells us He was moved with compassion (sympathetic consciousness of others pain coupled with a desire to alleviate it). Fueled by love and compassion Jesus brought divine intervention into the lives of many. 

As followers of Jesus He encourages us to do as we see Him doing. He tells to freely give as we have freely received. We are to be the heart, hands, feet, and mouthpiece of Jesus in the world. 

Here are some Scriptures to confirm those words.  

Heart of God: 

I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another,~Jesus (John 13:34-35). 

I find it interesting that Jesus did not say, “The world will know My disciples by their Bible knowledge or activities or church attendance.” He said the world would know His disciples by their love (agape) and unselfish love for one another. 

I’ve caught quite a bit a slack over the years for talking so much about the love of God. I’ve been told to talk about the severity, wrath, God’s anger over sin. 

Will God judge the world for their sins? Yes. Does God hate sin and evil? Yes. Is God weak? No. Does God conform to our culture and sinful desires? No. Is Godly sorrow and repentance required for salvation? Yes. 

My stance is what the Bible says. “God is love (agape). Those who do not love (agape) do not know God,”~1 John 4:8. I’ve found my role is to present the truth to people in love. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict hearts. It’s God’s job to issue out any eternal consequences for the unrepentant. He told me to love people. Even my enemies. 

What does love look like? Love looks like Jesus. 

It requires the supernatural work of God through us to love the unlovely.  It’s a miracle (extraordinary, amazing, divine work of God) to consistently love like Jesus. 

Hands of God: 

…if your enemy is hungry; feed him. If he’s thirsty give him a drink,~Romans 12:20 (Amp). 

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give,~Matthew 20:8 (Amp). 

We are also encouraged to care for the poor (Proverbs 29:7). 

Being the hands of God means we are allowing God to work through us to bring miracles into the lives of people. Those miracles may be financial, physical, food, spiritual…

Some simply associate miracles with only healing; there are many acts of miracles that are provisional. 

Theses are two stories from this  past holiday weekend. I went to visit my dad and it often involves some ministry time. 

I was shopping with my dad and had to go to the ladies room. There was a lady in line complaining about her back pain. I felt led to ask her if I could pray, but she was talking. Finally I asked her if I could pray for her back. She exclaimed, “Yes!”

God brought healing to her back (decreased her pain) the Walmart bathroom. She exclaimed, “I guess prayer does work!” Always amazed how the unchurched believe more in healing than some Christians. 

Also thankful for the visit with the sick, mentally ill, and spiritually oppressed yesterday. One man the nurse told me was quite hostile and aggravated. He’s known to be combative and have fits of rage. He wouldn’t let the first person pray with him. Yet he let me. I stood in awe while the Holy Spirit moved the heart of this moments earlier angry man to tears. He raised his hands at one point and cried out, “God with You nothing is impossible!” He let me hug him and he laughed with me. He stated, “Today is going to be a good day and next year a good year!!” He smiled his first smile of the day.

Others who overheard the prayer time cried out, “Pray for me too! I want God to heal me too!!!” 

It was a great afternoon of loving on people and watching God do what He does; love, heal, and deliver.

God’s Feet and Mouthpiece: 

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted [that it was really He]. Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”~Matthew 20:16-20. 

We are told to go. We are told to make disciples of Jesus. We are told to teach others what Jesus is teaching us. How will the world know if no one goes? How will the sick be healed if no one prays? How will the spiritually oppressed find liberty if no one is willing to go to the nursing homes and mental hospitals to pray?  

If all the saved people are blessing and loving saved people, who is attending to the lost? Some people can’t come to our worship gatherings. Someone has to go for them. 

One of my greatest loves is street ministry.  I’ve seen the love of God in high capacity on the streets with the hurting, broken, dying, addicted, and diseased.

I purposefully chose a bench for my photo choice. We are not called to sit and receive until we die. Our attitude is not to be, “God bless me and no one else!”

We are called to demonstrate to the world what God is like. We are representatives of the heart, hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus. Everyone gets to participate. It’s not simply for pastors. Every follower of Jesus is called to freely receive and freely give. 

I’ve gone through many situations where God brought the miracle without another human being. I know this is possible. He also loves to colabor with us. He gave His Spirit who empowers us to love, to serve, to go, to teach. 

Father I thank You for all You have done for us. Help us to abide in Your  love and power. May our hearts overflow with tremendous compassion for humanity. May the world see Christ in us, the hope of glory! 

Happy upcoming New Year! You are so deeply loved and prayed for. 

Erin Lamb 

Glory to Glory (Manifesting Sonship Series Part V)

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Photo credit: Pinterest 

And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit,~2 Corinthians 3:18 (Amplified).

God’s glory is the external manifestation of His being. God’s glory is something that appears ( Exod 16:10), is revealed (Isa 40:5), or can be seen (Num 14:22)-source BibleStudyTools.

Holy Spirit is glorious! He is fully God and marks/seals believers as belonging to God (2 Corinthians 1:22). He works within us to reveal Jesus, righteousness, and to take us from glory to glory. 

I’ve heard some preach that since we are saved by faith and God loves us as we are, that means we are to stay as we are when God encountered us. This isn’t what the Bible teaches. It neglects the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.  When God encountered Paul (formerly Saul), he was persecuting and killing Christians. After his radical encounter with God, Paul became one of the most radical preachers of the Gospel. We see a murder and persecutor completely transformed.  

We worship a God who makes all things new. 

We too are called to transformation. It’s not transformation that is the result of striving. It’s a result of beholding Him and abiding (remaining) in Him (John 15:5).  

Our spirit is made new at conversion. Our soul (mind, will, emotions) and character are being transformed/sanctified. 

The Road to Tranformation…

Faith: It starts with believing God. My thoughts about God will determine what I become. If I believe God is harsh or critical, it will manifest in my behavior and response to Him. 

Believing the revelations of God’s word, nature, and character brings transformation. 

Truths I’d love for us to digest and meditate on today: 

  • God is love. It’s who He is, not simply what He does. It’s not based on our merit, behavior, or performance. 
  • God is truth. He cannot lie! Every word He speaks is truth. Every promise in Him is yes and amen. 
  • God is good. Every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of Lights who does not change like shifting shadows. 
  • God is holy. There’s no sin in God, and He will never lead you down a path of sin. We were born into sin; He paid the price to free us from sin. 
  • God is perfect in patience. God has infinite patience. He is not like humans who may toss you aside if you fail. Think of the prodigal son story. The Father was looking for the son! He ran out for his wayward son. If everyone else gives up on you, God will take you back. Come running…if you move an inch He will run miles. 
  • God cares for every detail of our lives. What matters to you, matters to Him. He knows every hair on our heads, every tear we have shed. He knows our thoughts, dreams, desires. He cares more than anyone else.  

His Word: I truly believe we are to be people of His Word. He gave it to us as food and a blueprint. We read, study, and seek Him with the Holy Spirit. I ask the Holy Spirit to teach me. 

Worship: Loving God, honoring God, celebrating God, and putting Him first in all things leads to such encounters. He inhabits the praises of His people. It takes the focus off who we are, what’s happening around us, and places the focus on Him. 

Intimacy with God: God invites us into relationship with Him. A deep, pure, growing relationship that’s life giving. It’s more than a Sunday morning activity. It’s a daily love relationship, more intimate than marriage.  

Obedience: Scripture tells us we are a slave to whoever we obey (Romans 6:16). We are either obeying God or the evil one. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father. I’m not suggesting perfectionism or striving. I’m stating there’s blessing in obeying God. If we miss the mark, we go to our Father and say sorry. He’s so eager to forgive. No shame and no condemnation (sentencing). 

What If What We See Isn’t Jesus? 

It’s a process. So the focus is God. If I sit down and look at the character of Jesus and my character, I have so far to go. He’s perfect. I am not. The objective isn’t a self help program or to try to make myself like Jesus. The objective is to remain in Him, let Him love me, and keep my eyes on Him. 

It’s not what we see. It’s what God sees and who He says we are. We are His image bearers in the earth!   
Photo credit Pinterest. 

You are so deeply loved friends! Lifting you up. God bless you. 

Love in Christ, 

Erin Lamb

We Teach People What God is Like 

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…be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma,~Ephesians 5:1-2.

The only way we can imitate Christ is to abide in Him. It starts with relationship. We accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are saved by faith, not works. So none can boast. Once we are saved, we begin this process of sanctification. God is working in us through the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of His Son. 

God loves us as we are. He loves us too much to want to see us stay the same. 

I have met so many people who don’t know God’s love or they are opposed to knowing God. I asked God why? There’s head knowledge, yet for some not heart knowledge. 

BTW…I don’t have this love thing all figured out, it’s a journey. I am learning as I go; learning from Holy Spirit and intimacy with God. 

Tonight I will tackle just one potential answer. 

We (followers of Jesus) are called to demonstrate to the world the character and love of God. We are called to love everyone, not just those who love us, like us, agree with us, go to our church, come from our family, or are in our social circle.

As stated in the word, God’s love (agape) and imitating Jesus comes through abiding (John 15:5). Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. We are called to do what we see the Father doing; we are called to follow and abide in Jesus. 

If we don’t love the world, some may never know the Father’s heart. God works through people. Ordinary people like me and you are called to demonstrate to the world the great love and power of God. 

My earthly father made Jesus, following Jesus, very attractive. It’s one of the things that’s has helped me in my walk with Jesus. God gave me someone who demonstrated what He’s like. He’s not the only example, he’s one. He’s not perfect, yet I’ve learned so much from him. And his birthday is this week so honoring him. 

All I have belongs to God,~W. Lamb (my dad).

If you ever meet my dad, he’ll probably offer you something. I’ve never met a more generous person outside of God. Here are some things he taught me about God by the way he lived and lives his life. 

1. God is good and always worthy of worship (love, adoration, thanks, and praise). 

2. Love strangers, they are people Jesus gave His life for. 

3. Love and care for the poor and widows. 

4. Keep your word. 

5. Love your enemies. 

6. Do good to all because God is good to you. 

7. Share the Gospel. 

8. Live the Gospel. 

9. Put God first. 

10. Live a life of radical generosity.

11. It’s not about titles, money, fame, or clout…it’s about loving well. 

12. Let God refine your character. 

13. Trust God. He does not fail. 

14. Leave situations you can’t solve in the hands of God. 

15. It’s okay to laugh at yourself. 😜

16. Forgive! Forgive!! Forgive!!! No one is worth putting a wedge between you and God. 

17. Pray…be a person of prayer. My dad rises early every day to pray and be with God.

18. Read and study the Bible. Be a person of the Word. 

19. God still performs miracles! He’s a Healer, Deliverer, Restorer. 

20. You can overcome the worst obstacles with God! Nothing is too hard for God. 

I don’t know about you, but I want people to see Jesus in me…Not so I’m glorified or people think well of me, so He’s glorified. Hopefully, I live a life so people have a growing hunger for God and knowing Him intimately. 

You and I have this awesome privilege of showing the world how AWESOME our heavenly Papa is. We are Ambassadors of hope, love, peace, and power. Some won’t know His love or power unless believers engage and choose to demonstrate it for them. May we know God intimately and show others how good He is. 

You are loved and continually prayed for! 

❤️

Erin 

Supernatural Love (Miracle Series)

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Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,~John 15:13. 

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,~John 13:34-35. 
 
If you assessed my life story or fully understood my personality, I’d be one of the most unlikely to be used by God to love His kids. I’m highly introverted. As a kid my mum said I spent most of my time under the dining room table with my notes, tools, and sketch pad. I can spend days to weeks with just God. I get lost in thoughts, theories, and creating. I’m also, according to Myers Briggs, INTJ (introverted, intuition, thinking, judging). We are not known as the sentimental types. We are primarily thinkers, not feelers. We ask, “Does this work?” We get lost in logic. We solve problems, hence my pursuit of a career in engineering and science. 
 
I tell you this because God is able to love through anyone who’s willing. I prayed long ago for God to teach me to love like Him. I had no clue what it would cost. I had no clue how deep, vast, profound, rich, generous, compassionate, and sacrificial God’s love truly was. I am still learning.
One person other than Jesus I could pinpoint as an example of supernatural love is Apostle Paul. He was, before His encounter with Jesus, a persecutor of Christians. After His encounter with Jesus, Paul became one of the most radical lovers of God, the Gospel, and wrote Corinthians 13 the chapter on love.
The love of God is supernatural, it’s beyond human ability. Humans naturally want to put themselves first. Agape love is sacrificial, selfless, pure, unconditional, holy, honoring, and out of this world. It’s the love Jesus has for us and tells us to have for others.
How do we get this love, God’s love in us? It starts with relationship, intimacy with God. We must first receive before we can ever give. We also abide in Him (John 15:5). The more I’m with God, the more I love people. This love is still challenged. Trust me! Yet with the passing moments of oneness…His heart invades mine. He has imprinted His great love on my heart.
Supernatural Love Stories: 
I’ve pondered how to share stories while honoring others, so there’s a summarizing and exclusion of names. I’m in the process of writing three more books, they will include more life stories as there’s space for them. Here are a few brief stories that may fuel your faith.
I have a person that caused great pain in my life. More pain than anyone else. They treated me poorly in so many ways. When I went through my health crisis, they were not supportive or compassionate. They would say things like, “You’re not really sick. If you were stronger, you’d get up from there…” Well, I was sick. My hair fell out in places, I was on beta blockers for my heart, seeing specialists,…I was a mini train wreck. Yet God has healed me. Praise pause 🙌. Thank YOU Jesus! 👏.
This person later begin to face their own life challenges, health problems,  and God gave me the opportunity to love. Love wasn’t met with appreciation. It was met with excessive complaining, ingratitude, sometimes anger or hostility, and there were many days I’d sit with God thinking, “Why am I being punished? Why am I in this situation? I’m too young for this! Why do I have to love? This person doesn’t even appreciate love.” 
I’d love to tell you prayer led to warm, fuzzy, and loving feelings. I didn’t. There were days where I’d just sob and call out to God for help. Days I wished I could join the witness protection program and run away from my life. Crisis after crisis wore me down emotionally, mentally, physically, etc…I was really young and overwhelmed. While other kids were enjoying their lives, I was trying to juggle chaos. Yet God is stronger. He didn’t deliver me from. He delivered me through. That person grew to slowly change. I didn’t change them, God did something. It was the most painful and challenging season of my life. Yet God’s love is a sustaining power.
Fast forward and my first real opportunity to do discipleship ministry. Like Jesus there were 12 women and me. I gave my life, heart, time, energy, home, and all for those I was leading/discipling. I gave my all for 3 years. I helped people move, opened my home, cooked meals, hosted parties, wiped tears, prayed, played/sang at weddings, was a friend…I’m a 100% type of person. If I commit to someone or something, I’m giving it my all. The people I gave my life to, well several of them turned on me, gossiped about me, lied on me, one even cursed me out in public, one created so much drama people from out of the state were emailing me at work about it, and well…God never gave me permission to walk in unforgiveness or try to avenge myself. I sat in silence while being cussed out (He supernaturally closed my mouth. My natural bend would’ve been to rebuke that woman). It was so painful. It was challenging. There are absolutely no words to express the level of grief it caused. If I had sinned, I’d accept it as my consequences. Yet my issues came from teaching the Gospel as it’s written, pointing to Jesus, being who God created me to be, and not promoting people to leadership roles because God had not released me to do so. Some of those relationships were never fully repaired, yet a few were. There’s forgiveness for everyone, yet not everyone repented or even acknowledged their sin. And God gave me the opportunity again to forgive and love. Supernatural love when I only felt numb inside. Supernatural love to try again with ministry, though I didn’t want to love again sacrificially after those experiences. Christians became my frenemies so it took God to get me back into ministering to other believers. Some may say, that’s no big deal, grow up. Yet until you’ve laid down your life for people who betray you, there’s no place to reference from. Only Jesus knows fully what it’s like and even He experienced great grief facing the cross.
I found through those years of heart wrenching how much love cost Jesus. I was not nailed to a rugged cross, but my heart was. And “I’m sorry,” never healed nor took away any of the pain. Only God can and does.
I sometimes think we (humans) think our sin, rebellion, or rejection of God doesn’t affect Him. It does. And though we say sorry and repent, our behavior does impact His heart. God has feelings…He loves more than we can comprehend. I can’t imagine since He loves more than me how deep it cuts His heart to see His children destroy themselves and others.
If I loved others by experiences with loving people, I would only love a few people or not love at all. This area of my life has been hit with the most opposition and pain. Yet God doesn’t call us to love a few people. He calls us to love everyone, even our enemies. 
Challenging love situations, they teach you so much about God. I don’t love perfectly, God does. Even though He loves perfectly, He’s rejected, used, verbally abused, neglected, hated, ignored, forgotten about, sought after only in crisis, sinned against, and much more.
I used to think going through challenging experiences with love was some form of punishment. Yet God was answering my prayer, “Teach me to love like You.” God teaches by giving us opportunities.
As of the past few years we have moved from love boot camp, to God supernaturally downloading His heart for people into mine. It makes it a bit easier, yet doesn’t change the response of others to me. I still meet rejection, people who attempt to attach themselves to me for their benefit, misunderstandings (why is she being so nice to me?), and I have a few that are oh so challenging to love. I rely fully on God for love, another lesson learned from these experiences. People can’t fill your love tank.
God’s love for you is beyond describable, yet I will try…
God thinks of you continually. He cares about EVERY single detail of your life. He wants you to maintain your freedom to choose (He’s no control freak or manipulator), He’s not absent minded (He keeps log of all your desires and dreams), He celebrates you, He knows all your flaws and still longs to be with you, He sets up opportunities to bless you, Jesus lives to intercede for you, He moves mountains for you, He corrects to restore you, He enjoys every moment you spend with Him, and He desires so much to be with you!!! This love, His love, is life changing. If you want to see your life changed or change the world, receive this love…God’s unfailing & radical love!
You see one of the greatest miracles of all is the Creator of the Universe loving humanity. 
God bless you! Next time we will talk about divine intelligence, when God gives you His wisdom and intelligence. Praying for you! You are SO deeply loved.
Erin

Receiving and Abiding in Love (Intimacy with God Part IX)

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Our greatest strength comes from abiding (remaining) in God.

John 15: 1, 4-17.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

Culture vs. the Kingdom of Heaven

Our culture promotes self. If you want something, you go for it in your own strength. You make it happen. You persist. You press harder or push harder. The central character is us, the created ones. Our culture celebrates the “self-made” person.

The Bible teaches us that we can do nothing apart from God. Nothing means no thing. He is the Source of human life, even for the wicked and unbelieving. We exist because of Him. The central character of God’s story is God. The Kingdom of heaven celebrates the person dependent on God.

It hurts the pride and bruises the ego to realize that God is above all. He is above us. We are not God or demigods, though some teach this. God doesn’t force us to obey Him or comply, He’s still God and there are consequences for our choices. We are never truly independent from His Sovereignty.

If we are in Christ, then it’s good to recall that we are to rely on His strength. Our striving produces stress. Abiding produces abundant fruit. He is the Source of love, peace, joy, hope, faith, goodness, life, patience, meekness, gentleness, and self control. He’s the Vine. If we remain in Him, there’s flourishing life.

Example from Gardening…

I had a plant with vines. I noticed it would grow towards the light. Any parts of the vine that fell off, died. It was disconnected from its life source. The root system of that plant was supplying nutrients. The branches produced no life on their own. If I forgot to water or fertilize the soil, it died.

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We need intimacy (relationship) with God more than anything else. We need the Light (God). We need water (His Spirit). We need fertilizer and food (His Word). When we place other things in front of Him, we suffer. God doesn’t cease loving us, we cease producing fruit.

Fruit is the result of fellowship and intimacy (abiding, remaining). We will always see fruit of our fellowship. If we fellowship with fear, the fruits are worry, anxiety, insecurity, suspicion, unhealthy stress, people pleasing, jealousy…

God knew and knows that we will suffer if He’s not first. We can’t produce Light and His Love without Him. He is Light; He is love.

Our first step in intimacy with God is salvation. The second is abiding. We receive first, then we give.

The highest priority isn’t doing for God, it’s being with God.

So beautiful friends, may we seek Him first. May we meet with Him, talk with Him, listen to Him…

What is God doing? What is He saying? What does His word say? What is God teaching us at this moment?

May we soak in His Presence and allow God to heal, restore, saturate us, and minister to us. God can do more in a moment than we can in a lifetime. He contains solutions to all the world’s problems.

Father, Abba Pai, help us to first receive from You and abide in You as Jesus did. Teach us to rest in Your love and the finished work of the Cross. May we have a deeper revelation of what’s already been paid for in Your Son. May we know heart, mind, and spirit the height, depth, and vast expanse of Your love for us. May we rely on Your strength and Your Spirit. In Jesus powerful name, Amen.

Praying for you! You are deeply loved (John 3:16).

Erin

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Photo credit: Pinterest

Solitude and Conversations with God (Intimacy with God Part VI)

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Jesus often retreated from the people to pray. Passage from Luke 5:12-16.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

The passage from Luke does not tell us that Jesus sometimes withdrew to lonely places and prayed. It says He did it often. I truly believe if we read of Jesus doing something, we should pay attention because He only did what was in alignment with the Father.

Prayer is simply communication with God. If you’re in a relationship with someone, that relationship requires communication. The foundation for intimacy (into-me-see) is built on fellowship, experience, and communication. Without communication, the other pillars of the relationship begin to crumble. They tumble to the ground.

God invites us to know Him. He offers the invitation for intimacy.

Why do we talk to God?

Because we want to build a relationship with Him. He already knows us. Do we know Him?

Because we love God. We talk to people we love.

Because God enters situations He’s invited into. If we don’t pray, He’s not invited.

Because we need God. He said apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).

Why do we retreat to lonely places to pray?

So we can hear God more clearly and be free of distractions. Alone time together is more intimate. You can give the other person your undivided attention. Hopefully, they also have yours.

We talk to God and listen to God because we love Him, respect Him, value Him, cherish Him, and we want to know His thoughts.

When was the last time you asked God, “What is your perspective on this situation? God will you give me heaven’s vantage point? God will you show me how to love this person? Will you give me insight into solutions to this world problem? God how do you view me? ”

When we don’t pray (talk to God), we are often leaning on our own understanding. We are worrying and fretting, filled with fear. We are powerless in areas of our lives because we have not yielded to the wisdom of God. We are anxious and insecure. We are not abiding, we are striving.

Effective ways to pray:

Talk to God. He’s listening. You have His undivided attention. The Creator of the Universe has given you His undivided attention. Whoah! That’s enough to pause and say, ” Wow.” He’s more important than any earthly president, King or Queen, or celebrity. He’s our loving Father. You don’t have to have a long, rehearsed prayer. Talk to your Papa.

Listen. One of the ways God speaks is through His word. A verse may pop into your mind or a portion of a sermon. Don’t dismiss it. Ask God for wisdom, insight, and to speak to your heart. Then listen.

Pray God’s word. I’ve been doing this a very long time and was encouraged at a conference last weekend when both teachers encouraged praying God’s word. You can find scripture prayers at the top of this website. God’s word does not return void. It accomplishes all it’s sent out to do (Isaiah 55:11). Seeds of His word are spread to the world as you pray His word. They are watered by Him and bring forth a harvest.

Thank God. Have you ever had a relationship with an ungrateful person? They just continually have their hand out and complain to you with their problems. If so, you know it doesn’t feel good. God likes to be thanked. Yes He does. He is not fond of complaining. Yes, we can air our concerns to God…yet the Bible tells us to continually give thanks.

Intercession. Pray (ask God to help) for other believers all over the world. Talk to God about things outside your realm of influence. Talk to Him about everything.

Jesus told the disciples how to pray with the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6). It’s a great prayer. We are invited into relationship. My prayers may sound different than yours. One of my frequent prayers is, “God what are you saying? Who do you want to bless today? What’s on your heart ?” Another one is “Thank you Papa.”

May we seek God for He is glorious! He is outstanding. And He loves to be with His children. He adores you. He wants the best for you.

Papa God, may we know our inheritance in Christ and come boldly before you. Fill us to overflowing with your wisdom and give us an unquenchable desire for Jesus. May we steal away and grow to know you even more. In Jesus powerful name, amen.

Abiding (Intimacy with God Part IV)

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Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

John 15:4-5 (Amplified Bible).

Photo credit: Pinterest

Jesus gave us the key to knowing the Father, through relationship with Him (John 14:6). He gave us the key to eternal life, repentance and faith in Him. He gave us the key to victorious life from sin, the deposit of His Holy Spirit. He also gave us the key to fruitful living, abiding in Him.

One set of my life verses are found in John 15. Intimacy with God produces fruit. The remaining, union, connection, covenant, and relationship with God produces the fruit of His likeness and divine revelation.

Have you ever noticed that best friends and especially married couples will begin to know each other so well that they can finish the other’s sentences or they begin to act in similar ways.

Intimacy (abiding) produces oneness.

God created every human being with the desire to be known and unconditionally loved. He created humans to require intimacy. He’s the only One who can fulfill this need without any flaws, perversion, or creating codependency.

When we are disconnected (not abiding) in God we are relying on our own strength, power, intellect, wisdom, and resources. Or we are relying on someone else’s. Both will fail. Human wisdom is not perfect. Humans are not perfect-infallible. According to Romans 3:23 all (but Jesus) have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

I’ve heard many people state Christians don’t behave like Jesus. Is this because they aren’t saved? I can say the following.

Sanctification (becoming like Jesus) is a process. The Holy Spirit works in us to reveal righteousness, the person of Jesus, to teach, equip, comfort, love, and empower. It’s a journey. Just as a baby learns and grows over time, so do we. Spiritual growth is a process. We learn. We make mistakes. We grow. We rely on God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Christlikeness or bearing fruit results from connection to God. His Holy Spirit produces fruit. If you don’t have the Holy Spirit, there’s no Source to draw from. If you do have the Holy Spirit, you have the ability to quench or grieve Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19 and Ephesians 4:30).

God is in control in the sense nothing happens without Him knowing. He’s Sovereign. God did not make humans robots. He will not force us to obey Him, spend time with Him, love Him, love others, do what’s right, or anything else. We can say no to God. Adam and Eve are prime examples of our ability to choose what’s wrong. We can be believers who choose to sin. Yet those who choose to live independent of Him will face consequences for their actions.

Abiding is about relationship. Jesus repeated Himself: Abide in Me! Remain in Me! Stay connected to Me! We cannot abide or remain in someone we do not talk to unless it’s Sunday morning, or in times of trouble, or when we need something.

Relationships are built on quality time, communication, mutual investment, love, commitment, appreciation, and with God (doing what He asks). He said our love for Him is manifested through obedience.

Note: Many have used the word legalism to promote lawlessness. Legalism is trying to obtain righteousness or God’s love through rule keeping. Obedience to God is an act of love. We don’t obey to gain favor, love, or righteousness. Righteousness comes by faith. Favor and love are gifts from God. Obedience is a fruit of our love for Him.

So how do we abide?

1. Salvation. If you are not saved (in relationship with God through repentance and faith) you cannot abide in Him. No one comes to the Father unless they come through the Son.

2. Make God the highest priority. This doesn’t necessarily mean lock yourself on a room with a Bible 24/7. It means God is invited to be the central focus of life.

3. Cultivate relationship. Think of God as the closest family member. Talk to Him. Listen. Spend time with Him. Get to know Him. Rely on Him. Be with Him. Thank Him. Focus on Him. Worship (love, adore) Him. Ask Him to deepen your awareness of His Presence. Meditate on His word and goodness. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you.

I’m a list person, yet my relationship with God isn’t a formula. He’s my best friend. I wake up thinking about Him. I spend the day talking and listening to Him. I end the day with Him. He’s the closest to me. I take time to steal away with Him. In trouble, I look to Him. In good times, I look to Him. He has my attention and focus.

Sweet friends, there’s always more with God. God invites us into the secret places of His heart. He unites us to Himself. He doesn’t need us. He wants us. The Creator of the Universe and galaxies calls us by name. He wants to know us and be with us. He doesn’t need anything. Even the angels worship around His throne. Yet He delights in our love for Him.

May we grow in intimacy with God! He loves and adores us.

You’re continually in my thoughts and prayers.

In Jesus powerful name, amen.

Love in Christ,

Erin Lamb

Image Bearers (Intimacy with God Part III)

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…you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit,~Ephesians 2:19-22.

God invites us into relationship with Him. It is a covenant relationship. His connection with us is Spirit to spirit. He imparts Himself to us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It’s not simply a visitation with God on Sunday mornings. It’s intended to be a habitation.

What is a habitation? (Source Dictionary.com)

1. The act of inhabiting or the state of being inhabited.
2. A natural environment or locality.
3. A residence.

God abides in born again believers. The purpose of habitation is not simply to get us into heaven. It’s so we are transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit resides in us and continually points to truth, righteousness, and reveals Jesus. Day by day, moment by moment, He’s revealing the Son and we (if we are submitted to God) are being transformed into His likeness. This is a powerful work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot strive to be like God. Our attempts will fail.

Our outward expressions will always manifest our internal reality. Just as an apple tree continues to produce apples. You can chop off the fruit, but it will continue to produce fruit.

We are called to have the fruit of God’s Spirit and be His image bearers in the earth. It brings Him glory when we act like Him, that is the truest form of who we are. Genesis 1 states in His image God created them. We were created by Him, in His image, to represent Him.

How do we become like Jesus?

1. It starts with relationship (see previous post Intimacy with God Part II). If you’re not saved, you will not become like Jesus because the Holy Spirit is not in you. Human efforts are futile.

2. We abide.

I will talk more about abiding in the next post.

Jesus stated in John 15:5, “I am the Vine and you are the branches. Those who remain in Me will bear much fruit. Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

3. We submit.

Submission sounds horrible when we are self willed and do not understand how much God loves us.

Submission is beautiful when you realize the One you are saying yes to has your best interests at heart. God wants the best for us. So when He says, “Don’t go there. Don’t do this. This is a bad idea. You should go this way,” it’s because He can see all things and knows that the penalty for doing things sinful is death.

We do not become like Jesus by being rebellious, stubborn, disobedient, and living life our own way.

Jesus was obedient even to the cross. What if He decided He was not going to do the Father’s will? You and I would be in a bad place as He’s the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Lastly, God didn’t just save us so we could ride off into the sunset just as broken and messed up as He found us. He saved us out of love. He restores broken things and makes them brand new. He loves us as we are, yet out of that great love-never intends to leave us the way He found us. No parent would want their adult child wearing diapers. He loves us as is, yet the Holy Spirit works in us to grow us up in love, truth, maturity, and wisdom.

Our response to that great love is submission. We are transformed into our true identity.

As we become like Him in character, we become the greatest blessing to the world. We are salt and light. We reflect Him and bring His beautiful fragrance to the world. We will not impact the world by acting like the world. Our lives are meant to be beacons of light!

We reflect the nature, character, and goodness of God. We represent Him and heaven.

I want to stay connected to God and submitted to Him so when people encounter me, they encounter Him. I desire the pure essence of Jesus to be manifest in my life, for His glory.

Will you join me on this quest to know Him intimately?

I hope so!

Praying you are overwhelmed by His goodness, grace, love, and mercy! You are deeply loved.

Love,

Erin Lamb

Radical LOVE!

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“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another,”-Jesus.

Jesus never asks us to do something He will not empower us to do. He gave us the secret to loving like Him in John 15:5. He told us to abide in Him. If His Spirit is in us, we can love! God is love. These are some thoughts I’ve been pondering about love in God’s Body (followers of Jesus).

In fellowship and covenant (committed love)…

Who will you die to self for?

Who are you willing to continually sacrifice for?

Who are you willing to carry when they cannot carry themselves?

Who are you willing to support even if it’s not convenient for you?

Who are you willing to pray for until they get breakthrough?

Who are you willing to join your life to so they are blessed beyond measure because of the gifts God placed in you?

Who are you willing to continually love, even if they do not love you?

God invites us to enter into covenant with other believers. It’s not about saying I love you…it’s about living I love you. Loving when it’s hard. Loving in winter, spring, summer, and fall. We are called to love one another as Christ loves us. It’s not a love that is in word only. It’s a love that causes us to throw off our selfishness, pride, apathy, complacency, and passivity. Are we committed to this kind of love for one another? This kind of love lets the world know we belong to Jesus. Here’s an excerpt from the Bible on the friends who carried their friend to Jesus. This is the radical love that God is calling every believer to…Christ’s agape love.

The Help of Friends – Luke 5:17-20

One day Jesus was teaching the people. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there too. They had come from every town in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. The Lord (God) was giving Jesus the power to heal people. There was a man that was paralyzed (crippled). Some men carried him on a mat. The men tried to bring him and put him down before Jesus. But there were so many people that the men could not find a way to Jesus. So the men went up on the roof and lowered the crippled man down through a hole in the ceiling. They lowered the mat {into the room} so that the crippled man was lying before Jesus. Jesus saw that these men believed. Jesus said to the sick man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (ERV)

I went through a very hard season and I can say I spent most of it relying heavily on Jesus. I can say I am thankful for the people who loved me in the beginning, middle, and end of the storm. The people who didn’t make it about them, but enabled me to just get to Jesus. I am human just like everyone else, in dire need of Jesus. I need comfort just like everyone else in loss and pain. If you encounter one person who loves you unconditionally and is willing to sacrifice for you, you are richer than most of the people in the world.

Many people have associates. Many people have buddies. Many people have people willing to take from them. Many people have someone to hang out with and participate in activities. Not very many people have friends willing to risk their very lives to save them.

We don’t need more self-centered Christians. We need more willing to lay down their lives as Christ did for us. It’s hard. It hurts. It’s painful to love, especially when you aren’t loved in return. Yet love will always be the greatest commandment and the true marking of a disciple of Jesus.

What if every believer lived a life a love?

No person would feel disconnected, unsupported, alone, or unloved. Yet, this is not the reality. We have people in church every weekend who feel absolutely unloved and uncared for. We don’t need to play Christian games or say, “I love you,” if we don’t. We do need to ask God to fill us so we have something to offer others. We need to live the Gospel, not just know the Gospel. It’s our mission. It’s our purpose on earth-Love God, love people.

May we love, and love well…it’s a process and it’s a journey…yet it’s what we are called to in Christ. And it’s possible through Christ who gives us His strength. Those who abide in Him will bear much fruit (John 15:5). I pray earnestly that I can live what I know of Jesus, let Him live through me. So imperfect, yet so dependent on Him for everything.

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