It is either one way or the other. What will it be? It is your choice. It is a simple “either or.” What am I talking about?
When you take all the shrouds away, when you get down to the basics, when you take away all the hype and talk, it comes down to “either or.” Your choice in life is flesh or spirit. That is it! You live your life according to the flesh or by the spirit. “Either or.” They both have consequences. Obviously living by the flesh comes more naturally, but living by the spirit has far more benefits. Let’s see what God’s Word has to say:
Romans 8:5-9:
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
We have choices, but realizing the truth of God’s Word, there is one obvious choice that makes the most sense.
I Corinthians 2:14:
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
James 1:23:
For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man studying his natural face in a mirror.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the open door to living the spiritual life. Our belief in Him and that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9) places us on the spiritual path. Daily we need to make the right decisions to walk by the spirit. Praise the Lord our “either or” is no more. We have one choice that guarantees victory! We are born again, filled with the gift of holy spirit for ever more!
Agape,
Bob
Bob
LESSONS FROM JOB
Job sure had a challenging life, but in the end he experienced twice as much of God’s blessings.
How could he take on the catastrophes he experienced and still come out having more?
We can learn from his experiences, so we can walk in the blessings of God.
Here are key lessons we can learn from Job:
Job teaches us to stay faithful to our God. When we get outside of ourselves and minister to others, we realized God’s blessings. Job also held on to his righteousness. Notice Job’s declaration in God’s Word on these matters.
Job 23:11 & 12:
My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Job 27:6:
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
As born again ones, we are favored in God’s eyes. We are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10 ISV). Let’s feed constantly on the Word of God. Profess our righteousness, because we have His. We too can come out on top, regardless what challenges we face.
Agape,
Bob
A farmer after planting his seeds on one day does not return the following day and pick the harvest. It takes time. There is seed time and there is harvest time.
With the things of God, it can take some time. Our “want it now “culture seems hard pressed to recognize that when you pray for something, it may not come immediately.
Now I know some of the things of God happen right away, like the new birth when you confess Romans 10:9 or when you speak in tongues, the words are there every time right away.
What I am talking about in this Bless Net is situations in our lives that need intervention of some kind to fix them. I believe, if you have a genuine need and you pray to the Father about it, He will answer it. It might not be on our time we feel it should happen, but God’s time works every time.
I have a bothersome sliver or something in the tip of my finger. In the last two weeks my body, designed by our Creator, has been working on pushing it out. First, it formed a small bump, then a larger bump with toughen skin. Soon it will work itself out. That is how God designed our bodies to heal themselves.
When we engage our Heavenly Father in a matter that is uncomfortable, He will take care of it. Maybe not on our time, but in His time.
Our prayer team has seen this happen over and over again. Prayers will come in and sometimes they are answered soon, other times it has taken some time. But they do get answered. A couple desiring a baby stayed persistent in prayer and expectation. It took over two years, but it did happen when all other means were without results.
When you pray, give it time. Stay the course until you receive your answer. God is faithful Who promised.
Hebrews 6:12: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience, inherit the promises.
Faith and patience are the power twins. Together they will get results every time.
Agape,
Bob
Our world is not an easy place to live in. The influences bombarding our minds are immense.
Thankfully with God’s Word prevailing in our life, we can be “right on” in life. Recently a believer shared his understanding of who he really is. Here is what he said:
First, now that I know that I know who I am in Christ; a righteously blessed, victorious, joint-heir, courageously conquering, triumph expecting, possessor of all spiritual blessings, gifted with a perfect spirit, equipped for EVERY good work, child not servant, tongue speaking, healing expecting, God's Word echoing, God's voice listening, mountain moving, life-confessing saint of the Most High God!
Now this is an amazing perspective of who we are in Christ. What is really astounding is that it is “right on!” It is true. We need to see ourselves as our Heavenly Father sees us.
Our life is too short living according to the world’s wishes. Tap into God’s Word and be the man or woman God has called all of us to be!
Galatians 5:1:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
Agape,
Bob
What an amazing event touched my heart recently. God sure likes to bless us, even when we are not asking for it.
I pulled up to a major traffic intercession at the light. It contained five lanes. As I pulled up to the car in front of me and stopped, I looked right and there was Barney. I was so blessed to see him. He smiled and waved and then pointed across to my left, and lo and behold there was Al! Two mighty men of God were on either side. Now I really got excited. What a blessing plus!
Psalm 86:10: For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
It confirmed in my heart the endearing connection our Heavenly Father has with us.
1John 5:20: And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Why did it happen? I do not believe this was some co-incident. I wonder if God just gets a kick out of blessing us. I know it is kind of neat to surprise my kids in an unexpected way, but God surpassed Himself with this loving gesture.
Psalm 77:14: Thou art the God that doest wonders: …
We will grow in our believing when we accept the spiritual realities over the fleshly stuff.
When the Father had the three of us arrive at a busy signal light intersection to the point we came exactly side by side, it blew our hearts!
Psalm 57:2b: ….unto God that performeth all things for me.
What did I learn from this? I know that my Father is working to bless me all the time. Look for it. Expect it. Believe in it. He is so awesome!
Psalm 52:9: I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
Agape,
Bob
Psalm 62:5: My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.