Our Inheritance

 Happy Sunday!

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just." (Proverbs 13:22 KJV).  

Did you know you are entitled to an inheritance? No, not only from your parents or your favorite uncle, but from God the Father. Galatians 3:14 says, "This is what God had in mind all along: the BLESSING He gave to Abraham might extend to all nations through the Anointed One, Jesus; and we are the beneficiaries of this promise of the Spirit that comes only through Faith."(Voice).  Just being entitled to the inheritance does not mean you will automatically enjoy it or receive it.  In order to lay hold on the promises of God we must have Faith.  Sounds simple enough.  Romans 1:17 says, "God’s approval is revealed in this Good News. This approval begins and ends with faith as Scripture says, “The person who has God’s approval will live by faith.” (God's Word Translation).  Did you see that?  Those justified by God shall live by Faith.  

I bet you're thinking, aren't we ALL living by faith?  If we don't live by Faith, what are we living by? Good question!  If we aren't living by Faith, Jesus said we are..."faithless and perverse".(Luke 9:41 NKJV).  OUCH!  Perverse?  The definition of perverse is showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences.  1 Corinthians 6:9-10 describes some of the behaviors that can keep us from receiving our inheritance, "Don’t you know that wicked people won’t INHERIT God’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will NOT inherit God’s kingdom."(God's Word Translation)".

Thankfully, and prayerfully you are not included in the description of perversion or the acts that it involves!  That clears the path for you to get everything God has in store for you.   So, what was the Blessing of Abraham?  Genesis 12:2-3 tells us exactly what the Blessing of Abraham is.  It says, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves]."(Amplified).  That's a wonderful Blessing!  Now just in case you are tempted to take this verse lightly, think about this...the three major religions in the world recognize Abraham as their father!  Christians, Jews, and Muslims all respect and honor Abraham.

OK, we can move forward now!  We believe the Blessing is real!  We believe that we are eligible to receive the Inheritance because of what Jesus did.  Now, how can we get the Blessing to work in our lives?  FAITH!  Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen."(Voice).  How do we get more Faith?  Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."(KJV).  Another translation says it like this, "The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to." (Message).

Listening to the Word, Love and Prayers, Cynthia

New Year, New Me!

 Happy Sunday!

"He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.  So, we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a NEW PERSON. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:15-17 NLT).

You've likely heard the catch phrase, "New Year, New Me".  To live up to this concept, we must change. Change is inevitable, but we usually don't like to do it.   Nina Simone sang, "Everything Must Change; nothing remains the same..." and Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results". We are our biggest problem!  It's hard to admit, but it's true.  It's so much easier to play the blame game!  It's easy to blame our parents, our community, our pastor, and the "Man".  

Michael Jackson sang, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways, And no message could have been any clearer, If you wanna make the world a better place, Take a look at yourself and then make a change".  Such prophetic lyrics!  Change has to begin within each of us.  As we listen to God and obey his Word we change.  

In Luke 17:20-21,  Jesus was being grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come.  He answered, "The kingdom of God doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, 'Look here!" or, "There it is!  And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you." (Message Translation).   With Jesus we have everything we need to change and to succeed.  2 Peter 1:3 says, "He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life."(NLT).  

In Acts 1:7-8, Jesus told the disciples, "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 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.”(NLT).
 
Paul wrote to the Romans, " I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?  The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different." (Romans 7:24-28 Message).  When we surrender to God, he adds his "Super" to our "natural" and empowers and anoints us to change for the better.  As we change individually, the church changes corporately, and the world will change completely.

Praying that you have a week full of positive metamorphosis - A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function!

Love and prayers, Cynthia

RSVP

Happy Sunday!

This is a repost from 2021, it made me smile when I read it again!  Enjoy!

"And the seventy returned again with JOY, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through THY NAME.  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and NOTHING shall by any means HURT you.  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather REJOICE, because your names are WRITTEN in heaven."(Mark 10:17-20 KJV).

My cousin Sonya and I still chuckle about the guest list at her wedding reception.  I was instructed to only allow those to enter that were on the list.  How was I to know that her boss did not RSVP?  I was not letting him in!  Somehow, he got a hold of the Bride, or maybe she saw him about to be kicked out to the venue. LOL!  If he were to see me today, he'd likely recall that interaction.  Jesus sent out 70 additional disciples and gave them clear instructions too.  "When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, HEAL anyone who is sick, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!"(Luke 10:9 Message).  They were amazed at the power and authority they had when using the name of Jesus.  We are also given the authority to use that Name.

BUT Jesus told them not to rejoice over demons being cast out out, and people being healed, but to rejoice that their names were written in Heaven.  Rejoice that you have an RSVP.  Cartoons always portray St. Peter at the pearly gates with the book looking for your name.  It may be funny, but it's not accurate.  Numerous testimonies of those that have died and come back to life, tell of either going up or down.  Not going up, then down.  GOD knows those that are His.  Jesus even told the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar.  Their eternal destination was determined before the event. (Luke 16:20-25).

Have you RSVP'd?  Is your name written in Heaven?  Romans 10:8-11 says, "It is the secret of faith, which is the burden of our preaching, and it says, in effect, “If you openly admit by your own mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and if you believe in your own heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” For it is believing in the heart that makes a man righteous before God, and it is stating his belief by his own mouth that confirms his salvation. And the scripture says: ‘Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame’."(Phillips).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Ask for Help!

Happy Sunday!

Happy New Year!

Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in NEWNESS of life."(KJV).  Don't miss this!  Not just on New Year's Day, but every day we are to walk in newness of life.    

Every day we have another chance.  One minister compared it to being resurrected every morning. Think about it.  You may not remember when you fell asleep, you may not remember if you dreamed...and you have no idea what happened during the time you slept.  But miraculously, you were awakened.  Lamentations 3:22-13 says, "We are still ALIVE because the Lord’s faithful LOVE never ends.  Every morning, he shows it in NEW ways!  You are so very true and loyal!"(Easy-to-Read Version).  

Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. God washed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us NEW birth and a fresh beginning."(CEV).  Isn't that what we all want?  A fresh new beginning?  A chance to start again? A new lease on life?  We can’t make on our own!  We must have the Power of the Spirit of God!  We need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and daily filled with the Holy Spirit.  We must have the power, wisdom, and guidance of the Holy Spirit to make the most of this new life, and new year.  We can lean on, trust in, and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us.

This brought to mind an old familiar song, one of my mother's favorites.  It's entitled, "Yield Not to Temptation".  The chorus says, "Ask the Savior to HELP you, Comfort, Strengthen, and Keep you; He is willing to aid you, He will CARRY you through".  ADMIT that you don't know it all, and ask the One who does.

Love and prayers, Cynthia