We joyfully live because the Lord our God still constantly speaks to us through revelations by the Holy Spirit Who is resident in us.  His Word establishes us in our identity being the righteousness of God in Christ with right standing before Him 24/7 because of the Blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus.  His Word makes us secure in His great love bestowed upon us that we should be called His children, and yes, that is who we are in Him.  His Word confirms that He has given us the keys to bind and loose on earth with authority in His Name and heaven readily backs up with power and manifestations.  His Word reveals to us the vast inheritance that we have in Christ. 

No matter what words of opposition come our way, we are to be rooted and grounded on the truth of what He has spoken personally into the depths of our hearts that sets us free from the roars of the accuser of the brethren.

He meets and speaks to all of us according to the level of our faith, but are we willing to come boldly to the throne of grace, into His presence and attend to His Word, incline our ears to His sayings, not to let our eyes depart from His Word but keep them in the midst of our hearts?

God spoke to Abraham in a vision.  He spoke to Joseph in a dream.  He spoke to the wise men through a star.  He spoke to Mary through angel Gabriel.  He spoke to Moses face to face.  He spoke to the disciples through Jesus. 

“Throughout our history God has spoken to our ancestors by His prophets in many different ways.  The revelation He gave them was only a fragment at a time, building one truth upon another.  But to us living in these last days, God now speaks to us openly in the language of a Son, the appointed Heir of everything for through Him God created the panorama of all things and all time.  The Son is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendor, the exact expression of God’s true nature – His mirror image!”  (Hebrews 1:1-2 TPT)

 How is He speaking to you today?

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”  (Hebrews 13:8)   Jesus Who is the Word made flesh desires to be a part of our every step in this journey of faith that we have and longs to manifest Himself strong to us if and when we allow Him to.

It’s so amazing how He makes me so aware of His presence in the simplicity of life that everywhere I look, He unveils my eyes to see Him.  When I see light, I’d whisper to myself, “Jesus is the Light of the World.”  When I see beautiful trees, I’d say, “Jesus is the Tree of Life.”  When I see beautiful sunrises and sunsets, I’d say, “Nothing beats the work of Your hands, Lord.”  When I see sand in the sea, I’d say, “Your thoughts of me are like sand in the sea.  What are your thoughts of me right now?”  When I hear the birds chirping as I wake up, I’d say, “Ohhh there is no point to be anxious for if You take are of them, how much more You’ll take care of me.” 

Every opportunity we have, we are to thank and praise Him for He is always moving in our midst, and this shifts our focus from the challenges of life that tries to contain us to acknowledging Him Who always causes us to triumph and enlarges the reservoir of our hearts to receive more of Him and from Him.

“Thanks be to God, Who leads me on from place to place in the train of His triumph to celebrate His victory over the enemies of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:14  Conybeare Translation)

As I was brushing my teeth one morning, the word “CROSS” came up from my innermost being, then, I paid attention to what was next. 

The strong impression came and said, “Nothing that is of the enemy can CROSS where Blood of Jesus was shed in your life.”  Hmmm … “the curses of the law (sickness and disease, lack and poverty and separation from God) from which you were redeemed from can no longer CROSS to the other side as you being a new creation in Christ, unless you allow it.”

It is indeed our Father’s will for us to live being a “new creations” in Him, “for if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 AMPC). 

The old is gone and the new has come.  We are not to go back to CROSS and revisit what was in the past that did not give glory to God.  We remember HIM as our Lord and Savior when He pulled us out from the miry clay as a monumental testimony that always brings peace and joy to our hearts.  Other than that, let the door be and stay closed because all our iniquities had been blotted out by the Blood of the Lamb of God.  When we got justified by His resurrection, you and I became NEW, just as if we have not sinned nor fall short of His glory.  We have been saved by grace through faith, never by our works lest we boast.

I may have heard and read this countless times, but it hits differently and extensively each time.  His Word is so alive that every time He speaks, He refreshes me as my roots grow deeper to be richly nourished from that level where the water of His Word flows.

I remembered Paul who once was Saul.  After having consented to persecute believers, how was he able to CROSS into being a new creation in Christ, preached the good news daringly, fearlessly and courageously?

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but ONE THING I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:12-14)

None of the past could CROSS and haunt him because the revelation of Jesus in His life was so remarkably marked by His powerful encounter with His Savior on the road to Damascus. That eventually made him say and consider everything else as dung or rubbish compared to his in depth knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just like when we drive a car and constantly focus on the rearview mirror instead of keeping our eyes on the road ahead, it not only slows us down or might even bring us to a stop, but it also makes us more vulnerable to potential dangers. Thus, we keep our eyes on Jesus Who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. It is He Who is The Way, The Truth and The Life and when we are in the journey with Him and IN HIM, there is no turning back.

God said, He forgives and remembers our iniquities NO MORE (Hebrews 8:12).  What right do we have to recall?  Instead, Jesus said, Put ME in remembrance, and this we should do.

As new creations, He breathed into us the Holy Spirit Who knows all things and reveals them to us.  Once revealed, we then come to acknowledge and opt to be willing to obey.  Unless we are in full agreement to His Word, be willing and obey, it is impossible for us to walk with Him, “for how can two walk together unless they have agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

Hmmm … having CROSSED to the other side, us being IN CHRIST seated at the right hand of the Father and Him dwelling in us, CHRIST IN US the hope of glory, made us of one mind, heart and spirit, and this faith adventure never ceases to increase from glory to glory, from strength to strength when we choose to.

Truly, the Word of God is living and powerful and cannot be regarded as stale.  It is our Living Bread that is much more in comparison to a freshly baked bread with an irresistible aroma with a soft delectable texture and the effect in our lives is incomprehensible, full of glory, full of grace and truth; and it is never-ending.

When something is living, it is constantly and consistently moving, touching, growing, speaking, changing etc.  Only when something is dead, every life form of it ceases.  Because Jesus is alive and we are alive in Him, His Word is our living hope, with a joyful anticipation and a confident expectation of an unceasing and uninterrupted fellowship with Him in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us.  As we press on to hunger and thirst for more of Him, new and fresh revelations of His Living Word fill us.  They renew our minds, change our perspective, ignite our hearts to a new level and transform our lives. Thus, it indeed saddens me when I hear people say, “Oh I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover and that’s it.”  I may have thought that way in the past, but praise God, He redeemed me from such mindset and the new me has come and made me highly regard His Word as my living daily bread, my utmost daily necessity.

“My son, pay attention to all the words I am telling you.
    Lean in closer so you may hear all I say.
Keep them before you; meditate on them;
    set them safely in your heart.
For those who discover them, they are life.
    They bring wholeness and healing to their bodies.”  (Proverbs 4:20-22 Voice)

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You that You always long to fellowship with us just as in the Garden of Eden when You walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your shed blood that made it possible for us to have this seamless relationship and fellowship.  Thank You that we who are blameless and justified in You can spend our days under Your care at all times for You care for us watchfully and affectionately.  Thank You that You made us CROSS to the other side, from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Your marvelous light, without turning back.  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for always giving us a fresh and new revelation of the inheritance that we have in Christ that we may walk in them, not by might or by power, but by Your leading.  Amen!

Photo Credits: Melai Felicidario; Balesin, PhP