Everyday we strive to walk together towards God. Our new goal is to encourage other couples to do the same. We have had this passion for couples ministry for years and God has opened up various doors including this blog library of cataloged life moments.
You reap what you sow. What you do comes back to you whether that is good or bad. But things are changing as the end times approach. Ministries are being birthed at an alarming rate. There is a famine for the truth when false teachers and prophets are so prevalent. No sooner than you can pray, God is answering those prayers!
Behold, the days come,” saith the Lord, “that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. Amos 9:13
There is coming a time when the reaper overtakes the sower. The plow breaks up the ground to prepare it for seed. The sower plants it in the ground. He will be faster than the person gathering the harvest.
One plants, one waters, but God gives the increase. The Bible tells us that the reapers are the angels. These are not "grim reapers" as portrayed in the movies, but reapers of the souls of those who are being gathered out of this world. When you enter seed in good ground, someone is blessed. The bible says that the one who gathers will overtake the interceders (enter-seeders). God is moving faster than you can pray.
Do not be intimidated by young or new ministries and baby christians who are moving faster than you. It is a sign of the times. Days are shorter. Harvest time is near. God is moving quickly.
There will be two working in the fields, one will be taken and the other one left. (Matthew 24:20) Ready or not, the King is coming!
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of theirFather. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:36-43
When people refer to being inspired, it is often how they describe a feeling that motivates them to action. A word, poem, picture or nature are thought of as being inspirational. They cause us to be creative and give us big ideas. People often see inspirational people and think, "If they can do it, so can I"! People who inspire others don't often seek to be inspirational, they just are!
The Word of God tells us that it (the Bible) was inspired by the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16). Men were impressed by God Himself to pen the Holy scriptures that we call the Bible today. It is God-breathed, or inspired. Well, while meditating on this, the Lord showed me the difference between inspiration and expiration. To inspire means to breath IN while to expire means to breath OUT. There is a regular, passive exchange happening in our bodies at all times. We don't think about breathing, we just do! It happens as a part of the respiratory cycle.
Every time we expire, we are closer to death. When we inspire, we are revived and are closer to life. In the christian life, while in these mortal bodies, we are always in this in-between state.
Paul says it like this:
Phillipians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Jesus Himself became death for us. He took the death punishment for our sins so that we may be made alive again. The Holy Spirit is our life, the God who dwells within us, to continually inspire us to live holy lives. What comes out is what went in!
When we receive Christ's gift of salvation into our lives by faith we die to our fleshly nature. We expire to sin and old habits and become inspired by the Holy Spirit who dwells within the believer. We are saved by grace through faith in order to be a living testimony for others to see so that they too may become inspired to follow Jesus Christ.
Let me explain.
The Bible is divided into an Old Testament and a New Testament. The word testament itself refers to a "last will and testament" of someone who is expired, or deceased. It does not go into effect until the death of the Testator (the one who enforces it).
Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
So, our testimonies of how the Lord inspires us to live holy is not in effect until we have died to the flesh nature and have been inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself! We are living testimonies! To speak from a dead position is to have a testimony, to speak from a living position is prophecy (ok, too deep...let's back up). When we speak, we are letting out what was put in which is the Holy Spirit. God has spoken through his people and He continues to do so (Matthew10:20). We are channels for the Spirit of God. Now don't get all spooky on me. We are used of God. His people are not mediums, but are completely sold out to the One mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ! (I Timothy 2:5)
When you share your testimony with others, you are being a witness of God's resurrection power! When you disciple others, you show them how to breath and live in the Spirit. Our lives are an open book. (2 Corinthians 3:1-3) You see, this environment is not conductive to spiritual beings, namely, those of us who have been born again. We do not live in a Godly atmosphere. That is why the christian life is a struggle. The Holy Spirit is a "down payment of our inheritance" as children of God.
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
We have inherited just the first part of the Will of God people. That is why these old bodies have to go! To die is GAIN - eternal life in new bodies. No more cycles of inspiration and expiration will be needed in that heavenly paradise.
But.......
While we are here on this earth, in these bodies, we need to learn to breathe in the Holy Spirit of God day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. It is the only way to survive. Our purpose is to accomplish the mission for which we were sent - winning souls, making disciples of Jesus Christ and establishing the Kingdom of our Great God one breath at a time. Have you been inspired yet? I'd love to hear about it!
Do you remember the little girl Rudy Huxtable from the Cosby Show, or was it her cousin Olivia? In one episode, she emphatically states "I KNOW my body" referring to understanding its function as if she were grown. This series spins from off of that memory.
In the Body of Christ, we have many members, functions and opportunities to serve and be served by one another. Being a nurse, I have a unique perspective on the body - inside and out. I have seen bodies in great shape and in poor health alike. In all of the things that I have learned about the body, one thing remains the same. It is the same for all of us. Although many things vary from eye color to muscle tone, skin color to number of limbs, we all use our bodies in the same way, for the same purposes mostly.
Meditating on the Body of Christ has led me to the same conclusions. We have one head, Jesus Christ. We are varied in our use and function in the body itself. We can build others parts while others never move. Some parts need to be covered while others are not. Some parts of the body we care greatly for whereas others, we don't really know exist.
Now let's think about the Church. We are one body, one building. We are joined to Christ as His bride and are still ONE body as spouses should be. Knowing this, how we function together is paramount to our survival, our growth and our movement. Also, knowing how we operate in dysfunction is equally crucial because as we all know, some body parts are very good at repairing themselves, whereas others need much more help and support.
The body grows from infancy to adulthood and then stops and reverses to a dead state. This is where our physical and spiritual bodies differ. Similarities stop here. The spiritual body of Christ is built to be lifelong and then eternal.
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1
In this next series "I Know My Body", I will be exploring the Body of Christ through the eyes of a nurse. I believe that we should all be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the way that it is revealed to us by God. Preachers are really just other members of the body who share what they have learned with the other parts. I am thrilled to share what God is showing me.
