Eternal life is not just a realm or level of life to earn or achieve. Eternal life is the life of God Himself. This life can only be found in His Son. He who has the Son has this life. He who does not have the Son does not have life.

Instead of trying to find peace in what you do not yet know, surrender the hunger to say you must know and rest in the Arms of Him who knows all things. Then you will know the peace that passes all understanding.

Without the Holy Spirit's testimony of who Jesus is, we are stuck with man's testimony. The Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus is the Christ; God with us. Man testifies that Jesus is just another great teacher in the pages of history.

Obedience to His commands is not the proof that we love Him, as if we have to strive to prove it so. Obedience to His commands is the byproduct of loving Him, which stems from living in intimacy with Him.

When God saw that we could not make it on our own, He did not stand back and judge us for not making it, rather, He came forth, became human, walked in our shoes, so that through Him we CAN make it in His loving Arms.

God is Spirit. Yet God came to us in the flesh, Jesus. He was Spirit clothed with humanity, and still is. This is a profound mystery to human reasoning that can only be revealed by the Spirit of Truth; the Holy Spirit. Faith is the key.

Attempting to be LIKE Jesus through inspiration will always fall short. Being empowered through abiding IN Jesus will always overcome. Inspiration might motivate, but empowerment accomplishes.

If we are still living for this world, living from earth to Heaven, we are still living as victims of this world. If we are living by faith, from Heaven to earth, we are living victoriously over this world in Him who has overcome the world.

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. (1Jn 5:4) This does not mean necessarily to "conquer" the world, but instead not to be "mastered" by this world as if you were still living for it and its ways. You are in the world, but not of it.

If we are attempting to obey all of the other commands without obeying His foremost command; to love, we become legalistic and end up holding those commands over other's heads to justify our own failure in obeying them.

If we find that obeying His commands are burdensome, chances are that we are neglecting His first and foremost command; to love Him and love people. Obeying His foremost command is the key to obeying the rest.

A surrendered heart becomes a heart that He can fill. The heart that He fills, in turn, becomes a heart that overflows unto the filling of others through Him who fills us up to overflowing. Be a river of hope for others today!

We cannot truly say that we love God the Father if we love not God the Son. For God the Son IS God the Father made manifest in human likeness. "Anyone who has seen Me, has seen the Father".

(John 14:8-10)

It is when we love God with the love that He has lavished upon us, that we can love others with that same lavished love; and in turn lavish it upon others. In this, His love is made complete. Freely we have received, freely we shall give.

Hate has often been describing as "loving less". If this is the case, we cannot say that we love God whom we cannot see, yet "love less" with opinion and partiality, those whom we CAN see. Our love for God is reflected in how we love others.

It is when we begin to grasp God's deep love for us individually that we can begin to love ourselves with HIS love, not our own temperamental love. It is then that we can truly "love others just as we love ourselves"... with His love.

There are doors that we open that invite fear to enter in. Such doors are worry, anxiousness, uncertainty, and such. The one and only remedy to shut these doors is to deeply embrace God's all consuming love for each of us.

When we fear, we fear something happening to us that is outside of our control, and outside of God's perfect love and ever-present nature; as if He has limited or no control. Fear fades upon the realization of God's unfailing love.

We are a reflection of Jesus in this world; not by religious rules that are kept by us, but by His perfect love that is shown through us. As for the day of judgment we need not fear, for His perfect love casts out all fear.

God's love cannot be made complete through religion. For religion includes based upon adherence to given rules. God's love embraces based upon each person being fearfully and wonderfully made by His Hand.

If we love ourselves with our own interpretation of love, it will manifest as selfishness. If we love ourselves with God's love for us, it will manifest as selflessness. The former hoards while the latter gives away.

We can truly rely on God's love. Why? His love never fails, even if and when we do. His love never turns away even if we choose to walk away. His perfect love casts out all fear in the times we are afraid. His love NEVER fails.

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God." (1 John 4:15) This phrase is just a mental agreement for those who live apart from Him. For those who live IN Him, it is a life altering conviction.

Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God". Such a statement cannot be declared from human reasoning. It can only be revealed by "Our Father in Heaven". It cannot be "figured out", it is only revealed. Same for us.

We can possess the knowledge that He lives in us, or we can deeply know that He lives in us. The difference? The degree to which we have come to know, and walk intimately with, the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

And how is God's love made complete IN us? God's love can never be made complete by keeping it to ourselves. God's love is made complete IN us only as it is poured out THROUGH us. Then, it is made complete.

For this world to truly see God, they must see His love; not religion, not verbalized belief systems, not popular public opinions. God has poured out His love in our hearts by His Spirit. Speak from the heart's overflow.

Do you desire to truly love others the way that God loves them? Then step out of the way and allow Him to love others through you. For He must first live fully within you in order to love fully through you. Then YOU will truly know His love.

The most accurate way to describe love is not that we love God, but that God loves us. His love is not kept, it is lavished. His love was lavished upon us in the form of His Son; so that through Him we are rescued from a loveless life.

Let not the Holy Spirit be a mystery to you any longer. For He IS the Spirit of Truth. Only He can give you the discernment you need to distinguish between the spirit of falsehood and the Spirit of Truth, of which He is.

Let us not try to be just an example of God's love; let us be a reflection of His love. An example is when one intellectually knows that God is love and attempts to copy it. A reflection is the result of one who walks closely with Him.

If we truly know God, and remain deeply in Him, we will come to know His Heart. As we do, we will reflect His Heart of love towards others. If we attempt to do so on our own, we will misrepresent His Heart as a distant religious option.

The only way to recognize the spirit of falsehood is to remain deeply embedded in the Truth. Jesus is the Truth. Be careful, though, not to launch out in anger towards them; for God loves them, and you were once there.

There is a big difference between hearing and listening. One can hear something without it affecting or changing the heart. Yet when one truly listens, the heart becomes open to receive what is being spoken.

If we find ourselves being overcome by that which we should be overcoming, we best evaluate whether we have moved away from Him who annoints us to overcome. If we move towards this world, we will be overcome by this world.

Being that our lives are now hidden with Christ in God, we live from Him who we live within. If we live from Him, we are overcomers through Him. If we do not continue to live from Him, we will cease to be overcomers through Him.

Jesus asked Peter: "Who do you say that I am?" He asks us the same today. What is our answer? This is very important, for Jesus also said, "If you do not believe that I Am, the one I claim to be, you will die in your sins". (Jn 8:24)

Jesus. He is Emanuel. God with us. He is the Word of God. He IS God. God became a man so He could fulfill the Law that we failed at, died the death that we deserved, and rose again so that, through Him we can be born again.

The kingdom of darkness will always attempt to keep believers "in the dark" when it comes to the Person of the Holy Spirit. Why? The Holy Spirit is the only One who can  empower us to discern what is from God and what is not.

Spiritual discernment can only come about by spiritual wisdom, not human intellect. Spiritual wisdom can only be found in the Spirit of Truth; the Holy Spirit. Without Him, we can easily fall for the latest "revelation".

He has given us His Holy Spirit who empowers our obedience. Passion and drive may run dry, but His Spirit is a fountain that never runs dry. Through His Spirit, our obedience is pure, true, and empowered.

An outward attempt at obeying His commands in duty stems from not truly knowing the Heart of the Commander. An inward drive that motivates obedience with passion stems from deeply knowing the Heart of the Commander.

More than knowing His commands, we must come to know the Heart of Him who has commanded. If we do not know His Heart, His commands with be intrusive. If we know His Heart, they will be a refreshing welcome.

A heart that is in deep relationship with God becomes filled with His desires; for His desires is what our hearts were created to be filled with. It is then that we truly delight ourselves in Him, and He gives us those desires within our hearts.

Living in opposition to the One who has created our hearts, causes the heart to become cold, self-centered and hard. Living in union with the One who created our hearts, causes the heart to become soft, selfless and pure.

If we belong to Jesus, we belong to the Truth, for He IS the Truth. So you ask, "What IS truth?" The Truth is a Person. Our lives will reflect to whom we truly belong to. There is a lost world out there that needs to see HIM, not just me.

Is it really true love when it is just spoken? Is it not true love when it is given in action? Does Scripture say, "God so loved the world that He SAID" or "God so loved the world that He GAVE"? Love others until they ask you why.

At times, when TRUE love is being made manifest as we pour out our lives for others, we FEEL nothing. That's ok. True love is being poured forth, despite the feeling. Many pass up opportunities to truly love, by waiting for a feeling.

Love doesn't just motivate the giving. Love IS the giving. Love is not a rise in emotion to wait for so that one can give or do something. Love IS the doing something or giving something. Love doesn't just feel, love is a verb. Love does.

Hatred is self-focued and seeks revenge and wishes the worst upon those who may have hurt them. Eternal Life is God-focused and prays for those who may have hurt them. Hatred and Eternal Life cannot coexist.

If we want our hearts to be free from hatred, let us keep our hearts clean from unforgiveness, offense, anger, and bitterness. For such things, if not checked, evolve into hatred. Per Scripture, hatred is equated to murder. Be wise.

If we claim that we have passed from death to new life, yet do not love others, our claim is false. For the new life is the Eternal Life of God Himself. God IS love. The evidence of New Life in us is the love that pours forth through us.

God has imprinted His image upon the hearts of all of mankind. When mankind chooses his own way, there is a gnawing dissatisfaction within the heart. This can cause hatred for those who have chosen to live by the original imprint.

God's love is lavished upon us, not earned by us. Now, love others just as He loves you. For love covers a multitude of sins. Remember, the love that He commands us to love with is a love that only He can give. Ask and it shall be given to you.

If God is in us, He will love through us. Then we will love others with HIS love, not our own temporal love. If we hold on to unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, and offense, we stifle His love and misrepresent His love to others.

Self-centeredness is the greatest tool of the devil; for it blinds us to the eternal as we focus on the temporary, it blinds us to the needs of others as we focus on ourselves, it blinds to a Heavenly focus by keeping an earthly focus.

When we are born again, our lives will reflect the Eternal Life that we have been born into. If it relects otherwise, we are no longer living that Life. The key? Not striving to do more, but a deeper surrender to the One who IS Eternal Life.

We were all created in the image of God. The primary work of the devil is to destroy that image by keeping us deceived into thinking that we have no need of God. The devil is no friend of yours. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil.

True success isn't about what you accomplish - it's about who you become in the process of showing up.

We do not have a choice regarding the sinful state we have been born into. But we DO have a choice whether or not to give our lives to Jesus who has overcome sin and offers us eternal life. Let this be the year that you make that choice.

A deliberate life of sin reflects a partnership with him who has been sinning since the beginning. A life of righteousness is a reflection of a partnership with Him who has overcome sin and has given us HIS righteousness.

There are times that we fall short. Yet, if we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive us because of His sacrifice for us. If we deliberately live in sin, no sacrifice for sin is left. God knows the heart and the sees motive of the heart.

Jesus took ALL of our sins and bore them in His own Body. Yet, they are no longer in Him because His Blood has washed away ALL sin. That same Blood has washed away ALL our sins, here and now, when we give our lives to Him.

Jesus didn't just "say" that He forgave us of our sins and took them away as if at a distance. No. He actually "appeared" to do so. He "appeared" to become like us, physically bare our sins and pay our price with His own Blood.

The Law of the Lord is perfect and changes not. It is written upon our hearts; for the Giver of the Law is also the Creator of the hearts upon which it is written. Thus, explains the unrest and strife for those who walk and live in opposition to it.

Someday, we shall see Him as He is. On that day, those who are like Him will behold Him as He is. Those who are not like Him will turn away in shame, as they see what they could have been. Today is STILL the day of salvation.

When we ask the Lord to be patient with us, let us not ask Him to just tolerate who we currently are, but to change us into who He desires us to be. He loves you the way you currently are, but He loves you too much to keep you that way.

The closer we walk with Him, the more we become like Him; for we begin to see Him as He really is. We were originally created in His image. Through Jesus, we can be restored back to our original identity; His image in us.

If we claim that Jesus is our King, do we live in submission to His Kingdom, or are we still living in allegiance to the kingdoms of this world? The kingdom that we live for each day will reflect who the king of our lives is every day.

As Christians, our mission is not to just survive in this world while waiting to get to Heaven. Our mission is to thrive in this world while bringing Heaven to earth. The Kingdom of God does not mesh with this world, it impacts it.

If you are born again, you are not just "a sinner saved by grace", you are a CHILD of God. There IS truth in the former statement, but you're still identifying yourself as "a sinner". The old has GONE, the new has come. You are His CHILD.

In the beginning, we were created in His love as His creations. In the fall, we walked away from His love. But His love for us never changed. For in His love for us He gave His only Son so that, through Him, we can now become His children.

True righteousness stems from God and is based solely upon His Word. False righteousness appears to be virtuous, yet is based upon humanistic agenda. The former is God-centered, the latter is man-centered.

For some, the second coming of the Lord will be a glorious union with Someone they have known and loved deeply. For others it will be a shock, like a thief in the night, with Someone they have never cared to know and love.

The Anointing, which is the Holy Spirit, gives us insight into what is real truth and what is counterfeit. Human reasoning and worldly logic comes up drastically short of achieving such a discernment. The Holy Spirit is not an option.

The work of the Holy Spirit to teach us all things is not meant to isolate us from good teaching, but to give us discernment into the teaching. His Annointing is for deep discernment, not vocalized criticism. Be wise.

There are many "gospels" out there that are disguising themselves as the truth. The Holy Spirit is key. You cannot, yourself, discern what is truth or what is not. If it were so, He would not have sent the Spirit of Truth to guide us into all Truth.

Eternal Life is in the Son. To remain in Eternal Life, we must remain in the Son. If we depart from the Son, we depart from Eternal Life. Eternal Life is not a realm to abide in. Eternal Life is a Person to embrace and remain in.

Let us never forget when we first came to Jesus and surrendered our lives to Him; when new Life first began. This event is not one to mature out of, but to build upon. Let it always be dear to your heart and remain in you.

If we think we can come to the Father without first coming to the Son, we have disregarded the high cost that the Son has paid to make us able and worthy to come before the Father. For without what the Son has done, we are..... undone.

Without knowing the Son, we cannot truly know the Father. For the Father has made Himself known ONLY through the Son. Only through the Son can we come to the Father. Without the Son, we make a god in our own image.

If we believe that Jesus is whom He says He is, that He is the whole Truth and nothing but THE Truth, those who deny Jesus, deny the Truth. And the Truth denied is an open door to a myriad of lies. There is no in-between.

If we, in our skepticism, choose to not believe anything, we have opened ourselves to believing anything. We are wired in such a way to be always in search of something to believe in. That is simply the way we were created.

Are you tired of believing lies that disguised themselves as a truth at first? Come to know the Truth; the real Truth. What is Truth? His Name is Jesus. If we are opposed to Him and think we know better, then we remain open to many lies.

How do we come to truly know the Truth? By reasoning? We come to know the Truth by coming into a deep relationship WITH the Truth. The Truth is a Person. He is Jesus. (John 14:6). The Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of Jesus. That's how.

There are those that "go out" to proclaim what they think is the truth and what they believe is their calling. And then there are those that are "sent out" to proclaim the Truth they have received and what they are called to do.

There are many philosophies and proclamations that claim to be the truth, but are they really? There is only One who leads and guides us into all Truth; the Spirit of Truth. In Him, we are made wise. If He is just an option, we are vulnerable.

If we want the sinful nature to be alive and well, let us pursue this world and its desires. If not, let us pick up the Cross and follow Jesus. You cannot do both; for the Cross will crucify the sinful nature and its desires for this world.

If we boast in ourselves, we boast in what we have and what we do. If we boast in the Lord, we boast in what HE has provided and what HE has enabled us to do. Pride verses humility. Only one will stand the test of time.

If we fix our eyes upon this world and what it offers, we will continue to become worldly. If we fix our eyes upon Jesus and what He died to give us, we will become more godly. Where we fix our eyes determines what we are becoming.

The sinful nature craves and craves, but is never satisfied. The path that leads to destruction is paved with the crave. The godly one hungers for the things of God. Even as he hungers, he is filled; yet still with a hunger for more.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. These, since the fall of man in the Garden, have caused mankind to love this world instead of God. The three lurings in the Garden are the same today; only disguised as being ok.

Once we come to deeply know the Heart of God, we will find that He is good ALL the time. Then giving Him thanks in ALL things will be the most natural response to ALL things.

Love for the ways of this world and love for the Father cannot coexist, just as light and dark cannot coexist. When we are presented with both, it is not to choose both, but a point of decision to choose one or the other.

Remember, the Word of God is not only the Bread of Life, it is also the Sword of the Spirit. The Bread is our nourishment, the Sword is our empowerment. The Bread makes us wise to the enemy's lies; the Sword slays him with the Truth.

As we grow in intimacy with God, we began to see His Word as the true Bread of Life. Instead of His Word being something that we casually glance at with the eye, His Word becomes something that is deeply embedded within the heart.

Let us mature from getting to know Him, to coming to know Him deeply. Let us move on from casual interest in Him to deep intimacy with Him. He created you, not to have a religious casual interest, but a deep relationship.

We first come to Jesus as little children, our Savior, as He reveals what He has done for us. Then He matures us to being a child, our Lord, as He empowers us to do what we can do for Him. We move from being childish to child-like.

We know Jesus as Savior, for He has saved us. We know Him as Lord, for He has called us. We know Him as Conquering King, for He has empowered us. These are all mandatory declarations, not options to pick and choose from.

If we know Him just as Savior, we will only be waiting for Him to rescue us. If we know Him as Lord, He will empower us with His Spirit to rescue others. In the former, we just wait to get to Heaven. In the latter, we bring Heaven to earth.

Are you still living a life of "paying penance" in hopes that you will be completely forgiven? If you are, you are saying that what Jesus did for you was not enough. Jesus paid a high price for your complete forgiveness. Receive it today.

If we claim to live in the Light, yet we are constantly having to justify ourselves, chances are there are still areas that need to go. Give them all to Jesus. And you will find that the darkness will pass, as the true Light will begin to shine.

If we allow ourselves to remain in darkness, as we hold onto things that we think are justifiable, we stumble around within that darkness as we are led about by bitterness and offenses. Today, let His Light come flooding in.

If we desire to fully "walk in the Light as He is in the Light", we must rid ourselves of unforgiveness and our "right" to justify our offenses. For if we hold onto these, we by choice, allow darkness to displace the Light.

We can either hold on to our current way of life, with the hope of being "good enough" for Him to love us, or, we can surrender our lives to Him who was "good enough" on our behalf because of His love for us.