Never, Never Land

Hebrews 13:5-6 - "…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." 

In the popular children's story Peter Pan, there is an imaginary place that is so ideal and perfect called Neverland.  As believers, we too have an ideal "Never" land of our own.  In fact, it's a "Never, Never" land.  The only difference, it's not imaginary, it's real.  

As described in Hebrews 3:5, it's a place in Christ that God promises to never leave us.  Never.  When things are going great, He's with us.  When things are falling apart, He's with us.  When we are doing everything "right", He's with us.  When we're doing everything "wrong", He's with us.  

He said it twice, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you", meaning never, never.  God is saying to us in the strongest possible way, that He will never ever leave us or forsake us.  

Still not convinced, look at this verse in the Amplified Bible:  "…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]" 

No matter what is happening in your life today, God is with you.  Living and abiding in you.  Even if you have turned your back on Him, He will never, never leave you.  He doesn't come and go based on your performance or behavior.  He is committed to you.  He loves you.  

The Lord Saves. The Lord Saves.

1 Samuel 14:6 "Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 

Yahweh, the Lord saves!  He saves us from our addictions.  From our bad habits.  He saved us from sin.  He saves us from getting in further trouble.  One of the greatest things about salvation is, the Lord saves us from ourselves  From our bad decisions, our mess ups, our mistakes. Grace is giving you victory in your time of trouble!  

Every day you need to know the Lord saves.  The Lord is the name of JESUS, Yeshua!   What area of your life needs saving right now?  You might say "I don't  need saving, I've got things under control".  Fine, you're on your own.  But if you say, "I need help", the Lord will save.  He loves to save, saving is what He does best. 

In 1 Samuel 14:4 it says, "there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side".  Jonathon and his armor bearer were "caught between a rock and a hard place".  There were 30,000 Philistines that came and surrounded the whole area.  

It says in verse 16 that their enemy was "uncircumcised".  That's covenant language, meaning God was not with them.  But like Jonathan, God is with us.  On your job, in your family, in your marriage, in every area of life, why should you be like the people of the world?  You must have this attitude, we are God's people!  

Maybe you feel like you're between a rock and a hard place.  Or perhaps surrounded by an impossible situation today.  The Lord saves by few or by many.  He's not moved by the odds against you.  He's not looking at your bills or your bank account.  He's not reading over the doctor's report and saying "What shall I do now?"   Our verse today says, "He will work for us".  While you're resting He's working!  The Lord not only saved you, He saves you in every situation.  

I'm Perfect

Colossians 3:3 "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" 

When you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, your life will never be the same again.  When you became a believer, God no longer saw you as you with your old sin nature.  When He looks at you, He sees Jesus. You are now in Christ. 

Let me give you an example: if I take a ballpoint pen, and I place it in the middle of my Bible, and close the Bible, can you see the pen now?  No.  All you can see is the Bible. The pen is now completely hidden within the pages of the Bible.  In the same way, the moment you accept Jesus as Lord of your life, you are hidden IN Christ.  When God looks at you, He doesn't see all your flaws and imperfections and failures.  What does He see?  He sees His darling Son, Jesus! 

Colossians 3:3 says, in your new life you are "hid with Christ In God".  Because your life is "hid with Christ", having a blessed future is not based on how much you strive to be perfect, or how hard you work at changing yourself.  It's based on the person of Jesus. It's not about whether you deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious. The real question is, does Jesus deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious?  Yes!  And since I am hid with Christ, I am too!  How?  1 John 4:17 declares "As He is, so are we in this world".  He's perfect, therefore, in our born again spirit, so are we.  Say it out loud, "In Christ, I am perfect!" 

Truth = Grace

John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" 

The breakthroughs you have been fighting to have for years can happen in a supernatural instant. I want to ask you a very important question, "Have you often felt anxious, worried, or fearful that the worst would happen to you and your family?  These negative, exhausting emotions are merely flags that indicate what we truly believe about ourselves, our lives, and God. 

If worrying or being fearful seems to be your natural mode, what you need to do is keep hearing and learning about how much God loves you and how precious you are to Him.  

John 8:32 is a verse that has been widely used, even in secular circles.  But what does it really mean?  What is the truth that sets you free?  We need to recognize that Jesus said this to the Jews of His day. These were people who at an early age grew up studying and learning the law. Yet these people, much like today, still battled with fears, anxieties, sicknesses, and all kinds of oppression, bondage and addictions.  So what is the truth that Jesus was talking about, this truth that would set them free from a destructive lifestyle? 

It clearly couldn’t be the law because they were already well versed in the law. The truth Jesus was talking about, the real truth was the grace and unmerited favor of God.  Freedom can only be found in grace.  Jesus came by "grace and truth" (John 1 :17).  The word "came" in this context is used as a singular verb, meaning grace and truth are one in the same thing.  Truth = Grace.  It's the truth of God's grace that sets you free.

Wounded Time, Is Wasted Time

by Natalie Fortunato

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." 

"If you're going through hell, don't stop!".  Heard this line in a country song while I was waiting at the car dealership for my oil change.  Loved it!  Totally got my attention.  Such great advice, right?  

When we really mess up, totally miss God, sometimes the guilt and shame is paralyzing.  It's almost unbearable.  But the worse thing we can do is stay there. All wounded and condemned, kicking ourselves.  What a waste of time.  

The enemy loves to rehearse the incident over and over again in our minds.  How we failed.  But the Holy Spirit is the exact opposite.  When we miss it, He loves to remind us of who we are in Christ.  He reminds us that we are loved, accepted, forgiven and righteous.  He reminds us of our calling and our assignment.  

If you've messed up big time, change your mind and change your direction.  Admit where you got off track, take responsibility for your actions, take dominion and authority over the enemy, and allow the Holy Spirit to get you back on track…and move on!  

"Deerly" Beloved

Philippians 4:1  “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." 

I recently read an article Deerly Beloved: Deer crash wedding, leaving newlyweds with fairytale photos about a couple in Stockton, NJ who had a herd of deer show up at their wedding.  I quote, "Outdoor weddings can be risky, but when weather and insects cooperate they can be great. And when a curious group of deer turn the photos into a scene out of Snow White they can be downright magical."  

On another note, the phrase dearly beloved shows up nine times in the New Testament.  It's from the Hebrew words meaning to breathe or long for, to prefer .The word dearly or dear in front of beloved is significant.  It means that HIS love for you is breathing life into you every day.  He is longing to be with you in fellowship.  He is preferring you in every situation you encounter throughout your day! 

Just like that herd of deer showing up in the wedding photo, God is showing up when you least expect it and most of all when you least deserve it.  You, beloved, are so dear to your Heavenly Daddy!  

I Know God Loves Me, But...

Romans 5:8 "God commended His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" 

A few years ago, our puppy Benny (who just turned 16 by the way), went outside for a little while.  Then there he was at the back door asking to back come in.  I opened the door, and the smell was so strong it almost knocked me over. Benny had a close encounter with a skunk.  Well, he started running around the whole house and the smell of the skunk got on everything.  Our couch, the carpet, everything, yuck!  I searched every possible remedy to get rid of the smell. I used vinegar, baking soda, Lysol, you name it, I did it, in an effort to "neutralize" the smell, I did it all! 

If we really understood how much God loves us it would change everything.  If we understood that God loved us, worry, stress, and panic would no longer be an everyday occurrence.  When we say "I know God loves me, but…", we basically neutralize everything about His love for us. Neutralize means to render something ineffective by applying an opposite force or effect. That’s what "but" does, it renders God's love ineffective in our life!  

Think about this, when you were born again, how much had you been fasting, praying, going to church, paying your tithes, living holy, and doing everything just right?  Romans 5:8 means that Christ did the ultimate when you deserved it the least.  You may have been in adultery, doing drugs, at your very worst, whatever, and yet Christ died for you!  It was completely independent of what you could do. It was a gift, and it was presented to you. So, don’t neutralize God's love for you…no more buts.  

Say Goodbye to Guilt

Gal 4:17 (The Message Bible)  "Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making themselves important." 

The biggest curse in the body of Christ today is the enormous amount of guilt, condemnation, shame, and fear.  These destructive behaviors are totally disarming and paralyzing the people of God. Sadly, statistics have shown that Pentecostals, Charismatic's and full gospel people suffer with guilt and guilt related disorders more than any other religious group in the world. 

The dictionary defines guilt as, the feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, or crime, whether real or imagined.  The reason why is we get hooked on what I call a toxic mixture of old testament law and new testament grace.  Once you mix the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, it will poison every area of your Christian life. 

For the majority of believers in the church today, guilt is their drug of choice.  For many, if they don't feel guilty, they wonder how they be motivated to serve God!  Some actually think guilt is a Christian emotion. IT"S NOT! Paul calls this mixture "another gospel".  Any time a person tries to earn the love, acceptance, forgiveness and favor of God, it is going to result in guilt, condemnation, shame and fear. God's unmerited favor is the answer that will deliver God's people from this addiction.  God loves, accepts, and forgives every one of us unconditionally.  It's time to kick the habit!

The Accepting Church

Romans 15 :7 NIV "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God" 

For too long the church has been known as a place of rejection, judgment, and condemnation.  This is the consequence of mixing grace with law, which makes people fearful of their heavenly Father.  Under the law, they prayed for the day when the LORD would "make his face shine on you and be gracious to you" (Numbers 6:25). The good news is, you and I are living in that day.  He is looking at us and smiling from ear to ear.  We are the accepted and a member of "the accepting church".

 I recently read this and thought it would be a perfect way to open a Sunday morning church service… 

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, gay, rich, poor, yo no hablo ingles.  We love crying newborns, people who are skinny as a rail, or those who could afford to lose a few pounds. You're welcome here if you are just browsing, just woke up, or just got out of jail.  If you can sing like a rock star or can’t carry a note in a bucket.  We don’t care if you’re in church every Sunday, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism. 

If you blew all your offering money at the casino, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell or came because Grandma is in town and wanted to go to church. We welcome soccer moms, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, and junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion.” We’ve been there too. 

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We’re glad you’re here if you could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid, or got lost and wound up here by mistake. We welcome visitors, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!  Welcome home!  We accept you just as Christ accepted us!

The Happy God

1 Timothy 1:11 (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible) "…the glad-message of the glory of the happy God…" 

The other day I was laughing and talking with someone about the Lord, and how good He is.  We were having such a fun time.  When I walked away, someone I had never seen before, was listening to our conversation, and glared at me, then quietly cursed at me and said that I had no idea what I was talking about.  If eyes were guns and looks were bullets, I would’ve been target practice! This was not a happy person. 

I love this translation for 1Timothy 1:11 that says "It’s the glad message of THE HAPPY GOD".  This is such great news.  I can assure you today that God's definitely not glaring at you.  In fact, whenever He thinks about you, which is all the time, He's grinning from ear to ear!  To glare means to frown, to scowl, to glower, to make a nasty face (love that one), to look with daggers (like that one too) to give someone a look of disgust. 

Well, there's nothing you can do to make God glare at you.  The gospel of Grace declares that God loves you with a love you cannot measure.  To quote Philip Yancey, "Grace means there is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and nothing I can do to make God love me less".  Another definition is " the good, glad, merry news that makes you want to jump and leap for joy". 

God is a happy God and has a glad message, so smile!  God's not frowning at you, He's not mad at you, and He's not even in a bad mood.  You put a big smile on His face! 

High Octane Grace: Love

Ephesians 3:19 "To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" 

So, you're at a gas station, filling up your car, and you have a choice of three buttons, but only one fuel nozzle.  Regular is 87 octane, mid-grade is 89 octane and premium is 93 octane. Premium gas, which has the higher octane rating, leads to more power from the same amount of gas. When I looked up octane rating, the definition gripped me, especially as a grace preacher. Octane rating is a measure of grace under pressure: how evenly a gasoline will burn under difficult conditions, like hard acceleration.  That’s really cool! 

We would all like to experience more health, abundance, and success in our lives.  God, being God, possesses all of these things, won't you agree?  So to be full of God is to be full of health, abundance, and success.  But how are we to be full of God?  In the past, I was told "to be filled with all the fullness of God", I had to fast a certain number of days, pray a certain number of hours, and do all kinds of things. 

But to be filled with all the fullness of God is not about what you do, it's not even about your love for Christ!  It's about knowing His love for you.  When God made you, He designed you to run at optimal level when you are filled with His love. Like a car that runs at its best when it is filled with the best premium gasoline.  When you feed on His love for you, you'll run so much better, and with more efficiency, and effortlessly. How?  On high octane = His love for you. So press "premium 93" daily, and fill up on high octane grace!  You'll live much better. 

Who is Your First Love?

Revelation 2:4 "Nevertheless I have a complaint, you have left your first love" 

How much do you love your smart phone?  Probably not as much as the California man who married his phone in a Las Vegas wedding chapel last summer.  Ok, so the ceremony in Vegas may have been ridiculous, but this man made his point about how people are connected to their phones.  As crazy as it sounds to wed your phone, there's no denying the degree to which smart phones have infiltrated our daily lives.  Studies show that Americans check their phones every six and a half minutes during waking hours or one hundred fifty times a day. 

After a busy day at work or caring for children, couples desperately need meaningful conversation to help them reconnect, but for many the habit of conversation falls by the wayside, from long intimate talks focused on getting to know each other to short exchanges focused on administrating their lives, budget, to do lists, working through conflict and putting out the latest fire. 

After speaking of all the church of Ephesus had accomplished, and all they had labored to do, the Lord says in Revelation 2:4, "Oh, there's one important thing, I want you to return to your first love".  You first love is God's over the top love for you.  Here's the question, are you spending more time on the work of the Lord, or on the Lord of the work?  God loves you, that’s what brought you to Him!  His love for you!  Make that your focus today.  Take some time and think about just how madly in love Jesus is with you! 

*Excerpts taken from Focus on the Family

Group Hug by Natalie Fortunato

1 John 4:19 - "We love because He first loved us." 

I loved when my kids would say the words, "Mommy sandwich!"...then my daughter gets in front of me and my son gets in back of me and they squeeze me real hard until I cry out for relief!  Even our dog, Benny, gets all excited when we do this!  I feel so loved by them.  You've been there too, right?!  When someone says, "group hug!!", then everyone throws their arms around each other in a huddle.  It feels so good to be loved.  

Years ago, I was spending time with God and thinking about how great it is to "receive" God's love.  I sensed His love so strongly, and I just started saying, "I'm receiv'n Your love, I'm receiv'n it, thank you Father".  Then I imagined Jesus joining us with His arms around me too, then I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Group hug!", and felt His arms around me too, all three just loving me, with smiles on their faces and making that "mmmm" noise when you grip someone tight in a hug!  I know it sounds crazy but, talk about feeling loved, God's love feels SO good and it's so real.  

I can truly understand why God wants us to receive His love...it's the only way we will be able to give it away!