Let Not Your Heart be Troubled

Let Not Your Heart be Troubled

John 14:1

“Let not your heart be troubled.”

The Heart of the Believer

The spiritual heart of man is the cross-point of the soul the spirit.  Like the physical heart (with two main arteries supplying blood to the body), it connects the spirit (reborn & communicating with God) and the soul (mind, will, & emotions).  The heart often experiences conflict, for the spirit of man always wants to please God.  The soul however, is not always renewed and submitted to the complete will and word of God.   

We must constantly renew our soul (mind, will, emotions) with the word of God until conflicts diminish between the soul and the spirit. This is the process of “keeping our hearts with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23).   God’s word and will in our reborn spirit will then govern our soul.  Our soul will then lead our bodies to God’s divine will and purpose.

The Cause of a Troubled Heart

Jesus took upon Himself all sin.  All of mankind inherited the sin of Adam (Genesis Chapter 3) and all mankind commits sin (Romans 3:23).   All sins (past, present, and future) have been nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ.  When a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Adamic inherited sin and sins previously committed are irradiated and washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Repentance offers an avenue for forgiveness for sins committed after receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Being free from sin and the guilt of sin provides a clear path for the heart to “rest in the Lord”.  If unrepented sin is present in the heart, it will be troubled.

A troubled heart can indicate a heart that has not completely dealt with the sin issue (1).  A troubled heart can also indicate a heart that is so consumed with the things of the world and its system that peace cannot exist in it (2).   A troubled heart can further indicate a heart that lacks knowledge of God’s word and promises (3).  If any or all three of these issues are present in the heart, it cannot help but be troubled.

Indicators and Remedies of a Troubled Heart

Indicator

The troubled heart lacks completeness in relationship with Jesus Christ and does not understand the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Colossians 2: 10 says, And we are complete in Him”,   God who has begun a good work in the Believer will bring it to completion only as the Believer yields to the Savior on a daily basis. 

 Remedy

Seeking to irradiate the practice of sin in our lives is a great place to be and live.  This place offers us a heart that is trouble free.  Guilt and shame of sin always brings trouble.  God says, “The wages of sin is death”.  So then are we to receive and do God’s word and the results will be a trouble free heart.  As we daily live and daily choose God’s word as the governance for our life, our hearts become increasingly trouble free.

Indicator

The troubled heart does not comprehend the tremendous love God has for it and has not been made perfect in receiving God’s love. 

Remedy

I John 4:18 says,”There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear.”  When the spiritual knowledge is revealed regarding the tremendous love of God for us, fear cannot abide.  God’s love swallows the emptiness and fear that gives place to trouble.  We trust God because of Who He is and what He has done (sending Jesus) to set us free.

Indicator

The troubled heart is constantly pulsating being “at risk” and lives in fear of being victimized by Satan and the kingdom of darkness.

Remedy

 Colossians 1:13 says, “We have been delivered from the power of darkness and been translated into the kingdom of the dear Son of God”.  Satan really becomes a “non-issue” as we draw closer in relationship to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  The protection and promises of God become more and more visible as we release faith in Him.  We see victory after victory and go from glory to glory and our hearts become trouble free in the very midst of trouble.

Let not you heart be troubled.

The God of the Dark Cloud

The God of the Dark Cloud

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, www.livingjoyministries.com, http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

Isaiah 45:6-7, “That men may know that from the east and the rising of the sun and from the west and the setting of the sun that there is no God besides Me.   I am the Lord, and no one else [is He].   I form the light and create darkness, I make peace [national well being] and I create [physical] evil (calamity); I am the Lord, Who does all these things.”

I dreamed that I and three others were on a beach.  We were enjoying all the wonderful pleasures of being in a place created by the Father for earthly enjoyment. We looked in the distant sky and saw a ferocious dark rain, thunder, and lighting cloud on a parallel course with where we were.  We knew that if this cloud proceeded that we were in direct line to be engulfed by it with its life threatening capabilities.  We had no place to go and could not possibly outrun the dark cloud.

 I called to the others and said for us to come together and pray.  In my spirit I knew that we were not at risk because we knew the “God of the Dark Cloud”.  I had assurance deep within that we were safe.  I also knew that if we were taken by this sudden force, we knew exactly where we would go.  We stood in awe as we watched the dark cloud and its destruction pass right by us with no impact on our lives or safety.  There was no fear, no panic, and no drama as the “God of the Dark Cloud” steered it away from His people.  We watched as even the dark cloud changed course to pass right in front of us leaving us unscathed by its force.  We were just as safe on that beach as we would have been anywhere in the universe.  We know the God of the “Dark Cloud” and He is our Father.

When I awakened Father begin to speak to me about Who the “God of the Dark Cloud” is.  Job 12:9-10 says, “Who [is so blind as] not to recognize in all these [that good and evil are promiscuously scattered throughout nature and human life] that it is God’s hand which does it [and God’s way]?  In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”

Chapter 12 of Job states further in verses 14-17 that, “Behold He tears down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts a man in and none can open.  He withholds the waters and land dries up; He sends forth [rains], and they overwhelm the land and transform it.  With Him are might and wisdom; and the deceiver are His [and in His power].  He leads [great and scheming] counselors away stripped and barefooted and makes judges fools [in human estimation, by overthrowing their plans.]”

The remaining verses of this chapter (Read Job 12:18-23) actuate that God is in control of all the good and evil that we see about us.  This should not be surprising because He is the Creator of everything (Elohim).

When we receive and live for the Lord Jesus Christ His blood covenant is with us.  He becomes the God of our “Dark Clouds”.  This puts us squarely in the best possible position in the world.  That position is in “Christ Jesus”!   Dark clouds are under His authority and the authority of every Believer as we faithfully trust Him.  When we know that He controls and steers every dark cloud, doubt and fear are nailed (to the cross).  We victoriously overcome everything (God’s way)!

God has challenged me to tell His people that He is in the dark cloud.  He is in fact the “God of the Dark Cloud” for the Believer.  This takes away every threat, intimidation, worry, fear, and uncertainty of the cloud that you see or don’t see (hidden from you) in your life. 

Knowing that God is in the dark cloud is called “Faith”.  Faith in Him assures us that if we believe that He is there (and He is) we will see that things are working together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). 

Jesus is, “Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.  And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised through the church}.”(Ephesians 1:21-22)

You are not at risk when you are in Christ Jesus.  Everything is subject to Him.  He is the Lord of the dark cloud for the Believer.  This silences and submits every dark cloud to the will of the Father for your life.  Look your dark cloud firmly in the face and see Jesus.  You have already been delivered!

An Unwrapped Gift

An Unwrapped Gift

Recently I attended a birthday party.  It was time for the person honored to open gifts.  I watched as a person who gave a gift simply walked across the room and handed an unwrapped gift to the person honored.  Later as I was spending time with God, He brought that scene to my mind and began to speak to my heart. His words centered on the gift that was simply placed in another’s hand without wrapping, or a bag, or any attempt to conceal what the gift was.

My thoughts went to how many times does God give us unwrapped gifts and we simply don’t recognize the blessing of the gift?  The wrapping of a gift signals that something is coming your way.  But the unwrapped gift itself is still the main center of attention only without the fanfare.  “God daily loaded us with benefits” (Psalms 68:19).  How many times do we take the benefits for granted because they did not come wrapped prettily or in a fantastic recognizable or reusable gift bag? 

God’s blessings make rich and add no sorrow (Proverbs 10:22).  Are we cognizant of the many ways in which He shields and protects and warns and restores us?  Eternity alone will reveal all the many blessings that God gave to us right here on earth.  Lord, open our eyes to all the unwrapped gifts You give. 

Well, I started thinking and began to thank Him for all the unwrapped gifts He gives to me.   He gives all of  us another day to worship Him (Many do not know Him), another day to bless and be blessed by our family and friends (Many have no family or friends), a home (many are homeless), transportation (Many walk everywhere they go), food (Many go to sleep hungry), health (So many are sick), the blessing of having a sound mind, clear godly thinking (Many are locked in wrong thinking and mental disease) and decision-making ability (Many make deaf and dumb decisions over their own lives and the lives of their children), wisdom (Many lack no godly or practical wisdom), children, grandchildren (Many have no natural or spiritual heritage), and the list is endless.

This endless list of “Unwrapped Gifts” is given to us by the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Recognize and thank God for the unwrapped gifts (blessings) that are piled in your life day after day after day.  They are everywhere!

Contemplation

Contemplation

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, www.livingjoyministries.com, http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com  

Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”

Proverbs 20:27, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly (spirit).”

Contemplation (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary)

Concentration on spiritual things as a form of private devotion, a state of awareness of God’s Being, the act of consideration with attention, regarding steadily

The word “contemplation” itself intimates a spiritual surrender of focus that must be rendered in totality.  As human beings we have the intellectual ability to divide our attention and focus in many different directions.  It is this characteristic that must be harnessed when we enter contemplation.  Through contemplation the Holy Spirit of God leads us to a place where God desires us to occupy.  The purpose of this leading is to guide us to a place of firmness in our faith.  Contemplation also guides us to a place of awareness of the Father’s continual presence in our lives.  Contemplation is a natural progression of the Christian faith.

Contemplation is the spiritual bedrock of intimacy with God.  It is the act of being still for the purpose of knowing God.  It can be entered into by simply finding the quiet time to “be” with the Father.   Our human spirit is the candle of the Lord (Proverbs 20:27), simply meaning that when God wants to talk and commune with us, He speaks primarily to our human spirit. The physical area of our bodies in which our spirit lodges is the “belly” or stomach area.  It is here, deep in our being where the Holy Spirit stirs us to commune with the Father and Jesus Christ.

We can approach His awareness, His presence, His abiding, and His will by simply entering into   “quiet time” with Him.  This time has no set agenda.  It is away from others and distracting elements.  It is not a prayer request session, nor is it a time away from busyness.  It is rather an “entering into” the presence of the Father to fasten attention upon Him.  It is also to regard or to attend to Him steadily, consistently, and unwavering.  It is entered into in silence.  Every thought is “taken captive” (2^nd  Corinthians 10:5) and focused on God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is an exit from fleshly attentions to spiritual focus.  The agenda becomes His.

Contemplation is a plateau that naturally progresses as you grow in your walk with God.  You will literally be summoned by God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit into this place of fellowship.  It is growth.  It is a place that dissipates fear, chaos, self–obsession, and disobedience.  It brings the Oneness of the God-head front and center in you.  You experience the overwhelming power of His love imparted to you.

Contemplation ends up being an opportunity to allow God to ignite our spirit with His presence, His love, His compassion for us, His thoughts toward us, His heart for His creation, and the list goes on and on.  It also builds our relationship with the Father.  It employs and fulfills the purpose for which He created man in His likeness and image (Genesis 1:26).  That purpose was for fellowship with Him.  God wants to rest and abide in us. John 14:23 says. “If a man loves Me, he will keep My words:  and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

Contemplation gives birth to a hunger to be in the presence of God for the purpose of knowing and fellowshipping with Him.  It also allows the peace imparted to the human spirit to enter the soul and body.  It ultimately brings us to the same relationship (1^st John 4:17) with the Father that Jesus had when He was here on the earth.  We enter into the “Sabbath- Rest” spoken of in the fourth chapter of Hebrews.

Contemplation is initiated by the Holy Spirit as we faithfully walk with God in this life.  It is a natural progression of the Believer who is growing in their faith and intimacy with God.  It brings peace in all circumstances.  It brings an exceedingly growing faith as you see the repeated faithfulness of God.  Because you visit Him only to be with Him, it brings you to a place that God can call you, “friend”.

Enter into Contemplation…for Eternity.

Are You Jesus Yet?

Are You Jesus Yet?

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, www.livingjoyministries.com, http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

God spoke this sentence to me in September of 2006, “Our bodies have to move into being Jesus on the cross”.  I understood that He was speaking to me and I went to my computer.

The body of man is the last frontier to be conquered spiritually.  We begin our journey with God by accepting Jesus Christ.  Our human spirit is then reborn.  We continue our journey by allowing our soul (intellect, will, and emotions) to be led into the will and purpose of God.  This is guided by the Holy Spirit and the word of God that we receive.

 The body is flesh, blood, and bones.  It is the house that our spirit and soul lives in here on earth.   The term “flesh” refers to the ungodly manifestations in the soul (mind, will, & emotions) and body of man.

When we continue to receive the word of God and live for God wholeheartedly, we come to a place in life where there is nothing else to do but die (to the flesh). This death is one that is a long time coming and sometimes never comes to those who accept Jesus Christ.  If you are on the path of eternal friendship with God, you will ultimately come to this place where there is nothing else spiritually you can do but die ((to the flesh). 

 When you come to this place, everything and every circumstance you experience is orchestrated for the express purpose of assisting you in this death process.  Here is where many fail because of a false belief that they are now in a venerable position.  The false battle then becomes to secure and protect yourself from what is happening to you.  When you engage in this falsely motivated battle, you begin to try to keep yourself alive.  You then miss the whole point of what Father God is doing in your life.  He is causing death (to the flesh), so that life may spring forth!

Isaac did not resist Abraham’s positioning of the wood, being bound, and being placed on the altar (Genesis 22:1-24).  He just knew that He had a good father and that everything was going to be alright. If you don’t submit to the death (of the flesh) process, you will miss the whole purpose for which you came to earth.  Jesus was not the only one sent to earth to die.  Each believer must understand that death (to the flesh) is the key to abundant life on earth.  Without it, there will be no completion of your God intended purpose. 

Jesus ministered profoundly when He was here on earth; however His primary purpose for coming to earth was to die.  That is our primary purpose also, for if we don’t die to our flesh, we can do good things and great things but we will never be able to say as Jesus did, “It is finished.”

He finished the work of His Father, not His own flesh desire (John 5:30).

So what is accomplished when we move into being Jesus on the cross?  We first of all understand that when He was on the cross, He had already conquered the battle of being there.  This battle was conquered in Gethsemane when He had His freedom and had to choose to perform God’s will rather that not perform it.  The battle ends when you make a choice to die to your flesh.  It is simply a decision you make that has no “exit clause”.

God expects us to follow our perfect example, Jesus.  We must make a conscious decision to die to the flesh at a point in time when we have the freedom to do otherwise.  This is called choice.  Some choose not to die (to the flesh) and remain in a “spiritual holding pattern” throughout their walk with God.  They never really get to the intimacy that life after death ((to the flesh) can bring.  Others, like Jesus, give up the search for “another way to accomplish this” and go willingly by decision to death (to the flesh).  The results become life.

When Paul talked about a “living sacrifice”, it was literally an oxymoron.  The literal interpretation is a “living dead.”  You cannot be a literal “alive dead person.”  It won’t work.  We understand the spiritual meaning of what Paul was saying.  You must die to the flesh and live in Christ Jesus.  We must “move into being Jesus on the cross.”  It was eminent death that produced eternal life through Christ Jesus.  He died to produce life for us and we must die (to the flesh) to allow His life to flow in us.

Both Isaac and Jesus were brought into the death process willingly, but there came a point at which they were in the hands of the Process (God, Holy Spirit) and not in their own hands.  It was the “nevertheless, Thy will be done moment.”

When we submit to dying to the flesh, the process is then out of our hand.  God chooses and uses whatever means He has ordained to accomplish His will.  We must simply give up to the process.  It’s in His hands.  It will be for our good.  His plan is a good one for us (Jeremiah 29:11)

Have you given up to the process?  When the scourging and mocking and temptations come, do you want the flesh to come down from the cross of Jesus?  If you have truly surrendered, regardless of how the present moment feels, you are committed to die and you move right into being Jesus on the cross.  He performed His duty to His mother; He ministered to the dying thief.  He did not exhibit hostility toward the instruments of death.  He simply gave up His spirit into the hands of God.

Have you done this?

You are invited by your heavenly Father to move into being Jesus on the cross. Are you Jesus Yet?

About Temptation

About Temptation

James 1:14 says, “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Temptation originates with the person.  You will be drawn to what is in your heart.  Satan lays the trap, but the heart of man gets him into the trap.  That is why scripture says , “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life”, Proverbs 4:23.

Temptation gets to be tricky.  1^st Corinthians 10:13 says, “There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:  but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able to bear;  but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.”  God will help you if you want to be helped.  Your heart’s desire must be to do what is right and Father will give you a measure of faith and strength to do what is right.

1^st John 2:15-16 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world.”

Temptation proceeds out of these  three distinct things.

·    The lust of the flesh

·    The lust of the eyes

·    The pride of life

The Lust of the Flesh

This temptation promises pleasure to the flesh.  This is the lust for all physical satisfactions which are outside of the ordained  will and purposes of  God  for man.  This includes perversion of any kind. 

The word of God and faith in that word helps Believers to see and comprehend that the pleasures of sin are only for a season.  Pleasures are short lived and they have no power to satisfy permanently.  You must repeat, repeat, and  repeat the sin for the brief momentary pleasure.

God has ordained that we be led by His Holy Spirit and live out of our human spirit.  Our human spirit is where the word of God that we have  heard lies.  It was never God’s intent for us to live to satisfy the lust of the flesh.  The lust of the flesh is managed by a decision to follow God’s word and allowing God to make that “way of escape “ for us.  First comes the word of God, then comes the decision to follow the word, after that, prayer, fasting, and following the leading of the  Holy Spirit.  All of these bring the lust of the flesh under the power of the Holy Spirit and brings peace to the life of a Believer.

The Lust of the Eyes

This temptation originates from all that is seen in the world.  The eyes covet and want what is seen.  It matters not if it belongs to others, is forbidden by God, or detrimental to the spirit, soul, and/or body. 

Our comfort should come from God’s material blessings on our lives.  The word of God says, “A faithful man will abound with blessings, Proverbs 28:20”.  We have no need to covet and lust after the world’s treasury.  “All things are ours pertaining to life and godliness, 2^nd Peter 1:3”.

1^st Timothy 6:6-7 says,  “Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we carry nothing out.”.  Having more, more, and more, pales when you realize that it does not satisfy and cannot be taken with you.   Seek the eternal treasure of doing God’s will, blessing others, and quietly enjoying the material blessings in your life.

The Pride of Life

The lust for the approval and recognition of men is called pride.  The assertion of one’s own self above others is also called pride.  The word of God says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, Proverbs 16:18”.  Pride is a killer.  It shows up is so many ways and often disguises itself.  It is deadly to relationships.

The Believer should expect any honor that comes to him to be from God. We should not seek to position ourselves to be favored by men.   John 12:43 says, “…For they loved the praise of men rather than the praise of God”.  Pride will take you captive if your treasure is of this world.

Faith in God settles the heart.  Many years ago God spoke directly to me in my spirit and said, “I will not be better to others than I am to you.”  This “rhema” word settled my heart regarding my relationship with Father.  It has caused me never to be in competition with others and to understand that my blessings are those that God has provided for me.  I give thanks for what I have, for what I have is what God has provided for me.  There may be much more to have in this world, but contentment comes to me from knowing and trusting my Provider and Supplier Who is Jesus Christ (Father, Holy Spirit).  I lack nothing because of Him.

God (Good) Advice

Expect your entire honor from God.

Use no bargaining tactics with Satan to gain the glory of this world.

(Your spirit will be disquieted when you engage pride in your work for God)

Study the lives of apostles, prophets, and foregone saints to see their triumph  over pride and lusts.

Pride is a door opener for temptation. Do not let pride open doors for you to be tempted.

Blessings and honor will come if you do God’s will.  The challenge then becomes keeping your eyes upon the Creator and not created things (man, wealth, power).

 About Temptation?  I think not.  Let us be about our Father’s business.

The "Staged" Christian Life

The “Staged” Christian Life

Marsha Deveaux Johnson

God recently gave me a vision of the life of a Christian portrayed on a performance stage.  I was challenged by Father to review some of the “staging” that goes on in His children.  This message is timely, relevant, and should be heard and heeded by the body of Christ.  The “staged” Christian life brings no glory to God.

Staged = “designed to project a superficial image”

Staged Action:  Deception

Open Door:

Staging by design is set up to be superficial and without depth and reality.  This opens the door for deception.  The “deeper” Christian life is found in the pursuit of obedience to God’s word.

Closed Door:

Saying, seeing, proclaiming, and living by what God’s word says and demands

Staged Action:  Larger than life Appearances

We believe that our actions are “larger than life”, meaning that everything we say, do, accomplish revolves so much around ourselves that Jesus Christ is not the center of our lives.

Open Door:

The presence in our lives of self centeredness, self importance, self promotion, inordinate self-love, the “Me First” mentality, worshipping the vision of ourselves as we are seen by family, friends, enemies, and self, all of these open the door for the destruction of the God-life (Zoe).

Closed Door:

Doing what Jesus said to do, deny self, take up His cross and follow Him.

Staged Action:  Props

Staging uses props.  By design props superficially give a façade, a picture, a support that cannot sustain real usage.  There is no substance to a prop.  It is one sided, without depth, without reality, without God.

Open Door:

We prop ourselves up with people, places, and things that are created rather than with God our Creator.  How have you propped your life?  Are friends, family, money in the bank, political influence, and power sustaining you?  If you are spiritually “propped” up by anyone or anything but God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you will fail in your efforts to live the God-life (Zoe).

Closed Door:  Place all of your dependency upon Jesus Christ.  He alone will sustain you.  

Staged Action:  Revolving Sets

Staging makes use of changing sets to portray different scenes at different times. 

Open Door:

Christians sometimes show different images (faces) to different people or circumstances.

Closed Door:

Complete transparency with everyone, depending totally and only upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

The spiritually transparent life is ordained by God.  Close the curtain on “staging” your life.