Three Kinds of Righteousness

Imputed, Imparted, and Self

Living Joy Ministries, Inc.

Marsha Deveaux Johnson

 

# 1:  Imputed Righteousness

When you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life a most wonderful thing happens.  You are instantly  translated  into the Kingdom of God. Your human spirit  (the part of you that is God conscious) is instantly changed and desires to follow the truth of God’s word.  Your soul (mind, will, emotions) is positioned to start receiving the truth of God’s word as you read and study it. Your body then has to start doing the Word of God for the new creation life of Christ (2^nd Corinthians 5:17). 

 

Simply because you received Jesus Christ as Savior and subsequent Lord of your life, He releases all the blessings that were purchased for you when He shed His blood on the cross.   You did nothing to earn these blessings, after  accepting Him you did nothing to merit these blessings.  You were simply entitled to these blessings/benefits because He freely gave, imputed, bestowed, graced, and lavished them upon you.  You became a son of the Most-High God (John 1:12, 1^st John 3:2).  You became the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus (2^nd Corinthians 5:21).  Listed below are the primary benefits of this imputed righteousness.

 

·         My past, present, & future sins are forgiven. (Romans 10:9-13)

·         I have the favor of God (Grace). (John 1:16)

·         I have been “imputed” or given righteousness by God through faith in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:9)

·         I have been born a new creation In Christ Jesus. (2^nd Corinthians 5:17)

·         I am redeemed from the Curse. (Galatians Chapter 5)

·         My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelation 21:27)

·         I spend Eternity with God. (Revelation 21:27)

·         My spirit is now God-conscious & lives under the law of the “Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ”.  (Roman’s 8^th   Chapter)

 

#2:  Imparted Righteousness

After receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life another most wonderful thing begins to happen.  God’s Holy Spirit comes to lead you to the truth of God ‘s word, God’s power, and God’s plan for your life (John 16:13).  The Holy Spirit is the Guide, the Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete called alongside of you to guide you into the God-life (Zoe).  Following the lead of the Holy Spirit brings you to embrace the following truths.

 

·         I am “imparted righteousness” daily as I make right choices and follow God’s word.

·         My soul (mind, will, & emotions) and body are being daily renewed by the practice of the word of God in my life. I am being freed daily from the law of “Sin & Death”. (Roman’s 8^th Chapter)

·         This “daily dying” and constant renewing of my soul and body is led by the Holy Spirit as I yield myself to His guidance.  This is the “Imparted Righteousness” which continually conforms me to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29, 1^st Corinthians 15:31).

 

# 3:  Self-Righteousness

Isaiah 64:6 “…for all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment.. “

 

The third kind of righteousness is sadly a place where some good intended Believers find themselves after  deviating from the imparted righteousness of the Holy Spirit.  A self-righteous person is a person who believes they have higher morals than others, that they are morally superior, and more righteous than others.  Some Believers in an attempt to secure commitment to righteousness for themselves and others,  enter into self-righteousness.  This is a most dangerous place. 

 

We must see what the Word of God says about self-righteousness.  It is in God’s word that we must find out what God thinks of self-righteousness and self-righteous people.

 

First of all, self-righteousness is based in what a person believes about themselves.  They inherently believe that they have spiritual authority in places where they do not have spiritual authority.  Believers have been given spiritual authority over principalities, powers, might, dominion, serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:18-20).  There is no spiritual authority given to Believers over man (Genesis 1:26).  

 

God Himself asks man to come to Him by choice (Revelation 22:17, John 7:37).  Our Father becomes Lord only over a life that has been surrendered to Him.  From the very beginning God knew man would disobey and bring sin into the world. God  allowed this to happen.   Adam’s disobedience brought the fall of man (Genesis Chapter 3).  This fall gave man a choice of who he would serve.  The death of the Son of God placed man in the position to choose to serve God rather than being bound to serve Him and having no choice.   Righteousness Himself (God) gives man a choice.  Self-righteousness demands submission and no choice.

 

Characteristics  of Self-righteousness

The Bible speaks of Spiritual Strongmen (Mark 3:27, Matthew 12:29) that  try to execute authority over man.  The two strongmen that govern self-righteousness are:

 

Spirit of Haughtiness:  A demonic spirit that causes a person or groups of people to display superior attitudes toward others, pride, arrogance, overbearing, and scorn for people they perceive inferior. 

Religious Spirit:   A type of demonic spirit that influences a person or groups of people to replace a genuine relationship with God with works, traditions, and teachings.

(2^nd Corinthians 11:13-14).

 

Characterization of Self-righteous People

Pride, close-mindedness, lacking love for others, hypocrite, know-it-all, make their righteousness known, make their good works known, harsh, can’t be wrong, superior to others, unforgiving, exacting, narrow-minded, lack of patience, value self above all, punitive, negative, and  put down other races (racism)

Proverbs 21:2 (Ways of a man right in his own eyes, God knows the heart)

Proverbs 1:7 (Fools despise wisdom and instruction from God)

Proverbs 10:14 (The wise store knowledge)

Matthew 7:1-5 (Judging others)

Ephesians 2:8-9 (No boasting of self)

Romans 3:10 (No self-righteousness)

Ecclesiastes 7:16 Self-righteous)

When Christians become self-righteous, they step into a role that God never intended for them.  God in the book of Genesis did not give man dominion over another man.  God was very specific in His deliberation of the authority He delegated to man.  It is specified in His word.  When Jesus died on the cross, His death and resurrection extended sonship to every human born into the world.  It was not a mandate to serve Him.  It was an invitation.  Today almost two thousand years afterwards it is still an invitation. 

 

Jesus takes away no one’s right to choose to serve Him.   One dying thief on the cross wanted to follow Him and was granted entry into His kingdom.  The other made no such commitment.  It is critical to understand that the demonic religious spirit takes away a man’s right to choose life or death.  God offers life to every man.  Every man will not choose to receive life nor should he be made to receive it.   A heart change sets a man in right order.  If murder is in a man’s heart, he will murder regardless.  If murder is not in his heart, he will not murder.

 

I have searched God’s word and am Pro/Life -Pro/Choice because I believe that hypocrisy rules when we take away a person’s right to decide for themselves.  God doesn’t take away a man’s free will to sin and neither should self-righteous hypocrites.  His word is clear and does not change.  The wages of sin are death and no one escapes ( Romans 6:23 ).  It is however God’s place to judge and punish (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35) the people He created in His image and likeness.  I believe we should leave the fate of those who commit murder by abortion to the same fate of the liars, whoremongers, idolators, drunks, adulterers, murderers, witchcraft practitioners, homosexuality, haters, racists, fornicators, and all other works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-26).

 

It is our responsibility to reach all sinners in love regardless of their sin.  No sin is more acceptable in God’s eyes than another.  God says all unrighteousness is sin (1^st John 5:17).  It is the ultimate of hypocrisy to scream abortion is sin (it is) and remain silent when racism (also sin) is accepted in its entirety  by those who name the name of Christ.  Because we are not judgers of another man’s servant (Romans 14:4), it is incumbent upon all of us to reach out to make disciples of those who do not know Christ and those who know Him but not in His fullness. 

 

We labor to love and lead others to the One who changes hearts.  A heart change is the only thing that can set a man on the righteousness imparted path led by the Holy Spirit.  Laws will be broken, circumvented, ignored, and changed, but a man’s decision to be Holy Spirit led will  allow him to serve God and make right (Biblical) choices every day of his life.

 

When God instructed me to write this article, this is what He said to me:

“Speak truth to my people and those who receive it will live.  Those who do not receive it will die on the vine.”

 

Ask Father to speak His heart to you.

In Love,

Marsha Deveaux Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

Designated Space (Inside the Circle)

 

Designated Space

(Inside the Circle)

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc.

http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

@LivingJoyMinistries  (Facebook)

One day many years ago I found myself staring into a mirror as I listened to the voice of God the Father.   It was a Saturday evening after a weekend retreat sponsored by the ministry.   The God of the universe asked me would I  (His creation) be willing to be inside a circle of life with Him and Him alone.  I did not know how to answer Him.  We seldom know how to respond to our heavenly Father and that is why we must never lean to our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).  I did not answer Him on that evening because I did not know how. I did not know the depth of the request or how my life would be impacted. Sunday passed and I pondered His proposal to me. 

 

On Monday morning I got up to get ready for work and again in front of the bathroom mirror I started to proclaim to Abba (God the Father) that I would be willing to live for the rest of my life inside a circle with Him and Him alone.  I, in my ignorance of His Totality told Him I would place all people, places, and things outside this circle and close the circle myself.   Well Elohim, Creator of the universe stopped me from implementing and framing my version of His plan.  God, (The precious Holy Spirit) said to me, that He (Alone) would close this circle with family, friends, everything else on the outside of it. I would be alone with Him inside the circle.

 

From that time forward I began the process of living to please the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I increasingly placed all others and things outside the circle.  Only God directed  my decisions as I learned to lean upon Him and Him alone.  I began to teach this awakening truth to others and freedom came to many as the years went by.  Years later God spoke to me and said, “When you were putting family, friends and everything outside of the circle, you were placing them in MY hands”. What a revelation! I did not know this at the time, I simply had to trust Him with my life and journey with Him.

 

To this day there is a “designated space (Inside the circle)” between me and everything that this world has to offer. I simply cannot bring into the circle anyone, any place, or anything.  If I find myself allowing the slightest imposition, I go back to the awesome wisdom of the Father in insisting that I isolate (inside the circle) myself with the One who created me.  This is the God-Life (Zoe).

 

Being inside the circle with God is your protective gear against the wiles of the Devil.  It is your protective gear against the manipulation of man.  It is also your protective gear against you destroying your own self with the desires of your flesh.

 

This designated space (inside the circle) allows the love of God to saturate you (John 3:16).  This designated space allows the peace of God to reign and rule in your heart (Colossians 3:15).  This designated space allows the wisdom and understanding of God to flourish in your spirit, soul, and body (Proverbs 4:7). 

 

Disappointed with someone?                         Place people outside the circle.

Visit to Paris, France just didn’t satisfy?     Place places outside the circle.

The new car is suddenly old?                         Place things outside of the circle

Institutions have let you down?                   Place them outside the circle.

 

The designated space (Inside the circle) is an area where you understand that you cannot get from a person, place, or thing what you are supposed to get from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

 

The most beautiful thing about living with God inside the circle (Designated space) is that nothing disturbs your peace.  It is also easier to love others when they do occupy the space where only God should fill.  You are then not constantly irritated with behaviors of others.  You simply pray and release them to Father.

 

Inside the circle (Designated space) with God brings you so close to His heart that fear cannot survive in you.  The designated space displaces hatred, jealously, and all  other ungodly things. These things cannot  survive in the space designated for you and God.   Satan gains advantage when anything other than you and God are in the circle. God signals to us to abide in this designated space by allowing irritants to surface that we may clear out the circle. We must allow God alone to occupy this space.  It is at this place (Designed Space, Inside the circle) that we realize the Oneness that Jesus has with God and we can have also.

 

Seek to abide in the designated space (inside the circle) with God alone.

The Kingdom Anointing

 

The Kingdom Anointing

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc.

 

Early on December 15, 2020 God spoke to me and said that He was placing a “Kingdom Anointing” on my life.  I had never to my knowledge heard of such an anointing. I was eager to hear what Father had to say regarding this anointing.  He dropped in my spirit  New Testament scriptures that refer to kingdoms.  I immediately researched them as He began to stir my heart regarding the “Kingdom Anointing”.

 

When Jesus was here on earth, He often spoke of two kingdoms.   They are the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 20:23, Matthew 22:2-4) and the Kingdom of God, (Luke 17:21).  The kingdom of heaven is the surrounding territory in which we live, celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. Celestial refers to the sky. Terrestrial refers to the land. Telestial   relates to the lowest degree of glory that surrounds us.  The Kingdom of God is the plan, purpose, and intent of God that lies within you.  In other words. It is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit living and abiding within you to bring about the will of the God-Head in you.

 

God said that the kingdom anointing is unleashed by binding and loosing (Matthew 18:18).  The Believer has the power (authority) to bind principalities, powers of darkness and the like here on earth and have it bound in the heavens.  Believers also have the power to release the will, plan, and purpose of God right here on earth and have it come to pass. 

 

God gave me some words that would identify this anointing.  They were rip (to cut or tear open), tear (pull apart by force), unearth (to bring to light, uncover), pronounce (to utter officially), and a few more.  He began to explain to me that this anointing would bring death to the works of darkness in the kingdom of heaven and establish the Kingdom of God in my own life and the lives of others.

 

God pointed out to me in scripture that the people of Nineveh were wickedly living their lives (in the kingdom of heaven).  But it was not until the “Kingdom Anointing” landed in their midst with Jonah (who had  the word of the Lord in his mouth) that things changed.  The word of God pronounced judgment over the land and things changed. The king set forth a decree that all people should fast and repent before God to bring forth the Kingdom of God in their land.  Even the animals had to fast (abstain from food and water) to bring the Kingdom of God to the land.  

 

Circumstances and situations can go   on for  what seems like  forever in the kingdom of heaven.  But there comes a time when God speaks judgment upon kingdom of heaven activity within His church (organized church, body of Christ). God rips, tears, unearths, and pronounces His will, plan, and purpose on an issue and everyone must acknowledge. Nobody escapes His justice.  No one can revoke His sentence by the will of man.  After all, He is Sovereign and He is God.

 

God sends His word to a situation before He takes action.  God spoke to Solomon (1^st Kings 11:11) and said that He would tear Solomon’s kingdom from him and give it to his servant.  God followed through with His plan because of the disobedience of a man that He gave everything in this world.

 

On October 2, 2020, God said to me that His church (organized church,  body of Christ) would have fallouts and separations and it would be to His glory (He is cleansing His bride and bringing her into oneness).  Throughout the previous months God has been speaking to many of  His leaders and prophets about  His displeasure of  the unrighteous, racist, immoral, unethical, and cruel  Trump administration. They are now speaking the words of the Father clearly and without reservation.  This will continue to happen and God will be glorified.  He knows the way that was taken and He will bring His body to full understanding.  Prophets of old spoke and were ridiculed, imprisoned, beaten, isolated, rejected, and  hated because of the true word of God.  Nevertheless, they spoke truth and God brought His word to pass. 

 

God does not play favorites.  He has a plan and our job is not to bring about His will with our plan.  When we try to do this, we enter Satan’s territory.  Satan loves self-made plans that mimic God’s will in the lives of Christians.  He can somehow convince them to open a door to slavery, hardness of heart, and rebellion.  No one should chose that door.   Death is behind it.

 

Repentance is all that is ever necessary when we “miss” God.  Pride, arrogance, self-justification, and self-righteousness will only bring further death and destruction.  For the church, It is a time of tearing, ripping, unearthing, pronouncing, and whatever else God wants to do.  No person will stop God’s plan regardless of the earthly clout they have gathered.  This earth, they that dwell therein, and the fullness thereof belong to God. Everyone who fights His plan is ripped, torn apart, unearthed, pronounced upon and ultimately excluded from His plan and purpose.  Don’t let this happen.   Don’t be without Him for eternity.

 

Let the Kingdom of God reign and rule in your heart so that life will spring forth from your existence.  The earthly surround (kingdom of heaven) is sometimes void of the plan, purpose, and will of God.  However, the Kingdom of God is always clear.  Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice and another, they will not hear” (John 10:27). Which voice have you heard and what Voice is speaking now to you?

 

Will you allow the kingdom of God to reign in you or will you be satisfied with the kingdom of heaven and its hits and misses?  The choice remains in you.

 

P.S.

The “Kingdom Anointing” pronounces judgment on the unrighteousness of kingdom of heaven activities.  It releases the kingdom of God in Believers to bring His plan, purpose, and intent into their lives here on earth. I have received the “Kingdom Anointing” that God has placed upon my life and will allow Him to teach me His heart for my life and the lives of those He has placed in my path for ministry.

Post Script: I AM Here!

 

Post Script: I AM Here!

By Marsha Deveaux Johnson

 

Post Script:  I Am Here! is my new occasional communication to the Body of Christ.  The Post Script (Positive Statements) will feature my encounters with the “Great I Am” in my walk with Him. 

 

God revealed Himself to Moses as the Great I AM (Exodus 3:14).  He is here, He is present, He watches over His word to perform it in our lives (Jeremiah 1:12).  Here is a moment I share with you in which God has revealed Himself to me.  May you be encouraged by my  encounter to see the Father’s heart toward you as He reveals Himself to you.

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc.

 

August 14, 2020

I spent my teenage years in Sanford, FL about five blocks from the downtown St. Johns River.  It is my “go to” place to have instant feelings of home.  On the above date David and I pulled up to the parking place that gives a view of this north flowing river.  Well, God had already assigned our welcoming committee. They were there huddled near the sidewalk.  As David drove up, I looked to the right and there they were.  David jumped out of the car to go to the trunk to get his camera.  We love the birds on the river and have found them stunning in their creation by God in color, beauty, and unique features.

 

I turned to my right and saw one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever viewed.  There sat a mother duck with four young ducklings quietly sitting in front of her.  My heart melted with this scene as I saw My Creator on display.   I watched her as David and his camera started her way.  She made no sound, she did not move her position, but I noticed that her breathing changed.  It became more labored.  As this happened the four young ducklings got up, wobbled on their legs and moved in closer to her.

 

By this time, I had lost it with revelation!  God we must sit in your presence, hear Your heartbeat and move in ever so closer to you.  My husband’s camera was no threat to these ducks.  Neither are the rantings and raving of the enemy a threat to God’s children.  They are just signs to us to “move in closer to the Father”.  Be loved and protected by Him.

 

I said to David, she did not “say” anything to them!  They just knew by her heartbeat to move in closer.  Needless to say, David quickly reminded me that birds don’t talk like we do.  We must hear our Father as He speaks to us Rhema (inspired) words in our human spirit.

 

He sees the fall of a sparrow (Matthew 10:29); I know He watches over His word to perform it in my life (Jeremiah 1:12).   Be encouraged! MDJ

 

Our St. Johns River Welcoming Committee

 

 

"Stay on the Wall"

 

"Stay on the Wall"

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc.

“I have heard from God, I am doing His work, I will not come down.” MDJ

 

Scriptural Reference:  Nehemiah Chapters 2-7

Nehemiah discerned the times in which he lived and listened to the heart of God for his part in history.  He went through the proper channels to get permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city of God.  He heard the voice of God and acted accordingly.

The walls of our country have been torn down.  They have been demolished by factions of those who believe, those who do not believe, and misguided folks who have heard from a god, but not from Elohim (Creator) the God of peace and justice.   They have not heard from the God who gives free choice to every man, woman, boy, and girl to obey Him or not.

Some prophets have said of this current time that there is now a “Global Reset” that has been ordered by God for the “organized” church. However, the agenda for the “Body of Christ” remains the same as it was when Jesus left this earth.  It was “Go make disciples.”  We know in part and “prophesy” in part but we are always subject to the sovereignty  of God.

I judge what I hear from God by His logos (written) word. I also receive the Rhema word (inspired and spoken to me directly in my spirit) with total reliance on the Holy Spirit.  I thank God that my relationship with Him allows me to hear His voice and follow His leading in my life and decisions.  I honor and revere His words to me both logos and Rhema.  They are the treasures of my life.

Nehemiah’s task was clear.  Rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.  He went about it in orderly fashion and started the project.  He appointed restorers of the breaches to certain parts of the wall. He outlined plans so that the all of the wall was going up simultaneously.  I just recently zeroed in on the scriptural fact that there were women and children engaged in restoring this wall. 

In walks Sanballlat and Tobiah (Nehemiah 4:1) with familiar tactics such as name-calling, lies, tricks, put down, and mockery  about the people and the work of the Lord. Well as it turns out that’s about all they had.  They could not thwart God’s will. It was time for the wall to be built.  God’s project, God’s orders, clear the way.  It will happen, God’s way, God’s time, and God’s outcome.  This nation will hear God’s voice.

If you are building the wall that God wants built, you don’t have to worry or be anxious about the outcome.  You do have to realize that you must rebuild  with a sword (God’s word) in one hand and building tools in the other ( Nehemiah 4:17-18).

Let’s get to the sword first.  I am part of a remnant group who is praying the agenda that God gives us.  It is strategic prayer in the fact that we listen and hear His heart, align with His will and  then pray accordingly.  We have found when you pray His heart and His will you get His answers. We are sometimes figuratively speaking “blown away” by the efficacy of the results of the prayers (God really does speak to His people).                                                                                                               

Soulish prayers (prayers borne of the reasoning flesh of man) are an insult to God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Besides that, they demonstrate immaturity, selfishness, and blindness. If you have ungodly and/or soulish perspectives and pray, Satan can gain advantage.  It is deadly to engage God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in soulish prayers that serve your agenda and the agenda of unrighteousness.  Seek God for His will.  His kingdom come; His will be done is the only way to prosper in Him.

Secondly, the building tools which you use are so important.  God has in this time ordained His listening ones in giving to others.  The heart of God is for the people whose needs are great in food, shelter, encouragement, and love.  Engage yourself in some way with meeting the needs of others.  It is what Jesus did.  He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17). 

Also, do not align yourself with unrighteousness to get results for righteousness. A little leavening will leaven  the whole lump (Galatians 5:9).  When you align, excuse away, and court sinful men who personify sin and corruption, it produces death (Romans 6:23).  Nehemiah could not come down from the wall because he was charged to do God’s will and allow the results to God. 

You cannot legislate righteousness for other people.  You have not been assigned to make them believe, receive, or live the God life.  Jesus said go and teach the Gospel.  The acceptance and/or rejection is under the authority of the creature who has been given free choice by the Creator (God) over his own body, life, and circumstance. 

In the end Nehemiah accomplished God’s will.  He allowed God’s will to become his will and thus pleased God. All of us should do the same.  War with the word of God in one hand and do the will of God with the other hand.  The results will be astounding!

 

PS

On a personal note I recently had a precious experience.  I have merged prayer time with my exercise time as I swim.  For each of the laps that I do, I thank God for Who He is to me (Such as Redeemer, Healer, Provider, etc.).  I reached the end of the pool and during the lap that I was thanking Him for being my Rest and Peace  I turned around to return to the other end of the pool when I saw sunlight piercing through one of the trees in my yard directly behind the pool.  The sunlight was so brilliant and white that I almost closed my eyes.  However, circled around this sunlight that was peeping through the tree was a most beautiful moonbow!  I saw it (perfectly round and colorful) inside the screen porch in the area of the two chairs where David and I sometimes sit as we read God’s word.  I have seen rainbows in the sky, but a moonbow in the screen porch of my back yard!  How marvelous is that! 

Look Me In the Eye Part 1

Look Me in the Eye Part 1

A letter to the Organized Church and the Body of Christ

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc. http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

My previous message made a clear distinction between the organized church (wheat and tares) and the body of Christ (wheat only) (Matthew 13:24-30).   I have always listened for God’s voice in my walk with Him.  I have had the privilege of hearing His voice in confirming my actions and also in chastising my actions.  I think every member of His body has heard Him condone and/or chastise their actions ().  He does not deal with His children as bastards but sons to be corrected and conformed to His image and likeness (Hebrews 12:8).

When Barack Hussein Obama was elected for his first term as president of the United States of America, God said to me that it was a judgement on America’s race problem.   Throughout his eight years as president, many in the land condemned him not only for his decisions, policies (right and wrong), and actions, but also for the color of his skin.  Needless to say, the country as a whole dug in to its racism (systemic or otherwise) for one reason or another under his presidency.  America failed the test God gave it to deal with the racism issue.  The organized church was silent.

Fast forward to today.  God has brought us to the election time for the president of the United States of America and what is the number one issue on the agenda? Racism!  As a nation we did not hear God’s heart for the church world to unite under love, but instead it split under embedded, ignored, and quietly whispered racism. 

The organized church chose two sins (abortion/homosexuality) and sought a man who would condemn and legislate against those sins while exemplifying and practicing other sins. Please understand that abortion and homosexuality take their place as sin with all other sins in God’s eyes (Exodus 20:13), (Leviticus 18:22).  The Bible is clear, however not everyone knows what it says.  God speaks to His Believers and we follow His words in the Bible.

There are those who do not know God’s word and/or do not choose to obey His word.  Those who do not choose God are still created in His image and His likeness (Genesis 1:26) with free will to choose their lifestyle.

 The organized church skipped right over the scripture that says “All unrighteousness is sin” (1^st John 5:17) and excused lying, hatred, racism, put down/bullying, non-repentance, elitism, social classism, cursing African nations, cursing human beings, caging children, blasphemy, mistreatment of God’s creation, etc. (These actions are the documented ones with audio/video tapes to confirm). Only God knows what else has been perpetrated on the citizens of America. 

Christianity is based on repentance, confession, and change of life.    And yet the organized church praises and follows a leader who employs no Christian values.  This leader never admits to wrong doing and corrals all around him to become engaged in the same ungodly practices assuring damnation for their lives also. In fact, the organized church asserted that “you elect a saint/king and not a priest”.  Was this also applied when Obama was president or did this principle somehow surface with the subsequent president.

The organized church did not want to deal with, acknowledge, or dialogue with racism. It is Father God who has said it is on His agenda.   The current United States administration presents an overtly racist stance.  The organized church (wheat/tares) for the most part was complicit or remained silent.   God is now saying to America and the organized church that you are going to have to deal with racism as a nation.  The body of Christ (wheat) sees clearly.  Those of us who hear God’s heart understand what He is doing.  It is the organized church who has attempted to drown out the voices of Christ’s Body with politics, power, money, and arrogance.

 This earth is not the eternal home for the body of Christ (wheat). The organized church’s (wheat/tares) home is in the earth. The organized church will have no place (in Heaven) when the tares are stripped from it by the Lord of the Harvest. 

God has a documented proven plan (Bible) with prophetic words that have and are also yet to come to pass.   God’ word is the plumb line.  It is the final authority.  It is irrevocable, infallible, and irrefutable.  It does not belong to a man (regardless of the size of his/her ministry). God’s word is of no private interpretation (2^nd Peter 1:20).  It is to be read and accepted by all His chosen ones who heed His call.  We must remember that the “Lord of the Harvest” (Jesus) does the separation.  If a man condones a tare, he endangers himself to become a tare.  You cannot serve God and someone else.

Our biblical example of this is found in (1^st Kings 3:1).  Solomon made allegiance with kings by marrying and bringing into his household their daughters. This would in his mind elicit their loyalty to him.  He would get what he desired from foreign countries.  He found out to his dismay that these women brought their gods and practices into his godly kingdom and changed it totally.  The saddest part was that they changed Solomon’s heart toward the true and living God.  Solomon found that a deal with the devil is just that, a deal with the devil (Ecclesiastes Chapter 1).

Scripture says if you walk with wise men you will be wise, but a companion of fools will be destroyed (with the fools) (Proverbs 13:28).  Scripture further says, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Whenever we reduce ourselves to aligning with evil to accomplish God’s will, we have crossed a deadly line.  We are now using our fleshly tactics to bring about God’s will.  God does not allow the works of flesh to bring about His will.  In the end as Solomon said, “all will be vanity”.

I once heard someone say, “Hold your nose and support this administration”.   I have read the Bible many times over and I can’t find this or its sentiment in the word of God.  God says all unrighteousness is sin (1^st John 5:17). This is never going to change.  Sin will not enter God’s Kingdom.  This won’t change no matter who commits the sin.  The wages of sin (in any form or fashion) is death (Romans 6:23).  

My view is biblical.  Find a sinner, make sure that they have an opportunity to see “real Christianity” in your life and allow the Holy Spirit and God’s word to minister life to the potential Believer (The Great Commission).  If you cannot reach a person for salvation with God’s love and the good news of the gospel then leave him to the power of prayer. You must always remember that you present Jesus to others and they have free will to accept or deny.  If he denies acceptance of Christ and His teachings no laws or judges will interfere with the choice of his lifestyle. He will sin regardless of your laws or your judges who will discriminate against him because of his lifestyle.  

I choose to stay on the line that Jesus drew.  He said “Whosoever will, let him come and drink of the Fountain of Life freely” (Revelation 22:17).  The God-life is produced when a heart is changed.  I’m sorry folks, laws and discrimination against people will not produce citizens of heaven. Only a heart change will.

I am a seventy (70+) year old Black Woman who has lived her life since the age of fourteen (14) following the teachings of Jesus Christ.  I am Spirit-filled and keep my ear close to the Father’s heart.  I have ministered to children and families in education as a school teacher, program consultant, and principal (30+ years).  After retirement God sent me to teach His word and rescue broken lives in drug rehab centers (I have volunteered there for 13+ years preaching His Gospel).  Not one of the lost souls (who were found and rehabilitated) regarded the color of my skin.  God’s Love and my love for them was the saving grace.   I have spiritual sons and daughters of other races.

 I take no personal woe from slavery, insult, slight, curse, or even put down as a Black person.  Once I found Jesus, I began to see men as men not as trees (Mark 8:24).  I forgive others before it becomes an issue in my own heart. I cancel out the works of the Devil regarding racism and any other lie that Satan brings by listening to God, reading and studying His word, practicing His word, and showing God’s love. God has frankly been marvelous to me.  I can hear His voice for my own life and also minister to others in love.  I live in peace. I love and am loved by God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, family, and many others.   

I say to the organized church look me in the eye and tell me:

That you believe that people should be discriminated against because of their skin color, nationality, religion, and lifestyle choice when God made and gave free will to all men.

That you did not know God’s heart (and the hearts of people of color) were bleeding from the racism in America.

That you did not know that the hurtful symbols of slavery and racism that surround people of color every day were offensive to them.

That you did not know that racism was an issue that the organized church in many instances refused to address and quietly swept it under the carpets of churches large and small in America.

Did you not know? Could you not hear or see? Did you not care? By the way, what was God saying to you about racism and what is He saying now?

Oneness, Union, Total Alignment with Father, Son, Holy...

Oneness, Union, Total Alignment

With Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (God-head)

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, Living Joy Ministries, Inc. http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

God has His ordained way of bringing His will to pass.  My prayers for years have been for the body of Christ to enter into the oneness that Jesus prayed for in John 17:21, “That they all may be one; as thou Father art in Me, that they also be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hath sent Me.”(KJV)   Little did I know that God needed me to understand this prayer Jesus prayed and how it would be answered. 

My thoughts had always been that everyone naming the name of Jesus had to come together in unity in thoughts, deeds, and actions (Thank God I now know better).  God’s word is infallible, irrefutable, and irrevocable.  Our understanding of His word lies in the revelation of it to our spirit, soul, and body.  This revelation of His word comes as we read, meditate, be obedient, and live out His word in our lives daily.

During the increased time of sheltering in my home, I have been on a path of increased reading, studying, and writing God’s word.  This always leads to revelation pouring out of His word like sparks from a hot wood fire.  He began to speak to me about the word concerning the oneness of the body of Christ.

The first clarity came when I had to understand just who God said could be “One”.  God clearly made a distinction to me between the “organized church” and the “body of Christ”.  They are not one in the same.  This fact alone brings scripture illumination.  Jesus said in a parable about the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:30, “Let both grow together until the harvest:  and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers. Gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them:  but gather the wheat into my barn.” (KJV) The organized church has wheat and tares all lumped together.  We are not charged with the separation of them nor to be at one with them.  The body of Christ consists only of wheat.  Wheat that must exist with tares while the Lord of the Harvest tarries.

Furthermore, God says in His word in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils?   and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” (KJV) Never means never, no oneness, no union, no total alignment with the God-head.

So, then we often see tares that are doing great “works” in the name of Jesus, and Jesus does not know them.  Their charade looks like, acts like, and proclaims to be wheat, but they are tares that cannot be one with Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. 

By the way tares distort God’s word, use it to promote dissention, factions, and hatred among brethren. Tares cannot exhibit true love to others (races, sinners, social classes, etc.).  They see these groups as threats to the Kingdom as opposed to potential sons and daughters of the Kingdom.  Tares are mean, callous, and hateful toward God’s creation all in the name of Jesus.  They have an agenda to cleanse the world and not change the world through the love of Jesus Christ. Tares cause Christianity to be viewed as Satan desires it to be viewed, divisive, racist, and elite.  “Jesus came to save sinners of whom I am chief” are the words of Apostle Paul who was changed from a tare to wheat. (  ) The body of Christ (wheat) can never be one with the tares.  Are you a wheat or a tare?  God knows who you are.  He forgives and restores.

Let me now tell you who enters into the oneness with the God-head.  John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said unto to him, if a man loves Me, he will keep my words:  and My Father will love him and make our abode with him.” (KJV) The oneness that Jesus spoke of is when each of us who receives Him obeys His words and the Father comes to make His abode in us.  It is at this time that the prayer of Jesus for us to become One (with Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit) gets answered. 

This scripture has been clear all the time.  I thank God for bringing my understanding to this word. I do not need to seek alignment with the organized doctrines, attitudes, and practices that do not represent the heart of God.  Tares are not going to enter into God’s kingdom.  God says so.  When we are One with Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, we have entered into where God would have us to be.   God’s word says in Ephesians 4:13, “Till we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (KJV) The perfection is not in the organized church but in the body of Christ.

Let me make three basic distinctions between the body of Christ and the organized church.  There are others, however these categories are basic and understandable as we watch the current situations play out in the earth.  When you review this, you will see why the church world is all over the map with practices, doctrines, teachings, priorities, and more.  It is only the body of Christ who is hearing what the Spirit of God is saying to the church and the world.  Be found in the body of Christ!

Body of Christ                                                         Organized Church

Wheat Only                                                                             Wheat and Tares

(Matthew 13:30)                                                                     (Matthew 13:30)

Entered into Oneness with                                                     Not all entered into

God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit                                                     Oneness with God, Jesus, and

Union, Total Alignment, (John 17:21)                                     Holy Spirit, different factions exist

Sees God’s word as final authority,                                        Seeks power from status, politics,

deliverance, and instruction for daily living                           worldly connections, man’s favor,

Trusts God for all outcomes                                                    and money (2^nd Timothy 2:4).

Manipulates God’s word for agendas

Make no mistake about this.  Tares will be judged and handled by the Lord of the Harvest. Abide as Wheat!