Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Bible tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we can prove the acceptable will of God. Do you know that anything other than the acceptable will of God, is unacceptable? If it’s not God’s will in your life, then it’s unacceptable in His eyes. Right now, women are being raped and children are being killed… that is NOT acceptable in the eyes of God! Neither is sickness, disease, or demonic bondage acceptable in the will of our heavenly Father!

What God finds unacceptable, we too should find unacceptable!

Then begin to take heed of the things which He has shown you! Acting upon what God shows us is a huge key to receiving more from Him. If He tells us to get rid of our TV set and we disobey Him, then don’t expect Him to continue to speak to you about other things in your life or give your further revelation. As the saying goes, we need to be doers of the Word and not just hearers. If we are just hearers, then we will lose what little we have. Jesus made this clear when He said:

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete [meaning to use], it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
Mark 4:24-25

Jesus made it clear that if we want to receive more from the Lord, we need to use what we’ve been given. If He’s spoken to us about something, then we need to be obedient if we want Him to continue speaking to us about other things in our lives. Being obedient to what God shows us tells Him that we’re ready for His next move in our lives.

Let’s say that you were a beloved wife who is married to the most wonderful and loving husband who would gladly give his life for you. Then one day, somebody tells you that he’s looking at other women. If you begin to listen to that lie, do you think you’re going to be able to freely receive his love for you? Not at all! You’re going to look at him through the eyes of suspicion, which will naturally write off any true love that is being transmitted.

Did you know that we can do the exact same thing when we believe what the devil tells us about God? This is why demons work so diligently to convince us that God is a distant, un-loving, cruel, and legalistic taskmaster!

You can block your heart from feeling the love of God simply by believing a lie about Him!

I like the saying that a deliverance minister once told me, “Cruel distant taskmasters don’t give their lives for you!” But our loving savior Jesus did just that - why? Because He desires an intimate (anything but distant!) relationship with us!

Did you know that when we look down upon ourselves, we are looking down upon a person that God Almighty has made with His own hands? Were we not made in the image and likeness of God? Did God make a mistake when He made us? Absolutely not!

Would you dare go to an art gallery, and with the artist present, point at an area on one of his paintings and exclaim, “Boy, that’s just so ugly!”? Then why do we stand before a mirror, look at a beautiful person whom God has made, and exclaim, “My nose is ugly!”?

Think about this: anytime that you pick at a painting, in reality you are putting down the artist who painted the painting. Anytime you pick at a created thing, you pick at the creator of that thing. Anytime that we belittle ourselves, we are belittling God who made us.

Have you been honoring or belittling your painter / creator (God)?

What is your attitude (thankful/unthankful) concerning the person that God has made in you?

The Holy Ghost really illuminated this one to me today: what if Jesus came back today, not as in the rapture, but living in a human body as He did 2000 years ago? Would He be recognized as the Jesus that many today in America have come to know? Or would He shock everybody, when He goes about healing everybody who comes to Him? Would they call Him a false prophet and consider His miracles demonic, like many churches did with the Azusa Street Revival?

What if a man (Jesus) walked into many churches today, and began casting out demons in the services? How would most pastors handle such a person? Would they accept Him? Or would they throw Him out?

Mark 1:39, “And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.”

How many churches today would throw Him out, because His doctrines didn’t fit into their theologies? Do you know that whenever you throw out a man of God who is preaching the truth in the Word, you are throwing out Jesus? Consider this passage:

Matthew 10:40, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.”

I encourage you to read my teaching on The Jesus of the Bible for more information on knowing the truth about Jesus Christ in a Biblically painted picture… it would probably shock many Christians in America today to realize the true nature and likeness of Jesus!

Many today do not realize this, but it is very much possible for a person to accept Jesus, repent of their sins, goto church every week, and try to live a Godly life, and yet still go to hell. Why? Because their sins are not forgiven due to unforgiveness hidden in their heart against somebody!

There is a really good book entitled The Bait of Satan where he tells of somebody that has died, went to heaven, and looked over into hell only to see his mother-in-law. He ran to Jesus and exclaimed that she was a Godly woman who loved the Lord, and wanted to know why she was in hell. Jesus’ reply was that she held bitterness in her heart, and He couldn’t forgive her sins. This may sound far-fetched, but not for somebody who knows their Bible. Consider these stern passages:

Matthew 6:14-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

WOW! So does that mean that if we are unforgiving towards somebody else, that it leaves our own sins unforgiven? Yes, that’s exactly what Jesus said! Furthermore, the Bible tells us that if we love not our brother, that we abide in death.

1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.“

Now if we are capable of not loving somebody, then we are obviously physically alive, therefore, this is clearly spiritual death that it’s speaking about here. If we hold unforgiveness in our heart against somebody, then we are abiding in spiritual death and our own sins stand before us.

What happens when a person dies without their sins being paid for, and are abiding in spiritual death?

If we are concerned about saving the lost, then we need to be equally motivated to warn God’s people of the importance of forgiving others who have offended them, lest they go to hell too!

Do you know that we are sent forth just as Jesus was, to carry out the same mission that He was carrying forth? That’s right!

John 20:21, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

So what was Jesus sent forth to do?

Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

And what did Jesus do?

Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”

So what did Jesus tell us to do?

Matthew 10:7-8, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”

And what did Jesus say would follow those who believe?

John 14:12, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils…”

This is a lie from the devil if I’ve ever seen one. I am convinced that it is rooted in the bondage of religion. If you read the accounts in the Bible, you’ll find that Jesus was loving, merciful, and quick to forgive towards those who turned to Him!

Just how deep is His mercy towards those who fear Him? As high as the heaven is above the earth!

Psalms 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psalms 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Psalms 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

I think Satan has been telling God’s children a flat-out lie about the nature of their heavenly Father!

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
Taken from Matthew 25:34-45

Whatever we do to each other, we are doing unto Jesus. When we help each other and minister to them, it is as if we are ministering to Jesus, and when we do each other wrong, we are doing it unto Jesus. I don’t know about you, but that is a sobering thought that motivates me to treat my brothers and sisters in Christ as if I were working with Jesus Himself!

Psalms 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

One day the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said that if our path (our steps, our choices in life, etc.) is not lit with the Word of God, then we are walking in darkness!