Weekly Devotion

Last week we learned that we can trust God to provide for us. We have obtained an inheritance from Him and we are co-heirs with Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 tells us that all things are ours, and we are Christ's and Christ is God's. Now what does it mean that all things are ours? It means that you have ample resources at your disposal if you quit trying on your own and trust in God to help you. In the process you will do your best with what you can do and then you will give over to God. Isn't that wonderful assurance? That He will help us; that He is always there for us? Cling unto that hope, that definite guarantee. God will always help you to accomplish His will. He will always help you in the advancement of His Kingdom and glory. He wants you to shine His light for all to see in order to attract lost souls for His Kingdom. That is why Scripture tells us to portray His light to a fallen world:

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light." Ephesians 5:8

"You are all sons of light and sons of the day." 1 Thessalonians 5:5

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14

"Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." Romans 13:12

Do you see that? We are the light of the world. Jesus ascended to the Father and He left His light in us to shine to a dark world. We are part of His Kingdom of light and He wants us to shine out that light and draw people closer to Him.

Moses' face radiated and glowed when he spent a lot of time with God. When he spoke face to face with Him. And people knew instantly that he had been in God's presence when they looked at him. Can people see in your complexion that you are spending a lot of time with God? Can they see Him radiating through you? Or are you just like those living in the world, stressed out, worried, sulking, depressed? That is not the way God intended it to be.

His master plan was to leave His body on earth, to help, to reach out, to heal and to attract. His plan was ingenious. He would forever continue to live on earth, through His sons and daughters. But unfortunately His sons and daughters are mostly tainted by this world. They tend to blend in instead of stand out. They tend to adopt the ways of the world, instead of standing strong in God's ways. They tend to follow the crowd and do what others are doing, instead of studying the Word and doing what it says.

Are you shining His light, or has the worries of this world dimmed it a bit? Are you radiating His glory from all the time you spend with Him or are you as faded as the people of the world are? Take some time this week to answer this question for yourself.

Be who you were born to be. Your second birth in Christ is who you truly are. Stand up in this new creation. Spend time in Heaven with your Father. Talk to Him, fellowship with Him and dine with Him. Time spent in His presence is the foundation of your existence. It is at the essence of who you are. Take a handful of Heaven's light when you spend time there and shine it out for all to see and make people want what you have. And by doing so you are fulfilling your life's purpose and God is smiling.

Father thank you for the privilege of having Your light within. Thank you for the honour of portraying that light to the world. We rejoice in that fact. We want to make You proud of us. Today and forevermore we want to spend quality time with You. Amen

Last time we spoke about having the fullness of God's power on the inside of us. We spoke of standing up in all that we are in Christ. We are already ordained as God's children and we need to start acting as if we believe it. We need to roam this earth, knowing who we truly are. When we know who we truly are, we will not be sad when people belittle us, we will not be downcast when we do not get the promotion, and we will not try to be someone that we are not. We won't. We will walk in the fullness of everything that is ours already. The Word tells us that because we are God's children we can walk with confidence in our inheritance. Please look at the following Scriptures with me:

"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance..." Ephesians 1:11

"...giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." Colossians 1:12

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23, 24

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." Romans 8:16, 17

We are heirs of God, with an inheritance beyond this world. Sit still and think about this statement. You are an heir of the Most High God, an heir of the King of kings, an heir of the One who literally owns anything. If you truly realise that, you will never be jealous again of anyone that has the potential to inherit a great sum of money from their earthly father. You will never again be worried about your own finances and how you are going to make it. Your Father in Heaven doesn't want you to worry; He doesn't want you to be anxious for anything, but to rejoice in everything and to give thanks to Him for His provision and care.

He is our Good Shepherd; He brings us to green pastures and leads us alongside peaceful rivers. He looks after His sheep, He tenderly cares for us. Have you ever seen stressed out sheep, worried that their good master would not look after them? Stressed out that they will not have enough? No, the master provides. And if there is not enough water or grazing fields, he will worry about that and take care of it for the sheep. He worries about that, not the sheep. Now fortunately for us our Master will never worry that there is not enough for us, because He holds the whole universe in His hands. And because He does, we can know that He will look after us too.

I read the autobiography of George Muller. He lived about a century ago and started several orphanages and preached all over. And never once did he ask people for money. He never asked donations for the hundreds of orphans he was looking after. He decided to trust in God and make all his wants known to Him and to Him alone. He decided to trust God 100% to look after him and those entrusted in his care. And you know what, miracle after miracle after miracle happened. It is encouraging to read that God never once let him down. He never once left his side, but always provided. He spoke of how they once had literally no food to put in front of the hundreds of children in the orphanage. He didn't tell them that, but told them to sit down and to thank God for the food. Just then a horse cart over turned close to the orphanage and the man didn't know what to do with his fresh produce whilst fixing his horse cart, so he knocked on the door of the orphanage and gave them more than enough to eat.

Isn't God good? I think the time has come that we need to start really trusting in Him. As I read through the Psalms I realised how many verses there are about trusting in God. Several and that is significant. We need to look up to Him as our Provider. After all He is our Father and He has all the resources of the universe at His finger tips. He is mighty to save and to help. We are co-heirs with Christ and therefore all things are ours. I would like to end off with 1 Corinthians 3:21-23. Go and read it and meditate on it and allow the peace of God to overflow your soul.

"For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come - all are yours. And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

Thank you Father for blessing us with so much. Thank you that we needn't be worried, because You look after us. We rejoice in that fact! Thank you for Jesus in our lives and that He is so loving and kind. Thank you for giving us so much, we trust in You and in You alone. We glorify Your mighty Name. Amen

On Saturday 22 April during the prayer meeting in Bloemfontein, God showed me the following:

He showed me thousands upon thousands of men and women standing up for Him. He showed me how their clothing changed into royal robes. The men were transformed into kings and the ladies into queens. They shone forth the radiance of God Himself. This happened the moment they let go of reigning in their own lives and giving God first place.

All around the masses of people were a whirling wind, just like a massive tornado, yet it stood still all around the people. It didn't move from side to side, but stood stationery with its forceful wind. This whirling wind protected the people from the onslaughts of the evil ones. All their weapons came to naught. It was similar to the wall of fire that protected the Israelites from the Egyptians in front of the Red Sea. The enemy forces coming against Christians in South Africa were thrown into absolute turmoil and confusion. Anarchy reigned amongst them; they were totally overwhelmed by the power displayed by God and His people uniting together.

Then I saw a massive golden shield appearing in the sky hovering over the event. I knew that this shield was to provide protection for all. It also symbolised the faith of all the people gathered together there. I saw Angus lifting his hands up high and I saw millions of black birds arising behind him for a final onslaught against this event and Christians all over in our land, but all the birds flew against the golden shield and disintegrated into nothingness. In their stead I saw thousands upon thousands of white doves being released from within the people's hearts. These doves were like racing doves sent out with messages all over the country. It was the prayers of the people being blessed by God and sent out to accomplish their purpose.

I then saw flickering lights, flickering the whole time. And I realised that it was the gifts of God raining down on the people in answer to their prayers. I saw this twice, as if God wanted to emphasize this. I also saw a soft mist of God's presence raining down on the people. I saw how it softly penetrated the skin of the people. I saw how this presence, this life of God, brought healing to the people and enveloped them with love.

Then the farm Wilde Als (where the meeting was held) began spinning and the ground started to form circles just like the Olympic circles and I realised that this meeting, these blessings were not just for South Africa, but for the whole world. All of creation is waiting and groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God, for the sons of God to stand up! (For all of creation waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed. All of creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19, 21)

Then an amazing thing happened. I saw a whole army arise all around the people there. I saw angels of fire standing on chariots being led by horses of fire. Just like the army Elisha saw (2 Kings 6:17). It was a glorious sight! I got goose bumps when I realised the following: They were waiting for orders from the kings and queens. As the kings and queens prayed to God, orders were given from Heaven and they were sent out, legion after legion. I cannot tell you the power and the majesty being unleashed! It is unprecedented and all because people humbled themselves and prayed to their God.

Then I saw a whirlwind like wind blowing over all the kings and queens holding hands and I saw them disappearing into the wind. I saw that the wind was Jesus standing above the stage and blowing His life over all. All the kings and queens in the whirlwind were transformed into one figure. Emerging from this wind Jesus' bride appeared, towering over all the landscape, beautiful and radiant. She stood tall and stately as the pinnacle of His creation. She was the epitome of loveliness and grace, filled with the peace and authority given to her by Jesus. But even more glorious than she was (I do not have the words to describe) was Jesus. He stood tall in all His majesty and Shekinah glory and He extended His hand towards His bride. He had a soft smile on His face, a smile of satisfaction, a smile of deeply grounded love. His eyes conveyed how proud He was of her, how deep His adoration for her was. She took His hand and glory upon glory cascaded into a kaleidoscope of colours and brilliance. It was the highlight of the day and all of Heaven was standing in awe. All of a sudden it wasn't just about South Africa, but about God's redemptive plan for the world. It was all about God living within man. It was about God uniting with mankind and being one with him. It was about God living and breathing within man. It was about God loving mankind and walking with them in the cool of the day.

It was the most beautiful sight to see and one that will stay with me forever. And I knew that everything will be just fine. All anxiety, all fear, all worries disintegrate in the presence of Greatness. God's love truly conquers all.

I saw Jesus leaving, walking hand in hand with His bride, leading her to change her community, to change her country, to change the world. He will show her the way, He will give her instructions and He will help her. She will never be alone, left to fend for herself. All she needs to do is to stay close to Him, to listen to His voice and to continue walking hand in hand. Then all will be well, all will be well.

Hallelujah! All glory on High! The Prince of Peace is alive and He loves us and leads us beside still waters. He will bring us to green pastures and will prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies. He will anoint our heads with oil. Our cup will run over and we will be blessed in His house forever.

"Because He has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My Name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Psalm 91:14-16

PS God clearly told me that this vision applies to all Christians throughout the country that has a heart for Him, that prays to Him and who walks with Him, not only to those who were physically present in Bloemfontein, though they are symbolic of what happened right throughout the country.

Just breathe. Breathe in My life, My peace. Drink in My life-giving waters ready to infiltrate your soul. Allow all stress to be washed out, all worries and cares to be eliminated from your system. Allow Me to be your anti-oxidant, washing you clean with My Spirit and regenerating your cells for what is to come. You need to breathe Me in, to take Me in. Without Me you will be like a boat lost at sea, swaying around with every wind and wave coming your way. That is not the abundant life that I came to give you. It is not. I came so that you can walk on water, way above the calamities of this life. I came so that you can have peace and joy. I came to free you from this world's system.

So why are you so worried about South Africa? Why are you in such a stressed and frantic state? Are you not a citizen of Heaven? Are you not part of My family? Are you not an heir of all that I have? Am I not your Good Shepherd leading you beside still waters? Do I not prepare a banquet for you whilst your enemies look upon all your blessings? Am I not to be trusted? I am the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords, the Alpha and Omega. What I say happens and what I decree will come to pass. No one can stop Me or stand in My way. I defeated all the powers of the enemy at the cross. He was stripped of his powers. I am the Almighty, standing with the Universe in My hands.

Therefore I ask again, why are you so worried about South Africa? Come to Me and I will give you rest. Come to Me and allow Me to take first place in your life. I am mightier than all demonic powers put together and multiplied by forever. They don't stand a chance. And because I live within you, because you are part of My body, they are under your feet too. Stand up in the authority that you have as part of Me and declare South Africa free from all bondage. Declare My Kingdom over this beautiful land. Take a stand and blow My life into every area of this country. Blow the trumpets and resound My victory over this land.

I move through you and the time has come for miracles to happen. Breathe My child, breathe. Proclaim My Word over this land and show My love to all. You see love conquers all. And when My love is displayed, strongholds are broken and the captives set free. Love your enemies, love those who hate you, love. Stop all talks of hatred and racism. I will not have it. My Kingdom is filled with love and unity and you are part of My Kingdom already. Now live out the principles of My Kingdom in this world. Live it out and bring more souls into My Kingdom through your example.

Rejoice! This marks a new season. A season of My children standing up in who they are in Me. A season where I will be moving mightily through them. A season where worldly influences will fall away and where My children will be the spiritual giants they are supposed to be. When all My children truly stand up in who they are in Me and believe My Word to be true, this world will never be the same. Stand up in who you are in Me, act on My Word and stand amazed. All will be talking of My miraculous power.

South Africa, come together and repent. Not repent as you have learned from religion, but just come as you are with your sin and all and come and lay it at My feet. I have already forgiven you and already paid the price. My blood proclaims your forgiveness before My Father day and night. As My beloved, you are already forgiven and deeply loved. Come and soak in My love and allow Me to flow through.

Come and spend time with Me. In My presence lie all the gifts, all the blessings, all the love. Come and spend time with love. True repentance is not beating yourself up or pointing fingers to others that need to repent, no, true repentance is accepting what I have done at the cross for you and loving Me for it, praising Me because of it. True repentance is coming to the end of yourself, not by degrading yourself, but by realising who you are in Me. A man standing in front of Me, stripped of this world and filled with My light has a profound impact on this world.

Now go out and be this profound impact. I command you to go and preach the Gospel wherever you are. But more than that, LIVE the Gospel, BE the Good News people so desperately need. Do not blend in with this world and complain like the rest, you will have zero impact. Rather flow with My Spirit and be like Me in this world, in South Africa. Your country needs spiritual warriors. They need to see Me. An army of My followers need to arise and show the world Who I really am. Are you ready to sign up? You won't be sorry.

This Easter I am overwhelmed again by the love of God. I realise once again what He came to do for us. At the cross the penalty for our sins was borne, so that we can be free from the bondage of sin. And when we are free, we can truly live for God.

Jesus took all the wrath of God that was intended for us. He took all the punishment so that we will never be punished by God. And as the curtain tore in the Temple the way was opened for us to enter into the Holy of Holies. The way was opened for us to enter into God's presence and be part of His family.

Jesus also freed us from the bondage of death, that whoever believes in Him now, will never die, but live forever in His presence. That is the secret to this life. Kingdom living is at hand, He came to give us the Kingdom. And when we start to live in His Kingdom, to breathe in His Kingdom, to strive for His Kingdom, then when our earthly life comes to an end, we will just continue walking on the golden pathway in His Kingdom. We will just continue to live the life we have been living on earth all along. We will continue with our reign as royalty, as part of God's family.

Isn't that wonderful? Jesus came to give us so much. He died and took our penalty and then He opened up the way and came to live within us. Jesus in all His fullness and glory lives within us. Do you fully realise what that means? All of heaven is within you. All that is good, holy and true live within you. You are one spirit with Him and therefore all that He has and all that He is lives within you. Grab hold of this truth this Easter and be changed forevermore.

You are now sons of God due to what Jesus came to do for you. You are co-heirs with Christ, you inherit all things. You can walk with authority here on earth with the anointing given to you from Above. Meditate on this this Easter and realise the truth about yourself. And then go out and live this truth. Your whole perspective on life will change. God's Spirit will sweep through you and use you mightily for His Kingdom. That is true success. Success is moving into all that God has for you and using it for His glory.

Are you doing that? Are you moving where He wants you to be? Are you dedicated and really inspired to do His work? At the end of the day that is your calling. Stand up this Easter and say 'yes' to all that God is planning for you. Say 'yes' to be used by Him and thank Him for all that He came to give you. Stand up in the privileged position that you have. Then this will be your best Easter yet and all the Shekinah glory of God will descend on you, changing the course of your life forever. Are you ready?

Thank you Father for sending Your Son. Thank you for all that He accomplished for us. We take the privilege of being Your sons seriously and we declare that we will start walking in it to the glory of Your Kingdom. Hallelujah! You are God and You are good forever. Amen

Last week we saw in Scripture that we have the life of Christ pulsating through our veins. We are truly alive, our heart is not just beating, we have supernatural life invigorating us from within. God's life giving us health, joy, peace, energy and so I can go on. Everything that we need. And also we have the power of God working within us. The Scriptures are quite clear about that:

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly realms." Ephesians 1:18-20

"We are also weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God." 2 Corinthians 13:4

"...His power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness." 2 Peter 1:3

We have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead within. Do you realise the significance of this statement? I think if we really sit and think about it we will be in awe. We will really be amazed by the mighty power at work within us. But why is it then that we do not experience it? Why don't we see that power manifested?

Well the main reason is because we don't generally believe it. We might hear it, and we might even try to believe it, but we have been bombarded by doctrine throughout our lives basically saying that we are blaspheming if we say such things. I can just imagine what a conservative church in the 1950's might have said if you told them that you have God's power. They might have even tried to stone you. They might have banned you out of the church. And this mentality has gone underground and is still with us today.

We need to stand up in all that we are. Scripture tells us that all of creation is waiting for the sons of God to be manifested. For the sons of God to stand up and start to claim and do what is rightfully theirs. We need to start doing what is true of us in the spirit. For example Donald Trump was elected President of America in November 2016, but he could only start to act out his presidency from 20 January 2017. Before that he couldn't. We on the other hand have been 'inaugurated' as sons of God, but in contrast to Donald we don't act like it. We are in a position of authority and power and yet we don't use it and the devil is laughing all the way. I know I am speaking harshly and right to the point, but I just feel the urgency that we need to stand up as the sons that we are. We have the power; we need to start using it.

Claim God's power over your situation, stand up for what is right and do the right thing when the temptation comes your way. Come on, you have a whole host of witnesses cheering you on. The time has come, the time is now.

Thank you Father for not leaving us helpless here on earth. Thank you for giving us the power to stand up and change our situations, to be all that You created us to be. We want to make You proud of us. Amen

Last week we discussed that we have the Name of Christ. We are part of Him, His body here on earth and we can do all things in His Name. We have the Name above all names to rely on and as we grow in our relationship with Him, we will come to the realisation of how much life and love is flowing through us because of Him. There are so many Scriptures telling us that life is flowing through our veins and in us. Let me share a couple of them with you and discuss the significance of it with you.

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Ephesians 2:1

"God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life." 1 John 5:11, 12

"...just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4

We have life. And I am not talking only about our heart beating and our blood flowing through our veins, I am saying that we have His life flowing through our veins. He came to live within us the moment we gave our hearts to Him and now we can live in the fullness of the life that He came to give us. Romans call it 'newness of life', in other words you have life inside of you that unbelievers do not. And it is time that Christians truly get a hold of this.

If there is no difference between your life and an unbeliever's life, then you don't understand the type of life that Jesus came to give us. Eternal life is already something that you possess. You are already part of God's Kingdom as we have discussed a couple of weeks ago and because you are, Kingdom living is part and parcel of your everyday life. It is His life that gives you peace in this world, it is His life that gives you energy when you feel that you cannot go on, it is His life that give you joy when you are tired, it is His life that gives you love when others slander you. It is His life that sustains you. Ephesians 2:1 says that you are only truly alive when you accept Him into your life. Without Him you are like a dead corpse walking around.

I have so much empathy for non-believers. Because God's life really sustains me. How do they cope without it? Maybe alcohol helps them, maybe drugs, maybe social media, or maybe illicit relationships. The only true answer is found in Jesus Christ. But isn't it sad when Christians themselves do not realise it and also find their comfort in less honourable ways? My friends, life is in Jesus and in Him alone! True life is knowing Him!! Walk in the fullness of it and tell others about Him. They need Him and you are the one who can tell them!

God's life sustains you and is what takes you from this life to the next. That is why Jesus tells us that a Christian will never see death, because this life inside continues on forever:

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die." John 11:25, 26

Thank you Father for life! Thank you for blessing us with it. We breathe in Your life every day, we live by Your life and power and we glorify You. Amen

Last week we learned what our real purpose in life is: to be conformed into the image of Jesus. In other words to become like Him and to be like Him in this world. We need to be God's representatives in every way and lure people into His Kingdom. We need to attract people closer to Him. That is our main purpose, no matter our occupation. At the end of the day our occupation just gives us the access into people's lives, to influence them positively for His Kingdom. Our occupation opens doors for us to be an effective witness. Our occupations do not define who we are, God does.

In our society I have noticed that people define themselves according to what they do, according to what they achieve and not according to who they are in Christ. That is why when people stop working they suddenly have an identity crises, because who are they now? That is not the way it is supposed to be, we are one with Christ and we have His Name. Scriptures tell us that:

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." Ephesians 3:14, 15

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

We have the Name of Christ and all that we do, we must do in His Name. Just think of the privilege and advantage people here on earth have if they have a certain surname. For example, people would really take extra care if they knew someone with the surname Mandela was coming to visit. Or in the US the surnames Bush or Kennedy automatically opens doors. A surname and the association with one can take people a long way.

And here we are and we have the Name above all names. Let us read Philippians 2:9, 10:

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth."

Jesus' Name is above ALL names, All. And we have the privilege of using His Name. We have the honour bestowed upon us to use His Name for the greater good of all. Doors open at the sound of His Name, sickness and demons flee when His Name is mentioned, glory comes raining down when His Name is exalted. There is power in the Name of Jesus. Not because of the Name itself, but Who the Name represents. It is not a magic charm, but along with the relationship with Jesus Himself, there is power beyond measure.

No wonder the Name of Jesus is attacked by the enemy. This is the one Name they use as a curse word in movies. They never use the name Mohammed, or Buddha as a curse word, never. But they use the beautiful Name of Jesus Christ. Why? The devil wants to discredit the Name and show the world that it has no power and that it should be used to curse with. But he is the biggest liar, because he knows that when we fully realise the power in the relationship with the Son of Man behind the Name, we will be unstoppable and cause untold damage to his dark kingdom.

Stand up and realise who you are. Speak out and proclaim His power in this world. You have His Name, the Name above all names. And every knee shall bow before His Name, every knee. Therefore go out and walk with your head held high knowing who you are in Him. Not in a prideful manner, but with dignity, knowing that nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19). Jesus has conquered the grave and nullified the power of the enemy. He is exalted above all and has all the power in the Universe. And you have His Name. Meditate on this this week and realise how privileged you are.

Father thank you for giving us this amazing gift of being able to use the Name of your Son. You have exalted Him above all. You have elevated Him above all else in this Universe and we praise Your Name. We stand in awe that we are part of something so much greater than we are. And we take this privilege seriously and will stand up in this fallen world and will use His Name for the greater good of all. Amen

Last week we learned that we have the mind of Christ and that we need to renew our mind to think like He does instead of thinking like the world. It is critical to our Christian walk that we start to walk and talk like He did and like He still does. The Father's master plan was that His Son would die and receive the punishment for our sins, so that we needn't be punished, but that we can boldly enter into His presence and become like His Son here on earth. God's trump card was that He was going to rule this world through living in us. And as we have seen and discussed, Jesus lives within us and He wants to live through us and make a difference in this world.

And because He lives within us, the Scriptures tell us that God wants us to grow and become just like His Son in every way. In essence our spirits are just like His Son already, but our souls need to realign in order for us to become as we truly are.

"...that we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ." Ephesians 4:15

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:29

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18

It is clear to see that God wants us to grow up and become more and more like His Son. Paul knew this, God had revealed it to him and he renewed his mind up and until a point where he fully imitated Christ. That is why He could freely say:

"Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

Paul came to a point where he could say imitate me, because I am like Christ. And his dream for the churches he planted was that they also became replicas of Christ, so that other people could imitate them until they came to the fullness of Christ. In other words it is possible for Christians to become like Jesus was. It is not only possible; it is God's will for us. God wants us to represent Him fully in this world. He wants us to attract people into His Kingdom.

I hear you say, 'But I am a sinful man, how can I represent Christ?' But exactly. Jesus came to set you free from the power of sin and to translate you into His Kingdom. In His Kingdom there is no sin and the more you focus on His Kingdom the less you will sin and the more you will reflect His glory and become like Him. The question is mainly this, do you want to become like Him or do you like sin too much? A lot of people use the excuse to say they were born a sinner and they cannot help their actions. That is not true, they were born a sinner yes, but when they were born again they were freed from the bondage and power of sin and translated into His Kingdom. And now they have the strength to stand up against that sin and get rid of it by the power of God.

We were meant to be free from sin, we were meant to walk in His Kingdom as His sons, standing up in this world for our Father. We were not meant to blend in and become part of this world. No, we were meant for greater things, we were meant to walk this earth with the power and ability given to us from Above. God reigns and He wants to exercise His reign through us. Allow Him to. Be open to change. Be open to the workings of His Spirit. Die to self and let Him live through you. That is the Kingdom way, that is the way to true liberty, freedom and peace.

Thank you Father that we can become like Your Son. Thank you that we can be conformed into the same Image. How wonderful! Help us Father to please You and to do just that. We want to glorify Your Name and sing praises on high. You are wonderful and we love You. Amen

Last week we learned that God wants us to focus on Him and His Kingdom, rather than on the ways of the world. He wants our minds to be pure, in order for His Spirit to flow mightily through us. If our thoughts are filled with the filth of the world, we are stifling the work of the Holy Spirit through us and we cannot do His work here on earth. And what a sad day that would be, if the sons of God cannot stand up in who they are, because they are too much part of this world. Therefore Scripture is adamant that we must renew our minds:

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

"...be renewed in the spirit of your mind..." Ephesians 4:23

God doesn't want us to be part of this world. He wants us to become who He destined us to be in His Kingdom. And for us to be able to walk in the fullness of all that we are in Him, we need to renew our mind to think like Christ's. 1 Corinthians 2:16 already tells us that we have the mind of Christ; we just need to utilise it and start living as if we do. And that is the biggest challenge facing Christians today and that is why I am doing this Kingdom series. We need to wake up to God's Word and realise what is true of us today. We need to take His Word like a mirror and look into it and see who we truly are. James 1 urges us to look into the mirror of His Word and to do His Word, because if we don't, we forget who we truly are and then we are conformed to this world. We shouldn't be double-minded. We, who believe in God, shouldn't also believe what the world says. We then start compromising on God's Word to find a middle ground and that is where disaster and disappointment starts. James 1:6-8 tells us what will happen if we do that:

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed in the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Harsh words, but the truth. We need to be single-minded. We need to be focused on Him and Him alone. We need to decide to believe His Word above all else. We need to decide that His Word is true and not what this world says. It is not easy I know, but it is the Biblical way. We have to renew our thoughts to think what the Word tells us is true of us. That is what we are going to be discussing in the next couple of months. I hope you are excited to learn what is true of you, being one with Christ. For Proverbs 23:7 tells us:

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."

As you think, so you are. Many Neurologists agrees with this statement, Christians or not. Your thought patterns are extremely important and shapes you into the person that you are. So you have the choice now. Do you want to continue to think that you are who the world says you are? Or are you ready to embark on a journey and learn what is true of you according to what God says? Because when you start to believe who you truly are in Christ, your whole life will change for the better.

You have the mind of Christ, start using it. He came to give Himself to you as a gift. He came to make you part of Him so that you can enjoy all the benefits He has now already. You simply need to believe what is true of you and renew your mind to think His thoughts. Then this world will be your oyster and Heaven your only home. You will dwell there and live from a stance of victory in a fallen world. You will be the difference this world needs. Come on, the time has come.

Thank you Father that You planned it all along that I will obtain the mind of Christ. What a wonderful privilege. Thank you for making me a part of Your family and for all Your goodness and grace. Please help me in the mind renewal process. I want to stand up in all that I am in Christ. And receive the inheritance kept safe for me. Thank you Father. Amen