Weekly Devotion

Last week we learned that we are destined to reign. We must just realise this truth and start walking in it. We are not slaves to the useless powers of this word anymore; we are part of a new Kingdom, His Kingdom where His love and power reign supreme. We are part of a Kingdom so much higher in authority than the present world that we cannot even begin to compare the two. We are part of a Kingdom where destruction, hate and sickness are something of the past and we are part of this Kingdom now already. That is why the Word of God can say the following:

"For all the promises of God in Him (Jesus) are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." 2 Corinthians 1:20

All the promises of God came to pass when Jesus came and fulfilled His destiny on earth. Notice the word 'ALL', meaning every one of them. Isn't that just wonderful? Jesus came to bring us all the promises. How? He came to live within us that is how. He took the punishment for our sins, in order for us to be able to enter into God's presence without His wrath. And He gave us His robe of righteousness, so that we can be part of God's family and dwell with Him and in His presence as His child. And in His presence, as His child, we have all His promises; we have everything that He has. The Word states this clearly in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23:

"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."

These are powerful verses and worthy to be read again, so please do. The world, life or death, things present or things to come is ours. Why? Because we are Christ's. We don't have it out of our own power and we certainly don't have it because we deserve it nor did enough good deeds to earn it. No, it is purely ours by the grace of God. It is purely ours because Christ suffered and died for you. He had a painstaking death so that you can have this privilege. Don't you think it will honour Him if you actually lived out these truths? I think it would.

When I told my boys about this the one excitedly pointed to the new BMW X6 in front of us and asked if that was his too? I laughed, but realised that this verse needs some explaining. God wants us to look at this world from alongside His throne. He wants us to look at everything from His viewpoint. He owns everything, literally everything. Nothing exists that He doesn't have power over. And we are His sons, fellow heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17, Galatians 4:7). We inherit all things (Revelation 21:7). We can look at this world and truly not covet anything, because He has given us all. We need to sit next to Him and look around us at His Kingdom and realise the magnitude of all that He is blessing us with. We need to see His Kingdom as our true home and see the treasures that He has for us. Then we need to walk on this world like Jesus did. He never lacked anything and He walked around with the authority He knew He had. He frequently spent time with His Father, in His Kingdom and was strengthened within.

Walk on this earth knowing who you are and what really belongs to you. Then the lust of the flesh for all things 'bling' will quiet down and you will walk with His joy, knowing that all things are yours. Then spend time with Jesus and your Father and live out your life with an intense gratitude for all He is blessing you with. Live a life not living in jealousy, but in freedom, knowing what is yours in Christ. Spend time with Him this week and ask Him to show you and reveal to you what is yours for the taking. Ask Him to show you the meaning of 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 personally, He will. Then go out and live the life He destined for you.

Thank you Father for the privilege of walking in all Your promises. Thank you that we can know that all of them came to pass through Jesus Christ! What a wonderful revelation. Thank you also that everything is ours in the Name of Jesus. We rejoice and honour You! Amen

You are a king. We learned that two weeks ago. And Jesus is the King of all kings. He is our Leader and we need to follow Him. We need to act like He would and say what He would say. We need to stand up in a broken world like a king and reach out to those in need. We are now from a Kingdom where we are provided for, where we are looked after. And therefore we have the ability to look after others and lure them into His Kingdom. For when we realise that we are kings, we will have a different mindset. We will not be as competitive to win favour in this world, we will not trample on others to reach the top and we will not hold on to our possessions for dear life. We won't. We will be more relaxed, knowing that we are kings already provided and atoned for.

Realise that you are destined to reign, that is your destiny. Romans 5:17 states this clearly:

"For if by one man's offense death reigned through that one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."

We have received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness and therefore we can reign in life through Jesus Christ living within us. Let us have a look at the two things that we have received in abundance and as a gift, namely grace and righteousness.

Grace means "Charis" in Greek. And in this context it means: "God bestow favours even upon the ill-deserving, and grants to sinners the pardon of their offences, and bids them accept of eternal salvation through Christ." We are accepted through Christ. God bestows favours on us undeservingly. He gives us special treatment, because of His Son's death on the cross. We have eternal salvation if we believe in Christ; we are partakers of grace (Philippians 1:7). And that is why Paul tells us in Colossians 4:6 that because we are saved by grace, our speech must also convey this truth. We must transfer the abundance of grace that we received towards others too.

Righteousness means "Dikaiosune" in Greek. It means "the state of him as he ought to be, the condition acceptable by God: integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting." None of us come close to being in the right acceptable condition that God expects. But notice the wonderful word 'gift'. Jesus came and gave it to us as a gift. We can now wear the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14), and know that we are as we ought to be, sons of God, kings.

God has bestowed unearned favour upon us and He has given us the gift to be like Him, righteous, holy and true (Ephesians 4:24). Why did He give all this to us? So that we can reign in life. So that we should not be slaves to the useless powers of this world any longer, but that we should reign over them. God knew that His enemy could entice people to sin and behave unrighteously and He knew that He cannot come near sin or tolerate it. And this combination was a winning recipe to keep people away from God and His wonderful plans for them. But now Jesus came and took the punishment for our sins so that God needn't punish us anymore, plus He gave us the gift of righteousness to walk as He wants us to. We are therefore free from this world and free to reign over all He has created.

We must just realise this truth about us and start walking in it. God is not angry with us, in fact He wants us to walk with Him even closer than Adam did. He wants His Kingdom to flow through us into this broken world and heal the sick. He wants us to be perfect representatives of Who He is and lure others in. He wants us to be who we ought to be, who He created us to be. And this is possible, through Him and His saving grace. Grab hold of it and walk on streets of gold. Allow the power and the majesty of our God to flow through you and change this world into a better place.

Father thank you for the wonderful gift of righteousness and for Your abounding grace towards us. We are humbled and so deeply grateful. Lord we take these gifts and we will use them to the glory of Your Kingdom. We will reign in life through Your precious Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

I read an article yesterday that a known preacher in South Africa told a reporter that God is angry with Cape Town and that is why it is not raining there. And if they do not repent, then the rain won't come. I was shocked when I read this, as I had a lot of respect for this preacher. But what he is saying is not true at all.

Let us begin on a practical level without even going to the Bible first. If it is true what he is saying, then why is it raining in Johannesburg for example? Why does Gauteng have more than enough water and Cape Town doesn't? Is he then in actual fact saying that people living in Cape Town has more sin than people living in Johannesburg? But that cannot be. Any Christian will agree that this is not true. So why is God then punishing Cape Town and not Johannesburg with drought?

Or let us go even further than that. The Scandinavian countries and Switzerland for example are countries known to be mostly atheists. So if God were to judge a country, wouldn't it be one of them? And yet they are so blessed in many instances.  According to the world happiness report, they are every year amongst the happiest people in the world. So wouldn't God be unfair to single out Cape Town and strike them with a drought, but bless countries that have no regard for Him? It just doesn't sound like the God I love and it certainly isn't.

God doesn't judge countries any more. Yes, He did it in the Old Testament. God's judgment came in the form of wars, droughts, famines and plagues. There are so many examples, but believe me when I tell you. When you page through the Old Testament that is what happened when people lived sinful lifestyles and not followed the Law as God prescribed. Go and read about all the curses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and you will see that there were dire consequences directly orchestrated by God to turn people back to Him. For example verse 23, 24:

"The sky above your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder."

Sounds like the drought now in Cape Town doesn't it? That is how God judged people in the Old Testament. But thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ! He came and bore all these curses upon Himself - Galatians 3:13:

"But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

Jesus took all the curses upon Himself, including the curse of 'no rain'. He took it so that it never has to come on us from God ever again. God judged all sin on the cross. And because Jesus bore our sin we can boldly come to the throne room of grace and have communion with God. If what the preacher says is true, then our sins are still unforgiven and because it is we cannot come into God's presence. What was the point of the cross then? If what the preacher says is true, then I see God as a stern unfair Father, punishing certain people and not others. If what he says is true, then it pushes me away from God in fear of unfair punishment, instead of drawing me closer. That is not the God I know. The God I know stands with open arms, waiting for us to turn to Him in love. He will clothe us with a robe and give us His ring of honour. Our punishment today is when we turn our backs on Him and rather go and sit in the mud with the pigs. Our punishment is then self inflicted and not from Him. So yes, sin has consequences, but the consequences are due to our own choices and not direct punishment from God.

You see Jesus came to take the punishment for our sins so that forgiveness is ours. Let us have a look at a couple of Scriptures:

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Ephesians 1:7

"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13, 14

"And you, being dead in your trespass and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." Colossians 2:13

"I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name's sake." 1 John 2:12

Can you see? The Bible clearly tells us that our sins have been forgiven us. All our trespasses have been forgiven, past tense. It is not something that must happen on a regular basis, but something that HAS happened already. Jesus took all the penalty of our sins on Him. He took it all. He took it all upon Himself that we do not have to bear it. That is grace. That is unearned, unmerited favour that He has bestowed upon us and all we need to do is to believe on Him.

We are now one with Jesus Christ. We are His body on earth. When God looks at us today He sees Jesus, He sees the body armour of righteousness that has been given to us as a gift. He doesn't look at us and search for our faults and close the windows of Heaven when we sin too much. And He doesn't stand in Heaven with folded arms until we have prayed long and hard enough to His liking. No! He isn't like that at all!!

It truly grieves me that My loving God is portrayed like that! We live in a fallen world. We live with people that do not look after our planet. We live with global warming and changing weather patterns. So yes, we live in a world with natural disasters, and indirectly it is a consequence of the sin of the whole human race, not looking after the planet as God had intended. Remember God gave humankind all authority over the world in Genesis 1:26-28, He made them rulers over the world. And we haven't been good stewards. So when natural disasters come, that doesn't mean that those people afflicted were more sinful than others. No, our world operates in a fallen state.

But remember one thing, as Christians we needn't fear. God is with us and He will look after us despite all the evil prevalent around us, despite all the disasters. We are His children, part of His new Kingdom. We will inherit all that is His. He will look after us and care for us. We need to stand up in all that we are in Him. That is what I have been teaching for eight months now with my weekly devotions, please go and read who we are in His Kingdom as I cannot go into further detail in this devotion alone.

We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Despite living in a fallen world, we can still rejoice in a loving Father looking after us. The closer we draw to Him, the more of Him will manifest in our lives and the more our environment and living circumstances around us will be changed. The more we realise who we are in Him, the more we will stand up in our authority given to us from Above. The more we allow His Spirit to work through us, the more Jesus can manifest. And when Jesus manifests through us, blessings will come raining down, because that is God's loving heart for us all!!

So my message today to all living in Cape Town is this: You are not more sinful than other people. Realise that God has forgiven you all your sins through Jesus Christ. Draw closer to Him and spend time with Him. Allow Him to become more and more in your life and then allow Him free access in your life to change the world around you into a better place. The more you begin to live and breathe like Him, the more you allow Him to manifest through you, the more changes you will see. A life on fire for God, a life inspired and influenced by Him is a miracle working life. Then look up and see the miraculous manifesting and give Him all the glory!!!

Thank you Father for Your loving kindness. Thank you for loving us and helping us on a daily basis. We want to draw closer and closer to You. We want You to grow in fullness and stature within us. We want to become less and less and You more and more. You are living within us and desperately want to manifest. Take my hands and feet and work through me Lord. Use me as Your vessel, only then can true change come. Jesus changed the whole world in three and a half years of ministry, how wonderful wouldn't it be if He can work through all Christians in fullness for millennia! How different the world will be. Thank you that it is possible. We are open vessels. Use us for the change You want to see in this world. Thank you Father, thank you Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit. Amen

Last week we learned that we can truly trust God to provide for us. He wants to and He can. It is a wonderful combination. We just simply need to rely on Him, knowing that He knows best. We need to cast our care on Him. The following text verse states this beautifully:

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He might exalt you in due time, casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6, 7

Cast all your care on Him and trust Him, because He cares for you. We need to trust Him with our finances and every other area of our lives. We also need to read His Word and apply His Wisdom to our lives. God is our Provider and we need to honour Him as that. All this is possible for us because we are part of His holy nation, His family. We read that in 1 Peter 2:9:

"You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light."

This is quite a mouthful. Do you realise the significance of this? This one verse tells you that you are chosen by God. You are royalty. You are a priest and God's holy nation. You are His own special people. What can anyone ask for more to this life? Sit back and truly think about this. You can walk with your head held high because you are royalty; you can serve others and tell them more about God as a priest and you can come into God's presence because you are holy. He will look after you, because you are part of His nation and He looks after His own special people.

As you read through the Old Testament it is wonderful to see all the promises God made to them. God was their King, they were His people, they were a kingdom of priests and He wanted to bless them. Frequently you will read that He wanted to look after them, that He wanted to bless them with so many things, from being fruitful, to having more than enough, to protecting them from their enemies. He wanted to bless them with so much that other nations were supposed to look at them and want what they had. That was God's plan. He wanted all the nations to be lured towards Him and saved because of the blessings bestowed upon Israel. But alas, Israel rejected God as their King and forsook His laws. They went on to worship other gods. And the result was disastrous for them.

Let us not make the same mistake. The Old Testament is there to warn us and to tell us to live closer to God. Fortunately Jesus took all the punishment for our sins and fulfilled the Law of God. Therefore that requirement is not asked of us today. But to have true Kingdom living here and now, we must believe the truth of the Word and live close to our Father God and Jesus Christ. His Spirit lives within us and testifies of Jesus daily. We are one with Him. Our minds simply need to believe what is true of us in the spirit.

Look up, look to God, the beginning and the end of our salvation. The One Whose will it is that we walk in the fullness of His Son and His Kingdom. He wants us to walk as the royal priests that we are. Do not allow the world to tell you something differently. Do not allow the world to degrade you and tell you that you are not worth it. Do not allow the world to tell you that you are a mistake, a failure, a 'has been' or a sinner. You are none of it. You are a king. Stand up as the king that you are. Not in a prideful manner, but in a manner displaying authority and dignity, knowing who you are in Him. Be the king displayed in fairytales. A king everyone respects, a king that is kind and gracious, a king that will fight for what is right and a king that knows where his strength comes from. Jesus is the King of all kings; make Him proud to have you as one of His kings.

Father thank you so much that we are chosen as part of Your people. Thank you that we can be kings, all because of what Jesus did for us. We are humbled and grateful. And we want to make You proud of us. We glorify Your Name and exalt You on high. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Last year we learned that we are complete in Christ. We are perfect and whole. He is above all principalities and powers and therefore we are too. We needn't fear anything. Jesus is King of all kings and Lord of all Lords and His Father is supreme in position. So what do we have to fear as part of their family? Nothing. Not only needn't we fear anything, God says He will provide for us:

"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

Isn't this good news? God, the Most High, will supply in all your needs. Notice it doesn't say if He feels like it, or if He has enough resources, it says He will. He will withhold no good thing, for He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He is standing with open arms, ready to supply in all your needs. You see the problem doesn't lie with whether God wants to or whether God first needs to assess whether you are good enough or not. No. The problem lies with us unfortunately.

Hebrews 11:6 above states why the problem lies with us. It says that we must come with faith and truly believe that He can reward us. We must diligently seek Him and believe the right thing. In His Kingdom there is abundance. In His Kingdom is more than enough. And we have a loving King, Who is not only the King, but your Father too. He wants to care for you, He really does. But if we do not realise that we are part of His Kingdom already we will rush around frantically in this world and try and solve the problem ourselves. If we do not realise that we have access to the Universe's finances, we will stress and worry and rush to the banks to help us.

My friend, realise who you are. You are not of this world anymore. Stand up in your anointing and authority. Rush to your Father first thing when you have a problem. Ask His advice and follow that. Do what He says you must do. This is important. Because you cannot over extend yourself with debt on things you don't really need and live a lavish lifestyle beyond your means and then just think you can sit back and let God solve it for you. That is not Kingdom living. Kingdom living is living with His principles in your life, doing what His Spirit leads you to do and then to trust in Him that everything will work out. If you do that, you can truly trust in Him. He is our God Almighty.

Stop trying to do everything yourself. Stop relying on your own wisdom. It is like grabbing onto straw; it will break and wither when any amount of pressure is exerted upon it. Your efforts will amount to nothing, except frustration. Give over to God, trust Him, have faith that He CAN and that He WANTS to. His Word tells us that and His Word is always faithful and true. All glory to Him.

Thank you Father that You look after us. Thank you that we can give our lives into Your hands, especially at the start of a new year with new challenges. Thank you that we can go through this life without stress or worry. You are looking out for us. We want to follow Your advice and Godly principles in our finances and our lives as a whole. Speak clearly to us, we are listening. Amen

This is an excerpt from my latest weekly devotional book - God Breathes:

I came to set the prisoners free. Do you realise what this means? You were a prisoner, trapped in a cage of sin and yet I came to open up the cage and set you free. You are now free to roam this earth, not in bondage anymore, but in the glorious liberty as My dearly Beloved.

The moment I came light entered the world again. A star proclaimed My birth and lit the way for those hungry for more. A whole host of angelic beings illuminated the shepherd's field, pronouncing that a new day has been born. A new beginning has dawned on the human race. Gold, frankincense and myrrh greeted Me. It proclaimed Who I was. And today I want to share it with you.

The gold presented to Me proclaimed My Divinity. It announced the arrival of a King to the world. Even though all the gold in the world was at My fingertips, this gold was symbolic of Who I really am. It represented to the world that their King has arrived.

The frankincense was highly fragrant and used in worship as a pleasant offering to My Father. It represented holiness and righteousness, exactly who I am. It proclaimed to the world that I will become a pleasant offering to My Father; My death will be an acceptable fragrance to Him. I am righteous and holy, the perfect sacrifice.

The myrrh was a spice used for embalming. It represented bitterness and suffering. It proclaimed to the world exactly what I came to do. I came to suffer, to die; I came to set you free.

This week as you celebrate My birth, remember the gold, the frankincense and the myrrh. Remember that I came to suffer to free you, to liberate you. I came as the righteous fragrance of God in order to pass it on to you. I came to invite you to be part of My Father's royal family, to walk on streets paved with gold, as the king and lord that you are. Remember all of that this week and walk in the fullness of it.

My whole ministry is summed up by these three elements. My suffering freed you from sin, gave you righteousness as a gift and crowned you as king, part of My royal family. That is the Good News. You are dead to sin and free to walk with My robe of righteousness as royalty. What more could you want?

Live in that reality today. Make this revelation one that lifts you up on another level. Nothing can come against you if you make these three elements part of your daily walk. Do not be deceived to wander off this path ordained for you. Walk on it and keep your eyes on Me. See Me waiting for you with open arms, ready to celebrate the fullness of life with you. You are destined for greatness, ordained for so much more to this life. I have made it all possible for you.

Come and take My hand. Allow Me to walk on this path strewn with roses with you. Allow Me to be your best friend, your lover, your advisor, your boss, your counsellor, your doctor, your God. I have so much to show you, so much to teach you. Be open to receive My bouquet of flowers, ready to allure you into My arms of grace. Because when you come, the world will be your oyster, the galaxies your playground and Me your Husband, your Protector and Provider. Walk in the fullness of this today, it is My gift to you.

Last week we learned that we can do the same works as Jesus and even greater works than He, because He ascended to the Father and gave His Spirit to us to dwell in us. We can therefore stand up, reach out and do the same things He did. And certainly not because we are great or deserving of such honour, but because He is the One doing these works through us. We just need to be willing to be used. You see all the fullness of God dwells in Christ and we are complete in Him:

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power." Colossians 2:9, 10

We are complete in Him. Complete. Complete means totally, comprehensive, wide-ranging and absolute. There is nothing left out. We are not just partially in Him, but in totality, comprehensively part of Him. What an honour and a privilege. If we live our whole lives just knowing this, it has the potential to be life altering. No other 'god' that people worship gives Himself to His people in totality like our God did. Our God is awesome and worthy to be praised forever.

Now notice another thing, Jesus is head of all principalities and powers. All. Not only some, but all. Why? Colossians 2:15 tells us:

"Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."

At the cross He broke all the power that they had on this earth, He disarmed them. Principalities in Greek mean 'Arche' which refers to 'angels and demons holding dominions entrusted to them in the order of things'. And powers in Greek mean 'Exousia' which refers to 'a certain class of demons that is subject to authority or rule'. Jesus therefore triumphed over all spiritual powers; He made a public spectacle of them. And now He is the head of all these principalities and powers. The head. He is the ultimate Boss. And we are complete in Him.

Therefore what do we have to fear? Seriously, what can you possibly fear if the One Who is head of all powers, lives within you? Nothing. That is why 2 Timothy 1:7 says:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Fear is not part of God's makeup. God doesn't fear anything and He lives within us. Fear of a financial collapse, fear of diseases, fear of failure, fear of being attacked, fear that things might be stolen from you, fear of death, fear of accidents, fear of being alone etc is not from God. It is the enemy trying to get you out of fellowship with God. He wants you to be fearful, to frantically rush to save yourself from the coming dread and most of all not to trust in God. But in actual fact you are above all principalities and powers through Jesus Christ. You have nothing to fear. No weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

Rather choose to believe what is true of you in the Spirit. You stand supreme over creation because Jesus lives within you. You have access to abundant resources, the best medical care in the Universe, the best police force (angels) and infinite wisdom to lead you on the right path. What more do you need? Trust in God, walk in His Kingdom and utilise everything He has already given you. Do not grovel on the ground like a chicken pecking for a speck of food, no, soar with wings like eagles and receive your food from on High. He has so much planned for you, but if you trap yourself in fear, you cannot step forward into all that He wants to give you. Do not be mislead any longer. His Kingdom is yours, Jesus came to give you access to it. Walk in it, free from all anxiety and fear and before long you will see that all you could possibly fear has disappeared in the dust it came from.

Thank you Father for freeing us from the grip of this world. We praise You! We have nothing to fear, because You look after us. We walk in the grace that You provide for us, free from all anxiety. We walk in Your footsteps and know that we are safe there. We love and adore You. Amen

Last week we learned that we have the wisdom of God. The manifold wisdom of God is available to us. We may obtain knowledge daily through reading and exploring, but His pure, unselfish wisdom is ours for the taking, because we love Him and walk according to His purposes for us. All this is true of us, because we are part of Christ's glorious church, a member of His body. Let us have a look at the Scriptures confirming this:

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:25-27

"For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." Ephesians 5:30

We are holy and without blemish, without spot or wrinkle, members of His body, of His flesh and bones. We are one with Him. And therefore we can roam this earth as He did. We should be able to do what He did. That is why Jesus said the following in John 14:12:

"Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to My Father."

Isn't that just a wonderful promise? We should be able to do His works and even greater works, because He went to the Father, but yet He lives within us. It is a great mystery, but it is the truth. Our human brains cannot fathom this greatness, but yet, we have the wisdom of God to confirm this for us.

Then why do you suppose we don't see it manifesting? Why don't we see the works that Jesus did and even greater works? Once again I believe it is because we believe the wrong things. It is not that we do not have enough faith, it is merely that we were taught the wrong doctrine. Personally I have never heard someone preach that I can do the same things as Christ and in traditional churches I have ever witnessed it either. And yet the Bible tells us clearly, there is no way around it. And as we've seen the reason we can do the same things, is because we are part of Him and He is part of us, we are one.

"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." 1 Corinthians 6:17

In the end it is not about us doing the wonderful things, but Jesus doing it through us. We just need to be believe that this is possible and then actually go and do it. God will never force you to do something. We are human beings with our own free will. God will never interfere with our free will. He will never barge in and force us to do things for Him. But how He wishes we will. How He wishes that we will reach out our hands and touch others like He would. How He wishes that we will stop competing and rushing and reach out to others. When we open ourselves up to flow with His Spirit and move where He wants us to go, we will stand amazed by what can happen. If we use our bodies to glorify Him, we will stand in awe. The impossible will become possible, not for our selfish gain, but to the furtherance of His Kingdom.

And that brings me to a second reason why we don't see these things manifesting and I have personally experienced it myself. Even if we do believe what the Word says, but we do the reaching out to others to obtain a name for ourselves as the 'one who can do miracles', then it won't realise either. If we want to build 'our own ministry' and want people to follow us, then it is the wrong reason too. God is not manipulated and God deserves all the glory. Only Him! He should be the One glorified, the One people stand in awe of. We are just the vessels that He can use.

Stand up today and be counted. Reach out to others and allow His Spirit free reign in your life. Then you will stand amazed as you see Jesus working through you. He wants to; you just need to be willing.

Thank you Father for living in all Your fullness within us. We praise and glorify Your Name. You are a good good Father. And thank you for dearly loving us. You are amazing. We are willing to be used by You. We will reach out to those in need, come and take control of my life. In Jesus' Name, without Him we are nothing. Amen

Last time we learned that God has forgiven all our sins, past, present and future. All our sins have been forgiven. We don't need to beg God to forgive us; neither do we need to fear that God will punish us. God has punished His Son in our stead, all His wrath towards sin fell on Jesus, instead of coming to us. All glory be to Him! And because all sin was punished, His Spirit could come and live within us and guide us. His Spirit is now our Leader and Guide and helps us on our daily path. He teaches us about God and gives us all the wisdom we need to succeed. He increases our knowledge about God everyday and this leads us on the right path. His Word confirms this:

"...the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places." Ephesians 3:10

"...in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3 (And Christ lives in us - Colossians 1:27)

"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man and his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." Colossians 3:10

"Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge..." Romans 15:14

The new man within us is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. In other words, our new born spirit within is filled with all knowledge. The manifold wisdom of God in Jesus (with all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge) is available to our spirit. Our spirit is united with God's and therefore all His wisdom is ours to use. The most intelligent of human beings should come to us to learn, if we truly untap this amazing resource available to us. James 3:17 tells us more about the wisdom of God that we have access to:

"The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."

This is a bit different from the wisdom of this world isn't it? This world's wisdom is more self-seeking, self-gratifying, not willing to budge and definitely sides with those that thinks the same as they do. But God says no. His wisdom is pure, it brings peace and it is willing to yield. His wisdom has compassion and yields good fruit wherever it goes. His wisdom doesn't show favouritism and is never double minded. His wisdom is like a pure fountain sprouting from the ground, giving life wherever it flow. And that wisdom is within you.

Are you willing to flow with God's wisdom? Are you willing to stand by it, when the world ridicules you? Are the words that sprout from your mouth gentle and full of mercy? Or do you seek self-gratification, prestige and honour?

God's wisdom seems ridiculous by the world, but it is only because they do not understand it. Only spirit can understand Spirit and if they are not born again, it would seem simple to them. But the fact is God's wisdom is elevated above it all. God's wisdom is the pinnacle of all knowledge. And it is available to you. In Isaiah 55:8, 9 God states that His thoughts are above our thoughts and His ways above our ways, but now in the New Testament He lives within us and we can know His thoughts, because we have the mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Walk in His Kingdom and utilise the wisdom available to you. It is priceless. Succumb your own thoughts and reasoning's to His. Allow the wisdom of His Spirit to flow, do not stifle Him with your own earthly 'wisdom'. That would be foolish. Only in His wisdom lies true peace and there life's secrets will be unveiled. Come and walk in it. Kingdom living awaits.

Thank you Father for giving us Your priceless wisdom free of charge. Thank you for the awesome privilege of walking with You. You are the King of all kings and we rejoice in You. Today we want to utilise Your wisdom and bring Your glory to lost souls. Walk in front Lord, we will follow. Amen

I have been earnestly praying for our country for decades now and so have many thousands of Christians. I have become excited as I see God move and then I became despondent again when I see the dismal state of our country. Everyone was so excited when 400 000 men attended the mighty men conference and everyone thought, this is it, South Africa is going to just get better from here. But it didn't. Then Loftus and many stadiums were filled around the country and again everyone thought that South Africa is just going to rise from here, but sadly our country only got worse. Then there were 22 April 2017 when 1 000 000 people got together and prayed, and everyone was excited to see the change in South Africa, but things still worsened. Weekly I get prayer requests, I get forwarded messages that we should plead God's forgiveness and plead that He must help us like He helped the Israelites. Times are set to pray, time and time again and yet no difference can be seen on the surface. What is happening? Why is this so?

Then God spoke clearly to me, and the answer was so simple. We need to realise that we live under a new covenant. We shouldn't beg God for forgiveness. We shouldn't go down on our knees and beg Him to heal our land. We shouldn't beg Him to intervene.

No, we are under a new covenant. We HAVE been forgiven already. Our sins have been cleansed by Jesus' blood (please read my devotion of last week with all the Scripture references). We needn't beg God for it. We shouldn't beg God to heal our land and to intervene either. Why? Because He lives within us already. Do you realise the significance of that? The mighty, awesome, almighty God lives WITHIN us and wants to work through us! Let me give you a few Scripture references for you to go and read:

Christ lives in me - Colossians 1:27, 3:11

I live through Christ - 1 John 4:9

God abides in me and I in Him - 1 John 4:15, John 6:56

I am in Christ Jesus  - 1 Corinthians 1:30, Galatians 3:28, 1 John 2:5

Christ dwells in my heart - Ephesians 3:17

Israel had to beg God to heal their land and to work on their behalf, because He wasn't living in them. Once they repented, He could work on their behalf. But that is not how the New Covenant works. We need to realise who we are in Christ. We need to stand up in the authority that we've been given from above and walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6). We need to act and talk like Him, because He lives within us.

In other words, we cannot pray and wait for God to act like Israel did. No, we need to pray, stand up and ALLOW God to work through us. We need to ALLOW Him to flow through and perform miracles THROUGH us. But when we pray and simply wait for Him to act, we are going to wait forever.

The time is now like never before to DO something. Pray and ask God to show you how and where you can make a difference. Even if it is just to be friendly to a passersby or to stop talking along racial divides and criticising the government which is contrary to God's Word. Jesus will never speak that way and He lives within you. Don't you think the time has come to speak only what He would have spoken? To act like He would have acted? You have the strength and ability to do that, because you have Holy Spirit to help you, your Paracletos, your Helper.

Realise who you are. You are not some helpless sinner who is doomed. NO, you are a son of the Almighty God with the power to change the world. He has given you the ability, now go out and use it.  Stop begging Him for forgiveness and waiting for Him to act and go out and actually do something!

We as Christians are part of God's Nation, His holy people, set apart for Him. You must realise that you are a citizen of Heaven merely living in South Africa. You were placed here with a purpose - to make a difference for His Kingdom, to exalt His Name and to draw others closer to Him. Stand up as the holy nation that you are. Stand up with God's mighty power and BE the difference everyone so desperately seeks. Please read again the vision I received on 22 April 2017 (/2017/4/24/87-vision-received-on-22-april.aspx) , in hindsight you will understand it better, as did I. All Christians are part of Jesus' Bride, walking as one with Him. And He is within us, giving us the strength and the power to be the difference this country and the world needs.

Father thank you very much for Your amazing love. Thank you that You have already forgiven us through the blood of Jesus. Thank you that Jesus lives within us now and that we can be part of Your Kingdom now already. Thank you for all the power and might that is flowing through our veins. Thank you for new DNA, thank you for the power to make a difference. Thank you for Your Spirit that assists us in making a difference in South Africa. We boldly take a stand for You and proclaim Your Word over all situations. We glorify Your Name. We speak life over the areas in our country where death reigned. We proclaim the Name of Jesus over all farms, schools, houses, businesses and over the government. We proclaim Jesus as King over all. Please grant us the wisdom on how to handle different situations that may arise and thank you for the courage that You have given us to stand strong. We praise Your Name. Amen

Also have a look at the message I received from God in April too. It correlates beautifully with this. May God bless you all - /2017/4/20/86-message-for-south-africa-2017.aspx