Feel Empty, Fatigued, Forgotten, Forsaken, Handicap?
LIFE = KNOWING that you ABIDE IN Jesus Christ and HE Abides in you!
Genesis 2:7 -And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (also 1Cor.15:45)
God had no beginning nor end, as HE is Infinite. Jesus was the Firstborn of all creation as HE came forth out of the Triune Spirit of God though the Father is still IN Jesus. Jesus created all things (Col.1:15, 16) for HE is GOD in flesh. Just as our word reveals who we are within; so Jesus is the manifestation or revealing of Who God IS (HIS Word -John 1:1-4)!
When God created man, HE made him as a triune being who became a living soul. Adam was the first man whom God’s Spirit dwelt in. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil, God’s Spirit departed from them. Their spirit became empty and their spiritual eyes were blinded (2Cor. 4:4; John 12:40) to the glorious life and peace God wanted them to experience in order to know HIM intimately (John 17:3). A substitute lamb sacrifice became the means to cover their sin until the fulness of time came (Gal.4:4) when Jesus would offer Himself as the final sacrifice, once for all (Heb. 10:1-10).
We usually forget about the TREE of LIFE, which many say, represents Jesus Christ; as it was also in the midst of the Garden of Eden. This TREE was one that would have continually let them live forever (Gen.3:22). Jesus said HE was the Vine (John 15) and we as believers are the branches (vs.1-4) that get our life from the Vine. If you are not continually receiving of Jesus Christ, you are still living off of the Tree of knowledge of Good & Evil (i.e. what you think is good or evil or even what you think you need to make you happy.) Happiness depends on happenings in life but joy is knowing Jesus as HE controls every area of LIFE.
The Church at Ephesus in Revelation (2:1-7) has been said, by Bible scholars, to represent the first century church. Jesus exhorts them for their work, patience and the hating of evil, but the most important thing they had left out was their First Love (Jesus). They worked tirelessly for His name but had forgotten their worship and fellowship with God Himself on a personal level to know HIM intimately. He wanted them to return to Him and repent (vs.4,5). Their obedience would allow them to eat of the Tree of Life that Jesus wants to give them to overcome evil (world, devil, self) = (Know Him =John 17:3 & Receive His Power and Attributes = 1Cor.2:5; Gal. 5:22, 23). Back on September 9, I shared how to eat and drink of Jesus Christ (John 6:53) which allows us to experience His righteousness, peace and joy. It involves being willing to be pruned in order to produce much fruit. (John 15:2)
The church of today has also left their First Love and have replaced Jesus with programs, knowledge, activities, music, incentives, etc; instead of teaching the believers how to continually receive the saving Life of Christ (Rom. 5:10). It is Life that Jesus wants to continually teach us in every area of our life in order to save us from self, sin, fear and the evils of the world. Jesus wants us to have His Love (righteousness), Joy, and Peace that will satisfy us so we will never hunger, thirst, nor fear anything (John 6:35 & 7:38; Rom.14:17; 1John 4:18). It comes by learning to receive in everyday situations, whether good or bad (trials- 1Cor.10:13; Heb.10:22).
We have lost our song within (Ps. 40:3; 1Pet. 2:9) and have forgotten how blessed and protected we are (Eph. 1:3; Col. 3:3). We need to learn to receive from Jesus daily and to find that we are accepted IN the Beloved. True praise and worship is the re-action to what Jesus Christ reveals (song) to our soul; not something we do on our own. It is a continual looking at the Face of Jesus as we learn to see HIM in many situations and trials; just like Jesus faced; this is knowing HIM, especially in going the second mile (out of our way) to touch the uncommon. The attributes of Jesus Christ takes away our emptiness, hurt, loneliness, pain! HE replaces them with HIMSELF and we never thirst again.
John 6:53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. . . . 56. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him.
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 1John 3:6 No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.