Jesus teaches us to pray , Our Father which art in heaven ( Matt .6:9 ,KJV ) . Jesus said in His great , priestly , prayer in John 9 17:20-21 ) . Neither pray I for these  alone , but for them also which shell believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou , Father , art in me , and I in thee , that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me ( KJV ) . After His resurrection Jesus said to Mary , Touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended…

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Jesus teaches us to live in His personal Spirit , which He once described as “ the Son can do nothing by himself “ { John 5:19 } . Jesus lived dependent upon the Father . “ As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them , I do not judge him . For I did not come to judge the world , but to save it . There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words ; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day . For I did not speak of my own accord , but the… Continue

Jesus says He is the true Vine . The word true refers to the ’’ genuine’’ or the ‘’ real ‘’ Vine . In the Old Testament Israel is picture as the vineyard that is a disappointment to God . Hosea described Israel as a luxuriant vine but without fruit ( Hos . 10:1 ) . Isaiah described God’s investment in Israel as a farmer who invested in a vineyard ; but when the fruit was produced , it was wild and bitter grapes ( Isa . 5: 1-7 ) . In Jeremiah , God said to the nation of Israel , Yet I had…

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You were taught , with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self , which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires : to be made new in the attitude of your minds : and to put on the new self , created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness ( Eph , 4:22-24 ) . So what does that mean for believers today ? If we were to answer this question with one word , it would be to abide . Spiritual transformation is so beautifully demonstrated  in the word of Jesus in  John…

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The answer is this…. Therefore , I urge you , brothers , in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship , Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world , but be transformed by the renewing of your mined . Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good , pleasing and perfect will ( Rom . 12: 1-2 ) . That means - make no excuses - the old way has to go….

The word of God which is the Holy Bible says in Luke Ch-6 ( V -37,38 ) . Judge not, and ye shell not be judged : condemn not, and ye shell not be condemned : forgive , and ye shell be forgiven. And in Matthew  Ch-7 ( V-2,3, ) .The Lord says judge not , that ye be not judged . For with what judgment ye judge , ye shell be judged : and with what measure ye mete , it shell be measured to you again . And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that…

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Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shell be filled . Blessed are ye that weep now : for ye shell laugh . Blessed are ye , when men shell hate you , and when they shell separate you from their company ,and shell reproach you , and cast out your name as evil ,  for the Son of man’s sake .  Rejoice ye in that day , and leap for joy : for behold , your reward is great in heaven :  But I say unto you which hear , Love your enemies , do good to them which hate you , Bless them that curse you ,…

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Sin has so affected us ( Rom . 3:10-11 ) , you and I cannot understand the truth of God unless the Holy Spirit of God reveals it . He is the Teacher . When He teaches you the Word of God , sit before Him and respond to Him . As you pray , watch to see how He uses the Word of God to confirm in your heart a word from God . Watch what He is doing around you in circumstances . The God who is speaking to you as you pray and the God who is speaking to you in the Scriptures is the God who is…

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When your life is in the middle of God’s activity , He will start rearranging a lot of your thinking . God’s ways and thoughts are so different from yours and mine they will often sound wrong or crazy . You need a readiness to believe God and trust Him completely . You need to believe that what He is doing is best for you . Don’t try to second-guess Him just let Him be God .

Whenever God gives you a directive , it is always right . God ‘s will is always best . You never have to question whether His will is best or right . It always is best and right . This is true because He loves you and knows all . Because He loves you perfectly , you can trust Him and obey Him completely .

Leaders are you and your church ready to truly know God , to transition from head knowledge of God to heart-to -heart intimacy with Him ? Through the relationship of love , trust , and obedience that Jesus modeled , God will carry you and your church to the proper destination . The rewards that come from spiritual transformation are nothing short of miraculous . Your church focused on transformational discipleship is a church focused on Jesus . As a believer , as a leader , can you think of…

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When believers come to know Jesus personally , the character of Jesus spills over into the activities of the church so that character-based , internal , spiritual transformation becomes the goal rather then activity-based performance . Church members today have extensive head knowledge about God but don' t really know God well enough to believe Him when gives a directive in life . Many of our churches are being merely remodeled by activities and programs driven by man , rather than being…

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Never allow your heart to question the love of God. Settle it on the front end of your desiring to know Him and experience Him , that He loves you . He created you for that love relationship . He has been pursuing you in that love relationship . Every dealing He has with you is an expression of His love for you . God would cease to be God if He express Himself in any other than perfect love ! ( Deuteronomy 30: 19-20 ) ( John 14:21 ) (Romans 8: 35,37,39 ) ( 1 John 3:16 ) ( 1 John 4:9-10,19…

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How we approach the Bible involves the way we view it. We must recognize that the Bible is indeed the word of God. To understand the Scriptures, we must accept the authority over us of all the Bible ( Matthew 4 :4 ) . All the books of the Bible - in both the Old and New Testaments - are inspired by God . God assures us that we can absolutely trust the Holy Scriptures . '' All Scripture is given by inspiration of God , '' wrote Paul , '' and is profitable for doctrine , for reproof , for…

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As James stated : '' Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it he will be bless in what he does '' ( James 1: 22-25, New…

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Paul reveals the answer: ''Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God'' ( 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, New Living Translation )