God’s answers are always simple. God’s answers always work.
So, if the answers you are using don’t work, they aren’t God’s.
That’s what Jesus was saying when He said,
“I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE” - John 14:6
He could have said, “I am the Lord, the Master, and the Teacher” or “I am the Highest Priest, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.” All of which certainly is true, but it wasn’t what mattered to Him. What mattered to Jesus was letting us know that He always has the answers for us, He always wants to give us those answers, and His answers always work. He is right here, right now, ready to save.
Salvation is not about someday, somewhere. God’s answers aren’t for tomorrow and they weren’t intended for someone else. God has answers for you right now. He has been with you since He created you, and He knows you better than you even know yourself. If you feel bad about stuff that you have done, if you have seen the damage that you caused to yourself or others, or problems that really are your fault — or worse, if you have been abused, repressed, or hurt by the people or circumstances of your life, do not be afraid. God knows you. 
He knows your history. And He has been working behind the scenes to take care of you, to bless you, and to lift you up. He has been spending every moment of every day of your entire life to save you. That’s what matters to God. Results are what matter to God. And when He hasn’t been able to achieve His will for your life, when things haven’t turned out well for you and His blessings have been made of no effect in your life, He is frustrated, He is hurt, He is sad because He loves you — deeply, passionately, and completely. He wants what is best for you in every situation and He will use everything He has to bless you. That is His will.
An amazing fact about God being infinite is that infinite is infinitely divisible. That means that God can give everything that He has to every person in creation, every moment of every day forever. What God wants to do for us is beyond what we can even imagine. He wants to give us everything that He is, and all that He has. That’s what salvation is — receiving the free gifts that God wants to give us because He loves us. So don’t get hung up on trying to deserve it. Don’t think that you have to do anything to be worth God’s time. Because you already matter completely 100% to God. Asking God to think of you, spend time with you, or take care of you, is asking for something that God already promised to give you, has already been doing His best to give you, and is at the moment you ask already offering once again to give you.
God is a very persistent giver. We may turn Him down. We might not notice Him. We might be prevented from accepting what He offers. It doesn’t matter why we haven’t received His will for our lives. God is ready right now for you to reach out and take what He has prepared for you, what He wants to give you — His blessings, His success, His health, His strength, His victory, His answers. It’s all yours if you want it, because you are a child of God, a unique and priceless original creation – and God is trying to give you everything that He has, and that’s everything.
God is ready to give you the answers you need. He wants to show you the way to receive His blessings. He is ready to discuss your history and set a new course that will bring your life to a whole new level. God is not afraid of the dark side of your life because He is the light of life. There is no challenge to hard and no obstacle too big for God. And no matter where you are coming from or what has happened in your life, He is working to bless you.
There is a story of a man who asked God why so many bad things happen in the world. And God took him up into heaven and showed him a great warehouse, far larger than any we have here on earth. God took him inside and showed him aisle upon aisle, row upon row, rack upon rack, miles and miles of every good thing the man had ever dreamed of. The man was amazed and asked God why He hadn’t given this stuff when it was needed most. At this God was saddened and pointed out to the man that every container had the same tag on it. The man, who hadn’t noticed this, took a closer look and sure enough every box, bag, and jar had the same card dangling from a string, that simply read, “Not asked for.”
What are you asking God for today? Could you be asking for more? If you are asking for enough food to feed your family, its time to start believing for enough not just for your family but for another family as well. If you are asking for a job, its time to start believing for a career. If you are asking for the ability to put up with a health problem, its time to start believing for restoration to a healthy body. If you are asking for the ability to pay back your debts, its time to start believing that God wants to pay you back double for everything that you have lost. God is a very persistent giver. No matter what you are asking, it’s time to take the limits off cooperating with God. He is ready to give you the answers you need. He is ready to take His relationship with you to the next level. He is ready to be a part of the conversation of your life. He is ready to provide not just everything you need, not just everything your heart desires, but more than you have ever dreamed of. God is ready to give you everything that He has to give, and that is everything.
So ask yourself, “how well do my answers work?” Because God’s answers always work.
The word “Ordain” means to officially “select” or “choose”.
By this logic, business owners and managers ordain employees every day. Every four years the United States ordains a President. And many communities, from local churches, to neighborhood associations, to non-profits, and businesses ordain leaders to support and direct their purposes.
But more importantly, today and every day, Jesus ordains you. He has officially chosen you. You were hand picked. He didn’t just ask for anybody. He is asking for you. In fact, He asked me to find you. And now I have.
It’s amazing to me that He would ask ME to find you. Who am I? Why would He choose ME? Simple. He chose me because I could reach you and He needs the specific gifts, abilities, and skill sets that you bring to the table. Your resume matches a job description He is looking to fill in His kingdom. So if you are available, He chooses you. Let Him know your interest in the position as soon as possible and He’ll set up a meeting to go over what you can do for His kingdom. And just so you know, there really isn’t much competition for your position in His kingdom, because you are indispensibly unique and valuable to His mission and purpose. So please consider accepting this ordination. Jesus wants you.
Jesus left more than a few keys of the kingdom in the hands of his followers. He never intended that anyone would horde them, or intentionally deprive others of them for their own selfish gain. But starting with the first apostles, and then bishops, and then popes that is exactly what happened — people used the keys to keep others out instead of letting themselves in. Strange isn’t it that Peter and the others thought that the holy spirit Jesus had given them was of a better quality or granted them more power or authority than the holy spirit that came upon the thousands present who were converted by it at the feast of Pentacost?
There is only one teacher — Jesus Himself.
He is the holder of the keys, and He freely gives them to all who are willing to accept them. It is His will that whenever we discover one, we share it. And so, here are just a few of His keys to His kingdom that I have discovered in my walk with Him.
Jesus Christ is God
- Jehovah God Created Heaven and Earth (Gen 1:1)
- Jehovah God Himself is and Always Has Been the Savior of the World (Isa 43:11; Hos 13:4; Isa 47:4; Isa 63:16)
- Jesus Christ is Jehovah God (Isa 9:6-7; Isa 7:14; Mt 1:23; Isa 25:9; Isa 40:3-5; Jn 1:1-14; Ps 33:6; 1 John 5:20)
- Jesus was Born of the Virgin Mary – the Divine Soul in a Mortal Body and Mind (Lk 1:35)
- By His Own Power Jesus Made Himself Fully Divine, Completely One with His Soul, so that After Resurrection and Ascension He Was and Always Will be Jehovah God All the Way Down Even to His Body, whose name we now know “Jesus Christ” (Jn 14:6; Lk 24:39; Jn 14:9; Jn 3:25; Mt 11:27; Mt 28:18; Rev 1:8-11)
- Jesus Christ is the Archetypal Human, in whose image and likeness we were made — and so to be human is to be Christlike(Gen 1:26-27)
- Saving Faith is Believing and Following the Life of Jesus Christ (Jn 3:36; Jn 15:4-5)
- Every Believer is a Priest (Exod 19:6; Jer 31)
- Every Person has an Individual, Direct, Unmediated Relationship with Jesus (Jn 15:15)
- Jesus Christ Made His Second Advent (1745 - 1770) when He appeared in Person to Emanuel Swedenborg and Commissioned Him as a Revelator (Jn 16:12-15; Mt 24; Rev 1-22) as the prophets had foretold
Only God Explains Truth With Authority
- The Written Revelations Given By God contain Divine Truth Itself (Jn 6:63; Mk 13:31; Lk 16:17)
- The Written Text of these Revelations Describes the Truth, but it is a Believer’s Living and Present Relationship with God that Prescribes Answers for Life (Jn 16:12; Mt 5:17)
- Every Believer Can and Should Search the Scriptures for God’s Eternal Message (Mt 7:7-8; Mt 21:21-22; Mt 23:25-26)
- The Ten Commandments (Exod 20:1-17) Summarize Civil, Moral, and Spiritual Law(Mt 22:35-40; Lev 22:31; Jn 14:15; Jn 15:10)
Every Person’s Life is Their Faith, and Salvation is God’s Ability to Bless, Correct, Improve, Restore, and Resurrect
- There is Only One True Faith that can save no matter what (Mt 16:16-18; Ephesians 4:4-13)
- Saving Faith is Complete Confidence in Jesus Christ and Trust that Everyone who Lives a Good Life and Holds a Proper Belief is Saved by Him (Jn 11:25; Jn 3:16)
- Doing God’s Will and Obeying God’s Commands are Required to Facilitate the Gifts of Faith and Salvation Even Though These Actions Do Not Cause a Believer to Deserve or Merit Heaven (Jn 3:27; Jn 15:4-8; Jn 13:17; Mt 13:23; Mt 7:24-26; Lk 10:27)
Salvation is God’s Purpose for Every Life, Because He Wants You to Succeed and Be Blessed like Everyone Else
- Heaven Isn’t Just a Destination After Death, it is a Quality of Life, Right Here, Right Now (Lk 17:21)
- In terms of Physics (position, velocity, and acceleration) – Heaven is a Velocity, not a position.
- Everyone Lives Forever One Way or The Other (Jn 14:19; Jn 11:25)
- Heaven is Full of People Who Love God and Love People Like God Loves Them (Mic 6:8; Lk 10:27)
- Hell is Full of People Who Love Themselves and the stuff they can own, control, and manipulate (Ps 9:17; Lk 12:5)
- Heaven and Hell are Both Eternal (Lk 16:26)
- Every Human Being is Created for Heaven but is Free to Reject it (Lk 17:21)
- People in Heaven are Married, One Man with One Woman, to Eternity (Mt 19:4-6)
Every Moment of Every Day, Jesus Christ is Using Everything that He has to Bless You
- All Humans Have Free Will in Spiritual Matters and so Determine The Network and Context of their Own Eternal Life by Their Lifestyle Decision For or Against Jesus Christ (Ps 54:6; Isa 1:16-17; Jn 8:31-36; Jn 15:14-16)
- Confessing Sins to Jesus Christ alone without another mediator, changing the decision for sin, giving back for the Damage Caused, and being Born Again to New Life in His Name is how we accept restoration, blessing, peace, and success (Jn 3:3; Jn 3:5; Lk 3:3-8; Mk 1:4; Mk 1:15; Lk 13:5; Lk 15:7; Mt 10:39; Ps 51:10)
Two Processes that Can Change You: Baptism and Holy Supper
- Christian Baptism Replaces Circumcision (Deut 10:16; Galatians 5:6; 6:15)
- Baptism is an Introduction to a Network and Context of Believers on Earth and in Heaven (Mt 3:13)
- Baptism is Full Immersion in Water in the Name of Jesus Christ (Mt 28:18-19)
- Baptism of Water is only a stepping stone so that a Person will be Born Again by the Spirit of Jesus Christ the living and only God (Jn 3:5; Mk 16:16)
- Jesus Christ is Present With, Redeems, and Opens Heaven to Those who want to walk with Him when they Take the Bread and Fruit of the Vine in His Name (Jn 6:51-56)
- Eating and Drinking with Jesus Connects the Believer’s Life with Jesus Christ and so renews their Freedom in Him (Deut 8:3; Jn 6:27)
- Grace is the immediate willingness of God to work with us no matter what
- Mercy is the empowered love of God that restores what was broken as we walk with Him in new life.
There are so many keys, these are just a few that have turned my life around. Take them, try them, and when God reaches into your life, like He has so many time in mine and takes these thoughts or others and makes them keys for you, keep a copy for yourself, but pass the original along to someone else in your life. Because it is only when we bring someone with us that any of God’s keys will open the door to eternal life.
The time of waiting is completed. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is now at hand.
So change your life, and believe this Good News.
Jesus Christ returned centuries ago and nobody paid attention, nobody gave Him notice. Just as there were many who tried to personally gain from His ministry in Galilea only to turn on Him when they discovered He would not fight to restore the throne of His ancestor David – there have been many who have tried to turn what Jesus taught at His second coming to their own advantage. There have been false prophets who claimed His words as their own, but twisted them so as to corrupt them for their own ends. There have been so called intellectuals who have made a distinction between Jesus and the teaching He completed during His second coming on the grounds that His return is all about “the truth” and “enlightenment”, but once again these are just looking for an angle to personally gain from what they have discovered, so that they can sound smart, win in the petty economic struggles of earthly existence, and delight in the ignorance of those who have not read what Jesus taught. All in all, Jesus has been surrounded by unbelieving, self-absorbed, power hungry, wealth and position seeking people ever since He returned in person to finish what He started over 2000 years ago. Just like His 12 disciples arguments over position, power, and influence – those who have come across the news of the second coming have completely missed its primary point. And so, over 200 years later, the world is still waiting for the kingdom that God is already setting up!
So, repent! Hear the Good News and change your life! For the kingdom of God is here, right now, and you can be a part of it. And come, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and spread the Word that He is alive, He is God, He has come again, and He is and will always be right here, right now, ready to save.
You can’t compel love. A person held in a relationship against their will would never be said to be in love with the one holding them there. However, when Jesus was asked, ”Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
The American Heritage Dictionary says that a commandment is “n. A command; an edict.” However, in the Bible commandments are less like commands and more like the negotiated terms of a commitment or contract. Just as a marriage is a commitment between one man and one woman that has specific terms of faithfulness, support, and care — our relationship with God can be a committed relationship that will be successful according to the terms that we expect, maintain, and dedicate our lives to.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Jesus is not compelling our love. He is actually not even commanding our love. He is providing, sustaining, and empowering our love by consistently being there for us, blessing us, and providing for our happiness and success. He is keeping up his part of our relationship with Him — meeting us where we are and loving us with everything that He is.
However, just knowing Jesus loves every human being isn’t enough, because when we don’t love Him in return even His infinite love and omnipotent presence is ineffective in its attempt at blessing us. This is why He so passionately wants people to love Him — because love is always a two way street. One way love is ineffective until it is received and reciprocated. And so the all powerful creator of the universe says, “Love me so that I can bless you! Give me the opportunity to show you what I can do for you!”
It is God’s passionate joy to give you every good thing from success in business to good health and fulfilling relationships. He wants to bless your life with intimacy, peace, and contentment. He wants the best results possible in every situation that is facing you today, because He already loves you with everything that He is and everything that He has — and that’s everything.
The entirety of creation was designed to bless you, because God loves you. He created you so that He could bless you, and now He is telling you these two keys to success in life – Love God and Love Other People Just Like God Loves Them.
Intimacy. Real, lasting, deep, and passionate connections between human beings. Intimacy is what matters the most to God. Intimacy can heal the body. Intimacy can heal the spirit. Intimacy can solve the hatred, anger, depression, anxiety, and every other sin facing you today. Because intimacy is the presence of God. Intimacy is the result of love received and returned. Intimacy is the connection that God is looking for that enables His blessings, and His awesome will to be done.
Setting apart “Holy Men” is not Biblical. God’s vision for the human race is that every human being will know Him, feel His love, understand His priorities, see His vision for their lives, and study His Word prayerfully for answers to their life’s questions. The Christian priesthood, in copying the Aaronic priesthood of the Old Testament, set itself up as a class of mediators set apart to keep their view of the Divine before the eyes of people. But this feature of religion is now outdated. Today we have the opportunity to embrace God’s vision for the future as it was declared in Jeremiah 31:
Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their ancestors in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; my covenant that they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more everyone their neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
God calls every individual to walk side by side along the road of life with others, to give counsel and encouragement, to study and teach His Word for those less educated in its message, to worship and praise Him together in communities, to witness important life events such as marriage and death and teach the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper, and to lead others by means of the gifts of vision, perception, and wisdom to discover more of the blessings that God has in store for all people. These gifts are what set apart the pastors, the preachers, the ministers, and the priests – and these are all roles that any believer can take if that is where they are called by God and gifted to serve.
Man or woman, young or old, every believer is a priest following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ who is the only teacher, the only priest, the only mediator, the only God.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)
In the second book of the Old Covenant, Moses plainly recorded God’s Ten Commandments as saying:
- There is one God who is the Lord
- Do not Take His Name in Vain
- Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
- Honor Your Father and Mother
- Do not murder
- Do not commit adultery
- Do not steal
- Do not bear false witness
- Do not covet specific items
- Do not covet anything that is your neighbors
Certainly these commands are literally true, but is there more to being a Christian than avoiding these errors? The gospel according to John summarized the relationship between the Old Covenant laws and Christian practice by observing that, “the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) So, what grace and truth did Jesus bring for us to see in these ten articles of His contract with the human race? What is the eternal message written into this text by the finger of God?
Far from being a simple condemnation of widely accepted moral errors, the Ten Commandments describe every believer’s spiritual bill of rights. Take a look at that list of laws again and then consider this list of rights that God is proclaiming through those words given to Moses:
- You have the right to know the Lord your God
- You have the right to talk to Him and call upon Him for help anytime you want or need him
- You have the right to worship Him in community with other believers
- You have the right to find mentors for your life’s journey, people who love you and support you in your walk of faith and who can teach you God’s Word
- You have the right to life and the power to give life in the name of Jesus Christ
- You have the right to pursue true love in a faithful marriage between one man and one woman
- You have the right to receive a multitude of good things, an overflowing abundance of blessings from God and you have the right to give what you have to others
- You have the right to acknowledge your faith to others and so spread the good news of salvation.
- You have the right to live free of sin and free of the desire to sin.
- You have the right to live without fear.
This is every believer’s spiritual bill of rights, the benefits of the covenant signed by the finger of God. God has promised great things to the human race. He wants to give us His love, His presence, His blessings, His power, His vision – in short, He wants to give us everything that He has…and that’s everything! The only limit on God’s goodness toward us is our own free will. He created us so that we can choose to live under His law and so enjoy the rights that it conveys, or we can choose to rebel, ignore, or dismiss the way that reality works and so limit God’s ability to bless us.
The choice is yours.
And so, today, pray this prayer. Choose the blessing over the curse, and accept all of the blessings that God has in store for you, right now, and forever.
- Thank you Jesus for Being God, for asking to be my friend and savior and leaving me in freedom to respond.
- Thank you for Your Creation, especially for creating me on purpose to find your purpose in my life and to become an angel in heaven.
- Thank you for Your Peace and Hope which strengthens me for the journey of life.
- Thank you for Providing me with Mentors, Supporters, Believers and Guides who can participate in Your leadership of my life.
- Thank You for Life every day, good and bad, weak and strong, I know you foresee all evil and provide all good. So thank you for the opportunity to choose every day to live in your presence and bring your vitality, love, and wisdom into my relationships with others as I follow your example.
- Thank You for true love and for providing me in this life or in the next with a perfect match, lasting love, and eternal bliss. Strengthen me for the walk toward faithful marriage today and everyday, to live not for myself but for others.
- Thank You for every blessing, every skill, every insight, every opportunity, everything. Remind me to give credit to you for all that you do and open my eyes ever more to see your presence and activity in my life and in the world around me.
- Thank You for bringing me into a community of believers that gives strength when I am down, clarity when I am in doubt, hope when I am desolate. May I come to see you more and more in each of their faces and may I strive to follow your example so that they might see your face in me.
- Thank You for the love that you place in my heart — may it always be new so that with every challenge, every temptation, and every hard time I may choose to let my old life die and be replaced by your life in more and more ways every day of my life.
- Thank You for life eternally new and happy, for faith which dispels fear, replacing it with peace and confidence in You.
All this we pray in Your name, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
