Books - Books by me

The  

Book

 With 

Dirty 

Boots

A Treatise on Life and Truth and the only place it is found, my LORD and my GOD Jesus the Christ.

 

Joe Hill

For all of you out there that have tried to always do the right thing and failed who have tried to always and in all things be loving…… and failed……who have tried to do the good you would do but end up doing the evil you would not do…..whose families are falling apart…..who have too much month at the end of the money…..who are miserable failures, I have good news for you, Jesus is bigger than your problems, Jesus is bigger than your sins, Jesus is bigger than your bills, Jesus is bigger than your guilt, Jesus is bigger than your pain. Now for all the rest that are good church members and have it all figured out even though you might not be always loving, always kind, always caring….to you I say you are with out Christ and without Hope in the world.  In all this as long as the heart continues to beat there is Jesus offering so great a salvation.  21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst."  Luke 17:21 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes). 

  

My desire is to communicate some spiritual truths that I see lacking in the body of Christ in the U.S. today. Communicating spiritual truth in the words and language of the flesh is no easy task. so I beseech you, as you read to keep one eye on Jesus and one ear open to the voice of GOD, and if need be wade through the senseless blather in the hope that GOD may use a sentence or two to lift you into a higher and deeper place with Him, because in the end He is all that matters.

 

            In writing and trying to decide if my testimony should be part of this I wonder if, in that, I would be taking the focus off of God.  Well here it goes anyway and if this seems self serving then I am sorry, that is not my intention.

 

            Here is the short version, as I have written it once and found too much “me” in it.  Some time ago I was happily married, then I was not (Doesn’t that say a lot with few words?).  So I found myself driving down the hi way with the intention of Killing her and her boyfriend (now at this point I am without Christ and without hope in the world though I did not know that) anger is the driving force at times like this, it was not so much I wanted them all dead (though I didn’t mind the thought and was perfectly willing to be the instrument of that demise) as I just wanted the pain and anger to stop. So for the first time in my life I prayed (I should say for the first time I prayed with some sincerity, as I had indeed cussed GOD many times in my head before that)  if there is a God then take away the pain……….and it was gone …just like that. Now I know there is a God and I am not him.

 

Time goes on ….. 6 years later, divorced, remarried, a good church go-er even managed to clean myself up some, quit drinking, cussing, and most other obvious sins.  From the outside a good Christian man but as I read the Bible I would see that Jesus was concerned more with the inside than the outside and I still would, on occasion, like to see some people destroyed.  A number of other inward sins God kept bringing to my attention.  It seemed obvious to me that God was calling us to perfection so I decided to be perfect and live only to please Him………and failed…..Try harder………and failed……TRY HARDER……..and failed……….now what……..(the dots are times of great travailing whether determination or weeping)…..GOD I GIVE UP, IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO MAKE ME BETTER THEN YOU MUST SEND ME TO HELL NOW……In the morning I was a different person. I latter discovered that this was what the old dead guys referred to as total surrender.  I had once again met GOD in grace and power, from that moment on everything was a lesson, an opportunity to learn more about Him. At this point I must admit I never got anything the first time and usually not after two or three times, In fact, at one point God told me He would test me and even gave me a hint about how, also telling how I should act in the test…..and I still failed…..PRAISE GOD. He is patient and kind and in this school all pass no matter the cost.  I learn, in all this His voice and as He led me through some things that everyone thought I was crazy He became bigger each time.  The purpose of telling you all this is to say we serve a GOD that answers prayers of desperation.  The first step in learning from God is total complete and radical surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ.  Oh but I am surrendered you say. Surrender is like receiving forgiveness, you know it is done when His Spirit confirms with your spirit it is done….do not stop until you get confirmation from GOD.  When this is done the rest of what I have to say may make some sense to you if this is not done then what I have to not only will not make any sense but I will make you angry and in fact your anger will indeed prove what I am saying.  If I say to you “You are without Christ and without hope in the world” and that statement brings you any thing but joy you prove the truth of the statement.  Here is why, Jesus said blessed are you when people tell lies about you, so if I you truly have Him you are happy I am lying. If the statement is true and you know it you either have rejected Him and are happy about it, or with that knowledge you may come to him and receive life. So then the only one who would be angered by this statement is the one who thinks he has Christ and is wrong. Here is the perfect opportunity to search your heart and even ask Jesus to take a little look inside and reveal what He would.

 

Now If I haven’t yet, by the grace of GOD, I am going to begin to meddle a little in your life. One thing we all must realize is that Christian service has very little to do with what we do and all to do with who we are because what we do always stems from who we are.  This is what GOD says about who we are….”5 But the LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. Genesis 6:5-6 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)”. You may attempt to justify yourself in light of this verse by saying that GOD said this before the flood, just know this, men have been using the bible to justify ungodly behavior from the beginning of time, you may get away with it and you may even convince others but I assure you on that day, when we know as we are known it will not go well for you.  Until this root is changed then all our works are vain.

 

GOD in His infinite mercy and grace reveals to us who we are by how we react to different situations…27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. John 14:27 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) If we don’t possess His peace in all situations then we simply don’t possess Him. Now I don’t say this to condemn, I simply point out that your reaction reveals the condemnation that already exists. “18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” John 3:18 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) The emotional and sometimes physical pain we feel at the hands of others reveals our condition to ourselves and the cure is not in causing them to act better but in our coming into the kingdom of GOD.

 

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

 

Love is the fulfillment of the law not that we are loved by men but that we love and we love people because we love Him and 19 We love because he loved us first. 1 John 4:19 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

 

We are only able to love as we understand and appropriate His love to us.  Again we can know that we have not appropriated His love for us if we don’t walk in His love for others, we can only give what we possess.  So then (and follow me here) if I find myself angry and vexed by the actions of others and act out of that anger then I am not acting out of love, even though the words I use may be true the fact that love is not in the spirit behind the words then I cause pain as the result of being caused pain and we enter into a ever growing ball of suffering.  Jesus would have that changed in us that are called by His Name.  The way that He changes it is this; He will so fill us up with love and peace that no one can cause us pain. we begin to seek their good even over our own. This is the way of the cross 23 Then he said to them all, "If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) Here is a tough one, to determine to do good, even when that determination has at its root a basic understanding of the bible, that very determination is an exultation of self…the opposite of denying self…so the result can not, by definition be good.

18 Now a certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Luke 18:18-19 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) Only GOD is good (God’s word not mine)

 

In defining good we must go back to the garden and the root of the problem with man. Two things happened in the garden there was of course the rebellion as they ate the forbidden fruit and also the result of the fruit which was the illegally obtained knowledge of good and evil. God created Adam in His image then Adam begat sons in his image. Part of the image that Adam passed on was the illegally obtained knowledge of good and evil, as we operate out of that knowledge, that we possess, but have no right to use; we are already falling short of the glory of God. We have a stolen ability to be self determining; however we have never been given the right. We can look at the life and teaching of Jesus and get a hint of what God would have for us, or how He would have us act, but until the flesh has been dominated by the death of Christ and the man filled with the spirit of Christ we will always fail in living out the love of Christ. Because, apart from the reckoning yourself dead to sin and alive in Christ we are always living in the flesh (natural man) and the flesh profits nothing. 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 6:63 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) 11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) (as a side not when I give scripture references my intention is not expound on the scriptures. I want to lead you into the spirit of the scriptures, so you may find much profit in looking up the reference in you own bible and translation and reading in context of the whole thought surrounding each reference all the while listening to God ‘cause what I have to say is less than drivel if God does not confirm in your heart.)

 

That leads to the next thought, many, if not most, of you have experienced the forgiveness of sin by the death of the Savior (If not then either continue to plod on or maybe look in the index for a chapter that lays that out, though I don’t know at this point if one will be written…..Let me just make it easy for you….Cry out to God. victory is in Christ and when you cry out to Him He will lead you to it 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (King James Version) The victory is found in much the same place and was as forgiveness was found. If you recall, we were all without Christ at some point then it came to your attention that a sinless man paid the price for you and as you asked God for forgiveness, realizing that there was no way to get there on your own, and with the reasonable knowledge of a perfect sacrifice already given for our sins. We could exercise faith at that point based on truth and confirmed by the Spirit of God.  6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) (I was going to use Romans 10:9 here but that is one we simply must talk about later)

Truth is not dependant on faith, it is, however faith that allows us to profit from the truth.  Truth is the constant faith, or belief is fluid we can believe many things that are not true but there is no benefit to that. We all live by faith whether in the economy or our income or ourselves we live by faith and our peace is always derived from our faith. So to the extent that our peace is disturbed is the extent that our faith is in something untrustworthy. Since   6 Jesus replied, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) then it must follow that all other truth in order to be true must stem from this eternal truth.

Back to what I was saying, we have received forgiveness because we saw that a price was paid and we deem the price acceptable to God (because He said it was), we ask for forgiveness and then exercise faith in the fact that He has forgiven us. it is only after that that we receive conformation in the spirit that forgiveness is given.  Let me break it down again, we realize a need (in this case guilt reveals the need for forgiveness) we to seek a way to fill that need (often doing good deeds or suffering in an effort to atone) at some point we realize the futility in this ‘cause the guilt if it leaves for a time comes back. At this point we are ready to submit to Jesus and accept Him as savior due to our helplessness in atoning. We believe God on the subject of substitutionary (that may not be a word because the spellchecker doesn’t recognize it but it does fit well so I am going to use it) forgiveness and bang…… justification we are at this point right with God (usually accompanied by great joy).  We find, however justification was accomplished, that we had little or nothing to do with it, that is to say we weren’t justified because we were good we were justified by His goodness and there was and is nothing inherent in me to warrant justification.  Now if we understand this concept we have justification by faith, if we think this was accomplished because of some value in me then I have justification by works and have reason to boast (argue this if you want I don’t mind)   27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded! By what principle? Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! Romans 3:27 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

 

Now we begin to come to the root of the Christian life in America today, we are justified by faith and made righteous in the sight of God……and yet we keep doing wrong, what’s up with that….. 3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Romans 4:3 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) we come back to the principals of faith, first recognize the need…many of us after having been justified by faith begin to try to act like we are saved we see that the bible has some pretty great promises for those who walk with God so we realize we must act like we walk with God….though we fail more often than not, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin and we know that even though we are not perfect we are still going to Heaven and will be made perfect when we die.  That’s all fine and dandy until we see that the walk we are called to is much greater than that and that there is no indication that the soul will be changed upon the resurrection. In fact if we think about it we will see the fallacy of this thinking, death is the result of sin 23 For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) If the wages or result of sin is death then to think that death is the final deliverance from sin is to give death (which is a judgment from GOD) more power than the creator of the universe….and I just can’t see that.  Another problem with this common thinking is that sin is in the flesh and will be removed when this body dies and we get a new tabernacle, in order to go there we must assume that the body is the dwelling place of sin and that is not the case in fact as I think about it I can only come up with two that may have their root their. Sexual sins and gluttony both are driven by the bodily lusts; both however, until twisted by lust are desires given by God and as such are good. So even then to loose the body is not to loose the lust, no, sin has its root in the nature of man and would be dealt with while the man is still living.  Sin is by nature a matter of choice else a moral God could not extract punishment for said sin. We all remember a time when we of our own free will acted against our conscience at that time a rebellion against the rule of God took place and we were enslaved to the powers of darkness 1 And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you formerly lived according to this world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest...  Ephesians 2:1-3 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) Life in this kingdom is misery although it is a kingdom of deception with prison walls painted with gorgeous murals and the enjoyment of sin for a season, there is occasional peace (we talked about that earlier) that is broken by outside forces (that is a clue as to where the peace comes from) and the appearance of good deeds (as seen through the lens of the knowledge of good and evil that if you remember we have no right to exercise) Basically I am saying that our misery, or co fusion, or pain, or contentions among other things reveal the dominion we are under and none of those things have a place in the kingdom of God so we must be under the dominion of another and there is only one (I will let you guess who you belong to if not God) all that to say we need righteousness 14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) If death is not the final deliverance from sin then we have a problem because as long as we thought that death would deliver us then we could live with failure while hoping for victory at some later date now we realize that victory must come while we live……and we can’t do it…PRAISE GOD….we are almost there if we realize that we must while at the same time realize we cant…..that’s Christian life.

3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.  Romans 6:3-4 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

Many would tell you that it is impossible for men to be sanctified or made holy or to come to any sort of perfection…call it by what you will when they say it is impossible they are right… 27 He replied, "What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God." Luke 18:27 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) the impossibility in no way diminishes the necessity.

 16 for it is written, "You shall be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) 4 For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. Ephesians 1:4 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) When we look closely at the call of God for men in the world we quickly become overwhelmed with our responsibility and if anyone thinks they are living up to their responsibility in Christ they are deceived and more than likely quite tired and they will not hold out till the end.

Now for the GOOD NEWS all the requirements of the Bible are actually promises in Christ.  Everything works out of us from the rest; this rest is entered into as I started to say earlier First see the need, accept the possibility, recognize the power available, and understand that it is the will of God that you walk in love and holiness.  3 For this is God's will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) At this point all that is necessary is that you ask…..and keep asking, knowing that He will and He can, if there is something need be done on your part He will tell you if you come to Him in simple faith.

5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

Sanctification is accomplished in us just as justification was accomplished in us, which is to say by faith.  It is a work of God with which we have little to do except believe, ask, and expect. It is the believing God that is credited as riotousness. You see, Christ died for us and also He died as us so when He died we died and so now it is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me….. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)  8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:5-11 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

The practical working out of this is really quite difficult…..until we realize it is a work of God through faith (trust) from the place of rest we see that as we determine to do God’s will and we place that with Him then we do what He wills in His strength.  This living out of death means we follow Him, no matter where He leads, and we know we can trust Him in this Because… 28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, Romans 8:28 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes) we no longer try to decide the right thing to do we just trust Him in the doing. Oddly enough this works out to exactly the extent that we think it will. not that we have any ability to determine what god will do but that the truth of the statement "This God in whom we move and live and have our being" that truth begins to profit us as we exercise faith in that truth, whereas before we were led by the spirit of the sons of disobedience and as such every action resulted in the wrath of God as the actions were born out of disobedience, now what may even be the same action turns into profit through the submission to the truth and an exercise of faith in that same truth. It is an exchanged life...Beauty for ashes.....Life for death. Our old life of death rebellion and sin is exchanged for life in Christ and we find all we counted gain in that life was but loss in this life. To put on the new nature in Christ is the same as "if you by the spirit put to death the deeds of the flesh" The deeds of the flesh are any thought or act that have the birthplace in the nature of man while to live in the Spirit in to live where every thought and act has as its birth the Spirit of God. often this requires repentance (or turning away) from all that we are and all that we have including reason and intellect as well as emotion, feeling and desires, even family and friends, so that God may be all in all. This is not to say that thinking and reason or emotion, family or anything for that matter is bad, it is just to say that all things if not brought into submission to the will of God are death.

  Light consumes darkness; darkness is nothing but the absence of light. the darkness is always there, in fact if were not for light there would be no darkness, for light reveals and defines the darkness; however the darkness has absolutely no power over the light. And light instantly and entirely consumes the darkness.

5 Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

9 The one who says he is in the light but still hates his fellow Christian is still in the darkness. 1 John 2:9 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

19 Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 (Free version of New English Translation with limited notes)

We lived our lives in darkness, when the light came it brought pain and regret, so we tend to flee the light in an attempt to flee the pain and regret.  We come right back to the knowledge of good and evil, man thinks of good and evil in terms of pleasure and pain. If it feels good it must be good and if it hurts it must be bad, when we take a minute and look at things from God’s perspective we that our pain may well be another’s good and our pleasure is often another’s pain. If love is to seek the good of others first then we obviously cannot rely on our reason in the determining.  As we, by a purposed choice of free will choose to fold that will into God and have no will of our own and even to not consider ourselves at all then He communicates the discernment to us and we walk out His will in love.

All that to say “He is light and in Him there is no darkness” and we tend to think that we are darkness till we come to him then we begin a process of varying shades of grey until death, then and only then can we be all light. We have already seen that death can not be the final deliverance from sin. The bible also does not support varying degrees of darkness.

(Mat 7:18 NET)  A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.

(Luke 6:44 NET) for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles.

            As we examine the fruit of our own lives we begin to see the dominion we are under remembering this that God said about us

 (Jeremiah 17:9 NET)  The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?

            And the words of Jesus…..

(Matthew 7:3 NET)  Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye,' while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

            So knowing that our mind is deceitful we are not able to trust our own thoughts, we also see that when we see a speck in our brother’s eye it is because of the beam in our own.  If we try to minister to the brother with the speck, no matter how “good” our intentions, with out first removing the beam (or judging ourselves) then we will speak with the spirit of self-righteousness, and however kind the words they will be received poorly. If, however we comfort with that with which we have been comforted we find a compassion and a kindness within us that we never knew existed, then even when our words are not received we still treat others with loving kindness, because we are brought into the kingdom in submission and minister love and truth out of that kingdom.

We always communicate on two levels on one level are the words that we use and on another the spirit behind the words, so we sow seed with communication constantly seed in the natural with words and in the spiritual with the spirit behind the words, any spirit other than God’s is always contentious.  Contention alone is not sufficient to Judge the words we use (though it is an indicator) because if we speak truth even in love to one who is determined to be deceived he will revive it as contention. Love and truth are always our highest priority. You don’t love a crack addict by giving them more crack even though that may be all they want, you love a crack addict by tying them up in the basement and letting them scream. There is no truth without love and there is no love without truth. Who is sufficient for these things….

           

(2 Corinthians 3:5 NET)  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,

            So in examining the fruit in our own lives we look inside first for love and peace (back to the beginning of the book) and if godliness does not exist, and entirely rule in us then we will be completely unable to minister that into others. If we think we are sometimes good and some times bad we are deceived and end up being all bad (or ungodly) God is good and only God is good. Anything else is, by default not good.

 

            We understand then that Christ died for us (forgiveness) and that Christ died as us and we with him (death to self, flesh, old man) and in Him we are raised into newness of life (put on the new man).

 (Ephesians 4:24 NET) and to put on the new man who has been created in God's image — in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

            You are now a new creation in Christ Jesus that is the truth, if you decide that you can not be riotous and holy then of course you can not be in Him and you are back in the dominion of the deceiver because your determination to believe a lie has opened the door again to evil influence.  When we are placed in Christ we are born into the Kingdom of God and live in Him who is the way the truth and the life and He is righteous and holy.

            (1 John 3:6 NET)  Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.

            To be in Him and to sin is an impossibility.  Just as in forgiveness, walking in newness of life is accomplished by faith. First we see the need, next we see the possibility, we also see that walking in the light is the will of god and He has the power to accomplish it.

            (Hebrews 11:6 NET)  Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

           

            Now just ask…ask to be filled with the Spirit of God, ask to be controlled and guided ask that He work out His will in and through you…..and, having asked expect it. We serve a mighty God who is able to do in and through us more than we could ask or even imagine.

 

            We don’t at this point wait for the evidence of godliness to exercise the faith we exercise the faith, walk in him, and wait for the evidence. In fact often you will need to ignore much evidence to the contrary and the opinions of others. You let God and God alone guide. To the religious people of the day Jesus was a great sinner. Though to God he is the Son in whom He is well pleased. You also, when you walk with Him will be despised and mocked and blessed the more for it.          

(Matthew 5:11 NET)  "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.

            This walk will only be found when God means more than all else, when you would rather die and be sent to hell than offend Him one more time, when you will follow Him no matter the cost. When you, with Jesus are willing to be beat and killed for no apparent reason. In other words when you seek Him with all your heart.

I don’t write this to point out your deficiency nor to condemn anyone for not living Godly but in the hope that eyes will be opened to what’s available to us that are called by His name. That we can indeed walk in the Spirit where there is no condemnation, no fear, where pain and suffering is far out shadowed by the glory that will result.

(James 1:2 NET)My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

 When are willing and available God Himself will teach us all things.

            (John 16:13 NET)  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come.

            With the new birth and the filling of the Spirit we can rest in the growth in grace without worry or fear.

            (John 3:3 NET)  Jesus replied, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

                        (Acts 2:38 NET)  Peter said to them, "Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

            (Romans 14:17 NET)  For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

            If righteousness, peace and joy are not the dominant characteristics in your life inwardly as well as outwardly then odds are you are not filled with the Spirit.  If we are not filled with the Spirit we will not bear the fruit of the Spirit and must at that point fall short of the glory of God.

(Galatians 5:22 NET)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit.

            If we are not behaving according to the Spirit inwardly first we will never do so outwardly.

(Matthew 23:26 NET)  Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!

            It is Jesus who cleans the inside of the cup He does this for every willing soul and He does it all the way.

            (Ezekiel 36:25 NET)  I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations.

            (Isaiah 1:18 NET) Come, let's consider your options," says the LORD.

"Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool. 19 If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land.20 But if you refuse and rebel,   you will be devoured by the sword. “Know for certain that the LORD has spoken.

The walk of faith says that I am evil, God is good and Jesus is God. He died for me and I died with Him, I am a rebel against God and deserve only death and destruction, that death has been met in Christ therefore it is no longer I that live but Jesus lives in me and the life I now live I live by the faith of Him and count myself as nothing.

 (Hebrews 2:3 NET) how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

            To walk in anything less that what has been purchased for us is certainly to despise the blood of the Son of God that paid the ransom. Woe to us who have denied the power of God to save from all sin and walked in iniquity while calling ourselves Christian, how much greater the wrath on those of you who teach and use the bible to justify the works of the flesh…..