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The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in Him. (1 John 2:27 NIV) The School of Christ; that is, the School where Christ is the great Lesson and the Spirit the great Teacher; in the School where the teaching is not objective, but subjective; where the teaching is not of things, but an inward making of Christ a part of us by experience – that is the nature of this School.
As the year 2024 is coming to a close, we could look back and reflect on the triumphs and the challenges we've faced. We've experienced our share of happiness and heartaches, but through it all, we've grown and learned. Many people are looking forward to 2025 with anticipation, and great expectation. As we ring out the old, and bring in the new, we wonder what the Lord has in store for us this upcoming year. Will there be wars, rumors of wars, feast or famine, or will we experience the greatest revival that the world has ever experienced?
In early December I hosted a men's retreat at a camp near my home in Georgia. We hiked four miles, enjoyed great Southern food, enjoyed fellowship around an outdoor fireplace, slept in bunkhouses, worshipped and prayed together, and listened to several of the younger guys share short sermons. Because of the relaxed atmosphere, many of the guys opened up and shared that they were feeling battle-weary.
A Word of Comfort to those who might have entered a place of stagnant waters to bring you into the refreshing streams of God's Grace. "There comes a time in one's life where they become determined to cast all their cares upon Me and trust fully resting in My faithfulness to preserve their life. Casting all cares upon Me gives the strength needed to go on no matter what they face in their way.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7 The moment you invited Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior, all your sins were forgiven—your past sins, your present sins, and your future sins. Once you are born again, you are in Christ. You do not have to try to get forgiveness. You have the forgiveness of sins through His blood, and this forgiveness of sins that you have is not according to what you have done, but according to the riches of God's grace—His unmerited, unearned, and undeserved favor!
Loving your enemies isn't a concept that comes easily. In fact, it feels counterintuitive. The natural response to someone who has hurt or betrayed us is to distance ourselves or, at worst, to seek revenge. But what if I told you that loving your enemies can lead to a sense of inner peace and freedom that you never thought possible? The idea of loving your enemies has deep roots in many spiritual and philosophical traditions. In Christianity, for example, Jesus calls his followers to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27).
"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow, the Lord will do amazing things among you." Joshua 3:5 In 2 Samuel 23:20, there is an extraordinary story. The passage says, "One snowy day, a man named Benaiah chased a lion." Normal people don't chase lions. Lions chase normal people. But God wants you to have a bold and courageous mentality that will allow you to chase after what has intimidated you in the past.
Regardless of what all natural appearances may depict, our true enemy is that which is of the spiritual realm. Lucifer and his clan are the real enemy we are at war with. All of humanity is at war with them, although some people do not recognize it because of the deception they are ignorant and blind to. When the people who have been blinded to the truth of the enemy's deception fall prey to becoming pawns to Lucifer's agenda they too can appear as the enemy in which we are at war with, but the reality is, our true enemy is merely infiltrating the heart and mind of that person/people and they have become unknowingly a victim of the enemy.
One of the foundational elements that we need to stand firm in faith is an understanding of our spiritual legal rights. Without this revelation knowledge it is difficult to take ownership of God's promises and confidently believe. Many people are suffering from broken marriages, financial difficulties and incurable sicknesses and disease. They desire a miraculous touch from God and do not understand why it is not happening. They have not been taught that they possess a title deed called "faith" that gives them covenant rights with the Father to make their hopes a reality.
It's so simple we miss it - the key to hearing God is truly wanting whatever He wants! We've developed such a pragmatic, even transactional approach to the prophetic realm over the years that we have arrived with 'us' at the center of the equation. But really, although God is ALWAYS wanting to reveal Himself to us through an authentic experience and intimacy with His Spirit, since He is God, the issue is really what He wants to reveal much more than it is what we want to 'know.'
