BeyondSeeLevel

What do you believe Jesus is calling you to or out of? Struggle? Hardship? Pain? This demonically influenced world will have you believing that all God wants to do is give you your best life here. It’s all about how you prosper here. That’s not what it’s about. The Bible says, “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?”

God’s invitation is for us to come out of darkness, out of our sin and to be joined with Him, in the Light of righteousness. Our sin and darkness can’t mix with the Light of God. This is why Jesus came. He is our way to God. If you accept God’s invitation through fellowship with Jesus, you gain access to all spiritual blessings. And that includes eternal life.

Satan doesn’t want us to believe that heaven and hell exists. Neither does he want us to believe in God and Jesus. But the Word says, “Let God be true and every man be a liar.”

All of us are benefactors in this life of God’s blessings. (Even when we experience hardship and suffering) However, hell is to be eternally separated from God — No light. No blessing. Just pain and torture forever. Every person on this earth will have to answer to God. We all need to be saved from the penalty of our sin. Jesus came to make this possible. He came to pay the debt we owed for our sins. This makes it possible for us to become His children. But He won’t force us into fellowship with Him.

The world wants us to believe that we’re all heaven bound just because of the way we feel or the way we think. Jesus is the Way to heaven. God already determined Him to be the Way – the only way. It’s dangerous and self-destructive to reject God and The truth of His Word.

God’s love is not like man’s love. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus didn’t wait for us to acknowledge Him as Lord or to love or honor Him before He chose to give His life on our behalf. We should have all have to hang on a cross for our own sin. This is a God kind of love! It was not based on reciprocity. Jesus loves us and gave His life in our place in spite of us. We did nothing to deserve it, but because He loves us so much and He desired to do His Father’s will, He did what we could not do for ourselves. He saves us from sin, Satan and even ourselves. But we have to make a decision to accept this awesome gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

My prayer for us all is that God removes the scales from our eyes that we may see. That He opens our ears that we may hear. And that He opens our hearts that we may receive.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

John 14:66 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..

Matthew 11:20-24

20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

*Tressa Jo

Philippians 4:4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

When we read these verses, it gives us a list of things we need to do if we’re going to enter in the peace of God and into the presence of the God of peace. Just reading these verses won’t get you peace. But doing what these verses say will.

So here’s the checklist when you need the peace of God.

“Rejoice in the Lord always”
Rejoice means to be glad. This is not an adjective. It’s a verb. It means to delight in, to be conscious of and to experience God’s grace. This is an attitude check.

“Let your gentleness be evident to all”
This is spiritual discipline. In other words, make sure you continue to conduct yourself as a child of God. This is a behavior check.

“Do not be anxious about anything”
This word anxious, means distracted; drawn in opposite directions. This is a focus check.

“In every situation, by prayer”
Make sure you are talking “to” God and not “at” Him. Make sure you’re connected with His presence. Make sure you’re intentionally seeking Him, His face. Make sure you have an expectation for God to respond. This is an intention check.

“and by petition”
This is a heart-felt supplication and request arising out of deep personal need. We know what we want from God. But do we know what we need from Him?) Do we know what really matters? (priority check)
with thanksgiving. This is a gratitude, humility and pride check

Notice that all of these things require us to have a specific heart posture. This is not just about what you say to God. It’s about the heart behind what we say to Him.

This heart posture is what the enemy wants to bully us out of. He doesn’t want us to delight in God’s grace. He doesn’t want us to conduct ourselves in a holy way. He doesn’t want us to be focused or intentional. He wants us to be prideful and to seek sufficiency within ourselves.

This is why when we’re having a hard time walking in faith, we don’t have the best attitudes. We don’t behave righteously. We’re focused on the wrong things. Our prayer lives are weak or self-absorbed. And we lack humility.

The verse says once you get your heart in the right place, now you can present your requests to God.

Why do you think it’s important to have your heart in the right place when requesting something from God?

James 4:3,7
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So when I do my part, God does His. He ushers us into a place of peace. Our part requires discipline and temperance. And then, God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. That is to bring us into a place of peace.

*Tressa Jo

Let’s talk about our relationship with God.

Imagine yourself in a two-seater airplane.

There’s just you and God in this plane. Of course, God is in the pilot seat. You’re in the passenger seat. Not only is God in the plane, but He is the airplane and the entire course.

He’s the run way/starting place. He is the way, the Truth and life.

He’s the wings/elevation. He will lift you up.

He’s the engine. He gives you life. He’s the gasoline.

He is the reason you live, you move and have your very being.

He’s the exterior body of the plane. He formed you in your mother’s womb.

He’s the navigation system. He directs your steps.

He’s the windows you see through. He removes the scales from your eyes that you might see.

He’s the electrical system. He looks at your heart.

He’s the seat that you’re sitting in. He is the place of rest.

He’s the fire extinguisher. He is a very present help in the time of trouble.

He’s even the parachute. He will catch you when you fall.

He’s the black box. He ALWAYS know where you are and when you’ve been.

He’s every part of the plane.He’s the destination/the landing strip.

Acts 17:28 In Him we live, we move and we have our very being.

In this two-passenger airplane, God gives you operating rights, entrusting that you’ll honor His presence. He says, even though I’m your everything, I’m giving you free will to steward this plane and everything in it and about it. Even though I’m your everything, I won’t force you to honor me, do what I want you to do or go where I want you to go.But I want you to understand a few very important things about Me.

I want you to Love Me.

Not love the airplane. Not love where I can take you in this airplane. Not love the things I do for you. But love Me.

Matthew 22:37 … “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command.

I’m a jealous God.

I didn’t create you for you to be about everything and everybody except Me. I created you for Myself.

Deut. 4:24 “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God”.

Exodus 34:14 “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”

Light has no fellowship with darkness.

I can’t and won’t dwell in darkness. If you choose to live in darkness/in sin, understand that I won’t be there with you.

Darkness opposes and rejects My presence and My light.

1 John 1:5 NIV This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.

2 Corinthians 6:14 NIV Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

In other words, God has standards for our relationship with Him. We don’t get to decide these things.

Jeremiah 10:23 KJV O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Understanding that we need God for everything, it’s a wise and smart thing to allow Him to tell us what to do. Especially in our relationship with Him. Because every bit of our journey in this life will be determined by our willingness or unwillingness to let Him do just that — tell us what to do.

*Tressa Jo