Know No One

A friend told me the other day, “The reason people say ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’ is because people judge books by their covers.” The statement is made of books, but more commonly of how people judge other people. I don’t know how you know people, but let me tell you, looks are deceiving. I don’t want to know you on the outside. I want to know you on the inside.

Paul gives this instruction, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh …” (II Corinthians 5:16). Created in the image of God, we are tri-part beings. As God is a trinity of Father, Son and Spirit, so we are spirits that have souls and live in bodies. Of those three components, the body of flesh is temporal, but the soul and spirit live forever. I see and acknowledge you in the flesh, but I don’t know you until I know your soul and spirit. This is one of the ways that the gift of discerning spirits operates. Not merely to distinguish between good and evil spirits, but to understand what is in the spirit of a man.

Our society puts a lot of stock into the outward appearance. It is not un-important to take care of your physical body and care for your appearance, but that is not the eternal you. The world obsesses over body image. Cosmetic plastic surgery, diet & exercise equipment sales number in the billions of dollars, while we are raising a Biblically illiterate generation. It’s time to make a serious investment in the spirit man, born again by the Spirit of God. This is the hour for an extreme makeover, soul edition!

“For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (I Timothy 4:8)

Read, study, memorize, meditate and apply the Word of God to your life! Pray to, praise, worship and serve the Living God! Train yourself to be godly! That is true self improvement.

From this time on, I want to know the real you – the eternal you. When you die your body will go to the grave – earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. On that great resurrection morning you will dawn a new body, “not made with hands, eternal in the heavenly.” When I see you there, I may not recognize your “new suite,” but I will know your eternal soul & spirit. So take some time get to know yourself and others in a brand new way!

Knowing God

How well do you know God? You may know about Him from what others have said. You may have done your own study and research on God, and have an academic knowledge of Him. You may even have intimate knowledge of Him based on your own personal relationship with Him.

There is yet another dimension to knowledge. It comes from the little Greek prefix “epi” as in “epi-gnosis,” which is to super-impose knowledge and thereby come to a complete and precise understanding. This knowledge is not general or informational. We have the opportunity to increase in correct spiritual knowledge (epi-gnosis) about God which is supernaturally imposed .

The Apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17 for believers, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (epi-gnosis) of him.” We can study Him and know Him by His Word, the Holy Bible. But add to that the dimension of the indwelling presence of the God's Holy Spirit in our lives as believers. With the Spirit’s help, by giving gifts of wisdom and revelation, we can “know him better” (NIV).

When I learned about this kind of knowledge (epi-gnosis) - the super-imposition of understanding - it reminded me of my souvenir collection. Whenever I go on a trip I try to find the cheapest souvenir. I discovered for fifty-one cents I can get a smashed penny. Into the machine I put my two quarters and a copper penny which already has the image of President Lincoln. After I crank the handle it comes out of the machine thinner, stretched and with the new image of a landmark. Although there is the faint and distorted old image of Mr. Lincoln on the back, the new impression on the front is now prominent. Is that what happens when we come to the knowledge of Christ? When we seek God by the Spirit and the Word, we want to know and understand who Jesus is to us. We want to discover what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. This kind of seeking changes us as God stamps His divine image on our lives! The dominant image then becomes “… Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). With this new understanding of our relationship with God, our true identity is solidified. His life becomes our life. His identity becomes our identity. His nature becomes our nature. His love becomes our love. By putting our faith in Him, we are being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

This super-imposition is about searching out the things of God through His Spirit within us until we become a part of Him; a partner with Him, and become a full participant in Him. Knowing the truth about God has the power to change our lives. Not through mere informational or intellectual ascent, but by the Spirit's gift of revelation knowledge. In seeking the Lord, we are being impressed upon by the Holy Spirit to come to the full and complete “knowledge (epi-gnosis) of the Son” (Eph. 4:13).

Two Kinds of Storms

Jesus said, "Peace be still." Those words in the midst of that tempestuous moment must have calmed more than the wind and the waves. Albert Barnes puts in this way, "There is something exceedingly authoritative and majestic in this command of our Lord. Standing amidst the howling tempest, on the heaving sea, and in the darkness of the night, by his own power he stills the waves, and bids the storm subside. None but the God of the storms and the billows could awe, by a word, the troubled elements, and send a universal peace and stillness among the winds and waves. He must, therefore, be Divine." Words can have their meanings and definitions, but when the "Word made Flesh" speaks with such commanding authority, all of the kingdom must bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth. Light and darkness stand at attention. Even so must the very fear and anxiety within us bow to the calming command of the One who set the very stars in their places, and ordered the sun to rule the day, and the darkness to rule the night. In one moment Peter and the other disciple are questioning if the Master even cares for their well being as the stormy sea batters the little boat and slaps them coldly in the face. In the next moment another kind of chill shuddered their souls as their sea of doubt turns to humble tranquil surrender in the wake of the absolute Lordship of Christ...:

People's New Testament Commentary adds, "Such an astounding display of power, the control of the storm in which men are as helpless as infants, filled them with awe. What manner of being could he be whom storm, wind, and sea obeyed? They had not yet learned that the word which the sea obeyed was the word in obedience to which the world itself was made." Is it any wonder that these same fear filled disciple burst out of that upper room on that great day of Pentecost as the men who "turned the world upside down?" This same Jesus, who arrested the wind and the waves on that day, is the very same Spirit of Christ who released the rushing mighty wind that filled the place where they were sitting, with cloven tongues of fire that consumed their timidity and turned them into the Apostles of the New Covenant!

In our past, we have lived in the bondages of fear, anxiety, timidity and doubt. We have now been empowered by the same Holy Spirit who enables us to break free from the controlling influences of our past, and go forth, living the rest of our lives in power and love and a sound mind of the Spirit of peace! Jesus in the Prince of peace! Jesus is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords! He is Lord of all, and He is Lord of the storms of my life!

Read my book, "IDENTIFYING GOD". To order a copy, or for more information contact me at edhan362@yahoo.com

The Fruit of the Spirit is Love

(Taken from my book, "IDENTIFYING GOD". To order a copy, or for more information contact me at edhan362@yahoo.com) C.S. Lewis in his book The Four Loves, called "agape" an unconditional love not dependent on any lovable qualities that one possessed. This amounts to caring for others regardless of the circumstances. Lewis went on to say that "agape" was the greatest of all loves. "Agape" then is God's love acting on our nature and flowing from Him, through us by the Holy Spirit. "Agape" is seldom used outside of the New Testament in the ancient Greek language. But in the New Testament, it is the primary word for love.Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love (agape) one to another." The love (agape) that Jesus taught and lived went even deeper than that. He said ?
"Love (agape) your neighbor." (Mat. 5:43)
"Love (agape) your enemy." (Mat. 5:44)
"Love (agape) the Lord thy God." (Mat. 22:37)
"Love (agape) one another." (Joh. 13:34)
"Love (agape) Me (Jesus)." (Joh. 14:15)

Doesn't that cover just about everybody? We, in the Spirit of Christ, are commanded by Jesus to love (agape) everyone, even our enemies. "? Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Mat. 5:44). Now that's a tall order. All that we can say is, "Holy Spirit, help us to love with God's love!"We see this selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love (agape) in Jesus when He said, "Greater love (agape) hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Joh. 15:13). Paul took this statement a step further by saying, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love (agape) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:7-8). This is the sacrificial love (agape) of Jesus toward us. Even when we were enemies of God, Jesus died to save us, deliver us and heal us!

I grew up with a grandmother who understood and lived unconditional love (agape) before my eyes. But she didn't start out that way. She was living in Indiana, when she answered the call to go and cook at a rescue mission in California. She responded dutifully by selling all that she had to make the trip and get started. When she got off the plane, my father (who was 15 at the time, and had gone before her)said, "Momma, you're going to have to change your ways. You're too proud." This bothered her as she thought of all she had given up to answer God's call.On the drive from the airport to the mission she had imagined serving in one of the beautiful Spanish missions of California. Then they pulled up in front of the rescue mission.The place that she saw looked like an old Indiana barn that needed painting. None the less, they showed her to her room, and let her know that services would begin at 6 p.m.Grandmother got all dressed up like "Kelsey's pet horse" and went down to the chapel for the evening service. She took a front row seat. A little before six o'clock they opened the doors. Homeless men came pouring in the door from the street to sit through the "ear beating" (that's what they called the sermon), before they could get some hot food. About 200 men crowded into a room that sat 150. They smelled of stale wine and perspiration. Grandmother prayed, "Surely God, you have made your first mistake. You would not want me in a place like this."At testimony time in the service my father stood and shared, "I thought skid row was a place, geographically speaking. But I found out that it was really a condition of the heart. I found skid row in my 15 year-old heart, and I knew I needed Jesus."When the service was over, grandmother went back to here room and knelt down beside an old broken down davenport, and surrendered her will to Jesus. She said to God, "If you want me to stay here you are going to have to give me your love, because I don't have what it takes."

God agreed by giving her some immediate instructions. Her assignment was to stand at that door before the evening service and shake the hand of every man that attended. That is how she earned the reputation as "Mom of Skid Row." Her expressions of affection, good will and benevolence followed her ministry for over 25 years, until she went home to be with the Lord.The Holy Spirit wants to grow a "I Corinthians 13" kind of love (agape) in all of us.(Taken from my book, "IDENTIFYING GOD". To order a copy, or for more information contact me at edhan362@yahoo.com)
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