Closer to Cross

Will You Be Called a Son or Daughter of God?  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9. In this world conflict defines humanity in its fallen state. People engage in active conflict with My Father and His ways because they want to be the god of their lives. Their self-centeredness also keeps them in conflict with other people. When you were born again, your nature changed. You wanted God to rule in your life, and your conflict subsided. If you still have inner conflict, it’s because you are not yielding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You’re not obeying My teachings. If you experience active or subtle conflict with others, it’s because you demand your way and judge or condemn their ways. But I am calling you out of conflict. I want you to be a peacemaker. Enter into a greater peace with God by following and trusting Me. But My peace must not end in you. It must flow out of you to others. Be an active peacemaker by replacing criticism and ...

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 . Can you remember the last time you were really hungry? What did you think about? Could you concentrate on anything other than your desire for food? Or can you remember the last time you were really thirsty? The longer you went without water, the more desperate you became to get a drink. As important as food and water are, righteousness is even more critical to the life and health of your soul. Do you treat righteousness as if it were of little importance? Or do you actively pursue it? Child, I am your Shepherd, and you are My precious lamb. I want to lead you into paths of righteousness. But when you focus on gratifying your other appetites, your soul is filled with everything but righteousness. The only way to gain a driving hunger and thirst for righteousness is to follow Me. Look at My life and activities and imitate Me. Listen to My words and do...

My Followers Love to Fulfill My Father’s Desires  But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Matthew 9:13  Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8  You have received so much mercy from the Father. Why is it sometimes hard to show mercy to those who have wounded you? Perhaps you think they don’t deserve your mercy. The truth is, you did nothing to deserve the mercy of God. Mercy is never deserved. The Father owes mercy to no one. Yet He chose to extend His love and mercy to you—not just by forgiving your sin, but also by paying its impossible debt. That payment required Me to suffer the agony of the Cross, and it cost you nothing! Every day the Father and I still forgive your sin and extend Our unlimited mercies to you. Beyond this, We gave you the greatest gift ever given, the gift of eternal life. Oh child, stop grieving the Holy Spirit. Demonstrate your gratefulness to the Father by showing mercy to all who have hurt you—not because t...

Let the Holy Spirit Minister to You in This Way  The Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:26. In every situation you must decide how to respond. How can you know My Father’s will in that moment? In some situations a number of choices will glorify the Father. In others there may be only one choice that truly is His way. How can you choose the path that is in keeping with His will? Child, this requires a vital ministry of the Holy Spirit. If you hide My words in your heart, the Holy Spirit will remind you of My words, bringing them to your mind at the moment they are needed. He will then empower you with grace to obey My words at that moment. As you act in faith and take that step of obedience, you will find yourself living in the perfect center of My Father’s will. He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He wil...

Your Perfect Teacher   But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26. When I told My disciples that I would soon leave them, they panicked, thinking they would no longer have Me as their Teacher. That’s when I revealed that the Father would send them a new Teacher. The Holy Spirit would teach them everything they would need to know. My followers need to be continually taught and guided into truth. Child, the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit is critical for your life. That’s because My Father’s ways are contrary to your natural inclinations. As My Father said through the prophet Isaiah, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” But your learning must begin with Me. As you study My life and meditate on My words, the Holy Spirit will teach you, writing those teachings on y...

The Time Is Now—Don’t Put It Off!   Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead. Matthew 8:22. One day a young man told Me that he really wanted to follow Me as a disciple. However, he also wanted to return home and take care of his ailing father’s business. He wanted to bury his father when he died and then follow Me. What seemed to be a reasonable request was actually shortsighted and foolish. Why? Because it showed that he greatly undervalued Me, My mission, and My calling. He was willing to set aside the eternal impact he could make in the lives of others and instead settle for the temporary gain of caring for the family business. He had been given the opportunity to know Me intimately and be one of My disciples—to be My witness and to feed and lead My sheep. Instead, he wanted to address a temporary need that would quickly pass. Child, My challenge to him was the same as it is to you: Don’t let temporary demands on your time keep you from following Me, even for...

Don’t Be Deceived by False Teachers   But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. Matthew 7:26–27. Child, I know you have been puzzled, even discouraged, by the words and actions of some who claim to be My followers. How can people who claim to be Christians do what they have done? It is easy to claim to be My follower. But as I told My disciples, “You will know them by their fruits.” The only way to rightly discern people’s relationship with Me is to look at their lives. My true followers hear My teachings and follow them. Not perfectly, but they hunger for My teachings and strive to obey. Those who hear My words and choose not to do them are building their lives on sand. Although they may know all about Me, they do not know Me intimately. If you see people living contrary t...

The Ultimate Proof That I Know You  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24–25. How can you know if I know you? The answer is, I know My sheep. My sheep hear My voice and follow Me by hearing My words and doing them. This creates a foundation of solid rock upon which the lives of My followers securely rest. No matter what they encounter, the house of their lives will stand safe and secure. On the other hand, hearing My words and not doing them forms a foundation of sand. And building a house on sand will result in a total collapse when the person experiences the storms of life.  Child, be of good cheer. I know you long to hear My words, not to merely consider them but so you can do them. Today and every day abide in My words, and let them guide ...

The Tragic Fate of Those I Do Not Know   Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Matthew 7:22–23 . Can you imagine anything worse than being at the entrance to heaven and hearing Me declare that you must depart from Me? That will be My announcement to many who did much in My name and yet their hearts were never converted. They never became My followers in righteousness. This being true, many have wondered, How can I know if I will be invited in or told to depart? Your eternal destiny will not be determined by church attendance or religious activities. Your destiny will be determined by whether or not you have been born of the Spirit. Those who have been born again have believed on Me and repented of their sins. They hear My voice and follow Me. They live in joyful obedien...

Why Focus on the Faults of Others?  And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?…Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Matthew 7:3, 5. Why do you focus on the faults of others and yet do little to correct your own faults? The answer is pride. By focusing on the faults of others, you are able to view yourself as more esteemed than you really are. And by directing attention to the faults of others, you think you are elevating yourself. When you do this, you are seeking the praise of people rather than the praise of God. My apostle Peter reminded My followers, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Do you want My Father to oppose you, or do you want His favor beyond measure? Peter went on to say, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” When you acknowledge your own shortcoming...

Remove Anything That Causes You to Stumble     If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you. Matthew 5:29–30.  I know that every time you fall to temptation, you are discouraged and saddened. You have thought, How could God forgive me this time? How could He still love me? Child, let Me tell you: He does forgive you. And He loves you so much He gave Me as a sacrifice to pay the full debt of your sin. But often you face temptation needlessly. Instead of avoiding the source of a temptation, you put yourself near it. You wander into paths that lead to temptation. Often your only hope of avoiding the sin is to avoid the path.  Stay away from the sources of temptation. Sin is like a magnet: the closer you get to it, the stronger its attraction. If any activity puts...

I Want to Reveal the Truth to You, Make You My True Disciple, and Set You Free   If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31–32.  Do you want to know the truth about Me, My Father, and the Holy Spirit? Do you want to know the truth about every situation, problem, and question you encounter? There is one activity that will make you My true disciple, setting you free from the cruel taskmaster of sin. It won’t make you sinless, but it will empower you to sin less. That activity is abiding in My words. Child, I know you want to follow Me. But you can’t follow Me if you don’t know what I have said. That’s why it is so important to abide in My words. The Holy Spirit will use My words to continually transform your heart and your life. They reveal perfect truth about you, your life and circumstances, and about the Father and Me. They reveal the true worth of everything the Father and I value and ...

Strengthening the Weak  And you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Luke 22:32. On the night of My arrest, I told Peter that he would soon deny his relationship with Me. I also knew that in time he would repent and turn back to Me in faith. But coming back to Me wasn’t the end; it was the beginning. You see, his coming back wasn’t just about him; it was about his ministry with My other followers. Child, the same is true with you. I know there have been times when you, too, have turned your back on Me, choosing to put your desires above Me and My calling on your life. My word to you is the same as My word to Peter: returning to Me isn’t the end; it’s the beginning. I don’t want you to focus only on yourself. I want you to strengthen My followers. Let them see how My words apply to their issues and choices. Let them see Me in the way you live your life. In addition to proclaiming My love and mercy, lead and teach them to abide in Me. Love them unconditionally,...

A Disciple’s Identifier  A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34–35  How can you know if you are one of My disciples? It’s not by how you look or even what you say. My true disciples have a number of identifying marks. They are defined by their hunger for My words and their growing obedience to them. They forgive people who most others could never forgive. They are empowered by the Holy Spirit, so they experience the fruit of the Spirit. They show unconditional love for even the most unlovable. But the greatest proof of their discipleship is their patient, supportive, and sacrificial love for one another. Child, don’t be discouraged if you struggle to experience and express that kind of love for My followers. The more intimate you become with Me, the more this type of love will grow in your innermost being. You already know that your i...

You Are More Than a Servant—You Are My Family   For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother. Matthew 12:50. One day while I was teaching the multitudes, one of My disciples said My mother and brothers were trying to get closer. Everyone was surprised when I replied with a question: “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” I then answered, “Here are My mother and My brothers!” I had a family that I was born into. But I have an even greater family that isn’t defined by a blood relationship but by the fruit of their lives. They have been born again by the Holy Spirit, and they do the will of My Father. Everyone (including you) whose heart, mind, and actions are focused on doing the Father’s will are members of My eternal family. How can you know the Father’s will for anything you face or do? My words reveal His will for every situation you face. The Holy Spirit will empower you with the grace to act in faith on My words. In this you will be doing t...

Lead and Feed my Sheep  Do you love Me?…Feed My sheep. John 21:17 Have you ever felt like a complete failure—like you were worthless and a disappointment to God? Have you ever been overcome by guilt and shame? That’s how Peter felt on the night of My arrest after he denied that he knew Me. Earlier he had told Me, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And yet when the time came, he denied Me three times! After My resurrection he still felt worthless and ashamed. Then I told him how he could express his love for Me in spite of his past failure. I told him to feed and to lead My sheep. Child, you can express your love for Me in the same way. You can feed My sheep by sowing My words into their hearts. You don’t have to be a great teacher; you only need to be a messenger. My teachings are recorded in the Word, and you need only to present them. You can feed My sheep with this food they so desperately need, and you can lead My sheep by the example of your life as you o...

Guard Your Heart by Protecting Your Eyes Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. Matthew 6:22–23. As it is written, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Now that you have given your heart to Me, it is critical that you diligently protect it. Your eyes are the windows of your mind and heart. What you see enters your mind and then quickly flows into your heart. Because your behavior flows out of your heart, the best way to protect your heart from evil is to carefully control what you allow yourself to see. If you set your gaze on things that reflect the world’s dark influences, the dark influences will enter your mind and heart. The longer you allow them to remain in your heart, the more dominant they will become over your thinking, feelings, and actions. The darkness can steal your life and destroy your re...