Saints, we were designed to live by faith in dependence on God. He is the source of the Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control for which our spirits yearn.

This verse recently gave me pause. The verse was John 16:27, which says, “the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. (NASB 2020) I was surprised, stunned really, and a little frightened, at the word “because.”

Paul said some very confusing things in this passage. Things like:
“If somehow I may attain to the resurrection”
“Not that I have already grasped it all or become perfect”
“I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet”

Let’s face it, the world is full of evil of every sort. Sin is everywhere and we are not immune to the effects of evil and sin around us. It pervades our day-to-day lives and pressures us constantly. The temptation it engenders can be strong and we sometimes, maybe even often, fail to escape it.

It is not about the vessel. It's about His never-ending all-sufficient supply. It's about the power of God that you carry around in your unremarkable body. What treasure you bear. What blessing you bring.

As the saints of God, we can find ourselves becoming ineffective, lethargic, or distracted. We are called to change our minds and turn our focus to the Lord. We are called to cease viewing ourselves, others, and even our circumstances from a fleshly perspective and change our minds to view these things from a heavenly spiritual perspective.

Many of us are fortunate to live in countries where being thrown into prison for our beliefs is not a concern. Many others live in places where imprisonment is a constant risk. If you are interested in gaining perspective on this point, I recommend that you visit The Voice of the Martyrs at https://www.persecution.com.

It’s not so much about trying to determine which of the seven churches is most like our own. Rather, it’s about hearing the way the Lord Jesus is with His Church. It’s about listening to how intimately He knows those who are His. It’s about heeding the admonitions He gives and noticing the things He considers important. It’s about finding reassurance that He loves His bride, that He is faithful, and that our reward is secure.

Holy Spirit has told us through the Apostle John that God is Love. While He lived on earth, Jesus was often “moved with compassion.” He also called Holy Spirit “the Comforter” and “Helper.” None of these attributes of God is consistent with Him vomiting out His children because they fail to perform at an acceptable level—whatever that would be.

We find this situation throughout the various institutional churches today. There are many believers in such churches, but there are also many who rely upon religious self-effort. This sort of “virtue signaling” has no life in it.

Some have called this “the upside-down Kingdom”, but it is more accurate to say that we live in an upside-down world. The Kingdom of God is right-side up.

You are not what you were. The change is profound, and it is real. Your life is no longer impermanent.

The head is never separated from the body. The cornerstone is never displaced from the building. If either of these things were to happen, life and building would cease. The Lord Jesus is preeminent. He is the head, but not in the way of the world which makes the preeminent into dictators, tyrants, and oppressors.

The Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realm. This seat of power is, we are told, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Far above. ALL. And we are in Christ. Where He is, there we are.

Looking with physical eyes, we are prone to judging by appearance. This is true whether we are speaking of other people or of the Lord Jesus Himself. Seeing in this way gives us only the earthly perspective of the flesh. But there is a better way, a higher way, a more excellent way.

Paul is careful in several places to point out the faith and love of the believers in the fellowships to which he writes. This is very significant. It would seem that Holy Spirit wants to ensure that we are reminded that it is faith which pleases God. It is dependent living borne of trust that He is our Life.

Though man-made organized religion continues trying to force theocratic government and “conversion” from other religions, force and coercion are not the answer to immorality and idolatry.

What Paul is doing here is helping us see the sort of conduct that best fits us as children of God. He's telling us what kind of behavior will result in the best outcomes for us.

It’s not regrettable salvation, it’s regrettable sin. The good news is that sorrow over that led to true repentance and that yielded salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thoughts on Mark 1:41