THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING LED

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Romans 8:14 NKJV

I want to say first of all that this is by no means an exhaustive study on being led by the Spirit. This is such a vast subject I am only giving a representative overview to get you started in the exciting, fulfilling life of being led by the Spirit. We spend our life learning to be led by the Spirit and developing sensitivity through relationship with the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that one of the primary marks of our sonship is the ability and willingness to be led by the Spirit of God. It is possible to know the principles of redemption, faith and confession and not be led and still fail. Many believers are trying to override God’s leading with confession (don’t get me wrong, confession is a vital part of walking in victory). I heard a good example of this from Bro. Keith Moore. He was working for Kenneth Hagin Ministries taking calls for prayer. A lady called and said that she claimed Psalm 91 over herself and got mugged anyway. She wanted to know why her angel did not protect her. After questioning her for a few minutes he found out that where she was mugged was a rough part of town. He then asked if she felt she needed to go there, to which she responded not only did she not feel she needed to go, she actually got a check in her spirit about going from the Holy Spirit. Please understand me, I am not being critical, I have done it. Many of us has done it. But let us not kid ourselves. We cannot override God’s leading with confession. This is why some people go home to heaven early.

We Are To Be Led By The Spirit And Not By Need.

Many ministers in particular wear themselves out because they are not led. They never have time for their own families because they are not led in to whom they minister to. I realize I am not called to help everyone. We would be a lot more effective if we were led. Many bankrupt themselves ministering to the poor. Jesus said that the poor we would have with us always (Matthew 26:11). So if we are led by need there will never be enough. There are also many worthy causes that need millions of dollars of support. So the answer is be led. If everyone does what God leads them to do, God’s purpose will be carried out in the earth. God himself is not and cannot be moved by need. Jesus is touched by the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15) but not moved by them. God can only move through our faith in the Word of God. If God was moved by needs there would not be a need in the world. Our need moved God 2000 years ago when He sent His Son to the cross. In that act of redemption every need of ours was met in the mind of God. We have to appropriate it by faith. So if we are going to be led by the Spirit we cannot be led by need.

We Are To Be Led By The Spirit And Not By “Fleeces”

Many believers are “putting out fleeces before the Lord”. If you are not familiar with this line of thinking it comes from a misappropriation of the story of Gideon in Judges 6.

So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said—  look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.  Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.”  And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.
Judges 6:36-40 NKJV

Although it is true that Gideon did ask to be led by wet and dry fleeces and God honored it, we have to view this story in light of its historical context. First of all the Bible is progressive revelation.

But the word of the LORD was to them, “ Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,”… Isaiah 28:11 NKJV

Simply put the characters in the Old Testament did not know everything we know under the New Covenant. Both Paul and Jesus said they were revealing mysteries kept secret from the foundation of the world. So we cannot get away with doing some of the things people did under the Old Covenant because they were walking in all the light they had. We, however, should know better.
The second thing to consider about Gideon, as well as all other Old Testament believers, is they were spiritually dead. The New Birth was not available as we know it until Jesus presented His blood on the Heavenly Holy of Holies. That is why God had to deal with His people in such drastic ways. They did not have the Spirit of God residing in their spirit to the same degree we do under the New Covenant.

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:38-39 NKJV

The Holy Spirit would come upon the prophet, priest, and king to accomplish a particular task. Jesus had the Spirit of God come upon Him and remain.

And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34 NKJV

Jesus also said when we receive the Holy Spirit under the New Covenant, that He would remain with us.

Now that we have the Holy Spirit we should flow with God’s process under the New Covenant which is being led by the Spirit.
The third fact about Gideon is that his whole nation was out of fellowship with God. The whole reason God called upon Gideon to deliver His people is because they had gone into captivity because of their rebellion.
You may say, “Well brother that is all well and good, but I have never put out a fleece.” There are different variations of the fleece that believers use all the time. The underlying principle of the fleece mentality is trying to determine the will of God through natural circumstances. Some say, “Lord, if this is Your will, open the door, if not close it.” That is a fleece prayer. We are led by the Spirit, not opportunities. Satan will always offer a shortcut to your divine destiny. This is what satan did when he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus would ultimately gain authority over the world through His death burial and resurrection. Satan was offering it to Him without having to pay the price for it. So if we require evidence in the seen realm to follow God’s leading Satan can compensate us with a counterfeit. On the other hand we are not to be led by “closed doors”. If you are led this way, all satan has to do is throw up a few roadblocks and you will say, “well, it must not have been the will of God after all”. No! If we have God’s Word and leading on it we should keep standing and keep knocking until the door opens.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-9 NKJV

Another example of a fleece prayer is, “Lord, if this is really you, let three men with red hats walk by.”  Once again, if you are looking in the natural seen realm, you are opening yourself up for deception.

If you want to be in position to expect to receive God’s leading, you must be led by the Spirit.

Another way God led his believers that was valid under the Old Covenant was casting lots. This is how the apostles selected Matthias.

This part is a little blind to us in English. In the Greek the word “sons” is the word “Huios” (pronounced whee-os). It literally means mature sons. Contrast that word with “children” in Romans 8:16.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Romans 8:16 NKJV

The word translated children is the Greek word “teknon” which simply means offspring. In Hebrew culture when a son reached maturity his father would take him to the city gates, where all the business of that day was carried out (much like city hall or the courthouse of our day), and would say, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him.” From that day forward when the son spoke it was as if the father was speaking. He carried all the clout of the father. He would give him his signet ring that acted as a stamp that is just like the fathers signature. This is when he transitioned from a child (teknon) to a son (huios). So according to Paul, being led by the Spirit is one way we are released into greater measures of responsibility.

Not Seeking God’s Leading Is A Manifestation Of Pride.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know whatwill happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4:13-17 NKJV

When we refuse to seek God’s direction we deny His Lordship which is the height of arrogance thus causing God’s grace to wane off of our life.

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:6-7 NKJV

It is also not wisdom to not seek counsel from someone eternal when we are finite (see James 4:14).

God’s Provision Is Tied To His Leading.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Psalm 23:1 NIV

To the degree we submit to God as our Shepherd is to the degree we can expect to walk in His provision. We see this illustrated in the life of Elijah in the time of famine.

“Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.  And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

1 Kings 17:3-4 NKJV

The provision was at the Brook Cherith. Had he not gone there he would  not have received God’s provision. Just when he started to get settled in God led him to move again.

²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”– Luke 4:16-19,21 NKJV

There are many great lessons of faith that we can glean from this passage of scripture and volumes of great teachings taken from this text. I want primarily to focus on how Jesus found himself in the Word of God. Since Jesus was our example, there are principles from His life and ministry that will help us find ourselves in the Word also.

The first key to finding ourselves in the Word is not on the surface in this passage but comes from history. Many assume since Jesus deliberately turned to what we now know as Isaiah 61, that He was acting independently. I assumed for years that Jesus turned there for no other reason than as a text for a sermon. However, the truth is the scripture reading in the synagogue in those days was very structured. There were certain scripture passages that were to be read on certain days. So the Father God worked it out by divine providence that Jesus read that particular scripture on that day! You may be thinking, “That is interesting, I guess. But, what does that have to do with me?”  The principle I want to draw from our example, the Lord Jesus, is also our first key.

*You will never miss God by submitting to the leadership, especially the Pastor, in the local church.*

Not submitting to leadership takes many forms. Some think it is not necessary to go through any proving period the local church requires before getting to serve.  You may say, “I already know everything in that foundational class that the church requires. I need to be about preaching to the multitudes.”  The point is not what you know or do not know. It is do you have the humility to submit to the protocol laid down by church leadership. It is, after all, the humble that get the grace.

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,  But gives grace to the humble.”- James 4:6 NKJV

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. – I Corinthians 15:10 NKJV

We will never know who we are apart from God’s grace that increases through exercising humility.

² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.- Romans 5:2 NKJV

We cannot stand apart from God’s grace.

Others may say, “I can play the guitar a whole lot better than Brother Doo-didley. Why can’t I get on the platform? I’ve been here three whole weeks.” The very fact that you have that attitude proves you are not ready to serve in the local church. You are serving your own agenda not the agenda of the Kingdom of God expressed through the local church.

The truth is that God will often test your character. Don’t get me wrong, God does not send calamity, sickness and car wrecks to teach us. Nevertheless, sometimes, He will seem to promote someone you think is less qualified than yourself so you can see what is in your heart. The Holy Spirit spoke to me a while back and said, “Any chance to exercise humility is good for you” (It was not what I wanted to hear but it is true nonetheless).  Proving time in the local church, be it through time or a foundational class, also gives you a chance to catch the vision of that particular local body. It is important that all the members of that local body say the same thing.

¹⁰But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.- I Corinthians 1:10 Amplified.

*See yourself doing the works of Jesus.*

The second key to finding yourself in the Word of God is to look at what Jesus did. Many people who have bracelets that say W.W.J.D. (What would Jesus Do for those of you who have been vacationing on Mars the last 20 years or so) have a very limited view of that concept. They see doing what Jesus did as simply being good to your neighbor and not stealing his mule. We should be good to our neighbor and love one another. However, there is more to W.W.J.D. than just not being mean. We are to do the works Jesus did in His earthly ministry.

¹² “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.- John14:12 NKJV

I know this is hard on religious thinking. But, as John Osteen used to say, if the Word of God rubs the cat the wrong way, let the cat turn around. This is Jesus. He will not have to give an account to himself for idle words (Matthew 12:36). When Jesus says “most assuredly”, that is big. Many Christians make the mistake of worshiping the works of Jesus. We are to worship the person of Jesus while demonstrating and duplicating the works of Jesus. Others believe that Jesus did the works He did because He was the Son of God. Yet Philippians 2:7 lets us know that Jesus emptied Himself of all His divine privileges in His earthly ministry.

⁷ but made Himself of no reputation (mar- emptied Himself of His privileges), taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. -Philippians 2:7 NKJV

⁷But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. -Philippians 2:7 Amplified Bible

⁷but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made,-Philippians 2:7 Young’s Literal Translation

Although Jesus never ceased being God, He willfully laid aside His divine privileges and operated as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was totally dependant upon the Father and the Holy Spirit in His earthly ministry.

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.-Acts 10:38 NKJV

¹⁹ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.- John 5:19 NKJV

Jesus demonstrated the faith life through His earthly ministry then died and rose again in redemption so that the faith life can now be duplicated in millions rather than just one man. The Book of Acts chronicles Jesus’ followers doing the works of Jesus. We are to be a continuation of the Book of Acts.

*Find yourself in the New Testament Epistles.*

Thirdly, you need to find yourselves in the New Testament epistles (letters) (Romans to Jude). You need to understand that the New Testament is written to us. It is a handbook for New Testament life.

Many times at shopping malls or amusement parks, you come across these large maps to help you get where you want to go. There is usually an arrow pointing to a certain spot on the map with a caption saying, “You are here.”  I used to look around suspiciously as if to say, “How do they know where I am. They must be watching me.” (I’m being a little silly but stick with me it will turn out all right.) Then later my lightening fast reasoning figured out that if I am reading that sign, then I must be standing there. The same is true concerning the New Testament. If you are born again and you are reading the New Testament then you are in those promises. You are In Christ and therefore rightful heir to everything promised in those letters.

⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.- John15:7 NKJV

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.-   II Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

¹⁸And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.- II Corinthians 3:18 Amplified

*Find yourself in the Old Testament.*

Fourthly, we need to learn to find ourselves in the Old Testament. Now, don’t let me lose you now. We’ve made it this far. Some New Testament believers think that the Old Testament has nothing to offer them. It is just good history that gets us to the important stuff. Others believe that it only applies to the Hebrew race and we Gentiles are left out.

Let us let the Bible speak for itself. First, consider the initial call of Abraham, through whom God initiated the Old Covenant.

¹ Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.  ² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.  ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” –Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV

See, that verse was sounding very Jewish to start with, (“I will make you a great nation”) but then he brings us in with “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. Therefore, God’s blessing coming to all families was God’s plan from the beginning. This principle is also illustrated in how God built Abraham’s mental image.

¹⁷ blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. Genesis 22:17 NKJV

I always assumed that both the stars and the sand represented the same truth. According to *Kevin Connor, the sand represents Abraham’s natural, earthly seed and the stars represents his heavenly seed.

*Interpreting Types and Symbols, Kevin Connor

The heavenly seed is you and I who are born again.

³Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!” John 3:3 Contemporary English Version

In Christ, we have a right to claim all the promises of the Old Testament.

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.-Galatians 3:13-14,29 NKJV

According to this passage, we have the right to claim all the blessings of the Old Testament and none of the curses!

¹⁶ Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law (Abraham’s natural descendants), but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all ¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”)… Romans 4:16-17 NKJV

²⁰ For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.-II Corinthians 1:20 NKJV

*Finding your assignment*

Finally, I want to discuss finding yourself in the Word of God relative to God’s specific will for your life. Up to this point, we have talked about God’s general will for every believer. It is God’s will for every believer to be born-again, healed, prospered and victorious. This falls under God’s general will. How do we find what God has called us to do specifically in the Word of God? The first clue is desire.

⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.-Psalm 37:4 NKJV

When you are reading the Bible what passages strike a strong desire in you? That is a clue to what God has called you to do. I remember as a new believer listening to Bible on cassette (now I’ve dated myself). I used to get great joy listening to Jesus correcting the flakey doctrine of the Pharisees and building a scriptural defense from the Word of God. That was a signpost pointing me in the direction God was taking me in ministry. Much of the way I minister is apologetic. That is not to say I apologize for what I believe, but it is a term we get from I Peter 3:15.

¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;- I Peter 3:15 NKJV

The word “defense” in this passage (translated “answer” in the original King James) is the Greek word “apologion” which simply means to offer a verbal defense for what you believe. So, the passage that brought me joy and made me say “I want to do that” was one way I found myself in the Word. What scriptures bring you joy and sparks you to action?

²⁰ For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.-Ecclesiastes 5:20 NKJV

²⁰For he shall not much remember [seriously] the days of his life, because God [Himself] answers and corresponds to the joy of his heart [the tranquility of God is mirrored in him].-Ecclesiastes 5:20 Amplified

True contentment comes from doing what God calls you to do. If you are discontented, seek God and make sure you did not get off course.

The Second clue is anger. According to Mike Murdock, whatever angers you is what you are assigned to correct.  I get angry when I read about Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in Numbers 16. They rose up against Moses in rebellion. It angers me because I see so many people shipwreck themselves because they rebel against spiritual authority. This anger points to the fact that God has put a hunger in my heart to encourage believers to stay faithful to the local church and submit themselves to a pastor.

The third clue is the thing that grieves you. Whatever grieves you (also from Mike Murdock) is what God has assigned you to heal. I get grieved when I read Hosea 4:6 that God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. So that points to my desire to teach. I also get grieved when Jesus sees the people scattered like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). This points me to the fact that I desire to see those who have not heard the faith message to hear it. What grieves you?

Review: Steps to finding yourself in the Word.

1. Submit yourself to a man of God in the context of the local church.
2. See yourself in Jesus’ earthly ministry.
3. See yourself in the Epistles (letters) to the churches.
4. See yourself in the Old Testament.
5. Find your divine assignment by finding biblical accounts that bring you joy and make you say, “I want to do that”.

These last few days in the devotional have been like that for me. I can sense where it’s going and feel that I’ve almost got it in my grasp, then, I get my mind involved and it’s gone. The connection just withers away when my mind starts grinding away on the meaning. As an example, he give the following scripture:

“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:10)

He explains that the “dying of the Lord” is the dying to desire. Even Jesus experienced this dying to self when He faced the cross: “if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” (Matthew 26:39) but he followed it up in the next moment with his divine nature: “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Like so many great men of God, Mr. Wigglesworth conveys the truth in a practical way, yet, he’s coming from such a place of spiritual maturity. The solution is simple, yet, it’s so easy to miss when I start thinking about it. Here it is: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

If I could only get myself out of the way, how do I do that? The answer is staring at me right in the face, if I’ll only reach out with my spirit and grab it. Let’s approach it from another angle:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Are you seeing it? “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus”…where is your focus today?

Throughout the Bible human beings were always fascinated with the experience of seeing God. This may have been one of the reasons for manmade gods. I suppose that the people who made these idols wanted to be able to see and touch the beings they worshiped. When all along, God Almighty had given man a picture of Himself—man was the image of God. All that needed to be done to see God was to see a human being. In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Despite this fact being rehearsed through generations, Jesus disciples still wanted to see the Lord.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

—John 14:6-11

OK, so how can you not love this passage of Scripture! Focus on the way Jesus spoke. The surety of His words is so powerful. He had no doubt about who He was or what He was saying. We are supposed to behave the same way. The first blessing God ever gave us was to create us in His image! Why? So we could do the same works and greater! I am excited as I write this—it’s a true revelation. Jesus told the disciples that by seeing Him they had seen the Father. And as a part of the Acts generation, not only are we made in the image of God, we also have the Christ in us! Are you feeling me?! This is why I can say that everyday I see the Lord. Jesus lives in me and my physical body is in the likeness of the Father.

This is another reason why we cannot focus on what we see on the outside of people. No matter what they may be doing with their bodies, they were not originally created for or by evil. Psalm 100:3 tells us, “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” And in Psalm 139:13-16 David continues, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

People were created by God. So whenever we look at someone, we should be looking through the eyes of God. By giving you and me His image, He was able to give us His power. The Blessing can flow through us because we’ve been made the righteousness of God in Christ. We were made a little lower than Elohim! You have to get this. Let’s close with Hebrews.

“You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

—Hebrews 2:7-11 NIV

You look just like your Father. You have His eyes and you possess His power. You’ve been blessed in His image. Don’t go around wishing you could see God or touch Him. As you read His word and pray, you will see more of Him in you and all around you. You will be just as confident as Jesus was when He told the disciples that they had seen the Father by seeing Him. When you witness and work for the Lord you will be able to tell others, “When you look at me, you are looking at the Lord.”

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta