born again – ThrivingBranch

Freedom Through Jesus’ Obedience

February 27, 2022February 16, 2022Leave a Comment

For the last three weeks we’ve been exploring New Covenant deliverance from strongholds. We’ve looked at what strongholds are (imaginations, thoughts, emotions, feelings, and traditions that exalt themselves above Jesus), and we also saw the foundation of the finished work of Christ and our new identity in Him upon which our freedom stems.

Today we are going to continue from where we paused last week and go deeper into how to apply the deliverance of Christ based on His sacrifice, and our new identity in Him as reborn new creation.

How Jesus Conquered Your Sin (#2): Changing the Tree

May 9, 2021March 21, 2021Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the second part of our series on how Jesus has conquered your sin. Last week we saw how sin is not primary a behavior or an action, but that sin actually goes much deeper; sin is an identity.

The basic understanding of identity is crucial to comprehending what sin is, and how to conquer it. This is something that I’m quite familiar with, as I lived on both sides of the spiritual isle. I struggled against sin for many years, going as far as to keep a daily log and diary of my sin and failure.

In this series, we are looking at a different perspective, and another way of conquering sin; a way not based on our efforts, but based on the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Did Jesus Really Finish the Work? (Being Secure in Christ)

September 27, 2020May 5, 2020Leave a Comment

One of the biggest areas that I struggled with in the past, was the idea that I was waging a constant battle to “improve myself”.

– Improve my performance – to commit less sinful actions

– To look more like Jesus, meaning basically the same thing, to commit less sinful actions

– To never be comfortable, but always in this constant war to try and become what God wanted me to be.

This feeling was spurned on by the Christians around me who said things like: If you’re comfortable in your Christianity, you’re doing it wrong. A phrase which always struck me as a bit of a dangling-carrot. Did Jesus die to subject us to further futility? Is the work complete or isn’t it? Did Jesus only perform a half-redemption?

I have since come to realize that I am not alone in these questions. And millions of Christians around the globe are on a mental and spiritual treadmill. Constantly running to try and reach an unreachable goal. Never being satisfied, and never feeling any comfort – because if they dared to, they would be a “lukewarm Christian” in their view.

Well, today we are going to examine this, as we have a discussion about being secure in Christ.

God Has Spoken to You Through Jesus

April 19, 2020October 12, 2019Leave a Comment

One of the things which I repeatedly hear people express is that they do not know the will of God. They don’t know what He actually wants to do in their current situation, or sometimes even on a day-to-day basis. And when we are unsure of the will of God, it often leads us down a spiral of confusion that can sometimes be very deep, and very discouraging and fear-inducing. After-all, how can we be sure of anything, if we are supposed to follow the will of God while simultaneously not knowing what His will is? This very question in-fact has led many to abandon God altogether.

Well, as you may have already deduced from the title of today’s study, things aren’t as mysterious or complicated as they may seem. And the truth is that God has actually revealed His will.

Today we do not need to guess at His will… nor do we need to pray in uncertainty and desperation, hoping to hear Him speak – because He has already spoken to us, and His will can be clearly known to us.

One Simple Secret For Amazing Miracles

March 29, 2020October 19, 2019Leave a Comment

Do you want to operate in the divine power of God?
Do you want to live a life that is immersed in the blessings and abundance of Christ?

Many Christians would answer “yes” to these questions, and then they would tell you that these are things that they are earnestly striving for and working towards.

This isn’t really surprising, as the common Christian idea is that the miracles and blessings of God are only attainable through, either sacrifice, or struggle; long hours of fasting or praying – or even just winning the “spiritual lottery” of being chosen by God for a special calling.

This is what many people are taught, and this is what they believe.

However, what I want to share with you today, is something different… a different idea and perspective – one based on the life of Jesus, and founded on His New Covenant.

And what we will see, as the title of today’s study suggests, is that a divinely empowered life is not something out of reach, or only for a privileged few, but it’s much more simple than you might expect.

Stick with me here, and you will find that there is one simple secret for amazing miracles.

Pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes (part 5)

January 12, 2020January 12, 2020Leave a Comment

Alright! Welcome again to part 5 of our series of studies about seeing pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes.

We have been taking our time and moving slowly through the Beatitudes, and we are taking this approach purposefully, because not only does it allow us to focus on one specific picture of Jesus at a time, and therefore dig deeper into it; but this slower pace is also beneficial because so often the beatitudes are seen as a list of rules to try and live for and towards, rather than as the pictures of Jesus and aspects of our new identity in Him today.

So today, we continue where we last paused in part 4, as we see more pictures of Jesus, and our new identity in Him.

The Double-Minded Person

November 10, 2019November 10, 2019Leave a Comment

There’s an interesting group of verses in James chapter 1; a stipulation regarding asking God for things, the verses end with the pointed statement that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. That seems like a fairly serious thing to be… but what exactly does it mean to be double-minded?

If we don’t understand the term, how do we really know if we are double-minded? How can we avoid double-mindedness?

It’s important to understand this, not only for our own peace-of-mind, but also so that we can actually receive things from God… because He truly does want us to receive His gifts, but double-mindedness can stop us.

So today we are going to explore this, and answer these questions… as always in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Rejoice That You Are Reconciled

November 3, 2019November 2, 2019Leave a Comment

Romans chapter 5 verse 11 contains an interesting statement. The verse reads: “And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.” The verse reads: “And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.”

And it led me to this line of thought and question: What does it mean to be reconciled? And do we honestly rejoice in our reconciliation?

Sure, we may hear talk about rejoicing, but how often do we even think about our reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ? If we are honest with ourselves, many times we act and think as if we still have not been reconciled at all!

So today in this study, we are going to explore this topic and answer these questions, because Paul spends quite a bit of time explaining this – not without reason – he clearly wants us to know and understand the precise reason and foundation for why we can truly rejoice in God.

How to Handle Emotions, Thoughts and Feelings

August 25, 2019November 17, 2018Leave a Comment

The title of this study today, is honestly a topic that people have struggled with from the very beginning of time. When a thought, emotion or feeling comes your way, especially a negative or even oppressive one, what do you do about it? How do you handle it?

For some, thoughts, emotions and feelings can be controlling and even rule their life. Some people are held captive by their emotions, and allow their feelings to rule their life. But what can be done about it?

Well, in-fact God has quite a bit to say on the subject, and we are going to answer these questions today, as always by looking at Jesus, and seeing the reality of His finished work for us.

The Essence of the Gospel and Love

January 28, 2018June 27, 2017Leave a Comment

At first, the title of today’s study might seem a bit disjointed, the essence of the Gospel and love. You might wonder if it wouldn’t be better to split these into two separate studies. Well, I thought about it, but the more that I explored each, I came to realize that the two cannot truly be separated; they are integral to one another. Without Love, there is no Gospel, and without the Gospel there is no Love. A surprising number of people today do not understand the basic foundation, the basic central core and essence of the Gospel message… all they really know, is that this guy Jesus, at some place and some time, died by crucifixion, and that for some reason He did it for them. (They may also include that He died for their sins).

What I have found is that for most people, these have become empty statements, lacking substance, lacking the essence of God’s Love and their personal identity in Christ. It’s one thing to say with your mouth that Jesus died for your sins – but it’s quite another to apply that reality to your life and to live from that place every single day. To take the fact that Christ has made you a completely new creation, and to apply it personally, and to make that identity completely yours, is the true essence of the Gospel. A fact that has been largely watered-down and even lost in many Christian circles today.