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May 20

The Foundation of Jesus Christ

Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16: 17, 18

 

I was listening to a major ministry this morning, a pastor that is the Shepard of what we would call, a mega church.  His sermon was on the 7 steps to activating God’s word in your life.  It saddened me.  He used as one of the key scriptures, John 14: 13-14.

 

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

 

These are words from the mouth of Jesus, and they are powerful, they are full of life and they will set you free.  The part that saddened me is that in teaching this powerful word there was no mention of the One that spoke them, in fact the words, “you failed,” were mentioned so many times that I lost count.

Out of the mouth of Jesus, He made it very clear that the revelation of who He is, and what He did, where the foundations that He would build His church upon.  We as men, try to teach His word using our own wisdom and understanding of the word.  Jesus also made it very clear who the Teacher is.

 

“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

 

Let me ask you a question, “Which is more liberating, having to follow a 7 step process in order to activate your faith, or gazing upon the beauty of the finished work of Jesus?”  If we are not careful we become so absorbed with “doing” the word, that it turns completely around and becomes a task, or a labor. I love every single word in the bible, and they are all God breathed for our edification and instruction.  Remember this though, Jesus is the word, He is also the life that the word contains, when you quote the word without the life it becomes void.

I have experienced this in my own life.  I would be facing a problem so I would go to the word of God and locate the promise concerning the problem, then I would confess it, then I would thank God that I already had the answer, I would say it over and over and over every day, all day.  Nothing changed.  I would listen to more preaching about how to do this and how to make God answer, still nothing happened.  This always, without fail would lead me into doubt, I had to be doing something wrong.  Is it about what I do, or who Jesus is?  Is it about who I am, or what Jesus did?

Then one day, Jesus spoke directly to my heart and told me that His church has forgotten their first love.  The love that broke down every single wall that separated them from a relationship with the Father.  The love that was demonstrated when Jesus died on the cross.  The love of the Father for His lost children.  His love for us, was our 1st love for Him.

He reminded me that He has already done everything, there is nothing left for us to do, the veil has been ripped apart.  We have access to the very throne of grace, through His broken body.  All He wants us to do is believe on Him.  Something wonderful, and completely unexplainable happens when we let go of the “doing” and simply dare to believe in Jesus.

Just by focusing on Him, His Spirit works within us; teaching us, guiding us, leading us, transforming us into His image.  We start producing the fruit of living holy lives, we start seeing prosperity in everything we do, we start seeing people healed and delivered.  Not from following steps,  just from feeding on the word that was made flesh and dwelt among us.  His name is Jesus.

He then reminded me that it was not my job to try and reach him, it was His love that found me and set me free.  It is His love for me that saves me, it is His love for me that produces change.  It is a gift from God, and all I have to do is reach out my hand and receive His great love for me by simple child-like faith.  His name is Jesus and He did it all.

 

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

Permanent link to this article: http://pillarsoffire.org/?p=72

May 19

Walking The Road With Jesus

The Road To Emmaus (Luke 24:13-36)

 

This is a wonderful story of us in the church today.  The two men that Jesus walked with are disciples of His, but they did not know who He really was.  I can see them now, walking with their heads hung low, all of their hopes, it seems died with Jesus on the cross.  I can actually hear them talking to each other.  More importantly, so could Jesus.

Jesus could see their sadness and asked them about it.  What they told Him showed that they did not know who Jesus really is.  They actually told Him that He was dead, and they did not identify Him as the Son of God, but as a great prophet.  They told Jesus that they had hoped that He would be the one to redeem Israel, but He had been crucified.  Even when the women came and told them that angels had told them that Jesus was alive could they see Him.

Then Jesus, full of grace and truth, started in the book of Genesis and showed them Himself from the beginning to the end of the old testament.  Still their eyes were not able to see Him for who He really is.  Then they arrived at the place they were going and Jesus wanted to take them farther, but being gracious he stopped with them.  They then invited Him into their home, when Jesus was trying to get in to their heart.

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table

with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it,

and gave it to them.

Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him;

and He vanished from their sight.

Luke 24: 30-31

After this, they looked back at their journey on the road with him and discovered that their hearts had been burning as He told them of Himself throughout the law and prophets.  I can see it now, they were so excited that they just threw on their clothes and ran all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the others.

Then we see that as they arrived, they spoke all that Jesus had said to them and when they had finished, there He was in the middle of them.  I can not tell you how many times I had read this story and had my eyes closed to the truth just like those two disciples, then one day Jesus opened my eyes to see Him clearly also.

He is the bread of life, and when he gave them of Himself to eat their eyes were opened and He vanished from their sight.  I always wandered why He would vanish, then He told me.  He vanished from their sight because He finally got into their hearts, and they were reborn, then not even knowing what happened to them they ran all the way back to Jerusalem.  They thought that it was just them but Jesus was in them now and when they feed the other disciples the same bread of life that Jesus had fed them, He was there in the midst.  They had carried Him all the way back in their hearts.

Why is Jesus not lifted up and exalted in our churches today?  Why does He have to stand at the door and knock?  Jesus said that He would draw all men unto Himself, why has He been replaced by the next seminar on 7 steps to knowing the will of God in your life.  We have made Him a byproduct.

I believe that church is a place of worship, a place where we are lifting up the name of Jesus.  The main theme that I receive from Him is that it is not our responsibility to change ourselves.  We are supposed to feed on the bread of life and then He will change us into His on image by His Spirit.  Let’s let Jesus back to the center of our worship, let’s behold His beauty and glory and let Him in.

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

 

 

 

 

 

Permanent link to this article: http://pillarsoffire.org/?p=69

May 18

Jesus Gave it All Up For You

Have you ever had one of those aha! moments?  I did just today as I was driving to a place to put in an application for employment.  I have to tell you that as of this minute, I am not the pastor of any church, nor the leader of any ministry.  I am simply a man that Jesus saved from death and is saving more every day.  I cannot even brag about how much I love Jesus, because the human love that I posses, cannot.  Just as the bible declares in the book of 1 John 4:10

 

In this is love, not that we loved God,

but that He loved us and sent His Son

to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

Are you still relying on your love for God to save you?  Just as Peter denied Jesus three times right after he bragged on how much he loved Jesus at the last supper.  His human love was inferior and would never be able to change him.  John, on the other hand, the self proclaimed disciple whom Jesus loved, leaned into the love of Jesus at the last supper and His love for John carried John to the foot of the cross where he could serve Jesus as he was dying on the cross.

I am just like every other person, I struggle when adversity comes.  I am tempted to look at the empty bank account when the bills arrive.  I am tempted to give in to the sickness when it knocks on my door.  I am tempted to look at the prosperity of all the wicked and to conform to them, but I don’t.  Not because I am a super christian but because Jesus is.

Back to my aha moment this morning.  I was meditating on the truth that I am favored among men because Jesus died for me on the cross and I kept thinking about what Jesus gave up for me.  We all know a scripture in Phillipians that says:

 

who, being in the form of God, did not

consider it robbery to be equal with God,

but made Himself of no reputation, taking

the form of a bondservant, and coming in

the likeness of men.

                                         Phillipians 2:6-7

We all realise that Jesus gave up everything in heaven to come to Earth in the form of a man, but that is not all that He gave up.  All of the gospels show how blessed Jesus was, even as a man.  He was full of grace and truth (John 1:14) and every where that He walked people were healed, delivered and blessed.  Even on Earth as a man, Jesus was divine. The truth came to me like a lightening bolt.  Jesus gave it all up for me.

He not only gave up everything in heaven to come to Earth as a man, but when He got here He even gave up His blessing and became a curse so that I could spend eternity with the Father.  He gave up eternal life with the Father so that we could have it.  The love of the Father was demonstrated through Jesus on the cross because he gave up eternity with the Father so that we could have it.  He absorbed every last drop of the wrath and punishment that we deserve, and He remained alive.  His sacrifice was way more than the wrath and punishment of sin.  He then rested His head and dismissed His Spirit and marched victorious into the very depths of Hell to set the captives free.

I have to admit that when the light of the revelation of God’s word hits your heart, it changes you.  Nothing else can.  When I realised that the man Jesus was willing to spend eternity in Hell for me, I had to pull over and cry.  He did it for you too!  Jesus gave up everything for you, will you receive His sacrifice today?

His word says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  Say it today and you will be saved from death, you will be saved from disease, you will be saved from poverty and you will be saved from the wrath to come.  Simple faith, receive the free gift of salvation that Jesus paid for with His own blood, demonstrating how much your Father loves you.

 

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

 

Permanent link to this article: http://pillarsoffire.org/?p=47

May 14

Jesus, The Still Small Voice

I was reading the accounts of the Prophet Elijah and one story stuck in my mind.  It makes me think of all of the churches that I have visited since I moved to Pennsylvania from Texas 2 years ago.  I don’t know what it is with the Church now days, it’s seems that they are running here and going there, all in search of the latest sign, miracle or word of God.  I long, in my soul, for a place to go where the Name of Jesus is the priority not the by product.  It’s no wonder that in His message to the 7th Church, (Revelation 3:20) he was standing outside and knocking on the door, trying to get in.

 

11     Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain

before the LORD.”  And behold, the LORD passed

by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains

and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, 

but the LORD was not in the wind, and after the wind

an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the 

earthquake;

12         and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD

was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

1 Kings 19:11-12

 

The prophet Elijah, the man that had just called down fire from heaven, killed all of Jezebel’s  prophets, was running in fear.  His fear caused him to hide out in a cave.  You know what though, the LORD found him there and spoke to him.  What got my attention was the fact that the LORD spoke to him twice.

The first time (1 Kings 19:9-11) He commanded Elijah to stand on the mountain before Him.  Then the wind blew, and the earth shook, and the fire burned; but the LORD was not in them.  Then the still small voice.

Elijah did not move to the mouth of the cave while the wind was blowing, it did not impress him.  Nor, did he run out to see the earth shaking and the fire burning, they did not move him.  The still small voice though, made him take action.  It was only by focusing on the still small voice of the LORD and ignoring all the signs and wonders that he received his instruction.

Signs and wonders are not the source of life, the LORD is not in them.  They are in Him!  Jesus Himself said:

 

48    Then Jesus said to him,  ”Unless

you people see signs and wonders,

you will by no means believe.”

John 4:48

 

Are we basing our belief and trust in the signs themselves, or are we able to believe without seeing?  Jesus also made a statement to Thomas:

 

29   Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because

you have seen Me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen

and yet have believed.”

John 20:29

 

I don’t know about you, but I want to be blessed.  I have seen my share of miracles: healings, deliverances, salvations, prosperity and many others but I do not chase them.  I seek the source, Jesus.  Jesus is healing, Jesus is deliverance, Jesus is salvation, Jesus is prosperity, Jesus is life everlasting.  Please start looking past the miracle to the one from which all miracles begin, His name is Jesus.

 

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

 

 

 

 

 

 

Permanent link to this article: http://pillarsoffire.org/?p=26

May 10

Three Little Words Spoken By Jesus

PEACE, BE STILL!

This familiar story is found in the book of Mark, chapter 4:35 – 41.

Picture yourself on a dark sea, the sun has crossed the horizon, taking the light of day with it to the other side of the world.  Darkness, as it always does, comes creeping in as the light fades, bringing something with it.  Something that lives in it, something that cannot live in the light.  Something that needs the cover of darkness to conceal it from eyes that can see.  That something is fear.

Jesus has just said to His disciples that they were going to cross over to the other side of the sea.  As the sun vanishes, their little boat begins the journey, not only their’s, but many other boats also.  It is a journey that these men, being fishermen, had probably made quite often, safely.  Something happens this time that puts immense fear into the hearts of these seasoned fishermen though.

In the days preceding this journey into the dark sea they had already been witness to many miraculous healing’s, and had also heard the wisdom of His teachings.  They had seen, with their own eyes the power and authority that Jesus carried within Himself.  They had been witness to His mercy, grace and love for them and everyone that came to him.  They were in awe of Jesus, but as yet, did not really know who He was.

During the night, in the darkness, in the middle of the sea a great windstorm arose, and the waves pounded the boat threatening to sink it, and they panicked.  I do not for a second, believe that this was the first storm that these men had encountered.  Something supernatural, something that lives in the darkness was rising up to stop this ministry in it’s tracks, something that the fishermen had never encountered before.  Fear.

It was at the pinnacle of their fear that they ran to Jesus, who was sound asleep, and woke him up.  They, after seeing the mercy and grace of Jesus for days before, now accused him of not caring for them.  The fear that was on them was trying to spread even farther now, but three little words sent it away.  Three words, spoken in faith, full of love destroyed the attack of fear against Him.

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said

to the sea, “Peace, be still!”  And the wind ceased

and there was a great calm.

                                                  Mark 4:39

The reaction of the fishermen still amazes me, after witnessing another miracle; a miracle like no other miracle, one in which Jesus demonstrates authority even over the wind and the sea; they feared even more.

These men and Jesus experienced the same thing, the same storm that caused so much fear in them obeyed the words of Jesus, why?  I am seeing this same thing in the body of Christ today.  Why?  What is the difference?  Why did the fear not invade the heart of Jesus as it did the disciples?  How can so many in the body of Christ today, confess His word and turn and run in fear while doing so?

The answer lies within your heart.  It is who you believe that you are.  Your belief will target what you focus on.  Are you focused on the wind blowing and the waves crashing and the boat sinking, or are you focused on Jesus?  The world will try it’s best to cause you to focus on it, knowing that if you do fear will take hold.  The world, and the prince of it, will stop at nothing to force you to believe things from the outside in.

Jesus saw things from the inside out.  He knew that what was on the inside of Him was well able to change what was happening around Him.  He knew that three little words, spoken by Him in faith could change the world around Him.  The world had no choice but to bow it’s knee to His authority.

This same Jesus died on a cross a short time later, paying the price for our sins.  He took upon Himself poverty, shame, disease, lack, debt, and every other curse so that we could receive His wealth, health, and righteousness.  He became a curse for us so that we could receive His blessing.  He died so we can live. When you receive all that He did for you on the cross, He comes and gives you His life.  He now lives in you. The man, Jesus, that spoke to the wind and the waves; that calmed them with three little words, is speaking them again right now.  Peace, be still!

The more you focus on Jesus, the more he will come alive within you.  When the wind starts to blow and the waves begin to beat against your boat trying to make you think that you are in danger of sinking.  Behold the Son of God, Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, full of Glory and Power.  And then remember this:

Love has been perfected among us in this:

that we may have boldness in the day of judgement;

because as He is, so are we in this world.

                                                                         1 John 5:17

He is Righteous, so are we in this world.

He is Holy, so are we in this world.

He is Full of Life, so are we in this world.

He is Victorious, so are we in this world.

He is Loved of the Father, so are we in this world.

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

Permanent link to this article: http://pillarsoffire.org/?p=22

May 08

The Will of God

How often have you gone to church and heard a series of sermons on discovering the will of God for your life?  So many of us continue to struggle with knowing His will for us that it leads us down a path of our own works.  We seem to think that if we do something, confess something or perform in some way we will discover the hidden will of God for our life.

Most of us have heard Matthew 8:3 preached when talking about God’s will:

 

Then Jesus put out His hand and

touched him, saying, “I am willing;

be cleansed.”  Immediately his

leprosy was cleansed.

 

No one really, after seeing this scripture, has any trouble seeing that God is willing to heal us.  How do you apply this to the area of God’s will for your life though, or what His plan for you in His Kingdom is?  We tend to move from one plan to another based on what is being preached, if we hear about evangelizing then automatically we have heard a word from God that we are supposed to be an evangelist, or a teacher, or a preacher, or a prophet or what ever it is that we hear.

God is not keeping secrets from us, and he is not a respecter of persons either.  His will for us is as plain as can be.  Look at what the Apostle Paul said in 1Thessalonians and I think you will never have a problem knowing what God’s will for you is again.

 

1Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always,

Pray without ceasing,

In everything give thanks; for this is

the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

 

Talk about simple!  It does not matter what job or assignment that you are doing, nor does it matter what walk of life you have come from.  When we are in Christ Jesus, His will for us is the same:  Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks.  That’s it, period.  Then if you keep reading, verse 23 reveals that it is His responsibility to sanctify and preserve you.

What freedom!  We all have certain things each day that are set before us to accomplish. It may be that you go to work, or maybe you stay home and tend to the house, maybe you are an elected official, or a celebrity or famous sports figure.  It does not matter, whatever is set before you each day is the thing that you are supposed to do.

Let’s say that you work in a factory from 9:00 – 5:00, you wake up and start your day.  As you are eating breakfast you are rejoicing in your Spirit, you are constantly praying in your Spirit and Giving Thanks.  As you drive to work, or maybe it’s riding the bus, you are rejoicing in your Spirit and praying and giving thanks.  As you work you continue rejoicing, praying and giving thanks.  This goes on all day, until you lay down to sleep.

This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Then as you are doing His will for you throughout the day, he will begin to create opportunities for you.  His favor will begin to shine forth from you and doors will open that no man can shut, and others will close behind you that no man can  open.  This is how you can be lead by the Spirit.  Not by trying to figure out what it is that you should be doing but simply doing what is set before you every day and rejoicing, praying and giving thanks for what Jesus did for you.

Another verse that gives freedom in this area is found in the Gospel of John.

For I have come down from heaven,

not to do My own will, but the will of  the

Him who sent Me.

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me,

that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing,

but should raise it up at the last day.

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that

everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him

may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up

at the last day.”

John 6:38 – 40

 

Can you see what I am talking about?  Look at what our responsibility is, and what the responsibility of Jesus is.  Concerning our responsibility in the will of God, all we must do is believe in the finished work of Jesus.  Then, Jesus will take care of the rest.

The more you rejoice, give thanks, and believe that the cross of Jesus Christ has saved you from all of the wrath of God, and that He did it all for you, the more Jesus will sanctify and preserve you.  Simple faith, simple grace, Simply Love.

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

Resources: Joseph Prince.org,  KCM,  TBN


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May 06

It’s All About Jesus

     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.

2 Corinthians 3:18

 

I have come to love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Bible describes it as the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16)  This is such a simple statement, that we overlook what it really says.  I have been saved since 1999, when Jesus knocked on the door of my heart and I finally opened it to Him.  I was in prison, not only physically, but on the inside as well.

It took me nearly 10 years, since that day, to finally understand what happened to me.  It was the day that Romans 1:16 came true for me.  The thing that I did not understand at the time was how I was supposed to be a Christian.  How was I supposed to hold on to what Jesus had paid such a dear price to give me?  I dug into His word and read it from cover to cover and back again, trying to figure out how I was going to keep this gift, I mean what did I have to do?

Surely, I had to either speak right, or act right, or pray right didn’t I?  I mean, some one dies to save me, I must owe them something.  It has to have some kind of string attached to it, nobody is that generous….are they?  I constantly prayed for Him to tell me what I was supposed to do now, how do I pay Him back for what He gave me?

Have you been there?  Do you think that you owe Him something?  Do you think that it is just too good to be true?  Do you find yourself crying out to God, asking Him what you are supposed to do now?  If so, I have some too good to be true news for you!

The word for gospel in the Greek language, euaggelion, actually means that the news is so good that it is hard to actually believe it is that good.  It is a double emphasis on good, not just good but great and even better.

Look at Romans 1:18 again with this understanding.  Notice that it simply states that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.  All of the doing that we are responsible for is so simple….believe.  Notice also that it works for everyone who simply believes.

I have also learned that the Bible, through the guiding of the Holy Spirit, will confirm and clarify itself.  Look at the words of Jesus, in the book of John chapter 6.  In this chapter His disciples have just witnessed the feeding of the 5,000; and then the miracle of Jesus walking on the water.  They finally catch up to Him and ask Him point blank how they can do the things that He does. (John 6:28)  The answer that Jesus gave them has set me free from all of the questions about trying to keep what He died to give me.

 

Jesus answered and said to them, 

“This is the work of God, that you believe

in Him whom He sent.”

John 6:29

 

Simply believe in Jesus, that is all the work that God requires.  Now looking at the opening verse from 2 Corinthians, you can see further confirmation of what Jesus Himself told His disciples.

When Jesus died on the cross, remember that the veil that separated the Holy of Holies, from the rest of the temple was torn from the top down to the bottom, giving access to the very presence of God.  If you read the whole chapter preceding this verse, you will notice that Paul described the law of Moses as the ministry of death.  It was through the law that a veil was put on the peoples heart.  When you turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:16)

So to sum up what the verse says is this;  Everyone that has turned to Jesus can now see His glory because the law is no longer blinding them, and as they behold Jesus, His Spirit is transforming them into His image from the former glory that was in the law to the glory that is found in Christ Jesus.

What could be better news than that?  The more you behold Jesus, the more He transforms you into His own image.  The transformation is His responsibility, not ours; all we must do is behold His glory.  Hallelujah!

 

Thank You and Be Blessed,

Joe D. Willis

Permanent link to this article: http://pillarsoffire.org/?p=6

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