Christ's Model of Mercy

Isaiah 53:6-7 KJV

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
In these two verses, and so many others like them, we see the worlds most amazing display of love and mercy. We see a merciful high preist (Heb. 2:14-18) who was not inclined to defend himself or bring up a justifiable aaccusation against his persecutors, but rather he displayed the true model of mercy: laying down ones own life to see a miracle take place for another.
This is what the entire gospel was built on; laying down your life. Brothers laying down our lives for brothers, husbands laying down their lives for their wives, wives laying down their lives for their husbands, parents laying down their lives for their children, ministers laying down their lives for their congregations, Christ Jesus laying down his life for a sinful mankind, and sinners laying down their lives for the life Christ purchase for them.

We must come to realize that the act of abandoning our own will and our own personal agenda is essential to demonstrating mercy, the mercy that Christ modeled for us. We must realize this simple truth: if we in any way defend ourselves then we have not yet truly laid down our lives.
Oh that our love would be a real thing and not just poetic words! Oh that our lives would be living epistles of true Christ like mercy! What miracles would take place in our relationships and in our families, for this is the will of the Lord!
Romans 12:9 AMP
[Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good.
James 2:15-17 NKJV
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.


Be blessed,
Joel David Beauchamp

Eat Your Wheaties!

I have seen it time and time again, over and over in God's people. So many attempt to be spiritual powerlifters but they never actually step foot in the gym. So many try to face the trials of life that the enemy throws our way and they aren't strong in spirit to shrug them off, cast them down, and move on in this blessed relationship with Jesus.

God's word is to be the spiritual sustenance that our inner man feeds on in order to grow strong, mature, and grow thereby. Prayer is to be the well spring springing up from our inner most being that flows through our passions and emotions and pours out blessings and prophecies by the Spirit and simultaneously refreshes and strengthens our inner man like a tall glass of water after a long run. Worship is to be a daily, lifelong expression of praise and adoration for a heavenly Father whom we love and whom we are cultivating a most holy intimate relationship with. Sadly, just like Jesus said in Mark 4:18-19, far too often the business of life, the cares of this world, choke and suffocate our time and attention from participating in these vital ordinances that are to be the source of peace and life for us.

I have found that for many the hardest thing for them to grasp is that it's the simplest things in God that cultivate the greatest miracles, the greatest bounds of growth, and become the loudest acts of worship to our God. People subconsciously believe that because the subject is "GOD" that therefore the answers must be complex and difficult to understand. On the contrary. It is the small decisions we make in daily life that dig the deepest wells.

This life in Christ is a marathon, not a 100m dash. We must give ourselves to daily study of the word and prayer and a lifestyle of worship. Not out of a religious ritual but rather out of a pure relationship and sincere desire to know Him. Then and only then can we stand fast in the faith when the trials come, when the enemy comes in like a flood.

Be blessed!

Baptism of the Holy Ghost for Christian Believers

They that believe shall receive a river.
John 7:37-39 → In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

He told the disciples to go and wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured out.
Luke 24:49 → And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

This is what the Holy Ghost baptism looks like. Tongues of fire.
Acts 2:1-4 → And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The baptism in the Holy Ghost is a gift for all who believe.
Acts 2:38-39 → Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The baptism in the Holy Ghost is the power of God in the life of the believer.
Acts 1:8 → But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The apostles laid hands on the new believers and they received the Holy Ghost.
Acts 8:14-17 → Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

The Church That Jesus Has Purchased

Acts 20:28, "...feed the church of God, which he purchased with His own blood."

There is a church that the Lord Jesus Christ has purchased with His own blood. It is a church that was born in the fires of the Holy Ghost (Luke 24:49, Acts 2:1-4). It is the place where all of God's glory dwells (John 17:22). It is a church where of signs, wonders & miracles are an everyday occurrence (Acts 5:12, Mark 16:17-18). It is a church that shines as a divine beacon of light in a dark and corrupt world (John 12:26).

This is the church that Jesus has purchased. This is the church that He preached, He demonstrated, He suffered for, He bleed for, and He died for. This is the church that He rose again for. This is the church that He has given.

All are welcome to join this church! Jesus said, "Any that come to me I will in no wise cast out." While we were yet sinners Christ suffered and died for us (Romans 5:8). Paul preached that we were Christ's joy as he hung on the cross, for He knew what he was doing; He was purchasing our place in His church (Hebrews 12:2).

Though all are welcome to come to Jesus just as we are, a transformation is required in order join the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In exchange for our failures and faults Jesus offers humanity a new nature, a new heart, and a new life (Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 6:3-4).

As a light shining on a hill, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ remains available for all who would trade in their life, repent and be converted, and take on the nature of Christ Jesus (Acts 3:19).

Repent and be converted, for the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you. Amen.

The Great Deception

I will look to the word of God for the example of a holy Christian lifestyle, not to our society. Therefore, I will not be deceived & lost.

We are living in a day & age where iniquity & complacency has not only been accepted into the once holy Christian society in this country but it is now even being defended as the standard. Christian churches embrace alcoholic intoxication and the homosexual culture as if they would be accepted into glory by a Holy Father. Brothers are fighting against brothers. Children are rebelling against their parents. We live in utter chaos. Yet there still remains a remedy. HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD!

We, the blood bought people of God, must humble ourselves and accept the hard truth that by looking to our surroundings for God's standard is a monumental failure from the start. The Word of God (THE BIBLE) must serve as the plumb line in this life as we walk before Him, completely relying on God the Holy Spirit, to lead us among the straight and narrow path that IS the ONLY way to heaven! Does not the word of God state in Matthew 7:13-14 that there are only 2 roads in this life: The broad road where MANY travel by which leads to eternal destruction, and the narrow road which only few find and which is the only road leading to heaven.

Let us determine to look to God's word for our standard. Let us consecrate afresh to examine our lives in accordance with how the bible tells us to live before the Lord and not by what is the example all around us. This is the only sure way to make heaven and to right now enjoy all of the benefits that Christ Jesus has purchased for us with His own blood.

Love you,
Joel

The Overcomers Resolve

There are ALWAYS excuses, small and great, good ones and really good ones, but until you resolve to be an overcomer you will continue to be overcome.

Circumstance is circumstance no matter how you look at it. There are massive circumstances where seemingly everything and everyone is caving in on you at once, and there are circumstances where you're short a few bucks for lunch, or you lost your keys or something. No matter that the situation or circumstance we must realize that we are:
1) Fully equipped to weather anything with JOY and a glad and faithful countenance (I John 4:4, Gal. 5:22-25, Acts 16:22-26).
2) We are mandated by the Lord Jesus, as a blood bought child of God, to live as such (John 14:21, II Cor. 13:5, I Cor. 6:20).

As a great man of God once said, "There is only the divine ways of God. The rest is a developing mess!" Let us resolve today to never again be overcome by circumstance and realize that the 'greater is He that is in me' factor has enabled me to have a joyful and faith filled countenance in the worst of situations.

Father, teach me to look to you for the solution instead of looking to the circumstance for the reason why I can't!

Philippians 4:13, I CAN DO ALL THINGS through Christ Jesus who is my source of strength!

The "ME" Problems Disappear

There are far too many of God's people stuck living in a realm of self interest. Most don't even realize it. I call it "The Me Realm". 

Too many believe that if they could somehow get rid of their problems, get more money, sort this thing out over there, fix that relationship up over here, etc. etc. that THEN they would be freed up to begin to activate in the house of God and start doing something to serve the body instead of be a dead weight. The combination of years of wrong teachings, wrong models, and immaturity in the Word of God (aka - THE BIBLE) has doctrinized many right into a form of mental & emotional imprisonment. All the while the Lord is waiting for us to simply take the initiative (James 4:8) and step out of "The Me Realm" and into the glory realm that he purchased for us and gave to us when He died and rose again. 

Simply put, when our focus is taken off of ourselves and directed toward the things that the Father is concerned with all of those "Me Problems" fall by the wayside and our lives begin to transform into a flourishing garden of peace and satisfaction in Him alone.

It's like the old revival hymn says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."

Love you all,

Joel DB