God made the world perfect to begin with. The very first chapter of the first book in the Bible, Genesis, tells us that when God created this world it was good, was perfect. And indeed, when He made humanity God declared His creation to be very good. Humanity had a beautiful garden home with abundant food, no sickness, no problems, no fear, greed or shame and they met openly, face-to-face with God as His children. You see, God “chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe!” (Ephesians 1:4a TPT) “for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us.” (Ephesians 1:6). When we were just a idea in God’s mind, a twinkle in His eye, He had such a love for us that He made us part of Himself, part of His family in the Trinity. It is a beautiful picture of the perfect family life we were created to be part of, a complete and loving union with God and each other. Is it any wonder we spend our lives searching for united loving relationships? So if God planned for us to be perfect and made this world and us perfect what happened? Why is this world no longer perfect? Have God’s plans failed? Even when Michelangelo had finished carving his statue of David, although it was beautiful, it was still lifeless. Sure it looked very much like a human but it was not human because it could not do anything. It could not move, breathe, talk, or love. Carved from rock it cannot do anything that we would expect of a human because it is not alive. So to make us His true children, not just robots or lumps of stone to be carved like Michael Angelos statues, we had to be given free will like God, the ability to decide what to do and act on it. In particular, we had to have the ability to choose to be part of God’s family or not. The agents for that choice of whether or not we would remain in God’s family were placed in the middle of these first people’s garden home, the heart of their home. This is not surprising as, our decision to be God’s children or not, is first and foremost a decision of the heart, the very centre of our will. So in this ‘heart’ location there were two fruit trees. One tree God had told them was the tree of ‘life’ and the other the tree of the ‘knowledge of good and evil’. In Genesis 3:22 God says of the tree of life that if humans ate the fruit they would have eternal life, live for ever. This marks that tree out as Jesus Presence in the garden because, as Jesus said, “I give them [His disciples] the gift of eternal life” (John 10:28a). , and “it was always in his [God’s] perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus” (Ephesians 1:3a TPT). So had the people in the garden eaten this fruit they would have lived eternally in whatever state they were in when they ate it. When everything was very good and perfect, that joining to Jesus as a source of eternal life by eating that fruit, would have been the fulfilment of God’s plan. We could’ve been united as one with each other and God forever. But that is not what happened. That is not what they chose. The other tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, would enable humanity to have a knowledge of good and evil that was completely independent of God. The problem being, God is the very definition of what is good and whole and right, so choosing independence from Him, the central relationship for which we were created, is the very definition of evil. God warned these first people that choosing to eat from that tree would cause their death. And, at least initially, it appears they stayed well away from that tree. It is worth pausing here to take a look at what they had in this garden. They had a beautiful home with abundant provision of food, work to do, and a completely open and loving relationship with each other and God. It is a picture of peace, harmony, provision, blessing and intimate relationship that is better than anything we have ever experienced. This is what we were created for and what we spend our lives seeking. Now there was one being who was decidedly unhappy with God’s plan that we be One with Him. He was a powerful angel sometimes called Satan, the Accuser or the Father of Lies. It is believed he was a very powerful and beautiful angel who tried to make himself greater than God (Isaiah 14:12-16). He was ejected from his position of power in heaven (Luke 10:18) and appointed himself as a witness to human actives (Job 1:7) enticing us to be like him and reject God and go our own way (Genesis 3#1-5). All that he does on earth is destructive, encouraging us to use our God-given power and authority to destroy ourselves and our world. Revenge is his game and he will use any trick, lie or subversion of power to damage what God loves. In the early 1980’s my husband and I received job offers in West Germany. We were excited and keen to go but the West German embassy declined our job visa application. Not only that but were were told that they did not know and could not find out why our applications were declined. Only the police in German who processed visa applications had that information and they did not share it with the Embassy staff. We suggested we could go to Germany as tourists and sort it out there and we were told in no uncertain terms that that was not allowed and we would be sent straight home again. Seriously doubting that it could be that difficult, and with all the confidence that two well educated young adults can have, we decided to disregard that advice and headed off to West Germany anyway. Once there we contacted the police and found they had doubted our application for visas was serious given where we had proposed living so it was declined. But we also found out that the embassy staff in Australia were correct in saying that the rues were that we could not re-apply for work visas without coming back to Australia again. Fortunately we were blessed to find a policeman who became our police contact was very reasonable and helpful and in the end we were given our work visas without penalty or the need to travel home. The validity of doubts can often only be truly resolved in the court of experience. When Satan came into our Garden home, he came bringing doubts about the goodness of God. And those doubts were the first thing he shared with those first people: “Did God really say you must not eat fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1 NLT) This question is so clearly an outrageous lie it makes you wonder why he would ask it. There was only one tree God had warned them not to eat the fruit from and the fruit of EVERY other tree was theirs to freely eat. They knew that and Satan knew that. But Satan does not care about the truth, all he was trying to do was introduce the idea that people could question, could doubt God’s provision for them and hence his goodness. Because once they grasped they could question and doubt God, they would see a need for being able to judge God’s goodness independently of God, and the only place that knowledge was available to them was from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Once they had chosen independence from God they would be very vulnerable to Satan’s manipulation and lies. And this is what we see happening. Having introduced them to doubting God, Satan then told them that eating the forbidden fruit they would NOT die but become like God, knowing good and evil. The fact that they did not detect Satan’s direct contradiction of God, his lie, demonstrates how doubt in God and separation from God makes us vulnerable to Stan’s lies. Instead of calling out the lie for what it was they now looked at the forbidden fruit and saw it as something desirable, something that would fix their problem of doubt and help them judge God.Their unity with God was already broken by doubt and they were fully trapped by Satan’s lie, believing him instead of God. So they obeyed Satan’s suggestion and ate the fruit, directly disobeying God. When my husband and I were planning to go to West Germany we had a choice. We could trust the wisdom of the consulate staff and remain in Australia trying to sort out the problems, or we could trust in our own wisdom and go to Germany to sort out our work visas. We choose the latter and were blessed with success but it could have (and probably should have) very easy gone wrong resulting in us being sent home. These first people had choices too. They could doubt God or trust Him. They could ask God for wisdom and understanding about good and evil, or they could seek wisdom that was independent of God. And their choices had consequences. Once they entered into questioning and doubting God, they felt a new and sudden need to be able to judge good and evil independently of God. And that desire and it’s fulfilment in eating the forbidden fruit broke them as people. For once they knew what was good and evil they could see that what they had done was evil because to seek independence of God, to disobey God, is evil. Instead of finding greater freedom to be like God, they realised they had chosen to do something God would never do. God chose to unite us with Him from before we were born. These people had chosen to break that unity by seeking independence and having done that realised they had no way back, no way to correct it. They were sinners, broken people and had no power to fix it. As a child I was brought up going to a Christian church and Sunday school, and because of the teaching I received, by the time I was heading into adulthood, I had no doubt at all I was a sinner and unacceptable to God. While I wanted to be different, wanted to know God’s love, I knew I did not have within me the power to change. The shame of knowing I was a sinner and unable to fix it was gradually driving me away from Christianity. I had no hope of change and no reason to expect God would accept me. The shame of what they had done and the fear that they were now broken people, unacceptable to God, drove these first people to hide for the first time in their lives. They hid from God and from each other, wanting to cover their brokenness and shame in any way they could. And when God came to find them and challenged them about what they had done, they struggled to admit their sin and tried instead to blame it on each other or Satan. They were now so broken that lying and blame shifting were their solutions, further braking their relationships with each other and God. And we are still doing that today. We think if we do ‘good works’ or follow a whole list of ‘don’ts’, or are successful in our careers, have money, go to ‘church’, or can blame our mistakes on others, we can cover our brokenness and be acceptable to God and others. But it does not work like that. True and love and intimacy require openness and honesty and yet that is what we now fear the most.
Author: theamazingexchange
An Introduction to God’s Plans for Us
Living in this world our lives are full of mixed messages. On one hand, we see the awesome variety and beauty of nature: the delicate wings of the butterfly; the variety of songs by birds; the many varieties of animals, flowers and trees; sea creatures from dolphins to coral; tall mountains and deep seas; sunny skies and the fall of snow. All speak of a love of beauty and creativity and feeds our spirits and souls. And it is amongst that variety of plant and animal life that we harvest food to nurture our bodies. And we see people loving and enjoying this world and each other. The natural world at it’s best gives testimony to a God who wants to love and bless and nurture His creation, including people. On the other hand we experience bad storms, fires, earthquakes, floods, droughts, famine, illness, fear, greed, abuse, violence, poverty, untimely death and war, and it can seem like the world is a harsh and evil place, bent on our destruction. How are we to make sense of these contradictions? What was God planning when He made this world? What is God doing about the problems that exist in this world? It is said of the sculpture Michelangelo that he could look at a block of marble and ‘see’ within it the figure he could sculpt from it. In what most of us would’ve seen as a lump of rock, he ‘saw’ the figure of David, and all he had to do was remove the marble that was obscuring our view of what he could ‘see’. The process took time and great skill but the end result was an astoundingly life-like and beautiful statue of a man. Similarly, the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians makes the end point of this world clear: God “unveiled His secret desires to us—the hidden mystery of His long-range plan, which He was delighted to implement from the very beginning of time. And … the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:9-10 TPT). God’s plans for this world will be fulfilled when all things, everything and everyone in the world, are made new through Jesus Christ. In other words, through Jesus, God plans to make this world perfect and holy, just like His Son. Sound good? Well it is good! So why has God allowed a world with so much brokenness and sorrow? Why do we have the suffering we experience in this life now? If a perfect world was God’s plan, why not just start with making the world perfect? The short answer to that is, He did. God did make the world perfect to begin with. The very first chapter of the first book in the Bible, Genesis, tells us that when God created this world it was good, was perfect. And indeed, when He made humanity God declared His creation to be very good. Humanity had a beautiful garden home with abundant food, no sickness, no problems, no fear, greed or shame and they met openly, face-to-face with God as His children. You see, God “chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe!” (Ephesians 1:4a TPT) “for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us.” (Ephesians 1:6). When we were just a idea in God’s mind, a twinkle in His eye, He had such a love for us that He made us part of Himself, part of His family in the Trinity. It is a beautiful picture of the perfect family life we were created to be part of, a complete and loving union with God and each other. Is it any wonder we spend our lives searching for united loving relationships?
God’s True Sons
The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God created This universe amazing We too can create Things of glory astounding Endless variety Through His creativity Through the powerful flow Of His life in you and me The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God said, “Let there be light” And light appeared To light up the dark night We can speak light in too This world’s darkness undo Wisdom into blindness Love into fearfulness The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God separated Light from darkness demarcated Keeping light pure and holy Him revealed in full Glory We have His indwelling wisdom His power filling our actions To live life in His Glory light Jesus’ righteousness enacting The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God created Earth’s atmosphere and seas Separating, waters retracting Revealing rugged land beauties We too can speak out Words of power to re-create And by our words and actions Heal again this planet The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God’s words Made plants flourish and grow In their bounty and beauty Feeding spirit and body With our deeds and words We can create by His Spirit Environments that bless and feed All that live on this planet The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God’s words Created time and seasons Suns and moons in our skies Galaxies of planets We too have His great power Well beyond our comprehension When faced with darkness and chaos To bring order, beauty and redemption The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God created The life we find in the sea Birds that grace our skies Animals of all varieties Through God we have the power To give animals a safe place Reverse decline and extinction And heal our broken creation The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Just as God’s words Brought us into this life With earth as our home To rule in His Name We can speak the words That bring New Life to others To live as God’s beloved In His Kingdom, as one The God who created The heavens and the earth Has joined us to Christ Filled us with Himself Through His Spirit in us Made us His true Sons Genesis 1:1-25 and “And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has.” Romans 8:17a TPT “And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Ephesians 1:4a TPT “Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 TPT
God Chose Us
“And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.” Ephesians 1:4 TPT God chose us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones The very first people Were innocent and pure Made in God’s image He gave them this earth to rule And a choice to stay like that Or go their own way without Him They chose to go their own way To rule without God And it broke their hearts and spirits As shame and fear took control Destroying their relationships With God and other people But God had chosen us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones Death was the outcome Of choosing life without God But God had plans to overcome The damage we have done And restore us to life in Him Living with Him as one Because God chose us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones God sent us a Savior A holy, righteous One His unity unbroken With this most beloved Son His Son became human To bring us home to Him Because God chose us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones Jesus lived an amazing life That only God‘s true Son could Full of forgiveness, love and wisdom That no one truly understood But the light of His Presence Showed God‘s power to overcome As one with humanity Jesus took our broken identity Took our wrongs and condemnation Into His death like they were His Freeing us from their prison To live in His powerful resurrection Because God chose us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones This gift of restoration Of new life, one with God With His powerful Holy Spirit Imparting all He is to us His holiness and righteousness now central to our being His wisdom and insight, our thinking healing Now One with God We can hear His voice daily Do all life with Him Empowered by His Spirit To be God’s Sons like Jesus All God’s Kingdom inherit Because God chose us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones The life that Jesus lived Full of forgiveness, love and wisdom And the power to overcome Our brokenness with His healing Now flows daily from us Through our unity and oneness This is the answer To all the worlds problems Enabling us to care For all creation As God’s children and sons Fill this world with love and blessings Because God chose us To be His very own Joining us to Himself Before He made the universe! Lovingly ordaining us As His holy ones
The Light of Your Life
“In the very beginning the Living Expression was already there. And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God. They were together— face-to-face, in the very beginning. And through his creative inspiration this Living Expression made all things, for nothing has existence apart from him! Life came into being because of him, for his life is light for all humanity. And this Living Expression is the Light that bursts through gloom— the Light that darkness could not diminish!” John 1:1-5 TPT
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
In the beginning of all that we know
You and God were there as One
Face-to-face nothing was hidden
In You is our origin and our home
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
In and through You all things were created
From the stars in the sky to each person we know
The mountains, the seas, the birds and the animals
All were created from Your love’s flow
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
The life that you lived as a human being
Showed the truth of God‘s love so we could see it
The love that would from this world darkness release us
By dying our death and Your resurrection life giving us
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
The light of Your life now lives within me
Your Spirit’s Presence sealing that we are now One
You define what is possible now in my living
For You have raised me to Your eternal throne
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
You enable me to live your Glory
Be Your light shining in the darkness today
Powerfully overflowing with Your righteousness and love
Overcoming the darkness with Your powerful Presence
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
You are our one source of love, joy and peace
Our reason for living is to find in You our home
Living as One In God and You Jesus
At God’s right hand, on Your eternal throne
The light of Your life shines out in the darkness
The darkness of this world You have eternally overcome
The light of Your life Jesus defines our lives
For You are our origin and our eternal home
Jesus I Rejoice In
““Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land. I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines.”
Ezekiel 36:25-30 NLT
Jesus I rejoice in the fullness of Your cleansing
To erase all past mistakes and redirect my current intentions
Knowing all that’s wrong in me has been by You redeemed
And I can now rest in Your Spirit’s direction
Oh the beauty of Your Salvation
Giving me New Life at Your cost and intention
Love that declares over me “You are forgiven
And born anew in My resurrection!”
Jesus I rejoice in the new heart You’ve given me
A tender, loving heart full of Your love’s direction
No longer broken and sin hardened into stone
Because You dwell now in my heart and we are One.
Oh the beauty of Your Salvation
Giving me New Life at Your cost and intention
Love that declares over me “You are forgiven
And born anew in My resurrection!”
Jesus I rejoice in my new spirit
Whole and holy, through Your deeds and merit
Enabling me to live by Your side eternally
As a child of God’s Kingdom, all that’s Yours I too inherit
Oh the beauty of Your Salvation
Giving me New Life at Your cost and intention
Love that declares over me “You are forgiven
And born anew in My resurrection!”
Jesus I rejoice in being bound to Your Spirit
My spirit one with Yours, sealed into Your merit
Raising me to God’s side on Your throne
Sharing with me Your place in heaven as my home
Oh the beauty of Your Salvation
Giving me New Life at Your cost and intention
Love that declares over me “You are forgiven
And born anew in My resurrection!”
Jesus I rejoice in the harvest You create
Through and around me so all can see Your Kingdom’s greatness
The power of Your Salvation blessing me and others
So the world can see Your Glory, Your loving Presence
Oh the beauty of Your Salvation
Giving me New Life at Your cost and intention
Love that declares over me “You are forgiven
And born anew in My resurrection!”
Lament on Pain
Every moment of pain I experience
Causes me to doubt the fullness of Your Presence
How can it be You fill me to overflowing
When pain is my awareness, overcoming?
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that healed all that came to Your for healing
The Power that released all from Satan’s oppression
The Power that spoke violent storms into silence
The Power that raised the dead to life eternal
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that created this whole universe
Made the forces holding stars and planets in place
Spoke in light which has overcome the darkness
Made plants and animals to live on this planet
The touch of Your hand healed the leper completely
Peter’s mother was healed at Your spoken command
Touching Your garment healed the lady who was bleeding
How can Your Presence in me do anything less?
Each day I seek to experience the truth
Of Your Presence in me, sealed by Your Spirit
The fullness of the promises, written in Your Word
All that I receive through Your death and resurrection
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that healed all that came to Your for healing
The Power that released all from Satan’s oppression
The Power that spoke violent storms into silence
The Power that raised the dead to life eternal
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that created this whole universe
Made the forces holding stars and planets in place
Spoke in light which has overcome the darkness
Made plants and animals to live on this planet
I wait each day, Your promise to experience
The fullness of Your Presence in all it’s completeness
I lean into You Jesus, trusting You are there
I need Your strength and faith to help me endure
I dream of the day when this burden is lifted
When I am strong and pain free as my maker intended
When the completeness of Your Salvation
Is glorified in my body’s physical condition
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that healed all that came to Your for healing
The Power that released all from Satan’s oppression
The Power that spoke violent storms into silence
The Power that raised the dead to life eternal
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that created this whole universe
Made the forces holding stars and planets in place
Spoke in light which has overcome the darkness
Made plants and animals to live on this planet
There are times I have experienced Your overwhelming Power
Healing my heart and mind with Your Love’s Power
Unable to stand in the Power of Your Presence
Your overwhelming Love is such a wonderful experience
I seek to know that same Power in my body
Healing all that’s wrong now and for eternity
Releasing me from torment to live as Papa God’s son
The fullness of Your Presence, making us as One
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that healed all that came to Your for healing
The Power that released all from Satan’s oppression
The Power that spoke violent storms into silence
The Power that raised the dead to life eternal
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that created this whole universe
Made the forces holding stars and planets in place
Spoke in light which has overcome the darkness
Made plants and animals to live on this planet
I want to glorify You in all my life
Live each day in Your resurrection power
To be an example of Your miracle working power
Here on this earth even in our darkest hour
I want the Power of Your Presence to overcome my storms
I want to live Your trust in God, no matter what happens
I want the strength to rejoice in You every day
I want the Power to give Your Love away
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that healed all that came to Your for healing
The Power that released all from Satan’s oppression
The Power that spoke violent storms into silence
The Power that raised the dead to life eternal
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that created this whole universe
Made the forces holding stars and planets in place
Spoke in light which has overcome the darkness
Made plants and animals to live on this planet
Each day that I come to the end of my tether
You bid me take one more step, come a little bit further
Like Peter walking on water, when I feel I am sinking
You give me Your hand Lord, rescue me from negative thinking
I need that sign of hope, now today my Lord
I need some comfort, some experience of Your Word
I need Your Living Water to get me through this desert
I need Your voice and Presence as a daily experience
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that healed all that came to Your for healing
The Power that released all from Satan’s oppression
The Power that spoke violent storms into silence
The Power that raised the dead to life eternal
Surely the fullness of Your Presence
Means Your full Power is now also Present?
The Power that created this whole universe
Made the forces holding stars and planets in place
Spoke in light which has overcome the darkness
Made plants and animals to live on this planet
When My Life Began Again
When My Life Began Again (link to audio)
When my life began again in You Jesus
My old self died with You on the cross
And You gave me a brand new, loving life
Filled me with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
When my life began again in You Jesus
You took my sins, the wrongs I’ve done
And replaced them with Your Righteousness
Filled me with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
When my life began again in You Jesus
You took my broken and sinful self
And replaced it with a whole and Holy One
Filled me with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
When my life began again in You Jesus
You took my broken and hardened heart
And replaced it with a whole and loving one
Filled me with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
When my life began again in You Jesus
You took my broken and wayward spirit
And replaced it with a whole and loving one
Filled with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
When my life began again in You Jesus
You took my brand new living spirit
And joined it to Your Holy Spirit of life
Filled with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
Now it’s not just me who lives
But the Trinity in me too
Together as One for all time
Embraced in Your Love for eternity
My life began again in You Jesus
I live through Your indwelling power
As water overflows and fills a fountain
I’m filled with everything that You are
Renewed each day in Your Resurrection Life
““Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT
“For he [Jesus] is the complete fullness of deity living in human form. And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us. He is the Head of every kingdom and authority in the universe! Through our union with him we have experienced circumcision of heart. All of the guilt and power of sin has been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, has accomplished for us. For we’ve been buried with him into his death. Our “baptism into death” also means we were raised with him when we believed in God’s resurrection power, the power that raised him from death’s realm. This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp. But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive and forgiven of all our sins!
...we receive directly from him, and his life supplies vitality into every part of his body through the joining ligaments connecting us all as one. He is the divine Head who guides his body and causes it to grow by the supernatural power of God.” Colossians 2:9-13, 19b TPT
The Fullness of Your Presence
“For he [Jesus] is the complete fullness of deity living in human form. And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us.” Colossians 2:9-10a TPT “Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope. Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light.” Colossians 1:9-12 TPT Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity Nothing in this world is more precious than Your Presence And the awareness that You bring of God’s pleasure in us I am embraced in God’s eternal love for You An equal in God’s heart because You paid my dues Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity There is nothing more valuable than Your wisdom and insight To guide my thoughts, direction and actions To live Your love and grace is my desire To bring glory to You in all my interactions Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity As You clothe me with Your righteousness Cleansing me from all my sin’s mess I want to live Your holiness Be part of Your growing fruitfulness Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity Mature me in the rich experience Of knowing God in all his fullness His wisdom and insight becoming mine too His love, joy and peace, filling me now Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity Energise me with all God’s explosive power From the realm of his magnificent glory Fill me with great hope in Your victory Help to make many part of Your family Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity In You my heart soars with joyful gratitude When I think of how God has made me worthy To freely receive Your glorious inheritance Living in the light of Your magnificent Glory Lord I receive the fullness of Your Presence So that every moment You are part of My essence To feel Your Glory fill every part of my body To know my heart, mind and spirit are one with You in unity
We Were Designed
Ephesians 1:4-6; Genesis 1:26-27; 3; Exodus 20:18-21; Exodus 32; Psalm 106 We were designed to live as one with God From the very beginning when we were imagined in His heart He wanted us to be members of his family To be united with Him, Father, Spirit and Son When Adam and Eve were born into this world They were free to choose if they would follow God When they chose independence of God for their direction This damaged who they were, broke their heart, mind and spirit Shame about their actions now became their driving force In fear they hid their brokenness from God and others Blame shifting and lies became their solutions Faith and trust was broken, in God, self and others The result of this brokenness is detailed in the Bible As people hurt each other and many rejected God God’s judgment and destruction and confusion of their language Reduced the damage they did but was not the solution We were designed to live as one with God From the very beginning when we were imagined in His heart He wanted us to be members of his family To be united with Him, Father, Spirit and Son God chose Israel as His nation and His people Freeing them from slavery with the wealth of their captors God’s mighty miracles to rescue and sustain them Did not stop them from worshiping manmade idols When God invited Israel to be his special people To be in His Presence, to speak to them in person In fear and shame Israel refused this invitation Asking for His instructions which from a distance they’d obey Armed with God’s Law Israel though they had the answer To pleasing God from a distance which they thought safe But laws do not make a broken people whole As people and a nation God they rarely obeyed We were designed to live as one with God From the very beginning when we were imagined in His heart He wanted us to be members of his family To be united with Him, Father, Spirit and Son But God had a solution for our brokenness To make all our sins, over us, powerless He had a way for our broken self to die And be reborn in Him, in the twinkling of an eye God sent Jesus to show us the life We could live if we were truly God’s child And to take our brokenness into Him And die for us, with us and our sin Then God gave us Jesus powerful resurrection As our new life and our new direction A new heart and spirit, made in His image United with His Spirit to complete our family lineage We were designed to live as one with God From the very beginning when we were imagined in His heart He wanted us to be members of his family To be united with Him, Father, Spirit and Son Now we can rejoice as part of God’s family Living in and from His Kingdom, now, daily His love and peace, righteousness and joy Is our dwelling place once we are re-born So when you see the troubles in this world People behaving badly, people being hurt Know that the solution is not found in man and law Only re-birth in Jesus has the power to heal us all We were designed to live as one with God From the very beginning when we were imagined in His heart He wanted us to be members of his family To be united with Him, Father, Spirit and Son