Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
What we do doesn’t determine who we are, but who we are is what empowers us to do the things we do. Who we are is most important in each of our lives. For this reason, we see the glory of God in our lives by the image that we see in the mirror. When we look at the reflection of our lives we see, though dimly, the testimony of what is happening inside of us by the power of Christ within. Our turning to the Lord is not in some distant place. It is within our hearts. It is in the place where our spirit joins the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
What we are becoming is determined by the kingdom of God within us. Christ in us is the testimony of the kingdom of God within us. He is the source of our righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. God’s expression in our hearts transforms who we are for a greater purpose than ourselves. God’s voice in our hearts transforms us for the purpose of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God isn’t about the things we see or the things we do. It is about who we are by the power of Christ at work within our hearts and minds.
Luke 17:20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
The kingdom of God is not a natural kingdom, but when we discover the kingdom of God within us it affects even the practical things of our lives. The kingdom of God is within our hearts. It is a kingdom of knowing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
These three internal realities are all about knowing who God is and knowing who we are. It is not enough to know that God is, we must know who God is. God is the Son, Jesus; God is the Spirit, Holy Spirit; and God is the Father. He is the one who gives us life, breath, and all things. He wants us to know Him in the truth of His triune reality. Jesus is the one who saves us. He is our righteousness. He makes us come alive so that we can be life. We can only give life to our world if we are life. This is the substance of true righteousness. Christ in us reveals the testimony of being children of God because of Jesus our Savior in all things. He is our way to a relationship with God. He is our source of life. He is our righteousness. From our hearts we now know that God is our God! Holy Spirit in our lives is the testimony that there is no gap between us and God. We are growing as overcoming sons and daughters of God. We have peace in the Holy Spirit. We are sons and daughters of God! The evidence is both internal and external in our lives. We are expressions of God because there is no gap between us and God in the Spirit. This is our peace! God is our Father, and He is with us in all things. In His presence is the fullness of joy. That joy is in the internal place of the heart. It is joy in the Holy Spirit. Joy is not just happiness. Joy is the fullness of God’s focus, purpose, and destiny in our lives. God is the one who gives us all things. We live with Him in all things. God wants us to know who He is! It is a growing reality that makes us live as children, sons or daughters, and fathers or mothers in an intimate relationship with Him!
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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