The Magic Pill

If, like everyone else on the planet, you would like to discover the “Magic Pill”, look no further. It’s Jesus. I kid you not. I don’t exaggerate or even dramatize. It’s a very basic fact.

Jesus is not merely the Magic Pill, He is the “Majestic Pill”. Magic is a cheap, flimsy word to describe what He can do in our lives, but He is no less “magical” than the most powerful Genie, the wisest Guru and the most spiritual yogi you can find. Their most powerful chants, curses, spells and tricks are less than child’s play to our Majestic God of Gods, Lord of Lords and Omnipotent Master.

Jesus is light years ahead of anything the fake gods can muster. He is “Thee Spearhead”. The devil and his crowd will bow the knee to our King. They will fall on their faces and cry out to Him for mercy in the end.

Yes, Jesus is our Genie. When we rub Him the right way, He’ll do whatever we ask of Him! Just ASK ME HOW I KNOW!

Immediately, people think,

“Oh! So you must be rich!”

And, they would be right. But, come on! Why so shallow? I am not rich in the physical. At least, not rich in the way that the world defines “rich”. I have what I need, when I need it. I know I could have a lot more, if I had the faith for it. But, why worry about earthly wealth when there are oceans of spiritual wealth to discover?

The spiritual riches far surpass anything we have or hold in the physical!

Like I say, “If you treat Jesus right, He treats you right.” He treats you much better than right! He provides! He protects! (You may not even know how much protection He’s been providing for you! I am always amazed that there are so few accidents on the highways here in Malaysia when I see the immature and outrageous risks that drivers take – driving along the white lines, skimming the car they’re passing and coming up on the bumper of your car. But, they survive!) He protects, believe me! God’s angels are working overtime! 

He inspires! He guides! He enlightens! He forgives!

Thank God for His everlasting mercy and forgiveness! Where would we be without it? YOU KNOW WHERE!

--Which brings me to another point: He saves!

Name one genie, idol, fake god, witch, Yogi, Zen master, Guru, Buddha or prophet that can do THAT.

Well, they can’t. That’s just it. They can’t. And they never will. No matter how many sticks of incense you burn, sacrifices you offer, prayers you pray, vows you make or offerings you bring. They won’t save your soul.

There is only ONE God, folks, who is able to save your eternal soul for eternity and that’s the God who became a man. He took on human flesh so He could understand and feel what it’s like to be human.

How humble is that? What kind of craziness is that?

It’s the Jesus kind of craziness. He is crazy about us! That’s why He gave so much! He gave HIMSELF. How much more could we ask?

He overcame death for us.

You may ask,

“If Jesus Christ overcame death, why do we still die?”

All I can suggest as an answer to that is: We don’t die in the same sense that unbelievers die. There must be a kind of terrible soul-suffering and pain that humans pass through when they die. We don’t have to go through that suffering of the soul in death. Our flesh dies. Not our spirit.

The blood of Jesus Christ is our victory flag. It’s our FREE PASS. It’s our “Get Out of Prison” card!

Beloved Believers, We do not pay the price for our sins! That price has been paid for in blood. The blood of the Lamb.

Now, if our God has done all that so that we don’t have to suffer the pains of death and sin, how much more will He do for us, if we only ask?

My mother used to say, “There’s no harm in asking.”

I used to think, “What’s the use? You’re just going to say, ‘No.’”

NOT SO with our Great God! In my experience, He almost always says, 

“Yes! Sure! Why not? I love you!” And He also says, “Anything else I can do for you? My beloved?”

… and I get the feeling that it’s only the tip of the iceburg!

Jesus's Prayer

John 17
1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

To sanctify something means to make it clean and even "holy". How on earth does one acquire holiness? You get it into you through the WORD. That's how. You don't have to say, "Hail Marys" or beat yourself on the back with a whip or fast for forty days. Just read the Word. Then, you'll be HOLY.

18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Think of sanctification like a dish that needs to get washed. You're the dish and you need to be washed and set aside for future use. Once you sit down and feed on the Word, your soul gets washed a little cleaner. The light shines in there and you start to see areas you need to improve on. God speaks to you through his Word.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Finishing up Chapter 16 of John

John 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

It's interesting to note here that God loves us because we love Jesus and believe He is from God. That must mean that our own personal faith can actually draw God's love to us. Yet, at the same time, our own personal faith comes from God, if we ask Him for it!

28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

It may not seem like it to you. It may not seem like it to your physical existence, but Jesus has overcome all the wiles of the devil/Satan/Lucifer and all his little minions. They have no power before the name of Jesus Christ. They fall down and blow away whenever we praise God or say, "hallelujah".

"We walk by faith and not by sight." We walk by faith. Faith is so important. It is a gift from God, that's true, yet we must willingly make the decision to accept it and use it. We must decide to put our faith in God. Make sure you have chosen the correct God of gods and Lord of lords and King of kings. Accept no substitutes!

Then, once you have received Jesus as your very own personal Saviour and King, ask him for faith for greater things. God is only limited by our faith or lack thereof. There is no limit to what God can do if we will let Him! With God all things are possible.

Do you believe it?

Legalism

It's easy to fall into legalism, especially if you're human. Remember when you were a kid on the playground at school and everything had to be "fair"? It had to be fair according to your standards, right? It seems to be part of a kid's duty to make sure everyone is being fair. Kids are outraged and shocked by cheaters. They are appalled by liars. They can hardly even comprehend dishonesty.

Somewhere along the line, time causes a blur in the fairness barometer and the 'truth' becomes a bit cloudy. We make a lot of compromises growing up and learn how to excuse our mistakes.

"I was stuck in traffic." or "Tell them I'm not home." Our human condition is such that we find it necessary to prop ourselves up from time to time with a little "white" lie.

Then, suddenly we become born-again. We find the Truth. We are examples to the world of what a true Christian should be. In our zeal to uphold our Christian example, we allow self-righteousness to take over.

Instead of throwing ourselves on the mercy and righteousness of God, we try to pull ourselves up by our own boot-straps in order to present an unblemished picture of Christ to the world. Without realizing it, we allow the devil in through legalism and self-righteousness.

It's hard to know when we are doing it. Legalism seemed to be the curse of the pharisees who went to great lengths to make sure that they were giving ten percent of their herbs to God but failed to have love and mercy on their congregation.

Today I was talking to a friend about prayer and he insisted that one had to be taught the "proper" way to pray. He said that you had to say certain words first and "get in the spirit" or "bring down the spirit" before praying together.

Things like that that prevent you from freely talking to Jesus, as you would talk to one of your best friends, is an example of legalism. There are no rules for praying. Just do it. Talk.

He also mentioned that they'd taught him at his church how to read the Bible: one word at a time.

Well, that may be fine for you, but, to me, that's just too much. Yes, meditate on what you're reading. Think about it and digest it, by all means. But, if legalism is hampering you from opening up your Bible to freely read it, skip the rules!

If there are rules about "how to pray" and "how to read the Bible", then why didn't Jesus tells us how?

When His disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He gave them the Lord's Prayer. That's a wonderful prayer that generally covers everything. But, our relationship with God requires more than a memorized prayer.

Just talk to Jesus. He already knows your heart. He knows your thoughts before you even speak to Him.

Just read the Bible. It has words in it that form sentences and each sentence forms a thought. Don't struggle in the flesh, trying to squeeze deep meanings out of one single word at a time. Be blessed by it. Be fed by it. Get a good dose of it to keep your spirit satisfied throughout the day.

The enemy of our souls has lots of tricks up his sleeve and I bet he'd do anything to keep us from talking to God and from reading the Word. He wants to make it complicated and shroud it in mysterious legalism, making you think you have to go to Bible college for four years before you can begin to understand how to pray or how to read the Bible.

Give. Me. A. Break.