Author: Joshua Maynard

Jesus showed love, grace and forgiveness and revealed the character of His Father in Heaven.
He also made a whip, turned over tables and chased some people out of church.
Grace has to drive out religion before Truth can take hold.
And let’s face it, sometimes Truth can hurt at first, but helps in the long run.
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
Jesus never preached Hell to the multitudes.
It was always something discussed privately with his disciples.
I believe that says something about Jesus’ ministry and especially about ministries today that use Hell as a scare tactic to “win souls”.
I don’t find any “winning” in that kind of ministry.
It is a ministry built on fear and not established in faith.
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
Christ Jesus which came “out” of the grave was forever changed, transformed, transfigured from the Christ Jesus that entered “into” the grave three days prior.
We too, having been buried and raised with Christ, are forever changed, transformed and transfigured with Christ.
When Jesus walked among his brethren, they didn’t recognize Him at first.
When we walk in the newness of Christ among our brethren, they don’t always discern the change in our spirit.
Sometimes the sinful nature of the old man rears it’s ugly head.
Yet, we ARE changed, and the Holy Spirit bears witness within us that we belong to Christ.
Remind yourself that you ARE different and you ARE changed.
Say to yourself today,
“I am Christ’s, and He is mine.
I am a new creation, and the old has passed away.”
If your spirit doesn’t leap within you and catch on fire when you speak these words in faith, then your wood must be wet!
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
Most Christian churches and organizations have mandatory leadership programs that one must pass through before being allowed into leadership.
Do you know what it took to become an Apostle of the early church: A casting of lots (like drawing a name from a hat, or rolling a dice) with the faith that God would lead who would become the next Apostle by guiding the choice. No programs, no certifications, not even a “Word from the Lord”, a vision, a dream or a confirmation. The Apostles “rolled the dice” so-to-speak and asked the Holy Spirit to guide their hand, to pick the next Apostle.
Today, most Christians would call that “divination” or witchcraft. Truly there is more paganism and witchcraft in Christianity today than people care to acknowledge.
I am convinced that most Christians would be better off “rolling the dice” a little by faith, than to stay still; to stay stagnant and not move or choose because they haven’t heard God’s still small voice give them direction.
God leads us when we step out.
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
Holy living does not equal “gaining approval” with God.
Sinful living does not equal “losing approval” with God
The “God is pleased/displeased” game will kill you if you let it.
God is always pleased with His children because of Christ, not because we are good little children.
I love my son because he is my son, not based on what he does that is good.
My parental love supersedes my “pleasure or displeasure” with his actions based on the “law” knowledge of “right and wrong”.
God is not judging us under the “law” knowledge of “right and wrong”, “good or evil”.
My sins are covered, removed, and forgotten, even the ones I might commit today. God cannot remember them or impute them to me or He would be in violation of His own Word.
Just because I remember them, you remember them or even witness them doesn’t mean that I’ve lost approval, protection, fellowship or salvation with God.
My desire to live Holy is based on Christ’s love.
Study the Word: God doesn’t take back His gifts. Salvation is a gift.
I’ll never turn away from believing in my Savior or believe that my self-effort to not commit sins is good enough to earn me a spot in Heaven.
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
If I can be real, and not some “higher than thou” figure that looks down on those that don’t meet certain standards…
If I can be down-to-Earth, and not some preacher-idol on a pedestal…
If I can be approachable, and not a minister that runs from the flock, and their questions…
If I can be fallible, imperfect, rough around the edges, but always striving to sharpen myself and others…
If I can tear down traditional expectations and stereotypes of what it means to be a “minister”…
If I can show people that a real God loves me in all my imperfections and loves them in theirs…
If I can let people know that we don’t have to be perfect, agree on everything or meet some standard of what the religious call holiness…
Just maybe, I can reach someone with the truth of the Gospel and see them set free.
Just maybe, someone will give God another chance…
Just maybe, someone will start thinking for themselves…
We are not defined by what people think of us, but people ARE defined by what God thinks of them. They need to know that God loves them.
The eyes of legalism blind people to the freedom of the Gospel.
The facades of preachers upholding the unsustainable expectations of perfection produces the same result.
Get real.
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
Jesus did not focus on sin. He always focused on the person.
If you are focused on sin, either in your life or in the lives of others, then you are not expressing the mind of Christ or the character of the Father.
I’m not condemning, just telling it how it is.
The only sin that God takes issue with, is to reject a relationship with Him through His Son. All the rest of the things that we call “sin” are merely speeding people along to their mortal death.
These “sins” are not keeping them from relationship with God, or a fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and Jesus isn’t running away from them.
For the born-again believer who struggles with sin, Jesus stays right there with you through it all, palm to his face, shaking His head, saying “Child, when will you learn who you are in Me and stop acting like a fool?”
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
Some extreme religions and cults demand the ultimate sacrifice of their followers in the name of their leader or god.
God has never and will never ask a Christian to die for Him or for anyone else.
God will never require your death because His life is living in you, and He has the most important part of you already in His possession.
The world and Satan would gladly kill you.
Some of you may disagree but study your Bibles. Disagree with God, not me.
By: Bishop Joshua Maynard
As soon as America started misinterpreting and adding to the Constitution of the United States, we set ourselves on a path of self-destruction.
We’ve had the Constitution for about 225 years.
Looking at America today, there has been a lot of damage done in that amount of time to our beliefs, culture and morality.
We’ve had the Bible for well over 1000 years.
How much misinterpretation and additions have been made to our beliefs about the Word of God in 1000 years?
How many Christians are on self-destructive paths thanks to over 1000 years of religious foolishness?
– Bishop Joshua Maynard
Friends, let this sink in and marinate in your spirit.
The Bible says that “the LOVE of money is a root of all evil.”
Keeping that in mind, what would be “the LOVE of the tithe”?
What would it mean that preachers everywhere are saying that if you don’t tithe, you are sinning against God?
What would it mean that preachers are saying that you will go to Hell for not paying your tithes, or that in a less-dramatic judgement, that God will not and cannot bless you or meet your needs if you don’t tithe?
Have you noticed that the phrase “God LOVES a cheerful giver” is always attached to tithing?
Why? Because pastors want you to associate tithing with God’s love towards you and the quality of your love towards Him. They want you to interpret scripture incorrectly to say that “God LOVES a cheerful TITHER” and that God therefore LOVES the TITHE as well.
In Truth, God’s LOVE for you has nothing to do with tithing or your giving. God LOVES you either way.
“The LOVE of money is a root of all evil.”
I would dare say that the LOVE of TITHING can also be a root of all evil.
– Bishop Joshua Maynard
I’ve seen posts about “100 days of Favor” and posts asking for the Favor of God.
I’ve seen posts of churches announcing “A wave of Favor” coming to those who attend during a certain time.
Friends, I walk in God’s Favor 365 days a year, every year.
I have always walked in His Favor, since the day I was born again. Even when I didn’t recognize it.
If I woke up one morning and wasn’t walking in Favor, it wasn’t because Favor left me.
If I woke up one morning and wasn’t walking in Favor, it wasn’t because I stepped out of Favor and into something else.
If I woke up one morning and wasn’t walking in Favor, it wasn’t because Favor was not given to me.
Favor is just as faithful to be with me as the God who gave it.
You see, Favor exists in the person of Christ Jesus living in me every moment of every day of every year.
If I woke up one morning and wasn’t walking in Favor, it was a deception of the Enemy, nothing more.
God won’t withhold His Favor from me.
Satan can’t take God’s Favor from me.
People can’t convince me to deny that His Favor is always with me.
Is what I see with these two eyes, my reality?
Does what I feel and sense in this body, have more substance than my faith?
Is what I am told by other people and the Enemy, truer than God’s Word?
 – Bishop Joshua Maynard
Many things are “of” sin. Many things are “of” faith.
However, people have twisted that scripture to say “Whatsoever is not of Sin is Faith.” and have made the scripture of no effect to them.
If people would focus on the things that are “of” faith as the scripture really directs, and not on the things that are “of” sin. Then the preceding scripture, Romans 14:22 “…Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” would be fulfilled in their life, and condemnation for their sins and mistakes would have no more power over them.
– Bishop Joshua Maynard
You can’t revive what has already been made alive.
If you need to experience revival, then you either need to be born again, or understand what being born again has done in you.
Revival is for the unsaved, who are spiritually dead in their sin.
Christians need to stop trying to revive themselves and realize that just as their salvation didn’t come in pieces, parts, waves, movements or phases, they have been revived once, and once is eternal.
– Bishop Joshua Maynard

Consider the scriptures

#16 – Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬

Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬

A man’s heart deviseth his way: But the LORD directeth his steps.

I’ve heard this scripture taught to mean that while we may have our own ideas, God’s ideas are more important, and our ideas are wrong.
A friend of mine said that he had heard it taught that while we may make our plan, God sovereignly takes over the plan from there and does what He wants with it.
Neither of those interpretations of this scripture are accurate.
“Deviseth” in the Hebrew means “to devise” or “to think”.
Psalm 37:4 says “Delight thyself also in the LORD; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
If we understand that scripture to mean that God puts His desires in our heart and that our desires and His desires become indistinguishable, then we can also see that when we purpose in our heart to move towards a goal, or we desire to do something, God will give us the steps or support our steps to reach that end. That doesn’t mean we get everything we desire in our heart, but it does mean that when you trust God to lead you and you need His guidance, you can trust your desires and His peace to lead you.
As he “directs” our steps, He establishes them.
Literally as if He is lifting us up and supporting each step we take.
When we trust in Him and we seek His direction, the peace of God can lead us in our decision making. When we decide, we trust Him to then support and establish the steps we take.
We can’t always sit still and expect the end to come to us. We usually have to take a “step of faith” and see God establish one step at a time. Each step may make the path clearer, even when we can’t see the end from where we are in the journey. As we look back on all of the steps, we have taken to get us to where we want to be, we can see God’s handiwork supporting and confirming that He established our path.

Consider the scriptures

#15 – 1 Peter 5:6–7

1 Peter 5:6–7

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Many quote verse 7 by itself. However, it is directly connected to verse 6. That doesn’t mean that it can’t stand alone, but let’s also acknowledge the original intent of the author in connecting it with verse 6.
This world runs on money and whether we would like to admit it or not, we all strive each day to obtain money to survive.
We also strive to obtain position. Whether that position is in politics, our community, our family or even a better position at work.
Our competitive nature strives against the Christian ideology that we should take the humble place.
I once applied for a job as a manager in my department. There had been other applicants for the job, including one or more of my coworkers. I gave my best answers to the interview questions and deep down I wanted the job. When I didn’t get the position and one of my coworkers was given the job as my new supervisor, I was happy for him. I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t get the job, because I trusted God and knew that He had something better in store for me. After a little while, I had several increases in salary relatively close together and realized I was much happier letting someone else run the department than myself.
Humbling ourselves before God doesn’t mean that you don’t take opportunities to advance your career or that you stay quiet in the corner when you need to be bold and speak up.
There are times when you must step out and stand up for what you want in life or it will pass you by. Sometimes God brings those opportunities back around to you for a second chance and sometimes those opportunities may never come again. It takes prayer and discernment to know if we should act or wait.
Growing up, my parents tried to teach me humbleness. I was always told to let others go first and always let others get what they want first.
Looking back, I realize that the only time I took risks was when God granted me the strength to do so, but I also became an indecisive person.
I became more comfortable being a follower than a leader. Later in life, as I’ve worked to succeed in business, I find that I’m having to learn to be humble while also being confident and steadfast in my decisions.
“Casting” is a term fisherman know well.
You literally are “throwing” your fishing line or net into the water.
As the term is used in this scripture it can also mean to “throw something down to the ground.”
When we “cast all our care upon” Jesus, we are putting our anxious cares as far away from us as possible. We are not only letting them go, we are throwing them away with all of our strength.
This isn’t referring to only casual cares, but also cares that we are anxiously worried about.
We can become anxiously concerned about advancement, even in ministry.
When we humble ourselves before God, we acknowledge that He will advance us in due time as we put His will first in our lives.
We cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. God cares about us and doesn’t want us to be burdened with anxious thoughts that can do nothing to change outcomes of situations.
Are you casting your cares on Jesus or are you still trying to figure out your own solutions to situations that only God can solve?

Consider the scriptures

#14 – Ephesians‬ ‭5‬‬:‭1‬-‭2

Ephesians‬ ‭5‬‬:‭1‬-‭2

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

“Followers” in the King James refers to being “imitators” of God. We were created in the image of God and are supposed to have a life that imitates God. This is sometimes at odds with our flesh in how we respond to the world around us.
When I am upset, my flesh wants to stay upset but God’s Spirit in me wants to be at peace.
My flesh cries out for retribution, but God’s Spirit in me cries out for forgiveness.
“As dear children” is saying that we are God’s “beloved” children. He esteems us highly and claims us as His own. We do not belong to this world or to Satan. We are God’s “beloved children”. We have both denied and have been ignorant of our true Heavenly Father, having been separated from Him in our minds by our sinful choices and a lack of faith.
“Imitation” has strong ethical ties in scripture. Imitating what is good should be above imitating what is evil. Imitation seems to be a concept completely foreign to the Hebrews of Bible times. The term seems to be used more by Paul in the New Testament than anywhere else in scripture.
Likely, the Hebrews didn’t see imitation the same way as the Greeks. They considered imitation to be related to something that is fake or a false representation of something authentic. Paul emphasizes the importance of imitating Christ.
Christ has loved us first and has given Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world once and for all. The scripture talks about this being a sweet smelling savor to God.
Incense and perfumes were an important part of culture in Bible times, just as they are today.
Sacrifices pleasing to God were said to be a sweet odor to Him, whereas unacceptable sacrifices were not.
Jesus being the perfect sacrifice once and for all for us is said to be a sweet-smelling odor to God.
Hosea‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬ says, ”For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.“
‭‭Jesus mentions this scripture as well, stressing the importance of understanding what it means.
God desires for us to be merciful and loving towards one another more than any kind of offering or sacrifice we could give.
If we give money to the church, but treat people badly, our offering is meaningless.
If we claim to love God, and yet hate our fellow man, we fail to meet God’s standard.
Jesus was the sacrifice that we could not be.
Jesus was the offering that God could accept in our place.
We were never good enough and could never be good enough to be justified when compared with the righteousness and holiness of God.
How wonderful it is that Jesus has made us righteous, holy and justified in the eyes of the Father.

Consider the scriptures

#13 – Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭4

Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭4

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

David asked God that he may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.
While on the surface, this could represent the literal tent of the Lord or the temple of the Lord, this seems to be representing the relationship between David and God.
“Desired” is meaning “to ask or inquire”. As a perfect verb in Hebrew, and it indicates a past tense. David inquired or asked God in the past.
He goes on to say that he will seek after this.
The word used for “seek” implies that he is seeking something that is concrete and solid.
He is seeking something that is established and definite. It can also imply the meaning of “requiring” something. As we read the scriptures after this, it seems as if David is saying that he is not only asking God for this, but that he requires it, almost as if it is representing a covenant he has with the Lord.
It says further down in this scripture that David wanted to “enquire in his temple.”
This “enquire” means to “investigate” such as one would investigate the symptoms of a illness to determine the extent of it or to investigate an animal for sacrifice to determine if it has any blemishes that would make it unsuitable.
David desired to be close to God and to be in relationship with Him. He would then seek after that desire and investigate every aspect of it.
A literal translation of the scripture that I have in my collection uses the word “inquire” instead of “enquire” as it is written in the King James Version. The meaning is slightly different, in that “enquire” can have a more general meaning, being a formal or informal request. Whereas “inquiry” is more specifically a formal request.
While I cannot say for sure which word is correctly used in this passage, the King James Version seems to indicate both being used.
To “seek” implies “enquire” in a general sense of investigation, while “inquire in His temple” seems more formal, as one would expect requests to be in the temple.
Does “enquire“ or “inquire” really require this kind of exposition? Probably not. I just thought it was interesting to mention it.
David inquired of the Lord in the temple.
We inquire of the Lord anywhere we find ourselves.
There can be no doubt that Jesus has made a better way for us. The Holy Spirit has made His temple in our born-again spirit and so we are never alone. God never wanted a temple made with hands. He wanted His temple to be made in our hearts.
This scripture is just one of several where we see David longing for the kind of relationship that many Christians today take for granted.
What we have through simply believing on Christ, David had sought after his whole life.
Today, I encourage you to think about what we have in God and how precious it is.

Consider the scriptures

#12 – Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭14

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭14

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you

We have heard that God doesn’t forgive those who have unforgiveness in their heart.
This scripture has been used to condemn many people. It has brought fear instead of faith.
I’ve heard it said that this is an Old Covenant way of praying. Implying that Jesus was under the Law of Moses. That just isn’t the case. Jesus fulfilled the law because Love fulfilled every point of the Law.
This scripture is supposed to be encouraging and uplifting.
God’s forgiveness of sins is not based on our ability or inability to forgive others.
If it were, Christ died in vain.
Think of the scripture in this light:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, will not even more so your Heavenly Father forgive you?”
The scripture doesn’t translate this way, but it implies this meaning and so much more when we filter it through the view of Jesus’s example of God’s love for us.
Personally, I find it easier to forgive others than to forgive myself.
My own mistakes, shortcomings and sins are glaring in my face long after the wrongdoings of others have faded from my memory.
Does this mean that God won’t forgive me because I can’t forgive myself? Of course not!
But feeling forgiven and being forgiven are two totally different things.
When I compare myself to God’s righteousness, I find myself incomparably lacking and undeserving of God’s forgiveness. I don’t feel forgiven.
This doesn’t mean that I’m not forgiven. It just means that I don’t have a revelation of God’s forgiveness at that moment.
When I remind myself that I am a child of a loving Heavenly Father, forgiven, set free and delivered, I can find the strength to live with myself. It is then that I see myself the way God sees me. Righteous, and able to receive of God’s best.
If only we could walk in this perspective all of the time, just imagine how much peace we would have.
“The Lord’s Prayer” as it has been called, is all about fellowship with God and not about obtaining forgiveness. We engage with God in thankfulness and respect and receive what Christ already did for us over 2000 years ago once and for all time.
We are not seeking salvation in this prayer, but God’s direction and blessing with a newness of dedication to His plans, His purposes and His Kingdom.

Consider the scriptures

#11 – 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12

1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

God had “Agape” love and sent His only begotten Son to die for us.
Because of His love for us, we ought to also love one another. The word used for “one another” is unique to the New Testament and refers to a mutual exchange between others and us.
“Ought” may sound like a suggestion, but it actually refers to something we owe or are indebted to do.
This does not negate the fact that it is a choice we must make. Rather, it expresses the earnest requirement for us to do what is expected of us by God.
“No man hath seen God at any time.”
This is a sentence that seems out of place with the rest of the surrounding scriptures.
It is said that this is the writer’s attempt at reminding us that because no man has seen the invisible God, we demonstrate His love and make His existence apparent by loving those around us. We represent Christ as ambassadors, and we are His hands and feet.
“If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
“God dwelleth in us” is talking about God abiding in us and finishing the work in us.
His love being perfected in us is not about a process of perfection that we must attain by our efforts, but a statement of His one time forever perfection of His love in us when we are born again. He is the source of the perfection of love in us, because He dwells in us. If we love another, we show that God dwells in us.
If you don’t love other people, it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t dwell in you, it just means that you have not come to the realization of His love being made perfect in you. As long as you try to love in your own strength, you aren’t letting His love work through you.
What the Law could not do to make us perfect, Christ has done for us.
His perfection brings perfect love in us, not by anything we can do to perfect ourselves or perfect our love for others.
The more we realize that our love for others is sourced and rooted in what He has done in us and through us, the less it becomes about something we must struggle to receive.
Remind yourself:
God’s love is made perfect in me.
I love because I am loved.
Jesus is God’s love in me.

Consider the scriptures

#10 – 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬-‭21

1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬-‭21

We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

As a father and a brother, I don’t often examine the dynamic about who loved each other first, but there is wisdom in these scriptures that we should not ignore.
I loved my children before they could love me.
Now that my children are older, they love me because I loved them first.
God loved us before we were mature enough to love Him. He loved us first. We cannot love God first, but we can acknowledge His love for us and love both Him and others.
This entire Bible chapter talks about love.
It says that we cannot say we love God if we don’t also love our brother.
Sometimes we struggle loving strangers and we also struggle loving those who hurt us.
Yet, if we don’t love them, how can we claim to love God?
If we don’t know God, can we truly love Him?
Job had heard of God but didn’t know God and believed things about God that weren’t true.
“Brother” as it is used here means a fellow-Christian or neighbor, not just our blood relatives. Scholars seem to recognize that the term changed over time and that in Jesus’ time the meaning was ambiguous.
We see that Jesus was almost redefining the term when he used it. Those that do the Father’s will are His “brothers”.
Mark 3:32–35 says, “And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. 33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? 34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”

“And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
The word “Loveth” here is “Agape” love in the Greek. In the Old Testament, “Agape” is used to represent the kind of love that God has for Israel and a kind of love that they should reciprocate. In the New Testament, it is used to denote a kind of love that does not require a comparable response such as the love that God had for man, to send His Son to die for us.
God does not require us to die for Him.
Notice that earlier in the scripture, it says that if you say you love God but hate your brother, you are a liar. Now it is saying that if you love God, you should also love your brother.
So which is it?
The word “hateth” here in the Greek Subjective mood is a possibility, not a certainty. It implies the hypothetical condition of hating or showing hate towards your brother. Whereas the love towards God in this scripture is stated as being a fact.
So if we look at the last part of the scripture again in that light, we can understand how people who genuinely love God have a choice to make about fulfilling the commandment to love their brother as well, lest they make themselves into a liar.

Consider the scriptures

#9 – John‬ ‭5‬‬:‭24‬

John‬ ‭5‬‬:‭24‬

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

What does “verily, verily” mean?
While translated often as “Truly, truly”, it also means “amen”.
While customary to use “amen” to affirm other’s prayers at the close, Jesus used the term and used it emphatically at the beginning of His statements. He wanted people to pay attention to His words. He affirmed His own statements as being True because He bore witness that His words came from His Heavenly Father.
Hebrews 6:13 says, “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,”
Jesus can affirm His own statements with a double-Amen because he can affirm them by no greater authority than Himself. He and the Father are one.
John 12:49 says. “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
Jesus goes on to say in John‬ ‭5‬‬:‭24‬, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
The word condemnation here is the Greek word “krisis” meaning judgement or decision. How fitting that we get the English word “crisis” from this word. Truly coming to Jesus and either accepting or rejecting His words is a crisis moment. “Crisis” in English has been used to mean “the turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either recovery or death.” Sin is the disease and Jesus is literally saying this is where you decide to continue into death or to change to follow after life.
The interlinear Bible translates the scripture to “the one” and “the word” in regard to “heareth my word”, and “the one” again in regard to “him that sent me”.
God is the one source of all life and light and Jesus is the Word made flesh. These two concepts are inseparable here and Jesus is stating emphatically that if you believe His words then you are believing the Words of His Father and that He and the Father are one.
The word “passed” here is to move from one place to another or to make a transition or change. It is a “process” of moving or changing. Transitions take time. So we make the decision to believe the words that Jesus is saying and believe in the Father who sent Him and then we transition into life. That isn’t to say that we don’t receive everlasting life when we believe on Jesus, but this Christian Walk is a process of moving into life from death.
It is interesting that Jesus says that we must believe in the one who sent Him. He is speaking to the Jews here and is directly challenging their belief in His Father. They believed they had been following the God of Abraham, but they had actually fallen away, creating for themselves a God in line with their vain rituals and laws that was bereft of love, grace and mercy.
We were originally created in the image of God.
Are we being shaped in the image of our loving Heavenly Father, or do we follow after a God that we have made after “our image”?

Consider the scriptures

#8 – Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

While this whole chapter in the book of Romans is packed full of information on how we should conduct ourselves as Christians, this scripture is almost a precursor to all of the things mentioned afterwards.
Without this understanding, without putting this into practice, we cannot fulfill the commission of Christ and certainly not the things mentioned in the verses that follow.
“Be not conformed”
“Conformed” is to mold yourself after someone or something else. “Fashioning” is another term used for the word. It makes me wonder if doing what is “fashionable” is also implied here.
Sometimes we conform ourselves not just to general ways of thinking or acting, but sometimes to very specific things that are currently in “fashion” within our culture.
How many “fads” do we follow after that so quickly fade away leaving us back in the same state as before?
Here, an implication is made to not conform ourselves to the world system or the world’s pattern. If you read through the rest of the chapter, it identifies what the opposite of the world’s pattern looks like.
If we conform to the world, we are making ourselves or rather, being made identical to the world.
“be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”
We are to be transformed rather than conformed. Being transformed, we become something different from the inside out.
We become different than the world system.
We are not in agreement or harmony with the world’s pattern.
Ephesians 4:23 talks about being renewed in the spirit of your mind. “Spirit” being the soul of your being which is your mind, will, emotions.
Ephesians 4:24 says we “put on” the new man. This statement literally can mean to be as if we put on clothes. Other places in scripture it can denote someone else putting on or taking off your clothes. I think that is important to note, because we can sometimes allow others to take off what we have put on and unclothe what we have already clothed after Godliness.
This “putting on” is something we should do and must do ourselves, or we risk conforming ourselves to another person’s way of thinking.
The media and the consumer engine is always at work trying to convince us to put on what they claim to be the truth. I’ve watched people over the years follow after what “this person” said, or what “that article” said or what “these people” were doing. If it didn’t kill them, it most certainly made their lives miserable trying to conform to all of these other things.
Romans 13:14 tells us to “put on Christ”. Galatians 3:27 says that having been baptized into Christ we have “put on” Christ.
I do not find these two scriptures in contradiction to one another.
I believe that we have “put on” Christ, just as we are saved when we believed, but there is also this concept of continuing to “put on/wear” the clothes we are clothed with in Christ. The world seeks to strip us of who we are in Christ and it is the knowledge of Christ and who we are in Him that renews our mind and keeps us clothed in Him. This “putting on” of Christ is a daily decision we must make, lest we fall prey to seeing ourselves conform to the world.
“that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
The word “prove” here is a term used to denote the testing of metals, coinage or materials of the time to make sure they were genuine. It also can mean to test the words of other people or the words of the heart by the Lord.
In proving materials were genuine, the raw material would be refined and that which was not useful would be removed during the process, leaving only the pure behind.
It is important to note that this proving was for the purpose of drawing out the purity and the best in the material. Likewise, our proving is only to draw out the best in us and the best that God has for us.
In the renewing of our minds by putting our focus on God, we prepare ourselves to hear from God and to know His will for our lives.
I’ve struggled sometimes to know if I am really hearing from God, but after prayer, if I focus on Him, I will have a peace about what choice to make. If not a complete peace, sometimes a better peace with one decision over the other.
Trust God to reveal His will to you and then trust yourself to hear it. Sometimes you have to step out in faith and only after that will you see that God led you.

Consider the scriptures

#7 – Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭20

Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭20

A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; And with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

I examined Proverbs 18:21 in my last study and I encourage you to read that before reading this study if possible.
While this scripture comes before that scripture in the Bible, I believe these two scriptures are joined together and each can teach us valuable lessons about the importance of controlling and filtering the words we say.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
The word “belly” here can mean “stomach” or “lower abdomen” and less commonly, it can mean the innermost parts of a person.
It also means “uterus” or “womb”.
Consider that our words bring to birth life or death in us at the core of our being.
James‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ says, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
The things that are conceived inside of us can bring forth sin and then eventually death in the end.
While lust is conceived in the mind, I believe that if the word “belly” here is referring to a uterus or womb, it means that our words also can conceive things within us that bring forth sin and death or life.
The word “satisfied” here means having sufficient supply, not abundance, but just enough to be full.
The two parts of this scripture may sound like it is saying the same thing twice with different wording, but it is actually expressing two different thoughts.
“A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth”
The word “fruit” here is feminine and yet it is referring to a masculine belly.
Men would sometimes use the term “belly” to say that children came from them.
“Fruit” here can mean the result of something or the consequence of something, but it can also refer to children.
So, there is this concept of our words birthing either good or bad within us in the first part of this scripture.
‭‭”And with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.”
Increase here can be referring to the gain or yield from the grain on the threshing floor or the wine of the winepress.
Metaphorically, “produce” here can mean that a man must live by his words either good or bad and the results they bring.
If gain comes from gainful work, then the fruit received is good and profitable, but the gain can also refer to the profit of the wicked which leads to sin.
This dynamic of birthing good and bad and either receiving a blessing by it, such as children are, or receiving the offspring of sin is something for us to consider.
Our words have consequences, so let us all consider what we say carefully and prayerfully each day.