Love In It's Purity! Bertie Brits

The greatest manifestation of LOVE happened when God became a human being and lifted us to HIS level of righteousness. This is called the ministration of reconciliation where our trespasses are not imputed to us.

The only way in which we can love people is to see them as forgiven in JESUS and to proclaim this truth to them. This is Greater love than selling all you have and giving it to the poor; And Greater power than moving mountains and doing great healing miracles (even though miracles are still here to stay) is in introducing a person to his/her guilt free life that exists because of Jesus Christ and what he has done. It is to welcome people to the reality of endless love that only exists in HIS WORK on OUR BEHALF.

Bertie Brit. www.dynamicministries.com

Lasting Desires!

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" Psalm 37:4(KJV)

I remember a while back how I misunderstood this scripture. I was trying with all I have to delight myself in the Lord. I will sing some songs, and to some extend, along came joy. You see, I came from a perspective that God wants me to rejoice and then He will fulfill the desires of my heart. So the burden was upon me to find joy and delight in the Lord. So if it meant locking yourself in a room to worship until joy comes, so be it. Don't forget, joy comes in the morning. However, that is not who God is. There's something wrong with that picture. You see, any scripture has to be consistent with what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus is the Word of God; the living Word. We should see all scripture through the prism of the finish work on the cross. Remember the two disciples on the road to Emmaus? After Jesus died and rose from the dead, two disciples were on the road to Emmaus and they were talking about the events that happened. Jesus showed up and starting walking with them. They seemed confuse about the whole situation. And the Bible says:

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27 NIV

I want us to focus on verse 27: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself". Unless we see Jesus in all the scriptures, we are not seeing the truth. So how does Psalm 37:4 fit in with the finish work of Jesus? Let me just break it down: starting from Adam, we were all under a system. It's a very subtle system that looks right from the surface, but the end thereof leads to death. The system says: You are Not; You must Do in order to Be. Isn't that what the serpent told Eve? They were already created in God's image; but he started the argument that "she is not like God; she needs to EAT of the tree in order to be like God. But if we put Christ in the equation, Christ turned the tables. He shouldered the burden so that we won't have to. Christ is the source of our joy. When we listen to the Gospel (good news), what Christ did for us, that will produce joy and delight. Delight yourself in the Lord: how? Allow him to delight you. Let Him sing over you. That is how you delight yourself in the Lord. The joy of His salvation; his word will wash over you and bring you unspeakable and inexplicable joy. When you are in that state of joy and peace, you become more sensitive to him. It is at this moment that you will be able to recognize the desires and thoughts that He places in your heart. For

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; Isaiah 55:12 NIV

This happens effortlessly from your part. It is God who births forth the desire and the will.

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Phil 2:13 NIV

Let the peace of the Lord rule/reign in your heart. Peace is multiplied in us through the knowledge of God (2 Pet 1:2). When we have the right knowledge of who God is, peace will be the natural outcome. Let your heart be filled with lasting desires!

The Forbidden Fruit

Have you eaten of the forbidden fruit? It's delicious! It gives you a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It puts you in the driver seat of your destiny. It does seem right and it makes sense; but its end is death. You may be partaking of it right now consciously, or unconsciously. The truth about it is so simple and obvious that it is missed by most.

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (alternatively, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" or other variants) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. And this is true almost everywhere. This is just how we deal as human beings. There is no way around it. But when it comes to God, this is as dangerous as it could be. This is a lie from the pit of hell. The Bible tells us that Lucifer was cast out of heaven because he wanted TO BE LIKE GOD (Ezekiel 28; Isaiah 14). Now fast forward to the Garden of Eden where the Serpent had a conversation with Eve. Genesis 3:1-6 details the story. But lets examine verse 5 of chapter 3;

"5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil".

Now before we proceed, please remember that a couple of chapters away, God has said "Let's create man according to our image". Man was created "like God", but somehow the serpent convince Eve that she needs "to be like God" by performing an act - eat! In other words, the burden is upon your shoulders "TO BE LIKE GOD". This actually speaks to our ego; and it does make sense to us - no free lunch, remember? And mind you, Eve's intentions were pure; she wanted to be like God. What harm is in the desire to be like God? Who doesn't want to be like God? All the religions of the world are based in this premise; to be like God. In pursuit of that, we go to great lengths. But to Eve, there was only one act between her and becoming like God. It was simply eating the forbidden fruit. And from that moment, the relationship between mankind and God changed. God has created man according to his image. Man didn't have to do anything to be like God. It was all God's doing. But man chose a new way of dealing with God; the burden is now placed on our shoulders. Out of that, came the law. God honored man's choice, and sent them away from the Garden of Eden (though he forgave them). From that point on, there was no free lunch when it comes to God. This was exactly Lucifer's plan. Man has fallen from a state of unconditional acceptance, to a new way of life that was born of Lucifer. However, God still loves mankind so much that he made a new way to deal with this system. Since this was man's choice, and man has free will, God became man (Jesus) and fulfilled the requirement of the Law. He then died and with his death he put away this system from the pit of hell. And He rose from death a new man. The first man that was required to perform in order to be like God is dead. God has created a new man. The old adage is still sneaking in to the Church today. We found ourselves trying to please God out of our works - flesh. We still measure who we are by "the length of our branches"; our giving, our ministry, our love for God, our pursuit of the things of God. Allow God to fill your heart with his love and that will produce the satisfaction that you need (Ephesians 3:19) Philemon vs 6 says;

"6That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus".

Acknowledge the good things that are in you (already) in Christ, and that will make your faith effective. You don't need to add anything at all. After all, it's not about trying to be like God, but rather allowing God TO BE in us.

This is the definition of love: He loved us first!

Recently i've been experiencing God's love overwhelming me. God is Love. God's character is found in Love. And indeed, this is Love, not that we loved Him first, but He loved us. God's love for me, produced love in my heart for God. Because He is love. Because He chose to seat me with Him in the Heavenlies. Christianity is not about rules and regulations. Its about how much God loved us that He sacrificed His Son Jesus. He demonstrated His love while we were yet enemies. While we were separated from Him by a system of self righteousness; which produced sin and death. So God in Christ made a new way of dealing with Him. We can't come to Him by observing the rituals and laws; we only come to Him by one way only - His love for us. His love for us made Jesus The Way. Jesus took our form, became a Son of Man, under the law; and then satisfying the requirement of the law, He took our sin upon Himself. When He obeyed the law, I obeyed in him; When He fulfilled the whole law, I fulfilled the law; Therefore, when He died, I died with Him. The old man died with Him. And when He rose from the dead, I was risen with Him a new creation. I'm risen with Him, a creation that is created after God, in the likeness of Christ Jesus. I'm risen with Him, not under the law, for the man under the law died. But the day that He rose from the dead, a new nation was born. Can a nation be born in one day? Yes. When Christ Jesus rose from the dead, He became the first among many brethren. The first of the new creation - one of a kind. In Him, I'm declared "the righteousness of God".

My sins are not imputed unto me. This is the gospel! This has changed my mind from the old way of thinking. This change in my mind, characterizes the essence of who i am. It happens effortlessly. Its Christ Jesus living within, and transforming me. I do not imitate Jesus. I don't exert effort to be like Jesus. The love of God is poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit; and that works within me, changing me to the same glory, as in a mirror.

So what is love? Or where is my first love? My first love is God loving me unconditionally. And herein is love.......not that i've loved. Now, i love Him, because he first loved me; nevertheless, I can't put my trust in my love for Him. I can't count on my love for Him to be the basis of my relationship with Him. The foundation of this relationship is on "His love for me that never changes". Now that's something you take to the bank. You can rely upon such love. If you can rest your mind on that, all burden will be lifted from your shoulders. You will see God for who He is, in His unadulterated perfect image manifested in Christ Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the Alpha and Omega. He started this journey, and He alone completed it. You don't need to add anything to it.

My prayer is for the "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him"....for all who can believe this message. Getting a glimpse of this, will usher you into His glorious presence, free from any works. You don't need to fast, or repent, or change from your ways as a prerequisite. All you need is to get a revelation of this good news, and that will change you. It will turn you around from the direction you were going to. If you turn around with your own efforts, that ain't God's work. That is called "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps". That will amount to a sacrifice based on your efforts, and has nothing to do with God's mercy and grace. God's perfect sacrifice paved the way for us. We can only respond by believing and receiving His love. That response will generate love for Him.