I AM COMPLETE IN HIM!

Colossians 2:8-10 (NLT)
8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

I ran across this scripture the other night and I want to share it with you. I want to do something a little different though. I want to start at verse 9 and end with verse 8.

Verse 9 states For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. Jesus Christ had the fullness of God when he was here on this earth in a human body. He was all God and He was also all man. The Spirit of God lived in Him. He didn't have "a measure". No, He had the fullness of God inside of Him. Now in verse 10 the scripture says So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. We are complete because of our union with Christ. Complete means fully developed, mature, full-grown, and nothing missing. So everything Jesus had while He was here on the earth, we have now. We are not missing anything that Jesus had. The fullness of God lives in my human body! God is full grown and complete in me! For in Him we move, in Him we breathe, in Him we have our being. (Acts 17:28)

Now lets us consider verse 8. It says Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. I read that and realize that I am not suppose to agree with any philosophy or nonsense that says anything other than what verse 9 and 10 says. Any nonsense or philosophy that says God does not live in me, or that I am not complete in Him, or that I am not in union with Christ should go in one ear and out the other. I shall not entertain that thinking. The Bible calls that empty thinking. God loves me and He trusts me and He is complete in me! I am not missing anything from of God! The fullness of God lives in my human body

The Spirit Gives Life!

Romans 8:11 (New International Version)
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

I teach a Bible Study on Wednesday nights and we have been studying the book of Romans. We break Romans down each week, chapter by chapter. This last Wednesday, we talked about Romans 8. Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.

In verse 11, it says the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. Now think about that. Jesus was a man (God in a human body) that lived on this earth. He ate, he drank, he slept, and He endured everything you and I endure yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus also died a gruesome death. However this verse says the Spirit raised Him from the dead. I want to reiterate that Jesus was dead and the Spirit raised Him up.

This verse goes on and says that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and will give life to your mortal bodies. We must take what this passage says literally and apply it to our thought life. The Spirit within you has resurrection power! The Spirit within you will shoot adrenaline in your soul (Hebrews 12:2 MSG). The Spirit within you will cause what is dead to become alive in your life. Those dreams you once had, that sickness in your body, that aching in your knee, that wisdom you need cannot stand in the way of the life giving Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and is living inside of you. The Spirit THAT LIVES INSIDE OF YOU will give LIFE!

The Helper

Imagine if Jesus Himself lived here on the earth. Think about how wonderful that would be. We could walk right up to Him and have a conversation with Him. We could ask questions and He could answer them directly. That would be amazing.

However He would be limited in this physical body. We would all want to get an opportunity to be with Him however He is just one man. (God in a human body). We may not even get a chance to be around Him. We may have to be on a waiting list to even meet with Him. It would be easier for us to meet the President of the United States than for us to meet with Jesus Himself. Jesus understood that and that is why He said in John 16:7;

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

Jesus said that it is to our advantage that He is not here in the flesh. He said it is profitable unto us that He goes away. We already know that he would not leave us orphans (John 14:18). He will send us the Helper! But He had to depart in order to send us the Helper. The Helper is the The Holy Spirit. So since Jesus is not here in the flesh, we know that He has sent us the Holy Spirit. And if we are believers in Jesus then we have received the Holy Spirit. He lives inside of us! His name is also the Comforter, Advocate, Standby, Strengthener, Counselor and Friend.

John 16:13 (AMP) says But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].

The Holy Spirit wants to help us. Jesus says that part of the job, duty, and task of the Holy Spirit is to announce and declare to you things that are to come. You do not have to go see Jesus in the flesh. Nor do you have to go to a psychic or a palm reader to know what lies ahead. Nor should you listen to all the negative news reports that's trying to bombard your thinking. All you need to do is listen to the Holy Spirit within you and He will speak what he hears from the Father. The Holy Spirit inside of you will show you the future!

God is My Planner!

If you are like me, then at the beginning of every year I sit down and plan what I would like to accomplish this year. You may have done the same. You may have planned to workout more, or go on a nice vacation, or get married, or buy a house, or get a new job, or start a new business, or have a baby, etc. You may have sat down and discussed them with your spouse or even wrote them down so that you would not forget them (Habakkuk 2:2-3). You may have spent considerable time in prayer over your plans. Your plans are good plans and may be attainable for you this year!

However let us consider Proverbs 16:9 which says, We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. This verse says its okay to make plans. It actually goes ahead and says that we should make plans. Of course we must realize that it is the Lord that determines our steps. It is the Lord that directs our way. We must remember that God knows more than us. We must remind ourselves that He knows the end from the beginning. God knows our future.

We must not forget that His directions and steps may not be the way we planned it. There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12). We must allow our plans to be molded and mended by God. We must be willing to abandon our plans with no shame when we hear wise counsel from the Lord. Not my will (plans) but Thy will (plans) be done.

God has plans for us. His plans are for our good and future. (Jeremiah 29:11). Steal, kill, and destroy are not God's plans for us. His plans for us is to have life and to have life more abundantly. (John 10:10).

Let's commit our plans to the Lord. Let's hear and obey the Lord. Let's trust the Lord. Remember, its ONLY His plans that will stand anyway! (Proverbs 19:21)

Mercy Says No

When we think of the overwhelming goodness of God, we can't help but realize how extravagant His mercy has been toward us. But what exactly is the mercy of God? We hear very familiar scriptures such as His mercy endureth forever (Psalms 136) and His mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) but what exactly does that mean? The word mercy means an act of kindness, compassion or favor. It signifies kind and compassionate treatment towards the most undeserved. Not getting what you deserve. An active desire to remove the cause of distress in others.
The wonderful aspect of mercy is we receive it when we do not deserve it. Mercy fully benefits us for our past and grace empowers us for our present and future. In and of ourselves, we do not deserve anything good from the Lord but mercy says no.
When sin demands justice, mercy says no. When the devil condemns us, mercy says no. When we have messed up tremendously, mercy says no. Ephesians 2:4 says God is rich in mercy. That means God has an excessive, abundant supply, more than enough, sufficient amount of mercy for me. Psalms 103:8 says The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. Is that not good news? God is slow to anger and He abounds in mercy.
Mercy gives us freedom. Not freedom to sin but freedom to live fully for Him. Grace says, "I have given you an empowerment, an ability, an anointing to live for Me" and Mercy says, "IF you should miss the mark come boldly to the throne of grace and obtain Me" (Hebrews 4:16). Mercy says no you are not cut off by God. Mercy says No - God is not mad at you. Mercy says No - you have not committed the unpardonable sin. Mercy says No - I'm not going to let you go!

Ebony & Ivory

Hello and welcome to DaVon's blog. Remember the Paul McCartney / Stevie Wonder song? We loved it in the 80's, but it was a lame attempt at genuine relationships.

My name is Derek and I helped DaVon set up this blog. I am nothing like Paul McCartney and DaVon is nothing like Stevie Wonder. I am still married and can't sing. DaVon has clear vision and can't sing.

Anyway, DaVon is my friend and I have been pushing him to start this for a while because I think he has something to say.

Listen up!