This is Not a Dress Rehearsal

Knowing God and His goodness is spending time with Him. It is to be our ultimate goal to know Him and expect His plan to unfold before our eyes. In 1 Peter 4:1-6 we see that we are to arm ourselves with same the thoughts and purposes as Jesus did. We are told in verse one that those who have suffered in the flesh are done with the intentional sin. They are no longer pleasing themselves and the world, but they are pleasing God. It is written that our lives are to be lived for what God desires and wills for our lives. Now Peter was sent to the Jews, and to teach them of Jesus. But in this scripture Peter is referring to the Christian and to those scattered abroad.
It was written to tell them that we are saved because of Jesus and dead to the things of the world. It was given to show that we were not to be conformed to the world's thinking and doing but to be conformed wholly to God!
Our lives should certainly mirror verse six in that we should live in the spirit as our God does.
No, this is not a dress rehearsal!
We are going through once, living life given to us, not as the world lives but as God desires for us.
We are to live righteous, and holy before Him. As His children, we should be those who ask a lot of questions in prayer. Much like raising our children, and hearing them ask why, we too, should ask, "why Lord"! "How can I serve You Lord?" "Where shall I take my place Lord to serve You and speak to a dying world?"
Why you and me? Why did He choose us to live at this time and receive our salvation?
How could He ever love us so much as to offer us His son, the son of His love for us?
Each day, it is a walk of getting to Know HIM, to understand why we are to be involved and what to expect of His plan through us to a dying world.
As we spend our time with Him, we discover that our spirit man is now in the ascendancy and should have the strength over our flesh-creature or flesh nature. The more we feed our spirit man with the word of God, we find God's goodness toward us and His love expressed in so many ways. Our communication with Him is through His word and prayer. It is looking into His perfect law of liberty and to find the mirror that reflects HIM in and through us always.
It is God's goodness and His love that should be revealed in our daily lives.
We should be examples to others and have the expectancy of looking for our Lord's return! Are we anchored in His truth? Do we know He is for us?  In scripture we find many asking, "is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary,......and are not His sisters here with us?" and they were offended at Him.
 Mark 6:2-6
"Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" And they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  NKJV
When we spend time in prayer with our Father God who is spirit, standing firm in the Word of God that is spirit and truth, then we gain a firm foothold to stand against an enemy who desires our demise. We can stand as Jesus did and face the enemy gaining victory through the truth that God is for us, He is more than enough, He is the great " I am" in our midst.
As Jesus, we too, can live a supernatural life!
People can see us mirror the very image of our God in His love, stand against the enemy, declare truth and see victory over and over again. People can surely see us being empowered from on High. When we talk differently than the world, act differently than the world, and speak with wisdom of God and laugh at the enemy of sickness and death, through our obedience to come out of the world, live and walk in the spirit like God, we too, can see others come to know Jesus and receive Him as well. They can come to know HIM who came from on High and walked among those who became the disciples and then apostles. We can know freedom in the Word of God that set us free to be who God created us to be. For those who knew you and I before we were saved, may see us as those who saw and thought they knew Jesus," oh yeah, Mary's son.........the carpenter, right?"
But many who have never seen us before and only know us since being saved, will know us as the one who speaks the same as the Father speaks. Others may know us as those who can pray and see the sick made whole. And still others may see us become stronger and bolder to preach and teach the Word of God to a dying world.
This is not a dress rehearsal!
Let's take our place to stand, in face of any enemy, and with defiant boldness speak and declare God's Word that if God be for me, who can be against me? Spend time in prayer with God our Father, look to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith and expect to see the miraculous among those who are serving the world come to the One true God. May they see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ through you and me! May they truly speak the salvation prayer confirming with their mouth their Lord is Jesus Christ!

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at (http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV)