In Him I Am Strong

Hello everyone,

We all experience moments where we need a fresh surge of that ‘pick-me-up’, supernatural, inner strength to recharge and refresh us.  The Word of God teaches us that in Christ, we are able to overcome ALL things when His Spirit, Who lives inside us, infuses us with that inner strength. What an amazing privilege to know and experience our God in this way! I love the way the Apostle Paul explains what this powerful inner strength can do!  In Philippians 4:13, he says, "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]." AMPC 

I must forewarn you - this letter is not short.  So pace yourself and take some time to go through it carefully, for the Word of God to sink in deep and have its full benefit in you.

To help us understand how we can draw from this supernatural inner strength, we can look at the life of Jesus as our example.  Which is perfectly relevant since in 1 John 4:17 says that we are able to live our lives here on earth, just as Jesus did when He was in this world.  In fact, I encourage you to spend some time in the book of John and see how Jesus models for us the inseparable connection we can enjoy with our God, through the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

Having said that, recorded in the first four books of the New Testament, we find a time where Jesus had to face, probably the most gruelling and horrid circumstances any human being ever had to face in the history of mankind.  Just knowing what He would have to endure was enough to sap every ounce of energy and peace from his body and mind.  It took place after the last supper He had shared with His disciples. He came into the Garden of Gethsemane to be alone with His Father and pray in intense desperation.  Knowing all that He would have to encounter and endure at the hands of the cruel, bloodthirsty Roman soldiers and the frenzied crowd awaiting His merciless torture and humiliating death, must have been nothing less than tormenting.  Not to mention that He would have face the brutal onslaught of all of hell and it’s evil demonic power that would be thrust onto Him, as He became the sin of the world, making Him an object of intense horror.  (Isaiah 52:14 and Psalm 22 both speak of the experience Jesus endured on the cross.  God gave both Isaiah and David a vivid vision of what was to come.). The Amplified Classic Version of Isaiah 52:14 says, “[For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, and His form beyond that of the sons of men—but just as many were astonished at Him,...”

Perhaps what weighed down worst of all on Jesus, was that He would have to go through all this terror on His own, without the presence of His Father. Up until that moment, Jesus did everything by the presence and power of His Father that was in Him (John 10:25).  Now, for the first time, He would have to do it alone.

Take a look at what Hebrews 5:9 says about the way Jesus was feeling in the garden that night: "In the days of His flesh [Jesus] offered up definite, special petitions [for that which He not only wanted but needed] and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was [always] able to save Him [out] from death, and He was heard because of His reverence toward God [His godly fear, His piety, in that He shrank from the horrors of separation from the bright presence of the Father]. Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered And, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped], He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him,"

Jesus was weak in his flesh and suffered extreme mental anxiety over what He knew He was only moments away from having to face.  Luke 22:44 says, “And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.”

In my next letter, I’ll explain what I believe happened to Jesus as He cried out, from the depth of His heart to His Father for help, and what caused Him to receive that supernatural inner strength that revitalised and strengthened Him enough to shake off His discouragement and walk with determination and purpose into what He knew He was born to do.  

This letter is to bring home a truth to us all.  We have a God Whose Spirit lives within us, Who not only knows us completely, but can relate to and understand every emotion and temptation to lose heart, draw back and give up, when circumstances seem too overwhelming for us to overcome. He experienced the temptation to be overcome in this life, just as we do, and yet He found the inner strength to push through, obey the perfect will of His Father and come through victoriously - just as we can do.

Hebrews 4:13 -15 says, “And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do. Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him]. For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.” AMPC

We must remember that although Jesus was born of God (the incorruptible seed of God placed in the womb of Mary), He was also born of man.  

Philippians 2:5-7 says, “Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.”AMPC

Jesus was as human as we are, and when the Holy Spirit came upon Him, He was empowered to walk and operate in the supernatural, just as we are.  Like us, He had a specific purpose to fulfil and a destiny to walk through.  And like us, He had every kind and form of opposition to that purpose flung against Him.  He felt the burden and weight of every attack and circumstance, just as we do, and yet, because He knew Who He was in His Father’s eyes, He pushed on and through in complete obedience to finish what He had begun.  

Knowing and remembering who we are in our Heavenly Father’s eyes, is what will give us the strength we need to overcome in this life.  Our identity in Christ Jesus and the strength we receive from our inseparable connection with Him, is more than sufficient to empower us with all we need to be all He has called us to.

Before we talk again, in my next letter, won’t you spend time meditating on John 15:4-11, and Hebrews 4:16.

John 15:4-11, “Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.”AMPC

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favour to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”AMPC

Much love,

Jenny

Supernatural Inner Strength For You!

Hello everyone,

I believe, every  child of God has been called to live in the fullness of the abundant life Jesus paid the price for us to have.  It’s a life that is full of purpose, freedom and victory.  Our purpose is His purpose, to extend the kingdom of God everywhere we go in this world.  Our freedom is a life free from the bondage of sin and its effects, and our victory comes in being filled with the love and life and manifest power of God to overcome every challenge and obstacle we find as we fulfil His purpose. 

This kind of victorious life of pushing back the darkness and extending God’s kingdom is absolutely possible.  When we choose to live this life Jesus has secured for us, our lives will always reflect exactly what the Apostle Paul declared in Philippians 4:13, "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]." AMPC

It all comes down to knowing how to activate and operate in the power of God that already is at work inside of us.

Ephesians 1:19 says, “And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,...”

To begin with, we must understand that God never filled us with His unlimited, immeasurable and inexhaustible power for it to just remain dormant inside of us.  He has always intended for us to know and understand how to activate that power and put it to work in and through us.

The word power here is the Greek word duminos meaning an explosive, demonstrative power.  It’s the same power that operated in and through the life of Jesus when He walked on the earth, after being filled with the Holy Spirit.  It’s a power that always demonstrates obvious results.  We see it operating when He prayed for the sick to be healed, when He cast out demons and they fled from Him, when He spoke to the elements and they obeyed Him.  Even when Jesus rose people from the dead, it was the duminos power of God, doing the work in and through Him.  In fact it’s that very same power that rose Jesus from the dead, and the Bible says that same power dwells in every one of us, as believers!   Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Now, that duminos, explosive and demonstrative power of God that resides in every believer, according to Ephesians 1:19, is demonstrated or activated by a mighty inner strength that wells up from inside our spirit man, which is inseparably connected to the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 6:17).

We can tap into and receive a fresh flow of that inner strength that activates God’s power to flow in and through us, any time we need it.  This makes perfect sense, because the Bible tells us that in order for us to operate in and by the Spirit of God, we have to do it by His strength, not our own.  Do you remember what Zechariah 4:6 says, “...Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.”

Now, the word strength, when we refer to the supernatural, inner strength from God, is a Greek word enischuo.  From his book Precious Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner explains this compound of the words en and ischuos. The word en means in, and the word ischuos is the word for might or strength.  Compounded together, the new word means to impart strength; to empower someone; to fill a person with heartiness; or to give someone a renewed vitality.   When a person feels exhausted and depleted, or battle weary from fighting the good fight of faith and constantly standing his ground in the Word, against continuous challenges, he can receive a blast of energy so robust that he is instantly recharged! Now he is ready to get up, get with it, and get going again!  

If you are feeling battle weary, and need a fresh boost of that inner strength that will activate God’s demonstrative power to go to work in and through you again, you can receive it right now!  Just stop what you are doing, get rid of all other distractions, open your heart to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to fill you with His supernatural inner strength.  Reach out in faith and begin to worship and thank Him with all your heart for the wonderful refreshing flow of His strength that is surging from His Spirit into yours right now.  

In my next letter, I’m going to show you how Jesus is a perfect example of how to receive this supernatural inner strength to activate and release the dunamis, explosive and demonstrative power of God in our lives.

Until then, keep your heart worshipping and receiving the fresh flow of His renewing and energising, inner strength.

All my love,

Jenny

The Treasure Within

Hello everyone,

This weekend my family and I had the privilege of visiting the Windsor Castle grounds in Windsor, England.  It was a spectacular tour, and we enjoyed seeing the grandeur of hundreds and hundreds of years of history being displayed in each spacious room. Generations of kings, queens and knights that had lived and significantly carved their mark in history, whether for good or bad, had their legacies etched in those ancient walls and hallways.  It got me wondering if they were ever really aware of how much their choices and actions would play such a crucial part on the world history scale?  I’m sure many of them did, that’s why they went to such great lengths to secure their lineage and continuously conquer more land to build and strengthen their empires and influence in the earth. I have no doubt that every king, queen and knight were driven with extreme purpose, to establish their kingdom for their generation and the ones to come.

It got me thinking about our role in the kingdom we belong to.  As children of God, we have a specific part to play in establishing His kingdom in the earth, that will effect not only our generation, but those in the future.  The truth is, to make a significant mark in eternity for God’s kingdom, is only going to be accomplished by His Spirit working in and through us.  On our own, we are no match to the enemy of God or the challenges that tempt us to give up our quest for establishing  the kingdom.  That’s when I remembered something I read in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.”

In this scripture, Paul declares that all born-again believers are the possessors of a most precious treasure that resides within our human bodies. When we read Ephesians 3:19, we see that treasure is the Spirit of God Himself.  It reveals how we are filled, through all our being, with the fullness of God.  It even says that we have the richest measure of His divine Presence, having our bodies wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!  This means, when we are completely surrendered to the Spirit of God living inside us, we are totally equipped and empowered to overcome the enemy, and significantly establish God’s kingdom everywhere we go - through His power inside us!

In the next letter, we will see what the Word says about how we can activate that power to flow in and through us.  Causing us to become those kings, queens and knights who are empowered and equipped to fulfil our purpose on this earth.

Much love,

Jenny

Live Like Me

Hello everyone,

Did you know that through the finished work of the cross, if we choose to live in Christ Jesus, by faith, we will tap into and activate the very same life source that lives in Him?  In fact, Jesus said that whoever continues to feed on Him, will be empowered to live like Him, on this earth!

John 6:57, “Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.”

During one of the sessions of the very powerful “Faith on Fire” live television broadcasts, Evangelist Johnathan Shuttlesworth taught on the significance of communion for every born-again believer.  He mentioned some biblical truths on communion that indicate how Jesus went through all He did on the cross, for a very intentional purpose.  While we live here on earth, Jesus has made a way for His supernatural life to operate in us.   He did this, so that we can live victoriously in this life as people who daily overcome the world - just as He has overcome the world. 1 John 4:17 says, “In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.”

In this letter, I want to show you that there is a way to partake of the life of Jesus, by faith, through communion, that will add or contribute to our lives the essence of Who He is!  The very same source of supernatural life that flowed in Jesus while He walked on earth, is the same life that quickened His mortal body and raised Him from the dead, and it’s the same life that has caused Him to be seated, victoriously, in heavenly places.  (Ephesians 1:20,21).   And when we partake of communion, we are declaring by faith, that the very same life and power of the resurrected Christ lives in and empowers us!  It’s that simple, and the results of understanding this truth,  are nothing less than profound.  

I’m going to briefly summarise the significance of the bread and wine that we partake of during communion.  To get the full benefit of the message, I encourage you to download the Faith Broadcasting Network App from the App Store, on your electronic device.  When you select the Faith on Fire icon, you will be able to locate this teaching by Jonathan, and believe me, it will be well worth your while!

So let’s take a look at the significance of eating the bread that resembles the body of Jesus that was broken for us.

• The life source of God that flows in the body of Jesus has the power to neutralise all poison in our systems.  The healing power of God is one of the great covenant benefits we can expect to work in our bodies, as we constantly renew our minds to who we are in Him, and Who He is in us! (2 Kings 4:38-41; Psalm 103:3)

• Because of our covenant connection with God, through the broken body of Jesus, we can expect Devine intervention and help from above, to deliver us out of trouble. (Exodus 12:21-23; Psalm 107:19)

• Partaking of communion is a spiritual meal that reminds us of the life of the Spirit of God that is infused into our spirits, and has set us free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

There is great significance in drinking the wine that resembles the blood of Jesus, shed for us too.

• Just as the blood of the lamb was painted on the door posts of the Israelites’ homes in Egypt to protect them against the angel of death; so the blood of Jesus acts as our protective agent against anything that has the intention to bring us harm.

• The resurrection life that flows in the blood of Jesus, by faith, flows in every born-again believer, giving us the power to have eternal life in Him. (John 11:25)

• The blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse us from all unrighteousness  and put us in right standing with God. (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 3:24-25). 

What an unearned privilege it is for us to live in, and serve a God, Who fully gave Himself to see us reconciled to Him.  And by His grace, He has enabled us to live in the fullest measure of His life and victory, while we are in this world.

Through His finished work on the cross, Jesus has made a way for us to live just like He is now.  This truth is more than we could have ever wished or asked for, and certainly more than we deserve.  Let's decide to lay hold of it by faith, and intentionally live in the full benefit of what Jesus has done for us.

Much love,

Jenny

More Than Just a Ritual

Hello Everyone,

Just today I was watching one of my favourite Bible preaches quote, “If you make the gospel profound, the results will be simple, but if you make it simple to understand, the results will be profound”.

Jesus spent His ministry on earth doing just that.  He was more concerned with everyone being able to understand the heart and true nature of His Father, and His intensions towards us, than He was with impressing the elite, educated and devout, religious Pharisees.  He did this on purpose, so that everyone, without exception, both then, and now, could grasp and embrace His truth with all our hearts, and actually experience the life of freedom and victory we can have in knowing Him.

One life-transforming teaching Jesus gave was on communion.  To this day, it’s made to be more of a symbolic ritual, than an act of simple obedience by faith. Because of this, the results have become powerless for many of those who partake of it.  Mark 7:13 says, “Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on. And many things of this kind you are doing.”  Now, when we follow and instruction Jesus clearly told us to do, but make it into a faithless ritual, we strip it of its power and cause it to have no effect in our lives.  However, when we obey what Jesus tells us to do, by faith, the results in our lives are nothing less than profound.  

Remember Me

1 Corinthians 11:25-26 says, “Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord’s death until He comes [again].”

Jesus instructed us to take communion regularly, so that we would constantly be reminded of the New Covenant we have with Him.  This New Covenant is so powerful and can only be activated by faith.  Now we know that faith comes and is made stronger the more we hear God’s Word (Romans 10:17). Just the same, our faith and confidence in living in the full benefit of our New Covenant is made strong every time we take communion, reminding ourselves of what the finished work of the cross has made available for us, in Christ Jesus.

Let’s take a close look at the words Jesus said, when He taught on communion.

In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time).”  When we take communion by faith, we are reminded that because of what Jesus did, we are able to have an intimate relationship with Him, where we are fully and completely satisfied by Him.  He is the beginning and the end of our faith and our portion in this life.

In verse 48-51, He says, “I am the Bread of Life [that gives life—the Living Bread].  Your forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and [yet] they died. [But] this is the Bread that comes down from heaven, so that [any]one may eat of it and never die. I [Myself] am this Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever; and also the Bread that I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh (body).”  When we take communion, we celebrate the truth that because of the finished work of the cross, by faith, we have eternal life in Christ.  

Now pay attention to what He says in the next couple of verses: John 6:53-58 says, “And Jesus said to them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, you cannot have any life in you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you appropriate His life and the saving merit of His blood].

He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has (possesses now) eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.

For My flesh is true and genuine food, and My blood is true and genuine drink.

He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood dwells continually in Me, and I [in like manner dwell continually] in him.  When we take communion, we are reminded of the inseparable connection we have with Christ Jesus, by faith, through His Holy Spirit Who indwells us.  We are never alone, there is no distance between us, He will never leave us!  1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.”  One translation says our spirits are laminated to His Spirit.  You can’t tell where He begins and we end, or where our spirit begins and a His ends.  

Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.”  In John 1:1-3, we understand that Jesus is the Word of God.  When we take communion, we remind ourselves that Jesus lives in His Word, and as we receive it by faith, it will nourish our spirits and renew our minds, causing us to live in the fullness of His promises, as our spiritual inheritance.

Remembering Empowers Us

In the book of Joshua 1:8, God gave Joshua clear instructions to constantly remind himself of His Word.  As Joshua was faithful to do this, he would find that all fear and anxiety was replaced with empowering faith, resulting in supernatural wisdom, success and prosperity in all he put his hand to.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”  

Just the same, Jesus instructs us to constantly be reminded of what the finished work of the cross won for us, whenever we partake of communion.  As we do, we will find all fear and anxiety being replaced with empowering faith, resulting in supernatural wisdom, success and prosperity in all we put our hand to.

Let’s take another look at what Jesus wants us to keep in the forefront of our minds, according to those scriptures in John 6, especially when we partake of communion.

Firstly, we must remember that Jesus is the only One Who truly satisfies us. Secondly, because of Him, we can enjoy eternal life with Him. Thirdly, since His Life dwells in us, we have an inseparable connection with Him right now! Fourthly, He is His Word, which nourishes our spirits and renews our minds.

Now, I haven’t even started on what the Word teaches us regarding the significance of the shed blood and broken body of Christ for every believer, and the importance of reminding ourselves of it every time we take communion.

Johnathan Shuttlesworth gives a pretty detailed teaching on this that will certainly give your faith a power boost!  It adds a dimension of victorious, faith building power every time I partake of communion.  I’d like to spend some time talking about it in my next letter, so be expectant and don’t miss out on reading it!

Much love,

Jenny