Ordinarily, the presence of God is something that is desired above all things. However, as it was with Moses at the burning bush, most people are not aware of God’s presence in their lives even when they enter into it. Moses didn’t realize he had entered into the presence of God until God called out to him. ~ “Then He [God] said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand [is] holy ground” (Exodus 3.5).

The Source of God’s Power

Moses had entered into God’s presence during the trans-course of everyday life and didn’t even know it. So it is today with multiple millions of God’s children. This same simple yet all-powerful presence of God was the genius behind the life and ministry of the man who split open the Red Sea and rained bread down from heaven upon the children of Israel for 40 years in the desert. When Moses told God that he was incapable of completing the task God had given him, God told Moses that His ‘presence’ would go with him and would enable him to work wonders before the eyes of Pharaoh and the children of Israel. ~ “And He [God] said, “My Presence will go with you” (Exodus 33.14).

No Substitute

According to Jesus, who like Moses had a habit of spending long periods of time in God’s presence,¹ the presence of the Father was the source of His miracle-working capacity. ~ “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5.19). There is no substitute for the presence of God in the life of the believer. Moses first entered into God’s presence unwittingly, and the from that point forward the creative ability of God’s presence followed him, enabling him to complete whatever assignment God laid before him. As is true with all anointed men and women in the Bible, both Moses and Jesus were frequently found alone in the presence of God. ~ “So He Himself [Jesus] often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5.16).

Changing Point

Up till the moment Moses accidentally stumbled into the presence of God, His life was a disaster. But give the man some credit; once he had entered into that place of sublime intimacy with God, Moses realized that this was the golden key that opened the door releasing the ability of God into and through his life and that it was so easy to do that it could be undertaken without even being aware of it.

Take off Your Shoes

The divine instruction from God for Moses to remove his shoes should shed some light on this subject for most of us. Why did God tell Moses to remove his shoes? God told Moses to take off his shoes because Moses wasn’t going to be going anywhere for a while. The divine instruction of the removal of one’s shoes meant the same thing then that it would mean today. The only time you take your shoes off is when you’ve decided to stay for a while, that you’re not going anywhere soon. Prayer requires time. So, if you want to enter into God’s presence, you’re going to have follow the spiritual formula. God, unlike us, is never in a hurry. The place most people take off their shoes is in their own home, and you will never be more at home than you are when you have entered into the divine presence of love personified, your Heavenly Father. ~ “Then He said…Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand [is] holy ground” (Exodus 3.5).

God’s Presence is Holy

The word translated ‘holy’ here means “separated” according to Strongs² Dictionary of Bible Words. It is not a question of finding God’s geographical presence; it is a question of becoming aware of the fact that God is ever-present at all times. God is not hiding. He is everywhere all the time. The problem is we have chosen to block God out of our consciousness and remain absent from His presence through the blindness³ of our minds. Once someone is born of the Spirit of God, he becomes a child of God and is capable of entering into God’s presence at any time. All that is necessary from that point on is to bring the mind into subjection to the re-born (re-generated) spirit, which is already in contact with God. Two things are required to do this: 1) time, and 2) a separate (holy) place, a place without distractions, as Jesus would often spend the night on the mount alone with God.

Alone With God

What are your objectives? Is there something important that you want to get done in your life? Learn the secret of Moses and of Christ. You will accomplish more in three hours alone in God’s presence than you will in three years trying to get things done in your own ability. Release the power of God’s presence into your life.

Mt 14:23

And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Notes

1. Luke 5.16

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong%27s_Concordance

3. 2Corinthians 4.4

Download this blog now:

View all blogs, shop online store…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2023 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

By definition a Christian is a ’follower of Christ.’ The first words Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew as He walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee are the same words, He now speaks to you, the same words He has spoken to every other true disciple since He turned the water to wine. ~ “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me… They immediately left [their] nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4.18-20). God can’t lead you to the promise land if you insist to remain living in the same old neighborhood. One cannot enter into victory while at the same time persisting to live in the same things that cause defeat. God has a plan of victory and abundance for your life, but you cannot receive God’s plan while at the same time you refuse to do the things necessary to bring that abundance into your life.

Leaving all Behind

Just as Jesus called the disciples, God invites every man to leave the past behind, just so God has a new life of victory, blessing and prosperity prepared and waiting for each one of His children to possess. The brothers Peter and Andrew had a good life. Leaving all behind would not be easy, but they wanted more out life that simply being comfortable. They had a hunger burning deep within their hearts to know God, to serve Him and to enter into His divine plan for their lives. They knew that only by serving God would they be able to live free from the consequences of sin, save their families and attain to eternal. No man wants to enter into eternal death. The Bible says that God has put the desire for eternal life into the heart of every man. ~ “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3.11). 

Much More than Money Alone

The disciples knew that the riches of God include much more than money alone. They knew that Satan was seeking to steal, kill and destroy everything they loved and valued. More than this, the sublime life of intimacy with God drew them on. ~ “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking” (Luke 5.5,6).

God’s Perfect Plan

These two men were professional fishermen, yet they had struggled all night and had caught no fish. Ever since the Garden of Eden, when Adam committed the first sin, the earth has been cursed with poverty. Let’s have a look at what God said when man sinned in the book of Genesis. ~ “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed [is] the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat [of] it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you [are], And to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3.17-19). God has promised to bless and prosper all who follow him. Decide today to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd into God’s perfect plan for your life and leave the old behind.

Mark 1.17 “Then Jesus said to them, “’Follow Me.’”

Download this blog now:

View all blogs, shop online store…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2023 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

There is nothing like beginning the New Year right, and that means putting first things first. Before anything else, it must be said that God has a peculiar habit that is unique to Him because of His nature. If you’ve ever wondered what God likes to do in His spare time, scripture seems to point out what it is. Unlike us, He loves new things. God is a ‘creator’… or more accurately, God is The Creator. The word ‘create’ implicitly means NEW. Nothing can be created without making it new at the same time.

God is Limitless

Thanks to His limitless attributes and His boundless wisdom, God prefers to simply make something completely new from the beginning than to fix an old mess. Some of us should learn from this. Sometimes the best thing is simply start anew. Think about it. The Bible is full of new things that God is constantly creating. Instead of fixing the Old Testament, God just went ahead a introduced a completely distinct New Testament. Adam contaminated the human race with sin, so God gave us the ‘new birth.’ The Bible is full of things that God makes new. Consider a few of them: the new man, the new heavens and a new earth, a new universe, a new day, a new year, a new beginning, the new creation, new wineskins, a new thing, a renewed mind, the New Jerusalem, the new nature, a new spirit, new tongues, new wine, a new commandment, a new moon…etc. We might as well get used to it because the fact is, God is so indulged in making new things that He has promised to ‘make all things new!’ ~ “Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21.5).

Man’s Fallen Nature

As is usually the case, because of the fallen nature that we received from Adam when he sinned in the garden and our experience living under the influence of sin, we are not so fond of new things in general. Because newness implicates change, and change includes work and the need for faith we tend to avoid change rather than welcome it. The sin nature, being lazy and fearful, too often prefers to simply cope with the old broken futile things of yesterday, instead of taking God’s hand and letting Him lead us into the new things He has prepared for us. God is so special about new things that He actually teases us, sparking our imagination with curiosity. In the book of Isaiah, as God speaks openly about the new things He wants to do for us, saying ~ Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness [And] rivers in the desert. God has a new way for you in 2023, a new plan, and a new solution to your problems. Something you have never even thought of or considered. He can’t wait to tell you about it. It is so much better than what you have now and infinitely better than anything you could imagine or even dream. ~ “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3.20).

Time for a Real Change

If you’re like God and you’re getting a little bored and tired of the same old problems in your life, it’s time for ‘the new.’ And it is so easy to achieve. You don’t even have to ask Him for it. He has already created a completely new solution for the things that the enemy has been using to tie you down a stop you from running with the new vision that God has for your life in 2023. ~ “Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision And make [it] plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2.2). All that He needs is a little cooperation on your part to bring on the new and say good bye to the old. He can’t do it arbitrarily without your consent, and there are a few steps that are necessary in which we must cooperated. In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet talks about the future He has planned for you, saying ~ “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29.11).

Revelation 21:5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

Download this blog now:

View all blogs, shop online store…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

What would you do if your engaged wife-to-be came home one Christmas to tell you that she is pregnant with someone else’s baby? The only way to get a real understanding of the meaning of Christmas is to understand the man who received this message, the step-father of the Son of God born in a manger, the man Joseph, the fiancé of the Virgin Mary. ~ “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man], and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1.18-20).

The Story of a Family

God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is the Father of Jesus; Joseph is the father of Christmas and for good reason. The Christmas story is a perfect picture of the one and only true family, the family of God, the genuine family which the human family is supposed to depict. For over 1600 years, the greatest theologians have agreed that it is infinitely more noble and holy for a man to father an adopted child than the seed of his own flesh. The Christmas story is ripe with profound imagery, revealing to the enlightened eye the working of the Holy Spirit on that first Christmas night so long ago. ~ “And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2.16). The real message of Christmas is powerful. All Christians have to do is tell it the way it is. The world would be a different place if Christians viewed the offspring of the divine seed the way Joseph did.

A True Husband

Most men completely ignore or go so far as to try to kill the spiritual offspring their wives bring home by the Holy Spirit, when they come home and announce that God has given them a child ꟷborn of the Spirit. ~ “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit’” (John 3.5,6). Joseph is a real man, a true father, not an abortionist. Instead of giving first place to his own carnal seed, the product of the dead flesh, Joseph recognizes and esteems the divine seed born of the Holy Spirit and quietly takes his place as a ‘virgin father,’ or a foster-father of baby Jesus, supporting his wife as she rejoices and nurses her new spiritual offspring to spiritual maturity, nursing the precious child of God day-by-day on the pure, unadulterated milk of the Word. ~ “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1Peter 2.2).

Spiritual Maturity by the Word

Every child born of the flesh has a physical mother, so every child born of the Spirit of God, like the Virgin Mary, has a spiritual mother, who is a member of the Church, and a spiritual step-father who supports, helps, and cares for his house (the church). The Bride of Christ, promised to wed the Messiah at the wedding feast¹ of the Lamb is the Church, comprised of individual members, who give birth by the Spirit to every born again child of God. ~ “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the…church of the firstborn, which is the mother of us all” (Hebrews 12.22,23; Galatians 4.26). Christmas is a story of a family; Joseph, Mary and Jesus. It is the story of a man giving God and the only true family first place in his life, putting God’s spiritual progeny before his own carnal vanity and dreams. It is the story of a pious man, called Joseph, the father² of Jesus. No man should father carnal children until he has successfully fathered spiritual children, until he has auspiciously added people to the number of the saints and raised them up to spiritual maturity through the word. ~ “For everyone who partakes [only] of milk [is] unskilled in the word…but solid food belongs to those who are of full age”(Hebrews 5.13,14).

The Baby in a Manger

If you want to encounter Christmas in your home, it’s not about decorating a tree or eating turkey; it’s about sewing the seed of the word of God into the heart (spirit) of those who God leads you to until Christ (the seed of the word) is formed in them. Notice how Mary conceives the Word of God, Jesus Christ. ~ “And the angel answered and said to her, “[The] Holy Spirit will come upon you, and…that Holy One who is to be born {–of you} will be called the Son of God. Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Luke 1.35,38; John 1.14). It’s time to go back to that first starry night, back to the cold and windy high plains of Bethlehem, back to the ‘Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger,’ back to Jesus the Word of God,³ merry Christmas!

Galatians 4.19  

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.

Notes

1. Revelation 19.9

2. Luke 2.48

3. Revelation 19.13

wnload this blog now:

Browse Christmas sale products…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

It is for good reason that the New Testament begins with the epic story of a family at Christmas time. The beginning of any written volume generally commences by establishing the main idea of the entire work, this is called the ‘thesis statement.’ The dearest and most precious thing to all peoples across the four corners of the globe is family, and each year Christmas is universally accepted as the pinnacle family event of the year. This is no accident. It is all the undertaking of God’s unseen hand working providentially according to His eternal spiritual design. Why is family and Christmas so important to everyone? Because family represents heaven where we find our eternal home in God’s family and the birth of Christ shows us how to get there. ~ “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14.6). Jesus is the only true way to eternal life, and as is clearly depicted in the Christmas story it all begins with the new birth. The first and principal idea of Christmas is the miraculous birth of Christ, which portrays what the New Testament calls the New Birth. ~ “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water [natural] and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3.5).

Jesus a Young Man

Just as the miracle birth of Christ by Virgen Mother and the power of the Holy Spirit, even so each one of God’s children begin their spiritual journey to the final great Christmas celebration in heaven through the new birth, which is a product of the virgin mother (church) and the Holy Spirit. ~ “But you have come to…the heavenly Jerusalem…to the general assembly and church of the firstborn [who are] registered in heaven…which is the mother of us all” (Hebrews 12.22,23; Galatians 4.26). The Christmas story teaches us that Jesus was not only the son of the virgin, He was also the son of a stepfather called Joseph, who received the baby Jesus and guided Him throughout the childhood years and His youth. Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather, mysteriously disappears from scripture at the time Jesus becomes a young man, which is necessary and also according divine plan. Joseph who symbolizes the human father must disappear into the shadows so the Son of God can give place to his Heavenly Father who is His only true Father. Jesus speaks of His two fathers, His spiritual father and his earthly stepfather, in the book of Luke. ~ “So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father [Joseph] and I have sought You anxiously. And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s [God, the Father] business?” (Luke 2.48,49).

Running and Walking

Notice, as has already been said, Jesus, demonstrating clearly to all the only true way to eternal life in God’s celestial family, did not try to conform the heavenly family to His earthly family, as most people do. No, Jesus understood clearly that if anyone is going to make heaven their home and take their place in the eternal heavenly family in the age to come, they must carefully observe the spiritual family, which is the church, and conform their earthly family to the spiritual family of God, not the reverse. Christmas teaches of the spiritual family which is the only true model for the earthly family to follow and conform to if it is to be saved. Most who mistakenly put the earthly above the spiritual unwittingly destine it to condemnation. Christmas teaches us of how we must all receive the kingdom as dear children and grow up one day at a time, like Jesus did. ~ “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Mark). Too often Christians try to run before they learn how to walk. The Christmas story through Jesus describes to us a normal life that is led by the Holy Spirit. Some have erroneously said that the childhood of Jesus was full of miracles and prodigies; however, we know this is not true because the Bible says that His first miracle was the turning of the water into wine in Cana of Galilee. ~ “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him” (John 2.11).

Subject to Him

It is no accident that at Christmas children are celebrated and put first. This is how it is in the Kingdom of God, in the family of God. The young new born again¹ believers are cherished and celebrated. It is clearly shown that they need time to grow up spiritually and that, like any child, they will stumble and fall every now and then, at which time they will be lovingly picked up and cradled in the arms of the mother church, not scolded and punished. ~ “So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2.15). Christmas tells us that just as the shepherds and the kings came to Jesus and worshiped him and saw that He was acclaimed by thousands of angels, even so the pastor of every church and president of every country is subject to Him and will give an account of how well they served Him. Don’t miss the opportunity this Christmas to speak a few words about the true meaning of Christmas to your family or just read a few verses from the holy scripture (scripture reading…Luke 2.1-20). And then throughout the new year remind your family as the Spirit directs you of these timeless principles, conducing your family into the only true way to the eternal family in heaven that will forever celebrate the miracle birth of God’s glorious Lamb in a manger on that first Christmas night so long ago.

Malachi 4.5-6

Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Notes

1. John 3.3

Download this blog now:

Browse Christmas sale products…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

What kind of father would give away his only son, especially when he was fully aware of the fact that those to whom his son was given were going to kill him and send him to hell? The answer is simple. The only father who would do something like that would be a father who know for certain that his son would not only destroy death itself, but would also kick down the gates of hell, rescue all other family members who were unjustly held there, and restore all of the family back together in the presence of the Father.

The True Family

As we all know, love and family can get complicated; notwithstanding, most of us would agree, in spite of the cost, family is worth fighting for, even to the point of death itself. This is the true story of Christmas. Christmas, more than any other place in the Bible, is where the true family on earth is pictured in perfect harmony and peace. Family always was and still remains the be God’s ultimate plan for all of mankind.

A Family Portrait

The Christmas scene in the Bible is a beautiful and unmistakable portrait of the true family of God. The cast is a mother, a father, and their newborn son. ~ “And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2.16). It has been correctly stated the underlying purpose of the Architect in all of creation is for God to have a family.

Family Problems

However, having a family is not always as simple as it may appear to be, just ask God! His first son unwittingly delivered the entire family into the hands of sin, death and hell through the deceit of the serpent in the garden of Eden. ~ “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die…Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis2.17, 3.1).

A True Father

A true father would never surrender his children to anyone, much less to the devil and eternal death. Such is the Christmas story. God have His only begotten Son so that through Him all of the Family of God could be rescued out of the clutches of the prince of darkness, from sin, sickness, death and suffering. Abraham’s sacrifice of his only Son Isaac foreshadows the manger in Bethlehem on the first Christmas morning. ~ “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son], concluding that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Hebrews 11.17,19).

The Only Begotten Son

Christmas is the celebration of the greatest of all gifts. God has given His only begotten Son that ‘through’ Him, we all might receive eternal life. ~ “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1John 4.9). Jesus is God’s only begotten Son in that He is the only son of God who died and then ripped off the gates of hell through the resurrection on the third day, opening the way for all to escape the pains of sin and death ‘through Him.’  

The Earth’s Two Families

Jesus is called ‘the last Adam,’¹ in that He came to undo all of the destruction the first Adam brought upon mankind in the garden of Eden. There are two families in the earth. All pain and suffering in the human family are a product of the offspring of Adam, whose first son (Cain) killed² his brother, Abel. All men born of a woman are the fleshly descendants of the first man Adam, in whom all die. All men born³ of the Spirit, as Jesus was through the virgin Mary, are the descendants of Jesus Christ, the last Adam, in whom all live.

A Son is Given

The laws of the Kingdom of God often appear to operate in reverse order to the logic of the carnal mind. The wisdom of God teaches that life⁴ is only entered into via death, that giving is more blessed⁵ than receiving, and that joy comes through⁶ suffering. The main idea of Christmas is the birth of the baby Jesus, who is ‘the⁷ way.’ At Christmas we celebrate how God has freely given to us all things⁸ through His Son, who we all, like Him, must be born, not of a carnal woman, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, and then enter into the fulness of that new life by following in the footsteps of Jesus, growing up into the fulness of the Son of God through maturing day-by-day in the Spirit.

Luke 1:35

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born of you will be called the Son of God.

Notes

1. 1Corinthians 15.45

2. 1John 3.12

3. John 3.3

4. Hebrews 2.14

5. Acts 20.35

6. Hebrews 12.2

7. John 14.6

8. Romans 8.28

Download this blog now:

Browse Christmas sale products…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

Technology is like fire. Of course, it is good and necessary as long as you have it under control. As with all forms of power, the risks must be weighed against the benefits. Harnessed correctly, fire can cook your food and heat your home; mismanaged it will burn your house down in the dread head of summer. Yesterday, mega-billionaire, Elon Musk, announced his Neuralink brain¹ chip will begin human clinical trials in six months. Once implanted into the brain, the human mind will be able to interface instantly with all of the highest technology, enabling some with certain diseases to walk again, the blind to see, and deaf to hear.

The Devil Plays with Best Laid Plans

Sounds good, right? Oh, did we mention the chip’s ability to turn its victims into mindless robots by controlling, not only what they think, but also what they say, see, and hear. If you thought the surveillance ability of cellphones by secret government agencies; monitoring movement through GPS, accessing microphone, files, and camera was bad, Elon Musk has a few big surprises for you. Think about it. I’m sure Xi Jinping and the other tyrannical regimes of the world are frothing at the mouth thinking about how this new technology would enable them to effortless, not only monitor every thought, but more importantly limit every movement of the zombies foolish enough to fall for this massive invasion of privacy and autonomy.

Man’s Four-part Nature

On the spiritual level, the idea itself is nothing less than Satanic. The New Testament word² for ‘witchcraft’ is “pharmakeia”³ (Gr.), from which we get the word ‘pharmacy’ or drug. Sorcery has always been associated with psychotic drugs since ancient times because once the mind is effectively subdued or paralyzed, the human soul becomes directly subject to the spirit realm. Jesus taught⁴ man is a four-part being: mind, spirit, soul, and body. Satan is limited to accessing the human race through the mind, the proverbial tree⁵ of knowledge.

Spiritual Warfare

The greatest weapon the believer has is to ‘renew’ the mind, bringing it back into submission to the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, not handing the control of the mind over to Satan and his minions. ~ “For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2Corinthians 10.4-5).

Mind Control on Steroids

It could be accurately said that demon possession is nothing less than literally losing one’s (control of the) mind. ~ “Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon–possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid” (Mark 5.15). God wants His children in their ‘right mind,’ in the mind that is controlled by man’s reborn spirit under the guidance of the Spirit of God, not under the control of the devil via an implanted brain chip.

The Mark of the Beast

Would this not be tantamount to the mark of beast delineated⁶ in the John’s book of Revelation? ~ “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives [his] mark on his forehead or on his hand” (Revelation 14.9). As with every computer, each brain chip is identified by a number, the number⁹ of the beast. The mark on the forehead is the scar tissue left by the implantation of the chip. If, as Elon Musk says, the Neuralink chip is capable of controlling body movement, would it not also be capable of programming all to bow down and worship at the altar of the Beast, the Anti-Christ system?

Micro or Macro?

The idea that utopia can be attained through the development of human knowledge is not only vain, it is stupid. ~ “Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1.22). The only ‘utopia’ that can be attained is that of the chosen few who are counted worthy of inhabiting the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity, which is a product of spiritual knowledge. ~ “The worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11.3). Since the Garden of Eden, the only thing carnal knowledge has produced is suffering, bondage, and death. ~ “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2.17).

Why would anyone want a neurochip implant when the manifold wisdom of God and the mind of Christ⁷ have been made available to them through the ministry of the Holy Spirit? The choice will soon be yours, whether to choose Microsoft over the multifaceted wisdom of God, whether to become a free spirit or embondaged robot. The choice will soon be yours whether to be a trans-human or a trans-spirit; a transformed, re-created, regenerated spirit partaking for eternity of the divine nature⁸ of God.

Notes

1. https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/elon-musk-expects-neuralinks-brain-chip-to-begin-human-trials-in-6-months/

2. Galatians 5.20

3. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

4. Mark 12.30, 1Thessalonians 5.23

5. Genesis 2.9, 2Corinthians 10.4-5

6. Revelation 14.9

7. 1Corinthians 2.6

8. 2Peter 1.4

9. Revelation 13.17

Download this blog now:

Browse Christmas sale products…

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

As each day draws one step closer to the end of the age and the cataclysmic events God has spoken of in the book of Revelation, the chosen remnant prepares themselves for the long-awaited end of the age. Like never before the believer must be aware of the plan God has hidden in the scriptures to deliver His people from the outpouring of the plagues of judgement upon the evil foretold by the prophets. God always saves his people from the judgments of His Wrath upon the workers of iniquity. Speaking of the events of the end of age, Jesus said ~ “For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21.35,36).

Written for the Last Generation

From cover to cover, the Bible is filled with examples of how God uses his miracle power to deliver his people from the judgments he pours out upon the wicked. Even just a quick look at the very first book of the Bible demonstrates how God saved Noah from the flood, Abraham from famine, Lot from catastrophic disaster, Isaac from recession, and Joseph from complete economic collapse. Each one of these events holds important concepts for us today; however, the New Testament makes it clear that the place to begin is at the 10 plagues of Egypt, where God made a ‘difference’ between His people and the unbelievers and saved his people out of total calamity. The New Testament states emphatically that the events that took place with Moses and the children of Israel are specifically written for us in the New Testament and particularly for the last generation — “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Consider ~ “Now these things became our examples… all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come “(1Corinthians 10.6,11).

God’s People Delivered from Judgement

All of the events written in the books of Moses have specific lessons to be learned by the church of the last days, but the most important unquestionably is the institution of the sacred Passover Feast of ancient Israel, where God miraculously delivered his people from the final judgement (plague) upon Egypt. As usual, the symbols here must be correctly interpreted — Egypt refers to the corrupt world system, Pharaoh is Satan, the ten plagues are those of the book of Revelation at the end of the age, the forty-year journey in the desert is the Christian life during the final years of tribulation, and the promise land represents heaven. In the Ten Plagues, it is revealed how God makes a ‘difference’ between His people and the Egyptians the same way He will at the end of the age. ~ “Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt… But against none of the children of Israel… that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exodus 11.6-7).

The Remnant

God always makes a ‘difference’ between his people and the unbeliever. ~ “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44.23). However, it must also be noted that those who God considers holy are almost always a very small remnant of his people, who truly seek and serve God with all of their heart. Out of Egypt the Bible says that God delivered 600,000¹ men; however, only two of them enter the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb. Lot and his two daughters were the only ones saved out of Sodom and Gomorrah, and only eight were saved out of the great flood at the time of Noah. ~ “In the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water” (1Peter 3.20). The Passover in the Old Testament and what we know as Communion in the New Testament reveal how God saves His people out of calamity. Only those who enter into communion and live in communion are the true church who is saved.

Who Will Be Saved?

The Passover, which is communion in the New Testament, reveals who will be saved. It is not a question of participating in the symbolic ritual, which anyone could do, but participating in the spiritual reality that is symbolized by the carnal ceremony. Passover reveals the true Church, which will be saved. The blood of the Lamb, which is the New Testament,² is applied by each member of the true Church to the Door,³ which is Christ.⁴ Anyone can enter the true Church and be saved by following this divine order, that is by applying the New Testament to the door and then entering into the Church/communion by acting on the New Testament. This is how one is protected by the Blood of the Lamb from the plagues of the Antichrist.⁵

Revelation 12.11

“And they [the church] overcame him [Antichrist] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Notes

1. Exodus 12.37

2. 1Corinthians 11.25

3. Exodus 12.22,23

4. John 10.9, 14.6

5. Revelation 12.11

Download this blog:

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

What did Jesus mean when He called the strength of Satan ‘the power of darkness’? To be accurate, God was not saying that Satan had no power. God was calling our attention to the magnitude of the power of a lie. Can a lie really hurt you? Beyond a shadow of doubt, a lie is able to destroy your life and leave your soul to burn in hell for ever. As we approach the darkest hours of human history, these words of Jesus could not be truer or of greater consequence.

The Absent-minded King of the Universe

Since the dawn of creation, man has always been a victim of his own governance. The problem has never been that man lacked authority and power; the problem has always been that he has had too much authority and power. In the beginning, God gave Adam complete authority over Satan and the entire planet. ~ “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over… all the earth” (Genesis 1.26). And what did man do with all of that authority? — He gave¹ it to the devil. And, it’s the same dismal story that continues repeating itself until today. People say, ~ ‘Why did God give the devil access to the earth to begin with?’ When the truth is that God never gave the devil access, man did. God gave Adam the keys to the universe and in return asked only one tiny thing of him — that he would not eat of the forbidden fruit.

God Reinstitutes Man’s Authority

And what did man do with the almost unbridled authority God gave him? ~ “She [Eve] took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3.6). Not only did Adam & Eve disobey the one thing God had asked of them; no, the disobedience was not enough, they had to go further and invite² Satan to be lord over God’s creation. But God sent Jesus to win back the authority over the world³ through death on the cross of Calvary. Then, God once again gave mankind all authority over Satan and the world. ~ “[Jesus said] Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10.19).

A Victim of His Own Authority

Jesus not only renewed man’s authority over Satan, He also restored man’s authority over the planet. Read the book of Hebrews… ~ “What is man that You are mindful of him… You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, AND SET HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR [God] HANDS. YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing [that is] not put under him” (Hebrews 2.6-8). Man is a victim of his own power and authority. The problem isn’t that Satan is too powerful, nor is the problem that man is in any way inferior to his situation and assignment on the earth. — The only problem man has is ignorance. 2500 years ago, the Prophet Hosea wrote about man’s greatest obstacle, he said, ~ “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4.6).

How Authority is Executed

It is a bitter thing to recognize that man is so oblivious to his own condition that the devil is literally able to use man’s own power and authority to defeat him. The greatest area of man’s ignorance is the role and authority God has placed in the human tongue. God’s children have been blinded⁴ to the fact that God has placed ~ “Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18.21). They still don’t understand that angels⁵ and demons are commissioned to act by every⁶ word man speaks. The Apostle James, the man with the most authority in the church after Christ’s resurrection, said this about the tongue, ~ “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion [is] useless” (James 1.26).

The Power of Life and Death

The wisest man in the world said this about the tongue, ~ “Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18.21). Most Christians have no idea that the power and authority God has given to them is, in fact, discharged through the words they speak. What did Jesus say? — He said, ~ “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11.23).

The Light of Heaven

You may not think that you have authority over the power of darkness. It may not appear that way to you, and you may often not feel like it is true, yet it is. God told Abraham to call himself a father according to God’s word long before Isaac was born. It may not happen overnight, but, like Jesus said, you will eventually ‘have what you say.’ Begin to exercise the authority God has given to you by speaking according to the King of kings, and you will soon see the dominion of the kingdom of darkness broken over your life and the light of heaven shining through upon you and all you do.

Hebrews 2.6-8 

What is man that You are mindful of him… You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing [that is] not put under him.     

Notes

1. Romans 5.12

2. Romans 5.17

3. Matthew 28.18

4. 2Corintians 4.4

5. Psalms 103.20

6. Matthew 12.36

Download this blog:

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

The first thing the book of Revelation spotlights is that only those few overcomers left after the great apostasy who overcome all, who are of a ‘different spirit’ will be saved. They will be saved by the very nature that defines them… they are of a ‘different spirit.’Most of those who decide to follow Christ go to great lengths to change everything except the one thing God has commanded them to change. They alter their clothes, their hair style, their friends, and some even change the way they talk; however, they neglect to change the one thing God has required — their ‘spirit.’ While one part of what is called Christianity conforms as much as possible to the craven ideals venerated by contemporary society, there is a devout fragment who are the spiritual descendants of Caleb, the greatest warrior of faith in the Bible.

Come out and be Separate (authentic)

This remnant is of a ‘different spirit,’ disdaining the loathsome tokens that are esteemed among the pagan. This small order of spirit driven men and women know and honor God’s word from deep within their hearts. ~ “Do not be conformed to this world…do not love the world or the things in the world…For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God…If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their [sacred] pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire. Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you” (Romans 12.2, 1John 2.15, Luke 16.15, Deuteronomy 7.5, 2Corinthians 6.17).

The Two Overcomers

Of the twelve commanders that Moses sent to spy how to best attack the promise land, all brought back an evil report of unbelief except Joshua and Caleb, the only two of the twelve who had faith. Out of the 600,000¹ armed men that God brought out of Egypt, who had God’s promise of the promised land, not even Moses entered, only Caleb and Joshua. ~ “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the LORD” (Deuteronomy 1.35,36).

The Days of Sodom

What made these men so distinct, even from Moses, was that they had a ’different spirit.’ God said ~ “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it” (Numbers 14.24). Caleb had a different spirit, a spirit that followed God ‘completely.’ He is the man in the Bible who demonstrated with his life that even if everyone turned away from God, he would continue even if he had to do it all alone and if it cost him his life. The Bible says that we are now living in the final days before Christ’s return, in a generation that is as filthy and corrupt as Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus said ~ “but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17.29,30). As in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah only three people were saved. God has a holy remnant, who are of a different spirit. This elect remnant is counted and numbered for deliverance because they refuse to conform, choosing rather to be different from the zombie generation, to follow God regardless the cost. These are the spiritual children of Caleb.

The Only Entrance

How many are they today who having been saved out of Egypt, born again of the Spirit, have despised God’s promises land and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, like the 600,000 unbelievers who followed Moses and Caleb to the boarder of the promise land? ~ “This is he who was in the congregation…whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (Acts 7.38,39). These are those who love God, but love the passing pleasures of this world a little more. They want to go to heaven when they die, but prefer to remain in Egypt as long as they can while they live. They have become drunken with the wine of the wrath of the fornication (spiritual) of the great whore. ~ “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Revelation 17.1,2). Caleb understood that entering into God’s earthly promised land is the only way by which men may enter their eternal promised land in heaven, where only those who, like Caleb, have abandoned everything by faith in God, access eternal glory by faith in the promises of God in this present life. ~ “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of [those] whose heart [is] loyal to Him” (2Chronicles 16.9).

Numbers 32:11,12

Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’

Notes

1. Exodus 12.37

Download this blog:

If you like what you read, please take a moment and help us to bring the life-changing word of God to more people. Thank you for helping me continue this work!

Become a subscriber and get the following benefits as well other perks:

• Email notification of all published blogs, podcasts & videos
• Access to all published blogs
• Access to all published podcasts
• Access to all exclusive subscriber-only paid

For more resources, visit www.jonathanblais.com

© L. Jonathan Blais 2022 All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.