tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:30:00 +0000Jesuslove one anotherprophecyHoly Spiritdevotionalbe the churchlove of GodGod is goodprayerthe devil is stupidfaithAmericafathead devilhealingspirit ledchristian growthGod the FatherpeacesalvationmercyresurrectionIsraelfearlessthe mindvictorychildrendevilforgivenessGod answers prayerGod loves youOffenseWord of GodholinessEasterone churchspiritual authorityworshipparablespeacemakersGod of peacehealthpoetrysupernaturaltruthunityGod is faithfulKing of the Jewsemotionsencouragementrevelationspiritual warfareGod is greatGod of allagingangerfeaturedmental healthabortiongivingjoymarriagematurityrestthe Gospelwho God isChristmasGod is in controlgifts of the Spiritheavenimpossiblememorial dayministryobedienceread the Wordthe passionate churchtrust GodBig GodGod is absoluteGod with youGod's timingPsalm 23United Statesconfessionjudgmentloveredemptionspeak the wordspirit mansufferingteachingtemplethanksgivingvoice of GodAbrahamBibleGod is certainGod's voiceJewishanointingarmor of Godblood of Christbody of Christcompassioneternal lifefaithfulfatherfruit of the SpiritgospelhopemoneypersecutionpraiseprophetsrelationshipssubmissionwritingJesus plusJobLeviticusMother's Daya good lifeabundancebattlebeatitudesblessingcomfortcommunioncrucifixiondevilsdreamsfamilygenesisgracehumilityleadershiplegacylifelisteningmeditationnames of Godpatiencerighteousnessveteran's dayvisionwill of GodwisdomwomenActsChristGod is mercyGod is speakingGod seesJehovahLazarusamenangelsanxietybe like Jesusbook releaseconfidencecriticismdoubtendingfastingfulfilledgodlinessheart of Godhumanityjournallibertynew covenantnew creationnew yearperspectiveproverbspsalmsquestionsread and studyrejoiceromanceseasonsseek Himsigns and wonderssovereigntyspeechtestimonythe work of Godthoughtswrath of Godyouth2023Becky CombeeEgyptEphesians 3Ephesians612FloridaGod doesn't changeGod is closeGod is longsufferingGod is quietGod spokeIsaiah53JacobJoshuaKingLana VawserLion of JudahLordLukeMark 5NoahPhilippiansSaviorSelahSundayWeaddictionall thingsatonementaudio sermonawesomeboldnessbridegroomcast your careschange mechristian livingchurch officescleansingcommissioncomplaintconsciencecreationdeceptiondefinitionsdisappointmentdiscernmantdoctrinedon't give updoorseatingelectionemmanuelentertainmentephesians 4ephesians 6everythingflesh crucifiedgendergenerositygo yegovernmentgratitudegriefguilthappinesshave a good dayhearingholeshungerimaginationin the fireindecisionjealousylanguagelaying on of handslieslonelinesslookmanifestationsmercy seatmothersnature of Godold covenantoppressionoverflowpalm sundayparentingpast generationsperfectionplan of Godpoempro lifeprotectionremnantrenewalrevivalsabbathsacrificesciencesecond comingsheepshepherdshut upsinsinceritysingsoldierssorrowstrifesuckysuicidesupplysurrenderthe Lawthe Potterthe bridethe churchthe lord's prayerthinkingvaliantvalleyvanityvengeancevirtuouswaitingway down in Egyptwho am IwhosoeverwhywildernessworrySuzanne D. Williams, Author - DevotionalsSuzanne D. Williams, Author - Devotionalshttps://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)Blogger1280125 https://users.feedblitz.com/0efa3ea1e95e8f6e57e25e7844a28179/initial-100.jpg Suzanne D. Williams, Author - Devotionals https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/ https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/04/god-as-resurrected-resurrection-4.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2880222086241518363Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-04-03T06:30:00.122-04:00JesusresurrectionGod as Resurrected - Resurrection 4"They beat Him until He no longer looked like a man, and God took that and brought it back to life."

THE MUTILATED BODY laid in the tomb was not the one raised from the dead. When Jesus returns and the dead rise first, the remains of their bodies will be reformed, no matter how scattered on the earth they may be. Jesus’ resurrected body was flesh and bone. His blood, ALL OF IT, is on the altars of heaven, where it ever-liveth. It’s not dark and dried, coagulated. It’s alive. There’s no death in heaven.

God reformed His body from what remained of it. It’s not only that it was dead, but that men had destroyed it. We read that His legs were not broken and breathe a sigh of relief, but His back and side, his extremities were torn beyond physical recognition. The prophet Isaiah said He didn’t even look human. The size of this miracle is beyond our ability to reconcile. He didn’t have a few cuts and bruises or marks where a few thorns had been, nor only giant nail holes in His hands and feet. They beat Him until He no longer looked like a man, and God took that and brought it back to life.

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)

Three days. In three days, a body in that condition wouldn’t be approachable. Mary and the other women went to the tomb to place spices on it, they could not do so on the Sabbath, the day before, and arriving there, had no idea how to roll away the stone. They saw Him die. They knew how bad it was. They went to anoint His body anyway. This wasn’t a nice act on their part but one of great stature. He was buried by a rich man and a priest. He was anointed by a woman with an alabaster box, prior to His death. He was wept over by one which dried His feet with her hair. There was no recovery from this. The Spirit had breathed into Adam and made him a living soul. But, from all viewpoints, there was nothing of Jesus left.

Ezekiel had a vision of a valley of dry bones whose sinews returned to them, and life filled their hearts and lungs. From what no longer lived, from dry ground, a nation arose. Israel was, for all intents and purposes, dead when Jesus came. An empty temple filled with arrogant priests ignored the overtaxed populace held under the thumb of Rome. A Roman governor killed all the children under 2 years of age just to snuff out the rumored Messiah. God sent Joseph and Mary to Egypt to escape it. In a culture unfamiliar to them, they had to walk and talk and eat, and even when they returned to Israel, they chose Nazareth to avoid Herod’s son. By the time Jesus was condemned to die, Rome had become the greatest power in existence. That God’s people, His priests, would go so far as to send one of their own to crucifixion by Rome is beyond belief.

We shade our eyes from the fullness of the truth. We adore King Jesus. We worship Him as Savior and God. We praise the Him as Alpha and Omega, the Lamb of God of the gospels and Revelation. And justly so. But we must see the extent of His Resurrection to fully understand what God has done. He tricked the devil into his own condemnation, though He had to die to do it. But He did not simply pass away with an expelled breath. The Levitical sacrifices were elegantly planned, the actions of the Law followed in spotless fashion. The priest gave His blessing over the blood on the altar and the presence of God surrounded it. But what happened to Jesus was an ugly version. No beautiful temple, no gold and silver, no altar finely decorated by craftsmen of great work. No sweet incense lifting from it as the priests waves it aloft. For washing, He had vinegar. For prayers, they mocked. And rejoiced over the cruelty of it, bathed in their sins. With filthy hands and blackened hearts, they danced beneath His feet, and He cried out forgiveness anyway.

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34)

They made Resurrection that much more impossible. In that He was mutilated. In that He was despised and rejected. In that, His promise was decried. Raise the temple in three days? Is this a joke? They expected a Savior on a white charger, but when He rode in, His body remade, glorified, when Mary recognized Him and reached for Him, there was no multitude, no shouts of Hosanna, no worshiping throng. Life had changed forever in a kingdom made without hands, invisible in the heavens. God’s will had come to earth. Meanwhile, the disciples crouched in a room, terrified of the crowd. And the stone rolled away, the few soldiers stationed at the tomb, face down from the power of it, the priests crafted a new lie.

“And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.” (Matthew 28:12-13)

When Cain killed Abel, his blood cried out from the ground, and though Cain lied about it, God knew the truth. This was far, far bigger than that. His only-begotten Son had become the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, a messy world full of wolves and thieves, the broken and maimed, deficient. All unaware of their spiritual state and the Redeemer that had walked among them. His body was something to be discarded, and His memory forgotten. He was just another voice gone from their midst like Elias, like John. What was placed behind the stone was no more, and certainly no consideration was taken for His blood. The system created to signify Him continued on, only now, without meaning, the veil rent from top to bottom as no man could ever do.

Believe something wrongly, and you may look like a fool. Christopher Columbus believed he could sail west and find land. Most were horrified. Benjamin Franklin believed he could harness lightning. Turns out, he was right. Jesus prophesied His Resurrection. No one believed Him. His disciples mourned, until He showed Himself to them, not remembering His words. And given the state of His body, who would? What could God do with it in such a crushed state? They’d forgotten the miracle of the bread, as well. Twice Jesus made a few loaves and fishes into enough to feed thousands. Yet when He warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees, they berated themselves for not having enough bread on the boat. Not the point.

No one believed He would rise from the dead. He’d told them. They’d forgotten. The Spirit raised Him from the dead anyway and made no worldwide announcement. Mary spoke to an angel clothed in white then thought Jesus the gardener. The two on the road to Emmaus walked and talked with Him, not seeing who He was until He blessed the bread. Thomas doubted He was alive though a room full of witnesses said otherwise. None of their confusion and unbelief stopped His victory. Victory in that He lived, but bigger than that, that because He died, He’d defeated death and sin. He died not simply to die but so that the people could be free forever of the enemy that’d deceived them into crucifying Him. He’d not lain in the grave for three days inert. He’d become King. Then the Spirit took what was broken and made it better than ever. His spirit lived. His kingdom thrived. His humanity rose again.

It was a complete work. It is a complete work. The salvation He provided includes the new birth, eternal life, healing, wholeness, prosperity. Why would God send His Son to be mangled beyond recognition then refuse to give us what He Himself received? What was dead, beaten, flailed, what man had torn, what had been shattered within, His organs distorted in His struggles to breathe, His heart swollen, His flesh ripped, was made whole, above and beyond any power of death. This is our Savior. The Spirit of God within us did this. The Father who so loved the world has made Him new.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.” (John 14:16-19)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Man
God as Sacrifice
God as Father

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/953161799/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnxuQKye_2mR30XneNxTL1Rpck7IWvGMvF8aPXWG40dIwNpmrEFQTIIyw3AcZmjJkOFjUVCuvSKHLBE3DXkzbQorHN-zupQIIeoTgDnX4jthSxbVbgIyc7Iye6ksbgdpjVdsFS3B6p7F_gAj6aYQ-OlrhUbjohXZ4eYqn1ZWt4iZTGfW9NCYs056DkZM/s72-c/Resurrection4-GodasResurrected.jpg "They beat Him until He no longer looked like a man, and God took that and brought it back to life."

THE MUTILATED BODY laid in the tomb was not the one raised from the dead. When Jesus returns and the dead rise first, the remains of their bodies will be reformed, no matter how scattered on the earth they may be. Jesus’ resurrected body was flesh and bone. His blood, ALL OF IT, is on the altars of heaven, where it ever-liveth. It’s not dark and dried, coagulated. It’s alive. There’s no death in heaven.

God reformed His body from what remained of it. It’s not only that it was dead, but that men had destroyed it. We read that His legs were not broken and breathe a sigh of relief, but His back and side, his extremities were torn beyond physical recognition. The prophet Isaiah said He didn’t even look human. The size of this miracle is beyond our ability to reconcile. He didn’t have a few cuts and bruises or marks where a few thorns had been, nor only giant nail holes in His hands and feet. They beat Him until He no longer looked like a man, and God took that and brought it back to life.

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)

Three days. In three days, a body in that condition wouldn’t be approachable. Mary and the other women went to the tomb to place spices on it, they could not do so on the Sabbath, the day before, and arriving there, had no idea how to roll away the stone. They saw Him die. They knew how bad it was. They went to anoint His body anyway. This wasn’t a nice act on their part but one of great stature. He was buried by a rich man and a priest. He was anointed by a woman with an alabaster box, prior to His death. He was wept over by one which dried His feet with her hair. There was no recovery from this. The Spirit had breathed into Adam and made him a living soul. But, from all viewpoints, there was nothing of Jesus left.

Ezekiel had a vision of a valley of dry bones whose sinews returned to them, and life filled their hearts and lungs. From what no longer lived, from dry ground, a nation arose. Israel was, for all intents and purposes, dead when Jesus came. An empty temple filled with arrogant priests ignored the overtaxed populace held under the thumb of Rome. A Roman governor killed all the children under 2 years of age just to snuff out the rumored Messiah. God sent Joseph and Mary to Egypt to escape it. In a culture unfamiliar to them, they had to walk and talk and eat, and even when they returned to Israel, they chose Nazareth to avoid Herod’s son. By the time Jesus was condemned to die, Rome had become the greatest power in existence. That God’s people, His priests, would go so far as to send one of their own to crucifixion by Rome is beyond belief.

We shade our eyes from the fullness of the truth. We adore King Jesus. We worship Him as Savior and God. We praise the Him as Alpha and Omega, the Lamb of God of the gospels and Revelation. And justly so. But we must see the extent of His Resurrection to fully understand what God has done. He tricked the devil into his own condemnation, though He had to die to do it. But He did not simply pass away with an expelled breath. The Levitical sacrifices were elegantly planned, the actions of the Law followed in spotless fashion. The priest gave His blessing over the blood on the altar and the presence of God surrounded it. But what happened to Jesus was an ugly version. No beautiful temple, no gold and silver, no altar finely decorated by craftsmen of great work. No sweet incense lifting from it as the priests waves it aloft. For washing, He had vinegar. For prayers, they mocked. And rejoiced over the cruelty of it, bathed in their sins. With filthy hands and blackened hearts, they danced beneath His feet, and He cried out forgiveness anyway.

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34)

They made Resurrection that much more impossible. In that He was mutilated. In that He was despised and rejected. In that, His promise was decried. Raise the temple in three days? Is this a joke? They expected a Savior on a white charger, but when He rode in, His body remade, glorified, when Mary recognized Him and reached for Him, there was no multitude, no shouts of Hosanna, no worshiping throng. Life had changed forever in a kingdom made without hands, invisible in the heavens. God’s will had come to earth. Meanwhile, the disciples crouched in a room, terrified of the crowd. And the stone rolled away, the few soldiers stationed at the tomb, face down from the power of it, the priests crafted a new lie.

“And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.” (Matthew 28:12-13)

When Cain killed Abel, his blood cried out from the ground, and though Cain lied about it, God knew the truth. This was far, far bigger than that. His only-begotten Son had become the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, a messy world full of wolves and thieves, the broken and maimed, deficient. All unaware of their spiritual state and the Redeemer that had walked among them. His body was something to be discarded, and His memory forgotten. He was just another voice gone from their midst like Elias, like John. What was placed behind the stone was no more, and certainly no consideration was taken for His blood. The system created to signify Him continued on, only now, without meaning, the veil rent from top to bottom as no man could ever do.

Believe something wrongly, and you may look like a fool. Christopher Columbus believed he could sail west and find land. Most were horrified. Benjamin Franklin believed he could harness lightning. Turns out, he was right. Jesus prophesied His Resurrection. No one believed Him. His disciples mourned, until He showed Himself to them, not remembering His words. And given the state of His body, who would? What could God do with it in such a crushed state? They’d forgotten the miracle of the bread, as well. Twice Jesus made a few loaves and fishes into enough to feed thousands. Yet when He warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees, they berated themselves for not having enough bread on the boat. Not the point.

No one believed He would rise from the dead. He’d told them. They’d forgotten. The Spirit raised Him from the dead anyway and made no worldwide announcement. Mary spoke to an angel clothed in white then thought Jesus the gardener. The two on the road to Emmaus walked and talked with Him, not seeing who He was until He blessed the bread. Thomas doubted He was alive though a room full of witnesses said otherwise. None of their confusion and unbelief stopped His victory. Victory in that He lived, but bigger than that, that because He died, He’d defeated death and sin. He died not simply to die but so that the people could be free forever of the enemy that’d deceived them into crucifying Him. He’d not lain in the grave for three days inert. He’d become King. Then the Spirit took what was broken and made it better than ever. His spirit lived. His kingdom thrived. His humanity rose again.

It was a complete work. It is a complete work. The salvation He provided includes the new birth, eternal life, healing, wholeness, prosperity. Why would God send His Son to be mangled beyond recognition then refuse to give us what He Himself received? What was dead, beaten, flailed, what man had torn, what had been shattered within, His organs distorted in His struggles to breathe, His heart swollen, His flesh ripped, was made whole, above and beyond any power of death. This is our Savior. The Spirit of God within us did this. The Father who so loved the world has made Him new.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.” (John 14:16-19)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Man
God as Sacrifice
God as Father

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/04/god-as-father-resurrection-3.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-1226572168422090004Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-04-02T06:30:00.115-04:00JesusresurrectionGod as Father - Resurrection 3"God the Father is the tenderness of men that cradles and infant, the patience of a dad who teaches his children, the love that bonds a man to his wife for fifty-plus years."

JESUS IS AN EXTROVERT. Abba is an introvert. How do I know this? Well, you have to spend time with them. Papa (the Holy Spirit) is a curious mix of the two. He can go all Red Sea on you or be quiet as a church mouse. He is both the restless waves of the sea and the calming of the waters. I’ve met some extroverted extroverts, and being an introverted introvert, I don’t get them. At all. But Jesus, Jesus is the exception because I’ve met Abba, and it all makes sense.

Kinda like different kinds of coffee. I hate coffee. I mean, it smells great but tastes horrible. That said, I live in a household of coffee drinkers, and they do not agree on their coffee beverages. One likes a hot cup that you drain in one minute or less. The other makes these tremendous dessert drinks with sugar and sugar and more sugar. These days, what keeps a coffee shop open is that it offers black coffee, no cream, and a super delectable if-I-were-diabetic-then-no type drink.

Abba planned to have a Son, way back before the world was made, and He’d name Him Jesus, and Jesus would die for people’s sins then rise from the dead. He created Adam first. Adam is called the son of God in Jesus’ genealogy, but Jesus is called the only-begotten Son of God, the difference being He was begotten, or born as an infant. He is human with human parents, who raised Him, and He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52).” We see an example of this at age twelve. He’d stayed behind when the family headed home from Jerusalem, and Mary and Joseph, seeking Him, found Him in the temple, quizzing the scribes and Pharisees. They told Him how frightened they’d been, and Jesus replied, “Why did you search all over for me? Didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, Remedy)

In His Father’s house. Years later, Jesus threw out the moneychangers and called it “my house.” From twelve to thirty, He had cemented who He was as God’s Son. There are no written accounts of those in-between years, but we see Him at John’s baptism when His proud Abba spoke a blessing over Him. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).” Beloved. Abba loved Him, and He loved Abba. It has been mistakenly said in the church that, though Jesus did the Father’s works and spoke only the Father’s words, when it came to His death on the cross, the Father turned His back. Nothing could be further from the truth and love is the reason. For God SO LOVED the world. Love of that quantity, love that abundant, to the point of self-sacrifice cannot look away.

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” (John 8:29)

There is also the Levitical sacrifice to consider. The Old Covenant sacrifice was laid on the altar in the presence of God and the blood of the animal sprinkled on the mercy seat, where God’s presence dwelt. This is our example for the death of God’s Son. A sacrifice given as commanded, from the integrity of heart of the worshipper, was pleasing to God. It did not make Him angry. How much more then would Jesus’ willing sacrifice please His Abba who sent Him for that purpose?

We can read, too, Jesus’ words in those last final seconds where He gave His spirit into His Father’s hands. He knew His Father was with Him and that He would return to His side. He went to prepare a place in His “Father’s house” for those who they loved (John 14:1). He was confident in His Father’s care for Him and the plan of victory that they had written at the beginning of time. The Father’s commandment was that He would lay His life down and He would take it back up again (John 10:17-18), and we know from the apostle Paul’s words to Ephesus that it was the power of the Spirit that raised Christ from death.

“This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!” (Ephesians 1:19-20)

On the cross, Jesus quoted the first verse of Psalm 22, and this has thrown many in the church into error, thinking Jesus was desperately seeking His Father, being separated from Him because of sin. But Jesus was the SACRIFICE FOR SIN, as I’ve said, and NOT A SINNER. He had not done any sin, not in word or in thought. Instead, the quotation was a recognizable one that identified Him as Christ, and it was spoken for this reason. He was crucified because they did not believe in Him as their Messiah. By speaking the first verse, He knew they would remember the remainder of the psalm where David also spoke of God’s deliverance. Just as we could sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the song,” and another finish the line, “that saved a wretch like me.”

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)

The Spirit of God, the Comforter, was sent to earth to bring to our remembrance all things about Jesus. Though Jesus did the work of the Father and spoke the words of the Father, the Father wants us to see the Son. Jesus is the “divine portrait” of the invisible God we are told in Colossians (TPT). He is the Word of God and the likeness of God, displaying the character and nature of God (Remedy). So when Jesus is described as meek and lowly, as gentle of heart, we can magnify this in the Father. He is not weak nor timid but intensely powerful. He is the fear of God. But in His mercy, in His longsuffering, in His putting His Son out front, there is a strength of quietness.

“Jesus is the physical manifestation of the invisible God—the first being to leave infinity and manifest in physical form, and the conduit from which all creation flowed.” (Colossians 1:15, Remedy)

Jesus is like His Father, but He Himself stated that the Father was greater than Him. They are a picture of unity. In Genesis 1, they are “Elohim” or “gods” plural. In Exodus, they are “Jehovah,” the Self-Existent One. They are “Rapha” the God who heals and “Ra ah” the God who sees and all the specific names of God in the Old Testament. But in the gospels, they are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus’ will submitted completely to His Father, the Father’s Spirit filling Him entirely. There is no place where one begins and one ends. They cannot be separated, not before Jesus became human, nor during, nor after. He was raised as flesh and bone, His blood placed upon the altars of heaven.

He has invited us into His unity. He is the Way to the Father, the Truth of the Father, and the Life of the Father. There is no other way to become a child of God, for Abba to be Daddy, except by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. And our becoming His child is the Father’s dearest wish. See His love for Israel in the Old Testament, how much He wanted them to walk in His ways. Hear His lamentation through the prophet Jeremiah for their sins, yet in that moment, see Him declared faithful. We are blessed because of the faith of Abraham, because he trusted God to keep His covenant. Jesus’ death and Resurrection is the fulfillment of God’s promise to him, that from Him would come nations.

And now, we are united with God through His Spirit because of His sacrifice. A unity of family, and also in Ephesians that of a husband and wife. Romance is God’s idea. He wrote the poetry that is the love of a man for his wife. He formed the womb in woman to conceive and the man to hold hands with her to create in it. Intimacy was His idea. They twain shall become one flesh. These words were spoken in the beginning. Genesis 2:24. God the Father is the tenderness of men that cradles an infant, the patience of a dad who teaches His children, the love that bonds a man to his wife for fifty-plus years.

Where Jesus is the voice, the trumpet blast of God’s intentions, and the Spirit, the earthquake and trembling that raised those long-dead from the graves, the Father is the constancy that undergirded those moments. Where Jesus is the King, raised glorious, and the Spirit is the glory which surrounds Him, the Father is the throne itself, unmoving, unchanging. Jesus was the stone the builder’s rejected, the Spirit, the water which gushed out from it, and the Father, soil and sky and molecule measured in the palm of His hand.

“Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” (Psalms 93:2)

They are forever, and we are now eternity. Our abundance of life, length of days, and joy and peace born of the Father who would not allow man to die at the hand of a worthless enemy but would go to His greatest extent to buy them back. All we have is theirs. All we’ve inherited is His.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Man
God as Sacrifice
God as Resurreccted

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/953028350/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsDt1YA4aUiBD_KXnVRhdtE7k3fpIFaosyPKFJcPdRJjECkJwrmTaxN-mTdqfJ8HaTIhyphenhyphen4xgm5Z0uFTlrp5_c7UbvPCy3TXvsSsoFFsvreUn72JaLsCSg-6jVnvc6vIa4nM5eAhzHDqdcP_5xBr-sUkMN02PrQKg0xXlKlPAa-bVYP2egz-sTmML_CKc/s72-c/Resurrection3-GodasFather.jpg "God the Father is the tenderness of men that cradles and infant, the patience of a dad who teaches his children, the love that bonds a man to his wife for fifty-plus years."

JESUS IS AN EXTROVERT. Abba is an introvert. How do I know this? Well, you have to spend time with them. Papa (the Holy Spirit) is a curious mix of the two. He can go all Red Sea on you or be quiet as a church mouse. He is both the restless waves of the sea and the calming of the waters. I’ve met some extroverted extroverts, and being an introverted introvert, I don’t get them. At all. But Jesus, Jesus is the exception because I’ve met Abba, and it all makes sense.

Kinda like different kinds of coffee. I hate coffee. I mean, it smells great but tastes horrible. That said, I live in a household of coffee drinkers, and they do not agree on their coffee beverages. One likes a hot cup that you drain in one minute or less. The other makes these tremendous dessert drinks with sugar and sugar and more sugar. These days, what keeps a coffee shop open is that it offers black coffee, no cream, and a super delectable if-I-were-diabetic-then-no type drink.

Abba planned to have a Son, way back before the world was made, and He’d name Him Jesus, and Jesus would die for people’s sins then rise from the dead. He created Adam first. Adam is called the son of God in Jesus’ genealogy, but Jesus is called the only-begotten Son of God, the difference being He was begotten, or born as an infant. He is human with human parents, who raised Him, and He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52).” We see an example of this at age twelve. He’d stayed behind when the family headed home from Jerusalem, and Mary and Joseph, seeking Him, found Him in the temple, quizzing the scribes and Pharisees. They told Him how frightened they’d been, and Jesus replied, “Why did you search all over for me? Didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, Remedy)

In His Father’s house. Years later, Jesus threw out the moneychangers and called it “my house.” From twelve to thirty, He had cemented who He was as God’s Son. There are no written accounts of those in-between years, but we see Him at John’s baptism when His proud Abba spoke a blessing over Him. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).” Beloved. Abba loved Him, and He loved Abba. It has been mistakenly said in the church that, though Jesus did the Father’s works and spoke only the Father’s words, when it came to His death on the cross, the Father turned His back. Nothing could be further from the truth and love is the reason. For God SO LOVED the world. Love of that quantity, love that abundant, to the point of self-sacrifice cannot look away.

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” (John 8:29)

There is also the Levitical sacrifice to consider. The Old Covenant sacrifice was laid on the altar in the presence of God and the blood of the animal sprinkled on the mercy seat, where God’s presence dwelt. This is our example for the death of God’s Son. A sacrifice given as commanded, from the integrity of heart of the worshipper, was pleasing to God. It did not make Him angry. How much more then would Jesus’ willing sacrifice please His Abba who sent Him for that purpose?

We can read, too, Jesus’ words in those last final seconds where He gave His spirit into His Father’s hands. He knew His Father was with Him and that He would return to His side. He went to prepare a place in His “Father’s house” for those who they loved (John 14:1). He was confident in His Father’s care for Him and the plan of victory that they had written at the beginning of time. The Father’s commandment was that He would lay His life down and He would take it back up again (John 10:17-18), and we know from the apostle Paul’s words to Ephesus that it was the power of the Spirit that raised Christ from death.

“This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!” (Ephesians 1:19-20)

On the cross, Jesus quoted the first verse of Psalm 22, and this has thrown many in the church into error, thinking Jesus was desperately seeking His Father, being separated from Him because of sin. But Jesus was the SACRIFICE FOR SIN, as I’ve said, and NOT A SINNER. He had not done any sin, not in word or in thought. Instead, the quotation was a recognizable one that identified Him as Christ, and it was spoken for this reason. He was crucified because they did not believe in Him as their Messiah. By speaking the first verse, He knew they would remember the remainder of the psalm where David also spoke of God’s deliverance. Just as we could sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the song,” and another finish the line, “that saved a wretch like me.”

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)

The Spirit of God, the Comforter, was sent to earth to bring to our remembrance all things about Jesus. Though Jesus did the work of the Father and spoke the words of the Father, the Father wants us to see the Son. Jesus is the “divine portrait” of the invisible God we are told in Colossians (TPT). He is the Word of God and the likeness of God, displaying the character and nature of God (Remedy). So when Jesus is described as meek and lowly, as gentle of heart, we can magnify this in the Father. He is not weak nor timid but intensely powerful. He is the fear of God. But in His mercy, in His longsuffering, in His putting His Son out front, there is a strength of quietness.

“Jesus is the physical manifestation of the invisible God—the first being to leave infinity and manifest in physical form, and the conduit from which all creation flowed.” (Colossians 1:15, Remedy)

Jesus is like His Father, but He Himself stated that the Father was greater than Him. They are a picture of unity. In Genesis 1, they are “Elohim” or “gods” plural. In Exodus, they are “Jehovah,” the Self-Existent One. They are “Rapha” the God who heals and “Ra ah” the God who sees and all the specific names of God in the Old Testament. But in the gospels, they are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus’ will submitted completely to His Father, the Father’s Spirit filling Him entirely. There is no place where one begins and one ends. They cannot be separated, not before Jesus became human, nor during, nor after. He was raised as flesh and bone, His blood placed upon the altars of heaven.

He has invited us into His unity. He is the Way to the Father, the Truth of the Father, and the Life of the Father. There is no other way to become a child of God, for Abba to be Daddy, except by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. And our becoming His child is the Father’s dearest wish. See His love for Israel in the Old Testament, how much He wanted them to walk in His ways. Hear His lamentation through the prophet Jeremiah for their sins, yet in that moment, see Him declared faithful. We are blessed because of the faith of Abraham, because he trusted God to keep His covenant. Jesus’ death and Resurrection is the fulfillment of God’s promise to him, that from Him would come nations.

And now, we are united with God through His Spirit because of His sacrifice. A unity of family, and also in Ephesians that of a husband and wife. Romance is God’s idea. He wrote the poetry that is the love of a man for his wife. He formed the womb in woman to conceive and the man to hold hands with her to create in it. Intimacy was His idea. They twain shall become one flesh. These words were spoken in the beginning. Genesis 2:24. God the Father is the tenderness of men that cradles an infant, the patience of a dad who teaches His children, the love that bonds a man to his wife for fifty-plus years.

Where Jesus is the voice, the trumpet blast of God’s intentions, and the Spirit, the earthquake and trembling that raised those long-dead from the graves, the Father is the constancy that undergirded those moments. Where Jesus is the King, raised glorious, and the Spirit is the glory which surrounds Him, the Father is the throne itself, unmoving, unchanging. Jesus was the stone the builder’s rejected, the Spirit, the water which gushed out from it, and the Father, soil and sky and molecule measured in the palm of His hand.

“Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” (Psalms 93:2)

They are forever, and we are now eternity. Our abundance of life, length of days, and joy and peace born of the Father who would not allow man to die at the hand of a worthless enemy but would go to His greatest extent to buy them back. All we have is theirs. All we’ve inherited is His.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Man
God as Sacrifice
God as Resurreccted

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/04/god-as-sacrifice-resurrection-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2960222097826688940Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-04-01T06:30:00.121-04:00JesusresurrectionGod as Sacrifice - Resurrection 2"A body was prepared for Him, who was God in spirit, so that He could walk in the flesh and perform the work laid upon Him by the Father, through the Spirit."

“We call Abraham ‘father’ not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, ‘I set you up as father of many peoples’? Abraham was first named ‘father’ and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples.” (Rm 4:17-18 MSG)

THAT’S HOW IMPORTANT family is to God. Jesus, who is God, became the Son of God. And do you know He does not regret this decision? Though He was God from eternity, He is now the Son of God, through His birth on earth from the womb of Mary, and though prophesied as the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, it was His relationship with the Father that sustained Him, facing the cross, and the influence of the Spirit, who is the breath of the Father, who conceived Him in Mary’s womb, that constrained Him to walk (act) without sin, to think without fear or distress or guile, and to become the redemptive sacrifice for mankind.

By Himself, simply in His human flesh, He could not sustain such a conflict. He acknowledged this in the words of the apostle Paul, “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me (Hebrews 10:5).” A body was prepared for Him, who was God in spirit, so that He could walk in the flesh and perform the work laid upon Him by the Father, through the Spirit. He was not to be and would never be without the Father and the power and goodness of the Spirit.

To think He did crucifixion as His own strength is to remove the wonder of its being an act of God. Many were crucified, justly and unjustly. Only One was crucified sinless as the Son of God, carrying the weight of sin for the entire world that was and is to come, and only He would rise victorious over death, hell, and the grave, crowned King of kings. That was the point. That it was God sacrificing His own flesh for man’s sake.

JESUS AS CHRIST
Christ – anointed, that is, the Messiah (G5547)
• He was prophesied as Christ.
(Ps 132:17; Is 61:1; Dan 9:25)
• The Spirit of God conceived Him as Christ.
(Mt 1:18,20; Luke 1:35, 41, 43)
• He was revealed on earth as Christ in the flesh.
(Mt 1:1, 16; Mt 16:16; Mk 1:1; Lk 2:11, 26; Lk 4:41; Jn 4:42; Jn 11:27; Jn 17:3; Jn 20:31)
• He was baptized as Christ.
(Jn 1:32-34)
• He was crucified as Christ.
(Mt 27:17, 22; Mk 14:61-62)
• He was raised from the dead as Christ.
(Lk 24:26, 46; Act 2:24; Eph 1:20)
• He is forever Christ.
(Rev 1:1,5; Rev 11:15)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Man
God as Father
God as Resurrected

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/952733009/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgam-HdxYcWKoK0jnvcZkTJFYVMlhBW3-9quvsVrpp9w-yGJ2R2ph2qBZZs37xAZMr5g0T7wz5hQT9ZLqITJ8FvZbWu3Yo1PDQlMSZKwYnnUTlCOixjxXzZcA-IN7cFhm3x3JxdUB0g7uE_UycHt31hK0gA7Mze5ucVvcvwZaZEikZgh2XucqQGidF4q0E/s72-c/Resurrection2-GodasSacrifice.jpg "A body was prepared for Him, who was God in spirit, so that He could walk in the flesh and perform the work laid upon Him by the Father, through the Spirit."

“We call Abraham ‘father’ not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, ‘I set you up as father of many peoples’? Abraham was first named ‘father’ and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples.” (Rm 4:17-18 MSG)

THAT’S HOW IMPORTANT family is to God. Jesus, who is God, became the Son of God. And do you know He does not regret this decision? Though He was God from eternity, He is now the Son of God, through His birth on earth from the womb of Mary, and though prophesied as the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, it was His relationship with the Father that sustained Him, facing the cross, and the influence of the Spirit, who is the breath of the Father, who conceived Him in Mary’s womb, that constrained Him to walk (act) without sin, to think without fear or distress or guile, and to become the redemptive sacrifice for mankind.

By Himself, simply in His human flesh, He could not sustain such a conflict. He acknowledged this in the words of the apostle Paul, “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me (Hebrews 10:5).” A body was prepared for Him, who was God in spirit, so that He could walk in the flesh and perform the work laid upon Him by the Father, through the Spirit. He was not to be and would never be without the Father and the power and goodness of the Spirit.

To think He did crucifixion as His own strength is to remove the wonder of its being an act of God. Many were crucified, justly and unjustly. Only One was crucified sinless as the Son of God, carrying the weight of sin for the entire world that was and is to come, and only He would rise victorious over death, hell, and the grave, crowned King of kings. That was the point. That it was God sacrificing His own flesh for man’s sake.

JESUS AS CHRIST
Christ – anointed, that is, the Messiah (G5547)
• He was prophesied as Christ.
(Ps 132:17; Is 61:1; Dan 9:25)
• The Spirit of God conceived Him as Christ.
(Mt 1:18,20; Luke 1:35, 41, 43)
• He was revealed on earth as Christ in the flesh.
(Mt 1:1, 16; Mt 16:16; Mk 1:1; Lk 2:11, 26; Lk 4:41; Jn 4:42; Jn 11:27; Jn 17:3; Jn 20:31)
• He was baptized as Christ.
(Jn 1:32-34)
• He was crucified as Christ.
(Mt 27:17, 22; Mk 14:61-62)
• He was raised from the dead as Christ.
(Lk 24:26, 46; Act 2:24; Eph 1:20)
• He is forever Christ.
(Rev 1:1,5; Rev 11:15)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Man
God as Father
God as Resurrected

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/god-as-man-resurrection-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2404321118133657455Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-31T06:30:00.125-04:00JesusresurrectionGod As Man - Resurrection 1"Prayer during the time of pressing is what pivoted Him from the war in the mind to the joy set before Him.

IN THE PRESSING OF OLIVES, there are three stages. The first pressing produces the purest oil, of the highest quality. Pressed further, the second pressing produces oil used for everyday things. It is not as fine as the first pressing but is still functional. Pressing the olives a third time produces oil that is considered worthless. It is not edible and not of much use for anything else.

When Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane, He fought the pressing of His soul. He was God who had been from all eternity, but He had chosen to be born as a man and to live on earth in order to die as the final sacrifice of the Old Covenant and be the blood shed to begin the New Covenant. He told His disciples, “I am not surprised by any of this.” He knew who He was and what lay before Him. But in those moments, in knowing Judas’ betrayal would begin the torture of His flesh, He fought a war in His mind. He was the Christ, the Spirit in Him and upon Him would bring peace and commitment, but He fought the battle just the same.

“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:37-38)

Depression, anxiety, and fear ravage the people around us. The devil deceives men to think that drugs and alcohol, sexual relationships, and other destructive choices are the way out. Struggling with the mind, we turn to humanistic doctors for help. But a spiritual struggle cannot be solved by physical means. Jesus’ sorrow was only overcome by His submission to God, His Father.

His disciples did not help. Though He bid them to watch with Him, they slept. The first pressing, the second pressing, and the third.

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39)

This was not His doubt in His Father nor in His strength to push forward but the dedication promised in the Lord’s Prayer. He had taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name (Matthew 6:9).” The word “hallowed” means “to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate.” To consecrate something is to dedicate it. Jesus, the name of God, was dedicated to the work of God and the words of God prophesied about Him for generations. But as He told His sleeping disciples, moments later, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Minister Rick Renner says this time of dedication, these prayers to His Father, was Jesus’ biggest struggle on earth, that more than the cross and crucifixion, which was horrible indeed, here, in Gethsemane, strength was required which only His Father could provide. For a second time, Jesus went away and prayed, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” And for a second time, returned to see His disciples asleep.

Couldn’t they stay awake an hour? Peter especially could have overcome his prophesied denial of Jesus through dedication to prayer. He didn’t have to give into his mind and his flesh and refuse to admit he’d followed Jesus (Matthew 26:40-41). How often has our slothfulness put us into situations which prayer could have lifted away? Jesus prayed. Peter didn’t. And facing Judas and a great armed multitude, Jesus stood firm. Peter reacted.

“Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:10-11)

Dedicated to His Father’s will, Jesus didn’t flinch then healed the servant’s ear. I wonder where that servant stood in these things afterward. His master, the high priest, had determined to put Jesus to death and even many undeniable miracles wouldn’t stop him, much less this one. But perhaps Malchus saw differently. Perhaps he saw the Christ.

Jesus, as Christ, made an amazing statement then, displaying His strength of character from His prayers. He remonstrated Peter for waving a sword then said, “Don’t you realize that I could call upon my Father and have more than twelve divisions of angels here to fight on my behalf? But if I did that, then how would the Scripture … be fulfilled?” (Matthew 26:53-54, Remedy) I could call for legions of angels, but that would prevent what I came here to do.

Here is our human reaction. We’d go for the angel army. Jesus chose to face the council and say nothing, to face the Roman government and say nothing, to carry the cross to Calvary and give forgiveness to those rejoicing that they’d hung Him there. ”His blood be on us, and on our children,” the people shouted. And it would be, but not in the manner they spoke of. With His shed blood, they could be healed. With His death, their sins were forgiven. With His Resurrection, three days later, they could be His.

Prayer during the time of pressing is what pivoted Him from the war in the mind to the joy set before Him. Angels ministered to Him, the Spirit surrounded Him, and the love of the Father propelled Him forward. Down a rough road, one planned before the foundation of the earth, but one paved with the blood of apostles and prophets. He was not there on His own spiritually nor physically but walking a road written by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and Isaiah and Jeremiah and dozens of others. Who’d also prayed. And now saw their words fulfilled in the footsteps of Christ.

God would do what no man could and show the power of God to rescue the mind when everything in His humanness cried out for deliverance. Jesus leaned into His Father and so should we, for with what He has done, the God who is Greater, who Jesus is, now lives within our heart. He is for us. He is for those around us. And His peace ours forever.

“Peace is my bequest to you, and the peace which I give you is mine to give; I do not give peace as the world gives it. Do not let your heart be distressed, or play the coward.” (John 14:27, Knox)

“Peace with God, and peace of heart and mind, I leave with you; my perfect peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives, expecting to get something in return. No! I give freely, because I love you and want only the best for you. So don’t worry or let your hearts be consumed with fear and doubt.” (John 14:27, Remedy)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Sacrifice
God as Father
God as Resurrected

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/952402202/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnicEAdsmCbGzwoMdWmhKc5hyphenhyphenaIk1U5U96hnkxu46LCGAYg04p6f49avRNXv-u02BiVc37W-laVoMGvGQxs5-ls-VBbVZsj-DU3_vq7rBLhEAokopF4obXeFzKzMIMl_72s7DzPaRt2Wf7GZFox2EZGxKa0HpEL734GoiuFcdbK4jAuR2FNhB2YvCdVY/s72-c/Resurrection1-GodasMan.jpg "Prayer during the time of pressing is what pivoted Him from the war in the mind to the joy set before Him.

IN THE PRESSING OF OLIVES, there are three stages. The first pressing produces the purest oil, of the highest quality. Pressed further, the second pressing produces oil used for everyday things. It is not as fine as the first pressing but is still functional. Pressing the olives a third time produces oil that is considered worthless. It is not edible and not of much use for anything else.

When Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane, He fought the pressing of His soul. He was God who had been from all eternity, but He had chosen to be born as a man and to live on earth in order to die as the final sacrifice of the Old Covenant and be the blood shed to begin the New Covenant. He told His disciples, “I am not surprised by any of this.” He knew who He was and what lay before Him. But in those moments, in knowing Judas’ betrayal would begin the torture of His flesh, He fought a war in His mind. He was the Christ, the Spirit in Him and upon Him would bring peace and commitment, but He fought the battle just the same.

“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:37-38)

Depression, anxiety, and fear ravage the people around us. The devil deceives men to think that drugs and alcohol, sexual relationships, and other destructive choices are the way out. Struggling with the mind, we turn to humanistic doctors for help. But a spiritual struggle cannot be solved by physical means. Jesus’ sorrow was only overcome by His submission to God, His Father.

His disciples did not help. Though He bid them to watch with Him, they slept. The first pressing, the second pressing, and the third.

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39)

This was not His doubt in His Father nor in His strength to push forward but the dedication promised in the Lord’s Prayer. He had taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name (Matthew 6:9).” The word “hallowed” means “to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate.” To consecrate something is to dedicate it. Jesus, the name of God, was dedicated to the work of God and the words of God prophesied about Him for generations. But as He told His sleeping disciples, moments later, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Minister Rick Renner says this time of dedication, these prayers to His Father, was Jesus’ biggest struggle on earth, that more than the cross and crucifixion, which was horrible indeed, here, in Gethsemane, strength was required which only His Father could provide. For a second time, Jesus went away and prayed, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” And for a second time, returned to see His disciples asleep.

Couldn’t they stay awake an hour? Peter especially could have overcome his prophesied denial of Jesus through dedication to prayer. He didn’t have to give into his mind and his flesh and refuse to admit he’d followed Jesus (Matthew 26:40-41). How often has our slothfulness put us into situations which prayer could have lifted away? Jesus prayed. Peter didn’t. And facing Judas and a great armed multitude, Jesus stood firm. Peter reacted.

“Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:10-11)

Dedicated to His Father’s will, Jesus didn’t flinch then healed the servant’s ear. I wonder where that servant stood in these things afterward. His master, the high priest, had determined to put Jesus to death and even many undeniable miracles wouldn’t stop him, much less this one. But perhaps Malchus saw differently. Perhaps he saw the Christ.

Jesus, as Christ, made an amazing statement then, displaying His strength of character from His prayers. He remonstrated Peter for waving a sword then said, “Don’t you realize that I could call upon my Father and have more than twelve divisions of angels here to fight on my behalf? But if I did that, then how would the Scripture … be fulfilled?” (Matthew 26:53-54, Remedy) I could call for legions of angels, but that would prevent what I came here to do.

Here is our human reaction. We’d go for the angel army. Jesus chose to face the council and say nothing, to face the Roman government and say nothing, to carry the cross to Calvary and give forgiveness to those rejoicing that they’d hung Him there. ”His blood be on us, and on our children,” the people shouted. And it would be, but not in the manner they spoke of. With His shed blood, they could be healed. With His death, their sins were forgiven. With His Resurrection, three days later, they could be His.

Prayer during the time of pressing is what pivoted Him from the war in the mind to the joy set before Him. Angels ministered to Him, the Spirit surrounded Him, and the love of the Father propelled Him forward. Down a rough road, one planned before the foundation of the earth, but one paved with the blood of apostles and prophets. He was not there on His own spiritually nor physically but walking a road written by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and Isaiah and Jeremiah and dozens of others. Who’d also prayed. And now saw their words fulfilled in the footsteps of Christ.

God would do what no man could and show the power of God to rescue the mind when everything in His humanness cried out for deliverance. Jesus leaned into His Father and so should we, for with what He has done, the God who is Greater, who Jesus is, now lives within our heart. He is for us. He is for those around us. And His peace ours forever.

“Peace is my bequest to you, and the peace which I give you is mine to give; I do not give peace as the world gives it. Do not let your heart be distressed, or play the coward.” (John 14:27, Knox)

“Peace with God, and peace of heart and mind, I leave with you; my perfect peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives, expecting to get something in return. No! I give freely, because I love you and want only the best for you. So don’t worry or let your hearts be consumed with fear and doubt.” (John 14:27, Remedy)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
God as Sacrifice
God as Father
God as Resurrected

Image by DONGHWAN KIM from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/of-jews.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-100527899885153765Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-30T06:30:00.123-04:00JewishKing of the JewsOf The Jews"King Of The Jews"
Romans 2:13 KJV “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”
• Justified, made righteous
• DOERS of the law SHALL BE righteous.
V25 "For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law:"

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between a man who gets saved, never lives by it, doesn’t read of it, never learns more, and so spends his life in sin, yet we say he goes to heaven (some say, some believe salvation is flimsy), and a man who believes in the Law, walks faithfully to it, worships Hashem and trusts Him, yet he does not go to heaven? YOU DO NOT KNOW GOD if you believe this. And these are the words of Paul, who made sure readers of his letters knew how Jewish he was (Romans 11:1). He said followers of the Law must follow all the Law. And some do, such as it remains.

Jesus followed the Law. Jesus reached out to convict and rescue Paul, a man who misused the Law. Paul said you can be justified by the Law.

What thought goes here next? A history lesson? We’ll summarize it to say we don’t have the Second Century Jewish or Gentile mindset, even if we study hard and try to come up with it. In short, God did not want the Gentiles to replace the Jews. Paul said this, too.

“Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” (Romans 11:18)

We support Israel, yet we send Jews to hell. We don’t know anything.

What Paul said in his letters was the Law is fulfilled. There’s no need to live by the Law. Then he pointed out evil is on both sides – Gentile and Jew. Gentiles including all others who aren’t Jewish. He gave the freedom of having trust in Jesus Christ, pointed to Him as their Messiah and our Savior, then made the Romans 2:3 remark.

God is mercy. Jesus is a Jew, even greater, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Would the King of the Jews condemn His own people? Or honor their trust? Which is it? I’ll tell you the answer, but most will shoot darts. So I’ll leave you here with this.

Mr. Beller
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWR0lJokUL4/

Photo of Skull Hill, Jerusalem, Israel, 1906, from Wikimedia Commons


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/952165109/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi1SUzeQOXLPQ1FfrRjEIvV6-hag13Ob8JsgCU5H2aS6uhGt5tkIhsehekdk2mK_ggCoq1G1hutIsRowgVp6Z_qE_YWapC4yQ8rVtVlIUGleXEsOBpCEV2veGDTyFBjMQgrCcLQjEpa3XKiwG_O3_2frGcghPh-gxbDuWT1DXPua_t-qyjkN32cL3sjQ/s72-c/Of-The-Jews.jpg "King Of The Jews"
Romans 2:13 KJV “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”
• Justified, made righteous
• DOERS of the law SHALL BE righteous.
V25 "For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law:"

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between a man who gets saved, never lives by it, doesn’t read of it, never learns more, and so spends his life in sin, yet we say he goes to heaven (some say, some believe salvation is flimsy), and a man who believes in the Law, walks faithfully to it, worships Hashem and trusts Him, yet he does not go to heaven? YOU DO NOT KNOW GOD if you believe this. And these are the words of Paul, who made sure readers of his letters knew how Jewish he was (Romans 11:1). He said followers of the Law must follow all the Law. And some do, such as it remains.

Jesus followed the Law. Jesus reached out to convict and rescue Paul, a man who misused the Law. Paul said you can be justified by the Law.

What thought goes here next? A history lesson? We’ll summarize it to say we don’t have the Second Century Jewish or Gentile mindset, even if we study hard and try to come up with it. In short, God did not want the Gentiles to replace the Jews. Paul said this, too.

“Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” (Romans 11:18)

We support Israel, yet we send Jews to hell. We don’t know anything.

What Paul said in his letters was the Law is fulfilled. There’s no need to live by the Law. Then he pointed out evil is on both sides – Gentile and Jew. Gentiles including all others who aren’t Jewish. He gave the freedom of having trust in Jesus Christ, pointed to Him as their Messiah and our Savior, then made the Romans 2:3 remark.

God is mercy. Jesus is a Jew, even greater, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Would the King of the Jews condemn His own people? Or honor their trust? Which is it? I’ll tell you the answer, but most will shoot darts. So I’ll leave you here with this.

Mr. Beller
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWR0lJokUL4/

Photo of Skull Hill, Jerusalem, Israel, 1906, from Wikimedia Commons


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/non-negotiable.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2309301421544877018Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-29T06:30:00.127-04:00Big GoddevilsNon-negotiable"Evil people and devils will never obey."
THERE IS no negotiation with devils. Nor with people consumed by darkness who are empty of God. Their behavior is the same. A wink and a nod smooths over the lie they intend to speak and not live by. Note, I did not say these people were possessed by an actual devil (unclean spirit). Instead, it is that they behave identically.

Negotiation implies both sides are willing to compromise and obey that decision. Evil people and devils will never obey. Never. Good people cannot see this or accept it because out of the same mouth comes cursings and blessings (James 3:10), and they (the good people) simply don’t think that way. Evil can be nice in a breath and violent in another. Only Jesus make us peaceful. He is the Prince of Peace, the God of Peace. From Him flows the peace of God.

He is Truth. No other belief system is True, as defined in Scripture.

“Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:8, Capitalization rendered by King James translators, second “god” is a small g.)

Jesus said He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE (John 14:6). He said this, looking toward the cross, which victory made Him the Way. I’ve said it this way: “He is THE WAY TO THE FATHER, the TRUTH OF THE FATHER, and the LIFE OF THE FATHER.” Jesus told us the Father is Greater (John 14:28). He is SO LOVE willing to die, but because He is above all, He can’t. So Jesus came to die for Him. This seems odd, except Hebrews tells us, as the Son, Jesus inherited all the Father has, and in order to inherit, the one who made the will has to die (Hebrews 9:16).

Jesus is the Son. He is united entirely with the Father. They are ONE. This is difficult to comprehend without being spiritually minded, a term used in Romans 8:6. It is contrasted, there, with being carnally minded. The carnal mind is the thought pattern of evil people and evil spiritual beings. Everything they do is self-centered to the point of violence. Whereas God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – only thinks of YOUR SAFETY and HAPPINESS. At Their own expense.

Even if They had to die and be resurrected to save you, They would do it.

“Christ and the Devil cannot agree.” (2 Corinthians 6:15, EasyEnglish)

“Consider the example of a will: In order for the true contents of the will to be known, the one who made it must have died,” (Hebrews 9:16, Remedy)

Photo by Damien Dufour on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/952082303/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XgRNGAPlLBn71uaRCcfY8WpckStCIOavtwnqkvVZCCfHkhMWpfqXirbRlBw_ib8A4BAD8K3kcli809OwMlSVQ6LNpa85xEDoNJYeUjnB20Os5zMSSa9ccXOZ-UnJ1YRrAlhc5rMewtEQJPbbzLF4j_3WR87r99aSaamcALYt7fQq8epdZAclisDpn88/s72-c/nonnegotiable.jpg "Evil people and devils will never obey."
THERE IS no negotiation with devils. Nor with people consumed by darkness who are empty of God. Their behavior is the same. A wink and a nod smooths over the lie they intend to speak and not live by. Note, I did not say these people were possessed by an actual devil (unclean spirit). Instead, it is that they behave identically.

Negotiation implies both sides are willing to compromise and obey that decision. Evil people and devils will never obey. Never. Good people cannot see this or accept it because out of the same mouth comes cursings and blessings (James 3:10), and they (the good people) simply don’t think that way. Evil can be nice in a breath and violent in another. Only Jesus make us peaceful. He is the Prince of Peace, the God of Peace. From Him flows the peace of God.

He is Truth. No other belief system is True, as defined in Scripture.

“Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:8, Capitalization rendered by King James translators, second “god” is a small g.)

Jesus said He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE (John 14:6). He said this, looking toward the cross, which victory made Him the Way. I’ve said it this way: “He is THE WAY TO THE FATHER, the TRUTH OF THE FATHER, and the LIFE OF THE FATHER.” Jesus told us the Father is Greater (John 14:28). He is SO LOVE willing to die, but because He is above all, He can’t. So Jesus came to die for Him. This seems odd, except Hebrews tells us, as the Son, Jesus inherited all the Father has, and in order to inherit, the one who made the will has to die (Hebrews 9:16).

Jesus is the Son. He is united entirely with the Father. They are ONE. This is difficult to comprehend without being spiritually minded, a term used in Romans 8:6. It is contrasted, there, with being carnally minded. The carnal mind is the thought pattern of evil people and evil spiritual beings. Everything they do is self-centered to the point of violence. Whereas God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – only thinks of YOUR SAFETY and HAPPINESS. At Their own expense.

Even if They had to die and be resurrected to save you, They would do it.

“Christ and the Devil cannot agree.” (2 Corinthians 6:15, EasyEnglish)

“Consider the example of a will: In order for the true contents of the will to be known, the one who made it must have died,” (Hebrews 9:16, Remedy)

Photo by Damien Dufour on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/job.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-8459753967272595802Sat, 28 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-28T06:30:00.128-04:00JobJob"We serve a good God who de-feeted a bad devil that no longer holds sway over us."
Originally posted June 24, 2025.

THERE WAS A MAN in the land of Uz, whose reputation was HATED. And so begins the book of Job. It goes on to say that Job, his name means "hated," was an upright, moral man, who feared God, and turned away from evil. Whatever men thought of Job, God called him righteous, the meaning of “upright.”

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (Job 1:1)

Job was the greatest man in the east. Greatest in magnitude. Greatest in substance (Job 1:3). He was also an important man. He sat in the assembly at the gate where men stopped to listen (Job 29:7-8). He was well-known, and we see from these happenings that some were jealous. They plotted to steal all he had (Job 1:15,17)

Uz (ootz) was in the Arabian desert, in what is now modern Saudi Arabia. There, violent storms often tore across the land. And violent tribesmen, nomadic people unafraid to steal, kill, and destroy (Job 1:15, 17; John 10:10) Satan put it in their heart. While roaming the earth, he had set his heart on Job (Job 1:8; Luke 11:24).

God noticed (Job 1:6).

Satan tried to blend in with the sons of God when he presented himself before God, though he wasn't one of them (Job 1:6). He couldn't wait to be out of the Presence of God (Job 1:12). He had come in only for this reason. This whole thing made him exceedingly uncomfortable (Job 1:12). His best bet, since he no longer knew the thoughts of God, he'd fallen from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18) ... his idea, today, was to play the blame game. He'd accuse Job, Satan means “accuser,” he’d accuse him of not being like God at all (Genesis 1:26; Revelation 12:10). Just as soon as something went wrong, Job would curse God and sin. That's what he'd say. "You hurt him, and he'll hate you (Job 1:8)." So much for men being made in God's image (Genesis 1:26). He'd prove otherwise.

Good and honest, righteous Job had ten children, 7 boys and 3 girls, who didn't share their dad's worship of the Almighty. Where good men worked to earn their keep, Job's kids drank their lives away on daddy's dime, not caring how the sun rose or set (Job 1:13; Proverbs 24:30-34). Job worried about his children. What if they'd sinned against God? What if they did the unthinkable and rebelled against Him? Afraid for them, he prepared a sacrifice on their behalf. Something he did continually (Job 1:5; Job 3:25). God had so blessed the work of his hands and protected him. But sometimes, the Lord gave and sometimes He took away. This is what Job believed (Job 1:21). From God you received good. From God you receive evil (Job 2:10). Yet, He praised God.

God knew everything. All the thoughts and intents of the heart (Job 42:2; Hebrew 4:12). Nothing was hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13). He knew the man Job feared God and avoided evil (Job 1:1,9). Though Job's understanding of evil and Satan fell short (Job 38:2), though he was outside of Abraham’s covenant in his ancestors (Job 1:1 “Uz”), Job worshipped Him well (Job 1:20;Job 42:7). Satan He also knew, knew his desire to destroy Job and knew how he planned to do it (John 8:11). God loved Job (1 John 4:8). He did not fear Satan, the accuser (James 1:13) but had big plans to destroy all his works (1 John 3:8). No being that He'd created could sin and continue to lord it over man (Luke 10:19).

God did not hold hands with evil. It was no temptation to Him (James 1:13). But man, He knew, was taken by many temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). And this deceit of Satan which had captured Job's thinking would cause great grief (Job 3:25;Job 3:1). What Job didn't know of God's loving nature (1 John 4:8), He would pour out upon him and bless him in the end, returning to him double for what he'd lose (Job 42:10). He would never leave or forsake a righteous man (Hebrews 13:5;Psalm 37:25). His desire for His creation was to do good (Psalm 119:68). One day, He'd send a Daysman (Job 9:33), a Mediator, God Himself to save them (1 Timothy 2:5).

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5 KJV)

"Curse God and die!" Job’s wife said (Job 2:9).

Job stared at her, understanding her pain, but not her words against God (Job 2:10). Boils had broken out upon him (Job 2:7). A potsherd in his grasp, he scraped at them and mourned (Job 2:8). No, she was wrong. What God had done he would submit to in obedience. Though, his mood souring, depression settling in, he didn't see a way out (Job 3:11;Job 7:4).

God provided a way (Job 42:10). But from Job's words, we can see what Light about God he lacked (Job 40:4). We must look at the book of Job from what God has revealed in the New Covenant (Ephesians 1:9). We have the work of the cross. Job did not. We have the Holy Spirit within and upon us. Job did not. We know that because God so loved the world He died in our place then raised us up into heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). God revealed Himself to Job in the last few chapters, and Job repented for all he had said that was wrong about God (Job 40:4). God then had him pray for his friends, whose words were unrighteous (Job 42:7,10). From Job's life we see not only the work of the devil to kill Job (Job 2:7) but the forgiveness of God and Job's patience in enduring (James 5:11). What men have misunderstood of Job's story is cleared up when read in the eyes of the Spirit.

“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:11 KJV)

We serve a good God who de-feeted a bad devil that no longer holds sway over us (Colossians 2:15). This is the story of Job. God is not divided between good and evil now and was not divided then, but He is singular in purpose and entirely holy (Luke 11:17-18). He is Light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). In this truth, we stand and rejoice. For God is our Savior, Resurrected and crowned in a plan foreordained before the beginning of time (1 Peter 1:20). A plan revealed and celebrated in Jesus Christ, and though Job did not know Him, he saw the evidence of him in what God did for him.

Let’s get it right.

“After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.” (Job 42:16-17 KJV)

*This has been a paraphrase of the story of Job. Note the Scripture references which validate the truth. Also, great light came from the Bible365 broadcasts of Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.

Image by K47 from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/952021691/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAfBNyD8EWQ1xXKn2FH8UjKAd_xT-npoQFfGEgbKeYxHOQXYktcDUdKZvKzrZ2CJCiUjWsY1LsXDx7VYgEE-XK99KfddHcM8iEWLCPyUqw8nOQRvu-8A2ked6PH41zwx7-bkOFGU8C7c-8tWcFLYH7GoRgY1BN0ZillBg7CMHYUIPtDhhEYBZrH1Zdc8/s72-c/job.jpg "We serve a good God who de-feeted a bad devil that no longer holds sway over us."
Originally posted June 24, 2025.

THERE WAS A MAN in the land of Uz, whose reputation was HATED. And so begins the book of Job. It goes on to say that Job, his name means "hated," was an upright, moral man, who feared God, and turned away from evil. Whatever men thought of Job, God called him righteous, the meaning of “upright.”

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (Job 1:1)

Job was the greatest man in the east. Greatest in magnitude. Greatest in substance (Job 1:3). He was also an important man. He sat in the assembly at the gate where men stopped to listen (Job 29:7-8). He was well-known, and we see from these happenings that some were jealous. They plotted to steal all he had (Job 1:15,17)

Uz (ootz) was in the Arabian desert, in what is now modern Saudi Arabia. There, violent storms often tore across the land. And violent tribesmen, nomadic people unafraid to steal, kill, and destroy (Job 1:15, 17; John 10:10) Satan put it in their heart. While roaming the earth, he had set his heart on Job (Job 1:8; Luke 11:24).

God noticed (Job 1:6).

Satan tried to blend in with the sons of God when he presented himself before God, though he wasn't one of them (Job 1:6). He couldn't wait to be out of the Presence of God (Job 1:12). He had come in only for this reason. This whole thing made him exceedingly uncomfortable (Job 1:12). His best bet, since he no longer knew the thoughts of God, he'd fallen from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18) ... his idea, today, was to play the blame game. He'd accuse Job, Satan means “accuser,” he’d accuse him of not being like God at all (Genesis 1:26; Revelation 12:10). Just as soon as something went wrong, Job would curse God and sin. That's what he'd say. "You hurt him, and he'll hate you (Job 1:8)." So much for men being made in God's image (Genesis 1:26). He'd prove otherwise.

Good and honest, righteous Job had ten children, 7 boys and 3 girls, who didn't share their dad's worship of the Almighty. Where good men worked to earn their keep, Job's kids drank their lives away on daddy's dime, not caring how the sun rose or set (Job 1:13; Proverbs 24:30-34). Job worried about his children. What if they'd sinned against God? What if they did the unthinkable and rebelled against Him? Afraid for them, he prepared a sacrifice on their behalf. Something he did continually (Job 1:5; Job 3:25). God had so blessed the work of his hands and protected him. But sometimes, the Lord gave and sometimes He took away. This is what Job believed (Job 1:21). From God you received good. From God you receive evil (Job 2:10). Yet, He praised God.

God knew everything. All the thoughts and intents of the heart (Job 42:2; Hebrew 4:12). Nothing was hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13). He knew the man Job feared God and avoided evil (Job 1:1,9). Though Job's understanding of evil and Satan fell short (Job 38:2), though he was outside of Abraham’s covenant in his ancestors (Job 1:1 “Uz”), Job worshipped Him well (Job 1:20;Job 42:7). Satan He also knew, knew his desire to destroy Job and knew how he planned to do it (John 8:11). God loved Job (1 John 4:8). He did not fear Satan, the accuser (James 1:13) but had big plans to destroy all his works (1 John 3:8). No being that He'd created could sin and continue to lord it over man (Luke 10:19).

God did not hold hands with evil. It was no temptation to Him (James 1:13). But man, He knew, was taken by many temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). And this deceit of Satan which had captured Job's thinking would cause great grief (Job 3:25;Job 3:1). What Job didn't know of God's loving nature (1 John 4:8), He would pour out upon him and bless him in the end, returning to him double for what he'd lose (Job 42:10). He would never leave or forsake a righteous man (Hebrews 13:5;Psalm 37:25). His desire for His creation was to do good (Psalm 119:68). One day, He'd send a Daysman (Job 9:33), a Mediator, God Himself to save them (1 Timothy 2:5).

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5 KJV)

"Curse God and die!" Job’s wife said (Job 2:9).

Job stared at her, understanding her pain, but not her words against God (Job 2:10). Boils had broken out upon him (Job 2:7). A potsherd in his grasp, he scraped at them and mourned (Job 2:8). No, she was wrong. What God had done he would submit to in obedience. Though, his mood souring, depression settling in, he didn't see a way out (Job 3:11;Job 7:4).

God provided a way (Job 42:10). But from Job's words, we can see what Light about God he lacked (Job 40:4). We must look at the book of Job from what God has revealed in the New Covenant (Ephesians 1:9). We have the work of the cross. Job did not. We have the Holy Spirit within and upon us. Job did not. We know that because God so loved the world He died in our place then raised us up into heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). God revealed Himself to Job in the last few chapters, and Job repented for all he had said that was wrong about God (Job 40:4). God then had him pray for his friends, whose words were unrighteous (Job 42:7,10). From Job's life we see not only the work of the devil to kill Job (Job 2:7) but the forgiveness of God and Job's patience in enduring (James 5:11). What men have misunderstood of Job's story is cleared up when read in the eyes of the Spirit.

“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:11 KJV)

We serve a good God who de-feeted a bad devil that no longer holds sway over us (Colossians 2:15). This is the story of Job. God is not divided between good and evil now and was not divided then, but He is singular in purpose and entirely holy (Luke 11:17-18). He is Light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). In this truth, we stand and rejoice. For God is our Savior, Resurrected and crowned in a plan foreordained before the beginning of time (1 Peter 1:20). A plan revealed and celebrated in Jesus Christ, and though Job did not know Him, he saw the evidence of him in what God did for him.

Let’s get it right.

“After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.” (Job 42:16-17 KJV)

*This has been a paraphrase of the story of Job. Note the Scripture references which validate the truth. Also, great light came from the Bible365 broadcasts of Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.

Image by K47 from Pixabay


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/salvation-god-with-us.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-7006809360772521090Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-27T06:30:00.120-04:00salvationspirit manSalvation. God WITH Us."That God would live in us again."
WHEN GOD created man in His image and after His likeness, this was more than our physical appearance, although that is definite. We find references in the Word of God to His back parts (Exodus 33:23), His face, His arms, and His feet. But Jesus’ words in the Gospels must be included here, for He said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21),” so these describe His spiritual form. He had no physical form until Jesus.

In Genesis, where the creation of man is told, it says God breathed into the dust that He’d formed, and man became “a living soul” or person (Genesis 2:7). Literally, “that which breathes.” We are dust which turns to dust. Jesus, too, physically died. But it is of the spirit of man of which I want to talk because it is the spirit which gives life to the body.

I am not one to repeat what’s been said the same way in the church many times, but a truth of what Jesus did when He provided salvation must be highlighted. When Adam sinned, and Eve through deception, the perfect balance of physical, mental, and spiritual in humankind was permanently destroyed. Sin brought death. Death to the spirit, meaning separation from God’s lifegiving Spirit, who had breathed life into man. And death to the body, which would age and, one day, return to dust.

Man as a spirit and a soul with a body is told in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God, in fact, has a plan to make the physical body eternal. Jesus’ body is our example. He has been made glorious, according to Philippians 3:21. This promise is also told in Romans 8 where it mentions the restoration of all the creatures on the earth as well.

Now, it must be said no creature except man has a spirit like God, and no being that is spirit has a physical body like man. The separation is definite and on purpose. God would have no contact between flesh and spirit happen outside of Him. Yes, that is what I said. All spirit being to physical man contact is known by God and in His control, though this thought is widely misunderstood and not a rabbit trail for today. I will simply summarize it to say He works to guide us in His Truth, even when we are far from Him and cannot hear His Voice. There is nothing to fear of the supernatural, but we must mature to have revelation of this.

The death of the spirit of man, of man himself, we should say, (for the body is dead absent of us), is the reason Jesus lived, died, and was Resurrected. He proved the Life of God, eternal, everlasting life, is greater than complete death. Being God, sinless and holy, and being fully saturated with the Spirit of God, He erased sin, providing complete forgiveness, and destroying all the side effects of sin, meaning sickness and disease. God took His mutilated human body and returned Him to it, healing Him of all the destruction of the cross. Though He was seen with holes in His hands and mentioned the hole in His side, afterward, He was also seen without them and was not recognized by those who knew Him. God showing that the salvation He’d provided is for every part of us. As He was healed, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

Salvation is much taught and in many incomplete ways. In many ways, it has become a byword people avoid. Just as soon as they are asked, “Would you like to get saved?” they walk the other way. Their life here on earth is seen all around them, their view of it in their job and their family and their entertainment interests more real to them. For many, it takes something desperate to turn their gaze toward the spiritual world that they cannot see.

But what Jesus did as God in human flesh was show us God. He was and is the love of God on display, love so great that though He is eternal, He would make Himself one of us, the Son of Man, in order to suffer death, and a humiliating death it was. He promised that God would live in us again, as He was in Adam and Eve at the beginning of time. It is not just that we accept His death and Resurrection and get a shot of Life in the arm then, being reinvigorated, have to figure out how to communicate with Him. But instead that He moves in forever.

Inside us now, when we invite Him to live in us, is everything He is. The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus called the Comforter in John 14, took what was dead and empty of God, our sinful spirit being, and made it into a holy temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). We have Emmanuel, GOD WITH US. To talk to (Philippians 4:6). To learn from. To worship. To be our Friend. We are never alone, not anymore. Never empty, devoid of peace or joy. We need never do without but can live the words of Psalm 91:16. Long, satisfying, contented lives.

“With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (Psalms 91:16)

“Length of days he shall have to content him, and find in me deliverance.” (Psalms 91:16, Knox)

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle wee dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

Illustration by DA VECTOR on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951952442/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatZKOa5mZvDWEZZlYUi_eB-2qbfXRbcn19Dyem2qc-obXwjg8vIZpJhuQIhBJx4-Lf0Ob492MHKCVPYFRhzKATTuc4MMKh8OTcsbFSmrCcHitZwam-wIWC3vgB9iIn2IpvRxmtwpcCFy4mtVCdTvWZM4mnrgCy19fnEIMpYc4NSEF728kBBYQjZJnE3s/s72-c/Salvation-God-WITH-Us.jpg "That God would live in us again."
WHEN GOD created man in His image and after His likeness, this was more than our physical appearance, although that is definite. We find references in the Word of God to His back parts (Exodus 33:23), His face, His arms, and His feet. But Jesus’ words in the Gospels must be included here, for He said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21),” so these describe His spiritual form. He had no physical form until Jesus.

In Genesis, where the creation of man is told, it says God breathed into the dust that He’d formed, and man became “a living soul” or person (Genesis 2:7). Literally, “that which breathes.” We are dust which turns to dust. Jesus, too, physically died. But it is of the spirit of man of which I want to talk because it is the spirit which gives life to the body.

I am not one to repeat what’s been said the same way in the church many times, but a truth of what Jesus did when He provided salvation must be highlighted. When Adam sinned, and Eve through deception, the perfect balance of physical, mental, and spiritual in humankind was permanently destroyed. Sin brought death. Death to the spirit, meaning separation from God’s lifegiving Spirit, who had breathed life into man. And death to the body, which would age and, one day, return to dust.

Man as a spirit and a soul with a body is told in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God, in fact, has a plan to make the physical body eternal. Jesus’ body is our example. He has been made glorious, according to Philippians 3:21. This promise is also told in Romans 8 where it mentions the restoration of all the creatures on the earth as well.

Now, it must be said no creature except man has a spirit like God, and no being that is spirit has a physical body like man. The separation is definite and on purpose. God would have no contact between flesh and spirit happen outside of Him. Yes, that is what I said. All spirit being to physical man contact is known by God and in His control, though this thought is widely misunderstood and not a rabbit trail for today. I will simply summarize it to say He works to guide us in His Truth, even when we are far from Him and cannot hear His Voice. There is nothing to fear of the supernatural, but we must mature to have revelation of this.

The death of the spirit of man, of man himself, we should say, (for the body is dead absent of us), is the reason Jesus lived, died, and was Resurrected. He proved the Life of God, eternal, everlasting life, is greater than complete death. Being God, sinless and holy, and being fully saturated with the Spirit of God, He erased sin, providing complete forgiveness, and destroying all the side effects of sin, meaning sickness and disease. God took His mutilated human body and returned Him to it, healing Him of all the destruction of the cross. Though He was seen with holes in His hands and mentioned the hole in His side, afterward, He was also seen without them and was not recognized by those who knew Him. God showing that the salvation He’d provided is for every part of us. As He was healed, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

Salvation is much taught and in many incomplete ways. In many ways, it has become a byword people avoid. Just as soon as they are asked, “Would you like to get saved?” they walk the other way. Their life here on earth is seen all around them, their view of it in their job and their family and their entertainment interests more real to them. For many, it takes something desperate to turn their gaze toward the spiritual world that they cannot see.

But what Jesus did as God in human flesh was show us God. He was and is the love of God on display, love so great that though He is eternal, He would make Himself one of us, the Son of Man, in order to suffer death, and a humiliating death it was. He promised that God would live in us again, as He was in Adam and Eve at the beginning of time. It is not just that we accept His death and Resurrection and get a shot of Life in the arm then, being reinvigorated, have to figure out how to communicate with Him. But instead that He moves in forever.

Inside us now, when we invite Him to live in us, is everything He is. The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus called the Comforter in John 14, took what was dead and empty of God, our sinful spirit being, and made it into a holy temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). We have Emmanuel, GOD WITH US. To talk to (Philippians 4:6). To learn from. To worship. To be our Friend. We are never alone, not anymore. Never empty, devoid of peace or joy. We need never do without but can live the words of Psalm 91:16. Long, satisfying, contented lives.

“With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (Psalms 91:16)

“Length of days he shall have to content him, and find in me deliverance.” (Psalms 91:16, Knox)

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle wee dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

Illustration by DA VECTOR on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/his-will-not-ours.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-6950102175862326151Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-26T06:30:00.121-04:00spiritual authorityHis Will, Not Ours"He is present when it is spoken."
THE CHURCH teaches the authority of the name of Jesus over devils, not understanding devils, the way they think, they way they speak, not knowing their nature. Nor leaning upon the Spirit of Christ Jesus to perform the authority of His name. It is not US threatening them. Jesus’ authority is powerful because He is present when it is spoken.

“Now, you know that this man here had weak legs. But Jesus is powerful. Jesus’ authority caused this man’s legs to become strong. This really happened because Jesus is powerful. You can see that. This man believed that Jesus could cause his legs to become strong. So Jesus made him well. And you yourselves can see that he is walking.” (Acts 3:16, EasyEnglish)

We must be IN THE SPIRIT when it is used, speaking Jesus’ name at HIS WILL and not ours.

This applies also to the “sword of the Spirit” described in Ephesians 6:17. Much description has been given to it as part of Roman soldier’s uniform. But all that is really necessary to know is it is THE SPIRIT’S SWORD and not ours.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” (Ephesians 6:17)

Here, too, we must be “Galatians 5” led of the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, alive in the Spirit. To say we “know His voice,” we must then not be reasoning out what He just said. Interpretation is not ours. If we do this, then we don’t truly know His Voice because He will always explain His words.

Many teach wrong doctrine and say it’s Him. Others sound more like devils in WHAT they say and HOW they say it. Neither of these groups of people know Him. This circles me back around to my first statement. The church teaches the authority of Jesus’ name not knowing the nature and behavior of unclean spirits. There is nothing to fear in unclean spirits (devils). If you fear them, you lack understanding. Of why they are like they are. And greater, of Jesus.

He did not fear Satan when led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (Luke 4:1). Not even when given two devilish visions. He knew who He was and said so in the Scriptures He quoted. He did not flinch when casting unclean spirits out either. Not when 2,000 of them in one man spoke out (Mark 5:12). He simply bid them go. Yet we see lack of knowledge in the Pharisees who accused Him of using Satan to cast out Satan (Matthew 12:24). And Jesus’ response to them is misunderstood. He was not trying to imply Satan (a) has a kingdom nor that (b) it is strong and organized, but, in fact, the opposite. Satan does not have a kingdom; he is not an elected or conquering ruler. He was cast down like lightning (Luke 10:18) and ended up in darkness, consumed with sin.

Jesus was manifested to destroy him, to destroy his works, and to destroy death (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; 2 Timothy 1:10). This was what Jesus meant. No one picked up on it.

We read things in God’s Word at face value. We must hear them in the Spirit instead. So much of what is in the Word holds depths far beyond our simple understanding. Our use of the name of Jesus is one area where we must grow in humility and not in our own strength. We are all sinners saved by grace, which is the Father’s kindness to us. I am no one, and if you point out all I’ve written, I’m still no one. My story isn’t about books, nor southern culture, nor church upbringing. It is about how Jesus rescued me from a horrible place and gave me understanding of it.

That is really all I want to say. Don’t look at me. Look at Him and marvel that He’s alive, and He’s speaking to me. But it is that He speaks to me, and I know He backs up His Word that gives me confidence to use His name. Our highest point is always by taking our lowest position and keeping Him as Lord. He desires our success, but not for it to consume us. Instead, it is that it shows His love for us.


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951886877/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0riYeCo1SiqCd2_jqIw4wD56upN2VzZTkfac7mtJAWIyQ3duy9lqFPZOrJOizx60wzC4b3y6WOiWhSuMCS8504xFoAe9mFkjpdnGDO9bhNcNId4hrvLyv-FaRBAd0fySp6ycBjuB7R_pKKjcr0X9xy9WLL54tUTGWUWk5D6IrfbsVpigiL0MbTJbuyc/s72-c/His-Will-Not-Ours.jpg "He is present when it is spoken."
THE CHURCH teaches the authority of the name of Jesus over devils, not understanding devils, the way they think, they way they speak, not knowing their nature. Nor leaning upon the Spirit of Christ Jesus to perform the authority of His name. It is not US threatening them. Jesus’ authority is powerful because He is present when it is spoken.

“Now, you know that this man here had weak legs. But Jesus is powerful. Jesus’ authority caused this man’s legs to become strong. This really happened because Jesus is powerful. You can see that. This man believed that Jesus could cause his legs to become strong. So Jesus made him well. And you yourselves can see that he is walking.” (Acts 3:16, EasyEnglish)

We must be IN THE SPIRIT when it is used, speaking Jesus’ name at HIS WILL and not ours.

This applies also to the “sword of the Spirit” described in Ephesians 6:17. Much description has been given to it as part of Roman soldier’s uniform. But all that is really necessary to know is it is THE SPIRIT’S SWORD and not ours.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” (Ephesians 6:17)

Here, too, we must be “Galatians 5” led of the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, alive in the Spirit. To say we “know His voice,” we must then not be reasoning out what He just said. Interpretation is not ours. If we do this, then we don’t truly know His Voice because He will always explain His words.

Many teach wrong doctrine and say it’s Him. Others sound more like devils in WHAT they say and HOW they say it. Neither of these groups of people know Him. This circles me back around to my first statement. The church teaches the authority of Jesus’ name not knowing the nature and behavior of unclean spirits. There is nothing to fear in unclean spirits (devils). If you fear them, you lack understanding. Of why they are like they are. And greater, of Jesus.

He did not fear Satan when led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (Luke 4:1). Not even when given two devilish visions. He knew who He was and said so in the Scriptures He quoted. He did not flinch when casting unclean spirits out either. Not when 2,000 of them in one man spoke out (Mark 5:12). He simply bid them go. Yet we see lack of knowledge in the Pharisees who accused Him of using Satan to cast out Satan (Matthew 12:24). And Jesus’ response to them is misunderstood. He was not trying to imply Satan (a) has a kingdom nor that (b) it is strong and organized, but, in fact, the opposite. Satan does not have a kingdom; he is not an elected or conquering ruler. He was cast down like lightning (Luke 10:18) and ended up in darkness, consumed with sin.

Jesus was manifested to destroy him, to destroy his works, and to destroy death (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; 2 Timothy 1:10). This was what Jesus meant. No one picked up on it.

We read things in God’s Word at face value. We must hear them in the Spirit instead. So much of what is in the Word holds depths far beyond our simple understanding. Our use of the name of Jesus is one area where we must grow in humility and not in our own strength. We are all sinners saved by grace, which is the Father’s kindness to us. I am no one, and if you point out all I’ve written, I’m still no one. My story isn’t about books, nor southern culture, nor church upbringing. It is about how Jesus rescued me from a horrible place and gave me understanding of it.

That is really all I want to say. Don’t look at me. Look at Him and marvel that He’s alive, and He’s speaking to me. But it is that He speaks to me, and I know He backs up His Word that gives me confidence to use His name. Our highest point is always by taking our lowest position and keeping Him as Lord. He desires our success, but not for it to consume us. Instead, it is that it shows His love for us.


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/new-covenant-thinking.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2945343095637538516Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-25T06:30:00.121-04:00devilHoly SpiritlanguageNew Covenant Thinking"but they are Him"
WE MUST get out of the habit of continually saying things like, “The devil in my ear,” “The devil made me do it,” or “the devil kept at me.” One, because it’s a bad confession. You have what you say (Mark 11:23). But also, it’s based on incorrect knowledge. The truth is, only God is omnipresent, meaning in all places. The devil is not. So that loser cannot be speaking to all of us at the same time. By addressing him one-on-one continually, we overlook the Truth of Scripture.

God said Jesus came to destroy the devil (Hebrews 2:14). The word translated “destroy” there means to “render useless”, and what is useless is of no effect. Yet we talk otherwise.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Hebrews 2:14)

We don’t know really what Jesus did. That is the issue. The church digs up Old Testament Scripture a lot to explain the devil’s work, seeing him as doing what he is no longer able to do. We must know NEW TESTAMENT Truth. Jesus’ Resurrection destroyed all the WORKS of the devil, meaning the doings of unclean spirits, their abilities to harm and harass. In 1 John 3:8, we are told this Truth. The word “destroyed” here means “to dissolve.” This comes from the Spirit.

We CAN ONLY read Scripture with the Spirit. That’s ONLY. Even an unsaved person will see Christ when the Spirit, my Papa, speaks. And a saved one will go astray when they don’t seek His Voice.

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

The devil’s works are dissolved. The devil has been rendered useless. And now, we must read 2 Timothy 1:10. Speaking of “our holy calling”, the apostle Paul says:

“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath ABOLISHED DEATH, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:” (2 Timothy 1:10)

Our Saviour Jesus Christ hath ABOLISHED DEATH. That word “abolished” is the same word from Hebrews 2:14. Death has been RENDERED USELESS. Are you seeing it?

  • The devil is rendered useless.
  • Death is rendered useless.
  • The works of the devil have been destroyed.

Our thinking must change to NEW COVENANT thinking, and our language must change to show the work of Christ.

What the devil and unclean spirits did in Old Covenant times will not happen, cannot happen today, BECAUSE JESUS IS ALIVE. Because He defeated death. The witchcraft of foreign nations, from the imitation works of Pharaoh’s magicians to the Gadarene demoniac being possessed with at least 2,000 unclean spirits, cannot happen any longer. The battle in the heavens which prevented an answer to Daniel’s prayer will never happen now. That’s the apostle Paul’s point in these verses. It’s Jesus’ point in Luke 10:19. And there we’ve missed the complete Truth.

Luke 10:19 speaks of our having authority (exousia) over the devil’s ability (dunamis). But we miss that in us and upon us, when we invite Him, is the DUNAMIS OF THE RESURRECTION. We’ve turned the Holy Spirit into nouns, into descriptions and objects.

  • The ANOINTING is the Holy Spirit.
  • THE GLORY OF GOD or of the Lord is the Holy Spirit.
  • The UNCTION referred to in 1 John 2:20 is the Holy Spirit.

And all of our modern references to “A MOVE OF GOD” are the Holy Spirit. He is the VIRTUE which flowed from the hem of Jesus’ garment and, later, from the aprons of Paul. He is the shadow of Peter which healed the sick as he passed by. All references to God’s power to heal, to deliver, and to create are the Spirit. Not just WHAT HE DOES, but they are Him.

Jesus gave us His authority. The Spirit of God is heaven’s power or ability. We must know this, know of our useless enemy, and not take it lightly. Because these are not who we are absent of our relationship with God. Jesus living in us, the Spirit of God connecting us to the Father, is so that They work on our behalf. They work in us and through us.

We are too disconnected in our thinking. We are only able to speak in Jesus’ authority and to lay hands on the sick and see them recover with the Holy Spirit’s ability, because we know Them. Most have knowledge but lack relationship. The name of Jesus works because we speak it hand-in-hand with Him. Because we talk to Him and hear His Voice. The Spirit is His Voice, and I can tell you that He speaks clearly. I never have to wonder what He said or what He meant. He always explains it. And always points to Jesus, who points to the Father. They are ONE, and we have WON because of Jesus’ work on the cross and in being Resurrected.

It’s time we listen to our words and refuse to speak untruths. We must correct our thinking, through time in the Word and time in God’s Presence, who is the Holy Spirit. And stop fighting a war with an enemy that Jesus destroyed.

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

“Now, you know that this man here had weak legs. But Jesus is powerful. Jesus’ authority caused this man’s legs to become strong. This really happened because Jesus is powerful. You can see that. This man believed that Jesus could cause his legs to become strong. SO JESUS MADE HIM WELL. And you yourselves can see that he is walking.” (Acts 3:16, EasyEnglish)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951839477/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6jQgllOAIPUe_z3dHmlOCuTm4fEUl1elifuhM5CjY90dE3g2IqoFIh7WWAsn3mjGJ_qPumCobDH6yEcwFWFvf7aky_JYUnVspNwrfWDWXq-qOwr0ziMdKCn1PKijabsz4DVWroP7Bsyn03EMIJFqmoY_uVYBv_u6PbOw3ncRCvOeRDTQNK_uR9C-K4k/s72-c/New-Covenant-Thinking.jpg "but they are Him"
WE MUST get out of the habit of continually saying things like, “The devil in my ear,” “The devil made me do it,” or “the devil kept at me.” One, because it’s a bad confession. You have what you say (Mark 11:23). But also, it’s based on incorrect knowledge. The truth is, only God is omnipresent, meaning in all places. The devil is not. So that loser cannot be speaking to all of us at the same time. By addressing him one-on-one continually, we overlook the Truth of Scripture.

God said Jesus came to destroy the devil (Hebrews 2:14). The word translated “destroy” there means to “render useless”, and what is useless is of no effect. Yet we talk otherwise.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Hebrews 2:14)

We don’t know really what Jesus did. That is the issue. The church digs up Old Testament Scripture a lot to explain the devil’s work, seeing him as doing what he is no longer able to do. We must know NEW TESTAMENT Truth. Jesus’ Resurrection destroyed all the WORKS of the devil, meaning the doings of unclean spirits, their abilities to harm and harass. In 1 John 3:8, we are told this Truth. The word “destroyed” here means “to dissolve.” This comes from the Spirit.

We CAN ONLY read Scripture with the Spirit. That’s ONLY. Even an unsaved person will see Christ when the Spirit, my Papa, speaks. And a saved one will go astray when they don’t seek His Voice.

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

The devil’s works are dissolved. The devil has been rendered useless. And now, we must read 2 Timothy 1:10. Speaking of “our holy calling”, the apostle Paul says:

“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath ABOLISHED DEATH, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:” (2 Timothy 1:10)

Our Saviour Jesus Christ hath ABOLISHED DEATH. That word “abolished” is the same word from Hebrews 2:14. Death has been RENDERED USELESS. Are you seeing it?

  • The devil is rendered useless.
  • Death is rendered useless.
  • The works of the devil have been destroyed.

Our thinking must change to NEW COVENANT thinking, and our language must change to show the work of Christ.

What the devil and unclean spirits did in Old Covenant times will not happen, cannot happen today, BECAUSE JESUS IS ALIVE. Because He defeated death. The witchcraft of foreign nations, from the imitation works of Pharaoh’s magicians to the Gadarene demoniac being possessed with at least 2,000 unclean spirits, cannot happen any longer. The battle in the heavens which prevented an answer to Daniel’s prayer will never happen now. That’s the apostle Paul’s point in these verses. It’s Jesus’ point in Luke 10:19. And there we’ve missed the complete Truth.

Luke 10:19 speaks of our having authority (exousia) over the devil’s ability (dunamis). But we miss that in us and upon us, when we invite Him, is the DUNAMIS OF THE RESURRECTION. We’ve turned the Holy Spirit into nouns, into descriptions and objects.

  • The ANOINTING is the Holy Spirit.
  • THE GLORY OF GOD or of the Lord is the Holy Spirit.
  • The UNCTION referred to in 1 John 2:20 is the Holy Spirit.

And all of our modern references to “A MOVE OF GOD” are the Holy Spirit. He is the VIRTUE which flowed from the hem of Jesus’ garment and, later, from the aprons of Paul. He is the shadow of Peter which healed the sick as he passed by. All references to God’s power to heal, to deliver, and to create are the Spirit. Not just WHAT HE DOES, but they are Him.

Jesus gave us His authority. The Spirit of God is heaven’s power or ability. We must know this, know of our useless enemy, and not take it lightly. Because these are not who we are absent of our relationship with God. Jesus living in us, the Spirit of God connecting us to the Father, is so that They work on our behalf. They work in us and through us.

We are too disconnected in our thinking. We are only able to speak in Jesus’ authority and to lay hands on the sick and see them recover with the Holy Spirit’s ability, because we know Them. Most have knowledge but lack relationship. The name of Jesus works because we speak it hand-in-hand with Him. Because we talk to Him and hear His Voice. The Spirit is His Voice, and I can tell you that He speaks clearly. I never have to wonder what He said or what He meant. He always explains it. And always points to Jesus, who points to the Father. They are ONE, and we have WON because of Jesus’ work on the cross and in being Resurrected.

It’s time we listen to our words and refuse to speak untruths. We must correct our thinking, through time in the Word and time in God’s Presence, who is the Holy Spirit. And stop fighting a war with an enemy that Jesus destroyed.

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

“Now, you know that this man here had weak legs. But Jesus is powerful. Jesus’ authority caused this man’s legs to become strong. This really happened because Jesus is powerful. You can see that. This man believed that Jesus could cause his legs to become strong. SO JESUS MADE HIM WELL. And you yourselves can see that he is walking.” (Acts 3:16, EasyEnglish)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/glorious.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-509215500758136427Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-24T06:30:00.115-04:00love one anotherGlorious"All tough times come to an end."
PEOPLE ARE meant to be enjoyed. Life is full of people. We are one. We should be happy to meet someone else, have time to listen to them, and rejoice in what God is doing in their life. Maybe that sounds too “out of the can” for you. But a while back, oh, several years ago, I decided not to get uptight when people get in my way. I actually look forward to my family being around me, to spending time with them and having conversations, which, if you know me, conversation is not my best thing. I’m a writer, not a “talker”.

I battled with suicide for a number of years, never at the edge of it, but it wouldn’t shut up. Being frank here. It isn’t a thing now, so no need to write me. I had a revelation of that in recent days from the lives of my family. I had two dear relatives go to heaven, and what a precious thing that is. And it hit me, all that time, with that darkness in my ears, I’d asked what many ask who have been there — Why am I living? What is my motivation? I didn’t really have an answer, but God showed it to me. While some wept and others praised God for these whose lives were so well-lived, there was what I’d asked. My motivation is people. I’m here to help people walk toward heaven in peace and quietness and assurance.

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” (Isaiah 32:17)

I’m not well-equipped for some tasks. I think of those who work in medicine and to quote my mother, “No, no, noooo, no-no, no, noooo.” I know some who are so good at nursing and doctoring. It’s such an admirable trait. Just not one I have. I’m not socially-minded. I said this, but it goes to navigating through groups. Churches love to bunch us up together in a small room. Enter the no-song again. There are other things I’m not good at.

But one thing God has blessed me with is a vision of Jesus, is a daily conversation with Jesus. It came out of a difficult time. When darkness got loud, God got louder. He made sure He could be heard, and as I’ve said before, I didn’t recognize Him. He’s so much kinder and funnier and relaxed than the church’s image of Him. Please, please stop picking at each other over silly things like appearances and personal habits. God isn’t looking at any of that. He doesn’t talk to you like Mr. Know-It-All. This is what I expected. But He talks to you like a friend. I don’t know it all, so I’ll ask a question, wondering about things, as we humans do, and He’ll reply in the same way. And I’m looking at Him now, one eyebrow raised, “Don’t you know the answer?” Of course, He does. But that’s the point. He’s so merciful, so gentle.

One thing I’ve learned is … That thing He’s asked you to do, the one that you balked at? You are capable of it. He never asks us to do anything we can’t accomplish. We have to put down our resistance and pick up His grace. See ourselves clothed in righteousness, in His power, His anointing. And stop staring at the past where we goofed up.

Repent of being shorthanded in your thinking, “I can’t. It’s too hard. I hate doing that.” and realize who He is in you. I know, friend, I get it. I’ve had to do this, and my mind is screaming at me how it’s all going to fail. So I encourage myself instead. I keep saying to myself what the Word says about me, who I am now and how God is WITH me and FOR ME and never leaving or forsaking me. This always pushes me over the hump.

All tough times come to an end. God has the ending of that hard place all prepared for you, and no matter what your head says, your heart should know what He’s planned is wonderful and glorious. Ephesians 3:20 says it will be “exceeding abundantly above” all we can ever think up. He’s proved this to me, and I love Him far beyond words.

“Sometimes it will be difficult for you not to do something wrong. Or it will be difficult not to think something wrong. You will have difficulties like this. But they are the same kind of difficulties that every person has. God always does what he has promised to do. Remember this. He will not let any difficulty be too big for you. He does not want you to do anything wrong because of any difficulty. He will make you strong. He will show you a way out of the difficulty. So then you will be able to do what is right.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, EasyEnglish)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951789287/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwN_kmFRDVSz51Zsw5V1_Xyq9PUFoKrNHIndaJmvxtQBoz6nyjSABNJytVen3UMNnEvC8nhP8RY5x_r9szCpl09JJk5ve_pUdq52g1W02Q0JLPys6K6H70Z-STB1bhokquh9j86DtXnTM9MdLX0kGkWxQJykR2OZsVrnDmtO7PeVTsBOTyB_o1GnuYs4/s72-c/glorious.jpg "All tough times come to an end."
PEOPLE ARE meant to be enjoyed. Life is full of people. We are one. We should be happy to meet someone else, have time to listen to them, and rejoice in what God is doing in their life. Maybe that sounds too “out of the can” for you. But a while back, oh, several years ago, I decided not to get uptight when people get in my way. I actually look forward to my family being around me, to spending time with them and having conversations, which, if you know me, conversation is not my best thing. I’m a writer, not a “talker”.

I battled with suicide for a number of years, never at the edge of it, but it wouldn’t shut up. Being frank here. It isn’t a thing now, so no need to write me. I had a revelation of that in recent days from the lives of my family. I had two dear relatives go to heaven, and what a precious thing that is. And it hit me, all that time, with that darkness in my ears, I’d asked what many ask who have been there — Why am I living? What is my motivation? I didn’t really have an answer, but God showed it to me. While some wept and others praised God for these whose lives were so well-lived, there was what I’d asked. My motivation is people. I’m here to help people walk toward heaven in peace and quietness and assurance.

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” (Isaiah 32:17)

I’m not well-equipped for some tasks. I think of those who work in medicine and to quote my mother, “No, no, noooo, no-no, no, noooo.” I know some who are so good at nursing and doctoring. It’s such an admirable trait. Just not one I have. I’m not socially-minded. I said this, but it goes to navigating through groups. Churches love to bunch us up together in a small room. Enter the no-song again. There are other things I’m not good at.

But one thing God has blessed me with is a vision of Jesus, is a daily conversation with Jesus. It came out of a difficult time. When darkness got loud, God got louder. He made sure He could be heard, and as I’ve said before, I didn’t recognize Him. He’s so much kinder and funnier and relaxed than the church’s image of Him. Please, please stop picking at each other over silly things like appearances and personal habits. God isn’t looking at any of that. He doesn’t talk to you like Mr. Know-It-All. This is what I expected. But He talks to you like a friend. I don’t know it all, so I’ll ask a question, wondering about things, as we humans do, and He’ll reply in the same way. And I’m looking at Him now, one eyebrow raised, “Don’t you know the answer?” Of course, He does. But that’s the point. He’s so merciful, so gentle.

One thing I’ve learned is … That thing He’s asked you to do, the one that you balked at? You are capable of it. He never asks us to do anything we can’t accomplish. We have to put down our resistance and pick up His grace. See ourselves clothed in righteousness, in His power, His anointing. And stop staring at the past where we goofed up.

Repent of being shorthanded in your thinking, “I can’t. It’s too hard. I hate doing that.” and realize who He is in you. I know, friend, I get it. I’ve had to do this, and my mind is screaming at me how it’s all going to fail. So I encourage myself instead. I keep saying to myself what the Word says about me, who I am now and how God is WITH me and FOR ME and never leaving or forsaking me. This always pushes me over the hump.

All tough times come to an end. God has the ending of that hard place all prepared for you, and no matter what your head says, your heart should know what He’s planned is wonderful and glorious. Ephesians 3:20 says it will be “exceeding abundantly above” all we can ever think up. He’s proved this to me, and I love Him far beyond words.

“Sometimes it will be difficult for you not to do something wrong. Or it will be difficult not to think something wrong. You will have difficulties like this. But they are the same kind of difficulties that every person has. God always does what he has promised to do. Remember this. He will not let any difficulty be too big for you. He does not want you to do anything wrong because of any difficulty. He will make you strong. He will show you a way out of the difficulty. So then you will be able to do what is right.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, EasyEnglish)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/nothin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-5299541373186805783Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-23T06:30:00.116-04:00faithNothin'"Faith is unreasonable."
THERE COMES a point on the front lines when you lay down your will to die. You’re starin’ death in the face. It’s gazin’ back at you. But is no longer a thing. You’re no longer afraid.

I’m not sayin’ you’re givin’ up. Depression leads to suicide, whether that’s self-inflicted or because of illness. Sometimes, doing nothing is our gun.

I’m talking Desmond Doss, who saved his entire unit, lowering then one-by-one down a cliff to safety (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss). He knew he was in a death situation. He’d moved past the fear. Past fear is faith. There, in that place, we trust God for everything, knowing He’s our only way out, and He won’t fail.

Abraham raised the knife to slay his son and heard God speak. This is a man without God living in him. There was no salvation yet. It was thousands of years down the road. I mean, just think of it, for a moment. God gave him Isaac when he was 100. That, in itself, is amazing. Abraham believed God for his promised son. And now Isaac’s a grown man, and his father’s just about to lower the knife. What went through his mind?

There’s a wrinkle or two. One, looking forward, Isaac and Ishmael, his half-brother, buried their father together (Genesis 25:9). So no harm done. Second, when Isaac and Abraham went to climb the mountain, Abraham said to his servants, “We’ll be back (Genesis 22:5).” Only in Hebrew. He let it be known that both of them would return. Still … we have that moment for Isaac when his dad’s laid him on the altar.

“Uh, Dad? Where’s the sacrifice?”

God will provide a lamb (Genesis 22:8). And He did. But Abraham passed a point where death was nothing, and he had no fear. Fear comes from what we don’t know. It is a product of the imagination. Meaning our thinking processes. Jesus heals the mind. He can remove fear entirely, where you can’t find it. Or any other of our mental traumas. We renew our mind through time spent reading God’s Word, leaning on the promises of Scripture (Romans 12:2). But the Holy Spirit also renews our mind by tearing down strongholds we cannot on our own (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Not enough is said in the church about God being IN YOU. God being WITH YOU, every day into eternity. We are not alone, never alone. We are His temple, where He lives (1 Corinthians 6:19). He’s right here, waiting to talk. We talk to those who live in our homes. We share house spaces, meals, and quiet time. In the Old Covenant, the priests were continually at the altar, always working in the temple. He filled it. They filled it.

We must seek Him and listen. It is knowing Christ – Father, Son, and Spirit – that removes fear. Because we know who we believe and trust Him completely. Which holds more sway – the doctor’s report, the test numbers, or God’s Word?

Fear is normal. Faith is unreasonable.

A man without legs climbed a high mountain, in the cold. That’s unreasonable. A man with one leg performed the high jump, leaping over the bar higher than anyone else. A blind man crafts beautiful objects from wood. Also unreasonable. A boy with fourth-stage cancer goes on camera, having had one arm removed, to say the bravest words. “I just want to ring that bell.” A young man given a 1% chance of ever walking again decides that’s enough and determines to keep trying. He won’t live this way. Unreasonable.

And from the Word, there’s Abraham, who said, even if God had to resurrect his son, he’d obey (Hebrews 11:19).

What God asks is outside of normal. We must quit reasoning it out, “Did God really ask me to do that?” and instead, take the first step. Because if God wants to raise us up to a higher level, wants us to live in heaven upon this earth, then saying, “Oh, but it can’t be me He’s speaking to,” believing it isn’t you, and you’re not able, whether from doubt, being short-sighted, or humble, will keep us in fear and prevent the exceeding greatness of what God wants to do. At some point, we must let go of our common-sense doubts and believe God.

Mary was a virgin, espoused to a man, who would probably have nothing to do with her when he found out she was expecting. Why did God do it that way? There are several reasons. His Son would be born of His will and not man’s. There’d be no physical lusts involved. But also, He knew Joseph. And Joseph believed the dream and set down what his head said, to do what made no sense. It was unreasonable and, from a human view, seemed risky. Except God was the one speaking, and His Word never fails (Isaiah 55:11). This is the revelation that stands us on the front line, past fear of death, with the wind in our teeth and victory a sure thing. “If God be for me, who can be against me?” (Romans 8:31) As the verse says – No one and nothin’.

God will get all the glory, so often He does things where there is no doubt. Even if it is in our mind alone. We matter to Him. He sees where we stand, knows what we are determined to do, and squeezes out of us the utmost courage. We pass by giving up to go all in, and such was Abraham when God said he’d have more descendants than the sand or the stars. Then one of those descendants penned a psalm, saying God knows all the stars by name.

“What, then, can we possibly say in response to this? Don’t you realize that God is on our side? And if God is for us, who can be against us? God does not need convincing to be good to us; No! It is we who need convincing that God is good to us! If he did not withhold his own Son—but gave him up for us all—don’t you realize that he will withhold nothing good from us? But along with his Son, he will give us all things that are for our good!” (Romans 8:31-32, Remedy)

“By trust, Abraham—when God provided him with an opportunity for victory over fear and self-promotion—chose to trust God and offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, even though he clearly knew that God had said, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be recognized and the promises fulfilled.” But Abraham reasoned that if God could provide Isaac to two barren people, then he could also raise him from the dead (and symbolically, he did receive Isaac back from the dead).” (Hebrews 11:17-19, Remedy)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951686291/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CCO1fh_FkD4Ys46fqxieWsm2_1HR7tre1eYC88App1VzwONlBA-MzrNsKpRsWJLLpAEDQhFlsqqVkhZfbTLmq0xKfbgNviebXRocE5UzlHRzJWEfTjfKmVn4WXcdrlzE4vnUgHabvxqgbbbnWp0DsPXYfcDHY4dEH4EX1czJxCrwoquYxFPFrgnzwy4/s72-c/Nothin.jpg "Faith is unreasonable."
THERE COMES a point on the front lines when you lay down your will to die. You’re starin’ death in the face. It’s gazin’ back at you. But is no longer a thing. You’re no longer afraid.

I’m not sayin’ you’re givin’ up. Depression leads to suicide, whether that’s self-inflicted or because of illness. Sometimes, doing nothing is our gun.

I’m talking Desmond Doss, who saved his entire unit, lowering then one-by-one down a cliff to safety (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss). He knew he was in a death situation. He’d moved past the fear. Past fear is faith. There, in that place, we trust God for everything, knowing He’s our only way out, and He won’t fail.

Abraham raised the knife to slay his son and heard God speak. This is a man without God living in him. There was no salvation yet. It was thousands of years down the road. I mean, just think of it, for a moment. God gave him Isaac when he was 100. That, in itself, is amazing. Abraham believed God for his promised son. And now Isaac’s a grown man, and his father’s just about to lower the knife. What went through his mind?

There’s a wrinkle or two. One, looking forward, Isaac and Ishmael, his half-brother, buried their father together (Genesis 25:9). So no harm done. Second, when Isaac and Abraham went to climb the mountain, Abraham said to his servants, “We’ll be back (Genesis 22:5).” Only in Hebrew. He let it be known that both of them would return. Still … we have that moment for Isaac when his dad’s laid him on the altar.

“Uh, Dad? Where’s the sacrifice?”

God will provide a lamb (Genesis 22:8). And He did. But Abraham passed a point where death was nothing, and he had no fear. Fear comes from what we don’t know. It is a product of the imagination. Meaning our thinking processes. Jesus heals the mind. He can remove fear entirely, where you can’t find it. Or any other of our mental traumas. We renew our mind through time spent reading God’s Word, leaning on the promises of Scripture (Romans 12:2). But the Holy Spirit also renews our mind by tearing down strongholds we cannot on our own (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Not enough is said in the church about God being IN YOU. God being WITH YOU, every day into eternity. We are not alone, never alone. We are His temple, where He lives (1 Corinthians 6:19). He’s right here, waiting to talk. We talk to those who live in our homes. We share house spaces, meals, and quiet time. In the Old Covenant, the priests were continually at the altar, always working in the temple. He filled it. They filled it.

We must seek Him and listen. It is knowing Christ – Father, Son, and Spirit – that removes fear. Because we know who we believe and trust Him completely. Which holds more sway – the doctor’s report, the test numbers, or God’s Word?

Fear is normal. Faith is unreasonable.

A man without legs climbed a high mountain, in the cold. That’s unreasonable. A man with one leg performed the high jump, leaping over the bar higher than anyone else. A blind man crafts beautiful objects from wood. Also unreasonable. A boy with fourth-stage cancer goes on camera, having had one arm removed, to say the bravest words. “I just want to ring that bell.” A young man given a 1% chance of ever walking again decides that’s enough and determines to keep trying. He won’t live this way. Unreasonable.

And from the Word, there’s Abraham, who said, even if God had to resurrect his son, he’d obey (Hebrews 11:19).

What God asks is outside of normal. We must quit reasoning it out, “Did God really ask me to do that?” and instead, take the first step. Because if God wants to raise us up to a higher level, wants us to live in heaven upon this earth, then saying, “Oh, but it can’t be me He’s speaking to,” believing it isn’t you, and you’re not able, whether from doubt, being short-sighted, or humble, will keep us in fear and prevent the exceeding greatness of what God wants to do. At some point, we must let go of our common-sense doubts and believe God.

Mary was a virgin, espoused to a man, who would probably have nothing to do with her when he found out she was expecting. Why did God do it that way? There are several reasons. His Son would be born of His will and not man’s. There’d be no physical lusts involved. But also, He knew Joseph. And Joseph believed the dream and set down what his head said, to do what made no sense. It was unreasonable and, from a human view, seemed risky. Except God was the one speaking, and His Word never fails (Isaiah 55:11). This is the revelation that stands us on the front line, past fear of death, with the wind in our teeth and victory a sure thing. “If God be for me, who can be against me?” (Romans 8:31) As the verse says – No one and nothin’.

God will get all the glory, so often He does things where there is no doubt. Even if it is in our mind alone. We matter to Him. He sees where we stand, knows what we are determined to do, and squeezes out of us the utmost courage. We pass by giving up to go all in, and such was Abraham when God said he’d have more descendants than the sand or the stars. Then one of those descendants penned a psalm, saying God knows all the stars by name.

“What, then, can we possibly say in response to this? Don’t you realize that God is on our side? And if God is for us, who can be against us? God does not need convincing to be good to us; No! It is we who need convincing that God is good to us! If he did not withhold his own Son—but gave him up for us all—don’t you realize that he will withhold nothing good from us? But along with his Son, he will give us all things that are for our good!” (Romans 8:31-32, Remedy)

“By trust, Abraham—when God provided him with an opportunity for victory over fear and self-promotion—chose to trust God and offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, even though he clearly knew that God had said, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be recognized and the promises fulfilled.” But Abraham reasoned that if God could provide Isaac to two barren people, then he could also raise him from the dead (and symbolically, he did receive Isaac back from the dead).” (Hebrews 11:17-19, Remedy)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/them.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-8282703501488325052Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-22T06:30:00.123-04:00IsraelThem."and find out His name is Jesus"
A JEW faithful to his/her beliefs, worshipping Hashem and looking for Mashiach believes in heaven (Paradise) upon death. God is merciful to all men. He alone knows all hearts.

Which is more godly? A Christian who condemns Jews to hell for not believing in Jesus by name and so also His death and Resurrection? Such was Hitler in a fashion. Or a Jew who doesn’t know Jesus by name but trusts their covenant with the living God? Are both wrong, or is one of them correct? Condemnation isn’t Jesus, nor the Father, nor the Holy Spirit. John 3:17. We are told not to condemn or criticize others. We are not to argue or create strife but be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). We are to bless the Jews.

We are told by Paul we have not replaced Israel on the vine. IT IS NOT us now and not them.

“Israel’s people are like the branches that God broke off. But you must not think that you are better than those proper branches. If you do begin to think like that, then you should remember something. Remember that you are only a branch. You do not hold the root up and you do not make it strong. No, instead the root holds you up and it makes you strong.” (Romans 11:18, EasyEnglish)

So what of these thoughts? Heard the answer today and rejoiced, the happiest I can recall being. It began with a word about a friend. Minister Jesse Duplantis’ vision of heaven came back to me and words from another who has had visits to heaven. Both talked of God’s mercy in who they saw there. Along that thought was God’s reassurance that broken marriages and personal failures do not keep Jesus from people. Nor do the myriads of religious rules made in churches. What joy there is to those who see heaven’s beauty and learn this.

Is hell full of condemned GOOD PEOPLE? Whose lives misstepped because of marriage failures, broken church doctrines, or a failure to meet the social requirements of their times. Those who divorced, but their church didn’t believe in divorce? Or one who remarried and that’s wrong? If this is the case, then would a GOOD GOD, a LOVING GOD, a MERCIFUL GOD send them to hell? Where is any of GOOD, LOVING, MERCY in that? That is the behavior of devils.

Minister Duplantis saw a man fall on his face in heaven’s courtyard and cry out, “I MADE IT!” The angel in attendance on him said, “God is merciful.” This is what I saw of my friend there. And that Jews face their Messiah and find out His name is Jesus. God is merciful. Heaven is full of those standing right beside the pastor they disliked, the believer they shunned, and the son or daughter they thought wouldn’t come. Only in God’s Presence there is no difference.

1 Corinthians 13 tells us we have but a small amount of knowledge. We are just a foggy mirror with the barest image (V12).

Abraham was righteous and died unsaved. Jesus told a story of him with a poor man in Paradise (Luke 16:23), so he is there. King David was righteous but had many wives, one which he stole from a man he had killed. Yet, the Word says he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). And what of Solomon who built the temple at God’s bidding? Or Noah who is listed with many in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11)? What of the prophets? We’ve written all Jews off because of men like the Pharisees. But in a video, I watched a 106-year-old Holocaust survivor speak so tenderly of the care Hashem had for him. A Jewish boy of about 5 prayed to Hashem for those watching, quoting Scripture. The father of a survivor of those held by Hamas cried out his praise to Adonai for rescuing his son.

So one who calls themself a Jew, raised as a Jew, believing Mashiach is real and in heaven and God is merciful to them upon death, or even if they are unsure of it but hold to God’s promises, will find themselves cast into the cruelty of judgment? Or is it they will find a merciful God waiting to show them glorious things, the likes of which they have always known?

The church doesn’t call the shots. God does.

"Now, at this time, we know only a small part of everything that is true. And we can tell other people only a small part of the messages that come from God. Now, we have only a part of what God wants to give to us. But the time will come when he will give everything to us completely. Then we will not have only a part any longer." (1 Corinthians 13:9-10, EasyEnglish)

"Now we see things as if we were looking at them in a dark mirror. What we see is not clear. But the time will come when we will see everything clearly. Now we know some things, but then we will understand all things. God knows us and he understands us completely. And we will understand like that too, then." (1 Corinthians 13:12, EasyEnglish)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

Photo by Nikola Knezevic on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951595331/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVeCxQkDuEVyCHuDFOWiCdV24CLKJzOVMB561N5cGNxxcG-mmInyxXfBPuGRx7gPTfj3m-x2uxm5qcp8EVTBKISXmePUDU9ZySdlOMEMbmCEMNign0JjyvynodBIPBl3W1Es8u5vNtV58-sT6e5Cc71TcJp06quYl-E-1IaCgQvVqF3aU1aiRpSzwLf8/s72-c/Them.jpg "and find out His name is Jesus"
A JEW faithful to his/her beliefs, worshipping Hashem and looking for Mashiach believes in heaven (Paradise) upon death. God is merciful to all men. He alone knows all hearts.

Which is more godly? A Christian who condemns Jews to hell for not believing in Jesus by name and so also His death and Resurrection? Such was Hitler in a fashion. Or a Jew who doesn’t know Jesus by name but trusts their covenant with the living God? Are both wrong, or is one of them correct? Condemnation isn’t Jesus, nor the Father, nor the Holy Spirit. John 3:17. We are told not to condemn or criticize others. We are not to argue or create strife but be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). We are to bless the Jews.

We are told by Paul we have not replaced Israel on the vine. IT IS NOT us now and not them.

“Israel’s people are like the branches that God broke off. But you must not think that you are better than those proper branches. If you do begin to think like that, then you should remember something. Remember that you are only a branch. You do not hold the root up and you do not make it strong. No, instead the root holds you up and it makes you strong.” (Romans 11:18, EasyEnglish)

So what of these thoughts? Heard the answer today and rejoiced, the happiest I can recall being. It began with a word about a friend. Minister Jesse Duplantis’ vision of heaven came back to me and words from another who has had visits to heaven. Both talked of God’s mercy in who they saw there. Along that thought was God’s reassurance that broken marriages and personal failures do not keep Jesus from people. Nor do the myriads of religious rules made in churches. What joy there is to those who see heaven’s beauty and learn this.

Is hell full of condemned GOOD PEOPLE? Whose lives misstepped because of marriage failures, broken church doctrines, or a failure to meet the social requirements of their times. Those who divorced, but their church didn’t believe in divorce? Or one who remarried and that’s wrong? If this is the case, then would a GOOD GOD, a LOVING GOD, a MERCIFUL GOD send them to hell? Where is any of GOOD, LOVING, MERCY in that? That is the behavior of devils.

Minister Duplantis saw a man fall on his face in heaven’s courtyard and cry out, “I MADE IT!” The angel in attendance on him said, “God is merciful.” This is what I saw of my friend there. And that Jews face their Messiah and find out His name is Jesus. God is merciful. Heaven is full of those standing right beside the pastor they disliked, the believer they shunned, and the son or daughter they thought wouldn’t come. Only in God’s Presence there is no difference.

1 Corinthians 13 tells us we have but a small amount of knowledge. We are just a foggy mirror with the barest image (V12).

Abraham was righteous and died unsaved. Jesus told a story of him with a poor man in Paradise (Luke 16:23), so he is there. King David was righteous but had many wives, one which he stole from a man he had killed. Yet, the Word says he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). And what of Solomon who built the temple at God’s bidding? Or Noah who is listed with many in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11)? What of the prophets? We’ve written all Jews off because of men like the Pharisees. But in a video, I watched a 106-year-old Holocaust survivor speak so tenderly of the care Hashem had for him. A Jewish boy of about 5 prayed to Hashem for those watching, quoting Scripture. The father of a survivor of those held by Hamas cried out his praise to Adonai for rescuing his son.

So one who calls themself a Jew, raised as a Jew, believing Mashiach is real and in heaven and God is merciful to them upon death, or even if they are unsure of it but hold to God’s promises, will find themselves cast into the cruelty of judgment? Or is it they will find a merciful God waiting to show them glorious things, the likes of which they have always known?

The church doesn’t call the shots. God does.

"Now, at this time, we know only a small part of everything that is true. And we can tell other people only a small part of the messages that come from God. Now, we have only a part of what God wants to give to us. But the time will come when he will give everything to us completely. Then we will not have only a part any longer." (1 Corinthians 13:9-10, EasyEnglish)

"Now we see things as if we were looking at them in a dark mirror. What we see is not clear. But the time will come when we will see everything clearly. Now we know some things, but then we will understand all things. God knows us and he understands us completely. And we will understand like that too, then." (1 Corinthians 13:12, EasyEnglish)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

Photo by Nikola Knezevic on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/that-jesus.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-6126071051036988001Sat, 21 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-21T06:30:00.116-04:00JesusThat Jesus"God would do that for you."
I MADE A rabbit trail off the main path, choosing to follow the thoughts in my head, and eventually ran out of places to roam. Staring ahead, I decided to circle back and discovered the only one who’d moved in all that time was me. God was right where I’d left Him. The pictures given from my doubts had drawn Him differently. Suddenly, I was not in the right place, and He wanted me to move. He went from patient and kind to hard and demanding. Except, now that I’ve found His footsteps again, I see I was wrong.

It took me three or four times like this to wake up and realize I could keep Him the same. He is walking with me, before me and behind me, teaching me the better way. It is human-things, darkness nipping at my ears, that causes me to think wrong. We are all like this, and the church hasn’t helped. The image I had of God before He spoke to me was church-driven and all wrong. Their hearts are right, the people in the church, but once you’ve seen “end of trail” you can’t walk the same. Once you’ve heard Jesus, you can’t believe how real He is. You can’t believe how stupid you are.

There are things you will never say when you meet Him. Most everything that depicts Him. Go to any free photo website and all the pictures imagined of Him aren’t right. Mostly they’re white people, and Jesus is a second century Jew. But I’ve seen others from mountaineer Jesus to 1970s dude Jesus. The fact is, the most trustworthy image of Him I’ve been given came from my grandfather before his death. He had a vision and said, “Jesus is beautiful.” That’ll do.

And I can tell you He’s humble, He’s funny, He’s kind. He’s not arrogant at all, not judgmental. He is exactly who you think He is when you’re on your face worshiping the One you know died for you. That moment, where there’s tears in your eyes, and you can’t believe God would do that for you. He’s that Jesus.

Not concerned with having all our i’s dotted and our t’s crossed. We’re picking each other apart for skin color, doctrinal beliefs, styles of songs and prayers. He’s not worried about any of that. While we get onto each other for crossing and uncrossing our legs, for wearing shorts, for not using hymnals, and a thousand other broken church rules, He’s smiling, His hands out, wanting us to put it all down. Stop worrying if you’ve broken something and just rejoice that you’ve gained Him.

That’s enough.

Mark 1:16-20
“Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (17) And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (18) And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. (19) And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. (20) And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.”

Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951521633/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eicIShkMvfd85bVSiBzZ-CeOO1Cmsr-7HW5Os59dvhVYUMNvwx3Fe1oXl8J0Pi_7zZGFEWbwedkNC9zyKllmh14bJADHb4cIYs0ADQkpq_2QCE1QEjVhkER3-sHUr2Zfvf9mJv13Ov6XaoAGR964FY_6iTFRmGh5TvlIHs0GwZWlYLmA9nfXMvkBErs/s72-c/that-Jesus.jpg "God would do that for you."
I MADE A rabbit trail off the main path, choosing to follow the thoughts in my head, and eventually ran out of places to roam. Staring ahead, I decided to circle back and discovered the only one who’d moved in all that time was me. God was right where I’d left Him. The pictures given from my doubts had drawn Him differently. Suddenly, I was not in the right place, and He wanted me to move. He went from patient and kind to hard and demanding. Except, now that I’ve found His footsteps again, I see I was wrong.

It took me three or four times like this to wake up and realize I could keep Him the same. He is walking with me, before me and behind me, teaching me the better way. It is human-things, darkness nipping at my ears, that causes me to think wrong. We are all like this, and the church hasn’t helped. The image I had of God before He spoke to me was church-driven and all wrong. Their hearts are right, the people in the church, but once you’ve seen “end of trail” you can’t walk the same. Once you’ve heard Jesus, you can’t believe how real He is. You can’t believe how stupid you are.

There are things you will never say when you meet Him. Most everything that depicts Him. Go to any free photo website and all the pictures imagined of Him aren’t right. Mostly they’re white people, and Jesus is a second century Jew. But I’ve seen others from mountaineer Jesus to 1970s dude Jesus. The fact is, the most trustworthy image of Him I’ve been given came from my grandfather before his death. He had a vision and said, “Jesus is beautiful.” That’ll do.

And I can tell you He’s humble, He’s funny, He’s kind. He’s not arrogant at all, not judgmental. He is exactly who you think He is when you’re on your face worshiping the One you know died for you. That moment, where there’s tears in your eyes, and you can’t believe God would do that for you. He’s that Jesus.

Not concerned with having all our i’s dotted and our t’s crossed. We’re picking each other apart for skin color, doctrinal beliefs, styles of songs and prayers. He’s not worried about any of that. While we get onto each other for crossing and uncrossing our legs, for wearing shorts, for not using hymnals, and a thousand other broken church rules, He’s smiling, His hands out, wanting us to put it all down. Stop worrying if you’ve broken something and just rejoice that you’ve gained Him.

That’s enough.

Mark 1:16-20
“Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (17) And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (18) And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. (19) And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. (20) And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.”

Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/wisdom.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-7558627928452069Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-20T06:30:00.123-04:00God the FatherWisdom"He's only ever working to show us what He sees."
THE FATHER has complete knowledge. He knows all things in any situation, every word spoken, every word thought, all things done in the dark or in the Light (Psalm 139:12). What most assume He has done in His wrath is actually what He has done in His wisdom. Not wrath. Wisdom. Because He knows everything.

Take His famous conversation with Moses. He told Moses He would destroy Israel and start over with him (Exodus 32:10). From Moses He’d make His people. Moses then pleaded with Him to spare the nation, and it says God “repented” and promised to show mercy. Now, temporarily skipping the true meaning of all that, we must see what happened next because what we’ve assumed about God there is wrong.

After God said He would show mercy, He tells Moses to go back down the mountain and see what Israel is doing. So Moses obeys, only to find the nation worshiping the golden calf (pretty vilely, I might add), and he loses it. He breaks the tablets upon which God had written the Ten Commandments of the Law, he grinds the calf to powder and stirs it into their drinking water, forcing them to drink it, and he gathers the sons of Levi to him and sends them through the camp where they slaughter 3,000 men.

What we see here isn’t God’s anger but Moses’s. And we know he did not enter the Promised Land, years later, because he got mad (Deuteronomy 34:4).

God’s actions were done from His complete knowledge. He knew the beginning and how it would end. He didn’t have to assume things or guess at things or draw conclusions. He meant what He said when He decreed to Moses His punishment for Israel, but He said it because He knew them. He knew every person in Israel. He knew Moses from stem to stern. It wasn’t His wrath on display, not how we have pictured it incorrectly. It was His wisdom and intolerance for sin.

Even that is wrong in our ears. God is mercy. Period. Exclamation point. He’s ALWAYS longsuffering, ALWAYS compassion, ALWAYS patient and kind. But He is holy, so He and sin don’t mix. He is not tainted with it. That is not possible (James 1:13). Instead, what is sinful will not survive when placed in His Presence. He loved Israel. He’d rescued them from Egypt with mighty miracles. He’d blessed them with safety and abundance. Not even their shoes wore out in their wanderings (Deuteronomy 29:5). He adored Moses. He’d chosen him as his prophet from before his birth and protected him from being slaughtered at Pharaoh’s edict (Exodus 2:10). What God wanted was for Israel to trust Him and enter the Promised Land, believing in His promise to them, and for Moses to lead the way. What happened instead was Israel balked and wept, “We’re all gonna die!” and Moses blew up, again, and struck the rock of Christ twice (Numbers 20:11-12).

God only works in us from wisdom and never from any of the moods and reasonings of darkness. There’s no dark in Him (1 John 1:5). He’s never trying to teach us something by making us suffer pain and sickness and oppression. He’s only ever working to show us what He sees. He wanted Israel and Moses to have His point-of-view, and if they had, it would be a different story.

God’s wrath is where He is forced to let us go because we aren’t listening. Jesus loved Judas, He pleaded to the Father for Judas but, in the end, had to let him go. Judas was filled with Satan (John 13:27). He’d turned totally against God. So have unclean spirits. Jesus didn’t die for them. He died as a man for all mankind. Though God knows each unclean spirit, when they were created, how they sinned, and everything they’ve said and done, though He is love and they were created from the love and glory of God, they are now empty of Him and stand in the wrath, or we might say absent of God.

Satan sets the example. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the Holy Spirit led Him there for that reason. It was God’s doing. But we see that Satan didn’t know who Jesus was, despite having stood before Him in Job 1. (God – Father, Son, and Spirit – are ONE always.) Satan says, “If you are God …” IF. Then proceeds to tempt Jesus to sin, not realizing the Holy Spirit was present in fullness (John 3:34). Jesus had the completeness of the Spirit in and upon Him. Yet, there was Satan, empty of God, standing beside the complete Presence of God, without any idea.

How much greater is God’s mercy then, since He knows how we are, where we’ve misstepped, and his mercy toward those who deserve severe judgment? That He has all knowledge and still loved us enough to become human and die a cruel death is far, far more than we can ever grasp or think. It certainly x’s out what we’ve called the wrath of God. Put simple, God is good and seeks to do good. It isn’t in Him to condemn anything. He’s too big, too grand, for that.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” (James 1:13)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951410171/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-oyT6TxdQ2ioZLXoFPbRmKPwdfbVV-zQm_Ui4dM9lTEjxYLAgKJexaUtmOLCdhyphenhyphenrR8ZrCKyQGUTeKPKBVWjeiIUuEZSt7Rmb1GKZaZwko0G68UdqF2kKqgZFmtUy8paZWMbvC5N2C3gyST2CQ6gMJlQ0P4o6kHB_953nQ3haZOQQx8muSztbxWrlAFk/s72-c/wisdom.jpg "He's only ever working to show us what He sees."
THE FATHER has complete knowledge. He knows all things in any situation, every word spoken, every word thought, all things done in the dark or in the Light (Psalm 139:12). What most assume He has done in His wrath is actually what He has done in His wisdom. Not wrath. Wisdom. Because He knows everything.

Take His famous conversation with Moses. He told Moses He would destroy Israel and start over with him (Exodus 32:10). From Moses He’d make His people. Moses then pleaded with Him to spare the nation, and it says God “repented” and promised to show mercy. Now, temporarily skipping the true meaning of all that, we must see what happened next because what we’ve assumed about God there is wrong.

After God said He would show mercy, He tells Moses to go back down the mountain and see what Israel is doing. So Moses obeys, only to find the nation worshiping the golden calf (pretty vilely, I might add), and he loses it. He breaks the tablets upon which God had written the Ten Commandments of the Law, he grinds the calf to powder and stirs it into their drinking water, forcing them to drink it, and he gathers the sons of Levi to him and sends them through the camp where they slaughter 3,000 men.

What we see here isn’t God’s anger but Moses’s. And we know he did not enter the Promised Land, years later, because he got mad (Deuteronomy 34:4).

God’s actions were done from His complete knowledge. He knew the beginning and how it would end. He didn’t have to assume things or guess at things or draw conclusions. He meant what He said when He decreed to Moses His punishment for Israel, but He said it because He knew them. He knew every person in Israel. He knew Moses from stem to stern. It wasn’t His wrath on display, not how we have pictured it incorrectly. It was His wisdom and intolerance for sin.

Even that is wrong in our ears. God is mercy. Period. Exclamation point. He’s ALWAYS longsuffering, ALWAYS compassion, ALWAYS patient and kind. But He is holy, so He and sin don’t mix. He is not tainted with it. That is not possible (James 1:13). Instead, what is sinful will not survive when placed in His Presence. He loved Israel. He’d rescued them from Egypt with mighty miracles. He’d blessed them with safety and abundance. Not even their shoes wore out in their wanderings (Deuteronomy 29:5). He adored Moses. He’d chosen him as his prophet from before his birth and protected him from being slaughtered at Pharaoh’s edict (Exodus 2:10). What God wanted was for Israel to trust Him and enter the Promised Land, believing in His promise to them, and for Moses to lead the way. What happened instead was Israel balked and wept, “We’re all gonna die!” and Moses blew up, again, and struck the rock of Christ twice (Numbers 20:11-12).

God only works in us from wisdom and never from any of the moods and reasonings of darkness. There’s no dark in Him (1 John 1:5). He’s never trying to teach us something by making us suffer pain and sickness and oppression. He’s only ever working to show us what He sees. He wanted Israel and Moses to have His point-of-view, and if they had, it would be a different story.

God’s wrath is where He is forced to let us go because we aren’t listening. Jesus loved Judas, He pleaded to the Father for Judas but, in the end, had to let him go. Judas was filled with Satan (John 13:27). He’d turned totally against God. So have unclean spirits. Jesus didn’t die for them. He died as a man for all mankind. Though God knows each unclean spirit, when they were created, how they sinned, and everything they’ve said and done, though He is love and they were created from the love and glory of God, they are now empty of Him and stand in the wrath, or we might say absent of God.

Satan sets the example. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the Holy Spirit led Him there for that reason. It was God’s doing. But we see that Satan didn’t know who Jesus was, despite having stood before Him in Job 1. (God – Father, Son, and Spirit – are ONE always.) Satan says, “If you are God …” IF. Then proceeds to tempt Jesus to sin, not realizing the Holy Spirit was present in fullness (John 3:34). Jesus had the completeness of the Spirit in and upon Him. Yet, there was Satan, empty of God, standing beside the complete Presence of God, without any idea.

How much greater is God’s mercy then, since He knows how we are, where we’ve misstepped, and his mercy toward those who deserve severe judgment? That He has all knowledge and still loved us enough to become human and die a cruel death is far, far more than we can ever grasp or think. It certainly x’s out what we’ve called the wrath of God. Put simple, God is good and seeks to do good. It isn’t in Him to condemn anything. He’s too big, too grand, for that.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” (James 1:13)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/savior-of-world.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-3580857797614575093Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-19T06:30:00.125-04:00God is mercySavior Of The World"He is FOR US."
THERE IS therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. None. Zippo. Zilch. Nada. (John 3:17; Romans 8:1) God will never do nor ask you to do anything which comes from condemnation or gives you condemnation. He would actually rather do nothing and stay silent than condemn you.

The word “judgment” used in the Word means “mercy.” MERCY (James 2:13). Pound that into your thick skull. God is mercy. His judgment is mercy. And yes, this even applies to the end of time. Because God is GOD. You do know the stars keep replicating? They are forever expanding. He’s that big, that fruitful, that powerful.

I once asked Him why He took 6 days to create the earth when He could have done it in seconds. He replied, “I began time in order to end time.” Which makes total sense. He is the first and the last, it says in John’s Revelation (1:11), the beginning and the ending. He made the first sacrifice, clothing Adam and Eve. He made the last sacrifice in the death of His Son. All things are in His control.

There are some who disagree with this. God gave us free choice, they say. And this is true. But it is also true that He planned the birth, life, and death of Jesus, and has already stated how the earth will be renewed and that we, the church, will go to meet Him in the air. These things are certain and will happen as He’s said. His Word never returns to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). The Truth is actually in the center of both thoughts, in that He knows all things and so makes His will known according to what He knows, which is everything.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

He doesn’t need condemnation to get things done. He is the Source of wisdom. He cannot fail, will not make mistakes. We, on the other hand, are full of doubts. We need to see these as they are. God is good. He is FOR US. He is always working our good (Romans 8:28). So anything that makes us doubt, gives us fear, condemnation, or any wild emotions that cause rash behavior, is not Him.

The church would say, “It’s the devil.” But that’s not the answer either. The devil is not a thing. What he used to do before Jesus was Resurrected, he can no longer do. Look in the OT at what he caused – by Egypt’s magicians, in Job’s destruction, and the fight of the angels against devils to bring a message to Daniel – all of these are done. In the gospels, there will never be a man consumed by 2,000 unclean spirits again. It can’t be done as all the works of Satan are dissolved (1 John 3:8).

God and that loser are not walking hand-in-hand. Jesus taught this one day to some who were saying so. “You’re doing miracles by Satan,” they said. But Satan cannot fight against Satan or his kingdom will fall (Matthew 12:26). We’ve read that and thought He meant, so Satan was organized and had his act together. WRONG. He meant Satan was falling apart. Satan, a fallen angel, tempted God who created Him (Jesus, John 1:1), with a Scripture about the legitimate work of actual godly angels, and didn’t recognize Him, right in front of him (Luke 4:9). There’s nothing to stand on there. Jesus came to destroy the devil (Hebrews 2:14)

It’s not the devil that makes us doubt. It is sin and darkness he caused, however. And Jesus won the victory over all of that. So that we could enjoy life, with all our needs met, in health and safety. It’s like this: HE IS THE SAVIOR.

“Ha! Death, where is your victory now? Ha! Death, now, where is your bite?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, Remedy)

Earth Photo by Gaël Gaborel - OrbisTerrae on Unsplash
Star Background Illustration by Planet Volumes on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951184094/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7YZL5P3pb8j_EHNG0uBxQtdTlEimEGPUzsEouIek01htYQy3n-KFoHD0wyFxgSdcXG1qYQsLS2bLPv6wRuOiLC6NxBTTtxG1wQj9M6PSPC87sMxFxVU5KBTWELAMOAZBnnPXyCVQ2coYGGZA78OtanskGI8mZbtGv3_ksG5MJisQQV8c4Vw01v69x5Eg/s72-c/SAVIOR-OF-THE-WORLD.jpg "He is FOR US."
THERE IS therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. None. Zippo. Zilch. Nada. (John 3:17; Romans 8:1) God will never do nor ask you to do anything which comes from condemnation or gives you condemnation. He would actually rather do nothing and stay silent than condemn you.

The word “judgment” used in the Word means “mercy.” MERCY (James 2:13). Pound that into your thick skull. God is mercy. His judgment is mercy. And yes, this even applies to the end of time. Because God is GOD. You do know the stars keep replicating? They are forever expanding. He’s that big, that fruitful, that powerful.

I once asked Him why He took 6 days to create the earth when He could have done it in seconds. He replied, “I began time in order to end time.” Which makes total sense. He is the first and the last, it says in John’s Revelation (1:11), the beginning and the ending. He made the first sacrifice, clothing Adam and Eve. He made the last sacrifice in the death of His Son. All things are in His control.

There are some who disagree with this. God gave us free choice, they say. And this is true. But it is also true that He planned the birth, life, and death of Jesus, and has already stated how the earth will be renewed and that we, the church, will go to meet Him in the air. These things are certain and will happen as He’s said. His Word never returns to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). The Truth is actually in the center of both thoughts, in that He knows all things and so makes His will known according to what He knows, which is everything.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

He doesn’t need condemnation to get things done. He is the Source of wisdom. He cannot fail, will not make mistakes. We, on the other hand, are full of doubts. We need to see these as they are. God is good. He is FOR US. He is always working our good (Romans 8:28). So anything that makes us doubt, gives us fear, condemnation, or any wild emotions that cause rash behavior, is not Him.

The church would say, “It’s the devil.” But that’s not the answer either. The devil is not a thing. What he used to do before Jesus was Resurrected, he can no longer do. Look in the OT at what he caused – by Egypt’s magicians, in Job’s destruction, and the fight of the angels against devils to bring a message to Daniel – all of these are done. In the gospels, there will never be a man consumed by 2,000 unclean spirits again. It can’t be done as all the works of Satan are dissolved (1 John 3:8).

God and that loser are not walking hand-in-hand. Jesus taught this one day to some who were saying so. “You’re doing miracles by Satan,” they said. But Satan cannot fight against Satan or his kingdom will fall (Matthew 12:26). We’ve read that and thought He meant, so Satan was organized and had his act together. WRONG. He meant Satan was falling apart. Satan, a fallen angel, tempted God who created Him (Jesus, John 1:1), with a Scripture about the legitimate work of actual godly angels, and didn’t recognize Him, right in front of him (Luke 4:9). There’s nothing to stand on there. Jesus came to destroy the devil (Hebrews 2:14)

It’s not the devil that makes us doubt. It is sin and darkness he caused, however. And Jesus won the victory over all of that. So that we could enjoy life, with all our needs met, in health and safety. It’s like this: HE IS THE SAVIOR.

“Ha! Death, where is your victory now? Ha! Death, now, where is your bite?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, Remedy)

Earth Photo by Gaël Gaborel - OrbisTerrae on Unsplash
Star Background Illustration by Planet Volumes on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/seedtime-and-harvest.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-1454993860395750837Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-18T06:30:00.120-04:00genesisGod is mercySeedtime And Harvest"there wouldn't be a next time"
THE DEVIL filled the earth with violence (chamas, Genesis 6:13), and God waited until there were only 8 righteous people left. Read that again. THE DEVIL FILLED THE EARTH WITH VIOLENCE. Not God. He is not violent. He is longsuffering, and He waited until there was no one who would repent. Just Noah’s family still worshipped Him. Noah preached righteousness, holiness (2 Peter 2:5). No one listened.

So God cleansed the earth with a flood.

GOD DID NOT in His anger, destroy His creation. HE DID NOT grow tired of it all and decide to just do away with mankind. HE DID NOT allow the violence until the earth was full and then drown everyone to start over. He saved the eight people who loved him. But only after, He’d given every man alive a chance to live.

Then after the flood, after God designed the boat and closed Noah in it (Genesis 7:16), after the waters receded and life returned, trees that had been underwater for months sprouted leaves. The dove Noah released didn’t return (Genesis 8:12). God’s life remained. After the flood, when Noah offered a sacrifice to God and continued his faithful worship, God made the earth a promise.

He gave promise to Noah. He gave a promise to the earth.

He said there would always be seedtime and harvest (Genesis 8:22). He said He would never more cleanse the earth with a flood (Isaiah 54:9). Not because He’d destroy us another way. Not because next time there’d be raging fire.

But because there wouldn’t be a next time. God promised that righteousness, that godliness, would far outweigh sin, that there wouldn’t be a whole world of violence like that. He promised to cleanse the souls of men and rescue them from sin and death by sending a Messiah.

“And the LORD God said unto the serpent … And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

There’d be seedtime and harvest. The goodness of God. Creation’s beauty as He’d originally set it in motion. And a permanent supernatural solution.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The predicted war of John’s Revelation won’t happen. The explosion which men think will come to wipe out the earth is not what’s written (Revelation 21:1). God is peace (Luke 2:14). The GOD OF PEACE sent the PRINCE OF PEACE with the GOSPEL OF PEACE to send the SPIRIT OF PEACE so there’d be PEACE ON EARTH goodwill to men.

The GOD OF ALL COMFORT came to comfort us so that we could comfort others with His comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

What happened wasn’t a natural flood, wasn’t a war, wasn’t a battle between Israel and Rome, wasn’t a clash of supernatural forces like no one had ever seen. Nor thousands of angels called down from heaven (Matthew 26:53). How God cleansed the world was the death of His Son, who laid down His life (no one could take it from Him), and without complaint, without defense, as the Lamb of God, He took away the sins of the world and gave us eternal life.

The flood this time is an ocean of love without a shoreline, without a depth. It is the healing of people’s hearts, the mending of lives, the cleansing of minds. God came to live with us, and seedtime and harvest remains.

“And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:20-22)

“Who, then, shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Shall problems, or hardships, or criticism, or persecution, or hunger, or disease, or homelessness, or nakedness, or imprisonment, or financial ruin, or terrorists, or war? … In all things—no matter what we face—we are more than conquerors through trust in him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35,37, Remedy)

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1)

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950937227/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cRMagnTu2vRHtCdCuK1C0M7weAV4OmyYwT8Zl8e7fb5-wN88NHJqF_EcCftCU_aV3uls1SJ9W6821kAhZalhEkoMSIbl-pjV7NrARJRnpi_zVMBzInYZoGc8Mjz4sE_XnRWIBwH3RlFhn-1dKcQovnoJquPU4IHIvKycyG3TUFnjx4tW4acyqbL-czk/s72-c/seedtime-and-harvest.jpg "there wouldn't be a next time"
THE DEVIL filled the earth with violence (chamas, Genesis 6:13), and God waited until there were only 8 righteous people left. Read that again. THE DEVIL FILLED THE EARTH WITH VIOLENCE. Not God. He is not violent. He is longsuffering, and He waited until there was no one who would repent. Just Noah’s family still worshipped Him. Noah preached righteousness, holiness (2 Peter 2:5). No one listened.

So God cleansed the earth with a flood.

GOD DID NOT in His anger, destroy His creation. HE DID NOT grow tired of it all and decide to just do away with mankind. HE DID NOT allow the violence until the earth was full and then drown everyone to start over. He saved the eight people who loved him. But only after, He’d given every man alive a chance to live.

Then after the flood, after God designed the boat and closed Noah in it (Genesis 7:16), after the waters receded and life returned, trees that had been underwater for months sprouted leaves. The dove Noah released didn’t return (Genesis 8:12). God’s life remained. After the flood, when Noah offered a sacrifice to God and continued his faithful worship, God made the earth a promise.

He gave promise to Noah. He gave a promise to the earth.

He said there would always be seedtime and harvest (Genesis 8:22). He said He would never more cleanse the earth with a flood (Isaiah 54:9). Not because He’d destroy us another way. Not because next time there’d be raging fire.

But because there wouldn’t be a next time. God promised that righteousness, that godliness, would far outweigh sin, that there wouldn’t be a whole world of violence like that. He promised to cleanse the souls of men and rescue them from sin and death by sending a Messiah.

“And the LORD God said unto the serpent … And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

There’d be seedtime and harvest. The goodness of God. Creation’s beauty as He’d originally set it in motion. And a permanent supernatural solution.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The predicted war of John’s Revelation won’t happen. The explosion which men think will come to wipe out the earth is not what’s written (Revelation 21:1). God is peace (Luke 2:14). The GOD OF PEACE sent the PRINCE OF PEACE with the GOSPEL OF PEACE to send the SPIRIT OF PEACE so there’d be PEACE ON EARTH goodwill to men.

The GOD OF ALL COMFORT came to comfort us so that we could comfort others with His comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

What happened wasn’t a natural flood, wasn’t a war, wasn’t a battle between Israel and Rome, wasn’t a clash of supernatural forces like no one had ever seen. Nor thousands of angels called down from heaven (Matthew 26:53). How God cleansed the world was the death of His Son, who laid down His life (no one could take it from Him), and without complaint, without defense, as the Lamb of God, He took away the sins of the world and gave us eternal life.

The flood this time is an ocean of love without a shoreline, without a depth. It is the healing of people’s hearts, the mending of lives, the cleansing of minds. God came to live with us, and seedtime and harvest remains.

“And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:20-22)

“Who, then, shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Shall problems, or hardships, or criticism, or persecution, or hunger, or disease, or homelessness, or nakedness, or imprisonment, or financial ruin, or terrorists, or war? … In all things—no matter what we face—we are more than conquerors through trust in him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35,37, Remedy)

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1)

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/jesus-did.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-4202074165196183837Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-17T06:30:00.130-04:00love one anotherpeacemakersJesus Did"We must see this."
A MINISTER I enjoy says some wrong things. Now, this is not me being critical but making God’s point. He’s funny, entertaining (the minister, that is), overly generous in finances, and faithful to God, his family, and his church. But there are things he repeats that God wants him to stop. Another minister, of a bygone era, spoke many things not Truth, naming one – that there are no more apostles. This is not true. Yet, God gave me his name because his clarity on the parable of the wheat and the tares is excellent. There are other more modern examples of wrong doctrines. Some do not support Israel or teach the church has replaced her. This is serious error. Some openly criticize the healing message, although that is who Jesus is. Some do not allow women to preach.

There is also the apostle Paul. Paul’s words in his letters are full of God. He was God-sent, chosen for that time to do a difficult work. And he shows the change of character that God makes in us. He went from a hardnosed Pharisee, murdering Christians, to being a very loving man. Like night and day. He changed his mind on a few things he spoke, though. His words on marriage alter from Corinth to Ephesus. In Corinth, he said not to get married. In Ephesus, he compares marriage to Christ and the church. To Corinth, he stated this was his opinion, but to Ephesus, he spoke from the Spirit.

And this is right. God is always our answer. We must listen to what is taught through the Spirit. Human reasoning introduces errors. God sees and hears with clarity, without any doubt or faults in His view. We speak from our humanness. Whereas Jesus spoke the Father’s words. The Father is Greater, He said (John 14:28). Knowing who the Father is, in character, in method of working, in holiness, gives us understanding of Old Covenant things. I know why He said to Moses He’d destroy Israel and start over. It sounds harsh to us. But it fits with Him perfectly.

“Would He have destroyed Israel?” you ask. Well, He said so. But He also knew how Moses would respond. God doesn’t have to consider His reaction. He knows all elements of everything and only works in complete wisdom. We make Him human, and Jesus IS human. He is also God. We must see this, or we’ll trip a lot. Our way of thinking includes unknown things, the way people will react, changes in the situation we can’t predict. God’s ways are higher, and His thoughts are higher. This is Truth known by us but not applied in our lifestyle.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

My intent here was not to judge people. In fact, the opposite. God showed me the size of His love, and I am forever changed. I choose to prefer others and am not bothered when my opinion is not heard. It’s more important to me that we don’t argue. The apostle Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14. Using food preferences as his point, he says not to force anyone to see our side. To make someone do what is sin to them, makes us guilty of sin ourselves. Jesus was taught WHAT to say and HOW to say it (John 12:49, EasyEnglish). HOW matters. There should be no quarrels between neighbors, either physical neighbors by address, thought, or location, or mental neighbors, where we don’t see alike.

There must be no arguments between churches, between pulpits. No one should ever say God needed them to reveal anything about anyone. This is not God’s heart at all. We are to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Love is patient and kind. It does not rejoice at iniquity. It thinks no evil. The Thomas Nelson Bible note, there (1 Corinthians 13:5), defines the word “thinketh” as “is not ready to suspect evil.” In other words, we aren’t looking for evil everywhere we go and continually pointing out evil. We’d rather swear to our own hurt, if need be, than hurt others (Psalm 15:4). Jesus did. We are rescued as a result.

“But who honors the one who fears the LORD, who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,” (Psalm 15:4, ISV)

“The words that I have spoken did not come from me myself. They came from the Father, who sent me. He told me what to say. And he told me how to say it.” (John 12:49, EasyEnglish)

“And above all things have fervent love to yourselves, for love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 MKJV)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950748878/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Uudzt5HG3f54A9WyI9W1SUfOwhX8H3SzDksxASV9-lXCz2-f1LmBFKmjWYfHNkqm2SPJcHUQlHghQKxqzaNJqPf2ZjOQwLoRobTR12vR8kbPOlQ59UYNk1QliWYY6tkx_QV6Isn2abL5fg-reHOZSeN0CB2w0-ucod5C1d2qpbv1DHrhqKbSwQiaeEs/s72-c/Jesus-Did.jpg "We must see this."
A MINISTER I enjoy says some wrong things. Now, this is not me being critical but making God’s point. He’s funny, entertaining (the minister, that is), overly generous in finances, and faithful to God, his family, and his church. But there are things he repeats that God wants him to stop. Another minister, of a bygone era, spoke many things not Truth, naming one – that there are no more apostles. This is not true. Yet, God gave me his name because his clarity on the parable of the wheat and the tares is excellent. There are other more modern examples of wrong doctrines. Some do not support Israel or teach the church has replaced her. This is serious error. Some openly criticize the healing message, although that is who Jesus is. Some do not allow women to preach.

There is also the apostle Paul. Paul’s words in his letters are full of God. He was God-sent, chosen for that time to do a difficult work. And he shows the change of character that God makes in us. He went from a hardnosed Pharisee, murdering Christians, to being a very loving man. Like night and day. He changed his mind on a few things he spoke, though. His words on marriage alter from Corinth to Ephesus. In Corinth, he said not to get married. In Ephesus, he compares marriage to Christ and the church. To Corinth, he stated this was his opinion, but to Ephesus, he spoke from the Spirit.

And this is right. God is always our answer. We must listen to what is taught through the Spirit. Human reasoning introduces errors. God sees and hears with clarity, without any doubt or faults in His view. We speak from our humanness. Whereas Jesus spoke the Father’s words. The Father is Greater, He said (John 14:28). Knowing who the Father is, in character, in method of working, in holiness, gives us understanding of Old Covenant things. I know why He said to Moses He’d destroy Israel and start over. It sounds harsh to us. But it fits with Him perfectly.

“Would He have destroyed Israel?” you ask. Well, He said so. But He also knew how Moses would respond. God doesn’t have to consider His reaction. He knows all elements of everything and only works in complete wisdom. We make Him human, and Jesus IS human. He is also God. We must see this, or we’ll trip a lot. Our way of thinking includes unknown things, the way people will react, changes in the situation we can’t predict. God’s ways are higher, and His thoughts are higher. This is Truth known by us but not applied in our lifestyle.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

My intent here was not to judge people. In fact, the opposite. God showed me the size of His love, and I am forever changed. I choose to prefer others and am not bothered when my opinion is not heard. It’s more important to me that we don’t argue. The apostle Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14. Using food preferences as his point, he says not to force anyone to see our side. To make someone do what is sin to them, makes us guilty of sin ourselves. Jesus was taught WHAT to say and HOW to say it (John 12:49, EasyEnglish). HOW matters. There should be no quarrels between neighbors, either physical neighbors by address, thought, or location, or mental neighbors, where we don’t see alike.

There must be no arguments between churches, between pulpits. No one should ever say God needed them to reveal anything about anyone. This is not God’s heart at all. We are to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Love is patient and kind. It does not rejoice at iniquity. It thinks no evil. The Thomas Nelson Bible note, there (1 Corinthians 13:5), defines the word “thinketh” as “is not ready to suspect evil.” In other words, we aren’t looking for evil everywhere we go and continually pointing out evil. We’d rather swear to our own hurt, if need be, than hurt others (Psalm 15:4). Jesus did. We are rescued as a result.

“But who honors the one who fears the LORD, who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,” (Psalm 15:4, ISV)

“The words that I have spoken did not come from me myself. They came from the Father, who sent me. He told me what to say. And he told me how to say it.” (John 12:49, EasyEnglish)

“And above all things have fervent love to yourselves, for love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 MKJV)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/jesus-alone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2865923486968429737Mon, 16 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-26T20:14:08.510-04:00Jesus plusJesus Alone
*Originally posted September 16, 2019.

“Their vision of Jesus Christ and Him crucified has become cloudy. They no longer see Him and His work on the cross as the center of their Christian lives, now it is Jesus plus …” (David Guzik commentary on Galatians 3:1)

There is no Jesus plus.

Jesus plus our job, our bank account, our years in church. Jesus plus charity work, generous contributions, an hour in prayer every day at five a.m. As if He needs our help. No, He needs our faith.

Not, Jesus in our pocket, and we pull Him out like a repair kit. Jesus, hocus pocus. Wave Him over your problem and recite a few psalms.

“Jesus plus” implies He’s not enough. Run, quick because Jesus can’t handle the mountain we’ve started to climb.

It sounds ridiculous, but the Galatians tried something similar. They mixed faith with carnal works and forgot about the time-altering moment when faith became faith in the first place. “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you …?” Paul asks. “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh (Galatians 3:1,3)?” 

There’s no Jesus formula. Buy now, the five-step program toward success! Take these spiritual vitamins and call me in the morning. Faith requires living in God’s Word. It’s burying your head in the water of the Good Book and drinking deep.

My mom tells a story about a woman who meditated on Acts 10:38 so long that when the grocery store clerk said, “That’ll be $10.38,” she recited the verse instead. That’s awesome. We should be that full.

Full of Jesus alone. Our every breath, knowing that He answers prayers spoken in faith. Faith that’s grown in us because we’ve spent so much time in His Word, we’ve totally overlooked the distractions. We’re focused, instead, on the Author and Finisher (Hebrews 12:2).

Notice:  He started the ball rolling and has provided the happy ending already. Jesus, singular, enduring the cross, in spite of all the voices howling around him. In spite of the fear lumped in His throat, knowing He had to die, He saw the Resurrection as completed.

Jesus, victorious. Consider that next time you want to give up (Hebrews 12:3).

“But they should consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, and be encouraged, not discouraged, knowing that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus.” (David Guzik commentary on Hebrews 12:3)

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." (Hebrews 12:2-3)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950645819/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNB4oPunhs7CWhxFPCB_3i7gX63V6VhL7Upq9s6L3kiMZXq4CIQCoi0Z-Hkv9izDxD3JIH2d0X6-wad670UhRdyI8SaAgNBHPgmd09mjHib2dGqPcQ22iPCUG6wb5KvozSob2LMqOzM4c/s72-c/lightstock_652944_download_medium_suzanne.jpg
*Originally posted September 16, 2019.

“Their vision of Jesus Christ and Him crucified has become cloudy. They no longer see Him and His work on the cross as the center of their Christian lives, now it is Jesus plus …” (David Guzik commentary on Galatians 3:1)

There is no Jesus plus.

Jesus plus our job, our bank account, our years in church. Jesus plus charity work, generous contributions, an hour in prayer every day at five a.m. As if He needs our help. No, He needs our faith.

Not, Jesus in our pocket, and we pull Him out like a repair kit. Jesus, hocus pocus. Wave Him over your problem and recite a few psalms.

“Jesus plus” implies He’s not enough. Run, quick because Jesus can’t handle the mountain we’ve started to climb.

It sounds ridiculous, but the Galatians tried something similar. They mixed faith with carnal works and forgot about the time-altering moment when faith became faith in the first place. “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you …?” Paul asks. “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh (Galatians 3:1,3)?” 

There’s no Jesus formula. Buy now, the five-step program toward success! Take these spiritual vitamins and call me in the morning. Faith requires living in God’s Word. It’s burying your head in the water of the Good Book and drinking deep.

My mom tells a story about a woman who meditated on Acts 10:38 so long that when the grocery store clerk said, “That’ll be $10.38,” she recited the verse instead. That’s awesome. We should be that full.

Full of Jesus alone. Our every breath, knowing that He answers prayers spoken in faith. Faith that’s grown in us because we’ve spent so much time in His Word, we’ve totally overlooked the distractions. We’re focused, instead, on the Author and Finisher (Hebrews 12:2).

Notice:  He started the ball rolling and has provided the happy ending already. Jesus, singular, enduring the cross, in spite of all the voices howling around him. In spite of the fear lumped in His throat, knowing He had to die, He saw the Resurrection as completed.

Jesus, victorious. Consider that next time you want to give up (Hebrews 12:3).

“But they should consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, and be encouraged, not discouraged, knowing that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus.” (David Guzik commentary on Hebrews 12:3)

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." (Hebrews 12:2-3)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-truth.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-8207829864223316801Sun, 15 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-15T06:30:00.118-04:00fathead devilthe devil is stupidThe Truth"Never think God is allowing devils to work sickness, disease, mental affliction, or any torment."
DEMONS DO NOT tremble at your name, at your loud voice, or even because you scream Scriptures at them. They tremble at the name of Jesus, but not initially and not unless the Spirit decides to be authoritative. He is often present where they are at, and they have no idea.

You’re looking at me funny, so I’ll explain. It’s in the Word. First, He can work in ungodly men, who don’t believe in Him. There’s Pharaoh, for starts. Long story short. Pharaoh turned away from the Hebrew God, yet did His perfect will. Then there’s Caiaphas the High Priest. He prophesied Jesus’ death and the reason for it we are told. Yet, He hated Jesus (John 11:51). Third, there’s the devil. It was the Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Luke 4:1). Satan didn’t understand who Jesus was nor what would happen when He hung on the cross. He caused his own defeat, according to the much prophesied plan of God.

Second, the Spirit is in all locations, yet some beings there are empty of Him. Psalm 139:8 tells us He is in hell. 1 Peter tells us Jesus, after death, preached to the spirits imprisoned there (1 Peter 3:19). John’s Revelation says Jesus has the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18). No place is exempt from Him. He was in Philistia when they left the ark in the temple of Dagon, and that didn’t work out. For Dagon or the Philistines (1 Samuel 5). All words spoken are heard by Him. All of them. Prayers to false gods, the deception and disgustingness of devils. Darkness and light are the same to Him (Psalm 139:12).

Why would God be silent and not show authority whenever He is near devils? Why does the Word say they tremble at Jesus’ name, yet they don’t listen when we say it? To the first question, God is all wisdom. He knows all things. He is precise and specific and always good. We can’t forget these Truths. Never think God is allowing devils to work sickness, disease, mental affliction, or any torment. That goes against His nature. We must always assume we don’t know something that will help us to fully understand things, and then we should ask Him for clarity and peace.

To the other question, the answer involves our relationship and spiritual maturity. The apostle Paul called the church at Corinth infants, still in need of milk. They weren’t able to walk in the weightier things of God. We are all at different levels. This isn’t a statement of arrogance, but that however much time you spend in His Presence, in His Word, in conversation with Him, He will reveal greater things to you. How important is He to you? Never settle where you are at. Never think you know all of a subject. God is infinite. We will be learning for all of eternity.

We must know that devils are angels who sinned. It is their rebellion against the obedience to God that puts them where they are at, in the condition they’re in. So they will disobey the name of Jesus, even from Jesus. Until the Spirit flexes His arm, that is, and it doesn’t take much. But their disobedience is always prevalent. They will not flee if it can be avoided. Even to Jesus’ faith, they continued to cause hurt and injury. We see this in those which possessed the Gadarene. They refused to leave and asked to go into the pigs, only when forced (Mark 5:12). There is the father who sought healing for his son, as well. That devil regularly cast the boy in the water and in the fire to kill him. Then when Jesus rebuked him, he caused the man’s son to shout and writhe and make a scene (Mark 9:22). The soothsayer who followed the apostle Paul cried out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation,” until Paul turned and commanded the unclean spirit to leave her (Acts 16:18). Why would an unclean spirit make such a statement in the face of the Holy Spirit? Well, that’s why they are devils and not angels. Satan, a fallen angel, misquoted a Scripture about the legitimate work of angels, to God who made angels, in that moment, not recognizing Him (Luke 4:11).

We are not to be afraid of devils. We must know Truth, however, and be close to Jesus for His name on our tongue to hold weight. We cannot assume, even then, they will see us and go running. Men did this in Acts 19 and ended up naked and wounded (Acts 19:16). I remember Minister Lance Wallnau talking about a young man who came to him for deliverance from an unclean spirit. The young man told him he’d had several well-known men lay hands on him, yet the spirit remained. Minister Wallnau’s advice was to go deeper in the Word. Three weeks later, he found out the young man was free. In that case, it was relationship that set him free and not the devil in him being rebuked publicly.

We can’t be flippant in our self-confidence, nor should we neglect someone who is seeking freedom because we “don’t know what else to do.” There are those who will not be free until someone in the church takes hold of Jesus’ garment and refuses to let go. And understanding is needed, revelation is needed, so that we approach like Jesus and not an overfed, untaught member of the church. God’s heart is freedom. The Spirit is in us and upon us to bring freedom. Our own. And other people’s.

For our forgiveness Jesus died. To give us heaven, He rose again. We must take our part in it.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950462405/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKqec-f4sgYe70x217OnZ84kZbGfjVB45VUhtZOOvSLqQz6qfviRTBlBhOC6P_17vPiFrC_Ibg7r-UAZUrPacP69OEmZAludsdCfaexoYanXSGSgsFKzq7QOzh1iehsq888MOZBWuV6nRv1JgwBH5aDGbFQkzBt-GH7Gu958TbIijQa1EBCiXVqcp-9A/s72-c/the-truth.jpg "Never think God is allowing devils to work sickness, disease, mental affliction, or any torment."
DEMONS DO NOT tremble at your name, at your loud voice, or even because you scream Scriptures at them. They tremble at the name of Jesus, but not initially and not unless the Spirit decides to be authoritative. He is often present where they are at, and they have no idea.

You’re looking at me funny, so I’ll explain. It’s in the Word. First, He can work in ungodly men, who don’t believe in Him. There’s Pharaoh, for starts. Long story short. Pharaoh turned away from the Hebrew God, yet did His perfect will. Then there’s Caiaphas the High Priest. He prophesied Jesus’ death and the reason for it we are told. Yet, He hated Jesus (John 11:51). Third, there’s the devil. It was the Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Luke 4:1). Satan didn’t understand who Jesus was nor what would happen when He hung on the cross. He caused his own defeat, according to the much prophesied plan of God.

Second, the Spirit is in all locations, yet some beings there are empty of Him. Psalm 139:8 tells us He is in hell. 1 Peter tells us Jesus, after death, preached to the spirits imprisoned there (1 Peter 3:19). John’s Revelation says Jesus has the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18). No place is exempt from Him. He was in Philistia when they left the ark in the temple of Dagon, and that didn’t work out. For Dagon or the Philistines (1 Samuel 5). All words spoken are heard by Him. All of them. Prayers to false gods, the deception and disgustingness of devils. Darkness and light are the same to Him (Psalm 139:12).

Why would God be silent and not show authority whenever He is near devils? Why does the Word say they tremble at Jesus’ name, yet they don’t listen when we say it? To the first question, God is all wisdom. He knows all things. He is precise and specific and always good. We can’t forget these Truths. Never think God is allowing devils to work sickness, disease, mental affliction, or any torment. That goes against His nature. We must always assume we don’t know something that will help us to fully understand things, and then we should ask Him for clarity and peace.

To the other question, the answer involves our relationship and spiritual maturity. The apostle Paul called the church at Corinth infants, still in need of milk. They weren’t able to walk in the weightier things of God. We are all at different levels. This isn’t a statement of arrogance, but that however much time you spend in His Presence, in His Word, in conversation with Him, He will reveal greater things to you. How important is He to you? Never settle where you are at. Never think you know all of a subject. God is infinite. We will be learning for all of eternity.

We must know that devils are angels who sinned. It is their rebellion against the obedience to God that puts them where they are at, in the condition they’re in. So they will disobey the name of Jesus, even from Jesus. Until the Spirit flexes His arm, that is, and it doesn’t take much. But their disobedience is always prevalent. They will not flee if it can be avoided. Even to Jesus’ faith, they continued to cause hurt and injury. We see this in those which possessed the Gadarene. They refused to leave and asked to go into the pigs, only when forced (Mark 5:12). There is the father who sought healing for his son, as well. That devil regularly cast the boy in the water and in the fire to kill him. Then when Jesus rebuked him, he caused the man’s son to shout and writhe and make a scene (Mark 9:22). The soothsayer who followed the apostle Paul cried out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation,” until Paul turned and commanded the unclean spirit to leave her (Acts 16:18). Why would an unclean spirit make such a statement in the face of the Holy Spirit? Well, that’s why they are devils and not angels. Satan, a fallen angel, misquoted a Scripture about the legitimate work of angels, to God who made angels, in that moment, not recognizing Him (Luke 4:11).

We are not to be afraid of devils. We must know Truth, however, and be close to Jesus for His name on our tongue to hold weight. We cannot assume, even then, they will see us and go running. Men did this in Acts 19 and ended up naked and wounded (Acts 19:16). I remember Minister Lance Wallnau talking about a young man who came to him for deliverance from an unclean spirit. The young man told him he’d had several well-known men lay hands on him, yet the spirit remained. Minister Wallnau’s advice was to go deeper in the Word. Three weeks later, he found out the young man was free. In that case, it was relationship that set him free and not the devil in him being rebuked publicly.

We can’t be flippant in our self-confidence, nor should we neglect someone who is seeking freedom because we “don’t know what else to do.” There are those who will not be free until someone in the church takes hold of Jesus’ garment and refuses to let go. And understanding is needed, revelation is needed, so that we approach like Jesus and not an overfed, untaught member of the church. God’s heart is freedom. The Spirit is in us and upon us to bring freedom. Our own. And other people’s.

For our forgiveness Jesus died. To give us heaven, He rose again. We must take our part in it.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4)


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/enough.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-32661623182089811Sat, 14 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-14T06:30:00.140-04:00God the FatherperspectiveEnough"Everything is within His view."
GOD IS self-assured. He has made and does make every decision with complete justice. Now, that word throws us off. The word “justice” calls to mind crimes and punishment, and it can mean that. But in this context has to do with confidence. In short, He knows who He is, He hears all things, He contains all knowledge, and nothing is impossible to Him nor out of His purview. Another word that we’re unsure of. Dictionary.com defines it as “the range of vision, insight, or understanding.” Everything is within His view.

He doesn’t have vision problems, lack of understanding, nor is anything hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13), regardless of whether a person is saved or not saved, in the Light or in darkness. This goes to spirit beings, angelic or devils, as well. Where we have to listen in order to hear clearly, all things are clear to Him at all times. Frankly, that would drive me crazy. But then, He is God. He, meaning the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are One, in total unity. But knowing God knows, knowing His character is for our salvation, then despite what we don’t know, we can trust Him.

We ought to hear doubts and say, “Okay, God has none about me.”

He didn’t doubt Peter when Jesus first spoke to Him. Peter was just a common fisherman. He caught fish. He sold fish. Then he met Jesus who showed him Truth. He poured the Spirit into him, and even when he messed up, didn’t change his future, nor abandon his calling. Peter denied he knew Jesus three times after being told by Jesus he would do so. God set him as a pillar in the church anyway. The apostle Paul murdered Christians yet went on to write most of the New Testament, a new man, overflowing with love.

“God chose people who do not seem important in this world. He chose people who seem silly in this world. He chose people who seem to be worth nothing in this world. The people who do not know God think differently from him. They think that different kinds of people are great and important. But God destroys their ideas when he chooses his people.” (1 Corinthians 1:28, EasyEnglish)

There are those we’ve judged for their appearance, their past behavior. We look askance and whisper about them, behind their backs. We must pray FOR THEM instead. Not pray ABOUT them or pray JUDGMENT. Our justice is always uneven, using partial knowledge and incomplete Truth. God’s isn’t. What can God do through that young man, now torn between God’s generous, loving hand and our fists? What if we returned them to our laps and altered our point-of-view? Jesus saw people through the Father’s eyes (John 14:9). The Father sees people through love, not doubt. The Spirit views them through Resurrection. While we’re counting tattoos and shaking our heads, They have changed that one and made a difference. Who will see that person and rethink their own opinions?

God sees people as individuals. We’ve made them numbers. Our churches have become about gathering crowds, about making “disciples.” The word “disciples” means “learners,” and that’s a beautiful thing. But to us, it is more of a rank. No, it’s a man or woman seeking God, hungry for God. We ought to NOT COUNT numbers. Resist the temptation to count numbers. And lean into the Spirit instead, listen to God’s heart, and become love. Because that is the point. In order to be like Jesus, we have to be like the Spirit and like the Father, who sent Him, whose thought was confidence and completion, His will done just as He set it forth. With not one plan for failure.

No thought of failure at all. No worries, no fears, no alternatives. He is enough.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUuIFkEiV65/
“Jesus is STRONGER than any drugs.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSOPCQjAQui/
“No one is too far gone for Jesus.”

“There is not one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing that we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything is exposed and defenseless before his eyes, to whom we must render an account.” (Hebrews 4:13, TPT)

Photo by Matt Noble on Unsplash
     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950305541/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfz9qHj2mjhftRKHMUjK1kFG3ISipsmCVr9kwGLPuAsgx-xEHHSgV60Ad954sYU-UI7JArOKkmCLsmjVp6opysR-Z-uSvC4rlbAyn2OigGFiIBqVjSffD5epAmoIEw5pCK-dTHybPLOeDpUW45jybnarwZZKZf4rJhPeRwsWfuslmzWH2ijj9-pXcdHo/s72-c/Enough.jpg "Everything is within His view."
GOD IS self-assured. He has made and does make every decision with complete justice. Now, that word throws us off. The word “justice” calls to mind crimes and punishment, and it can mean that. But in this context has to do with confidence. In short, He knows who He is, He hears all things, He contains all knowledge, and nothing is impossible to Him nor out of His purview. Another word that we’re unsure of. Dictionary.com defines it as “the range of vision, insight, or understanding.” Everything is within His view.

He doesn’t have vision problems, lack of understanding, nor is anything hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13), regardless of whether a person is saved or not saved, in the Light or in darkness. This goes to spirit beings, angelic or devils, as well. Where we have to listen in order to hear clearly, all things are clear to Him at all times. Frankly, that would drive me crazy. But then, He is God. He, meaning the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are One, in total unity. But knowing God knows, knowing His character is for our salvation, then despite what we don’t know, we can trust Him.

We ought to hear doubts and say, “Okay, God has none about me.”

He didn’t doubt Peter when Jesus first spoke to Him. Peter was just a common fisherman. He caught fish. He sold fish. Then he met Jesus who showed him Truth. He poured the Spirit into him, and even when he messed up, didn’t change his future, nor abandon his calling. Peter denied he knew Jesus three times after being told by Jesus he would do so. God set him as a pillar in the church anyway. The apostle Paul murdered Christians yet went on to write most of the New Testament, a new man, overflowing with love.

“God chose people who do not seem important in this world. He chose people who seem silly in this world. He chose people who seem to be worth nothing in this world. The people who do not know God think differently from him. They think that different kinds of people are great and important. But God destroys their ideas when he chooses his people.” (1 Corinthians 1:28, EasyEnglish)

There are those we’ve judged for their appearance, their past behavior. We look askance and whisper about them, behind their backs. We must pray FOR THEM instead. Not pray ABOUT them or pray JUDGMENT. Our justice is always uneven, using partial knowledge and incomplete Truth. God’s isn’t. What can God do through that young man, now torn between God’s generous, loving hand and our fists? What if we returned them to our laps and altered our point-of-view? Jesus saw people through the Father’s eyes (John 14:9). The Father sees people through love, not doubt. The Spirit views them through Resurrection. While we’re counting tattoos and shaking our heads, They have changed that one and made a difference. Who will see that person and rethink their own opinions?

God sees people as individuals. We’ve made them numbers. Our churches have become about gathering crowds, about making “disciples.” The word “disciples” means “learners,” and that’s a beautiful thing. But to us, it is more of a rank. No, it’s a man or woman seeking God, hungry for God. We ought to NOT COUNT numbers. Resist the temptation to count numbers. And lean into the Spirit instead, listen to God’s heart, and become love. Because that is the point. In order to be like Jesus, we have to be like the Spirit and like the Father, who sent Him, whose thought was confidence and completion, His will done just as He set it forth. With not one plan for failure.

No thought of failure at all. No worries, no fears, no alternatives. He is enough.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUuIFkEiV65/
“Jesus is STRONGER than any drugs.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSOPCQjAQui/
“No one is too far gone for Jesus.”

“There is not one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing that we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything is exposed and defenseless before his eyes, to whom we must render an account.” (Hebrews 4:13, TPT)

Photo by Matt Noble on Unsplash
     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/father-knows-best.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-6505576617804678135Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-13T06:30:00.116-04:00God answers prayerprayerspirit ledFather Knows Best
LANCE WALLNAU said, while standing amazed among powerful leaders one day, that he had never thought he would find himself in that place in his life. "I mean, what am I doing here?" he asked. And the Spirit replied, in that instant, with a remark just as totally unexpected. Speaking of Minister Wallnau's prayers in tongues, in the Spirit language, the Holy Spirit said, "Whenever you pray, this is what you ask for."

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.” (1 Corinthians 14:14)

The Scripture says whenever we pray in the Spirit language our mind is unfruitful (1 Corinthians 14:14). I've come to realize the Truth of this. The Father knows best, we might say. From His wisdom, He changes our Spirit words into direction we are not expecting. We may decide to pray for a certain person, and He honors that. But He also prays what we'd never ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Minister Wallnau's story is one example.

Romans 8:26 says the Spirit helps our weaknesses. I love this. I can rest in knowing He’s using my prayers to protect, aid, and heal me. We read this in the next verse as well. Verse 26 says. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought." Then verse 27 says, "He [the Spirit] maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." God prays through you what is His perfect, unexpected will. What He has chosen you to do that you have no idea of, He will bring to pass, and you were the instrument which called for it.

This may sound scary to you, but if I didn't trust Him with my Spirit language prayers, I wouldn't be here. Because I knew He used those prayers to rescue and heal, I knew, as well, that no power of darkness understood them. So it took the pressure off. In short, I couldn't mess them up.

I spoke on receiving your Spirit language, a while back. I compared it to the Code Talkers of World War II. Though that was done during time of war, and we are not in a war (Jesus is Victor over all the works of Satan and darkness), we do battle our minds. God's language is abundant peace. Jesus’ Resurrection made a way for God to inhabit us, to live inside us, and do great work to heal and strengthen our heart and mind and physical body. He sent the power of the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever. We are blessed with a new character, with a new motive for living, and all the wisdom and power of heaven to live well. Trusting God to pray His will for us, through us, bypassing the limitations of our mind, takes us to new heights of heaven. We walk where Jesus is. We stand where Jesus is.

“And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words. God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.” (Romans 8:26-27, TPT)

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950147207/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0GKAJNzHKJDraVCmvKFez27XHCxv_4vIa4Eru8RtkfVMW-ujqrmHl4FEOdDDBa9rGWS9Tvr3hWNYo8mZnYxUjY_FYrPIRrcJkYQy2nayB2moBJ2ESHNaN6GPrWW8FZ2mnsN2pP1_ijXa601BjAtXt309J6kDBZJ5aTTYLdbhNebupns09Zmd92ykcxk/s72-c/Father-Knows-Best.jpg
LANCE WALLNAU said, while standing amazed among powerful leaders one day, that he had never thought he would find himself in that place in his life. "I mean, what am I doing here?" he asked. And the Spirit replied, in that instant, with a remark just as totally unexpected. Speaking of Minister Wallnau's prayers in tongues, in the Spirit language, the Holy Spirit said, "Whenever you pray, this is what you ask for."

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.” (1 Corinthians 14:14)

The Scripture says whenever we pray in the Spirit language our mind is unfruitful (1 Corinthians 14:14). I've come to realize the Truth of this. The Father knows best, we might say. From His wisdom, He changes our Spirit words into direction we are not expecting. We may decide to pray for a certain person, and He honors that. But He also prays what we'd never ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Minister Wallnau's story is one example.

Romans 8:26 says the Spirit helps our weaknesses. I love this. I can rest in knowing He’s using my prayers to protect, aid, and heal me. We read this in the next verse as well. Verse 26 says. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought." Then verse 27 says, "He [the Spirit] maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." God prays through you what is His perfect, unexpected will. What He has chosen you to do that you have no idea of, He will bring to pass, and you were the instrument which called for it.

This may sound scary to you, but if I didn't trust Him with my Spirit language prayers, I wouldn't be here. Because I knew He used those prayers to rescue and heal, I knew, as well, that no power of darkness understood them. So it took the pressure off. In short, I couldn't mess them up.

I spoke on receiving your Spirit language, a while back. I compared it to the Code Talkers of World War II. Though that was done during time of war, and we are not in a war (Jesus is Victor over all the works of Satan and darkness), we do battle our minds. God's language is abundant peace. Jesus’ Resurrection made a way for God to inhabit us, to live inside us, and do great work to heal and strengthen our heart and mind and physical body. He sent the power of the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever. We are blessed with a new character, with a new motive for living, and all the wisdom and power of heaven to live well. Trusting God to pray His will for us, through us, bypassing the limitations of our mind, takes us to new heights of heaven. We walk where Jesus is. We stand where Jesus is.

“And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words. God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.” (Romans 8:26-27, TPT)

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/no-more-fighting.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-5606506563088376443Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-12T06:30:00.120-04:00spiritual warfareNo More Fighting "Why are we fighting a defeated, useless enemy?"
DAYS COME AND GO. Good ones. Bad ones. Today, I’m facing impossible odds. Tomorrow, I’m not. I lean on Jesus in both. He is dependable. We are – to a point. I limit myself in several behaviors. I dislike open fists, the need of some to fight, especially in the church. It is God’s command to rest which rescued me. I’ve heard warfare taught most of my upbringing. To have the Spirit say it is not what we need to do is offensive to a lot of church people. In part, myself included. For me, only in the sense of against “the devil.” I dislike fighting with people. I’ve learned to prefer others, and honestly, it causes me no unhappiness. I tell people all the time that I will listen, whether I agree or not. I don’t feel the need to respond.

“People said bad things about Christ, but he did not say bad things back to them. People did bad things to him and they caused him trouble and pain. But he never said that he would do bad things to them. Instead, Christ continued to believe that God would help him. God always decides only what is right and fair.” (1 Peter 2:23, EasyEnglish)

We aren’t supposed to fight people. Our instruction (command, in the Scripture) is to “love one another (John 13:34).” This means every person. We are not supposed to get into strife. This is I-am-right-you-are-wrong thinking. We call it correction, and when in the pulpit, discipline. No, offense is offense, and God knows our motive. Jesus should be our example of love, of forgiveness. He died for those who hung Him there. He shows us obedience and submission. He did only the Father’s “acts of power (John 14:10, Knox).”

He spoke to draw men to Him, to cause them to see Him as their Messiah. He was bold. He also was sinless (Hebrews 4:15). And in His hour of pressure, silent. He made no defense, dying of His own volition so that, through death, the devil would be (and is) destroyed (Hebrews 2:14). Why are we fighting a defeated, useless enemy? His works have been dissolved (1 John 3:8). This is every devil, every unclean spirit, and includes all evil. Our only battles are in the mind and with the physical body. For these, we have the Holy Spirit, we have Jesus as our Healer. We have the love of the Father, all around us.

The sword we are given is of the Spirit. The Word which it signifies is Jesus (Ephesians 6:17). God did the work. He fought the battle. We are given Their victory. To praise Him, to rest in Him, to endure in hopeful joy until it is entirely fulfilled. Trust me, I know. Every time I curled my fists again and started shouting at the darkness, it’d come back to me how useless my efforts alone are, and I’d return to the shadow of the Almighty. There, beneath His wings, is healing (Malachi 4:2), is safety. There, His Truth is my shield and buckler (Psalm 91:4). And greatest of all, there is peace, calmness, comfort, enjoyment (Psalm 91:16, TPT). Which is all He desires for me to see while I wait.

Let God be God. You be His son or daughter, surrounded by the benefits of a worthy, joyful, generous King.

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)

“The words I speak to you are not my own words; and the Father, who dwells continually in me, achieves in me his own acts of power.” (John 14:10, Knox)

Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/950005076/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfuiE9T8_TZO1-X4nHZ47aKMMURFg-vIXF_74Yu2tj8i3zWlZmfc56tSWBaiGGp8SI8bsomm35bP9m8jIebMV-_sSl1vhzv0XD9Z9xylFvRv4D9_XPrLun7ugiToJZDMf3aWNlpm3cW_nKTkRXK0nmHpQ8yxdTPAanUDxQ_vfPK2yoYnijLDhocCPIvE/s72-c/No-More-Fighting.jpg  "Why are we fighting a defeated, useless enemy?"
DAYS COME AND GO. Good ones. Bad ones. Today, I’m facing impossible odds. Tomorrow, I’m not. I lean on Jesus in both. He is dependable. We are – to a point. I limit myself in several behaviors. I dislike open fists, the need of some to fight, especially in the church. It is God’s command to rest which rescued me. I’ve heard warfare taught most of my upbringing. To have the Spirit say it is not what we need to do is offensive to a lot of church people. In part, myself included. For me, only in the sense of against “the devil.” I dislike fighting with people. I’ve learned to prefer others, and honestly, it causes me no unhappiness. I tell people all the time that I will listen, whether I agree or not. I don’t feel the need to respond.

“People said bad things about Christ, but he did not say bad things back to them. People did bad things to him and they caused him trouble and pain. But he never said that he would do bad things to them. Instead, Christ continued to believe that God would help him. God always decides only what is right and fair.” (1 Peter 2:23, EasyEnglish)

We aren’t supposed to fight people. Our instruction (command, in the Scripture) is to “love one another (John 13:34).” This means every person. We are not supposed to get into strife. This is I-am-right-you-are-wrong thinking. We call it correction, and when in the pulpit, discipline. No, offense is offense, and God knows our motive. Jesus should be our example of love, of forgiveness. He died for those who hung Him there. He shows us obedience and submission. He did only the Father’s “acts of power (John 14:10, Knox).”

He spoke to draw men to Him, to cause them to see Him as their Messiah. He was bold. He also was sinless (Hebrews 4:15). And in His hour of pressure, silent. He made no defense, dying of His own volition so that, through death, the devil would be (and is) destroyed (Hebrews 2:14). Why are we fighting a defeated, useless enemy? His works have been dissolved (1 John 3:8). This is every devil, every unclean spirit, and includes all evil. Our only battles are in the mind and with the physical body. For these, we have the Holy Spirit, we have Jesus as our Healer. We have the love of the Father, all around us.

The sword we are given is of the Spirit. The Word which it signifies is Jesus (Ephesians 6:17). God did the work. He fought the battle. We are given Their victory. To praise Him, to rest in Him, to endure in hopeful joy until it is entirely fulfilled. Trust me, I know. Every time I curled my fists again and started shouting at the darkness, it’d come back to me how useless my efforts alone are, and I’d return to the shadow of the Almighty. There, beneath His wings, is healing (Malachi 4:2), is safety. There, His Truth is my shield and buckler (Psalm 91:4). And greatest of all, there is peace, calmness, comfort, enjoyment (Psalm 91:16, TPT). Which is all He desires for me to see while I wait.

Let God be God. You be His son or daughter, surrounded by the benefits of a worthy, joyful, generous King.

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)

“The words I speak to you are not my own words; and the Father, who dwells continually in me, achieves in me his own acts of power.” (John 14:10, Knox)

Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/for-his-own-sake.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-2244849646067598988Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-11T06:30:00.116-04:00heart of GodFor His Own Sake"and taken it out of the heart of God who promised it to us."
GOD STILL finds this world beautiful. Every hill, every mountain, all its flora and fauna please Him. Yes, He remembers its original design. It was perfect in all its beauty. But where we think He’s sat down and reworked its remaking, we’ve missed His heart for what remains.

There is a passage in Ezekiel where Jehovah (Hashem to the Jews) heals the damage done through sin on the land. Where there were high places, false idols of worship, where there’s been damage to the land, He promises healing. This moves me. It also inspires me. I have claimed it for our property where we live. We had huge ant mounds in previous years. Now, we don’t. We have iron-tinged well-water. But didn’t He heal the waters at Marah (Exodus 15:25)? This may seem over-the-top to you, but I’m making a point. We have what we believe. Not what we refuse to deal with.

God blesses our crops and our flocks (Deuteronomy 28:4), whether those are actual farm animals or just your dog. He healed my dog, Ginger, of a skin problem she’d had all her life. It was g-o-n-e, gone, the last year or so of her life, and I could not forget it, in the light of my personal struggles. Many times, I’d say, “But He healed my dog,” and was so encouraged.

What do you need today? What would you like to see happen? Too much teaching is done on God using sickness and poverty as a time of learning, whether it is meant to blame God for the sickness and poverty, or it is meant as an opportunity He takes. Neither one is technically correct. I’ve pointed out He knows all things. This thinking is our lack of knowledge. We humanize Him, and though He understands us completely, especially Jesus, He is human, we make Him far less. Human-designed gods, small g, have all our failures. Jesus doesn’t. He is sinless and holy. Abba, our Father, is Spirit only. He is completely good, without faults or flaws. He’s funny at times, in an awestruck way. I laugh and am in wonder at how grand and high He is. The Spirit has a funny bone, too. Why do I include these? Because by far, the thing that is the most unexpected as I grow close to God is their love for all of this planet, its natural places, its population, and most of all, its healing.

God is who put this promise in John’s Revelation (Revelation 21:4-5). And it is because He desires it. He longs to see us remade new, for there to be no more death, nor more sorrow. We’ve turned this into our longing, almost an impossibility, and taken it out of the heart of God who promised it to us. Not as a generous gift, outside of Him, but one from the deepest places, where love grows. Love that created all that surrounds us, giving to the earth a magic and multiplication, a grandeur and wealth, that sustains it still today.

For the sun rises in the east and sets in the west still. The tides come and go. And in its valleys, in its oceans, on its mountaintops are creatures the likes of which marvel us. Meant to bring Him happiness. We bring Him happiness, and for His own sake (Isaiah 63:14;Psalm 23:3), He cannot wait until all is as He is, perfected. Us, as children of God. But Fido and Spot, too.

“But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 36:8-11)

Illustration by Annie Spratt on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/949968503/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1nSui6KT94Fs2ODkIJGDxFiOvUcGKNNnqX0YahYq2HFh3_NIovi0Gk1reTpsw-o5Gcum82rzEoNmIdkpcaHJ9a8XcG8rhDHS1fgehcB0BrP8fEUeKuHcGlOTZtMZF8MvYQVlO4P-cH6MrUkEO87EJIFZTwe0LowNNf-pgecredqJNQpWu0c3nw57CHc/s72-c/for-HIs-own-sake.jpg "and taken it out of the heart of God who promised it to us."
GOD STILL finds this world beautiful. Every hill, every mountain, all its flora and fauna please Him. Yes, He remembers its original design. It was perfect in all its beauty. But where we think He’s sat down and reworked its remaking, we’ve missed His heart for what remains.

There is a passage in Ezekiel where Jehovah (Hashem to the Jews) heals the damage done through sin on the land. Where there were high places, false idols of worship, where there’s been damage to the land, He promises healing. This moves me. It also inspires me. I have claimed it for our property where we live. We had huge ant mounds in previous years. Now, we don’t. We have iron-tinged well-water. But didn’t He heal the waters at Marah (Exodus 15:25)? This may seem over-the-top to you, but I’m making a point. We have what we believe. Not what we refuse to deal with.

God blesses our crops and our flocks (Deuteronomy 28:4), whether those are actual farm animals or just your dog. He healed my dog, Ginger, of a skin problem she’d had all her life. It was g-o-n-e, gone, the last year or so of her life, and I could not forget it, in the light of my personal struggles. Many times, I’d say, “But He healed my dog,” and was so encouraged.

What do you need today? What would you like to see happen? Too much teaching is done on God using sickness and poverty as a time of learning, whether it is meant to blame God for the sickness and poverty, or it is meant as an opportunity He takes. Neither one is technically correct. I’ve pointed out He knows all things. This thinking is our lack of knowledge. We humanize Him, and though He understands us completely, especially Jesus, He is human, we make Him far less. Human-designed gods, small g, have all our failures. Jesus doesn’t. He is sinless and holy. Abba, our Father, is Spirit only. He is completely good, without faults or flaws. He’s funny at times, in an awestruck way. I laugh and am in wonder at how grand and high He is. The Spirit has a funny bone, too. Why do I include these? Because by far, the thing that is the most unexpected as I grow close to God is their love for all of this planet, its natural places, its population, and most of all, its healing.

God is who put this promise in John’s Revelation (Revelation 21:4-5). And it is because He desires it. He longs to see us remade new, for there to be no more death, nor more sorrow. We’ve turned this into our longing, almost an impossibility, and taken it out of the heart of God who promised it to us. Not as a generous gift, outside of Him, but one from the deepest places, where love grows. Love that created all that surrounds us, giving to the earth a magic and multiplication, a grandeur and wealth, that sustains it still today.

For the sun rises in the east and sets in the west still. The tides come and go. And in its valleys, in its oceans, on its mountaintops are creatures the likes of which marvel us. Meant to bring Him happiness. We bring Him happiness, and for His own sake (Isaiah 63:14;Psalm 23:3), He cannot wait until all is as He is, perfected. Us, as children of God. But Fido and Spot, too.

“But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 36:8-11)

Illustration by Annie Spratt on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

      
]]> https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-higher-things.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125365913491630705.post-6382571460239495309Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +00002026-03-10T09:08:39.962-04:00God the FatherperspectiveThe Higher Things"and heals the weak places"
THE FATHER gave me a taste of His perspective. Took me a while to figure out that’s what I’d experienced. I’m humbled He did so, humbled He speaks to me, so tender and kind. What I experienced, though, cannot be described, even if I were inclined to do so.

Most would try.

Here is the difference between me and those. God gives freely to all of His wisdom. He fills our understanding and heals the weak places in our thinking. He is generous. But He does not give the higher things (His word choice, not mine) to fast lips. Loose lips sink ships, my mother used to say. And in this case, ours. What we will not hold dear to us, close to our heart, willing to be quiet and unwilling to spill the beans, He will not share.

I like reading the EasyEnglish Translation of the Bible. But there are times where any translator comes up against a “this used to be in Hebrew” or “this used to be in Greek” brick wall. A passage of the book of Romans struck me all incorrect in its portrayal of the Father, and of God in general. There is a misunderstanding amongst believers about His character. We know He is love and mercy. We know He sent Jesus, ’cause John 3:16. Then we read words about His anger and wrath and judgment and toss all that out the window. He is love, but He is wrath?

Of course not. Not by our definition.

The nearest I can describe it is to say He made humans, He knows human thinking, and He is much-much higher. First, He doesn’t debate His decisions. He doesn’t have to weigh His choices nor decide what the proper justice is. He knows, and He acts, and it is just. Second, He gave us emotions, we can even say He has emotions … or perhaps, it is better said He is THE SOURCE OF EMOTIONS (Galatians 5:22-23) … but anger (an emotion) or joy (an emotion) do not change His opinions.

He’s put His anger beneath the blood of Christ. As in FOREVER. And actually, His anger, before Jesus’ death, wasn’t like anger at all, so even that is not how we’d define it. God’s anger is more like standing where He is not. He is Light. Sin put the devil and devils and mankind in darkness, devils entirely in the dark. God is in all places, we know from the Word. But unclean spirits are empty of Him, without even one trace, and that is God’s anger. It isn’t, to quote my mom again, “a flesh flash,” where you blow up and strike out. There’s simply no goodness there.

All of that said, any picture of the Father minus mercy and without love is grossly inaccurate. He loves His creation, He mourns the death of it (Matthew 5:4,48), He desires to show mercy, but for blatant, unrepented sin, He cannot. This is speaking strictly of devils. To preach hellfire to humans, to men and women, is to tell Truth in the wrong manner. Instead, showing kindness leads to repentance (Romans 2:4), and this is the Father’s heart. “Love one another” is God’s heart (John 13:34). We must see things from His point-of-view, which is far broader than we have realized. This is the simplest picture I can draw. Where we hear a lot of noise between His Words, the hiss and scratch of doubt and darkness, He has clarity. What we strain to hear and then wonder about, He knows the beginning and ending of, the intricacies, and every word spoken.

“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, BSB)

He is God, the ONLY LIVING GOD, who became human, humanity that He designed, that He created, that He saved. Our point-of-view looks upward. His looks outward, its depth far beyond what we can ever see or ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Still, He would give us a glimpse of it, and it is of an honor to receive. But asks of us a heart of humility and submission, that we would treasure it and use it only as He intended. That we’d be like Jesus, who prayed such beautiful words to the Father in John 17, saying, “They will know you. And only you really are God. And they will know Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:3, EasyEnglish).”

An infinite God with an infinite view calls us upward.

Photo by Susan Brown on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/949896794/0/sdwauthor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suzanne D. Williams)0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdA_PfJdPFL4WGKQiYLY6ysd9nglWGrqr_yc5ldY05GdTJKum_28IQSr0MLk9HtChgbcG6FmXRU5a-J97j1WPWO-SEvXnja6eQGMhbd44GvIwKPK_zy7bZEqk83LcgyU4j6_LjcWaTqQShF1BvktI76UfT9MttvK4TIh2vpHChTo2rwkOULhxaX8jfZAs/s72-c/the-higher-things.jpg "and heals the weak places"
THE FATHER gave me a taste of His perspective. Took me a while to figure out that’s what I’d experienced. I’m humbled He did so, humbled He speaks to me, so tender and kind. What I experienced, though, cannot be described, even if I were inclined to do so.

Most would try.

Here is the difference between me and those. God gives freely to all of His wisdom. He fills our understanding and heals the weak places in our thinking. He is generous. But He does not give the higher things (His word choice, not mine) to fast lips. Loose lips sink ships, my mother used to say. And in this case, ours. What we will not hold dear to us, close to our heart, willing to be quiet and unwilling to spill the beans, He will not share.

I like reading the EasyEnglish Translation of the Bible. But there are times where any translator comes up against a “this used to be in Hebrew” or “this used to be in Greek” brick wall. A passage of the book of Romans struck me all incorrect in its portrayal of the Father, and of God in general. There is a misunderstanding amongst believers about His character. We know He is love and mercy. We know He sent Jesus, ’cause John 3:16. Then we read words about His anger and wrath and judgment and toss all that out the window. He is love, but He is wrath?

Of course not. Not by our definition.

The nearest I can describe it is to say He made humans, He knows human thinking, and He is much-much higher. First, He doesn’t debate His decisions. He doesn’t have to weigh His choices nor decide what the proper justice is. He knows, and He acts, and it is just. Second, He gave us emotions, we can even say He has emotions … or perhaps, it is better said He is THE SOURCE OF EMOTIONS (Galatians 5:22-23) … but anger (an emotion) or joy (an emotion) do not change His opinions.

He’s put His anger beneath the blood of Christ. As in FOREVER. And actually, His anger, before Jesus’ death, wasn’t like anger at all, so even that is not how we’d define it. God’s anger is more like standing where He is not. He is Light. Sin put the devil and devils and mankind in darkness, devils entirely in the dark. God is in all places, we know from the Word. But unclean spirits are empty of Him, without even one trace, and that is God’s anger. It isn’t, to quote my mom again, “a flesh flash,” where you blow up and strike out. There’s simply no goodness there.

All of that said, any picture of the Father minus mercy and without love is grossly inaccurate. He loves His creation, He mourns the death of it (Matthew 5:4,48), He desires to show mercy, but for blatant, unrepented sin, He cannot. This is speaking strictly of devils. To preach hellfire to humans, to men and women, is to tell Truth in the wrong manner. Instead, showing kindness leads to repentance (Romans 2:4), and this is the Father’s heart. “Love one another” is God’s heart (John 13:34). We must see things from His point-of-view, which is far broader than we have realized. This is the simplest picture I can draw. Where we hear a lot of noise between His Words, the hiss and scratch of doubt and darkness, He has clarity. What we strain to hear and then wonder about, He knows the beginning and ending of, the intricacies, and every word spoken.

“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, BSB)

He is God, the ONLY LIVING GOD, who became human, humanity that He designed, that He created, that He saved. Our point-of-view looks upward. His looks outward, its depth far beyond what we can ever see or ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Still, He would give us a glimpse of it, and it is of an honor to receive. But asks of us a heart of humility and submission, that we would treasure it and use it only as He intended. That we’d be like Jesus, who prayed such beautiful words to the Father in John 17, saying, “They will know you. And only you really are God. And they will know Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:3, EasyEnglish).”

An infinite God with an infinite view calls us upward.

Photo by Susan Brown on Unsplash


----------
Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com

     

Related Stories

 
]]>