“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect [complete, mature] in love” (1 John 4:18, brackets mine). When we’re fully walking in Christ and understanding the amazing depth of God’s love for us, the fears are gone. All of His peace and joy and love and kindness and goodness are constantly flowing out of us and into our lives. The world doesn’t know this kind of real love, but it’s the life the Father meant us to live, and the Gospel we’re supposed to be preaching!

Righteousness, growing up into Christ and being transformed into His image, is something that is given to us in Christ and already ours! Side by side along with this are the blessings—all of God’s goodness—and Him at work within us, causing us to both want to do and do the things that please Him! (Philippians 2:13)

We don’t come into the throne room telling God about who we used to be in Adam and crying for things He’s already given to us. No! Speaking the Word of God from our lips about who He has made us to be and how He sees us, what He has done for us, accomplished and given to us is the TRUE and SINCERE praise and worship that the Father desires from us! “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus”—NOT according to how much is in your bank account, or how good or bad the economy is. His supply to you is not at all rooted in anything going on around you, it comes to you from His glory! (Phil. 4:19 NIV)

Jesus has removed the judgements against us and has cleared away our enemies (Zeph. 3:15). Now our mission is to cooperate with Him in transforming us, by changing our old man thinking habits into new creation thinking! This is how we begin to live this new life He has purchased for us, and actively walk as agents of the authority we’ve been given!

Jesus doesn’t reign in some political system or church denomination, He is reigning in you and me! If you are born again, His peace, righteousness and joy are now a part of your life. There may be darkness all around you, but you are light because the light giver has His home within you. There may be curses all around you but you are blessed! There may be bondage all around you but you are free!

If you are a follower of Christ, then you have His life in you and everything included with it. You have His model of supernatural life, His expectation of answered prayer, His righteous stand before God without shame, guilt, or sin, His heart for lost humanity, His call to give away His free life to others, His victory over the devil, sickness, inferiority and lack. Anything of the curse, you have dominion over!

When you put all the promises of God from His Word together, that is what salvation means. The blessing of God, being in Christ in the Father, living in and from Him—that’s what you have—every single one of His promises! You’ve been redeemed and restored!

In many areas of life you can slip back into old patterns that you had previously freed yourself from. You wake up one day and realize you are back in the rut of doing what you were stuck in 10 or 20 years ago! This can also happen in your thinking, which ends up limiting the power of God actively working in your life. It happens when you start reading the Bible more as a history book than as a living letter to you, to be applied and acted on every day. Remember, back then it was the ministry of Jesus in a Jew. BUT NOW, it’s not just history, it has become the ministry of Jesus carried out through you!

We are like the town criers, announcing the truth to people that they are forgiven, healed and free—it’s already been given to them by grace and they don’t have to earn it! It’s God’s justice delivered to His children in Christ!