Eva Conner | Transformation From the Inside Out

You are in me, and I am in you. John 14:20

Your Inheritance

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The word “inheritance” should make us happy, not sad.  How we feel when we hear this word depends a lot on how we feel when we hear the word “death.”  The two are linked together.  Intertwined.

Here’s good news.  Jesus died so we could live.

Death is not always a bad thing.  When Jesus died, we became heirs and received our inheritance.  His death gave us eternal life.

His death gave us life.

The word “inherit” means to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion (source: Merriam-Webster).  Note the words “come into possession of or receive.”  We come into and receive.  NOT because of anything we’ve done.  We cannot earn or work for an inheritance.

It is freely given from the bestower.

Jesus freely gave us our eternal inheritance.  Grab hold of it.  Reach out and take what is yours.  For a lot of us, this is an area of struggle. It’s hard to position ourselves to receive without giving in return.  But it’s so very important for us to grasp this and to step into all that God wants to give us.  To do so, we must have a clear understanding of our identity. We are HEIRS.  We are entitled and have a right because of the work that Jesus did for us.  And if we belong to Jesus, we are Abraham’s heirs.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:29

We are heirs according to the promises given to Abraham.

What does this mean?  And what are these promises?  Abundant life.  Eternal life.  Blessed life.  Covenant people of God Almighty. A God who multiplies what is His. A God who blesses, protects, cherishes, loves and protects what is His!  Do you want this?  I know I do!!

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3

And…

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:1-8

You and I have a rightful place in these promises.

Read these verses carefully and insert your name in place of Abraham (Abram). The Word of God tells us so in Galatians 3:29.

Are you walking in these promises?  If not, start declaring them over yourself and your offspring daily. Speak life, not death.

Let’s look at an important aspect of stepping into our inheritance.

In Genesis 12 above, we see that Abraham was instructed to leave his family and land behind and head into new land. He didn’t know where he was going but he had faith to trust God. He believed God’s spoken words.

Do we believe God’s words?

In the Old Testament we see a shadow or pattern in the natural of what is to be in the spiritual. Abraham had to actually leave behind his family and everything he had ever known to step into the new land that God wanted to give him.

To advance spiritually in our walk with God, we must also be willing to do this.  It may not involve physically leaving your family behind; but, it may involve cutting the spiritual connections. It will definitely involve cutting generational curses and wrong-thinking.  In the verse below, Jesus tells us to leave behind all that is familiar to us to inherit eternal life.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:29

God instructed Abraham to leave his family in the natural.

Abraham was a Chaldean and was called out from his land. The Chaldeans were idol-worshipers.  God is telling Abraham to leave behind his many gods for the one true God.  In Matthew, this is what Jesus is referring to as well.  He is telling us to leave behind those things that we cling to in life that are comfortable and known to us.  Those things could include mindsets, strongholds and beliefs that are based on the way we were raised and not based in truth found in God’s Word.  We must step out of the old life and into our new life to claim our inheritance.

We will not advance forward if we are hanging onto our past.

What are you holding on to right now, today?  Do you have loved ones who died that you can’t leave in the past?  Do you have family members who may criticize and condemn your walk with God?

Not only can people be our hindrance to advancement but religion can be a major roadblock to our advancement in the Kingdom of God.  Do we live by the Word of God alone as our measuring stick against the world?  Or are we using what we’ve learned within our different denominations of Methodism, Catholicism, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc.?

Where are our doctrines and thoughts of God anchored?

If we cannot definitively answer this question with the very Word of God, then we may need to do some deep digging within. Religion can create strongholds and barriers within us that prohibit God from fully using us.  Do we believe every Word printed in the Bible?  Do we believe in healing miracles?  How about the possibility of raising someone from the dead?  Casting out demons?  Or how about the existence of demons at all?

I hope these questions get you thinking and searching for answers.

Go to the Word of God and seek God Himself in prayer.

Ask Him to show you what you need to see in His Word.  He will do so with love and patience.  His Word is alive and breathing and has power to transform lives.

The Word of God will turn a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.  Step into the FULL INHERITANCE Jesus died to give you. Don’t miss one single thing that He wants you to have.

Get hungry for more Jesus and for the Word of God (which is Jesus).

Stay in the Light and the Love always,

Eva

The Cat’s in the House

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Please be sure to read this entire post because this story takes a surprising twist of incredibly good news full of hope at the end.

I recently had a vivid image pop in my head during prayer time of a cat reaching its big, hideously ugly paw out towards a mouse. In this vision, I knew the cat and mouse to both be in the House of God. The mouse was God’s children and the cat was Satan.

This is truth.  The cat is in the House with the mouse.

The cat was playing with the mouse with its fierce, long, menacing claws. It put fear in the mouse making the mouse run around wildly not knowing where to go.  But it did not kill the mouse. Before the cat could get a firm grip on the mouse, the mouse found a hiding place in the wall of the House where the cat could not reach.

Another truth we need to know is the House will protect the mouse.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Psalm 91:1-4

In this Psalm, the Psalmist shows us that God alone is our hiding place.  If we choose the Most High as our Lord and Savior, He will be our refuge and place of safety. He will cover us with His mighty feathers and shelter us with His wings. He will be our House of protection from the enemy. He will hide us away from the enemy’s reach.  He will even hide us away from the enemy’s sight!

In my vision, the House of God did just this – the mouse ran into the wall outside of the cat’s reach and sight.

As I was praying and seeing this vision, at first I was stunned that the cat was allowed in the very House of God.  But then God reminded me of Job. In the Scripture below, we see Satan in front of the Throne of God in God’s House.  The Word goes on to tell us that Job had an open door of pride that gave permission for Satan to enter his house.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:6-12

Like Job, we can unknowingly allow access for the cat to come into our house as well.

It’s important to have an intimate relationship with God so that any possible open doors we may have can be identified and closed.  Some examples could be fear, pride, lust, and jealousy.

Scripture tells us that we are God’s Temple which makes us God’s House. I don’t mean to be confusing so let me explain. I’m speaking literally of our church buildings as God’s House and I am also speaking spiritually of God’s House being within each of us as the Church.

In the book of Job, we see that Satan is allowed into the very presence of God so we shouldn’t be surprised to find him within our churches. Satan is the master deceiver and his goal is to divert our attention away from God by attempting to steal our identity.  If he can convince us that we are not the chosen children of God, he succeeds in messing with our thinking which in turn diverts us from our main job of discipleship and leading people to Jesus.

Our goal in this life should be one thing and one thing only – to empty hell and populate heaven.

To do this, we need to learn to spot the cat in God’s house. We can only do this when we know God’s Word because Satan twists God’s Word ever-so-slightly casting doubt on us and on Jesus. When we get God’s Word deep within us, we’re able to spot the deception.

There are so many benefits to reading God’s Word daily but the one that stands out for the purpose of today’s post is that it gives us the only weapon needed to fight the enemy.  In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that God’s Word is our Sword of defense.

In Matthew 4, when Satan was tempting Jesus by distorting the Word, we see Jesus serving the Word right back to Satan.  Every hit Satan made, Jesus responded with, “It is written…”  And Satan backed off and left Jesus alone that day.

The Word of God prevailed for Jesus and it will prevail for us – every time!

But before we can say, “It is written…” we must know what it says, right?  If we don’t know what it says, there’s no way we can stand on it when we are facing the enemy.

Let me share one more layer to this message.

We need these enemies in our life and they will benefit us but only when we are fully equipped and prepared to stand against them.  Yes, you read that correctly.

Predators have a purpose.

In nature, predators actually help keep the herds healthy by not allowing them to get complacent in one area.  If herds were to get complacent in one area, they would soon be eating their own waste which would bring disease and death to their numbers.  Predators keep herds moving to new land.

Predators in our spiritual life are necessary as well.  You probably think I’m crazy about now but let me explain. If we did not have to be on our toes to stand firm against our spiritual predators, how easy would it be to get complacent in our prayer life and our time with God and His Word!

Complacency is not good.

It brings spiritual disease and death.  We cannot afford to ignore or, even worse, be unaware that we are in warfare with the enemy.  If we’re not one step in front of the enemy, we’re in his camp.

It’s important to get daily doses of the Word to give us wisdom and spiritual armor.

Let me bring this post to a close with the surprising twist that God showed me a week or so after my vision of the cat and the mouse.  This is so encouraging and edifying I can’t wait to share!

As I was praying into that vision for more revelation and insight, God spoke clearly to my heart telling me that a lot of things look a certain way when actually it is but a mere shadow of the true reality.  A friend of mine recently said that Satan uses fun-house mirrors to distort our vision of reality.  This is what God showed me about the cat and the mouse.

GOD IS THE CAT.

He is the Lion of Judah and He is “The” Cat toying with Satan, who is really the mouse.  Boom! There’s the amazing surprise twist!!

Do you see it?   Satan wanted me to focus on him and him alone as the big, fierce cat.  When all along he was just imitating God, who is the real Cat!   God uses Satan and toys with him as the cat and mouse in my vision.  Satan is a pawn God uses to strengthen and build up His children.

It is up to us to see what we see.

We can make the choice to see God as “The” CAT and Satan as the mouse.  Or we can make the choice to see Satan as the cat and us as the mouse.  It’s our call.

Choose today to see the Lion of Judah! Keep your focus on Him and Him alone.

I hope this word encouraged you as much as it did me.  God really grew my faith in this word and that’s my hope for you in my sharing it.  I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

Not Enough Makeup in the World…

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Do you ever hide?

Recently I was at a family event and my 3 year old great niece was being bashful, hiding her face from me.  She put her small little hands over her eyes and ducked her head against her grandmother’s chest.  I could read her mind perfectly, “I can’t see you, so you can’t see me!”

Isn’t this what we still do even though we are no longer 3 years old?  We hide our face from those closest to us, from the people we know and love, from our very Maker.

We think if we put up our hands and hide our face that no one else can see our fears and our hurts.

We do this in so many different ways like hiding behind hurt, anger, fear, bitterness, and rejection.  We say to ourselves, “If you don’t know who I really am, you can’t hurt me.”  Or “If you don’t see the pain, then I don’t have to deal with it.”  Or , “If you knew the real me, you wouldn’t like me.”

Well there’s one thing wrong with our great game of hiding.

God seeks and He always finds what He seeks.

He’s the Master and Creator of the hide and seek game.  And what a wonderful truth this is for each of us!!  When we hide, He gently peels our hands away from our face and tilts our chin up to look at Him.  He tells us how very special and loved we are. We are His precious children and He is fiercely protective of each of us.

More than anything, He wants us to walk in the freedom that He sent Jesus to give us.

Another truth we need to know about the great game of hide and seek is that we are not capable of hiding our heart from God.  There is no amount of makeup in the world to cover up our true heart.  There are no disguises or masks to put over it.

Our heart is laid bare before God ~ regardless if we are a believer or not.

While we can hide our true self from our family, friends, and even from ourselves at times, we cannot hide who we truly are from Him.  It is out of our control.  And it is also out of our control to make any change to our heart in our own strength.

Let me put it this way.  If you have babies or grand-babies, you are going to do everything within your control to keep those babies from anything dangerous in your home, right? You’re going to baby-proof the cabinet doors where the medicine is kept. You’re going to put up baby gates in front of steps so they don’t fall.  You’re going to make sure there is nothing poisonous or harmful within reach of your precious babies.

This is exactly what God does for His babies.

He child-proofs our heart and there’s NOTHING we can do on our own to access what is within our heart EXCEPT through Him.

A few minutes ago I was reading the first chapter in second Chronicles and I saw this important truth.  Let’s look at it together.

6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

11 Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”

2 Chronicles 1:6-12

Solomon brought an offering to God that pleased Him.   When we give God our praise and worship and love, we please Him as well. God looked at Solomon’s heart and saw what he truly desired.  There were no masks or games of hide and seek.

Solomon asked for wisdom because He wanted wisdom to lead God’s people.  And look what God did for Solomon.  He not only gave him wisdom but He gave him all the things that he never even asked for.

When we bring our praise and worship and love to God and open up our hearts to Him, He will give us our heart’s desires and more.  It is our praise and worship and love for God that lines up our desires with His desires. His ways are so, so  much higher than we can ever imagine.

He’s a loving and caring Father who protects His children as we stumble along.

And He provides a way for us to step away from the baggage we accumulate and carry around in this world. His Word is our way out. His Word will cleanse us from the dirt of the world. The Word of God is the soap we need to get clean.

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

John 15:3

Jesus spoke these words telling us that we are clean because of His Word.

Friends, do you have hurts and brokenness in your heart that is holding you back from your full destiny in Christ?

Do you have bitterness and unforgiveness from something that happened to you holding you stuck in one point in time in the past?

Do you struggle with feelings of insignificance and insecurities?

How about feelings of rejection?

Well I have great news for you.

Today is the day for you to find your freedom.

God’s Word will set you free from all these things. Open it up and start reading and don’t ever stop.  If you need help in getting started, reach out to a trusted friend or pastor. Reach out to me and I’ll help you.  Just reach out.

Here’s a free guide that I wrote as a “getting started” guide to reading the Word. It’s one of many that will be available on my website in the future.  Share this guide with your friends and family.  We’re all in this race together and it’s our responsibility to help each person God puts in our path to finish the race well.

Introduction Passion for Reading the Word of God

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

A Miracle Cure for Everything

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What if I told you I stumbled upon a miracle cure for all things?

This miracle cure can do anything and everything that you need. It can replace all things missing in your life.  At one time in the past, there were travelling salesmen who went town to town selling their miracle elixirs that cured all ailments.  Hungry and searching people bought it up only to find out that it was nothing more than alcohol.  I’m sure many people felt cheated and duped by these slick con men.

But aren’t there still slick con men among us telling us that we are not enough and never have been and never will be unless we listen to their lies?

We are still hungry and searching people looking for that miracle cure. We race through life going from one diet or get rich quick scheme to another looking for the answer to all of our problems.

If we could lose weight, all would be right.

If we had more money, problems would magically disappear.

Sadly, too many of us chase these things with all that we have – all our energy, our money, our time – and we come up short.  We wind up feeling even worse about ourselves and our life after these quick fixes don’t work.

One more failure to add to the list of all the other failures.

But remember what I said when I started this post, what if I told you I stumbled upon a miracle cure for all things?  A tried and true fix for everything.

Do you need parenting advice for your wayward child?

Do you need financial provision and guidance?

Do you desire to feel better about yourself when you look in the mirror?

Are you looking for a spouse to spend the rest of your life with?

Are you longing for a deeper relationship with God?

Do you desire to hear God for yourself but you never think you can?

Do you want to fit in and belong?

There is something that will help you in every single one of these areas along with any other area of life you can imagine.

It is the Word of God.  The Bible.  We should pray daily for the Word of God to become our greatest treasure. We should pray that God give us a deep hunger for His Word that nothing else can satisfy.  Ask God for a hunger that can never be satisfied even when we spend a lifetime trying. A hunger that fills us even at the same time as keeping us empty for more.

For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

Hebrews 4:12

If we allow the Word to become the dominant cure that we seek for all areas of our lives, we’ll walk in the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10.  If we allow the Word to change our thoughts, we’ll see dramatic change in our lives.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

Do you see the slick con man in this verse?  He is the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy. He’s among us and he wants nothing more than for us to buy his lies.  But Jesus… read the rest of the verse.  Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the full – or abundance.  This is truth, friends.

The Word of God is our judge.

It will clean out all the junk from our hearts and our minds if we read it with spiritual eyes. If we read the Bible with critical or natural eyes, it will not help us. When we read the Word, we must read it with our hearts and allow it to clean house.

These are some of the things that the Word will do for us:

It will show us how to be a Son and not a slave.

It is our weapon against the attack of the enemy.

It teaches us to distinguish from good and evil.

It speaks to us as the very voice of God.

It reveals Jesus to us because Jesus is the Word.

Who doesn’t want their life to be better?

The Word is literally the cure for every single area of our lives.  When we know our identity in Christ we can conquer anything man can throw at us. When we know that our citizenship is in heaven, not earth, we lose our fear of death.

When we know our true identity and have no fear of death, we are immovable and unconquerable forces that WILL overcome darkness in this world.

Start reading the Word today. If you’re unsure how to start or if the Bible intimidates you, reach out to someone you know and trust to help you get started. Reach out to me and I’ll gladly help you get started.  Just reach out.

It’s time for all of us to walk in the freedom Jesus died to give us.

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva

Moving Away From Passivity

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I started something new. I started asking God for my Word for the day.  In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily bread. His Word is our daily bread and we should be asking and receiving a fresh, new word every day. It’s exciting each day to receive a new word. I encourage you to do this as well! Ask and you shall receive.

Just as God rained down bread from heaven for the Israelites, He still rains down bread for us. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

Deuteronomy 16:4

As I prayed for my word today, I heard “passivity.”

And I knew that I had to dig a little deeper to get a better understanding of what God is showing me in this word.  So I Googled the word:)

Passivity (root word – passive) is defined as:

  • acceptance of what happens, without active response or resistance
  • lacking in energy or will: lethargic: tending not to take an active or dominant part
  • acted upon by an external agency: receptive to outside impressions or influences
  • not active or operating

God’s Word promises us new life in Christ.

But are we living a new life now? Or does it look suspiciously like our old life?  Jesus gave us His peace when He went to sit at His Father’s right side. But do we see that peace in our life?

Too many of us in the Body of Christ are passively waiting on God to act. Click To Tweet

We are lethargic, lacking in energy or will. We are accepting of what happens in our lives without actively resisting those things that are not of God.   

We are passively being led through life by others instead of taking the reigns and being the leaders.

Let me share this important truth.  This is not God’s will for us! 

While we are passively sitting around waiting for God to act, oftentimes, He is waiting on us to act.

It’s a stand-off.  Us against God – and I’m sure we can both guess who will win. 

Are you waiting on God to show you clearly the calling on your life?

Are you waiting on God to clean up some areas of your life in the hopes of being drawn closer to Him?

Are you in need of healing?

Do you have inner pain that consumes you?

Do you live life a little out of control hoping that any minute, God will bring peace and joy but never really experiencing that peace or joy?

God wants us to enter into His rest but His rest is not passivity. 

The promise of entering into God’s rest still stands for us today.

Here are some things the Word instructs us to do even as we are in His rest:

  • Pay careful attention to what we’ve heard so that we do not drift away (Hebrews 2:1)
  • Fix your thoughts on Jesus (Hebrews 3:1)
  • Hold on to our courage and hope (Hebrews 3:6)
  • Do not harden your hearts (Hebrews 3:7)
  • Do not have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12, 19)
  • Encourage one another daily so that no one may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13)
  • Be obedient (Hebrews 3:18)
  • Combine what we hear with our faith (Hebrews 4:2)

So what exactly does it mean to “enter into His rest?”

Let’s read a little more in Hebrews 4.

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.  Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

               “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:

               “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:2-7

Jesus finished the work since the creation of the world.

We simply need to rest in Jesus and let Him guide our lives. As He guides our lives, we will see victory and success, even during trials and suffering. When we allow Jesus to take over our lives, we will not only experience peace and joy but it will become the very DNA in our beings. 

When we enter into His rest, we will accomplish more in one hour than we ever could accomplish in a full day in our own flesh.  So the question is this: Are you living life in Christ Jesus or in your own efforts?  This is the difference between finding His rest and not finding it.

I hope we all find His rest TODAY. 

Stay in the Light and Love always,

Eva