Joshua and Caleb

Joshua and Caleb

When God had delivered the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and they were about to enter the land of Canaan, God told Moses to send out 12 spies to see what the land was like, who was living there, and what would need to be done to take the land that God had already promised belonged to them. It’s a beautiful description of what God has already provided in Jesus and how He desires us to overcome in this life by trusting in God’s Word – God’s will for us. When you read these scriptures, ask yourself what was the report given by the ten spies and what did Joshua and Caleb report? How did the children of Israel respond? What were the different results for the children of Israel and for Joshua and Caleb? Which response pleased God?  What are the promises God has already given you in Jesus and how can we lay hold of them in our lives?

Numbers 13:1-2  The Lord now said to Moses, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites.

 V 17-19 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaa, he said to them“Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 

V 25-30 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.  This was their report to Moses: We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.” But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” (this is the spirit that God was pleased with!)

Numbers 13:31-33 But the other men who had explored the land with him (Caleb) disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Numbers 14:6-12 Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

I believe God wants us to be aggressive participants activating our faith, bringing victory over darkness in this present world, which compels us to know God’s word, not passively sitting back waiting for a sovereign God to do it for us . The 10 spies were controlled by fear not faith! How many times did Jesus exhort his followers to fear not?

We all have circumstances in our lives that are “bad reports.” And we all have the opportunity to walk in fear or in faith, believing what God says about it – or believing what our flesh, the world and the devil says about it. Are we putting our trust in the bad report and walking in fear or are we putting our trust in Jesus and His Word and walking in faith. Joshua and Caleb didn’t deny what they saw – they denied what they saw was greater than what their God said.  He had already declared the land belonged to them.  Look what the children of Israel wanted to do with Joshua and Caleb after hearing their good report.

Number 14:19  But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb.

Why would somebody today want to stone Joshua and Caleb because they chose to believe and act on God’s word? Something’s really wrong with that!

What was God’s response to the children of Israel?

Numbers 14:10-12 Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? [Whose side do you think God’s on???] Will they never believe Me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” [Mark 9:19 And Jesus said to his disciples….”Oh unbelieving generation”]

v15-17 [Moses said] Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, ‘The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness. [Do we think God is able and willing to bless us, His children? what does His word say?] “Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. [Do we believe God’s power is as great as He has claimed???]  

v22 not one of these people will ever enter that land.

God is talking to you and I here also!!!

Numbers 26:63-65 So these are the results of the registration of the people of Israel as conducted by Moses and Eleazar.  Not one person on this list had been among those listed in the previous registration taken by Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, “They will all die in the wilderness.” Not one of them survived except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Numbers 32:11-12  ‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

God had told Moses to send out 12 spies, paralleling that to today would be to send out 12 pastors into our present world, and to ask them what they see spiritually as they look at this present world?  Ten of them would speak of the fear they see in the world, saying we are subject to our the culture we live in. we need to adjust and tolerate it until the sweet by and by and trust that God is sovereign so He’ll do whatever He wants or thinks best. It’s a passive message which accomplishes nothing in the eyes of God just like back in the time of Moses -- which angered God! The 10 spies and all their followers died in the wilderness without entering the land God gave to them and wanted them to enter. The only two who lived to enter the land were Joshua and Caleb! Why? Because they pleased God with the spirit and attitude of faith, putting their enemy under their feet and taking the land through faith. They knew their God and trusted what He said and followed Him fully (with all their hearts). God said the land belonged to them and they believed and acted on what God said despite the circumstances they saw. They valued and trusted God’s Word more than what they saw. You cannot learn this God kind of faith from any preacher who doesn’t have this revelation of faith. You can have head faith which results in death or heart faith which results in life.

James 1:22  But be doers of the Word [obey the message] and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth.]

Many individuals come against the faith that pleases God. Do we believe God’s Word the way Joshua and Caleb did or do we give up because of the negative circumstances and yield to fear, doubt and unbelief like the children of Israel who followed the other 10 spies and died in the wilderness.  What does that tell us? One way pleases God, the other doesn’t! 

We need to learn and be able to tell the difference when someone is preaching in the spirit of faith as Joshua and Caleb or preaching unbelief through circumstances, fear, and you never know what God’s going to do!

The Lord was angry with the children of Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died.

Deuteronomy 1:34-36 “When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the (good land) I swore to give your ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord (completely). I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’

Please understand what’s being said.  I am not saying if we live godly lives walking by faith in Jesus through His Word we will avoid persecution, trials and tribulation. In this world we will have tribulation. But as Paul said, “many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivered me from them all” (Psalm 34:19 | Timothy 3:11 | 4:17-18) and he will deliver us through persecution, trials and tribulation if we will trust Him by believing Him, speaking His word and taking authority over our situation or the tribulation!

If Jesus is truly the Lord of our lives He has given us everything we need to live a full and godly life right where we are, but there are giants in the land of our lives.  There may not be hills to climb, brush to cut through, rivers to cross and large men to fight and destroy, but we all have situations to overcome that bring pressure on us so we let go of what God’s word says and give in to fear, doubt and unbelief. Jesus doesn’t want us to ignore the situations we find ourselves in – He wants you to know He is with you and desires to lead you to victory in this life – to overcome. No, it’s not always fun! But Jesus is worthy and faithful!

1 John 4:4 Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.

Believe Him!

Faith Seeks Truth

Faith Seeks Truth

Matthew 9:29 Then Jesus touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened.

Be it done unto you according to your faith (putting your trust) in Jesus, in His ability, faithfulness and desire! This has not changed, Jesus has not changed! Oftentimes, we don’t have the spiritual guts and tenacity to press into God’s word so our faith can develop according to the will of God -- which is the same way Jesus walked. Religion has so infiltrated the truth of the word of God amongst believers, now it’s intellectual faith. We believe in our heads, but if we don’t see it immediately, we say God doesn’t do that anymore, which is a lie! He is the same yesterday today and forever!  [Hebrews 13:8].

How many times did Jesus admonish his followers because of their little or lack of faith? Bottom line brothers and sisters is who you are being taught by!  Does what you’re hearing really line up with the word of God or are you believing what your pastor said or the guy on the radio or the latest podcast. When the accountable time comes we are going to be without excuse. How did the godly people of the Bible walk? Let that be our example! Let Jesus be our example! But the attitude today is if you offend me I’ll take my Bible and go elsewhere and find someplace that will say it the way I want to hear it!  Are we seeking truth or seeking out where we can feel comfortable.

2 Timothy 4:3  For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Now who’s going to admit to this??? But it’s true or God would not have put it in His Word, and it’s happening right before our eyes! [Matthew 13 parable of the sower] Is what you are hearing causing you to want to grow in your relationship with Jesus, helping you apply His Word to your life, empowering you put off the old man’s and put on the new man’s nature, encouraging you to know Jesus better.    Which one are you?  Are you teachable? Really?

Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

This is the only way faith comes—hearing the Word of God—the Voice of God with our hearts. We can’t pray for faith—and Yes, you’re right,  it’s going to cost you something to develop your faith into what pleases God!  Few attain this!  You may ask why? Because it’s determined by the condition of your heart!     Am I really seeking truth (Jesus) with all my heart?    Do I want the world more than I want God?    How much of God do I really want?     50% = unacceptable; 75% = unacceptable; God demands 100%.  Ask yourself, what are my motives for who I give attention to and allow to spiritually influence me?    The closer we get to the truth of God’s Word the stronger the persecution will be!   Just always remember, when I stand before God I will have no excuses!!!   It is written!!!

Let me explain what I mean when I say hundred percent. The person desiring 100% of God seeks God’s word often and with the intent and commitment to act on it.  We cannot grow by prayer, as important as prayer is, we can only grow and develop our faith in Jesus by sitting at His feet as Mary did, seeking understanding with a pure heart, listening to what the Holy Spirit shows us in our hearts and applying what we hear to our everyday circumstances. This is how we find and develop in God’s kind of faith. I’m not saying it’s an easy walk, because we have an enemy (the devil) who doesn’t want us to know who we are in Jesus and what belongs to us, but by the power of God’s Spirit in you, it is definitely attainable! Don’t be afraid to ask questions, does it witness in your heart? Does it line up with God’s character, and Jesus example? The world with all of its fame, fortune, power and pleasure is so alluring but so empty! Is having healthy fun wrong, of course not, but it is so easy to put entertainment in the place of where Jesus belongs! The attractions of the world are becoming more seductive and abundant, distracting us away from what Jesus died to give us. Are we seeking Jesus with all of our hearts, are we listening for His Voice or are we becoming too distracted, too comfortable, too complacent, and being deceived,  stolen from, seduced away from the truth?

Fellowshipping today consists of people gathering together talking about nothing (of much importance). True fellowship that pleases Jesus is an attitude of concern for each other spiritually and how to apply it practically.  Seldom are we gut honest with each other for fear you might find out who I really am, we’re so insecure about what we believe we’re leery of everybody. If somebody doesn’t believe exactly like we do (or our church does) we reject them and disown them as our brother or sister—This shouldn’t be! I don’t think this is our Father’s desire and intent of fellowship. If somebody doesn’t understand  faith as I do, I shouldn’t have a problem with that, it may have an impact on how we pray, and what we believe for, but if my heart is really right I should be concerned through prayer and loving counsel for my brother or sister to receive the perfect will of God for them, and if they believe they are, and are receptive to the truth of the word of God, what’s that to me? If they are not receptive to the truth of the word of God, let go! They are not your responsibility! But I do think if we were in a prayer group with Jesus, his prayers would be extremely bolder than ours are! [Matthew 7:29] Jesus took authority over darkness always and aggressively!!! Why don’t we???. I’m not exhorting anybody to believe like me unless it’s the same way Jesus believes!  If Jesus does it,  do it!   If Jesus says it, say it! As Jesus mother said at the wedding feast, whatever He says do it!!! This is faith!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope (believe) for (according to His will) and assurance about what we do not see.

This kind of faith is what the men of old were commended for. This is totally foreign to most churchgoers.  This can only be entered into by a committed heart unto Jesus, which is led by His Holy Spirit. We feel if it doesn’t make sense to our minds so we reject it.  Faith is not produced from the intellect or from emotion-- only from the Word of God! Do you think you would have a different outlook about what faith means if you walked through life with Jesus, Abraham, or Moses rather than the people you are walking through life with now??? This is our choice!

I’m going to scrape the surface now! I believe a major problem in the body of Jesus today is we are coming against each other because we don’t understand the messenger. I could mention a name, or even many names and many would say they are of the devil! Wow, people don’t realize the dangerous ground they are on when they say stuff like that!

Now if there is a scriptural doctrine you disagree with that you have found in the word, I see nothing wrong with you shedding the light you have from the word on the subject. We are to discern the Word. God’s word teaches not to come against God’s anointed as David so faithfully exemplified in his relationship with Saul!  [I Samuel 24:6,10] After all are we really sure who those anointed are? That would be a dangerous error to go against God’s anointed!!! They said it about Jesus! [John 11:18,19 | Matthew 12:24 | John 7:20]  

It’s better to just say I don’t understand and walk in the understanding you have until you get more light in that area, because you might be opposing God Himself! These different gifts and revelations have been given to many throughout the body of believers so just because we don’t understand is no reason to disown one of our own who loves Jesus! If you choose not to be under the teaching of a certain person that is your choice, don’t get defensive, and cruelly destructive towards someone you do not agree with. After all we are all in continuous growth and what we don’t understand today might be the very revelation we need tomorrow to set us free from something. I have been blessed to have listened to many different messengers coming from all different angles and in one way or another I have been blessed by most. One messenger may have God’s revelation in the area of children, another in the area of marriage, another in the area of faith, another with great wisdom, another the abundance of encouragement, and the list goes on!!! 

I realize I am talking about love but in truth we cannot love apart from faith! How many people do you not like or understand, but because you walk by the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus you choose to love them and desire the best for them. This can’t be done without Jesus type faith! And then maybe as time goes on as you love them through faith, the Holy Spirit in you develops this liking to the person or persons, of which is all done by God through your obedience of faith to love! No I did not say it was easy, but a godly choice

1John 2:5-6  ^…but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as Jesus walked.  

1 John 2:9-11 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Are we walking in the light and in truth revealed by the Holy Spirit or are we walking in darkness?  The blind leading the blind?  Are we walking as Jesus walked or are we walking in our own understanding. Is our thinking being challenged and transformed or are we just conforming to another philosophy – another religious exercise?  Having begun by faith (by the Spirit), are we now walking as mere carnal men and women? It is very dangerous to judge another man’s heart and curse him because you disagree with his doctrine, although his walk proves his profession and love for Jesus! And really how well can we truly know another person’s walk? Jesus gave you the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth – guard your heart with all diligence and trust Him to lead you.

John 8:12  I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but you will have the light of life.

John 8:31  If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine and you will know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus--Who is He?

Do I really know and love Jesus, appreciate Him, exalt Him at every opportunity, talk with Him, listen to Him, live my life through Him or do I have head knowledge of Him only? Do I really understand His name and all His name stands for? What did He really do at the cross for me? This is the essence of Christianity! -- To know Jesus, to have an intimate relationship with Him, and to have a revelation of the power of His resurrection!

Don’t let these words overwhelm you, because this is a lifelong process, but unless we are sensitive to His person (Jesus), our Christianity can become very plastic and impersonal, which if we’re not careful can become very dry and boring.  If we are in close relationship with Jesus, the fire will stay hot! Yes, it will be a challenge because the enemy desires to steal our faith -- because without faith it is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6.

What Jesus did on the cross followed by His resurrection, is described best by John the apostle when he saw the Resurrected Jesus on the Isle of Patmos when he fell to the ground as dead, Revelation 1:10-18. That’s a power we don’t comprehend except in the Holy Spirit by faith.    

Let’s look at Revelations chapter 2 where Jesus speaks to the church of Ephesus. With all the things they were doing right, they lacked the most important thing.

Revelations 2:2-6  “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”

I have only heard it said that leaving your first love was leaving God. I don’t agree! A church doesn’t do these kinds of things and have these attitudes without the Spirit of God, flesh does not produce this!

What they left was, their intimacy and love and affection and appreciation for Jesus! If we are not careful we slowly drift into religious behaviors of which is not always bad because of its production, but in due time we could lose our motive. Our motive becomes performance and not abiding. Jesus must be our motive, our purpose, and our passion of which there is no foe that can withstand!

Maybe my favorite person in the Bible, other than Jesus (who is the Bible), is Mary Magdalene. I’m not sure she could even have explained God, she only knew the Master with every ounce of energy she had. She ate, slept, and breathed her Lord Jesus; she was consumed with Jesus! Before she met Jesus she was a prostitute and was delivered from seven demons, Those who recognize they have been forgiven much, love much!!! 

John 20:1-2  Mary Magdalenecame early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

John 20:11-17  Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “ Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “ Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”  Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “ Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’

Can’t you just see the interaction between Jesus and Mary. All she did was hear His voice call her name (“Mary”) and she lit up like a lightbulb!!! Why don’t I love Jesus like that??? and recognize He loves me like that!

Jesus loves us no less!!!  Now can’t you see how much your heavenly dad loves you!   

               John 14:8 “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”
           John 14:21 "The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really
           loves Me; and whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love Him and will
           reveal Myself to him - make Myself real to him.

When is the last time you and I wept because we hurt our friend Jesus by being unwilling to believe and trust Him? Praise God, for His mercy endures forever!!!

What is it that keeps us from knowing Jesus? What keeps us from knowing Jesus as our First Love?

2 Corinthians 11:3  But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus.

Walk with Jesus in the Gospels, He is the same yesterday today and forever [Hebrews 13:8] and trust what He said the—He is still saying the same thing now. We have to force our way into intimacy with Jesus. This cannot be done apart from seeking  Jesus with all of our heart, soul and mind. That’s why God said, 

Jeremiah 29:13...“ you will find me when you seek me with all your heart”.

The serpent (the devil, the deceiver) leads us away from Jesus and the true knowledge of Him by drawing our hearts, our attention away through busyness, entertainment, responsibilities, and comforts in the world. We feel we are doing a great honor to God by going to church on Sunday, but really where is our heart? And our heart is what really matters! In today’s world this is not easy; there are so many distractions. That is why we need to stay close to those who cause us to grow and hold us accountable in our walk with Jesus. As the serpent deceived Eve, we must ask ourselves, are we also being deceived? Where, how, why?

Colossians 1:12-13 Giving thanks unto the Father, who qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love; 

This is a powerful verse.  If we Christians are delivered out of the power of darkness and into the kingdom of Jesus, should we not have power over sin then and any attack of  the enemy? Are we willing to forgive? Am I willing to forgive myself? What does it mean to you to be delivered out of the power of darkness??? And into the power of God’s word? These questions have to be answered if you and I are to walk in the light of Jesus! These words have a powerful meaning! It puts a whole new meaning into the term born-again! If I am delivered out of the power of darkness, that means if I sin I choose to sin. I need to deal with it—I need to recognize what I’ve done and realize I’ve fallen short of His best for Me and turn from it, (called repentance). And now if I’m in the kingdom of Jesus, I receive His forgiveness and I refuse to receive any condemnation because the blood of Jesus cleanses me. I choose to walk by His Spirit in obedience to His word. (Bottom line is this, the devil does not have a right to have his way with me because I’m a new creation in Christ Jesus and have covenant rights (promises) which God desires me to walk in. (But he sure works hard to deceive me, he’s a master at deception) (that means I have to know who I am in Jesus, which takes diligence, searching out, trusting, knowing and learning God’s word.). I have to learn how to enforce this (Ephesians 6:16). My mind needs to be transformed -renewed to a new way of thinking. This does not mean we will not have persecution or tribulation, it just means in Jesus, by enforcing His word, trusting Him and His Word , allowing His Word to renew my mind by choosing to believe Him, we can rise above.

              I John 4:4  ...for greater is He, Jesus, who is in you than he that is in the world (devil). 

Do I  go through persecution and tribulation because of my walk with Jesus or because my flesh is an offense to people?[That can only be answered in each of our own hearts! The real truth here is most of us don’t study God’s Word the way we should, therefore we don’t know who we are in Jesus! But we are very quick to argue with other believers over our traditions or things we’ve heard from other people and not our own convictions, yet deep down in our heart oftentimes we are just wearing a Christian mask, which is a dangerous deception! We deceive ourselves into thinking we have something we really don't have - it's not a part of us - but it looks good to others. Conviction in your heart because God’s word spoke to a pure heart is one thing but believing something because someone else said it is another! God’s Word (who is Jesus) needs to be personally trusted in, relied on, believed in and acted on for it to take root in our lives [James 1:21-24].

Colossians 1:14-17  In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: (Jesus)  who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Jesus were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Jesus, and unto him; and Jesus is before all things, and in Him all things are held together.  

Colossians 1:18  He also is the Head of [His] body, the church; seeing He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that He alone in everythikng and in every respect might occupy the chief place [stand first and be preeminent]. For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Jesus should all the fulness dwell; and through Jesus to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.

What does this say to us? To me it says find your way in Him! Make Him your focus, 
your purpose, your everything. Return to your First Love, receive His forgiveness, 
and trust in His goodness and mercy towards you.