My Reasons for Categorizing Me in Priority Area #1 God
I put myself in the first Priority Area relationship with God.
Hear me clearly, I don’t categorize myself in the #1 Priority Area to be FIRST place in anything as only Jesus is (Colossians 1:13-18).
I am not trying to be God by putting myself there and if you knew me personally you would learn that I am the furthest from having a “God-complex” (thinking too much of yourself than you should) as it comes.
Even if I wanted to as a “new creation” “child of God” (the honor of THIS new “child of God” status in His Kingdom is truly AWESOME!!!), my Master Jesus’ own example would never allow for it. So, as long as I live here on earth my “attitude” as His devoted Disciple is to “empty” myself and take the form of a “bondservant” of God (Philippians 2:5-21; Galatians 1:10).
You ask God for yourself what it means to be “born again” as a “child of God” by His Spirit. All I know is that we are no longer “mere men” anymore just as Paul explained in 1Corinthians 2:5-3:4. We are now a “spiritual” “new creation” made in the image of Jesus … the Son of God. What that all means God knows for certain (1 John 3:1-10).
Here’s what I DO KNOW: I get the great honor, great authority and great power that my Master Jesus and Father in Heaven have given to me just as John shared in 1 John 2:24-3:3 and Jesus explained in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to literally “walk in the same manner as He walked” with the Father as “children of God” “on earth as it is in heaven” (1 John 2:3-6; Matthew 6:8-15).
There is SO MUCH to learn from this new identity as a “child of God” and disciple of Jesus the King of Heaven and only “begotten” Son of God who was with the Father “before the world was” and has “seen the Father” when nobody else has. In my view, this gives Jesus the title of “God” who as Paul explained, “existed in the form of God,” as I reference in a couple of sentences below from his letter to the Philippians.
Without a doubt this new identity of “abiding” in Jesus is the source of all of my “fruit” coming out of my life including the unshakeable CONFIDENCE of “Who I Am!” during this brief time on earth as well as my eternal life promise with Jesus forever more (John 15:1-8). I hope it is your SOURCE too!
I don’t practice “false humility” in who I am abiding in Jesus because to do so would dishonor my God, my Master and His Gift to me that makes me who I am by His great grace.
So, this means you will never hear me trying to down-play my new status in His eternal Kingdom for the sake of those who have NOT received who they really are … yet … and who are offended by my GREAT CONFIDENCE in Him.
I hope you don’t practice “false humility” because of some jealous person pressuring you or expecting you to NOT be confident like they are. I hope you too have learned to rest assured in your most AWESOME new identity as a Child of God!
But above all else I hope you learn from Jesus how to “walk in the same manner as He walked” so as to not always have to use your great authority and power in His Kingdom … even though you could.
Even Jesus, “although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men,” He did not seek His own interests first but His Father’s while on the earth and He is my Model in all things (Philippians 2:3-8; 2:19-21).
My reasons for categorizing myself in Him have everything to do with what Jesus taught me from His message in John 17.
I mean I simply just take Jesus at His word about Who I Am as I “abide” in Him spiritually and you can too.
It is the foundation of Who I Am (a.k.a. my V10 App using my Activated for These Times language) and also the SOURCE of my “Most fulfilling place on earth” Life Goal you will learn at my Chestnutland Portal.
We are greatly honored to be invited by Jesus into a spiritually unified or “one” relationship with God that Jesus prayed in great detail for us to receive from Him in John 17 and also in Matthew 11:25-30. Read those passages on your own.
I interpret them like this: my own identity is abiding inside Him and His “first place in everything” role as God and Creator of everything.
It should not surprise anyone that God’s own Creation who used to be worse than the most rebellious teenager saying, “Why did you make me like this? I blame you!” will respond in a RESTORED RELATIONSHIP by saying, “I love everything about how You created me and I want to agree with You as quickly as I can about literally EVERYTHING.”
So, I by my free choice choose to RETURN to a Creator/created relationship that abides in and seeks His “will” at all times in His Spirit.
This includes the mystery of what Paul received from His Spirit, “… we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).
Paul had a great way of putting things into words so I refer you to his words in Galatians 2:20 to better understand how I too “abide” in Jesus and receive His John 17 calling to be “one” with Him and the Father in His Spirit.
So, Who I Am comes from Him “first place in everything” and the learning and receiving process from His Kingdom accessed through His Gift has been a significant healing, deliverance and “transfer” of Kingdoms journey (Colossians 1:13).
He has healed me in ways I cannot even explain in 1D because they are truly a 3D mysterious spiritual and natural experience and journey.
My journey has my own life circumstances and yours will have yours.
But I do share with you many of the key lessons I have learned that should apply to everyone at some level throughout my Chestnutland Portal.
I always distinguish between my “second-hand” testimony of God’s words (that to me was “first-hand” from God at the time of Personal revelation) even as you too require your own “revelation in the Knowledge of Him” for yourself to fully “get” it “first-hand” and ultimately receive it in your own life circumstances (Ephesians 1:17).
So, I am in real practice His FIRST in every sense of the word, even as I certainly have my own second-place unique Chestnutland self-identity named “Kehrt” and my own cultural choices in life that also make up that age-old question, “Who Am I?”
I don’t blame God for my cultural choices!
He gives me freedom to choose this part of my life and I teach you how to do it too.
I explain how Human-made Culture is one of the BEST parts of living life on earth when Jesus becomes “first place in everything” to us.
I teach you to enjoy it where other Christians might teach you otherwise for lack of freedom and faith (Romans 14).
My whole life as a disciple of Jesus has been asking that important, “Who Am I?” question to God.
Before I was a disciple I used to look to everyone else but God for those answers or simply asked myself.
No doubt you and everyone else has too.
I have learned for myself that there is a right time to ask others, for example your Parents, for your family heritage identity answers or for certain other aspects of your identity.
But as I have matured in Jesus and my RECEIVING practice from Him as my Primary Model and Teacher in life has matured as well (1 John 2:6. 2:26-27), it has confirmed my choice to NOT have or create my own Priority Area CATEGORY called “Me” but to simply put “me” “abiding” in Him at all times.
I am certainly still there but you hopefully will see a priority difference between Who I Am as His devoted disciple now “abiding” in Him from someone living without God in this world.
What does this mean in real practice?
I hope it means exactly what Jesus meant “abiding” was meant to be like in John 15:1-8 or John 17.
I hope it is exactly what the apostle John meant in 1 John 2:3-6.
Anyone like me who chooses to categorize their personal identity inside their Priority Area #1 God relationship category is almost forced into that most-to-be-desired relationship with our Creator that FIRST asks how He made us and about His plan and design for our life before seeking anyone else first (including asking our self – 1 Corinthians 4:1-5).
Without even having to try that hard this approach toward Jesus amazingly helps me maintain my Personal “first place in everything” honor toward Him at all times which I interpret as the essence of the Greatest Commandment to love God with everything (Colossians 1:13-18; Philippians 2:21; 3:12-15; Matthew 22:34-40).
It also keeps me seeking “first His kingdom and His righteousness” and His interests first (a.k.a. His will) before seeking my own (Matthew 6:33).
It is also how I maintain my “simplicity of devotion to Christ” that the Devil so wants to hijack if allowed to (2 Corinthians 11:2-4). Call it a “child-like” faith … call it “simple faith” … call it anything you like. I just know God likes it (Matthew 11:25-30).
I am thankful that in over 30 years as Jesus’ disciple the Devil really has not been a serious threat in his “thief” role (see John 10:10) because of my Personal relationship devotion of 100% to Jesus not allowing him anything but 0%.
I may stray a bit now and then but His Spirit “Helper” and His great Grace and Truth working together in 3D at the same time “on earth as it is in heaven” lead me out of all of my NAVIGATION IN 3D Problems Big and small.
It’s like He is turning on the “light” for me from Heaven in a dark world and always leading me back to His “path” or “will” He has ordained for my life in 3D (Ephesians 5:13-17).
Look to Paul’s example of how a 100% devotion to Jesus works explained in his own words in Galatians 2:20.
This is not to say that there is not a HUGE learning curve to daily maintain that 100% devotion to Jesus as we start as “Baby” ignorant students (called “disciples”) of Jesus’ ways, truth and life example in 3D.
It is truly a step-by-step growing up process into His Image.
There is certainly a HUGE learning curve at the beginning! But from that FIRST Moment of transferring from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Jesus through His Gift (D2) you begin to understand His GREATER POWER at work in your life than any other power in this world!
You will learn that what He is offering us by His Spirit of Grace includes His 100% FREEDOM to walk free from the Devil just as He Himself walked free!
This is one of the most important teachings Jesus ever commanded me to receive for myself and then to pass on to brand new disciples of Jesus in His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
You may have initially received it in invitation form from Jesus but I guarantee you that when you become a disciple of His you will THEN ALWAYS get it in COMMAND form from that point forward.
There is no other way to live as His disciple because Jesus said, “You cannot serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).
Your life is all about your own Personal commitment or devotion to the ONE Master (2 Corinthians 11:2-4).
You will find that at any given time you or the Christian standing next to you will NOT have the same level of Personal commitment to Jesus.
You have control over your own devotion level and nobody else’s.
That devotion to Jesus as your Master is ultimately between you and Him and you have to trust Jesus to maintain His own “first place in everything” relationship with everyone else.
I mean you have to trust that He can make His own disciples “stand” with Him (Romans 14:4; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; John 21:2-22).
Christianity is NOT about comparing yourself with others and them comparing themselves with you (2 Corinthians 10:12) .
He will at times use us to serve His Talk He already is having with our brothers and sisters in the faith, but it is NEVER meant to take the place of or replace His “first place in everything” conversation in 3D going on at any given time in a person’s life with God.
It’s all about each individual disciple comparing themselves with Jesus their Master in a Daily Devotional relationship and waiting for His instructions about literally ANYTHING called “the will of the Lord” (Ephesians 5:13-17; Matthew 6:10).
It’s all about continually asking for His grace to cover us until we find His Way Out (His Way and Truth) of every problem Big and small in our life.
One can describe the same thing as finding and receiving “the will of My Father who is in heaven” as Jesus always challenged us in His Gospel (1 John 2:3-6; Matthew 7:21).
If we can learn to do that then we get the great honor of receiving the benefits of Jesus’ Gospel and His great and awesome “mystery of Christ” epic HisStory for His creation!
You may know the same exact message about the greater power of God living inside you by His Spirit in 1 John 4:4 and John 17:13-21.
Picture it as Him “abiding” in you and you “abiding” in Him according to His message in John 17 (see also 1 John 2:26-27).
I teach that if you can maintain that “abiding” 100% surrender to and commitment to Jesus (even as we all make mistakes from time to time and walk in Jesus’ great grace found in His Gift – D2) then you too can walk “free” in this world “in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6, Galatians 5:1).
That is the simplified version of why I choose to find my own Priority Area of “me” “abiding” in the Priority Area #1 God category (John 15:1-8; 1 John 2:3-6).
Of course, ALL five Priority Area relationships define Who I Am! in some way or another (#1 God; #2 Spouse; #3 Family; #4 Work; #5 Neighborhood of Relationships).
In my Planners I include a #6 Other Priority Area just to help you categorize any other relationships in your life.
I teach you how to seek Jesus for answers to your own, “Who Am I?” questions and turn them into “Who I Am!” statements.
I serve Your Life In 3D and not just in 1D which always begins first finding and receiving the mystery of Jesus and His “first place in everything” power and revelation and knowledge of His Spirit at work in your life.
