Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
How do you live your life IN CHRIST? It is a life rooted and grounded in Him. Be rooted in Him, putting your roots down deep and drawing up all you need from Him for life and godliness. In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and IN HIM they are yours as well, you have only to draw them out. And be grounded in Him as your foundation, the cornerstone, the keystone of the structure so that it will not be shaken. His Words are the foundation on which you build the house of your life. He fulfills and manifests My Name, “Our LORD is an everlasting Rock.” You can trust in Me forever, for in Me, YHWH, you have an everlasting Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4.
The success of your life comes from the foundation of your life. If you have laid the proper foundation the building which you build upon it will be strong and lasting, it will not go down with the first storm. And the healthy growth and fruitfulness of a tree depends on the soil in which it is planted and whether its roots have access to water and whether it has the sunshine it needs to produce. When the roots have tapped into a continuous flow of living water that tree will be green even in times of drought in the world. I use both as analogies about your life on earth, I compare your life to a structure built on the foundation of the Rock or on the shifting sand of the world. I call you My house and a temple of the Holy Spirit. And I liken you to a tree planted by springs of water, Psalm 1:3, Jeremiah 17:7-8, and trees planted in My house of worship, Psalm 92:12-15, Isaiah 61:3. And when you are planted in worship I call you palm trees and cedars. These are strong, tall, long lived, durable, verdant, evergreen, and insect and blight resistant trees.
Obviously you are not trees or buildings but there is a message there. Rooted and grounded in Christ, living IN CHRIST, you are being built upon the solid rock foundation of My Word and you have tapped into the continual feed of the ever flowing living water of the Spirit and the Light of the world for your sunshine (Son shine) at all times, for I have rescued you out of darkness and translated you as a new creation into the Kingdom of My Beloved Son, which is the Kingdom of Light. And I have given you My Word, in fact, you were born again from on High by the incorruptible seed of My Word planted in your heart that you may grow thereby. You are now planted in My house, which is Christ, whose Body is the Church of which you are all members. And each one of you too has become a temple of the Holy Spirit and a house of God. And here we see the aspect of your life as a building project—living stones being built together into an edifice of the Holy Spirit taking territory for My Kingdom on earth.
First, let us look at rooted in Christ. Be careful where you put your roots for that is where you will grow. And by roots I mean the beliefs on which you base your life, for these shape your thoughts, words, and deeds. You want to be firmly rooted in stable and fertile ground so that your life is not like the tossing sea or shifting sand.
And to grow, once you are firmly rooted, you need food, water and light, otherwise you will wither away and be unfruitful. The fig tree in the parable told by My Son had been planted in My vineyard but it produced no fruit. The remedy? The vineyard-keeper would dig around it and put in fertilizer. Luke 13:6-9. My Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword and My Words are truth and filled with eternal life. My Word can dig right to the thoughts and motives of your heart.
My Word comes down from Heaven like rain and does not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, it does not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding for which it was sent. Isiah 55:10-11, Hebrews 4:12.
My Word became flesh and dwelt among you. And My Word implanted has the power to save your souls. James 1:21. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, pause there a moment and think, how did you receive Him? The answer is that you heard the Word, My message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth that Jesus is LORD, Ephesians 1:13, Romans 10:8-12. Jesus prayed for all of you who believe the night before He died, and He stated how you would be rooted in Him as One, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone (the twelve disciples present with Him at the supper), but for those also who believe in Me through their word.” John 17:20. So you see, you believe by My Word for that is how faith comes, that is, by hearing My Word. And it is in that way you live in Jesus, by remaining in My Word and My Word remaining in you.
So live in Him, having been firmly rooted (when you believe, I seal you in Christ (plant you there) with the Holy Spirit as a pledge of your inheritance with the saints in light, Ephesians 1:13-14, Colossians 1:12) and now being built up in Him (by the nourishment, water and light of the Word) and established in your faith, just as you were instructed (the Word again), and overflowing with gratitude.
But you need to guard your heart from the weeds and drought of the world, see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ, My Word to you. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him I have made you complete. Colossians 2:6-10. There is no other word that will make you grow in love, true love, that is stronger than death and takes away sin and darkness.
And growing in Me, abiding in My Word, you will find joy. Remember? Jesus told you this: “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be made full.” John 15:11. For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace! Isaiah 55:12. Come, share your Father’s joy. Let My Word dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts unto Me. Colossians 3:16.
You need to be planted in My house in fellowship with other believers so that you can encourage one another and grow together in My Word. Stay grounded with other believers. That is why I gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the believers for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of My Son, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
And the result? You will no longer be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, you are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16. As you grow and share with others, they grow and share with you, until you are all filled with My Spirit and are all walking in love together with Me.
Be rooted and grounded in love. Ephesians 3:17. And here, in this Scripture, I reveal to you a truth of where you want to put your roots. I pour My love into your hearts by My Holy Spirit whom I have given to you. Romans 5:5. And then how do I describe the one who does not follow the words of the wicked but meditates day and night on My Word? “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3.
And do you recall that I define living water for you? It is My Holy Spirit poured in your heart by My Son. John 7:37-39, John 4:10, 14, Acts 2:33. And when the Holy Spirit dwells in you, your body becomes My temple.
“The righteous man (and I give you My own righteousness as your own in Christ) will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:12-15.
We talked about rooted in Christ, now let us talk about grounded:
When Solomon built Me a house, he did not start with the walls. As any master builder knows you start the building with a foundation, and the greater and larger the building is to be, the deeper the foundation has to go to hold it intact. It cannot be just on the surface or a few inches down. And the same is true for the roots of the tree. The taller and greater the tree, the larger and greater the network of roots required to keep it standing, especially in storms and high winds. The time you spend in preparation renewing your mind in My Word is never wasted and you will keep adding roots down and laying another course of foundation stones as you increase in knowledge of Me and My Word, for I AM My Word. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:2-3.
When Solomon began to build My House, he sent 80,000 hewers of stone to the mountains, and he commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 1 Kings 5:15-17. Thus all the work of Solomon began from the day of the foundation of My house until it was finished. In the fourth year of Solomon’s reign the foundation of My house was laid, in the month of Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it. 1 Kings 6:37-38. Do not be hasty in building your life. And it was a magnificent house, overlaid in pure gold and shining to give glory and praise to their LORD showing their gratitude to Me in giving them and establishing them in the land as I promised.
And in revelation of the vision of My heavenly city, the new Jerusalem as set forth in the book of Revelation, I very specifically describe for you the foundation of the city. “The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.” Revelation 21:19-20. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Revelation 2:14.
Every one of you, like a master builder, is overseeing the building of your life. Are you aware of what you are building each day? What have you laid so far today? Is your foundation deep and made of precious stones? “But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Be careful how you live, you are always building whether you are doing so purposefully or randomly. The wise woman builds her house but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
Just giving lip service to Me is not enough, you must be doers of My Word for a lasting structure and a flourishing tree. My Son explained this, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, shall be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27.
Not just an ineffectual hearer but an effectual hearer, for faith comes by hearing and hearing My Word about Christ, for an effectual hearer becomes a doer. He takes it to heart and the seed of the Word puts down deep roots and grows as you carry it out. “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the Word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” Luke 8:15.
You must learn to lean on Christ. Learn to depend on Him for your needs, for in Him everything is summed up and He is the One who strengthens you. My Word gives strength.
Everything you need I have put for you in Christ Jesus. All of My many promises are “YES” to you in Him. I hold it for you in Christ where it cannot be taken away from you, but you must draw it out to flourish like the palm tree. As Christ dwells in your heart by faith you will come to understand love, even though the height and breadth and depth of the love I have for you in Christ Jesus is incomprehensible to human reasoning, it surpasses human understanding for it is higher han the sky and deeper than the depths of the ocean floor.
Now I will show you how to build massive high walls that the enemy cannot penetrate set on foundation stones of precious gems and how to put roots down and branches up. It all starts with the way you took hold of salvation in Christ. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” Colossians 2:6-7.
How did you receive Christ Jesus as Lord? You believed My Word in your heart and you spoke My Word with your mouth. And that is the spirit of faith and that is how you now walk in Him. “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the Word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:8-10. So you see the order here, you believe My promises, resulting in righteousness, and with your mouth you speak them from your heart, resulting in salvation—that is, healing, prosperity, provision, peace, in every situation.
So, how do you build? The foundation is Christ when you received Him as Lord and now you are building. Look to My Word. When Nehemiah supervised the building of the walls of Jerusalem, there were enemies all about trying to stop them and put fear in them, so he had the builders carry a sword in one hand and do the work of building the walls with the other. Nehemiah 4:17-18. And he read the people My Word—the Torah and scrolls that they had stopped hearing in their exile and he brought out David’s instruments of worship and instituted the singing of the psalms in worship—and had the choirs marching on the top of the walls singing in worship! Nehemiah 12:31-43. And I tell you in Psalm 149 the instructions: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.” Psalm 149:6. And how are they praising? “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing; let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation (yeshuah).” Psalm 149:1-4. I make you beautiful as you praise with Yeshuah (Jesus). I clothe you in Christ.
And those are the instructions I give you. Build your life on the rock foundation of Jesus as your Lord and lay a firm foundation by knowing My Word, then build with no fear of your enemies with the Sword of the Spirit in one hand (the hand of your tongue) and doing the work of your assignments with the other, the Sword always girded at your side, Nehemiah 4:17-18 (“Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a sword. As for the builders, each with his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near”), ready for battle and the high praises of worship in your mouth.
And I will supply for all your needs according to My riches in glory IN CHRIST JESUS. Everything you need plus an abundance for every good work is IN HIM. But you are IN HIM so just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7. And that is worship in Spirit and in truth and it will bring every spiritual blessing Heaven, which I have already blessed you with in Christ, to manifest in your life.
I love you. And that is why I sealed you IN CHRIST.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21