As some of you know, we ate the wrong apple! If you’re not familiar with the story of when and how we did this, consider reading Genesis 2:7, 8, 15 – Genesis 3:8.
To be clear, what made the apple we ate the wrong one was NOT that it was bad – far from it! Everything God created (including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) was/is gooooooooood! God said so Himself –Genesis 1:31. What made the apple we ate the wrong apple is that we ate it without God giving it to us!
Summarizing based onGenesis 3:1B-6, we ate this non-God-given apple BECAUSE we wanted to be and stay “woke” … we wanted to be like God and of course not die: we wanted to live forever. We know fromJohn 3:16andJohn 10:10Bthat God wants us to have eternal life and thus live forever. It seems then that the misstep that led to our wrong-doing/apple-eating is not that we wanted to be like God. Instead, it is that we wanted to have it our way, the consequence of which (among others) was that:
(1) We died – we fell short of the glory of God and into a deep sleep.
(2) We were separated from God. To prevent us from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life which gives eternal life, we were kicked out of God’s Garden (His Kingdom, His Heart) –Genesis 3:22,24 AMP.
Thankfully, and owing to God’s faithfulness, our story didn’t end there. We’ve been given a way that annuls the rightful consequence of our wrong-apple-eating fiasco. We’ve been given a way that restores us back to God and His original intent for us. This God-given way (back to and) of LIFE is THE WAY: The Right Apple!
Jesus speaking: I AM The WAY, TRUTH, and LIFE, no one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
In other words, Jesus is saying:
I AM THE WAY and THE Tree of LIFE that God has given you – I AM HOW you get back to sweet, satisfying communion with The Father as it was in the beginning (no more separation) … I AM HOW you get close enough to The Father, to be face to face with Him again so that you can be like God in Spirit and in TRUTH. I AM The Right Apple, feast up-on ME … have Me.
Wait, Jesus … an apple The Right Apple? How? Also, how does this tie into becoming like God? I’ll show you in the next hopefully 3 or less minutes … start the clock! … and read fast 🤭 … I’m kidding! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride, we’ve got 3 stops ahead.
First stop … the Shulamite’s description of The Shepherd-KING (JESUS):
my Beloved is to meThe MOST fragrant Apple Tree– He stands above the sons of men. Sitting under His grace-shadow, I blossom in His shade,enjoying the sweet taste of His pleasant delicious fruit… resting with delight where His glory never fades💖.
Song of Songs 2:3(TPT)
Second Stop … The Bridegroom-KING (JESUS)’s response to the Shulamite in relation to her feasting up-on Him in the secret place of The MOST HIGH, under the shadow of The Almighty (El Shaddai, The Multi-breasted One):
WHEN I awakened you underThe Apple Treeas you were feasting upon Me… I awakened your innermost being with the travail of birth as you longed for more of Me.
Song of Songs 8:5B (TPT)
On both accounts, we see that JESUS, The One Who is our Shepherd, Bridegroom, and KING, is The MOST Fragrant Apple Tree – His fragrance is the Knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 2:14). This fragrant Apple Tree is THE WAY (and Tree) of LIFE that gives life … THE TRUTH that frees us from the deep sleep condition of our lie-based past action, THE TRUTH that awakens us (our innermost being, our God-begotten self) as we feast upon Him: The Right Apple!
There you have it, Jesus is The Right Apple 🙂. Now, on to how this ties into becoming like God …
Third Stop … and one of my favorite bible verses:Psalm 17:15
As for me, I will continue beholding Your Face in righteousness UNTIL I see You for Who You really are. THEN will I be fully satisfied as I awaken with Your form – Your likeness, fulfilled in the revelation of Your Glory in me, and having sweet communion with You.
Psalm 17:15(AMPC, TPT, NKJV)
Psalm 17:15 reveals that it is in beholding God (in righteousness) that we are awakened to see and progressively become like God – exactly how He designed us: the very image and likeness of God. This is our God-begotten self.
Beholding God (facing God by way of feasting up and on Who He IS: His Word) inherently involves actively receiving God (believing God). This, same as with Abraham (Genesis 15:6AMP Romans 4:19-22TPT), is what credits our account with the righteousness that affords us the privilege of being reinstated to our God-begotten selves.
Whoever wants Him, whoever believes He is Who He claims and thatHe will do what He said… He made to be their true selves, their Child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.
John 1:12-13 (MSG)
Our God-begotten self is who God created us to be (Genesis 1:27). It is the hidden treasure in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7) – our innermost being. It is the LIFE within us – the LIGHT of mankind (John 1:4). It is the glory of God in us (Colossians 1:26-27) that is revealed and shines forth as we actively behold God.
… as with unveiled face, because we continue to behold the Word of God (the glory of the LORD) as one beholds a mirror, we are progressively being transformed into God’s very Own image in ever increasing splendor from one degree of glory to another – this comes from the LORD, Who is Spirit … and a consuming fire.
2 Corinthians 3:18 Hebrews 12:29 (AMP/C)
KEY TAKE AWAY: The only WAY to arise and shine (to be awakened into being the Word of God that we are, the glory and righteousness of God that we are … the evidence of what He has given us: God Himself) … The only WAY to be fulfilled (fully-filled, whole, complete) is to eat and keep eating The Right Apple.
In Ezekiel 2:8B (AMPC), God says: Eat what I give you. In other words, actively receive ONLY what God gives when and how. Do not give to yourself or take for yourself what God has not given yet or at all. This is the righteousness that proceeds from God … from His Kingdom, His Heart, His Face (countenance) – this is what God wants and gives. Seek, honor, and prioritize this first, above all, and always …
Seek first, and above all else, the Kingdom of God and the righteousness that proceeds from Him …Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out … your everyday human concerns will be met.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT, TPT, MSG)
I’m learning that seeking God’s Kingdom, might sometimes mean …
… being weak UNTIL God steps in to be my Strength – both of which glorify God –2 Corinthians 12:9.
… not knowing which way is up UNTIL God gives direction and says: this is the way, walk in it –Isaiah 30:20B-21.
Seeking God’s Kingdom will always mean …
… ALWAYS being the need for who God is.
… NEVER do-it-myself, ALWAYS God-do-it-for-me. It’s how God wants it.
I AM the One Who answers, cares for, and satisfies you … I AM like a luxuriant fruit Tree, everything you need is to be and is found in Me … your fruit(The Right Apple)is found in Me,the very fruit of the Tree of Life which gives LIFE
Hosea 14:8paraphrased (NLT, MSG)
Seeking God’s Heart inherently involves waiting on God and holding on to Him: TRUST – a gift that is given to us by God as we feast upon Him.
You are The One Who granted me LIFE; You endowed me with TRUST as I nursed at my mother’s breast.
Psalm 22:9 (VOICE)
As we feast on El Shaddai (The Multi-breasted One), we (1) are endowed with Trust and (2) are face to face with Him – a position of quiet trust, undistracted by the tantrums of the enemy.
Undistracted yes however, keep in mind that distractions will come.
Similar to the raging waves and wind described in Luke 8:23-24andMatthew 14:29-30, the enemy huffs and puffs – like the big bad wolves without (Matthew 10:16A) and/or the sly little foxes within (SOS 2:15) i.e. the thorn that is our flesh – all these tantrums are in a bid to take our attention off of God and away from the place of quiet trust/rest that God has given us. Like phishing emails, these tyrannical tantrums want us to act now and fast … have it now, do it now or else you’ll miss out. Don’t wait … don’t wait on God.
Starting with the enemy chief of staff, his tantrums are targeted at shifting our gaze away from God to something self-seeking … even when he points our attention to anything God-related, it is to get us to distrust God’s love and faithfulness.
The evidence that God will do it is that He has done it. The evidence that He has done it is that He said it.
The tantrums of the flesh-begotten self are no different, they are self-seeking … always all about me, me, me.
The flesh is inherently, entirely, and constantly rebellious and defiant (in opposition) to God –Romans 8:7– it is always trying to take our eyes off of God and unto itself, sometimes we get distracted … that’s okay, by the help of the HolySpirit (GRACE), we simply shift our gaze back to beholding God –Psalm 17:15– we lock eyes with God again and are fastened (tethered) to Him.
Fasten Me upon your heart as a seal of fireforevermore … My passion is stronger than the chains of death and the grave, all consuming asthe very flashes of fire from the burning heart of God. Place this fierce, unrelenting fire over your entire being.Rivers of pain and persecution will never extinguish this flame. Endless floods(RE: the raging waves/sea)will be unable to quench the raging fire that burns within you. Everything will be consumed …
SOS 8:6-7 (TPT)
We let God be our Righteousness, consuming all that’s wrong His way and in His time. We let God fight for us by raising a standard against the enemy coming like a flood – Isaiah 59:19B
Now that you’re dressed in a new wardrobe(the seal of fire from the burning heart of God, the righteous love of God)– keep in mind that this acquired new creation life is ever in the process of being renewed in the Knowledge of God and in the likeness of God Who created(begot)you.
Colossians 3:10 (MSG, AMP/C, TPT)
One of the ways the HolySpirit is helping me navigate the distraction of the flesh so that I’m not weighed down by the guilt of still being weak … of intermittently still being distracted, is to see returning to face God (repenting) as a marriage vow renewal – an opportune occasion to be renewed by God’s Love. A renewal process wherein God re-tells me how much and faithfully He loves me … I let Him love me by believing (receiving) Him, by exalting what He re-tells me above what the enemy might be alluding to. In believing/receiving what He re-tells me, I love Him in return – I renew my love/vow to Him! What an interwoven, dare I say intimate, love connection! All by simply locking eyes with God! 🥰 … by feasting my eyes up and on Him, on The Right Apple, on Jesus in Whom the FULLNESS of Deity (The Godhead) dwells, is expressed, and seen – Colossians 2:9
The Right Apple is the righteousness that proceeds from God – from His Garden, His Heart, His Kingdom. God’s Kingdom is Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the HolySpirit –Romans 14:17– to mean that what God wants for us is the righteousness, peace, and joy that He gives. NOT self-righteousness nor the fleeting illusion of self-attained, so-called peace and/or joy – this is the defiant way and there’s no WISDOM in it. Seek WISDOM instead; God wants this for us.
… in unseen (hidden) places deep within me,You show me WISDOM
Psalm 51:6 (VOICE)
Earlier, I likened the enemy (both without and within) to the raging waves/sea. Here’s what it had to say when the question ‘Where is WISDOM found?‘ was asked:
“She is not to be seen within me“,says the voice of the raging sea
Job 28:14 (VOICE)
… an undeniable admission that God (Who is WISDOM) can NOT be found in it.
Avoid the flesh-begotten-self-seeking-and-catering, defiant way of being. Don’t attempt to be “woke” by any means other than The WAY God has given – there is no other way. Eat … keep eating the Right Apple! Juice/drink it if you prefer 🙂 … my point is: live, breathe, feast upon the Righteousness of God! Live, breathe, feast upon JESUS, the Word of God – The Right Apple … better put, The Righteous Apple! This is our God-given WAY to live, do move, and be right … our God-given WAY to be like Him, the Glory of God in us and that we are.
In Him(His WAY is how)we live, move, and have our being(our God-begotten and momently renewed selves)
Acts 17:28
PS: When next the suggestions of the mind of the flesh or the tantrums of the enemy attempt to take your attention away from God. Like David, going against Goliath in The Name of the LORD (the Word of God), throw a variety of The Right Apple at it and then say in God’s still, silent voice: how you like them apples!?!?!
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Rivers in the Desert 
The content is unique. “The evidence that God will do it is that He has done it . The evidence that He has done it is that He said it .” Wao superb work .
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I pray and desire that the Whole Church and everyone on Earth 🌎 can read this. It blessed, enriched and refreshed me beyond words! Thank you 😊 Niyi
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