Basis
"Basis" is the term the tax law uses to refer to the amount of investment a taxpayer has in business assets.
When I first started my business, the concept of basis was completely elusive to me. I started my business by quitting my job one day, and starting to build a brand new clientele from scratch the next day. I had nothing except a computer and a phone...both of which I already owned. But for the purpose of actually owning the company and any potential gains that might come from it, I had to have financially measurable "basis". So, I bought some stuff with my own money to invest in my business, and I used my own personal money to establish a bank account. This gave me "basis" in my own company...which came from nothing.
The more basis I have in my company, the more I will be able to gain when I eventually sell the asset, or so the accountant has told me...every business owner has to take a risk in investment BEFORE they are sure it is a good one!
There is a spiritual principal that I have learned in the last few years. Basis, is VERY IMPORTANT in the promises of God. Look at what Jesus told Thomas:
John 20:24-29 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Thomas suffered some loss that day. He will not see the fullness of that loss until the resurrection, but he had very little BASIS in the glory of Jesus' resurrection. If we were going to characterize Thomas' choices to have faith in Jesus' promises, even after friends he trusted told him what they saw and knew, we would say Thomas refused to "invest his heart" before the "asset" of Jesus prophesied resurrection "matured." By refusing to invest on the front end, Thomas lost basis in the promise. Thomas is still saved, but he cost himself something forever. There are real and tangible rewards for faith. This is how the Bible defines faith:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Jesus is going to reward everyone who believed hard and easy things BEFORE they could see their investment mature...those who stepped out on faith before it was obvious what was happening. Even the great prophets of the old testament had to do this same thing. They were not always sure when they heard the Lord. They had to have faith...which is spelled, according to John Wimber, R.I.S.K!
Jeremiah 32:6-8 At that time the lord sent me a message. He said, “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’” Then, just as the lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the lord .
So even Jeremiah had to take a risk in believing the word that came to Him, God confirmed it after, and Jeremiah says "THEN I knew!"
Jeremiah stored up great rewards this way, and on one day, Jesus is bringing those rewards to earth:
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
The rewards are related to the measure of glory you will reflect forever, what you will wear, and where you will live in proximity to Jesus. Two people will sit at His right and left...others will live in a measure of glory that forever reflects how well they loved Him BEFORE they saw what a wise investment it was. Just like the moon reflects the sun, we will reflect the glory of God based on our position relative to Him:
1 Corinthians 15:40-42 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.
Just like Jesus told Thomas, "waiting to believe" costs a lot. There is a reward for believing the prophetic word of God BEFORE the events visibly transpire. To refuse to believe doesn't cost your salvation, but it does cost you some reward forever. Some day we will care very much about the measure of glory...the light of life...we live in:
Matthew 10:41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
God is moving powerfully right now. It is just the beginning. The Bride of Jesus has been developing for the last 2,000 years, but in all honesty, she is yet to be "born". One generation will see the seven divided churches of Revelation come together through a time of great intensity, described as tribulation, and will come out the other side as a "pure and spotless" Bride:
Revelation 3:19-21 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Romans 5:3-4 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Revelation 19:6-8 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
This is a glorious reality...that the tribulation is not the time of defeat of the Bride, it is the time of greatest victory. We are entering the time when Jesus will get the things he prayed for. We can already see this stirring in our midst in powerful ways. That Revelation 19 passage about the Bride says something very important just before the Bride is celebrated:
Revelation 19:5 And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”
There will be least and greatest when Jesus comes. This is also a reality now. In the measure I accept what Jesus is revealing and enter in...in that same measure I will experience life and protection here now, too....rewards forever, but rewards now, as well:
Luke 18:29-30 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Right now this glorious reality is coming together:
John 17:15-23 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
This is a "great and terrible" reality. Great if you agree with Jesus about what to do in this hour. Terrible if you do not. There is much to know about Jesus' very specific plans. He is releasing the details through His prophets right now. Entering in and believing without seeing will establish great BASIS in the promises...the rewards of the investment. Waiting until it is obvious not only costs you something forever, but also leaves you very vulnerable to this reality Jesus warned his disciples about: falling away.
Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
The falling away happens when believers are unprepared for the offensive reality of what Jesus will allow to touch the earth as he gives everyone what they want. Now is the time to know the details of His plan!
When I first started my business, the concept of basis was completely elusive to me. I started my business by quitting my job one day, and starting to build a brand new clientele from scratch the next day. I had nothing except a computer and a phone...both of which I already owned. But for the purpose of actually owning the company and any potential gains that might come from it, I had to have financially measurable "basis". So, I bought some stuff with my own money to invest in my business, and I used my own personal money to establish a bank account. This gave me "basis" in my own company...which came from nothing.
The more basis I have in my company, the more I will be able to gain when I eventually sell the asset, or so the accountant has told me...every business owner has to take a risk in investment BEFORE they are sure it is a good one!
There is a spiritual principal that I have learned in the last few years. Basis, is VERY IMPORTANT in the promises of God. Look at what Jesus told Thomas:
John 20:24-29 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Thomas suffered some loss that day. He will not see the fullness of that loss until the resurrection, but he had very little BASIS in the glory of Jesus' resurrection. If we were going to characterize Thomas' choices to have faith in Jesus' promises, even after friends he trusted told him what they saw and knew, we would say Thomas refused to "invest his heart" before the "asset" of Jesus prophesied resurrection "matured." By refusing to invest on the front end, Thomas lost basis in the promise. Thomas is still saved, but he cost himself something forever. There are real and tangible rewards for faith. This is how the Bible defines faith:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Jesus is going to reward everyone who believed hard and easy things BEFORE they could see their investment mature...those who stepped out on faith before it was obvious what was happening. Even the great prophets of the old testament had to do this same thing. They were not always sure when they heard the Lord. They had to have faith...which is spelled, according to John Wimber, R.I.S.K!
Jeremiah 32:6-8 At that time the lord sent me a message. He said, “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’” Then, just as the lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the lord .
So even Jeremiah had to take a risk in believing the word that came to Him, God confirmed it after, and Jeremiah says "THEN I knew!"
Jeremiah stored up great rewards this way, and on one day, Jesus is bringing those rewards to earth:
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
The rewards are related to the measure of glory you will reflect forever, what you will wear, and where you will live in proximity to Jesus. Two people will sit at His right and left...others will live in a measure of glory that forever reflects how well they loved Him BEFORE they saw what a wise investment it was. Just like the moon reflects the sun, we will reflect the glory of God based on our position relative to Him:
1 Corinthians 15:40-42 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.
Just like Jesus told Thomas, "waiting to believe" costs a lot. There is a reward for believing the prophetic word of God BEFORE the events visibly transpire. To refuse to believe doesn't cost your salvation, but it does cost you some reward forever. Some day we will care very much about the measure of glory...the light of life...we live in:
Matthew 10:41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
God is moving powerfully right now. It is just the beginning. The Bride of Jesus has been developing for the last 2,000 years, but in all honesty, she is yet to be "born". One generation will see the seven divided churches of Revelation come together through a time of great intensity, described as tribulation, and will come out the other side as a "pure and spotless" Bride:
Revelation 3:19-21 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Romans 5:3-4 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Revelation 19:6-8 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
This is a glorious reality...that the tribulation is not the time of defeat of the Bride, it is the time of greatest victory. We are entering the time when Jesus will get the things he prayed for. We can already see this stirring in our midst in powerful ways. That Revelation 19 passage about the Bride says something very important just before the Bride is celebrated:
Revelation 19:5 And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”
There will be least and greatest when Jesus comes. This is also a reality now. In the measure I accept what Jesus is revealing and enter in...in that same measure I will experience life and protection here now, too....rewards forever, but rewards now, as well:
Luke 18:29-30 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Right now this glorious reality is coming together:
John 17:15-23 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
This is a "great and terrible" reality. Great if you agree with Jesus about what to do in this hour. Terrible if you do not. There is much to know about Jesus' very specific plans. He is releasing the details through His prophets right now. Entering in and believing without seeing will establish great BASIS in the promises...the rewards of the investment. Waiting until it is obvious not only costs you something forever, but also leaves you very vulnerable to this reality Jesus warned his disciples about: falling away.
Matthew 24:9-13 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
The falling away happens when believers are unprepared for the offensive reality of what Jesus will allow to touch the earth as he gives everyone what they want. Now is the time to know the details of His plan!
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