Do you ever find yourself yelling at your kids, honking your horn in traffic or fuming and fussing over some little meaningless thing, then wishing you had more patience? In today's world it seems as if everyone could use a little (or a lot) more patience.

I have heard Christians say, "We need to pray for patience," and then others say, "Don't pray for patience because 'tribulation worketh patience,' and if you pray for patience, you will get tribulation!"

I say, "If you belong to Jesus, you don't need to pray for patience!"

Before I try to explain why I say that, let me first say this: That old fable about getting tribulation when we pray for patience is not from the Spirit of God. It comes from the foolish minds of men!

The Bible does state that "tribulation worketh patience" (Rom. 5:3), but it means that we can glory in tribulation because of the work of the wonderful patience that God gives to us in the midst of the tribulation. Saying that God will give us tribulation if we pray for patience is like saying that if we ask God for bread, He will give us a stone; or if we ask Him for a fish, He will give us a serpent. Our Heavenly Father is not at all like that. He loves to give good gifts to His children (Matt. 7:7-11).

The reason I think you don't need to pray for patience is that you who belong to Jesus already have more than you will ever need--more than you can ever use--because God has given you a gift of His patience! I am not talking about the natural patience that you have and need to develop as you mature. You don't need to be a Christian to have that kind of patience. What I am referring to is the patience of God, a gift in the inheritance of Christ, which came into you when you were born again.

You don't have to ask for what God has already given to you. Just go pick it up--it is right there in your inheritance. So stop praying for more patience--or more joy, or more peace or love. Stop asking. Stop begging. Just go to the Treasure House and pick up what belongs to you!

The Treasure House is not a building made of wood and stone with human hands. It is a spiritual House made by the Lord that will last forever, and within this Holy Temple are the Treasures of God that He has willed to you through the inheritance Christ left you when He died on the cross. These gifts are beyond measure. They are from above. Nothing in this world compares with them. They are for you to enjoy here on earth and keep with you when you go to Heaven.

Think, for a moment, about some of the wealth in your inheritance. Like the Treasure of Peace. Jesus said, ". . . my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you . . ." (John 14:27). And about the Treasure of Joy. Jesus said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). Having the treasures of peace and joy are not contingent upon circumstances or your environment. They are super- natural gifts from God. They belong to you, and are right there waiting for you! Perhaps you are not aware of the wealth in your inheritance that is just sitting there as if it has been abandoned.

I am speaking of Treasures of Heaven that God's children are neglecting. This happens with worldly wealth, but should not happen to the wealth in the Kingdom of God. Once a year the Abandoned Property Division of the Treasury Department of the State of New Hampshire publishes a report in the newspaper of the names of people they have on record who have, for one reason or another, lost track of their accounts, or are unaware of an inheritance belonging to them. The most common types of unclaimed property are bank accounts, utility deposits, stocks, mutual funds, dividends and insurance refunds. In this year's report there are more than three thousand names of people who have unclaimed property. The value of abandoned property in this state alone is close to twenty million dollars. Just imagine what it is for all of the United States!

But that is peanuts compared to the value of the riches in the inheritance that Christ has left you in His will!

If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you say you need more love, peace, patience or joy, it is like a multi-billionaire saying he is short of money! God has more of those treasures than you can ever hold! If you feel you have come to the end of your natural patience, you may be in a position to realize how much you need the patience of God that is a gift for you in the inheritance of Christ. If you constantly tell of how little you have of the joy or peace that belongs to you, then you must have abandoned--or at least neglected--your true inheritance. Or perhaps you are going to the wrong place to claim your treasures, or you may be going about trying to get them the wrong way. Making the claim for your inheritance when you do it properly is really quite easy.

I have talked with people who work for the state's Abandoned Property Division and find they are more than willing to help people locate their inheritances or any accounts that rightfully belong to them. They want to help; that is their job. How much more does the Holy Spirit want to help you receive all the gifts that God has for you in the inheritance of Christ. He has not wrapped them up in red tape! They are all right there waiting for you within easy reach--if you are only willing to make a few good choices.

But first things first. There is, of course, no inheritance for anyone until they first receive Jesus and become a child of God (John 1:12,13). Once we become a child of His, we can, by faith, come to our Heavenly Father and receive all that is rightfully ours, because of what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross.

The fundamental element of any claim for an inheritance is a proper identification. The Holy Spirit is the Trustee and Administrator of the inheritance of Christ, and no false I. D.'s will ever get past Him! You really wouldn't expect Him to release the treasures of your inheritance to you if you presented Him with an old, useless, canceled, identification card and said, "This is me." Well, that is what you do when you walk in the flesh by living in the old dead man that was crucified with Christ on the cross (Rom. 6:6), rather than living in the new creation that you became when you received Jesus into your heart! (2Cor. 5:17).

The Bible states that the works of the flesh are "adultery, fornication, uncleanness (impurity), lasciviousness (filthy), idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (quarreling), emulations (jealousy), wrath, strife, seditions (division), heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings (rioting) . . ." and that "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21). That is not talking about a Christian losing their salvation; it is talking about a Christian not being able to--here on earth--have and enjoy his inheritance while he is involved in such behavior.

Some of God's precious saints, even though they have tried to perform their best, have fallen to temptations, done some ungodly things and now fear they may not make it to Heaven. I am not saying there should not be remorse for such behavior, but for a child of God to doubt their salvation--purchased by the blood of Christ and sealed by the Spirit of God--is more sinful than all those works of the flesh!

There are some things in this world that we can count on. For instance, if we throw a stone up in the air, it will come down; if we bang our head against a stone wall, we will get a headache; and if we lie, cheat, steal, gossip, commit fornication or adultery, etc., we will not have--even though they belong to us--the peace and joy that are in the inheritance of Christ.

You may be thinking I am telling you to try harder not to do bad things. No! No! No! That is not what I am saying. Then am I saying it is O.K. to do them? No! No! No! I am not implying that! Please let me try to explain.

When we do such things, it shows we are not living in the new creation we became when we received Christ, but are rather living in the old natural man that was crucified with Christ on the cross. Trying to perform to become a better Christian is a form of working to earn our righteousness, and is one way of living in that old natural man, which will only get us out of the grace of God and back under the law. The Bible states that no one shall be "justified (made righteous) by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 2:16). Paul the apostle said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Gal. 2:20, 21).

Working to improve what we do is one thing, but working to try and improve who we are is something else. A Christian can become a better carpenter, teacher, writer or computer operator by practicing, but cannot become a better person. Anyone who belongs to Christ who tries to improve themself is showing unbelief in the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is also a waste of time and energy. The Bible says, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). Are you going to--by your works--try to add to what Jesus accomplished on the cross?! The New You is forever perfect!

We cannot improve the new man that God has made acceptable to Him through Christ; neither can we improve the old natural man to make him acceptable to God, because he has been crucified with Christ on the cross. When we "try to be nice" to build a self image, we are also working on something that is dead. There is no life in an image.

Living in the new creation (which cannot sin [1John 3:9]) is resting in the finished work of Christ. In other words, we cannot have the peace, joy, love, faith, patience and other gifts in our inheritance if we walk in the flesh by living in the old natural man. To have our inheritance, we must live in the new creation, which is our new life in Christ! Doing that is not hard but delightfully easy and most enjoyable.

Think, for a moment, how ridiculous it would be to bring before the Administrator of the inheritance of Christ an old graven image and say to Him, "I've been working on this idol for a long time; now I'd like to pick up some patience, peace and joy that is in the treasures of my inheritance." Does that sound bizarre? Well, that is what it is like when we present our self image to the Lord. Isn't being a child of God enough? Why do we need to create a self image? It is absolutely essential that you present the real you--the New You purchased by the blood of Christ--to claim your inheritance.

Let me give just one more of the ridiculous approaches that are often used when making a claim for the inheritance of Christ. Just imagine someone going before the Administrator and Trustee and saying, "Watch this"; and then putting on a big performance by acting out some old traditional religious rituals, expecting that to open the treasure chest of the Kingdom of God! That is what centuries of traditional ceremonial pomp has led us to believe!

There are many dedicated priests and ministers who have been trained in rigorous religious exercises and have learned the traditions of men. They are so good at what they have been trained to do and are so loved and respected that no one wants to tell them about the better way. But they, too, need to get serious about the finished work of Christ and make some real, clear choices in their own personal lives between the practice of religion and a walk with the Savior.

If you choose to live in your new creation (walk in the Spirit) and receive the wonderful gifts of your inheritance, you will have made a wise choice; but let me warn you that many who have not yet made that choice will try to impose a duty upon you and your spiritual wealth. They will try to tax you. Do not let them do that, because the New You and the gifts in your inheritance are tax-exempt and duty-free!

This spiritual taxation can be applied quite easily. It is so subtle that it often appears as a good thing. I did not realize how duty bound I had become and how much I had allowed my spiritual wealth to be taxed until the Lord brought it to my attention. He used a form of natural taxation to teach me about the taxation placed upon Christians and the treasures of their spiritual inheritance.

My extraordinary lesson began many years ago when I first started to publish literature as a way to bring the gospel to people. I applied for tax relief and was granted tax-exemption by the federal government. But, at the time, the local tax collector informed me that, regardless of the federal tax-exemption for the ministry, it would still have to pay taxes on any real estate it owned that was located in town. I didn't complain about that because it is reasonable to expect to pay for services rendered from the fire, police, highway and school departments of our cities and towns. Also, the Bible makes it quite clear that we should do our best to pay these kinds of taxes. One modern translation states it this way, "For this reason you must obey the authorities--not just because of God's punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. That is also why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties. Pay, then, what you owe them; pay them your personal and property taxes and show respect and honor for them all" (Rom. 13:5-7). These normal taxes are an every-day part of life, a necessary burden, something we need to live with and try to pay the best we can without complaining.

The reason for the no-complaint attitude is that a complaining spirit can do us more harm than going broke from paying taxes. However, I must admit that my main motive for paying these taxes was to keep the tax collector from seizing the property.

After a time (usually one year), the tax collector has the authority to place a lien on real estate with delinquent taxes. Then, if the taxes remain unpaid for another year, he can lawfully seize the property. I didn't want that to happen to the ministry's building that houses the print shop, office headquarters and place where I live; so every two years I would have to come up with enough money to pay off the tax lien. That, however, was only a temporary, quick fix, because soon new taxes would be overdue long enough for another lien to be placed on the property.

Each year the tax rate would increase and interest rates would rise on the money I had borrowed to pay for back taxes. The town also charged a high interest rate on overdue taxes, so I was being hit with double interest. I was paying interest on money I borrowed to pay interest. After refinancing the property to the limit three times, then maxing out my credit cards, the weight of these unpaid taxes began to get heavy. But then there came a day when all that weight felt as light as a feather. It was when the Lord revealed to me through a dream that I was going to be tax-exempt! That incredible dream came to me in the year 1990. It was not just a dream for me; it was for the whole family of God. In it was a wonderful message for you as well as for me.

The first part of the dream showed people being angry with me because I was tax-exempt. Then, in the last part, I was standing in a courtroom before local town officials who were seated behind a judge's bench. At the time they did not know how to deal with my case, because, standing with me just a little behind my right shoulder, was someone whom they dared not oppose. I didn't dare to look straight at him, but I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was a well-dressed, handsome young man with blond hair. He did not have to speak a word; just his presence was enough. When I awoke, I realized it was an angel of the Lord.

This dream, showing me being tax-exempt, drastically changed my philosophy about my local tax situation. My attitude now was that if God was giving me a gift of being free from this taxation, I was going to be a good receiver. I wasted no time in filing a tax-exemption application with the town selectmen. And they wasted no time in denying it.

Now, I am one who usually tries to avoid confrontations, but in this case I felt I had no option other than to oppose the town officials and go after my tax-exemption. I had no money to hire lawyers and no idea how to go about this venture, except I knew I was to do it without complaining. I found the way to do that was to keep praying for God to bless those who opposed me.

It was a seven-year battle, but I now have in my possession a legal document, signed by all three selectmen in my hometown and by a judge of the County Superior Court, declaring that the real estate property of the ministry is entitled to a 100% tax exemption for the 1998 tax year and all the subsequent years.

People who know how hard it is to pry tax relief from a small New England town that is hard pressed for tax dollars are quite amazed when they hear about my 100% tax exemption. Some have even called it a miracle. But what astonished me was the revelation I received just a few days after winning the seven-year tax battle.

The Lord revealed to me that there was a lot more to my being tax-exempt than what was stated on the document I have--signed by man--saying that I am not obligated to pay taxes on a building made of wood and stone. God used it to bring to my attention a much greater matter. All the conflict with the town over property taxation was to prepare me for a larger battle. He could have, as He did for Peter (Matt. 17:24-27), simply given me some money to pay the local tax collector; but I needed to learn how to persist to be free from a different kind of taxation--one that robs us of the joy and peace in the inheritance Christ left us.

The tax-exemption the Lord gave me on the property was only a small fraction of what the dream was about. Seven years passed before I received the deeper meaning. In my dream I was not standing there beside an angel as being tax-exempt from a piece of property that houses some printing equipment; I was standing there as a "Tax-Exempt House of God"!

In my dream people were angry with me because they had to pay taxes and I did not; they were duty bound by rules and regulations and I was not. This message will provoke some who are still stuck in the Old Covenant and it will bring others into a freedom that they didn't think was possible. The bottom line of the message is: "GOD HAS ORDAINED HIS HOUSE TO BE TAX-EXEMPT!"

As I mentioned before, this tax-exempt House of God is not any temporal building made with human hands; it is a spiritual House made by the Lord that will last forever. The Bible states in First Corinthians, chapter 3, that you who belong to Jesus are God's House (verse 9), and that you are the Holy Temple of God (verse 13). It is not that old person you were before you came to Christ; neither is it your self image. It is the New You, purchased on the cross of Calvary, and is washed clean by the blood of Christ. The new you . . . the real you . . . the spiritual you . . . the part of you where Christ dwells, is the House of God. It is the House that the Lord has made and declared to be tax-exempt and duty-free! Also tax-exempt and duty-free are all the treasures within the House of God

This House of God (the New You) that has been declared by Almighty God to be tax-exempt and duty-free is what the Bible refers to as "Christ in you, the hope of glory," and a "mystery among the gentiles" (Col. 1:27). People who do not know the Lord will see a great change in anyone who has a new life in Christ, but they will not understand what this new life is all about unless they experience it for themselves. Therefore, don't go through life worrying about what others think, because they don't understand what happened to you. Just tell them how wonderful Jesus is and pray that they, too, will receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Years ago a piece of legislation was introduced in our state government that upset many people. It was a bill that required organized churches to pay some kind of a property tax. People were outraged and the bill was quickly defeated. There was no way that they were going to let any tax be placed on their religious institutions. Yet it is common practice for organized religion to tax its people to the limit until they are completely duty bound.

You may not realize how burdened you are by this kind of taxation, because it has the deceitful appearance of looking like something that is good for you. This tax called "Duty" is not anything that is found in the New Covenant.

The Bible tells us to "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1);

yet we let ungodly taxation be imposed upon our spiritual life as if it were a good thing. We let our natural mind deceive us into thinking it is pleasing to God to be duty bound. I didn't realize how heavy the "tax" burden I was carrying was until it was lifted from me. It used to be: Duty, duty, duty . . . I am so thankful for the freedom that I now enjoy.

As I said before, in my dream people were angry with me because I was free from taxation. If you get serious about becoming tax-exempt and duty-free in your spiritual life, you will ignite the anger of Old Covenant preachers, and many others who are trying to earn their righteousness. But to have the freedom that Christ gives is well worth going through any hassle that comes from the likes of them. So I say, "Go for it!"

Pastors, evangelists, Bible teachers, deacons and elders! Beware, lest you impose a tax on the House of God! Dear saints who love God, be careful! Do not levy duties upon yourself or other believers, for if you do, you will be imposing a tribute on the Holy Temple that God has ordained to be tax-exempt!

The holy temple of God in the Bible that was made by man is often symbolic of the spiritual Temple made by the Hand of God, which is the new creation that a person becomes when they receive Christ and are born again by the power of God. When it was time for the holy temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt, Persia ruled the territory, and its kings got a message from God, which they took very seriously. King Artaxerxes made a decree regarding the temple, which, in part, stated that no one impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God (Ezra 7:24). And the penalty for disobeying the king's decree was severe, to say the least: He ruled that anyone who opposed it be executed, or banished, or imprisoned, or have their goods confiscated (Ezra 7:26).

If these foreign kings took heed to the Word of God and took such drastic measures to prevent the taxation on the temple of God that was made with wood and stone, shouldn't we be more concerned about the taxation upon the spiritual Temple built by the Hand of God with the sacrifice of Christ?! The New You should be duty-free!

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that you refuse to pay local, state or federal taxes for all the services and protection they give. What I am saying is that you do not have to let anyone impose spiritual taxation upon you!

Even dedicated Christian leaders who want to serve God may think they are doing a good thing when they encourage someone to work at becoming a better Christian. People who are locked into the Old Covenant will find it hard to understand that the New Covenant is not about duty but rather about rest. There is a humanistic sense of pride in performing a duty well, but that has no place in the Kingdom of God. Do you want to feel good about yourself because of "doing your duty," which is accomplishing some work that you or someone else has taxed you with; or do you want the sheer joy of enjoying the work that Christ does in and through you?

The religious leaders of the day sent their disciples along with another sect that was greatly opposed to Jesus and tried to trap Him with His words in an answer to their question. They asked "Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute (taxes) unto Caesar, or not? Jesus knew their evil intent and asked why they were trying to trap Him. Then He asked them to show Him a coin used for paying taxes and He asked, "Whose is this image and superscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." Then Jesus said to them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:17-22).

Caesar was a title or name given to all the Roman emperors after Julius Caesar, and, at the time, Rome was considered the world's government. Most of the world's money has a picture of a political leader and the name of a government engraved on it. The United States does have "In God We Trust" marked on its money, but does the government of today really mean that? I don't think we will ever see a picture of Jesus our Lord printed on any government money! Therefore, we should expect to pay taxes for services by our local, state and federal governments. Religious facilities are not owned by Caesar (the government), but we should still expect to render unto them payments for their use. However, you do not belong to Caesar; you do not belong to any government--and you do not belong to any church. You do not even belong to yourself, but only to God, because He purchased you with the precious blood of Christ! (1Pet. 1:18, 19). And the House that belongs to God is tax-exempt and duty-free!

The reason there are so many burned out, worn out, tired Christians is because they have not fought for their spiritual tax-exemption! Don't you agree that your new life in Christ should be duty-free? You can put a stop to a lot of the taxation and duty that is being heaped upon you. But then, again, you may choose not to, because in the short term it often appears easier to just "pay the tax."

There is a big difference between duty and spontaneous pleasure. Duty is something we work at; spontaneous pleasure is something we rest in. For example, I could tell you that it is your duty to be a good parent and then give you a list of what you should do to be a better mom or dad. In other words, I could tax you with a duty. But who could be a better parent than Jesus?! Therefore, I would rather encourage you to live in your new creation and have the spontaneous pleasure of having Christ bring forth His fruit of love, joy, patience, peace, gentleness and kindness through you to your children. That way you would be sharing the wealth of your inheritance with your children. Parenting doesn't get any better than that!

There are many ways that duties can be levied upon us. Doing those duties, for the time being, might make us feel good, even though it robs us of the inheritance of Christ. For example, take the Old Covenant duty of tithing. Religious leaders love it because it raises a lot of money to help support them and their activities. People like it because it lets them know exactly what they are supposed to pay, and gives them a temporary good feeling of having done their duty. But isn't it better to be guided by God as He provides, in a special way, something to give to someone or some cause at just the right time? His way and timing are always perfect.

Sometimes, when we try to take over the Lord's work, we tax ourselves to the limit. Just a few days ago I heard a woman telling how hard life gets when you become a Christian. She must be stuck in the Old Covenant and under a lot of taxation. She is finding it hard to keep up with all of her duties, which were not placed upon her by the Lord. One big duty she has taken on is the responsibility for the salvation of members of her family. And that is a heavy load to try to carry! Jesus said "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). God does give us the privilege to be His helpers in sharing the good new about His salvation, but that certainly is not a tax or a duty.

If we become better acquainted with Jesus by staying close to Him, we will learn how "meek and lowly in heart" He really is, which will lead us into the New Covenant Rest that God has prepared for His people (Heb. 4:9). He is never demanding; He is so kind and gentle, always wanting the very best for us. It just doesn't make any sense for us not to give Him first place in our lives.

I find it difficult to become involved in some types of so-called worship services. Recently, I was attending a funeral service and when it came time for prayer, the minister instructed us to take a book out of the pew rack and turn to a certain page. While I was looking for the right book and for my reading glasses and the right page, he was giving more instructions about how he would first read some lines, then people on the right side of the aisle were to read some lines, and then people on the left side would read some more. Then the procedure would start all over again and again. I could not participate in such childish behavior! That is not the way I communicate with my Heavenly Father!

Paul the apostle said, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things" (1Cor. 13:11). It is time for children of God to "put away" all that old ceremonial pomp that gives a temporary religious high, but has no power to change anyone's life; to get out from under all the religious rules and regulations that are cords to bind them with duty; to stop trying to act spiritual instead of letting the Life of Christ be revealed through them. It is time for each and every one of us to stop building images and just enjoy being a precious child of God.

And let me mention one more kind of childish behavior that Christians need to "put away." We don't need to always get our own way or to demand so much attention; that is, we don't need to always be in control. It is time to grow up and "put away" the control game, along with all these other things that stunt our growth and keep us from becoming mature enough to make our inheritance claim.

Not wanting to grow up is one of the main reasons why immature Christians are not getting their share of love, peace and joy. You just don't send a child to the courthouse with an inheritance claim! The Bible says ". . . That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father" (Gal. 4:1, 2).

It is time for us to get serious about the inheritance that was purchased for us with Christ's blood on the cross of Calvary!

Time on earth is winding down rapidly; and the Last Great Harvest is about to come in, which will be beyond measure! Get ready to welcome into the family of God a flood of people who have received Christ into their hearts! They will need guidance into their true inherit- ance. If they are guided by the immature, they will get placed under rules and regulations and into working to try to earn what God has already given to them. In other words, they will be brought under duty and taxation. But if they are guided by the mature members of the family of God, they will be encouraged to simply abide in Jesus who is "The Vine" (John 15:1), and enjoy the wonderful fruit of the Spirit, which are the mighty supernatural gifts in the inheritance of Christ.

I told how the Lord used the time I was weighed down with natural taxes to teach me to become free from spiritual taxation. At the time, the ministry's freedom from local taxation did not come all at once. During the seven-year battle, the freedom from taxation was gained little by little. First came a 35%, then 50%, then 65%, and finally a 100% tax-exemption.

That is the way it was with the children of Israel when they were set free by the power of God after being in bondage in Egypt for four hundred years. Freedom was too much of a shock for them. Life in the Promised Land was more than they could handle all at once; they had to take it little by little. For Christians to become tax-exempt instantly would be too much of a shock, so, little by little, we become unbound from all the duty placed upon the Body of Christ over the centuries.

The mighty gifts in the inheritance of Christ are not something that we can handle all at once; they are unlimited. We will never, in our eternal lives, be able to reach the end of them. Think, for a moment, about the first gift--the love of God. It is unending; it is beyond measure!

Just as it is important to discern between the natural and the spiritual man, we need to understand the difference between the gifts that we are naturally born with--which we need to develop--and the spiritual ones that are fully developed, given to us through the inheritance of Christ.

There is a natural kind of faith that everyone has; it is the "measure of faith" that God has given to every person (Rom. 12:3). Some use it to believe in the Lord, and others use it to believe in idols. And then there is the faith of Jesus, which can make a grown man who was crippled from birth stand up, walk and leap, and praise God! (Acts 3:16)

There is a natural kind of peace that comes when people learn to live in this world without trying to destroy one another, and then there is the peace of Jesus in our inheritance that lets one be at rest even in the midst of a storm (Matt. 8:24).

Not discerning between the natural gifts we are born with and the supernatural ones in the inheritance of Christ will lead to much confusion. We often try to accomplish something with the natural kind of faith that can only be accomplished by the faith of Jesus that is in the inheritance.

Not long ago a Christian woman who has known the Lord for over twenty years was telling me that she was afraid of losing the joy of the Lord. She told how happy she is at church services when people are praying, singing and praising the Lord, and how miserable she gets when she is at home alone with herself. It is obvious she has not made her claim for that wonderful, supernatural, unconditional joy that belongs to her in the inheritance of Christ. This gift of joy--just like the gift of patience that I mentioned earlier--works well in tribulation (2Cor. 7:4).

These priceless gifts of the inheritance and the fruit of the Spirit are one and the same. They do not increase in us like natural gifts. They do not grow in us for they are full grown. We grow in them. The "love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self- control" of the Lord (Gal. 5: 22, 23) are perfect, com- plete and unlimited. They are right there, waiting for us in the inheritance that Christ purchased on the cross of Calvary. They are tax-exempt, duty-free and waiting to be enjoyed to the uttermost. Why should we settle for anything less?!

Esau made a terrible choice when he sold his heritage to his twin brother, Jacob, for a bowl of red pottage. The Bible says that "Esau despised his birthright" (Gen. 25:34). Jacob, even though it is recorded in the Bible that he was a man of faith (Heb. 11:21), did not really appreciate the heritage, which he obtained from his brother in a deceitful way through the advice of his mother (Gen. 27:1-17). After he had the birthright, he still insisted on wrestling with the Lord to get from Him the blessings that he had already been given.

When I read about Jacob, I cannot help but wonder how his life would have been if he had spent more time resting and less time wrestling. All those years he spent in anguish, thinking his son, Joseph, was dead, could have been so different if he had known the truth by listening to the Lord. He did have some happy years, like the seven years that "seemed unto him but a few days" because he was head over heels in love with Rachel (Gen. 29:20). And the last seventeen years of his life must have been his best, because that was when he finally found his son, Joseph, alive and well, and in a position to take special care of him. It appears to me that one hundred sixteen of the one hundred forty years Jacob spent on earth were filled with unnecessary struggles. I often wonder if he really knew about and appreciated the riches of his birthright (inheritance).

I also wonder if we who belong to Jesus really know about and appreciate the inheritance bestowed on us by God, when we became His children by receiving Jesus into our hearts. Sometimes I think we even stretch the unlimited patience of God when we neglect the inherit- ance that cost Him so much to give to us.

Although He longs for us to have His wonderful gifts, He will not force us to accept them. He will not violate the freedom we have to choose, even when we choose that which is completely out of His will.

If you are neglecting--or have abandoned--the property that God has willed to you through His Son's death on the cross of Calvary, it is not too late to put your faith to work and make your claim for all the riches that Jesus obtained for you. You will be able to do that with the greatest of ease if you keep in mind that the New You and all of your riches in the inheritance of Christ are tax-exempt and duty-free!

As you discover the open lid of your New Covenant Treasure Chest and take out some of the riches, you will begin to experience the wonders that God intended for you to have and enjoy. Even when going through trials, you will experience a peace that "passeth all understanding" (Phil. 4:7). And when tribulation comes, you will have "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1Pet. 1:8). When someone or some thing "puts you to the test," you may wonder where your anger went and where all the patience you displayed came from. Or when you find yourself being extra kind to someone who is behaving miserably, you also may wonder where that unconditional love came from that you experienced flowing through you.

As you dig deeper into your Treasure Chest and enjoy all this spiritual wealth, you may say, "Life doesn't get any better than this!" But let me remind you that you have only just begun to make a dent in the inheritance of Christ!

It is hard to find words that fully express the glory of the riches of your inheritance, but this one thing I can clearly state: When you choose to walk in the new life that Christ gave you (which is living in your inheritance), it will not only bring wonderful blessings to you, but it will be a delight to your Heavenly Father.