But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. --Luke 23:34
Prejudice! What an ugly social ill.America is accused of it justifiably, yet I have never been to a country that did not practice it. Every race has within it those who are prejudiced. Many of us were encouraged from youth by the government to dislike the Russians and the Japanese, and now that same government enforces laws against discrimination. Women hate men and men hate women. People are too tall, too fat, too skinny, too short, too stupid, too educated, too spiritual, too carnal, too legalistic, and too liberal. Do not trust parents, do not trust teenagers, do not believe husbands, know that employers are out to get you, and do not share a weakness with your wife.
Upon recognizing and pointing out prejudice in a society, many attempt to fight it with more prejudice toward those who have it, discriminating against and avoiding them at all cost.It is vexing to become like one’s enemy, with bigotry and distrust driving hate and dislike. How is prejudice destroyed? Like all other societal ills, it is incredibly simple to cure with love! Once love enters the equation, everything changes. Love is not selective but inclusive. Love does not sort out who is right or wrong but shows no partiality and makes us more than conquerors.
On one occasion I was talking to a friend of a different race; he had made a conscious determination that he and his children would learn all they could about their culture. My response was, “Has all the information you have learned concerning your race changed your marriage, given wisdom in raising your children, or taken away the feelings of inferiority, failure, or depression?” He admittedly said no. I then responded, “Neither has the study of my race.” Jesus never commented on the outer life. He was racist toward the inner life, the life of Adam, the life that causes misery, and He wanted it dead and replaced with His life (Galatians 2:20). Once we receive His life, we receive love, which frees us from all of the above and gives the needed wisdom for daily living.
Friday, December 29, 2017
The Least, The Lost, The Lonely
This time of year can be very hard for many. I have
been pondering 'loneliness.' It has taken me back
to the time of Job and Abraham, to Samuel, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, King David, Esther, Ruth, Naomi, and to
Jesus. No one expects loneliness, leastness, but for
most of us, our lives are lived between the moun-
tain peaks of fullness, plenty, good health and close
friends.Yes, we have face time, twitter, texting and
the telephone, but it doesn't replace a cup of coffee
and a real person. :)
I think Mary was one of the loneliest of women.
We don't know what her family and friends believed
about her pregnancy--gossip. The baby was born
without her mother. Mary was probably not more
than fifteen or sixteen. The Bible does not speak of
a midwife in attendance but in my minds eye, I can
see her...What we do see shows a happy couple and
the baby, but birth is messy, exhausting, and scary.
Added to all of this was poverty.
It is when our expectations don't line up with reality
that we get into trouble.
been pondering 'loneliness.' It has taken me back
to the time of Job and Abraham, to Samuel, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, King David, Esther, Ruth, Naomi, and to
Jesus. No one expects loneliness, leastness, but for
most of us, our lives are lived between the moun-
tain peaks of fullness, plenty, good health and close
friends.Yes, we have face time, twitter, texting and
the telephone, but it doesn't replace a cup of coffee
and a real person. :)
I think Mary was one of the loneliest of women.
We don't know what her family and friends believed
about her pregnancy--gossip. The baby was born
without her mother. Mary was probably not more
than fifteen or sixteen. The Bible does not speak of
a midwife in attendance but in my minds eye, I can
see her...What we do see shows a happy couple and
the baby, but birth is messy, exhausting, and scary.
Added to all of this was poverty.
It is when our expectations don't line up with reality
that we get into trouble.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Oranges
And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. --Colossians 3:12-14
Once a fellow took an orange and asked his audience, "What is in this orange?" Everyone answered, "Orange juice." However, once he squeezed the orange, black goo gushed out instead of the expected sweet juice. We can think of our own life as the orange. Throughout our Christian life we find ourselves being squeezed, and that squeezing reveals what is within us, whether something sweet or the black goo of self-centeredness. When our flesh life is revealed through the squeezing of others, do we prefer to focus on the person or circumstances that squeezed us, the injustice involved, and the error of their way? Or do we concentrate on our own carnal response? It is far too easy to accumulate arguments condemning the behavior of others and justifying our own. However, a believer never has an excuse for self-centered behavior, for we live by a spiritual absolute that no matter what, we never have an excuse for not loving.When the believer finds himself squeezed and the black goo oozes out, he must admit his condition and not focus on the others who squeezed him.
In India a story is told of a Mogul king who, upon wanting to pick a successor and retire, assembled by invitation some five hundred young men from the kingdom. He presented a seed to each of the young men and asked that they plant it and tend it for one year, at which time the king would examine each of the young men's seeds and determine who would be king through what he saw. One of the young men took his seed home, planted it, fertilized, watered, and tended it day and night, and yet nothing grew. At the end of a year the young man told his father he was too embarrassed to present his empty pot to the king. His father persuaded him that since he had done his very best, he should not be embarrassed and must go present himself to the king truthfully, no better or worse; he had worked hard and must present himself honestly. Therefore, the young man went to the city on the day he was to present himself to the king. With his empty pot he took his place with the other young men, all of whom had pots that held banana plants already bearing fruit, mango trees, or a variety of beautiful flowers. The king began his inspection, examining all five hundred young men with their plants. As he walked past the only boy with an empty pot, the king hesitated briefly and then continued examining the others. Eventually, though, the king returned to the boy with the empty pot and announced, "You will be the next king!” “Why,” asked the young man, “should I be king when I have nothing?” The king responded, "I boiled all the seeds before I handed them out so none could grow! You alone have presented yourself in honesty, and you will be the next king." Remember, there was a man who asked his son to be healed by Jesus, who responded, "If you believe." The man then presented Himself in truth by saying, "I do believe! Help me in my unbelief." The boy was healed. The King rewards honesty and exalts the humble. Many times the need of the believer is the simple one of presenting himself before God in honesty, no better and no worse than he is and without justification!
As couples we often initially attracted our mates through being loving, kind, self-sacrificing, complimentary, and forgiving. With the passing of time, once the discovery was made that the spouse could not meet our deepest needs, the behavior deteriorated to complaining, judging, self-serving, anger, bitterness, blaming, and carnality. At this point we can either present ourselves to God and confess our carnal behavior or with great zeal begin to look for excuses for our negative behavior, which are most easily found by holding a magnifying glass up to the mate to reveal all his or her glaring faults; these we can proclaim as having caused our carnal lifestyle. This is all done in the hope that we will be excused and our mate condemned. This reminds me of the Kansas tornado, the circumference of which is where all the damage takes place, for there is nothing within its center. It is a great whirl around emptiness. There are those of us who continue to destroy everything outside ourselves, and yet we remain empty, totally unfulfilled by such behavior. Stop destroying, stop excusing, admit our true condition, and we will find that "out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water."
God gives us a vivid description of “out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water”: the chosen of God (that means a whole lot of things to a whole lot of different Believers!), “holy and beloved,” having “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone.” And adds: “just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
- Mike Wells
Once a fellow took an orange and asked his audience, "What is in this orange?" Everyone answered, "Orange juice." However, once he squeezed the orange, black goo gushed out instead of the expected sweet juice. We can think of our own life as the orange. Throughout our Christian life we find ourselves being squeezed, and that squeezing reveals what is within us, whether something sweet or the black goo of self-centeredness. When our flesh life is revealed through the squeezing of others, do we prefer to focus on the person or circumstances that squeezed us, the injustice involved, and the error of their way? Or do we concentrate on our own carnal response? It is far too easy to accumulate arguments condemning the behavior of others and justifying our own. However, a believer never has an excuse for self-centered behavior, for we live by a spiritual absolute that no matter what, we never have an excuse for not loving.When the believer finds himself squeezed and the black goo oozes out, he must admit his condition and not focus on the others who squeezed him.
In India a story is told of a Mogul king who, upon wanting to pick a successor and retire, assembled by invitation some five hundred young men from the kingdom. He presented a seed to each of the young men and asked that they plant it and tend it for one year, at which time the king would examine each of the young men's seeds and determine who would be king through what he saw. One of the young men took his seed home, planted it, fertilized, watered, and tended it day and night, and yet nothing grew. At the end of a year the young man told his father he was too embarrassed to present his empty pot to the king. His father persuaded him that since he had done his very best, he should not be embarrassed and must go present himself to the king truthfully, no better or worse; he had worked hard and must present himself honestly. Therefore, the young man went to the city on the day he was to present himself to the king. With his empty pot he took his place with the other young men, all of whom had pots that held banana plants already bearing fruit, mango trees, or a variety of beautiful flowers. The king began his inspection, examining all five hundred young men with their plants. As he walked past the only boy with an empty pot, the king hesitated briefly and then continued examining the others. Eventually, though, the king returned to the boy with the empty pot and announced, "You will be the next king!” “Why,” asked the young man, “should I be king when I have nothing?” The king responded, "I boiled all the seeds before I handed them out so none could grow! You alone have presented yourself in honesty, and you will be the next king." Remember, there was a man who asked his son to be healed by Jesus, who responded, "If you believe." The man then presented Himself in truth by saying, "I do believe! Help me in my unbelief." The boy was healed. The King rewards honesty and exalts the humble. Many times the need of the believer is the simple one of presenting himself before God in honesty, no better and no worse than he is and without justification!
As couples we often initially attracted our mates through being loving, kind, self-sacrificing, complimentary, and forgiving. With the passing of time, once the discovery was made that the spouse could not meet our deepest needs, the behavior deteriorated to complaining, judging, self-serving, anger, bitterness, blaming, and carnality. At this point we can either present ourselves to God and confess our carnal behavior or with great zeal begin to look for excuses for our negative behavior, which are most easily found by holding a magnifying glass up to the mate to reveal all his or her glaring faults; these we can proclaim as having caused our carnal lifestyle. This is all done in the hope that we will be excused and our mate condemned. This reminds me of the Kansas tornado, the circumference of which is where all the damage takes place, for there is nothing within its center. It is a great whirl around emptiness. There are those of us who continue to destroy everything outside ourselves, and yet we remain empty, totally unfulfilled by such behavior. Stop destroying, stop excusing, admit our true condition, and we will find that "out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water."
God gives us a vivid description of “out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water”: the chosen of God (that means a whole lot of things to a whole lot of different Believers!), “holy and beloved,” having “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone.” And adds: “just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
- Mike Wells
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Only Trust What Jesus Has Done In a Person
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. --Galatians 2:20
Let me tell you a secret about others. The only measure of dependence you place on them should be on the things God has done in them. Depend on them for anything else and they will let you down. When we see strong people, we have the tendency to want to trust them. However, if it is a fleshly strength that we are trusting, then one day they will let us down. At times I have told people of my strengths, my boldness, or my knowledge, and I have heard others do it, as well. Such talk is foolishness, for we are covertly asserting that we can be trusted, followed, or listened to because of our strengths. This is proof positive that we are not to be trusted. It is better to hear of someone’s many weaknesses and work alongside that person, for in each place he is weak, he is reliant upon God’s strength. If a man tells me he was very critical until God worked in his heart, revealed his own wickedness, and then lifted him up, I know that such a man is safe with my problems; I will not receive judgment from such a one, I will receive grace.
- Mike Wells
Let me tell you a secret about others. The only measure of dependence you place on them should be on the things God has done in them. Depend on them for anything else and they will let you down. When we see strong people, we have the tendency to want to trust them. However, if it is a fleshly strength that we are trusting, then one day they will let us down. At times I have told people of my strengths, my boldness, or my knowledge, and I have heard others do it, as well. Such talk is foolishness, for we are covertly asserting that we can be trusted, followed, or listened to because of our strengths. This is proof positive that we are not to be trusted. It is better to hear of someone’s many weaknesses and work alongside that person, for in each place he is weak, he is reliant upon God’s strength. If a man tells me he was very critical until God worked in his heart, revealed his own wickedness, and then lifted him up, I know that such a man is safe with my problems; I will not receive judgment from such a one, I will receive grace.
- Mike Wells
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Today's Prayer
So let's pray together. Hallelujah what a Saviour. Father as we come before you this morning we like to, we need to really, keep reminding ourselves that it was your great love that moved us to come and have a relationship with you. It was you who first initiated it, it was you that reached out to us, it was you that pursued us and sought us out in the midst of, of life, and in due course revealed yourself to us, and we want to say thank you this morning. Thank you that you are a God of love and that you did reach into our lives and reveal yourself to us, and we responded to that great love. As the Scripture says. “we love because he first loved us”. So Father thank you so much for that and as we journey through life Lord we know that there are so many times when, we don't, are seem to live up to the new identity we have, we seem to drift so easily, we seem to be sidetracked so easily, old habits and old ways seem to still grip us somehow, but it's good to be reminded that’s, that's not who we are, because you've reached into our lives and because you're such a wonderful Saviour you have literally saved us out of the old life, into the new, out of darkness into light, into your kingdom into your family and right into the circle of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What a Saviour you have saved us into that, and that's what we are grateful for and sometimes Father as we look over our shoulder, sometimes if we stop and we start to look at our performance we could easily be cast down, we could easily be depressed and despondent thinking there I go again. But you don't look at our performance you look at our new identity you look at who we now are your children and in that relationship as you work within us by your Spirit you bring about change, healing and wholeness, might be slow times, we might falter at times but you continue to work. And the apostle said in great confidence I have, that he shall complete that which he has begun. And so Father we to say thank you for the work that you're doing in our lives, none of us are perfect, but we are new creations we are your children, and so as we, as we look to you in relationship we say that was stupid that was silly, I'm sorry, and we step on again without any condemnation, for there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And so we thank you Lord for that wonderful relationship. O what a Saviour hallelujah what a Saviour that he would save us from all of that, into a beautiful relationship with Father, Son and Spirit. Thank you Father for that this morning in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Finding a Different Rhythm and a Better Journey
Finalizing my latest book for publication, I ran across these two paragraphs. They express better than any other the transformation I see in people all over the world who move beyond religion and embrace a different way of living:
Following ritual and rules that others demand of you is still following law, even if we call them “New Testament principles.” God doesn’t transform us through obligation or meeting the expectations of others. The reason why many of us grew frustrated in religious settings is because they made promises they couldn’t fulfill. The harder we tried the emptier we felt. God has been inviting you to live in a new creation where his love transforms us in the deepest part of our soul.
Over this season you’ll learn to see through the manipulation of obligation, accountability, guilt, and fear and into a different rhythm that will allow you to live more at rest, aware of others, and free from the corrupting influences of this age. Instead of doing what others think you should do, you’ll be freer to discern his work in you and find yourself embracing his realities of grace, forgiveness, freedom, and generosity.
It all begins as you ask him to show you how deeply loved by God you are, then watching for how he shows you that reality. This is the trailhead that will lead you to greater freedom and fullness.
It’s a worthy journey, to be sure.
- Wayne Jacobson
Following ritual and rules that others demand of you is still following law, even if we call them “New Testament principles.” God doesn’t transform us through obligation or meeting the expectations of others. The reason why many of us grew frustrated in religious settings is because they made promises they couldn’t fulfill. The harder we tried the emptier we felt. God has been inviting you to live in a new creation where his love transforms us in the deepest part of our soul.
Over this season you’ll learn to see through the manipulation of obligation, accountability, guilt, and fear and into a different rhythm that will allow you to live more at rest, aware of others, and free from the corrupting influences of this age. Instead of doing what others think you should do, you’ll be freer to discern his work in you and find yourself embracing his realities of grace, forgiveness, freedom, and generosity.
It all begins as you ask him to show you how deeply loved by God you are, then watching for how he shows you that reality. This is the trailhead that will lead you to greater freedom and fullness.
It’s a worthy journey, to be sure.
- Wayne Jacobson
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Do Not Be Discouraged
You are my King and my God who decrees victories
for Jacob. Psalm 44:4
There are no enemies to your growth grace, or to your
Christian work, that were not included in your Savior's
victory. Remember, "The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not
be afraid of them because...I will hand all of them o-
ver to (you).'"(Josh 11:6.) Also recall the fact that
when you resist your enemies, they "will free from you"
(James 4:7) And remember what Joshua said to the
people: "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be
strong and courageous." (Josh 10:25) The Lord is
with you,mighty men of valour" (Josh 1:14,) and you
are mighty because you are one with the Mightiest.
So claim your victory!
Whenever your enemies are closing in on you, claim
victory! Whenever your heart and your flesh fail you,
look up and claim victory! Be sure you claim your
share in the triumph that Jesus won, for He won it
not for Himself alone but for us all. Remember that
you were in Him when He won it--so claim victory!
Count Christ's victory as yours and gather the spoils
of the war. Neither the giant "descendants of Anak"
(Num 13:33) nor fortified cities need intimidate or de-
feat you. You are part of the conquering army. Claim
your share in the Savior's victory, from Joshua!
FB Meyer
for Jacob. Psalm 44:4
There are no enemies to your growth grace, or to your
Christian work, that were not included in your Savior's
victory. Remember, "The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not
be afraid of them because...I will hand all of them o-
ver to (you).'"(Josh 11:6.) Also recall the fact that
when you resist your enemies, they "will free from you"
(James 4:7) And remember what Joshua said to the
people: "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be
strong and courageous." (Josh 10:25) The Lord is
with you,mighty men of valour" (Josh 1:14,) and you
are mighty because you are one with the Mightiest.
So claim your victory!
Whenever your enemies are closing in on you, claim
victory! Whenever your heart and your flesh fail you,
look up and claim victory! Be sure you claim your
share in the triumph that Jesus won, for He won it
not for Himself alone but for us all. Remember that
you were in Him when He won it--so claim victory!
Count Christ's victory as yours and gather the spoils
of the war. Neither the giant "descendants of Anak"
(Num 13:33) nor fortified cities need intimidate or de-
feat you. You are part of the conquering army. Claim
your share in the Savior's victory, from Joshua!
FB Meyer
Friday, November 17, 2017
Earned or a Gift
Every saved child of God at one time or another longs
for victory over sin. Yet many have sadly given up
hope of having a complete victory, mistakenly suppo-
sing that that blessing is only for the life after this.
They do not know how simple, and how immediately
available, is the victory for which they are not daring
to hope. It is right at hand in Christ, for all who let
Him undeceive them, and who will receive the victor-
ious life as the outright, supernatural gift of God.
The great truth that so many earnest surrendered
Christians have even yet failed to see is that salvation
is a twofold gift; freedom from the PENALTY of sin
and freedom from the POWER of sin. Most Christians
know that they are free from the penalty of sin, but
many have not realized that they may, in the same way,
by faith, be freed from the power of their sins. Even
though they know that their own efforts had nothing
to do with salvation, they are yet deceived by the
Adversary into believing that somehow their own ef-
forts must play a part in victory over their sins.
If we as Christians come to the Lord and say, "I want
to be saved from the power of my sins, and I will let
You save me provided You will let me share in the
work of overcoming their power, so that You and I
shall always know that part of this victory has been
accomplished by You, and part has been accomplished
by me." Christ Himself cannot save us from the power
of our sins? Think about it. When our Lord says to us
through Paul, "Sin shall not have dominion over you;
for ye are not under law, but under grace," He wants
us to remember what grace is. Grace is not partly man's
work and partly God's work. It is wholly God's work
and exclusively God's work; and all that man can do is
to receive it as God's outright, undeserved, and wholly
sufficient gift.
The Lord wants our lives on earth to be one long Christ-
mas day of receiving His gift of Himself as our victory.
If we say that our experience refutes this, do we mean
that we have found through the help of our own efforts
a satisfying completeness of victory over all recog-
nized sin, so that impatience, irritation, unlove, impur-
ity, have all been taken out of our life, and we are able
to live from day to day not only free from our outward
expression of these sins, but free from their dominion
within us?
Our hope for victory over sin is not "Christ plus my
efforts," but "Christ plus my receiving." To receive
victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely
by His grace He is, this moment, freeing me from the
dominion of sin. And to believe on Him in this way
is to recognize that he is doing for us what we cannot
do for ourselves. When the Lord was in Nazareth He
could do "not many mighty works there because of--
"Their inactivity?" No; "because of their unbelief."
To attempt to share by our effort in what only grace
can do is to defeat grace.
"This only would I learn from you, Received ye
the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hear-
ing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in
the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?...He
therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and
worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?...
For freedom did Christ set us free: Stand fast
therefore in the liberty, wherewith Christ has set
us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke
of bondage...But I say, 'Walk by the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
Gal 3:2, 3, 5; 5:1,16
Let us never forget this simple truth: the faith which
lets Christ bring us into and sustain us in victory is
just remembering that Christ is faithful; that it is His
responsibility and duty to accomplish this miracle
in our lives. Charles G Trumbull
for victory over sin. Yet many have sadly given up
hope of having a complete victory, mistakenly suppo-
sing that that blessing is only for the life after this.
They do not know how simple, and how immediately
available, is the victory for which they are not daring
to hope. It is right at hand in Christ, for all who let
Him undeceive them, and who will receive the victor-
ious life as the outright, supernatural gift of God.
The great truth that so many earnest surrendered
Christians have even yet failed to see is that salvation
is a twofold gift; freedom from the PENALTY of sin
and freedom from the POWER of sin. Most Christians
know that they are free from the penalty of sin, but
many have not realized that they may, in the same way,
by faith, be freed from the power of their sins. Even
though they know that their own efforts had nothing
to do with salvation, they are yet deceived by the
Adversary into believing that somehow their own ef-
forts must play a part in victory over their sins.
If we as Christians come to the Lord and say, "I want
to be saved from the power of my sins, and I will let
You save me provided You will let me share in the
work of overcoming their power, so that You and I
shall always know that part of this victory has been
accomplished by You, and part has been accomplished
by me." Christ Himself cannot save us from the power
of our sins? Think about it. When our Lord says to us
through Paul, "Sin shall not have dominion over you;
for ye are not under law, but under grace," He wants
us to remember what grace is. Grace is not partly man's
work and partly God's work. It is wholly God's work
and exclusively God's work; and all that man can do is
to receive it as God's outright, undeserved, and wholly
sufficient gift.
The Lord wants our lives on earth to be one long Christ-
mas day of receiving His gift of Himself as our victory.
If we say that our experience refutes this, do we mean
that we have found through the help of our own efforts
a satisfying completeness of victory over all recog-
nized sin, so that impatience, irritation, unlove, impur-
ity, have all been taken out of our life, and we are able
to live from day to day not only free from our outward
expression of these sins, but free from their dominion
within us?
Our hope for victory over sin is not "Christ plus my
efforts," but "Christ plus my receiving." To receive
victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely
by His grace He is, this moment, freeing me from the
dominion of sin. And to believe on Him in this way
is to recognize that he is doing for us what we cannot
do for ourselves. When the Lord was in Nazareth He
could do "not many mighty works there because of--
"Their inactivity?" No; "because of their unbelief."
To attempt to share by our effort in what only grace
can do is to defeat grace.
"This only would I learn from you, Received ye
the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hear-
ing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in
the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?...He
therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and
worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?...
For freedom did Christ set us free: Stand fast
therefore in the liberty, wherewith Christ has set
us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke
of bondage...But I say, 'Walk by the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."
Gal 3:2, 3, 5; 5:1,16
Let us never forget this simple truth: the faith which
lets Christ bring us into and sustain us in victory is
just remembering that Christ is faithful; that it is His
responsibility and duty to accomplish this miracle
in our lives. Charles G Trumbull
Loving the World?
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. --John 15:19
I have asked men and women alike who have fallen in lust with a perfect face and body, “How much are you willing to pay for sex?” Often they act surprised, but I know they are just in lust with a person, not in love. They overlook all the lacking qualities of character in favor of hoped for fulfillment of fleshly desire, which is too bad, since a fleshly person will beat the love right out of a mate. Of the men and women that I disciple, those who married just because of fleshly attraction have less sex than anyone else. It seems that after marriage the “beautiful” mate must prove that he has something more to offer than sex and withdraws. When the honeymoon is over, the true lack of character of the person is revealed, and in time, the love “felt” is beaten out of the mate. Why say all of this? Because I want to make an analogy about the world! It looks good, but marry it, and it will beat the love held for it right out of a person. I was once asked, “If drugs were legal and free, could I take all I wanted to and be happy?” The answer was, “No, you could not. The world does not work that way. Once it gets you, it will abuse you and will, in time, beat the desire you had for it right out of you.” That is why drug users eventually become suicidal. One fellow asked, “If it were legal, I would have several wives, or at least several affairs to fulfill my sex desire.” Well, many have done just that and come to pieces. They did not come to pieces because the behavior was illegal, but because man is made in the image of God, and to act in a manner not supported by God is unnatural.The world is a vicious lover, but once it has you, it will not let go easily, and all the while it will continue to hammer the love you have for it out of you. In this way, God does not fight the world but uses it.
I have asked men and women alike who have fallen in lust with a perfect face and body, “How much are you willing to pay for sex?” Often they act surprised, but I know they are just in lust with a person, not in love. They overlook all the lacking qualities of character in favor of hoped for fulfillment of fleshly desire, which is too bad, since a fleshly person will beat the love right out of a mate. Of the men and women that I disciple, those who married just because of fleshly attraction have less sex than anyone else. It seems that after marriage the “beautiful” mate must prove that he has something more to offer than sex and withdraws. When the honeymoon is over, the true lack of character of the person is revealed, and in time, the love “felt” is beaten out of the mate. Why say all of this? Because I want to make an analogy about the world! It looks good, but marry it, and it will beat the love held for it right out of a person. I was once asked, “If drugs were legal and free, could I take all I wanted to and be happy?” The answer was, “No, you could not. The world does not work that way. Once it gets you, it will abuse you and will, in time, beat the desire you had for it right out of you.” That is why drug users eventually become suicidal. One fellow asked, “If it were legal, I would have several wives, or at least several affairs to fulfill my sex desire.” Well, many have done just that and come to pieces. They did not come to pieces because the behavior was illegal, but because man is made in the image of God, and to act in a manner not supported by God is unnatural.The world is a vicious lover, but once it has you, it will not let go easily, and all the while it will continue to hammer the love you have for it out of you. In this way, God does not fight the world but uses it.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
The Life That Wins
Today I am going to lay the foundation for an excellent
book entitled, Victory in Christ, by Charles G Trumbull,
a man who lived from 1872 to 1941.
Dr Trumbull had been serving God for a couple of decades
but he had a growing need based on three things:
'1 He was aware of great fluctuations in his spiritual life.
It seems to me that it ought to be possible for me to live
habitually on a high plane of fellowship with God
2 There was the matter of 'failure' before besetting or
habitual sins. Despite earnest prayer for deliverance, abi-
ding victory had not been his experience.
3 He was conscious of lack in the matter of a dynamic,
convincing spiritual power that would change the lives
of others.'
'About a year before, I had begun to notice that certain men,
who were conspicuously blessed in their Christian service,
had a Christ consciousness that I did not have...one that was
beyond, bigger, and deeper than any thought of Christ I had
every had. I rebelled at the suggestion, when it first came to
me. "How could anyone have a better idea of Christ that I?
Did I not believe in Christ and worship Him as the Son of
God and one with God? Had I not accepted Him as my per-
sonal Savior twenty years ago? Did I not believe that eternal
life was in Him alone? Was I not trying to live in His service,
giving my whole life to Him? Did I not ask for His help and
guidance constantly, and believe that in Him was my only
hope? I was doing all this. How could a higher or better con-
captain of Christ than mine was possible."'
Reader, what does it mean to be 'dead unto sin; alive unto
God?' Well, in the latter part of Trumbull's life this is what
was said: 'Those who knew Dr Trumbull in his late years
remember him as a buoyant, joyous, earnest, unassuming,
Spirit-filled Christian, journalist and leader. He understood
that the life that abides in Christ and draws all of its resour-
ces from the risen Savior was a wonderful reality that he
experienced.'
Trumbull gave this testimony in 1911:
'There is only one life that wins; and that life is in Christ.
Every person may have this life; every person can live this
life.
I do not mean that everyone may be Christ-like, I mean
something much better.
I do not mean that a person may always have Christ's help,
I mean something much better.
I do not mean that a person may have the power of Christ,
I mean something much better.
I do not mean that a person shall be merely saved from his
sins and kept from sinning; I mean something better than
that victory.'
book entitled, Victory in Christ, by Charles G Trumbull,
a man who lived from 1872 to 1941.
Dr Trumbull had been serving God for a couple of decades
but he had a growing need based on three things:
'1 He was aware of great fluctuations in his spiritual life.
It seems to me that it ought to be possible for me to live
habitually on a high plane of fellowship with God
2 There was the matter of 'failure' before besetting or
habitual sins. Despite earnest prayer for deliverance, abi-
ding victory had not been his experience.
3 He was conscious of lack in the matter of a dynamic,
convincing spiritual power that would change the lives
of others.'
'About a year before, I had begun to notice that certain men,
who were conspicuously blessed in their Christian service,
had a Christ consciousness that I did not have...one that was
beyond, bigger, and deeper than any thought of Christ I had
every had. I rebelled at the suggestion, when it first came to
me. "How could anyone have a better idea of Christ that I?
Did I not believe in Christ and worship Him as the Son of
God and one with God? Had I not accepted Him as my per-
sonal Savior twenty years ago? Did I not believe that eternal
life was in Him alone? Was I not trying to live in His service,
giving my whole life to Him? Did I not ask for His help and
guidance constantly, and believe that in Him was my only
hope? I was doing all this. How could a higher or better con-
captain of Christ than mine was possible."'
Reader, what does it mean to be 'dead unto sin; alive unto
God?' Well, in the latter part of Trumbull's life this is what
was said: 'Those who knew Dr Trumbull in his late years
remember him as a buoyant, joyous, earnest, unassuming,
Spirit-filled Christian, journalist and leader. He understood
that the life that abides in Christ and draws all of its resour-
ces from the risen Savior was a wonderful reality that he
experienced.'
Trumbull gave this testimony in 1911:
'There is only one life that wins; and that life is in Christ.
Every person may have this life; every person can live this
life.
I do not mean that everyone may be Christ-like, I mean
something much better.
I do not mean that a person may always have Christ's help,
I mean something much better.
I do not mean that a person may have the power of Christ,
I mean something much better.
I do not mean that a person shall be merely saved from his
sins and kept from sinning; I mean something better than
that victory.'
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Lonely
“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do,” the song goes made popular way back in 1969 by the group Three Dog Night. Alone, loneliness, all alone, one… But, Michael gives us a beautiful perspective from God’s Word in Romans ch.14. This is a great set of truths each of us can share with someone who is experiencing the feelings of loneliness…
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.–Romans 14: 7, 8
I suppose that there are times in everyone’s life when they feel all alone. Actually, this is an awareness of something that has always existed. A person may have always been alone but only recognize it at a time when there is not activity around him. One woman, when widowed for a short time, aptly said, “I know God is with me, but this morning I fell and there was no one there to pick me up.” In the outer life loneliness is more readily recognized; however, in the spirit and soul we were all born lonely. There has never been (in spite of the insipid teaching of having a “soul mate”) anyone who can touch our mind, heart, soul, emotions, will, and spirit. No one, that is, save One, and that One is Jesus. Psalm 25:16, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” Psalm 68:6, “God makes a home for the lonely.” If you have invited the life of Jesus to live within, you have learned that He is the only One who fills loneliness and assures you that you never were alone.I like feeling lonely and turning to Him to discover His nearness. I like the fact that He alone can fill the emptiness that is deepest within me. I cannot imagine that He wants to be that near, but He does.
The natural mind, both in Unbelievers and Believers, is known to draw either to the idea of a “soul mate.” Michael calls it an “insipid teaching.” Amen. It is most sad that a Believer would operate in the natural mind instead of the Mind of Christ that Paul tells us we have and can only “receive the things of God” with.
- Mike Wells
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.–Romans 14: 7, 8
I suppose that there are times in everyone’s life when they feel all alone. Actually, this is an awareness of something that has always existed. A person may have always been alone but only recognize it at a time when there is not activity around him. One woman, when widowed for a short time, aptly said, “I know God is with me, but this morning I fell and there was no one there to pick me up.” In the outer life loneliness is more readily recognized; however, in the spirit and soul we were all born lonely. There has never been (in spite of the insipid teaching of having a “soul mate”) anyone who can touch our mind, heart, soul, emotions, will, and spirit. No one, that is, save One, and that One is Jesus. Psalm 25:16, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” Psalm 68:6, “God makes a home for the lonely.” If you have invited the life of Jesus to live within, you have learned that He is the only One who fills loneliness and assures you that you never were alone.I like feeling lonely and turning to Him to discover His nearness. I like the fact that He alone can fill the emptiness that is deepest within me. I cannot imagine that He wants to be that near, but He does.
The natural mind, both in Unbelievers and Believers, is known to draw either to the idea of a “soul mate.” Michael calls it an “insipid teaching.” Amen. It is most sad that a Believer would operate in the natural mind instead of the Mind of Christ that Paul tells us we have and can only “receive the things of God” with.
- Mike Wells
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Talking About Age!
You know what beloved, talking about age "There is no such thing as age in the realm of the Spirit. Your life does not weaken, it doesn't get less and less and less.” You say, "Well, I'm getting older, I'm getting grayer, and I am not as young as I used to be." But, there is a life in the Spirit, and a life in the Spirit does not decrease. It increases. Hallelujah! It's the life of the Son of God!
It's a life that's provided by the Son of God, through His death and the wonder of His resurrection, His risen life! And that was why Paul was able to say in Galatians in the Second Chapter and in the Twentieth verse, "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.” I have the life of Christ in me. This is reality! This is life! This isn’t emotion and commotion, but the very dynamic, growing, vital life of the Son of God.
You don’t need to go to a “Deeper Life” convention to go deeper, you’ve got the life of the Son of God now. I don’t belong in the over-comers, I just have to overcome. You know it’s, "I am crucified with Christ." We have the living Son of God inside of us, we have Christ in our life, and that's what Paul said, "Christ is my life!"
It's a life that's provided by the Son of God, through His death and the wonder of His resurrection, His risen life! And that was why Paul was able to say in Galatians in the Second Chapter and in the Twentieth verse, "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.” I have the life of Christ in me. This is reality! This is life! This isn’t emotion and commotion, but the very dynamic, growing, vital life of the Son of God.
You don’t need to go to a “Deeper Life” convention to go deeper, you’ve got the life of the Son of God now. I don’t belong in the over-comers, I just have to overcome. You know it’s, "I am crucified with Christ." We have the living Son of God inside of us, we have Christ in our life, and that's what Paul said, "Christ is my life!"
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Challenging the Habit of Judgment
Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matt 7:2).
In our world where we encounter a nearly constant stream of judgments on social media or the news, this teaching stands out as remarkable. Jesus says that we can either play the judgment game or the grace game. If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge others. Extend to them the same gracious love that God has extended to you. But if you insist on playing the judgment game, then know that the judgment you give is the judgment you’ll get.
This command of Jesus stands out even more when we read,
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye’ (Matt 7:3-4).
It’s important to note that the people Jesus was talking to did not have greater sins than others. In fact, by the standards of the day, those people would have been considered above average morally. Jesus was pointing out that they needed to be free from the addiction to (that is getting life from) judging others.
He did this by instructing them to think in the opposite way about people, one that revolts against the standards of their day … and ours.
To judge another person is to ascribe worth to yourself at the expense of others. This minimizes your sins and faults, while maximizing the sins and faults of others. If you’ve ever said to yourself, “At least, I’m not as bad as that person (or group)” then you were likely feeding off the idol of judgment.
Jesus proclaimed that we are to regard our own sin as plank-sized sins while regarding other people’s sins as speck-sized sins. It can be especially challenging in our world where the faults and sins of public figures are constantly scrutinized in the media, but whatever sins we think we see in another, we are to consider our own sin as worse.
With the apostle Paul, we are to see ourselves as “the worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). When you let go of your need to judge others as a way of getting life and worth, you are freed to get your life from God so that you can love others as Jesus loved. Nothing is more central to the Kingdom than agreeing with God about every person’s unsurpassable worth and reflecting this in how we act toward them. Nothing is more important than living in Christlike love for all people at all times.
—Adapted from The Myth of a Christian Religion, pages 51-55
- Greg Boyd
In our world where we encounter a nearly constant stream of judgments on social media or the news, this teaching stands out as remarkable. Jesus says that we can either play the judgment game or the grace game. If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge others. Extend to them the same gracious love that God has extended to you. But if you insist on playing the judgment game, then know that the judgment you give is the judgment you’ll get.
This command of Jesus stands out even more when we read,
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye’ (Matt 7:3-4).
It’s important to note that the people Jesus was talking to did not have greater sins than others. In fact, by the standards of the day, those people would have been considered above average morally. Jesus was pointing out that they needed to be free from the addiction to (that is getting life from) judging others.
He did this by instructing them to think in the opposite way about people, one that revolts against the standards of their day … and ours.
To judge another person is to ascribe worth to yourself at the expense of others. This minimizes your sins and faults, while maximizing the sins and faults of others. If you’ve ever said to yourself, “At least, I’m not as bad as that person (or group)” then you were likely feeding off the idol of judgment.
Jesus proclaimed that we are to regard our own sin as plank-sized sins while regarding other people’s sins as speck-sized sins. It can be especially challenging in our world where the faults and sins of public figures are constantly scrutinized in the media, but whatever sins we think we see in another, we are to consider our own sin as worse.
With the apostle Paul, we are to see ourselves as “the worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). When you let go of your need to judge others as a way of getting life and worth, you are freed to get your life from God so that you can love others as Jesus loved. Nothing is more central to the Kingdom than agreeing with God about every person’s unsurpassable worth and reflecting this in how we act toward them. Nothing is more important than living in Christlike love for all people at all times.
—Adapted from The Myth of a Christian Religion, pages 51-55
- Greg Boyd
Monday, October 30, 2017
"What is the truth?
"What is the truth? That at the Cross God forgave all your sins - past tense. At the Cross God took away the rules and laws that stood opposed to you. At the Cross He disarmed the powers and principalities. (Colossians 2:13) He forgave ALL your sins.
You have received fulness in Christ! Fulness!
I want to shoot a sacred cow - the teaching that says that every time you sin, you have got to confess your sin in order to get your relationship with God restored again - is heresy and it is Old Covenant teaching (1 John 1:8-9) "If you confess your sins He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness". That was not written to Christians - it was written to a congregation that were a mixture of Gnostics and people who were confused by Gnostics. Gnostics were teaching that sin doesn't exist in the world, they weren't born again - they didn't believe in the blood or the Cross and John's writing to address and rebuke that Gnostic idea and that particular Scripture is telling the Gnostics - you had better get saved!
To be cleansed of all unrighteousness is when you get saved. But if you go to Hebrews 10:1-4, it warns that under the Old Covenant they had a system where you had to confess your sins whenever you made a sin and it says this didn't help them get rid of their sin conciousness - it actually was a reminder of their sins and then it says that the blood of bulls and of goats could not take away their feeling of sinfulness and guilt. It says we have a New Covenant and by ONE sacrifice this Priest doesn't do a sacrifice year after year and over and over again but by one sacrifice He has made perfect FOREVER all those who are being made holy! There is no more sacrifice needed for sin!
The next verse says that the Holy Spirit testifies to this. What? That your sins are forgiven! That you are perfect forever and that God doesn't remember your sins anymore. The Holy Spirit isn't telling you that you are a sinner - He is telling you that your sins are gone and that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Evangelicals teach yes on the Cross Jesus may have died for your sins - come to Jesus and He has forgiven all your sins. Then you come forward and get saved and they tell you; "Yes but every time you sin, your relationship is cut off with God". So then you have to confess your sin to restore your fellowship with God.
When did Jesus die for your sin? Did He die before you committed any sins? Before you committed one sin, Jesus TOTALLY dealt with ALL your sin and forgave ALL your sin (that's what it says in Colossians 2:13: "Having forgiven all your sins"). HAVING forgiven - not "going to where you confess". HAVING forgiven ALL your sins! (Romans 5:19) - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself NOT counting men's sins against them but imputing and counting your sins against Jesus and imputing Jesus' righteousness to you.
"Rob it doesn't sound right to me!". Yes because you are thinking Old Covenant. This is a New Covenant and it is superior to the Old one and based on better promises. Stop mixing the two and getting confused! When you come to Christ He has already forgiven your sins past, present and future - they're not being counted and the Bible says in Colossians 2 we have been given fulness in Christ!
Everytime the devil says you need to confess your sin because you have sinned then he is getting you to remind yourself that you don't have the final and full package from Jesus Christ - you have got to DO something. If you have got to confess your sin to keep your relationship with God open then you never got the full and final package at salvation."
- Excerpt from the 2008 Rob Rufus sermon:
You have received fulness in Christ! Fulness!
I want to shoot a sacred cow - the teaching that says that every time you sin, you have got to confess your sin in order to get your relationship with God restored again - is heresy and it is Old Covenant teaching (1 John 1:8-9) "If you confess your sins He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness". That was not written to Christians - it was written to a congregation that were a mixture of Gnostics and people who were confused by Gnostics. Gnostics were teaching that sin doesn't exist in the world, they weren't born again - they didn't believe in the blood or the Cross and John's writing to address and rebuke that Gnostic idea and that particular Scripture is telling the Gnostics - you had better get saved!
To be cleansed of all unrighteousness is when you get saved. But if you go to Hebrews 10:1-4, it warns that under the Old Covenant they had a system where you had to confess your sins whenever you made a sin and it says this didn't help them get rid of their sin conciousness - it actually was a reminder of their sins and then it says that the blood of bulls and of goats could not take away their feeling of sinfulness and guilt. It says we have a New Covenant and by ONE sacrifice this Priest doesn't do a sacrifice year after year and over and over again but by one sacrifice He has made perfect FOREVER all those who are being made holy! There is no more sacrifice needed for sin!
The next verse says that the Holy Spirit testifies to this. What? That your sins are forgiven! That you are perfect forever and that God doesn't remember your sins anymore. The Holy Spirit isn't telling you that you are a sinner - He is telling you that your sins are gone and that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Evangelicals teach yes on the Cross Jesus may have died for your sins - come to Jesus and He has forgiven all your sins. Then you come forward and get saved and they tell you; "Yes but every time you sin, your relationship is cut off with God". So then you have to confess your sin to restore your fellowship with God.
When did Jesus die for your sin? Did He die before you committed any sins? Before you committed one sin, Jesus TOTALLY dealt with ALL your sin and forgave ALL your sin (that's what it says in Colossians 2:13: "Having forgiven all your sins"). HAVING forgiven - not "going to where you confess". HAVING forgiven ALL your sins! (Romans 5:19) - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself NOT counting men's sins against them but imputing and counting your sins against Jesus and imputing Jesus' righteousness to you.
"Rob it doesn't sound right to me!". Yes because you are thinking Old Covenant. This is a New Covenant and it is superior to the Old one and based on better promises. Stop mixing the two and getting confused! When you come to Christ He has already forgiven your sins past, present and future - they're not being counted and the Bible says in Colossians 2 we have been given fulness in Christ!
Everytime the devil says you need to confess your sin because you have sinned then he is getting you to remind yourself that you don't have the final and full package from Jesus Christ - you have got to DO something. If you have got to confess your sin to keep your relationship with God open then you never got the full and final package at salvation."
- Excerpt from the 2008 Rob Rufus sermon:
Thursday, October 26, 2017
So Who Was Praying?
I am utterly confident that prayer works, but am far less certain about how prayer works. God invites and commands us to come to him with our petitions, our requests. He promises that he hears them, that through the intercession of the Spirit he perfects them, and that it is his joy to answer them. He gives us the things we long for, though not always in the way we ask and often not in the time we ask. Still, he is a God who hears and answers prayer.
I understand that much, but not a whole lot more. Like all Christian parents, I pray for the salvation of my children. Let’s say I pray for the salvation of my child 5,000 times or 10,000 times over the course of his life. Then one day my child becomes a Christian by putting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has answered prayer! But is he responding to a certain one of my prayers, either the first one or the last one or another one I made along the way? Or is he responding to the quantity of my prayers, as if I’ve now prayed enough times that I receive what I’ve so long desired? Or maybe he is responding to the earnestness of my prayers as they’ve grown sufficiently pleading and sorrowful to have gained his ear. I just don’t know how all that works. I’m quite sure I don’t need to. I just need to know that I ought to pray and that it is God’s joy to answer prayer.
I’ve been thinking about all of this in a very precious context—the context of my wife. Aileen is a Christian and has been since we were 19 years old. But there’s no obvious earthly reason that Aileen should be. While she had a safe, stable, loving childhood, it was completely non-religious. When I met her as a twelfth-grade high school student she had never read a Bible or heard any of its stories. She had never set foot in a church. She had never heard anyone pray or heard a Christian song or listened to a sermon. She wasn’t an unbeliever because she had rejected the gospel but because she had never heard it or had opportunity to believe it. Then my mother took her out for breakfast, shared that gospel with her, and encouraged her to respond to it. She did immediately, confidently, and irrevocably. In a moment Aileen became a Christian, her life transformed, her eternal destiny fixed at the very first hearing of the good news. She was and remains the only practicing Christian in her family—direct or extended.
This is a wondrous thing that makes sense only in the context of prayer. Someone must have been praying for her! How else can we explain it? Why else would God have so suddenly and unexpectedly plucked her out for himself? It must have been prayer.
I have spent a lot of time wondering whose prayers were answered in her salvation. I’m sure I prayed for her a bit after meeting her as a high school student, but probably not much. Surely my parents had been praying for my future spouse since my childhood, though only as a stranger they would someday meet. Was it people in her neighbourhood who prayed for her and pleaded with God to extend his salvation? Was it a local church who perhaps prayed their way house by house? Was it a stranger in a distant land for whom the Lord had somehow brought to mind a pretty brown-haired girl in Canada who knew there just had to be more to life than this and who needed to hear the gospel just once? I don’t know, of course, and don’t know how I ever could know. It’s a line of enquiry I’ll want to pursue with the Lord one day. I know I’m not capable of unraveling the whole tapestry God has woven, but I’ve got a theory.
Much of Aileen’s family emigrated from Scotland a decade before she was born. She was and is my Scottish girl. And Scotland has a special Christian heritage. Though such days have long since passed, it was was once a bastion of Christianity, a bright light in a dark, dark world. At one time it counted among its citizens a great many believers—believers who prayed. They prayed for themselves and their families and they prayed for their nation and its people. They prayed for the present and the future, for generations alive and generations still to come. And I just can’t help but wonder if her salvation was the long answer to one or many of those prayers. I just can’t help but wonder if many, many years ago a Scottish family pleaded with God to extend his salvation to their children and to their children’s children. And maybe, just maybe, God answered that prayer in her salvation. Maybe, just maybe, he continues to answer it as our children now hear that gospel from her lips and as they accept it in repentance and faith. Maybe, just maybe, God will make it all clear in eternity and I will be able to thank those people for being faithful Christians who faithfully prayed.
I understand that much, but not a whole lot more. Like all Christian parents, I pray for the salvation of my children. Let’s say I pray for the salvation of my child 5,000 times or 10,000 times over the course of his life. Then one day my child becomes a Christian by putting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has answered prayer! But is he responding to a certain one of my prayers, either the first one or the last one or another one I made along the way? Or is he responding to the quantity of my prayers, as if I’ve now prayed enough times that I receive what I’ve so long desired? Or maybe he is responding to the earnestness of my prayers as they’ve grown sufficiently pleading and sorrowful to have gained his ear. I just don’t know how all that works. I’m quite sure I don’t need to. I just need to know that I ought to pray and that it is God’s joy to answer prayer.
I’ve been thinking about all of this in a very precious context—the context of my wife. Aileen is a Christian and has been since we were 19 years old. But there’s no obvious earthly reason that Aileen should be. While she had a safe, stable, loving childhood, it was completely non-religious. When I met her as a twelfth-grade high school student she had never read a Bible or heard any of its stories. She had never set foot in a church. She had never heard anyone pray or heard a Christian song or listened to a sermon. She wasn’t an unbeliever because she had rejected the gospel but because she had never heard it or had opportunity to believe it. Then my mother took her out for breakfast, shared that gospel with her, and encouraged her to respond to it. She did immediately, confidently, and irrevocably. In a moment Aileen became a Christian, her life transformed, her eternal destiny fixed at the very first hearing of the good news. She was and remains the only practicing Christian in her family—direct or extended.
This is a wondrous thing that makes sense only in the context of prayer. Someone must have been praying for her! How else can we explain it? Why else would God have so suddenly and unexpectedly plucked her out for himself? It must have been prayer.
I have spent a lot of time wondering whose prayers were answered in her salvation. I’m sure I prayed for her a bit after meeting her as a high school student, but probably not much. Surely my parents had been praying for my future spouse since my childhood, though only as a stranger they would someday meet. Was it people in her neighbourhood who prayed for her and pleaded with God to extend his salvation? Was it a local church who perhaps prayed their way house by house? Was it a stranger in a distant land for whom the Lord had somehow brought to mind a pretty brown-haired girl in Canada who knew there just had to be more to life than this and who needed to hear the gospel just once? I don’t know, of course, and don’t know how I ever could know. It’s a line of enquiry I’ll want to pursue with the Lord one day. I know I’m not capable of unraveling the whole tapestry God has woven, but I’ve got a theory.
Much of Aileen’s family emigrated from Scotland a decade before she was born. She was and is my Scottish girl. And Scotland has a special Christian heritage. Though such days have long since passed, it was was once a bastion of Christianity, a bright light in a dark, dark world. At one time it counted among its citizens a great many believers—believers who prayed. They prayed for themselves and their families and they prayed for their nation and its people. They prayed for the present and the future, for generations alive and generations still to come. And I just can’t help but wonder if her salvation was the long answer to one or many of those prayers. I just can’t help but wonder if many, many years ago a Scottish family pleaded with God to extend his salvation to their children and to their children’s children. And maybe, just maybe, God answered that prayer in her salvation. Maybe, just maybe, he continues to answer it as our children now hear that gospel from her lips and as they accept it in repentance and faith. Maybe, just maybe, God will make it all clear in eternity and I will be able to thank those people for being faithful Christians who faithfully prayed.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
The Ugliest Religion in the World
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.--John 15:5
What, exactly, is the most ugly religion in the world?I have come in contact with countless religions, and I believe that I have found the absolute worst one. Christianity! That is right, Christianity! Why? Every other religion is created to be a religion, centering in laws, sites, chants, and ceremonies, things that signify the very nature of a religion. However, Christianity centers on and in Jesus. Christianity centers on a relationship with the Founder, who is not a teacher of new rules but is the Son of God, who was raised from the dead, actually living in and through the followers. When reduced to a list of behaviors to be imitated, Christianity is just too high of an ideal to attain. Since no one can imitate Jesus, the religious have to come up with a set of laws that they can imitate to exalt themselves over others. Take Jesus out of it and Christianity becomes ugly, if not out-and-out goofy. The religious cannot emphasize Jesus, else in so doing they hold up a model they are not able to imitate. Therefore, they hold up everything else that appears spiritual. Things I have heard during my travels are nearly unbelievable. “Wear a white shirt when you preach. White allows the Holy Spirit to get out of you easier!” “Jesus said to love your neighbor. That is why I am right to have an affair with my neighbor.” “The color red is never to be worn by a Christian; it is evil.” “A woman is never to enter the sanctuary in anything other than a dress.” “Command God to give you wealth and health in the name of Jesus. He has to obey you.” I could go on and on, but to what end? Christianity as a religion is undeniably ugly. By bringing Jesus back to the center where He belongs, letting Him live through us and lifting Him up without fear, no religion on earth can comparably measure up to Christianity. The world would be so uncomfortable by the contrast that they would have to rid themselves of us, just as they did Jesus.
- Mick Wells
What, exactly, is the most ugly religion in the world?I have come in contact with countless religions, and I believe that I have found the absolute worst one. Christianity! That is right, Christianity! Why? Every other religion is created to be a religion, centering in laws, sites, chants, and ceremonies, things that signify the very nature of a religion. However, Christianity centers on and in Jesus. Christianity centers on a relationship with the Founder, who is not a teacher of new rules but is the Son of God, who was raised from the dead, actually living in and through the followers. When reduced to a list of behaviors to be imitated, Christianity is just too high of an ideal to attain. Since no one can imitate Jesus, the religious have to come up with a set of laws that they can imitate to exalt themselves over others. Take Jesus out of it and Christianity becomes ugly, if not out-and-out goofy. The religious cannot emphasize Jesus, else in so doing they hold up a model they are not able to imitate. Therefore, they hold up everything else that appears spiritual. Things I have heard during my travels are nearly unbelievable. “Wear a white shirt when you preach. White allows the Holy Spirit to get out of you easier!” “Jesus said to love your neighbor. That is why I am right to have an affair with my neighbor.” “The color red is never to be worn by a Christian; it is evil.” “A woman is never to enter the sanctuary in anything other than a dress.” “Command God to give you wealth and health in the name of Jesus. He has to obey you.” I could go on and on, but to what end? Christianity as a religion is undeniably ugly. By bringing Jesus back to the center where He belongs, letting Him live through us and lifting Him up without fear, no religion on earth can comparably measure up to Christianity. The world would be so uncomfortable by the contrast that they would have to rid themselves of us, just as they did Jesus.
- Mick Wells
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
For Reflection
Can you not see now how it is, my beloved, that when the sons of God present themselves before the Lord, Satan comes also among them? This very same experience happened to none other than our blessed Lord Jesus – the Pattern Son. Did you notice how strangely Matthew and Mark speak of Christ's temptation? "And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil" (Mk. 1:12; Mat. 4:1). What a strange statement! The Holy Spirit of God drives the sinless Son of God into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan, the arch enemy of all righteousness, a murderer from the beginning, and the father of lies! Ah, but it was necessary for the Son to be PROVEN, to be made STRONG, to OVERCOME in these realms before proceeding on into His glorious ministry and the agony and death of the cross.
Do you suppose the Devil came to Jesus there as a weird-looking figure, with little, evil-looking horns protruding from his temples, and a pointed tail? How often with our childish and distorted understanding, have we pictured Jesus confronted by that legendary figure in the red suit, with a pitchfork in his hands! This is nought but foolishness, for Satan is spirit, and spirit is INVISIBLE ENERGY! How many times have you been tempted by the Devil? Can you count the times? How often has he spoken to you, enticing, suggesting, compelling? Have you ever seen him? Have you ever heard his audible voice? Certainly not! And yet – you HAVE sensed his presence, you HAVE heard his voice, you HAVE felt his power! It was all in your MIND, in your EMOTIONS. And does not our Lord, the Spirit of Truth, speak to us in the same way? That still small voice, the inner urging, the inward knowing, the spiritual consciousness – all from a dimension beyond the natural senses.
Because it is all in our mind and heart does not mean that it is imagination or hallucination! In the depths of my spirit I am absolutely certain that there was not some hideous spirit-being materializing before the eyes of Jesus in that Judean wilderness. Remember – Jesus was not only the Son of God, He was the Son of man. And being both He was capable not only of hearing from God, but hearing those things that be of man. So when we speak of that ancient Serpent which is the Devil and Satan, we are not talking about some mighty fallen angel, but that mind which savors the things of man – the carnal mind. The apostle James put it this way: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:14-15). The Moffat Translation reads, 'Everyone is tempted as he is beguiled and allured by his own desire, the Desire conceives and breeds sin, while Sin matures and gives birth to death." Everyone has desires of one kind or another, and that really can be quite natural. When we see the word "lust", most Christians think it is used exclusively in a negative, sensual, or sexual context The word simply means desire, and a person's desires are not always evil. The Greek word EPITHUMIA is translated primarily as "lust" in the King James Bible, but the same word is also translated "desire" in Lk. 22:15 where our Lord Himself told His disciples how much He longed (desired, lusted) to eat the Passover with them. A related Greek word, EPITHUMEO, is often translated as "desire" and is used in several places in a positive context, as in desiring to know the things of God (Mat 13:17). Even in the things of the Spirit one must keenly discern between his own desire and the desire of the Spirit.
The record states that after fasting for forty days, Jesus hungered. When you're hungry, what kind of desire do you have? You want to eat! In that crucial moment the Tempter came to Him. He began to feel the physiological pangs of hunger, and then the thought occurred to Him. Jesus dropped down from the high and holy thought of God, into the reasoning of the human mind. He descended in consciousness from the Son of God to the Son of man. He said, "I know who I am; I can turn these stones into bread." And in His natural mind the voice cunningly suggested, "If you are the Son of God, go ahead and do it! Use your sonship to fill your belly! Use it to satisfy your own needs and desires!" But Jesus quickly discerned that wily Devil and knew how to nip that idea in the bud before it had time to blossom. He got to it before it could conceive, before it could start making a baby of sin. Jesus answered out of the depths of His spirit, "It is written – man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mat.4: 4). And that ended that temptation! The battle lay not with some mythical personage outside of Himself. The conflict was within The voice was an inner voice. The suggestion was in His mind, its power in His emotions and will. God speaks to us in our mind and spirit Satan also speaks in our mind and heart. There is no monster without. There are three things in this vast world, and only three – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; briefly, appetite, avarice, and ambition. I do not think you will be able to avoid the conclusion that all the inventions, creations, and contrivances of man are in existence to cater to these three things. It was with these three things that Eve was tempted. She saw the tree was good for food (the lust of the eyes), a tree to be desired (the lust of the flesh), a tree to make one wise (the pride of life), and the temptation was not from without but from within. How remarkably the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness parallel these three! Every temptation of the Devil comes to us through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. There are no others. Not for Adam and Eve, not for Jesus, and not for us.
Humankind has an enemy – a wily Nemesis, an adversary, described in God's Word as desperately wicked, deceitful above all things. This enemy has adversely affected every generation of humankind from the Garden of Eden to the present Just who, or what, is this inimical deceiver? The prophet Jeremiah unmasked this enemy in these words of inspiration, "The HEART is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," and he went on to ask the searching question, "who can know it" To the enlightened mind of this prophet, the depth of iniquity of which the human heart is capable is so great that it is beyond the ability of any man to comprehend. How many times have you heard it? Someone perpetrates an unbelievably ghastly crime; like the axe murders of an entire family by a young lad barely in his teens, or the brutal murder of a father and a mother by a teenager a few years ago, who buried them in a shallow grave, and then repeatedly drove a tractor over the site, in an attempt to cover the crime – and yet relatives, close friends and near neighbors all said, in a state of bewilderment and shock, "But he was such a nice, quiet, decent boy!"
A motion picture some years ago portrayed the dual lives led by a judge, who had two families, some distance apart! He had "married" two different women, was actually living with each for a certain number of days each week; would then disappear, as if he had some important responsibilities in a distant town, when in actuality he was going to spend the remainder of that week with a second family. Obviously, each wife thought she knew this man, thoroughly! After all, just how well do you know you own spouse? Interesting, isn't it? We feel we truly know our husbands, wives, children; our closest and dearest friends. But according to the word of God we don't even know ourselves. We, perhaps above all people, are most often deceived by our own hearts! There is a deeper part to all of us – a part that only God knows! As a friend has so aptly written: "We should not find this so amazing a passage of scripture if it were not for one important thing. Jeremiah did not list an exception, saying, The heart is deceitful above all things except the Devil. ' He merely stated that the heart is deceitful above all things, PERIOD! Since Jeremiah spake by the Spirit of God, this could not possibly have been a slip of the tongue or something uttered before it was thought through. If the heart is deceitful above all things, it naturally follows that there is nothing more deceitful. The heart of man, then, is the MOST DECEITFUL THING IN THE WORLD!
"There is no doubt whatever in my mind that Jesus had this very scripture in mind when He spoke the words recorded in Mk. 7:15-23. "There is nothing,' He said, 'from without a man that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, these are they that defile the man. ' Having said that, He uttered the statement that so often followed His teachings when there was contained in them a mystery,' IF any man has ears to hear, let him hear.' If we will be honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that we have fostered and taught for generations a concept that directly contradicts the words of Jesus Christ, for we have, indeed, declared that there IS something from without a man that can enter into him and defile him. We have called him Satan (an adversary), and so he is! We have called him a murderer and a liar, and so he is! We have had much truth about him – but the one thing we have NOT known about him is his LOCATION! We have said that he was without – Jesus said that he is within! If there is nothing from without a man (and in the Greek that reads: not one thing) that entering into him can defile him, then we must conclude the Satan's activity is not without, but within.
"As we continue to read this passage, we hear Jesus say, 'For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication's, murders, thefts, coveteousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these things come from within and defile the man.' Every sin category imaginable is contained in this discourse. Everything that a man could ever think or do that is evil is said by Jesus to come – not from outside of man but from within! In our consideration of this passage, there is one all-important phrase that we must be careful to note, for it is the key to the true nature of Satan and the heart of man. Jesus said, 'For from within out of the heart of men...' It is imperative that we notice the grammatical number of the two words here. The word 'heart' is singular being in the Greek in the genitive singular case. The word 'men' however is plural being in the genitive plural case. We have, then, ONE HEART but many men!" – end quote. This heart is the heart of the Self, the inward nature of man, one great nature shared by all the inhabitants of the world, the very heart of Adam shared with his many-membered body!
The natural mind is the mind channeling the condition of the human heart. It is not the same mind that understands how to drive your car, or lusts after someone of the opposite sex, that also understands the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Not at all! The promise is sure: "Then will I sprinkle dean water upon you, and ye shall be clean... a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony (spiritually unresponsive) heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a (soft, pliable, responsive) heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statues, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them" (Eze. 36:25-27). This new creation of which the Spirit speaks is blest not only with a new heart and a new spirit but with a NEW MIND as well. For, Paul says, "Who hath known the mind of the Lord." But WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST" (I Cor. 2:16). There is by regeneration within ourselves, beyond the realm of our conscious knowledge, a divine life, the child of God's Spirit, ever unwearied, ever growing and maturing, to gain control of our whole being, and transform us into the image of God.
Do you suppose the Devil came to Jesus there as a weird-looking figure, with little, evil-looking horns protruding from his temples, and a pointed tail? How often with our childish and distorted understanding, have we pictured Jesus confronted by that legendary figure in the red suit, with a pitchfork in his hands! This is nought but foolishness, for Satan is spirit, and spirit is INVISIBLE ENERGY! How many times have you been tempted by the Devil? Can you count the times? How often has he spoken to you, enticing, suggesting, compelling? Have you ever seen him? Have you ever heard his audible voice? Certainly not! And yet – you HAVE sensed his presence, you HAVE heard his voice, you HAVE felt his power! It was all in your MIND, in your EMOTIONS. And does not our Lord, the Spirit of Truth, speak to us in the same way? That still small voice, the inner urging, the inward knowing, the spiritual consciousness – all from a dimension beyond the natural senses.
Because it is all in our mind and heart does not mean that it is imagination or hallucination! In the depths of my spirit I am absolutely certain that there was not some hideous spirit-being materializing before the eyes of Jesus in that Judean wilderness. Remember – Jesus was not only the Son of God, He was the Son of man. And being both He was capable not only of hearing from God, but hearing those things that be of man. So when we speak of that ancient Serpent which is the Devil and Satan, we are not talking about some mighty fallen angel, but that mind which savors the things of man – the carnal mind. The apostle James put it this way: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:14-15). The Moffat Translation reads, 'Everyone is tempted as he is beguiled and allured by his own desire, the Desire conceives and breeds sin, while Sin matures and gives birth to death." Everyone has desires of one kind or another, and that really can be quite natural. When we see the word "lust", most Christians think it is used exclusively in a negative, sensual, or sexual context The word simply means desire, and a person's desires are not always evil. The Greek word EPITHUMIA is translated primarily as "lust" in the King James Bible, but the same word is also translated "desire" in Lk. 22:15 where our Lord Himself told His disciples how much He longed (desired, lusted) to eat the Passover with them. A related Greek word, EPITHUMEO, is often translated as "desire" and is used in several places in a positive context, as in desiring to know the things of God (Mat 13:17). Even in the things of the Spirit one must keenly discern between his own desire and the desire of the Spirit.
The record states that after fasting for forty days, Jesus hungered. When you're hungry, what kind of desire do you have? You want to eat! In that crucial moment the Tempter came to Him. He began to feel the physiological pangs of hunger, and then the thought occurred to Him. Jesus dropped down from the high and holy thought of God, into the reasoning of the human mind. He descended in consciousness from the Son of God to the Son of man. He said, "I know who I am; I can turn these stones into bread." And in His natural mind the voice cunningly suggested, "If you are the Son of God, go ahead and do it! Use your sonship to fill your belly! Use it to satisfy your own needs and desires!" But Jesus quickly discerned that wily Devil and knew how to nip that idea in the bud before it had time to blossom. He got to it before it could conceive, before it could start making a baby of sin. Jesus answered out of the depths of His spirit, "It is written – man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mat.4: 4). And that ended that temptation! The battle lay not with some mythical personage outside of Himself. The conflict was within The voice was an inner voice. The suggestion was in His mind, its power in His emotions and will. God speaks to us in our mind and spirit Satan also speaks in our mind and heart. There is no monster without. There are three things in this vast world, and only three – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; briefly, appetite, avarice, and ambition. I do not think you will be able to avoid the conclusion that all the inventions, creations, and contrivances of man are in existence to cater to these three things. It was with these three things that Eve was tempted. She saw the tree was good for food (the lust of the eyes), a tree to be desired (the lust of the flesh), a tree to make one wise (the pride of life), and the temptation was not from without but from within. How remarkably the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness parallel these three! Every temptation of the Devil comes to us through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. There are no others. Not for Adam and Eve, not for Jesus, and not for us.
Humankind has an enemy – a wily Nemesis, an adversary, described in God's Word as desperately wicked, deceitful above all things. This enemy has adversely affected every generation of humankind from the Garden of Eden to the present Just who, or what, is this inimical deceiver? The prophet Jeremiah unmasked this enemy in these words of inspiration, "The HEART is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," and he went on to ask the searching question, "who can know it" To the enlightened mind of this prophet, the depth of iniquity of which the human heart is capable is so great that it is beyond the ability of any man to comprehend. How many times have you heard it? Someone perpetrates an unbelievably ghastly crime; like the axe murders of an entire family by a young lad barely in his teens, or the brutal murder of a father and a mother by a teenager a few years ago, who buried them in a shallow grave, and then repeatedly drove a tractor over the site, in an attempt to cover the crime – and yet relatives, close friends and near neighbors all said, in a state of bewilderment and shock, "But he was such a nice, quiet, decent boy!"
A motion picture some years ago portrayed the dual lives led by a judge, who had two families, some distance apart! He had "married" two different women, was actually living with each for a certain number of days each week; would then disappear, as if he had some important responsibilities in a distant town, when in actuality he was going to spend the remainder of that week with a second family. Obviously, each wife thought she knew this man, thoroughly! After all, just how well do you know you own spouse? Interesting, isn't it? We feel we truly know our husbands, wives, children; our closest and dearest friends. But according to the word of God we don't even know ourselves. We, perhaps above all people, are most often deceived by our own hearts! There is a deeper part to all of us – a part that only God knows! As a friend has so aptly written: "We should not find this so amazing a passage of scripture if it were not for one important thing. Jeremiah did not list an exception, saying, The heart is deceitful above all things except the Devil. ' He merely stated that the heart is deceitful above all things, PERIOD! Since Jeremiah spake by the Spirit of God, this could not possibly have been a slip of the tongue or something uttered before it was thought through. If the heart is deceitful above all things, it naturally follows that there is nothing more deceitful. The heart of man, then, is the MOST DECEITFUL THING IN THE WORLD!
"There is no doubt whatever in my mind that Jesus had this very scripture in mind when He spoke the words recorded in Mk. 7:15-23. "There is nothing,' He said, 'from without a man that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, these are they that defile the man. ' Having said that, He uttered the statement that so often followed His teachings when there was contained in them a mystery,' IF any man has ears to hear, let him hear.' If we will be honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that we have fostered and taught for generations a concept that directly contradicts the words of Jesus Christ, for we have, indeed, declared that there IS something from without a man that can enter into him and defile him. We have called him Satan (an adversary), and so he is! We have called him a murderer and a liar, and so he is! We have had much truth about him – but the one thing we have NOT known about him is his LOCATION! We have said that he was without – Jesus said that he is within! If there is nothing from without a man (and in the Greek that reads: not one thing) that entering into him can defile him, then we must conclude the Satan's activity is not without, but within.
"As we continue to read this passage, we hear Jesus say, 'For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication's, murders, thefts, coveteousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these things come from within and defile the man.' Every sin category imaginable is contained in this discourse. Everything that a man could ever think or do that is evil is said by Jesus to come – not from outside of man but from within! In our consideration of this passage, there is one all-important phrase that we must be careful to note, for it is the key to the true nature of Satan and the heart of man. Jesus said, 'For from within out of the heart of men...' It is imperative that we notice the grammatical number of the two words here. The word 'heart' is singular being in the Greek in the genitive singular case. The word 'men' however is plural being in the genitive plural case. We have, then, ONE HEART but many men!" – end quote. This heart is the heart of the Self, the inward nature of man, one great nature shared by all the inhabitants of the world, the very heart of Adam shared with his many-membered body!
The natural mind is the mind channeling the condition of the human heart. It is not the same mind that understands how to drive your car, or lusts after someone of the opposite sex, that also understands the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Not at all! The promise is sure: "Then will I sprinkle dean water upon you, and ye shall be clean... a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony (spiritually unresponsive) heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a (soft, pliable, responsive) heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statues, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them" (Eze. 36:25-27). This new creation of which the Spirit speaks is blest not only with a new heart and a new spirit but with a NEW MIND as well. For, Paul says, "Who hath known the mind of the Lord." But WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST" (I Cor. 2:16). There is by regeneration within ourselves, beyond the realm of our conscious knowledge, a divine life, the child of God's Spirit, ever unwearied, ever growing and maturing, to gain control of our whole being, and transform us into the image of God.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Samson's Crisis
We come now to the famous crisis of his life when he was to learn once and for all that redeemed man is no good unless he has found the union basis, which is what we also call sanctification. We learn that it is not we but God and that God can take us through the crisis moments because it is He operating. We know God. We have our weaknesses, but God can take us through them.
Samson did not know that. He loved a woman named Delilah, the famous Delilah. I do not think he was married to her but he had a real passion for her. The five lords of the Philistines made her one of their agents by offering her eleven thousand pieces of silver to get the secret of his strength. Remember, those were external days and they did not know the secret we have within us today. Thank God, it is a universal secret today and we are all Samson's in our way.
Apparently she had a great hold on him because he visited her again and again. A woman has great power when a man is grabbed by a passion for her. Time and time again she said, “Now, tell me wherein your strength lies.” He pretended it was a game. He did not know there were men lying in wait to grab him when they found the secret. Three times he played his tricks with her. She got hotter and hotter and put pressure on him. Finally she said to him, “I won’t love you if you don’t tell me your secret. I don’t call it love when you act like this.” She cut him right to the bone. Thinking he might lose her, he told his secret.
He sold out his central allegiance to God for the love of that woman. However, that was not his basis. We will prove later that it was his soul, not his spirit. He was God’s man and he never ceased to be God’s man; but he almost sold out his very birthright. Not quite, for he was not like Esau who sold his spirit. The point is that flesh cannot exist by itself. That is why we must not judge people for going to the flesh. Unless God is in you, you cannot resist. It is only in Christ, in the power of His death and resurrection, that we can walk and be delivered. We can have confidence in that deliverance and be kept in that deliverance. Samson did not have the confidence that he could be kept by God so he played too far in his weakness for women. He did not have the controlling power of God to keep him. He did to a certain extent, for God used him. There was a purpose in his going too far, for he must be broken. If God’s ultimate power was going to come through, he would have to ultimately be a broken man, a God-filled man to the death. We all have to go through that and this was Samson’s time.
The world mocks and makes up plays about Delilah but a wonderful thing was happening here. This was God. He was using the sex drive in the man for His own purposes. We must not say that Samson sold himself totally for he only sold his flesh. He got to a point where he was beyond resisting, but if he had walked with God, God would have kept him from going beyond resistance. He would have stopped where he should have stopped long before. God would have held him. What he did did not come from his center but he sold his center out. For twenty years he had been accepted by Israel as a judge and now he had sold his commission, his nation, his reputation, himself. It is possible to go pretty far but much less possible if you have moved in, because there is something in God that will not let you. God has you and He will keep you. There is nothing that says you will not have whatever your special tendencies or weaknesses may be, as anybody else does, but you will not be held by them. You only know that if you have settled into knowing you are not you but He, that He is the only One living. You are not safe out of union.
Samson was not safe because, although he was God’s man and the Spirit of God came upon him, he did not know God in that inner relationship which men like David, Elijah, Moses, and Joshua came to know. So he had to go through this and, therefore, in that sense, he could not help it. This was God’s purpose because God was going to strike His final blow at the Philistines by the weakness of Samson.
That very weakness problem made strength, perfected in that very weakness. This thing we could call sin was the very thing God used. The sin was not the sex; the sin was selling out his faith. In those days sex did not matter as much. Those were different days. This thing was used by the flesh in him to cause him to practically deny his faith, which was the real sin.
Choosing to keep her love rather than keep his faith was his sin. It is equivalent to our setting out in a ministry and then destroying our ministry by being involved in something of the flesh. That is much less likely to happen if we have moved into this union life. We can never say it cannot happen for Paul says, “For it is a mighty force that I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection lest that by any means, when I have ministered to others I, myself should become a castaway” (I Cor. 9:27).
Castaway does not mean thrown out. It means disapproved. It does not mean the loss of salvation. It is the same idea as the branch burned with the vine. It is men who cast you out. Samson was no good to men, to Israel. We can be cast out of our ministry but we have not lost our salvation. We may lose our ways so that men have no use for us, but we have not lost our salvation. We have no word for them, no message. They will not come. We lose out on that level. That is the level that Samson lost out on but he did not lose his inner relationship, his inner knowing.
This is how God moved, and so he had to go to the bottom. He had to become a helpless, weak person, put in prison, blinded, and made to sweat away at grinding corn at a mill. He became a normal, physical body, a laboring slave.
Then came this remarkable way of God. God is with his people, even these early people. There Samson was, and he knew God. He knew that he had lost his way. All he had really lost was his way; he had not lost God. His hair began to grow again and it began to dawn on him that he was getting back to being a Nazarite again. He was still in grace, God’s man. He had made a mess but the Philistines did not know that his symbol would grow again. He was conscious of coming back to the place where the power of God could come through him.
Not long after Samson had this growing realization, a great occasion arose. The Philistines wanted to rejoice because Samson, Israel’s Goliath, had been destroyed. This Samson was a slave now and they wanted to have a great celebration. It symbolized to them that the whole nation was back under their control. They planned a great feast in a building so remarkable that they had three thousand on the roof. They certainly built in those days! In some strange way, the building was held up by two great pillars. The Lord was moving now, and they wanted to make sport of him. The pillars were centered in this building which had this great crown, including the lords of the Philistines in it. They had a little boy lead him in by the hand in between those pillars. I suppose this was a way to laugh at him best. They conveyed to him that these were the pillars that held the building up. Then Samson said to the lad, “Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.”
Suddenly he saw it! My symbol is back with me; God is with me. Then he prayed. This was new. This was his real relationship now, because he had not thought of praying before. “Remember me, O Lord, I pray thee, strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once. I’ll give my life for this.” Now he becomes an intercessor. “My life doesn’t matter; I’ll give my life for my two eyes.” He had been
God’s man and this is the way he looked at it. Obviously this was the way of the Israelites’ deliverance from the Philistines if they would take it. Then he took hold of those pillars upon which the house was borne, one with his right hand and the other with his left. That is it! He would die that in the end God’s work would be glorified. He knew he had come back again to be anointed of God. He would die with the Philistines.
And it says, “He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30). Then they took his body and buried it.
So that is the story of Samson. There are some great revelations of the way God works by people who have to come to the same way in the end. You have to come out of the idea of “If I’m equipped in some separate way I can do it.” No! I have to come back into the center where the “I” has disappeared and God is the One and all is God. What happens to me is not the point. God will now operate by me. That is the history of Samson as presented to us.
- Norman Grubb
Samson did not know that. He loved a woman named Delilah, the famous Delilah. I do not think he was married to her but he had a real passion for her. The five lords of the Philistines made her one of their agents by offering her eleven thousand pieces of silver to get the secret of his strength. Remember, those were external days and they did not know the secret we have within us today. Thank God, it is a universal secret today and we are all Samson's in our way.
Apparently she had a great hold on him because he visited her again and again. A woman has great power when a man is grabbed by a passion for her. Time and time again she said, “Now, tell me wherein your strength lies.” He pretended it was a game. He did not know there were men lying in wait to grab him when they found the secret. Three times he played his tricks with her. She got hotter and hotter and put pressure on him. Finally she said to him, “I won’t love you if you don’t tell me your secret. I don’t call it love when you act like this.” She cut him right to the bone. Thinking he might lose her, he told his secret.
He sold out his central allegiance to God for the love of that woman. However, that was not his basis. We will prove later that it was his soul, not his spirit. He was God’s man and he never ceased to be God’s man; but he almost sold out his very birthright. Not quite, for he was not like Esau who sold his spirit. The point is that flesh cannot exist by itself. That is why we must not judge people for going to the flesh. Unless God is in you, you cannot resist. It is only in Christ, in the power of His death and resurrection, that we can walk and be delivered. We can have confidence in that deliverance and be kept in that deliverance. Samson did not have the confidence that he could be kept by God so he played too far in his weakness for women. He did not have the controlling power of God to keep him. He did to a certain extent, for God used him. There was a purpose in his going too far, for he must be broken. If God’s ultimate power was going to come through, he would have to ultimately be a broken man, a God-filled man to the death. We all have to go through that and this was Samson’s time.
The world mocks and makes up plays about Delilah but a wonderful thing was happening here. This was God. He was using the sex drive in the man for His own purposes. We must not say that Samson sold himself totally for he only sold his flesh. He got to a point where he was beyond resisting, but if he had walked with God, God would have kept him from going beyond resistance. He would have stopped where he should have stopped long before. God would have held him. What he did did not come from his center but he sold his center out. For twenty years he had been accepted by Israel as a judge and now he had sold his commission, his nation, his reputation, himself. It is possible to go pretty far but much less possible if you have moved in, because there is something in God that will not let you. God has you and He will keep you. There is nothing that says you will not have whatever your special tendencies or weaknesses may be, as anybody else does, but you will not be held by them. You only know that if you have settled into knowing you are not you but He, that He is the only One living. You are not safe out of union.
Samson was not safe because, although he was God’s man and the Spirit of God came upon him, he did not know God in that inner relationship which men like David, Elijah, Moses, and Joshua came to know. So he had to go through this and, therefore, in that sense, he could not help it. This was God’s purpose because God was going to strike His final blow at the Philistines by the weakness of Samson.
That very weakness problem made strength, perfected in that very weakness. This thing we could call sin was the very thing God used. The sin was not the sex; the sin was selling out his faith. In those days sex did not matter as much. Those were different days. This thing was used by the flesh in him to cause him to practically deny his faith, which was the real sin.
Choosing to keep her love rather than keep his faith was his sin. It is equivalent to our setting out in a ministry and then destroying our ministry by being involved in something of the flesh. That is much less likely to happen if we have moved into this union life. We can never say it cannot happen for Paul says, “For it is a mighty force that I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection lest that by any means, when I have ministered to others I, myself should become a castaway” (I Cor. 9:27).
Castaway does not mean thrown out. It means disapproved. It does not mean the loss of salvation. It is the same idea as the branch burned with the vine. It is men who cast you out. Samson was no good to men, to Israel. We can be cast out of our ministry but we have not lost our salvation. We may lose our ways so that men have no use for us, but we have not lost our salvation. We have no word for them, no message. They will not come. We lose out on that level. That is the level that Samson lost out on but he did not lose his inner relationship, his inner knowing.
This is how God moved, and so he had to go to the bottom. He had to become a helpless, weak person, put in prison, blinded, and made to sweat away at grinding corn at a mill. He became a normal, physical body, a laboring slave.
Then came this remarkable way of God. God is with his people, even these early people. There Samson was, and he knew God. He knew that he had lost his way. All he had really lost was his way; he had not lost God. His hair began to grow again and it began to dawn on him that he was getting back to being a Nazarite again. He was still in grace, God’s man. He had made a mess but the Philistines did not know that his symbol would grow again. He was conscious of coming back to the place where the power of God could come through him.
Not long after Samson had this growing realization, a great occasion arose. The Philistines wanted to rejoice because Samson, Israel’s Goliath, had been destroyed. This Samson was a slave now and they wanted to have a great celebration. It symbolized to them that the whole nation was back under their control. They planned a great feast in a building so remarkable that they had three thousand on the roof. They certainly built in those days! In some strange way, the building was held up by two great pillars. The Lord was moving now, and they wanted to make sport of him. The pillars were centered in this building which had this great crown, including the lords of the Philistines in it. They had a little boy lead him in by the hand in between those pillars. I suppose this was a way to laugh at him best. They conveyed to him that these were the pillars that held the building up. Then Samson said to the lad, “Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.”
Suddenly he saw it! My symbol is back with me; God is with me. Then he prayed. This was new. This was his real relationship now, because he had not thought of praying before. “Remember me, O Lord, I pray thee, strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once. I’ll give my life for this.” Now he becomes an intercessor. “My life doesn’t matter; I’ll give my life for my two eyes.” He had been
God’s man and this is the way he looked at it. Obviously this was the way of the Israelites’ deliverance from the Philistines if they would take it. Then he took hold of those pillars upon which the house was borne, one with his right hand and the other with his left. That is it! He would die that in the end God’s work would be glorified. He knew he had come back again to be anointed of God. He would die with the Philistines.
And it says, “He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30). Then they took his body and buried it.
So that is the story of Samson. There are some great revelations of the way God works by people who have to come to the same way in the end. You have to come out of the idea of “If I’m equipped in some separate way I can do it.” No! I have to come back into the center where the “I” has disappeared and God is the One and all is God. What happens to me is not the point. God will now operate by me. That is the history of Samson as presented to us.
- Norman Grubb
Tsunami of Grace
Some say that a tsunami of grace is currently sweeping across the world. If so, then one of the signs of this grace awakening will be an increasing emphasis on the short and simple gospel Jesus revealed and the New Testament writers proclaimed.
The gospel of grace is unlike the rule-based religion many of us are familiar with. Religion is complicated but grace is simple. Religion is vague but grace is crystal clear. Religion finds fault and does nothing to help, but the grace of God propels you triumphantly through life’s toughest challenges. Religion will give you a headache and leave you sick and tired, but grace gives strength to the weary and life to the dead. Religion seeks to bridle the free but grace liberates the prisoner and the oppressed.
It is my firm conviction that as more people come to appreciate the beauty and richness of the undiluted gospel, sermons on other subjects will disappear like yesterday’s news. The power of God is only revealed in the gospel, and we have been called to preach nothing less.
The gospel of grace is unlike the rule-based religion many of us are familiar with. Religion is complicated but grace is simple. Religion is vague but grace is crystal clear. Religion finds fault and does nothing to help, but the grace of God propels you triumphantly through life’s toughest challenges. Religion will give you a headache and leave you sick and tired, but grace gives strength to the weary and life to the dead. Religion seeks to bridle the free but grace liberates the prisoner and the oppressed.
It is my firm conviction that as more people come to appreciate the beauty and richness of the undiluted gospel, sermons on other subjects will disappear like yesterday’s news. The power of God is only revealed in the gospel, and we have been called to preach nothing less.
NOT under LAW
"Under the Old Covenant of Moses sin is defined as "falling short of the law" or breaking the law. Sin is when you don't keep the law perfectly under Moses.
Under the New Covenant of grace sin is clearly defined throughout the New Testament as unbelief in the goodness of God. Sin is not defined as falling short of the law or breaking the law.
THERE AINT NO LAW ANYMORE!
There is no ..(law) to measure your sins because you are redeemed from the curse of the law ...... in Colossians 2 Christ cancelled the written code, the rules and regulations that stood opposed to us nailing it to the Cross! So that is gone! So sin in the New Covenant is unbelief in Jesus and unbelief in the goodness of God and unbelief in the grace of God!
So you can see how much sin is going on in legalistic churches! When you put the law on people you are in unbelief because the law is not based on faith. The law blinds you to the goodness of God and the law drives you to self-righteousness and to try and earn the blessing of God because you think God is not good, He's stingy, He's mean and He wants to punish me so I better behave and do good to earn the blessing! That is not a good image of God and that is never the way God wanted to relate to man.
He ALWAYS wanted it to be by grace before time began!'
Rob Rufus sermon excerpt
Under the New Covenant of grace sin is clearly defined throughout the New Testament as unbelief in the goodness of God. Sin is not defined as falling short of the law or breaking the law.
THERE AINT NO LAW ANYMORE!
There is no ..(law) to measure your sins because you are redeemed from the curse of the law ...... in Colossians 2 Christ cancelled the written code, the rules and regulations that stood opposed to us nailing it to the Cross! So that is gone! So sin in the New Covenant is unbelief in Jesus and unbelief in the goodness of God and unbelief in the grace of God!
So you can see how much sin is going on in legalistic churches! When you put the law on people you are in unbelief because the law is not based on faith. The law blinds you to the goodness of God and the law drives you to self-righteousness and to try and earn the blessing of God because you think God is not good, He's stingy, He's mean and He wants to punish me so I better behave and do good to earn the blessing! That is not a good image of God and that is never the way God wanted to relate to man.
He ALWAYS wanted it to be by grace before time began!'
Rob Rufus sermon excerpt
It's a Relationship
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 12:30,31
When my boys were young I explained just how im-
portant it is never to allow Christianity to become
anything other than a relationship, for all our 'doing'
is to grow out of a relationship with the living Christ.
I am quite sure that if we included in a mother's job
description the shuttling of every kid on the block to
various activities, with the passing of time that mom
might become resentful. However, the same mother
thinks nothing of providing for her own children. As
she does the laundry, picks up after them, cooks, runs
them to various activities, cares for them when they
are sick, and confronts them when wrong, the thought
of motherhood's being a burden does not enter her
mind. Why? Because the mother has a relationship
with her children.
Few working fathers are vexed by the thought of work-
ing to provide for their families. In fact, a job that is dis-
liked is actually tolerable if one is providing for others.
In contrast, children can believe themselves put upon
when required to act on behalf of the family. That is,
they do not yet see the relationship the foundation of
the doing. As they mature and reach adulthood, they
who rebelled at the smallest inconvenience will begin
to take care of and provide for parents in times of need,
not from duty but as a normal outgrowth of the rela-
tionship.
We must be careful to emphasize the relationship that
we are to have with God. Within the context of this
relationship, anything asked of us is a privilege, not a
duty. We are not told to perform so that God will not
get us, but from love, or as a sign of commitment and
spirituality. Obedience is an enjoyable blessing amid
a loving relationship with our Lord.
- Michael Wells, from My Weakness for His Strength
Hmmmm, how many of us serve God because of the word,
'ought,' or 'to please' a God who demands a certain amount
of 'doing good?' It has been a huge relief, as I have aged,
to realize that I am living out my Christian life in a rela-
tionship and not out of the word, 'should.' If He is not ask-
ing me to do something for Him, I am free to take a walk,
read a book, or take a nap--without guilt! Even these
activities flow from His Life. We have a wonderful loving
Father who rejoices in us, in our uniqueness, gifts,pleasures,
desires. Oh, this fills me with such wonder!
your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 12:30,31
When my boys were young I explained just how im-
portant it is never to allow Christianity to become
anything other than a relationship, for all our 'doing'
is to grow out of a relationship with the living Christ.
I am quite sure that if we included in a mother's job
description the shuttling of every kid on the block to
various activities, with the passing of time that mom
might become resentful. However, the same mother
thinks nothing of providing for her own children. As
she does the laundry, picks up after them, cooks, runs
them to various activities, cares for them when they
are sick, and confronts them when wrong, the thought
of motherhood's being a burden does not enter her
mind. Why? Because the mother has a relationship
with her children.
Few working fathers are vexed by the thought of work-
ing to provide for their families. In fact, a job that is dis-
liked is actually tolerable if one is providing for others.
In contrast, children can believe themselves put upon
when required to act on behalf of the family. That is,
they do not yet see the relationship the foundation of
the doing. As they mature and reach adulthood, they
who rebelled at the smallest inconvenience will begin
to take care of and provide for parents in times of need,
not from duty but as a normal outgrowth of the rela-
tionship.
We must be careful to emphasize the relationship that
we are to have with God. Within the context of this
relationship, anything asked of us is a privilege, not a
duty. We are not told to perform so that God will not
get us, but from love, or as a sign of commitment and
spirituality. Obedience is an enjoyable blessing amid
a loving relationship with our Lord.
- Michael Wells, from My Weakness for His Strength
Hmmmm, how many of us serve God because of the word,
'ought,' or 'to please' a God who demands a certain amount
of 'doing good?' It has been a huge relief, as I have aged,
to realize that I am living out my Christian life in a rela-
tionship and not out of the word, 'should.' If He is not ask-
ing me to do something for Him, I am free to take a walk,
read a book, or take a nap--without guilt! Even these
activities flow from His Life. We have a wonderful loving
Father who rejoices in us, in our uniqueness, gifts,pleasures,
desires. Oh, this fills me with such wonder!
Friday, October 20, 2017
Let the Dead Bury the Dead
But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” --Matthew 8:22
I do not know about you, but I have had it with the media. This is not the age of information but the age of misinformation. When asked what I thought of the President, my response was, “I do not know him.” The inquirer proceeded to tell me exactly what he was like. I asked him how he knew all of that. “Well, it was on television!” Amazing! I have done the very same thing myself. Actually, I have been in different parts of the world when things were unstable or in an uproar; not once have I found it to be like the reports on television. I listened to a reporter who was purportedly asking questions. However, he was only making accusations and then writing his own commentary. The fellow being thus “interviewed” finally asked, “Who told you I ever said such a thing?” The reporter went quiet, because no one had ever said that; he had made it up. There is the constant promoting of an agenda in the media. Why is all the bad news shown on TV? The news is calculated to stir our flesh to fear, resentment, frustration, anxiety, bigotry, and divisions. Once the bad news is received and our focus is on it, we will surrender our peace to it. There is always something the world offers to stir pride, to encourage self-righteousness or unrighteousness, and to make us think the world and its “elite” must act to fix things. It is all piffle. We cannot believe any of it. I can go months without watching the news and find nothing that has changed the next time I see a broadcast. It would be interesting to look at what was reported as absolute truth last year and see where the facts lie today. This brings me to my point: Should I just keep my head in the sand and ignore the world and what is happening around me? Jesus said it best: “Let the dead bury their own dead!” The things of the world creating the mess belong to the world; let them report on it and stew over it. They are dead; let them bury their dead. Put it all aside and follow Christ; we are alive in a kingdom of truth.The scuba diver ventures into a domain wherein the things that bother the fish ultimately do not bother him, for his world exists above. What happens in the world, even if it is true, does not change our job description.
I do not know about you, but I have had it with the media. This is not the age of information but the age of misinformation. When asked what I thought of the President, my response was, “I do not know him.” The inquirer proceeded to tell me exactly what he was like. I asked him how he knew all of that. “Well, it was on television!” Amazing! I have done the very same thing myself. Actually, I have been in different parts of the world when things were unstable or in an uproar; not once have I found it to be like the reports on television. I listened to a reporter who was purportedly asking questions. However, he was only making accusations and then writing his own commentary. The fellow being thus “interviewed” finally asked, “Who told you I ever said such a thing?” The reporter went quiet, because no one had ever said that; he had made it up. There is the constant promoting of an agenda in the media. Why is all the bad news shown on TV? The news is calculated to stir our flesh to fear, resentment, frustration, anxiety, bigotry, and divisions. Once the bad news is received and our focus is on it, we will surrender our peace to it. There is always something the world offers to stir pride, to encourage self-righteousness or unrighteousness, and to make us think the world and its “elite” must act to fix things. It is all piffle. We cannot believe any of it. I can go months without watching the news and find nothing that has changed the next time I see a broadcast. It would be interesting to look at what was reported as absolute truth last year and see where the facts lie today. This brings me to my point: Should I just keep my head in the sand and ignore the world and what is happening around me? Jesus said it best: “Let the dead bury their own dead!” The things of the world creating the mess belong to the world; let them report on it and stew over it. They are dead; let them bury their dead. Put it all aside and follow Christ; we are alive in a kingdom of truth.The scuba diver ventures into a domain wherein the things that bother the fish ultimately do not bother him, for his world exists above. What happens in the world, even if it is true, does not change our job description.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Why Death? Why Life?
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. –Romans 8:11
Often, and particularly when we are at a funeral, we ask the question, “Why death?” However, I have found that the more pressing question is, “Why life?” Why are we alive? If we can grasp the deeper issue of what the purpose of life is, then death immediately loses its sting.
It is important to understand that LIFE is JESUS. God had to become a man in order to reveal how His creation worked. The inventor became the invention. He was LIFE on earth, and He conquered everything that works against LIFE and returned to heaven as the Son of Man. God will never forget us, for at His right hand is a constant reminder of His commitment to us. Jesus is God, but also a victorious Man seated next to the Father. To forget man, God would need to forget His Son. Impossible!
There are two primary revelations that existence on earth brings to mankind. First, as the world squeezes us, we eventually come to the realization that we cannot live life on earth. At this point, Jesus makes His offer. “I lived on earth and overcame. Invite Me to live in you, and I will live life on earth through you.” This is not to say we are robots; it is merely a recognition that the LIFE that lived successfully on earth is now in heaven with the ability to enter all men, making them sons of God. Second, once Christ enters our lives, the pressure of the earth continues in order that the new LIFE we have within might be revealed. Having enemies reveals that we have a LIFE within that can love an enemy. Being offended reveals the LIFE that dwells within that can return a blessing. There is a saying among believers that actually is Buddhist in origin and says, “Life stinks, but God is good.” No! If stinking life reveals the true LIFE in me, then even stinking life is good. I want all that the world throws at me, for each time I am assaulted, three things happen. First, I try to fix it all, then I give up, and the Lord fixes me! Each so-called rotten event releases HIS LIFE, and my God keeps getting bigger and bigger than events or circumstances.
Why life? To receive and display HIS LIFE! Death is a continuation of that and is not frightening.
Often, and particularly when we are at a funeral, we ask the question, “Why death?” However, I have found that the more pressing question is, “Why life?” Why are we alive? If we can grasp the deeper issue of what the purpose of life is, then death immediately loses its sting.
It is important to understand that LIFE is JESUS. God had to become a man in order to reveal how His creation worked. The inventor became the invention. He was LIFE on earth, and He conquered everything that works against LIFE and returned to heaven as the Son of Man. God will never forget us, for at His right hand is a constant reminder of His commitment to us. Jesus is God, but also a victorious Man seated next to the Father. To forget man, God would need to forget His Son. Impossible!
There are two primary revelations that existence on earth brings to mankind. First, as the world squeezes us, we eventually come to the realization that we cannot live life on earth. At this point, Jesus makes His offer. “I lived on earth and overcame. Invite Me to live in you, and I will live life on earth through you.” This is not to say we are robots; it is merely a recognition that the LIFE that lived successfully on earth is now in heaven with the ability to enter all men, making them sons of God. Second, once Christ enters our lives, the pressure of the earth continues in order that the new LIFE we have within might be revealed. Having enemies reveals that we have a LIFE within that can love an enemy. Being offended reveals the LIFE that dwells within that can return a blessing. There is a saying among believers that actually is Buddhist in origin and says, “Life stinks, but God is good.” No! If stinking life reveals the true LIFE in me, then even stinking life is good. I want all that the world throws at me, for each time I am assaulted, three things happen. First, I try to fix it all, then I give up, and the Lord fixes me! Each so-called rotten event releases HIS LIFE, and my God keeps getting bigger and bigger than events or circumstances.
Why life? To receive and display HIS LIFE! Death is a continuation of that and is not frightening.
Friday, October 6, 2017
BEING AND DOING
Major W. Ian Thomas
This is a divine vocation into which you have been redeemed, as "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that you should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10) can only be fulfilled in the energy and power of the One who indwells you now by His Spirit, as He walked once only in the energy and power of the Father who indwelt Him through the Spirit. Of Himself He said, "I can of mine own self do nothing" (John 5:19), and of you He says, in John 15:5, "Without me you can do nothing."
How much can you do without Him? Nothing!
It is amazing how busy you can be doing nothing! Did you ever find that out? "The flesh everything that you do apart from Him "profiteth nothing" (John 6:63), and there is always the awful possibility, if you do not discover this principle, that you may spend a lifetime in the service of Jesus Christ doing nothing! You would not be the first, and you would not be the last but that, above everything else, we must seek to avoid!
So you discover that the life which you possess as a born-again Christian is of Him, and it is to Him, and every moment that you are here on earth it must be through Him of Him, through Him, to Him all things! "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1).
The Lord Jesus Christ claims the use of your body, your whole being, your complete personality so that as you give yourself to Him through the eternal Spirit, He may give Himself to you through the eternal Spirit, that all your activity as a human being on earth may be His activity in and through you; that every step you take, every word you speak, everything you do, everything you are, may be an expression of the Son of God, in you as man.
If it is of Him and through Him and to Him, where do you come in? You do not! That is just where you go out! That is what Paul meant when he said, "For me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). The only Person whom God credits with the right to live in you is Jesus Christ; so reckon yourself to be dead to all that you are apart from what He is, and alive unto God only in all that you are because of what He is (Romans 6:1 1).
It is for you to BE it is for Him to DO! Rest fully available to the Saving Life of Christ.
Major Ian Thomas,
This is a divine vocation into which you have been redeemed, as "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that you should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10) can only be fulfilled in the energy and power of the One who indwells you now by His Spirit, as He walked once only in the energy and power of the Father who indwelt Him through the Spirit. Of Himself He said, "I can of mine own self do nothing" (John 5:19), and of you He says, in John 15:5, "Without me you can do nothing."
How much can you do without Him? Nothing!
It is amazing how busy you can be doing nothing! Did you ever find that out? "The flesh everything that you do apart from Him "profiteth nothing" (John 6:63), and there is always the awful possibility, if you do not discover this principle, that you may spend a lifetime in the service of Jesus Christ doing nothing! You would not be the first, and you would not be the last but that, above everything else, we must seek to avoid!
So you discover that the life which you possess as a born-again Christian is of Him, and it is to Him, and every moment that you are here on earth it must be through Him of Him, through Him, to Him all things! "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1).
The Lord Jesus Christ claims the use of your body, your whole being, your complete personality so that as you give yourself to Him through the eternal Spirit, He may give Himself to you through the eternal Spirit, that all your activity as a human being on earth may be His activity in and through you; that every step you take, every word you speak, everything you do, everything you are, may be an expression of the Son of God, in you as man.
If it is of Him and through Him and to Him, where do you come in? You do not! That is just where you go out! That is what Paul meant when he said, "For me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). The only Person whom God credits with the right to live in you is Jesus Christ; so reckon yourself to be dead to all that you are apart from what He is, and alive unto God only in all that you are because of what He is (Romans 6:1 1).
It is for you to BE it is for Him to DO! Rest fully available to the Saving Life of Christ.
Major Ian Thomas,
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
The Christian "Bar of Soap" - 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 has become the “Christian’s bar of soap” but very few have actually studied the verses before and after (as we should always do) to put the verse in context.
If you apply the antithesis rule to the verse, you will see it is obviously not for Christians….”If we DO NOT confess our sins, He is NOT faithful and just to FORGIVE our sins and to CLEANSE us from all UNRIGHTEOUSNESS”.
All our sins HAVE been forgiven past, present and future. As Christians we cannot ask Jesus Christ to do something He has already done.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Jesus HAS taken away our sins. The sin issue has been dealt with.
John was writing a letter to the elders/pastors who had mixed congregations of saved and lost. There were Gnostics in the congregations who believed that Jesus hadn't come in the flesh and was an apparition and that they were without sin – John was correcting them. He did that in 1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. He then explained in 1 John 1:8 that they were with sin “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”…… He then explained in 1:9 how to get saved. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". He then followed up in verse 10 " if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us".
This whole notion of Christians asking for forgiveness is incorrectly based on 1 John 1:9. There is not ONE verse in Scripture where this is commanded. Don't you think the writers of the New Covenant would have mentioned what a Christian should do after they had sinned? There is no mention of it because they understood the finished work of Christ on the cross. Jesus said "It is finished".
Read Hebrews and it becomes clear. God remembers our sins no more. The Holy Spirit doesn't convict believers of their sins - how can He when you read Hebrews 10:11-18
11 "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15. Wherefore the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Of course a Christian must acknowledge when he has sinned and agree with God that his actions are wrong but nowhere in Scripture is the believer told to confess his sins in order to be forgiven.
People equate the word "confession" with asking for forgiveness. Confession simply means to"agree with".
We often hear about “parental forgiveness” and “judicial forgiveness” as relating to “breaking of fellowship with God” when we sin. This is a man made teaching and is nowhere to be found in Scripture. 1 Cor. 1:9 (fancy that) says we have been brought into fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. We are brought into fellowship when we get saved – never to be broken.
We cannot go in and out of fellowship neither can we go in and out of light and darkness. Light in Scripture always refers to salvation and darkness always to a lost condition - every single time these words are used they refer to that -WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
How can we, by our actions make ourselves more acceptable to God? That’s works. We didn’t WORK to get our salvation and we can’t WORK to keep it.
The teaching that 1 John 1:9 is for Christians, keeps Christians in a state of confusion and does not allow them to “enter into the rest”.
What do they do about the sins they have forgotten about and don’t “confess”? They live in a constant state of worry – I used to do that. I would start my prayer time with “Lord, please forgive me for the sins I’ve committed knowingly and unknowingly…..”. That’s just not Scriptural. The Lord HAS forgiven our sins. Thinking like this is not believing in the finished work of the cross.
What I have found when sharing this with Christians is that they put forward all sorts of arguments/points, none of which are based on Scripture.
If you apply the antithesis rule to the verse, you will see it is obviously not for Christians….”If we DO NOT confess our sins, He is NOT faithful and just to FORGIVE our sins and to CLEANSE us from all UNRIGHTEOUSNESS”.
All our sins HAVE been forgiven past, present and future. As Christians we cannot ask Jesus Christ to do something He has already done.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Jesus HAS taken away our sins. The sin issue has been dealt with.
John was writing a letter to the elders/pastors who had mixed congregations of saved and lost. There were Gnostics in the congregations who believed that Jesus hadn't come in the flesh and was an apparition and that they were without sin – John was correcting them. He did that in 1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. He then explained in 1 John 1:8 that they were with sin “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”…… He then explained in 1:9 how to get saved. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". He then followed up in verse 10 " if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us".
This whole notion of Christians asking for forgiveness is incorrectly based on 1 John 1:9. There is not ONE verse in Scripture where this is commanded. Don't you think the writers of the New Covenant would have mentioned what a Christian should do after they had sinned? There is no mention of it because they understood the finished work of Christ on the cross. Jesus said "It is finished".
Read Hebrews and it becomes clear. God remembers our sins no more. The Holy Spirit doesn't convict believers of their sins - how can He when you read Hebrews 10:11-18
11 "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15. Wherefore the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Of course a Christian must acknowledge when he has sinned and agree with God that his actions are wrong but nowhere in Scripture is the believer told to confess his sins in order to be forgiven.
People equate the word "confession" with asking for forgiveness. Confession simply means to"agree with".
We often hear about “parental forgiveness” and “judicial forgiveness” as relating to “breaking of fellowship with God” when we sin. This is a man made teaching and is nowhere to be found in Scripture. 1 Cor. 1:9 (fancy that) says we have been brought into fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. We are brought into fellowship when we get saved – never to be broken.
We cannot go in and out of fellowship neither can we go in and out of light and darkness. Light in Scripture always refers to salvation and darkness always to a lost condition - every single time these words are used they refer to that -WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
How can we, by our actions make ourselves more acceptable to God? That’s works. We didn’t WORK to get our salvation and we can’t WORK to keep it.
The teaching that 1 John 1:9 is for Christians, keeps Christians in a state of confusion and does not allow them to “enter into the rest”.
What do they do about the sins they have forgotten about and don’t “confess”? They live in a constant state of worry – I used to do that. I would start my prayer time with “Lord, please forgive me for the sins I’ve committed knowingly and unknowingly…..”. That’s just not Scriptural. The Lord HAS forgiven our sins. Thinking like this is not believing in the finished work of the cross.
What I have found when sharing this with Christians is that they put forward all sorts of arguments/points, none of which are based on Scripture.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Anxiety, Worry, Doubt, Fear
And which of you by being anxious can add a single
cubit to his life's span. Matt 6:27
Anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear! The worry list presented
by most is nearly endless and usually includes relation-
ships, personal responsibilities, children, finance, the
future, job security, health. These are indeed things for
which you are responsible; it is your job to see them
through. Now imagine you can step back, and examine
the worried, anxious you sitting in a chair. How would
you describe yourself at your worst moments? Very likely
you feel stupid, worthless, weak, angry, condemning and
like a failure and a liar. As you contemplate your weakness
and all that you must do, how do you feel? If with all your
responsibilities you are full of such weakness, how can
you be filled with joyful expectation? You must perform,
but you know your limitations and so you worry over the
outcome.
Now imagine that sitting in the chair next to you is another
person, Jesus. How would you describe Him? His eyes are
filled with compassion. The warmth of His countenance,
accompanied by His strength and confidence, is stirring.
His empty hands are held open; of course there is nothing
in them, for you have given Him nothing. Your powerful
Lord sits there inactive, resting, waiting, doing nothing.
The weak you seated in the chair is exhausted, because in
all your frailty you had attempted to push uphill a wheel-
barrow filled with all your cares. Within just a few short
feet you had given up, angry that those you trust had not
come to your aid.
The point is that the source of your anxiety and fear is trust-
ing a weak self. Do you see why you need Jesus? You were
not created to carry all the concerns of life; you were crea-
ted to be dependent. You cannot fly, and neither can you
carry anxiety. The only One Who can--Jesus--must carry
the anxiety of every person. But how can He carry what He
has not been given? Ps 46:10 is clear: "Cease striving and
know that I am God," or literally, get your hands off. Why
do you keep your hands on? There is only one reason: un-
belief. You cling to belief in your own ability to do a better
job than He would. Ps 46:10 goes on to say, "I will be
exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
"Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or
'What will we drink?' or 'with what shall we clothe our-
selves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek;
for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things." Matt 6:31,32
Anxiety does not suit the disciple
Michael Wells from My Weakness for His Strength Vol 2
cubit to his life's span. Matt 6:27
Anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear! The worry list presented
by most is nearly endless and usually includes relation-
ships, personal responsibilities, children, finance, the
future, job security, health. These are indeed things for
which you are responsible; it is your job to see them
through. Now imagine you can step back, and examine
the worried, anxious you sitting in a chair. How would
you describe yourself at your worst moments? Very likely
you feel stupid, worthless, weak, angry, condemning and
like a failure and a liar. As you contemplate your weakness
and all that you must do, how do you feel? If with all your
responsibilities you are full of such weakness, how can
you be filled with joyful expectation? You must perform,
but you know your limitations and so you worry over the
outcome.
Now imagine that sitting in the chair next to you is another
person, Jesus. How would you describe Him? His eyes are
filled with compassion. The warmth of His countenance,
accompanied by His strength and confidence, is stirring.
His empty hands are held open; of course there is nothing
in them, for you have given Him nothing. Your powerful
Lord sits there inactive, resting, waiting, doing nothing.
The weak you seated in the chair is exhausted, because in
all your frailty you had attempted to push uphill a wheel-
barrow filled with all your cares. Within just a few short
feet you had given up, angry that those you trust had not
come to your aid.
The point is that the source of your anxiety and fear is trust-
ing a weak self. Do you see why you need Jesus? You were
not created to carry all the concerns of life; you were crea-
ted to be dependent. You cannot fly, and neither can you
carry anxiety. The only One Who can--Jesus--must carry
the anxiety of every person. But how can He carry what He
has not been given? Ps 46:10 is clear: "Cease striving and
know that I am God," or literally, get your hands off. Why
do you keep your hands on? There is only one reason: un-
belief. You cling to belief in your own ability to do a better
job than He would. Ps 46:10 goes on to say, "I will be
exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
"Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or
'What will we drink?' or 'with what shall we clothe our-
selves?' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek;
for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things." Matt 6:31,32
Anxiety does not suit the disciple
Michael Wells from My Weakness for His Strength Vol 2
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Set Your Mind on Things Above
The Bible teaches to set your mind on things above. Psychology today and through the past few centuries, through propaganda and the media, has found its way right into our modern day way of thinking, and is responsible for many misconceptions regarding human emotions and the way we interpret them.
Psychology tells us that we are only a victim of our circumstances, and they put it in the following order, where the one impacts the one next in line to it:
Circumstances –> Emotions –> Thoughts –> Deeds
In other words, we are just victims of our circumstances. We can clearly see from the above pattern that when things are going bad, it upsets our emotions, which leads to thoughts of anxiety, depression, stress, etc. and this then leads to addictive behaviour patterns like eating disorders, pornography, alcoholism, bad self image, and even in some cases suicide, because these emotions eventually have to vent in some form or another! This is also the reason why millions of people across the world, struggling with some form of sin, say: “I was created this way. I can’t help it.” People think they will not be held accountable for their thoughts.
We Control Our Thoughts
Just like our deeds, we CAN control our thoughts (Yes we can!!) and make them obedient to Christ. These destructive patterns of sin and perversion are simply the result of a person embracing, indulging and persisting in lustful thoughts year after year. They often wonder why they feel so regularly “tempted” by the devil, whilst in fact the devil is only standing on the side lines, watching them destroy their own lives!
Think about this: You can’t go anywhere and do anything in your physical body if you have not been there in your mind first.
This is simply a key to helping us see where our thoughts fit into the process, and help us understand how it works. It is also to expose the lie of modern day psychology, that we are just victims of circumstance. The Bible talks about this:
Col 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (NKJV)
The above psychological pattern is definitely not in line with the Word of God, which tells us that things are actually lined up as follows:
Thoughts –> Emotions –> Deeds –> Circumstances
Everything begins with our thoughts.
Rom 12: 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)
And also:
2 Cor 10: 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
When you set your mind on things above, when we meditate upon His word, His goodness, His grace towards us and His promises, our emotions will begin to change. We will see that we are fellow heirs with Christ (Eph 3:6) and partakers of the glory of God (1 Pet 5), not created to keep begging for scraps from the table, but to live life in abundance! Our emotions will have a reaction on the things we do, and as we start living a life of worship, a life that makes room for the presence of God, praising God continually for His goodness and provision, seeking first the Kingdom, our circumstances will supernaturally begin to change! (Matt 6:33)
And it all begins with this: What are your thoughts occupied with? We are required to be faithful stewards of our thoughts, just as much as with the things we do. When you set your mind on things above, the impossible starts invading your world!
“The devil wants to rob you of your peace because agitated people rarely hear the Voice of God. In a time of opportunity, the word is “distraction” on the devil’s agenda, whereas God’s agenda is laser-like focus – I was born and raised for this time!”
Rob Rufus (City Church International – Hong Kong)
Let us not be robbed of our destiny, a life full of the glory of our King! Let’s set our minds on the things of God, and most of all, on the Father Himself!
Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (NKJV)
Psychology tells us that we are only a victim of our circumstances, and they put it in the following order, where the one impacts the one next in line to it:
Circumstances –> Emotions –> Thoughts –> Deeds
In other words, we are just victims of our circumstances. We can clearly see from the above pattern that when things are going bad, it upsets our emotions, which leads to thoughts of anxiety, depression, stress, etc. and this then leads to addictive behaviour patterns like eating disorders, pornography, alcoholism, bad self image, and even in some cases suicide, because these emotions eventually have to vent in some form or another! This is also the reason why millions of people across the world, struggling with some form of sin, say: “I was created this way. I can’t help it.” People think they will not be held accountable for their thoughts.
We Control Our Thoughts
Just like our deeds, we CAN control our thoughts (Yes we can!!) and make them obedient to Christ. These destructive patterns of sin and perversion are simply the result of a person embracing, indulging and persisting in lustful thoughts year after year. They often wonder why they feel so regularly “tempted” by the devil, whilst in fact the devil is only standing on the side lines, watching them destroy their own lives!
Think about this: You can’t go anywhere and do anything in your physical body if you have not been there in your mind first.
This is simply a key to helping us see where our thoughts fit into the process, and help us understand how it works. It is also to expose the lie of modern day psychology, that we are just victims of circumstance. The Bible talks about this:
Col 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (NKJV)
The above psychological pattern is definitely not in line with the Word of God, which tells us that things are actually lined up as follows:
Thoughts –> Emotions –> Deeds –> Circumstances
Everything begins with our thoughts.
Rom 12: 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)
And also:
2 Cor 10: 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
When you set your mind on things above, when we meditate upon His word, His goodness, His grace towards us and His promises, our emotions will begin to change. We will see that we are fellow heirs with Christ (Eph 3:6) and partakers of the glory of God (1 Pet 5), not created to keep begging for scraps from the table, but to live life in abundance! Our emotions will have a reaction on the things we do, and as we start living a life of worship, a life that makes room for the presence of God, praising God continually for His goodness and provision, seeking first the Kingdom, our circumstances will supernaturally begin to change! (Matt 6:33)
And it all begins with this: What are your thoughts occupied with? We are required to be faithful stewards of our thoughts, just as much as with the things we do. When you set your mind on things above, the impossible starts invading your world!
“The devil wants to rob you of your peace because agitated people rarely hear the Voice of God. In a time of opportunity, the word is “distraction” on the devil’s agenda, whereas God’s agenda is laser-like focus – I was born and raised for this time!”
Rob Rufus (City Church International – Hong Kong)
Let us not be robbed of our destiny, a life full of the glory of our King! Let’s set our minds on the things of God, and most of all, on the Father Himself!
Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (NKJV)
Ministry of Death
Paul calls the law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" in chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians. I imagine that was truly a difficult thing for the Jews of his day, who had been under the law as a people for centuries, to grasp and accept. But with those words so plainly written in the New Testament scriptures, it really shouldn't be all that difficult of a thing for today's church, who have never been under God's law, even for a second, to grasp and accept.
But yet it is one of the essential truths that remains largely resisted and unaccepted in the church today. Why is this? Much of the church has sadly accepted a mixture gospel of law and grace - which is really no gospel at all - and so passages such as 2 Cor 3 don't compute. Those passages don't fit into their "gospel."
Nevertheless, it remains the truth. The law was the ministry of death and condemnation, and guilt and bondage, and was for the Jews only. Gentiles were never under the law, and the church of Christ has never and will never be under the law. We've got something far better than the ministry of death. We've got the ministry of life in the Spirit, under which there is no death or condemnation - only life, joy and peace in the Spirit!
But yet it is one of the essential truths that remains largely resisted and unaccepted in the church today. Why is this? Much of the church has sadly accepted a mixture gospel of law and grace - which is really no gospel at all - and so passages such as 2 Cor 3 don't compute. Those passages don't fit into their "gospel."
Nevertheless, it remains the truth. The law was the ministry of death and condemnation, and guilt and bondage, and was for the Jews only. Gentiles were never under the law, and the church of Christ has never and will never be under the law. We've got something far better than the ministry of death. We've got the ministry of life in the Spirit, under which there is no death or condemnation - only life, joy and peace in the Spirit!
Grace Revolution
You can either believe what the Apostle Paul says about the law, or you can choose to ignore it and entirely miss what Christianity/the New Covenant is all about. It's up to you.
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"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, *UNTIL* the Seed should come to whom the promise was made..." (Gal 3:19)
2 Cor 3:7-11
7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones [What was written and engraved on stones? - The Ten Commandments], was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was *passing away,* 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit [The New Covenant] not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation [The Ten Commandments] had glory, the ministry of righteousness [The New Covenant] exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had *no glory* in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is *passing away* [the ministry of death and condemnation] was glorious, what remains [The New Covenant] is much more glorious.
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be *SHUT,* and all the world may become *GUILTY* before God." (Rom 3:19)
"For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to *BONDAGE,* which is Hagar..." (Gal 4:24)
"because the law brings about *WRATH;* for where there is no law there is no transgression." (Rom 4:15)
"For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be *JUDGED* by the law..." (Rom 2:12)
"And the Law came in that the transgression might *INCREASE;* but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more..." (Rom 5:20)
"The sting of death is sin, and the *POWER OF SIN* is the law..." (1 Cor 15:56)
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Remember it's not I who am saying these things, but the scriptures themselves. The above verses are a sample of the verses that tell us the reason the law was given, and what happened through the law. All of these verses show the reason why the law was "against us" and "contrary to us," and therefore had to be "wiped out," "taken out of the way" and "nailed to the cross."
-----
"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having *wiped out* the handwriting of requirements that was *against us,* which was *contrary to us.* And He has *taken it out of the way,* having *nailed it to the cross.*" (Col 2:13-14)
-----
And all of these verses show us why the law was "the enmity," and "the middle wall of separation" that had to be "broken down" and "abolished in His flesh" in order for Jews and Gentiles to be reconciled into one Body - one NEW man - through the cross:
-----
"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having *ABOLISHED* in His flesh the *ENMITY,* that is, *THE LAW OF COMMANDMENTS* contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity." (Eph 2:14-16)
-----
Again, these are not my words. They are the very words of scripture. They show us that the law had very specific purposes. For those of us who are in Christ, we don't live by the law. We instead live by the new ministry - the ministry of the Spirit - in which Christ Himself dwells in us. He Himself is our life and righteousness. We live through Him and in Him, and He in us, apart from law.
-----
"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, *UNTIL* the Seed should come to whom the promise was made..." (Gal 3:19)
2 Cor 3:7-11
7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones [What was written and engraved on stones? - The Ten Commandments], was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was *passing away,* 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit [The New Covenant] not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation [The Ten Commandments] had glory, the ministry of righteousness [The New Covenant] exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had *no glory* in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is *passing away* [the ministry of death and condemnation] was glorious, what remains [The New Covenant] is much more glorious.
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be *SHUT,* and all the world may become *GUILTY* before God." (Rom 3:19)
"For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to *BONDAGE,* which is Hagar..." (Gal 4:24)
"because the law brings about *WRATH;* for where there is no law there is no transgression." (Rom 4:15)
"For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be *JUDGED* by the law..." (Rom 2:12)
"And the Law came in that the transgression might *INCREASE;* but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more..." (Rom 5:20)
"The sting of death is sin, and the *POWER OF SIN* is the law..." (1 Cor 15:56)
-----
Remember it's not I who am saying these things, but the scriptures themselves. The above verses are a sample of the verses that tell us the reason the law was given, and what happened through the law. All of these verses show the reason why the law was "against us" and "contrary to us," and therefore had to be "wiped out," "taken out of the way" and "nailed to the cross."
-----
"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having *wiped out* the handwriting of requirements that was *against us,* which was *contrary to us.* And He has *taken it out of the way,* having *nailed it to the cross.*" (Col 2:13-14)
-----
And all of these verses show us why the law was "the enmity," and "the middle wall of separation" that had to be "broken down" and "abolished in His flesh" in order for Jews and Gentiles to be reconciled into one Body - one NEW man - through the cross:
-----
"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having *ABOLISHED* in His flesh the *ENMITY,* that is, *THE LAW OF COMMANDMENTS* contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity." (Eph 2:14-16)
-----
Again, these are not my words. They are the very words of scripture. They show us that the law had very specific purposes. For those of us who are in Christ, we don't live by the law. We instead live by the new ministry - the ministry of the Spirit - in which Christ Himself dwells in us. He Himself is our life and righteousness. We live through Him and in Him, and He in us, apart from law.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Incarnation and Atonement
Here’s what Torrance writes about the Incarnation, Atonement, and what that means in regard to what it means to be human vis-Ã -vis God:
God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself. Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself. Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
Adversity
In this world you will have tribulation; but be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33
God does not give us overcoming life--He gives us
life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds
our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no
strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow,
or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the
moment. A saint can "be of good cheer" even when
seemingly defeated by adversaries, because victory
is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.
Oswald Chambers
As we wait for His coming, God wants us
to lean on Him and receive His strength moment
by moment. We are to exchange 'our weakness for
His strength.' God does not 'help those who help
themselves,' but instead is delighted when we lean
on Him. I love this verse, "Who is coming up from
the wilderness leaning on her beloved?' SS 8:5.
Surely we often walk in dry places and, for me, I
cannot make it on my own...
good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33
God does not give us overcoming life--He gives us
life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds
our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no
strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow,
or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the
moment. A saint can "be of good cheer" even when
seemingly defeated by adversaries, because victory
is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.
Oswald Chambers
As we wait for His coming, God wants us
to lean on Him and receive His strength moment
by moment. We are to exchange 'our weakness for
His strength.' God does not 'help those who help
themselves,' but instead is delighted when we lean
on Him. I love this verse, "Who is coming up from
the wilderness leaning on her beloved?' SS 8:5.
Surely we often walk in dry places and, for me, I
cannot make it on my own...
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
It Gets Crowded On The Throne
Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man’s behalf.--Psalm 66:5
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, did not understand what Jesus was saying, because, like so many of us, he was conditioned to think that the work of God is always done by man, as if God is so small that He needs the help of man. In essence, Nicodemus believed, “God takes care of those who take care of themselves,” being accustomed to thinking that people came into the kingdom through effort, strain, teaching, watching their every move, endless conversation, right training, and persuasive argument. In his mind, men did not change so easily as through God’s working out a conversion by something as natural as birth. Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, had crowded God right off the throne and was not a relaxed man!
Today, it seems so many things are needed to bring about conversion: a new church building, a special service with music perfectly calculated to move the unbeliever, youth discussion groups, psychological counseling, and exegetical preaching. Yes, with all of these surely God will be manipulated to move and bring conversions; the pews will fill and children will no longer experiment with drugs. It is getting more and more crowded on the throne.
The conversion that He brings is not to a system but to spiritual truth; it places concepts
in our being, not in our minds. His conversion is His work and comes only through the
power of the Spirit. There is room for only One on the throne.
When is the last time you looked at life as a system, and not as spiritual truth? As a life, and not as a Life? Big difference.
Are we seeing concepts in our being, not in our minds? Do we recognize God’s work comes only through the power of Holy Spirit? Our answers line up with one side or the other in Michael’s illustrations.
I think we should ask ourselves some really difficult questions about whether we have been “conditioned” and have become “accustomed” to thinking in the worldly realm or the spiritual realm.
I love the terms “spiritual truth,” “born of the Spirit,” and “power of the Spirit.” These keep me focused on Who is on the throne.
- Mike Wells
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, did not understand what Jesus was saying, because, like so many of us, he was conditioned to think that the work of God is always done by man, as if God is so small that He needs the help of man. In essence, Nicodemus believed, “God takes care of those who take care of themselves,” being accustomed to thinking that people came into the kingdom through effort, strain, teaching, watching their every move, endless conversation, right training, and persuasive argument. In his mind, men did not change so easily as through God’s working out a conversion by something as natural as birth. Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, had crowded God right off the throne and was not a relaxed man!
Today, it seems so many things are needed to bring about conversion: a new church building, a special service with music perfectly calculated to move the unbeliever, youth discussion groups, psychological counseling, and exegetical preaching. Yes, with all of these surely God will be manipulated to move and bring conversions; the pews will fill and children will no longer experiment with drugs. It is getting more and more crowded on the throne.
The conversion that He brings is not to a system but to spiritual truth; it places concepts
in our being, not in our minds. His conversion is His work and comes only through the
power of the Spirit. There is room for only One on the throne.
When is the last time you looked at life as a system, and not as spiritual truth? As a life, and not as a Life? Big difference.
Are we seeing concepts in our being, not in our minds? Do we recognize God’s work comes only through the power of Holy Spirit? Our answers line up with one side or the other in Michael’s illustrations.
I think we should ask ourselves some really difficult questions about whether we have been “conditioned” and have become “accustomed” to thinking in the worldly realm or the spiritual realm.
I love the terms “spiritual truth,” “born of the Spirit,” and “power of the Spirit.” These keep me focused on Who is on the throne.
- Mike Wells
Sunday, September 10, 2017
How to Grieve like a Christian
This life is full of loss and full of grief. Though there are times we experience great swells of joy, we also experience deep depths of sorrow. No sorrow is deeper than the sorrow of loss. At such times it is important to consider how Christians grieve. Christ has Lordship over all of life, even grief. The gospel informs all we do, including our grieving. When dealing with the loss of a fellow believer, it is a privilege to grieve in a distinctly Christian way—to grieve in one way instead of being left to grieve in another way.
What is that way? How do Christians grieve? Paul provides helpful instruction and begins with these words: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
The first thing is this: Grieve! It’s good and right to grieve. We grieve genuinely and unapologetically. Death is tragic; death is sorrowful; it is good to grieve and this text gives us permission to do so. While it’s always important to ask “what does a text say?” it’s equally important to ask, “what does a text not say?” In this verse Paul could have said something like, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve.” He could have ended his sentence there are forbidden all grief. He could have been a good Stoic and insisted that Christians must not waste their time and emotional energy in crying. But no, he doesn’t say that. He doesn’t tell us we must not grieve at all. Rather, he tells us we must not grieve in a certain way. There is a way that Christians must grieve. What is that way?
Grieve hopefully. When Paul says, “you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” he is really saying something like, “we grieve, but not in the same way as all those other people who have no hope.” Or, “even though we do grieve, we grieve differently from those other hopeless people.” Again, we see there’s a distinctly Christian way to express grief. We must not grieve like unbelievers do. What is this Christian form of grieving? Christians experience grief but without despair, sorrow but without defeat, sadness but without hopelessness. It’s true sorrow and true hope. These things don’t cancel out one another. We feel the great weight of sorrow and the great thrill of hope. In moments of deep sadness, we feel both. But why? How? How is it that we can have hope?
The reason we have hope is that Christians grieve temporarily. We grieve genuinely but hopefully because we grieve temporarily. Our grief will come to an end. Paul proves this by pointing back in time, then pointing forward: “For since we believe that [in the past] Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will [in the future] bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Paul anchors future hope in past reality. He first points back in time to the historical events of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus truly died and truly returned to life and his resurrection is a promise, a proof, and a down payment that we, too, will return to life. What happened to him will happen to us. If it wasn’t for Jesus we’d have no hope! But Jesus rose so we have the greatest hope!
Having pointed back, Paul points forward. “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” He goes from the past to the future. He points forward to the time when Christ will return. He points forward to the time when the great promise will be fulfilled. At that time those who are dead and those who are alive will be reunited. They will be united to Jesus and live together forever. Here is how the passage continues: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Our hope for the future is that we will be with the Lord. We will be with the Lord together and forever. Those who have gone before and those who remain will be reunited in the presence of Jesus Christ.
While our loved ones have left us, they have not ceased to be. They’ve simply gone on ahead. Because Jesus rose again, they will rise again. Because Jesus conquered death, they will conquer death. Because Jesus lives, they live. And so we grieve. We grieve in times of loss and our grief may last many days, weeks, or years. The pain is real, the sorrow is real, so the grief is real. But we grieve hopefully because we are convinced we grieve temporarily. No wonder, then, Paul concludes in this way: “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
What is that way? How do Christians grieve? Paul provides helpful instruction and begins with these words: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
The first thing is this: Grieve! It’s good and right to grieve. We grieve genuinely and unapologetically. Death is tragic; death is sorrowful; it is good to grieve and this text gives us permission to do so. While it’s always important to ask “what does a text say?” it’s equally important to ask, “what does a text not say?” In this verse Paul could have said something like, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve.” He could have ended his sentence there are forbidden all grief. He could have been a good Stoic and insisted that Christians must not waste their time and emotional energy in crying. But no, he doesn’t say that. He doesn’t tell us we must not grieve at all. Rather, he tells us we must not grieve in a certain way. There is a way that Christians must grieve. What is that way?
Grieve hopefully. When Paul says, “you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” he is really saying something like, “we grieve, but not in the same way as all those other people who have no hope.” Or, “even though we do grieve, we grieve differently from those other hopeless people.” Again, we see there’s a distinctly Christian way to express grief. We must not grieve like unbelievers do. What is this Christian form of grieving? Christians experience grief but without despair, sorrow but without defeat, sadness but without hopelessness. It’s true sorrow and true hope. These things don’t cancel out one another. We feel the great weight of sorrow and the great thrill of hope. In moments of deep sadness, we feel both. But why? How? How is it that we can have hope?
The reason we have hope is that Christians grieve temporarily. We grieve genuinely but hopefully because we grieve temporarily. Our grief will come to an end. Paul proves this by pointing back in time, then pointing forward: “For since we believe that [in the past] Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will [in the future] bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Paul anchors future hope in past reality. He first points back in time to the historical events of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus truly died and truly returned to life and his resurrection is a promise, a proof, and a down payment that we, too, will return to life. What happened to him will happen to us. If it wasn’t for Jesus we’d have no hope! But Jesus rose so we have the greatest hope!
Having pointed back, Paul points forward. “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” He goes from the past to the future. He points forward to the time when Christ will return. He points forward to the time when the great promise will be fulfilled. At that time those who are dead and those who are alive will be reunited. They will be united to Jesus and live together forever. Here is how the passage continues: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” Our hope for the future is that we will be with the Lord. We will be with the Lord together and forever. Those who have gone before and those who remain will be reunited in the presence of Jesus Christ.
While our loved ones have left us, they have not ceased to be. They’ve simply gone on ahead. Because Jesus rose again, they will rise again. Because Jesus conquered death, they will conquer death. Because Jesus lives, they live. And so we grieve. We grieve in times of loss and our grief may last many days, weeks, or years. The pain is real, the sorrow is real, so the grief is real. But we grieve hopefully because we are convinced we grieve temporarily. No wonder, then, Paul concludes in this way: “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
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