When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, {that is} the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me.
- JOHN 15:26
What is the Holy Spirit? It is the Spirit that represents God, who is holy. There are many different types of salesmen in the world, each representing something different. Car salesmen are different from appliance salesmen, because they are representatives for two different products. In the same way, there are many spirits in the world, all representing something different. The Holy Spirit represents Jesus and will not be doing things contrary to what Jesus did. It is unfortunate that so many spirits proclaim a witness to Jesus but actually are like that man who says he is merely doing a survey when he really wants to sell windows. These false spirits are not representing Jesus. There was a Hindu, considered a god, who was just plain weird; he jerked as he talked and walked, and he made no sense. He was god, so he said, but he made god out to be strange. Another Hindu god thirsts for blood. Is this really god? We see many spirits in the Christian world that portray something much different from Jesus but proclaim they are from Jesus. Was Jesus weird, spectacular, entertaining, or exhibiting uncontrolled emotion? Was He educated or consumed with taking up offerings? Did He offer visions, promise wealth, or sing until the miraculous appeared? The Spirit of Jesus will represent Jesus; He will never be something strange and weird.
- Mike Wells
Sunday, September 30, 2018
What Really Is Sin?
Sin includes all the lies that the human race has been telling about God the Creator down through the centuries.
Sin is universal and represents the margin of difference between all that God is (in whose image we were made) and what we are on our own.
Sin is anything that falls short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), so that God will evaluate sin as any behavior that falls short of what He does, what He says, and what He is.
Sin therefore is exposed simply by relating our behavior to God’s behavior. God is perfect, and by that perfection you and I can recognize sin, because sin is anything which falls short of His perfection.
God Himself is therefore the only standard by which sin is recognizable.
Sin also is defined in the Bible as faithless independence: “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). It is an attitude of “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
In light of this understanding of sin, what then does repentance involve?
Repentance means stepping out of independence back into dependence, and the measure of your repentance will be the measure of your dependence. Every area of your life in which you have not learned to be truly dependent on God is an area of your life in which you have not as yet repented.
Christ died for us so that He, risen and alive, might now come and dwell within us, so that we might no longer be egocentric, self-oriented, living only for our own interests: “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
Never be sorry for your self. Just be sorry for your sin!
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
ROMANS 3:23
Sin is universal and represents the margin of difference between all that God is (in whose image we were made) and what we are on our own.
Sin is anything that falls short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), so that God will evaluate sin as any behavior that falls short of what He does, what He says, and what He is.
Sin therefore is exposed simply by relating our behavior to God’s behavior. God is perfect, and by that perfection you and I can recognize sin, because sin is anything which falls short of His perfection.
God Himself is therefore the only standard by which sin is recognizable.
Sin also is defined in the Bible as faithless independence: “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). It is an attitude of “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
In light of this understanding of sin, what then does repentance involve?
Repentance means stepping out of independence back into dependence, and the measure of your repentance will be the measure of your dependence. Every area of your life in which you have not learned to be truly dependent on God is an area of your life in which you have not as yet repented.
Christ died for us so that He, risen and alive, might now come and dwell within us, so that we might no longer be egocentric, self-oriented, living only for our own interests: “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
Never be sorry for your self. Just be sorry for your sin!
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
ROMANS 3:23
- Major Ian Thomas
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Three Kingdoms
Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.” --Matthew 21:31
There are three kingdoms to which one can belong, the kingdom of good, the kingdom of evil, and the kingdom of God.The kingdoms of good and evilhave much in common. Both are fortresses with folks inside attempting to get out and others outside attempting to get in. Inhabitants are kept inside through threats, punishment, intimidation, and the fear of death. Wars are mounted and men enlisted to expand both. The comparisons are endless, for they come from the same tree.Interestingly, a good kingdom delivered Europe from an evil kingdom, and when it was all over, Europe became post-Christian. Conversely, think of all the pockets of the Kingdom of God that can be found in countries long ruled by evil kingdoms, where no good kingdom stepped in to deliver the people. Both the kingdom of good and the kingdom of evil are enemies of the Kingdom of God. Good is the enemy of the best, and though moralism is an enemy of Christianity, many persist in seeing Christianity merely as the kingdom of good as they exert effort toward changing the world system to agree with it. We are all suffering fatigue from the world’s presentation of what it portrays as compassion. Pictures are shown of some injustice somewhere in the world from dolphins in tuna nets to stolen aid for the hungry. Unfortunately, such images only stir up those who would never do such things to begin with; they do nothing to change the behavior of the people who participate in the atrocities. It could be concluded that “good” people only point out the behavior of bad people to make themselves look and feel better. “Good” people feel they have done something by throwing words at a problem; they want to project to others an image of doing something valuable to resolve the world’s problems, to raise money for the organization that discovered the bad thing, or to blindly assist in the way they think is right.
Is it not interesting that Jesus, in the midst of the Roman system, said nothing about it? In the midst of slavery, abortion, taxation, the annihilation of cultures, and unjust government, He said nothing. Instead, He emphasized the Kingdom of God. He was not fighting evil with good. In fact, He equally resisted evil and good (Pharaseeism) with the Kingdom of God. We must decide how we will live, and that, in turn, will determine that to which we will respond and make our life's goal. We can live in the evil kingdom and return good with evil. We can live in the good kingdom and make sure evil is punished with evil, or we can live in the Kingdom of God, returning evil with good.
Jesus could see clearly the Invisible Kingdom, and He has given us the capacity to see the same. When we see what He sees, our priorities change. We cannot be bothered by (if it is true) the depleting ozone layer to the extent that it would take us from our mission that has eternal significance. It can be annoying to turn on the television and be told by the unbelieving world what needs to be of utmost significance to us, when their whole outlook revolves around such things as gun control, freedom of speech, freedom from religion, equality, expressions of discrimination, whales, and more. Then there are the methods that are guaranteed to fix all the problems: education, understanding, ribbons, walks, and money. Well, amen. It is said that earth is as close to hell as a believer will ever come and as close to heaven as an unbeliever will ever come. This has caused me to change my attitude and lower my frustration, for this world is all the unbelievers have. If they want to keep it nice, improve it to suit themselves, and throw their lives into working for what is ineffective, they should. I was told of a South American politician who stole one billion dollars. I responded, “Is that all? Since he is going to hell anyway, he really should have taken more!” Jesus is the issue, and everything else is a non-issue, for it will cease to exist on the day that every knee bows.Nothing else will matter. However, we are not to be frustrated with the world when it loves the world; the world loves itself and its own, and that is all the world has, for the world has nothing in Him nor He in it.
- Mike Wells
There are three kingdoms to which one can belong, the kingdom of good, the kingdom of evil, and the kingdom of God.The kingdoms of good and evilhave much in common. Both are fortresses with folks inside attempting to get out and others outside attempting to get in. Inhabitants are kept inside through threats, punishment, intimidation, and the fear of death. Wars are mounted and men enlisted to expand both. The comparisons are endless, for they come from the same tree.Interestingly, a good kingdom delivered Europe from an evil kingdom, and when it was all over, Europe became post-Christian. Conversely, think of all the pockets of the Kingdom of God that can be found in countries long ruled by evil kingdoms, where no good kingdom stepped in to deliver the people. Both the kingdom of good and the kingdom of evil are enemies of the Kingdom of God. Good is the enemy of the best, and though moralism is an enemy of Christianity, many persist in seeing Christianity merely as the kingdom of good as they exert effort toward changing the world system to agree with it. We are all suffering fatigue from the world’s presentation of what it portrays as compassion. Pictures are shown of some injustice somewhere in the world from dolphins in tuna nets to stolen aid for the hungry. Unfortunately, such images only stir up those who would never do such things to begin with; they do nothing to change the behavior of the people who participate in the atrocities. It could be concluded that “good” people only point out the behavior of bad people to make themselves look and feel better. “Good” people feel they have done something by throwing words at a problem; they want to project to others an image of doing something valuable to resolve the world’s problems, to raise money for the organization that discovered the bad thing, or to blindly assist in the way they think is right.
Is it not interesting that Jesus, in the midst of the Roman system, said nothing about it? In the midst of slavery, abortion, taxation, the annihilation of cultures, and unjust government, He said nothing. Instead, He emphasized the Kingdom of God. He was not fighting evil with good. In fact, He equally resisted evil and good (Pharaseeism) with the Kingdom of God. We must decide how we will live, and that, in turn, will determine that to which we will respond and make our life's goal. We can live in the evil kingdom and return good with evil. We can live in the good kingdom and make sure evil is punished with evil, or we can live in the Kingdom of God, returning evil with good.
Jesus could see clearly the Invisible Kingdom, and He has given us the capacity to see the same. When we see what He sees, our priorities change. We cannot be bothered by (if it is true) the depleting ozone layer to the extent that it would take us from our mission that has eternal significance. It can be annoying to turn on the television and be told by the unbelieving world what needs to be of utmost significance to us, when their whole outlook revolves around such things as gun control, freedom of speech, freedom from religion, equality, expressions of discrimination, whales, and more. Then there are the methods that are guaranteed to fix all the problems: education, understanding, ribbons, walks, and money. Well, amen. It is said that earth is as close to hell as a believer will ever come and as close to heaven as an unbeliever will ever come. This has caused me to change my attitude and lower my frustration, for this world is all the unbelievers have. If they want to keep it nice, improve it to suit themselves, and throw their lives into working for what is ineffective, they should. I was told of a South American politician who stole one billion dollars. I responded, “Is that all? Since he is going to hell anyway, he really should have taken more!” Jesus is the issue, and everything else is a non-issue, for it will cease to exist on the day that every knee bows.Nothing else will matter. However, we are not to be frustrated with the world when it loves the world; the world loves itself and its own, and that is all the world has, for the world has nothing in Him nor He in it.
- Mike Wells
Fulness of Joy
You will show me the the path of life;
In Your presence is fulness of joy;
At your right hand are pleasures
Forevermore. Psalm 16:11
In His presence is fulness of joy, and fulness of joy
is nowhere else. Just as the simple presence of the
mother makes the child's joy, so does the simple
fact of God's presence make our joy. The mother
may not make a single promise to the child or ex-
plain any of her plans or purposes, but she is, and
that is enough for the child. The child rejoices in
the mother herself, not in her promises. And to the
child there is behind all that changes and can change,
the one unchangeable joy of the mother's existence.
While the mother lives, the child will be cared for,
and the child instinctively, if not intelligently, re-
joices in knowing this.
And to the children of God as well there is behind all
that changes and can change, the once unchangeable
joy that God is. And while He is, His children will
be cared for, and they ought to know it and rejoice in
it as instinctively and far more intelligently than the
child of human parents. What can God do, being what
He is? Neglect, indifference, forgetfulness, ignorance
are all impossible to Him. He knows everything. He
cares about everything. He can manage everything.
AND, He loves us!
- Hannah Whitall Smith
In Your presence is fulness of joy;
At your right hand are pleasures
Forevermore. Psalm 16:11
In His presence is fulness of joy, and fulness of joy
is nowhere else. Just as the simple presence of the
mother makes the child's joy, so does the simple
fact of God's presence make our joy. The mother
may not make a single promise to the child or ex-
plain any of her plans or purposes, but she is, and
that is enough for the child. The child rejoices in
the mother herself, not in her promises. And to the
child there is behind all that changes and can change,
the one unchangeable joy of the mother's existence.
While the mother lives, the child will be cared for,
and the child instinctively, if not intelligently, re-
joices in knowing this.
And to the children of God as well there is behind all
that changes and can change, the once unchangeable
joy that God is. And while He is, His children will
be cared for, and they ought to know it and rejoice in
it as instinctively and far more intelligently than the
child of human parents. What can God do, being what
He is? Neglect, indifference, forgetfulness, ignorance
are all impossible to Him. He knows everything. He
cares about everything. He can manage everything.
AND, He loves us!
- Hannah Whitall Smith
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Major Ian Thomas Quotes
"The One who calls you to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature is the One who by your consent, goes into all the world and preaches the Gospel to every creature through you!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"The moment you come to realize that only God can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know God, and to let God be God in and through you."
- Major Ian Thomas
"Jesus Christ Himself is the final exegesis of all truth. He is all that we need to know about God, and He is all that we need to know about man."
- Major Ian Thomas
"Christian living is not a method or technique; it is an entirely different, revolutionary principle of life."
- Major Ian Thomas
"The measure of a man's worth is the measure in which he no longer lives "to and for himself," but "to and for Jesus Christ." No more and no less!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"To live "to and for yourself" is to "walk after the flesh"! To live "to and for Christ" is to "walk after the Spirit"!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"There are few things quite so boring as being religious, but there is nothing quite so exciting as being a Christian!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"There are those who have a life they never live. They have come to Christ and thanked Him only for what He did, but do not live in the power of who He is."
- Major Ian Thomas
"A man could have all the money in all the banks in all the world, and be worth nothing so far as God is concerned, if he were still living "to and for himself"!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"The moment you are redeemed through the atoning death of Christ upon the cross, you receive the Holy Spirit within your human spirit."
- Major Ian Thomas
"There is something, which makes Christianity more than a religion, more than an ethic, and more than the idle dream of the sentimental idealist. It is this something, which makes it relevant to each one of us right now as a contemporary experience."
- Major Ian Thomas
"Christ in you, on the grounds of redemption this is the Gospel! To preach anything less than this must inevitably produce "Evan-jellyfish" folk with no spiritual vertebrae, whose faith does not "behave!""
- Major Ian Thomas
"The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"Man was so engineered by God that the presence of the Creator within the creature is indispensable to His humanity."
- Major Ian Thomas
- Major Ian Thomas
"The moment you come to realize that only God can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know God, and to let God be God in and through you."
- Major Ian Thomas
"Jesus Christ Himself is the final exegesis of all truth. He is all that we need to know about God, and He is all that we need to know about man."
- Major Ian Thomas
"Christian living is not a method or technique; it is an entirely different, revolutionary principle of life."
- Major Ian Thomas
"The measure of a man's worth is the measure in which he no longer lives "to and for himself," but "to and for Jesus Christ." No more and no less!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"To live "to and for yourself" is to "walk after the flesh"! To live "to and for Christ" is to "walk after the Spirit"!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"There are few things quite so boring as being religious, but there is nothing quite so exciting as being a Christian!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"There are those who have a life they never live. They have come to Christ and thanked Him only for what He did, but do not live in the power of who He is."
- Major Ian Thomas
"A man could have all the money in all the banks in all the world, and be worth nothing so far as God is concerned, if he were still living "to and for himself"!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"The moment you are redeemed through the atoning death of Christ upon the cross, you receive the Holy Spirit within your human spirit."
- Major Ian Thomas
"There is something, which makes Christianity more than a religion, more than an ethic, and more than the idle dream of the sentimental idealist. It is this something, which makes it relevant to each one of us right now as a contemporary experience."
- Major Ian Thomas
"Christ in you, on the grounds of redemption this is the Gospel! To preach anything less than this must inevitably produce "Evan-jellyfish" folk with no spiritual vertebrae, whose faith does not "behave!""
- Major Ian Thomas
"The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you!"
- Major Ian Thomas
"Man was so engineered by God that the presence of the Creator within the creature is indispensable to His humanity."
- Major Ian Thomas
The World
When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.--John 16:13
I was asked, “If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanists eat?” Humanism, which through such vehicles as the U.N. and EU (European Union) has taken hold of so many developing countries, is an attempt to wrestle moral authority away from the Church.It is nonsense on several levels. First of all, humanists present their objecting messages to people who would not act a certain way anyway. They show pictures of dolphins swimming in industrial waste, which enrages the people who would not be irresponsible with the waste anyway and leaves those who are fouling the water unaffected. Such activities throw words at a problem and accomplish nothing. Second, humanists define a problem that does not exist, set out to fix it, and by so doing create a real problem that is greater than the imaginary one. Third, there is no basis for certain moral statements made. Humanism has a moral foundation vaguely familiar to what is seen in Christianity, and yet it denies Christ and His power. Fourth, it is filled with compromise. One compromises to someone who is already compromised. It is compromise compromised, so loose in the end that it is ridiculous. Yet the humanists push away through the U.N. and other groups in nearly every developing country in which I work to spread their merely man-centered wisdom of the world. If Christ had not opened my eyes, I would probably be on the front row listening; I do not have any illusions about finding substance in my own flesh. One persecuted Christian was telling me about other believers who had compromised with the cruel government. I said, "That would be me!" He said, "You would not!" I said, "I would. There is nothing good in my flesh. I own it and now look to the Lord to keep me.
I was asked, “If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanists eat?” Humanism, which through such vehicles as the U.N. and EU (European Union) has taken hold of so many developing countries, is an attempt to wrestle moral authority away from the Church.It is nonsense on several levels. First of all, humanists present their objecting messages to people who would not act a certain way anyway. They show pictures of dolphins swimming in industrial waste, which enrages the people who would not be irresponsible with the waste anyway and leaves those who are fouling the water unaffected. Such activities throw words at a problem and accomplish nothing. Second, humanists define a problem that does not exist, set out to fix it, and by so doing create a real problem that is greater than the imaginary one. Third, there is no basis for certain moral statements made. Humanism has a moral foundation vaguely familiar to what is seen in Christianity, and yet it denies Christ and His power. Fourth, it is filled with compromise. One compromises to someone who is already compromised. It is compromise compromised, so loose in the end that it is ridiculous. Yet the humanists push away through the U.N. and other groups in nearly every developing country in which I work to spread their merely man-centered wisdom of the world. If Christ had not opened my eyes, I would probably be on the front row listening; I do not have any illusions about finding substance in my own flesh. One persecuted Christian was telling me about other believers who had compromised with the cruel government. I said, "That would be me!" He said, "You would not!" I said, "I would. There is nothing good in my flesh. I own it and now look to the Lord to keep me.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
The One Indispensability for Our Humanity
An oil lamp needs oil to produce light. Why? Because the lamp was made to function in that way. A car needs gasoline to go. Why? Because the car was made to function in that way.
Why does a human being need God to be functional? Because we were made that way. Long ago, God decided to make a creature on this little planet called Earth. He specifically designed this creature as the means whereby His potential, His Life, could be released and produce righteousness.
Man cannot produce righteousness on his own, however, any more than a car can go or an oil lamp can shine without fuel.
Trying to light an oil lamp with no oil is illogical and useless; you will remain in the dark. Trying to drive your car without gasoline is likewise utterly unreasonable; you will end up by getting out and pushing it, going only as far and fast as your physical strength allows, and bringing yourself to exhaustion.
The same is true with human beings. Simply urging them to be good, telling them to draw from the depths of their personality, introducing them to behavioral science, trying to legislate their actions with rules, regulations, and religion, and threatening them with punishment or prison—ultimately none of these can succeed in producing righteousness from human beings.
To get light from an oil lamp, filling it first with oil is entirely reasonable. To get a car to provide you with transportation, filling the tank with gas is completely logical. In the same way, divine logic affirms that obtaining righteousness from a man or woman happens only when that person is filled with God. Oil in the lamp, gas in the car … and Christ in the Christian. It takes God to be a man, and that is why it takes Christ to be a Christian, because Christ puts God back into a man, the only way we can again become functional.
It is called the new birth, being born again, as our soul is awakened by God’s Spirit. It can happen only on God’s terms, and it restores us to that for which God created us—of being functional only by virtue of His presence within us. God is indispensable for the truly normal human being.
Man was created uniquely, in such a way that he can enjoy a moral relationship between the creature and his Creator, because God is love, and the only thing that satisfies love is to be loved. The only thing that satisfies friendship is to be befriended.
Love and friendship cannot be forced, however. If God wanted a man who could love Him back, that man could not be like any other creature, without any moral capacity either to please God or displease Him. Such a creature would be amoral, doing what it does because it must, rather than evidencing any disposition toward his Maker.
You and I, however, were so created that by anything and everything we do, we are saying to our Creator either “God, I love you,” or “God, I could not care less.”
The human spirit is that part of us where God lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, so that with our moral consent (and never without it), God gains access to our human soul. This is where He Himself, as the Creator within the creature, can teach our minds, control our emotions, and direct our wills, so that He, as God from within, governs our behavior as we let God be God.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), and this is what it means to walk in the Holy Spirit: to take one step at a time, and for every new situation into which every new step takes you, no matter what it may be, to hear Christ saying to your heart, “I AM,” then to look up into His face by faith and say, “You are! That is all I need to know, Lord, and I thank You, for You are never less than adequate.”
The LORD is the strength of my life.
PSALM 27:1
How have you recognized your need for God in daily life?
In what you say and do, how are you saying to your Creator either “God, I love
Why does a human being need God to be functional? Because we were made that way. Long ago, God decided to make a creature on this little planet called Earth. He specifically designed this creature as the means whereby His potential, His Life, could be released and produce righteousness.
Man cannot produce righteousness on his own, however, any more than a car can go or an oil lamp can shine without fuel.
Trying to light an oil lamp with no oil is illogical and useless; you will remain in the dark. Trying to drive your car without gasoline is likewise utterly unreasonable; you will end up by getting out and pushing it, going only as far and fast as your physical strength allows, and bringing yourself to exhaustion.
The same is true with human beings. Simply urging them to be good, telling them to draw from the depths of their personality, introducing them to behavioral science, trying to legislate their actions with rules, regulations, and religion, and threatening them with punishment or prison—ultimately none of these can succeed in producing righteousness from human beings.
To get light from an oil lamp, filling it first with oil is entirely reasonable. To get a car to provide you with transportation, filling the tank with gas is completely logical. In the same way, divine logic affirms that obtaining righteousness from a man or woman happens only when that person is filled with God. Oil in the lamp, gas in the car … and Christ in the Christian. It takes God to be a man, and that is why it takes Christ to be a Christian, because Christ puts God back into a man, the only way we can again become functional.
It is called the new birth, being born again, as our soul is awakened by God’s Spirit. It can happen only on God’s terms, and it restores us to that for which God created us—of being functional only by virtue of His presence within us. God is indispensable for the truly normal human being.
Man was created uniquely, in such a way that he can enjoy a moral relationship between the creature and his Creator, because God is love, and the only thing that satisfies love is to be loved. The only thing that satisfies friendship is to be befriended.
Love and friendship cannot be forced, however. If God wanted a man who could love Him back, that man could not be like any other creature, without any moral capacity either to please God or displease Him. Such a creature would be amoral, doing what it does because it must, rather than evidencing any disposition toward his Maker.
You and I, however, were so created that by anything and everything we do, we are saying to our Creator either “God, I love you,” or “God, I could not care less.”
The human spirit is that part of us where God lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit, so that with our moral consent (and never without it), God gains access to our human soul. This is where He Himself, as the Creator within the creature, can teach our minds, control our emotions, and direct our wills, so that He, as God from within, governs our behavior as we let God be God.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), and this is what it means to walk in the Holy Spirit: to take one step at a time, and for every new situation into which every new step takes you, no matter what it may be, to hear Christ saying to your heart, “I AM,” then to look up into His face by faith and say, “You are! That is all I need to know, Lord, and I thank You, for You are never less than adequate.”
The LORD is the strength of my life.
PSALM 27:1
How have you recognized your need for God in daily life?
In what you say and do, how are you saying to your Creator either “God, I love
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
A Letter
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts,
known and read by everybody. You show that you
are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human
hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:2,3
The Christian life can only be explained in terms of
Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still
be explained in terms of you--your personality, your
will-power, your gift, your talent, your money, your
courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacri-
fice, or your anything--then although you may have
the Christian life, you are not yet living it!
If the way you live your life as a Christian can be ex-
plained in terms of you, what have you to offer to the
man who lives next door? The way he lives his life
can be explained in terms of him, and so far as he is
concerned, you happen to be "religious"--but he is
not! Christianity may be your hobby, but it is not his,
and there is nothing about the way you practice it
which strikes him as at all remarkable. There is
nothing about you which leaves him guessing, and
nothing commendable of which he does not feel him-
self equally capable without the inconvenience of
becoming a Christian.
It is only when your quality of life baffles the neigh-
bors that you are likely to impress them. It has to to
be patently obvious to others that the kind of life you
are living is not only highly commendable, but that it
is beyond all human explanation. That it is beyond the
consequences of man's capacity to imitate, and how-
ever little they may understand this, clearly the conse-
quence only of God's capacity to reproduce Himself
in you.
In a nutshell, this means your fellow-men must become
convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ of whom you
speak, is essentially Himself the ingredient of the Life
you live.
- Major Ian Thomas 191402007
known and read by everybody. You show that you
are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human
hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:2,3
The Christian life can only be explained in terms of
Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still
be explained in terms of you--your personality, your
will-power, your gift, your talent, your money, your
courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacri-
fice, or your anything--then although you may have
the Christian life, you are not yet living it!
If the way you live your life as a Christian can be ex-
plained in terms of you, what have you to offer to the
man who lives next door? The way he lives his life
can be explained in terms of him, and so far as he is
concerned, you happen to be "religious"--but he is
not! Christianity may be your hobby, but it is not his,
and there is nothing about the way you practice it
which strikes him as at all remarkable. There is
nothing about you which leaves him guessing, and
nothing commendable of which he does not feel him-
self equally capable without the inconvenience of
becoming a Christian.
It is only when your quality of life baffles the neigh-
bors that you are likely to impress them. It has to to
be patently obvious to others that the kind of life you
are living is not only highly commendable, but that it
is beyond all human explanation. That it is beyond the
consequences of man's capacity to imitate, and how-
ever little they may understand this, clearly the conse-
quence only of God's capacity to reproduce Himself
in you.
In a nutshell, this means your fellow-men must become
convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ of whom you
speak, is essentially Himself the ingredient of the Life
you live.
- Major Ian Thomas 191402007
Monday, September 17, 2018
The Law
...the strength of sin is the law.
1 Corinthians 15:56B
You can have Christian law just as much as much as
you can have Mosaic Law; you can be in bondage in
Christianity just as much as men were in Judaism.
Christianity can be made into an imposed system just
as much as Mosaic law was, and there are many Christ-
ians today who live under fear of the "Thou shalt" and
the "Thou shalt not" of a legalistic conception of the
Christian life.
You can take the Bible as God's standard for your life
and try to fulfill it and yet be burdened with a sense
of constant failure. It is God's standard, and it is a very
exhaustive one which leaves no part of the practical
life untouched, but those who make the effort to try to
live up to it only end in disillusion.
No, it is not just a matter of a Book, but of a Person,
the Person who did live up to that standard, absolutely
fulfilling every least demand and with the most perfect
success, so satisfying God to the full. By His death He
has delivered us from the bondage of legal demands.
This same Person now lives in us by His Holy Spirit,
seeking to work out that perfect will of God not on the
basis of some binding instructions from without but as
a living force within. We have the law written in our
hearts.
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone
from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I
will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk
in my statutes...Ezekiel 36:26, 27
To be in Christ is a matter of life and not of legalism.
T. Austin Sparks 1888-1971
1 Corinthians 15:56B
You can have Christian law just as much as much as
you can have Mosaic Law; you can be in bondage in
Christianity just as much as men were in Judaism.
Christianity can be made into an imposed system just
as much as Mosaic law was, and there are many Christ-
ians today who live under fear of the "Thou shalt" and
the "Thou shalt not" of a legalistic conception of the
Christian life.
You can take the Bible as God's standard for your life
and try to fulfill it and yet be burdened with a sense
of constant failure. It is God's standard, and it is a very
exhaustive one which leaves no part of the practical
life untouched, but those who make the effort to try to
live up to it only end in disillusion.
No, it is not just a matter of a Book, but of a Person,
the Person who did live up to that standard, absolutely
fulfilling every least demand and with the most perfect
success, so satisfying God to the full. By His death He
has delivered us from the bondage of legal demands.
This same Person now lives in us by His Holy Spirit,
seeking to work out that perfect will of God not on the
basis of some binding instructions from without but as
a living force within. We have the law written in our
hearts.
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone
from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I
will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk
in my statutes...Ezekiel 36:26, 27
To be in Christ is a matter of life and not of legalism.
T. Austin Sparks 1888-1971
Feeling Heavy!/ How to face anxiety
“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
“Cast your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you!” When Alex Mathew spoke last summer at the ALMI men’s and women’s retreats, he made an interesting observation. The body is made in such a way that the mouth takes in things good and bad. During processing, the nutrients are absorbed and the waste is expelled. Just like an engine, which with intake must have exhaust. However, mind and emotions are constantly taking in with no way to expel what is not useful. The result is a constipated mind. Chemically, the brain actually becomes loaded and causes the heaviness that many feel. The obvious question is, “How do I get things moving out of my mind and emotions?” There are a few simple commands. I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you,” and I Thess. 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” It is in our fellowship with Him that we are able to release that which has us mentally constipated. In Him we will find everything that we have looked for elsewhere in vain.
“Cast your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you!” When Alex Mathew spoke last summer at the ALMI men’s and women’s retreats, he made an interesting observation. The body is made in such a way that the mouth takes in things good and bad. During processing, the nutrients are absorbed and the waste is expelled. Just like an engine, which with intake must have exhaust. However, mind and emotions are constantly taking in with no way to expel what is not useful. The result is a constipated mind. Chemically, the brain actually becomes loaded and causes the heaviness that many feel. The obvious question is, “How do I get things moving out of my mind and emotions?” There are a few simple commands. I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you,” and I Thess. 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” It is in our fellowship with Him that we are able to release that which has us mentally constipated. In Him we will find everything that we have looked for elsewhere in vain.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Obstacles
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
Clement Moore
“I know those words! Where do they come from? Say the rest of it, Anabel! Help me! Give me a clue.” Yes, you know them. You’ve heard them every Christmas for most of your life probably. Those familiar words are from The Night before Christmas by Clement Moore. Remember them, now? How much more do you know? Have fun looking it up.
I’m drawing pictures for us again. Can you see the dry leaves being driven by the fierce wind? You’ve watched leaves racing madly down the street in front of you many times. And can you see one of them fall to the ground when it’s thrown up against a barrier–an obstacle? It may be battered, but when the wind hits it again, it rushes frantically to higher ground. (Not always. I know that, but let’s find out together where I’m going.)
I’ve talked to those who have said things like this:
“I’m rushing madly around and I have no idea where I’m going!”
“It’s like I’m being dragged–like I don’t have any control!”
“It’s a driving force that gives me no rest.” And other such helpless remarks.
I understand. That happens to us in this world. You know, of course, that Jesus calls Satan, “The ruler of this world” (John 14:30). We are living in a world where bad things happen, where the ‘ruler of this world’ tempts us, torments us, cajoles us, lies to us, drives us, and doesn’t let up, hoping to cause us to reject Christ Jesus and His “shallow, worthless promises” about caring for us and place ourselves under his “compassionate” control.
So we are like the dry leaves driven relentlessly by the force of the hurricanes in our world and then we smash into an obstacle and when the next blow comes we head for Him because we have finally realized that we are helpless without Him. I don’t know why we wait until we hit the proverbial “brick wall” but how many times have I been there? Battered, bruised, helpless, and completely exhausted mentally, physically, and spiritually. When that happens I “mount to the sky” and there I find the solace that only He can give.
Do I fully grasp the truth that He is always with me, even when I’m being whipped around by fierce winds? When I’m lying exhausted before an obstacle too great for my feeble strength? I think when I finally accept that as truth and say, “All right. You are with me no matter how forceful or destructive the circumstances are around me. I believe that. I rest in that.” Maybe–just maybe–if I know that truth, I won’t worry too much about the forces swirling menacingly around me. Thank You, Lord Jesus,”
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
By Anabel Gillham on September 13, 2018
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
Clement Moore
“I know those words! Where do they come from? Say the rest of it, Anabel! Help me! Give me a clue.” Yes, you know them. You’ve heard them every Christmas for most of your life probably. Those familiar words are from The Night before Christmas by Clement Moore. Remember them, now? How much more do you know? Have fun looking it up.
I’m drawing pictures for us again. Can you see the dry leaves being driven by the fierce wind? You’ve watched leaves racing madly down the street in front of you many times. And can you see one of them fall to the ground when it’s thrown up against a barrier–an obstacle? It may be battered, but when the wind hits it again, it rushes frantically to higher ground. (Not always. I know that, but let’s find out together where I’m going.)
I’ve talked to those who have said things like this:
“I’m rushing madly around and I have no idea where I’m going!”
“It’s like I’m being dragged–like I don’t have any control!”
“It’s a driving force that gives me no rest.” And other such helpless remarks.
I understand. That happens to us in this world. You know, of course, that Jesus calls Satan, “The ruler of this world” (John 14:30). We are living in a world where bad things happen, where the ‘ruler of this world’ tempts us, torments us, cajoles us, lies to us, drives us, and doesn’t let up, hoping to cause us to reject Christ Jesus and His “shallow, worthless promises” about caring for us and place ourselves under his “compassionate” control.
So we are like the dry leaves driven relentlessly by the force of the hurricanes in our world and then we smash into an obstacle and when the next blow comes we head for Him because we have finally realized that we are helpless without Him. I don’t know why we wait until we hit the proverbial “brick wall” but how many times have I been there? Battered, bruised, helpless, and completely exhausted mentally, physically, and spiritually. When that happens I “mount to the sky” and there I find the solace that only He can give.
Do I fully grasp the truth that He is always with me, even when I’m being whipped around by fierce winds? When I’m lying exhausted before an obstacle too great for my feeble strength? I think when I finally accept that as truth and say, “All right. You are with me no matter how forceful or destructive the circumstances are around me. I believe that. I rest in that.” Maybe–just maybe–if I know that truth, I won’t worry too much about the forces swirling menacingly around me. Thank You, Lord Jesus,”
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
By Anabel Gillham on September 13, 2018
Why Are You Crying?
WHY ARE YOU CRYING?
By Anabel Gillham on September 16, 2018
And may the Lord direct your hearts
into the love of God
and into the steadfastness of Christ.
II Thessalonians 3:5
May the Lord direct you–lead you–draw you–to the Love of God. Our finite minds cannot capture this “love of God”. It is beyond our ability to understand. It is so far removed from our experiences here on Earth that we can only shake our heads and say, “I don’t understand.” But this is His plea for us: May you come to know the love of God.
And may the Lord lead us–direct us–into the steadfastness of Christ. Christ who “set His face like flint”–Christ who did not waver when faced with rejection, shame, desertion, and excruciating pain–that steadfastness–may we come to know it. These two things make up our deepest needs: Unconditional love and unending steadfastness which will give us the security we long for. And they are ours, if we allow the Lord to direct us.
We enter this world crying to be loved, a need placed deep within us by God and a need that will be a driving force within us all of our life! If we aren’t crying as we leave the womb, a smart slap on the bottom gets us started and we wind up airing all our grievances: I don’t like it out here! I was warm and now I’m cold! I was all nestled in and cozy and out here there’s nothing but space. That light hurts my eyes!I have a splitting headache and besides all that, I had something in my mouth and now I don’t!I’m hungry!
So we take this screaming little bundle and try to simulate the womb, to settle him down and make him all comfy again. First of all we warm him up: We put him in a dry diaper and a cozy footie gown; we wrap him in a soft, warm, receiving blanket and put him in a tiny bassinet (just his size); then we put a bottle in his mouth and he stops crying–for just a little while. Then he starts again. What is he crying for? Oh, the very same thing that millions of humans are crying for: Love. Hold me. Closer. Hug me. To be embraced. To sense security. To feel warmth. To know there is someone near because I can hear the beat of a heart.
Some of us have never stopped crying, searching, hunting. And as we get older the search becomes more intensified! Some infants just give up and die. They close their tearless eyes and hurry back to their Creator. And some of us have tried to do the same thing–have longed to do the same thing.
I was talking to a friend recently, a friend who grew up with a loving church family, who was a vital part of church every where she went. She played the organ, she attended a Bible study, she had daily talks with the Lord through devotional readings. She loved her pastor and was a part of his family. Now, she has separated herself from all of that–volitionally–by her own choice. And she cries and says to me, “I feel lost and so useless. I’m no use to anyone. I’m just existing. No one cares about me.” Yes, she feels that way, but are those things true for her as a child of God? Yes, she is wandering, struggling, lost–but why? She strayed from the path. She has left her closest Friend behind. She has turned her back on the One who loves her. She has separated herself from the steadfastness she has always known. The Lord wants her back in His embrace. He wants her to live in His love, to give her the security she needs, to hold her hand and comfort her.
Read the scripture again: And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. That is His desire for us. That’s our verse from birth. He has told us of His unfathomable love, He has spoken to us in many different ways–through others, His handiwork, His Word, and is longing to give stability and security to our restless hearts. Only His steadfastness is unshakable. Only His love is unconditional and forever.
Yes, we come into the world crying for love and that Love is ours from the moment of conception. However, we must accept that love on His terms. We have to tell Him that we believe He loves us and humbly go to Him seeking for the relationship of Father and child. As we do this we are enveloped in the love of God and we experience the steadfastness of Christ in our hearts. We have secured what was offered to us when we were crying and we didn’t really know why.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your tenacity, Your undying pursuit, and Your gift to me–Your incredible gift!
- Annabel Gilham
By Anabel Gillham on September 16, 2018
And may the Lord direct your hearts
into the love of God
and into the steadfastness of Christ.
II Thessalonians 3:5
May the Lord direct you–lead you–draw you–to the Love of God. Our finite minds cannot capture this “love of God”. It is beyond our ability to understand. It is so far removed from our experiences here on Earth that we can only shake our heads and say, “I don’t understand.” But this is His plea for us: May you come to know the love of God.
And may the Lord lead us–direct us–into the steadfastness of Christ. Christ who “set His face like flint”–Christ who did not waver when faced with rejection, shame, desertion, and excruciating pain–that steadfastness–may we come to know it. These two things make up our deepest needs: Unconditional love and unending steadfastness which will give us the security we long for. And they are ours, if we allow the Lord to direct us.
We enter this world crying to be loved, a need placed deep within us by God and a need that will be a driving force within us all of our life! If we aren’t crying as we leave the womb, a smart slap on the bottom gets us started and we wind up airing all our grievances: I don’t like it out here! I was warm and now I’m cold! I was all nestled in and cozy and out here there’s nothing but space. That light hurts my eyes!I have a splitting headache and besides all that, I had something in my mouth and now I don’t!I’m hungry!
So we take this screaming little bundle and try to simulate the womb, to settle him down and make him all comfy again. First of all we warm him up: We put him in a dry diaper and a cozy footie gown; we wrap him in a soft, warm, receiving blanket and put him in a tiny bassinet (just his size); then we put a bottle in his mouth and he stops crying–for just a little while. Then he starts again. What is he crying for? Oh, the very same thing that millions of humans are crying for: Love. Hold me. Closer. Hug me. To be embraced. To sense security. To feel warmth. To know there is someone near because I can hear the beat of a heart.
Some of us have never stopped crying, searching, hunting. And as we get older the search becomes more intensified! Some infants just give up and die. They close their tearless eyes and hurry back to their Creator. And some of us have tried to do the same thing–have longed to do the same thing.
I was talking to a friend recently, a friend who grew up with a loving church family, who was a vital part of church every where she went. She played the organ, she attended a Bible study, she had daily talks with the Lord through devotional readings. She loved her pastor and was a part of his family. Now, she has separated herself from all of that–volitionally–by her own choice. And she cries and says to me, “I feel lost and so useless. I’m no use to anyone. I’m just existing. No one cares about me.” Yes, she feels that way, but are those things true for her as a child of God? Yes, she is wandering, struggling, lost–but why? She strayed from the path. She has left her closest Friend behind. She has turned her back on the One who loves her. She has separated herself from the steadfastness she has always known. The Lord wants her back in His embrace. He wants her to live in His love, to give her the security she needs, to hold her hand and comfort her.
Read the scripture again: And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. That is His desire for us. That’s our verse from birth. He has told us of His unfathomable love, He has spoken to us in many different ways–through others, His handiwork, His Word, and is longing to give stability and security to our restless hearts. Only His steadfastness is unshakable. Only His love is unconditional and forever.
Yes, we come into the world crying for love and that Love is ours from the moment of conception. However, we must accept that love on His terms. We have to tell Him that we believe He loves us and humbly go to Him seeking for the relationship of Father and child. As we do this we are enveloped in the love of God and we experience the steadfastness of Christ in our hearts. We have secured what was offered to us when we were crying and we didn’t really know why.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your tenacity, Your undying pursuit, and Your gift to me–Your incredible gift!
- Annabel Gilham
The Call Followed By a Roadblock
For this reason I have often been hindered from coming to you.
- ROMANS 15:22
To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power.
- II THESSALONIANS 1:11
God will often give the believer a call to accomplish something and then close every door to make the fulfillment impossible. Why? Because with the call comes a provision. The same One who gives the call must also accomplish it. However, the flesh of man will take the call and not the provision, choosing to look for fulfillment in self-power, and if completion is possible, sink into glory, kingdoms, pride, strength, and righteousness. The call and the provision are one; the problem is that we do not see them as one. Therefore, immediately after the call, all attempts to fulfill it must fail. We need not look far for an example. Joseph, after the call to be the leader of his family, actually thought it a turn of bad luck to end up in a pit. Then it was good luck to be taken out of the pit, followed by bad luck to fall in with men who sold him into slavery. Then more good luck came and made him head of a house before another turn of bad luck arose when he ended up in prison. In the end, though, he saw it was God who brought Him out. It was all God. The call and the provision were one. He completed the call with the provision and took no glory. This is to be the end result of a perfect call of God. When you get a call, do not think that is all of it. Listen and wait for the provision. Do not try to do the thing on your own. You will only end up in a pit.
- Mike Wells
- ROMANS 15:22
To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power.
- II THESSALONIANS 1:11
God will often give the believer a call to accomplish something and then close every door to make the fulfillment impossible. Why? Because with the call comes a provision. The same One who gives the call must also accomplish it. However, the flesh of man will take the call and not the provision, choosing to look for fulfillment in self-power, and if completion is possible, sink into glory, kingdoms, pride, strength, and righteousness. The call and the provision are one; the problem is that we do not see them as one. Therefore, immediately after the call, all attempts to fulfill it must fail. We need not look far for an example. Joseph, after the call to be the leader of his family, actually thought it a turn of bad luck to end up in a pit. Then it was good luck to be taken out of the pit, followed by bad luck to fall in with men who sold him into slavery. Then more good luck came and made him head of a house before another turn of bad luck arose when he ended up in prison. In the end, though, he saw it was God who brought Him out. It was all God. The call and the provision were one. He completed the call with the provision and took no glory. This is to be the end result of a perfect call of God. When you get a call, do not think that is all of it. Listen and wait for the provision. Do not try to do the thing on your own. You will only end up in a pit.
- Mike Wells
The Battle of Romans 7
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.
- ROMANS 3:28
What does this passage mean to you? Many are beating themselves up over their sin, so much so that I assume they live under the Law. It is obvious that they believe they are justified by behavior. Abraham understood the secret: without faith, the Law cannot be birthed. Without first believing in God, Abraham would never have received the commands of God. I would not listen to any of the commands of the Hindu gods simply because I do not believe they exist. Law without faith gives birth to sin. For example, if I believe in the love of God, knowing full well that all He tells me is for my good, I will easily and readily keep the command to bless those who curse me. It is simple. However, if I do not believe in the love of God, I will read the command to bless those who curse, realize that I do not do that, never believe that it is for my good, and find a way around the command, saying, “I do not have to love them! Why should I? They have gone too far.” The Law that was to bless me (if birthed in faith, in the love of God) now becomes the thing by which I am condemned; the Law, without faith, will always give birth to sin. It is easy to see how Abraham was walking in the greater way of faith; even without the Law he was justified. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Sweeter words were never spoken. I determined long ago to spend my time in the love of God and not in the Law. As I have discovered the love of God, the command has been found to be easy. In fact, I refuse to listen to the Law unless it is in the context of faith in Him and His love. The Law is good if birthed in faith, and moving deeply into the faith of Jesus brings a higher life than living in the Law, for faith in Jesus will lead to an expression of exactly Jesus. Amazing! Without the Law, sin is dead (romans 7:8). Sin counts on man’s boastful pride that leads to attempting to keep the Law without faith. This accounts for why there is so much immorality in legalistic churches, where the emphasis is on performance, and little or nothing is said of faith.
A dating couple comes to the office stating they have been sleeping together and are under great condemnation. Is the solution to have them stop? If they stop because of the command without believing in the Love of God that gave the command, they will continue to struggle and “slip up.” If they see the Love of God in the command and believe in Him who gives the command, the struggle will cease. If a child is told that by working he will obtain a bicycle, and the child believes the parent, the work will be a great joy. But what if the child does not believe the parent? Will the work be done grudgingly or with joy? If the child were never given the promise, he would not be working grudgingly, which is sin. In the end, that child would be better off had he never heard the promise. The problem is simple: the Law was given to men of faith, and men of unbelief have attempted to keep it— which they cannot do, for Law is birthed in faith—and the result is sin and condemnation. In this light romans 7 becomes quite clear; the battle described is not the battle of the old man against the new man, or a battle that exists before conversion or after conversion. It is describing an absolute battle between faith and Law, a battle that includes the unbeliever (going to hell) and the unbelieving believer (going to heaven). At any time, either the unbeliever or the unbelieving believer can perceive in his mind the Law of God and want to keep it, for he knows that it is good. Yet because of lack of belief in God, the person is divided, his entire being cannot keep the Law, and the end result is sin and condemnation. Do not think that the way out is recommitment, harder work, rededication, vows, knowledge, or strength; the way out is faith in Jesus. “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (romans 9:16). The Gentiles have pursued the promise by faith and gotten it, but the Jews sought by Law and lost it. “For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (romans 10:10).
Where do you begin in your struggle? Stop fighting the Law and start confessing Jesus with your mouth each day. Before you go to sleep, do not let your thoughts end at the Law you have not kept. Instead, let your thoughts end at Jesus, in whom you believe. This brings us to the final hiccup! Security only comes in faith, regardless of whether you are a Calvinist or an Armenian. These two camps become one under the Law, because to attempt to find security in works will only bring about insecurity. read Romans 7 and think of it differently; Paul is talking about living in the Law and how impossible it is to live so. The Law reveals what you did not know was sin, and then it does not give you the power to obey. After the knowledge, you find yourself doing the very thing you do not want to do. This passage applies to all that live by the Law.
- Mike Wells
- ROMANS 3:28
What does this passage mean to you? Many are beating themselves up over their sin, so much so that I assume they live under the Law. It is obvious that they believe they are justified by behavior. Abraham understood the secret: without faith, the Law cannot be birthed. Without first believing in God, Abraham would never have received the commands of God. I would not listen to any of the commands of the Hindu gods simply because I do not believe they exist. Law without faith gives birth to sin. For example, if I believe in the love of God, knowing full well that all He tells me is for my good, I will easily and readily keep the command to bless those who curse me. It is simple. However, if I do not believe in the love of God, I will read the command to bless those who curse, realize that I do not do that, never believe that it is for my good, and find a way around the command, saying, “I do not have to love them! Why should I? They have gone too far.” The Law that was to bless me (if birthed in faith, in the love of God) now becomes the thing by which I am condemned; the Law, without faith, will always give birth to sin. It is easy to see how Abraham was walking in the greater way of faith; even without the Law he was justified. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Sweeter words were never spoken. I determined long ago to spend my time in the love of God and not in the Law. As I have discovered the love of God, the command has been found to be easy. In fact, I refuse to listen to the Law unless it is in the context of faith in Him and His love. The Law is good if birthed in faith, and moving deeply into the faith of Jesus brings a higher life than living in the Law, for faith in Jesus will lead to an expression of exactly Jesus. Amazing! Without the Law, sin is dead (romans 7:8). Sin counts on man’s boastful pride that leads to attempting to keep the Law without faith. This accounts for why there is so much immorality in legalistic churches, where the emphasis is on performance, and little or nothing is said of faith.
A dating couple comes to the office stating they have been sleeping together and are under great condemnation. Is the solution to have them stop? If they stop because of the command without believing in the Love of God that gave the command, they will continue to struggle and “slip up.” If they see the Love of God in the command and believe in Him who gives the command, the struggle will cease. If a child is told that by working he will obtain a bicycle, and the child believes the parent, the work will be a great joy. But what if the child does not believe the parent? Will the work be done grudgingly or with joy? If the child were never given the promise, he would not be working grudgingly, which is sin. In the end, that child would be better off had he never heard the promise. The problem is simple: the Law was given to men of faith, and men of unbelief have attempted to keep it— which they cannot do, for Law is birthed in faith—and the result is sin and condemnation. In this light romans 7 becomes quite clear; the battle described is not the battle of the old man against the new man, or a battle that exists before conversion or after conversion. It is describing an absolute battle between faith and Law, a battle that includes the unbeliever (going to hell) and the unbelieving believer (going to heaven). At any time, either the unbeliever or the unbelieving believer can perceive in his mind the Law of God and want to keep it, for he knows that it is good. Yet because of lack of belief in God, the person is divided, his entire being cannot keep the Law, and the end result is sin and condemnation. Do not think that the way out is recommitment, harder work, rededication, vows, knowledge, or strength; the way out is faith in Jesus. “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (romans 9:16). The Gentiles have pursued the promise by faith and gotten it, but the Jews sought by Law and lost it. “For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (romans 10:10).
Where do you begin in your struggle? Stop fighting the Law and start confessing Jesus with your mouth each day. Before you go to sleep, do not let your thoughts end at the Law you have not kept. Instead, let your thoughts end at Jesus, in whom you believe. This brings us to the final hiccup! Security only comes in faith, regardless of whether you are a Calvinist or an Armenian. These two camps become one under the Law, because to attempt to find security in works will only bring about insecurity. read Romans 7 and think of it differently; Paul is talking about living in the Law and how impossible it is to live so. The Law reveals what you did not know was sin, and then it does not give you the power to obey. After the knowledge, you find yourself doing the very thing you do not want to do. This passage applies to all that live by the Law.
- Mike Wells
Friday, September 7, 2018
The Sin of Withdrawal
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness; he does not know where he is going.--I John 2:10,11
Some forms of Idolatry are rarely discussed as sin, and because of that they can bring more destruction than the "major" sins.One such Idol is that of withdrawal, wherein people under pressure, sensing rejection or conflict, merely hide.They give up on others to meet their deepest needs, although their frustration, of course, proves that they have been looking in the wrong place for acceptance all along. They isolate themselves, block their emotions, and determine not to get close to another person (or other persons) again. By way of analogy, their life goes something like this: Each time someone hurts them, they get busy and lay up a row of emotional concrete blocks to encompass themselves. With the next hurt comes another row of blocks; then with the pain of a relationship, another row. With injury from a child, friend, or spouse, one more row is laid, and so on. Eventually a top is placed on the invisible structure, and at this point they are completely isolated, resolving not to let anyone in again and determining never to be hurt again. They are now prepared to receive every condemning thought about others that the enemy may whisper, his taunts that others have caused their misery, so others should never be allowed close enough to do harm again. Is that really what the Lord would have for His people? Is not the differentiation between the Christ within and the self-centeredness within revealed through interaction with His people? If we would grow in Christ, we should never withdraw from others, but rather allow the revelation of self-centeredness and the cross of Christ to replace it with Himself.
- Mike Wells
Some forms of Idolatry are rarely discussed as sin, and because of that they can bring more destruction than the "major" sins.One such Idol is that of withdrawal, wherein people under pressure, sensing rejection or conflict, merely hide.They give up on others to meet their deepest needs, although their frustration, of course, proves that they have been looking in the wrong place for acceptance all along. They isolate themselves, block their emotions, and determine not to get close to another person (or other persons) again. By way of analogy, their life goes something like this: Each time someone hurts them, they get busy and lay up a row of emotional concrete blocks to encompass themselves. With the next hurt comes another row of blocks; then with the pain of a relationship, another row. With injury from a child, friend, or spouse, one more row is laid, and so on. Eventually a top is placed on the invisible structure, and at this point they are completely isolated, resolving not to let anyone in again and determining never to be hurt again. They are now prepared to receive every condemning thought about others that the enemy may whisper, his taunts that others have caused their misery, so others should never be allowed close enough to do harm again. Is that really what the Lord would have for His people? Is not the differentiation between the Christ within and the self-centeredness within revealed through interaction with His people? If we would grow in Christ, we should never withdraw from others, but rather allow the revelation of self-centeredness and the cross of Christ to replace it with Himself.
- Mike Wells
Sunday, September 2, 2018
The First Two Minutes Matter the Most
It’s obvious, I know. It’s been said a million times by a million different people. But, in my defense, it’s been forgotten by a million more. I’ve said it and neglected it too many times to count: The first two minutes matter most.
Today Christians are gathering all across the world for our worship services. We will read the Bible, sing the Bible, pray the Bible, preach the Bible, and learn better how to live out the Bible. Then the service will end and the first two minutes will matter most.
In the first two minutes, visitors will feel either awkward or welcome. In the first two minutes, unbelievers will feel either rejected or accepted. In the first two minutes, the lonely will feel either neglected or comforted. In the first two minutes, so many people will make the decision to stay or to go.
Here’s the challenge: Determine right now that when the service ends, you will do your utmost to give the first two minutes to someone you don’t know or to someone you don’t know well. The temptation will be to turn straight to your friends, to immediately catch up with the people you know the best and love the most. There will be time for that. But first you can make a difference in someone’s day and maybe even in someone’s life if only you’ll make the most of the moments following that final “amen.” It’s the first two minutes that matter most.
Today Christians are gathering all across the world for our worship services. We will read the Bible, sing the Bible, pray the Bible, preach the Bible, and learn better how to live out the Bible. Then the service will end and the first two minutes will matter most.
In the first two minutes, visitors will feel either awkward or welcome. In the first two minutes, unbelievers will feel either rejected or accepted. In the first two minutes, the lonely will feel either neglected or comforted. In the first two minutes, so many people will make the decision to stay or to go.
Here’s the challenge: Determine right now that when the service ends, you will do your utmost to give the first two minutes to someone you don’t know or to someone you don’t know well. The temptation will be to turn straight to your friends, to immediately catch up with the people you know the best and love the most. There will be time for that. But first you can make a difference in someone’s day and maybe even in someone’s life if only you’ll make the most of the moments following that final “amen.” It’s the first two minutes that matter most.
Separating Light from Dark
The day that you received Jesus you received everything. How could you not? He is, actually, everything. Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.” Each day, since that first day, it has been the mission of the Holy Spirit to convince you that you are lacking in nothing. In opposition, Satan has taken it upon himself to convince you that you are lacking in everything, to persuade you that your job, mate, kids, situation, physical appearance, and position in life are all substandard. He also has to convince you that holiness, mercy, fellowship, maturity, blessings, and forgiveness must all be worked for, his goal being to have you so consumed with what you think you do not have that you will never recognize what you do have. Sometimes I feel as though my office, wherever I happen to have it set up, is a place where light and darkness meet, and it is God’s gracious work to separate the two. My job is to witness to the work of the Spirit, the Jesus that is in believers. So many come to my office possessing so much, and yet they cannot see the blessings for obsessing on the negatives. They are men with beautiful families, children that are not rebellious, financial security, and a wife who puts up with and even loves them, despite their goofy behavior. Yet the devil has blinded them to the point that they cannot see positives in any of it; they sit there recounting the offenses they have had in life, the people who have let them down, and their failed attempts to be Christian. Every preacher must learn to be free from the fear of repetition. I am! What gets a person’s attention gets him! We are to obsess on what is true, right, pure, and lovely. I guess everyone is just self-centered enough to think only about himself! We mingle light and darkness to the point where we do not know the difference and all of life is gray. Pray for a word from Him that would separate the two!
- Mike Wells
- Mike Wells
Silence in Arguments
Arguments have their roots in pride and are calculated to prove intellectual superiority, but they lack power. I have personally won arguments against those enslaved to drugs and alcohol, but they went away still slaves. I have won many arguments concerning marriage, but those couples, too, went away to visit the lawyer. I have won countless arguments with philosophers, psychologists, evolutionists, atheists, and cult leaders. They all went away to worship the image they were seeing in the mirror. Jesus divided His dialogue with men into two categories: argument and ministry. Argument He usually avoided. Some came requesting food or power, not ministry, and from those He withdrew. Some sought to draw Him into a melee, and we find Him quietly drawing in the sand rather than heatedly presenting His point. Why? His response would have only fueled more debate with those who had a vested interest in not moving at all from their position. Jesus came to minister. If by His own Holy Spirit He was made aware that ministry was not possible, Jesus simply withdrew or refused to speak. As an Indian friend says, “The refusals of Jesus define Him!” For we do, in fact, know more about Him from His refusals than from His accomplishments. He refused the best seats, refused to make a loud noise proclaiming Himself, He refused to hurt the one who was hurting, He refused to minister spiritual truth in the power of the flesh, He refused to defend Himself, and He refused to condemn the woman caught in adultery. Like Jesus, we must have a goal of ministry, not dialogue. When we begin to talk to our child, friend, co-worker, or pastor and realize we are standing there alone, without the power and witness of the Spirit, it is time to be quiet and draw in the dirt. If He is not ministering, then neither should we. remember, the issue is not who listens to us, but whether we are listening to Him.
- Mike Wells
- Mike Wells
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