"On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
Esther 5:1-3
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
John 14:12-14
Have you ever had this experience that I'm about to describe ?
You have hardly seen your teenager son or daughter in weeks, you have no idea what is going on in his/her lives, you haven't had any time together, they are so busy doing their own thing, and they just hit you up with a request like this:
"Dad, can I borrow your credit card? Can I have the keys to the car?"
Do you find yourself feeling used, like the only reason you are being approached is because that person wants something from you, but not really interested in spending time having a relationship, knowing you and interacting with you? It's definitely not a good feeling.
So how should we act, interact with our Heavenly Father/Bridegroom/King?
But sometimes isn't this exactly what can be happen in our walk though? No time really spent just being together just sitting before Him, worshipping, and basking in His presence, but instead just reading off the shopping list, hitting Him up for things we desire, using the Lord like a vending machine, a genie in a bottle? How do we expect the Lord to feel, to respond to such requests when He is being used, as opposed to being in relationship with Him, when we desire to do His will, when the Father's ear is inclined towards those He loves, when He "extends His royal scepter" towards us?
"Anyone who has faith in me will keep doing what I have been doing".
Direct our prayers in a manner that has eternal perspective and consequence, promoting kingdom work. Let's ask the Lord for His will to be done through us, and He will provide the tools we need to get the good done. As we learn to think and pray with the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit, seeking His will and purposes for us, there is no denying that we will be blessed with His goodness along the way.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Short Memories/Priorities
"When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand."
Deuteronomy 6:10-21
The Lord knew what was coming. The children of Israel were about to enter a land of milk & honey, He have them the ability to make wealth, and the result was that the people did not continue to press in, running after Him, adoring Him, calling on Him...no, they forgot about Him, made idols for themselves...swimming in the fat of the land and the blessing that God gave them, they slid backwards, bringing down on themselves the anger and wrath of the Lord.
This story has been repeated so many times in our history! Why is it that we actually languish- our faith vaporizing, even rotting- when prosperity abounds? We become "rich" but actually we are poor - filthy rags, we have gone astray. Consider soberly the condition of the American and the western churches - compared to the church around the world that is right now in the throes of tremendous persecution, with more martyrs losing their earthly lives than are previously recorded in Fox's Book of Martyrs? The numbers of Christians in these areas in exploding, with brothers and sisters hungering and thirsting - dying for His Name's sake, while many Christians in the US measure how much time they can spare as time for God, after accounting for TV, facebook, twitter, movies, sports events, lunches, brunches, dinner parties, cookouts, barbecues, picnics? The average American watches 6 hours of TV a day...I wonder how much time is spent praying? ...
I am not condemning anyone here, but only suggesting vigorously, sounding the alarm, that we all examine our priorities, while there is still time, while we still have daylight, before the darkness comes...
The Lord will not return to a wrinkled, blemished Bride.
Spread the Word, return to Him, forsake worthless activities and meaningless junk.
Return.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand."
Deuteronomy 6:10-21
The Lord knew what was coming. The children of Israel were about to enter a land of milk & honey, He have them the ability to make wealth, and the result was that the people did not continue to press in, running after Him, adoring Him, calling on Him...no, they forgot about Him, made idols for themselves...swimming in the fat of the land and the blessing that God gave them, they slid backwards, bringing down on themselves the anger and wrath of the Lord.
This story has been repeated so many times in our history! Why is it that we actually languish- our faith vaporizing, even rotting- when prosperity abounds? We become "rich" but actually we are poor - filthy rags, we have gone astray. Consider soberly the condition of the American and the western churches - compared to the church around the world that is right now in the throes of tremendous persecution, with more martyrs losing their earthly lives than are previously recorded in Fox's Book of Martyrs? The numbers of Christians in these areas in exploding, with brothers and sisters hungering and thirsting - dying for His Name's sake, while many Christians in the US measure how much time they can spare as time for God, after accounting for TV, facebook, twitter, movies, sports events, lunches, brunches, dinner parties, cookouts, barbecues, picnics? The average American watches 6 hours of TV a day...I wonder how much time is spent praying? ...
I am not condemning anyone here, but only suggesting vigorously, sounding the alarm, that we all examine our priorities, while there is still time, while we still have daylight, before the darkness comes...
The Lord will not return to a wrinkled, blemished Bride.
Spread the Word, return to Him, forsake worthless activities and meaningless junk.
Return.
Friday, October 28, 2011
First and Foremost
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. "
Revelation 2:1-5
Imagine a wedding, the bride and bridegroom standing at the altar, gazing breathlessly into each other's eyes, having looked forward to and dreamed about this moment for so long, promising to love each other, taking vows to forsake everything and everyone else ...now fast forward a year... five years...ten years...twenty years...caught up in the business of running a household, the husband comes home, no kisses or embrace for his wife, his only questions are, "Where's the mail?", and "what's for dinner?", the wife who deep inside has all but given up on regaining the fiery love, relationship and passion that they once shared...
A pastor sits in his office. On his desk are stacks of paperwork, his calendar packed with so many meetings, so many demands on his schedule! As he sits reflecting, he realizes that he has become so busy with the work of the ministry, that he has forgotten why he became a pastor in the first place ... he tries to remember when he had his own quiet time with his Abba, just the Lord and him, like it was when he was saved, wrecked by his Father's love...
"Remember the height from which you hav fallen!"
We - all of us - must guard ourselves. If you have fallen, lost your first love, get it back. Be jealous and zealous for regaining and retaining your relationship with your Father & Bridegroom, Jesus. Heed the warning. Cast off time wasting activities- TV, social media, movies- the need to be entertained - which is a sign of personal and corporate lukewarmness.
We are not here to be entertained, beloved.
Remember the heights from which you've fallen.
To those who have their first love and are wrecked and ruined by His love, and desire only for relationship with Him, the Lord says, "Guard your heart, protect your first love. Catch those little foxes, the sins that can so, so easily ensnare, uprooting your anchor, and set you adrift."
"Repent and do the things you did at first."
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. "
Revelation 2:1-5
Imagine a wedding, the bride and bridegroom standing at the altar, gazing breathlessly into each other's eyes, having looked forward to and dreamed about this moment for so long, promising to love each other, taking vows to forsake everything and everyone else ...now fast forward a year... five years...ten years...twenty years...caught up in the business of running a household, the husband comes home, no kisses or embrace for his wife, his only questions are, "Where's the mail?", and "what's for dinner?", the wife who deep inside has all but given up on regaining the fiery love, relationship and passion that they once shared...
A pastor sits in his office. On his desk are stacks of paperwork, his calendar packed with so many meetings, so many demands on his schedule! As he sits reflecting, he realizes that he has become so busy with the work of the ministry, that he has forgotten why he became a pastor in the first place ... he tries to remember when he had his own quiet time with his Abba, just the Lord and him, like it was when he was saved, wrecked by his Father's love...
"Remember the height from which you hav fallen!"
We - all of us - must guard ourselves. If you have fallen, lost your first love, get it back. Be jealous and zealous for regaining and retaining your relationship with your Father & Bridegroom, Jesus. Heed the warning. Cast off time wasting activities- TV, social media, movies- the need to be entertained - which is a sign of personal and corporate lukewarmness.
We are not here to be entertained, beloved.
Remember the heights from which you've fallen.
To those who have their first love and are wrecked and ruined by His love, and desire only for relationship with Him, the Lord says, "Guard your heart, protect your first love. Catch those little foxes, the sins that can so, so easily ensnare, uprooting your anchor, and set you adrift."
"Repent and do the things you did at first."
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Another Kind of Freedom
“Honor your father and mother”–which is the first commandment with a promise–
Ephesians 6:2
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Ephesians 4:31-32
"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
I loved my father. He worked long hours managing restaurants, and sometimes if I had fallen asleep in front of the TV, he would pick me up in his arms and tuck me in...even today I can still smell his cologne, Fabergé. I have regrets about not having more time with him but I loved him and did not harbor unforgiveness against him, I honor his memory.
My mother was a different story, though. My memories of her are of an uncaring, bitter woman who turned her own children against each other. Instead of building up my spirit, she tore me down, and said cruel and hurtful things. In the year preceding her death, I lashed out at her angrily, and I never forgave her. When she died I am sad to say that I never missed her, and I carried bitterness and unforgiveness against her. Although I forgave others, including my ex-wife, when I was saved, my mother was in a special category - The "unforgiveness reserve", in it's own thorn and barbed wire covered vessel, if you will, and it sat in a corner of my heart, and I was unwilling to release it. It has been only in the last 15 months, as I have surrendered to the Lord, and He has demanded everything, that I have been able to release this pain and unforgiveness. The pain was actually caused by what I had done, like carrying burning coals in my shirt pocket. As the Lord examined my heart, He asked me, "what is in that ugly awful looking vessel, way back in the corner, in the shadows?" (As if He didnt't know). I said," Not that, Lord! I deserve to feel this way, to hang onto this ugliness, feeling this way about my mother."
He said, " Well, actually you don't...remember my forgiveness of you, when you slandered and insulted my people, and said awful things about my word, and didn't even believe in me?"
If my mother was here today, if I had that last day with her again, I'd tell her that I forgive her, that I honor her as the scripture says, and I would tell her that I love her, just as Jesus loves me.
Forgiveness is freedom.
Ephesians 6:2
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Ephesians 4:31-32
"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
I loved my father. He worked long hours managing restaurants, and sometimes if I had fallen asleep in front of the TV, he would pick me up in his arms and tuck me in...even today I can still smell his cologne, Fabergé. I have regrets about not having more time with him but I loved him and did not harbor unforgiveness against him, I honor his memory.
My mother was a different story, though. My memories of her are of an uncaring, bitter woman who turned her own children against each other. Instead of building up my spirit, she tore me down, and said cruel and hurtful things. In the year preceding her death, I lashed out at her angrily, and I never forgave her. When she died I am sad to say that I never missed her, and I carried bitterness and unforgiveness against her. Although I forgave others, including my ex-wife, when I was saved, my mother was in a special category - The "unforgiveness reserve", in it's own thorn and barbed wire covered vessel, if you will, and it sat in a corner of my heart, and I was unwilling to release it. It has been only in the last 15 months, as I have surrendered to the Lord, and He has demanded everything, that I have been able to release this pain and unforgiveness. The pain was actually caused by what I had done, like carrying burning coals in my shirt pocket. As the Lord examined my heart, He asked me, "what is in that ugly awful looking vessel, way back in the corner, in the shadows?" (As if He didnt't know). I said," Not that, Lord! I deserve to feel this way, to hang onto this ugliness, feeling this way about my mother."
He said, " Well, actually you don't...remember my forgiveness of you, when you slandered and insulted my people, and said awful things about my word, and didn't even believe in me?"
If my mother was here today, if I had that last day with her again, I'd tell her that I forgive her, that I honor her as the scripture says, and I would tell her that I love her, just as Jesus loves me.
Forgiveness is freedom.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Paradigms 307
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read:
This is the King of the Jews."
Luke 23:35-38
"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."
Matthew 12:38-41
"And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
Exodus 33:17-23
There is a tremendous difference in paradigms between the mind of a natural person and the mind of someone who has been born again. The natural mind, as shown in Luke 23, and Matthew 12, demands that God show Himself first, and then they will believe, but the renewed born again mind has believed without seeing God with their eyes, but with their hearts. Juxtapose the natural man with Moses, who hungered and thirsted for God. Moses already believed and did not need to see the Lord as proof of Divine Existence, but Moses desired to see- as in experience- the Glory of the Lord. As the Lord swept Moses up and hid him in a mountainous cleft, Moses was allowed to see His back...all that he could handle.
The difference is that our Father will chose to reveal Himself to those who already know Him, but want more..."blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled..." He desires a lovesick and desperately devoted bride whose senses and heart are attuned only to the Bridegroom...a Bride who is existing in one of two states of being: either in the Presence of the Lord, or desperately desiring to be in His Presence.
Are you desiring to meet with Him, abide with Him, be awash is His Glory, have His presence billow over you, or do you just want Him to show up as proof He exists?
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read:
This is the King of the Jews."
Luke 23:35-38
"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."
Matthew 12:38-41
"And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
Exodus 33:17-23
There is a tremendous difference in paradigms between the mind of a natural person and the mind of someone who has been born again. The natural mind, as shown in Luke 23, and Matthew 12, demands that God show Himself first, and then they will believe, but the renewed born again mind has believed without seeing God with their eyes, but with their hearts. Juxtapose the natural man with Moses, who hungered and thirsted for God. Moses already believed and did not need to see the Lord as proof of Divine Existence, but Moses desired to see- as in experience- the Glory of the Lord. As the Lord swept Moses up and hid him in a mountainous cleft, Moses was allowed to see His back...all that he could handle.
The difference is that our Father will chose to reveal Himself to those who already know Him, but want more..."blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled..." He desires a lovesick and desperately devoted bride whose senses and heart are attuned only to the Bridegroom...a Bride who is existing in one of two states of being: either in the Presence of the Lord, or desperately desiring to be in His Presence.
Are you desiring to meet with Him, abide with Him, be awash is His Glory, have His presence billow over you, or do you just want Him to show up as proof He exists?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Why?
"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don't need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
1 Corinthians 12:12-25
Where I live there are many churches. As I drive on a Saturday or Sunday towards our little church, I pass sign after sign, myriads of signs: turn this way for this church, that way for that church, and I cannot help but hear the scripture here in my mind and heart, and wonder: why so many churches, why so little unity?
I want to know: why do we have such denominations as Episcopals, Baptists, Southern Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Catholics, Protestants, Methodists, Anglicans, and more splinters than I can count, when the Word says ONE BODY?
I want to know where in the Holy Bible we were directed to splinter the body into such denominations?
I want to know: what benefit there is in any of this?
I want to know: who really believes that such fragmentation is pleasing to our Father, fulfilling the divine will and purposes of the Lord, or just satisfying people and fitting God into comfortable cultures and lifestyles?
I want to know: why do so many in ministry consider other churches, and ministers to be "the competition", and fail to see each other as other parts of the same body? Why are efforts to establish unity, continuity, dialogue and fellowship in likemindedness among the churches so scarce,and often times ignored?
Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25)
The word of the Lord to me for the body is simple and four-fold:
1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength
2) Love your neighbor, and those in the Body at other churches, as yourself
3) Bear each other's burdens
4) Sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron
It's time for unity, beloved.
One salvation.
One Baptism.
One Messiah.
One Body.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don't need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
1 Corinthians 12:12-25
Where I live there are many churches. As I drive on a Saturday or Sunday towards our little church, I pass sign after sign, myriads of signs: turn this way for this church, that way for that church, and I cannot help but hear the scripture here in my mind and heart, and wonder: why so many churches, why so little unity?
I want to know: why do we have such denominations as Episcopals, Baptists, Southern Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Catholics, Protestants, Methodists, Anglicans, and more splinters than I can count, when the Word says ONE BODY?
I want to know where in the Holy Bible we were directed to splinter the body into such denominations?
I want to know: what benefit there is in any of this?
I want to know: who really believes that such fragmentation is pleasing to our Father, fulfilling the divine will and purposes of the Lord, or just satisfying people and fitting God into comfortable cultures and lifestyles?
I want to know: why do so many in ministry consider other churches, and ministers to be "the competition", and fail to see each other as other parts of the same body? Why are efforts to establish unity, continuity, dialogue and fellowship in likemindedness among the churches so scarce,and often times ignored?
Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25)
The word of the Lord to me for the body is simple and four-fold:
1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength
2) Love your neighbor, and those in the Body at other churches, as yourself
3) Bear each other's burdens
4) Sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron
It's time for unity, beloved.
One salvation.
One Baptism.
One Messiah.
One Body.
Seeing
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. "
Isaiah 6:1
"...everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:7
I was in church this morning during worship, and I was honestly so tired, irritable, and preoccupied that I was having a hard time entering in and focusing on the Lord. As the worship team started playing the song, "I'm Desperate For You", the Holy Spirit fell. I was breathless as He came down, sweeping away the stuff so I could behold Him, the Glory of the Lord overtaking me. His word to me: "Seek my face... follow Me alone...forsake everything else, except Me, keep me first in everything about your life...
I wanted only to be in His presence, and everything else faded in importance.
You see, I know all these things, but unless I am actively seeking the Lord, if I stop moving forward however briefly, if I stand still, I find that I do not remain in the same spiritual place, but slide backwards, sink downwards....so there is no option but to keep running, moving forward.
Remember today that we are made for Him alone, our temples perfectly made to hold His glory.
Behold Him today.
Isaiah 6:1
"...everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:7
I was in church this morning during worship, and I was honestly so tired, irritable, and preoccupied that I was having a hard time entering in and focusing on the Lord. As the worship team started playing the song, "I'm Desperate For You", the Holy Spirit fell. I was breathless as He came down, sweeping away the stuff so I could behold Him, the Glory of the Lord overtaking me. His word to me: "Seek my face... follow Me alone...forsake everything else, except Me, keep me first in everything about your life...
I wanted only to be in His presence, and everything else faded in importance.
You see, I know all these things, but unless I am actively seeking the Lord, if I stop moving forward however briefly, if I stand still, I find that I do not remain in the same spiritual place, but slide backwards, sink downwards....so there is no option but to keep running, moving forward.
Remember today that we are made for Him alone, our temples perfectly made to hold His glory.
Behold Him today.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wrong Places/The Answer
I looked for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
Song of Songs 3:1-3
"...for your love is more delightful than wine."
Song of Songs 1:2b
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
Hebrews 12:2a NLT
As I read Song of Songs chapter 3, I strangely heard the words to that old country song..."looking for love in all the wrong places..."... I almost laughed out loud, as I thought, "Isn't this exactly what I did, what we do, before that "god-shaped vacuum" gets filled, before we are born again, or even after we are saved by grace when we take our eyes off "the one our hearts love"?
The answer to the eternal questions as the search for identity, fulfillment, meaning, purpose continues... but no matter how much money we make/have, how well educated or credentialed, how famous, how much stuff we are surrounded by, nothing ever satisfies...
The answer to all the questions is found only in Jesus, by remaining totally focused on , and always coming back to, Jesus, as we unequivocably dedicate ourselves and cast ouselves onto Jesus.
I looked for him but did not find him.
2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
3 The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
Song of Songs 3:1-3
"...for your love is more delightful than wine."
Song of Songs 1:2b
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
Hebrews 12:2a NLT
As I read Song of Songs chapter 3, I strangely heard the words to that old country song..."looking for love in all the wrong places..."... I almost laughed out loud, as I thought, "Isn't this exactly what I did, what we do, before that "god-shaped vacuum" gets filled, before we are born again, or even after we are saved by grace when we take our eyes off "the one our hearts love"?
The answer to the eternal questions as the search for identity, fulfillment, meaning, purpose continues... but no matter how much money we make/have, how well educated or credentialed, how famous, how much stuff we are surrounded by, nothing ever satisfies...
The answer to all the questions is found only in Jesus, by remaining totally focused on , and always coming back to, Jesus, as we unequivocably dedicate ourselves and cast ouselves onto Jesus.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Changes #170
"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:21-23
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:14-15,37-38
"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized-"
Peter and Paul were arguably the two most unlikely possible natural agents of being able to be used by the Lord, and yet we witness in these men the most amazing transformations! The book of Acts shows what happens when The Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in a person. Peter was so anointed and possessed by the Holy Spirit that the very shadow of his person falling on a sick or lame person would heal them, and yet he was a weak and fleshly fool before Pentecost.
Paul was a murderous Pharisee, consumed with hatred for the followers of The Way, and when the Holy Spirit ook up residence in him, even the residual glory contained in his handkerchief could heal!
Hebrews 11 records some of what those now in the greay cloud of witnesses were able to do with and through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Joel 2 promises the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh-"all" not "some".
So why not us... as in you and me?
We need only to be open and available.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:14-15,37-38
"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized-"
Peter and Paul were arguably the two most unlikely possible natural agents of being able to be used by the Lord, and yet we witness in these men the most amazing transformations! The book of Acts shows what happens when The Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in a person. Peter was so anointed and possessed by the Holy Spirit that the very shadow of his person falling on a sick or lame person would heal them, and yet he was a weak and fleshly fool before Pentecost.
Paul was a murderous Pharisee, consumed with hatred for the followers of The Way, and when the Holy Spirit ook up residence in him, even the residual glory contained in his handkerchief could heal!
Hebrews 11 records some of what those now in the greay cloud of witnesses were able to do with and through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Joel 2 promises the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh-"all" not "some".
So why not us... as in you and me?
We need only to be open and available.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Through the Fire/The Bad News and the Good News
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. "
1Peter4:12-14, 19
" “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."
"Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, O king.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” "
Daniel 3:20-29
Do you want to hear the good news first, or the bad?
Let me start with the bad: None of us will escape going through the fire.
We will all undergo trials, various hardships, and sufferings, and are probably, even as you read this. If we will be overjoyed when His glory is revealed, it will be after we have participated in His sufferings. The Word says in Malachi that the Levites will be purified and refined by fire-troubles and trials-and we are like Levites-called to be priests, prophets, and kings-since we are called to be imitators of the Lord Jesus.
The good news: He will pull us through. We know that "judgement will begin first with the house of God"... just as Daniel's friends, who stood their ground unwaveringly even facing death in the furnace (how apropos), we will pull through it, too, and like them, the Lord Jesus will be right there with us, because He is always with us.
As Nebuchadnezzar declared: "No other God can save in this way..."
Now the challenging part: Do not let bitterness take root, either against the Lord or another person, when you are going through these things, no matter how devastating or difficult the situation. The Lord will not give you more than you can bear, even when we are stretched to what seems like the breaking point. He told us, promises us, that He will never leave us or forsake us...a crown of glory awaits us as we hold fast, as we endure to the end we are saved. Love one another...and never stop loving, worshipping, and adoring the Lover of our souls, even when in the natural you might feel like you are surrounded by darkness.
Tears may come at night, but JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.
19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. "
1Peter4:12-14, 19
" “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."
"Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, O king.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” "
Daniel 3:20-29
Do you want to hear the good news first, or the bad?
Let me start with the bad: None of us will escape going through the fire.
We will all undergo trials, various hardships, and sufferings, and are probably, even as you read this. If we will be overjoyed when His glory is revealed, it will be after we have participated in His sufferings. The Word says in Malachi that the Levites will be purified and refined by fire-troubles and trials-and we are like Levites-called to be priests, prophets, and kings-since we are called to be imitators of the Lord Jesus.
The good news: He will pull us through. We know that "judgement will begin first with the house of God"... just as Daniel's friends, who stood their ground unwaveringly even facing death in the furnace (how apropos), we will pull through it, too, and like them, the Lord Jesus will be right there with us, because He is always with us.
As Nebuchadnezzar declared: "No other God can save in this way..."
Now the challenging part: Do not let bitterness take root, either against the Lord or another person, when you are going through these things, no matter how devastating or difficult the situation. The Lord will not give you more than you can bear, even when we are stretched to what seems like the breaking point. He told us, promises us, that He will never leave us or forsake us...a crown of glory awaits us as we hold fast, as we endure to the end we are saved. Love one another...and never stop loving, worshipping, and adoring the Lover of our souls, even when in the natural you might feel like you are surrounded by darkness.
Tears may come at night, but JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Not Yet Home 306
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrew 12:1
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Romans 8:35, 37
"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."
Revelation 3:11-12
But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:13
Life and the business of living is a roller coaster, there are good times with smooth roads, and then there are hard times, where we are faced with difficulties and mine fields. The great things tend to stoke and buoy us up, and we are "happy", but not maturing much, while tragedies and life's difficulties are hard but the times of greatest growth. But wherever we are right now, we need to remind ourselves that we are still on this journey we call "life", we must not stop and throw in the towel...we are not home yet, and we must keep moving, keep running, hold on. Hardships will come, sooner or later rainy days happen, but as we fix our eyes on Jesus, keep praying, believing, practice patience and perseverance, we will run -and win this race. There is no where else to go, and no one else to go there with, other than Jesus, so stand in there, stand firm.
Be encouraged!
Hebrew 12:1
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Romans 8:35, 37
"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."
Revelation 3:11-12
But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24:13
Life and the business of living is a roller coaster, there are good times with smooth roads, and then there are hard times, where we are faced with difficulties and mine fields. The great things tend to stoke and buoy us up, and we are "happy", but not maturing much, while tragedies and life's difficulties are hard but the times of greatest growth. But wherever we are right now, we need to remind ourselves that we are still on this journey we call "life", we must not stop and throw in the towel...we are not home yet, and we must keep moving, keep running, hold on. Hardships will come, sooner or later rainy days happen, but as we fix our eyes on Jesus, keep praying, believing, practice patience and perseverance, we will run -and win this race. There is no where else to go, and no one else to go there with, other than Jesus, so stand in there, stand firm.
Be encouraged!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Beholding and Holding (on)
"Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and *said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him." Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate *said to them, "Behold, the Man!"
John 19:1-5
"So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there."
Genesis 32:24-29
Ecce homo- "Behold the Man!" Pilate declared as Jesus was brought out at Pilate's orders to a frenzied, but mixed crowd. The loudest voices were those screaming "Crucify", but I know in my spirit that others were there. In that crowd were unbelievers with hardened hearts and the religious struggling to hold onto high positions, those offended by Jesus because He had "upset their apple carts"-upsetting life as they had known it... There were avowed disciples, and secret believers like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arithmea, others who had known about Jesus' ministry but had yet remained uninvolved because they were too busy with their own lives, just trying to get by...
It occurred to me that the different attitudes of this crowd represented the various stages of my spiritual life. When the person of Jesus confronted me face to face, His life, sacrifice and death, resurrection, His grace, mercy, and his Love, His holiness-my beholding all of Him, everything was changed, as surely as the lives of the people in the crowd were forever changed, just as the lives of those who behold Jesus, really behold Him, are inexorably and forever impacted today.
How then do we live after beholding Immanuel-God with us?
We hold on, pursue Him and His ways, seek Him, not wrestling against Him any longer, but embracing Him through it all.
Behold Him today, beloved, and hold on.
Pilate *said to them, "Behold, the Man!"
John 19:1-5
"So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there."
Genesis 32:24-29
Ecce homo- "Behold the Man!" Pilate declared as Jesus was brought out at Pilate's orders to a frenzied, but mixed crowd. The loudest voices were those screaming "Crucify", but I know in my spirit that others were there. In that crowd were unbelievers with hardened hearts and the religious struggling to hold onto high positions, those offended by Jesus because He had "upset their apple carts"-upsetting life as they had known it... There were avowed disciples, and secret believers like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arithmea, others who had known about Jesus' ministry but had yet remained uninvolved because they were too busy with their own lives, just trying to get by...
It occurred to me that the different attitudes of this crowd represented the various stages of my spiritual life. When the person of Jesus confronted me face to face, His life, sacrifice and death, resurrection, His grace, mercy, and his Love, His holiness-my beholding all of Him, everything was changed, as surely as the lives of the people in the crowd were forever changed, just as the lives of those who behold Jesus, really behold Him, are inexorably and forever impacted today.
How then do we live after beholding Immanuel-God with us?
We hold on, pursue Him and His ways, seek Him, not wrestling against Him any longer, but embracing Him through it all.
Behold Him today, beloved, and hold on.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
No Vacancies #165
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24-26
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own"
1 Corinthians 6:17, 19
When the Maccabees successfully revolted and defeated the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes in 165 BC, the first task at hand was the cleansing and rededication of the Temple. While this is a historical fact of our Jewish history, it is also a metaphor for the cleansing and dedication of our bodies, our Temples. After we have been delivered and spiritually "sterilized" it's necessary to be filled, and constantly refilled, with the Holy Spirit, to the brim...our Temple is not a condo or "multi-unit dwelling"... there is room for only one, not rooms partitioned for light and darkness, with some "holiness" floors, and some "worldliness" floors it simply cannot function this way, so who are you going to have live there?
Jesus warned His disciples that a "little leaven works its way through the whole batch of dough"...we all know the old adage: "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel". I feel called today to encourage you (as well as myself) to forsake all darkness...the Word tells us that "we cannot scoop burning coals into our laps and not be scorched"...
Let us search ourselves today, bind the strongman, and throw out the "bad tenants" from our temples; let us not play relativistic hair-splitting games with a Bridegroom who is waiting for - demanding, a Bride made ready, without spot, wrinkle or blemish.
Luke 11:24-26
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own"
1 Corinthians 6:17, 19
When the Maccabees successfully revolted and defeated the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes in 165 BC, the first task at hand was the cleansing and rededication of the Temple. While this is a historical fact of our Jewish history, it is also a metaphor for the cleansing and dedication of our bodies, our Temples. After we have been delivered and spiritually "sterilized" it's necessary to be filled, and constantly refilled, with the Holy Spirit, to the brim...our Temple is not a condo or "multi-unit dwelling"... there is room for only one, not rooms partitioned for light and darkness, with some "holiness" floors, and some "worldliness" floors it simply cannot function this way, so who are you going to have live there?
Jesus warned His disciples that a "little leaven works its way through the whole batch of dough"...we all know the old adage: "one bad apple spoils the whole barrel". I feel called today to encourage you (as well as myself) to forsake all darkness...the Word tells us that "we cannot scoop burning coals into our laps and not be scorched"...
Let us search ourselves today, bind the strongman, and throw out the "bad tenants" from our temples; let us not play relativistic hair-splitting games with a Bridegroom who is waiting for - demanding, a Bride made ready, without spot, wrinkle or blemish.
What Succot Means to Me
“ ‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
Leviticus 23:39-43
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it."
2 Corinthians 5:1-9
"A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:6-8
We are in the Feast of Succot right now, one of the Feasts of the Lord. Succot is laden with types and shadows, reminders of things that have already happened, hints about events to come, and important spiritual concepts. For me this year: the permanence of dwelling with Him, here and in the life to come, and the temporal reality of this world.
The succah is erected flimsily, the skies are not totally obscured-we can see through to the heavens, a good strong wind will shake it and maybe blow it over...it is, after all, temporary.
We are temporary. Everything about the world we live in is temporary, all of it. Our bodies will wear out, houses, cars, everything, appears for a moment, and then it's gone. The Word of the Lord tells us this very thing, but the Word will stand forever. The scripture reads in John 1-in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...Jesus Himself. In the Lord, as we abide in Him, and with Him, comes the revelation of heavenly secrets, eternal pleasures we will have with the Bridegroom, that we cannot begin to imagine, or compare with the stuff we consider pleasure in this broken world.
Today meditate and dwell on the permanence of the abundant life that only comes from abiding in Him...and abide.
Leviticus 23:39-43
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it."
2 Corinthians 5:1-9
"A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:6-8
We are in the Feast of Succot right now, one of the Feasts of the Lord. Succot is laden with types and shadows, reminders of things that have already happened, hints about events to come, and important spiritual concepts. For me this year: the permanence of dwelling with Him, here and in the life to come, and the temporal reality of this world.
The succah is erected flimsily, the skies are not totally obscured-we can see through to the heavens, a good strong wind will shake it and maybe blow it over...it is, after all, temporary.
We are temporary. Everything about the world we live in is temporary, all of it. Our bodies will wear out, houses, cars, everything, appears for a moment, and then it's gone. The Word of the Lord tells us this very thing, but the Word will stand forever. The scripture reads in John 1-in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...Jesus Himself. In the Lord, as we abide in Him, and with Him, comes the revelation of heavenly secrets, eternal pleasures we will have with the Bridegroom, that we cannot begin to imagine, or compare with the stuff we consider pleasure in this broken world.
Today meditate and dwell on the permanence of the abundant life that only comes from abiding in Him...and abide.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Getting To Know Him (My Pursuit)
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?"
Psalm 42:1, 2
"My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God."
Proverbs 2:1-5
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:6
I'm hungry and thirsty. I'm in the place where my heart yearns to be filled with the Lord. Not allowing standing stagnant water in this vessel, but "streams of living water" flowing in me, through me. I understand why Paul counted everything else as if nothing but garbage compared to knowing God. As a Pharisee, Paul had known about God, but when the Holy Spirit came and occupied him he began to know God firsthand. I understand this now...that understanding that nothing else, only abiding in Jesus, and Him in me, matters. Denying myself and picking up my own cross everyday is really not so difficult once my own desires get sacrificed on the alter. I don't care to spend my time playing games, watching TV and movies, Facebook-ing, twittering, or Skype-ing, even when I'm asleep my heart is awake, and the zeal that I have for Him consumes me; it has become my obsession (the only obsession that is good.
I once had a boss who declared to me that, "too much of anything is bad, even God."
Mike Bickel talks about the importance of having this quest, to really know Him, as the lifelong goal of our Christian lives. As disciples, as followers, our goal should be to know Him and abide in Him, to follow Him closely, to do what He did and what He said ,as if glued to Him, not having just a loose, vague, or convenient association. Being a totally sold-out Christian is not about convenience or popularity, is it? Jesus told us that if the world hated Him that they would hate us also...that we will be called to make decisions in life constantly where we must take the high road, following Him, and it will cost us (by the world's standards, and don't fret...it's all garbage and worthless stuff compared to the worth and glory of knowing Him. It's the same feeling to me that one has when they give away things they no longer have use or need to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.)
Paul talked about the secret of contentment; it doesn't matter what your worldly circumstances are. The secret is found in the personal, face-to-face knowledge of the Holy, knowing the Lord as Father, Bridegroom, and so much more ...be filled up to the brim with the Holy Spirit.
Only He will ever satisfy.
Today beloved, apprehend and be apprehended...His Love is far better than wine.
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?"
Psalm 42:1, 2
"My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God."
Proverbs 2:1-5
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:6
I'm hungry and thirsty. I'm in the place where my heart yearns to be filled with the Lord. Not allowing standing stagnant water in this vessel, but "streams of living water" flowing in me, through me. I understand why Paul counted everything else as if nothing but garbage compared to knowing God. As a Pharisee, Paul had known about God, but when the Holy Spirit came and occupied him he began to know God firsthand. I understand this now...that understanding that nothing else, only abiding in Jesus, and Him in me, matters. Denying myself and picking up my own cross everyday is really not so difficult once my own desires get sacrificed on the alter. I don't care to spend my time playing games, watching TV and movies, Facebook-ing, twittering, or Skype-ing, even when I'm asleep my heart is awake, and the zeal that I have for Him consumes me; it has become my obsession (the only obsession that is good.
I once had a boss who declared to me that, "too much of anything is bad, even God."
Mike Bickel talks about the importance of having this quest, to really know Him, as the lifelong goal of our Christian lives. As disciples, as followers, our goal should be to know Him and abide in Him, to follow Him closely, to do what He did and what He said ,as if glued to Him, not having just a loose, vague, or convenient association. Being a totally sold-out Christian is not about convenience or popularity, is it? Jesus told us that if the world hated Him that they would hate us also...that we will be called to make decisions in life constantly where we must take the high road, following Him, and it will cost us (by the world's standards, and don't fret...it's all garbage and worthless stuff compared to the worth and glory of knowing Him. It's the same feeling to me that one has when they give away things they no longer have use or need to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.)
Paul talked about the secret of contentment; it doesn't matter what your worldly circumstances are. The secret is found in the personal, face-to-face knowledge of the Holy, knowing the Lord as Father, Bridegroom, and so much more ...be filled up to the brim with the Holy Spirit.
Only He will ever satisfy.
Today beloved, apprehend and be apprehended...His Love is far better than wine.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Single Minded/ Believing
"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
James 1:6
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:13, 14
Below is a passage from chapter 35 of the biography: REES HOWELLS INTERCESSOR, as the Battle for Britain raged, while Mr. Howells and about a hundred intercessors had committed themselves to continuous believing prayer:
"Mr.Churchill, in his War Memoirs,gives September 15 as "the culminating date" in that Battle of the Air. He tells how he visited the Operations Room of the Royal Air Force that day and how he watched as the enemy squadrons pouring over and his own countrymen went up to meet them. The moment came when he finally asked the Air Marshall, "What other reserves have we?"
"There are none," he answered, and reported afterwards how grave Churchill had looked. "And well I might," added the Prime Minister. Then another five minutes had passed, and it appeared that the enemy was going home. The shifting of the discs on the table showed a continuous movement eastward movement of German fighters and bombers. No new attack appeared. In another ten minutes the action had ended."
There seemed to be no reason why the Luftwaffe should have turned for home just at the moment when victory was in their grasp. But we know why.
After the war, Air Chief Marshall Lord Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, made this revealing observation: "Even during the battle one realized from day to day how much external support was coming in. At the end of the battle one had the sort of feeling that there had been some special Divine intervention to alter some sequence of events which would otherwise have occurred."
There is no question that the Battle of Britain was supernaturally won, invasion and disaster averted, by believing, praying intercessors. Although everything in the natural appeared disastrous, God's ear was inclined to these intercessors who believed- and knew victory was coming. Just like Jericho...Elijah vs. 450 false prophets, Moses vs. Pharoah, David vs. Goliath, the new State of Israel's rag-tag army vs. the well equipped armies of seven Arab nations...and too many examples to recount here...
I have been convicted-reconvicted actually, about the necessity, the prerequisite absolute essential concept of believing, really believing, along with prayer, prayer being the "icing on that cake".
Mr. Howells, an early to mid 20th century Welsh intercessor, said: "Take care that you are believing...believing is the most delicate thing that you can think of...it is like a vapor, you could easily miss it."
Believe, and do not doubt, beloved.
Remember that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE LORD FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE.
James 1:6
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:13, 14
Below is a passage from chapter 35 of the biography: REES HOWELLS INTERCESSOR, as the Battle for Britain raged, while Mr. Howells and about a hundred intercessors had committed themselves to continuous believing prayer:
"Mr.Churchill, in his War Memoirs,gives September 15 as "the culminating date" in that Battle of the Air. He tells how he visited the Operations Room of the Royal Air Force that day and how he watched as the enemy squadrons pouring over and his own countrymen went up to meet them. The moment came when he finally asked the Air Marshall, "What other reserves have we?"
"There are none," he answered, and reported afterwards how grave Churchill had looked. "And well I might," added the Prime Minister. Then another five minutes had passed, and it appeared that the enemy was going home. The shifting of the discs on the table showed a continuous movement eastward movement of German fighters and bombers. No new attack appeared. In another ten minutes the action had ended."
There seemed to be no reason why the Luftwaffe should have turned for home just at the moment when victory was in their grasp. But we know why.
After the war, Air Chief Marshall Lord Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, made this revealing observation: "Even during the battle one realized from day to day how much external support was coming in. At the end of the battle one had the sort of feeling that there had been some special Divine intervention to alter some sequence of events which would otherwise have occurred."
There is no question that the Battle of Britain was supernaturally won, invasion and disaster averted, by believing, praying intercessors. Although everything in the natural appeared disastrous, God's ear was inclined to these intercessors who believed- and knew victory was coming. Just like Jericho...Elijah vs. 450 false prophets, Moses vs. Pharoah, David vs. Goliath, the new State of Israel's rag-tag army vs. the well equipped armies of seven Arab nations...and too many examples to recount here...
I have been convicted-reconvicted actually, about the necessity, the prerequisite absolute essential concept of believing, really believing, along with prayer, prayer being the "icing on that cake".
Mr. Howells, an early to mid 20th century Welsh intercessor, said: "Take care that you are believing...believing is the most delicate thing that you can think of...it is like a vapor, you could easily miss it."
Believe, and do not doubt, beloved.
Remember that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE LORD FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Computers, Gloves, and Horses/Come Holy Spirit
"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
Eph.5:18
‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17-18
Last night my wife and I, and friends were having a discussion about the things of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has really been talking to me about, of all things- Himself! A glimpse into His nature, His purposes, the dynamics of Holy Spirit occupation of a person. A couple or three analogies came to mind: the first from the computer world. Most of us are probably aware that there are viruses that can infect a computer and turn that machine into a "slave", where the virus' programming make that computer do it's bidding, except the computer has no choice.
Analogy #2 is that when the Holy Spirit fills a surrendered person, it is like a hand slipping into a glove. The glove, in and of itself, was formerly powerless and shapeless, but now has power, form, and direction.
Analogy #3 is an untamed, unbroken horse that must undergo what is referred to as "breaking in". As I understand the process, being the "city boy" that I am, the bridle bit is put into the horses's mouth, the saddle strapped on, and the rider climbs aboard. The rider will hang on while that stallion/mustang bucks and thrashes around until it finally exhausts its options and cooperates. The "broken" horse is then able to do the will of the Director/rider, understanding the rider for what he/she is: owner, friend, boss, even though the animal had previously regarded this stranger with fear, mistrust, trepidation...the horse and rider have become as one entity. The metaphor of the wild horse struck a nerve with me, because it accurately described my rebellious nature. The Holy Spirit waited patiently while I "thrashed and bucked"until I had exhausted every other option.
I understand now how Christ can live in me, and why.
What I never expected, and what continues to blow away old paradigms and notions is how He captures and captivates the surrendered heart...truly a lover and caretaker, Bridegroom and Father, not as an occupying army, that would force His will on me.
His love is so much better than wine, He restores and renews my soul, His mercies are new every morning...and so much more.
Eph.5:18
‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17-18
Last night my wife and I, and friends were having a discussion about the things of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has really been talking to me about, of all things- Himself! A glimpse into His nature, His purposes, the dynamics of Holy Spirit occupation of a person. A couple or three analogies came to mind: the first from the computer world. Most of us are probably aware that there are viruses that can infect a computer and turn that machine into a "slave", where the virus' programming make that computer do it's bidding, except the computer has no choice.
Analogy #2 is that when the Holy Spirit fills a surrendered person, it is like a hand slipping into a glove. The glove, in and of itself, was formerly powerless and shapeless, but now has power, form, and direction.
Analogy #3 is an untamed, unbroken horse that must undergo what is referred to as "breaking in". As I understand the process, being the "city boy" that I am, the bridle bit is put into the horses's mouth, the saddle strapped on, and the rider climbs aboard. The rider will hang on while that stallion/mustang bucks and thrashes around until it finally exhausts its options and cooperates. The "broken" horse is then able to do the will of the Director/rider, understanding the rider for what he/she is: owner, friend, boss, even though the animal had previously regarded this stranger with fear, mistrust, trepidation...the horse and rider have become as one entity. The metaphor of the wild horse struck a nerve with me, because it accurately described my rebellious nature. The Holy Spirit waited patiently while I "thrashed and bucked"until I had exhausted every other option.
I understand now how Christ can live in me, and why.
What I never expected, and what continues to blow away old paradigms and notions is how He captures and captivates the surrendered heart...truly a lover and caretaker, Bridegroom and Father, not as an occupying army, that would force His will on me.
His love is so much better than wine, He restores and renews my soul, His mercies are new every morning...and so much more.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Who's On Your Throne? 232
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:1, 5, 8
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:4, 5
"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
John 3:30
It seems to me that the person and power of the Holy Spirit is misunderstood, His purposes rarely grasped. When we say: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is it really being expressed as: "Featuring the Father and the Son," ... With an "oh, by the way, don't forget the Holy Spirit"...? Second billing in the minds of so many.
In these scriptures selected here, it is the Holy Spirit at work - poured out on willing, surrendered vessels in the Upper Room, as promised in Joel 2, that Isaiah saw... What enabled Paul and the other Apostles to move forward after Jesus' ascension? Could mere men have spread the Gospel on their own, had the resolve to continue in the face of persecution, stoning, beatings, threatened with and sometimes, receiving, death? What's missing here in these scriptures?
What's missing is SELF. There is no "me", there is only "Him", examples for us to follow.
The question is: who is on the throne, who is enthroned in our temple, in our bodies, in our lives? What are our expectations vs. the realities of a spirit filled and directed life? When we pray, are we praying for the Lord to do things for us for the sake of blessing us, which isn't a bad thing, but isn't that backwards? Aren't we supposed to be surrendered, emptied out, for the Holy Spirit to fully occupy us, to use us? What is it about human nature that causes us to be so self-centered and selfish? When we pray, "Lord, not my will, but Your will, be done in my life"... Do we mean it, are we willing to let the Holy Spirit take His place in the center of our lives...to be living sacrifices? Are we willing to pick up our own crosses daily, to deny ourselves-the "me, my, I"' the self-driven paradigm done away with?
Today I leave you (and myself) with this scripture:
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
Philippians 3:12-15
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:1, 5, 8
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:4, 5
"He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
John 3:30
It seems to me that the person and power of the Holy Spirit is misunderstood, His purposes rarely grasped. When we say: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is it really being expressed as: "Featuring the Father and the Son," ... With an "oh, by the way, don't forget the Holy Spirit"...? Second billing in the minds of so many.
In these scriptures selected here, it is the Holy Spirit at work - poured out on willing, surrendered vessels in the Upper Room, as promised in Joel 2, that Isaiah saw... What enabled Paul and the other Apostles to move forward after Jesus' ascension? Could mere men have spread the Gospel on their own, had the resolve to continue in the face of persecution, stoning, beatings, threatened with and sometimes, receiving, death? What's missing here in these scriptures?
What's missing is SELF. There is no "me", there is only "Him", examples for us to follow.
The question is: who is on the throne, who is enthroned in our temple, in our bodies, in our lives? What are our expectations vs. the realities of a spirit filled and directed life? When we pray, are we praying for the Lord to do things for us for the sake of blessing us, which isn't a bad thing, but isn't that backwards? Aren't we supposed to be surrendered, emptied out, for the Holy Spirit to fully occupy us, to use us? What is it about human nature that causes us to be so self-centered and selfish? When we pray, "Lord, not my will, but Your will, be done in my life"... Do we mean it, are we willing to let the Holy Spirit take His place in the center of our lives...to be living sacrifices? Are we willing to pick up our own crosses daily, to deny ourselves-the "me, my, I"' the self-driven paradigm done away with?
Today I leave you (and myself) with this scripture:
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
Philippians 3:12-15
Monday, October 10, 2011
Slowing Down
"The LORD said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves,[d] and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. 28 Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. 29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. 30 I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
Lev.23:26-32
"Be still and know that I am God"
Psalm 46:10
In Lev. 23, the Lord announces all the appointed Feasts and the Day of Atonement, as well as the weekly Sabbath, through Moses; a common thread that runs through them, as far as directives, from the Father, is to slow down...refrain from busy daily routines, and spend time with the Lord. Not a quick, " Hey Abba, here's my shopping list", but take time involving ourselves in ministration unto Him, like the high priests did in the Holy of Holies. In the world we live in there are no margins, people's schedules are so overbooked that there is little or no time left for anything, and that often includes God Himself.
Since our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are all "mini-temples", places of worship, meant to be holy to the Lord. There are times and seasons for everything under heaven-including doing nothing-so we can be quiet and focus ourselves on our Master, clearly hearing his voice.
Make slowing down, being still, and waiting on the Lord part of your life schedule...and know that he is truly God.
Lev.23:26-32
"Be still and know that I am God"
Psalm 46:10
In Lev. 23, the Lord announces all the appointed Feasts and the Day of Atonement, as well as the weekly Sabbath, through Moses; a common thread that runs through them, as far as directives, from the Father, is to slow down...refrain from busy daily routines, and spend time with the Lord. Not a quick, " Hey Abba, here's my shopping list", but take time involving ourselves in ministration unto Him, like the high priests did in the Holy of Holies. In the world we live in there are no margins, people's schedules are so overbooked that there is little or no time left for anything, and that often includes God Himself.
Since our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are all "mini-temples", places of worship, meant to be holy to the Lord. There are times and seasons for everything under heaven-including doing nothing-so we can be quiet and focus ourselves on our Master, clearly hearing his voice.
Make slowing down, being still, and waiting on the Lord part of your life schedule...and know that he is truly God.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
A Word About Marriage (For Husbands & Wives)
"The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self‑control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. "
1 Corinthians 7:3-6
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
Genesis 2:24
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."
1 Corinthians 6:18
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Ephesians 5:25
"May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be captivated by her love.
Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?
For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord,
and he examines all his paths."
Proverbs 5:18-21
Today my wife and I are married 23 years! Another milestone, it is a day to celebrate, congratulate, and a time to reflect and consider our history, our future, God's Word, and our responsibilities to each other. The marriage relationship between husband and wife is sacred, a reflection of the most heavenly institution and here's where we need to be really wary-it is the prime target of our enemy, who wants to steal, kill, and destroy marriages.
Praying together is really important, as well as having open communication, but I want to talk about intimate things here. In 1Corinthians 7, Paul talks about husbands and wives being owned by one another, our very bodies not titled to ourselves and we are not to "hold out" on our spouses, using sex as a tool or weapon, but to meet one another's needs and fulfill each other's desires. We belong to one another, and there are emotional connections that are forged and maintained in the marriage bedroom that tie spouses together spiritually and emotionally in a way that nothing else can, and sexual intimacy is a gateway for other areas of communication in marriage. Consider failed marriages ... You will usually find that the sexual and spiritual relationships, the all important intimacy, ended long before the divorce papers were signed.
There is a reflection of first love that must be pursued...we should desire to be with our spouse as it was in the beginning of the romance, forsaking all else, everything else being a distant second to being together. If we are not feeling it, then we need to "get back to the basics", take a second honeymoon of sorts.
Today, rejoice and revel in each other...as it was when you began, it's part of His Plan.
1 Corinthians 7:3-6
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
Genesis 2:24
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."
1 Corinthians 6:18
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Ephesians 5:25
"May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be captivated by her love.
Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?
For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord,
and he examines all his paths."
Proverbs 5:18-21
Today my wife and I are married 23 years! Another milestone, it is a day to celebrate, congratulate, and a time to reflect and consider our history, our future, God's Word, and our responsibilities to each other. The marriage relationship between husband and wife is sacred, a reflection of the most heavenly institution and here's where we need to be really wary-it is the prime target of our enemy, who wants to steal, kill, and destroy marriages.
Praying together is really important, as well as having open communication, but I want to talk about intimate things here. In 1Corinthians 7, Paul talks about husbands and wives being owned by one another, our very bodies not titled to ourselves and we are not to "hold out" on our spouses, using sex as a tool or weapon, but to meet one another's needs and fulfill each other's desires. We belong to one another, and there are emotional connections that are forged and maintained in the marriage bedroom that tie spouses together spiritually and emotionally in a way that nothing else can, and sexual intimacy is a gateway for other areas of communication in marriage. Consider failed marriages ... You will usually find that the sexual and spiritual relationships, the all important intimacy, ended long before the divorce papers were signed.
There is a reflection of first love that must be pursued...we should desire to be with our spouse as it was in the beginning of the romance, forsaking all else, everything else being a distant second to being together. If we are not feeling it, then we need to "get back to the basics", take a second honeymoon of sorts.
Today, rejoice and revel in each other...as it was when you began, it's part of His Plan.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Never Forsaken
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone."
Genesis 2:18a
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 7:12
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1
The Lord made people in His own image, with many of the same attributes. We were created to live in relationship with one another, not solitary, lonely lives, but to interact with, bearing each other's burdens, sharpening each other, loving and accepting one another. In Genesis the Lord quickly realized that Adam needed company, saying "it is not good", and to me this means not healthy, not beneficial in any way, shape, or form.
Yet there are many who live solitary lives, and generally not as a matter of choice.
How does this happen, why does it happen? Jesus calls us to love one another, and yet human nature-the flesh- causes people to move towards a comfort zone, to hang out with people they know, have similar interests with, similar appearances, same hometown, age group, or other interests, and in so doing may unwittingly deprive themselves of establishing a robust and blessed relationship. From the other side, we may find ourselves in an unwelcome and uncomfortable solitary and lonely situation for a whole host of reasons: just moved to a totally new area, differences in age, occupation, shyness, fear of rejection, old wounds etc. We can both crave relationship and at the same time fear putting ourselves "out there"... Who wants to suffer the prospect of being hurt, dejected, rejected, feeling unwanted or unwelcome?
But someone has to take that first step. We are called to apply Matthew 7:12, what we can call the "Golden Rule", to do unto others as we would want to have done unto us.
Beloved, whether you are feeling lonely, or you know those who are lonely and have not reached out to those who are unfamiliar or different, today step forward, reach out, cast aside fears, doubts and misgivings...
Perfect Love casts out all fear.
never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone."
Genesis 2:18a
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 7:12
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1
The Lord made people in His own image, with many of the same attributes. We were created to live in relationship with one another, not solitary, lonely lives, but to interact with, bearing each other's burdens, sharpening each other, loving and accepting one another. In Genesis the Lord quickly realized that Adam needed company, saying "it is not good", and to me this means not healthy, not beneficial in any way, shape, or form.
Yet there are many who live solitary lives, and generally not as a matter of choice.
How does this happen, why does it happen? Jesus calls us to love one another, and yet human nature-the flesh- causes people to move towards a comfort zone, to hang out with people they know, have similar interests with, similar appearances, same hometown, age group, or other interests, and in so doing may unwittingly deprive themselves of establishing a robust and blessed relationship. From the other side, we may find ourselves in an unwelcome and uncomfortable solitary and lonely situation for a whole host of reasons: just moved to a totally new area, differences in age, occupation, shyness, fear of rejection, old wounds etc. We can both crave relationship and at the same time fear putting ourselves "out there"... Who wants to suffer the prospect of being hurt, dejected, rejected, feeling unwanted or unwelcome?
But someone has to take that first step. We are called to apply Matthew 7:12, what we can call the "Golden Rule", to do unto others as we would want to have done unto us.
Beloved, whether you are feeling lonely, or you know those who are lonely and have not reached out to those who are unfamiliar or different, today step forward, reach out, cast aside fears, doubts and misgivings...
Perfect Love casts out all fear.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Difficulties/Victories in Prayer
"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it upheld him. "
Isaiah 59:16
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive it out?”
He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
Mark 9:22-29 , Matthew 17:21
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:5-13
What is the weakest link in your Christian life? I ask this question, and honestly admit, that although I desperately desire to spend real time with my Father in deep intercession it is often the hardest place for me to consistently get to.
In Matthew, Yeshua gives us an outline, a prayer guide, and in it He tells us how we can/should pray... but what is known as the Lord's Prayer is often misappropriated, misunderstood. How many times have we heard-how many times have we recited-this outline? I believe Jesus gave it to us to guide us, each line is the entrance to the deeper things, not really a be-all, end-all prayer in and of itself, if you understand what I'm saying here. Jesus understood the difficulties people have in entering in to powerful prayer, and the devil also understands the power of believers praying and to that end will do whatever he can to keep us from it. Think about all the different distractions that seem to "pop up" when you are about to pray! Our decision to commit to a consistent praying lifestyle must come with perseverance, and being spiritually on guard as we will be faced with and challenged by distractions, which then must be pushed through.
Today beloved, make that commitment with me, PUSH- Pray Until Something Happens.
Isaiah 59:16
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive it out?”
He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
Mark 9:22-29 , Matthew 17:21
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:5-13
What is the weakest link in your Christian life? I ask this question, and honestly admit, that although I desperately desire to spend real time with my Father in deep intercession it is often the hardest place for me to consistently get to.
In Matthew, Yeshua gives us an outline, a prayer guide, and in it He tells us how we can/should pray... but what is known as the Lord's Prayer is often misappropriated, misunderstood. How many times have we heard-how many times have we recited-this outline? I believe Jesus gave it to us to guide us, each line is the entrance to the deeper things, not really a be-all, end-all prayer in and of itself, if you understand what I'm saying here. Jesus understood the difficulties people have in entering in to powerful prayer, and the devil also understands the power of believers praying and to that end will do whatever he can to keep us from it. Think about all the different distractions that seem to "pop up" when you are about to pray! Our decision to commit to a consistent praying lifestyle must come with perseverance, and being spiritually on guard as we will be faced with and challenged by distractions, which then must be pushed through.
Today beloved, make that commitment with me, PUSH- Pray Until Something Happens.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Request/Decisions
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. "Galatians 2:20
"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. "
John 3:14-17
"Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read:
This is the King of the Jews.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:32-43
When hanging on the cross next to Jesus, facing imminent death, one criminal chose to insult Jesus, but the other made the very wise request to Jesus to be remembered by him in Paradise. He recognized his desperate condition and at the last moment, he sought and received God's mercy and eternal assurance in heaven was granted.
I was there.
In these days of Yamim Nora'im leading up to Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement, I was contemplating the ultimate Atonement, Yeshua, and all that was accomplished by Him...I was reading Luke last night, and then suddenly in my spirit hanging on that cross right there next to my Savior. Condemned to death, I deserved punishment. But He loved-loves me (present tense)- and He gave Himself up for me-and also, all who request, confess, and believe.
This truth of our faith is so basic, Jesus 101. I could feel the pain, and the regret of a life wasted, the fear of death, and then I was taken off the cross- Jesus Himself pulling the nails, carrying me down, cleaning me up, healing my wounds, and then taking back His position on His cross...He looked down at me and in His eyes I saw such love and the message : "it's finished, over, and yet it's just beginning..."
As I walk out my life here and move forward on the Way towards the mansion He has prepared for me, I never really leave the cross behind me. Jesus said that I must pick it up daily, but I'll never have to get back up on it again.
Paul said, "Rejoice in the Lord always..."
I will rejoice.
"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. "
John 3:14-17
"Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read:
This is the King of the Jews.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:32-43
When hanging on the cross next to Jesus, facing imminent death, one criminal chose to insult Jesus, but the other made the very wise request to Jesus to be remembered by him in Paradise. He recognized his desperate condition and at the last moment, he sought and received God's mercy and eternal assurance in heaven was granted.
I was there.
In these days of Yamim Nora'im leading up to Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement, I was contemplating the ultimate Atonement, Yeshua, and all that was accomplished by Him...I was reading Luke last night, and then suddenly in my spirit hanging on that cross right there next to my Savior. Condemned to death, I deserved punishment. But He loved-loves me (present tense)- and He gave Himself up for me-and also, all who request, confess, and believe.
This truth of our faith is so basic, Jesus 101. I could feel the pain, and the regret of a life wasted, the fear of death, and then I was taken off the cross- Jesus Himself pulling the nails, carrying me down, cleaning me up, healing my wounds, and then taking back His position on His cross...He looked down at me and in His eyes I saw such love and the message : "it's finished, over, and yet it's just beginning..."
As I walk out my life here and move forward on the Way towards the mansion He has prepared for me, I never really leave the cross behind me. Jesus said that I must pick it up daily, but I'll never have to get back up on it again.
Paul said, "Rejoice in the Lord always..."
I will rejoice.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Companions/Partners
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Hebrews 13:5-8
"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:49
When I lived in Jerusalem and worked at Bridges For Peace, I had the pleasure of working with a fellow from Colorado named David. He worked on the home renovations projects BFP undertook to bless the poor and elderly in Jerusalem. Whenever he referred to himself he used the personal pronoun "WE". After a few days of hearing this I asked him the question," Why do you say WE? Who are you talking about?" He looked at me and said, "well, me and JESUS, of course!"
How right, and how wise David's proclamation was! It's us and Jesus! Everywhere, all the time, without fail...He told us that He would never ( and that means NEVER!) leave us or forsake us!
Never. Additionally He said that He was sending the Holy Spirit, to help us, our helper, the parakletos, called alongside, slipping into His light and easy yoke right next to us, as we seek Him, walking, imitating our Savior.
Today, remember that you are never alone, and that your struggles and concerns are not hidden from the Lord.
He promised.
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Hebrews 13:5-8
"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:49
When I lived in Jerusalem and worked at Bridges For Peace, I had the pleasure of working with a fellow from Colorado named David. He worked on the home renovations projects BFP undertook to bless the poor and elderly in Jerusalem. Whenever he referred to himself he used the personal pronoun "WE". After a few days of hearing this I asked him the question," Why do you say WE? Who are you talking about?" He looked at me and said, "well, me and JESUS, of course!"
How right, and how wise David's proclamation was! It's us and Jesus! Everywhere, all the time, without fail...He told us that He would never ( and that means NEVER!) leave us or forsake us!
Never. Additionally He said that He was sending the Holy Spirit, to help us, our helper, the parakletos, called alongside, slipping into His light and easy yoke right next to us, as we seek Him, walking, imitating our Savior.
Today, remember that you are never alone, and that your struggles and concerns are not hidden from the Lord.
He promised.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Definitions/Flipping the Switch
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22, 23
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27:1
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. "
John 1:4
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."
My 7 year old daughter asked me, "Abba, what is the difference between light and darkness?"
I answered her that the definition of darkness is the absence of light... That light overcomes darkness, when the flame is lit, the light switch turned on, or as the sun comes up, the sunlight streams in and the darkness flees. As I talked to her about this natural phenomenon the Holy Spirit was speaking to me about the spiritual implications.
Darkness never overcomes the light- ever. You can see one candle flame burning from quite a distance, and think about a scene like a stadium, where thousands are holding their own lights. Darkness comes when the light is put out, turned off.
Do you get what I'm driving at here?
There is something about our fallen nature, the "natural man", that loves darkness, but then there is the spiritual (inner)man in us, that no matter how suppressed, desperately craves the light...the struggle that even the Apostle Paul battled with (Romans 6,7).
But just like a dark room requires a decision to flip on the light switch, we must also make that decision, the choice to "turn on the light", tear down those black out drapes, and let the Son stream in.
Turn that light on, and if it's already on, Praise the Lord, and keep it burning!
Matthew 6:22, 23
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27:1
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. "
John 1:4
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."
My 7 year old daughter asked me, "Abba, what is the difference between light and darkness?"
I answered her that the definition of darkness is the absence of light... That light overcomes darkness, when the flame is lit, the light switch turned on, or as the sun comes up, the sunlight streams in and the darkness flees. As I talked to her about this natural phenomenon the Holy Spirit was speaking to me about the spiritual implications.
Darkness never overcomes the light- ever. You can see one candle flame burning from quite a distance, and think about a scene like a stadium, where thousands are holding their own lights. Darkness comes when the light is put out, turned off.
Do you get what I'm driving at here?
There is something about our fallen nature, the "natural man", that loves darkness, but then there is the spiritual (inner)man in us, that no matter how suppressed, desperately craves the light...the struggle that even the Apostle Paul battled with (Romans 6,7).
But just like a dark room requires a decision to flip on the light switch, we must also make that decision, the choice to "turn on the light", tear down those black out drapes, and let the Son stream in.
Turn that light on, and if it's already on, Praise the Lord, and keep it burning!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sabbath
“ ‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord. "Leviticus 23:3
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Psalm 37:7
"My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth. "
Psalm 121:2
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
The seventh day is sabbath...cease from striving...my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth...
We are so busy in this world today. But there is a time for everything, and that includes the essential time of Shabbat, sabbath, resting from working, pushing, and striving in our own selves. This means we have an opportunity to set aside the cares of the world, whether business, chores, etc- busywork- and change our focus to connect with our Father. Try turning off the radio, shut down your phone, email, TV, and all other distractions, where there is just Him and each of us; in the end it will be just Him and us anyway.
The Lord Yeshua made a point of observing Shabbat, and daily He went off to a solitary
place to have quiet time with His Father, to wait on Him, listen to Him. He set the example for us, so follow this prescription.
Today beloved, clear your schedules, be still and rest in His presence, recharge, hear the voice of the Lord.
Shabbat Shalom.
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Psalm 37:7
"My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth. "
Psalm 121:2
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
The seventh day is sabbath...cease from striving...my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth...
We are so busy in this world today. But there is a time for everything, and that includes the essential time of Shabbat, sabbath, resting from working, pushing, and striving in our own selves. This means we have an opportunity to set aside the cares of the world, whether business, chores, etc- busywork- and change our focus to connect with our Father. Try turning off the radio, shut down your phone, email, TV, and all other distractions, where there is just Him and each of us; in the end it will be just Him and us anyway.
The Lord Yeshua made a point of observing Shabbat, and daily He went off to a solitary
place to have quiet time with His Father, to wait on Him, listen to Him. He set the example for us, so follow this prescription.
Today beloved, clear your schedules, be still and rest in His presence, recharge, hear the voice of the Lord.
Shabbat Shalom.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Resembling My Father 241
"You became imitators of us and of the Lord..."
1 Thess.1:6a
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2
I have an old photo of my father in his US Navy uniform, circa 1944.
When people see it, theydo a double take-glancing at me, then back at the picture.
Some ask if the photo is me, others simply pronounce, "This must be your father"
My immediate response is usually, "The older I get, the more I look like my father."
October 22 is the date of my dad's passing, and as we are now in the month of October,
I reflected on this, the Lord revealed to me an important truth:
As we mature, we should desire to be ever more imitating of our Father.
When people see us, they will see a reflection of Him.
In the Spirit part of our spiritual DNA is to possess the "mind of Christ".
Today, meditate on this truth; my prayer today is that our desire would be to ever-increasingly look like our heavenly Father.
1 Thess.1:6a
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2
I have an old photo of my father in his US Navy uniform, circa 1944.
When people see it, theydo a double take-glancing at me, then back at the picture.
Some ask if the photo is me, others simply pronounce, "This must be your father"
My immediate response is usually, "The older I get, the more I look like my father."
October 22 is the date of my dad's passing, and as we are now in the month of October,
I reflected on this, the Lord revealed to me an important truth:
As we mature, we should desire to be ever more imitating of our Father.
When people see us, they will see a reflection of Him.
In the Spirit part of our spiritual DNA is to possess the "mind of Christ".
Today, meditate on this truth; my prayer today is that our desire would be to ever-increasingly look like our heavenly Father.
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