Two doctrines dominate my thinking this morning. One is an anthropological principle and the other is a spiritual dynamic and each can be summed up in a phrase but those phrases need to be 'unpacked' and put in Biblical context.
The doctrine of 'internal conspiracy' is the anthropological principle and oh how freeing it is to understand.
The spiritual dynamic is the 'grace adjustment'.
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus," - Ephesians 2:1-6 ESV
We know the Satanic strategy of tempt - accuse - condemn. That is an attack on our person that comes from outside but our flesh can wage a similar war. Our conscience should be our ally but it can become our bitter enemy. Like a city filled with unrest, the inhabitants can conspire to change the leadership and if they get desperate enough damage can be done to the infrastructure to make something (anything) happen.
If we have lived long enough all of us have seen people destroy themselves. Something external may have triggered a chain of decisions but the destruction came from within and as spectators, we may have tried to intervene but the conspiracy was an internal one.
If we ended here it would leave us in a hard place, wouldn't it? But it doesn't end here. There is the spiritual dynamic of adjusting to grace and with grace and it is beautiful beyond description.
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 ESV
This principle is so freeing and it might take us losing everything first before we discover it because it lies just at the edge of our self-life. We can adjust because of grace. We can nail our old identity in a coffin where it belongs and start fresh. The accusation can be shut down. The ones that come from outside and the one that comes from the inside. We can face the music and adjust. We have victory in seeming defeat. We can go through things instead of avoiding them. We can adjust because our old identity died with Christ and our present identity is new and fresh.
Our soul becomes a city under new leadership. There may be a mess to clean up but if our conscience can adjust to the new value system of death, burial, resurrection, and session (the fact that we are seated above with Christ now as far as God is concerned) it can become our ally when it was once our adversary. Our soul can become a peaceful place to live.
Woe be it unto the soul that lets the internal conspiracy go unchecked. Eventually, the walls of that city will be breached and it's inhabitants taken away into captivity. No one can win that war themselves. God has given us a way of escape in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the negotiator we need to end our internal conspiracies.
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Showing posts with label Burial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burial. Show all posts
Friday, May 12, 2017
Saturday, March 26, 2016
The Valley In Between
The Saturday before Easter is a very interesting day. Jesus died on Friday and rose on Sunday. This is the day in between. The disciples are in disarray and Jesus is preaching to demons in Tartarus and the old testament saints awaiting release.
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water." - 1 Peter 3:18-20 ESV
The days in between are interesting days. The morning is coming but is not here yet. The trauma of yesterday is still fresh in our minds.
My study of burial this morning brought me to this passage...
"On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land." - Ezekiel 39:11-12 ESV
This hasn't happened yet. This is a valley between Jerusalem, a city set on seven hills (approximately 2,500 ft above sea level), and the Dead Sea (approximately 1,400 ft below sea level). Tour buses used to go down a treacherous road translated 'Old Jericho Road' to take people to the Dead Sea. It is my understanding that Palestinians presently occupy this land.
This valley is believed to be the 'Valley of the Shadow of Death' referred to in Psalm 23 because a great shadow was cast as the sun went down making it a dangerous place to be. The story of the good Samaritan may have been based on the accounts of robbery that occurred while passing through this valley.
In the future an army that comes against Israel will be buried there and it will inconvenience travelers. A mass grave between the Holy city and the Dead Sea.
This reminds me of this day between death and resurrection. Our life resembles this day at times. We have believed and God has saved us but our bodies are not raised from the dead yet. Large swaths of land next to our spiritual life is unpassable. We see through a glass darkly.
But then Sunday comes. Then life is reborn. Then hope is stirred within us.
Easter is a day to celebrate. God has won a victory for us on the cross and our travels may be inconvenienced at times but what a great victory it is. Sunday will soon be upon us.
I hope you all have a great Sunday tomorrow.
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"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water." - 1 Peter 3:18-20 ESV
The days in between are interesting days. The morning is coming but is not here yet. The trauma of yesterday is still fresh in our minds.
My study of burial this morning brought me to this passage...
"On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land." - Ezekiel 39:11-12 ESV
This hasn't happened yet. This is a valley between Jerusalem, a city set on seven hills (approximately 2,500 ft above sea level), and the Dead Sea (approximately 1,400 ft below sea level). Tour buses used to go down a treacherous road translated 'Old Jericho Road' to take people to the Dead Sea. It is my understanding that Palestinians presently occupy this land.
This valley is believed to be the 'Valley of the Shadow of Death' referred to in Psalm 23 because a great shadow was cast as the sun went down making it a dangerous place to be. The story of the good Samaritan may have been based on the accounts of robbery that occurred while passing through this valley.
In the future an army that comes against Israel will be buried there and it will inconvenience travelers. A mass grave between the Holy city and the Dead Sea.
This reminds me of this day between death and resurrection. Our life resembles this day at times. We have believed and God has saved us but our bodies are not raised from the dead yet. Large swaths of land next to our spiritual life is unpassable. We see through a glass darkly.
But then Sunday comes. Then life is reborn. Then hope is stirred within us.
Easter is a day to celebrate. God has won a victory for us on the cross and our travels may be inconvenienced at times but what a great victory it is. Sunday will soon be upon us.
I hope you all have a great Sunday tomorrow.
--
Monday, January 6, 2014
Initiated By Choice But Moved By Power
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." - Romans 6:4 KJV
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 KJV
There is an action that happens by God's power... a transfer that occurs. By an act of will we enter into a process that was not initiated by us nor is it sustained by us. Like a person stepping into a flowing river we step into the stillness of Christ's death. It surrounds us and momentarily muffles our senses like diving into a pool or being lowered by strong arms into the water at baptism.
We willingly place ourselves into His death but that is just a starting point.
Early in the morning the Earth is still asleep. No sun has risen yet and few things are stirring. We can become silent like the world around us. We wait and pray like Jesus waited and prayed all night long with His Father. We enter in. It is a place we are welcome to come into. Grace has made this our place... our pool... our fountain... our death... our burial... our resurrection.
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." - Romans 13:14 ESV
"But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." - Romans 8:10-14 ESV
Later it will not be quiet. The world will be moving. There will be more decisions to be made but the dynamic is the same. Jesus was the same Jesus praying all night as He was walking, talking, healing and teaching. He moved as grace and truth personified. We move a trophies of grace personified. Putting on Christ we make choices in the flow of the river we have stepped into. God's power and life is the medium we move in and because of that we are led of God having wind in our sails.
This is not a work. It is a choice made possible by the Gospel of Grace. This is the narrow road that leads to life.
Jesus was dragged willingly into this process knowing that when He went to Jerusalem it would begin. He suffered in stillness and submission not resisting but walked bearing His cross in His Father's plan. Taken by the flow of it and aligning His will with each twist and turn. Then after the resurrection we see a man raised from death into life who moved with purpose towards ascension and session (sitting at the right hand of the Father). Jesus completed this work and ran this race.
Our entry point is Christ's death but once we enter in we are brought instantly to to Christ's session. He is alive and reigning now and we also are alive and reigning with Him.
"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." - Romans 5:17 KJV
One day the spiritual action we enter into by an act of reckoning will become a physical reality.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:3 ESV
Until then we put on what we have been given by grace and the light of Heaven shines in and through our lives as broken but treasure filled earthen vessels.
At any moment we can return and enter in. We can quiet ourselves and be in the flow again. It is a choice away. The life that is produced inside will work on the outside in time. Faith will produce words that have power. Victorious life will make a difference in the world that only Heaven's history books will reveal in fullness.
--
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 KJV
There is an action that happens by God's power... a transfer that occurs. By an act of will we enter into a process that was not initiated by us nor is it sustained by us. Like a person stepping into a flowing river we step into the stillness of Christ's death. It surrounds us and momentarily muffles our senses like diving into a pool or being lowered by strong arms into the water at baptism.
We willingly place ourselves into His death but that is just a starting point.
Early in the morning the Earth is still asleep. No sun has risen yet and few things are stirring. We can become silent like the world around us. We wait and pray like Jesus waited and prayed all night long with His Father. We enter in. It is a place we are welcome to come into. Grace has made this our place... our pool... our fountain... our death... our burial... our resurrection.
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." - Romans 13:14 ESV
"But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." - Romans 8:10-14 ESV
Later it will not be quiet. The world will be moving. There will be more decisions to be made but the dynamic is the same. Jesus was the same Jesus praying all night as He was walking, talking, healing and teaching. He moved as grace and truth personified. We move a trophies of grace personified. Putting on Christ we make choices in the flow of the river we have stepped into. God's power and life is the medium we move in and because of that we are led of God having wind in our sails.
This is not a work. It is a choice made possible by the Gospel of Grace. This is the narrow road that leads to life.
Jesus was dragged willingly into this process knowing that when He went to Jerusalem it would begin. He suffered in stillness and submission not resisting but walked bearing His cross in His Father's plan. Taken by the flow of it and aligning His will with each twist and turn. Then after the resurrection we see a man raised from death into life who moved with purpose towards ascension and session (sitting at the right hand of the Father). Jesus completed this work and ran this race.
Our entry point is Christ's death but once we enter in we are brought instantly to to Christ's session. He is alive and reigning now and we also are alive and reigning with Him.
"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." - Romans 5:17 KJV
One day the spiritual action we enter into by an act of reckoning will become a physical reality.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:3 ESV
Until then we put on what we have been given by grace and the light of Heaven shines in and through our lives as broken but treasure filled earthen vessels.
At any moment we can return and enter in. We can quiet ourselves and be in the flow again. It is a choice away. The life that is produced inside will work on the outside in time. Faith will produce words that have power. Victorious life will make a difference in the world that only Heaven's history books will reveal in fullness.
--
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Evaporate the Old and Distill the New
Thoughts that pass through evaporation, Heavenly condensation and distillation do what they were sent to do.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:8-11 ESV
Water is a solvent and picks up impurities easily along the way. Evaporation removes the impurities and leaves them behind. Then up, up it goes in the air until the conditions are right and the vapor condenses and is heavier than the air around it and down it comes to wash and water the world.
God's thoughts are holy and pure like distilled water. Evaporation is the ultimate filter because water temporarily changes form and that form is not a liquid or a solid.
It makes me think of the the Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection and Session (seated with Christ) cycle. The cross evaporates our person. We survive the process in a different form. Instead of being a liquid human being we are a vapor human being with different properties.
That vapor floats in the Heavens. That vapor can be sent by God to where He wants it.
There is a cycle that keeps our thinking clean where the cross is dealing with the old and there is renewed newness.
My thinking is like a swamp or an iceberg. I want to live in the light of God countenance where there is release in love to join Him in the Heaven's and be sent back down to Earth as He pleases.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:8-11 ESV
Water is a solvent and picks up impurities easily along the way. Evaporation removes the impurities and leaves them behind. Then up, up it goes in the air until the conditions are right and the vapor condenses and is heavier than the air around it and down it comes to wash and water the world.
God's thoughts are holy and pure like distilled water. Evaporation is the ultimate filter because water temporarily changes form and that form is not a liquid or a solid.
It makes me think of the the Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection and Session (seated with Christ) cycle. The cross evaporates our person. We survive the process in a different form. Instead of being a liquid human being we are a vapor human being with different properties.
That vapor floats in the Heavens. That vapor can be sent by God to where He wants it.
There is a cycle that keeps our thinking clean where the cross is dealing with the old and there is renewed newness.
My thinking is like a swamp or an iceberg. I want to live in the light of God countenance where there is release in love to join Him in the Heaven's and be sent back down to Earth as He pleases.
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