Sometimes it is hard to listen to people who teach concepts dealing with fellowship when those teachers are clearly outside of fellowship themselves. It is like unmarried people giving advice about marriage or people who have never had children talking about raising children. Concepts are present but there are clear blindspots. What is being said might be theoretically compelling but it is going to lack the practical edge that only a participant has. You know that the people who listen and learn from them are going to suffer and that is hard to watch.
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." - Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV
This book is called 'Hebrews' for a reason. It is written to the Jewish people living in Jerusalem during the time of the Apostles right before the fall of that city in 70 AD. Persecution was active. If Jewish people associated themselves publicly with the other believers in Christ there were social and financial consequences.
Drawing near was fellowship and it has never been easy to do. Sometimes the obstacles are external to the group and sometimes they are in the midst of the fellowship. That is always how it has been and will be in this life. If we fly solo, for whatever reason, we are going to be missing something. Oneness and identification are needed even if it is long distance identification that has a longing for a future reunion. Life has those times.
"As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well." - 2 Timothy 1:4-5 ESV
Yes. We have those times.
Someone who is purposely cutting themselves off may be a fine person on one level but they have nothing valuable to say about the Church or fellowship in general. Their theology is going to change more and more over time in justification of their new lifestyle and become protective of individualism. If someone is not submitted under anyone (except grudgingly to their source of income because of necessity) then they see no value in submission. They aren't disciples and will lack the wisdom of a disciple. Discipleship has submission. It is a vital ingredient.
The Church is a big part of the new testament. I understand people taking issue with places that have problems and not wanting to fellowship everywhere with everyone but to 'throw away' the Church and Bible-centered fellowship and worship has consequences now in this life and later when we stand before God. If teachers teach individualistic doctrine there will be smoke later as the wood, hay and stubble they built their Christian life around goes up in flames. They will also be partially responsible for the smoke in other people's lives also.
If you are reading this and getting angry I understand. Perhaps you are ready to be around imperfect people again. Please pray and seek a place where they open the Bible, worship and pray. If you ask God I know He will be faithful to open doors and show you a place you can call home that will bless you and bring you just a little out of your comfort zone.
God, please keep us from adding wood (human thinking based on natural reasoning) to the foundation you have given us. It looks so pretty and practical at times to add it. It can be moulded and carved in such beautiful patterns. Show us the right way so we can be functioning in a bright eternal mindset.
"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." - 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 KJV
Gold is your deity. Silver is your redemption. Precious stones are the people and memories you give us... relationships formed in the Earth by heat but made to shine in Your hand.
--
Showing posts with label Body Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Body Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Save Yourselves From This Crooked Generation
"And Peter said to them, '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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.' And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, 'Save yourselves from this crooked generation.' So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." - Acts 2:38-42 ESV
This passage was expounded upon last weekend and it stuck with me. Teaching, fellowship, eating together and prayer. This is what saves us from the corrupting influences of our generation. This is the salt we are preserved in.
I also love How Peter gave them a promise from God. If they 'turned' they would 'receive' the Holy Spirit. It was a sure thing.
If you get in water you will get wet. If you turn because of belief in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit will suddenly saturate and seal you and you will be saved forever and have a Heavenly home. It is a promise. It is a divine post-cross dynamic.
What will we devote ourselves to? Is there a place where we can learn, fellowship, break bread and pray? Is that place baptizing new people? This is what every group of people who believe need. Otherwise, there is no buffer from the subtle corrupting influences of an adulterous generation. Guilt and shame make their way back in again and cause people to forget what happened when they turned to God.
"And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." - Acts 2:43-47 ESV
Wow. That is so good.
--
This passage was expounded upon last weekend and it stuck with me. Teaching, fellowship, eating together and prayer. This is what saves us from the corrupting influences of our generation. This is the salt we are preserved in.
I also love How Peter gave them a promise from God. If they 'turned' they would 'receive' the Holy Spirit. It was a sure thing.
If you get in water you will get wet. If you turn because of belief in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit will suddenly saturate and seal you and you will be saved forever and have a Heavenly home. It is a promise. It is a divine post-cross dynamic.
What will we devote ourselves to? Is there a place where we can learn, fellowship, break bread and pray? Is that place baptizing new people? This is what every group of people who believe need. Otherwise, there is no buffer from the subtle corrupting influences of an adulterous generation. Guilt and shame make their way back in again and cause people to forget what happened when they turned to God.
"And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." - Acts 2:43-47 ESV
Wow. That is so good.
--
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Discerning The Body Of Christ
My thoughts this morning turn to 'discerning the body of Christ'.
I can see very easily why people would be gun shy of entering into a large or medium-sized group. Anyone who has been in such a group before knows there are dynamics that are possible that are not so pleasant to endure.
"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler." - 1 Peter 4:14-15 ESV
It's an interesting list. Meddling seems right at home with robbery and murder because taking is involved.
Can we discern the body of Christ? Is the group holy? Is each individual holy? Yes. In God's mind, certain groups are holy because He Is present when they gather.
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Matthew 18:20 ESV
Gathering in God's name is gathering in His character and nature. It isn't a group that slaps a name of a building. It is God making Himself manifest in a particular way for a particular season.
This isn't a rebuke of any kind.
I'm just praying for different people this morning. Some suffer as victims because of a lack of discernment and other suffer as perpetrators. Both carry degrees of suffering.
Here is a different translation with verse sixteen added also.
"So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people's affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!" - 1 Peter 4:14-16 NLT
Yes. Murder, theft, troublemaking for personal gain or amusement and meddling all carry a burden of guilt. They all have echoes that bounce back for years and maybe even centuries after the event but identification with Jesus doesn't carry regret like that. That suffering has future glory and amplifies appreciation.
I find myself careful that my speech is oriented towards edification and evangelism (the two sanctioned forms or communication) and not meddlesome or careless. People need safe places.
Let the 'glorious Spirit of God' rest on us today and make us into harmless edifiers with words saturated with grace and mercy.
--
I can see very easily why people would be gun shy of entering into a large or medium-sized group. Anyone who has been in such a group before knows there are dynamics that are possible that are not so pleasant to endure.
"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler." - 1 Peter 4:14-15 ESV
It's an interesting list. Meddling seems right at home with robbery and murder because taking is involved.
Can we discern the body of Christ? Is the group holy? Is each individual holy? Yes. In God's mind, certain groups are holy because He Is present when they gather.
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Matthew 18:20 ESV
Gathering in God's name is gathering in His character and nature. It isn't a group that slaps a name of a building. It is God making Himself manifest in a particular way for a particular season.
This isn't a rebuke of any kind.
I'm just praying for different people this morning. Some suffer as victims because of a lack of discernment and other suffer as perpetrators. Both carry degrees of suffering.
Here is a different translation with verse sixteen added also.
"So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people's affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!" - 1 Peter 4:14-16 NLT
Yes. Murder, theft, troublemaking for personal gain or amusement and meddling all carry a burden of guilt. They all have echoes that bounce back for years and maybe even centuries after the event but identification with Jesus doesn't carry regret like that. That suffering has future glory and amplifies appreciation.
I find myself careful that my speech is oriented towards edification and evangelism (the two sanctioned forms or communication) and not meddlesome or careless. People need safe places.
Let the 'glorious Spirit of God' rest on us today and make us into harmless edifiers with words saturated with grace and mercy.
--
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Breakfast Onshore
This is such a picture of Church life to me...
"Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, 'Children, do you have any fish?' They answered him, 'No.' He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.' So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' Now none of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish." - John 21:4-13 ESV
I'm going to work today but really my heart is to sit and eat Jesus' fish. I work to eat but even my ability to do that comes from God. My life is fellowship.
I get the impression that Jesus looked different somehow. The disciples knew it was Him but He was different in His appearance and maybe His voice was also.
Life is like that I think. We do what we must at times but God has a meal for us waiting onshore. We will see Jesus in the midst of the people who believe in Him. We will know it is Him but the testimonies will be unique and fresh. There will be new and old faces as time passes.
Work is work even if you love what you do... but then there is the time onshore... there is the moment when you realize God is inviting you over to the fellowship and you dive in the water to get there... that place has joy, communication and hope.
The building with the sound system isn't what Church is... those are just tools... the time ashore with God is Church.
--
"Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, 'Children, do you have any fish?' They answered him, 'No.' He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.' So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' Now none of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish." - John 21:4-13 ESV
I'm going to work today but really my heart is to sit and eat Jesus' fish. I work to eat but even my ability to do that comes from God. My life is fellowship.
I get the impression that Jesus looked different somehow. The disciples knew it was Him but He was different in His appearance and maybe His voice was also.
Life is like that I think. We do what we must at times but God has a meal for us waiting onshore. We will see Jesus in the midst of the people who believe in Him. We will know it is Him but the testimonies will be unique and fresh. There will be new and old faces as time passes.
Work is work even if you love what you do... but then there is the time onshore... there is the moment when you realize God is inviting you over to the fellowship and you dive in the water to get there... that place has joy, communication and hope.
The building with the sound system isn't what Church is... those are just tools... the time ashore with God is Church.
--
Monday, February 15, 2016
A Body Member
Christianity isn't one person believing. It is many people believing in One person.
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many." - 1 Corinthians 12:4-14 ESV
Church life is mystical. It isn't always easy.
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 ESV
These questions do arise because each person is self aware and as fallen people we have had exposure to the effects of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As fallen individuals we amplify differences and make distinctions but God is saying that the group is His body. He thinks about 'us' the way we think about our physical frame. That is his frame of reference.
"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:21-27 ESV
God tells us this and then we know it. The group is His body. A Church is seen by God this way. It is so easy to be cut off from this reality. We wouldn't even know about it if He hadn't told us.
Now that we do know what do we do with that information?
This reality is challenging for me this morning. If this is true (and it is because the Bible reveals it) then the decisions I make matter on a larger scale. It isn't just me. It isn't just me and my family. It isn't just me and my political party. It isn't just me and my ethnicity.
The King James Version puts it this way.
"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." - 1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV
If we believe we are part of something larger. What will we be in that arena? What is our function today?
"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way." - 1 Corinthians 12:31 KJV
Chapter thirteen is about love for a reason. It is linked to this reality. We love knowing this. The more excellent way is love that recognizes and unity that transcends right and wrong.
If I feel small and I often do. I remember this. There is much more at stake here then me and my needs. God will meet my needs. I want to stay connected in the way that glorifies God. There is life there and provision there. I am a member in particular.
If you have believed then you are also.
--
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many." - 1 Corinthians 12:4-14 ESV
Church life is mystical. It isn't always easy.
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 ESV
These questions do arise because each person is self aware and as fallen people we have had exposure to the effects of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As fallen individuals we amplify differences and make distinctions but God is saying that the group is His body. He thinks about 'us' the way we think about our physical frame. That is his frame of reference.
"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:21-27 ESV
God tells us this and then we know it. The group is His body. A Church is seen by God this way. It is so easy to be cut off from this reality. We wouldn't even know about it if He hadn't told us.
Now that we do know what do we do with that information?
This reality is challenging for me this morning. If this is true (and it is because the Bible reveals it) then the decisions I make matter on a larger scale. It isn't just me. It isn't just me and my family. It isn't just me and my political party. It isn't just me and my ethnicity.
The King James Version puts it this way.
"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." - 1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV
If we believe we are part of something larger. What will we be in that arena? What is our function today?
"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way." - 1 Corinthians 12:31 KJV
Chapter thirteen is about love for a reason. It is linked to this reality. We love knowing this. The more excellent way is love that recognizes and unity that transcends right and wrong.
If I feel small and I often do. I remember this. There is much more at stake here then me and my needs. God will meet my needs. I want to stay connected in the way that glorifies God. There is life there and provision there. I am a member in particular.
If you have believed then you are also.
--
Friday, October 9, 2015
Three Prayer Scenarios
"Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Matthew 18:19-20 ESV
I am thinking about this verse this morning partly because we had such a great time last night as a small group and with the people we came in contact with.
There was a group of four men but it was a group that people felt like they could join. Some folks said, 'We overheard what you were talking about.' and we said, 'Good. We purposely speak loudly enough so that people can overhear it.'
It was a group that invites people in while also being a group that invites God to act. One that asks God to act.
P Butch made some great statements last night about how God answers prayer. There are three scenarios.
One. Is when we ask for something 'according to God's will' and that one gets a 'Yes' from God.
The second one gets a 'No' from God because it isn't his will for reasons we may clearly understand or because of circumstances we can not know.
Then there is the third answer. It is the mysterious place where God says 'Yes' because of how we ask and who we ask with. It is like a child asking to do something adventurous with his friends. The parent weighs the decision and comes to a conclusion but that conclusion is affected by how the child asks.
The child may say, 'I'll take my coat and I'll leave my phone on. We'll stay together and we won't stay out past seven because I need to get back and do my homework.' and the parent sees a level of maturity that prompts them to say 'Yes.'
Perhaps when two or more ask God see that and it affects His response because He sees a dynamic that pleases Him. He sees Jesus there is the midst because Jesus is correctly portrayed by the group. Jesus' presence is mystical but it is also doctrinal. God sees His Jesus there and not a Jesus that He doesn't recognize as His Son.
Does the group have grace and truth? Are people made to feel welcome or is the group exclusive in an excluding way?
Maybe God says, 'No' when we go it alone but He might have said, 'Yes' if we asked together.
Something to think about.
--
I am thinking about this verse this morning partly because we had such a great time last night as a small group and with the people we came in contact with.
There was a group of four men but it was a group that people felt like they could join. Some folks said, 'We overheard what you were talking about.' and we said, 'Good. We purposely speak loudly enough so that people can overhear it.'
It was a group that invites people in while also being a group that invites God to act. One that asks God to act.
P Butch made some great statements last night about how God answers prayer. There are three scenarios.
One. Is when we ask for something 'according to God's will' and that one gets a 'Yes' from God.
The second one gets a 'No' from God because it isn't his will for reasons we may clearly understand or because of circumstances we can not know.
Then there is the third answer. It is the mysterious place where God says 'Yes' because of how we ask and who we ask with. It is like a child asking to do something adventurous with his friends. The parent weighs the decision and comes to a conclusion but that conclusion is affected by how the child asks.
The child may say, 'I'll take my coat and I'll leave my phone on. We'll stay together and we won't stay out past seven because I need to get back and do my homework.' and the parent sees a level of maturity that prompts them to say 'Yes.'
Perhaps when two or more ask God see that and it affects His response because He sees a dynamic that pleases Him. He sees Jesus there is the midst because Jesus is correctly portrayed by the group. Jesus' presence is mystical but it is also doctrinal. God sees His Jesus there and not a Jesus that He doesn't recognize as His Son.
Does the group have grace and truth? Are people made to feel welcome or is the group exclusive in an excluding way?
Maybe God says, 'No' when we go it alone but He might have said, 'Yes' if we asked together.
Something to think about.
--
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Hands On The Rope
"What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool... If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 11:17, 30-33 & 12:1 ESV
Can you picture the blocked gates and the many hands of the people that loved Paul and held the rope of that basket?
Paul needed people. He would not have survived without them.
Acts chapter 9 gives the account this way...
"But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket." - Acts 9:22-25 ESV
There are traps we end up in where the exits are blocked.
Only many hands on a prayer rope are the answer. Only the provision found in a calling will provide the way of escape.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." - Galatians 1:3-5 ESV
This provision is given to 'us' and we can often find it alone on our knees for our personal issues but there are certain logistical issues that require the provision to be found in 'us'.
It's Sunday and I'm going to go be with people.
We will sing and worship. We will hear a fresh portion of Christ centered truth and who knows what we will escape from just because we spent that time there.
--
Can you picture the blocked gates and the many hands of the people that loved Paul and held the rope of that basket?
Paul needed people. He would not have survived without them.
Acts chapter 9 gives the account this way...
"But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket." - Acts 9:22-25 ESV
There are traps we end up in where the exits are blocked.
Only many hands on a prayer rope are the answer. Only the provision found in a calling will provide the way of escape.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." - Galatians 1:3-5 ESV
This provision is given to 'us' and we can often find it alone on our knees for our personal issues but there are certain logistical issues that require the provision to be found in 'us'.
It's Sunday and I'm going to go be with people.
We will sing and worship. We will hear a fresh portion of Christ centered truth and who knows what we will escape from just because we spent that time there.
--
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
The Plan Is Revealed In The Group
God has a plan. You and I are in that plan. Those who know Him and those who don't are in that plan. Jesus is at the center of the plan and everything else revolves around Him.
"Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, 'Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.' But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor." - Micah 4:11-12 ESV
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will," - Ephesians 1:7-11 ESV
"To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord," - Ephesians 3:8-11 ESV
In this age God's plan is being revealed in clarity through the Church and the pursuits of the Church. You may say that is a narrow statement. Can't we just be believers and know God. Of course we can but will we see God's plan unfold before us or behind us? God used and uses the Church to reveal His wisdom (knowledge in action) to the angels.
I am not talking about the Church as an institution. I am talking about body life. A dynamic of believer interaction that is mystical and forms with and around Godly shepherd leadership where the Book is opened and life is revealed.
"Oh, Now I see... that was God's plan! This happened and that happened..." Outside body life we get hints of what was.
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 ESV
For 'those' (plural) who are called... not just 'me' who is called. Us. It is 'us' who are called and when we are immersed we see that in spite of tremendous hardship this principle hold true and we can live in and expectation of it's reality in our own life.
God has a plan. It is a plan for 'us' where God is thinking of 'you' and loving 'you'.
Radio, television and internet ministries are great but It is my conviction that we can't be pastored by a radio preacher unless we can fellowship with others who heard the same message. Otherwise we just get the crumbs of the meal. They might be tasty crumbs and crumbs are something... but not the fullness.
I heard the radio and followed it to find a group of people.
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" - Ephesians 4:11-12 KJV
God gave leaders but why did He give them and how are they used? He gave them to the body not just to us. He didn't give them to feed us knowledge. He gave them to build up the Church.
First we realize that God has a plan for our life. Things may seem haphazard but they are not that way to God. We can just stay there or we can go to the place where we get more definition. That place is where spirit filled like minded people are gathering under a covering that has a foundation in truth. A Church. A Bible Study. A prayer group. A youth group. An area meeting. It is in those places where God will reveal our gifting and give direction for what is next. Some of these places will only get a few things right in the Biblical dynamic but God will use them if they point to His Son. His Son Is the center of His plan.
When God brings us to a place that fires on multiple cylinders then watch out. It becomes a hot house for growth for a group of individuals that are knit together.
We can attack that dynamic or surrender to it. The place will make for an easy target. It is filled with flawed people and there are often barriers of different kinds to draw us away if we let them.
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Matthew 18:20 KJV
Yes. He really Is. I have seen it again and again. We just draw near. We must be led but we also must be 'around' whatever that means for the season we are in and that may change from month to month or year to year.
Times away will always be seen in hindsight. Times in the midst can be experienced in the great fullness of the 'eternal Is' because the anointing is here to break our yoke of bondage.
"Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, 'Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.' But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor." - Micah 4:11-12 ESV
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will," - Ephesians 1:7-11 ESV
"To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord," - Ephesians 3:8-11 ESV
In this age God's plan is being revealed in clarity through the Church and the pursuits of the Church. You may say that is a narrow statement. Can't we just be believers and know God. Of course we can but will we see God's plan unfold before us or behind us? God used and uses the Church to reveal His wisdom (knowledge in action) to the angels.
I am not talking about the Church as an institution. I am talking about body life. A dynamic of believer interaction that is mystical and forms with and around Godly shepherd leadership where the Book is opened and life is revealed.
"Oh, Now I see... that was God's plan! This happened and that happened..." Outside body life we get hints of what was.
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 ESV
For 'those' (plural) who are called... not just 'me' who is called. Us. It is 'us' who are called and when we are immersed we see that in spite of tremendous hardship this principle hold true and we can live in and expectation of it's reality in our own life.
God has a plan. It is a plan for 'us' where God is thinking of 'you' and loving 'you'.
Radio, television and internet ministries are great but It is my conviction that we can't be pastored by a radio preacher unless we can fellowship with others who heard the same message. Otherwise we just get the crumbs of the meal. They might be tasty crumbs and crumbs are something... but not the fullness.
I heard the radio and followed it to find a group of people.
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" - Ephesians 4:11-12 KJV
God gave leaders but why did He give them and how are they used? He gave them to the body not just to us. He didn't give them to feed us knowledge. He gave them to build up the Church.
First we realize that God has a plan for our life. Things may seem haphazard but they are not that way to God. We can just stay there or we can go to the place where we get more definition. That place is where spirit filled like minded people are gathering under a covering that has a foundation in truth. A Church. A Bible Study. A prayer group. A youth group. An area meeting. It is in those places where God will reveal our gifting and give direction for what is next. Some of these places will only get a few things right in the Biblical dynamic but God will use them if they point to His Son. His Son Is the center of His plan.
When God brings us to a place that fires on multiple cylinders then watch out. It becomes a hot house for growth for a group of individuals that are knit together.
We can attack that dynamic or surrender to it. The place will make for an easy target. It is filled with flawed people and there are often barriers of different kinds to draw us away if we let them.
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Matthew 18:20 KJV
Yes. He really Is. I have seen it again and again. We just draw near. We must be led but we also must be 'around' whatever that means for the season we are in and that may change from month to month or year to year.
Times away will always be seen in hindsight. Times in the midst can be experienced in the great fullness of the 'eternal Is' because the anointing is here to break our yoke of bondage.
--
Thursday, June 18, 2015
The Latter Rain - Part 2
The latter rain is given to the Church and it becomes an example to Israel of what God can do with people. It gives them hope. The Church will have a lukewarm reputation in the world but God will do wonderful things in the body of Christ before the Church is transformed into His bride.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
God gave promises to Israel and the Church is not Israel or an extension of Israel. The Church is a beautiful foreign bride that God has taken to Himself and called His own. God has grafted the Church into His kingdom.
"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." - Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
This spring rain will prepare the Church and move the corporate structure from 'the body' into 'the bride.' It will be a last pre-marriage preparation. A marriage that will be taking place in Heaven during the relatively calm first half of the time when craziness is about to break out in mass on the Earth.
When Moses took a foreign bride (See Numbers 12:1) it provoked his siblings to jealously and this latter rain revival will serve the same purpose. God does it out of love but He also will use the political backlash caused by His choice to convert Israel to Himself.
"So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." - Romans 11:11 ESV
"The LORD answered and said to his people, 'Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations... Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.' " - Joel 2:19, 23-32 ESV
Israel will be provoked to jealousy saying, 'How come they knew God and we don't? Remember what happened with the vilified Christian's before they vanished? Maybe God will save us also?'
God will send the latter rain on us to ripen His crop and then He will send rain to them in the midst of great trouble. Young people will be converted in the midst of Israel and those young people will be witnesses during that dark time.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:" - Revelation 7:1-4 ESV
God has the angels stand waiting and holding back while those witnesses are being converted. These are the young who will 'see visions' as the old men 'dream dreams.' Israel's conversion will happen in part because of the Church's last days revival. The bright light of the grace message will shine in the memories of those surviving daily calamity surrounded by lies and propaganda.
"Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless." - Revelation 14:1-5 ESV
They will sing a new song no one else can sing because they were saved from what no one else has gone through. We sing our 'grace song' and they will have their glorious song.
God will use the Church to send grain, wine and oil to Israel and then God will redeem them in a like manner in a dramatic accelerated way similar to how He once delivered them from Egypt.
(FYI. If you want a good resource that goes into end times events in depth check out 'Things to Come' by Dwight Pentecost)
In a way our lives are a microcosm of all these things. Each of us living through different tragedies and experiencing different triumphs. Some of us live relatively controversy free lives and others seem to have trouble swirling around them all the time (or for extended seasons.) The love God has for us and our response to it has an impact on those around us. Perhaps it has a larger impact then we realize.
We can have a visible relationship with God that provokes people who don't have it to jealousy. Peace that passes understand by is available to us.
"I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;" - Isaiah 27:3 ESV
As individuals we can live in constant hydration knowing that God will do what He does inside us and more for His Church publicly some day soon.
--
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
God gave promises to Israel and the Church is not Israel or an extension of Israel. The Church is a beautiful foreign bride that God has taken to Himself and called His own. God has grafted the Church into His kingdom.
"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." - Revelation 19:6-8 ESV
This spring rain will prepare the Church and move the corporate structure from 'the body' into 'the bride.' It will be a last pre-marriage preparation. A marriage that will be taking place in Heaven during the relatively calm first half of the time when craziness is about to break out in mass on the Earth.
When Moses took a foreign bride (See Numbers 12:1) it provoked his siblings to jealously and this latter rain revival will serve the same purpose. God does it out of love but He also will use the political backlash caused by His choice to convert Israel to Himself.
"So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous." - Romans 11:11 ESV
"The LORD answered and said to his people, 'Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations... Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.' " - Joel 2:19, 23-32 ESV
Israel will be provoked to jealousy saying, 'How come they knew God and we don't? Remember what happened with the vilified Christian's before they vanished? Maybe God will save us also?'
God will send the latter rain on us to ripen His crop and then He will send rain to them in the midst of great trouble. Young people will be converted in the midst of Israel and those young people will be witnesses during that dark time.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.' And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:" - Revelation 7:1-4 ESV
God has the angels stand waiting and holding back while those witnesses are being converted. These are the young who will 'see visions' as the old men 'dream dreams.' Israel's conversion will happen in part because of the Church's last days revival. The bright light of the grace message will shine in the memories of those surviving daily calamity surrounded by lies and propaganda.
"Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless." - Revelation 14:1-5 ESV
They will sing a new song no one else can sing because they were saved from what no one else has gone through. We sing our 'grace song' and they will have their glorious song.
God will use the Church to send grain, wine and oil to Israel and then God will redeem them in a like manner in a dramatic accelerated way similar to how He once delivered them from Egypt.
(FYI. If you want a good resource that goes into end times events in depth check out 'Things to Come' by Dwight Pentecost)
In a way our lives are a microcosm of all these things. Each of us living through different tragedies and experiencing different triumphs. Some of us live relatively controversy free lives and others seem to have trouble swirling around them all the time (or for extended seasons.) The love God has for us and our response to it has an impact on those around us. Perhaps it has a larger impact then we realize.
We can have a visible relationship with God that provokes people who don't have it to jealousy. Peace that passes understand by is available to us.
"I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;" - Isaiah 27:3 ESV
As individuals we can live in constant hydration knowing that God will do what He does inside us and more for His Church publicly some day soon.
--
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Away in Arabia And Back Where Two Or More Are Gathered
We must be alone with God yet at the same time if we spend too much time like that we can become subjective and theoretical. Christianity has grand principles but at it's heart it is about relationships.
" 'Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.' Then Peter came up and said to him, 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.' " - Matthew 18:19-22 ESV
God is going to manifest His presence in a special way in the 'two or more' dynamic.
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." - James 5:16 ESV
"Was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days." - Galatians 1:16-18 ESV
The prayer of one person closeted away touches God's throne and the place we really get our doctrine straight is alone with God. We need to hear the preacher and participate in a vision that has fellowship and we also need that time alone to sort it all out.
Peter was a fisherman. He was used to spending hours out on the water with just a few other people. When Jesus said that He was going to be with them when they gathered Peter's first question was, 'How many times do I have to forgive people?'
That is the other side of fellowship... forgiveness.
Paul didn't have to do much forgiving went he went off to Arabia but God brought him back for the fellowship of the other Apostles as a soundly doctrinal person.
It is good and important to study under people and it is my conviction that I never outgrow them or that dynamic. Christianity is a chain that stretches back and forward in time and our personal rewards are intertwined with that chain.
It is good to have a solid personal walk. We can't ride on other peoples faith forever. There are personal battles to be fought that alone time in Arabia will give us the resources to sit and stand in those trials.
If we are away and have been away a long time... Come back. God wants to meet us in a special way where two or more are gathered.
If you are knit in then go to Arabia in that prayer closet of yours. Close the door. open the Book of Books and ask God some hard questions. You will be surprised at how He answers.
Our whole lives can be lived in one week. Those seven days can have elements of everything. I want both of these things to happen every week.
I thank God for the 'two or more' God has given me. Each individual one has meant so much. We have forever friendships because God was right there in the middle of us.
" 'Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.' Then Peter came up and said to him, 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.' " - Matthew 18:19-22 ESV
God is going to manifest His presence in a special way in the 'two or more' dynamic.
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." - James 5:16 ESV
"Was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days." - Galatians 1:16-18 ESV
The prayer of one person closeted away touches God's throne and the place we really get our doctrine straight is alone with God. We need to hear the preacher and participate in a vision that has fellowship and we also need that time alone to sort it all out.
Peter was a fisherman. He was used to spending hours out on the water with just a few other people. When Jesus said that He was going to be with them when they gathered Peter's first question was, 'How many times do I have to forgive people?'
That is the other side of fellowship... forgiveness.
Paul didn't have to do much forgiving went he went off to Arabia but God brought him back for the fellowship of the other Apostles as a soundly doctrinal person.
It is good and important to study under people and it is my conviction that I never outgrow them or that dynamic. Christianity is a chain that stretches back and forward in time and our personal rewards are intertwined with that chain.
It is good to have a solid personal walk. We can't ride on other peoples faith forever. There are personal battles to be fought that alone time in Arabia will give us the resources to sit and stand in those trials.
If we are away and have been away a long time... Come back. God wants to meet us in a special way where two or more are gathered.
If you are knit in then go to Arabia in that prayer closet of yours. Close the door. open the Book of Books and ask God some hard questions. You will be surprised at how He answers.
Our whole lives can be lived in one week. Those seven days can have elements of everything. I want both of these things to happen every week.
I thank God for the 'two or more' God has given me. Each individual one has meant so much. We have forever friendships because God was right there in the middle of us.
--
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Dig In Deep And Build
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." - Luke 6:46-49 ESV
Convicting words. What are these things that Jesus is saying for people to do but they are not doing? Here are a few from the same chapter.
Love your enemies (6:27), do good to the haters (6:27), bless those who curse (6:28), pray for those who abuse (6:28), turn the other cheek (6:29), give to the beggar and the negligent borrower (6:30), be merciful (6:36) and point a finger at yourself first before you criticize (6:41-42)
"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." - Luke 6:37-38 ESV
When people walked with Christ they saw the rock and water sprung out from this rock. When people heard the Apostles preach they saw the rock. Grace teaching resonates in your heart and makes you say, 'I can live here. This is a solid place. I won't have to rely on my own ability here. God will be my stability.'
When you find the spot where you know there is a grace foundation dig in. Dig until you hit something solid and then commit to the message, person or ministry by building a place to live there. Move your family, change your job and commit your time if that is what is necessary. Be a disciple. Be filled with the Spirit. Love, bless, pray, forgive and give. Digging in by focusing on the stability of the foundation and not the momentary contradiction of sinners. Respond by grace instead of reacting in the flesh because of The Rock.
Why call Jesus 'Lord, Lord' and then live far away from Him on some sandy soil in sight of the rock but not on the Rock?
Is it too much trouble to move and give up what you have already built? Maybe you don't like the people who live in that neighborhood. Living there is going to require more forgiving and turning the other cheek.
When the storm comes you will be glad you built on the Rock. You will be glad it was no flimsy temporary structure. You will be glad you dug in deep because the structure will survive.
--
Convicting words. What are these things that Jesus is saying for people to do but they are not doing? Here are a few from the same chapter.
Love your enemies (6:27), do good to the haters (6:27), bless those who curse (6:28), pray for those who abuse (6:28), turn the other cheek (6:29), give to the beggar and the negligent borrower (6:30), be merciful (6:36) and point a finger at yourself first before you criticize (6:41-42)
"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." - Luke 6:37-38 ESV
When people walked with Christ they saw the rock and water sprung out from this rock. When people heard the Apostles preach they saw the rock. Grace teaching resonates in your heart and makes you say, 'I can live here. This is a solid place. I won't have to rely on my own ability here. God will be my stability.'
When you find the spot where you know there is a grace foundation dig in. Dig until you hit something solid and then commit to the message, person or ministry by building a place to live there. Move your family, change your job and commit your time if that is what is necessary. Be a disciple. Be filled with the Spirit. Love, bless, pray, forgive and give. Digging in by focusing on the stability of the foundation and not the momentary contradiction of sinners. Respond by grace instead of reacting in the flesh because of The Rock.
Why call Jesus 'Lord, Lord' and then live far away from Him on some sandy soil in sight of the rock but not on the Rock?
Is it too much trouble to move and give up what you have already built? Maybe you don't like the people who live in that neighborhood. Living there is going to require more forgiving and turning the other cheek.
When the storm comes you will be glad you built on the Rock. You will be glad it was no flimsy temporary structure. You will be glad you dug in deep because the structure will survive.
--
Friday, November 14, 2014
Solitary Things Versus Group Things
"So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, 'Get up quickly.' And the chains fell off his hands... When Peter came to himself, he said, 'Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.' When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, 'You are out of your mind.' But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, 'It is his angel!' But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, 'Tell these things to James and to the brothers.' Then he departed and went to another place." - Acts 12:5-7, 11-17 ESV
This picture is an amusing one. The Church knocking on Heaven's door for Peter's release and Peter knocking on the gate for entry. Rhoda had a story to tell her grandchildren.
It brings me back to an idea I have been thinking about lately... solitary activities versus group activities. The group believed, almost as if in a dream, what the individual could not fathom.
There is wisdom in knowing what is a corporate (group) activity and what is a solitary one.
"And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits." Mark 6:7 ESV
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 ESV
Time is to short and precious to do the group activities alone or to rely on others for what we alone are accountable for. No one is going to die to self for us or mix finished work faith with God's word in situations. These are things we do behind closed doors with God and God alone. No one is going to study for us and move us from milk to meat.
The battle is a 'we' thing and not a 'me' thing.
It takes humility to be in a group and stay in a group if you are a person more prone to solitary activities. The group dynamic can be sloppy at times. People say silly things like 'Maybe it is Peter's angel at the door!' People have different styles of worship and have varying levels of maturity.
Peter was helpless to free himself from prison but was fully equipped to give clear definition and instruction once the people finally let him in the gate.
Leadership in the group dynamic adds to our individual dynamic and our individual life of faith is vital to the corporate experience.
--
This picture is an amusing one. The Church knocking on Heaven's door for Peter's release and Peter knocking on the gate for entry. Rhoda had a story to tell her grandchildren.
It brings me back to an idea I have been thinking about lately... solitary activities versus group activities. The group believed, almost as if in a dream, what the individual could not fathom.
There is wisdom in knowing what is a corporate (group) activity and what is a solitary one.
"And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits." Mark 6:7 ESV
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 ESV
Time is to short and precious to do the group activities alone or to rely on others for what we alone are accountable for. No one is going to die to self for us or mix finished work faith with God's word in situations. These are things we do behind closed doors with God and God alone. No one is going to study for us and move us from milk to meat.
The battle is a 'we' thing and not a 'me' thing.
It takes humility to be in a group and stay in a group if you are a person more prone to solitary activities. The group dynamic can be sloppy at times. People say silly things like 'Maybe it is Peter's angel at the door!' People have different styles of worship and have varying levels of maturity.
Peter was helpless to free himself from prison but was fully equipped to give clear definition and instruction once the people finally let him in the gate.
Leadership in the group dynamic adds to our individual dynamic and our individual life of faith is vital to the corporate experience.
--
Friday, March 14, 2014
A Fundraiser By Faith
"I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen." - Romans 15:30-33 ESV
Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, stayed 'in the mix' with the Apostles in Israel.
"Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me." - 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 ESV
Paul was a fundraiser. No doubt this took faith for him to do. He did it out of love. He braved dangers to do it. There was even a possibility in Paul's mind that the gift might not be 'well received'. Some must have still been wary of Paul. It would have been easy for Paul with the calling he had to slip away and not visit but Paul stayed in the mix. He didn't go where in was easy to be... He went where God had Him to be.
I was thinking over the last few days, 'Maybe he didn't like this part of His walk. Maybe he did it by faith like I sometimes do.'
Having coffee with P Thomas Sliva last night he brought up a fresh idea about Elisha and Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5. Maybe Elisha invited this powerful man over to his house by faith and didn't come out of his house to greet him because he knew there was a possibility of being influenced by Naaman's big personality so he 'floated the instructions outside' by faith and God moved.
Jesus had this to say about the account...
"And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." - Luke 4:27 KJV
Yes, Elisha had a track record with God but he interacted with people by faith. Elisha saw the chariots on the hillside.
There are chariots on your hillside. Do you see them? If you do then that knowledge will keep you interacting with people like Naaman and the people in Jerusalem.
There are unique seasons when God pulls us out into the wilderness like Jesus was drawn into the desert (Matthew 4:1f ; Mark 1:13) and Paul was brought out to be taught.
"To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days." - Galatians 1:16-18 KJV
Paul wasn't connected with Jerusalem because he had a natural attraction. It wasn't a sentimental or 'soulish' connection. He did it by faith and there was great benefit in that.
There is healing and sharpening that is only going to happen in the mix. No matter what our personality is like as spiritual people it is not good for us to go it alone. It was not good for Adam and it is not good for us. Jesus lived an anonymous life before he began His Earthly ministry and His spiritual life did not rely on people but it always involved people.
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV
Fundraising may not be 'your thing.' It isn't mine. But it will become my thing by faith if that is the vehicle God provides. Jesus rode a young donkey into town. I'll ride whatever horse God gives me.
--
Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, stayed 'in the mix' with the Apostles in Israel.
"Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me." - 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 ESV
Paul was a fundraiser. No doubt this took faith for him to do. He did it out of love. He braved dangers to do it. There was even a possibility in Paul's mind that the gift might not be 'well received'. Some must have still been wary of Paul. It would have been easy for Paul with the calling he had to slip away and not visit but Paul stayed in the mix. He didn't go where in was easy to be... He went where God had Him to be.
I was thinking over the last few days, 'Maybe he didn't like this part of His walk. Maybe he did it by faith like I sometimes do.'
Having coffee with P Thomas Sliva last night he brought up a fresh idea about Elisha and Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5. Maybe Elisha invited this powerful man over to his house by faith and didn't come out of his house to greet him because he knew there was a possibility of being influenced by Naaman's big personality so he 'floated the instructions outside' by faith and God moved.
Jesus had this to say about the account...
"And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." - Luke 4:27 KJV
Yes, Elisha had a track record with God but he interacted with people by faith. Elisha saw the chariots on the hillside.
There are chariots on your hillside. Do you see them? If you do then that knowledge will keep you interacting with people like Naaman and the people in Jerusalem.
There are unique seasons when God pulls us out into the wilderness like Jesus was drawn into the desert (Matthew 4:1f ; Mark 1:13) and Paul was brought out to be taught.
"To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days." - Galatians 1:16-18 KJV
Paul wasn't connected with Jerusalem because he had a natural attraction. It wasn't a sentimental or 'soulish' connection. He did it by faith and there was great benefit in that.
There is healing and sharpening that is only going to happen in the mix. No matter what our personality is like as spiritual people it is not good for us to go it alone. It was not good for Adam and it is not good for us. Jesus lived an anonymous life before he began His Earthly ministry and His spiritual life did not rely on people but it always involved people.
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV
Fundraising may not be 'your thing.' It isn't mine. But it will become my thing by faith if that is the vehicle God provides. Jesus rode a young donkey into town. I'll ride whatever horse God gives me.
--
Friday, February 28, 2014
What Is Done In The Body
"He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience." - 2 Corinthians 5:5-11 ESV
These thoughts settle me this morning... they encourage me.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." - 1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
We are what we are by the grace of God. God is working in us and through us. We can gauge our next move based on the Bema seat judgement. Will it be cause for celebration there?
"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." - 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 ESV
The foundation is Jesus Christ... who He Is... what He has done. Will we reinvent the wheel or will we sit, walk and stand in what Jesus has done?
Evaluation is based on the quality of materials we use... Gold (God's character and nature), Silver (The righteousness and purity of Christ) and Precious Stones (people who have been transformed and mined out of the Earth) and the active application of those materials. The application must be done by the Spirit of God using a willing participant as a co-laborer... someone yoked to God.
We look at our physical frame this morning and see a body. We also look at the local expression of believers in our area (if we are fortunate enough to have that) and see a body. At the Bema seat what we do and don't do in those arenas... what we say and don't say... where we go and don't go... will be tested by fire. What remains will remain forever.
Today is the day. It is all we have. Let's be who we are by the grace of God and function in the faith that expresses what Christ has already done. We won't regret that we did.
These thoughts settle me this morning... they encourage me.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." - 1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
We are what we are by the grace of God. God is working in us and through us. We can gauge our next move based on the Bema seat judgement. Will it be cause for celebration there?
"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." - 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 ESV
The foundation is Jesus Christ... who He Is... what He has done. Will we reinvent the wheel or will we sit, walk and stand in what Jesus has done?
Evaluation is based on the quality of materials we use... Gold (God's character and nature), Silver (The righteousness and purity of Christ) and Precious Stones (people who have been transformed and mined out of the Earth) and the active application of those materials. The application must be done by the Spirit of God using a willing participant as a co-laborer... someone yoked to God.
We look at our physical frame this morning and see a body. We also look at the local expression of believers in our area (if we are fortunate enough to have that) and see a body. At the Bema seat what we do and don't do in those arenas... what we say and don't say... where we go and don't go... will be tested by fire. What remains will remain forever.
Today is the day. It is all we have. Let's be who we are by the grace of God and function in the faith that expresses what Christ has already done. We won't regret that we did.
--
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Marveling At The Diversity Of People
Just marveling this morning at the diversity of people and how much different people add to the life of an individual. To be in a diverse group where there is love is a beautiful thing.
"All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?" - 1 Corinthians 12:11-19 ESV
Indeed. If everyone were the same what would life be like? Some things that people do seem exotic and we want to possess what we don't have but the beautiful thing about Church life is that in a sense we can have the benefit of what we don' t have by association.
"As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another." - 1 Corinthians 12:20-25 ESV
'Look how dirty you feet are. Tisk Tisk Tisk.' Diversity leaves room for care doesn't it? Nakedness gives a place for fashion. Ministry is centered in diversity. Care. Love. Help. Humor.
"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 ESV
Grace is so needed. It must reach every member. Like blood being pumped by the heart to reach every part of the body we also want the cleansing, nourishing and healing mercy of God to reach each portion in the body of Christ.
Thoughts from the mind direct the whole.
Comfort, honor and joy knit us together even as we are joined together.
I am glad to be a part of something today... something big and diverse. I am thankful for the Church I go to and the fellowships I have in an organized way. That is manifestation of the body but truly there is a larger grander manifestation in the world and in Heaven that we are also a part of... beautiful... really Beautiful.
--
"All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?" - 1 Corinthians 12:11-19 ESV
Indeed. If everyone were the same what would life be like? Some things that people do seem exotic and we want to possess what we don't have but the beautiful thing about Church life is that in a sense we can have the benefit of what we don' t have by association.
"As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another." - 1 Corinthians 12:20-25 ESV
'Look how dirty you feet are. Tisk Tisk Tisk.' Diversity leaves room for care doesn't it? Nakedness gives a place for fashion. Ministry is centered in diversity. Care. Love. Help. Humor.
"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 ESV
Grace is so needed. It must reach every member. Like blood being pumped by the heart to reach every part of the body we also want the cleansing, nourishing and healing mercy of God to reach each portion in the body of Christ.
Thoughts from the mind direct the whole.
Comfort, honor and joy knit us together even as we are joined together.
I am glad to be a part of something today... something big and diverse. I am thankful for the Church I go to and the fellowships I have in an organized way. That is manifestation of the body but truly there is a larger grander manifestation in the world and in Heaven that we are also a part of... beautiful... really Beautiful.
--
Friday, December 13, 2013
Keeping the Authority Above Our Heads
"At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." - Colossians 4:3-4 ESV
"Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner." - Hebrews 13:18-19 ESV
"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith." - 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 ESV
"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25 ESV
We need this prayer support. We are complete in Him but still desire prayer. We see the need for it to fill up the empty places.
Notice it says pray for 'us' and not pray for 'me'. The only place recorded in the new testament that says that is a very questionable reference.
"Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'
But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.'
And Simon answered, 'Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.' " - Acts 8:18-24 ESV
This Simon was a 'sorcerer'. He leveraged influence for his own gain. He wanted the juice... to be plugged into the power. He was not functioning in faith at this time.
Here is a great passage that came up last night at Panera. My friend recently spoke on this subject.
"So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." - Exodus 17:10-12 ESV
Aaron was a the high priest and Hur was just an ordinary guy referenced just a couple more times in the scripture. This is his only recorded action. He ascended the mountain, moved a stone and held up one of Moses' hands.
Moses needed to keep the rod of authority above himself in order for there to be victory on the battlefield. Moses knew this and then found it out by experience also. The things is... Moses was not up to the task alone.
If the rod was above his head... victory. If it dropped to low... people died. Wow!
I love the dual method used.
They moved the rock to Moses. They didn't move Moses to the rock. Oh, that is what I want to do. I want to move the rock to people so they can rest. Even that is not a solitary task. A rock that is big enough to sit on is too heavy for me to move alone.
Then they supported Moses' hands but it was not just Moses they supported it was Israel's army and Joshua down on the battlefield also got that support.
Aaron was a professional prayer warrior and Hur was just a guy who likely worked a job but without them both Moses would not have had the strength needed in the struggle behind the battle.
Just me and Jesus is a majority a for sure but God has designed us to have other branches of that divine relationship for the battles we will face in this life. We will not have the strength to face them alone. God is glorified in our ability and our inability. He has a provision for both.
If God puts it on your heart today please pray for 'us'... we need strength for our hands to hold Jesus and His finished work above our heads.
--
"Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner." - Hebrews 13:18-19 ESV
"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith." - 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 ESV
"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25 ESV
We need this prayer support. We are complete in Him but still desire prayer. We see the need for it to fill up the empty places.
Notice it says pray for 'us' and not pray for 'me'. The only place recorded in the new testament that says that is a very questionable reference.
"Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'
But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.'
And Simon answered, 'Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.' " - Acts 8:18-24 ESV
This Simon was a 'sorcerer'. He leveraged influence for his own gain. He wanted the juice... to be plugged into the power. He was not functioning in faith at this time.
Here is a great passage that came up last night at Panera. My friend recently spoke on this subject.
"So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." - Exodus 17:10-12 ESV
Aaron was a the high priest and Hur was just an ordinary guy referenced just a couple more times in the scripture. This is his only recorded action. He ascended the mountain, moved a stone and held up one of Moses' hands.
Moses needed to keep the rod of authority above himself in order for there to be victory on the battlefield. Moses knew this and then found it out by experience also. The things is... Moses was not up to the task alone.
If the rod was above his head... victory. If it dropped to low... people died. Wow!
I love the dual method used.
They moved the rock to Moses. They didn't move Moses to the rock. Oh, that is what I want to do. I want to move the rock to people so they can rest. Even that is not a solitary task. A rock that is big enough to sit on is too heavy for me to move alone.
Then they supported Moses' hands but it was not just Moses they supported it was Israel's army and Joshua down on the battlefield also got that support.
Aaron was a professional prayer warrior and Hur was just a guy who likely worked a job but without them both Moses would not have had the strength needed in the struggle behind the battle.
Just me and Jesus is a majority a for sure but God has designed us to have other branches of that divine relationship for the battles we will face in this life. We will not have the strength to face them alone. God is glorified in our ability and our inability. He has a provision for both.
If God puts it on your heart today please pray for 'us'... we need strength for our hands to hold Jesus and His finished work above our heads.
--
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Life is Framed by Relationships
This morning reading Spurgeon's devotional it really struck me how our relationships are ordered. Responsibility and accountability flow from our relationship with God outward. The oil flows down on the head first, the beard and then on down to the garments.
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory... and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Colossians 3:1-4, 10 ESV
It is being orienting in right relationship to Jesus that causes me to experience life. He is my life. My renewal is centered in my role as a believer.
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:12-15 ESV
As 'believers' we relate to others. Ones we are in a relationship with because we have Christ in common. We are 'Body Members' or corporate believers. Our spiritual life is individual and corporate... it has two aspects.
Then that branches out to wives and husbands. Both relational terms. You can be a man or woman alone. To be a wife or husband there must be another person in the picture.
"Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." - Colossians 3:18 ESV
"Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them." - Colossians 3:19 ESV
The children and fathers. The marital relationship is a horizontal relation. The parent-child relationship is vertical in time. It begins but one person is always older and the other always younger.
"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." - Colossians 3:20 ESV
"Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." - Colossians 3:21 ESV
Then we have work. The employee and the manager.
"Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality." - Colossians 3:22-25 ESV
"Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." - Colossians 4:1-2 ESV
Both are framed by what has been spoken of previously. A person is a believer, body member, wife and then a waitress. A young unmarried person is a believer body member, son and then an accountant and so on.
"At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." - Colossians 4:3-4 ESV
Then church leadership and missionary roles come next.
"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." - Colossians 4:5-6 ESV
Lastly are outsiders, unknown people... be kind, be wise and let grace flow.
Alone we are just individuals. It is our relationship to God that gives us a life. It is our relationships to others that make up our life.
God, Fill us with Your Spirit today. We want to live and not just exist... we want you be glorified in our midst.
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory... and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Colossians 3:1-4, 10 ESV
It is being orienting in right relationship to Jesus that causes me to experience life. He is my life. My renewal is centered in my role as a believer.
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:12-15 ESV
As 'believers' we relate to others. Ones we are in a relationship with because we have Christ in common. We are 'Body Members' or corporate believers. Our spiritual life is individual and corporate... it has two aspects.
Then that branches out to wives and husbands. Both relational terms. You can be a man or woman alone. To be a wife or husband there must be another person in the picture.
"Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." - Colossians 3:18 ESV
"Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them." - Colossians 3:19 ESV
The children and fathers. The marital relationship is a horizontal relation. The parent-child relationship is vertical in time. It begins but one person is always older and the other always younger.
"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." - Colossians 3:20 ESV
"Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." - Colossians 3:21 ESV
Then we have work. The employee and the manager.
"Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality." - Colossians 3:22-25 ESV
"Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." - Colossians 4:1-2 ESV
Both are framed by what has been spoken of previously. A person is a believer, body member, wife and then a waitress. A young unmarried person is a believer body member, son and then an accountant and so on.
"At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." - Colossians 4:3-4 ESV
Then church leadership and missionary roles come next.
"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." - Colossians 4:5-6 ESV
Lastly are outsiders, unknown people... be kind, be wise and let grace flow.
Alone we are just individuals. It is our relationship to God that gives us a life. It is our relationships to others that make up our life.
God, Fill us with Your Spirit today. We want to live and not just exist... we want you be glorified in our midst.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Discerning Body Life
Just thinking about the Church this morning... the Church as the Body of Christ...
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:4-5 KJV
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV
This is a great mystery. Really it is. In Christ's Body we find belonging, honor and purpose. It is a dynamic that one person can never see in it's fullness because much of it hidden in interactions that other people are having with one another. Compassion is multiplied. Care is multifaceted. There is individuality in unity. There is no need to 'talk to' our function or another person's function. The Body and each member has a 'Christian Dynamic' or a Christ likeness that give off pure light. The dynamic is only understood in part but experienced in fullness.
"So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." Ephesians 4:14-16 ESV
In this place there is a supply. I say place not because the Church is in a geographic location per se but because it is a dynamic we can be present in or removed from. It is more than entering into the front door of a building.
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16 KJV
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 11:27 KJV
Is communion the wine and the bread alone?
Communion is not linked to my salvation but what do I miss if I miss communion? What supply is cut off?
If I see the Church as only a social place... a supermarket for my needs to be met... a playground to live out my desires... do I then partake of the communion 'unworthily'? If so God can change our minds and restore to us a true perspective and glimpse of His divine presence in the corporate dynamic.
Lord, If we don't have a Church like this lead us to one. If we do have access to one, or many, open our eyes to see if for what it really is not to have mouths open in criticism but eyes open in awe of the edification that happens in honor because You are present.
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal... And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it" Revelation 21:9-11, 22-24 ESV
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:4-5 KJV
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV
This is a great mystery. Really it is. In Christ's Body we find belonging, honor and purpose. It is a dynamic that one person can never see in it's fullness because much of it hidden in interactions that other people are having with one another. Compassion is multiplied. Care is multifaceted. There is individuality in unity. There is no need to 'talk to' our function or another person's function. The Body and each member has a 'Christian Dynamic' or a Christ likeness that give off pure light. The dynamic is only understood in part but experienced in fullness.
"So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." Ephesians 4:14-16 ESV
In this place there is a supply. I say place not because the Church is in a geographic location per se but because it is a dynamic we can be present in or removed from. It is more than entering into the front door of a building.
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16 KJV
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 11:27 KJV
Is communion the wine and the bread alone?
Communion is not linked to my salvation but what do I miss if I miss communion? What supply is cut off?
If I see the Church as only a social place... a supermarket for my needs to be met... a playground to live out my desires... do I then partake of the communion 'unworthily'? If so God can change our minds and restore to us a true perspective and glimpse of His divine presence in the corporate dynamic.
Lord, If we don't have a Church like this lead us to one. If we do have access to one, or many, open our eyes to see if for what it really is not to have mouths open in criticism but eyes open in awe of the edification that happens in honor because You are present.
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal... And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it" Revelation 21:9-11, 22-24 ESV
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