This morning I am thinking of the heavy boot of oppression on different kinds of soil.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2 ESV
Wet soil - A big sloppy imprint
Dry loose soil - An imprint that can be seen and tracked by those experienced at looking for patterns
Solid rock - Barely a scuff if anything at all
Transformation of the mind hardens us from caving under and being changed by external pressure. Water washes us but does not wash us away.
--
Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
Friday, September 1, 2017
Monday, June 5, 2017
Power For Change
God will give you the ability to adjust and transition into your new situation. He will give you power.
That is what He did at Pentecost for the Church and He does it for every individual person also.
" '...And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.' And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven." - Luke 24:49-51 ESV
Jesus had died and rose from the dead but they weren't ready to be without Him. His time walking and talking among them must have seemed dreamlike and then as soon as it had started it ended and these men and women would need to adjust to life again.
They were to stay in Jerusalem and power was coming.
"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language." - Acts 2:1-6 ESV
To read that... It is shocking to the mind and it was a one time only historical event but this happens to us. We have no capacity but then suddenly we do. We can speak in a language that is understood. Death has worked in our life and a transition was needed but God was faithful to bring us through. It wasn't instantaneous. We waited a period of time and those days must have felt like an eternity.
'Jesus is gone. What will we do now?'
'My job is gone.'
'My loved one is gone.'
'My life will never be the same after this.'
Yes, That is true but God will send power. Tarry in Jerusalem. Don't wander off in your weakened state. Stay close. Be in the Book. Be with the people even if you seem numb. Power is coming. Joy will return and when it does you will be able to talk to people you could never speak to before. They will be bewildered that someone like you speaks their language.
Grace will transition you. God will carry you. This is how it is for all of us at times. You are not alone. There is always a whole group going through the same thing somewhere.
--
That is what He did at Pentecost for the Church and He does it for every individual person also.
" '...And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.' And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven." - Luke 24:49-51 ESV
Jesus had died and rose from the dead but they weren't ready to be without Him. His time walking and talking among them must have seemed dreamlike and then as soon as it had started it ended and these men and women would need to adjust to life again.
They were to stay in Jerusalem and power was coming.
"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language." - Acts 2:1-6 ESV
To read that... It is shocking to the mind and it was a one time only historical event but this happens to us. We have no capacity but then suddenly we do. We can speak in a language that is understood. Death has worked in our life and a transition was needed but God was faithful to bring us through. It wasn't instantaneous. We waited a period of time and those days must have felt like an eternity.
'Jesus is gone. What will we do now?'
'My job is gone.'
'My loved one is gone.'
'My life will never be the same after this.'
Yes, That is true but God will send power. Tarry in Jerusalem. Don't wander off in your weakened state. Stay close. Be in the Book. Be with the people even if you seem numb. Power is coming. Joy will return and when it does you will be able to talk to people you could never speak to before. They will be bewildered that someone like you speaks their language.
Grace will transition you. God will carry you. This is how it is for all of us at times. You are not alone. There is always a whole group going through the same thing somewhere.
--
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The Call Of Grace
Abraham was a voice God found.
"Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran." - Genesis 12:1-4 ESV
Wow. He was 75 years old and leaving everything he knew. It doesn't say when God first spoke to Abram. Did God say it when he was young but it took years for Abram to do it or did God say it in Abram's old age and he obeyed quickly? After 75 years on this Earth a person becomes set in their ways.
"Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him." - Genesis 12:7 ESV
This was a beautiful thing about Abram. He built altars. He created physical milestones and worshiped God.
God told Abram to 'go' and he went. It might have been instantaneous or it might have taken some time.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Jesus says 'come' to us and our generation.
It really is a light burden and an easy fitting yoke. I see so many people struggle under a heavy burden and forced to wear coverings that do not fit them. Empty tradition is all some people know and when they leave their 'father's house' they aren't going towards a real hope they are just fleeing from the place they were as refugees.
Do you hear God's voice this morning saying, 'Come unto me'? Is your burden heavy? He has a light one and He wants to trade your burden out for His.
Is it social pressure? Jesus says 'come unto me.'
Do you have financial worries or health issues? Jesus says 'come unto me.'
Is it fear or doubt or a situation that seems to have no solution? We have all been there. Jesus has walked where we walked. We can go to Him and leave the reactions of our genetics and upbringing behind. He will give us rest and like Abraham we can build an altar celebrating the rest He gives.
Later we will look back at these times and worship if we live this way. The landscape of our memory will have become be filled with altars of different shapes and sizes.
As I visit my memories this morning and rejoice I still say, 'The Best Is Yet To Come.' I say it by faith. If God can use Abram and change his life at 75 can't he do that and more for us if we will just come to Him?
--
"Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran." - Genesis 12:1-4 ESV
Wow. He was 75 years old and leaving everything he knew. It doesn't say when God first spoke to Abram. Did God say it when he was young but it took years for Abram to do it or did God say it in Abram's old age and he obeyed quickly? After 75 years on this Earth a person becomes set in their ways.
"Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him." - Genesis 12:7 ESV
This was a beautiful thing about Abram. He built altars. He created physical milestones and worshiped God.
God told Abram to 'go' and he went. It might have been instantaneous or it might have taken some time.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Jesus says 'come' to us and our generation.
It really is a light burden and an easy fitting yoke. I see so many people struggle under a heavy burden and forced to wear coverings that do not fit them. Empty tradition is all some people know and when they leave their 'father's house' they aren't going towards a real hope they are just fleeing from the place they were as refugees.
Do you hear God's voice this morning saying, 'Come unto me'? Is your burden heavy? He has a light one and He wants to trade your burden out for His.
Is it social pressure? Jesus says 'come unto me.'
Do you have financial worries or health issues? Jesus says 'come unto me.'
Is it fear or doubt or a situation that seems to have no solution? We have all been there. Jesus has walked where we walked. We can go to Him and leave the reactions of our genetics and upbringing behind. He will give us rest and like Abraham we can build an altar celebrating the rest He gives.
Later we will look back at these times and worship if we live this way. The landscape of our memory will have become be filled with altars of different shapes and sizes.
As I visit my memories this morning and rejoice I still say, 'The Best Is Yet To Come.' I say it by faith. If God can use Abram and change his life at 75 can't he do that and more for us if we will just come to Him?
--
Monday, March 7, 2016
Be Transformed
Some one who is being conformed feels the responsibility to be different. A person who is transformed is different.
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." - Romans 12:1-3 ESV
I see people who try to conform and others who rebel against the idea. I have been both of those types of people. People feel the pressure in all kinds of circles. Both secular and sacred ones. Conforming is a middle voice action. English doesn't have the middle voice. Greek does. It is an action that people perform to themselves.
Conforming is like that. We try to reshape ourselves. This concept reminds me of this seemingly contradictory passage.
"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." - Matthew 5:28-32 ESV
The context of the passage above is marriage and commitment and it is brutal because divorce is brutal. Lust outside of commitment is torturous but people live in it. They live wanting something else and torn between two worlds.
Transformation is the only true release. Cutting off the old identity is what has to happen in order for there to be freedom.
The natural man feels the pressure to change and the lure of lust very keenly.
Paul speaks of the 'grace given to me' like it is his possession... and it is his. It is what gives him the disconnect to talk about these pressures as if he is outside of them and they are outside of him. He isn't trying to be anything. He is discovering again and again who Jesus Is and who Jesus has made him to be in his new identity.
Someone can explain this over and over but until grace becomes 'your grace' it isn't going to make sense. We can't change ourselves. We can't be what we need to be. But when grace is ours we realize that we are what God has made us to be.
"Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 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 15:8-10 ESV
Paul spent his youth untransformed. The other Apostles walked with Jesus and he was converted later. In a sense it gave him an advantage because he was unfamiliar with grace. It was a contrast to him in a profound way.
I see people who grew up in Church struggle to conform but God doesn't have any grandchildren. He only has children and they are born in transformation. The old identity must become old. Then to live day to day there must be an act of will that reckons that the old is old and must be replaced by grace.
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ESV
You can keep on being a good little girl or boy or you can keep running from God and every authority that reminds you of Him. The answer isn't ever going to come by you changing yourself. It can only come by you choosing Him.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 ESV
I can talk about this but I can't cause anyone to experience it. Christ is the water. It is your choice. Are you thirsty enough? Are you tired of trying yet or do you want to spend a few more years trying to change what you can't ever change yourself?
For those of you out there who have experienced this and have tasted of the goodness and graciousness of God... isn't this a good reminder. The pressures from outside don't need to make their way inside. We can live in transformation and not even feel the heat when it comes. Hallelujah. Thank You Lord.
When water freezes and turns to ice it expands with a power that can crack those things that try to contain it. Please use us that way Lord. Thank You God. Just seeing You changes us. You are amazing.
--
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." - Romans 12:1-3 ESV
I see people who try to conform and others who rebel against the idea. I have been both of those types of people. People feel the pressure in all kinds of circles. Both secular and sacred ones. Conforming is a middle voice action. English doesn't have the middle voice. Greek does. It is an action that people perform to themselves.
Conforming is like that. We try to reshape ourselves. This concept reminds me of this seemingly contradictory passage.
"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." - Matthew 5:28-32 ESV
The context of the passage above is marriage and commitment and it is brutal because divorce is brutal. Lust outside of commitment is torturous but people live in it. They live wanting something else and torn between two worlds.
Transformation is the only true release. Cutting off the old identity is what has to happen in order for there to be freedom.
The natural man feels the pressure to change and the lure of lust very keenly.
Paul speaks of the 'grace given to me' like it is his possession... and it is his. It is what gives him the disconnect to talk about these pressures as if he is outside of them and they are outside of him. He isn't trying to be anything. He is discovering again and again who Jesus Is and who Jesus has made him to be in his new identity.
Someone can explain this over and over but until grace becomes 'your grace' it isn't going to make sense. We can't change ourselves. We can't be what we need to be. But when grace is ours we realize that we are what God has made us to be.
"Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 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 15:8-10 ESV
Paul spent his youth untransformed. The other Apostles walked with Jesus and he was converted later. In a sense it gave him an advantage because he was unfamiliar with grace. It was a contrast to him in a profound way.
I see people who grew up in Church struggle to conform but God doesn't have any grandchildren. He only has children and they are born in transformation. The old identity must become old. Then to live day to day there must be an act of will that reckons that the old is old and must be replaced by grace.
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ESV
You can keep on being a good little girl or boy or you can keep running from God and every authority that reminds you of Him. The answer isn't ever going to come by you changing yourself. It can only come by you choosing Him.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 ESV
I can talk about this but I can't cause anyone to experience it. Christ is the water. It is your choice. Are you thirsty enough? Are you tired of trying yet or do you want to spend a few more years trying to change what you can't ever change yourself?
For those of you out there who have experienced this and have tasted of the goodness and graciousness of God... isn't this a good reminder. The pressures from outside don't need to make their way inside. We can live in transformation and not even feel the heat when it comes. Hallelujah. Thank You Lord.
When water freezes and turns to ice it expands with a power that can crack those things that try to contain it. Please use us that way Lord. Thank You God. Just seeing You changes us. You are amazing.
--
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
The Power Of Humility
Humility.
I always marvel at the power of it.
"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.' " - Matthew 23:1-12 ESV
Interesting. Notice how Jesus doesn't tell the people to rebel against the Pharisees or refuse to cooperate with them.
Other men teach rebellion. They teach a person to fight in a moral framework. Christ is harmless. He creates life in what was dead and that life takes over.
In God's economy the humble person is the one who is exalted. God's economy is a grace economy. God doesn't favor those who carry heavier burdens or those who demand others carry heavy burdens.
In our desire to reclaim a sense of perfection that has been lost people get very concerned with right and wrong. Things being right and others getting things right becomes hyper-important. This isn't mysterious. When things are wrong life becomes uncomfortable.
God is holy and His things are in order but they are that way not because of effort but because of God's nature.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:6-10 ESV
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" - James 4:10-12 ESV
Humility produces integrity not rebellion. The humble person isn't a doormat for evil. Evil is recognized and resisted but the focus is on God and not the problem.
When we focus on God we are humbled.
I see person after person in the scriptures who were put in situations that challenged them to trust God and not in the power they themselves could muster up.
We face the same challenge. Will it be might or integrity? Will we rage against injustice or will we humble ourselves and let God work through us to be part of the solution?
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." - Philippians 2:14-16 ESV
God does amazing things though people who are being humbled by grace and rely on Him. Heaven's history books are filled with stories we won't hear about here on Earth. If we cling to grace and life in God's economy we are like salt and light wherever God has us.
--
I always marvel at the power of it.
"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.' " - Matthew 23:1-12 ESV
Interesting. Notice how Jesus doesn't tell the people to rebel against the Pharisees or refuse to cooperate with them.
Other men teach rebellion. They teach a person to fight in a moral framework. Christ is harmless. He creates life in what was dead and that life takes over.
In God's economy the humble person is the one who is exalted. God's economy is a grace economy. God doesn't favor those who carry heavier burdens or those who demand others carry heavy burdens.
In our desire to reclaim a sense of perfection that has been lost people get very concerned with right and wrong. Things being right and others getting things right becomes hyper-important. This isn't mysterious. When things are wrong life becomes uncomfortable.
God is holy and His things are in order but they are that way not because of effort but because of God's nature.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:6-10 ESV
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" - James 4:10-12 ESV
Humility produces integrity not rebellion. The humble person isn't a doormat for evil. Evil is recognized and resisted but the focus is on God and not the problem.
When we focus on God we are humbled.
I see person after person in the scriptures who were put in situations that challenged them to trust God and not in the power they themselves could muster up.
We face the same challenge. Will it be might or integrity? Will we rage against injustice or will we humble ourselves and let God work through us to be part of the solution?
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." - Philippians 2:14-16 ESV
God does amazing things though people who are being humbled by grace and rely on Him. Heaven's history books are filled with stories we won't hear about here on Earth. If we cling to grace and life in God's economy we are like salt and light wherever God has us.
--
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Change From The Inside Out
People make the mistake of trying to change people to change society when God is interested in saving people.
"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place." - 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 ESV
"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' " - Romans 10:13-15 ESV
A good many preachers spend far to much time preaching against the problem without giving the solution. Perhaps because they themselves believe that behavioral change is the solution. Political figures expound on social changes but it is love that changes people not policy. You can try to regulate the boundaries of behavior but how is the content touched?
God will heal a land if the people in it are humble. The Gospel creates humble people. Transformation is what is needed today. Every age has needed it and this one is no exception. Transformed people become salt and light.
As great as our societies are in history and culture I believe God cares much more for one soul than He does for a society. Culture is a vehicle to carry passengers. It is the lives of the passengers that matter. They have souls. The people are eternal, unique and irreplaceable.
In the context of care, respect and honor we make known the consequences of actions and decisions so that people can make choices.
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live," - Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV
I tire quickly of critical analysis of social issues that results in a, 'If people only did this or that' answer. People are often just trying to manage as best they can as flawed human beings who lack and want to fill that lack. It is God that blesses and what He puts His hand on is blessed by divine power. That is what will fill up the lack of the human heart.
People can have and keep their social experiments. I choose life.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." - John 3:16-18 KJV
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a ESV
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"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place." - 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 ESV
"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' " - Romans 10:13-15 ESV
A good many preachers spend far to much time preaching against the problem without giving the solution. Perhaps because they themselves believe that behavioral change is the solution. Political figures expound on social changes but it is love that changes people not policy. You can try to regulate the boundaries of behavior but how is the content touched?
God will heal a land if the people in it are humble. The Gospel creates humble people. Transformation is what is needed today. Every age has needed it and this one is no exception. Transformed people become salt and light.
As great as our societies are in history and culture I believe God cares much more for one soul than He does for a society. Culture is a vehicle to carry passengers. It is the lives of the passengers that matter. They have souls. The people are eternal, unique and irreplaceable.
In the context of care, respect and honor we make known the consequences of actions and decisions so that people can make choices.
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live," - Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV
I tire quickly of critical analysis of social issues that results in a, 'If people only did this or that' answer. People are often just trying to manage as best they can as flawed human beings who lack and want to fill that lack. It is God that blesses and what He puts His hand on is blessed by divine power. That is what will fill up the lack of the human heart.
People can have and keep their social experiments. I choose life.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." - John 3:16-18 KJV
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a ESV
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Friday, August 15, 2014
What Is Added And What Is Taken Away
God removed something from each Jewish male as an outward sign. He didn't add something. He removed something. Each believer has had something removed at the point of their salvation.
"For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God." - Romans 2:28-29 ESV
"Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. ... For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." - Galatians 5:2-3, 6 ESV
"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ," - Colossians 2:11 ESV
"For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." - Galatians 6:15 ESV
"Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" - Philippians 3:2-3 ESV
Religion tells us to remove something outwardly and God will be pleased with our life. Become something different and things will be better.
"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ," - Colossians 2:11 ESV
What has needed to happen has already happened. The moment you accept Christ God does it. He didn't make us to be something more. On the contrary, He took something away and added Himself to our lives.
"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you." - Romans 11:17-18 ESV
It doesn't make us Jewish... It grafts us into the source of what made people in the Hebrew scriptures like Abraham and Moses spiritual and makes us spiritual us well. We are wild branches grafted into God's life by Jesus Christ.
Never look at someone and envy what they have. God looks at what they don't have. It is an inward sign. Don't fall for the lie that something must change on the outside. The only thing that needs a change is the heart and that change is made by God in a moment.
There are additions and they happen over time...
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." - 2 Peter 1:3-10 ESV
In other words we learn to live out the finished work of Christ. God has taken away what hindered us and given us His life. Now we live that life with awareness. We live on purpose connecting the dots and reckoning on the newness and freshness of God's life.
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." - 2 Peter 1:2 ESV
We don't seek outward additions... we have inward multiplications.
--
"For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God." - Romans 2:28-29 ESV
"Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. ... For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love." - Galatians 5:2-3, 6 ESV
"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ," - Colossians 2:11 ESV
"For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." - Galatians 6:15 ESV
"Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" - Philippians 3:2-3 ESV
Religion tells us to remove something outwardly and God will be pleased with our life. Become something different and things will be better.
"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ," - Colossians 2:11 ESV
What has needed to happen has already happened. The moment you accept Christ God does it. He didn't make us to be something more. On the contrary, He took something away and added Himself to our lives.
"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you." - Romans 11:17-18 ESV
It doesn't make us Jewish... It grafts us into the source of what made people in the Hebrew scriptures like Abraham and Moses spiritual and makes us spiritual us well. We are wild branches grafted into God's life by Jesus Christ.
Never look at someone and envy what they have. God looks at what they don't have. It is an inward sign. Don't fall for the lie that something must change on the outside. The only thing that needs a change is the heart and that change is made by God in a moment.
There are additions and they happen over time...
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." - 2 Peter 1:3-10 ESV
In other words we learn to live out the finished work of Christ. God has taken away what hindered us and given us His life. Now we live that life with awareness. We live on purpose connecting the dots and reckoning on the newness and freshness of God's life.
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." - 2 Peter 1:2 ESV
We don't seek outward additions... we have inward multiplications.
--
Friday, May 31, 2013
Four Dimensions of Love
"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV
What a prayer!
God's love goes so deep and so high... far into the past and far into the future.
Like the the river Jordan rolling back and standing like a heap at Adam in Joshua 3:16 so the people could pass... God's love rolls back to our first ancestor Adam.
It goes deep inside us... so deep... into the recesses of who we are. It goes so high... and then higher and higher... all the way to a Throne in Heaven.
Just when we think we must have reached its border we find that it goes much farther than anyone thought possible.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34 NKJV
"But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another" 1 Thessalonians 4:9 NKJV
"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us." 1 John 4:12 NKJV
Grace is not given to produce a behavioral change but when the dimensions of love are revealed and our tents are enlarged by the spectacle of that love we become instruments of love.
How has God loved us? If we let it flow into us and over us we will be gracious people because it will flow out of us. We won't make comparisons with others. The width of God's love reaches to them and far beyond to many many others.
I want the love of God to operate in all four dimensions of my existence. I pray that God will reveal The person of Christ and His love to you in a fresh way today. I pray that God would put people in my path and that they would see Him also.
What a prayer!
God's love goes so deep and so high... far into the past and far into the future.
Like the the river Jordan rolling back and standing like a heap at Adam in Joshua 3:16 so the people could pass... God's love rolls back to our first ancestor Adam.
It goes deep inside us... so deep... into the recesses of who we are. It goes so high... and then higher and higher... all the way to a Throne in Heaven.
Just when we think we must have reached its border we find that it goes much farther than anyone thought possible.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34 NKJV
"But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another" 1 Thessalonians 4:9 NKJV
"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us." 1 John 4:12 NKJV
Grace is not given to produce a behavioral change but when the dimensions of love are revealed and our tents are enlarged by the spectacle of that love we become instruments of love.
How has God loved us? If we let it flow into us and over us we will be gracious people because it will flow out of us. We won't make comparisons with others. The width of God's love reaches to them and far beyond to many many others.
I want the love of God to operate in all four dimensions of my existence. I pray that God will reveal The person of Christ and His love to you in a fresh way today. I pray that God would put people in my path and that they would see Him also.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Seeking Change?
This morning I am reading 1 Corinthians chapter 7 over and over again. It covers a number of subjects but a theme I see again and again is the subject of change. Seeking change. Somehow we think change will bring happiness... a change in marriage... or job... or location. Those changes can be helpful to a degree.
"Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ." 1 Cor 7:20-22 ESV
To 'avail ourselves of the opportunity' is a great thing.
"I want you to be free from anxieties." 1 Cor 7:32
God wants us to be free from anxiety. But change is not necessarily going to be what will do that. Circumstantial change may alleviate the symptoms for a while but the root issues must be dealt with in order for there to be true freedom.
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 ESV
"But what does the Scripture say? 'Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.' So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Gal 4:30-5:1 ESV
The old person we were will live in slavery in spite of circumstances because it is the child of bondage. The new person we are can live in freedom because it is the child of freedom. Christ has set us free by giving us a new identity in freedom. That new person is free by nature not by circumstance.
Let's live in the new nature. Grace is the intimate expression our God's communion with that new nature. Receiving grace will meet our deepest need.
"Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ." 1 Cor 7:20-22 ESV
To 'avail ourselves of the opportunity' is a great thing.
"I want you to be free from anxieties." 1 Cor 7:32
God wants us to be free from anxiety. But change is not necessarily going to be what will do that. Circumstantial change may alleviate the symptoms for a while but the root issues must be dealt with in order for there to be true freedom.
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 ESV
"But what does the Scripture say? 'Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.' So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Gal 4:30-5:1 ESV
The old person we were will live in slavery in spite of circumstances because it is the child of bondage. The new person we are can live in freedom because it is the child of freedom. Christ has set us free by giving us a new identity in freedom. That new person is free by nature not by circumstance.
Let's live in the new nature. Grace is the intimate expression our God's communion with that new nature. Receiving grace will meet our deepest need.
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