We have a reset button with God.
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." - Isaiah 1:18 ESV
Maybe we see this in relation to this passage...
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9 ESV
But I think it is more. When we reason with God who we really are gets revealed. Our calling gets restored when it was obscured by another color.
"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." - 2 Timothy 4:2-4 NKJV
Do you see the triad there? If we stop hearing sound doctrine from someone else, who has been given as a gift to give us sound doctrine, we heap to ourselves teachers who never challenge us with the cross and our ears itch, then we turn our ears away but find that we get turned by some other power towards fables.
King David didn't have itching ears...
"And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And Shimei said as he cursed, 'Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.' Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, 'Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.' But the king said, 'What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David,' who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'' And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, 'Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.' So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust." - 2 Samuel 16:6-13 ESV
Wow. David was 'like wool' wasn't he? He was reasoning with God and looking to Him for what was to come next.
Sin can become a distraction from our identity but 'good things' can distract us from our calling.
You have a calling! It is high. It is Heavenly. It is holy!
Confessing what we do or don't do that is not full of faith is important but our actions are only surface things. Reasoning with God is more than that. We reason with Him and discuss what is real and what comes next. What happens next isn't based on the 'success' or 'failure' of past ventures. What comes next is a joint venture with Jesus that can't be evaluated in those terms.
"In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness." - Isaiah 29:18 NKJV
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." - 1 Peter 2:9 ESV
Hit the reset button with God and return to your calling.
"To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." - John 10:3 ESV
The many fictions we entertained to keep us entertained get left in the dead end where they belong and we walk with the One who has made us white as snow.
--
Showing posts with label Confession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Confession. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Enjoy The Victory
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV
I'm reading a booklet and the Pastor says something interesting about besetting sin...
'Smoking is not the real issue; the issue is that this person enjoys no victory. His health is being tremendously affected. The whole issue behind his predicament is a besetting sin that he will not let go. As a result, He is limited in his blessings, in his process, and in his progress in the Kingdom of God. He has admitted that he doesn't feel right when he smokes, but he will not receive victory above his preoccupation.' -Carl H Stevens, Jr (Church Leadership)
The part that caught me this morning was '...he enjoys no victory...'
We need to enjoy victory. You might say, 'I'm not a competitive person'. Ok. I get that. But victory comes in many forms.
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." - Revelation 12:10-11 KJV
Who did 'they' overcome in this Heavenly vision of the future? They overcame 'the accuser' who told them that their identity was something less than what it was.
The Blood of the Lamb = The reality that sin has been paid for and delt with
The Word of Their Testimony = The story they rehearsed about God's faithfulness
Loved Not Their Lives = The lived like eternity was real
Oversimplified. Yes. Maybe a little.
It isn't the smoking. It's the cycle of defeat. Jesus provides a counter spin of victory that overcomes the whirlpool of accusation. Every believer is an overcomer because of the blood but no believer will experience daily victories unless they talk truth against the current and live beyond self-love.
You are a winner. Say it. You have won because of Jesus.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:35-39 ESV
I like the 'no' in that passage. That 'no' shows a contest. Let's win that battle today and say, 'No. We (not i) are more than conquerors.' because the accusation isn't just against us and we don't live in victory just for ourselves.
--
I'm reading a booklet and the Pastor says something interesting about besetting sin...
'Smoking is not the real issue; the issue is that this person enjoys no victory. His health is being tremendously affected. The whole issue behind his predicament is a besetting sin that he will not let go. As a result, He is limited in his blessings, in his process, and in his progress in the Kingdom of God. He has admitted that he doesn't feel right when he smokes, but he will not receive victory above his preoccupation.' -Carl H Stevens, Jr (Church Leadership)
The part that caught me this morning was '...he enjoys no victory...'
We need to enjoy victory. You might say, 'I'm not a competitive person'. Ok. I get that. But victory comes in many forms.
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." - Revelation 12:10-11 KJV
Who did 'they' overcome in this Heavenly vision of the future? They overcame 'the accuser' who told them that their identity was something less than what it was.
The Blood of the Lamb = The reality that sin has been paid for and delt with
The Word of Their Testimony = The story they rehearsed about God's faithfulness
Loved Not Their Lives = The lived like eternity was real
Oversimplified. Yes. Maybe a little.
It isn't the smoking. It's the cycle of defeat. Jesus provides a counter spin of victory that overcomes the whirlpool of accusation. Every believer is an overcomer because of the blood but no believer will experience daily victories unless they talk truth against the current and live beyond self-love.
You are a winner. Say it. You have won because of Jesus.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:35-39 ESV
I like the 'no' in that passage. That 'no' shows a contest. Let's win that battle today and say, 'No. We (not i) are more than conquerors.' because the accusation isn't just against us and we don't live in victory just for ourselves.
--
Friday, July 22, 2016
Deaf And Dumb Spirits - Part 2
Some more thoughts about the passage we looked at yesterday.
This verse is so loaded...
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" - 2 Timothy 2:25 KJV
'Oppose Themselves' is one Greek word in the middle voice (so the person is doing the action to themselves). The word is antidiatithemi (Strong's G475).
anti = against or instead of
diatithemi = arranging or disposing of one's own affairs.
People need hope. They don't dare to arrange their own affairs if they lack hope. They stop believing that something wonderful can happen.
A meek instructor creates an opening where God might 'give the gift of repentance'. In other words they get a glimpse of Him while they are still stiff-necked and that glimpse might result in a turned to God by acknowledging the truth.
Jesus is a meek instructor.
"And Jesus asked his father, 'How long has this been happening to him?' And he said, 'From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.' And Jesus said to him, ''If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, 'I believe; help my unbelief!' " - Mark 9:21-24 ESV
Jesus' faith confession set the stage for the healing.
The father was so overwhelmed by the circumstance that he was at his wits end. He did the right thing. He went and got Jesus.
I also saw this...
The father said, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute." - Mark 9:17b ESV
But Jesus said, "You mute and deaf spirit..." - Mark 9:25b ESV
The father thought his child could not speak but Jesus saw that he could not hear or speak. Communication was not getting in or out but Jesus words pierced the darkness of the father's life and of the son's life.
When a meek man or woman speaks the words are powerful. They are not born of self-interest for personal gain. God teaches the meek person and gives them something to say. The meek person discerns.
Don't we see people around us who have great potential but they get in their own way. They oppose themselves.
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV
Meek warfare casts down knowledge that contradicts faith.
God, Make us stubborn about Your ability to heal and redeem. Teach us. Fill us with hope and give us words of hope. Open our ears to hear grace so that we will have a faith confession.
All redemption is possible for them that believe. Everything that has been sold has been bought back by the blood of Jesus. Every place where we put our foot is ours by faith. Meekness declares the eternal victory. Meekness glorifies God.
--
This verse is so loaded...
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" - 2 Timothy 2:25 KJV
'Oppose Themselves' is one Greek word in the middle voice (so the person is doing the action to themselves). The word is antidiatithemi (Strong's G475).
anti = against or instead of
diatithemi = arranging or disposing of one's own affairs.
People need hope. They don't dare to arrange their own affairs if they lack hope. They stop believing that something wonderful can happen.
A meek instructor creates an opening where God might 'give the gift of repentance'. In other words they get a glimpse of Him while they are still stiff-necked and that glimpse might result in a turned to God by acknowledging the truth.
Jesus is a meek instructor.
"And Jesus asked his father, 'How long has this been happening to him?' And he said, 'From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.' And Jesus said to him, ''If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, 'I believe; help my unbelief!' " - Mark 9:21-24 ESV
Jesus' faith confession set the stage for the healing.
The father was so overwhelmed by the circumstance that he was at his wits end. He did the right thing. He went and got Jesus.
I also saw this...
The father said, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute." - Mark 9:17b ESV
But Jesus said, "You mute and deaf spirit..." - Mark 9:25b ESV
The father thought his child could not speak but Jesus saw that he could not hear or speak. Communication was not getting in or out but Jesus words pierced the darkness of the father's life and of the son's life.
When a meek man or woman speaks the words are powerful. They are not born of self-interest for personal gain. God teaches the meek person and gives them something to say. The meek person discerns.
Don't we see people around us who have great potential but they get in their own way. They oppose themselves.
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV
Meek warfare casts down knowledge that contradicts faith.
God, Make us stubborn about Your ability to heal and redeem. Teach us. Fill us with hope and give us words of hope. Open our ears to hear grace so that we will have a faith confession.
All redemption is possible for them that believe. Everything that has been sold has been bought back by the blood of Jesus. Every place where we put our foot is ours by faith. Meekness declares the eternal victory. Meekness glorifies God.
--
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Flank The Enemies With The Finished Work
"Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget." - Deuteronomy 25:17-19 ESV
Remember your enemy so you can blot out your enemy.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Remember what your flesh is like. Observe what the world is. Identity that the Devil is a lying accuser and always will be. Then blot out the memory of the past hurtful actions because God has given us a new identity. Cut it off like extra string on a newly sewn button. Jesus' work on the cross has tied it up tight so we can cut off any extra and be done with it.
"And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it. So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night.
And he commanded them, 'Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them. And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, "They are fleeing from us, just as before." So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will give it into your hand. And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you.' " - Joshua 8:2-8 ESV
The memory baits the enemy and draws that thing out. The finished work of Christ flanks all three foes so that they are caught out in the open. The finished work now gives us back the life they used to possess as a stronghold.
Jericho fell because we circled it and surveyed it with the finished work in mind. Seven is the number of completion... 5, 6, 7... grace, man, 'It is finished!'... The trumpets blew and the Israelites shouted and the wall was pushed down into the ground by angels.
Each stronghold falls like Jericho fell. We do what we did to Jericho. We claim the finished work. Draw out the enemy. Let the flesh think for a moment that it has a victory then take it down just like God took it down at Jericho by refusing to live in the wounds of the past. We draw the thing skulking in darkness out into the light and that take it down by standing in the knowledge of a new identity. We confess the reality of newness aloud. Our foot gets pressed on the neck of the past and we take what God has given us. The flesh has a stiff neck. We immobilize the will of the old man and exercise the rights and privileges given to who we are in the Spirit.
"For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things - things that belong to salvation." - Hebrews 6:7-9 ESV
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." - 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 ESV
We remember the battles so we can put them behind us. We don't have to let our past hold us hostage. This is a new day and we face a new city with old enemies in it. When the time is right we draw them out into the open, flank them with the finished work of Christ and blot out the memory of past pain.
Help us God. It is not by our might or power but by Your Spirit. We claim that the work of the cross is a victory that we can live in moment by moment and situation by situation. We trust you to give us victory. You are our strong tower. We run to You and take shelter in what You have accomplished.
--
Remember your enemy so you can blot out your enemy.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Remember what your flesh is like. Observe what the world is. Identity that the Devil is a lying accuser and always will be. Then blot out the memory of the past hurtful actions because God has given us a new identity. Cut it off like extra string on a newly sewn button. Jesus' work on the cross has tied it up tight so we can cut off any extra and be done with it.
"And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it. So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night.
And he commanded them, 'Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them. And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, "They are fleeing from us, just as before." So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will give it into your hand. And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you.' " - Joshua 8:2-8 ESV
The memory baits the enemy and draws that thing out. The finished work of Christ flanks all three foes so that they are caught out in the open. The finished work now gives us back the life they used to possess as a stronghold.
Jericho fell because we circled it and surveyed it with the finished work in mind. Seven is the number of completion... 5, 6, 7... grace, man, 'It is finished!'... The trumpets blew and the Israelites shouted and the wall was pushed down into the ground by angels.
Each stronghold falls like Jericho fell. We do what we did to Jericho. We claim the finished work. Draw out the enemy. Let the flesh think for a moment that it has a victory then take it down just like God took it down at Jericho by refusing to live in the wounds of the past. We draw the thing skulking in darkness out into the light and that take it down by standing in the knowledge of a new identity. We confess the reality of newness aloud. Our foot gets pressed on the neck of the past and we take what God has given us. The flesh has a stiff neck. We immobilize the will of the old man and exercise the rights and privileges given to who we are in the Spirit.
"For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things - things that belong to salvation." - Hebrews 6:7-9 ESV
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." - 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 ESV
We remember the battles so we can put them behind us. We don't have to let our past hold us hostage. This is a new day and we face a new city with old enemies in it. When the time is right we draw them out into the open, flank them with the finished work of Christ and blot out the memory of past pain.
Help us God. It is not by our might or power but by Your Spirit. We claim that the work of the cross is a victory that we can live in moment by moment and situation by situation. We trust you to give us victory. You are our strong tower. We run to You and take shelter in what You have accomplished.
--
Friday, January 8, 2016
Three Principles Of The Overcomer
"And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.' " - Revelation 12:10-11 ESV
Repentance (recognizing the power and redemptive merit of the blood of Christ), confession (professing Biblical eternal truth as it pertains to life and circumstances) and not loving your life so much that you won't lay it down (having the life and mind of Christ functioning in your day to day experience) are the marks of the overcomer.
I was refreshed in this doctrine last night at coffee. P Butch Veader was so exercised in this truth. I could only stay for a few short moments because of commitments but wow! I was so glad for those few moments.
"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
This truth does not need my endorsement but here I am endorsing it once again. With just a handful of people much can happen. If one or more of them are overcomers then watch out! The atmosphere of a place is overwhelmed by glory. People can't help but pay attention when they 'overhear' eternal words.
Thank God for people who will lay down their lives. Thank God for those who recognize the power of the blood of Christ. Thank God for ones who won't put a bushel over the candle of truth.
The accuser will one day be put down. That is what Revelation 12 declares. We have the privilege (and challenge) to function today as overcomers. It won't happen by force of will or strength of personality.
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." - Zechariah 4:6b ESV
Let's turn to God and win the souls of people as ones who don't love their life so much that it must be preserved at any cost. Only God can do this in us. Only grace can reveal to us this new and living way.
Help us God. Give us backbone. Gather us and make us people that will spend the time to hide Your word in our hearts. Thank you for friends who function as brothers because God has purchased them with His blood.
Thank You God... really... Thank You.
--
Repentance (recognizing the power and redemptive merit of the blood of Christ), confession (professing Biblical eternal truth as it pertains to life and circumstances) and not loving your life so much that you won't lay it down (having the life and mind of Christ functioning in your day to day experience) are the marks of the overcomer.
I was refreshed in this doctrine last night at coffee. P Butch Veader was so exercised in this truth. I could only stay for a few short moments because of commitments but wow! I was so glad for those few moments.
"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
This truth does not need my endorsement but here I am endorsing it once again. With just a handful of people much can happen. If one or more of them are overcomers then watch out! The atmosphere of a place is overwhelmed by glory. People can't help but pay attention when they 'overhear' eternal words.
Thank God for people who will lay down their lives. Thank God for those who recognize the power of the blood of Christ. Thank God for ones who won't put a bushel over the candle of truth.
The accuser will one day be put down. That is what Revelation 12 declares. We have the privilege (and challenge) to function today as overcomers. It won't happen by force of will or strength of personality.
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." - Zechariah 4:6b ESV
Let's turn to God and win the souls of people as ones who don't love their life so much that it must be preserved at any cost. Only God can do this in us. Only grace can reveal to us this new and living way.
Help us God. Give us backbone. Gather us and make us people that will spend the time to hide Your word in our hearts. Thank you for friends who function as brothers because God has purchased them with His blood.
Thank You God... really... Thank You.
--
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Exaggeration
People exaggerate. We magnify our fears and our virtues. Humor involves exaggeration and observation. Drama is created by exaggeration. Horror is the worst kind of exaggeration because it magnifies what we fear.
Humorous horror is the fun house mirror of our day. People pay to laugh at what they are afraid of.
People struggle to be more. They pad their resumes and hide their fears behind an exaggerated smile. We have a moral sense that things should be portrayed just as they are but but at times fight the urge to magnify or minimize. It's what people do to cope.
God doesn't exaggerate... He uncovers or reveals. Glory is no exaggeration. Glory is the reality of God's involvement. Glory is the glow of His person. Worship is not making God bigger. Worship is when we approach how God really is with our words and our hearts ignite because of our proximity to that which is magnificent.
Sin is the major barrier that separates us from God but I think this defense mechanism is a mental mindset that reinforces that barrier. God seems so straight laced and serious. How can we relate to Him?
"I said in my haste, All men are liars." - Psalm 116:11 KJV
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:8-10 ESV
Simple agreement results in cleansing.
Jesus lived in reality when He went to the cross. He saw everything just as it was and not how He wanted it to be. Sin wasn't funny to Him. It still isn't.
Thank God it has been taken care of.
"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
Peace is the result when we witness glory. Grace is God's honest unhindered initiation to us. It is God being who He Is and approaching us as we are. God desires an unembellished response. Faith is just that.
Faith leaves exaggeration behind and enters into a fresh kind of humor. Joy is the result. We laugh like a little child laughs. We are are fresh and free when we believe. The burden is gone. We don't have to pretend it is heavier or lighter. Faith makes us honest because we can dare to be honest. We are accepted either way.
There is great joy in being loved just as we are. There is joy in being who we are when the glow of God's smile is shining on us. We live in the magic hour of perception. The sun is in just the right position to make everything look wonderful and bathed in flattering colors.
Walking before God makes it effortless to be ourselves.
--
Humorous horror is the fun house mirror of our day. People pay to laugh at what they are afraid of.
People struggle to be more. They pad their resumes and hide their fears behind an exaggerated smile. We have a moral sense that things should be portrayed just as they are but but at times fight the urge to magnify or minimize. It's what people do to cope.
God doesn't exaggerate... He uncovers or reveals. Glory is no exaggeration. Glory is the reality of God's involvement. Glory is the glow of His person. Worship is not making God bigger. Worship is when we approach how God really is with our words and our hearts ignite because of our proximity to that which is magnificent.
Sin is the major barrier that separates us from God but I think this defense mechanism is a mental mindset that reinforces that barrier. God seems so straight laced and serious. How can we relate to Him?
"I said in my haste, All men are liars." - Psalm 116:11 KJV
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:8-10 ESV
Simple agreement results in cleansing.
Jesus lived in reality when He went to the cross. He saw everything just as it was and not how He wanted it to be. Sin wasn't funny to Him. It still isn't.
Thank God it has been taken care of.
"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
Peace is the result when we witness glory. Grace is God's honest unhindered initiation to us. It is God being who He Is and approaching us as we are. God desires an unembellished response. Faith is just that.
Faith leaves exaggeration behind and enters into a fresh kind of humor. Joy is the result. We laugh like a little child laughs. We are are fresh and free when we believe. The burden is gone. We don't have to pretend it is heavier or lighter. Faith makes us honest because we can dare to be honest. We are accepted either way.
There is great joy in being loved just as we are. There is joy in being who we are when the glow of God's smile is shining on us. We live in the magic hour of perception. The sun is in just the right position to make everything look wonderful and bathed in flattering colors.
Walking before God makes it effortless to be ourselves.
--
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
A Single Eye
Doubt is a crazy thing. Grace is insulation against doubt. When we are established in grace it begins to manage our expectations and when our expectations are right the lines of communication can remain open.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." - James 1:5-8 ESV
There is a confidence that can develop from consistent nonjudgmental communication. When someone knows you but the don't know you after your faults.
"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." - 1 Peter 5:6-8 ESV
Our single mindedness can be eaten up when the lines of communication get dried up.
"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:8-10 ESV
There are times when I just put everything on the shelf and just start confessing truth to God. I tell Him what He already knows. I describe Him and praise Him for the description. I relinquish control. I pour out my concerns. My vision is narrowed and the blinders go on. He is my only concern. He is the only thing I care about. He is the only person in the room.
If I try to do that but can't I realize that my attachments to people, relationships or things have gotten unhealthy. Addiction has set in or I am on the path to it.
Correct order is that nothing comes before God... not even the preservation of my own life.
When grace comes into sharp focus doubt dissolves like a shadow. The God of grace can do anything. He Is free to function any way that falls within the boundaries of His character and God is good in every way.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." - James 1:5-8 ESV
There is a confidence that can develop from consistent nonjudgmental communication. When someone knows you but the don't know you after your faults.
"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." - 1 Peter 5:6-8 ESV
Our single mindedness can be eaten up when the lines of communication get dried up.
"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:8-10 ESV
There are times when I just put everything on the shelf and just start confessing truth to God. I tell Him what He already knows. I describe Him and praise Him for the description. I relinquish control. I pour out my concerns. My vision is narrowed and the blinders go on. He is my only concern. He is the only thing I care about. He is the only person in the room.
If I try to do that but can't I realize that my attachments to people, relationships or things have gotten unhealthy. Addiction has set in or I am on the path to it.
Correct order is that nothing comes before God... not even the preservation of my own life.
When grace comes into sharp focus doubt dissolves like a shadow. The God of grace can do anything. He Is free to function any way that falls within the boundaries of His character and God is good in every way.
--
Monday, February 9, 2015
Facing Down Goliath
"Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span." - 1 Samuel 17:1-4 ESV
Goliath was a giant from a nation that reveled in war and all things warlike. War was a sport to them. Goliath was just out looking for a few more notches on his belt and basking in all the fear and shame he could produce in other people.
Fears are mighty foes and fear mongers capitalize on fear. They push anything that looks unstable and try to make it fall. It is emotional pyromania.
One of the healthiest things we can do is face our fears but to be honest who wants to go against Goliath? He has chewed up and spit out many men. It is what he does for sport.
"And the Philistine said to David, 'Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, 'Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.'
Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand.'
When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine." - 1 Samuel 17:43-48 ESV
Oh, It make you want to cheer inside doesn't it?
If fear is motivating us then we will just cower on our side of the mountain as the enemy amasses force on the other side. Goliath was just a stalling tactic. All that bologna about champion versus champion just a ploy to play on their honor to bring an easy victory. The Philistines wanted to shame the people to make them easier to fight. They never had any intentions of serving Israel.
It is easy to live a life of avoidance isn't it. To just cross unto the other side of the street face forward and just not get involved.
David wasn't a servant of Saul. He was on no man's leash. He was an arrow in the quiver of God. He was a free man.
Grace defies fear because it declares that God has given favor to a person. It is favor that no person or event can take away or diminish. It isn't foolish but it also doesn't back down.
David's speech was for the armies of Israel and for himself. His words made this contest a contest against God and His favor.
Go ahead and speak to that looming cloud that tries to cast it's shadow over your life. Rally your troops. A man or woman who serves The King of Kings needs never cower in fear.
We live in a victory that has already been won when we say, 'The battle is The Lord's!'
--
Goliath was a giant from a nation that reveled in war and all things warlike. War was a sport to them. Goliath was just out looking for a few more notches on his belt and basking in all the fear and shame he could produce in other people.
Fears are mighty foes and fear mongers capitalize on fear. They push anything that looks unstable and try to make it fall. It is emotional pyromania.
One of the healthiest things we can do is face our fears but to be honest who wants to go against Goliath? He has chewed up and spit out many men. It is what he does for sport.
"And the Philistine said to David, 'Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, 'Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.'
Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand.'
When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine." - 1 Samuel 17:43-48 ESV
Oh, It make you want to cheer inside doesn't it?
If fear is motivating us then we will just cower on our side of the mountain as the enemy amasses force on the other side. Goliath was just a stalling tactic. All that bologna about champion versus champion just a ploy to play on their honor to bring an easy victory. The Philistines wanted to shame the people to make them easier to fight. They never had any intentions of serving Israel.
It is easy to live a life of avoidance isn't it. To just cross unto the other side of the street face forward and just not get involved.
David wasn't a servant of Saul. He was on no man's leash. He was an arrow in the quiver of God. He was a free man.
Grace defies fear because it declares that God has given favor to a person. It is favor that no person or event can take away or diminish. It isn't foolish but it also doesn't back down.
David's speech was for the armies of Israel and for himself. His words made this contest a contest against God and His favor.
Go ahead and speak to that looming cloud that tries to cast it's shadow over your life. Rally your troops. A man or woman who serves The King of Kings needs never cower in fear.
We live in a victory that has already been won when we say, 'The battle is The Lord's!'
--
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Redemptive Communication In The Book of James
Looking at the subject of communication in the book of James. Fascinating.
James has so much so say about what we say, how we say it and if we say something. I am going to list just a few verses with the communication words in all capitals.
"For he who SAID, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So SPEAK and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." - James 2:11-13 ESV
"But someone will SAY, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." - James 2:18 ESV
"Not many of you should become TEACHERS, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." - James 3:1 ESV (Teachers speak and instruct)
"So also the TONGUE is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the TONGUE is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The TONGUE is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." - James 3:5-6 ESV
"From the same MOUTH come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." - James 3:10 ESV
"This is not the WISDOM that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the WISDOM from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." - James 3:15-17 ESV
"What causes QUARRELS and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and QUARREL. You do not have, because you do not ASK. You ASK and do not receive, because you ASK wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - James 4:1-3 ESV
"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? Come now, you who SAY, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to SAY, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you BOAST in your arrogance. All such BOASTING is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." - James 4:11-17 ESV
"Come now, you rich, weep and HOWL for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten." - James 5:1-2 ESV
"Do not GRUMBLE against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who SPOKE in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not SWEAR, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'YES' BE YES and your 'NO' BE NO, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him PRAY. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing PRAISE. Is anyone among you sick? Let him CALL for the elders of the church, and let them PRAY over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the PRAYER of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 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 5:9-16 ESV
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he PRAYED fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he PRAYED again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:17-18 ESV
"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone BRINGS HIM BACK, let him know that whoever BRINGS BACK a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." - James 5:19-20 ESV
Wow.
There is so much here isn't there?
It makes me want to be a person who communicates mercy because I am meditating on grace. God apparently wants a focused communication life... prayer directed at Him... praise for circumstances directed at Him... true communication between people... not keeping things hidden inside but expression focused by and through faith.
Will complaining bring back a wandering sinner (someone who has missed the mark in life)? Will negativity?
What will make it rain? The prayer of faith will.
What will seal a deal. A true 'Yes' or 'No' will.
I need to hear myself speak wisdom from above not below. People need grace words from merciful people and in order to be a merciful person I need to hear merciful word that are from God and to speak those words to myself.
We have been given grace but mankind quarrels and devours one another because no word of grace is heard and processed by the soul. The war in our soul can cease the moment we hear the gracious announcement of the finished work in application for our lives... that same word gives us a soft answer that can turn away wrath in others.
James has so much so say about what we say, how we say it and if we say something. I am going to list just a few verses with the communication words in all capitals.
"For he who SAID, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So SPEAK and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." - James 2:11-13 ESV
"But someone will SAY, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." - James 2:18 ESV
"Not many of you should become TEACHERS, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." - James 3:1 ESV (Teachers speak and instruct)
"So also the TONGUE is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the TONGUE is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The TONGUE is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." - James 3:5-6 ESV
"From the same MOUTH come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." - James 3:10 ESV
"This is not the WISDOM that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the WISDOM from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." - James 3:15-17 ESV
"What causes QUARRELS and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and QUARREL. You do not have, because you do not ASK. You ASK and do not receive, because you ASK wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - James 4:1-3 ESV
"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? Come now, you who SAY, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to SAY, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you BOAST in your arrogance. All such BOASTING is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." - James 4:11-17 ESV
"Come now, you rich, weep and HOWL for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten." - James 5:1-2 ESV
"Do not GRUMBLE against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who SPOKE in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not SWEAR, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'YES' BE YES and your 'NO' BE NO, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him PRAY. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing PRAISE. Is anyone among you sick? Let him CALL for the elders of the church, and let them PRAY over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the PRAYER of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 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 5:9-16 ESV
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he PRAYED fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he PRAYED again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:17-18 ESV
"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone BRINGS HIM BACK, let him know that whoever BRINGS BACK a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." - James 5:19-20 ESV
Wow.
There is so much here isn't there?
It makes me want to be a person who communicates mercy because I am meditating on grace. God apparently wants a focused communication life... prayer directed at Him... praise for circumstances directed at Him... true communication between people... not keeping things hidden inside but expression focused by and through faith.
Will complaining bring back a wandering sinner (someone who has missed the mark in life)? Will negativity?
What will make it rain? The prayer of faith will.
What will seal a deal. A true 'Yes' or 'No' will.
I need to hear myself speak wisdom from above not below. People need grace words from merciful people and in order to be a merciful person I need to hear merciful word that are from God and to speak those words to myself.
We have been given grace but mankind quarrels and devours one another because no word of grace is heard and processed by the soul. The war in our soul can cease the moment we hear the gracious announcement of the finished work in application for our lives... that same word gives us a soft answer that can turn away wrath in others.
---
Thursday, March 20, 2014
The Power Of Spoken Truth
There is something fulfilling about verbalizing truth. This works on many levels.
It might be admitting to long repressed feelings or thoughts that causes release. To think or feel one way inside but live differently on the outside causes contradictions in our soul. If anyone lives in a contradiction long enough it wears on them. There are plenty of reasons people do this.
"He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?' " - Isaiah 44:20 ESV
Approving of a lie... only a fallen person can do it. People do it on purpose and they do it not knowing they are doing it. Either way it results in 'feeding on ashes'. The burnt up remains of something that is devoid of nutrition and satisfaction.
People have an individual sphere of reality. A bubble of perception where the five senses regulate perceived reality. Some philosophers claim that this bubble is reality. That the sum of what we perceive and think and act upon what we perceive is what is real and that individuals really control and 'script' that reality in a tailor made way. Biblical sound teaching contradicts that thought while recognizing the bubble around a person.
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." - Proverbs 23:7 KJV
People in 'free' societies try to express what it in their bubble. In repressive cultures they do it in secret or channel the expression in veiled ways. A brief look at the history of art, music and literature reveals this clearly. People have a need to express what they feel. There is a release when they do it and a recognition that happens when someone who feels the same way sees and validates it.
If we just stop here then we are left in a potentially lonely and very destructive place. Perhaps it is fertile for creativity but not for peace and fulfillment. Why? Perhaps because those virtuous qualities don't reside in man's individual bubble. People only have circumstantial calm at best. People are broken... damaged.
If people have a bubble then what about God? He is a person...
"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' " - Acts 17:24-28 ESV
All of humanity is inside God's bubble of perception.
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," - Hebrews 1:1-3 ESV
All creation is held together by the glue of His words.
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:15-17 ESV
All perceived things were made by someone who is not limited by perception. Omnipresence and omniscience make the claim that God sees all that is 'inside' but has no 'outside'. He has created an inside... inside Himself... for us to live in.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." - John 1:1-4 ESV
It is the word that connects our small reality with God's reality much like light making chemical changes on parts of our eyes allow us to perceive and 'see' the outside world.
Eternal truth resides in God. Eternal truth is reality. It is real and will be real absent of anyone else to perceive it.
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " - John 8:31-32 ESV
How? When what is inside us aligns with what God is thinking... when something unbroken and breakable enters into our mind and comes to live in us... it has the ability to shatter and remake our little bubble. To expand it. To breathe life into it.
"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:8-10 ESV
Wow. wow. wow.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," - Ephesians 2:8 ESV
We are saved by faith and nothing else. Salvation is something God does when we believe and receive the light given to us. The light of the character, nature and redemptive action of His Son on the cross. It is not something we do. It is something God does.
Saying truth is something we do and Oh it is so rewarding. We say what is true and we are changed by that truth. We say what is true and the truth changes the world around us. Not just intellectual knowledge. Jesus, the living truth, does the changing. The Father. The Son. The Holy Spirit of truth does it in sovereignty and as He wills.
Grace makes us free within our bubble to confess and walk in truth. Grace makes us free period. In that freedom we have liberty and great potential for confession.
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:10-13 KJV
"If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." - John 14:7 ESV
One day our bubble of perception will be gone. Popped.
"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV
We will see God as He sees us. Just knowing that does something to us.
Until then let's use wisdom about how to approach people. In freedom God has brought peace and joy into our world and has changed the content of what we express. It will continue to change as we are transformed into the image of the One we have been remade to be like.
"Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' " - Mark 16:14-16 ESV
Let us go dunk people in truth. Only God knows what will truly enter into their little world. If it gets inside grace will persuade them to have a new confession and that confession is so satisfying to the speaker and the ones who hear it and recognize it.
It might be admitting to long repressed feelings or thoughts that causes release. To think or feel one way inside but live differently on the outside causes contradictions in our soul. If anyone lives in a contradiction long enough it wears on them. There are plenty of reasons people do this.
"He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?' " - Isaiah 44:20 ESV
Approving of a lie... only a fallen person can do it. People do it on purpose and they do it not knowing they are doing it. Either way it results in 'feeding on ashes'. The burnt up remains of something that is devoid of nutrition and satisfaction.
People have an individual sphere of reality. A bubble of perception where the five senses regulate perceived reality. Some philosophers claim that this bubble is reality. That the sum of what we perceive and think and act upon what we perceive is what is real and that individuals really control and 'script' that reality in a tailor made way. Biblical sound teaching contradicts that thought while recognizing the bubble around a person.
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." - Proverbs 23:7 KJV
People in 'free' societies try to express what it in their bubble. In repressive cultures they do it in secret or channel the expression in veiled ways. A brief look at the history of art, music and literature reveals this clearly. People have a need to express what they feel. There is a release when they do it and a recognition that happens when someone who feels the same way sees and validates it.
If we just stop here then we are left in a potentially lonely and very destructive place. Perhaps it is fertile for creativity but not for peace and fulfillment. Why? Perhaps because those virtuous qualities don't reside in man's individual bubble. People only have circumstantial calm at best. People are broken... damaged.
If people have a bubble then what about God? He is a person...
"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' " - Acts 17:24-28 ESV
All of humanity is inside God's bubble of perception.
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," - Hebrews 1:1-3 ESV
All creation is held together by the glue of His words.
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:15-17 ESV
All perceived things were made by someone who is not limited by perception. Omnipresence and omniscience make the claim that God sees all that is 'inside' but has no 'outside'. He has created an inside... inside Himself... for us to live in.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." - John 1:1-4 ESV
It is the word that connects our small reality with God's reality much like light making chemical changes on parts of our eyes allow us to perceive and 'see' the outside world.
Eternal truth resides in God. Eternal truth is reality. It is real and will be real absent of anyone else to perceive it.
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " - John 8:31-32 ESV
How? When what is inside us aligns with what God is thinking... when something unbroken and breakable enters into our mind and comes to live in us... it has the ability to shatter and remake our little bubble. To expand it. To breathe life into it.
"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:8-10 ESV
Wow. wow. wow.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," - Ephesians 2:8 ESV
We are saved by faith and nothing else. Salvation is something God does when we believe and receive the light given to us. The light of the character, nature and redemptive action of His Son on the cross. It is not something we do. It is something God does.
Saying truth is something we do and Oh it is so rewarding. We say what is true and we are changed by that truth. We say what is true and the truth changes the world around us. Not just intellectual knowledge. Jesus, the living truth, does the changing. The Father. The Son. The Holy Spirit of truth does it in sovereignty and as He wills.
Grace makes us free within our bubble to confess and walk in truth. Grace makes us free period. In that freedom we have liberty and great potential for confession.
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:10-13 KJV
"If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." - John 14:7 ESV
One day our bubble of perception will be gone. Popped.
"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV
We will see God as He sees us. Just knowing that does something to us.
Until then let's use wisdom about how to approach people. In freedom God has brought peace and joy into our world and has changed the content of what we express. It will continue to change as we are transformed into the image of the One we have been remade to be like.
"Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' " - Mark 16:14-16 ESV
Let us go dunk people in truth. Only God knows what will truly enter into their little world. If it gets inside grace will persuade them to have a new confession and that confession is so satisfying to the speaker and the ones who hear it and recognize it.
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