I've been thinking a great deal about God covering us and personal accountability. God covers our mistakes because of Christ. Even our intentional transgressions are covered.
God has other plans for ideologies that oppose Him. He deals directly with people who plan or conspire against Him and those He loves.
"Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool." - Proverbs 17:9-10 ESV
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." - Matthew 18:15-18 ESV
If God has an issue with us He comes alone first and if we will not listen He uses a representative. He is giving us His formula to apply. We proclaim what has been proclaimed in Heaven.
"If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven." - Numbers 15:27-28 ESV
The nation of Israel had an offering for 'unintentional sins.' Jesus has become our once and for all offering. We transgress in ways we can't imagine but God has covered our sin and cast it into the deepest sea (see Micah 7:19).
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:11-12 ESV
"If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared." - Psalm 130:3-4 ESV
God has covered sin. Now He wants to break our sin cycles and expose evil plans.
"But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out." - Numbers 32:20-23 ESV
"Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops." - Luke 12:2-3 ESV
If you look at these passages in context you see that God is speaking about individuals or groups of people that are planning or conspiring something. God delights in covering us but He also is glad to expose evil and it's intentions.
"Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities." - Psalm 51:4-9 ESV
"And a ruler asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone' " - Luke 18:18-19 ESV
Yes. Yes. Yes. I am determined to live a life of transparency before God. Grace makes that easy because I know my performance is not the issue. God's goodness is the issue. Goodness isn't what I bring to the table... humility is all that I have. God forbid that my attitude should echo the attitude of God's enemies by living in a pre-planned cycle.
"For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?...
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death... For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." - Romans 7:22-24, 8:1-2, 5 ESV
No condemnation! Shout that from the rooftops. That statement has the power to break any cycle of sin because of the power of the One who covers in the context of Christ's once and for all offering.
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Showing posts with label Conspiracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conspiracy. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Thursday, November 20, 2014
The Conspiracies of Iniquity and The Parlor of Grace
I am sticking to the theme of 'What is outside and what is inside?' and reading about internal conspiracy. Not my favorite subject but a vital thing to understand. It amazes me that mankind has such a capacity to use information, even Biblical information, apart from intimacy to divide and create disunity.
Here is a great quote from Dr Carl Stevens, "Conspiracies are progressive and begin in the soul. First, the emotions rebel against the mind. Then the mind struggles to use knowledge from God's Word, which stirs the emotions to rebel against people on the outside. The conscience (the place where the norms and standards for right and wrong are established) rebels against the mind. Self-consciousness rebels against oneness with God. The volition goes negative, then the old sin nature connects with the volition and self-consciousness to direct the individual's behavior as he chooses to live in one of the six lust patterns. That's how an internal conspiracy works."
Amazing.
Wounded emotions become a 'trojan horse' that lets something from the outside get on the inside. Battle ensues but our defenses are directed outwards. Wounds created in time find an ally with the forever wounded old nature and eventually move against our decision making and our self-image.
What a dynamic that is. It explains everything from why we can talk ourselves into eating the candy bar we know we shouldn't have to why, 'You deserve better!' is such a popular philosophy among people who are unsatisfied with aspects of their life.
Wounded emotions can become iniquity and iniquity brings the outside in. But the outside can never be inside. The inside just gets divided up into parts.
Grace thinking stops this kind of invasion at the walls of our soul. Our emotions lash out at our mind at times but grace heals them or at least satiates them so that the other parts of our soul are not affected and connections are never made with our old wounded nature. Our will remains free and isn't being flanked from multiple sides. Our will is simple after all. It is an on or off switch that has been trained and regulated by our conscience.
A graced out soul can defend against any invasion and still be inclusive. It is looking for ways to include. It's heart is continually being enlarged.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:16-17 ESV
The loving soul sends out emissaries to make peace. The graced out soul is a garden enclosed that has a parlor to receive visitors. A place to come and meet and enjoy others. The windows and doors inside the city are not boarded up to keep people out because the walls are strong and the old nature is locked away and limited because of the death sentence of the cross.
This healthy soul is a hospitable soul and makes provisions to clean up after itself and it's visitors. The water of the Word comes in and washes away the dirt and grime.
The healthy soul expands because it is alive and growing. It is not divided and diminishing. A least that isn't the primary dynamic. People are fallen and we have our trials, wounds and difficult seasons.
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." - Galatians 5:16-17 ESV
But even if it is divided grace and mercy can turn the tide. Grace is willing to suffer and even die to itself for the great cause of inclusion and unification.
That is one reason we want a soul that is saturated with grace and it is such a high priority to have one. The walls must be solid and the old nature must stay locked in his theological cell.
Let's live in grace and turn away the Trojan horse. Why should we spend all of our precious time fighting wars on the inside?
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Here is a great quote from Dr Carl Stevens, "Conspiracies are progressive and begin in the soul. First, the emotions rebel against the mind. Then the mind struggles to use knowledge from God's Word, which stirs the emotions to rebel against people on the outside. The conscience (the place where the norms and standards for right and wrong are established) rebels against the mind. Self-consciousness rebels against oneness with God. The volition goes negative, then the old sin nature connects with the volition and self-consciousness to direct the individual's behavior as he chooses to live in one of the six lust patterns. That's how an internal conspiracy works."
Amazing.
Wounded emotions become a 'trojan horse' that lets something from the outside get on the inside. Battle ensues but our defenses are directed outwards. Wounds created in time find an ally with the forever wounded old nature and eventually move against our decision making and our self-image.
What a dynamic that is. It explains everything from why we can talk ourselves into eating the candy bar we know we shouldn't have to why, 'You deserve better!' is such a popular philosophy among people who are unsatisfied with aspects of their life.
Wounded emotions can become iniquity and iniquity brings the outside in. But the outside can never be inside. The inside just gets divided up into parts.
Grace thinking stops this kind of invasion at the walls of our soul. Our emotions lash out at our mind at times but grace heals them or at least satiates them so that the other parts of our soul are not affected and connections are never made with our old wounded nature. Our will remains free and isn't being flanked from multiple sides. Our will is simple after all. It is an on or off switch that has been trained and regulated by our conscience.
A graced out soul can defend against any invasion and still be inclusive. It is looking for ways to include. It's heart is continually being enlarged.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:16-17 ESV
The loving soul sends out emissaries to make peace. The graced out soul is a garden enclosed that has a parlor to receive visitors. A place to come and meet and enjoy others. The windows and doors inside the city are not boarded up to keep people out because the walls are strong and the old nature is locked away and limited because of the death sentence of the cross.
This healthy soul is a hospitable soul and makes provisions to clean up after itself and it's visitors. The water of the Word comes in and washes away the dirt and grime.
The healthy soul expands because it is alive and growing. It is not divided and diminishing. A least that isn't the primary dynamic. People are fallen and we have our trials, wounds and difficult seasons.
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." - Galatians 5:16-17 ESV
But even if it is divided grace and mercy can turn the tide. Grace is willing to suffer and even die to itself for the great cause of inclusion and unification.
That is one reason we want a soul that is saturated with grace and it is such a high priority to have one. The walls must be solid and the old nature must stay locked in his theological cell.
Let's live in grace and turn away the Trojan horse. Why should we spend all of our precious time fighting wars on the inside?
--
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Seeing From Inside And Out
The theme of my studies today is being outside and being inside. This concept applies in the physical world, relationships and concepts. Something often looks very different from the outside than it does from the inside.
Looking at Bible passages in different perspectives is very helpful to me.
"Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation." - 2 Peter 1:20 ESV
We do not impose meaning on the scripture. The scripture will speak to us if we look at it with eyes that see and a heart that desires God and has a connection to God.
So we ask questions like, 'What was inside and what was outside in the prodigal son story?' or 'What was inside and what was outside in the Adam and Eve account in the garden?'
That lens allows us to see a certain isolated spectrum of light. We put the glasses on and look and then we take them off again we begin to notice different things. It is not critical thinking... it is observational.
An artist observes then uses the qualities of a substance or medium to craft something. Then that thing, whatever it is, a sculpture or a photo or a meal coveys an complex set of ideas, concepts or contrasts that affects the audience in some way.
From the outside the Bible convicts us but on the inside the Bible converts us. It changes us on the inside. The change is not cosmetic it is a metamorphosis... like a caterpillar is turned into a butterfly. Observation alone does not have this power. Only the Bible has it because of who sent it to us.
Division is when an outside force makes a single object into multiple objects. Like using a knife to cut an orange into sections. We can look in the Bible and see this dynamic and how it works in relationships from the serpent in Genesis all the way to the White Throne in Revelations.
Conspiracy is when something from the outside is brought in to the whole and used to divide. Inclusiveness is when something is brought inside to include it or make a place for it inside the whole. Do we see this in the world? Can't we even see it in our own heart at times? The Bible exposes the dynamic.
"So Jesus again said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - John 10:7-10 ESV
Jesus is the way (see John 14:6) and He is also the door into a way of perceiving the world beyond what we ever could have done before. We can see something from inside and then from outside because He has placed us to be forever inside Himself at the moment we believed.
Grace proves to us over and over again that we are included in God's kingdom and can never be excluded. Evil is forever excluded but people are invited to be included.
Well, This is a good mental exercise but how does it work in my life in a practical way?
We can go into the day looking at situations as they are and putting lenses on and off to see things. We can ask what is on the inside and what is on the outside at work and because God is both places at once He can teach us things. The Bible can provide us with many lenses to look through to see the world.
If we will wear them by faith what will we see? We are bound to be surprised.
--
Looking at Bible passages in different perspectives is very helpful to me.
"Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation." - 2 Peter 1:20 ESV
We do not impose meaning on the scripture. The scripture will speak to us if we look at it with eyes that see and a heart that desires God and has a connection to God.
So we ask questions like, 'What was inside and what was outside in the prodigal son story?' or 'What was inside and what was outside in the Adam and Eve account in the garden?'
That lens allows us to see a certain isolated spectrum of light. We put the glasses on and look and then we take them off again we begin to notice different things. It is not critical thinking... it is observational.
An artist observes then uses the qualities of a substance or medium to craft something. Then that thing, whatever it is, a sculpture or a photo or a meal coveys an complex set of ideas, concepts or contrasts that affects the audience in some way.
From the outside the Bible convicts us but on the inside the Bible converts us. It changes us on the inside. The change is not cosmetic it is a metamorphosis... like a caterpillar is turned into a butterfly. Observation alone does not have this power. Only the Bible has it because of who sent it to us.
Division is when an outside force makes a single object into multiple objects. Like using a knife to cut an orange into sections. We can look in the Bible and see this dynamic and how it works in relationships from the serpent in Genesis all the way to the White Throne in Revelations.
Conspiracy is when something from the outside is brought in to the whole and used to divide. Inclusiveness is when something is brought inside to include it or make a place for it inside the whole. Do we see this in the world? Can't we even see it in our own heart at times? The Bible exposes the dynamic.
"So Jesus again said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - John 10:7-10 ESV
Jesus is the way (see John 14:6) and He is also the door into a way of perceiving the world beyond what we ever could have done before. We can see something from inside and then from outside because He has placed us to be forever inside Himself at the moment we believed.
Grace proves to us over and over again that we are included in God's kingdom and can never be excluded. Evil is forever excluded but people are invited to be included.
Well, This is a good mental exercise but how does it work in my life in a practical way?
We can go into the day looking at situations as they are and putting lenses on and off to see things. We can ask what is on the inside and what is on the outside at work and because God is both places at once He can teach us things. The Bible can provide us with many lenses to look through to see the world.
If we will wear them by faith what will we see? We are bound to be surprised.
--
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