"I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, 'Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.' 'I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?' My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock." Song of Songs 5:2-5
Our heart can be slow to awake. We can live behind a locked door inside our souls. The access we give to God maybe very limited because of past hurts even though we love Him we don't trust Him enough to give Him a key.
"I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me." Song of Songs 5:6-7
We hesitate to respond and there is the pain of separation. We may wander the streets a long time and be hurt there. Christ won't be found in the streets... not in the bar room or in the casual glass of wine, not in the illicit relationship or in seemingly innocent flirting, not in the movie theater, not in the five star hotel... you can eat a thousand delicious meals and never find Him there... you can own a hundred albums and have your iPod full of soulful stirrings of every type and flavor.
The watchmen will eventually find you and treat you roughly. They don't care so much about your broken heart. They only care that there is a curfew and that you have transgressed the standard of what is proper in the eyes of men.
He can be found... but where?
"My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies." Song of Songs 6:2-3
The Bible is His garden... Like Peter hearing Jesus say "Feed my Sheep." we find Him in our calling. Jesus is off gathering lilies. I think Jesus was not so much commanding Peter to do something (in John 21:16) that needed to be done... instead He was saying, "I will be gathering lilies. Feed my sheep because if you love me that is where you will always find me."
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Just Come to Jesus
God's primary message to mankind is 'Come to Jesus.'
"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book" Rev 22:16-18
The Gospel of Grace shows that every requirement has been fulfilled... grace removes every obstacle, excuse or objection that would hinder coming to Jesus.
The Spirit says 'Come'... the remnant in the Church says 'Come' and it says to anyone who reads the book to say 'Come to Jesus'. One day the Church will be gone and all Hell will be breaking loose in the World. Believers will read this book like a newspaper to find out what is happening and what will happen next and the message will still be 'Come if you are thirsty and drink for free'.
Don't change the message. God will have a problem with you.
It is not 'Come if...' or 'Come when...' or 'Come after you...' it is just 'Come to Jesus'
When I hear the undiluted message it just makes me want to come to God. It makes me want to tell others to come to Jesus.
"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book" Rev 22:16-18
The Gospel of Grace shows that every requirement has been fulfilled... grace removes every obstacle, excuse or objection that would hinder coming to Jesus.
The Spirit says 'Come'... the remnant in the Church says 'Come' and it says to anyone who reads the book to say 'Come to Jesus'. One day the Church will be gone and all Hell will be breaking loose in the World. Believers will read this book like a newspaper to find out what is happening and what will happen next and the message will still be 'Come if you are thirsty and drink for free'.
Don't change the message. God will have a problem with you.
It is not 'Come if...' or 'Come when...' or 'Come after you...' it is just 'Come to Jesus'
When I hear the undiluted message it just makes me want to come to God. It makes me want to tell others to come to Jesus.
The Reapers and the Lord of the Harvest
Think of Boaz as Christ (the kinsman redeemer) and the reapers as those who go to evangelize (soul winners) as you read this:
"Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, 'Whose young woman is this?'
The servant in charge of the reapers replied, 'She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
'And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.'
Then Boaz said to Ruth, ' Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids.
'Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw.'
Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, 'Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?'
Boaz replied to her, 'All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.
'May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.'
Then she said, 'I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.'
At mealtime Boaz said to her, ' Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.' So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left.
When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her.
'Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.'
So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.
Her mother-in-law then said to her, 'Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.' So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, 'The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.' " Ruth 2:5-19 NAS
Wow. What great principles showing us how we can love people and represent the Lord of the Harvest.
"Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, 'Whose young woman is this?'
The servant in charge of the reapers replied, 'She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
'And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.'
Then Boaz said to Ruth, ' Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids.
'Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw.'
Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, 'Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?'
Boaz replied to her, 'All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.
'May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.'
Then she said, 'I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.'
At mealtime Boaz said to her, ' Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.' So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left.
When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her.
'Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.'
So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.
Her mother-in-law then said to her, 'Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.' So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, 'The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.' " Ruth 2:5-19 NAS
Wow. What great principles showing us how we can love people and represent the Lord of the Harvest.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Faith That Is Grafted In
Faith is like the fruit of a tree that has been grafted into us. It is a gift from God, an impartation, and then also it is a fruit of the the Spirit that works in us and out of us.
"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" Phil 1:29 NKJV
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." 1 Cor 13:13
"...I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me..." Gal 2:20b
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Gal 5:22-23
We don't have faith apart from Him. We didn't have it until He came. Before His appearance we were faithless. Now we live in it and it lives in us. Faith was 'granted on behalf of Christ.' His faith is the faith we live by and live in. Like a wild fragrant olive branch being grafted into a domestic tree and becoming one new plant... Heaven grafted a branch that believes into us. A branch that produces all the varied fruits of love.
At the same time we are like the branches of a vine. The vine is Christ and we are mindful that we live in our vine. Cut off from that reality in our minds we will wither away in our experience.
Both the root and the fruit are in Christ and of Christ. The root, the fruit and everything else in-between belong to Him.
It is a comfort to me that I don't have to do it. To make myself believe. To convince myself of something that somehow goes against my judgement. God isn't selling me something. He is giving me something. Something that goes deep into who I am and alters my perception. The sap flowing in me is life not sourced in me but is flowing none the less and it is feeding my sensibilities.
When the Spirit makes His home in us then faith, hope and love come to stay and they beautify a once bleak and cluttered space.
My blind eyes have been opened to new options. Christ is here and my days of wandering are over. Now I follow... now I move with purpose. It is what He is doing that matters. It is what He has done that makes me marvel. I want to be with Him and go to the next place to see what He will do there.
Yesterday's faith is like a fruit plucked from me. But more fruit is growing in me. More fruit is ripening and getting ready to be harvested.
We are not what we were or who we will be. Right now we are believers. Right now faith possesses us and we possess Him. It is Jesus... always Jesus.
"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" Phil 1:29 NKJV
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." 1 Cor 13:13
"...I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me..." Gal 2:20b
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Gal 5:22-23
We don't have faith apart from Him. We didn't have it until He came. Before His appearance we were faithless. Now we live in it and it lives in us. Faith was 'granted on behalf of Christ.' His faith is the faith we live by and live in. Like a wild fragrant olive branch being grafted into a domestic tree and becoming one new plant... Heaven grafted a branch that believes into us. A branch that produces all the varied fruits of love.
At the same time we are like the branches of a vine. The vine is Christ and we are mindful that we live in our vine. Cut off from that reality in our minds we will wither away in our experience.
Both the root and the fruit are in Christ and of Christ. The root, the fruit and everything else in-between belong to Him.
It is a comfort to me that I don't have to do it. To make myself believe. To convince myself of something that somehow goes against my judgement. God isn't selling me something. He is giving me something. Something that goes deep into who I am and alters my perception. The sap flowing in me is life not sourced in me but is flowing none the less and it is feeding my sensibilities.
When the Spirit makes His home in us then faith, hope and love come to stay and they beautify a once bleak and cluttered space.
My blind eyes have been opened to new options. Christ is here and my days of wandering are over. Now I follow... now I move with purpose. It is what He is doing that matters. It is what He has done that makes me marvel. I want to be with Him and go to the next place to see what He will do there.
Yesterday's faith is like a fruit plucked from me. But more fruit is growing in me. More fruit is ripening and getting ready to be harvested.
We are not what we were or who we will be. Right now we are believers. Right now faith possesses us and we possess Him. It is Jesus... always Jesus.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
High Stakes
The stakes must be high in a cause in order to engage us. The danger must be real or the reward must be great to make it worth our while. Most stories or biographies we remember hearing had high stakes. Loss of life or love... saving the world or risking a fortune.
This weighing of events is something we do in the visible and the invisible portions of our thought life. Fear may assault us when the personal stakes are high even though we may not understand the reasons and the reaction seems illogical. Our soul senses a potential loss. The higher the perceived loss the greater the fear.
On the other hand lust perceives a great reward. Cycles of sin can plague a person because even though they grow to hate the thing they do... deep in the recesses of who they are part of them sees a great, if only momentary, pay off.
Here is a great quote:
"The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time. The battle may take one minute or a year, that will depend on me, not on God; but it must be wrestled out alone before God, and I must resolutely go through the hell of a renunciation before Him. Nothing has any power over the man who has fought out the battle before God and won there." -Oswald Chambers
In the light Grace and Truth trump any Earthly reward. Love and absolute acceptance make us brave. Our flesh will still cleave to the dust but the Spirit of God elevates us to the heights.
A steady diet of truth and sparring matches with God ready us for the battle that lies ahead.
It is said that every battle is a "battle of the mind" that the more we sweat in training the less we will bleed in battle. There is truth in that.
Christ has won the war. The victory has been declared in a land far away. It has been declared in the Book He has given us. I must hear it is my soul. It must be settled in my being. Sometimes we must go toe to toe with God and struggle with Him in order for it to be real to us. In this arena of discipleship God waves us on and says, "You want a piece of Me. Come and get it. Let's settle this once and for all." When the sun rises in us we find that miraculously God has not lost yet we have been declared the victor. The teacher has changed the student and the lesson has changed the stakes of our decisions forever.
If you think you will survive this life based solely on strength you are wrong. You will be enticed by a fable and not even know why. The battle needs to be won before you go... and it has been won. Our victory is the cross.
This weighing of events is something we do in the visible and the invisible portions of our thought life. Fear may assault us when the personal stakes are high even though we may not understand the reasons and the reaction seems illogical. Our soul senses a potential loss. The higher the perceived loss the greater the fear.
On the other hand lust perceives a great reward. Cycles of sin can plague a person because even though they grow to hate the thing they do... deep in the recesses of who they are part of them sees a great, if only momentary, pay off.
Here is a great quote:
"The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time. The battle may take one minute or a year, that will depend on me, not on God; but it must be wrestled out alone before God, and I must resolutely go through the hell of a renunciation before Him. Nothing has any power over the man who has fought out the battle before God and won there." -Oswald Chambers
In the light Grace and Truth trump any Earthly reward. Love and absolute acceptance make us brave. Our flesh will still cleave to the dust but the Spirit of God elevates us to the heights.
A steady diet of truth and sparring matches with God ready us for the battle that lies ahead.
It is said that every battle is a "battle of the mind" that the more we sweat in training the less we will bleed in battle. There is truth in that.
Christ has won the war. The victory has been declared in a land far away. It has been declared in the Book He has given us. I must hear it is my soul. It must be settled in my being. Sometimes we must go toe to toe with God and struggle with Him in order for it to be real to us. In this arena of discipleship God waves us on and says, "You want a piece of Me. Come and get it. Let's settle this once and for all." When the sun rises in us we find that miraculously God has not lost yet we have been declared the victor. The teacher has changed the student and the lesson has changed the stakes of our decisions forever.
If you think you will survive this life based solely on strength you are wrong. You will be enticed by a fable and not even know why. The battle needs to be won before you go... and it has been won. Our victory is the cross.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
I Crave the Beautiful Unity
I need more than intellectual agreement... more than respect and courtesy... there is a unity that surpasses mere humanity
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing - Life forevermore." Ps 133 NKJV
There is a beautiful living unity... those other things are great but this divinely good and pleasant fellowship is on another level. It is such a short Psalm, only three verses, but word by precious word it spells out a life that only can come from above.
This unity is like oil... not any oil but the special anointing oil... not oil sitting in a jar but being poured on a person... not just a little but a flow of oil... unity is like a flow of special fragrant oil that was only lawful to make for God's use. Oil that flows and touches the head first then moves to the beard... whose beard... the beard of a priest, one called by God to intercede... oil poured on a priest was done at certain times and in a specific order. Not Aaron's head... but Aaron's beard the outgrowth of experiencing the life of God... months... years... soaking up the oil as it flows... it flows down and down to the edges of the garments.
The unity is like dew. Water that was mist in the air forms quickly in the early morning from nothing into tiny droplets that grow. The early morning air provides the perfect environment for dew to form. The water isn't poured or sprinkled... it isn't tainted in any way... one place on Zion doesn't get more than the other... the dew forms on all the mountains of the Holy place... at the right time... if you you sleep under the stars you will go to bed dry and awake covered with dew.
This Holy unity... beautiful unity... is in the Holy place and God commands blessing there.
It is not a meeting of the minds.. it is the corporate distillation of doctrine that everyone present gets covered with... not just oil but Holy flowing oil. Not just polite banter but loving exchanges.
This unity doesn't happen anywhere, at anytime, with just anyone. Aaron must be there. Zion is the place. The oil pours in our calling. Familiarity will just leave it on the shelf.
The dew forms in the morning... I could sleep in and miss it. I don't want to miss it. Please God... distill the words from Your book and turn them from air into personal truth.
Human compatibility is dry. I need the oil. I crave the beautiful unity.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing - Life forevermore." Ps 133 NKJV
There is a beautiful living unity... those other things are great but this divinely good and pleasant fellowship is on another level. It is such a short Psalm, only three verses, but word by precious word it spells out a life that only can come from above.
This unity is like oil... not any oil but the special anointing oil... not oil sitting in a jar but being poured on a person... not just a little but a flow of oil... unity is like a flow of special fragrant oil that was only lawful to make for God's use. Oil that flows and touches the head first then moves to the beard... whose beard... the beard of a priest, one called by God to intercede... oil poured on a priest was done at certain times and in a specific order. Not Aaron's head... but Aaron's beard the outgrowth of experiencing the life of God... months... years... soaking up the oil as it flows... it flows down and down to the edges of the garments.
The unity is like dew. Water that was mist in the air forms quickly in the early morning from nothing into tiny droplets that grow. The early morning air provides the perfect environment for dew to form. The water isn't poured or sprinkled... it isn't tainted in any way... one place on Zion doesn't get more than the other... the dew forms on all the mountains of the Holy place... at the right time... if you you sleep under the stars you will go to bed dry and awake covered with dew.
This Holy unity... beautiful unity... is in the Holy place and God commands blessing there.
It is not a meeting of the minds.. it is the corporate distillation of doctrine that everyone present gets covered with... not just oil but Holy flowing oil. Not just polite banter but loving exchanges.
This unity doesn't happen anywhere, at anytime, with just anyone. Aaron must be there. Zion is the place. The oil pours in our calling. Familiarity will just leave it on the shelf.
The dew forms in the morning... I could sleep in and miss it. I don't want to miss it. Please God... distill the words from Your book and turn them from air into personal truth.
Human compatibility is dry. I need the oil. I crave the beautiful unity.
The Christmas Lights
We are blinded by our own humanity.
" 'And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matt 7:3-5 NKJV
It is the wooden nature of our soul that gets in the way. Even our desire to help our fellow man is called hypocrisy by Christ when we are blinded. When the elements of the soul are all we have then we can not even begin to help others. Our mind, will, emotions, consciousness of self and conscience just get in the way. What we think and feel; who we think we are and the decisions we make; our code of conduct... these are all we have if we do not have God. No wonder God seems invisible to a world that is blinded by it's own humanity.
Man wants to help his fellow man but only makes things worse left to himself. The blind leading the blind all fall into the very next ditch.
Maybe I say this because Christmas is over and many will pack Jesus up and put Him away with the rest of the Christmas decorations. Without Him all we are left with is ourselves.
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor 3:18 NKJV
I wants the Christmas lights to reflect in my eyes all year long. He is my identity now. When who He is and what He has done is my frame of reference I am not blind. The Spirit who brings this to me also reveals it in me and through me. This love has no hypocrisy and is not self oriented at all.
People all over the world have things in their eyes that the can't get out. It blurs their vision and causes them pain... we want to help. That dirt must be washed away by living water. Christ has that water.
Freedom from self is what we all need. It is what Christ has done for us and what we can live in today. Let everything else fade from view. I want to see Jesus today and have a willingness to shrug off any distraction from His glorious nature and work. I am no service to anyone blinded by self.
" 'And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matt 7:3-5 NKJV
It is the wooden nature of our soul that gets in the way. Even our desire to help our fellow man is called hypocrisy by Christ when we are blinded. When the elements of the soul are all we have then we can not even begin to help others. Our mind, will, emotions, consciousness of self and conscience just get in the way. What we think and feel; who we think we are and the decisions we make; our code of conduct... these are all we have if we do not have God. No wonder God seems invisible to a world that is blinded by it's own humanity.
Man wants to help his fellow man but only makes things worse left to himself. The blind leading the blind all fall into the very next ditch.
Maybe I say this because Christmas is over and many will pack Jesus up and put Him away with the rest of the Christmas decorations. Without Him all we are left with is ourselves.
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor 3:18 NKJV
I wants the Christmas lights to reflect in my eyes all year long. He is my identity now. When who He is and what He has done is my frame of reference I am not blind. The Spirit who brings this to me also reveals it in me and through me. This love has no hypocrisy and is not self oriented at all.
People all over the world have things in their eyes that the can't get out. It blurs their vision and causes them pain... we want to help. That dirt must be washed away by living water. Christ has that water.
Freedom from self is what we all need. It is what Christ has done for us and what we can live in today. Let everything else fade from view. I want to see Jesus today and have a willingness to shrug off any distraction from His glorious nature and work. I am no service to anyone blinded by self.
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