I was going to write about osmosis but it got me thinking about autobiographies. I think the concepts are linked.
An autobiography is like a parable. If you focus on the details you miss the point. A parable uses the details to frame a concept. It is a fiction that is constructed to make a comparison or bring out a deeper truth. The reader doesn't know the people described or the setting or the time. Those things may mirror something in the readers life so there is recognition but the details are fictions in that they are someone else's story or perspective. True or untrue they belong to someone else and that person is using them to describe something to the reader that would be invisible otherwise.
A person writes an autobiography for different reasons. They want to communicate something about themselves. It could be certain lessons they have learned. Perhaps they want to dispel myths or preserve a time that only they are keeping alive. autobiographies are often used to write history but are not the best source of information because people lie in them or they just exaggerate because they have lied to themselves.
God commissioned four biographies about Jesus. The Gospels. In truth they are four autobiographies from four different perspectives. God can't and doesn't lie but a separation must be bridged in order for His mind to reach ours.
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:5-11 ESV
That brings us back to osmosis. If liquid with a higher concentration of salt comes in contact with liquid that has no salt in time they will mix until the two have the same amount of salt. There just needs to be a gap large enough for the salt molecules to get through. The two liquids need a point of connection.
Jesus is the gap where God can mix with man. Philosophy can describe the glory of God but gives no way for a person to access God's goodness. There is no way to tastes and see that the Lord is good by philosophy.
Grace opens the membranes between worlds. Once opened the infinite nature of God will fill an area of less concentration until it is full and the same. It will equalize but with infinity there is no end... no limit. There is an overflow.
"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' " - John 7:37-38 ESV
To many people the Book is closed. It is just words on a page. It is just morality and human history. But to those that know Jesus it is a floodgate of glory. It is God telling us the story of His life and of ours in a mystery.
Parables must be heard in humility in order to be understood. Grace gives the divine meaning. It unlocks the mystery of Christ that God wants to reveal... He just needs to bridge the gap to do it.
--
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Inside And Outside
This morning I had a thought and started to play a game with myself. It's called INSIDE / OUTSIDE and I started to think about different objects, places, things and people and ask God to show me things while I think of the inside and outside of them:
A HOUSE (this is my example one)
- Inside a house (people, furniture, a family, a washing machine, an oven, warm... picturing all the rooms, people and things that happen inside and what it looks like... placing myself in that perspective)
- Outside a house (lawn, windows, driveway, a tree, cold... look away from the house knowing it is right there... looking at the house from outside)
A BOOK
A TENNIS BALL
A CHURCH
A LIBRARY
Etc...
There is a physical inside and outside and then there is a mental or emotional one. A book looks a certain way inside but then there are the ideas on the pages... they transcend the physical to someone who can read the language they are written in. If you can't read the language the book might as well be a paper weight... the inside is art and not ideas...
Can we see the inside and outside of something at the same time? Can we look from each perspective separately?
Now some verses:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean." - Matthew 23:25-26 ESV
First off... ouch... those are tough words... but very illuminating about human nature. God clearly sees inside and outside a person but people try to hide the inside... or they are blind to it... or they value the outside and what people see of their outside in a strange way. Knowledge of good and evil has done that to us. It has skewed our perception.
God... grace... works from the inside out. God cleans us inside and then the outside follows.
"And he said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.'
And he said to them, 'Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.' " - Mark 4:21-25 ESV
Both great INSIDE / OUTSIDE verses. Light by it's nature is good for outside use... what we are given is given for outside use... if they don't have an outside expression they are not valuable... they might even be dangerous or lost to us.
The person who is lacking and sees the one who has abundance and gets more and more can be in a place where they are tempted to envy... it doesn't look fair. It's not fair. But it is how it works. Grace must come inside in order for the order to be seen.
Will we allow God to broaden our perception but narrow our focus?
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." - Colossians 3:1-3 ESV
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. God is outside and inside. So are we. We have an inside life and an outside life (working, living, interacting in the world). I want to have more and get more in the spiritual economy.
"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?' " - Matthew 16:24-26 ESV
With the cross as a focus we can live in a broaden perception. We can pour out what we have knowing no one can out give God.
Life needs to be poured out. That is why it was given. The Gospel needs to be shared, not hidden, put out on the table for all to see.
Like a little child I purpose to play a game today. Going with God and asking Him to show me things I have not seen so that I can live in a way that glorifies Him. It is going to be a lot fun. Happiness and brokenness fill me thinking about it.
--
A HOUSE (this is my example one)
- Inside a house (people, furniture, a family, a washing machine, an oven, warm... picturing all the rooms, people and things that happen inside and what it looks like... placing myself in that perspective)
- Outside a house (lawn, windows, driveway, a tree, cold... look away from the house knowing it is right there... looking at the house from outside)
A BOOK
A TENNIS BALL
A CHURCH
A LIBRARY
Etc...
There is a physical inside and outside and then there is a mental or emotional one. A book looks a certain way inside but then there are the ideas on the pages... they transcend the physical to someone who can read the language they are written in. If you can't read the language the book might as well be a paper weight... the inside is art and not ideas...
Can we see the inside and outside of something at the same time? Can we look from each perspective separately?
Now some verses:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean." - Matthew 23:25-26 ESV
First off... ouch... those are tough words... but very illuminating about human nature. God clearly sees inside and outside a person but people try to hide the inside... or they are blind to it... or they value the outside and what people see of their outside in a strange way. Knowledge of good and evil has done that to us. It has skewed our perception.
God... grace... works from the inside out. God cleans us inside and then the outside follows.
"And he said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.'
And he said to them, 'Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.' " - Mark 4:21-25 ESV
Both great INSIDE / OUTSIDE verses. Light by it's nature is good for outside use... what we are given is given for outside use... if they don't have an outside expression they are not valuable... they might even be dangerous or lost to us.
The person who is lacking and sees the one who has abundance and gets more and more can be in a place where they are tempted to envy... it doesn't look fair. It's not fair. But it is how it works. Grace must come inside in order for the order to be seen.
Will we allow God to broaden our perception but narrow our focus?
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." - Colossians 3:1-3 ESV
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. God is outside and inside. So are we. We have an inside life and an outside life (working, living, interacting in the world). I want to have more and get more in the spiritual economy.
"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?' " - Matthew 16:24-26 ESV
With the cross as a focus we can live in a broaden perception. We can pour out what we have knowing no one can out give God.
Life needs to be poured out. That is why it was given. The Gospel needs to be shared, not hidden, put out on the table for all to see.
Like a little child I purpose to play a game today. Going with God and asking Him to show me things I have not seen so that I can live in a way that glorifies Him. It is going to be a lot fun. Happiness and brokenness fill me thinking about it.
--
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Grace In Psalm Sixty Five: Vows Performed
"To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed." - Psalms 65:1 ESV
That phrase 'shall vows be performed' caught me this morning... Neder (Strong's H5088) Shalam (H7999) the second word Shalam is the verb from of Shalom (H7965), the noun, translated peace and completion.
"O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas" - Psalms 65:2-5 ESV
Vows performed make peace.. but whose vows?
"the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy." - Psalms 65:6-13 ESV
It is true that by making a promise we plant something in the ground and by keeping it we reap a harvest. It is investment that brings a return. No investment no return.
What investment does grace make? It is the investment that makes the hills 'gird themselves with joy' and the flocks and grain 'shout and sing together for joy'... true Shalom... complete peace in prosperity. Not just a handshake that forms a bond that turns into a lasting relationship... that and more... much more.
"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow... The sower sows the word... But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." - Mark 4:3, 14, 20 ESV
"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NKJV
"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you" - 1 Thessalonians 3:12 KJV
Jesus paid His vow on the cross. Now grace make a vow that the relationship will be based on a gift and not performance. Jesus kept His vow and grace gives an increase from God's supply.
Being unequally yoked in marriage or business makes a commitment that can not be followed through on. You shake on it but it many times turns to vanity.
Grace makes a one sided commitment that it can follow through on. It doesn't shake our hand. The Father lays His hand on us because of what Christ has done and commits to us. That commitment will bear fruit.
That phrase 'shall vows be performed' caught me this morning... Neder (Strong's H5088) Shalam (H7999) the second word Shalam is the verb from of Shalom (H7965), the noun, translated peace and completion.
"O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas" - Psalms 65:2-5 ESV
Vows performed make peace.. but whose vows?
"the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy." - Psalms 65:6-13 ESV
It is true that by making a promise we plant something in the ground and by keeping it we reap a harvest. It is investment that brings a return. No investment no return.
What investment does grace make? It is the investment that makes the hills 'gird themselves with joy' and the flocks and grain 'shout and sing together for joy'... true Shalom... complete peace in prosperity. Not just a handshake that forms a bond that turns into a lasting relationship... that and more... much more.
"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow... The sower sows the word... But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." - Mark 4:3, 14, 20 ESV
"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NKJV
"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you" - 1 Thessalonians 3:12 KJV
Jesus paid His vow on the cross. Now grace make a vow that the relationship will be based on a gift and not performance. Jesus kept His vow and grace gives an increase from God's supply.
Being unequally yoked in marriage or business makes a commitment that can not be followed through on. You shake on it but it many times turns to vanity.
Grace makes a one sided commitment that it can follow through on. It doesn't shake our hand. The Father lays His hand on us because of what Christ has done and commits to us. That commitment will bear fruit.
--
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Grace in Psalm Sixty Two: A Safe Shelter
Reading Psalm 62 this morning. It is so good.
"To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." - Psalms 62:1-2 ESV
David speaks to the choirmaster about quiet. That alone has a richness to it. It can be 'music, music,and more music' on the outside but what about quiet. God counsels the musician about silence and waiting. There is time for both things.
"How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.
Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken." - Psalms 62:3-6 ESV
I used to be a bit dismayed by the seeming paranoia of the Psalmists, 'Is everyone out to get you?.. Really?' But I see it differently now.. today.. human perspective is always seeking to 'topple the leaning wall'. The goodness of a good man still finds fault.. is critical.. disdains success that seems to exceed his own if the successful person is flawed in some way... and they always are.
But God is a fortress. He does not shake the thing that is leaning to watch it fall.. He provides shelter.
"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath." - Psalms 62:7-9 ESV
Yes. Trust in the God of all grace not the illusion of success. Be transparent with the God who is a fortress. There is no refuge with the 'shake the tottering fence' crowd. Human opinion is weightless anyway.
"Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work." - Psalms 62:10-12 ESV
What God renders He renders based on love. We must see the last line in context with the rest. Grace is a refuge. The 'works' spoken of here is the contrast between those who point to the fortress versus those who push on the leaning wall and rock it back and forth until it falls.
Grace provides refuge. It is not interested in noise to drown out discouragement, success that throws money at the problem or extortion to leverage an outcome. Grace wants to give and give and give out of an endless supply of love. Grace wants to cover and teach people so they know where to go... not to human perspective... grace teaches us to seek divine perspective.
--
"To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." - Psalms 62:1-2 ESV
David speaks to the choirmaster about quiet. That alone has a richness to it. It can be 'music, music,and more music' on the outside but what about quiet. God counsels the musician about silence and waiting. There is time for both things.
"How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.
Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken." - Psalms 62:3-6 ESV
I used to be a bit dismayed by the seeming paranoia of the Psalmists, 'Is everyone out to get you?.. Really?' But I see it differently now.. today.. human perspective is always seeking to 'topple the leaning wall'. The goodness of a good man still finds fault.. is critical.. disdains success that seems to exceed his own if the successful person is flawed in some way... and they always are.
But God is a fortress. He does not shake the thing that is leaning to watch it fall.. He provides shelter.
"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath." - Psalms 62:7-9 ESV
Yes. Trust in the God of all grace not the illusion of success. Be transparent with the God who is a fortress. There is no refuge with the 'shake the tottering fence' crowd. Human opinion is weightless anyway.
"Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work." - Psalms 62:10-12 ESV
What God renders He renders based on love. We must see the last line in context with the rest. Grace is a refuge. The 'works' spoken of here is the contrast between those who point to the fortress versus those who push on the leaning wall and rock it back and forth until it falls.
Grace provides refuge. It is not interested in noise to drown out discouragement, success that throws money at the problem or extortion to leverage an outcome. Grace wants to give and give and give out of an endless supply of love. Grace wants to cover and teach people so they know where to go... not to human perspective... grace teaches us to seek divine perspective.
--
Monday, January 27, 2014
Salvation That Dissolves Guilt And Shame
"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. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." - John 3:16-21 ESV
John 3:16 is one of the most magnificent statements ever recorded. In one sentence it reveals God's deep abiding love and plan of salvation. The greatest love by the greatest person giving the greatest gift and saving anyone from the greatest danger an individual can ever face.
Then in the verses to follow Jesus dismantles evil's most potent weapon, fear, by dealing with the twin roots of fear... guilt and shame.
Guilt is fear because of what we have done. Shame is fear because of who we are. Our works in darkness prove our love for darkness and as creations made in the image of God this love of darkness creates a conflict. Shame is the evidence that the fallen world, that lays down in wickedness, has made it's way into our self image.
God never sent light to us to condemn us. He sent Jesus to save us and part of that salvation is the rooting out of guilt and shame.
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him" - Hebrews 7:25a KJV
Jesus not only gives eternal life. He gives freedom. Freedom from what we have done and freedom from seeing ourselves as dark beings who do horrible, faulty broken things. The condemnation we lived in is now gone. It was put on Jesus and nailed to a cross.
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:5-7 ESV
"But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise," - Ephesians 5:13-15 ESV
Objective faith is what pleases God. Objective faith is walking in the light.
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Hebrews 11:6 ESV
Jesus won us a great salvation. He died on a cross and now lives to hand us a gift of eternal life.. no strings attached.. no effort on our part.. a pure free gift. Salvation is a one time thing but freedom from guilt and shame is ongoing. Like Joshua we take back the land piece by piece even though before they crossed the river into the land God declared the land a 'promised land' and gave them the legal rights to it.
"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love." - 2 John 1:3 ESV
Grace, mercy and peace are the antidotes that counteract and overrule our fallen life. God gives them in objective love and it pleases Him when we have objective faith.
Today is a new day. Shame can have us hiding and flinching at life or faith can cause us to live in the freedom of the finished work. God isn't done giving us gifts. He wants us to own our day. He wants us to live by faith in it. Let's go take what God has given us.
--
John 3:16 is one of the most magnificent statements ever recorded. In one sentence it reveals God's deep abiding love and plan of salvation. The greatest love by the greatest person giving the greatest gift and saving anyone from the greatest danger an individual can ever face.
Then in the verses to follow Jesus dismantles evil's most potent weapon, fear, by dealing with the twin roots of fear... guilt and shame.
Guilt is fear because of what we have done. Shame is fear because of who we are. Our works in darkness prove our love for darkness and as creations made in the image of God this love of darkness creates a conflict. Shame is the evidence that the fallen world, that lays down in wickedness, has made it's way into our self image.
God never sent light to us to condemn us. He sent Jesus to save us and part of that salvation is the rooting out of guilt and shame.
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him" - Hebrews 7:25a KJV
Jesus not only gives eternal life. He gives freedom. Freedom from what we have done and freedom from seeing ourselves as dark beings who do horrible, faulty broken things. The condemnation we lived in is now gone. It was put on Jesus and nailed to a cross.
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:5-7 ESV
"But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise," - Ephesians 5:13-15 ESV
Objective faith is what pleases God. Objective faith is walking in the light.
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Hebrews 11:6 ESV
Jesus won us a great salvation. He died on a cross and now lives to hand us a gift of eternal life.. no strings attached.. no effort on our part.. a pure free gift. Salvation is a one time thing but freedom from guilt and shame is ongoing. Like Joshua we take back the land piece by piece even though before they crossed the river into the land God declared the land a 'promised land' and gave them the legal rights to it.
"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love." - 2 John 1:3 ESV
Grace, mercy and peace are the antidotes that counteract and overrule our fallen life. God gives them in objective love and it pleases Him when we have objective faith.
Today is a new day. Shame can have us hiding and flinching at life or faith can cause us to live in the freedom of the finished work. God isn't done giving us gifts. He wants us to own our day. He wants us to live by faith in it. Let's go take what God has given us.
--
Friday, January 24, 2014
The Wings Of The Morning
"Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." - Psalms 139:7-12 ESV
What are the wings of the morning?
Heaven and Hell are invisible realms. Places we have heard about in scripture. Places we go in our minds and imagine but the sea is here on Earth. It has two 'uttermosts' also... the foreign land where life is new and different and the people are unknown to us and we to them. That uttermost is filled with new possibilities and in our imagination the things that limit us here don't exist there. We are Sinbad (the pirate not the comedian) or Robinson Crusoe, heroes and adventures... successes. In the other uttermost we sink down, down, down into the quiet depth of the seas.... in our imagination at least... it is quiet there and darkness. We are alone and numb.
The wings don't take us into God's realms... they take us into our own because the pressure is too great and the problems too real. We feel powerless and so we create a place of power and relief and go there in our minds.
God's right hand does two things in His realms and in ours. It leads us and it holds us. God's approval because of Christ's substitutionary death, His work on and now off the cross, make us a provision of approval. That approval guides us in spiritual things and out of fictional things.
"And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, 'He is out of his mind.' And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul,' and 'by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.' " - Mark 3:14-22 ESV
Notice the demonic labeling came after Jesus appointed the twelve. Once Jesus said 'These have special authority' that in when the pressure increased.
'Fly away little disciples' you didn't ask for this. 'Fly away Jesus'... but they didn't fly away. God's right hand was with them and all is bright to the Lord. They could live in delegated authority on Earth and not fly away to some fantasy or get to far ahead of God's plan. God's right hand let them live in the now with purpose and dignity.
God has given each of us authority in the Earth and visible authority to be accountable under in the Earth. If we can't be accountable to what we see how can we say we are accountable to the invisible.
The twelve were not perfect... one of them was a betrayer. Chew on that one. In that accountability our fantasies are put aside. The right hand of God is personal. It does not come because of our accountability. Jesus won it for us as individuals.
"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness." - Psalms 51:12-14 ESV
God has His way of dealing with leaders. His right hand leads us and it holds us.
Let's look up at God and around at people today. Let's speak of God's righteousness and the approval available in the Gospel of Grace. Not up and away but in the now as sent ones.
What are the wings of the morning?
Heaven and Hell are invisible realms. Places we have heard about in scripture. Places we go in our minds and imagine but the sea is here on Earth. It has two 'uttermosts' also... the foreign land where life is new and different and the people are unknown to us and we to them. That uttermost is filled with new possibilities and in our imagination the things that limit us here don't exist there. We are Sinbad (the pirate not the comedian) or Robinson Crusoe, heroes and adventures... successes. In the other uttermost we sink down, down, down into the quiet depth of the seas.... in our imagination at least... it is quiet there and darkness. We are alone and numb.
The wings don't take us into God's realms... they take us into our own because the pressure is too great and the problems too real. We feel powerless and so we create a place of power and relief and go there in our minds.
God's right hand does two things in His realms and in ours. It leads us and it holds us. God's approval because of Christ's substitutionary death, His work on and now off the cross, make us a provision of approval. That approval guides us in spiritual things and out of fictional things.
"And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, 'He is out of his mind.' And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul,' and 'by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.' " - Mark 3:14-22 ESV
Notice the demonic labeling came after Jesus appointed the twelve. Once Jesus said 'These have special authority' that in when the pressure increased.
'Fly away little disciples' you didn't ask for this. 'Fly away Jesus'... but they didn't fly away. God's right hand was with them and all is bright to the Lord. They could live in delegated authority on Earth and not fly away to some fantasy or get to far ahead of God's plan. God's right hand let them live in the now with purpose and dignity.
God has given each of us authority in the Earth and visible authority to be accountable under in the Earth. If we can't be accountable to what we see how can we say we are accountable to the invisible.
The twelve were not perfect... one of them was a betrayer. Chew on that one. In that accountability our fantasies are put aside. The right hand of God is personal. It does not come because of our accountability. Jesus won it for us as individuals.
"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness." - Psalms 51:12-14 ESV
God has His way of dealing with leaders. His right hand leads us and it holds us.
Let's look up at God and around at people today. Let's speak of God's righteousness and the approval available in the Gospel of Grace. Not up and away but in the now as sent ones.
--
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Thorns Outside The Garden
Thinking about thorns and thistles this morning and the difference between the garden and the world at large.
"thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field." - Genesis 3:18 ESV
God made thorny plants before He made Adam. They were there in the world. These plants just didn't pose a problem in the garden. It wasn't until the fall that they became an issue.
"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed... And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it... And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." - Luke 8:5a, 7, 14 ESV
There is something about thorns and thistles. You can't eat them and you have to be careful around them. Just ask any child playing frisbee in a field that has thorn bushes.
Thorny areas choke out truth.
"Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe." - John 19:1-2 ESV
They tried to mock Him and make Him a 'King of Pain' but in truth He was and is the King of Kings. He bore our sharp burdens on His head so we don't have to bear them.
"A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." - Song of Songs 4:12 KJV
We are a garden enclosed. Thorns will be out there in the world but in our garden we have a grace relationship with God. Our past can't hurt Him any more. In the garden it doesn't hurt us. He plants nourishing food in our garden. There are wide open spaces to play and run in our garden. There is joy and communion there. It is cultivated place.
"In that day, A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;" - Isaiah 27:2-3 ESV
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall." - Genesis 49:22 ESV
God waters us so His plantings grow high and reach over our wall to others. What a beautiful picture that is of a life of faith.. of a heart established in grace.. The spring feeds a thought life that bears fruit and feeds others yet it is locked up so that it remains protected from defilement.
--
"thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field." - Genesis 3:18 ESV
God made thorny plants before He made Adam. They were there in the world. These plants just didn't pose a problem in the garden. It wasn't until the fall that they became an issue.
"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed... And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it... And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." - Luke 8:5a, 7, 14 ESV
There is something about thorns and thistles. You can't eat them and you have to be careful around them. Just ask any child playing frisbee in a field that has thorn bushes.
Thorny areas choke out truth.
"Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe." - John 19:1-2 ESV
They tried to mock Him and make Him a 'King of Pain' but in truth He was and is the King of Kings. He bore our sharp burdens on His head so we don't have to bear them.
"A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." - Song of Songs 4:12 KJV
We are a garden enclosed. Thorns will be out there in the world but in our garden we have a grace relationship with God. Our past can't hurt Him any more. In the garden it doesn't hurt us. He plants nourishing food in our garden. There are wide open spaces to play and run in our garden. There is joy and communion there. It is cultivated place.
"In that day, A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;" - Isaiah 27:2-3 ESV
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall." - Genesis 49:22 ESV
God waters us so His plantings grow high and reach over our wall to others. What a beautiful picture that is of a life of faith.. of a heart established in grace.. The spring feeds a thought life that bears fruit and feeds others yet it is locked up so that it remains protected from defilement.
--
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