On the Other Side of Today! (10/31/13)

So you made a mistake. You love the Lord, but you screwed up. God knew you were going to do it, He's not surprised.

Jesus told Peter in Luke 22 "I've prayed for you Peter. You're going to lose faith and turn your back on me. But, when you repent and believe again, help establish your brothers in Christ. Help them, through what you've been through, to recognize an attack and stay in faith."

Peter replied to Jesus "I'd never leave you or deny you." Really, Peter? You're so impetuous and head strong! Yesterday you cut off someone's ear and today you're in such a hurry to speak your own words that you ignore Jesus words of prophecy!
But Jesus wasn't moved by Peter's immaturity-He was looking down the road to what Peter was to become, on the other side today.

In fact, when Jesus met the disciples for breakfast, after His resurrection, He cemented Peters calling to mentor and train and love the brethren. Three times Jesus asked Peter to "feed my sheep", but the 2nd time the word feed meant "to shepherd or pastor or lead." Lead and feed, Peter!

He knows the end from the beginning....and He ever lives to intercede. Turn your failures into platforms to teach someone else! Exalt the name of Jesus Christ!

Family Motto! (10/29/13)

Family motto!

Welcome to the Family! I'm your sister in Christ. This is our family motto, the result of the Spirit of God in us.

"I have the Holy Spirit Power. ... I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals."

"I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power."

"...I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity."

March on!  Be strong!

(from: The Fellowship of the Unashamed)

 

 

Is it humility or disobedience? (10/23/13)

Is it humility or disobedience?

"Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth (Num 12:3).

Moses humility was displayed in his willingness to give God the reigns of his life-to put the person of 'self' under His Lordship. It was in recognizing that God is the source of power and He gets all the glory for what we do under His empowerment!

False humility shies away from walking forward in the work of God or tries to accomplish it under the power of self. There is no humility in saying "I can't" if the Lord says "do this"....that is actually disobedience and a form self exaltation!

Humility repents and moves past sins...believing that His sacrifice is sufficient! False humility is inspired by the enemy-it will hang on to repented sin and dwell on it-in essence, striving to diminish the Sacrifice which paid for our sins.

When we are humble we understand the we can boldly carry out the work of God because it is His will, accomplished through His power, for His glory!

How to be a 'nothing' (10/20/13)

How to be a 'nothing'

If you are desiring more of God, perhaps the best way to make that happen is to learn to love. God is love: more love, more God!

Here are some simple formulas from 1Co 13 relating to love:
1. Gift of prophecy minus love = nothing!
2. Mountain moving faith minus love = nothing!
3. Understanding and knowledge minus love = nothing!
4. Benevolence minus love = nothing!

What are the signs that love is present? Patience, kindness, bearing up under all things, believing the best in others, hope, and endurance. Love grieves over separation from God and is eager for restoration in others and self. Let love be your motive! Let love reign!

1Jn 3:18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).

Jealousy in the Church OR I'm my own grandpa! (10/17/13)

Jealousy in the Church OR I'm my own grandpa!

Jealousy for God is zealously wanting the things of God that He would gain glory as you display His person on the earth. Being jealous of others is coveting what they have or some element of their person or gifting. If you are jealous in your heart, you have already stolen what another possesses.

Jealousy in the Church is ruinous to unity. Since we are a family, jealousy causes us to usurp the position of other members of the family: the cousin wants to be the dad, or the mom wants to be the daughter. Or perhaps you could be your own grandpa! Each of us has a work to do in the body, and someday you may be the dad or mom, but right now, be content in the work you have been given!

1 Cor 12 describes the church as a body and talks about jealousy. We would never expect the hand to be jealous of the foot....it sounds ridiculous. Attacking others in the body with a jealous heart is like an allergy in the Church-the body attacking itself.

Determine in your heart that you will advance the Church by supporting and encouraging others in their work for the Lord. Lift them up, because in doing so, you lift up the Lord to others!

Religious bones in the closet! (10/14/13)

Religious bones in the closet!

Just when we think we have everything figured out, God reveals truth and breaks up our religious attitudes!

Take Peter as an example. At the Lord's prompting he went to the house of Cornelius and expounded the Word to them. While he was talking, the Holy Spirit filled them and they began to speak in tongues and praise God (Acts 10). Peter was stunned!

BUT, when the apostles heard about it, instead of being excited at what God had done, they said "you went into the house of an uncircumcised man" (Acts 11). So Peter explained to them that God had given visions, sent angels and filled Gentiles with the Holy Spirit-and there was nothing he could do to stand in the way of it.

The happy ending is that the apostles accepted God's work in the Gentiles without further objection. They were amazed that God accepted 'even the Gentiles.'

Are there any 'religious' bones in your closet that need to be put at the foot of the cross? Perhaps an old dinosaur that you've been protecting for a long time?

The forgiveness sham! (10/13/13)

The forgiveness sham!

If you've had a parting of ways with another Christian and you think God will never again use that person for His kingdom work, more than likely-you're wrong!

People make mistakes, so do we. But those who continue loving and seeking Him continue to grow and go through the transformation process. Perhaps that person you disagreed with so many years ago is not the same person today that you perceive him to be. Perhaps God has dealt with that person's sin, and he or she has responded to Him, just as God is dealing with your sins.

Wouldn't it be a travesty (mockery or sham) if God forgave the way we sometimes forgive? If He held a grudge in his heart and gave us the cold shoulder the way we do with others?

I am praying for 'chance' meetings for all who see this post. That you will 'accidentally' meet up with those that you have parted from and God will give you no choice but to forgive and be forgiven. Let the Body heal and be whole again!

Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive]. Col 3:13 AMP

Is it FAITH? Or the SOUL? (10/11/13)

Is it FAITH or is it the SOUL?

Would you be able to take your present doctrine and put it into any period of history and have it be believable and effective to the Lord's work? His Truth stands the test of time-it's not wrapped around a culture but creates His culture when released!

There are doctrines espoused today which would absolutely flop in the time period of the great persecutions. Jesus never told the people of His time that they wouldn't be persecuted by the Romans or the religious leaders if they had enough faith. On the contrary, He told them persecutions would come and through faith in Him we overcome!

If we alter doctrine to fit our culture, then we have exchanged faith for the power of the soul. When our desires align with our culture instead of God, we can dangerously we use the power of the human soul, in the name of faith, to bring about those desires. This is a disturbing concept-but I challenge you to search and test your heart and soul concerning it!

Psalm 143:8 Cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.

Giant Slayers! (10/10/13)

Fear of Man!


Fear of man causes us to focus on self. It guides us into pleasing others so they will elevate or approve of us. It brings inner turmoil and turns molehills into mountains. This fear attacks our thoughts and brings hyper focus on what others think, putting us in servitude to pleasing people above God. It's actually mock faith: the enemy's way of grabbing our trust in God and putting it onto ourselves.

Proverbs 29:25 says fear of man brings a snare: a noose which cuts off the life of God. But whoever trusts in the Lord is safe and set above the snare-enabled to see it before their eyes and turn away from it or destroy it.

Giant-slayers fear and reverence God above man! Take the Sword of the Word and cut off the head of fear today-bring down the giant who has stifled the power of God in you!

WAKE UP and stop eating! (10/9/13)

In examining myself concerning the way I view food, this is the conclusion I have come to:

Unfortunately, food has become a recreation in our society. Living in the 'land of plenty' has drawn our attention away from the One who has given these benefits to us, and it has led us into gluttony. We console ourselves with food (which has the opposite effect in the long run), burn up our budget dining out, and spend thousands of dollars in fixing our bodies because we eat too much or eat the wrong foods. Fellowship while dining is wonderful....but fellowship without food is more than possible. This is a societal epidemic in general, but the Church doesn't approach this subject because it's a sore spot for us...an accepted sin. I've seen that most of the church functions this way and it's accepted-don't dare call it 'sin'. Then complaints come, and crying out to God follows, because we have no $$ to pay our bills or give to the poor who are in need! We can point a finger at other sins and be perfectly self-righteous in doing so,because those are the sins that others don't accept as 'normal' to our Christian society. I say to myself and to the Church, WAKE UP, and examine self...take the plank out of your own eyes.
Jas 4:3 "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Moses "cleft of the rock" experience (10/7/13)

When Moses asked God to show him His glory, the Lord responded with "I will make My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord" (Ex 33:19).

God's response to Moses request was to hide him in the cleft of a rock, pass by, and proclaim: "The Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth..." (Ex 34:7).

God didn't simply pass by in a bright cloud...that was not the totality of His glory. God proclaimed his attributes to Moses. God and His attributes, His characteristics, are inseparable-these are the elements of His glory. The beauty of His glory is in the perfection of His character!

Jesus was called the 'sole expression of the glory of God' and the 'perfect imprint of God's nature' (Heb 1:3). The glory of God was manifested through Jesus not only in His death, but through His example of the perfect character of God in His life.

Bring His glory to the earth in your everyday life, live in His image. You may be amazed at the presence of God in your life as you do so!

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us....we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son...full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14).

Intellectualizing Jesus Christ (10/1/13)

Intellectualizing Jesus Christ:  the answer to Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Jesus"


While I am not politically or culturally driven, I am driven in standing for the Lord Jesus Christ and spreading His Gospel for His glory and the salvation of all: this includes those who discredit Him and malign His Truth.

Today, I am purposefully answering to a book, it's author and his public proclamation that Jesus Christ died because he "Teed off the Romans by interrupting their tax flow" (Bill O'Reilly, "Killing Jesus"). For a society that sees itself as 'intellectual' this is perfectly acceptable-but the saving work of Jesus Christ cannot be intellectually reasoned away!

People who say such things may think they are removing burdens from the backs of others and setting them free from servitude. In effect, they are placing the burden of sin on people who may otherwise receive the Truth of the Gospel and be free in Christ.

We are in times of testing and turmoil. The spirit of the anti-Christ is at work in our culture in many ways. Pray for our nation! Stand firm in Christ!

Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.