Category Archives: Service

Toward Release

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What does it look like when someone trusts Jesus?  What does it look like when they put all their confidence in the power of Christ to save?

Polycarp was burned at the stake.  But when he was encouraged to run and hide from his captors, instead he invited them to a dinner in his home.  Later he said, “80 and 6 years he has served me well why should I deny him now”.

Legend has it that Peter was crucified upside down, hardly feeling worthy to suffer as his master did.  But readily willing to suffer for the one he loved.

Apparently the Apostle John was boiled in oil before he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.  In that place he told us in writing about the beauty of the living God’s Holy Son.

There is a story of a mother and her two daughters who were captured by the Romans.  On the journey to Rome, understanding that they were beautiful women, the mother fained a desire to bathe before entrance to Rome.  A raging Creek was near, so the Romans let them go and bathe.  At the side of the torrent she grabbed her two daughters and through all of them into the raging river, choosing to drown rather than be molested by vulgar men (and this for the sake of purity in regard to the name of Jesus).

If I had time I could fill up far more than 100 thick volumes of testimonies.  Even today there are stories of people who are suffering brutally because they trust Jesus.  Beheadings, burnings, stabbings, and on and on.

I knew at least one faithful loving Christian, who up into his eighties, loved the Lord more than anything else in the world.  Even to his death bed he waved us away lest we interfere with his communion.

“If you love me you will obey my commands.” 

“Never will I leave you or forsake you.”

Such a short few years we are asked to trust him like this. 

Then FREEDOM!

Stability, the Fragrance of Love

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Night or day, rain or shine, storm or tranquil afternoon; I carry within me a Spring time born of eternity.  The Love of God in Christ Jesus plays out in my heart and mind without ceasing. 

This love is like a musical waterfall of exquisite emotions, thoughts, doings and experiences.  It’s no more a religion then the beautiful explosion of love between the young man and a woman, his new found lifelong best friend.

God’s love causes me to smell the colors of the world around me.  He shows me the dance of sound in the fabric of air.  Words, all words, become living creatures as the Word of Life comes near to caress with truth.

I am useless to man.   The Living promise has finally caught me in an eternal embrace.  I tried to pay attention to the things that matter most to men, but fail miserably and often .The beautiful patience of God stoked a fire in me to make him blessed with his desire.

All of this, and vastly more, gives me reason to ponder the definition of love among men.  So very much is made of the love between a man and a woman.  Books, songs, poetry, movies, and all the trinkets produced as a celebration of joy and longevity.  All this commotion for something that cannot possibly last.  The hurricane of reality sweeps down from the mountains to devastate the joy of first love between man and wife.  Most marriages disintegrate to a bond of friendship at best.  At worst, they disintegrate to nothing.

The captivating emotions of human love produce something similar to the love of God within his beloved ones.  But people are people.  They are everything but stable.  Greed, impatience, expectations, and everything associated with self begins to ruin first love’s beauty.  Eventually death takes it all away.

But how is it that so much is made of the love of man, which is so transitory, while virtually nothing is celebrated toward the love of God?  The love of God simply becomes a place to cry out for help when everything we wanted falls apart.

Dogs or Brothers

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The dog is an amazing creature.  No better friend on earth can be had than a faithful and obedient canine.   They are a great source of joy and comfort to their owner.  A well trained dog will do anything to please its master.

But a dog is a dog.  It will eat it’s own vomit.  Often the dog will even eat its own feces. 

It cannot be trusted to make business deals. 

It has no concept of a clean the floor or carpet.  You will never see a dog naturally wipe its feet before it comes in the house.

Its welfare must be constantly maintained.  And it requires a rather watchful eye over its habits. 

Once it has developed a taste for blood, the dog is either to be destroyed or heavily restrained for the rest of its life. 

Stray dogs are no companion for the children.  They are unpredictable and dangerous.

Most dogs have a hard time understanding friend or foe in regard to those who come to visit its master.

The dog will understand certain commands.  But it does not fully understand the language of man.  It might pick up on our habits, but it doesn’t understand the reason for them.

A dog will be loyal to its own detriment.  It can love with a fully open heart.  It’s always glad to see its master.  And the only time it makes any judgment regarding its master, is in the matter of food.

Think of all the things that dogs are by their very nature.  Then consider Man.

Look at all the things that men do.  Unless we are specifically trained by God, we have no stability or faithfulness within us.  Take all the things I have said about dogs and apply them to Man.

Some dogs must be killed because they are a threat.  Some dogs are fit only to be restrained outside.  Some dogs are companions on the couch.  But they are still dogs.

Christ has come to transform us from potential pets to brothers. 

A brother understands the language of his father and siblings.  He is able to differentiate between the things of carnal behavior and those of responsibilities in the family.

It’s good to consider the following.  Have we allowed ourselves to become good and restrained pets?  Or have we sought the full transformation into the family of God as brothers of Christ?

Are we busily over coming sin by the power of Christ presence?  Or are we seeking release from the triggers that give temptation its strength?  Isn’t the latter like being placed on a leash?

I did not write this to shake the faith of anyone.  But consider what it would be if, instead of trying to be rid of temptation, we were to embrace the power of Christ to overcome it.  There’s a distinct difference between the brothers of the household and the pets.

There’s a great deal more to say about this.  What I’ve written is a good start.

Release

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If you are in Christ, your sins are like a corpse that lays exposed on the ground.  They are detestable and grotesque.  But they can do you no more harm than a dead body.  Turn away from them and do not fear them.

When temptations come, remember your release.  They are no more then a band of fog or a mist that comes before your eyes.  Pass through them they have no power over you anymore.

What do you owe the Lord Jesus for such a glorious release?  You simply owe him everything.  You owe him all your fears.  You owe him absolute allegiance.  You owe him adoration, praise, and thanks.  You owe him your very life.

If you busy yourself with a love for Jesus, you will have victory over the things that used to defeat you. 

The inverse of all these things is also true.  But we are not like those who, once released from bondage in Egypt, complained and desire to go back.  Instead, we are a new nation of peoples.  Our bodies will not litter the way to the promised land.  We will love him with all our heart and arrive set free.

Faithless Prayer

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2 “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, 3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ ”  (Jeremiah 33:2)

They have said, “Prayer is such a burden”.  They respond to me, “When have we said such a thing?”  The compassionate answer comes:  “Every time you did not do it.”

But this can be given to you: you did not do it because you did not understand.  

You think that prayer is like writing a letter that may or may not be read.   You have no faith so you do not bothered to write.  For lack of faith there is lack of understanding.

God speaks.  But who hears him?  He speaks in what is.  He speaks in what did not come.  He speaks of his Holy promises; those things which will be, for he cannot lie.

Prayer is only a letter if it is given by a faithless soul.  And truly such letters are sent among the wind, to blow to this place or that.  But the faithful will believe and wait.  They will have patience for they know that God is true.

The faithful will live abundant lives.   They will be blessed in all they do.  For what they do is to trust and wait.  What they do, is ask for ears.  They ask for eyes that see.  Ask for understanding, and that their lives may testify.  See how abundance arrives.

B THE B

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If you attend church regularly, then be the best Christian that ever attended church regularly.

If you only go to church once in awhile, then be the best Christian ever went to church once in awhile.

If you believe a Christian doesn’t have to go to church at all to be a Christian, then show us what the best Christian looks like who never goes to church at all.

Let God steal your freedom.  In exchange he wants to give you righteousness, purity, obedience, faithfulness, joy, amazing confidence, fearlessness, a wondrous prayer life, and eternal life.

Hey, wait a minute, that sounds like freedom!