Tag Archives: accomplishments

Define Accomplishment

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They say:
I’m a good dancer.
I know how to make lots of money.
I can do cartwheels.
I know how to drive fast.
I know all the fashions.
I know why everything works.
I can predict a storm.
I know human nature.

They say, an endless bevy of useless accomplishments.  For certainly age and death will come to take them all away.

Can they say:
I know how to dance with the Living God in the Gospel of His Holy and Righteous Son.
I know how to trust that God is in control, no matter what comes to me, no matter my expectations, no matter my understanding.

Can they say: death and old age cannot rip away from me the hope that is displayed in every corner of my life!

Can they say they see Christ in you?

Sitting to be Sent

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There was a day when men would seek out those who “knew”.  At their feet they would listen intently.  Even if they could not believe, they believed in that “something More”.

Is that day like today?  Everyone is forced to say no.

The worldly mind praises the accomplishments of Man.  The religious man praises the accomplishments of god-ward thoughts and traditions.  The sinner praises his bold rebellion.  But who seeks the fullness of God within His Holy Christ?

Many have come.  Many have returned to the world.  Who remains?  Who seeks to become the intent of God?  Who sits at the feet of those who know?  Who remains in belief and listens intently?

What have we learned, in regard to this world?  Yet what have we desired to learn of the things of Heaven?

God knows those who are His.  His eye is intently set on their souls.  God is not like limited man.  God sees with penetrating understanding; what man can conceal from man cannot be concealed from God.  You may fool me for a while, but the Spirit of God quickly points to the truth we can expect from those who belong to Him.

7 “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God.  You will always harvest what you plant.  8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.  But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” (Galatians 6, the living translation)  There will be a noticeable DIFFERENCE.

Isn’t the door of understanding from the Living God’s Christ wide open?  Who is willing to enter?  Who will bend their will toward all that is Holy?  Those who do so will be sent.

Isn’t the world in dire need of truth?   Who will “go”, that they may be sent?

Curiosity is

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It is not possible to live in Christ without testifying.   If we speak that testimony with words, then good.  But everything we are reflects who we have been willing to become before Him.  It can’t be hidden, not before every creature in heaven, nor every human on earth.

Has this come home to roost in our tree of understanding?   Have we come to place this truth in front of everything we think or do?  How would our life change if we forced ourselves to remember this, as if a “First” habit?

Give a young man a Ferrari for his birthday.  There will come a place where he will certainly test its ability.  Isn’t that the nature of humanity?  And isn’t that why we consider such parents to be foolish?

We are disciples of the Most High God in His Holy Son.  By the power of his endless Holy Spirit we serve Him.  Excuse me for stating the obvious, but how does a Ferrari compare?  Tell me, if you can, why do we suppress our natural tendency to “Give it all its got” when it comes to the promises of God?

Man is not stripped of curiosity when he becomes a Christian, in fact it is enhanced.  Despite the shocking ability of a Ferrari, it has a limit.  It requires a road, gasoline, and a human to drive it.

But what God offers us comes from his Eternal Sovereignty.  Why wouldn’t it be advisable to take some time and consider this?  What does God offer that we are not willing to test?  Why do Christians lay down their curiosity before they enter His Holy Throne?

Curiosity is not of the flesh.  It is a gift from God to our soul, that we may search out his marvelous willingness.  The flesh is only curious about the things it can get away with.  But our soul should be curious about the things we can receive.

If what you want are the Ferraris of this world, then yes, you are living in the flesh.  But if what you desire are the eternal things of God, then apply your curiosity to attain.

He has sealed his willingness to give, with the promise of the Holy Blood of His Holy Son.  How much more proof do we need, that he is willing to give us endlessly more than we can even imagine? 
Let your soul enter.  Strap yourself in with the restraints of faith.  Place your frail foot on the Holy ground.  Prepare your heart for a mind shocking ride. Grip His promises with steel hands, and press your foot down hard. Why should we not try to find out how far God is willing to take us?

By His Grace

Lessons Begun

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Things I have begun to understand in the last three days:

Any school boy can understand words, even good words.  But there is a place where good words begin to come alive in a man.  It is the latter which provokes this post.

Lowered eyes that cannot be raised, may be a sign of humility.  (Keyword being “cannot“. Shame can have the same effect.) While eyes that will not lower, often are accompanied by the chin.

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As a man desires, so he will become.  The man who desires the things of this world, has already attained them.  Even though they are not yet in his hand.  Likewise, with the man who desires the things of Christ Jesus.

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As a man compares himself to others, godliness leaves him.  While the man who is able to be satisfied with what he has, is capable reaching toward godliness.  The former sins by his comparison.  While the other opens himself to the peace of God.

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In the matter of godliness: The young man may think he has attained.  But he does not know the extent of what is required.  The old man has begun the journey.  But no man can live long enough to attain all there is to attain.  Continuance for both must be established.

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In summary:  Our dependence on the Holy Righteousness of Christ Jesus does not diminish with our accomplishments.  It only grows stronger the higher we climb on the Mountain of holiness.  Toward the pinnacle, the fall increases.  While at its base, pride remains king.

Woe to those who do not consider these things, for what they lose, no man can count.  And the sadness of their loss will never cease.   For if it is difficult for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

Yet who can tell where a man may begin?  Those who remain In the Way of Christ may well accomplish great things.  Perhaps the “greatest” has not yet been born; whether of flesh or spirit.

These things have come to me as I have entered 61 years of living.  Why should those of lesser years give up now?  And these things have come to me in a relatively short three years.  What great hope lays, therefore, before my seniors?

It is necessary to encourage one another as the days grow more wicked.  As these things become known, it is not right that we should bottle them up. 

And it is not a righteous thought to believe that others will recognize the truth as they as they see it displayed in us.  Where is the wise word of counsel from those who know?  Laziness and fear are not godly traits.

By His Grace