Tag Archives: Christ

Why I blog

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pen and paper

Image by LucasTheExperience via Flickr

Some write in their blogs about themselves.  Their intent is simply to be heard.  Some write in their blogs about various aspects of life.  Their intent is simply to voice their opinion.  Some intend to teach.  Some intend to point at the faults of others, or the system of life we embrace simply because it is the accepted norm.  Some write in their blogs because they are being friendly, or even because they have a specific hatred.  So why do I write in my blog?

There must be honesty in this answer.  So, in certain ways, I must agree with all of the above.  These are motivations for writing.  And I admit that they appear in my blog from time to time.  But they are not the central reason why I write.  More than any other reason, I write my blog as a testimony to the Lord Jesus.   I don’t write to change lives, so much.  Though it would be nice to know that I have been used to help another find a solid relationship with the Creator.  I write about the Lord because I want to leave a legacy on this earth as one who encouraged the hopeless to consider their plight with open eyes.

By HIs Grace.

Agree?

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Photo of the Praying Hands statue in Web City,...

Image via Wikipedia

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”  (Matthew 18:19)

I’ve been in Christian gatherings where a request was presented by someone.  And it was the decision of the leader of the group that we should pray for this request.  Though I had some reservations regarding this request, I did not voice my reservation.  I allowed the people to pray without contention from me. 

I consider this text above.  And I look to some of the things current in my life.  One statement stands out in my mind, as if it were screaming.  God is not stupid.  He is not blind to our hearts.  And He is the absolute authority.  What should I do in regard to this statement (God is not stupid)? 

Should I risk offending my siblings in Christ by voicing my concerns?  Should I politely dismiss myself from the prayer?  Considering the offence such a dismissal would cause, there is only one possible answer: “No.”  And James wrote well, in regard to this.  “. . . judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.”  The ones asking for prayer have a valid need.  Just because I don’t agree, doesn’t mean an answer should not come from God.

But should I expect that their prayer will be answered?  Perhaps.  What of the cases which appear between my companions in this life and myself?  When I have a need and bring it to them?   What if they don’t agree with my assessment of the need?  It would be my desire to receive an answer from God.  And an answer which supports my personal view would be nice. 

In the end, I am forced to accept that I might not know the whole implications of what I desire to appear.   So I am forced to accept that the answer to my prayer desire might be “No”.  Humility simply teaches that we are to bend our appreciation of life and truth toward the will of God.  After all, who knows better? 

By His Grace.

A Test is Waiting for You.

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TEST

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There is a place where we can rest in testings.  Our loyalty will be tested by the Father and Jesus.  And in this testing we are not judged under the law; forgiveness and acceptance is the order of these proceedings.  But there is another testing which has neither forgiveness nor acceptance.  When we are tested by man, we are thrown to the wolves.  The testing of man is a sliding scale of hatred.  We will find ourselves tested if we let it slip that we consider Jesus first in our appreciation of life.  Then we are tested again as we testify to this appreciation.  But a sliding scale is not proportionate to a steady growth.  It’s more like we enter into differing shades of man’s hatred.  It’s not a 1, 2, 3 thing.  It’s more like :

1. we don’t like what you’re believing.  But as long as you don’t voice your belief, we can tolerate you.

2. You’ve voiced your belief in our hearing and we will now push you aside from our “fun”.

3. You’ve continued to, not only voice your belief, but act on your belief in our presence.  We will now try to destroy you because of the testimony you exhibit.

4.  You’ve continued to stand against our social order.  And nothing we have done has caused you to hesitate in the slightest.  It’s apparent you intend to continue down this path of “difference”.  So, as soon as we can find legal means, we will work toward your death.

This “test” of man will be allowed to continue until the Lord returns to establish Peace on this world under His direct control.  This “testing” is allowed because it tests and refines the heart of those who call on the Lord for true life.  Don’t be surprised at the things which encase you now.  But allow yourself to be surprised if you don’t see this progression of hatred coming upon you.  It is an indication that you are not yet where you should be in Christ.  For the Lord has promised that if they hated Him, they will hate you.  And if they desired to kill Him, they will desire to kill His people also.

By His Grace.

Wait

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Stones on a Rocky Ocean Beach

Image by epSos.de via Flickr

The Lord gives strength to those who wait for Him.  He is the source of a power beyond the understanding of both the world and His people.  He is able to do far more than we are able to ask.  For He alone lives in eternity and knows the true demands of this place in which we live.

Are you floundering in the Christian walk?  Look to Him and wait.  Speak of your troubles and voice with your bound tongue.  You can’t express your sorrow or confusion?  Speak to Him.  Then wait.  The answer is approaching.  Just wait.  You are not who you were.  And you are not who you will be.  The situation you find yourself in is not eternal.  It has an end!  But He who calls you from Heaven is eternal and has no end.

Wait for the Lord.  Allow yourself the patience required to wait for Him.  Your help is approaching from the distant shores of Heaven.  Pull up a grain of sand and just wait.

 

By His Grace.

You Know a Secret.

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You look at me and mock, as though you know a secret.

I am the body of Christ.

You frolic and dance in your festival of sin.

You are the world.

We are all made of flesh, yet a difference remains.

Your mocking is futile and you waste your limited time.

Your eyes are set on what can be seen.

And there is no understanding in your mind.

Yet you mock with limitless hatred for the Holiness of God.

I look at you and wonder how it is you are so blind.

Everything pure and Holy is hidden from your mind.

I look for pity from the depths of my soul.

And I am surprised to find calm and patience where the bag of pity was always kept.

I am not my own.

I have been bought with a price.

And you are not your own.

You are sold as a slave to sin.

I would tell you to look at your plight.

But you cannot see.

O’ Lord of Mercy, we ask your help.

That we might show them their need.

By His Grace.

Pure Service

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For those who believe religion is enough to present yourself before the Most High God on the day of Judgment and receive that “Well done, good and faithful servant”.  I know this is what you currently believe.  And I know that what you’re doing by believing this is to shoot for the minimum service due to the Lord of Life.  You think you can have the best of both worlds.  That is, you think you can live in this world and perform your religious duties and be acceptable come that day.  Thinking on this, I stumbled across a way to describe what you are doing.

One man owns a very ornate cup.  And once or twice a week he takes his cup down from above the fireplace and takes a sip.  Swirling it around in his mouth, he then spits the water back into the cup.  Carefully putting the cup back in it’s dustless ring on the mantle, he turns to enjoy his life of ease.  He has done this for years.  And the cup is full of his spit and the dust which gathers from the room.

Another man has abandoned everything he had and moved into a house boat which was given to him by the owner of the Great Lakes.  from Yahoo Group "Houseboatbuilding"Every moment of every day, he lives on pure water.  He has more water than he can drink in 100 life times.  He drinks as he will and serves the owner of the lake with joy and abandon.

Religion is much like the first man.  It is held captive by man and set on a perch for certain times of ritual need.  But religion is not pure service to the Lord of Life.  And as foolish and sickening as this man’s ritual sipping might appear, so the man without a love for God’s will appears foolish and sickening before the Most High God.

You can do anything you want in this life.  God has allowed man to chase after anything he wants for now.  But only those who render service to their creator through the blood of Jesus will receive that “Well done”.

By His Grace.