Tag Archives: God

Waxed up and shining

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It’s been spring for a while.  As has become my habit, I wax my truck three or four layers deep.  It produces a beautiful shine.  It is noticeable from a long distance off.

As I drive down the road, I am prone to notice the cars that are not waxed.  I even pass the time by guessing which one is clean and which one is waxed.  I confess there is not a lot of difference between a clean car and one that is waxed with a single coat.  But let someone apply two or three coats of wax and there is a startling difference.

Now the question here is: do I notice these things because I wax my truck, or do I notice these things because they are apparent?  I suspect it is a measure of both.  In the one, I am looking.  In the other, it is obvious.

Who can help but notice the sun shining off an object in front of them?  A fully unexpected place to find the Sun .  But when someone notices they remember the look of their own.  And they take mental note that this is something they would like to do also.

Isn’t the same thing true with righteousness in Christ?  Someone gets their act together by worshipping the living God in Christ Jesus.  As they live their life, the righteousness of Christ shines through them.  A fully unexpected place to find the living God.

They live their days looking at others to see if they have appropriated the righteousness of God.  It becomes almost a hobby.

They see some forms of righteousness that are produced by diligence in the world.  And they are given reason to ponder if this is righteousness of God or just righteousness of the world.  But let a man spend immense time with the Lord Jesus and there is a distinct glowing difference.

And just like the waxed car, others take a mental note and say, “I would like to do that to my own.”  As they see enough of the righteousness of God, the mental note becomes important enough to accomplish. 

They may even approach others to ask how.  That’s how I learned how to wax my truck like I do.  That’s how I learned about the righteousness of Christ.  That is why it is important to let the glory of God’s righteousness shine in our lives.

Palpable Forgiveness

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Beyond this place is joy for those who learn to trust the Lord.  And since we know that God cannot lie, we learn to believe that there is a certain joy in receiving his forgiveness now.  Those who believe this have proven that God is true.  Yes there is proof!  And any man can know it.

It is God’s glory to give, for he is life.  Therefore it is our glory to receive.  And we do not receive without a substantial reward.  For in the soul of he who receives is proof that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.  It is not the reward that comes from the things of this world.

To the soul who is yet blind, such words carry no weight.  But to those who have received, a joyful amen comes quickly.

This world will offer you a billion alternatives to the pain you now suffer.  They offer you pleasure of every possible sort to alleviate your troubled soul. 

I am over 60 years old now and have searched this world for the things that help.  from the sensual to the religious, and all things in between, I have looked.  I have found nothing that compares to the palpable forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus.

They offer what will deaden a man’s senses.  They offer distractions.  But such things are not effective in alleviating our guilt before the Holy One; a guilt that troubles us every day and every night of our life.

The guilt of the soul causes hatred of every sort.  It stifles love.  Its restrains joy to temporary distractions.  You know sooner grasp a joyful moment, and it is taken away.  You want to love, but the guilt of your soul proves you are unlovely.  So you end up striking out in various ways, or trying in vain to cover your shame.

Yoga teaches tranquility of mind.  But nothing in the body can bring tranquility to the soul.  Religions of this world teach sacrifice.  But God has chosen his own sacrifice, therefore he does not accept the sacrifice of men for their salvation.  No sacrifice a man can make brings tranquility to the soul.  For God has chosen his door of giving.

The riches of this world can be gathered, yes.  And for a time they alleviate the stress upon our minds.  Yet the soul is restless and full of guilt and shame.  And the one who puts his trust in the things he can gather or do, is not at peace deep within himself.   He only finds himself looking for another way.

But the tranquility that comes from the forgiveness of Christ is complete.  One moment a man’s guilt is upon him.  He can feel it as if it is a thick blanket.  The next moment he is free and full of joy.  An unexplainable transformation has taken place.  Unspeakable piece has arrived.

Where foreboding was, now joyful expectation comes.  Tears flow.  But they are not the tears of a man.  They are the tears of a son of God.

I know we have sinned.  I know we feel guilty to the very center of our soul; a guilt that our hands cannot reach.  I know that in our great weakness we look for anything to alleviate this pain. That is the first part of the gospel of Christ.  But if that is all there is, then there is no hope.

But the one who puts his faith in the Holy son of God, and continues throughout his life to look to him for help, will find himself full of an unearthly joy.  It is not the joy of child feels at Christmas time.  It is an unshakable peace.  The man’s Maker has come and healed him.

Men laugh at this message.  But even those who laugh, desire it to be true.  It is true my friend.  The joy you desire lay just beyond the door of pride. 

At the threshold of humility a man finds what he needs.  If a man will put away the knowledge of his own mind, and understand these things by faith, he will find he has hope.  This hope will not disappoint him, if he continues to live in it. And in time, all the remedies of this world pale to oblivion.

I do not speak of this as one who has only heard.  I speak of this as one who continually proves that the Lord’s gospel is powerful, effective, true and eternal.  And I speak of this as one who’s conscience is clean.  It is not that I am sinless.  It is that the forgiveness of Christ is stronger than my guilt.  And I testify that his forgiveness affects my soul.

If you will listen to these words and seek His face with all you have, You too will be able to prove the glory of God in Christ Jesus. 

The standard

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The world does as it desires.  Try to restrain it into holiness and it will kill you.  In fact it may kill you just for sport.

But put aside the threat of death.  They only usher you into the Lord’s presence forever.

Regardless their thirst for pleasure and blood, the Soverign God desires their willing love. 

As proof of God’s desire he has dispatched his son among us and glorified him for his obedient love.  And now he has left the Lord’s people among those who hate him.

God is the standard of all things good.  The Lord Jesus goes on record to show us personally what that means.  And now we are left among them to display the standard we are taught to love.

We are urged, all day long, to love the Lord and obey his commands.  But not solely for the purpose of salvation.

We are to love him and obey him for the sake of those who hate him, just as we witness the Lord Jesus do for us.

God the Father is the standard.  The Lord Jesus is the display of that perfect standard.  We to then are to display the obedient standard among those who do not know.

Every time you cut corners in your obedience, you teach others to do the same.  Even disobedience in secret will not remain so. Every time you obey without question, you teach others to do the same.  For no good action can remain hidden.

Let us willingly become part of the standard of God.  Let us live such lives that when they look at us they can see the expectation.  By all means let us teach the righteousness of God according to what we have attained.

And let no man think that if he shrinks back the expectations up on him will be less.  There are souls to save.  There is righteousness to teach.  And class is in session as long as you breathe the air of this world.

Delusion

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The hardest thing I have had to learn is to put away delusion.  I find it is wrapped up in everything I think and do.  It is a false expectation.  It is an untrue belief.  It is a false hope.  A man may think he is something, all the while he is not.

A man may think he has achieved, only to find himself having fallen short.  He may think he has understood, only to be proved wrong by another thought or action.

A man may think he has done a good deed.  But he walks away not understanding what brought the moment to him nor what happens after.

A man may go to prayer believing he is accepted before God.  In his dilution he promises himself many things.  But he walks away unblessed for he lives in a lie.

Men may praise Him, or even express hatred for him.  The delusional mind perceives it wrongly.  For the first, he thinks he is a good man.  For the second, he thinks he is persecuted.  All the while he is no more or less than any man.

Delusion is a lie.  Delusion has everything to do with perception.  The man who perceives himself outside of truth is deluded.

The sinful nature thinks of itself outside of truth.  But the Spirit of God within speak only truth.  It has been the learning to listen correctly that has been the most difficult. 

A man may well be willing to receive a beating for his wayward ways.  But is he earnestly willing to put error away and live in truth?

It has been difficult in my life to grasp the fullness of truth.  It will certainly be that for all men.  For we are raised in lies as children.  We are taught lies as we become adults.  We are expected to compromise.    we expect others to compromise for us.  And because of this expectation, we expect God to compromise for us. And all these boil over into dilution.  The man who lives like that has no right to expect to be blessed in what he does.

Transformation into a son of God is a difficult process for any man to accomplish.  And, in the end, it will require the majesty of God to complete the transformation.  For now we are given to work with diligence.  In the end it is God who will provide the transformation.

One item has been an exceedingly helpful insight in the delusion of sin.  I learned that God is, though  this learning is a constant difficulty.   He may know of the past.  He may know of the future.  But he lives in the now.  God is.

As I live in the now I find the delusion evaporating.  Living in the past is useless.  It has happened, yes.  But the past is not now.  Living with expectations for the future is also useless.  There are things that will happen, yes.  But they are not the now.  We hope in God and this is appropriate.  But we are given things to accomplish now.

The truth of God is.  The truth of God is the sum of what was and what will be.  Letting go of what was and leaving what will be to him, I find myself living in the truth.

Jesus is the perfect reflection of the Father.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Circumstances and experiences may change.  But he is truth because he never does.

This cannot be said of us.  For we were born in vile state.  And we must learn to live in what is holy.  The process can be painful, arduous and sporadic.  But if we are to learn to please the Holy Lord of all, we must learn to put away delusion.  That is to say, if we are to learn to be productive members of the family of God, then we must learn to put away dilution.

Describing vs How

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The bush limbs grow.  What man can say how?  There is a stick in the dirt.  That one only rots away.  But the one from which it was broken off grows longer and taller and thicker.  Buds appear, then the bloom.  Finally it is a joy to behold.  All in due time life appears.

Men may describe the phenomenon.  But no man knows how it is done.  And, despite the claim of science, it cannot be replicated by men.

God is life and generously gives to all, both in heaven and on earth.  No one lives who can search the deepest of God’s thoughts or intent; neither in heaven nor on earth.  Even the Holy Son of God admits some things are things that are in the hands of His Father alone.

What folly then does man possess that causes him to believe he knows?  Judge for yourself.  Which is better: to assume we do not need God’s salvation, or to humbly accept that he is all and singularly able to save?

Shall a man and say, “I have sinned therefore I am unworthy to go to God in prayer.”  Or should he rather except that God is the only source of repair?

The man of humble understanding will let God be God.  The man who is ruled by pride will choose salvation or destruction for himself.

Regardless a man’s choosing God remains God.  The man of pride does not steal from God’s glory.  But he robs God of the right to give.

I write these words.  They are true and life.  Those who accept such things will say, “Amen”.  Those who do not we’ll seal their own fate.

Salvation is like the bush.  Men may be able to describe holiness as it appears.  But not a single one can say how.

The spike of peace

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Our life can be considered as traveling upon a flat line.  What lay to the left is yet to come.  What lay to the right is written and sealed.  But the spike upon the line is the “now”.

What is to come is not.  What lays behind is done.  Only the moment should be of any serious consideration.  The faith of the future and the faith of the past squeeze together and cause us to be.

There is peace in the faith of what is to come.  For he who promises cannot lie.  There is peace in the faith of what is behind.  For the mercy of God in Christ covers us with beautiful righteousness.

So it is right to say as follows:

“I have peace regarding what comes for God is faithful and supplies.  I have peace regarding what has been for God is faithful to forgive.”

How then should we live in any anxiety?  The promises are sure.  Strength to sustain us is present.  And he has shed His Holy Blood as proof of our forgiveness. (Not only so, but he who believes in the forgiveness of Christ also gains a clean conscience)   How then shall we walk in anxiety?

This should be the aim and desire of every man and woman in Christ.  God has caused things to be in this way, so that his Glory maybe known for eternity. 

But if we live in dreams, desire, greed and anxiety about the future, how does that bring glory to God?  And if we quake and shake and cry and moan for the wicked things we’ve done, how does this bring glory to the Holy blood of Christ?

But if we live in peace, understanding, knowledge of truth, and trust, then we live in the place that God has desired for all men to live. Then a man lives in eternity. Then he is prepared to receive the good things God desires to give. Then the man becomes.

Practice trust.  The righteousness of God covers us.  And we know that his righteousness is Holy true.