Tag Archives: HolySpirit

Learning to Be Happy With Chaos

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English: Quite the happy dog.

English: Quite the happy dog. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What I am about to write is beyond man’s ability to comprehend.  How then can anyone expect that my words will do it any justice at all?  Yet it is important to voice the following.  So, with your mercy, I will form these words with all the care I can muster.  May God bless every word so that He will be glorified in them.

My little dog is a bit slow.  I can dance my hand around her and watch her try to keep up with the speed of the movement.  In this way, she is like me.  The world is far too fast and complicated for me to keep up with.  It dances around me like an angry horde of bees.  Stings come far too fast for me to predict.  Defending myself is useless.

Now you would think that my little dog would become a bit dejected at not being able to play with me at the same speed.  But the contrary is true.  She seems to delight in the inability to predict the next move.  How amazingly beautiful is her spirit.  And it is right that I should envy her ability to embrace her lack.

If God had made only three trees on a tiny little semblance of the world, the complications of keeping those three trees alive and thriving would be endlessly complicated.  But He has created billions and billions of plants, creatures, clouds, waters, and man.  Yet not one item in His creation lacks what it needs to thrive.  If the world is too fast for me to fend with, how much more is the nature of God beyond our ability to comprehend.

This would dishearten me if I hadn’t heard of His promise to embrace His people; caring for our individual needs as if we were the only creation.  Like my little dog, I am enthralled at His speed and ability.  I wait to see His next move in my life.  And I am thrilled when I hear His approach.   Another wonderful game of eternal Holiness is about to be played.  And I quiver with anticipation.

While man is so very proud of his accomplishments, he has only begun to define what God has been doing for eternity past.  Nothing we use or create on this earth can match the wonder of a may fly.  The entire mass of invention from man does not even come close to the amazing miracle of a single flower.  Man boasts that he can even create life.  But the tools he uses were already available from the hand of the eternal and Holy God who made all that is.  In this, man creates nothing.  He only manipulates what has been provided by God.  So where is the boasting?  It is everywhere, sadly.

Were man able to create a miniature universe, complete with a living breathing world within it, he would not be able to see what is on that planet.  Consider how small the earth is compared to the vast nature of the universe about us.  We don’t even know where in the universe we sit.  Yet God cares for the gnats and even germs that inhabit this place of glory.

All this, I wrote, only gives inspiration to consider the greatness of God’s work.  And to top it all off, we are promised a perfect place that we cannot even begin to conceive.  So the next time the world comes against you with a vengeance, and you find that you can’t cope with the speed and complicated mess it offers, take heart.  We are designed to be helpless from the beginning.  It is this helplessness that enables the transformation Jesus purposes for all men.  We are nothing.  He is everything.  And it is up to us to learn to dance before Him in this place of testing.

May You be Glorified by these words, O’ Lord of Life and Hope.  Your name is Jesus.  And You have caused me to be unashamed at that name.  Glory is Yours from beginning to end.  For the Father has given You this title, and endlessly more.  We who live in the Spirit You give salute You with joy filled sacrifice.  This is as it should be.

By His Grace, Amen.

The Place of Truth

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Words have a power all their own

Words have a power all their own (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

There is a place where truth, joy, obedience, order and Glory abound.  You will not find it here on earth (in this place of testing).  We may receive a visitor from this place, but we cannot locate it here.

We hear stories of those who encountered the reality of this place while they walked around in bags of blood and flesh like us.  But only a “micro-few” have ever been invited to taste that place with all their senses.  What these few men tell will bring goose bumps on the skin of any truthful reader.  And we find the wicked carefully avoiding their stories with adept eyes and ears.

Evil men speak of this place also, regardless their attempt to restrain their lips.  The words leak out in the stories they tell.  Their social structures mimic that of Heaven, regardless the corruption in any level of their structures.  Music, made by man, imitates the Glory of that place, though they surround the tones with sensual pleasure and wicked dreams.  Greedy men prepare items to sell that men have no use for.  And other men contrive messages to convince their fellow travelers to purchase these worthless trinkets.  Yet the message of God is sewn into the very fabric of all life here on earth.

The point I am making may not be plain to all who read this.  So I will spell it out clearly.

God is so completely powerful that even among a people who abhor His ways His message rings out clearly all day long, and even into the darkest of nights.  They attempt to stifle the words by dressing them in various forms of filth.  But words like beautiful, forever, love, embrace, belonging, and so much more, belong to God alone.

He allows men to contort and misuse His words for a time.  But this place of Glory has promised to utterly silence rebellion and hatred for what is good.  Even the carefully crafted wicked ways of man can’t conceal the message of God.

Look around you and listen with truthful ears.  You will hear the story of God everywhere. Whispers of His promise and Holy ways drip from the mouths of man like honey from a bountiful Bee hive. Remember these things: Even pigs end up as bacon.  And the earth renders its gifts to the vilest of hearts.  Yet dust settles back to earth.  Night comes upon all when it is time.  And everything that lives here has a place where it becomes consumed by something greater.

So will it be when He rips this curtain away which surrounds us now.  All we now know will be completely vaporized; it will meet oblivion face to face.  Then, what we have not known will appear.  Then all men will stand on ground they have never known.  That obscure story that men can’t avoid telling will ring out clearly visible; palpable to the senses and utterly unavoidable.  And accounting will begin.

I saw a young man getting a ticket along-side the road.  I looked at him as I passed by on the other side of the road.  He saw my gaze and turned his head, provoked by shame to avoid me.  He was able to avoid me by simply looking somewhere else.  And the burning sense of shame was averted by differing scenery.  This will not be available when we stand on that Holy ground of God’s eternity.  No matter where we look we will encounter His Glory.  Guilt will overwhelm every sense of pride.  And no wicked heart will be able to stand.  To their knees they will fall with a thud.  As one mass they will render Glory to the Lord of Life, Jesus.  And evil lips, which once spoke involuntarily the message of God, will remember how they tried to stifle His words.

Take heed to this message, you who hate the Lord.  When the day appears it will be as if there had been no days before.  As it is now, you live in the moment of “Now”.  So it will be on that moment of stark encounter.

And to all of us, who restrain the Love of God within us, take heed.  What you are restraining will burst forth regardless your will to restrain.  On that day we will give up what we did not use.  Perhaps we will witness it leaving.  And we will be abjectly ashamed that we held back the message here.

This message is to all men, Christians, worldly religious, and the willful sinners.  For no man will escape that moment of confrontation.  It is a place in time that will not be taken out of the way regardless man’s willingness to believe it.  Look on the horizon of your life.  See that glow at the gate of your departure?  See how that light glows in a curiously pure light?  It approaches because time is forcing you to move toward it.  Prepare now!  Clean your life and subject yourself to His Holy message.  Do not embrace folly.  Embrace truth!

Amen!  Many men will die the death of eternal shame.  A handful will live. Those who submit to the Lordship of the Son of God, washing their lives with His Holy commands and leadership, will live.  All others will encounter a horribly deep shame.  Silence will embrace wicked lips.  The backs of the proud will be broken from their stiff ways.  Hands which took what was not theirs will fall limp to the hips.  Heads will bow low for inability to gaze at perfection.  And bodies will quake with fear at the unveiling of Blazing Holiness.

This message has been delivered from the moment of creation, and is faithfully delivered even today.  The Spirit of God will not contend with the pride of man forever.  There is a day of completion.  And it will appear violently on all men.  Even so, Lord Jesus, come.

By His Grace.

 

Treating the Lost With Respect?

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Sonoma's Left Ear

Sonoma’s Left Ear (Photo credit: BreckenPool)

Spam we get on WordPress is amazingly funny to a Christian.  It is designed by men of the flesh and targeted at greed and pride of men of flesh.  But let’s not get too heady about the ability to read through their ruse.  What’s that saying?  “But for the grace of God. . . “.

How often to we really sit down and contemplate the knowledge we have been given?  We see through a myriad of lies and temptations that the world embraces without even questioning.  The Holy Spirit speaks to all men.  But so few have ears that will hear His prompting.

Just about everyone has ears that work.  And if the ears don’t work, another sense tends to supply the lack.  When it comes to Spritual matters, however, everyone has ears.  If we listen intently and provoke a desire within us to do what we hear, we end up hearing more acutely.  Should a man whose ears work just fine boast because he can hear things a deaf person can’t hear?  Now that’s really a foolish idea.  Curiously, we seem to elevate the deaf regardless our spiritual standing.  Hmmmmmmmmmm.

The Great Cloud of Witnesses

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Glory

Glory (Photo credit: mr lynch)

I do not worship you.  For I stand where you stood.  You work is done.  And I will soon join you to witness the work of our God.  You are the great cloud of witness which surround us in true light.  For now you sleep a “waiting”, even as now we endure a light which is the greyness of dawning.

We will meet together in a place designed by the One who called us all.  And there we will announce with one voice all the Glories that belong to our Lord Jesus.  Without eyes I see you.  Without knowing your face, I know you.  For the same Spirit of God will bring us to the same place of worship, praise, and honor to the One who causes our dry bones to live eternally.

Glory to the One who has spoken all promises of hope!  Even Glory to Jesus, The Worthy One of the Living God.  Amen

In the Blink of an Eye

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Regardless whether you believe it or not there is a place where you will give full (I mean full and involuntary.) testimony about what you have done in this body He has given you as a test of your heart.  The Lord once showed me how quick and permanent this testimony is.  He approaches you unseen.  And in less than a blink of an eye you know what He has found within you.  It is quicker than anything you have ever known.  And the concluding judgment is made by the One who is the final authority over all heaven and earth.  Though you deny what He finds He will simply retain His own judgment of you.  Your denial will accomplish nothing in your defense.

You will leave this body soon.  And you will be a soul who will appear before the Lord Jesus.  What will you say for yourself?  Will you dare say that you simply couldn’t curb the natural instincts?  If that’s your plan you know nothing about what the Gospel offers.  Look into it my friend.  The message of God through Jesus has the power to set you free from the things that will surely destroy you.  It is not religion.  It is true freedom to do what is good and right and just; to stop sinning!  No one who listens to Him will return to sin.  And this steadfast heart, that He will give you, will set you free from the condemnation you now face with a certainty.  No man can tame the body by himself.  Without Jesus you are locked in the perception of the body.  With him, however, your perception becomes as God sees the world.  This perception is a gift from God to all who call out to His Son in faith.

I have spoken here from God’s perspective.  Do you hate what I have said?  Do you find yourself doubting that you can lead a sinless life?  It is because you are locked in the perception of the body.  If you had been set free by the Lord you would have had an entirely different response to this message.  This perception I’m talking about is called living by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we live by this Heaven born perception we are living by His Holy Spirit.  This gift of perception is the very power to be free from sin.  How can you listen to what has not been given to you?  How will you fight the sinful nature that you are, without being able to perceive what it does?  Enter into Jesus and He will show you clearly what the sinful nature (that is the body) is doing.  And He will set you free to choose what is good, right, acceptable to God, and eternal.

As you learn to love Him, you will learn to hate what He hates.  Come on now.  You have only a few years to live in this body before you are to give account of yourself (and that in less than the blink of an eye).  If you accept what He offers now you will never die.  If you refuse to listen to this message, you will certainly die.   As the Bible says, “He who is righteous does what is right.”  Come to Him in prayer and begin the journey into what is right, good and eternal.  Why would you die?

Judging, Peace, and Holiness

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Three Empty Boxes #1

Three Empty Boxes #1 (Photo credit: z287marc)

I’m going to take a stab at defining and explaining three important aspects of Christianity.  If I hit the mark, then well and good.  If I miss the mark then I ask for clarification by my brothers and sisters.  I even invite comment from those who are not yet believers in what is called “The Way” (If you don’t understand what “The Way” is, then it’s you I’m talking about).  These three topics are very hot in the world today.  They are misunderstood and abused far too often to leave alone.

This post is created to see if I contain what is true.  I make them public so that I might expose what I believe personally.  These are the things of Christ as I have come to understand them.  And this understanding has become central to my every thought, attitude, and deed.  So what you will read is the sum of who I am in Christ Jesus.  (A bit verbose huh?)

I do not mention that to boast.  I mention that to ask for help to clarify what I believe and do.  Who among us would be willing to divulge our heart in these matters?  I ask for mercy from you as you examine what has become my very soul’s desire.  These are central doctrines (teachings) in the Christian faith.  And it is good, for all God’s people, to hold His ways so tightly that they can be delivered through our own words.  Far too often I see Christians simply quote scripture to deliver their understanding of God’s ways.  Though I too could do that, I have determined to render them in a far more vulnerable manner.  We will see what the response from my Christian family will be.  I know what the response from the world will be.  And I laugh within myself to remember that we will also see what I am made of as I encounter the responses…..

In this, this post becomes a game of sorts, a game of pride against humility.  A potentially deadly game, but a game none the less.  Approach it light heartedly, as if in a class room filled with willing students (of which, I am also a student).  It is my desire that all my family in Christ try their hand at these things.  With love this exercise can be exceedingly fruitful.  “Ya otta try it yersef.”

I know this post is a lot of words.  So what?  So is “War and Peace”.  And there are a couple people in history that have read the entire book.

Judge:

Do not judge by appearance but render a right judgment.  Do not guess about what you see in others.  Assess by what you witness.  In the first statement we are commanded to judge.  All that is necessary is the knowledge of the Lord which He is willing to extend to all His people freely.  Have you cleaned your own house by His gracious knowledge?  Then you are able to rightly understand what is proper before the Most High God.  And if your house is clean then you are allowed to figure out the needs of others (that is to say, “judge rightly”).  We all lack in various ways.  But as we enter into The Lord’s commands (That is, as we learn to live His commands consistently.) we are compelled, by what we have learned to obey, to assess that same obedience as we witness it in others.  We learn to live by His standard.  And as we live by those standards of Holiness, we are compelled to voice what is true.

Do not listen to those who say you have no right to judge.  You are compelled to make right judgments as you learn to live according to the Lord’s ways.  Let one idiot say to another idiot, “I did that and I can tell you clearly, ‘That’s gonna leave a mark!’  So don’t do that!  I used to do that till I couldn’t stand the pain anymore.  Now I don’t do that.  Look.  See the scars?”  Only a proud fool is going to hate you for giving the warning.  Only folly will respond, “You don’t know anything!  And you have no right to judge me like that.  I’m going to do what I want. And you have no right to speak to me like that!”  Ok.  Go ahead and do it.  You’ll be joining me to tell others about it in your very own words, just like I told you.  This is appropriate judging.  And that is the expected response today.  The indignant one will soon enough chime in with you to say something about the “marks”.

Consider others equally important to yourself.  You have cleaned your own house so that you will be presentable to the Lord of Life through Jesus’ sacrifice.  Help others clean their own house by gently pointing out what they are not able to see alone.  You too once had blind spots which required a brother or sister to come along side and point them out.  They did approach you to give you counsel.  And in humility to the truth spoken to you, you accepted their counsel and made the appropriate changes to your behavior.  Perhaps that counsel was delivered to you harshly.  But, in retrospect, wasn’t the harsher counsel delivered after various attempts to reach you through kindness, love, gentleness, and peace?

What people hate about this process is the final warnings that come from continual rebellion against God’s teachings, which were first delivered more kindly.  But these people fail to recognize the softer teachings which came before the harshness of warnings about the Holy Judgment of God.  All men know they are impure.  It is pride alone which restrains the Lord’s words from entering.  And if we are to help them we are compelled to find a way around the pride of man.  Isn’t this the reason for a display of physical authority against the rebellion of our children?  (I’m talking about what used to be called “spanking”.  But I thought it an inappropriate word……… It just aint PC anymore.)

This process is much like my little dog.  She is busy sniffing about and wandering around at her own pace and pleasure.  But when the time is near to leave, I call her.  Sometimes she will not hear repeated and escalating calls to return to me.  So she requires that word of rebuke.  Then she hears me clearly and returns.  I do not begin with that word to her.  I give her time to come because she is willing to obey.  But she will return to me regardless, whatever it takes.  There is reward in my hand when she obeys.  Though for now she endures a rebuke.   Maybe I ought to just skip all the “TADA” and move to yelling at her.  Nah.  I love the lil creature.  Isn’t that why we subdue frustration long enough to talk softly to others?

People balk at righteous teaching because of pride.  But come the day of judgment they will appreciate that you had the boldness to warn them, provided they had responded with humility and obedience.  There will be respect for those who have cleaned their own house so that they can render right judgments of their brother’s actions, having delivered the appropriate level of teaching at the proper time.

We are  commanded to love our brother as we love ourselves.  Have you rendered this process within yourself until obedience became second nature?  Then there is no shame to do the same for others out of a pure love and concern for their safety.  Do not listen to those who hate what is good and rebuke you for applying what is true from a true heart.  Love them toward obedience for their own good, even as you have endured the same for the sake of God’s Holy Son’s Name.  Such people will remind you of the mote in your own eye.  You know, the one you have removed so you can see clearly to help your brother.  While they remind you of your sins they are pushing you away without remembering the second part of that message.  In this they blame you for judging them, all the while they are judging you.  Curious isn’t it?

Peace:

This talk about judging others leads me to the next important conversation.  I have heard many today speaking about peace among men.  What they refer to is not the peace of God.  They are intent on making man into his own peace without God’s command toward holiness (in case you didn’t read the title, it’s the next conversation).  They would circumvent the Lord’s command to obey His laws for the sake of peace, tranquility, neighborly kindness, and a social fearlessness (a society in which no one locks their doors anymore).  They would remove the coming Judgment of God so that men are not afraid of them.  And by this they enter into a great folly.

This teaching does not love God’s ways.  This teaching respects man as more important than the Holy God of Life.  And it will find no favor from the Lord.  It has been refered to as “man pleasing”.  Such a vile teaching, if followed to its fullness, will surely end in the Lord saying to them, “Away from Me.  I never knew you.”  These men and women will find themselves loved by man but vulnerable to accusation by the Living God.

The peace that God is intent on distributing among men is not a peace built between men.  God’s peace is a peace between God and man.  “Peace on earth, goodwill among men”, does not mean peace between man alone.  Peace between men is only a treaty built to retain social prosperity.  The peace of God brings war between His people and those who are not.  We obey what is true from His Holy hand.  They only obey what is expedient between men.  They will surely hate those who are obeying the higher commands because the obedience of God’s people is an “in your face” condemnation of their own actions.

God calls His people to obedience beyond what is socially marginal.  His people will obey Him even when society demands otherwise.  For me this is never more apparent than on the freeway.  Drive your car at the posted speed limit and watch what happens.  While you are obeying the law of man you will be hated for it.  You stand in their way as they break their own laws.  But you obey from a deeper conviction which comes from the Lord.  This will become obvious to the one who begins to enter into obedience.  Though we will remain enigma to all who do not humble themselves toward God.  (I’m sorry for the use of the word enigma.  It is not used much anymore.  It means that something that is an unsolvable mystery.  And, from their perspective, obedience to a higher law than that of man is a mystery.  It is not expedient to their greedy ways.  Their grubby little greedy hands are too busy to stop and fold in prayer.  “Gotta have” is the motto of today.)

The summation of this talk regarding peace is that there is no peace among men.  It is only a social contract of sinful men to live together for the sake of greed; making sure that everyone gets their fair share of the pie.  The peace of God is immeasurably more.  His peace removes greed, thus we live as free men.  We become free from the temporary restraints of the world’s social contract.  In God’s peace we rise above their expectations.  Rest assured, they will hate us for it.

Holiness:

Now the final aspect of Christianity presents itself.  This is an “all but forgotten” aspect today.  Someone talks about it and we either say, “Oh yea.”  Or we give that frantic nod, hoping the speaker will over look our ignorance.  If we remember it as a group of people, it is often simply applied to God.  There is little talk among God’s people as it applies to each of us.  But what we say to each other has no effect against the truth God continues to deliver to us.  Holiness among His people is a command.  And it will not be taken out-of-the-way, EVER.   The mass (no pun intended) of what is called the Church has turned to living out their “religion” by attending a gathering once a week.  But this is not the holiness God commands us to attain.

The holiness God commands upon us is a separation from sin and a uniting to what is pure, true, and eternally powerful.  I hate to burst your bubble while I attend your party of self-importance, but I will inform you of something:  you are a slave.  You are either a slave to sin, or a slave to righteousness. We are either entering into service to what is Holy, or we remain as slaves to what is wicked.  We all serve as slaves!  You are not a free individual; free to chase after anything you desire.  There are only two powers present, in all heaven and earth which we obey.  (simple math for a very simple understanding.  One, or the other ONE = enslavement.  Cool huh?  Not even a question from a math teacher: “What is one plus one?”  [don’t try to answer that] It is simply a statement that you are either one or the other.)  We either naturally obey the one who accuses even God Himself, or we obey the Holy Lord of Life by the Spirit He gives His people.  Regardless what you do in your life you are a slave who is being ordered around by a higher authority.  Those who think they are free men are a slave to wickedness.  Those who humble themselves before the Most High God will recognize that they have become slaves to God’s Righteousness.  Hey!  Get over your pride!  You’re nothing more than a slave.  Does this offend you?  Then examine yourself to see why.

Frustration consumes me as I listen to my brothers complain that they just can’t get past a certain sin or two.  I listen with compassion but leave in frustration.  I will say this here but would never say this as my brother vents his heart to me:  “If the conquering of sins is not available to God’s people in Christ Jesus, then the Lord is a liar, and asks far too much from us.  But if the Lord never lies (and this is absolutely the case) then it is the man of Christ who is lying to himself and others.”  How else can it be said?  On the other hand, since I said it here I can only hope my brother understands what I meant.  We are a pompous people.  Without God’s Spirit within us we cannot hope to please Him.  But oh how we continue to try.  And how we continue to fail!

Holiness is commanded by God to all His people!  Please forgive me for saying these things but they are essential.  We are not saved so that we can carry around a warm fuzzy all our days.  We are saved to war against the sinful natural tendencies which the slaves of wickedness embrace.  We are saved by Jesus’ work so that we can serve the purity of God’s will forever.

I will sum this up in this manner:  There seems to be a great lie going about.  It has something to do with what people refer to as “up there”.  They consider that God will do some kind of magic when they die.  They think they will be transformed into something beautiful after they are through doing as they please here.  Um, I have to say this, “That’s really stupid.”  It shows a complete lack of understanding about what the Gospel reveals.  The initial transformation happens here!  I know we won’t attain to perfection here.  But why would you let that stop you from gaining everything you know you are able to attain here?  This lie is like saying “I want to go to Portland Oregon tomorrow.  But I’ll wait to leave until I get there.”  How stupid is that?  Isn’t that what the lie says?  (Please don’t joke about what if obvious.  I know there are a lot of people who actually live in Portland Oregon.  Ok.  So for those people, consider that you want to go to New York City, though I can’t imagine why.  I’ve been there.  It isn’t better than Portland Oregon.)

I could go on about the importance of holiness.  But for what purpose?  I think the point was made.  And if the point wasn’t made, wasn’t that the reason why I opened this entire conversation by inviting comment and correction?

I will end this conversation about the three essential points of Christianity with my favorite signature.  Three words present themselves to cover over my folly.  They are, themselves, essential to all teaching about what belongs to God.  May God grant understanding as He sees fit to grant.

“By His Grace.”