Growth in Christ (recovery from chaos)


No one sins all the time.  That’s just not physically possible.  Every man has a lucid moment from time to time, at least.  And because of the weakness of the body, sleep must come.

When you have those lucid moments, make the best of it.  Search out the message of the Gospel, and do it quickly.  Just as the chaos of sin cannot last forever, our lucid moments pass even quicker. 

Just as a man who wakes after a night of heavy drinking finds himself pondering what happened and why, such thoughts are signs of a lucid moment.  Treat them as a welcome friend.

Raise whatever faith you have to the surface of your conscience, and believe.  You may not have the answers.  But then is the time to approach the One who does.  And if growth is to become a part of our experience, the answer must be found in the Christ of the Living God, Jesus.

Every man is like a disturbance at the bottom of the sea.  At birth the seafloor rises in a certain place.  Then as the man grows and does the good things of God, his disturbance becomes a mound.

If the man will train his soul to listen to the words of God, eventually the nature of what he, is breaks the surface of the waters.  This “breaking forth”, lends itself to all manner of Life.

Dust in the air settles between the cracks of rock.  Storms whittle down the sharp edges, causing the filings to fill in the gaps.  The birds of the air come and deposit a few seeds.  In time, the man becomes more then a disturbance in the sea; by his nature he lends himself to the utility of the heavens.

The growth at the bottom begins when the lucid moments of a man are captured for “Good” intent.  I will admit that there are far more mounds that never break the surface of the sea, than are those who become useful to God.

And don’t we see this played out in creation, in the fact that there is more space of water on the earth than land exposed to the air.  More places for slime and few places of dazzling beauty.

But now in the emergence of the man above the surface of the waters, there comes many a travail.  Parts of the exposed land occasionally break off and fall back into the sea.  Part of the work is wasted.  But that should not stop the land from taking its rightful place.  And what broke off was not firmly committed to what must become.  Good riddance, c’est la vie.

If the use of your lucid moments has allowed you to rise above the nature of man, use them all the more as you aspire to become a place of Life.  Why remain a desolate island?

Do not let your failings cause you to plummet down under the waves.  The target here is to work diligently to produce more lucid moments than moments of chaos and decay.

If you will apply the forgiveness of Christ, as it is found in the Bible, you will find your self overcoming guilt, and far more quickly.  This does not erase what was lost.  But certainly provides more vertical growth.  And every square inch of attainment offers more potential for Life.

If you believed at the outset, if that belief has caused you to break into the air, why can’t that belief cause you to reach for the heavens?

Those who shrink back because of the storms of life, will not find themselves pleasing the soul of Jesus.  But those who believe that he cannot lie, will prosper according to the wisdom of God.  Lucid moments of righteousness will begin to grow in the place where before was nothing but chaos.

Think diligently on these things.  Apply this with diligence.  And you will find yourself growing in Christ exponentially.

When you find yourself having sinned before the Lord, in the ways you had learned and the habits you had developed, grab a hold of your belief which you had at first.  And do not delay!  When the next lucid moment comes to your mind and heart take hold and grow!

I could have held the following for another post.  But it fits so seamlessly here.

Many think that they should punish themselves after a moment of insane chaos, called sin.  Such self abuse may or may not be useful.  And I have come to understand that sometimes self abuse is only a continuance of the sin we have just committed.

It is necessary to let Jesus be God.  Who could possibly know better what is necessary and useful after restoration of lucid thought?  Should it be the one who is prone to moments of insanity, or the One who knows the very elements of righteous eternity?

I cannot speak about this to those who have not developed a relationship of communication with the Holy Lord.  A man cannot rely on his own heart to determine what should be done next.   It was, after all, your wicked heart that caused the sin and decay to abound.  Is it reasonable to trust your judgement now?

And what has been the outcome for others may not apply to you.  Prayer is necessary.  With a calm heart full of belief, wait and listen.  In reverant prayer, confess your situation to God.  Ask Him to show you what you must now do.  He will certainly respond.

Be careful not to let anxiety overwhelm you.  Anxiety is a form of self abuse.  And the best of lucid moments teach us to be at peace and trust the Living God in Christ.

If you want biblical proof of these things.  Read the story again of what David did following his sin with Bathsheba.  Take special note of how he received the judgment of God against him for his child of sin.  How is it possible that we should be any different?

By His Grace

Be Faithful


No one here can say,

What waits for us after passing “away”.

But come the very day,

We see his face we’ll know!

80 billion years will pass.

What then shall we be?

Tiny creatures rescued at last?

I don’t think that’s very likely.

We don’t work for reward.

That’s true.

But I know we won’t be bored.

How bout you?

Our God creates what pleases him.

And in us there will be no sin!

Perhaps we’ll be creating too!

Does this give you help to follow through?

By His Grace

Cut to the Heart


Ah, the drunken bravado;

Drunk, and pride darkened mind.

Filled with strength,

And overflowing!

Either bolstered by

Drink, or his pride.

He spits in the face of fear.

And all his friends greatly cheer.

“I am not afraid of death or hell.

For all my friends are there!”
—————
Will you come apart,

And reason with me?

Will you put down

Your weapons of pride?

What you have spoken

Need not be recalled.

But let us speak of

The nature of dying.

What is sin?

Have you thought of the din,

That reaches the ears of God?

You perceive yourself slighted,

Freedom taken away.

I propose that,

That’s really quite odd.

Were you there in the place,

Where his loving embrace

Was so full of Life,

Tender and sweet?

Do you know what it’s like

When your best of intent

Is so callously

Thrown at your feet?

Have you purposed great good,

Then perceived that what should

Be received with great joy,

Is rejected?

Your love sent them best,

With great hopes of sweet rest.

Still, they spit in your face,

Unmolested!

“Bravado, bravado,

Bravado!”  They yell.

As if there is something to gain.

But dear friend, when you die,

When death closes your eyes,

In death you forever remain.

The one who is chiefly injured,

Is not the freedom of man.

My friend.

The one who is cut to the heart,

Is the glorious Son of Man.

By His Grace

The Demands of Man Exposed


The message of Man to God:  “We will dictate to you our desire and you will succumb.  We will play in our filthy way until we have had enough, and sleep.  And you will receive us because you are love!

Your people walk among us and demand too much.  They accuse us of wanton behavior.  We are sick of their meddling words!   We only do what is natural, and you unjustly accuse us.

We have attained freedom from your so called holy ways.  Now we revel in the filthy streets as pleases us to do.  We will not come in and be properly dressed!  Send your people out that they may revel with us in this filthy place.

You have commanded us, and we have had enough.  And now as you can see, we put our feet firmly in the filth and command you!  Now be the love you say you are, and send them out to play with us!”

So you have said in all your unholy and ungodly way.  You do the things that are filthy.  And with your unholy mouth you command the Sovereign God.

It will not go well with you when the Lord rises.  He will surely rise and all you rebellious youth will be destroyed from his Holy House.  He will rise up and expose your filthy ways. 

As you are defiant now, so you will be on that day of His Rising.  The Holy One has spoken, “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

Who are the wise among you?  Who will perceive that these words are true?  Who will approach the porch of the Holy house of God and beg entrance and cleanliness?  For he has also spoken, that those who do so with earnest heart, will be cleansed and well fed.  Forgiveness demands repentance.

See how it remains before you; the choice between life and death.  Respond now and live.  Remain in your rebellious filth and you will surely die.

By His Grace

Ownership


From the bravado of a foolish man who thinks he can endure hell, to the pompous nature of the self righteous, who thinks he is something when he is not.  The folly of man’s pride reaches deep.

We did not invent sin.  Sin was in heaven long before we were even created.  And so was righteousness in all its purity.  Righteousness and rebellion go back a long way my friend.  You are nothing new.

Cain was only the first to murder among men.  He was not the first to murder.  So where does that place any other man whose hands are filthy?  And Abel was the first righteous man among men.  He was not the first one who was righteous.  So how can the self-righteous think so highly of themselves with any means to quantify?

By every account man is nothing.  He does not have a patent on wickedness.  And he can have no claim to righteousness.  By every account man is nothing unless it is given to him from above.  Or unless he is inspired, by those who came before, to the rebellion against the Living God.

Where then does pride among men stand?  My friend, you are simply not that important.  At best you can only be used by those who came before, whether for bad or good.

By His Grace

How Dare You!


Shall I keep the following words to myself?  Shall I be tender, soft spoken, and reserved, as I share what comes?  I will not.  I will speak with a voice different from the current “brand” of Christianity, being proclaimed among so many today.

I will speak with defiant authority.  I will say what is right.  And I will encourage all to “hear”.

How dare you keep it to yourself?  How dare you shrink back from assault (as if today’s world will do you any more harm than to ignore you)?  How dare you keep the Holy Words of God to yourself, while the entire world around you burns to the ground with wicked abandon?  You call this Christianity?  You call this “Love”?

When Christians stood up and pointed to the truth, this world was a different place!  The wicked feared their approach.  “Oh, Crap!  Here comes one of those Christians!”  And they would hide for the fear such faithful ones brought with them.  But today, it is the Christian who hides.

How dare you live your life at ease and contentment, while the millions of unsaved sinners pass you by!  How dare you think you will be well received by the Holy One who endured such a horrible beating for His willingness to proclaim the truth.  How dare you think you will have a place among the holy ones who have proclaimed despite their fears!  And how dare you leave the proclamation to such sinners and fools as I!