Tag Archives: Understanding

Vicious Words?

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Who on this earth forgives my sins?  Not counting my former wickedness against me, but giving me room to become a true man.

Who on this earth accepts me for the fullness that I am?  Not expecting me to fulfil their grand illusions of the titles such a man as I should wear; daddy, friend, employee, acquaintance, American citizen, and a human.

There is One who has accepted me and forgiven my sins.  He does not have grand illusions concerning my abilities.  He does not press on me more than I can handle.  And he is patient with my restricted ability to learn.

Before I was born he held out his hand in friendship, and he has not pulled it back once.  He has forgiven my great wickedness, not counting the things I did before I became his student.  And that same forgiveness lives day to day and moment to moment, as I stumble and stammer to understand and obey.

Now I have been told, that there is no humanity left in me.  The one who said this to me has grand illusions concerning this man.  But I do not hold it against him, I refuse to have grand illusions concerning my former friend.

But this one has done me a gracious favor.  He has driven me to love the Lord Jesus all the more. 

His vicious remark revealed something remarkable.  I am becoming like my Lord, to the point that others are forced to voice their observation.

If what he says is true, then what have I lost that he should observe it so radically?

1. I have stepped out of the sandbox of humanity.  I no longer desire to play with the same toys I did before.

2. I do not judge others as the world judges.  I am led to assess Man according to what is revealed from God.

3. I have forfeited vulgar words from my conversations.  I no longer take delight in the profane and useless conversations of Man.

4. I no longer speak of anything in the world as if it is beautiful.  As if involuntary, I perceive all things here as if they are already destroyed.

What must I have gained that he should observe me as such a man?

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” (Luke 6)

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31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3)

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7 “For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. (Psalm 69)

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Depression is not becoming in those who love the Lord.  I know the sting of rejection, just like all my brothers and sisters do.   Just see how he has left us an answer for the things that cut so deeply.

Let the world revile us for no reason, for so they have treated the one we love.  And when they turn on us like animals, let us strive to remember:

24 “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church . . .” (Colossians 1)

By His Grace

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?

From Ascension to Descent

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To the pinnacle of the mountains with me;

From the darkness of the valley,

For the Glory of God to see.

The brilliance of light divided,

God’s excellent will, provided.

Darkness well kept within its place.

Remote from the Holy One’s blazing face.

There I perceive and begin my descent;

To speak to the people, to whom I am sent.

I saw the blazing fire there,

The one reserved for callused care.

Shall I refuse to speak the warning?

Demise will come on that Great Morning!

But also from the peak I saw,

The Glorious love of the Living God!

Now I descend in awe.

By His Grace

The Message Lives

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11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3)

We do not speak of our glory; as if we are excellent examples of humanity, or heavenly beings sent to earth.  No, we witness to He who alone is Good.  We speak of the Righteousness of God; the Holy Son of God, Jesus.

We testify that Jesus, the Christ, is the singular way to eternal life.  Not only that, but we testify that Jesus will endow His people with power to overcome sins and master temptation.  In the process of this release, His people find companionship with the Holy Father of Life.  As the Sovereign God is eternal, Christ’s people are given eternal life; though they die in the flesh, they shall never die again.  This is the work of Christ in the souls of man.

If, in your looking around, you do not witness those who call themselves Christians overcoming, the message of the Gospel is not lessened.  For the Word of the Gospel does not have its root in the mannerisms of those who call themselves Christians.

The message is an eternal message.  It was before anything was made.  It will be long after all the things of this world, and even creation itself, is utterly destroyed.

Look to the message, do not keep your eyes on Christians.  For each Christian is but a witness to the truth, regardless the fullness of his witness.  The truth lives regardless the measure each Christian applies it.

Deal with it.  It’s your personal responsibility to look into these things.  God will not entertain blame on the Great, Holy, and Terrible day of judgment.  You have a mind.  You have eyes.  You have ears and a tongue.  You have hands.  And the Holy Word of the Bible is not too far beyond your reach to grasp.  Either you desire eternal life, thus looking into these things, or you desire the way things are with you now.

I have witnessed to the truth here.  It will not be taken out-of-the-way of man until the Lord returns to take His people, and seal this place for destruction.  What day that is, no man knows.  But it will surely come, even as your own death will usher you into the Judgment Day of God.

The witness about Jesus is quite abundant in this world.  But the day will come when the message of witness will draw silent.  The pleasure of Man will hold a short-lived triumph.  Grasp it while it is still offered; before the Holy Door is slammed closed on the souls of men.  Believe in the Holy Son of God, or perish in the sinful disrepair that is the flesh and soul of man without the power of God in Christ.

No one can understand these things unless the Holy Father opens their soul to receive it.  Pray, then, that God will open your soul to understanding.  Humble yourself before the Living God, that in due time He will lift you up.

Amen.

 

Cut to the Chase

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When you go to church on Sunday morning, will you be prepared?  Or will you go with only a partial clue as to why you’re there?

Wishing is useless.  But I wish that in my forties I had known what I know now.  I had all the right knowledge.  I said all the right things.  And everybody thought I really understood.

So no one took me aside, that they might mentor me.  No one challenged my life.  No one asked me to prove the things I was saying.  So I fell flat on my face and squandered a beautiful gift from God.

I will not blame anyone.  They couldn’t possibly have known how shallow my faith really was.  And frankly, out of the hundreds of people I knew, only two had the things I have now.

When you go to church on Sunday, will you be prepared?  Will you go there to worship the Most High God with everything you have?  Or will you worship him with everything he is willing to give?

There is a statement I wish someone had said to me.  “When you worship the Lord, try to percieve the first worship session in heaven.  Then worship the Lord as if you were not here.”

We are so caught up in the things of this world.  We are so caught up in the things called “Church”.  Mistakenly, we think that if we have banded together with men in the name of Jesus, we have fulfilled a proper worship of the Most High God.

There is so much more I could say about this.  But I’ll bet you have many things to say in regard to this also.  And I have learned that it is so much better when we understand these things personally. 

But I will give this a shove in the proper direction.  What we are looking for is the full power of God in a Christian.  Not just the proper words, knowledge, or timely arrival in the proper place

It might be good to ask someone you can trust, to sit you down and grill you about Christianity.  Submit to all their questioning.  Let them either prove what you really have, or show you plainly what you lack.

It doesn’t matter to me how you respond to these things.  Who am I to order anyone around.  But what you stand to lose is a pittance.  There is no profit at all in being incomplete.  What you stand to gain is immeasurable.  What fully profitable things might be accomplished if you fully belong to God?

You could be like me, and wait until you’re 60 to get a partial clue.  Assuming God will be merciful and let you live that long.  Or you could just cut to the chase today.  What could you be in Christ if you gave everything you had to find out?

I thought it might be good to add the following.  Instead of looking for only one man to grill you about your Christian life, perhaps you want to look for a team of three. 

And who knows, in the process of questioning the three may be grilling themselves.  Certainly a profitable circumstance for all.

Humility is the target.  Profitability to Jesus is the cash flow.

By His Grace

Blasphemous Murmurings

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Have you listened to the murmuring of the waters?  Do you understand the definitions of the words they use?

Language is from God.  But wickedness defines the sounds.

There is nothing innocent in the definitions of man.  In everything man says, there is desire to manipulate.

The ear of God plainly hears the blasphemous prattle.  Are your ears tuned to his perception?

Do not think we cannot Hear.  Christ’s promise offers wisdom to discern.

Or do his people also render blasphemous prattle?  Is that the reason why we embrace man’s definitions so readily?  Is that the reason why we are restrained from “becoming”?

By His Grace