April 23, 2015

The Holy Spirit is still active!!

Natural maturity and Spiritual maturity have some striking parallels. As our kids grow up, we expect them to develop maturity by being responsible for themselves in certain areas of life. Natural maturity involves working and sacrificing of self to benefit others. Natural maturity recognizes the difference between a type of freedom that says, "I'll do what I please" and a true liberty that allows me some latitude in choices. We demonstrate our responsibility by being aware of, and sensitive to the needs of others when we make those choices where we have liberty. Maturity means operating as a team player, even if you're the captain or coach of that team. Maturity means recognizing that we have a purpose greater than ourselves--greater than our own self-indulgence or self-enrichment.

Responsibility means being accountable when we violate boundaries, or get careless even within the boundaries. There is too much of the church today that sees itself in the light of a "grace covenant" that does not require change or maturing or becoming more responsible. That part of what claims to be Christianity has no true authority because it refuses to come under any authority.

April 17, 2015

The question of "Why evil??"

We all are aware of 'ordinary' people who are made victims by wicked people. Muslims throwing Christians off a boat to drown in the Mediterranean; a confused soccer mom shot by DC police for being in the wrong place; crazy people destroying family members or their possessions; and the list goes on. You've read and seen the news, and you may be aware of things that someone you know has seen. Part of the reason evil flourishes is because it intimidates the righteous with threats. We are at a point where government, at every level, seeks to intimidate the righteous, because it seeks an ever increasing amount of power and wealth. If someone declares the truth about the evil being promoted,
they will be fired, intimidated, audited, lied about in the media, have their bank accounts seized, or be killed by law enforcement personnel.

Keep living a righteous life. Keep proclaiming truth and God's Word in the face of evil. God is your refuge and strength. He will justify you before your enemies--even if it is only at the Judgement.

April 15, 2015

Just as surely as there is a real God, there is a real devil. he is going into 'overdrive' because he senses that his time is short. Fellow believer, he will do anything to disrupt whatever peace is inside you, whatever unity you have with others, whatever stability exists in government, business and finance. Stand your ground. Continue to believe God. Listen for what He wants to say to you. Obey with whatever power and strength God's Spirit imparts to you. Don't lose your peace.

April 14, 2015 (Post #2)

It has occurred to me that we, as a nation, have gone through a character change--and not one for the better. It's not everyone, but it is the predominant theme among so many, especially the most vocal. We have become prideful, scorning any mention of God, or of our need for Him. We have proclaimed our own self-sufficiency and we have assumed an attitude of entitlement.

God have mercy on us.

Pride goes before destruction. But repentance is the changing of the mind--the turning around....if My people will humble themselves....and pray.

April 14, 2015

Because [in part] we have grown up in a Western culture, with our roots in Athens and Rome (ancient), we tend to default to a concept of our relationship with God as being positional and/or intellectual. This is a hallmark of denominations--it's how they denominate themselves from each other {"We believe x, but they believe y--we're superior."}.

God's desire has always been for a relationship that is personal, intimate, trusting, open. In spite of our Western misinterpreting of the word "believe", none of us goes to heaven because of what we think is eternally true. We get to live forever with God by abandoning our own "theology" and surrendering to the person of God Himself. That's why Jesus said we had to be born again. Something in the realm of 'spirit' must take place. The Lamb was slain for each of us and for all of us. But that sacrifice, and the resurrection that confirmed it is something each person must personally embrace. We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We prove our faith is real by a personal obedience to His voice--His prompting us on the inside. Anything that seeks to "fix" you by focusing on 'form' and starting at the outside and working inward is from the pit.

April 13, 2015

We must always pursue character as opposed appearance, substance as opposed to form.

What has largely been lost is the pattern of mentor-apprentice, master-disciple. It is in this relationship that there is an imparting of spirit and understanding and skills-material and human. There has been a decades-long push to obliterate this pattern, substituting education or money or selfish relationships to reach or be placed into positions of power. It is, in a sense, the Peter Principle applied in such a way as to circumvent rightful, God-ordained authority. We see this in business where owners and managers don't really understand the complexities of operating a business--they're too busy accumulating profits for themselves. We see this in government wherever people in power use that power only to enhance their positions, not to do what is right by the constitution or the people they are supposed to serve.

Jesus said that we were to make disciples, not theologians or bishops or even students.

April 10, 2015

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  (Mark 2:17)

The mental picture that arose this morning was that of people, their bodies riddled with cancer, walking through a hospital not understanding why they were there. We ALL have a cancer called s i n that is slowly, but surely, killing us. How many of us--how many among those we know-- cannot bring themselves to acknowledge their problem, much less seek help for it.

While Jesus died and rose to kill that cancer once and for all, it seems to keep resurrecting daily in each of us. That's why there must be a daily cleansing by HIM by the power of HIS blood to keep that cancer from getting another foothold in us. The blood will never lose its power. But it cannot help us if we refuse to admit our need for it.

April 2, 2015

The conflicts we see around us, and around the world, are the same conflicts that have always existed:  who shall be "g o d". 

In this country, we have lots of folks who are wedded to the entitlement mentality, which basically and implicitly says, "I am g o d." In the Middle East, and spreading from there, you have a belief system that says, "Allah is g o d; and if you offend me, I will kill you." And in places of power, you have those whose lifestyle and actions say that either money or power [or both] is g o d.
The true God has allowed us some latitude in a variety of areas. We can paint our homes a variety of colors without fear of eternal punishment. But there are areas where God has decreed, "T H I S is my plan, and deviating from it will bring pain and suffering, either in this world, or the one to come [sometimes both].

March 24, 2015

As I sit here praying for some of my fellow believers, the Spirit of God nudges me with the reality that, when we feel insecure, we resort either to talking too much, or being consumed by "forms" that feel comfortable to us. Those forms may be what we are used to wearing (clothes) or what we habitually do at certain times of the day, or in certain situations. God would remind us all, that if we're too busy talking we can't hear Him speaking to us. Jesus' blood has cleansed us of every sin and every mis-step and mistake. If we will truly give these to Him, we can stand, not proud of ourselves, but neither ashamed of what is past. Our identity must come from HIM--not what we have done. Whether it is pride of accomplishment, or shame in our failures, either way we have become victims of a performance based self-worth. We become worthy as we surrender to Him, surrender to who He says we are, surrender to His will in our lives.

March 20, 2015 (Post #2)

God desires disciples who will follow Him in loving devotion. When you have a person (human or spiritual) who requires obeisance and blind obedience out of a sense of fear, you have a dictator or a devil, regardless of what he calls himself.

This can take place in the workplace, the home, the political arena, or in the depths of the human soul. Yes, even in relationships (note: domestic abuse is a form of witchcraft--it is illegitimate authority exercised to debase the object and elevate the subject; sexually or otherwise).

March 20, 2015

God is not just a being, He is a person and He wants a personal relationship with people--His creation. This requires two-way communication. We must speak to Him in prayer, but we must also expect to hear from Him in our "inner man". Too many of our man-made denominations are willing to settle for simply knowing the right stuff a b o u t Him. And they will [falsely] teach that this is all that is required for heaven.

God has attributes; we know that He is omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, etc. But God also has character traits; He is merciful and compassionate and loving and desires intimacy (etc.). God came to the earth in the person of His Son, Jesus to restore all that man had forfeited away in the Garden. Has it not occurred to you that God wants us to be l o v i n g l y obedient--an act of personal submission; we need to do what God commands, and what God desires because it is the right thing to do, and because it will be for our own good. What a drastic difference this is from 'Allah', who personally delights in the death of those who will not submit to him. His believers are commanded to do things that run contrary to the nature of man as the true God created him. Obeying the true and living God will always transform you into His loving image--loving, faithful, giving, patient, kind (see 1 Corinthians 13).

March 19, 2015

True Leadership is the result of right character--not merely correct intellectual computations. True leadership comes from a demonstration of consistent sacrifice of self for the good of those being lead. True leadership requires elements of courage and wisdom and being willing to listen to the hearts of those following. True leadership never "leads from behind", it always marches in the front, willing to endure whatever comes. True leadership is what the people seek, in order to have someone to follow, to have somewhere to go, to have a purpose beyond themselves. In today's world, it is in short supply. But there is someone to whom we can turn, to follow:...."looking unto Jesus..."

March 17, 2015: True Faith Always Costs Somebody Something

"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." -John Wesley

Faith is relational! It is about persons trusting other persons. It is about the doing of things that bless and benefit the other, or the relationship. It is about us obeying God, and trusting Him to do right by us by doing what we ask. No, it does not mean we get Snickers & cokes at breakfast, lunch and dinner. God is a good daddy.

When we were taken to the doctor or dentist as children, they did things that hurt, but they meant for us to be healed. Sometimes we do things that have natural consequences that hurt. Sometimes we hurt because we live in a fallen world and dumb people do dumb things, not even thinking about the ramifications.

But Faith means we believe Him, we believe that He is good, we believe that He knows better, we believe that He is who He says He is, therefore, we do what He says do. Faith always COSTS something. Sometimes it costs us the control of our lives, or certain parts of our lives. God gave the earth to man at the Garden; God made it for us, that we should administrate it (the earth) in all its glory. When man sinned, he lost control and authority over the earth. For God to be able to restore man to that place in creation, it COST God the life of His Son.

True Faith always COSTS somebody some thing.

March 17, 2015

"Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

F orsaking
A ll,
I
T ake (or, "choose")
H im

Faith--Bible Faith--does not just evolve, or happen. It is not some "spooky-spiritual" thing. It is not vague or nebulous. It is a willful decision--a choice I make (aided by God's Spirit) to believe Him, and I give evidence of that faith by doing what He tells me to do, both in His Word, and by His Spirit.

I know of individual people--husbands and wives--who have no faith in their spouse. They do not t r u s t (another word for faith) their spouse to do what is right towards them, or towards the marriage covenant. Sometimes, this is in spite of the evidence--the faithfulness of the spouse demonstrated by word, gesture and spirit (heart attitude).

On the flip side, I know of people who will choose to place their loyalty and trust in someone they don't know, or have just met simply because that other person has bribed them with tangible things or flattering words. Sometimes that "other person" will say one thing now, and something very different or opposite
after they have gained the trust of the other person(s). Sometimes, the untrustworthy one will "trade" on something in common--"..but he's f a m i l y..."

IN WHOM is y o u r faith???

March 9, 2015

It is a dangerous thing to believe that we can measure eternal truths with only our limited intellects. I believe it would be like trying to grasp a person's IQ or their mental health with a scale, tape measure and measuring cup. The Bible does not teach "body and soul". The Word of God proclaims that we are spirit, soul and body. That is the reality of God's handiwork in creating human beings. Have you noticed that Jesus uses parables to describe the Kingdom of God? ("The Kingdom of God is like....") That's because it is so deep and so varied in all its facets that simple propositional truths come up short. Entry into that Kingdom requires a new birth. You are expected to grow into a Bride who embraces her Lord and Savior as she would her husband. She enters that relationship which is a new covenant--one of grace and mercy and loving obedience (think: marriage covenant). Jesus even said that the first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord, our God.

March 4, 2015: All the World's A Stage

And God is allowing Light and darkness to contrast each other ever more plainly each day. Will we see it? Will we cling to the light and abhor the darkness? God is also contrasting Truth and lies, the Real and the counterfeit. Will you be a voice for Truth, or merely for intellectual gobble-dee-gook? The line-in-the-sand which man draws is very temporary, at best. God is drawing a line across his-story, across the ages. Which side will you be on?

The longer you try to straddle that line, the more painful it becomes. And if you stay too long on the wrong side, even due to indecision, the more difficult it becomes to move to the right side: it's a type of spiritual inertia.

The ground at the foot of the cross is perfectly level. Not one of us comes with bragging rights, even if we think we've been obedient. This is personal, because God is a personal God. We must humble ourselves before Him, and allow Him the opportunity to reshape us into what He originally intended. Apart from that experience, we remain a counterfeit.....without salt or light or life; good for nothing but to be trodden under foot of men.

March 2, 2015

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:1-3)

The only true King is King Jesus, and His Father who gave Him the throne. He is the only King who is always working to love, bless and bring all peoples into His Kingdom. As we look through history, we see--every so often--a ruler who takes the responsibility of governing seriously, and seeks to exercise authority to govern wisely in a way that benefits the people. We see LOTS of rulers who sought to indulge themselves with the power and wealth of the office. The painful truth is that every dictator, or dictator wannabe, is simply a counterfeit king, regardless of the title they bear.

"Be careful what you ask for....God just might give it to you."

February 28, 2015

We, as a nation, and as 'Western Civilization' have arrogantly turned our backs on God, and willfully placed our souls on the throne of our hearts--a place God created for Himself alone. The selfishness is rampant among "leadership" and the common man. Watch how people drive, how people park, how people operate their carts in the grocery store--"it's ME, first and always". Watch and listen to how people treat other people--respect is minimal, because people don't truly respect themselves. And they can't respect themselves because, deep down, they know they are not doing right. They are doing what they think will exalt and protect themselves.

Only being born again by the Spirit of God, only by surrendering and receiving Jesus will we know who we truly are and feel safe and content in the Father's love and discipline. Without discipline, we do not know how we should behave and act towards others. Without discipline, we will not know the direction we should go in, or how we should carry ourselves along the way. Without His Love, we don't know what our value--our worth to God--truly is. Without His Love, we are INsecure, and constantly searching for something or someone to make us feel worth-y. Without His Love, we don't know what real love is.