The Anatomy of Temptation ~

James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Gal. 5:17 “ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 24 those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.”

Luke 22:44 “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly…’’

2 Cor 5:9 NIV “So we make it our goal to please him…”

A few thoughts to hold ~ All temptation is common to man. You will be tempted.  It’s NOT coming from God. Temptation is NOT sin.  

There is an anatomy to temptation which we find described in James chapter one. All temptation comes when we are lured - enticed by our OWN desires. KJV reads lusts.  The Greek renders it; a longing, (especially for what is forbidden). Thayers’ definition add craving and desire for things forbidden. These lusts, or cravings, or longings give entrance to the temptation.  

Notice the word ‘lured’ from James.  It’s the idea of appealing, something’s viewed as attractive.  It’s enticing and always attracts an appetite that can only be denied by being crucified. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires.   We live this out on a daily basis by and through the Spirit.  We live by the Spirit and we keep in step with the Spirit who is the only one that can enable us to overcome the flesh.  

Things are conceived before seen.  After conception you can begin to see “signs” of what is taking place. Once something is birthed, it’s visible to all. Fully grown it yields a life of its own.  

Negative thoughts held, unknown to others, left to be meditated on, produce the strongholds that reshape our thinking. David always says just because we think it, doesn’t mean it’s true.  Naturally, there are tell tale signs of pregnancy.  While we might not “see” a physical baby yet we have symptoms that tell us we are pregnant.  Even so spiritually, we find thoughts left unchecked work to reshape what we believe which begin to show up in our attitudes, words and actions. 

We are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and that means measure the thought against the word.  Ask the question, what does God think about this?  Am I in agreement with God here?  Does this activity or desire measure up to the character and nature of Jesus? 

Jesus tempted, in an agony, prays earnestly.  Even when our desire is to live to please the Lord, the willingness to engage in the battle to overcome the flesh is still pressed.  If our flesh and mind are stronger than the working of the Spirit within (the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak) we will find a way to follow the enticement. We will embrace it as we convince ourselves that this thought, action, this choice will not hurt us and birth sin.  This one act left unchallenged, unrepented from, works to grow up and destroy us…fully grown sin (one that controls and dominates thoughts and flesh) brings forth death.    

I suppose the only good thing about temptation is that it does reveal what is lurking to  lure us away.  Philippians tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  Once we are aware of the thing pulling at us - it’s just a matter of entering into the place of working with the Spirit and word to overcome the temptation. There are some things we will never overcome without practicing the same kind of prayerful engagement Jesus displayed.  I imagine Jesus’ temptation came with great torment, (an agony) assaulted with lies to doubt everything he knew and declared about who he was and his purpose and could only be overcome through his engagement with the Spirit. 

We aren’t just looking for a place of relief, we are looking for the place of total victory that enters into rest.  Temptations are common to life but if we will live a life of daily denial regarding our flesh, holding our minds to the word of God, our Spirit then readily engages with the Holy Spirit and we truly are able to walk in a place of freedom and rest and we could potentially say like Jesus, tempted, yes, but without sin. 

Let us all press into this high calling.

The Order of God

“Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.” 

Revelation 4:1 

I want to highlight two thoughts here ~ 

1.  What MUST take place (note ~  must) 

2. AFTER this ( note ~  after) 

If you’re like me, then there are things the Lord speaks that we somehow dismiss to the realm of “not really important” or perhaps, mañana.  I’m not sure how we get that thought, but I think the root of being quick to obey is to realize when God speaks it should be considered (unless otherwise instructed) a now word.   

We know intuitively that obeying every instruction of God is vital to possessing the abundant life He desires for us.

There are things that God has ordained sequentially, an order for the time and events He desires. With all these appointed times, the thought I had is “what must take place” before the “after this” can occur in our individual lives.  Most of the time we think we are waiting on God to move but I think wise men and women evaluate the areas of life that seem stuck and ask what is it that their “after this” hinges upon. 

Could it be God is simply waiting on us to be obedient and do what we have been told to do?  Some days I have to remind myself, if God said it, there is a way to achieve it.  It sets me to seek for wisdom, which can only come from Him….”come up here and I will show you”.  If any man lacks wisdom, let Him ask of God who gives to generously to all without reproach and IT WILL be given Him.  

Every day arrives with purposes already ordained and established by God. I think we are all living with the urgency to achieve them in these last days.  For His Will to be manifested on this earth as it is in heaven, is hinged on our personal obedience to delight to do His will. 

“What must take place after this” implies a sequence of events, and it begins with the command to “come up here”. 

Hope in God

“ Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. “

 Psalm 43:5. KJV

The first sentence of this verse in other translations reads:

• Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me?  NASB

• Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil?  CSV

• Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?  NLT

• Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset?  NET

And TPT adds  

• I will fully expect My Savior God to break through for me.

Hope does not disappoint because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost ~ Romans 5:5 

Hope does not disappoint because it is always attached to the love God has for us. Hope is secure as we are rooted and grounded in the love of God and hope is the anchor of the soul. 

As the God of hope, He is working to fill us with all joy and peace in believing so we can abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Think about it!  He is working and he is working now, to fill us.  Ephesians tells us as I am rooted and grounded in the love of God I am filled with the fullness of God.

The Psalmist reminds us that our hope is to be in God alone.  Hope is a simply confident expectation of the workings of God on our behalf. Philippians tells us He is at work right now on our behalf.  Every moment of every day our Father is at work, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure. 

I think about the only thing that can hinder this process is my own resistance.  If I yield and receive, then I am blessed. If I resist, I am only grieving the Holy Spirit and the grace that could be mine is in vain.   Sad, sad, sad, state to find ourselves in ESPECIALLY if we are discouraged dismayed, disillusioned, discontent — just DISSED over anything.  He is our saving strength and the one who strengthens our hearts so we are able to continue to stand stedfast and be unmoved by any natural circumstances.  

Why so downcast oh my soul put your hope in God!   He is the God of Hope! 

Be encouraged and strengthened today as your heart is set on Him, our Saviour God is working.  He is a rewarder of those who come to Him believing.  

Remember ~ He's Holy

Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Psalm 98:12 KJV

When we rejoice, we are purposeful about calling to mind the many benefits of our heavenly Father. This psalm specifically tells us to give thanks and remember His holiness. 

I think we all know holy as meaning sanctified or set apart, some equate it to clean living (clean living is the fruit borne of being holy) but I want to focus on the idea of holy being different.   God is holy because he is different.  He is not a man that He should lie.  His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. His love is never failing.  His mercy is new every day. He is just different from our limited human nature. 

I found an interesting word study on Holy from the Discovery Bible ‘Helps’ that follows;

From the Old Testament ~  24d (SN 6944) qodesh – properly, what stands apart – "differentness" (apartness), holiness; preeminently used of God's Essence which is inviolably holy; what is set apart, utterly distinct from "common" (profane).

The root supremely refers to God's eternal character which is "absolutely distinct" (other) – separating "the inviolability of the spheres of the sacred versus the profane"

From the New Testament ~ 40 hágios – properly, different ("unlike"), other ("otherness"), holy; in relation to believers, 40 (hágios) refers to "likeness of nature with the Lord," i.e. they are also "different from the world."

The fundamental meaning of 40 (hágios) is "different" so a temple in the 1st century was called hagios ("holy") – because different from other buildings (Wm. Barclay).  In the NT, 40/hágios ("holy") has the "technical" meaning "different from the world" because "like the Lord."

It is by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.  If we call evil as God does, then we place upon ourselves a demand to live out of righteousness and holiness.  Righteous because it is right and holy because it is different from the world. 

Peter wrote in his first epistle, “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  As partakers of His divine nature we are called to be different, in the world - but not of it. 

Called to be different looks differently and holds different standards, different values, different character and always different from those seen in the world.  

I love the picture Jesus gives us of being and mixing with the world yet never becoming worldly.  He lived with his disciples He fellowshipped with his Father and He impacted the world with His life because He was different from them all.  They had never heard a word such as His.  They had never seen the works He had done or the way that He did them.

John Wesley is quoted as saying, "The first priority of my life is to be holy..”  

C. S. Lewis said, "Sainthood lies in the habit of referring the smallest actions to God.”

When we realize that God has a thought about everything and we consider His thoughts above ours, we find ourselves adapting to His ways of being and doing.  It is always different from our carnal nature but it is the only way to express His Holiness.  

AND we can do this because we have been given the HOLY Spirit who helps us in all our weaknesses.

Forgive....even as.

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors….” Matthew 6:12

We look continually for God’s mercy when we personally mess up and saw last week how willing our Father is to freely and graciously give mercy to us.

Strongs’ Greek Definition for this word debt is defined as something owed, a due. Thayers’ Greek Definition is that which is justly or legally due, a debt.

Since we live in an age of entitlement, it should be pretty easy to see how we fall into the mindset that others owe us and are tempted to hold them in ‘debt’ especially when it is perceived as just and/or legal to do so.

We all have certain expectations about how others should give to us. We even have scriptural standards about righteous behavior towards one another. The error comes when we demand something that isn’t freely or willingly given and withhold what we should freely give.

The book of Romans says owe no one anything but to simply love them. Forgiveness can only flow from a heart of love. Unmet expectations could cause us to remove an open hearted love towards them.

We don’t judge this as He would. We excuse ourselves saying there is no un- forgiveness in our hearts but when scrutinized by the love of God, anything that is not freely for ‘giving’ to another would be un for giving, i.e. I don’t want to give them anything! It’s the withdrawing that’s dangerous.

Entitlement is a slippery slope. Parents feel like their children owe them. Spouses hold the same mindsets. Pastors to their people. Volunteers to the ones they help. We all expect accolades and thanks for the things we do, but how do we handle the lack of expected yet unfulfilled ‘dues’.

We come to the Father daily, looking for His goodness to fall upon us and His mercies to abound, yet without the heart to extend these qualities to others we are told that forgiveness cannot be ours.

Jesus said, “When you stand praying ,forgive, if you have you have anything against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your transgressions.”

The only way I know how to keep free of any of this is constant communion with the Father with the help from the Holy Spirit (bringing grace and reminding us to seek not our own). It’s always better to deal with heart issues than clean up words spoken.

Denying self is something our flesh will always resist.

Loving others is something the Holy Spirit is always at work perfecting.

Checed.......

“……who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies…” Psalm 103:4

From the following reference ~

Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 1, p. 142). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.

` .

Checed (חֶסֶד, 2617), “loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.” This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament, and is especially frequent in the Psalter. The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics.

The Septuagint nearly always renders checed with eleos (“mercy”), and that usage is reflected in the New Testament. Modern translations, in contrast, generally prefer renditions close to the word “grace.” kjv usually has “mercy,” although “loving-kindness” (following Coverdale), “favor,” and other translations also occur. rsv generally prefers “steadfast love.” niv often offers simply “love.”

In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: “strength,” “steadfastness,” and “love.” Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. “Love” by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet “strength” or “steadfastness” suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. Biblical usage frequently speaks of someone “doing,” “showing,” or “keeping” checed. The concrete content of the word is especially evident when it is used in the plural. God’s “mercies,” “kindnesses,” or “faithfulnesses” are His specific, concrete acts of redemption in fulfillment of His promise.

This Psalm rehearses the abounding, plenteous and everlasting goodness and mercies of God. When the Lord appeared to Moses and proclaimed His name, He revealed Himself as, “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” As the God who is rich in mercy, with this abundant goodness and mercy being poured out upon us, how can we not freely give the same to others?

Ephesians tells us God “who is rich in mercy” loved and forgave us. When we understand the Fathers heart to sow mercy we won’t be so quick to form an opinion and hold our own judgments. We will freely give what we have freely received. We can be quick with our own judgments towards ourselves and others but this Psalm reminds us that He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust YET HE crowns us with this unfailing love and mercy. His desire is for mercy above judgment and Lamentations reminds us mercy is new every morning.

As we keep ourselves in the love of God, we are to look (on going, continuous action) for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, from this place of love we are not only receiving mercy but sowing this as He would.

How gracious it is to give what is not deserving, how wonderful to receive it.

Goodness and mercy, something we all need and something we all want.

Good Friday ~

“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

1 John 3:8

NIV ~ The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

The Passion week gives me pause to reflect on Jesus’ commitment to walk out the will and purpose of His Father. His commitment challenges mine! The book of Hebrews tell’s us that He delights to do the will of the Father, so as I read through the events of His week in Jerusalem, I just keep asking: how did you do this? How did you keep moving forward into something so horrific; spirit, soul and body?

We know that it was simply the love of God that compelled Him, that is His love for the Father and His love for us, and I want to know this kind of love. Not just ‘know’ but hold it and live from a place of intentional love which disregards my own desires, thoughts, and feelings simply for another’s well being.

The Gospels tell us when His time came, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Today is Good Friday. It is the culmination of a series of events during the week that lead to his death. At the beginning of the week, he has been met with a jubilant welcoming into the city but it just goes down hill from there (my perspective). He has set his face to God’s purpose and it is being fulfilled in every step, every action and every conversation. He meets the religious opposition, the scheme with his very own disciple to kill him. Betrayal is at work in the midst of Him pouring his heart into them, giving them a new commandment ~ Love even as I have loved you.

His disciples sleep while He prays for strength to move forward. Peter denies him. He faces false accusations, a trial, the sentence, all leading him to this crucifixion. At any given point, I wonder which circumstance would cause us to quit?

He bore our sin in His own body on the tree ,that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by His stripes you were healed. For we were as sheep going astray; but now are returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.

A just and righteous man who never sinned, becoming sin Himself, so we could have a way to the Father and enter into the same fellowship They have that is rooted and grounded in love. John 17 is the last prayer we have recorded of Jesus’ on earth ~

“I pray for them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them, and you in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”

Do we want to know and live from this place of that intense and purposed love? This place where we delight to do His will because we choose love even as I am loved. We know what the answer should be, but we find reality in the every day choices we make. If (and he does) the devil motivates through fear, greed, self will, then every purpose he designs can be overcome when we love not our lives….even unto death.

I want to know and live from this kind of love.

What to do?

“Then they said to him, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent.”         ESV John 6:28-29

NLT -

They replied, "We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?"

THE PASSION - John 6:29

Jesus answered, “The work you can do for God starts with believing in the One he has sent.”

I’m reminded of Jesus’ response to the man with the demon possessed son that the disciples were unable to set free. He came to Jesus asking if Jesus could do anything.  Jesus says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Believing is not the same as knowing.  We all have much head knowledge about many spiritual truths, but since the Father looks at hearts, believing is the issue.  

If we examine the places of our hesitation we see they are created mostly by negatives of life, which simply reveal our unbelief.  Where we find ourselves conflicted, unsure, double minded or fearful, Jesus would ask, “o’ ye of little faith why did you doubt, why did you reason, why are you so fearful?”  These are all indicators of unbelief.  

If we simply define faith as an absolute confidence in God and His word, then choose to contradict HIM with our words and actions, we have to know our heart simply does not believe Him or His word.  This is the dynamic of what our head acknowledges and what our heart lives out.  

The Bible continues to reminds us our hearts are to be guarded and His word is to be held there. 

We all want to be doing the works of God and Jesus tells us it’s as simple as believing Him. 

Owe no one anything EXCEPT.........

Owe no one anything expect to love each other

Romans 13:8

The gospels tell us Jesus did not come to do away with the law but to fulfill it and if we examine our verse today we find that love is the fulfilling of the Law. Jesus lived and moved from a place of compassion towards people and love for the Father. In this place, love works no wrong to another.

When we come to Christ we learn His way to love and of course, this becomes a growth process for us. The love God has shed abroad in our hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit enables us to carry this pure love for all. We have been enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to love all, all the time, in all conditions and now we have to choose to live by the power the Holy Spirit gives us to love or we choose to live contained to our pre set limitations.

If we could only love enough…… we could resolve so many of our relationship issues. Love works no ill, love does no wrong. The NLT says that love is a debt we never finish paying. Pauls’ prayer in Philippians for love to abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, is so we can approve what is excellent and thereby be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. The dynamic of this love is that it gives us greater knowledge and discernment so we are able to righteously express His love and bring Him glory.

This love never fails, absolutely never fails. We fail, but love never does. We all have relationship failures. Jesus said divorce (not just in marriages) can only occur where there is hardness of heart. The Book of Hebrews tells us this hardness of heart results from not hearing today, in the moment, what the Spirit is saying. Rejecting His word, His help, moves us away from God into unrest. All abundant life, comes to us through the working of the Holy Spirit. He is the help God has given us to live abundantly. When He speaks, listening and obeying become our responsibilities.

Beyond what any others may do or say, our job is to respond rightly to Him first. He will tell us what to say. He will show us what to do. Love works no ill. Love never fails. Love is always kind. Love is the cure for pride. Love is the cure for selfishness. Love is the cure for jealousy and envy. Love is the cure for bitterness and strife. Perfect love drives out fear. Where there is fear there is torment and a need to be rooted and grounded in love. Jude tells us to keep ourselves in the love of God. This gives us great hope because Jude obviously thought this was in our control.

Pauls’ prayer from Ephesians three was to know the fullness of this love that surpasses knowledge that we might be filled with the fullness of God. We want that. We want to live expressing this pure, unadulterated, holy, love God has for us and all men. We want to express this love righteously in all circumstances. Our words, seasoned with grace, bringing hope and encouragement to the broken hearted. Our hands reaching out to help those in need, always motivated by this consuming love for mankind’s well being. The Apostle Paul wrote to pursue love, eagerly seek to acquire this love, make it our aim, our great quest.

If we love well, all men will know we were disciples taught of the Lord.

A Great Salvation

How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

Hebrews 2:3

The book of Hebrews offers two great thoughts: one, this great salvation we have been given and all it brings to us, and two: the dangers of neglecting it. Chapter One begins with this great salvation itself and Chapter two tells us this great salvation could slip away unless we give the more earnest heed to what we have heard.

Apostasy is defined as abandonment of ones religious belief and neglect is defined as the failure to care for something properly. It is possible for the things we once believed to be so challenged by our circumstances that we alter our beliefs. The ongoing, consistent pressures of life push against us challenging the hope, trust and faith we have in HIM. The longer you live, the more opportunity you have had to see something not work, prayers not be answered and conditions remain unchanged. The temptation to deny God and His word is constantly before us as Satan works to sow seeds of doubt. Wasn’t it Job’s wife who encouraged him to curse God and die? These are human conditions when we are faced with circumstances we don’t understand.

The book of Hebrews warns us that the potential for apostasy is great. The Lord uses the picture of the children of Israel in the Old Testament as an example of this evil heart of unbelief, causing one or all to depart from the living God.

Jack Hayford's Spirit Filled Bible Study Notes record, “It is commonly understood that the book [Hebrews] was written primarily to the Jewish Christians…. There were two well-known times of persecution for Christians during the first century AD that may have impacted Hebrews' original audience, at least indirectly. In AD 49, the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled Jews from the city of Rome. And around AD 64, Emperor Nero persecuted Christians in the vicinity of Rome. As we read through the book of Hebrews, it becomes evident that the original audience had already faced persecution in the past, some of them were suffering in the present, and the author's expectation was that more of them would suffer, perhaps even more severely, in the future.”

The need to keep heart, mind and body firmly fixed and sanctified today is as great a challenge as it was when Hebrews was written. In comparison to much of the world, our North American culture lives in and remains at ease. My concern is for the casual believer as our world grows darker. Casual church attendance and the occasional podcast will never replace the need, the vital need, the one thing that is needful, to sit at the feet of the Father and feed upon His word. “He who holds nearest communion with Heaven can best discharge the duties of everyday life”. D. L. Moody

Failing to care for the spirit begins by simply removing ourselves from the place of prayer and feeding on the word of God. Jesus said my words are spirit and they are life and we are instructed to feed on them daily to nourish our inner man. Paul prayed that we would be strengthened with might in our inner man so we would walk worthy of the Lord fully pleasing Him with fruitful lives.

The psalmist wrote, “How can a young man cleanse His way? By taking heed according to your word.” He goes on to say, “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you”. The busyness of life is a snare to spiritual health. This great salvation can slip away if neglected.

Hebrews is filled with admonitions and reminders of what we have been given; a new covenant, and how we are to live now: stedfast, faithful, patient and obedient. We are exhorted to remember the new covenant with new promises, to remember our High Priest and His sacrifice, keeping our eyes on Jesus so we can finish our race.

How can we escape if we neglect this great salvation?

Living in His Light

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.  Psalm 89:15 

I’ve read several different articles, while housebound with the abundance of snow here in Victoria, which have all spoken to living with the abiding presence of the Lord.  They asked the question, Can we actually live 24/7 in this state?  The obvious answer is, of course.  The real question though, is, do we, not can we?  

The way has always been open and the invitation has always been there. This Psalm assures us that we can live that life, blessed, joyful and living in His light.  Jesus said, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. NLT says,  “I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”   

I’ve taken the liberty to copy a paragraph from MacLaren Exposition of Holy Scriptures (Alexander MacLaren 1826-1910).  The following is a part of his comments on Psalm 89:15. 

“And although we are bound to be diligent in business, and some of us have had to take a heavy lift of a great deal of hard work, and much of it apparently standing in no sort of relation to our religious life, yet for all that it is possible to bend all to this one direction, and to make everything a means of bringing us nearer to God and fuller of the conscious enjoyment of His presence. And if we have not learned to do that with our daily work, then our daily work is a curse to us. If we have allowed it to become so absorbing or distracting as that it dims and darkens our sense of the divine Presence, then it is time for us to see what is wrong in the method or in the amount of work which is thus darkening our consciences. I know it is hard, I know that an absolute attainment of such an ideal is perhaps beyond us, but I know that we can approach-I was going to say infinitely, but a better word is indefinitely-nearer it than any of us have ever yet done. As the psalm goes on to say in the next clause, it is possible for us to ‘rejoice in His Name all the day.’ Ay, even at your tasks, and at your counters, and in your kitchens, and in my study, it is possible for us; and if our hearts are what and where they ought to be, the possibility will be realized. Earthly duty has no necessary effect of veiling the consciousness of God.”

Oswald Chambers, MUHH, (February 12 and 13) wrote about our human propensity of not wanting to hear from God directly because then we must become responsible for what he says. The distractions of life and the desire for other things are the warning Mark’s gospel gives us about robbing the word which is the very thing that gives us life.  We want to know what God says, but we want others to take the time to hear from God and tell us. This way, we can dismiss the person rather than God. 

Could this be why the church sees so many looking for personal words of prophecy? Always hearing and yet never growing up.  Someone living in vital communion with the Father does not often need another to tell Him the way, the truth or give Him life.   Mind you, we all have times where fellowship is at the low ebb and are always grateful for those who come along and are able to help.  I would never diminish the gifts of the Spirit because I both give and receive them and know their benefit.  But when the perfect is come, these things are gone.  Why; because we see Him as He is and we do not need another to communicate the heart and mind of God for us.   This of course does not have anything to do with being taught, but rather our own personal developing fellowship with the Father, to know Him. 

I know there are limitations to what we are able to hear and know now, but we can always press in to a place we haven’t been to know things we have not known and see things we have not seen.  There is so much more the Father has prepared for us.  

The invite is there and the way is open.  Shall we go in? 

Be A Brighter Light ~

“Let your light so shine…” . Matthew 5:16

I’ve been studying the book of Daniel and one of my sources indicated a theme of this book is how to live in the midst of a sinful nation and still hold to God and influence others.  Last month I wrote from Matthew 5:14-16 about Being the light, and today I’m asking how we could be a brighter bulb. 

The Gospel of John begins introducing Jesus as the word and tells us that in Him was life and the life was the light of men.  This light shined in the darkness and the darkness did not overpower the light.

If Jesus showed up and in His life there was this incredible light, which of course emanated from His Father who is light, and the darkness could not overpower it then it follows we must emanate the same kind of light and life. 

From Matthew, Jesus says you don’t put this light under a bushel to hide it but set it out where it can give light to everyone in the house.  How is it that the darkness we live in on the job, in our families, with our friends, seems to diminish our willingness to shine?  There is a boldness (harmless as doves and wise as serpents) that must be being seen in us these days.  As darkness abounds, we are to shine brighter, not adapt to the darkness from a place of fearful intimidation

Jesus said men will love their darkness rather than the light but that didn’t stop him from shinning.  They rejected his methods.  They rejected his words.  They ultimately rejected him, but he never stopped shinning.  Isaiah prophesied, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon you and his glory shall be seen upon you and the gentiles shall come to the light and kings to the brightness of your rising.  Isaiah said, Arise and Shine!  

We are salt. We are light. These are two powerful statements about us as believers. This is what we are.  This is what we do.  We salt.  We enlighten.  If we don’t, darkness keeps creeping in to take over everyone and everything in our world.  

From John 8:12 we find Jesus declaring himself to be the light of the world.  In chapter twelve, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure. He says, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in darkness cannot see where they’re going. Put your trust in the light while there still time, then you will become the children of light.”

John 1:6 tells us that God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so everyone might believe because of his testimony. Just like John the Baptist we are sent into our own particular environments to bear testimony about the light, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit has made us witnesses. Acts doesn’t say He gave us power to do witnessing but He so radically changed our lives that we have been made witnesses.  1 John records the apostle declaring, that which we have seen and heard we declare to you. John went on to say we proclaim this so that you may have fellowship with us. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.  

Our motivation must always be to share with others what we have seen and heard so they could know the joy that comes from fellowship with Him. It is said of Jesus in Matthew 4:16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.   God is light.  Jesus is light. Now we are children of the Light.  May we be His great light that shines ever brighter to those who sit in darkness.

Living Loved.

I am persuaded…..nothing can separate me from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:29 

How can we love well if we are not first persuaded that we are loved well?  

Our New Testament command is to love even as Jesus has loved us.  How can we love others if our concept of “even as” we are loved is skewed.  If every negative circumstance of life serves to tell us we are unloved then we build from a very flawed and broken foundation.  If we do not see the value we have to the Father how can we ever appreciate others?  It would be  superficial.  We want to live loved, and we want to live, loving well. 

We have been wired for love from conception.  Love is the thing the Heavenly Father wants us to know.  To live from a place of love is absolute freedom.  Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  It starts with believing and receiving Jesus, the manifest love our Father has given to us.   

We want to live knowing, every moment of every day, exactly how valuable we are to the Father.  We don’t want theory, we want a viable, living, experience with Him.  We can never achieve this in our own strength and we don’t need to, but we do need to have an absolute dependency on the one who pours this love into us. I can’t know this love apart from the Holy Spirit, His truth, teaching, and comfort. Paul prays, as we are rooted and grounded in this love we are able to know the Fathers love and be filled with the fullness of God, Ephesians 3:19

As we move forward in the last days, we must understand that the love of many will grow cold.  This is in the church.  The love many will hold for the world will surpass the love they have for God and His ways and that cannot but ultimately play out in the love they have for one another.  How does a brother turn against a brother, but by holding a greater love for self.  

Lovers of self and pleasures rather than lovers of God are present and in our midst in these last days.  Paul wrote to Timothy, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed….” 2 Timothy 4:10. Jude wrote we were to remember the words spoken by the apostles how mockers in the last time would walk after their own ungodly lusts, separating themselves not having the Spirit.  His admonition to the church is build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping yourselves in the love of God.

We must live loved to love well.  Life must be lived empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit and feeding upon the word to know and understand the love God has not only us, but all.  He’s called us to live as He is.  He’s called us to be holy as He is holy.  He’s called us to love as He is love.  

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

The Word and the Spirit

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life.  John 6:63 NIV

The vital necessity for the Word and the Holy Spirit have been foundational for me now for the 43 years of my Christian growth.  I remember hearing, uncountable times, that without the Spirit you dry up and without the Word you blow up. 

These two Persons of the Godhead work hand in hand, continually revealing everything we need to grow and conform into the image of our Father.  We can only know our Heavenly Father from what the word reveals and the Holy Spirit illuminates. This shapes the foundation for my expectation and reception of all God’s workings in and through me.  Romans 10 asks the question, “How shall we believe in him of whom we have not heard?”  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. This is the cooperative working of the Godhead.  We find our knowledge of our Heavenly Father through Jesus, as the Word, and the revealing work of the Holy Spirit.  We attend to the word and the Holy Spirit speaks to us from this Word.  

Jesus was the very first comforter the disciples had.  They learned the Father and they learned the Son.  They learned the very heart of God as they walked with Jesus.  Jesus sent us “another” comforter for each of us today who are a part of His body.  We understand this word ‘comforter’ to mean Helper.  

Everything and anything we need in the this life, as a believer, we are to first turn to the Help of the Holy Spirit. Whatever lack we may face, the Holy Spirit is a very present Help in time of need. He helps us in our infirmities or weaknesses. If you are like me, I don’t appreciate weakness in my life.  I want to be strong and sufficient, yet it is in the weakness that we find the grace and sufficiency of God to help us in our time of need.  We hope in God who is our very present Help in time of need.  No matter what the circumstance, He has made a way of escape that we may bear it.  God is faithful.  Hope NEVER disappoints when our eyes are on the Father.  Our Help comes from the Lord. 

Let’s talk about what His help looks like. 

• First of all, since He is the Spirit of truth who leads and guides us into all truth, He works with the word to divide asunder soul and spirit. He works within our hearts and minds to reveal the truth of our circumstances.  He goes straight to the reality of our issue and deals with the heart and reveals truth in our inner man; John 15:26; John 16:13.  Jesus said you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  My greatest need in most circumstances is for wisdom.  “Holy Spirit show me how to walk through this.”  He makes the way of escape so we are able to bear it by showing me how and what to do.   

• Second, He will bring to our remembrance all things Jesus has said ~ John 14:26.  This Word that the Holy Spirit reveals comes as we feed upon the Word of God.  As we search the scriptures and meditate of them, it is the Holy Spirit who breathes on this Word and makes it a reality to our hearts.  

• Third, Our sole responsibility is to believe this Word.  To believe we are hearing what the Spirit is saying to us through this Word. Jesus said my words are spirit and they are life. 

• Finally, once we hear, see and believe, we must obey to have the fruit He wants to work in us.   This is how we are to be fundamentally led by the Spirit and what His Help looks like.  

His work in our lives is primary and the Word is our vital necessity.  It’s not the dead letter of the law but it is the life giving, Spirit breathed, revelation we receive as we attend to the Word through prayer.  

We have not because we ask not.  Ask that you might receive that your joy may be full.  The Holy Spirit waits to be invited into our lives.  He waits to reveal and glorify Jesus.  As we hunger and thirst, He fills our lives, and is the very present Helper for us. 

Be the Light

Be the Light!

You are the Light of the world….. Matthew 5:14

The Sermon on the Mount probably gives us the greatest insight to the message of the Kingdom Jesus preached.  It is a revelation of the fulfillment of the Law and the expression of the heart and mind of the Father. 

Probably the best place to start adapting ourselves to the nature of the Father is to be very familiar with Jesus’ words and deeds.  

The bible tells us that Jesus was the expression image of God.  Jesus himself said He who has seen me has seen the Father.  He affirmed that it was the Father who did the works, he was simply the vessel showing who the Father was and what His heart is.  

Of course, now, we are that very hope of Glory to seen in this earth. I’m reminded of Andrew Murrays words from his book, Like Christ,

 “ Let us gaze and gaze again, let us worship and adore; the more we see Him as He is, the liker Him we must become.” 

Jesus tells his disciples we are the salt of the earth.  We are the light of the world.  If we are not salty we are not good for anything and our light is not to be hid.  There should be something about our lives that draws men and at the same time repels those who love darkness. 

From Mark 13:9, Jesus exhorts disciples to take heed to themselves as they live in the last days.  Our lives are to be a testimony in the midst of evil and persecution. God has required a standard on this earth that is able to be set so He can be righteous in His judgment towards all.  This standard is to be held and kept by us.  We must be light.  We must be salt.  Anything that diminishes the quality of those must be eliminated from our lives.  

The danger of religion is the hypocrisy and deception it breeds.  This form of godliness without the power should be a clue that something is missing.  Holding traditions and making the power of no effect does not promote the Kingdom of God.  Jesus said our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and Saduccees.  

Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify God. How do we shine?  We shine by displaying good works. The world must see we are his disciples. Our good works must be steeped from a heart of love.  We are kind, we do good, we love the unlovely, we bless all, and we pray for those who persecute us.  There is something pervasive about the life of God flowing through us that man cannot deny.  Every act is a seed sown and that is simply our job.  Just be salt, be light, be good, be kind, love everyone, bless all, and pray for them.  It is the standard of God.

Its a New Year

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

James 1:26 KJV

• NIV: Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

• NLT: If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

I’m sure that you, like me, are turning your thoughts toward the New Year.  The New Year is an ideal time to make changes and renew purpose and vision for a better self. The trouble is though, that personal change doesn't just come from a calendar. How many times have we heard someone say, “If you don’t like what you have, you have to do something different from what you are doing”.  Or how about, “You are eating the fruit of your words”…. “You have what you say”. Truths; but frustrating truths when you believe you are already doing all you can to see change in your life.  

We all know there are biblical principals that establish the above and we cannot escape the truth of Jesus’ words from the gospel of Matthew; “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”   Our scripture today affirms that wrong speaking deceives our heart!  Jesus said take heed how you hear and what you hear. 

If we want a reality check, all we need to do is listen to what is coming out of our mouths in some kind of consistent fashion.  It’s the things we say “all the time” that are the indicators.  What we know verses what we really believe.  It’s the yeah but, that reveals the heart of a matter for us ~ so, if need be, let’s do an update to a new version for 2019. 

My son attend to my words, Let them not depart from the eyes, but keep them in the midst of your heart; NLT says let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they are life unto those who find them and health and healing to all their flesh.

Proverbs 4:20-22

No matter what the situation in life, if we want to see new and improved, it begins with the sure foundation of what God has said.  Jesus said my words are spirit and they are life.  We are to come to Him, the living word, and feed on Him to have abundant life.  Our Father on the mount of transfiguration had to shut Peter up, saying this is my beloved son, LISTEN to him.  James’ epistle tells us if we are doers of the word and not hearers only that we won’t deceive ourselves. 

Maybe there are things we need to stop listening to and instead replace with what Jesus  says.  Jesus has words of life that when they are exalted, fed upon, planted in good soil, work to bring forth good fruit in our lives.  The word works in a believing heart, so we guard our hearts!

My prayer for each of us this coming year would be to see the goodness of God in the land of the living because we believe.  Let God be true and every man a liar!

Happy New and Improved 2019 

Quitters never Win

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.

James 4:7 

We know every day we are tempted in some fashion, spirit, soul, or body.  Our eyes see, our ears hear, our head reasons, our hearts get discouraged and these temptations must all be challenged and resisted.  The other day, I woke up hearing the Holy Spirit telling me to fight. I had been dealing with some lingering symptoms off and on since September, and with all the flying we do, the symptoms were constantly flaring up.  I was dealing naturally with them, but not enough spiritually.  The Lord was calling for me to offer more spiritual resistance.   

Satan watches for the vulnerable moments in our lives, the times of weakness, whether they are in our unfed spirit man, a tired body, or an undisciplined mind. He is always watching to devour.   This is why the Apostle Peter wrote in chapter five of his first epistle, “Be sober, be watchful because we have an adversary”.  He must be resisted and not just resisted, but steadfastly resisted in faith.   In a case like this, you get a word from the Lord, you adjust, and somewhere in the back of your mind you think ok that’s done, all good, now things will change.  BUT then you get up and the next day  the STEDFAST word comes into play.  I’ve never seen a battle won in one day.  There is the day the battle is over, but until that day there is a continual fight. 

Paul said, because of the prize he was looking to receive, he was purposeful in the fight, not as one that beats the air.  He told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith so he could lay hold of eternal life and in 2 Timothy Paul declares towards the end of his life, “I have fought the fight.”  

The writer of Hebrews encouraged the people to remember how they endured a great fight of afflictions.  Hebrews 11 shows us that those who have gone before us were valiant in the fight.  

Ephesians reminds us our battle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Ephesians chapter six is probably the clearest instruction on how to fight.  We fight from a place of strength in the Lord.  We gird ourselves and we take active actions to withstand with all areas covered and the word coming out of our mouth.

Jesus said my Kingdom is not of this world and his kingdom suffers violence.  In other words, the things we want operating and working in our life must be fought for. 

When we are fully dressed and ready for action, we are able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  When we have dropped our guard, we have usually laid down some equipment and are vulnerable.  

Satan seeks everyday in some way to devour.  He is diligent. We have to remind ourselves we are not trying to get God to do something for us.  Jesus has done it all. We are either reclaiming what the enemy has stolen or we are guarding our stuff.    

I don’t know what circumstances you may be facing in your life these days, but I want to encourage us all to continue to fight and to do it steadfastly, to not be weary in well doing but to prepare ourselves daily, spirit, soul and body for whatever comes our way.

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.

Fullness

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  

John 1:16

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace”. John 1:14-16

I can’t escape this concept of “fulness”: that God would choose to dwell in man, to manifest Himself, and to do it fully!   This word ~ fullness from Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words ~  has two meanings, (a)  “that which fills up” (b) “that which has been completed, the fullness”. 

That’s a huge word with a multitude of expressions, and I do a dis-service to simplify, but suffice it to say that we are all ordained to carry His fulness, here and now.  How would life look if we were really doing that?  I’m always keenly aware of how much more growth there is in Him.  

Here are just a few scriptures that express this concept of fullness:

• Eph 1: 23 And he (the Father God) put all things under his (Jesus) feet and gave him (Jesus) as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 

• Ephesians 3:19  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

• Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

• Col 1:19  For in him  (Jesus ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell

• Col. 2: 9-10 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

• Psalm 16:11 In His presence is fulness of joy at his right hand are pleasures forever more.

• Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost 

• Acts 2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke…

• Romans 15:13 May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We know this; the just shall by His faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him. He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.  He is good to all.  I could go on, but these are foundational truths that we are to hold and have so deeply engrained in our hearts that they shape everything that we have to process.  Unshakeable truths that are to be unshakeable realities.  

When we talk about fullness, our finite minds simply cannot conceive the totality of this truth. This New Testament reveals the Fathers heart and mind: His will.  His fullness is something that we individually are able to partake of and live out on a daily basis.  I don’t know about you but I am striving to live from this place of fulness.  From His fulness we have all received, grace upon grace. I want to do more than just mentally assent to this, I want to vitally possess it and express it. 

Wait

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.  Psalm 27:14

The ‘wait' always involves a time of testing. The place where our faith, our hope, our love is being challenged.  Does the wait change us or do we impact the season of the waiting?  Are we able to stay in a place of “counting it all joy” or do we vacillate dependent on what we see?  Are we driven and tossed?  Do we murmur and complain?  Do we start well, but never finish? 

I don’t know about you but when I find myself waiting on the Lord to move and I begin to waiver in my patience, I begin to look for things I can do in the natural to make things happen.  A most dangerous trap to fall into because there is a God and it’s not me.  He’s the performer.  I’m the believer.  

Are we capable of being like Abraham who had a promise and was able to look at the impossibility of the situation and still trust God to fulfill it?  He did not waiver but grew strong in faith giving glory.  The Psalmist wrote that in the wait God strengthens our heart so he encourages us to wait, and wait well.  Waiting demands us to keep our eyes on Him. 

The Psalmist wrote that in the wait we were to be of good courage.  Courage speaks to condition of heart.  It’s interesting to note that when the Lord spoke to Joshua he said, Be strong AND of good courage.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t be dismayed for I am with you. 

Moses met the Lord on the mountain top and has a moment about leading and says to the Lord, If you don’t go with me, don’t make me do this.  The Lord’s response was, I’ll go with you.  My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. 

In other words, the very presence of the Lord works to instill strength of heart. Strength of heart always brings us into rest.  Rest is simply abiding in the quiet confidence that God is at work.  The very word wait from the Hebrew carries the idea of waiting confidently.  Have you noticed that anxiety drives the need to do something besides wait? 

 Andrew Murray wrote in His book ‘Waiting on God’,

“Once a believer begins to see it [the absolute and unceasing dependence of continually waiting on God] and consents to it — that he must, by the Holy Spirit, each moment receive what God each moment works — waiting on God becomes his brightest hope and joy. As he begins to understand how God, as God, as infinite Love, delights to impart His own nature to his child as fully as He can — how God is not wary of keeping charge of His life and strength —  he wonders why he ever thought that God could not be waited on all day.  God unceasingly giving and working and His child unceasingly waiting and receiving this is the blessed life.”  

The promise to those who wait upon the Lord from Isaiah was renewed strength, rising up, running without growing weary and walking without fainting.  

Waiting is a good thing.  The Lord is good to those that wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 

The Spirit is Willing

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Matthew 26:41

There is no temptation but that which is common to man. We all deal with the fragility of our flesh and are all tempted according to our own unique weaknesses. 

Jesus has made a way for us to overcome every temptation through our own intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.  It was better that Jesus left us so the Holy Spirit could come.  Now He lives within us forever.  We have been given supernatural power that meets and enables us in every situation, by and through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  

Because we are so focused on behavior and doings, most of the time we think right doing makes us righteous.  Doing, in our own strength and self efforts, simply feeds self righteousness and pride.  Colossians tells us the promoting of self made religion, asceticism, and severity to the body has an appearance of wisdom but has no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.  Self discipline apart from the Holy Spirit simply strengthens the flesh.  Where there is no dependency on the work of grace by the Holy Spirit, we are just magnifying our human strength.  It is only by the Holy Spirit that we are able to mortify, kill, deaden, the desires and deeds of the body, Romans 8:13. The flesh works against the Spirit but the Spirit works against the flesh.  

The best way to have abundant life is through the Spirit of Life.  A successful marriage, home, family or career is by the Spirit.  The best way to govern our body is by the Spirit.  The best way to control our thought life is by the Spirit.  The best way to handle any appetite of the flesh is by the Spirit.  The biblical admonition is “be being filled”.  That is, to live in a place of continual communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is willing.  Paul wrote where sin abounds grace does much more abound.  Regardless of circumstances, there is an abounding grace which gives all sufficiency, enabling one to abound to every good work.  Whatever is needed in the moment to overcome, the Holy Spirit is willing to provide.  He leads and guides into all truth, filling us with wisdom and strength to know, and then to do.  A successful spiritual life is about living life from the fulness of the Holy Spirit. 

A fruit the Holy Spirit works within us is self control. The Spirit is willing.  It’s not by my might, it's not by my power, but it’s by the Spirit that we are able to overcome our flesh and its weaknesses.  My dependence on myself only strengthens my pride. I get the glory for what I’ve accomplished.  Humility depends entirely on the working of the Spirit, for when I am weak then am I strong. I don’t overcome in my sufficiency, but in His. 

The Spirit is willing.  The Holy Spirit lives to serve the purposes of the Father.  We aren’t talking about more self discipline but rather Spirit led and Spirit enabled obedience. A life consumed by the presence and fellowship of Holy Spirit.