I have but one passion, 'Tis He, 'Tis He, 'Tis only He!"
--Count Zinzendorf
photo taken at Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs
Garden of the Gods
Count Zinzendorf
Monday, April 30, 2007
Count Zinzendorf on Christ Alone!
photo taken at Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs
Garden of the Gods
Count Zinzendorf
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Fenelon on Prayer, God on Colorado Beauty
Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer
into all your daily occupations-- speak, act,
work in peace, as if you were in prayer, as
indeed you ought to be. -- Francis (Francois)
Fenelon
photo taken at Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs
Garden of the Gods
prayer
Francis Fenelon
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Silence of Jesus: Herod, Pilate & The Spirit of Mockery-- Part 3
"Then he [Herod] questioned Him in many words
but Jesus answered him nothing." Luke 23:9
Your character determines if the spirit of
mockery will find a home in you. Your
character also determines how you will respond
to the spirit of mockery.
The final days of Jesus earthly sojourn overwhelm
us with the brutal accounts of mockery flung
at our innocent and graceful Lord. It is here
that we find strength and learn what it means
to stand in the face of mockery and to react in
the Spirit of Jesus, the One who, in all ways,
has gone before us to show us the Way.
Those who mock, mock most loudly and publicly
when they feel retaliation is not possible. Part
of the spirit of mockery is the false feeling of
superiority. Mockery thrives on a false sense
of power and a skewed view of reality.
Satan hates God because God rules in humility.
God allows human freedom, He does not parade
His power and poke us with it. Satan believes that
power should be wielded with an iron fist. If he had
power, he would wield it in a completely different
way then how God does. How he handles the limited
power he is currently allowed shows us that clearly.
Be careful with how you handle power! Who are
you modeling, Jesus or the Evil One?
Satan feeds on causing people to fall and feeding
on the strife, vengeful feelings and hatred that
is often produced when people react wrongly
to being mocked. The most wonderful thing
is this: Satan got nothing to eat when Jesus
was mocked, for there was none of these
things in the heart of Jesus when mockery
tried to belittle Him. In the midst of His
worst trials, nothing could take away from
who He was or is!
The spirit of mockery has no legitimate
strength or authority. It has to pump itself
up by means of humiliation--by causing
others to look less or be diminished in
its own warped eyes. Thus, it is a
manipulative and lying spirit. When one
has the true authority of God, there is
such a solid knowing of one's place that
there is no need to demean another.
Let us look at the gospel accounts of
Jesus' final days and the spirit of
mockery that tried to act against him.
The pages of the gospels are filled with
accounts of mockery from every side.
Herod, the king, was glad that Jesus
was delivered into his domain for it
said, "he hoped to see some miracles
done by him" (Luke 23:8). In
Jesus Christ Superstar, Herod
sings, "Prove to me that you're no fool,
walk across my swimming pool."
Such is the spirit of mockery. Mockery
is only impressed by a show of power
as it understands power. It wants
signs and wonders. It wants to see
miracles not so that it can believe, but
so that it can be entertained. Herod must
assume that Jesus will produce a miracle
at this most crucial moment to "save His
skin."
How little does Herod understand! Jesus
remains silent, but speaks and lives volumes
in and through that silence. The silence
inflames Herod to even more mockery for
it unnerves him. Jesus answers him nothing
because he will not comprehend: darkness
has not and cannot understand light, neither
can it overtake light.
Jesus had already appeared before Pilate,
where He had already stood victoriously
in the full and powerful silence of God's
response to the mockery of man. Herod
got no further in getting Christ to defend
Himself. Our Lord knew He was safely
and ultimately in the hands of His Father.
Although they would not admit it, both
Herod and Pilate were unnerved by
this silent Galilean. It is said, "And
the same day Pilate and Herod were
made friends for before they were at
enmity between themselves" (Luke 23: 12).
How interesting! These two leaders
needed to feel bolstered up by each
other so badly that they put aside
their differences. Strange and
dangerous bedfellows are made
when people band together
to save their egos. Here is
acknowledgement albeit, subconscious,
of God's greater authority. Deep, deep
within they must have sensed that
their "authority" was no match for the
One who had stood before them.
That kind of authority they had never
seen before. But the spirit of mockery
can never admit this, it must simply
find others who agree with it so that it
might feel strength in numbers and
reinforce its position.
The chief priests, scribes, and elders
of Israel also mocked (Matthew 27:41).
Religious spirits always do so, and do so
with great fury. They dared Jesus to
come down off the cross and perform a
miracle, indeed--they begged for him to
destroy the temple and raise it up in
three days. They tried to throw His
Words back in His face, but it was only
their twisted words that they were able
to throw. They would get a miracle,
but not in the way they expected it.
The miracle they would get would
determine "the falling and rising of
many in Israel" (Luke 2:34) and
indeed of all men and women every birthed.
The spirit of mockery lays in darkness. Its
understanding is darkened by its
unwillingness to see the humble way of
God and to value that above all things.
I cannot imagine what Jesus endured
emotionally, much less spiritually, during
those difficult, last days. Front and center
was the spirit of mockery trying to cause
Him to be provoked to act like the devil
would act: to respond as evil would respond.
There would be little chance of that. Praise
God! And what of us? Will the spirit
of mockery find a home in us? Will we mock
that which is of a humble and good God? If
we use our power to mock goodness then
we are in very grave eternal danger.
When we are reviled against shall we seek to
defend ourselves using the weapons and ways
of darkness?
We are the Lord's lambs. We are firmly in
His Hands and no man can snatch us out of those
nail-scarred hands. May we come to know the
height and breadth and depth of what that
means. Before our accusers may we stand
in the powerful and authoritative silence
of God. The devil may mock, but his time is
limited and his days are numbered.
This is part 3 of a series on the spirit of mockery.
abandonment to God
free will
apostasy
Herod
spiritual ignorance
the spirit of mockery
spiritual persecution
persecution of Christians
apostasy
spiritual warfare
spiritual authority
Jesus before Pilate and Herod
silence
but Jesus answered him nothing." Luke 23:9
Your character determines if the spirit of
mockery will find a home in you. Your
character also determines how you will respond
to the spirit of mockery.
The final days of Jesus earthly sojourn overwhelm
us with the brutal accounts of mockery flung
at our innocent and graceful Lord. It is here
that we find strength and learn what it means
to stand in the face of mockery and to react in
the Spirit of Jesus, the One who, in all ways,
has gone before us to show us the Way.
Those who mock, mock most loudly and publicly
when they feel retaliation is not possible. Part
of the spirit of mockery is the false feeling of
superiority. Mockery thrives on a false sense
of power and a skewed view of reality.
Satan hates God because God rules in humility.
God allows human freedom, He does not parade
His power and poke us with it. Satan believes that
power should be wielded with an iron fist. If he had
power, he would wield it in a completely different
way then how God does. How he handles the limited
power he is currently allowed shows us that clearly.
Be careful with how you handle power! Who are
you modeling, Jesus or the Evil One?
Satan feeds on causing people to fall and feeding
on the strife, vengeful feelings and hatred that
is often produced when people react wrongly
to being mocked. The most wonderful thing
is this: Satan got nothing to eat when Jesus
was mocked, for there was none of these
things in the heart of Jesus when mockery
tried to belittle Him. In the midst of His
worst trials, nothing could take away from
who He was or is!
The spirit of mockery has no legitimate
strength or authority. It has to pump itself
up by means of humiliation--by causing
others to look less or be diminished in
its own warped eyes. Thus, it is a
manipulative and lying spirit. When one
has the true authority of God, there is
such a solid knowing of one's place that
there is no need to demean another.
Let us look at the gospel accounts of
Jesus' final days and the spirit of
mockery that tried to act against him.
The pages of the gospels are filled with
accounts of mockery from every side.
Herod, the king, was glad that Jesus
was delivered into his domain for it
said, "he hoped to see some miracles
done by him" (Luke 23:8). In
Jesus Christ Superstar, Herod
sings, "Prove to me that you're no fool,
walk across my swimming pool."
Such is the spirit of mockery. Mockery
is only impressed by a show of power
as it understands power. It wants
signs and wonders. It wants to see
miracles not so that it can believe, but
so that it can be entertained. Herod must
assume that Jesus will produce a miracle
at this most crucial moment to "save His
skin."
How little does Herod understand! Jesus
remains silent, but speaks and lives volumes
in and through that silence. The silence
inflames Herod to even more mockery for
it unnerves him. Jesus answers him nothing
because he will not comprehend: darkness
has not and cannot understand light, neither
can it overtake light.
Jesus had already appeared before Pilate,
where He had already stood victoriously
in the full and powerful silence of God's
response to the mockery of man. Herod
got no further in getting Christ to defend
Himself. Our Lord knew He was safely
and ultimately in the hands of His Father.
Although they would not admit it, both
Herod and Pilate were unnerved by
this silent Galilean. It is said, "And
the same day Pilate and Herod were
made friends for before they were at
enmity between themselves" (Luke 23: 12).
How interesting! These two leaders
needed to feel bolstered up by each
other so badly that they put aside
their differences. Strange and
dangerous bedfellows are made
when people band together
to save their egos. Here is
acknowledgement albeit, subconscious,
of God's greater authority. Deep, deep
within they must have sensed that
their "authority" was no match for the
One who had stood before them.
That kind of authority they had never
seen before. But the spirit of mockery
can never admit this, it must simply
find others who agree with it so that it
might feel strength in numbers and
reinforce its position.
The chief priests, scribes, and elders
of Israel also mocked (Matthew 27:41).
Religious spirits always do so, and do so
with great fury. They dared Jesus to
come down off the cross and perform a
miracle, indeed--they begged for him to
destroy the temple and raise it up in
three days. They tried to throw His
Words back in His face, but it was only
their twisted words that they were able
to throw. They would get a miracle,
but not in the way they expected it.
The miracle they would get would
determine "the falling and rising of
many in Israel" (Luke 2:34) and
indeed of all men and women every birthed.
The spirit of mockery lays in darkness. Its
understanding is darkened by its
unwillingness to see the humble way of
God and to value that above all things.
I cannot imagine what Jesus endured
emotionally, much less spiritually, during
those difficult, last days. Front and center
was the spirit of mockery trying to cause
Him to be provoked to act like the devil
would act: to respond as evil would respond.
There would be little chance of that. Praise
God! And what of us? Will the spirit
of mockery find a home in us? Will we mock
that which is of a humble and good God? If
we use our power to mock goodness then
we are in very grave eternal danger.
When we are reviled against shall we seek to
defend ourselves using the weapons and ways
of darkness?
We are the Lord's lambs. We are firmly in
His Hands and no man can snatch us out of those
nail-scarred hands. May we come to know the
height and breadth and depth of what that
means. Before our accusers may we stand
in the powerful and authoritative silence
of God. The devil may mock, but his time is
limited and his days are numbered.
This is part 3 of a series on the spirit of mockery.
abandonment to God
free will
apostasy
Herod
spiritual ignorance
the spirit of mockery
spiritual persecution
persecution of Christians
apostasy
spiritual warfare
spiritual authority
Jesus before Pilate and Herod
silence
Monday, April 23, 2007
Christians Murdered at Bible Publishing House in Turkey
Turkish Bible Publishing House Murders
Here is another wake-up call for Christians. Three
evangelical Christians were recently brutally
murdered at a Bible publishing house in Turkey.
Turkey is on my list of places to go
to see some of the ancient Christian historical
sites including Antioch, Tarsus, Cappodocia, and
the seven churches of Revelation. I have
hesitated even thinking about it because of the
increased persecution of Christians in Turkey.
These brutal murders of Christian workers
announce an increasingly downward spiral
in an increasingly militant and predominantly
Muslim country. Christians make up only
1% of the population in Turkey. Turkey has
applied for membership in the European
Union but some are afraid that Turkey would
not be able to protect religious minorities.
Indeed.
While certain factions of Islam become more
militant, and while the world in general
becomes increasingly intolerant to the
"offence" and "scandal" of the gospel,
we Christians must fight this battle
in the only way we are called to: on our knees.
With militant Islam firmly entrenching
itself even in London, France, and the corridors
of western Europe, we need to heed the signs
that more violence toward Christians is
most certainly on the way.
Pray for the persecuted church. Prepare
your heart for difficult times. We, in America,
may be, and most certainly will be, next.
Let him who has ears, hear. Let those with
a heart for the persecuted Church, pray.
current events
Turkey bible murders
persecution of Christians
religious persecution
Christianity
Here is another wake-up call for Christians. Three
evangelical Christians were recently brutally
murdered at a Bible publishing house in Turkey.
Turkey is on my list of places to go
to see some of the ancient Christian historical
sites including Antioch, Tarsus, Cappodocia, and
the seven churches of Revelation. I have
hesitated even thinking about it because of the
increased persecution of Christians in Turkey.
These brutal murders of Christian workers
announce an increasingly downward spiral
in an increasingly militant and predominantly
Muslim country. Christians make up only
1% of the population in Turkey. Turkey has
applied for membership in the European
Union but some are afraid that Turkey would
not be able to protect religious minorities.
Indeed.
While certain factions of Islam become more
militant, and while the world in general
becomes increasingly intolerant to the
"offence" and "scandal" of the gospel,
we Christians must fight this battle
in the only way we are called to: on our knees.
With militant Islam firmly entrenching
itself even in London, France, and the corridors
of western Europe, we need to heed the signs
that more violence toward Christians is
most certainly on the way.
Pray for the persecuted church. Prepare
your heart for difficult times. We, in America,
may be, and most certainly will be, next.
Let him who has ears, hear. Let those with
a heart for the persecuted Church, pray.
current events
Turkey bible murders
persecution of Christians
religious persecution
Christianity
Friday, April 20, 2007
I AM the Lord
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
There is no other God besides me. --Isaiah 45:5
Colorado Springs
Garden of the Gods
Pikes's Peak
Thursday, April 19, 2007
David Danced Before the Lord: True Worship, Pt. 2
True Worship & The Spirit of Mockery:
David Dancing before the Lord.
The spirit of mockery always trys to pass
off the fake, inauthentic, and even satanic
for the genuine. Its does so by casting
a shadow of doubt on the authentic.
In 2 Samuel 6:14-23 we have the well-known
story of David dancing before the ark of the
Lord. David's heart before God in worship
was genuine. He worshipped God with his
whole mind, heart, and body. David was not
worshipping to impress or shock men, he was
focused entirely on God. He had lost
self-conciousness--he was God-conscious.
Saul's daughter, and David's wife, Michal,
did not understand David's pure heart of
worship. The spirit of mockery, rising up
within, made her interpret David's actions
as foolish acts of the flesh. It was flesh
seeing the only thing it can see: flesh.
The fleshly man or woman cannot see
spiritual things (I Cor 2:14,15).
Only the spiritual person can discern that which
is of the Spirit. Michal's heart caused her to
judge David wrongly from her limited point of
view. It was not that she just observed and
did not understand, she observed and mocked
and her mockery led her to falsely judge.
The flesh opposes the Spirit to this day. Michal
was the flesh of Saul. Saul was everything
that the flesh admires: tall, handsome,
politically powerful, full of "bling."
When Saul found out that Michal was attracted
to David, he gave her gladly to David to
marry so that she might be a snare to him"
(I Samuel 19:21). There was already treachery
and mockery at work.
Perhaps Michal's initial attraction
to David was made in the flesh: perhaps she
saw him as an attractive man of war rather
than a man after God's heart. For when he
showed himself to be a man after God's heart
she despised and mocked him. Perhaps it was
tainted and wrong from the beginning or maybe
she caused it to go wrong by a process of
judging wrongly.
When true worship is witnessed the secrets
of people's hearts are revealed. Does
witnessing true worship cause true worship
to arise in us or is our response scorn?
Are we looking at the person worshipping
and and judging whether they are without
fault or are we looking at God?
Michal's history with David may have gotten
rather rocky. Much muddied water may have
gone over their marital bridge. Did
David's humanity cause her to stumble
into judgment? Did human shortcomings
in David's life cause contempt to
spill over and corrupt her ability to
discern a holy moment?
If God judged our humanity when we
worshipped then no one would stand
before Him. We cannot wink at sin
or hypocrisy but judging what a man
or woman offers to God, despite their
short comings, is none of our business
because of the snare that we then
set for ourselves.
A spirit of mockery will not humble
itself. David replies to her tauntings
by humbling himself even further:
"I will not just be a fool in your
sight, but in my own sight also,
and in the sight of everyone who
watches me" (vs.22).
He may be a fool in human terms
but David wisely makes a wonderful
acknowledgement of God's ultimate
sovreignty: "It was the Lord's
choosing over and above your
father's that chose and appointed
me as king and I will play(worship)
before Him".
David sees God above and in all things.
David acknowledges God over all
earthly powers. He knows what true
worship is: worshipping God alone, for
it is God who rules over all and by His
hand appoints the destinies of all men.
In true worship we see our shortcomings
compared to a perfect and holy God, but
in true worship we move past the knowledge
of ourselves to be lost in Him! All that
is of flesh is left behind, but if we
decide that we must hold onto judging
the flesh of another, then we can
never enter into true and holy
worship. The Holy of Holies is no place
to bring a self-consciousness of our own
flesh, or a judgment of another's. The
Holy of Holies is all about God alone.
Let God alone judge the hearts of those
worshipping Him. It is folly to ourselves
to judge with the eye of the flesh.
The story concludes with this statement:
"Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child
to the day of her death" (verse 23).
The spirit of mockery is ultimately barren.
It does not give life nor does it receive
it. It is a spirit of death.
"Be not deceived: God is not mocked, what
a man soweth that shall he also reap. He
that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. So let us not be weary in
well-doing for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not" (Galatians 6: 7-9).
Beloved, guard your hearts against a spirit
of mockery.
This is the second of three posts.
abandonment to God
true worship
apostasy
David
spiritual ignorance
dance and worship
David Dancing before the Lord.
The spirit of mockery always trys to pass
off the fake, inauthentic, and even satanic
for the genuine. Its does so by casting
a shadow of doubt on the authentic.
In 2 Samuel 6:14-23 we have the well-known
story of David dancing before the ark of the
Lord. David's heart before God in worship
was genuine. He worshipped God with his
whole mind, heart, and body. David was not
worshipping to impress or shock men, he was
focused entirely on God. He had lost
self-conciousness--he was God-conscious.
Saul's daughter, and David's wife, Michal,
did not understand David's pure heart of
worship. The spirit of mockery, rising up
within, made her interpret David's actions
as foolish acts of the flesh. It was flesh
seeing the only thing it can see: flesh.
The fleshly man or woman cannot see
spiritual things (I Cor 2:14,15).
Only the spiritual person can discern that which
is of the Spirit. Michal's heart caused her to
judge David wrongly from her limited point of
view. It was not that she just observed and
did not understand, she observed and mocked
and her mockery led her to falsely judge.
The flesh opposes the Spirit to this day. Michal
was the flesh of Saul. Saul was everything
that the flesh admires: tall, handsome,
politically powerful, full of "bling."
When Saul found out that Michal was attracted
to David, he gave her gladly to David to
marry so that she might be a snare to him"
(I Samuel 19:21). There was already treachery
and mockery at work.
Perhaps Michal's initial attraction
to David was made in the flesh: perhaps she
saw him as an attractive man of war rather
than a man after God's heart. For when he
showed himself to be a man after God's heart
she despised and mocked him. Perhaps it was
tainted and wrong from the beginning or maybe
she caused it to go wrong by a process of
judging wrongly.
When true worship is witnessed the secrets
of people's hearts are revealed. Does
witnessing true worship cause true worship
to arise in us or is our response scorn?
Are we looking at the person worshipping
and and judging whether they are without
fault or are we looking at God?
Michal's history with David may have gotten
rather rocky. Much muddied water may have
gone over their marital bridge. Did
David's humanity cause her to stumble
into judgment? Did human shortcomings
in David's life cause contempt to
spill over and corrupt her ability to
discern a holy moment?
If God judged our humanity when we
worshipped then no one would stand
before Him. We cannot wink at sin
or hypocrisy but judging what a man
or woman offers to God, despite their
short comings, is none of our business
because of the snare that we then
set for ourselves.
A spirit of mockery will not humble
itself. David replies to her tauntings
by humbling himself even further:
"I will not just be a fool in your
sight, but in my own sight also,
and in the sight of everyone who
watches me" (vs.22).
He may be a fool in human terms
but David wisely makes a wonderful
acknowledgement of God's ultimate
sovreignty: "It was the Lord's
choosing over and above your
father's that chose and appointed
me as king and I will play(worship)
before Him".
David sees God above and in all things.
David acknowledges God over all
earthly powers. He knows what true
worship is: worshipping God alone, for
it is God who rules over all and by His
hand appoints the destinies of all men.
In true worship we see our shortcomings
compared to a perfect and holy God, but
in true worship we move past the knowledge
of ourselves to be lost in Him! All that
is of flesh is left behind, but if we
decide that we must hold onto judging
the flesh of another, then we can
never enter into true and holy
worship. The Holy of Holies is no place
to bring a self-consciousness of our own
flesh, or a judgment of another's. The
Holy of Holies is all about God alone.
Let God alone judge the hearts of those
worshipping Him. It is folly to ourselves
to judge with the eye of the flesh.
The story concludes with this statement:
"Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child
to the day of her death" (verse 23).
The spirit of mockery is ultimately barren.
It does not give life nor does it receive
it. It is a spirit of death.
"Be not deceived: God is not mocked, what
a man soweth that shall he also reap. He
that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. So let us not be weary in
well-doing for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not" (Galatians 6: 7-9).
Beloved, guard your hearts against a spirit
of mockery.
This is the second of three posts.
abandonment to God
true worship
apostasy
David
spiritual ignorance
dance and worship
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The Pen of the Wayfarer: #2 on Pneuma-Blogger List
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that my blog
was ranked #2 on the Rich Tatum's Pneuma-Blogger
List. Rich has been an invaluable help to me
as a newbie in the blogging world. Check out
his site! Thanks, Rich! --Rose-Marie
was ranked #2 on the Rich Tatum's Pneuma-Blogger
List. Rich has been an invaluable help to me
as a newbie in the blogging world. Check out
his site! Thanks, Rich! --Rose-Marie
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Hezekiah: True Worship & the Spirit of Mockery, Part 1
Do we welcome the true spiritual worship that
God ordains, or is a spirit of mockery at
work amongst us?
[2 Chronicles 30: 1-27]
Hezekiah was a good king of Israel
who reigned after his father, Ahaz,
who "did not that which was right
in the sight of the Lord."
Because of Israel's idolatry and
backsliding, the Passover had not been
correctly observed in some time.
Hezekiah sent out a decree asking
the remnant of Israel to return to
the Lord. The sad comment of Scripture
tells us this: "but they laughed [the
decrees]to scorn and mocked them" (vs. 10).
Some of the tribes of Asher,
Manassas and Zebulun did come to
Jerusalem to celebrate, but the ways
of God had been so long forgotten that
they did not know how to worship
properly and Hezekiah had to
ask the Lord's pardon for those
who came to God with a willing heart
to worship but did not know how.
Although this story ends well, it is
a sad reflection about how easily
we stray from the Lord, and how
quickly we forget the ways of God.
It is a story that parallels much in
our present day communities, both
outside the church, but also,
sadly, within it.
In the years preceding Hezekiah's
reign "new spirituality" was "in."
Worship of any god but the Lord was
the rule and not the exception.
True worship was out-of-vogue.
A spirit of mockery toward the
things of God had set in. So when
Hezekiah implored people to return
to the Lord and His ways, he was met
with outright laughter: a spirit of
mockery, scorn and derision.
Increasingly, there seems to be a
spirit of mockery toward the things
of God and toward true worship.
What do you laugh at? It will tell
you alot about yourself. There is
a spirit that plots and purposes
to demean the true ways of God.
The spirit of mockery leaves no room
for repentance for it finds the
ways of God, and God Himself, to be
of no value--something to be laughed
at.
It sets itself up as the new and
better model: the "relevant" way
to worship, but really the it
causes us to worship ourselves: our
minds, our ideas, our preferences.
It is lauded as the faith of the
"movers and shakers" and the
"up-and-comers."
Mockery does not tell you that
it will indeed leave you moved out
of God's Presence, and shaken to
the very core. It does not warn you
that it takes "up and comers" and
makes them "down and outers."
The spirit of mockery is still
hard at work laughing at the things
of God: belittling His ways, His
character, His servants, His people.
It leaves such a wake of spiritual
poverty and ignorance that soon even
the people that want to seek the Lord
do not know how to seek Him, for it
corrodes all inclination of the heart
toward its Maker.
Romans 1 tells us that even in our
sinful condition, something of God
can be known, if we care to look.
But something awful happens when we
don't care to look and deliberately
turn our hearts away from God.
We are spun around in confusion until
we do not know which way points to
the true and living God.
The world is dangerously lost, but
what of the church?
Is the true and living God being
presented in revealed, biblical
truth? Do we yawn at what the
bible says or are we doers of
the Word?
Is the power of the Holy Spirit
accompanying the preaching of
the gospel? Or do we quench the
genuine works of the Holy Spirit
as being unnecessary, controversial,
or a stumbling block to modern
sensibilities or doctrine?
Are the fruits of the Spirit,
the fruits of genuine repentance,
manifest in the lives of those
who profess Christ? Or do we
wink at sin?
Are we serving a god of our own
design or the Living God?
Do our hearts burn within us for
holiness or has a spirit of
mockery at the ways and things
of God taken over, even in subtle
ways?
My list, sadly, is just getting
started. Thank God that Hezekiah
stood up to call people back to
God and to intercede for the
spiritual ignorance of those
who wanted to go deeper with
the Lord but did not know how.
May we have the heart of Hezekiah
to call out for true worship,
despite the spirit of mockery that
abounds. May we have the heart
of Hezekiah to intercede for the
spiritual ignorance and complacency
that abounds in these troubled days.
Listen to what goes on around you.
What is being laughed at? Sometimes
blatantly, sometimes covertly, sometimes
with a spirit of snobbery, sometimes
with a spirit of self-righteousness
or contempt. What are YOU laughing
at?
Our Lord deserves our worship in
Spirit and in Truth. May the flaming
Sword of the Lord, even the living
Word of God, make us into spiritual
men and women who will not settle
for anything less than Christ reigning
supremely and exclusively, without
compromise, in our hearts.
This is the first of three posts.
abandonment to God
true worship
apostasy
Hezekiah
spiritual ignorance
the Christian walk
spiritual testing
God ordains, or is a spirit of mockery at
work amongst us?
[2 Chronicles 30: 1-27]
Hezekiah was a good king of Israel
who reigned after his father, Ahaz,
who "did not that which was right
in the sight of the Lord."
Because of Israel's idolatry and
backsliding, the Passover had not been
correctly observed in some time.
Hezekiah sent out a decree asking
the remnant of Israel to return to
the Lord. The sad comment of Scripture
tells us this: "but they laughed [the
decrees]to scorn and mocked them" (vs. 10).
Some of the tribes of Asher,
Manassas and Zebulun did come to
Jerusalem to celebrate, but the ways
of God had been so long forgotten that
they did not know how to worship
properly and Hezekiah had to
ask the Lord's pardon for those
who came to God with a willing heart
to worship but did not know how.
Although this story ends well, it is
a sad reflection about how easily
we stray from the Lord, and how
quickly we forget the ways of God.
It is a story that parallels much in
our present day communities, both
outside the church, but also,
sadly, within it.
In the years preceding Hezekiah's
reign "new spirituality" was "in."
Worship of any god but the Lord was
the rule and not the exception.
True worship was out-of-vogue.
A spirit of mockery toward the
things of God had set in. So when
Hezekiah implored people to return
to the Lord and His ways, he was met
with outright laughter: a spirit of
mockery, scorn and derision.
Increasingly, there seems to be a
spirit of mockery toward the things
of God and toward true worship.
What do you laugh at? It will tell
you alot about yourself. There is
a spirit that plots and purposes
to demean the true ways of God.
The spirit of mockery leaves no room
for repentance for it finds the
ways of God, and God Himself, to be
of no value--something to be laughed
at.
It sets itself up as the new and
better model: the "relevant" way
to worship, but really the it
causes us to worship ourselves: our
minds, our ideas, our preferences.
It is lauded as the faith of the
"movers and shakers" and the
"up-and-comers."
Mockery does not tell you that
it will indeed leave you moved out
of God's Presence, and shaken to
the very core. It does not warn you
that it takes "up and comers" and
makes them "down and outers."
The spirit of mockery is still
hard at work laughing at the things
of God: belittling His ways, His
character, His servants, His people.
It leaves such a wake of spiritual
poverty and ignorance that soon even
the people that want to seek the Lord
do not know how to seek Him, for it
corrodes all inclination of the heart
toward its Maker.
Romans 1 tells us that even in our
sinful condition, something of God
can be known, if we care to look.
But something awful happens when we
don't care to look and deliberately
turn our hearts away from God.
We are spun around in confusion until
we do not know which way points to
the true and living God.
The world is dangerously lost, but
what of the church?
Is the true and living God being
presented in revealed, biblical
truth? Do we yawn at what the
bible says or are we doers of
the Word?
Is the power of the Holy Spirit
accompanying the preaching of
the gospel? Or do we quench the
genuine works of the Holy Spirit
as being unnecessary, controversial,
or a stumbling block to modern
sensibilities or doctrine?
Are the fruits of the Spirit,
the fruits of genuine repentance,
manifest in the lives of those
who profess Christ? Or do we
wink at sin?
Are we serving a god of our own
design or the Living God?
Do our hearts burn within us for
holiness or has a spirit of
mockery at the ways and things
of God taken over, even in subtle
ways?
My list, sadly, is just getting
started. Thank God that Hezekiah
stood up to call people back to
God and to intercede for the
spiritual ignorance of those
who wanted to go deeper with
the Lord but did not know how.
May we have the heart of Hezekiah
to call out for true worship,
despite the spirit of mockery that
abounds. May we have the heart
of Hezekiah to intercede for the
spiritual ignorance and complacency
that abounds in these troubled days.
Listen to what goes on around you.
What is being laughed at? Sometimes
blatantly, sometimes covertly, sometimes
with a spirit of snobbery, sometimes
with a spirit of self-righteousness
or contempt. What are YOU laughing
at?
Our Lord deserves our worship in
Spirit and in Truth. May the flaming
Sword of the Lord, even the living
Word of God, make us into spiritual
men and women who will not settle
for anything less than Christ reigning
supremely and exclusively, without
compromise, in our hearts.
This is the first of three posts.
abandonment to God
true worship
apostasy
Hezekiah
spiritual ignorance
the Christian walk
spiritual testing
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Oswald Chambers: Holiness: the Invasion of God Within
"For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of His death, we shall be also
in the likeness of His resurrection."
Co-Resurrection. The proof that I have been
through crucifixion with Jesus is that I have
a decided likeness to Him. The incoming of the
Spirit of Jesus into me readjusts my personal
life to God. The resurrection of Jesus has
given Him authority to impart the life of
God to me, and my experimental life must be
constructed on the basis of His life. I can
have the resurrection life of Jesus now, and it
will show itself in holiness.
The idea all through the apostle Paul's writings
is that after the moral decision to be identified
with Jesus in His death has been made, the
resurrection life of Jesus invades every bit of
my human nature. It takes omnipotence to live
the life of the Son of God in mortal flesh.
The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a Guest in a
house, He invades every thing. When once I decide
that my "old man" (i.e., the heredity of sin) should
be identified with the death of Jesus, then the Holy
Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything, my
part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He
reveals.
When I have made the moral decision about
sin, it is easy to reckon actually that I am dead
unto sin, because I find the life of Jesus there all
the time. Just as there is only one stamp of
humanity, so there is only one stamp of holiness,
the holiness of Jesus, and it is His holiness that
is gifted to me. God puts the holiness of His Son
into me, and I belong to a new order spiritually.
--Oswald Chambers
Lord Jesus, may your Spirit of Holiness invade
our hearts and lives completely. Rise up within
us: conquer and invade us with Your Life-Changing
Love!
holiness,
Oswald Chambers,
the Lordship of Christ,
resurrection life,
likeness of His death, we shall be also
in the likeness of His resurrection."
Co-Resurrection. The proof that I have been
through crucifixion with Jesus is that I have
a decided likeness to Him. The incoming of the
Spirit of Jesus into me readjusts my personal
life to God. The resurrection of Jesus has
given Him authority to impart the life of
God to me, and my experimental life must be
constructed on the basis of His life. I can
have the resurrection life of Jesus now, and it
will show itself in holiness.
The idea all through the apostle Paul's writings
is that after the moral decision to be identified
with Jesus in His death has been made, the
resurrection life of Jesus invades every bit of
my human nature. It takes omnipotence to live
the life of the Son of God in mortal flesh.
The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a Guest in a
house, He invades every thing. When once I decide
that my "old man" (i.e., the heredity of sin) should
be identified with the death of Jesus, then the Holy
Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything, my
part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He
reveals.
When I have made the moral decision about
sin, it is easy to reckon actually that I am dead
unto sin, because I find the life of Jesus there all
the time. Just as there is only one stamp of
humanity, so there is only one stamp of holiness,
the holiness of Jesus, and it is His holiness that
is gifted to me. God puts the holiness of His Son
into me, and I belong to a new order spiritually.
--Oswald Chambers
Lord Jesus, may your Spirit of Holiness invade
our hearts and lives completely. Rise up within
us: conquer and invade us with Your Life-Changing
Love!
holiness,
Oswald Chambers,
the Lordship of Christ,
resurrection life,
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Book Review: Robin Roberts: From the Heart
I like Robin Roberts. She is just salt-of-the-earth
kind of folk. When I tune in to Good Morning
America I always look for her. I've
liked her all the more since her coverage
of Hurricane Katrina in her home town of Pass
Christian in Mississippi. I like her gentle
way of both having faith in God and sharing it
in such a personal, unassuming way.
Robin has written a book: From the Heart,
Seven Rules to Live By. In it she
shares parts of her life journey and the
principles that she lives by. This is not
Karl Barth kind of theology, it is the kind
of simple, hard won advice that comes
from keeping at things, striving to be excellent,
and just going on despite-the-odds.
Sometimes the most profound things are the
simplest. You will find no stunning new
revelations here, no earth-shattering new
discoveries, just the plain old tried and true
fundamentals written with Robin's down-home
flair and heartfelt love.
What I got out of the book was this:
Keep at it. Don't make excuses. Press
past your comfort zones. Don't blame
others. If you fail, pick yourself
up and keep going. Live by your faith.
Value your roots. Surround yourself
with the kind of people who will be
there when you fall.
We don't have to be famous to make a
difference, we just have to be faithful
to what God has called us to do.
So if you have a few hours, like I
did sitting in the airport, try
reading, "From the Heart:
Seven Rules to Live By."
published by Hyperion, 2007
ISBN 1-4013-0333-1
Robin Roberts
From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By
Good Morning America
current events
faith
moral virtue
kind of folk. When I tune in to Good Morning
America I always look for her. I've
liked her all the more since her coverage
of Hurricane Katrina in her home town of Pass
Christian in Mississippi. I like her gentle
way of both having faith in God and sharing it
in such a personal, unassuming way.
Robin has written a book: From the Heart,
Seven Rules to Live By. In it she
shares parts of her life journey and the
principles that she lives by. This is not
Karl Barth kind of theology, it is the kind
of simple, hard won advice that comes
from keeping at things, striving to be excellent,
and just going on despite-the-odds.
Sometimes the most profound things are the
simplest. You will find no stunning new
revelations here, no earth-shattering new
discoveries, just the plain old tried and true
fundamentals written with Robin's down-home
flair and heartfelt love.
What I got out of the book was this:
Keep at it. Don't make excuses. Press
past your comfort zones. Don't blame
others. If you fail, pick yourself
up and keep going. Live by your faith.
Value your roots. Surround yourself
with the kind of people who will be
there when you fall.
We don't have to be famous to make a
difference, we just have to be faithful
to what God has called us to do.
So if you have a few hours, like I
did sitting in the airport, try
reading, "From the Heart:
Seven Rules to Live By."
published by Hyperion, 2007
ISBN 1-4013-0333-1
Robin Roberts
From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By
Good Morning America
current events
faith
moral virtue
T. Austin-Sparks on Christ Alone
T. Austin-Sparks writes,
As the age moves toward its consummation -
the manifestation of Christ - two features
will become increasingly evident. On the
one hand things, men, movements, institutions,
organizations, etc., will predominate and
draw multitudes after them, and will attach
the crowds to themselves. On the other hand,
with a growing disappointment and
disillusionment over these, a minority will
turn to the Lord Himself to find Him alone as
their life. --T. Austin-Sparks
Lord Jesus, be EVERYTHING in our hearts!
Lord, it is YOU ALONE that we desire and
hunger for. Dissallusion us with everything
else!
T.Austin-Sparks
apostacy
revival
true religion
As the age moves toward its consummation -
the manifestation of Christ - two features
will become increasingly evident. On the
one hand things, men, movements, institutions,
organizations, etc., will predominate and
draw multitudes after them, and will attach
the crowds to themselves. On the other hand,
with a growing disappointment and
disillusionment over these, a minority will
turn to the Lord Himself to find Him alone as
their life. --T. Austin-Sparks
Lord Jesus, be EVERYTHING in our hearts!
Lord, it is YOU ALONE that we desire and
hunger for. Dissallusion us with everything
else!
T.Austin-Sparks
apostacy
revival
true religion
JONATHAN EDWARDS on Religious Affections and A Tender Heart
Now by a hard heart, is plainly meant
an unaffected heart, or a heart not easy
to be moved with virtuous affections,
like a stone, insensible, stupid, unmoved,
and hard to be impressed.
... We read in Scripture of a hard heart,
and a tender heart; and doubtless
we are to understand these, as contrary
the one to the other. But what is a
tender heart, but a heart which is easily
impressed with what ought to affect
it? God commends Josiah, because his
heart was tender; and it is evident by
those things which are mentioned as
expressions and evidences of this tenderness
of heart, that by his heart being tender
is meant, his heart being easily moved
with religious and pious affection:
2 Kings 22:19, "Because thine heart was
tender, and thou hast humbled thyself
before the Lord, when thou heardest what I
spake against this place, and against
the inhabitants thereof, that they should
become a desolation and a curse, and hast
rent thy clothes, and wept before me, I
also have heard thee, saith the Lord."
And this is one thing, wherein it is
necessary we should "become as little
children, in order to our entering into
the kingdom of God," even that we should
have our hearts tender, and easily
affected and moved in spiritual and
divine things, as little children have
in other things. --Jonathan Edwards
Long with me today for a
tender heart toward God and
toward His bruised and
needy creation.
Jonathan Edwards
religious affections
tenderness
compassion
revival
an unaffected heart, or a heart not easy
to be moved with virtuous affections,
like a stone, insensible, stupid, unmoved,
and hard to be impressed.
... We read in Scripture of a hard heart,
and a tender heart; and doubtless
we are to understand these, as contrary
the one to the other. But what is a
tender heart, but a heart which is easily
impressed with what ought to affect
it? God commends Josiah, because his
heart was tender; and it is evident by
those things which are mentioned as
expressions and evidences of this tenderness
of heart, that by his heart being tender
is meant, his heart being easily moved
with religious and pious affection:
2 Kings 22:19, "Because thine heart was
tender, and thou hast humbled thyself
before the Lord, when thou heardest what I
spake against this place, and against
the inhabitants thereof, that they should
become a desolation and a curse, and hast
rent thy clothes, and wept before me, I
also have heard thee, saith the Lord."
And this is one thing, wherein it is
necessary we should "become as little
children, in order to our entering into
the kingdom of God," even that we should
have our hearts tender, and easily
affected and moved in spiritual and
divine things, as little children have
in other things. --Jonathan Edwards
Long with me today for a
tender heart toward God and
toward His bruised and
needy creation.
Jonathan Edwards
religious affections
tenderness
compassion
revival
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Holy Saturday: Jesus Preaching in Hell
Its Holy Saturday, and we are awaiting
Resurrection Day. I began to think about
Jesus and what He was doing on this day
so long ago as He awaited His complete
resurrection.
I started thinking about all the scripture
verses I knew and they suggest a number of
things, things too weighty to speak
quickly of here. I then thought of the
line from the Apostle's Creed, "He descended
into hell". I bet Peter would have asked Jesus,
"Where in the world were You and what were You
doing?" upon seeing Him after his resurrection.
Sure enough. Peter has an entry that sounds like
he found out, "For Christ also has once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh
but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went
and preached unto the spirits in prison which
sometimes were disobedient when once the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,
while the ark was preparing, wherein a few, that
is eight souls, were saved by water (1 Peter 3:18,19).
A lot to understand! Please be aware that my
purpose today is more devotional and inspirational
then *theological so I am not trying to explain a
intricate doctrine in a short post. It appears,
however, that our amazing Lord was embarking on
a preaching mission into hell or at least to the
place where those people drowned during the great
flood of Noah's day were staying.
Dear Jesus, what were You doing after You were
put to death? The first impression I got was
"about My Father's business." I do not believe
that Jesus was just passively awaiting
resurrection. He was still about His Father's
business! He was still advocating for us in
Spirit! He was still seeking out those who needed
to hear His Word and be saved. One would think
that His sacrifice was enough, that now He could
just wait for God to raise Him....to rest after
His exhaustive sacrifice. Now it was God's turn
to work. And it was God's turn, but He was still
carrying on His Father's business: being obedient,
finishing all that was meant for Him to do,
preaching perhaps in Hell itself. Amazing.
Peter, in the verse previous to the one
I quoted above, tells us that it is better,
if the will of God be so, that we suffer for
well doing instead of evil doing (vs. 17).
We are called in the same path as our Master.
We will all weather the floods of death
attacking us, both spiritually and physically.
We will all be called to obey God unto death
in our own ways. So often we become weak and
discouraged after the first round of death
come to us: "I cannot go on", "I have suffered
enough."
Jesus shows us that even after the first death,
there is still more obedience to come. We do not
earn God's approval or salvation. We do not atone
for our sins, never mind the sins of mankind. But
we can follow the Lord down into the depths, even
the depths of what feels like hell, and be about
His business. We can continue to preach the message
of resurrection because it is true, no matter
what and no matter where we find ourselves.
We can preach it in good faith to the captives even
when we ourselves are still captive. Faith is like
that. Faith is built on bedrock trust in God's
goodness and His ability to save even when we are
miles from the finish line--in the bowels of death
itself. Faith is about Resurrection life inside of us,
God's Life getting us ready to live forever: buoying
us up when we are nearly dead, bringing us into a
deeper obedience long after we should have given up.
This has been a long and deadly winter. We all know it.
But just outside are the first reminders of resurrection
that God has planted in the earth. The sun feeling
warmer. The crocus's braving the snow to bloom in
purple and gold. The first robin's arrival. And we,
in the bowels of our trials, but with hearts steadfast
on a long obedience, await our resurrection.
We are still, in many ways, in the depths of the
earth, knowing death, but not completely knowing
resurrection. Ah, but we feel its power arising
in our hearts. May our faith be strong
and steadfast. May our hope be in God, and in
Jesus, whom God has raised from the dead so that
someday soon we might rise with Him. And may we
be about our Father's business, no matter what
the time and season, in season and out of seaon,
come hell or high
water.
He is risen, and He has not forsaken us.
*for a quick overview of this subject check
out this blog entry
abandonment to God
Holy Saturday
Easter
hell
1 Peter 3:17-19
the Christian walk
spiritual testing
resurrection
obedience
Christ descended into hell
Resurrection Day. I began to think about
Jesus and what He was doing on this day
so long ago as He awaited His complete
resurrection.
I started thinking about all the scripture
verses I knew and they suggest a number of
things, things too weighty to speak
quickly of here. I then thought of the
line from the Apostle's Creed, "He descended
into hell". I bet Peter would have asked Jesus,
"Where in the world were You and what were You
doing?" upon seeing Him after his resurrection.
Sure enough. Peter has an entry that sounds like
he found out, "For Christ also has once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh
but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went
and preached unto the spirits in prison which
sometimes were disobedient when once the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,
while the ark was preparing, wherein a few, that
is eight souls, were saved by water (1 Peter 3:18,19).
A lot to understand! Please be aware that my
purpose today is more devotional and inspirational
then *theological so I am not trying to explain a
intricate doctrine in a short post. It appears,
however, that our amazing Lord was embarking on
a preaching mission into hell or at least to the
place where those people drowned during the great
flood of Noah's day were staying.
Dear Jesus, what were You doing after You were
put to death? The first impression I got was
"about My Father's business." I do not believe
that Jesus was just passively awaiting
resurrection. He was still about His Father's
business! He was still advocating for us in
Spirit! He was still seeking out those who needed
to hear His Word and be saved. One would think
that His sacrifice was enough, that now He could
just wait for God to raise Him....to rest after
His exhaustive sacrifice. Now it was God's turn
to work. And it was God's turn, but He was still
carrying on His Father's business: being obedient,
finishing all that was meant for Him to do,
preaching perhaps in Hell itself. Amazing.
Peter, in the verse previous to the one
I quoted above, tells us that it is better,
if the will of God be so, that we suffer for
well doing instead of evil doing (vs. 17).
We are called in the same path as our Master.
We will all weather the floods of death
attacking us, both spiritually and physically.
We will all be called to obey God unto death
in our own ways. So often we become weak and
discouraged after the first round of death
come to us: "I cannot go on", "I have suffered
enough."
Jesus shows us that even after the first death,
there is still more obedience to come. We do not
earn God's approval or salvation. We do not atone
for our sins, never mind the sins of mankind. But
we can follow the Lord down into the depths, even
the depths of what feels like hell, and be about
His business. We can continue to preach the message
of resurrection because it is true, no matter
what and no matter where we find ourselves.
We can preach it in good faith to the captives even
when we ourselves are still captive. Faith is like
that. Faith is built on bedrock trust in God's
goodness and His ability to save even when we are
miles from the finish line--in the bowels of death
itself. Faith is about Resurrection life inside of us,
God's Life getting us ready to live forever: buoying
us up when we are nearly dead, bringing us into a
deeper obedience long after we should have given up.
This has been a long and deadly winter. We all know it.
But just outside are the first reminders of resurrection
that God has planted in the earth. The sun feeling
warmer. The crocus's braving the snow to bloom in
purple and gold. The first robin's arrival. And we,
in the bowels of our trials, but with hearts steadfast
on a long obedience, await our resurrection.
We are still, in many ways, in the depths of the
earth, knowing death, but not completely knowing
resurrection. Ah, but we feel its power arising
in our hearts. May our faith be strong
and steadfast. May our hope be in God, and in
Jesus, whom God has raised from the dead so that
someday soon we might rise with Him. And may we
be about our Father's business, no matter what
the time and season, in season and out of seaon,
come hell or high
water.
He is risen, and He has not forsaken us.
*for a quick overview of this subject check
out this blog entry
abandonment to God
Holy Saturday
Easter
hell
1 Peter 3:17-19
the Christian walk
spiritual testing
resurrection
obedience
Christ descended into hell
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Healing: Do The Things You Still Can Do
There is healing
and a different kind of Life,
different from what you have known:
God's Life
that comes in those times when you
cannot see the way,
cannot make sense,
cannot work.
Cannot.
In those moments,
Unseen Hands carry you.
Invisible arms embrace.
In those days,
Do the things you still can do.
Breathe.
Pray.
Love.
Cry.
Worship
Change.
Especially change.
God is with you,
closer then ever.
Overhead, the sky is blue
and God is reigning in His Heaven.
In your heart, He wants to do the same.
Rest in that peacable reign.
(This photo was taken in a church
cemetary in New Mexio. The angel,
in a jail of iron bars, still praying
even though the world is a-tilt.)
hope,
endurance,
new beginnings,
failure
difficult times,
life,
faith,
healing,
change,
grief,
Monday, April 02, 2007
When the Son of Man Comes, will He Find Faith in the Earth?
I am calling My People to readiness.
When the Son of Man returns will He find
faith in the earth? (Luke 18:8)
As always, a remnant shall be saved.
Many are called but few are chosen.
Abraham searched for 50 righteous but
not even 10 were found and the
evildoers were destroyed in Sodom.
Only Lot and his daughters were saved.
Where are the righteous?
Who shall be saved?
I, the Lord, know. I search each heart
and all is seen as clearly as by the
brightness of the noonday sun.
I warn the righteous.
I speak clearly to My Friends.
I jealously guard My Bride.
I protect even in the midst of calamity.
No man can snatch you out of My Hand.
Work while it is yet day.
The darkness is coming and then there is
no more time for preparation.
The darkness is at hand. There are but
a few hours of light. Work into the night.
Ready your household.
Warn your neighbors.
You must make your decision now
for when the strong winds blow against
the house it will happen quickly.
No time then.
That time is now.
The minutes tick down.
A remnant shall be saved.
Following Jesus
remnant
tribulation
the+second+coming+of+Christ
the Christian walk
spiritual preparation
When the Son of Man returns will He find
faith in the earth? (Luke 18:8)
As always, a remnant shall be saved.
Many are called but few are chosen.
Abraham searched for 50 righteous but
not even 10 were found and the
evildoers were destroyed in Sodom.
Only Lot and his daughters were saved.
Where are the righteous?
Who shall be saved?
I, the Lord, know. I search each heart
and all is seen as clearly as by the
brightness of the noonday sun.
I warn the righteous.
I speak clearly to My Friends.
I jealously guard My Bride.
I protect even in the midst of calamity.
No man can snatch you out of My Hand.
Work while it is yet day.
The darkness is coming and then there is
no more time for preparation.
The darkness is at hand. There are but
a few hours of light. Work into the night.
Ready your household.
Warn your neighbors.
You must make your decision now
for when the strong winds blow against
the house it will happen quickly.
No time then.
That time is now.
The minutes tick down.
A remnant shall be saved.
Following Jesus
remnant
tribulation
the+second+coming+of+Christ
the Christian walk
spiritual preparation
Thursday, March 29, 2007
On Total Surrender: the Normal Christian Life
Total surrender to God is the foundation
of the "normal Christian life." It gets us
to the wonderful point where this truly
is our testimony: "we are unworthy
servants, we have done only our duty"
(Luke 17:7-10).
Surrender opens the door, surrender
prepares the way, surrender sets the
stage. It is simply ground zero, the
foundation upon which God builds
the glorious story of His grace in
our lives.- The Pen of the Wayfarer
abandonment to God
Following Jesus
surrender to God
the Christian walk
the normal Christian life
the Pen of the Wayfarer
Monday, March 26, 2007
Following Jesus Alone: Alone with God
The biblical journey of faith starts here:
"I called Abraham alone" (Is 51:2).
There is a side to our faith as Christians
that is very much communal and there is a
side to it that is very much solitary.
We as humans enjoy being together, we
gather together often and now, since
the invention of the cell phone, being
alone seems to be a rather strange and
rare thing.
Of late, I have sensed one thing: that
God is testing us to see if we can
make our faith journey with Him alone.
Not that He does not intend for us
to have fellowship, but I must know
if I am able to follow Him alone,
at all cost, no matter what: though
none go with me, still I will follow!
One reads of Christians imprisoned
for their faith, people like Richard
Wurmbrand, held in solitary
confinement for years and years.
His ability to keep relationship
with God when literally everything
was stripped away is our example.
The Early Church found solace in
fellowship, and I am sure counted
it a privilege, but many went alone
to their brutal deaths, as martyrs.
Even Jesus hoped for human
fellowship in His last hours in
Gethsemane, but, alas, His
friends were sleeping, unable
to stand the grief, and He was
left alone with His Father.
It was God alone that He had
in that desperate hour,
and it is God alone that we
must know we have in these
increasingly evil and uncertain days.
It is so easy for us to float
along on fellowship. We float from
Sunday to Wednesday, from this
conference to that bible study. Yet
deep within, are we vitally connected
to Jesus? If everyone and everything
were stripped away, what would we
have?
You may say, "Well, when that day
comes, God will give me grace." Indeed,
I trust He will give us all grace,
but if we do not prepare ourselves
when the way is somewhat easy, how
will things be for us when we must
work in the darkness? Does one train
for a marathon in one day? If we
tire running with footman, how
will we run with horses? (Jer. 12:5).
Our God is a jealous God. Have no
doubt about that. It is not that
He does not want you to enjoy the
richness of fellowship with His
people: an eternity of that awaits
us. But He knows that He made us
first of all for HIMSELF, and He
will have us for HIMSELF. In this
is our only joy: our destiny and
crown if only we could stop
toying with lesser things and
distracting ourselves with the
immediate. We are meant to dwell
in the bosom of the Eternal One.
So I ask myself, as I ask you,
can you walk with God absolutely
alone, without crutch, aid or human
consort?
Do you know for sure that in
your darkest moments that He
will carry you? Do you know that
when all seems lost that He
will sustain you? Do you know
that past every human
disappointment and betrayal that
He is there, a Friend who sticks
closer than a brother?
This assurance is worked out in
the day to day events of our lives.
There is no magic formula, no
prescribed method, only time
spent with God, day after day,
week after week, month after month
until we breathe Him within and
without. It is our love
and connection with Him that
is formed in the small and
hidden moments of life--moments
shared only with Him! It is our
practice of God's Presence, even
when He does not feel present, that
will bring us to this kind of
unencumbered faith.
The days seem increasingly
perilous. If our cell phones,
and internet go blank, and
gas becomes unavailable, how
will our spiritual lives fair
when we are left alone in
our houses?
In Zechariah there is a prophecy
about Jesus: "Smite the shepherd
and the sheep will be scattered"
(Zech. 13:7). God allowed His good
shepherd to be hit, even His
fellow", so that a refiner's
fire could come in and make His own
as pure as gold.
And this became God's testimony
in them: "I will say, "It is My
People" and they will say,
"The Lord is My God."
This is the testimony
that God is after in His
Church. Do not think that
this could not happen in
principle again, for is not
God after a Church "without
spot or wrinkle", a Church
whose hearts are totally His?
Has God becoming our Dwelling
Place? A place where no moth
corrupts and no rust eats away
at? Is He your God? And our
you completely His? It is time
to prepare, time to press into God,
time to know that He alone
suffices.
Are you able to follow Jesus alone?
abandonment to God
Following Jesus
alone with God
persecution
patience
the Christian walk
spiritual testing
"I called Abraham alone" (Is 51:2).
There is a side to our faith as Christians
that is very much communal and there is a
side to it that is very much solitary.
We as humans enjoy being together, we
gather together often and now, since
the invention of the cell phone, being
alone seems to be a rather strange and
rare thing.
Of late, I have sensed one thing: that
God is testing us to see if we can
make our faith journey with Him alone.
Not that He does not intend for us
to have fellowship, but I must know
if I am able to follow Him alone,
at all cost, no matter what: though
none go with me, still I will follow!
One reads of Christians imprisoned
for their faith, people like Richard
Wurmbrand, held in solitary
confinement for years and years.
His ability to keep relationship
with God when literally everything
was stripped away is our example.
The Early Church found solace in
fellowship, and I am sure counted
it a privilege, but many went alone
to their brutal deaths, as martyrs.
Even Jesus hoped for human
fellowship in His last hours in
Gethsemane, but, alas, His
friends were sleeping, unable
to stand the grief, and He was
left alone with His Father.
It was God alone that He had
in that desperate hour,
and it is God alone that we
must know we have in these
increasingly evil and uncertain days.
It is so easy for us to float
along on fellowship. We float from
Sunday to Wednesday, from this
conference to that bible study. Yet
deep within, are we vitally connected
to Jesus? If everyone and everything
were stripped away, what would we
have?
You may say, "Well, when that day
comes, God will give me grace." Indeed,
I trust He will give us all grace,
but if we do not prepare ourselves
when the way is somewhat easy, how
will things be for us when we must
work in the darkness? Does one train
for a marathon in one day? If we
tire running with footman, how
will we run with horses? (Jer. 12:5).
Our God is a jealous God. Have no
doubt about that. It is not that
He does not want you to enjoy the
richness of fellowship with His
people: an eternity of that awaits
us. But He knows that He made us
first of all for HIMSELF, and He
will have us for HIMSELF. In this
is our only joy: our destiny and
crown if only we could stop
toying with lesser things and
distracting ourselves with the
immediate. We are meant to dwell
in the bosom of the Eternal One.
So I ask myself, as I ask you,
can you walk with God absolutely
alone, without crutch, aid or human
consort?
Do you know for sure that in
your darkest moments that He
will carry you? Do you know that
when all seems lost that He
will sustain you? Do you know
that past every human
disappointment and betrayal that
He is there, a Friend who sticks
closer than a brother?
This assurance is worked out in
the day to day events of our lives.
There is no magic formula, no
prescribed method, only time
spent with God, day after day,
week after week, month after month
until we breathe Him within and
without. It is our love
and connection with Him that
is formed in the small and
hidden moments of life--moments
shared only with Him! It is our
practice of God's Presence, even
when He does not feel present, that
will bring us to this kind of
unencumbered faith.
The days seem increasingly
perilous. If our cell phones,
and internet go blank, and
gas becomes unavailable, how
will our spiritual lives fair
when we are left alone in
our houses?
In Zechariah there is a prophecy
about Jesus: "Smite the shepherd
and the sheep will be scattered"
(Zech. 13:7). God allowed His good
shepherd to be hit, even His
fellow", so that a refiner's
fire could come in and make His own
as pure as gold.
And this became God's testimony
in them: "I will say, "It is My
People" and they will say,
"The Lord is My God."
This is the testimony
that God is after in His
Church. Do not think that
this could not happen in
principle again, for is not
God after a Church "without
spot or wrinkle", a Church
whose hearts are totally His?
Has God becoming our Dwelling
Place? A place where no moth
corrupts and no rust eats away
at? Is He your God? And our
you completely His? It is time
to prepare, time to press into God,
time to know that He alone
suffices.
Are you able to follow Jesus alone?
abandonment to God
Following Jesus
alone with God
persecution
patience
the Christian walk
spiritual testing
Have You Heard the Voice of God?
I just read John Piper's post
The Morning I Heard the
Voice of God at Adrian Warnock's blog.
I love John Piper. But this post kind
of bothered me. I've been thinking
about it for two days and it still
is bothering me. It is the same feeling
I had as an undergraduate when a
well known speaker was going to lead
a retreat for the faculty of the large
Christian university (then college)
I attended.
I managed to get myself invited to
the retreat despite the fact that
I was a student, an undergrad to boot.
I loved the retreat but was absolutely
discouraged by the behind the scenes
glimpse I had at where the faculty was
spiritually. I guess what was lacking was
robust encounter with the Living God.
People did not seem to know how
to listen for God or expect Him
to speak to them personally.
I kind of felt this way reading Piper's
article. I thought that Piper's encounter
with God was wonderful, but I also thought,
"Why does he seem surprised that somehow
God speaking to him in this way was out
of the ordinary?"
Then I felt another twinge of discouragement
when he referenced the article
in Christianity Today about
the Christian college professor who
felt that he had actually heard God speak
to Him personally for the first time. Piper
said he felt "sad" when he read it. I
felt sad too, but for this reason:
How could this Christian college
professor live so long and not feel
God had spoken to Him personally
until this event?
Now I don't think that its just college
professors who are having this hard time
hearing God. It just made me think again
that in our endeavor to keep within God's
guidelines for hearing Him, the very
guidelines themselves may cause us to
miss hearing Him by being unnecessarily
restrictive.
Perhaps we become so afraid that
we will be deceived that we reject the
simple willingness of God to speak to
us as His children.
Jesus seems to reiterate this idea when
He is dealing with the religious leaders
of His day. Somehow the very things
that were meant to lead us to God end up
being a barrier to real encounter with God.
When He tells Nicodemus he must be born
again, and Nicodemus is clueless, Jesus
says, "Are you a teacher of Israel and
yet do not understand?" (John 3:10).
Now, granted, there are some people who
think that God is always conversing with
them, 24/7, and others who think that God only
speaks through the Bible. If we put them
on a continuum, we would have our well
worn picture: cessationists on one side (we
won't say the right side :)), and those
who think that God speaks through His Word
but also by personal means at various
points along the line, and I suppose
at the far end would be people who
don't see any difference between
God's Written Word and prophetic or
inspired words from God outside of the
Bible.
Let me say that I am not a cessationist
and I do think that God continues to
speak to us personally but that the
written Word of God is our defining
rule and all words that we think we
receive from God must be measured
against what God has already revealed
to us in the Bible. But we should
not throw out the proverbial baby
with the bath water, this baby being
the very real idea that God continues
to teach and communicate with us by
means of the Holy Spirit, and this
process is not always through the
Bible alone.
That being said, It is difficult for
me to comprehend that God, as a Living
Person, would want to only communicate
through the Bible. If a human author
wrote a book explaining, perhaps, his
life, and then I were to call up this
author and want to talk further with
him about what he wrote, I would think
it very bizarre if the author only
answered me with quotes from his book,
never saying anything else, but finding
little snippets to reply to me from the
published work. It would be very awkward
and not very personal. I would wonder
about the author and how much he really
wanted to interact with me.
I don't believe that God is only wanting
to reply to us, to speak with us,
using this "closed" book, meaning that
what is contained in the Bible is all
that God has to or is willing
to say.
I remember when some Russian
believers emigrated to our neighborhood
from the old Soviet Union where they
were persecuted. We "adopted" them but
when we first met we had no means of
communicating with each other. The only
way we figured out to communicate was
to use each other's bibles (theirs in
Russian and ours in English) to point
out our general intents and feelings.
It was well-meaning, but limited. (We
put a scripture citation on their
birthday cake and they read it and
cried!)
I can see how our ability to communicate
with God is much like that and that
is why He gave us something to check
ourselves against. Paul tells us that
we see "through a glass, darkly" so
thank God for the Bible, but it is
through those same dark glasses that
we INTERPRET the bible (another whole
can of worms, I know!)
But, Jesus, became and now is, the Word
of God--God's best and truest Word,
not abolishing the written Word, but
fulfilling it and fleshing it out because
God is a personal God and living persons
communicate through diverse means.
He wants to communicate with us.
When Jesus told His disciples in that
wonderful farewell discourse in John,
"I have many things to tell you now, but
you cannot bear them. When the Holy Spirit
comes He will teach you all things" (John
16: 12-14).
Do we think that our cluelessness to
understand God's mind and ways went away at
the close of the apostolic age? Me thinks
we need Him more than ever, especially
the farther away we get from the days
that Jesus walked on earth. Things get
garbled. Doctrines mutate.
I remember that old Star Trek episode
where the crew lands on some far planet
and finds the inhabitants with an
American flag intoning garbled words
reverentially. The garbled words turn
out to be the words of the pledge of
allegiance. We need the Holy Spirit to
keep the garbled out of our pledge of
allegiance to God, can somebody say, amen?
So, all that to say, that I am glad
that John Piper feels strong reassurance
that God speaks personally, but still
basically through the Bible, but I
would ask if that is playing things
a bit safer then what God is expecting
and offering to us?
The Book of Acts does not find the
newly filled-with-the-Holy-Spirit
disciples finding their way only by
the Bible. They expected God to speak
to them personally because they knew
Him as a Person, and not as an infallible
system. Well, He is infallible, but
definitely not a system.
I am inspired, however, by this article
to keep saturating myself in the Scriptures,
memorizing them, poring over them, so that
I can feel more and more relaxed that when
God does speak to me, the testimony of
the Scriptures is so strongly embedded
in my inner man that anything false will
show itself right away. We have to strike
a healthy balance, built on faith, that
we can hear from God and not be deceived.
God is speaking more than we know.
We just need to make our ability to
discern His Voice as sharp as possible.
Read the Word. Listen for God to speak.
cessationism
hearing God
John Piper
prayer
Biblical Inerrancy
the Christian walk
The Morning I Heard the
Voice of God at Adrian Warnock's blog.
I love John Piper. But this post kind
of bothered me. I've been thinking
about it for two days and it still
is bothering me. It is the same feeling
I had as an undergraduate when a
well known speaker was going to lead
a retreat for the faculty of the large
Christian university (then college)
I attended.
I managed to get myself invited to
the retreat despite the fact that
I was a student, an undergrad to boot.
I loved the retreat but was absolutely
discouraged by the behind the scenes
glimpse I had at where the faculty was
spiritually. I guess what was lacking was
robust encounter with the Living God.
People did not seem to know how
to listen for God or expect Him
to speak to them personally.
I kind of felt this way reading Piper's
article. I thought that Piper's encounter
with God was wonderful, but I also thought,
"Why does he seem surprised that somehow
God speaking to him in this way was out
of the ordinary?"
Then I felt another twinge of discouragement
when he referenced the article
in Christianity Today about
the Christian college professor who
felt that he had actually heard God speak
to Him personally for the first time. Piper
said he felt "sad" when he read it. I
felt sad too, but for this reason:
How could this Christian college
professor live so long and not feel
God had spoken to Him personally
until this event?
Now I don't think that its just college
professors who are having this hard time
hearing God. It just made me think again
that in our endeavor to keep within God's
guidelines for hearing Him, the very
guidelines themselves may cause us to
miss hearing Him by being unnecessarily
restrictive.
Perhaps we become so afraid that
we will be deceived that we reject the
simple willingness of God to speak to
us as His children.
Jesus seems to reiterate this idea when
He is dealing with the religious leaders
of His day. Somehow the very things
that were meant to lead us to God end up
being a barrier to real encounter with God.
When He tells Nicodemus he must be born
again, and Nicodemus is clueless, Jesus
says, "Are you a teacher of Israel and
yet do not understand?" (John 3:10).
Now, granted, there are some people who
think that God is always conversing with
them, 24/7, and others who think that God only
speaks through the Bible. If we put them
on a continuum, we would have our well
worn picture: cessationists on one side (we
won't say the right side :)), and those
who think that God speaks through His Word
but also by personal means at various
points along the line, and I suppose
at the far end would be people who
don't see any difference between
God's Written Word and prophetic or
inspired words from God outside of the
Bible.
Let me say that I am not a cessationist
and I do think that God continues to
speak to us personally but that the
written Word of God is our defining
rule and all words that we think we
receive from God must be measured
against what God has already revealed
to us in the Bible. But we should
not throw out the proverbial baby
with the bath water, this baby being
the very real idea that God continues
to teach and communicate with us by
means of the Holy Spirit, and this
process is not always through the
Bible alone.
That being said, It is difficult for
me to comprehend that God, as a Living
Person, would want to only communicate
through the Bible. If a human author
wrote a book explaining, perhaps, his
life, and then I were to call up this
author and want to talk further with
him about what he wrote, I would think
it very bizarre if the author only
answered me with quotes from his book,
never saying anything else, but finding
little snippets to reply to me from the
published work. It would be very awkward
and not very personal. I would wonder
about the author and how much he really
wanted to interact with me.
I don't believe that God is only wanting
to reply to us, to speak with us,
using this "closed" book, meaning that
what is contained in the Bible is all
that God has to or is willing
to say.
I remember when some Russian
believers emigrated to our neighborhood
from the old Soviet Union where they
were persecuted. We "adopted" them but
when we first met we had no means of
communicating with each other. The only
way we figured out to communicate was
to use each other's bibles (theirs in
Russian and ours in English) to point
out our general intents and feelings.
It was well-meaning, but limited. (We
put a scripture citation on their
birthday cake and they read it and
cried!)
I can see how our ability to communicate
with God is much like that and that
is why He gave us something to check
ourselves against. Paul tells us that
we see "through a glass, darkly" so
thank God for the Bible, but it is
through those same dark glasses that
we INTERPRET the bible (another whole
can of worms, I know!)
But, Jesus, became and now is, the Word
of God--God's best and truest Word,
not abolishing the written Word, but
fulfilling it and fleshing it out because
God is a personal God and living persons
communicate through diverse means.
He wants to communicate with us.
When Jesus told His disciples in that
wonderful farewell discourse in John,
"I have many things to tell you now, but
you cannot bear them. When the Holy Spirit
comes He will teach you all things" (John
16: 12-14).
Do we think that our cluelessness to
understand God's mind and ways went away at
the close of the apostolic age? Me thinks
we need Him more than ever, especially
the farther away we get from the days
that Jesus walked on earth. Things get
garbled. Doctrines mutate.
I remember that old Star Trek episode
where the crew lands on some far planet
and finds the inhabitants with an
American flag intoning garbled words
reverentially. The garbled words turn
out to be the words of the pledge of
allegiance. We need the Holy Spirit to
keep the garbled out of our pledge of
allegiance to God, can somebody say, amen?
So, all that to say, that I am glad
that John Piper feels strong reassurance
that God speaks personally, but still
basically through the Bible, but I
would ask if that is playing things
a bit safer then what God is expecting
and offering to us?
The Book of Acts does not find the
newly filled-with-the-Holy-Spirit
disciples finding their way only by
the Bible. They expected God to speak
to them personally because they knew
Him as a Person, and not as an infallible
system. Well, He is infallible, but
definitely not a system.
I am inspired, however, by this article
to keep saturating myself in the Scriptures,
memorizing them, poring over them, so that
I can feel more and more relaxed that when
God does speak to me, the testimony of
the Scriptures is so strongly embedded
in my inner man that anything false will
show itself right away. We have to strike
a healthy balance, built on faith, that
we can hear from God and not be deceived.
God is speaking more than we know.
We just need to make our ability to
discern His Voice as sharp as possible.
Read the Word. Listen for God to speak.
cessationism
hearing God
John Piper
prayer
Biblical Inerrancy
the Christian walk
Friday, March 23, 2007
Book Review: Wait Until Then by Randy Alcorn
How do we explain the hope of heaven to children?
Randy Alcorn,who has studied extensively about
heaven, has written an engaging story for
children that presents heaven in an understandable,
scriptural manner.
The story centers around a young boy who suffers
with spina-bifida and his relationship with his
grandfather who is dying of cancer. Both love
baseball. The grandfather had been a major league
baseball player in the Ted Williams era and the
grandson is unable to play baseball because of
his condition, but longs to play.
Wait Until Then deals gently with the very
real problems of suffering, death, and the
heart's longing for life's difficulties to be
resolved and set right in heaven.
Our children grow up fast, and face a world
full of pain and sorrow. As much as we would
like to shield them from suffering, we
probably would do better to equip them
spiritually from their youngest years.
In this story, grandfather and grandson
both have reason to look forward to heaven,
while enjoying their relationship on earth.
The book is a great tool to use to get a
conversation going about what God promises
us in heaven, and how we can best cope
with the sufferings of life on earth.
No suffering is easy, but God promises
that one day He will wipe all the tears
from our eyes in a new heaven and new
earth (Revelation 21:1-4).
The last page of the book also gives
some scriptural information for parents
about heaven to further aid discussion.
The life-like illustrations by Doron
Ben-Ami are wonderful and enhance
the book greatly.
The book is published by Tyndale, 2007,
and is aimed at grade-school children.
heaven
explaining death to children
explaining suffering to children
Randy Alcorn
Doron Ben-Ami
children & faith
hope
book reviews
Randy Alcorn,who has studied extensively about
heaven, has written an engaging story for
children that presents heaven in an understandable,
scriptural manner.
The story centers around a young boy who suffers
with spina-bifida and his relationship with his
grandfather who is dying of cancer. Both love
baseball. The grandfather had been a major league
baseball player in the Ted Williams era and the
grandson is unable to play baseball because of
his condition, but longs to play.
Wait Until Then deals gently with the very
real problems of suffering, death, and the
heart's longing for life's difficulties to be
resolved and set right in heaven.
Our children grow up fast, and face a world
full of pain and sorrow. As much as we would
like to shield them from suffering, we
probably would do better to equip them
spiritually from their youngest years.
In this story, grandfather and grandson
both have reason to look forward to heaven,
while enjoying their relationship on earth.
The book is a great tool to use to get a
conversation going about what God promises
us in heaven, and how we can best cope
with the sufferings of life on earth.
No suffering is easy, but God promises
that one day He will wipe all the tears
from our eyes in a new heaven and new
earth (Revelation 21:1-4).
The last page of the book also gives
some scriptural information for parents
about heaven to further aid discussion.
The life-like illustrations by Doron
Ben-Ami are wonderful and enhance
the book greatly.
The book is published by Tyndale, 2007,
and is aimed at grade-school children.
heaven
explaining death to children
explaining suffering to children
Randy Alcorn
Doron Ben-Ami
children & faith
hope
book reviews
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Oswald Chambers: What My Obedience to God Costs Other People
As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain
man, Simon . . . , and on him they laid the cross
that he might bear it after Jesus —Luke 23:26
If we obey God, it is going to cost other people
more than it costs us, and that is where the pain
begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience
does not cost us anything—it is a delight. But to
those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost
a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that
other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule
us as if to say, "You call this Christianity?"
We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are
obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.
When our obedience begins to cost others, our
human pride entrenches itself and we say, "I will
never accept anything from anyone." But we must,
or disobey God. We have no right to think that the
type of relationships we have with others should be
any different from those the Lord Himself had (see
Luke 8:1-3).
A lack of progress in our spiritual life results
when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And
actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved
in the universal purposes of God, others are
immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will
we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be
willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to
be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and
say, "I will not cause other people to suffer"?
We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring
immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve
our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for
those who have suffered the consequences of our
obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the
consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what
consequences you would allow as a condition of your
obedience to Him.--Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers: What My Obedience to God Costs
Other People
obedience to God,
Oswald Chambers,
the cost of discipleship,
man, Simon . . . , and on him they laid the cross
that he might bear it after Jesus —Luke 23:26
If we obey God, it is going to cost other people
more than it costs us, and that is where the pain
begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience
does not cost us anything—it is a delight. But to
those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost
a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that
other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule
us as if to say, "You call this Christianity?"
We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are
obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.
When our obedience begins to cost others, our
human pride entrenches itself and we say, "I will
never accept anything from anyone." But we must,
or disobey God. We have no right to think that the
type of relationships we have with others should be
any different from those the Lord Himself had (see
Luke 8:1-3).
A lack of progress in our spiritual life results
when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And
actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved
in the universal purposes of God, others are
immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will
we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be
willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to
be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and
say, "I will not cause other people to suffer"?
We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring
immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve
our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for
those who have suffered the consequences of our
obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the
consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what
consequences you would allow as a condition of your
obedience to Him.--Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers: What My Obedience to God Costs
Other People
obedience to God,
Oswald Chambers,
the cost of discipleship,
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