Thursday, January 29, 2009

Authentic Worship - Part 1

I am not sure how many of you know who Chip Ingram is but he has changed my life in many ways and I owe him tons of credit in the ongoing renewing of my spiritual life.. His messages are available via Itunes from the podcast pages (FREE) and his site is called "living on the edge".

This particular Message was no doubt placed before me today to help me grab ahold of the idea of Hope that I just wrote about and what it means to have Authentic Worship..The lesson is actually labeled "Overcoming Boredom and the Blues" and it is a fantastic message..

So sit back, turn the sound up and enjoy!!

EB

"Hope"

I really wanted to get this out there yesterday but for various reasons I was not able..In hindsight I believe I needed more time of reflection before I sought out to tackle such a powerful message..The message today is HOPE..and I hope that I can convey in words what is on my heart..




I opened up AOL very early yesterday and the first article that came up jumped off the screen at me and the set into motion this attempt to lay hold of the very idea of HOPE.. This article was titled "Distraught Father kills wife, 5 kids, self"..Now I cant even begin to describe the emotions that flooded my mind after seeing that headline..I embarked on reading the article and my mind kept referring me back to the word HOPE..Let me share with you some of the excerpts from the article to help provide context and background for some of the areas I am about to tackle..This article is like a double edge sword in that I am sensing the lack of Hope this Father and Mother had and then I am reminded of the HOPE I have in Christ...all the while thinking..if they only knew what I knew..wondering if they were ever confronted with the Life changing message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ..

This is how the article opened up "A man fatally shot his wife, five young children and himself Tuesday after he faxed a note to a TV station claiming the couple had just been fired from their hospital jobs and together planned the killings as an escape for the whole family."

It was the fifth mass death of a Southern California family by murder or suicide in a year. Police urged those facing tough economic times to get help rather than resort to violence.

Ervin Lupoe claimed he and his wife both had been fired and that she suggested they kill themselves and their children, too

They did nothing to the manager who stated such and did not attempt to assist us in the matter, knowing we have no job and five children under 8 years with no place to go. So here we are," the note said

At the bottom of the note, Lupoe wrote, "Oh lord, my God, is there no hope for a widow's
son?"

On his Facebook page, Lupoe posted photographs of a daughter at karate class, and of a fancy tub and wash basins in an apparently remodeled bathroom.

and then I scrolled down to the comments section and this was the first one I read, so I wanted to post it here so I could try and lend further light to the point I want to make in writing this entry(I did however bleep out some words in order to make this readable)

***********"god bless this family, bush started the s#@t now let obama try and fix it instead of bailing out all them banks he should have given it to the poor people who didnt have job this should have never happen its gonna get worse......................"*******


Ok..I need to gather my thoughts here as I am stunned at the comment made by someone after such a tragic situation..People are just angry..People need something to direct their anger towards..Anger is a poison let out by Satan himself to affect God's people and it has a devastating effect on society as a whole...






Ok..Now let me expand on this idea of HOPE..Just what is HOPE..? What does it mean? Is it tangible? Is it even worthy of possessing? Before I break into that I must make some admissions..I too, have been at a point in my life where the only option seemed grim..I dont mean taking the life of my family, but there have been days where I felt my life was of no use and no value and that I added not a single bit of worth to anyone around me..How do we get to such low places in our life?and how do we or can we overcome them?

Satan is very deceiving and exposes our weaknesses with precision..He plants seeds of discouragement and doubt that begin to fester if left unchecked..We must remember that Satan is ruler of this world and everything in it he uses to trip us up..Money, material possessions, jobs, emotions, other people..He is the Master of Sin (refer to my post on Mastery to further explore this concept)..and all he needs is a small paper cut to enter and then he begins to plot his stranglehold on your mind.. but to elaborate further on how we get to these low places that leave us hopeless..We allow satan to convince us that our worth comes from the approval of others, or from the success we have in our careers, or the amount of money we have in our bank accounts, or the amount of stuff we can acquire..Anytime we place our value in life on things of this earth..we are in deep deep trouble..unfortunately, most of us do not recognize our mini idols until we are in to deep..Everything in this world is perishing, fleeting and has no real value in eternity..however it is part of our nature..who we are..our sinful self trying to stay in control of our lives..desperately not wanting to relinquish control..That is how you get in the lowlands of life..and might I add that it is most often subtle & gradual...and usually not all in one fail swoop..

We must, absolutely must place our HOPE in Christ..It is with Christ only that we can draw strength to endure the low periods in life and plow thru the trials..God wants a dependent soul..dependant on Him..I did a little research and check this out.. The very word Hope is mentioned in the bible 143 times in name alone..That doesn't count all the times it is referenced..Here are a few Verses that stand out to me:

Psalms 33:18
Psalms 65:5
Acts 2:26
Romans 5:2,4
Romans 8:24
Romans 12:12
2 Corinthians 1:7,10
1 Timothy 1:1
1 Timothy 4:10
Hebrews 6:11
Hebrews 10:23
1 Peter 1:21

Obviously there are countless more verses one could refer to in order to see HOPE play out in the Word of God..Pslams and Proverbs are riddled with HOPE.. Hope in the Greek is "elpis" - to anticipate with pleasure..(el pece'), confidence

Matthew says in chapter 11:30 - "For my Yoke is easy and my Burden is Light"

and then there is the famous passage in Matthew Chapter 6, verses 25-33 - 25-26(Message)"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
27-29"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative
, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

These verses are but a glimpse of the reality that you can have if your life is focused on God and not this world..Romans 12:2 says " Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" and them 1 John 2:15-16 says "Do not love this world or the things of this world.....For all that is in this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world"


We could go on for a very long time looking up verses that are applicable here but none of this matters if we do not know God, trust God, depend on God, live for God.. This all begins in the mind...you must believe in Christ and his bearing the sins of mankind as a just payment good and acceptable to God evidenced by the resurrection and then confess with your mouth the inward belief you possess...and then you will begin to unravel the mysteries of God Almighty and the conduit of Grace will be opened to you..There is tremendous peace in knowing God is in control and you are not..It takes the pressure off..and if you will seek Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength..you will have the desires of your heart..God is not interested in playing games with you..He requires a total surrender of self..You cant keep parts of your life in your control and give God 95%..He requires ALL..but the reward is everlasting in the future and Peace, Joy, Hope in the Now..Lose your job...No big deal because God has a better plan..Broke..ok because God has a better plan..Illness..God is Sovereign and All knowing..and works all things for good..ALL things.. It would not be right if I did not refer to my favorite book in trying to explain this..


AW Tozer said " many ordinary treasures may be denied him(meaning you), or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go(money, job, friends, stuff, etc),one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all Satisfaction, all Pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in in ONE, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever"

I believe that captures the thesis of my point rather precisely..We must let go of all the distractions and focus on God...give him everything..Turn it all over to Him and watch before your very eyes, your life change like never before..That does not mean you will not suffer trials or difficulties..quite the contrary..God says He will discipline those He loves and calls His children...so if you are never disciplined by God and refined by Him (thru what I call "faith testers" )- then you might want to take a heart check to make sure what you experienced with God was genuine.. What it means is that those trials and difficulties don't destroy you, they simply draw you closer and closer to God and his work is being perfected in you..till one day He will call you home and then the perfection will be complete..

Jesus said I did not come just to give you life, I came to give it to you more abundantly..That means nothing of this world can strip you of your joy, your peace in God's Sovereignty. So live a life worth sharing..be the Light and Salt of this world...a Beacon of Hope to those caught up the wiles of this world.. If you have truly been transformed by God and received a New Heart and a New Life, it will take extreme effort to contain the good news inside you..because you will want everyone around you to experience what you experience..to know what you know..to have the Hope you have..

We must understand that God is the Answer.. God is the only one that will not return Void..Money, fame, toys all will leave you empty after you attain them..but God is fulfilling and sustaining and rewarding.. Phil Jackson, head coach of the LA Laker's, has 6 NBA championship rings..One as a player and the other as a coach..He has made mass sums of money, traveled all over and he said.."all that is nice but still leaves you empty"..( I am not suggesting Phil Jackson is Christian..I have no idea)..The point is that after you attain all the things you "think" are going to make you happy..you end up with the blues..Ask anyone who has ever attained or amassed a great fortune..It just isn't satisfying once you have it...and Many people will say "If I could be Phil Jackson for one day"..Ironically the people who keep thinking that a little more money or a little more success will make them happy don't have it to prove to themselves that it falls short and leaves you empty and unsatisfied..so they keep chasing this "stuff" in hopes it will fulfill them..It will never satisfy you because you are made to worship God..That is how he built you and until you allow Him to Satisfy your longings, you will forever be chasing an elusive dream.. Allow God to fill your life with meaning and Joy and Love and Hope..Seek Him out and Trust in Him and He will not return Void..I testify to this because I have tried it both ways..and God's way is the only way..!!

EB

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Stages of "Learning"



Wow..My mind is littered with so many things I want to express and convey, all of which are competing for time to sit and type out and I scarcely know where to begin..The Word of God has laid heavy on me today and my soul yearns to know God ever so more, to seek His infinite Wisdom and proclaim His name to all people who do not yet know Him as Savior and Lord( I specifically meant to place Savior before Lord for a reason, which I will not get into at this time, but many will understand and some will not)..I am inspired beyond words to type out what is intensely inside me, desperately trying to gather the right words and phrases along with scripture to convey the reality of The Living God..Never before in my years of studying God's word have I been so compelled to write it all down...not only for myself but in great hope that someone else might benefit from my labor of love..The beckoning of God on my heart and the clear weight of the messages are all but paralyzing every other part of my life associated with this world..forcing me to sacrifice more and more of this world and devote it to my desire to Understand the Word and God and to Know Him personally..to awaken my spiritual faculties to a degree that allows me to feel the presence of Almighty God as if He were sitting here with me..


I wanted to take a minute to shed some light on one of the reasons I have chosen to blog about my spiritual journey and the plight of my soul.. A few months back I took part in a spiritual disciplines class that has had a profound impact on my life.. One of the chapters was titled "Learning" and so I would like to take the time to bear my soul here about what this means to me...and maybe you can glean some usefulness from this entry..Also I might warn you that this might step on some toes, but my intention is to share, not step..but the very nature of this lesson might hit home in a fairly uncomfortable way..


Notice I said the class I took was a Spiritual Discipline class..Many get the spiritual part but gloss right over the word Discipline.. Discipline is hard for us Americans, because it is hard and we don't like things that are hard..We like the path of least resistance..My old motto was .."not harder, just Smarter"..what that really says is I am lazy and anything I can do to make something less work is for me.. Study God's word is Hard..It takes time..It takes discipline..It requires sacrifice (TV, etc)..but learning hearkens me back to my entry on Wisdom..Wisdom is knowing God's Truths and in order to know them, you must study them..This is not a lesson on Bible Intake, although I am sure there will be a day in the near future where that springs from my fingertips to this blog site..but lets save that for another day.. I look at my notes and the very first thing written in this study was " We have Liberty, we have money, we live in comparative luxury..As a result discipline has practically disappeared" .. That stings just typing it out again and causes me great shame because it exposes my lack of discipline in many areas..:(


Let me set this up this way to help you grasp where this is all coming from..See we as humans learn in stages... Let me explain..Stage 1 is the "Grammar" stage - This is where we take in as much as we can..we can liken this to a consumption stage..Going thru Grammar school is a consumption of many different areas of "dumping" where we try to retain as much as we can..In the biblical comparative stage, we say we learn the bible..Read and take it all in.. There is not much understanding at this point..mainly consumption.....Then we move on to stage 2 called "Logic." Now in this stage, we begin to make sense of all the information that has been deposited into our minds..One could say we begin to "connect the dots"..This is usually later in the teen years and early twenties where we begin to see our parents as actually pretty smart and not as dumb and out of date as we once thought.. In the biblical comparative, this is were we begin to understand what the bible is teaching and things that were once hidden to us are now seen..We begin to "get it"..Then the final stage in learning is the "Rhetoric" Stage..Now please remove from your mind any idea of politics..because I would bet that is where you can relate this word..and that mindset for this term just dirties it all up.. Rhetoric is your ability to express what you have learned..Like a teacher teaching a class..The teacher had to Learn it thru grammar, understand it thru logic so he/she can express it thru Rhetoric...Well the Biblical comparative for this stage is Expressing your Faith..Expressing what you have learned in the word and your ability to connect the dots comes out..This is very difficult for many people and is a huge stumbling block for believers to share the gospel message..


Well as you may have guessed..This is where I find myself..I am in the rhetoric stage of my biblical learning and this blog site seemed like the perfect avenue for me to express what I was understanding on the inside..A couple of years ago I would have never attempted to translate the messages of God's word onto paper for the simple reason of not having connected the dots enough to get the ideas out in a clear and concise manner..but now it is my hearts desire to express my faith as it matures and grows..When I say my Faith, that also encapsulates the Understanding of God's Word and its application for life.. What better way for me to stick my feet in the water without drowning...


Learning characterizes The Wise Person..There is great humility with those who are wise because they understand there is so much they have yet to learn.. Wise people are always looking to learn and will never utter the phrase.."Cant teach this old dog any new tricks".. Wise people treat knowledge like the precious treasure it is..just as Solomon describes it in Proverbs.. Some people are just in the right place at the right time to acquire knowledge..That does not make you wise..A wise person "seeks" knowledge..a durable yearning for learning...


Get this..God is glorified when we use the mind He gave us to learn of Him, His ways, His Word and His world.. RC Sproul wrote " God has made us with a harmony of heart and head, of thought and action.. The more we know Him, the more we are able to Love Him. The more we Love Him, the more we seek to know Him.. To be central in our hearts, He must be foremost in our minds.. Religious thought is the prerequisite to religious affection and obedient action"


Learning is Essential for increased Godliness..After all the goal is Christ likeness.. Godliness is the goal of the Spiritual Disciplines and when we remember this, the spiritual disciplines become a delight instead of a drudgery.. The Spiritual Disciplines are also like the channels of God's transforming Grace..and we place ourselves in them to seek communion with Christ, His Grace flows to us and we are changed.... We will not grow much in Godliness if we do not know much of what it means to be Godly.. We will not be more like Christ if we don't know what Christ is like.. Let us also never forget that the message of God's word is addressed primarily to the mind, to the understanding..


Learning is mostly by discipline, not by accident..for instance..Books are much to demanding for the modern mind, alas it takes discipline to become an intentional Learner.. You must not rely on emotion or chance..It is a direct result of action..This brings to my mind a verse from Proverbs that I was reading to my girls last night and it says "Go watch the ants you lazy person, watch what they do and be wise"..I find this verse to be precise in my explanation of Learning and discipline in general..Don't you?


So in summary, Learning is one of many spiritual disciplines, but one of tremendous importance..For us as believers to know Christ, we must Learn as much as we can about Him, and understand His ways...to be able to express to others the life transforming grace that flows from Him..to fulfill our command to make disciples of all peoples..and as my study of Romans Chapter 10 taught me today..1) People will call on Jesus to save them only if they believe he can do so; (2) belief in Christ cannot exist without knowledge about him; (3) one hears about Christ only when someone proclaims the saving message; and (4) the message about Christ will not be proclaimed unless someone is sent by God to do so. That is why Paul was so urgent about spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth, for he believed that the only way to be saved was to hear and believe in the gospel..which is the reasoning for the great commission..our directive as believers..to take the message unto all peoples..not to convert them..but merely take the message..


May we all be as Paul so passionately proclaims in Ephesians 6:19-20 "and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."


EB

Sunday, January 25, 2009

"Wisdom" & "Truth" = Word of God

I was moved this evening as I was reading Chapter 4 of the book of Proverbs to my two oldest girls as we were approaching bedtime, here Sunday evening at approx 8:45pm..Up to this point, I had no idea that this bedtime reading would spur inside me a desire to share..but nevertheless, here I am..and before I get into what Chapter 4 spoke to me, I just wanted to take the time to say...Thank You Lord..for allowing me to be able to have this special time with my girls and for them to have ears to hear and patience to sit thru some of these sometimes hard to understand verses that flow from the Bible.. There are very few things in my life right now as it stands that are as important to me than to read the Word of God to my kids..For them to 1) See that the Bible is useful 2) to see that the Word of God is exalted in our home 3) For them to know that I love them enough to share the Wisdom of It's contents.. There is no greater joy for me than to read a verse to them and have them ask a question trying desperately to understand, to have it make sense in their youthful minds..As they grow older, it is my prayer that the dots begin to connect themselves as they begin to study God's Word and that they find meaning and Wisdom beyond their ability to even understand..


That leads to my next brief point I wanted to wrote about and that is simplified in one word "Wisdom".. Never had I heard it used so aggressively and emphatically as I did when reading it to them tonight..so much so that it struck a cord with me causing me pause, and then asking myself..Do I seek this level of wisdom spoken of in Proverbs 4..? Do I even have my life heading in a direction that mirrors the words King Solomon spoke..The gravity of it all fell upon me and burdened my heart...and all this came from the quiet times of everyday life..Not from a special message spoken from a great speaker, or a divine book that channels God's message..but from the everyday life of fatherhood...the small things to which to most go completely unnoticed..and rightfully so..but for me a moment of great reflection and a noticeable verifiable tug from the Holy Spirit on my heart.. One of the revelations I have learned over the last couple of years is the work of the Holy Spirit and just how The Spirit works in our lives.. The Holy Spirit is our daily guide..to which we grow in discerning its affect in our life.. Many times, we as believers are looking for rapturous moments where we may have been left on our knees, but forget and are unable to truly discern the everyday workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives..The small inward tug to make this decision over that one..The soft quiet voice that speaks to us throughout the day.. The undeniable conviction that overcomes us when we step outside of God's will..so it is my desire to journal this moment in time in my very own life, where I felt the small inward tug of the Holy Spirit lay hold of my consciousness, and spur me on to seek further this idea of wisdom...and what it means for me and my greater understanding of God's word and His perfect plan for us all..
Pastor Jeff Long said today in service that every single word of the Bible is true..Every single word..and that no verse would be skipped over because it might hurt someones feelings..When I let the weight of that lay on me (which I am in 100% agreement) coupled with the fact that this chapter is dealing with a subject that I often struggle with...is just evidence for me that I need to spend more time on this and seek to understand the message God intends for me to have..at the undeniable request of the Holy Spirit..

So lets take a moment and look at what Proverbs 4 has to say http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/parser.php (Link to Proverbs 4) in lieu of placing it all here, let me lay out the concepts to me that bear emphasis..


Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. - Let your heart hold fast says to me - Lay claim on this to the depths of your being..Inscribe as such to never be removed..Tattoo it to your heart...but then he says and LIVE..Don't miss this..he says LIVE..not to hide from the wicked society..not to refrain from others..not to protect your children so much so they cant be salt and light.. Live..have joy, peace, hope in the wisdom of the Truth..Live in the Truth and it will set you free!!

Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. -I found this particular verse to be especially endearing..Written from a man's perspective, He sees wisdom as "her"..This a most certainly a term of endearment..How many men call their favorite material possession "her".. like his favorite golf club..Boy she did me proud today..notice the "she".. This is the term I might use when referring to something near and dear to me..He also starts this off by saying Get...This is a verb meaning to obtain, to chase after till you catch it..He did not say, try to get wisdom, or work on obtaining it, or to give it your best effort..NO..he says Get..That leaves nothing to question about his intent on having wisdom...and then lastly.."love her and she will guard you"..how sweet does that sound..man ol man..Wisdom will guard you from making dumb decisions..Wisdom will keep you from placing yourself in the temptuous paths, wisdom will be the armour that protects against the fiery darts of the evil one..Ephesians 6:14 says "fasten on the belt of truth" - We must understand that wisdom is the truth of God's word..Wisdom is not what the world says is smart.. Wisdom is knowing and understanding God's word to such a degree that it is part of who you are.. Having this wisdom will keep you and guard you from the wiles of the accuser..

I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. - When you walk your step will not be hampered and if you run, you will not stumble..This is saying the the more importance you place on God's word, the less you will be tripped up by Satan..Walking is a modest understanding but running denotes "full blown sold outness" to God and His commands...and notice..you will not stumble..Seeking God with all your heart and your soul and mind and your strength, both feet in, will make your paths straight and clear..leaving no opportunity to stumble on the root of pride, or a rock of covetousness, or step in the hole of doubt.. Then he says "do not let go of her" for "she is your life".. This is a command to stake your claim and do not sway..This is where satan will attack you..in your mind..your knowledge of the truth and if you let go even for an instant, the evil one can seize that opening and began to lay claim on your thinking...which will begin with doubt & discouragement..So leave no opening no matter how small for satan to enter and guard your mind and this wisdom (truth) will be your life..Your..your direction, your life purpose.

My son, be attentive to my words; your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for it flow the springs of life. - This means, do not go days and weeks without renewing your mind with God's word..Keep it close to you..It is when you drift away that you become a target to be devoured.. Your focus, your daily bread needs to be the Word of God and all the wisdom contained in it..Not of this world..If you are spending more time in this world(mentally) than you are the things of God, then the world becomes easier and easier to be part of and God's truths are then diluted with the world..causing the believer to adjust their view of God to conform with the world..can anyone say Tolerance..This is a huge problem with many..The largest of which is there are many ways to God..No one way is better than another..Folks that is the world diluting the faith out of political correctness and not wanting to offend someone. Solomon says "Keep within your heart" and then again "Keep your heart with all vigilance" - He understands this more than any..What is close to your heart is something you will protect and guard and keep sacred.. It is not just an intellectual event..it is rooted in this inner fabric of the heart of a human.. This knowledge of the Word of God and what God did for us, even as sinners, wretched wicked beings..Satan knows that if he can keep the truth from you, then you have nothing to hold onto..You are defenseless without God and His armour (Eph 6:10-20)..


I shall be so bold as to say that Wisdom is the root of our faith to which the Tree springs forth Life..We must possess this in our deepest of beings, so that we are unshaken in times of rough seas and turbulent winds.. Cultivate your mind with the Word of God and renew it daily so that you will be transformed, and made New, to become a useful vessel in the Kingdom of God..for without Wisdom anchoring our Faith, then we are subject to being tossed around the ocean of life, to and fro, with no real purpose and a life without Peace and Joy, Love and Hope..

***************This is Monday at around 2:30 and I am in awe of the amazing perfectness of God's word and felt compelled to add this to the above piece..As I was studying in Romans Ch 9:30-33" Israel's unbelief" - a few more dots were connected for me..This is happening to me on almost a daily basis where something you run across in everyday life happens to coincide with my bible study..and it never ceases to cause chills and goose bumps to run down my body..Listen to this..You know above where he (Solomon) says "if you run, you will not stumble." - this same type of stumbling is referred to in Romans verse 32 and 33..Paul says..." ******32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”*******
The Israelites stumbled over the very thing that could save them..Jesus Christ..so instead they used the law to esatblish their own form of righteousness and saw no need for a Christ..Plus Christ was not from the tribe of Levi..which all High Priest had to come from and more specifically from the lineage of Aaron..Jesus Christ came from the tribe of Judah and therefore was rejected as "High Priest", Messiah"..They stumbled because they did not obey the Word of God..they did not seek after wisdom as Solomon instructs here in Proverbs..with vigilence..and keep it close to your heart, never losing sight..The people of Israel were so caught up in being God's chosen people that the mere intention of obeying the law made them feel justified in God's eyes and that gigantic mistake (act of disobedience) cost them ultimately there life, forever..Israel's death was a direct result of not obeying God's word - a lackluster desire to attain the wisdom needed to confront misguided beliefs..and this still goes on today..
The whole bible is inspired, every bit of it and we cant decide what parts fit our lives..Whether we like what it has to say or not..it is God breathed and perfect in every way..Sometimes we just need to have respect for the mystery of God's providence..We were not created to know everything..Rest in the Mastery of His Peace!!!!!!
EB

Friday, January 23, 2009

"Removing the Veil" & the "Blessedness of Possessing Nothing"








I will never be able to do this writing justice for all the depths it deserves.. The mere title alone conjures up instances in my own personal life that I, in hindsight, see as refining moments. I will by the very nature of this blog expose some personal experiences that I am very ashamed of but now with the help of Christ, I can see the reasoning behind those "times" and just like a blacksmith must heat the metal in order to shape it to the tool he desires, so also has Christ placed me under some intense heat in order to shape my stubborn, carnal self.. In the end, I am grateful beyond measure for the work Jesus Christ has performed in my life and for the abundant Grace I have experienced..

AW Tozer stated it so perfectly "The cross is rough and it is deadly, but its effective. It does not keep its victim hanging there forever. There comes a moment when its work is finished and the suffering victim dies. After that is resurrection glory and power, and the pain is forgotten and the joy that the veil is taken away and we have entered in actual spiritual experience the presence of the living God"


Perfectly and accurately said...His reference of "the victim dies" is meaning we die to our self..We finally Tapout and allow God to rule and reign in our heart, and surrender ourselves totally.. I also should explain for clarity the veil he speaks of..which is not the Temple Veil pictured above that seperated the Holy place from the Holiest of Holies..although the word picture is the same.. The "veil" is woven of the fine threads of the self life..To be more specific, the self sins are self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self- sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love, etc..


In human experience, that veil is made of living spiritual tissue..it is composed of the sentient, quivering stuff of which our whole being consist, and to touch it is to touch us where we feel pain. To tear it away is to injure us, to hurt us, to make us bleed.

To rip through the dear and tender stuff of which life is made can never be anything but deeply painful. Yet that is what the cross did to Jesus and it is what the cross would do to every man to set him free..


See the problem with "us" is we are not willing to let everything go..We try desperately to hang on to portions of our self and still try to worship and follow God.. This method of Christianity where we conform God to our lifestyle and use Him like a vending machine is utter rebellion in the face of God.. See Self can live unrebuked at the very altar. It can watch the bleeding victim die and not be in the least affected by what it sees..


I am an absolute testimony of this Christian..I have tried to hang on to so many things, tucking them away in my little corner of my heart, allowing no one to see or know..at least no one in this world..but God is the One who searches the heart and He sees these little indulgences we have tucked away and until we let them go and surrender, God's conduit of abundant Grace will not be opened up and allowed to flow..I know when I came out of college..my mantra was " if it is to be, it is up to me"..I, Me, Myself was in control of everything that happened..It was my decisions, my hard work and my internal fortitude that drove my success.. I Took ALL the Credit and gave God none..In fact God never received the first Thank You.. God was a mere vending machine lever that I pulled when faced with very difficult circumstances and once that storm passed, God was forgotten.. My idols were career, earning potential, success in this world, sports, keeping up with the proverbial " Jones' ". Slowly but surely I was allowed (by God, but unknowingly at the time) to acquire a successful career in sales with six figure incomes, the house with the yard, fence, pool, hot tub; the right clothes to fit the part, the right cars that made me feel important...I had reached the pinnacle of my life..or so I thought..Thru all this, God slipped further and further from my everyday life until he became nonexistent..That is the point in time that God began to strip me of all I possessed.. I don't mean He took it from me. I mean He "STRIPPED", "TORE", "RIPPED" it from my life and my world as I knew it begin to shatter..The six figure income gone, the house gone, the BMW gone, the Boat Gone, and most importantly MY Pride..GONE.. and almost my dear and precious family..(which is a whole different blog on why God saw fit to allow me to keep my family).. I was left barren and broken..I wondered what happened? Why did God allow all this pain? I was not a drunk or a thief..I was mostly good..at least more good than bad in my eyes..I actually had the audacity to try and blame God..(Good Grief..what in the world was I thinking).. God had begun a work in me that He was determined to complete..






He had Broken me!! My spirit was crushed.. My will powerless.. I had nowhere else to turn but Him..The Cross became so clear and so evident as to my path, that it was unmistakable.. I was pulled from the desolate pits, the muddy clay and God placed my feet upon a new rock, making my feet secure and put a new song in my mouth praising Him..(Psalms 40:1-4 My life verse). I was a changed Man..The "Veil" had been ripped away and no longer blocking my view of my Most Precious and Wonderful Lord.. I could now see..He had peeled the layers off my blind eyes and unplugged my deaf ears.. All my life I claimed I was a Christian..after all I went to church, I was mindful of others, I was mostly a good person..But Now..something was totally different..God placed in me a THIRST for Him that I can not explain..A Desire to Know Him.. To TRUST HIM, To DEPEND on Him..To become a true disciple of His..(Disciple = Surrendered to God, Separate from this world, Sober in Self assessment, Serving in Love and Supernaturally deals with evil).a Follower..To take up His Cross Daily..To Finally LIVE OUT what was inside my heart..throwing caution to the wind..


That leads to my final point..The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing(which I will also write about in the future in more detail)..I possessed nothing..to speak of..only the bare essentials to live..A vehicle to get us to work and back, an roof over our head (rented..not actually possessed)..and this nothingness spawned a new era in my life..With all that "stuff" gone, I could now focus on what mattered.. Studying the bible, praying, listening, following Hard after God..Seeking His will and aligning my life with His..I have but four words to express the results of such action..LOVE, PEACE, JOY & HOPE!!! That is what lives inside me..Life will change, things will come and go..but God is never changing and a Rock to those who know Him.. I would be amiss if I told you I never experienced storms anymore..I do!!..its just that I have peace and joy during them because I know who is in control..I know who has His hand on the wheel of my life.. The veil of my self has been removed and all the distractions of material life are fleeting...and my desire to share ALL this with others is mounting inside me..



Let me leave you with one just one more quote from my favorite book..."The Pursuit of God".....



"God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is"..and I second that motion



To God be the Glory



EB

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Watch your toes!!

OK...the really GREAT thing about this blog is that it's mine (ours)! i can say exactly what i want and not have to make sure its not going to offend or hurt some one's feelings. you're probably wondering what i'm going to say now, aren't ya?! well...i have some...we'll call it 'righteous' anger. In john 2:15 and 16 Jesus is furious because the temple has been turned into a house of trade...so he drove out all the vendors and turned over their tables. HA!! I take that as stepping on toes and being politically incorrect isn't sinning!! My savior never sinned...but he was angry about what was going on in his Father's house!





my aggravation isn't because of my church...its because of my country. it is because of the cardboard christians, or those that may call them selves a christian that are christian in name only. their hearts are NOT that of a Christian, they have very self centered hearts and ideals. OK....so here it comes...back your toes up! during this presidential election....there was a group (democrats love to 'group' us, don't they?) called the multi issue voter...the christian that didn't only vote on the "social issues" but cared about the economy and health care just as much as those issues that have long been the deal makers and the deal breakers for our evangelical votes. Well...i have been force fed Barak Obama for the last 2 months...and i want to know...how could anyone call themselves a Christian and cast a vote for Barak Obama? when did the state of wall street, health care, or global warming (vomit.) become more important than the lives of defenseless pre-born babies? When did the unemployment rate and a good speech become more important than protecting marriage, and empowering our men to become the leaders GOD MADE THEM TO BE? there is NOTHING more important than God's Will!! we don't have to wonder what God's vote would be on ending abortion and marriage for same sex couples!! So...if you were having a hard time deciding who to vote for...if you filtered both candidates through the Bible just based on their voting history...the decision was EASY!!! so why did so many Christians cast their vote for a candidate who is a gay rights and abortion activist? WHY???





Jesus said he came not to make peace (HELLO! Israel open your borders! there's a new sheriff in the white house) but he came to SEPARATE!! we are set apart...not of this world...little Christs...salt and light...we are NOT of this world...we don't cave because the American public, or who i like to call sheep, pressures us and stays in our face about the doom and gloom of the economy and gas prices! WHO IS THE ONE IN CHARGE OF OUR ECONOMY?? let me break it to those who cast their vote for "change"...IT AIN'T BARAK OBAMA!!!!!!!!!! God is who decides who has a job and who doesn't...when you get a paycheck...100% of it belongs to God. and He either chose to allow you money...or maybe he chose not to this week...regardless, it's ALL his. please don't comment to me that i don't have a heart...that all people deserve health care and the homeless should be rescued and even children that are illegally living here deserve health care...i agree with you. I do!! really!! but...the ends don't justify the means people! IT HAS NEVER BEEN THE GOVERNMENT'S JOB TO RESCUE THE ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED!! it is the responsibility of the church!! WE as the BODY OF CHRIST are supposed to be helping in our communities and ministering to those in need. Why would we let a government that is in charge of our DMVs, the IRS, and our property tax offices be in charge of what doctors we see or what tests my child can have or tell me when and where i can pray? GIVE ME A BREAK!! i say all of this so that i can spell out to you just how futile it is to think that the change we think we need is in the man that was elected our president! our hope is in Jesus Christ...period. this country didn't need 1 more pro abortion, pro same sex union person in office. Y'ALL!! God has turned us over to our sin. it is time to cry out to him!! it is time to get your priorities straight!! your health insurance and your 401K is NOT more important than the millions of innocent lives snuffed out by abortion! Global warming is NOT more important than preserving our families!! We sold out!! the "christian" community sold OUT! we placed more importance on the things of this world than on the things of God. the color of his skin was more important than strong families with a mom AND a dad! Life is a gift from God. Marriage is a gift from God. (YES!! that's what i said....God gave us marriage between a man and a women...and no mere mortal can redefine it!!) God's will is priority OVER yours! yes...his ways are higher than ours!


i don't need to know why God is the way He is...or why He does what he does...all i know is that He LOVES me beyond measure....he would NEVER do anything or have any law or make any decision that would harm me! He wouldn't do it!! my issues or concerns are what His are...its not my (His) money, or my need for change at whatever cost...its what His concerns are...what His will is!! don't you see how we are being deceived?! please stop buying what you are sold by the nightly news or the new york times!!! We are such sheep!! we aren't smart enough to see when we are being deceived! we aren't smart enough to stop eating the garbage we are fed by actors and actresses that make a living pretending to be someone else!! OUT OF CONTROL! We cheer on the likes of Bruce Springsteen and the Dixie Chicks! WHY?? because we are SHEEP! we could not take a breath without the grace and mercy of God! We have just put a man into power that does not have God's will on his agenda. Barak Obama sold his soul to planned parenthood and gay activists. they funded his brilliant campaign...and that was not free. homosexuals, pro abortion, and atheist activists are salivating at the thought of Barak Obama's signature! and unfortunately...he is going to deliver.


OK!! WHEW!! that was a rant, wasn't it?! now that i have all of my complaining out of the way...what now? President Obama is now in office. We have LOTS to do...and the most important thing is to PRAY for our new president. Pray for his wisdom...pray for every decision he makes...every veto...every bill...every person he appoints to his administration. the next thing Christians must do....God gives us the next step in 2 Chronicles.


if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

our country is sick. but if we will humble ourselves and repent...He will heal it. we have a lot to do...but we have 4 years to do it. God ordained president Obama. He is in office to be used for God's purposes...ultimately God will have the last say in the blessed nation. that is what encourages me and what i hang my hat on. but, that doesn't mean that i won't fight for his purposes...i want to be used anyway i can so that my Lord and precious Savior is glorified. i want to be a part of His will for our country. Let's get our priorities straight...His will not ours. Let's repent for putting our selfishness before His gifts of life and marriage. and lets PRAY!!

I honestly don't mean to hurt any one's feelings. I mean to honor the feelings of God...my priority is Him...first. thanks for reading!!

Nicki

"Sin Revealed"




This writing is meant to be in concert with the blog labeled "My revelation on Sin - Ruler of Earth". As I was working my way thru Romans, Paul does an excellent job in explaining to his readers (those in Rome and us) the effect of Law in relation to sin.. Many in his day were charging him with antinomianism (Christians are freed from all laws and therefore no need for you to obey the law).. Paul sets out to take this charge on and to explain just how sin and the law are woven togtether...and just how the law was necessary to expose the sin in our life..Sin was always present but there was no standard to which you were compared to before the law, so sin had no real impact(using this loosely)...and when the law came about thru Moses, then we have the standard to which God expects from us and a standard so high that none of us can attain...without Jesus and the new covenant..The covenant of Grace.. We ALL fall short..Every single person..Paul included and Paul was very clear about how wretched his flesh was and how it rose up against his spirit...


For me, I always new there was a law that those who lived between Moses and Jesus' death were commanded to follow, but never really understood just how the Law was sent to reveal the Sin...until studying this section of Romans..


7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Commentary
The law defines sin and also provokes sin. Confronted by the law, sin takes on the character of rebellion, so that people enjoy transgressing commands in order to demonstrate their independence

No wonder Sin is so bad..Not only is it wrong but it is outright rebellion.. To know right from wrong and still choose wrong is what Sin is all about.. I also find it interesting that Paul uses the term "covet" in his explanation above in trying to explain the Law in relation to Sin..I wonder if Paul was trying to say something a little deeper here than just randomly picking out one of the sins we could commit and using that one..I looked up Covet and is basically equals "desires"..Then it all came together..The desires of our heart..What are the desires of our heart..If we covet something ( another mans wife, his house, his car, etc) then we have the exact opposite in our hearts no matter how good we may be or act..This will in essence block God's blessings to give us the desires of our heart..because those desires are not in line with God and therefore can not be honored.. This is where it gets to the heart of the matter..What we say on the outside as opposed to what we feel on the inside....and so I believe Paul was trying to use "covet" to drive home this point about our heart..Our true transformation that has occurred in our life..and this should give us pause at least to the point of searching our hearts to see what really lies there and is if of the Father or of the world? Just something to think about

SO the law came and Sin used the Law to trip humankind up..Essentially sin was there but there was no real attention paid to it..But once the law came (Mosaic law)..certain things became forbidden and that created a desire in us to have what was forbidden..Just as Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden..

8" But sin,seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead"


The prohibition against coveting exacerbated the desire for what was forbidden. We never really noticed coveting until we were told we could not covet..How ironic is that...and how relevant this idea is today..The devil has taken something meant for Good by God and perverted it into something to trip us up..

9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died

Paul later emphasizes the power of Sin in this verse "15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me"


Now you tell me if you can truly understand this the way it is written..I could not..I pondered it and just sit her saying it over and over..but could not pull the meaning meant from these verses..So I went to the Message and ahhhhhh how much clearer the picture became

Message
"I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.
Paul..Who many consider the most righteous Christian that ever lived (besides Jesus) is telling us that we will do what we know is wrong even when we know it is wrong.. Paul is depicting just how powerful sin is..It goes back to the Mastery idea..Sin is ruler of this world..we desperately need to understand this..Sin isnt just part of this world..It is RULER of this world..Sin is not just something we may or may not experience..It is who we are..PERIOD..and so without Jesus..we have no hope at all in combating this..We are either in Adam (this world) or we are in Christ..There is no halfway's..Either Sin rules our life or Christ rules our life..I am beginning to get the picture of just how important Jesus is in God's plan and what we are up against with Satan and Sin..Sin will destroy us and apart from Jesus we have not the weaponry to fend it off..Our meaningless efforts to try and foil Satan apart from Jesus are laughable..This is very serious business..Satan is no joke and we as humankind better get to understanding this foe we face..

Paul says
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Do you think for a minute that Paul did not understand the power of Sin.. Wretched Man that I am, Body of Death..Goodness..Paul is unequivocal in his understanding of the flesh..but also his Deliverer..Jesus Christ..

Praise God for His perfect Holy Plan for us and Jesus Christ in whom we can take refuge against the wiles of the devil...to be delivered from a life of death and to overcome Sin..!!

Worthy is the lamb


EB

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

"Spiritual Appetite"


For those of you who truly love to blog and express whats going on inside your world (mind)..I ask..How do you capture all your thoughts when away from the computer..I was at the gym this morning and I began to think about this blog and all of a sudden a stream of ideas came pouring into my mind and for about 10-15 minutes..I was overwhelmed with thoughts I wanted to share that might be fit for consumption but also to journal my thoughts for later reflection...so that leads me to this composition..




"Spiritual Appetite" - We all have some degree of spiritual appetite and what we like to feast on and what barely nourishes the soul..Let me lay this out how it came to me.. By the way I am speaking about books here in this mental arena, so stay with me.. As soon as I made it home, I immediately begin to jot some notes down from some of the thoughts that raced thru my mind..I ran to my bedroom to the bookshelf that houses our collection of books.. As I peered over the random sample of literary works, I begin to label them as food..well sorta..Some are appetizers, some are meals, some are even desserts..and then there are also a few that would be like a green vegetable to a child..(or at least to my children)just difficult to choke down..(now please tell me I am not the only one who has read a book because of the wonderful title and plowing thru it felt like work..not much for the spiritual taste buds if you know what I mean)..AND THEN there are those you would label the Creme de la Crem'(msp)..The choicest Steak, the Most favorite pleasing to your senses meal..The Ruth's Chris' Sizzling, crackling with butter Steak..That meal..The one that not only noursihes the body but sets off a montage of pleasing emotions as it is consumed, bite by bite (chapter by chapter)..so much so that you just cant bear the thought of taking in your last bite.......




Well That leads me to the Book that is representative of that meal.. A book so spiritually nourishing and satisfying that it deserves a class of its own.. A book that is so well written that it flows like milk and honey from the writers point of view.. A piece of literary work that no Christian who THIRSTS for God should ever go without enjoying its contents..So amazingly insightful, tremendously challenging and capable of setting a new course in life.. Can you almost taste it.. Spiritually speaking that is..Does the mere description of it causes you spiritual faculties to salivate..It should..but let me digress before I divulge the Title of the book of this magnitude.




Appetizers - Spinach and Artichoke Dip (Man of Character in a World of Compromise), Quesadillas (When good men are tempted), Fried Mushrooms (Selling Among Wolves without Joining the Pack), Loaded Cheese Fries ( How a Man Prays for His Family), Cheese sticks ( Knowing God's Will)




Meals (everyday meals...if you will)- Pepperoni Pizza (God! Do You Hear Me?), Chicken and Broccoli w/ Garlic Sauce (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life), Hamburgers and Hotdogs(When Bad things happen to Good People)




Meals (reserved for Date Night- Special) - Babyback Ribs(The Case for Christ), Chicken Marsala from Olive Garden (Guiding Your Child Toward God), Ranchiladas from On the Border(The Battlefield of the Mind)




Special Meals on Rare Occassions but Oh so Good - Melting Pot Fondue ( Mere Christianity), Sullivans Steakhouse (The Divine Defense), Choose your own favorite(Purpose Driven Life)




Desserts - Tony's Milkshake ( Shepharding a Child's Heart), Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake( She Calls Me Daddy), Divinity (Strongwilled Child)




and then the ..........................


Creme de la Crem' - The Best of the Best - The one so Good that nothing else compares Meal - Ruth's Chris Steak and that book for me would be " The Pursuit of God by Aiden W Tozer..aka AW Tozer..




Folks I took this much time and detail to lay this out because I am convinced in my brief 36 years of existence, this has been the most spiritually satisfying, challenging life altering book I have ever picked up..Before this book was Mere Christianity in its place(although my spiritual infancy did not allow me to grasp much of the deepness CS Lewis had to share)but after reading "The Pursuit of God" I felt like a changed man..Never ever would I be the same.. My perspective on life and my walk (run) with the Lord had taken on new meaning, a new direction to some degree, and higher level of understanding.. I am forever a changed man after consuming such a meal..




Let me just share a few excerpts from the first couple of chapters that is but a sampling of a Gourmet Masterpiece...




(This is the exact email I sent to my beloved wife when I shared with her the journey I was embarking on as I begin to read this book)





********Hey I wanted to share some of the wisdom from AW Tozer from his book ( The Pursuit of God) I was reading last night..This man is as deep as CS Lewis and truly has a grasp of the Godhead like few others...Let me give you some excerpts from his Book

This is how he ends his preface and I must say this set the tone for what is about to be a spiritual journey not yet known to me, but anxiously awaiting I am

"This book is a modest attempt to aid God's hungry children so to find Him. Nothing here is new except in the sense that it is a discovery which my own heart has made of spiritual realities most delightful and wonderful to me. Others before me have gone much further into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame"


Chp 1 - Following Hard after God

"The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be "received" without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is "saved", but he is not hungry nor thirsty for God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little"


" You and I are in little what God is in large. Being made in His image we have within us the capacity to know Him. In our sins we lack only the power. The moment the Holy Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition. That is the heavenly birth without which we cannot see the kingdom of God. It is however, not an end but an inception, for now begins the glorious pursuit , the hearts happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead. That is where we begin, I say, but where we stop no man has yet discovered, for there is in the awful and mysterious depths of the Triune God neither limit nor end"


" The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go,one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and has it purely, legitimately and forever"


and this one which stirred tremendous emotion inside my spirit

Chp 2 - The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

Speaking of Abraham " God let the suffering old man go through with it up to the point where He knew there would be no retreat, and then forbade him to lay a hand upon the boy. To the wondering Patriarch He now says in effect " It's all right Abraham. I never intended that you should actually slay the lad. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there". I wanted to correct the perversion that existed in your love


And now listen to the beautiful prayer...to which words become sweet like no other I have read

(end of Chp 1)
" Oh God I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul " Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.. In Jesus' name..Amen"


and the best one so far

(end of Chp 2)
" Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from the Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.. In Jesus' name. Amen"


EB

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

My revelation on Sin - Ruler of Earth



I am like many others that when I hear the word Sin..I understand its meaning..At least I tought I did..but not until this day, was I able to grasp the shere power of Sin and it's Rule here on Earth..I guess what is different today than yesterday regarding sin is the very power that it beholds..It is not just bad, or evil or wrong doing..Oh no..Sin is much more powerful and creative than the mere breaking of God's commands..I came to the understanding as I was studying Romans and seeking to uncover the "newness of life" that Paul speaks of so fervently. It was this study that led to this blog about Sin and its effect on us and it Mastery.. When I read the word Mastery..I took pause..It shook me up inside..It caused a great degree of anguish in my soul to hear that Sin has Mastery over all Creation until we come to accept Christ as our Saviour, our Lord.. Let the word Mastery ramble around in your mind for a few minutes and see what comes to light with just this word.. Mastery - The art of perfecting , to be above , the ultimate.. This is what comes to my mind and to associate this with Sin just floored me.. Can sin really have Mastery over us? Most certainly...but what does that mean..? It means it can not be defeated by yourself..You can not conquer and defeat a master without knowing the Only One WHO has already defeated this Master that has been relegated to earth and banished from Perfection in Heaven.. It is with Christ that we have Victory..and only then.. We are likening our battle with Satan and his demonic sword of Sin like us fighting a 12 degree black belt and expecting to win..It is laughable to satan and just exactly what he wants you to believe..That you can "go it" alone..You dont need any help from anyone..That is deception in its truest form.. It is now my perfected understanding of Sin that I can see my desperate need for Christ..What a blessing..for me anyway to see my need for Christ thru the eyes of Sins power..Allow me to unravel my thoughts on this study as they came about...


Romans 6
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life

2 Corinthians
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come

Ephesians 4:24
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Colossians 3:10
10 and have put on the new self

A qualitative change of identity has already occurred in the lives of believers. It now only remains for them to bring their behavior into line with their new identity

Created after the likeness of God further shows the connection with the original creation in Genesis, where “God created man in his own image”

Romans 6
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin(rule of sin) might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin(no longer in Adam but in Christ)

Commentary on verse 6
The power of sin has been broken in those who believe, for their old self (lit., “old man,” meaning who they were in Adam) was crucified and put to death with Christ. They were born into the world as sinners, with the result that their bodies were ruled by sin. Body of sin refers to the rule of sin, but without excluding the involvement of the personal self that lives through the body. Sin's rule, however, was broken when Christians died with Christ, and therefore they are no longer enslaved to sin. Paul does not argue that Christians do not sin at all (a view called sinless perfection); instead, the tyranny, domination, and rule of sin have been defeated for them. This means that the normal pattern of life for Christians should be progressive growth in sanctification, resulting in ever greater maturity and conformity to God's moral law in thought and action.

Romans 6
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus

Commentary on 11
Dead to sin means dead to the pervasive love for and ruling power of sin. Christians must realize that the mastery of sin has been broken in their lives

Wow..When I see the word Mastery of Sin(ruling Power)..that brings up a whole different idea of this SIN..Not just good versus evil sin...but a SIN that rules the earth and has Mastery over all of earth...except for those that die to Sin and are alive in Christ..This sin is much more powerful than I have ever realized until today..I had no idea that SIN was Ruler of all Earth.. I mean I knew that Satan is the ruler of Earth and that he is sin himself..but that Sin had mastery over the people is further proof for me that I need Jesus and without Him I am totally and completely helpless against this Sin..I can not defeat it alone or with my own will power..That would be like me competing against a Master Fighter( 12th degree black belt).. What are the chances I would win..NONE..This has helped me to realize just how powerful Sin is and how powerful Satan is with this SIN..If this were something so easily defeated, then why need Jesus at ALL.. We cant defeat this SIN with out Jesus...but since He has defeated Sin and Death in His resurrection, then we can also defeat this Sin if we die to Him and Live with Him..

Romans 6
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions

Commentary on 12
The tension surfaces here between what God has already accomplished and the responsibility of his people to obey. They are still tempted by desires to sin and must not let those desires gain control. Each day they must give themselves afresh to God.

The result of our "newness of Life" is verse 14

14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

commentary on 14
sin will have no dominion over you. This is not a command but a promise that sin will not triumph in the lives of Christians. Because they live in the new era of fulfillment, they are no longer under the old era of redemptive history; that is, they are no longer under law, where the Mosaic law and sin ruled over God's people. By contrast, under grace means living under the new covenant in Christ, in an era characterized by grace

I think if people really understood just how powerful Sin was and how much Rule sin had, they would see the need for Christ..but many do not see this Mastery..They have the two columns of Good and Bad and feel like they do much more good than Bad..therefore they is good..without realizing just how pervasive Sin is and how much rule it has over all of earth..That to me is a critical link to understanding how much we need Jesus..I mean for me I have known for some time that I needed Jesus for a whole host of reasons and that without Him I could do nothing..or least most things..(that is how I felt)..I believed that I had the ability to fend off some Sin if I just had my mind right and "dug in"....I laugh at this idea now because I was fighting a fight that I could never win and Satan was smiling at my belief that I could take him on by myself..and Satan was just luring me in little by little till he could get a stronghold..Mastery is no joke..that word just hits home for me and makes me realize just how power this foe is..and if we do not call on the Lord Jesus Christ to help us with this battle, we will fall victim..no matter how hard we try..or no matter how good we think we might be..It is with Jesus and no other way..He is the only one who has rule over Sin and Death and has already defeated both..Praise God !!


Boy just typing this out and reading it again brings up many emotions inside my mind and causes me to fall to my knees at the power of Christ!!


Father, may I grasp the power of sin in the human life and its abilities and may I lay hold of you and your might to take over my life and defeat this foe..to set me free from the tyranny and bondage of sin...so that I may rise and walk in newness of life..and live set apart from this world and surrendered to you...and Oh Father..May you reign in my heart unrivaled and unchallenged.. In Christ Name..Amen
EB

Monday, January 19, 2009

Light Bulb



You may find that this particular blog to reveal a very young understanding of my Spiritual walk.. I have for many years claimed the title of Christian and with no more real understanding than someone who has never really known God.. I guess what I am trying to say is God has begun the process of peeling back the layers from my blind eyes and things that seemed so unclear and cloudy are coming into focus..This is happening because of a True Thirst for God and Knowing Him and an actual transformation that has occurred in my heart after living in some serious darkness, unbridled and wicked in every way..but as that awesome song "Amazing Grace" says


Amazing grace How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now I'm found

Was blind, but now I see'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed My chains are gone I've been set free

My God, my Savior has ransomed me And like a flood His mercy rains

Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures

He will my shield and portion be As long as life endures

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow The sun forbear to shine

But God, Who called me here below

Will be forever mine Will be forever mine You are forever mine


What I have learned is this..We must never take for granted the Mercy of God..The Saving Grace..I learned to recieve many years ago and tried to repent (turn from) my sin...but never really did I ever grasp the understanding of taking up the Cross and Following my Lord and Savior until recently..and I am amazed each and every day and the wonderous works of God in my life and His desire to reveal to me more and more of Himself..This below is a copy of an email I sent Nicki some few months back during a quiet time with the Lord and I labeled this email Light Bulb..and for many who may read this..you may say to yourself..Duh? That I already knew..but for me it was just one of many excitings days I have experienced in my Pursuit of God..



*********"I had a revelation on the first verse I began studying and wanted to share..This may have been known to you long time ago but for me I just had an epiphany..

You know how God over and over again speaks of Faith and enduring and persevering and obedience in Faith..I understood that intellectually but today I have made the circles meet..

Faith is in God's eyes RIGHTEOUSNESS...That is how you can be made righteous in God's eyes by FAITH.. See no amount of obeying the Law (old covenant) and keeping its commands could bring you as much righteousness as having FAITH.. This is it.. Being a good person is pleasing to God..but WITHOUT FAITH, all works are DEAD.. Faith is the key to unlocking God's grace and allowing Him to communicate with us and reveal to us all the wonderful things He desires..We close Him off when our Faith is dull or weak, but if we have ABRAHAM style Faith, then and only then can God reveal to us all the mysteries of His ways and works. God wants to show us (his people) all His glory but we shut that off when we have little Faith.. You want to see God unload His Glory, then have abundant Faith.. It is only thru Faith that we can be made a child of His and that Faith is more than a word..It is a Belief that stems form the depth of your being that manifests itself in your flesh and outward doings. It is a level of Trust that cant be equaled. When we have anxiety or worry, we are saying to God, we really dont believe you will take care of us and therefore we are of little faith.. My mind is exploding right now with all the times of the bible I remember Jesus saying, you of little faith or you who shows great faith. There are just numerous times in the bible where Jesus (and God) speak of Faith during healing's, casting out of demons.. God searches the Heart and only He can know what is there and can see the Faith that we claim.. We may say to others that we have Faith...but if they could examine our hearts, what would the really find there..Would it be faith or would it be fear..fear that God may not hear me, or not take care of me.. I am just overwhelmed with emotion right now..I cant explain it.. God has unlocked my mind and made something so cloudy extremely clear..I feel enlightened.. Faith is what God desires of us.. We can read and study and do many good things, but it must all start with Faith.. Faith that our God will take care of EVERYTHING for us..that surrendering our life to him doesn't mean we have to worry anymore about what is going to happen to us, that He has our best interests at heart and desires total dependence that only Great FAITH can produce..otherwise we still hold on to parts of our life just in case God doesn't meet our expectations.. Faith, Faith, Faith..That is so simple yet some uniquely complex..

We need to stop trying to be Good little Christians and just have Great FAITH..That type of Faith will allow God to perfect us and make us into something way better than we can make of ourselves trying to be good and obey.. Faith covers all that.. Faith is the root of all that.. Faith allows God to work in us.. Faith allows us to have intimacy with God.. Faith is the catalyst for all things Good. When you have this kind of Faith, then God can get close enough to you to open your eyes wide and allow us to see his Splendor. His Majesty..His Nature..His Love..His Favor..

Romans 4:5
5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Commentary
Righteousness does not come to those who work for God, since all, like Abraham (
Josh. 24:2), are by God's absolute standards ungodly. Rather, right-standing righteousness comes, as it did for Abraham, by believing.


This below is what started the chain of events that you just read..Romans 3:21

The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

I am simply and utterly overwhelmed !!*************


May the Lord God bring clarity to your world and may you seek the Lord with all your heart and soul and mind...because it is there that you will find Him, desiring to fill you with His Splendor..


EB

Future Glory (Romans 8:18)



This is the ideal to which we as believers all cling to..The Future Glory..The New Heaven and Earth that is to be revealed to us..The resurrection of this "body of death" (as Paul puts it)..To be freed from this body which is the Flesh, the carnal, the wickedness spoken all throughout the NT.. This is why we suffer, we endure, we persevere..This is why we surrender ourselves to God and separate ourselves from the world..

Now I said Ideal in the beginning here..That was woefully inadequate in describing eternity..Paul says in Romans 8 beginning is verse 18 that "the sufferings of the present time not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us". Now since this coming from Paul, who had much to say about suffering since a very large portion of his life was spent suffering for Christ's sake..Can we not try and picture the gloriousness he knew of and spoke of.. I think many times we as believers have no real comprehension as to what is in store for us..I believe we understand there is a Heaven and a hell and heaven is a much "dreamier" place..But what does it really mean to us? What is FUTURE GLORY? Our finite minds try to place some description on this "Place". I believe that we try and paint Heaven as this place of wonderful beauty and submersed with the countenance of God..We envision Gold and Diamonds and purple silk..(at least I do.when I try and describe Heaven to my girls, I have but only a limitless vocabulary to try and help them understand what is not understandable)..Angels with beautiful wings and halo's, harps playing such glorious compositions, millions upon millions (innumerable) angels worshipping our Triune God..The Creator of all things known and unknown..Joy, Peace, Comfort..All these are words I conjure up to try and depict in my mind of what awaits me..But I am left so short of the reality that is stirs a desire inside to search the Truth and try as I might to see what the scriptures unveil to me. To seek God's infinite wisdom in hopes that He would peel back layer after layer of my blind eyes so that I may capture but a glimpse of this FUTURE GLORY..

AW Tozer in his book "The Pursuit of God" says..To most people( and he is speaking of Christians as well) God is an inference, not a reality. He is a deduction from evidence which we consider adequate, but He remains personally unknown to the individual. He must be, they say, therefore we believe He is......They go through life trying to love an ideal and loyal to a mere principle"

Now I will admit to all who care to know, this was me and still is me..I do not yet know this God in the personal way described here by Tozer..I have used my human mind and reasoned well that God is God and that He in fact created me and that I need to be obedient to the Creator..and that if I do, a reward awaits me..But this gets to the heart of the matter..How can I truly thirst for God when I have not the slightest experience with his person..To know him beyond a mere deduction of the evidence..but to actually experience Him.. I believe that when one is availed to experience the Glorious God, the immutable, omnipotent, omniscient One..The view they get of Heaven(our Future Glory) is without words..It will cause an awakening of the Holy Spirit inside us that will fuel our desire to KNOW HIM..not just believe in Him..To awaken our spiritual faculties, that lay dormant inside us because of our un crucified flesh, so that we are able to SEE the One who has made us in His own image..We are in little what He is in large.. We have this capability built inside us..God created us so that we could experience Him in this manner.......Yet many of us, including myself do not thirst for Him enough to ever experience what God so Desires to pour out to us.. We take in God in doses like some kind of spiritual medicine...To inoculate us from the world we reside..Sunday dose, Wednesday dose and that might be it.. NO..NO..NO.God made us so that we could experience Him personally..and it is then that the mind can begin to know what this FUTURE GLORY really is and it is then that we become truly surrendered to GOD and separate from this world and only then that we let go of the last remaining carnal vices that inhibit the flow of Grace the abounds in The Most High God..

So let the journey begin..Let us strive for this kinship with the personal God.. so that we can know the Future Glory that awaits us and be able to share with Passionate Boldness the God we know to those we love, such as our dear children, but also to those we do not yet know and who do not know God in any form..

Tozer says " God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands or our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is......Hearts that are "fit to break" with love for the Godhead are those who have been in the Presence and have looked with opened eye upon the majesty of Deity"

Father, I come trembling, but I come..Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that you may enter into my heart and reign there unchallenged and unrivaled. Lord I long to be filled with a desire to thirst for you, a thirst that will never be quenched until you beckon me home. Begin a new work in me and say to my soul rise up and then afford me the grace needed to rise up and follow. In Jesus' name, Amen
Eddie Bailey

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sleep like its the 7th day...


on the 7th day we rest....

every Sunday afternoon we come home from church, usually after having lunch at O'Charley's (the kids' meals include a drink!), and i am ready for a nap! I'll change my clothes, and then i'll go to Lilygrace's room and TRY to get her to lay down and take a nap...with me! Moms, don't we always sleep a little better when our youngest is asleep? i don't mean that they have to sleep WITH us...but just knowing that Lilygrace Bailey is asleep helps me to sleep better! Only one problem...she has WAYYYYYYYY more staying power than me. Now, Eddie will tell you that as soon as my head hits the pillow, i'm out. I like to think that its not quite that fast...but...he would know better than me...since i'm the one that's asleep! now, under any other circumstances i couldn't sleep in a room that has as much clutter in it as Lilygrace's. But for whatever reason, i don't mind all of the baby dolls, the books, the kitchen, and all that is pink and "princessy". When i go in there and i'll say..."c'mon tink, lay down with mommy". and usually...that's all it takes. We turn on channel 47, noggin, and she lays down in the bed she LOVES so much with her 'yellow blanket' (a velveteen blanket, that is REALLY mine..but i share with her) and her purple sheets ('t-shirt sheets LOVE THEM!) and she puts her 2 middle fingers of her left hand in her mouth backwards and she rubs the edge of her mattress with her right hand (not sure of the sensation she gets from that...its soft, but its the seam of the mattress so its firm, too.) and her eyes will close halfway...then i'm off to dream land. probably one show of Dora the Explorer, or Blues Clues will go by and then i'll start to hear her singing along with the songs and then she'll start to get a little louder...then...she starts to crawl on me and stand on me...and pretty much use me as a bean bag or something that you can stand up and fall on and try to keep your balance on (that would be my knees). So...i'll try at least 3 times to get her to lay back down and cover up again with the yellow blanet (always works for me!) and over and over...its me that falls back to sleep! So i get up and fold clothes or eat something or sit with Eddie to watch what ever game is in season...and then i'll notice about 15 minutes have gone by that i haven't heard from Lilygrace. And of course...she is sound asleep...at a very inconvenient time i might add...4:00, fingers in mouth, and Back Yardigans singing in the back ground. and i look at her....all of that sleepy hair and those long eyelashes...and i just wonder why God chose me to be her mommy. I wonder why i can't get her to go to sleep...but the Back Yardigans can. I wonder how she can look just like an angel...but 30 minutes ago she was jumping up and down on me. I wonder if I mean this much to my heavenly Father. I know that God gave me the greatest gifts of all, our 3 blondies, to show me and illustrate to me just how much love He has for me (and to teach me a thing or two!)...and for all of His children. I may not always do things the way He would prefer...but He loves me infinitely...and His love for me does not change with more people becoming His children...just as i love all of my girls and not one more or less than the others. I look at Lilygrace and I see a work of perfection....all of my girls just leave me awe struck, not because of their beauty, but because God made them....and He's trusted me with them. I could not love my girls more...and there's nothing they will ever do to make me love them more....or make me love them less...and i have the peace and joy of knowing my heavenly Father loves me infinitely...and there's nothing i can do to make Him love me more...or less... Now that, my friends, is some good sleep!