Last Tuesday I went out to the prison to lead a bible study. I had a very interesting time. There has been some dissension among the inmates that have been coming and it boils down to a clash of personalities. I remained in control of the situation but set back to let them discuss with each other the issues they had. Once everyone had shared I addressed the group. I pointed out to them that each one had been offended at one point or another during the discussion. I also told them that they cannot leave the meeting with the offense. Satan would like nothing more than this group of men be at odds with each other.
We are all apart of the family of God and it is just that- a family. A family isn't a place where there are no disagreements. On the contrary, disagreements are where we learn to communicate. This takes place in family because it is a safe environment where we have room to fail and learn from our mistakes. The Church needs to realize this responsibility. We don't always agree with each other; however, we must work through our disagreements and allow healing. I understand that we cannot please everyone. Jesus said that it is impossible for there to be no offenses. There are always going to be disagreements but we are instructed to do everything possible to keep the peace. Leaving a church as a result of an offense is never a healthy thing and it gives Satan power to bring destruction.
I used the example of siblings to get this point across. I grew up with a younger brother. We spent most of our childhood fighting and arguing. It seemed like we couldn't stand each other. However, if a bully came along to mess with my little brother then there was war. No one was allowed to pick on him but me and I wouldn't stand for someone else doing it because he is MY brother.
We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. It is normal for us to butt heads but we must not allow it to destroy our relationships because there is a bully out there trying to destroy the family of God. Our adversary the devil is out there to bully our brothers and sisters and we have a responsibility to our family to encourage them and build them up.
Once I finished sharing and encouraging the group we prayed together and forgiveness reigned in that place. This is how we mature together by overcoming these trials. We are just beginning this process but I know God is doing great things here in Littlefield.
God bless and keep you!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Knowing the Banana: part 4
Phil 3:12-16
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
NIV
Finally, we have reached the end of the banana. Not that I haven't enjoyed every minute of it, but now we can see the peak of this mountain. Paul makes it clear that even he hasn't got it all yet but that isn't going to slow him down. His intention is to apprehend what Jesus called him to apprehend. He is coming back to the first point he made that I pointed to in part 1. He is going to forget everything behind and go after the goal.
First of all he isn't just forgetting what God has done for him but he is leaving the "burning bush" and he is running toward the "Mount Sinai." (If Moses hadn't left the bush he would have never experienced the mountain). He isn't just walking toward it either; this is his total consuming focus in life. He is "straining toward" and "pressing on" to know Christ.
What is the goal? What is the prize? It is the knowledge of Christ and the becoming like Him. Look at what Jesus said:
John 17:3-4
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
NIV
We would be wise to follow Paul's example to strive to know God this way; every way. God's desire is to reveal Himself to us in every way. Eternal life begins with the knowledge of God. Our perfection comes when we, like Christ, only do what we see our Father in heaven doing. Jesus paid to make this impossibility possible. The key here is that Paul says it takes maturity to see this and he even goes as far as to say that is the way the mature should view life.
Ultimately it is God that brings us to this understanding only through a relationship and time spent with Him. Paul makes a dramatic statement that derails all religious regulations when he says "only let us live up to what we have already attained." In other words, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What God, through a relationship with Him, has revealed to us and the convictions He has established in our lives is the law written on our hearts and we are required to live up to that which we have attained. Take note of this scripture:
Gal 5:16
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
NIV
I believe the whole Book and when it says here that I will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature when I walk with God, led by His Spirit, I believe it. And that is a whole other book so I will end with this. If you focus on sin or not sinning you will sin. If you focus on God you won't.
Rom 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
NIV
Just enjoy the banana and God will handle the rest!
God bless!
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
NIV
Finally, we have reached the end of the banana. Not that I haven't enjoyed every minute of it, but now we can see the peak of this mountain. Paul makes it clear that even he hasn't got it all yet but that isn't going to slow him down. His intention is to apprehend what Jesus called him to apprehend. He is coming back to the first point he made that I pointed to in part 1. He is going to forget everything behind and go after the goal.
First of all he isn't just forgetting what God has done for him but he is leaving the "burning bush" and he is running toward the "Mount Sinai." (If Moses hadn't left the bush he would have never experienced the mountain). He isn't just walking toward it either; this is his total consuming focus in life. He is "straining toward" and "pressing on" to know Christ.
What is the goal? What is the prize? It is the knowledge of Christ and the becoming like Him. Look at what Jesus said:
John 17:3-4
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
NIV
We would be wise to follow Paul's example to strive to know God this way; every way. God's desire is to reveal Himself to us in every way. Eternal life begins with the knowledge of God. Our perfection comes when we, like Christ, only do what we see our Father in heaven doing. Jesus paid to make this impossibility possible. The key here is that Paul says it takes maturity to see this and he even goes as far as to say that is the way the mature should view life.
Ultimately it is God that brings us to this understanding only through a relationship and time spent with Him. Paul makes a dramatic statement that derails all religious regulations when he says "only let us live up to what we have already attained." In other words, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What God, through a relationship with Him, has revealed to us and the convictions He has established in our lives is the law written on our hearts and we are required to live up to that which we have attained. Take note of this scripture:
Gal 5:16
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
NIV
I believe the whole Book and when it says here that I will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature when I walk with God, led by His Spirit, I believe it. And that is a whole other book so I will end with this. If you focus on sin or not sinning you will sin. If you focus on God you won't.
Rom 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
NIV
Just enjoy the banana and God will handle the rest!
God bless!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Knowing the Banana: part 3
Phil 3:10-11
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
NIV
Paul here says he wants to know the "power of his resurrection". We know the Bible says that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. Paul says he wants to know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. Many Christians think this means we are to suffer like Jesus suffered so we can have fellowship with Him. That's dumb. Jesus went through all of that suffering so we wouldn't have to. He paid for us because we couldn't pay for us ourselves. Who thinks that they could actually gain something by their own suffering; our righteousness is as filthy rags. God isn't in the business of suffering because He can't give what He doesn't have. Suffering is the devils business and Jesus came so we can be free from suffering. Read Isaiah 61.
What Paul is saying here is that he wants to join in the benefits that come from Jesus' suffering. He wants to live in the blessings of what Jesus paid for. Jesus' death wasn't just enough to get us into heaven. His life was worth WAY more than that wasn't it? He paid for our freedom from sin, death, torment from the devil, and for man's fellowship with God to be restored so we may rule the Earth as He had intended Adam to. This is what Paul was talking about. Jesus paid through His suffering what needed to be paid so we can have a real relationship with Him and our Father in Heaven. Paul wants to know Him.
"...becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
I want to point out something in John 7 that I think can explain this better.
John 7:37-39
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as c the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
NIV
First of all, we are to take a drink of the Spirit and that drink will become "streams of living water." In other words, we are to get life from God (drink) and our life will become empowered (streams of life) to give life to everyone around us that comes for a drink. That is amazing! What a massive responsibility we have. I'll dig into that another time.
Notice that verse 39 says that the Spirit had not been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. That's interesting. Why the need to wait until Jesus was glorified? Well, what is the primary job of the Holy Spirit? His main purpose is to make us more like Jesus. His job is to perfect us. I know, what a tough job, huh? Think about it this way, if the Spirit had come prior to Jesus being glorified then He would be making the disciples more like Jesus before the cross. He came after Jesus was glorified because we are to be like the glorified Christ. We are being transformed into the likeness of the Jesus who sets at the right hand of the Father, not the Jesus who walked this Earth. Many Christians are still weeping at the cross and God wants us to know the life after the resurrection. The power Jesus displayed on Earth as a man walking in right relationship with God was awesome but He wants us to know the greater power of the resurrection. God considers the raising of Jesus from the dead the greatest thing that has ever been done. It is greater than all of creation. That is what He wants us to know. That is what Paul wanted to know.
God bless you.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
NIV
Paul here says he wants to know the "power of his resurrection". We know the Bible says that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. Paul says he wants to know the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. Many Christians think this means we are to suffer like Jesus suffered so we can have fellowship with Him. That's dumb. Jesus went through all of that suffering so we wouldn't have to. He paid for us because we couldn't pay for us ourselves. Who thinks that they could actually gain something by their own suffering; our righteousness is as filthy rags. God isn't in the business of suffering because He can't give what He doesn't have. Suffering is the devils business and Jesus came so we can be free from suffering. Read Isaiah 61.
What Paul is saying here is that he wants to join in the benefits that come from Jesus' suffering. He wants to live in the blessings of what Jesus paid for. Jesus' death wasn't just enough to get us into heaven. His life was worth WAY more than that wasn't it? He paid for our freedom from sin, death, torment from the devil, and for man's fellowship with God to be restored so we may rule the Earth as He had intended Adam to. This is what Paul was talking about. Jesus paid through His suffering what needed to be paid so we can have a real relationship with Him and our Father in Heaven. Paul wants to know Him.
"...becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
I want to point out something in John 7 that I think can explain this better.
John 7:37-39
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as c the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
NIV
First of all, we are to take a drink of the Spirit and that drink will become "streams of living water." In other words, we are to get life from God (drink) and our life will become empowered (streams of life) to give life to everyone around us that comes for a drink. That is amazing! What a massive responsibility we have. I'll dig into that another time.
Notice that verse 39 says that the Spirit had not been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. That's interesting. Why the need to wait until Jesus was glorified? Well, what is the primary job of the Holy Spirit? His main purpose is to make us more like Jesus. His job is to perfect us. I know, what a tough job, huh? Think about it this way, if the Spirit had come prior to Jesus being glorified then He would be making the disciples more like Jesus before the cross. He came after Jesus was glorified because we are to be like the glorified Christ. We are being transformed into the likeness of the Jesus who sets at the right hand of the Father, not the Jesus who walked this Earth. Many Christians are still weeping at the cross and God wants us to know the life after the resurrection. The power Jesus displayed on Earth as a man walking in right relationship with God was awesome but He wants us to know the greater power of the resurrection. God considers the raising of Jesus from the dead the greatest thing that has ever been done. It is greater than all of creation. That is what He wants us to know. That is what Paul wanted to know.
God bless you.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Knowing the Banana: part 2
Phil 3:8-11
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
NIV
I want to pick up where I left off last time. We talked about how Paul considered everything a loss compared to knowing Christ. Here he is considering all those former things junk in order that he might gain Christ and be found in Him. John writes in his Gospel account: "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30. When we loose who we are we gain who He is. That is awesome because it is far greater a thing for Christ to live through me. Then all things are possible!
Paul then makes the statement that the righteousness that comes from God is through faith in Christ. He is telling us that our righteousness should come from God. That righteousness, that comes from God, comes only by faith; faith in Jesus Christ. Consider this, we are saved by grace through faith. Grace comes from God, righteousness comes from God and they both can only come through faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1. James tells us that faith without action is dead and it can't save you. Therefore, when we believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ and declare Him to be the Lord(Ruler) of our lives then He supplies the power, equipment, weapons, armor, wisdom, strength, resources, and everything else we need to live holy and all we have to do is believe and act on our beliefs. We cannot sit idle in a pew (or chair) and expect God to do the work. That is like going to work and sitting at your desk expecting your boss to do the job he hired you to do. You would get fired! Well God has a job for us and He has given us everything we need in order to perform our job. I am not talking about a life of works getting you into heaven, it is an issue of the heart. The fruit of someone trying to earn heaven and someone who is living by faith from heaven(we are seated in heavenly places- Ephesians 2:6) looks the same but it comes from a different place, one comes from pride and the other comes from God.
We need to stop walking around like whipped dogs and stand up straight as David did and begin knocking down a few giants and cutting off their heads. We are here to destroy the works of the devil and bring heaven to earth.
Well, I thought that this series of entries would be coming to a close soon but I guess I thought wrong. This "banana" is bigger than I thought and it is going to take more bites to get it all down. I pray today that you see God somewhere you have never seen Him before, that He would reveal Himself to you in a whole new way. I pray that everything that is done by you today would prosper and you would accomplish, with much satisfaction, everything you set out to do. God bless!
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
NIV
I want to pick up where I left off last time. We talked about how Paul considered everything a loss compared to knowing Christ. Here he is considering all those former things junk in order that he might gain Christ and be found in Him. John writes in his Gospel account: "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30. When we loose who we are we gain who He is. That is awesome because it is far greater a thing for Christ to live through me. Then all things are possible!
Paul then makes the statement that the righteousness that comes from God is through faith in Christ. He is telling us that our righteousness should come from God. That righteousness, that comes from God, comes only by faith; faith in Jesus Christ. Consider this, we are saved by grace through faith. Grace comes from God, righteousness comes from God and they both can only come through faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1. James tells us that faith without action is dead and it can't save you. Therefore, when we believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ and declare Him to be the Lord(Ruler) of our lives then He supplies the power, equipment, weapons, armor, wisdom, strength, resources, and everything else we need to live holy and all we have to do is believe and act on our beliefs. We cannot sit idle in a pew (or chair) and expect God to do the work. That is like going to work and sitting at your desk expecting your boss to do the job he hired you to do. You would get fired! Well God has a job for us and He has given us everything we need in order to perform our job. I am not talking about a life of works getting you into heaven, it is an issue of the heart. The fruit of someone trying to earn heaven and someone who is living by faith from heaven(we are seated in heavenly places- Ephesians 2:6) looks the same but it comes from a different place, one comes from pride and the other comes from God.
We need to stop walking around like whipped dogs and stand up straight as David did and begin knocking down a few giants and cutting off their heads. We are here to destroy the works of the devil and bring heaven to earth.
Well, I thought that this series of entries would be coming to a close soon but I guess I thought wrong. This "banana" is bigger than I thought and it is going to take more bites to get it all down. I pray today that you see God somewhere you have never seen Him before, that He would reveal Himself to you in a whole new way. I pray that everything that is done by you today would prosper and you would accomplish, with much satisfaction, everything you set out to do. God bless!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Knowing a Banana: part 1
The Apostle Paul. What comes to mind when you hear that name? Some think of prison, some think of a 180 degree conversion, and some think of martyrdom. I think of a man who's life changed so drastically that he changed the world. I want to leave a legacy like that!
Paul wrote most of the New Testament in the form of letters to the Churches he felt responsible for. I often wonder if the recipients of those letters fully understood what he was trying to tell them. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they read them. Philippians 3 is one such letter.
Phil 3:4-21
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
I am amazed by this passage. Paul was not bashing his previous lifestyle before conversion as many believe. He was one of the greatest and most faithful Jews of his time. He tells us that he had "more" reason to put confidence in the flesh. He was a full blooded Hebrew, descendant of Pharisees, he memorized the Law, he Biblically opposed anyone who he felt was a threat to his beliefs, and he was righteous because of his adherence to the Old Covenant. He was the man! This is why his conversion to Christ was so HUGE!
So he goes on to say that all of this he considers a "loss" for the sake of Christ. The word loss here means damage or a detrament. He is saying that all he lived for prior to his encounter with Christ was completely scriptural but in comparison with Christ it is destructive. Why? Because he understands that to know Christ is far greater a reward than a self-centered, law based, do this and don't do that system of righteousness. That we can all relate to but he gets even deeper.
He says that more than that he considers "everything" a loss compared to the "surpassing greatness" (beyond our carnal understanding) of knowing Jesus Christ. That is HUGE! He isn't talking about sin here; he is talking about everything prior to right now is a detriment to knowing Christ, right now. Let me say it this way, to know Christ is to "be knowing" Him. It is a constant state of discovery of who Jesus is. Paul considers everything in the past less than zero; in a scale of 1 to 10 it is like -10. He isn't just talking about failure he is talking about successes as well. Consider Moses, he meets with God at a burning bush. I have to think at that time in Moses' life that experience had to be, to him, a mountain top experience. Many Christians have experiences like that and spend the rest of their lives wishing they were still living in that experience never moving on like that is the best God can do. You know what I mean: "I remember when Church used to..." What would have happened if Moses hadn't left the bush? He would have never delivered his people. He would have never parted the Red Sea. He would have never climbed a mountain to meet with God. He would have never met face to face with God in such a way that his face would glow from God's glory. Paul is saying here that in order to know (be knowing) Christ he must forget the bush to get to the deliverance. He must forget the bush to get to the parting of the waters. He must forget the bush to get to the meeting with God again and again. I am not implying that testimonies of what God has done in the past should be forgotten but we must be continually heading forward in our relationship with God. Look at what he says next in this passage; he considers it all rubbish which means dung. Basically he is saying everything else is crap in comparison to the immeasurable greatness of getting to know Jesus in every way.
I want to share more on this portion of scripture (hence the part 1 in the title) but I want to leave you with this thought. How do you know a banana? You can know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, and what it tastes like. You can talk to someone else and both of you have different takes on the banana. Some people like the taste and some don't. You can know the science of the make-up of the banana or the nourishment you get from it. Think about this; on a cellular level you can "know" the banana in ways that you cannot comprehend with you mind. When you body assimilates the nutrients of the banana the banana becomes a part of you. Do you get what I am saying? There are countless ways we can know something but Paul wants to know Christ in all of those ways and in ways that he can't even comprehend with his human understanding. That is so HUGE I wonder if the Philippian Church got it. I wonder if we get it.
I want to explore this some more but until then, you be blessed and I ask Christ to reveal Himself to you today in a way you have never seen Him before!
Paul wrote most of the New Testament in the form of letters to the Churches he felt responsible for. I often wonder if the recipients of those letters fully understood what he was trying to tell them. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they read them. Philippians 3 is one such letter.
Phil 3:4-21
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
I am amazed by this passage. Paul was not bashing his previous lifestyle before conversion as many believe. He was one of the greatest and most faithful Jews of his time. He tells us that he had "more" reason to put confidence in the flesh. He was a full blooded Hebrew, descendant of Pharisees, he memorized the Law, he Biblically opposed anyone who he felt was a threat to his beliefs, and he was righteous because of his adherence to the Old Covenant. He was the man! This is why his conversion to Christ was so HUGE!
So he goes on to say that all of this he considers a "loss" for the sake of Christ. The word loss here means damage or a detrament. He is saying that all he lived for prior to his encounter with Christ was completely scriptural but in comparison with Christ it is destructive. Why? Because he understands that to know Christ is far greater a reward than a self-centered, law based, do this and don't do that system of righteousness. That we can all relate to but he gets even deeper.
He says that more than that he considers "everything" a loss compared to the "surpassing greatness" (beyond our carnal understanding) of knowing Jesus Christ. That is HUGE! He isn't talking about sin here; he is talking about everything prior to right now is a detriment to knowing Christ, right now. Let me say it this way, to know Christ is to "be knowing" Him. It is a constant state of discovery of who Jesus is. Paul considers everything in the past less than zero; in a scale of 1 to 10 it is like -10. He isn't just talking about failure he is talking about successes as well. Consider Moses, he meets with God at a burning bush. I have to think at that time in Moses' life that experience had to be, to him, a mountain top experience. Many Christians have experiences like that and spend the rest of their lives wishing they were still living in that experience never moving on like that is the best God can do. You know what I mean: "I remember when Church used to..." What would have happened if Moses hadn't left the bush? He would have never delivered his people. He would have never parted the Red Sea. He would have never climbed a mountain to meet with God. He would have never met face to face with God in such a way that his face would glow from God's glory. Paul is saying here that in order to know (be knowing) Christ he must forget the bush to get to the deliverance. He must forget the bush to get to the parting of the waters. He must forget the bush to get to the meeting with God again and again. I am not implying that testimonies of what God has done in the past should be forgotten but we must be continually heading forward in our relationship with God. Look at what he says next in this passage; he considers it all rubbish which means dung. Basically he is saying everything else is crap in comparison to the immeasurable greatness of getting to know Jesus in every way.
I want to share more on this portion of scripture (hence the part 1 in the title) but I want to leave you with this thought. How do you know a banana? You can know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, and what it tastes like. You can talk to someone else and both of you have different takes on the banana. Some people like the taste and some don't. You can know the science of the make-up of the banana or the nourishment you get from it. Think about this; on a cellular level you can "know" the banana in ways that you cannot comprehend with you mind. When you body assimilates the nutrients of the banana the banana becomes a part of you. Do you get what I am saying? There are countless ways we can know something but Paul wants to know Christ in all of those ways and in ways that he can't even comprehend with his human understanding. That is so HUGE I wonder if the Philippian Church got it. I wonder if we get it.
I want to explore this some more but until then, you be blessed and I ask Christ to reveal Himself to you today in a way you have never seen Him before!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Relationships
Heaven's government is modeled after family. God is our Father, Jesus is His Son, and everything that Jesus did here on Earth was for us to see what a son of God is to do. Jesus said that He only did what He saw the Father do. He told us not to believe Him if He didn't do the works of the Father. He modeled for us what our lives should be like. We are to seek God and what it is that He is doing and that is what we are to do. God is in the business of setting people free. That should be our business.
The business of freedom is why Jesus came. He said that is for freedom that He has made us free. He wants us to be free from everything that satan wants us bound to. When we see people bound it is our duty as part of the family of God to do what we can by the Grace of God to set them free. I know what you are thinking, what if they don't get free. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 and said that He came to proclaim liberty to the captives. This is saying that you can go into a prison and open the cell and tell the inmate that he is free but the inmate has to walk out.
One of our jobs as sons and daughters of God the Father is to share the truth with others. The Bible tells us that the truth shall make us free but we have to accept the truth. I have to accept Jesus sacrifice for me and when I do, by that truth, my sins are forgiven. When I accept the truth then He comes into my life. When I accept the truth that He is Lord over all, then He become the Lord over my life. We must accept truth to the point that it is superior to everything else we know. Sharing truth with others in love for them pleases our Father in heaven. That form of relationship and impartation is God's purpose for us. The Spirit of Truth has come to guide us into all truth. If that is why He came then that is what He desires to do. This is what He desires for us to do.
We need to examine our relationships and align them with God and His Kingdom.
God bless you with a wonderful day and wonderful relationships!
The business of freedom is why Jesus came. He said that is for freedom that He has made us free. He wants us to be free from everything that satan wants us bound to. When we see people bound it is our duty as part of the family of God to do what we can by the Grace of God to set them free. I know what you are thinking, what if they don't get free. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 and said that He came to proclaim liberty to the captives. This is saying that you can go into a prison and open the cell and tell the inmate that he is free but the inmate has to walk out.
One of our jobs as sons and daughters of God the Father is to share the truth with others. The Bible tells us that the truth shall make us free but we have to accept the truth. I have to accept Jesus sacrifice for me and when I do, by that truth, my sins are forgiven. When I accept the truth then He comes into my life. When I accept the truth that He is Lord over all, then He become the Lord over my life. We must accept truth to the point that it is superior to everything else we know. Sharing truth with others in love for them pleases our Father in heaven. That form of relationship and impartation is God's purpose for us. The Spirit of Truth has come to guide us into all truth. If that is why He came then that is what He desires to do. This is what He desires for us to do.
We need to examine our relationships and align them with God and His Kingdom.
God bless you with a wonderful day and wonderful relationships!
Friday, September 21, 2007
New Blog
Well I guess this is my new blog. I suppose I have given into the peer pressure of starting a blog. If I had anything important to say that had any significance I would have to say that I am so very excited about the move of God we are seeing in Littlefield.
The Bible tells us that our Father in heaven calls things that are not as though they are. This means that He is proclaiming things that do not exist. He is speaking about things in such a way and all the evidence is to the contrary. That is His nature and if we are led by the Holy Spirit then it is our nature. This is written in our DNA to call things that are not as though they are. How does this work?
We are the distributors of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is distributed through relationships. We receive of this realm through our relationship with God. We are transformed into His likeness from glory to glory. The more we spend time in this glory, in His presence, the more we become like Him. Good company corrupts bad character. The point is that from that relationship we receive of the Kingdom of heaven. We receive from the Kingdom to give it away through relationships with others. Therefore, if I am going to call things that are not as though they are I need to see people that way. This means that I tip a bad waitress as I would a good waitress. This means I am to love those who don't deserve it. That is the nature of our Father in heaven and He is writing this into our DNA.
God bless you and cause His face to shine upon you! Psalm 67:1,2,7
The Bible tells us that our Father in heaven calls things that are not as though they are. This means that He is proclaiming things that do not exist. He is speaking about things in such a way and all the evidence is to the contrary. That is His nature and if we are led by the Holy Spirit then it is our nature. This is written in our DNA to call things that are not as though they are. How does this work?
We are the distributors of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is distributed through relationships. We receive of this realm through our relationship with God. We are transformed into His likeness from glory to glory. The more we spend time in this glory, in His presence, the more we become like Him. Good company corrupts bad character. The point is that from that relationship we receive of the Kingdom of heaven. We receive from the Kingdom to give it away through relationships with others. Therefore, if I am going to call things that are not as though they are I need to see people that way. This means that I tip a bad waitress as I would a good waitress. This means I am to love those who don't deserve it. That is the nature of our Father in heaven and He is writing this into our DNA.
God bless you and cause His face to shine upon you! Psalm 67:1,2,7
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