"Love Endures All Things, Because?"

Do you want to know how long I was gone (as if you cared)? I think it was about an hour, but not much more than that; because I could not stand being away from my wife for another minute. Oh, I would be away from her all the time to work, golf, Men's Retreats, etc; but not like this, not like I left her at home in anger. Maybe you don't understand what I am saying, partly because you might not have ever left someone you love in anger; or maybe because you have done it so often, that it really does not count any more? I never left before because we were fighting; in fact, I would make a point of not leaving, even if I had to leave, until our dispute was settled, or at least to a point where we were not angry any more. Even if I went outside just to cool off, I would always try to keep a close eye on my wife, knowing that her heart was in pain. This is what brought me back so soon when I left, that desire to protect her heart; even though we were fighting, I still knew that I needed to protect her heart. Do you see yet what leaving means? Leaving says, I don't care about you anymore. Jesus said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you"; why would He say that, or even need to say it? Because He Loves us!!! Because we are His Body!!! Do you see the point that Paul was trying to make in chapters 12 & 13? We can not, without some very severe damage to ourselves and others, just discard a member of our Body; just like I could not leave my wife unprotected, because I loved her so much and knew that her pain, was, is, and would be my pain: Why? Because we are One!!! Okay, maybe you don't understand the One thing very well? Do you need some help? Here is something which might help (or not): Say that you are trying to be a professional athlete, and that in the process of setting out to accomplish this goal, you will have various factors of opposition. You will have those in the your life (the world or outside the body), you will have your mind (will to do), and you will have your body (members); all of which will at one point or another be a deterrent to your goal. As a training athlete, the will to do something is pretty much the same as love; it is what drives your ambition, and keeps you working through all the pain, as well as ignoring those that say you can't do it. So, as you are training, you will notice that your arms are a little weak; so what do you do? You cut them off??? No, you work on making them strong enough to compete! Now, let's look at you; because this body of One has you also as a member, and sometimes you need a little work also. The one thing that was the hardest thing to fix in that fight with my wife, was the fact that I left. I prayed that she would not see it the same way that I did, and that she did not count it against the promise that I made when we were married. If as an athlete, your arms are vitally important to your game, then you are not only going to make them strong, but you will also keep them safe, or free from harm; which means that you will make adjustments to the way you live, or chances you take that might bring harm to your arms. This is my role as a husband; to not only strengthen and protect my wife, but to also make adjustments within myself which ensure that I especially, do not become the cause of any harm to her. Anyway, I hope that helped a little? "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular." (1 Corinthians 12:26 & 27)

"Love Endures All Things, Regardless"

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) Regardless of what? What is it that seems to stubble our love for one another? Thinking back to when I would have a fight with my wife, it was the fact that she had to know how much my heart hurt which really made me mad. Can't she see how upset I am? would be the question in my mind. If you were thinking selfishness, then you are half correct; because the thing that upsets love the most is feelings. Sometimes present, sometimes not felt at all; but feelings are the product of our emotions, and are not the product of Love. Emotions are directly attached to the flesh; I feel happy, I feel sad, I feel like I am in love, I don't feel loved at all; regardless of what I am feeling, real Love does not faint, fade, or fail. Feelings are one of the childish things which should be put away, because the man of God does not care any longer about what this body may feel like doing. If there was one thing that Jesus expressed more than any other, it was that we must do what we might otherwise not feel like doing: love your enemies, give them the other cheek, walk two miles when asked to walk one, give them your coat also; all of which require the 'I don't feel like it' attitude to be thrown out the window. But you see, here is where we stumble; time and time again, we look to how we feel: I don't feel good about this, or that? It is really not a question about you when it comes to Love, but more about others. My worst remembrance of a blow-out fight I had with my wife, was about Bush's Baked Beans, believe it or not? I asked her to get some of my favorite beans to go with our dinner and she came home with a new kind of Bush's Baked Beans for me to try; I did not feel like trying something new, I wanted what I knew I already liked; it didn't take long for that to get ugly. Thinking back to that horrible day, was like thinking back to when my parents would have me go to bed without dinner: empty inside! In my own stupid childish way, I had no concern for what my wife felt as I scolded her for her mistake; which became my mistake!!! And then, after realizing my stupidity, and giving her, what I thought was my best apology, I was shunned; 'Oh no she didn't', was the reply in my heart; and now the new fight continued, until I did something which I never had done before, I left. It hurt so bad when I did, I can not begin to express it; but it was as if I had just killed something, and now I did not know what to do. If I stayed gone too long, maybe she would get concerned; if I went back too soon, maybe there would be no change. But no matter what the outcome, the thing that I felt worst about, was the fact that I had left. Nothing can make a person feel a lack of love more than leaving... "But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: and those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely (well-formed) parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism (split) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another." (1 Corinthians 12:20-25)

"Love Endures All Things"

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians 13:11) As we move among each other, we have a tendency to sometimes hurt the ones we love. Sometimes it is unintentional; and then again, sometimes it's not. I went to see Jack Black's new movie on Christmas morning, which is called Gulliver's Travels, and before going I had read several of the reviews, both secular and Christian. All of the reviews that I read said pretty much the same thing: no plot, waste of time, big flop, etc, etc; however, they also spoke very ill of the musical number towards the end of the movie, which was when everyone broke out into singing the song, "War! ... What is it good for? ... Absolutely NOT!" Let me tell you something that happen to me during this routine, I cried; not just cried, I wept; it literally came from deep down inside me. Why must we war amongst each other? Why do we set out to hurt one another? It's one thing to gracefully turn away and to go somewhere and pray: Lord, what should I do? But that is too lonely for many to do. Instead, we look for those that we can put on our side; it's the old 'strength in numbers' thing; you know what I am talking about. I relate the stupid things that my wife and I would fight about to this concept, with one more little twist: fighting among each other, no matter how trivial the issue, causes casualties! People get hurt, children loose there self esteem, hearts get scared, and that is just talking about what happens to the family when husbands and wives fight each other. When we take this issue into the church, things are magnified a hundred fold, because now we are talking about the Body of Christ; which, in case you did not know, is One. I know I have covered this subject before, but this is a little different, because this time it's about Love. When Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 about Love, he was completing a thought about the Body of Christ, which he started directly talking about in 12:12. It is important that we understand what Paul is trying to get across in the verse I started today's blog with, because when we are the Body of Christ, or if we are part of the Body of Christ, then those things which we did as a child (unlearned), we must not do as a man (one who knows better). For example: one thing that I have learned since becoming a man is that the major characteristic of the flesh is to get it's own way, and the major characteristic of Love is to deny one's self, or one's way. Therefore, if I revert back to my childish ways, then what I am actually doing is to put myself before others, or doing what I have learned not to do. (??????) WHY? (??????) "That there should be no schism in the body; but that all members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular." (1 Corinthians 12:25-27)

"The Love of God Proven"

"He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him." (John 6:56) In the scientific community, for something to be considered a scientific fact, there must be a way to prove it is not so. In other words, if you are going to say that it is a fact that the world is round, then there must be a way to prove that it is not round in order for that statement to be fact. In the case of elementary arithmetic, to prove 2 + 1 = 3, you must take the sum of the two numbers and subtract one number, which should give the other number; such as, 3 - 2 = 1. This is how things are proven; or at least how they use to be proven; I am not quite sure anymore if logic rules the day. However, when it comes to God's Love, eternal life, and the Gift of our salvation, there is only one way to prove that they are so: The Proof is in The Pudding! That's right, you heard me correctly; simply put: you must taste and see for yourself. In the case of Jesus explaining that He was the Bread from Heaven to those that asked Him for a sign of 'His Work', it is impossible to know that what He is saying is true unless you taste and see for yourself; you can't even begin to understand it, which is what happen to many that day. Likewise, to know, and to prove that a heart of stone can be changed into a heart of flesh, one must first open the door of their heart and let Jesus in. Upon doing so, the heart will be changed into a Living heart; a heart that actually works; carrying and pumping the Breath of Life throughout the soul, and even out into the body of the flesh, which others may see, and also witness the proof of God's Love. Even if you think you understand, and you believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world, you will still not be able to prove His Love for you, until you actually make it personal; each and everyone must taste and see for themselves. We can not just take someone's word on such a matter; there must be an individual commitment and action taken within a persons heart; to open the heart and let Jesus in. No one else can open your heart for you, and just thinking you believe will not work. It must be real to you!!! "As the Living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." (John 6:57)

"The Love of God in Us"

Okay, maybe you thought what I posted yesterday was out there; wait till you get a hold of this. I was trying to figure out a way to explain the flesh that I saw in my dream, and have to admit that it is not easy; mostly because what I saw was not human, or the way things appear to you and I. But what I saw was more like a glowing body, which was almost transparent; almost like when you put a flashlight against the palm of your hand and can see the inside tissue, veins and bones; kind of like that, just with a white tone instead of red. Without getting into a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo, I thought I would try to illustrate what the Lord was showing me with just some basic scientific facts. The first and most important fact to my illustration is that our blood stream delivers oxygen to all the parts of the body; every thing that is within us, and even our tissue, requires a constant supply of oxygen to survive; not just blood, but also the oxygen that is carried within the blood. Why is this so important to the Love of God? Well, for one thing, the heart of stone which we have been born with, due to the fall of man, can not pump life, or, in this case Love. So, even though we have the seed of God's Love within the core of our being, there is nothing there to circulate and get that Love flowing. But God; who commands the stars to stay in their places, has made this heart of stone into a heart of flesh; flesh which pumps blood, and which provides the needed oxygen to the soul, or in this case, God's Holy Spirit, which is the Breath of Life. In case you were not aware; my wife's condition was caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. It seems that the brain requires oxygen also, and lots of it. When you deprive the brain of it's needed oxygen for an extended period of time (in her case it was 35 minutes), the brain begins to die and the vital functions of what the brain controls can be lost. This lack of oxygen to the brain was the cause of a failed heart; her heart just stopped working. One of the reasons that we found which caused her heart to stop, was a lack of blood being supplied to her heart; in other words, she bleed to death. It would seem that there is also a supply of blood required to keep things moving; the pumping heart will not pump without a certain amount of the material that it is to pump. Much like the illustration that I saw in my dream; that seed of God's Love, although it is present, is not enough to bring that stony heart to life. But God!!!! "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great Love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened (made us alive) us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7)

"The Love of God" - 3

By now you probably have lost all interest in these daily rantings, ramblings, or whatever you want to call them; but I am holding on, and promised God I would continue as long as He gave me something to say; even if I did not understand what I was saying; which brings me to the post for today (?). As I was laying next to my wife this morning, I could not help but wonder, what makes her to keep going? What enables her to continue breathing, day in and day out? This life we are given here on this earth, although short compared to eternity, is precious and is a gift from God in and of itself. I do not claim to know much, but God has shown me something that I want to try and explain (if I can). Each and everyone of us are given a life, and this life that we have been given comes from God; I hope you all knew that? Because this life comes from God, it has certain attributes of it's creator; the One who made it and holds it's cells together. One of those attributes is Love, which, although faintly realized, it is there somewhere deep down in the center of our souls. When sin separated man from God, this separation was not a complete 'no more God' separation of man, because man still had the soul he had been given, and the flesh God had formed; what was missing however, was the Spirit of God. This flesh, however temporary it may be, was made by God; fashioned by the hands of an Almighty Creator; that made it to represent Him, in one way or another. The soul, now that is another story; because, from what I believe that God has shown me, the soul which God created in man is something that is very unique; unlike anything which God had made. This soul, when created, was brought into existence by the Breath of God (Gen. 2:7); this Breath of God, known as the Breath of Life, is the Spirit of God; and when this Spirit of God was breathed into man, the soul was born. However, when man sinned, the soul remained, but the Spirit which had given it life was removed; thus leaving man's soul with a yearning to be reunited with the Breath of Life; almost as if the soul could not breath, or take in the air that it needs to be full. But what remains, even though it has been without the Spirit, there is still a part of God, because it is still a part of God and His wondrous creation. Thus, we find 'The Love of God'; somewhere deep down inside; beneath that stony heart, there is a seed of God's Love. Then I have to wonder: Does God speak down to us, or out of us? or both, depending upon the circumstance? "Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth. The Glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in His Works." (Psalm 104:29-31)

"The Love of God" - 2

"And Hope maketh not ashamed; because the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:5) You see; what I believe happen to Peter is that he lost hope; hope that Jesus was going to establish His kingdom; hope that he was going to be given eternal life with the Christ. To really understand what 'Agape' Love is, there are two things I believe we must know: the first is, where does it originate? and the second is, what is the heart of man? The first question is easy enough to understand; because the Bible says in the opening verse, "the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost", which is God's Spirit; and the Love mentioned here is 'Agape' Love. So, if we need an answer to where 'Agape' Love originates, we can say that it originates with God, by God, and from God; whichever way suits your fancy. However, the heart of man is a little harder to define; because it is not our physical heart. I think we all have a different view of what the heart represents, and it really does not matter what that view is, as long as it has the same center core; because that is what the heart of man is: the center core of man's existence. As I was looking up this word for 'hearts' this morning, I could not help but notice something: there is no differential between the heart and the mind within this definition; they are both listed as if they are one of the same. After some serious thinking, I started to wonder about my wife and her mind, which, although it is severally damaged, it is not the center of her existence; and neither is the heart that is within her chest. The center of her existence is her soul, which is something hidden within her, yet lies clearly visible by God. This center of her existence is the most vitally important part of who she is, because it is who she will continue to be, long after leaving this earth. As I was thinking about that, and how little man knows about the brain's complete functions, I could not help but think about how little we know about the soul. Really; we have no idea what it looks like, or where it even is; is it in the center of our body? in our heart? in our mind? After thinking about this, I wondered what Jesus meant by, "To Love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength"; and if what He actually meant by this, was to Love God with all that is within me!!! Now this is interesting, because the Love that is within me comes from God! I just can't wrap my head around this!!! "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)

"The Love of God"

This is a very touchy subject, I mean that literally. I think there was a TV show once that was called 'Touched by an Angel', but I don't think I ever watched it. I guess they would not have wanted to call it 'Touched by God', because that would have seemed too much like a religious show. But, in all seriousness, the Love which we have been given is heaven sent, in more ways than we might understand. If we have any love within us, it is usually just skin deep, and is easily taken out of the way once our skin is offended. Even valiant and heroic men or women have been so, not because they had more love than others, but because the love which they did have was deeper and harder to be compromised. Take Peter for example, in John 13:37, Peter made a statement which may or may not have been from his heart, "Peter said unto Him, Lord, why can not I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake". Well, we know how that went, don't we? Does that mean that Peter did not have a deep love for Jesus? No, I don't think that is the case at all; but rather that the love which Peter had for Jesus was rooted in the wrong place. The reason that I say that is because of what Peter does in the Garden when Jesus is arrested, which we can see in John 18:10, "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus". You must know, it took a whole lot of courage (or stupidity) to draw a sword in the presence of all those that came upon Jesus with weapons; yet only hours later, Peter would deny that he even knew Jesus. As I said, his love was rooted in the wrong place, because Peter's love, even after his acknowledgement of who Jesus was in John 6:68 & 69, was based upon the life which he knew, this life, the here and now for eternity. The way he saw things, Jesus was going to establish His kingdom here on this earth, for all eternity; defeating the Romans, and establishing the Jewish nation back to it's greatest spender, once and for all. Not exactly the kind of thing that is accomplished by dying on a cross, now is it? But, when we love based upon the truth! And what is truth? For one: The Love of God is truth, and can not be denied... "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some will dare to die. But God commandeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

"Love In The Flesh" - 3

Would I give my life for my wife? You bet I would! If giving of myself would do the job of healing her, I would do it; I would give her my brain, if that were possible; is it? But you know something that is really strange: if I remember correctly, I would have given myself before for my wife also; at least I think I would have; at least I said I would have. However, there were times, times that I would be so selfish, so unloving, so, all about me, that you would have never been able to tell that I actually cared for her needs or desires. I can honestly say, that for over seven years and four months I have not once raised my voice to my wife. In fact, I kind of miss having arguments with her about the most stupid things; the major things, like life and death, we had those down; but stupid stuff, like how many stars there are (imaginary topic, I could not remember why we would argue?), these stupid things which afflicted my ego, were the things which would spin me out of control. This morning as I was praying I fell back to sleep, thus the late post; but as I was sleeping I saw something which was so strange in a dream, I saw my flesh; I know, you are probably wondering, What's the big deal? But this is different, because what I saw was different; there was something sacrificial about this image that I saw, which was not normal for the way I see my flesh. Usually, I see my flesh as the thing which gets in the way; in the way of my relationship with God, as well as my loving my wife, as well as others; but this time I saw it as an object of Love; a source for which Love is made visible; a vehicle in which Love is to be dispersed. It was then I realized something extraordinary, something which made my wake up and do that V-8 slap in the head; duh, that is why I am here!!! That is why Jesus came in the flesh!!! Because, "without the shedding of blood, there can be no removal of sin"; likewise, without the denial of the flesh there can be no expression of 'Agape' Love; because, 'Agape' Love is giving of one's self for the sake of those that you love (agapao or phileo). This is what those that did not understand Jesus could not see; the bread which He spoke about, which was His flesh, was called bread for the reason for which He came in the flesh; that those that were called could see the sacrifice that was made. Much like those that asked for the sign, looked back to the manna given to their fathers in the desert, as the sign to believe; those before looked to the Christ; those that were present, saw the Christ; and those after, look back to the Christ; which was the Bread from heaven, or God's Love made manifested in the flesh... "Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God." (John 6:67-69)

"Love In The Flesh" - 2

Also, in case you did not know this, 'Agape' Love is seen! I hope you understood that by what I have been saying, or if not, at least by what Jesus was saying in John chapter 6. His flesh which He was taking about is the manifestation of God's Love, which is the sign that they asked to see, but did not understand the reason for the sign which was given. The manna given to their fathers in the desert was easy enough to understand, because it was to feed their bodies, and to satisfy the bodies nutritional need. However, Jesus' flesh, that they could not understand, because they could not see their soul's eternal need. The difference between the two is like black and white; however, there is no difference between seeing or knowing the need; one is being feed physically, while the other is to be feed spiritually; one is temporary, while the other is eternal. In other words; we must see God's Love for us, in order to receive God's Love; or, as Jesus was trying to get those following Him to see, that He, being sent from the Father, was in fact the real Bread from heaven, which is for the eternal soul, not for the temporary flesh. Likewise, real love is manifested within us, and is seen by the action it is meant to accomplish. For example, love, whether 'agapao' or 'phileo' are action words, which before they can be put into action, must have a source behind them; in other words, you can not love without Love... "For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the Living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever." (John 6:55-58)

"Love In The Flesh"

In case you did not know, 'Agape' Love is a noun, which means that it is a person, place or thing. As I was reading a portion of John 6 this morning, I couldn't help notice the magnitude of love expressed in verse 51, "I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Because, as I see it, Jesus was really trying hard to convince those that were listening how important it was that He came. Unfortunately, as we see in verse 52, they really did not get the point He was trying to make: "The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" It is kind of like trying to get a fish to breath out of the water; they will try, but not with much luck. This Love that is being expressed here by Jesus, is the kind of Love that only is understood once it is learned; and the only way it is learned, is by the Father drawing us unto Himself, and showing us. If anyone can make a fish breath out of water, He can! Sometimes we just have to know the source of Love, to actually see that Love, and this is one example of a time like that. Now then, getting back to my love for my wife; there is something which I can do to express my love towards her, which is much the same as how the Father expressed His Love towards us, and it has to do with me giving of my flesh; on a whole different level, that's for sure. This giving of my flesh, for me, is to die to myself in the regards of my needs, or my ambitions; this is not easy for me to do. When we look at the example, or instruction that Paul gave in Ephesians 5:25, we can see, after looking at John 6:51, that it is a little more meaningful. As Paul puts it: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it"; which, as we can see from John 6:51, requires the giving of the flesh. I can tell you right here and now, I don't care how strong you think that you are in the Lord, if you don't die to your flesh, your flesh will rise up! Okay, maybe you don't see the connection; but our flesh is stronger than we think, mostly because it is still hanging around, but more importantly, because it wants it's own way; even at the expense of others, including our wives, our kids, our friends, our Pastors. And what is our own way? Well, for one, the way we think things should be. We have a picture in our minds of how things should be, and that is how we expect things to be; anything that is contrary to that picture, makes us uneasy, uptight, and even, unloving; depending on how much, or how long we dwell upon the way we want it to be. For me, the picture that I have for my wife and I, is closer to the way things use to be; however, the way things are is not very close to that picture. I try to make my pictures come to life: movie dates, going out to eat, watching a sunset; it really doesn't matter what the picture is that I have, when it is played out, it does not look the same. Therefore, I must look beyond this flesh, and it's desires; looking to God, and His desire for us; His desire for me, as a husband to be obedient to what His Word tells me to do, and to Love my wife, even as Christ loved the church!

"Love Misunderstood"

Simply put, love sometimes gets misunderstood. Is it for me that I love, or is it for another? If it is for me, than wouldn't that be self love? One thing that I noticed about the Garden, God provided man with everything he needed; and when God saw that man needed more, then He provided for that also. So, wouldn't you say that love, real love, looks for and sets out to fulfill the needs of another? Even if that person does not know that they even have the need; but real love will see the need, and then try to fulfill that need which they see another in need of. As for my situation, I can only do what I think is going to comfort my wife, and give her some strokes of affection. It almost always happens, that as I am laying next to her and holding her, she will fall asleep; relaxed and asleep in my arms; hopefully dreaming of better circumstances. Most of the time, as I fall asleep with her, I will dream of her and I together, usually doing something really strange; but in these dreams, she is fine, talking, and doing something which others take notice of, like teaching a child to fish (she loves to fish). Real Love does not care how self feels, but will rather give up self for the life of another, even if the other does not understand why. As we read a little further through John chapter 6, we can see Jesus trying to explain to those around Him why He had come, where He had come from, and how they must come to Him. It says in verse 66, "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him". From the time they had asked Jesus to give them a sign, and they used the manna which their fathers did eat as a sign of validity, Jesus expressed Himself as the real Bread from heaven; and in this expression of being Bread from heaven, He used the Himself, His body which had to be given, as the means to obtain Life Everlasting. The problem with those that did not believe, is that they did not see their need, which was not based upon the flesh, but upon the spirit; they, however, could not see beyond the flesh. Before we can see our need, the real need, we must see the Father; understanding who He is, where we stand from Him, how we must be brought to Him, and the Bread of Life which will bring us there... "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life." (John 6:44-48)

"Living Love Out" - 2

I almost did not do this today. I just could not get over the pain I felt in my heart by thinking, If I had only loved my wife this much before she was injured, maybe she never would have gotten sick in the first place? Then my mind took off. I am amazed by how much the mind can think up, and by all the places it can travel. This morning I found myself in the Garden of Eden, watching, wondering, looking to see how God expressed His Love to man before the fall. Sometimes there needs to be a reason to show love; a reason that takes us outside of our selves. As I look at my own situation, I can see that the way I express my love to my wife now is far more passionate than I would have been in the past. Don't get me wrong, we had our passionate times, but this is different. This kind of passion that I am talking about, is more of the kind that tries to convince, almost as if I was trying to win her heart. Before she was injured, I had no reason to win her heart, because she was mine already; but maybe that was the problem all along, because she was mine already, I had no reason to go out of my way to express my love to her, to try and win her heart. We just don't know what we have until it's gone...

"Living Love Out"

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the True Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." (John 6:32 & 33) As I went to sleep last night, I thought about another love, about 'Agape' Love, and whether or not I could love my wife with that kind of Love. To really know if that is possible, I must first try to understand what 'Agape' Love really means; easier said than done. In the two verses of God's Love Letter to us that are mentioned above, Jesus is answering those that asked Him for a sign, that they may believe Him; something which they could see, like the manna, which their fathers did eat in the desert. That manna, although special in of it's self, only satisfied the people's hunger for food needed to feed the body; and with the exception of one day out of the week, that manna was only good for one day. Likewise, any sign that Jesus were to have shown them, would only have been of a temporary nature, because it would be, and such is everything that is visible: temporal! The manna from heaven which was given from God to the children of Israel in the desert, is a real good example of 'temporary', and was not a very good sign for those that asked Jesus for a sign which would demonstrate His 'Work' that He was sent for; because the work that He was sent for was eternal. Much the same, is my quest to love my wife in the same way that God Loves us, which I can not actually even begin to fulfill in this temporal body. Okay, maybe I am getting a little dramatic, and trying to express something which is not that hard to conceive; but I don't think so, because the way I see what Jesus is saying, there is really nothing to see. The True Manna from Heaven is God's Love; but before someone can see God's Love, His Love must be manifested into their heart. Why is this? Because God's Love is God's willful direction toward man; and it involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires. Man wants his flesh to be satisfied, and to be comforted by the things of this world; which does not consist of the forgiveness of sin. But God wanted to provide man with the forgiveness of sin, which provides man with something that is far greater than this world could ever give: Life!

"Love Lived Out"

As Jesus was speaking those words written in John 6:26 & 27, those that heard them most likely did not understand, or even care what He was saying. Because His point was not about being feed, or even the working of miracles, but rather that we should labour for those things which will not pass, much like being filled by food will barely last a day; however, "the meat which endureth unto everlasting life", now that will last forever. You see, 'agapao' and 'phileo' have something very much in common, they are both verbs; and as such, they both define an action, or reaction; either way, there is action involved with both of these types of love. As I laid beside my wife this morning, I had to wonder which of these two action words I counted upon the most; or better put, which one did I live out the most? And, while dwelling on this for about 20 minutes, I wondered if a person could love both ways at the same time? Well, could they? One way of loving looks for comfort in a relationship, while the other way of loving looks to comfort; one way looks to be pleased, while the other looks to please. But, the question I would ask, and did ask, is can you have it both ways? Which I then began to try and figure out as I was comforting my wife; just stroking her face and telling her how much that I love her; not really expecting any reaction, but just loving her all the same. And after about another 20 minutes of this, I came to what I think is a conclusion: it does work both ways! Really, I think it does! The love that I expressed to my wife, whether she could express it back or not, that didn't matter to the love that I felt for her; in fact, if anything, that love was magnified by the fact that she was afflicted and could not love me the way that I would have wanted. It was as if I had a greater love for her in her affliction, then had she not been afflicted; is that weird? I think it is a matter of being satisfied verses comforted; or maybe, it is a matter of longing? There is something about God's love for us, that is expressed in this manor of loving the afflicted more, because of the longing; because the separation caused by man being afflicted by sin, caused a longing in Him for man to be restored. Much like the parable of the 'prodigal son', which is more about the love for the lost, than that of affliction; however, what I am talking about is the Father's longing for His children, and the fact that He loved the lost one with a greater compassion then the one that was not lost. It is almost like there is a 'wanting to love' someone back to health, or back to being in a position in which they once were; and it is this 'wanting to love' that is felt both ways...

"Love Lived"

No matter how you slice it, if love is not lived out, then, it is not love! This morning I just laid in bed, my wife's bed next to mine, and just thought about all the things we would do together on New Years Day. One of our favorite things to do was to go skiing; to just take off up to Mt. Shasta and have a blast. I thought about what it would be like if I took her up there now; could she ski down the mountain in one of those sled like contraptions that require someone to guide it down the mountain? Would she even like it? Usually I would have my niece here with me at this time of year, which would help comfort (distract) me through what is otherwise a very lonely time of the year. Don't get me wrong, I do love spending time with my wife during this time of the year, but it is not the same; and that is what I felt this morning, lonely, but not lonely for my wife, for that she is, and I still have her to love and care for; but the companionship, that is what I found myself needing; the friendship of two people in love. There are several different kinds of love that are expressed in the Bible, and they are all expressed on many different levels. The first thing that I thought I would do this year, is two-fold: I wanted to somehow share about the love I have for my wife, while also exploring the magnitude of God's love, or love in general. Take for example the subject of my heart today; this type of love which I was longing for has two different levels of meaning; fore, it is the kind of love which can be expressed by both an 'agapao' love and 'phileo' love; the difference between the two are the levels of response expected to the love given, or shared. The kind of definition of 'agapao' is, to esteem, love, indicating a direction of the will and finding one's joy in something or someone. Which differs from 'phileo' that means to love, indicating feelings, warm affection, the kind of love expressed by a kiss. The longing I experienced which was closely related to 'agapao' was my desire to express the joy in my heart towards my wife; to show her, in one way or another, how much she means to me. While the other, 'phileo', was my desire to experience a joyful moment together; to share in the love we have for one another; or, to put it more bluntly, to get something out of this relationship, that brings me pleasure. As you can see, one is based upon a commitment towards expressing love; while the other is based upon
the expression of love. This brings me to realize how God loves me, and why knowing His love towards me, is so vitally important. God's love for me, is His desire to express to me, in such a way that I can understand, just how much He loves me; to get me to see His love for me that is not based upon my expression of love towards Him, but His to me; that is the 'agapao' type of love. Yet, He also has a desire to experience a 'phileo' type of love, which is to be brought about by my realization of His love towards me; which then brings about companionship, or friendship; expressed by feelings of longing for being in His presence, and His desire to have me there with Him... "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because you saw miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto Everlasting Life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed." (John 6:26 & 27)

"New Life In Jesus Christ"

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6) What we are talking about here is an eternal soul; I hope everyone understands that? Let me put it another way: If we are living in the present, as to satisfy this present body and it's needs and desires, then we are living in the wrong body. For that body which is of this present world, with the lust thereof, is to reckoned crucified with Christ. Therefore, if we still long and care for the things of this world, just as James said in verse 4:4, "know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?"; which means that we will begin to make God our enemy by placing the things of this world before Him. God does not stop loving us, but we stop loving Him and those things which draw us closer to Him. This is really not that hard to understand; because the things of this world are ever present, and within our reach; meaning that they are of this present world and worthy of the old man, or the old man is worthy of them. But, what happens when we start to feed that old man with these present things of the world, is that our New Life in Christ, which has a hope for things to come, is placed on hold while these current pleasures are taken in. Unfortunately, this holding pattern that the New Life in Christ is placed in, gives life to the old man; the longer the life, the more love for the things of this world. This is why we must resist temptation; we must resist the desires of the flesh; and we must resist the devil. "Do you think the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth more Grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth Grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:5-7) 'Pride cometh before the fall', is more true than we know; because the easiest way for the devil to take you down, is to try and make you proud. To truly submit ourselves to God, we must be humble; humble with a humility that says 'HELP ME!!!: Dear God, Please Help Me!' After all; what we are talking about here, is not this temporary flesh, but our eternal soul; and the love which really matters to our eternal soul, is not of this temporary world. Even our love for one another, goes beyond this temporary life that we are living; which makes for the things that cause division and fighting among those that are brothers and sisters in the Lord, seem futile and unworthy of our strife. If we are going to have victory in this world, then this world must not matter any longer; in other words, the love of this world, and the things which are attached to it, must be far removed from our eternal soul. Now then; what to do? oh what to do? 'BUT GOD!!!' "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in The Sight of The Lord, and He shall lift you up." (James 4:8-10) This is the lifting up that is required; not being lifted up off our knees from prayer; but being lifted up in the sight of the Lord, to behold His Love, to behold His Beaulty, and to behold our eternity with Him...

"Jesus Is Lord Of All"

Let me tell you what I think the real problem is: if we are not the man or woman of God that we are to be, it is because we have not asked God to make us the way that we should be! I know, someone out there thinks it's not that easy, and you are right; but not for the reasons that you think you are. The real reason that it is not that easy, is because the very first thing we must do, is also the very last; and that is to Love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. Keep it up, and never stop Loving Him; because those things which creep into our hearts and minds that cause us to fall, are things which have been allowed in by none other than ourselves. Do you think you can Love God enough to not want those things? Can we ask God to make us Love Him more? I believe we can, and we must! This is one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit; to make us Love God, and to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. The problem is this: He (the Holy Spirit) will not make us to do anything unless we ask (sometimes pleading) Him to do whatever it takes to complete that change in us. The bottom line is this: Jesus wants us to make Him Lord of All of our lives, not just the parts we want to surrender; and He wants to make us victorious in All areas of our lives, not just the parts we want to have victory over. We must surrender All, because if we do not, then we are going to find ourselves not having victory over much at all. It is kind of strange the way that works, don't you think? Do you know why that is? It is quite simple really; because the things which we do not surrender, end up being the things which we put first, before God, and our Love for Him; which then makes our heart more in love with those things, than it is in Love with God; which then sets our heart towards the things (sometimes all) of this world, even those things which we previously had victory over. As I set my mind towards God, I must remember that my mind will follow my heart; so if there is something which my mind is fixed upon, other than God, then I know that the change must first take place in my heart. And there is only One that can change my heart; but I must ask Him to!!! "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:2-4) Jesus is Lord of All, or not at all !

"A Heart of Total Surrender"

"If at first you do not succeed, try, try again." (someone persistent) I have to wonder if God has a sense of humor; do you ever wonder that? Some of the things that He uses to get our attention are just too strange sometimes, that He must have some kind of humorous side to Him. As I was reading this morning, I just so happened to look up the word 'brim', which happens to be from the word 'ano' which means in a higher place, the place above, that which is above, the upper or heavenly calling; as far as, up to the brim, Upwards. The following words are derived from this word 'ano': 'anogeon' which means an upper room or chamber; 'anothen' which means from above, from the beginning, again; 'epano' which means above, more than; and 'huperano' which means high above. It is the word 'anothen' which really caught my attention, mostly because of the verses that I closed with yesterday; because after the selection of that portion of Scripture, I wondered why I had been told to pick that one; and woe and behold, here it was! You see, Nicodemus was perplexed not that the person could be born from heaven, but whether a person could be born a second time. There is a whole lot of difference in the meanings of these two understandings. One would assume that it is to mean that there is a birth to take place in a person, which is brought into the person; much like bringing a seed of God into a persons heart, which will then bring about New Life. However, this is not the way Nicodemus understood what Jesus was saying, nor was it what Jesus said. What Jesus was saying, was that there needed to be a literal 'born again' experience which must take place in a person; which Nicodemus understood to mean that a person must be born a second time. Okay; now here is the way I see it: if I was born a second time, yet had not surrendered all to Jesus when I was born again, would I have had a complete new birth? Maybe, just maybe, there is some kind of deformity in this New Life? A limb missing, or something of the sort? There must be a reason that I am required to surrender ALL, because why else would He ask me to do so? Guess what? Knock, Knock! Jesus can still heal a withered hand; He can still make the lame to walk; He can still make the blind to see! As I was reading this passage of Scripture in John 2:1-12, I noticed something else which really caught me by force; this wine that Jesus made, it was not just a wine, it was the best wine; in other words, it was a splendid selection, and people took notice. This is what our New Life in Christ is, and must be; and if it is not: "And I say unto you, Ask (keep on asking), and it shall be given you; Seek (keep on seeking), and ye shall find; Knock (keep on knocking), and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh (keeps on asking) receiveth; and he that seeketh (keeps on seeking) findeth; and to him that knocketh (keeps on knocking) it shall be opened." (Luke 11:9 & 10)

"A Heart of Surrender"

This blog has been fun, but it has also been challenging; I have had days where I did not want to do it, I felt that I just could not; yet some how, after praying and reading His Word, I just had to express what I heard. The one thing which I have come to realize from this adventure (and it has been quite the adventure), is that He truly has given us everything we need to be able to walk in holiness; but we must learn to surrender! There is nothing that we can not do in Christ, if we are surrendered to His will and to His love. If you think about the first miracle that Jesus did, which was making water into wine at a marriage celebration; although it was His mother that asked Him to do this miracle, it is very significant to who we are in Christ. First off, the waterpots which were used for washing or purifying; there were six of them, and they contained about 15 to 25 gallons of water each, and they were made of stone. The fact that there were six of them, may or may not matter much, but it is the number which represents man; however, the fact that they were made of stone, that matters much; for our hearts were considered to be hearts of stone before Christ enters into them. And the purpose of these pots, which was for the purifying of the Jews, it too has a very significant meaning to what Christ has done for us, and what we are to do for Him. There are several different ways that these waterpots were used, and all of them were in one way or another were for ceremonial purification; which we could associate to our works toward God, to try and cleanse ourselves. It says in John 2:7, "Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them to the very brim." Not that it maters (but I think it does!), but the fact that these waterpots were filled to the brim, tells me that there was no room for anything else; it also tells me, that they were filled to capacity, which also tells me, that if these waterpots represent my life, then I must put everything into this heart that is to be given to Him. This filling of the waterpots to the very brim, is what I believe, represents total surrender; it also represents a complete filling of God's Word, because it is the Word of God which will change us! Finally; the wine, which represents the Holy Spirit; filled to capacity, these waterpots which once were filled with water, used for ceremonial purposes, are now filled with wine, to be used for the marriage celebration. Okay, maybe you are not seeing what I see; but there is a similarity between what the vessels were used for before, and what they were being used for afterwards; or maybe it's just my crazy mind, and all the acid I took when I was younger? "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3-5)

"The Alter Call"

Having said what I said, let me clarify why I said it. I truly believe that before we can actually receive Jesus Christ into our hearts, we must have a heart that is surrendered to Him. But that does not go without saying that some receive Him without surrendering, because many do; unfortunately, the result of that is usually a life in Christ which is either short lived, or lived on terms directed by that person and not the Lord. If coming forward to give one's life to Christ is not necessary, then how do you surrender? Do you do it by raising your hand? Maybe that will be sufficient; but even that is passive and secretive; especially when the preacher says, 'Now, with all eyes closed and heads bowed, if anyone wants to receive Jesus, raise your hand'. Okay, so maybe I am being legalistic in a way by thinking that you must go forward; but I have seen the difference between the two types of surrenders; one is based upon full surrender, the other is based upon raising an arm. Then, we take it to the next level down, which is what I mentioned yesterday, and we have no outward surrender at all; just a repeat after me prayer, which may or may not even need to be said out load. I know that some of you will not agree with what I am saying, that is understandable; especially those of you who received Jesus into your life by raising your hand; because that is how I came to the Lord. That preacher said, 'Raise your hand', and I raised both; but then he didn't stop with that, because after all hands were raised, he called for everyone with their hands raised to come forward. There is just something about making a outward expression of surrender that makes Salvation more meaningful. This is why I believe that some churches teach that you must be baptized in order to be Saved; which is the outward expression of an inward transformation. Personally, I do not believe this is true; however, I also do not believe it is untrue, as strange as that may sound; because, what is the difference from me saying that you must come forward, and some saying that you must be baptized? Both require an action of surrender, right? I think the availability of water might be considered as part of the equation, yes? In Acts 8:26-40, we can find the story of Philip and the Ethiopian; this is partly the reason I do not believe that you must be baptized to be Saved; in fact, I believe that you must be Saved before you can be baptized, which is the example we see in this story. In verse 35, we see Philip preaching Jesus to the Ethiopian; and as they traveled down the road, verse 36 says, "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (verse 37) I know that many will not accept what I am saying, even a lot of Pastors and others serving in the ministry; but this is just my opinion anyways, so deal with it. But, all that I am saying, is for someone to make a true commitment to Jesus Christ, there must be a response which consist of an act of surrender. Okay, here is something to think about: if you were at war with an enemy, and the enemy surrendered to you, yet stayed hidden in the bushes, would you consider that a surrender? (I'm just saying.)

"Joy To The World"

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (Luke 2:10) Watching some of the specials yesterday on the Fox News Channel, I could not help notice how there were so many variations of how, and even where Jesus was born; however, the one thing which they all seemed to have in common was the angel's declaration of 'Tidings of Great Joy'. It seems to be one of the greatest arguments among those that choose not to believe in God, that if God were real, then why is there so much suffering in the world? When you are confronted with that question, it is never easy to supply a really good answer; mostly because, in order to see the reason, a person must believe that there is a God, and that He is Holy. Trying to tell someone that God loves them, and has given Himself for them, just does not compute until they see their need for Salvation. This is what the angel had declared: that Salvation had come to mankind! All the suffering, death, disease and hate that is in this world, is the result of one thing: sin. Sin is the reason for all that has plagued the earth for thousands of years. But God; being full of Grace and Mercy, has provided mankind with an 'easy button' (not to copy any one's slogan). However, to be able to press this button for an instant and complete redemption from sin, a person must Know and Believe for themselves; no one else can press it for you! Which brings me to a very touchy subject: receiving Salvation. I have notice something over the last 30 years, a kind of dumbing down of Alter Calls; maybe it is just taking place in some churches; but I fear it has become something of a normal event. Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be more and more Alter Calls, which are not really very meaningful; for example, you hear the one giving the Call, say something like this: If you would like to receive Christ into your heart, then repeat this prayer in your heart after me; right where you are. Okay, maybe I am being over reactive; but I really have a problem with making this Greatest Gift ever given to man, a secret ballot. I truly believe that there must be a 'turning' that takes place in the heart of a man; which then must, with humility, cause a man to turn to God. It is not being legalistic or anything, I just think that if someone wants to be Saved, then they must actually want it; they must see their need, and need it; which means, stepping forward, and saying, "Yes; I need Jesus!" You see; once you really see your need, and the Gift that has been given to supply that need, then Joy comes instantly, once you receive it!!! "For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His Own Glory, and in His Father's, and of His holy angels." (Luke 9:26)

"THE GIFT - GIVEN !!!"

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:8-14) So; what did you get for Christmas? I know that this season of the year is made to bring families together, share gifts, and sing songs about 'Yule Tide Greetings'; but, what it is really about is the Greatest Gift of All being Given to the whole world. You have to understand something about this moment that these angels appeared, praising God; this was not an everyday occurrence for them; they did not get a chance to show themselves like this very often, and you can bet they were glorious to behold. But this was a very special day for the world, and that warranted a very special celebration, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, God's Gift to the world! Now about that piece of wood that made that axe head float, there is one more thing you must know: It was cut down. This is perhaps the most crucial thing that The Gift of God represents: God coming down to us; to live among us; to live a lowly life, yet be who He was; and for what? To die upon a cross for the sins of the world! There is another word that I know that describes 'to be cut down', and that word is 'broken'; He was broken for our transgressions! However, not a bone in His body was ever broken, yet His spirit was; His flesh was broken open too; but I still am not convinced that is what 'broken' means. You see, there was a brokenness that took place in the Garden of Eden, long, long ago; where man was separated from God because of sin; this is where fellowship with God was broken off, and was not replaced until the death of Jesus on the cross. And in that moment, just before that happen, Jesus experienced something, to which He had never had to know before: spiritual death; separation from the Father; why? Because of sin, fellowship with the Father had been broken! The sins of the world were taken upon Him!!! "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"THE GIFT" - Real Life!

"And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it." (Luke 9:23 & 24) There was something that happen in the Garden of Eden, a long time ago, it was called death. Not really a physical death, but a spiritual death; which caused man to be separated from his Life Source: He who's breath was breathed into man's nostrils, and man became a living soul (Gen. 2:7). To truly receive the Gift of Salvation, one must realize the true meaning of what they are receiving: it is not about making our life here better! In the opening verse, Jesus said that we are to "take up our cross daily", this is not a good thing (in case you did not know); this is a sign of humiliation, which is why Jesus said beforehand, "let him deny himself". The cross of Christ represents His death as suffering and connects it with the curse of sin; His suffering on the cross showed our redemption being given and accomplished by the deepest humiliation, not by the display of power and glory. To "take up his cross" refers to carrying the cross, which alludes to the Roman custom of making the criminal carry the cross on which he was to suffer. If you really think about it, this form of punishment puts many different degrees of humiliation upon the one who is to be crucified; mainly, or more profoundly, that the one being crucified, is actually participating in carrying out his own crucifixion. How humiliating is that? It is not that God wants us to be humiliated, that is not the meaning of this Scripture; but rather, He wants us to realize the Life which we are given far surpasses this life which we have. And in realizing how important our Life in Jesus Christ is, there is nothing that this world has to offer (not even physical life) that can even begin to compare! You see; that iron axe head was doomed (dead) at the bottom of the river, but the qualities of that wood, which floated upon the water (life), brought that axe head to the surface, and caused it to float also (redemption). That is the kind of Life Jesus gives: Life that is in Him; Real Life straight from the Father's breath...The Breath of Life!

"THE GIFT" - Everlasting!

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6 & 7) Let me tell you what I think: If anyone is thought to have lost their Salvation, I would bet that they really never had it to begin with. I can not try and figure out who is saved and who is not, that is not for me to know; but what I must do, is to "work out my own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12), because I know that my Lord is coming back very soon. However, I could wonder what would cause someone to have not received Salvation, or to have truly not accepted God's Gift of Eternal Life. Have you ever wondered that? Maybe it was because they only wanted to be saved from their current trial or whatever mess that they were in when they asked Jesus into their heart; as if asking Jesus to come into their life would make things better? If this is why you came to the Lord, you really might want to reconsider your decision! There is something else which matters more than this life, and that is Eternity with God! This is why Salvation was given, not that our life here would be better, although it will be, but because we were separated from the One who created us by sin and we needed to be redeemed! Here is the other illustration for that 'Axe Head': He Has Raised Me Up!!! There is nothing else that can explain what He has done for us; it is only Jesus Christ that can bring us into a relationship with the Father; to make us sit at the feet of the Father, as His precious children. Just as that piece of wood brought that iron axe head to the surface of the water, and made it to float; so too, the cross on which our Saviour died brought redemption to a condemned world. (If you don't know what I am talking about read 2 Kings 6:1-7) This is the difference between two worlds; and our True Salvation is not based upon this world, but upon Everlasting Life! Our being Saved will however have an effect on our life here, as it should; but our life here will not have an effect on our Salvation!!!!!!

"THE GIFT" - Remains!

"But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His Great Love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by Grace ye are Saved);" (Ephesians 2:4 & 5) Well, I thought about it all day yesterday, and again last night, and I have come to the conclusion that I am in the Right Line! Yes, there is no doubt in my heart or mind that I am Saved; even though I mess up; even though I have trouble dealing with sin; even though I fall. Do you know why I am so sure? Do you? How about because I love God? (He put that Love in my heart.) How about because I want to do those things that are pleasing to Him? (He put that desire within me.) Or, how about because He Loves me still? He has not changed His mind about me; nor has He removed the Gift He has given me. In fact, I am not convinced that we can ever loose our Salvation; even if we walked away from God, I am not convinced that would be enough to cut one off from being Saved; why? Because God does not break His covenant with us! We, on the other hand are not so able to keep our promises, or even our commitments; but God, He does not fail, nor falter! Okay, let me ask you a question (one I asked myself over the last 24 hours): If God loved you while you were dead in sins, don't you think He still loves you now, even if you might sin? Jesus Christ died for ALL of our sins, even those which might be committed after our conversion to Christ; ALL means ALL as far as I can tell. This is what Joy, Peace and Hope is all about; that God loves us so much, He would not have any to perish (that means none), and has provided a Way wherein anyone who believes upon His Son Jesus Christ, Will Be Saved! It is not, I repeat, not based upon our abilities; nor is it based upon our holiness (we have none in ourselves); it is based upon His Son Jesus Christ and the Blood of His Son that covers us (washing away ALL sin). I might lose my rewards, but I can not loose my Salvation! Why? Because Christ Remains!!!!!!!!!!

"THE GIFT"

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10) Here is another reason that I know I am saved: God does not take back the Gift He has given!!! I know that we are not real familiar with that concept, because when we give gifts, we always will put something attached to it; something which we can take back, or something in which we will expect to receive from giving the gift. However, this is not so with God and the Gift He has given us in Jesus Christ! With God; His intention for us is to be have eternal life with Him, which is the source of His Gift; meaning that His Gift and His intention are all for our benefit. Does that mean He will not expect anything from us? No, I don't think it does; because, as we read the words of verse 10, we can see that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works", which means that we are made into a habitable place for God's Spirit to dwell and to work. Now then; in the second part of this same verse, there is a word which comes close to 'try', and it is the word 'should': "which God hath before ordained the we 'should' walk in them". Why is this word should used, and not the word would? It is something called 'free will', that is why. There are two judgements that await man: The Great White Throne Judgement, which is for all those not written in the Lamb's Book of Life; the other is The Judgement Seat of Christ. All those not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, are those that were condemned already, and remain condemned because they have not received the Gift of God. While those that are written in the Lamb's Book of Life are to be judged at The Judgement Seat of Christ for those things which this word 'should' talks about in verse 10. And what things are these? These are the things which God has preordained for us to walk in; which are things that He has established within us to be, do, or say. Okay then; do we need to worry about our Salvation? No!!! God's Gift of eternal Life, is not negotiable; nor is it based upon our works; it is based upon His love for us, the death of His Son, and our receiving it; period! Does that mean I am free to do what I want? Well, in a way it does; because if I am His workmanship, then I will want to do those things which are pleasing to Him. Okay; and what if I don't want to do those things? Then I better check myself, because I 'could' be standing in the wrong line...

"The Father's Love"

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto Life." (John 5:24) I can not tell you how important it is to Know that I am Saved! And how do I know with all certainty that I am Saved? Well, one way for sure was given in the verse I shared at the end of yesterday's post, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me". Do I hear My Saviour's voice? Yes, most assuredly I do. Does He know me? I believe that He does; but there will come a day of judgement for the correct answer to that. But, do I follow Him? Well; for the most part, I try; at least I think I am trying to follow Him, that is until I get another glimpse of where I stray. As we near a time of year when we celebrate 'The Birth of our Saviour', I must remember with all certainty that the real reason for this Season is not just about the Lord coming to dwell among us, but it is about the Father's Love for us, in giving us His Son! When Jesus was speaking the verse in John 5:24, He was addressing Jews which had sought to kill Him because He had broken the sabbath and had made Himself equal with God. Now, many of you know how the Jews had always set out to trap Him, but in this case, Jesus had given them quite a lot to digest; and then He took off. If you read this whole Passage, and in the context of who He was speaking to, and what He was speaking about, you can see that these where those that should have known God; but yet, they did not know The Father's Love; which means that they really did not Know God. They knew the Law of Moses, they knew of God, and they even knew about all the Scriptures that spoke of Jesus' coming; however, they did not get the Big Picture of WHY He would come. To really believe on the One who sent Jesus, means that you have a full understanding of His Love! Oh, I don't mean that we have to understand it fully, nor do I think we can; but what we must be able to do, is to understand fully enough to suit our own need. In other words; when it comes to Knowing that we are Loved, and that His Love for us far exceeds any thing which could possibly separate us from Him, and that it was His far exceeding Love that has made all that possible, we can begin to understand His Love enough for us. The word 'passed', which is in the opening verse, "but is passed from death unto Life", is from the word 'metabaino' which means to change one's place or condition; to pass or go from one place or state to another; to go away, depart. This I believe is another reason that I know I am saved, because I Know what eternal life is with the Father; in His Love is Life...Real Life!!!

"Knock Knock"

No, this is not a joke, but this much I know, I do not have to ask Who is there! Last night the Lord was showing me so many things, I don't know how to list them, or in what order. But this much I know, the most important thing that I saw, was that my basic problem is that I can not comprehend God's Love; it is just way beyond my understanding. Yet, as soon as I think I have it comprehended, I find myself not living it out!!! I think I would call that being inferior? And if you really want to try and figure out why I would call it being inferior, it is not to hard to find the answer to that One! What does it mean to be one of His sheep? I remember seeing a picture as a small child of a Shepherd carrying a lamb upon his shoulders. At that age, I did not really understand this picture, but I have come to know what it really means. You see, sometimes a lamb is very stubborn and will not obey the shepherds voice, and that staff that is shown in the shepherds hand, the one with the hook at the top, well that is for breaking the leg of the lamb that will not obey. Then after breaking the leg of that lamb, the shepherd will carry it where ever he goes, and that stubborn lamb is always by his side. God will not stop loving us, which is what we just do not understand; how can we? Look at ourselves; look at yourself; see how easy it is to let a wound fester in our hearts, and hate springs up. Unconditional Love is something that is so foreign to us, that we can not contain it. Oh, we might be able to walk around thinking that we have it; but as soon as someone ruffles our feathers the wrong way, and we let that get a foothold in our hearts, we are no longer loving unconditionally. God does not think like we do, nor does He try and make our hearts hurt because we have hurt His. But, what He does do, He does because He loves us; not to get even with us. Does that mean it does not hurt? No, not at all; and if you think about that little lamb, do you think it hurt to have it's leg broken? And was it a necessary thing to do? "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal Life." (John 3:15) What this verse says is the reason that it really matters: He will not let me perish, and in Him I have eternal Life. So, as I look again to this wonderful little lamb which is upon the shoulders of his Shepherd, I can know with great assurance that little lamb is loved. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are One." (John 10:27-30)

"Turning Our Hearts" - 2

"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. " (John 3:17) God never moves! I hope you get that; yes? I don't care how far you drift away from Him, as soon as you repent, there He is, right behind you! There is something we must come to understand about God's love for us, it is not based upon our actions; nor is it based upon our lack of actions; it is based upon His Love for us, which is not based upon anything but His Love. As I thought about yesterday's post (and believe me, I thought about it all day and night), I had to wonder just how much rejection the Lord can take, and still love me. And in the process of my wondering, I realized that He is really use to being rejected; in fact, the Bible says, "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." (John 1:10 & 11) And that was one of the softest declarations of the world rejecting Him. But the more I thought about me, about how I have rejected Him, I realized that the power to be saved is really in acceptance! That is what is meant by "might be saved"; that we, being His sheep, must accept His shepherding; which means that we are to listen and obey. So, that sin I hold onto, no matter how small I might think that it is, is a willful act of disobedience to the Shepherd's Voice; or to put it another way, it is me rejecting what the Lord is asking me to do. Picture this with me: here I am, a little sheep in the Shepherd's pasture, and outside of that pasture are all the things that can harm or even kill me, and yet, I will disobey His instruction and wonder off into destruction. How lame is that? But God!!!!!! Thank You for Loving me!!!

"Turning Our Hearts"

"But he who doeth Truth cometh to the Light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:21) This is where the rubber meets the road for our hearts to turn towards God; we must be willing to be changed! If we are serious about our relationship with God, then we will do those things which bring us into a closer relationship with Him, period! At this time, I must confess that this has not been a strong point of my Christian walk. As I look back over the last 29 years, I can see where I have done a 'pick and choose' when it comes to this principle of 'Being Holy'. But I can tell you right here and now, it does not work! You can not pick and choose from those things that are revealed, and turn from some, while keeping others; sin is sin, and all sin has the same effect on our hearts. Maybe you are not aware what sin does to your heart, or are you? Here is the thing about 'confessing our sin': it is our response to our deeds being manifest, which makes us acknowledge to God that we have been made aware of the sin, and ask Him to forgive us of that sin. So then; if after having asked forgiveness for that sin, we then take that sin back into our life, we are making a heart that will be turned back to stone. What does it mean to have a heart of stone? Well, it is not a good thing, that is for sure; but the most important thing we need to know about this heart of stone, is that our heart was stone before we met Jesus. It was Jesus Christ who changed our heart from that of stone, to a heart that could receive and hold God's love; but unconfessed sin will harden our hearts, and create in us a love for that sin which we have stowed away in our heart. Yes, I said a love for sin; because that is what happens! We can not serve to masters!!! "For every one that doeth evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:20) As you read this verse, you will most likely associate this to those that have rejected Jesus; but I want you to think about something very important: holding onto sin, is also rejecting Jesus!

"Being Made Whole" - 3

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36) This is really not complicated, but it does require a little thought; because before we can actually have 'Faith' we must repent! In this manner of turning, there is a turning towards God; where we are turned towards Him and gaze upon His Love. This is the 'Light of Life', which Jesus is, was and always will be; and it is in that 'Light' which all of our sin is revealed; which then creates a heart of repentance. Without the actual act of repenting from those sins, and receiving God's gift of salvation for those sins, there is no 'Faith'! 'Faith is the trustful commitment of oneself to God for forgiveness of sin, deliverance from sin, and victory over sin; but it is impossible to commit oneself thus to God without renouncing and turning away from all that is contrary to God. Faith is the condition of entrance into the experience of salvation, the enjoyment of eternal life; but repentance is the psychological and moral condition of faith. As eternal life is unattainable without faith, faith is unattainable without repentance. If repentance means to change from the self-centered life to the God-centered life, then Jesus is the Author and Inspiration of repentance. No other was ever able to reach down deep enough into human nature to effect this change.' (quoted from Zodhiates) This is a really good expression of what took place in the heart of that leper from Samaria; where there was a repentance that was made possible by what Jesus had done. And as this man was walking towards the Temple, he had realized the power of God to heal and to give life; in so doing, he had turned to Jesus, believing that it was He who had made him clean, and giving Him praise and worship for the cleansing. In essence, there must be a heart of surrender in order for true repentance to take place; which then gives way for faith to be manifested. (I am thinking that this is another good example how Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith!)

"Being Made Whole" - 2

As I was saying, 'Faith' requires Knowing; much like what is stated in Psalm 100, "Know ye that the Lord He is God", we must Know! And, I will even take it further than that; we must not only Know Him, but we must Know what He has done for us, and believe that His Love for us is the reason why He has done all that He has. Okay, maybe the believing part is not yet that easy to see as the trigger for 'being made whole'; maybe you are not yet convinced that it only requires 'Believing in Jesus Christ to be Saved'! You are not alone; sadly to say, many there are that don't accept that Truth either; because, how can just believing in one man change a heart and a mind? Well, are you wondering that? Before this year is over, I would like to explain it plainly; but it might take a whole lifetime to convince some that it is true. The first place to start, would be to look at the word 'repent', which has several different meanings, and has been used so wrongly in many circles; but the main meaning that I would like to consider at this time, is, 'to change one's mind'. This I believe is the simplest way to describe the word 'repent', because true repentance requires that one change his or her reason, which means thought or basis. In other words, you have now come to understand why sin is what it is, and you also have come to understand what is sin. The other requirement needed for true repentance is a changed heart, and this is the one which can get a little complicated to explain. In order for us to have a changed heart, God must change it; we are not capable enough to change our hearts, it is only something that is brought about by God. Maybe you don't believe that, and you are thinking that your heart is able to be changed by what you think? Well, you can think that if you want, but the way I see it, God will first change our heart, which then allows us to be able to think properly. What I am trying to say, is that before we can even consider repenting, or changing our minds, we must have a changed heart. And, to put it in a more reasonable way: Only God can give us the ability to change our minds! (Reasonable???) This is the beginning of Believing: that we must first come to Jesus Christ, believing that He has died for our sins, and that He has pulled us out of that deep, deep hole which is full of fire; which then, after believing, we are made accessible to God, because of the removal of sin; which then allows the Holy Spirit to dwell within us; and because the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within us, we have a heart that has been changed. Now; because we have this changed heart, true repentance can take place, which is 'the changing of our mind'. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God". (John 3:3)

"Being Made Whole"

"And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." (Luke 17:19) Now that's what I'm talking about! In order to be whole, don't you think you might need to know the truth? Who's to say that this stranger knew the truth? Well for one, Jesus did, as He told him, "thy faith hath made thee whole". I mean really; how can you have faith without knowing what to have faith in? "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 8:17) But you might wonder, from where did this stranger hear? Well, my first clue that he heard something, is the fact that he, along with the other nine, were standing at the side of the road (afar off) and pleading, "Master, have mercy on us". Someone had to of told them that Jesus had the ability to cleanse them of their disease; yet, only one of them really understood who Jesus was, and just how much He could heal. Do I think this man was delivered from sin? You bet I do! Why? Because he recognized Jesus, and in doing so, believing that Jesus had made him whole, he had to have also believed who Jesus was; and in believing who Jesus was, he had received the gift of salvation within his heart. You might be saying, 'Hey Rich, you sure are reading a lot into this story.' You might be right; but the first thing I would ask you to think about, is what makes us whole? Jesus told this man, that his faith had made him whole; so then, what was it that made him whole? Can you answer that question without making the healing the doing of the man? Well, can you? I am thinking that we can not be made whole, unless we are sold out for Jesus Christ; and when I say 'sold out', I mean that we are convinced to our very core, that it is He who has redeemed us; and when I say 'He who has redeemed us', I mean that there is nothing that we can do! You see, those other nine that were healed, they continued on toward the Temple, to show themselves to the priests; which was most likely to carry out the ritual of the Mosaic Law; which stated that, to be clean, you must be declared clean by the priests. However the one who turned back to Jesus, he received his cleansing as soon as he was clean; meaning, as soon as he realized that he had been healed, he gave glory to the One who made him whole. Knowing in his heart that it was Jesus who made him the way he was; knowing full well, that it was nothing but mercy, which is what they pleaded for! Besides, as I see it, according to Jesus' own words, in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting Life." And, as I couple that with the word 'whole' which Jesus used, the word is 'sozo', which means safe, delivered; to save, deliver, make whole; preserve safe from danger, loss or destruction. And then, couple that with the next verse in the John 3:17, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." And when I say 'that there is nothing we can do', I mean, that we are stuck in the fire, in a deep, deep hole, and there is no way we can get ourselves out; it is only Jesus who can pull us out; which only requires our believing in Him!!! "Master, have mercy on me!"

"Giving Glory To God" - 2

Maybe you are not seeing the big deal in what it means to recognize Jesus? Well, for starters, we must come to an understanding of what is sin, or what sin is. In the case of our 10 lepers, it was not to difficult for them to know what it was they were suffering from, because all of them cried together for mercy and a chance to be made clean. However, nine of the ten did not go back to praise the One who healed them; why do you think that was? As I said yesterday, those nine that returned not back to give glory to God were most likely Jews, and given that Jesus had instructed them to "go show themselves to the priests", they might have considered that their healing came from the obedience in following His command; because it says in the same verse, "and as they went, they were cleansed". But there is another aspect of their misunderstanding, and that could have been the Temple; where they may have figured in their understanding of the Temple, that in setting out towards it they were healed. Or, maybe they were just being ungrateful for their healing, but I do not think so; I think that they were ignorant of what healed them, or Who; and more importantly, they did not understand the healing that they received. Now, when it comes to sin; we must know what our sin is towards God; knowing that our sin separates us from fellowship with God. Does that mean that He stops loving us? No! What it does mean, is that He can not fellowship with us while we have unconfessed sin. Which brings me to my second point: we must know what is sin. Sin is anything that is contrary to God's Holiness, and it is anything which takes away from Glorifying God. So, in the case of our nine lepers that did not turn back and give Glory to God, was that then sin? or was it just plain ignorance? I am thinking that it was sin, because sin means 'missing the mark'; and there are two ways to miss the mark, you can aim somewhere else, or you can just not know how to properly aim; either way, you will miss the mark. In Psalm 100, which I started with yesterday, there is something very important which is said in verse 3: "Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture". The reason that this verse is so very important, is that we have a tendency to give ourselves credit for things that are good. In other words, we like to take credit when things go well, and put blame on others when things go bad. We also have, in the same line of thinking, a tendency to assume that our position in where we stand with God is based upon our own righteousness; this is really normal and easy to do without even thinking about it. However, that too is missing the mark; because the one leper who turned back to Jesus, had realized that he had been healed by Jesus, and that the only reason he was going to the priests, was to show himself clean...

"Giving Glory To God"

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100) There is something about giving glory to God that can really fortify our love for Him; consequently, causing us to have a disdain for the things which are contrary to Him and His Holiness. This effect is magnified my our earnest praise; which means, praise that is serious! As we look again to our story of the 10 lepers, Jesus had said something about giving God glory; we find it in verse 18, "There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger". There are a couple of quick points about this statement which I find interesting; one of them is the fact that Jesus used the word 'stranger' to describe this Samaritan. It would be apparent that those other nine lepers may have been Jews, and that the only one who gave God glory for his healing was a foreigner, or one from another nation; which brings me to the other quick point, and that is that Jesus said, "there are not found", which would also indicate that He was most likely speaking of being found among the Jews. The reason I find this to be interesting, is that the Jewish people felt that they were the true worshipers of God, and that the Temple was the only place for true worship to take place. If you remember back to the Samaritan 'woman at the well', and the encounter Jesus had with her about 'true worship'; Jesus said, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." (John 4:23) I find this especially interesting because the word that Jesus used for 'glory' has such a vast meaning; the word is 'doxa', and it comes from the root word 'dokeo', which means to think or recognize. My point in this matter is, that in order to worship God in truth, we must come to an understanding of who He is, and all that He has done for us. Which is precisely what this stranger did as he realized that he was healed, and who it was that healed him! He recognized Jesus!

"Keeping My Tent Clean"

"And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:6) I do not know if you noticed, but yesterday I said something which might have not been understood, which was that I propose a time 'to keep those things which clean out our tents'. This is really more important than you might think; because it is not only necessary for us to clean out this tent, but even more importantly, we must fill it with the right stuff. In other words, allow no room for any of that stuff which can cause us to go astray! So, another way to look at this verse in 2 Corinthians 10:6, is that we should be prepared to fill this tent with those things which are of God, as we clean out those things which are of this world. This is actually basic Christian training, which I was told about almost 30 years ago; however, with time and the experience of 'learning how to sin', I think this concept was shelved somewhere in a back room of my heart. Maybe one thing which I could purpose in my heart to do, is to praise God and give Him glory as I realize that obedience has been fulfilled? I don't mean a quick little thank you, but I mean a heart felt devotion time; a time of turning away from all else and giving Him praise! As I looked up this word 'revenge' this morning, I was lead to a portion of Scripture in Luke 17:11-19, where we see Jesus heal 10 lepers. If you know the story, you know that they were all healed as they started to obey His command to "Go show yourselves unto the priests", which is in verse 14. However, verse 15 says, "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan." I don't need to go through the whole 'Samaritan' thing again, but it is kind of interesting that they keep popping up like this? Then in verse 17, we see Jesus respond, "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." Why is this little story so relevant to what I was talking about? Well, first off, this leper was healed of his leprosy, which was a outer healing, or a fleshly healing; yet after he turned back and gave glory to God for his fleshly healing, he was then given a spiritual healing, as Jesus declared "thy faith hath made thy whole". This is vitally important because "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal", (but they are spiritual), and "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds". Now then, the word 'revenge', which Paul uses here in verse 10:6, means to take vengeance on, or to punish; which then tells me that there is some authority given which allows me to execute justice, and to defend the cause of Christ. That being said, in order to execute justice in the practice of obedience to God, I have nothing else to do except: Praise the One who has made me Clean !!!

"Cleaning My Tent" - 3

Right about now you might be wondering how we are to die to our flesh, yet also care for this tent? It really is quite simple; because even though they are one in the same, one is driven with a passion for the things of this world, while the other is only a tabernacle for our soul, which has a passion for Heaven, and is a dwelling place for God. This is the reason that cleaning this tent is so very important, because it is a dwelling place for God. And, if you really stop and think about it, one of the primary duties of a child of God, is to keep his or her room (tent) clean. It must be kept free from idols, and anything else that could be offensive to the God who is to dwell within it; otherwise, He won't; He can't, because He is Holy. I know that 'New Years Resolutions' are hardly ever kept, and it might seem silly to even try; however, this New Year I propose a time to keep those things which 'clean out our tents'. It's okay if no one else wants to join me; it is pretty much between God and myself anyways; but I want to proclaim a day of cleansing, so why not January 1st, 2011? When I look at my life, and the things which I have allowed, I can hardly tell the difference between myself and those that are of the world. This is what the Lord has meant by, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord". We must be separate, because this tent, although it is temporary, it also must be kept Holy; which means that it is our responsibility, as a children of God, to clean our rooms! And let me remind you of something, something which I know many of us are familiar with, and that is hiding stuff under the bed. It does not work!!! "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (STAND) (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)