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God says, “Tag, you’re it!”

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:4-6 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/eph.1.4-6.NKJV

There is a lot in this verse:

1) He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world

2) His purpose is for us to be Holy and without blame before Him in Love

3) He predestined us to adoption as sons to be reconciled by Christ to Himself

4) He did this out of the good pleasure of His will

5) to the praise and glory of His grace

6) by which He made us accepted in the Beloved

The first thing that I want to point out is that the gospel is about what God can do in us and through us. If we are working for it ourselves, we might have missed the forest for the trees.

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Got your ears on, good buddy?

image

I used to talk on the CB radio,  and you might catch us saying things like, “Breaker, Breaker. Hey, RC, you got your ears on, good buddy?” RC was my friend (Erich Stinson),  and that was me asking if he was listening to his radio so that we could talk together.

Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Mark 4:9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mrk.4.9.NLT

Anyone with ears. Do you have ears?

If I asked what are they for,  and you answered “to hear” – you would not be wrong, but your answer would be focused only on the physical. You would be acknowledging the obvious, physical truth about your ears,  but overlooking the greater truth and purpose.

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Life starts with prayer

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.
Mark 1:35 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mrk.1.35.NLT

This world has many distractions. Our lives are fast paced and many things throughout the day stack up and require our attention. If we don’t commit to a specific time with God, we risk never making time for Him. If we don’t put Him first, we risk heading into battle without our armor and without His strength. Because the days that we need Him most are the days filled with chaos and distraction that leave little time for breaking away for quiet time with the Lord.

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When Fear is Good

PRO 9:10 ESV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Reverence,  awe, and yes,  fear.

In the 45 places this Hebrew word yir’ah is used in the old testament, it is always speaking of the fear of God, which is not just reverence, not just awe,  but respectful fear of our creator God. It is always mentioned as a fear that should lead to a changed attitude. I think of Godly fear as “conviction under the realization that He is Almighty God,  Creator of the Universe”. Yes, all power streams from our God.

But this Godly fear is not the type that paralyzes us or cripples us. That type of fear is typified in the Hebrew word yare’ which is used 314 times in the Old Testament,  mainly in places where God is encouraging us to not be afraid.

In fact,  Exodus 20:20 uses both of these words in the same verse – demonstrating to us the difference in these two very different concepts that have two Hebrew words, but that we in English have bound together in a single word “fear”.

Exodus 20:20
And Moses said unto the people, Fear [yare’] not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear [yir’ah] may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

And doesn’t this verse unlock the mysteries? Doesn’t it underscore the purpose of Christ?

Didn’t Christ come to tell us that we don’t have to remain where we are? Didn’t He come to call us out of our exile,  call us out of our slavery to sin?

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Understanding

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own _________________.

God is so good.

The words aren’t even big enough.

I don’t lean on myself,  because all that I have to lean on of my own is weakness that has been packaged up and mislabeled by “wise” men of the world as understanding, knowledge,  strength,  logic. But when it is mine alone it is weakness, it is powerless.

But in His infinite mercy,  He reveals His grace,  His power,  His honor. And He let’s me come into the presence, and my weakness is redeemed, restored,  rebuilt,  into a measure of His strength through faith.

And this is why I trust in the Lord with all my heart,  because who can I trust if not the Lord? I surely can’t trust myself, this deceitful heart of mine that will use foolish pride to elevate self and seek my own desires,  or that will stir up its humanitarian sensibilities and emotions and overlook righteousness and repentance for the sake of cheap grace.

This Grace is costly and paid at a high price. Just because the bill is already paid in full doesn’t make its value any less.

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Just try it?

It’s tough to not want to drag people along with you when you think that your headed in the right direction.

image

But then I need to be reminded that:

1) I encounter unexpected turns in the road constantly, I can’t see past just a few steps ahead. Yes,  I know my destination, but other than staying humble, seeking God’s will, and living a repentant life loving and fearing God, what specific direction can I give other than the Word of God? If I step outside of that, I could find myself as the blind leading the blind, instead of the healed going and sinning no more and being a servant.

2) My path is mine. If I try to walk yours and you try to walk mine, we will both end up in the wrong place.

3) I don’t have to gather people. I am not alone even if no person of flesh and blood is walking beside me,  because I have the Lord with me. Even in the valley,  especially in the valley,  He is my comforter,  my shield,  my rock,  my firm foundation,  my portion.

4) I walked that far from God path myself for so very long,  and I was so hard headed that nothing that another person could say was going to change my heart. But they each planted seeds, that lay there until it was time for the Lord to say,  “Let there be light” over my life – until it was time for Him to send the waters and to spring up the new growth in my life that only His healing touch can accomplish.

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Don’t judge ahead of time

http://bible.com/116/1co.4.3-5.nlt
As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

I find enemies asking questions like, “Don’t you think __________________ is going to burn in hell for what he/she did? ”

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Teacher? Or Messenger?

http://bible.com/116/eph.4.2-6.nlt
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

It seems like it would be easier to meditate on the Word of God if we disappeared into a quiet corner and stayed there,  like a monk for the rest of our lives – but being “high minded” or being “intellectual” about the theology of Christ is not our goal. Our goal is to live a life of love and service unto one another.

And if everyone was perfect and had no faults,  this would be an easy task and calling, but unfortunately, we are not surrounded by perfect people like Christ while we are still in this world. We are called to accept and love other Christians in spite of their faults, to find unity and to grow together in Christ.

It is sad to look at divisions and dissention within the world that calls buildings and denominations the church. Do we not know that the Lord does not dwell in temples made by the hands of men,  but that He dwells in the bodies of the believers? Do we not know that those who follow their sinful nature of division and dissention will not inherit the Kingdom of God?

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Jesus didn’t flee from sharing truth, His words were bold as a lion

And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
John 6:65-70 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.6.65-70.ESV

Many are called,  but few are chosen.

There are those who hear the call and fall away when it puts their comfort at risk.

These twelve,  these true students of Jesus Christ,  the Word of God, God come in the flesh, eleven of them got it. They realized they had nowhere to turn but to God,  because they understood that this life is nothing in comparison to eternity. And it changed their lives completely, and their lives rocked the world around them.

Jesus wasn’t a numbers guy. He wasn’t looking for visible outcomes,  because He knew the difference between false “religious converts” and true chosen children of God. If He was just about altar calls and gathering reliable tithes into the storehouse,  He surely wouldn’t have so often delivered messages like –

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There can be only one

All roads don’t lead to heaven.

John 14:6 ESV
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Sounds quite clear. Even my 4 year old daughter can understand that at the name of Jesus every head will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.

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