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Love is walking according to His commandments

And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
II John 1:5-9 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/2jn.1.5-9.NKJV

Do we realize that every commandment is meant to keep both ourselves and those around us from harm? There are no harsh commandments that God has laid down upon us as a task master,  but all of His instruction is for good – in fact, it is for the best life for us. All of the commandments and all of the law have their source in loving God wholeheartedly and loving and serving others.

God’s instruction is not a set of rules that we begrudgingly try to obey in order to not suffer consequences. No, that perspective is empty and dead religious practice. When we believe, or perspective shifts to understanding that the Word of God is not a list of facts and rules and laws as much as it is divine instruction and assistance. B.I.B.L.E. “Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth” That is a pretty good perspective to maintain.

So if we believe, we will obey – not out of begrudgingly complying to a set of rules – but out of loving trust that our heavenly Father knows best. If we aren’t obeying,  it is because we aren’t believing, we aren’t trusting. We cannot claim Him as Savior and dismiss Him as Lord,  because it is about our belief, or faith,  our heart,  or desires. So I don’t ask “have you accepted Jesus” or “have you asked Him into your heart”. No, I ask “Do you love Him, obey Him, and seek His will in your life” – and I explain that these are not separable, but are one and the same – just as God the Father,  Jesus the Son,  and the Holy Spirit are one and the same – just different point of views necessary to comprehend the whole truth.

Many are eager to claim Him as Savior,  to grasp intellectually onto the concept of mercy and grace – but are loathe to offer the living sacrifice of making Him Lord and to truly exercise and apply repentance, holiness, and righteousness. And being a Christian isn’t about intellectual ascent – even if that is what contemporary American religion has seemed to grasped onto en masse. He calls us to “Follow me” not just to know about Him. He calls us to “Love God with our whole” not just in part.  He calls for application of His teaching in our lives,  a turn away from the ways of this world, to seek a life more and more,  closer and closer, to His life example.

If He is just your spare tire and not the steering wheel of your vehicle,  I have to ask,  “Have you ever truly come to Christ on His terms?” I have to ask,  “Are you surrendered today, trusting His guidance for your life as best?” I have to ask, “Do you truly know Christ,  our do you just know about Him?”

He is here to be found. He has not left us,  we have just turned away so often to chase after the world. Today, let’s seek His will – not begrudgingly as if following rules and regulations – but believing that Father truly does know best. Or if you do not believe that, if you still believe proudly that you are wiser and know better – then you are better off to admit that you are no Christian at all than to go into eternal damnation calling upon the name of a Jesus you neither know, nor love, nor are seeking.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.7.21-23.NKJV

We are called to be followers, disciples, children of God,  Christ’s body serving others in this earth doing His will. We are not called to learn about the narrow gate and then remain outside on the broad way -,we are called to not only enter the narrow gate but walk the narrow path, following His example as the one way,  the one truth,  the one life.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.7.13-14.NKJV

We are to walk in the Holy Spirit of Christ who lives in us. If you do not know that Christ lives in you, lost seeker,  pray to your Heavenly Father that you receive this gift of His mercy,  His grace,  His redemption,  His guidance, and His correction that keeps you on the path so that you might stand before Him one day,  having run your race to the finish, to find salvation instead of judgement. 

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Luke 11:9-13 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.11.9-13.NKJV

And if you claim with your mouth that you have received this free but costly gift that was paid for by the sacrifice of our loving Lord and Savior – testify to your renewed heart and His presence as Lord of your life by trusting and following Him today. Open up all of the doors and compartments of your life and accept His redemption – as you gratefully follow His guidance and instructions,  as you obey in both your heart and your actions,  as you walk like Christ, whom you are being reconciled to be like, of whom we are His earthly ambassadors.

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him  thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he  is  a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to  be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
II Corinthians 5:14-21 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/2co.5.14-21.NKJV

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The call is going out, the trumpet is sounding

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there  were very many in the open valley; and indeed they  were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God , You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord ! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord .” ’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there  was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord , when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord , have spoken it and performed it, ” says the Lord .’ ”
Ezekiel 37:1-14 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/ezk.37.1-14.NKJV

You are called to wake up, sleeping Christian. You are called to rise and walk upright in the strength of His Holy Spirit, of Christ who lives in you. Prepare yourself,  for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to  the  poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to  the  captives And recovery of sight to  the  blind, To  set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord .”
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.4.18-19.NKJV

You have been called, not to sit stationary and unchanged, not hidden amongst the shadows of this world – but to bring the light of Hope, Faith, and Love into a lost, diseased,  sinful, dying world.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.28.18-20.NKJV

You are called both to be a disciple and to make disciples. You are called to be a student of the Word of God,  seeking His face,  His way,  His truth,  His life come alive in you,  today and forevermore.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Revelation 12:10-12 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rev.12.10-12.NKJV

it is the Blood of the Lamb that frees you, the power of His Holy Spirit that empowers you, so that your living testimony can shine the light of His grace and glory into this dark world,  and so that your picking up your cross and bearing the burdens of others will be an undeniable manifestation of Christ alive and at work,  still today feeding His Sheep and leading them through the trials of this world into the peace of eternal life in Christ.

Let our lives be a living testament that Christ lives and moves and serves His faithful today, the same as it ever was.

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Costly? Valuable.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mrk.8.34-38.NKJV

Deny ourselves.
Take up our cross.
Follow Christ.
Die to self.

In a world of nominal and worldly “Christians” – where the capitalist dream of wealth,  comfort,  security,  and pleasure rules people’s hearts and desires – this call seems quite contrary to to the cheap and easy grace of a Roman’s Road Sinner’s Prayer splashed on a television screen as the evangelist asks for money to be sent in to buy his latest merchandise. In fact, it seems quite contrary to the altar calls and spontaneous baptisms of the mega-churches of our day.

Christ is talking to us about a costly type of discipleship that doesn’t just ask for intellectual ascent by thinking that we believe – but He tells us about a sacrificial life lived following Him that proves that we believe.

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it —  lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Luke 14:26-35 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.14.26-35.NKJV

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;  and ‘a man’s enemies  will be  those of his  own  household.’  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.10.34-39.NKJV

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Your Reasonable Service

What is “your reasonable service” to Almighty Father God, to Lord Jesus Christ, to the Holy Spirit?

Is it to live in the ways of the world?

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which  is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rom.12.1-2.NKJV

Choosing to turn towards sharing in the sufferings of Christ, also means turning away from the ways of the world.

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/heb.11.24-26.NKJV

Faith is not an idea or a belief in concept only. Is a woman impregnated by just thinking about a man,  or is it only when she surrenders and submits to him that a seed is planned? Isn’t it the same with the Holy Spirit of Christ who lives in us believers?

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:21-22 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/jas.1.21-22.NKJV

Even if that worldliness, that compromise, that conforming to the ways of the world,  offers you promises of wealth and prosperity in this world – are you so easily satisfied with your temporary treasure here, or are you seeking those things eternal?

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:13-16 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/heb.11.13-16.NKJV

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
I John 2:15-17 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/1jn.2.15-17.NKJV

And our choice matters:

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Matthew 16:24-27 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.16.24-27.NKJV

What does  it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does  it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
James 2:14-19 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/jas.2.14-19.NKJV

What will your reasonable service be today, for Christ who was slain on the cross for you?

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it —  lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:27-33 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.14.27-33.NKJV

“For the kingdom of heaven is  like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his Lord’s money.  After a long time the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’  His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’  He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’  His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his Lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/mat.25.14-30.NKJV

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The path of humanity

Speaking humanly –

We all know that it is better to do right than to do wrong. We all know that it is better to help someone than to hurt them. We all know that there are ways that we can all work together for the common good of a community.

But why do we on one hand know these truths, if on the other hand we say it is all about serving self and having the right to decide what is right for ourselves? How foolish is it for us to ignore central, unchanging truths about how life is best lived? How foolish is it for us to decide that “I know better”, “This won’t hurt me”, and “I can do what I want”. Are we so blind to the warnings of others, of history, of laws that we are simply fools to the consequences we are lining up for ourselves and others through our poor decision making and lack of self control and discipline? Or are we inviting destruction into our lives like a kamikaze pilot?

So, still speaking within the bounds of our humanly understanding, we should all be able to understand that there are bad paths with negative consequences, and that there are good paths with positive rewards. And yes, we can acknowledge that many times the bad path is trading off some small, immediate gratification at the cost of a later, higher cost – which is attractive to the foolish. And we can acknowledge that many times the bad path is trading off a small pleasure or treasure for ourselves at the cost of hurting, oppressing, or denying someone else – which is attractive to the selfish.

We could go on all day agreeing to what is good and what is bad, and building laws around these things to remind men of what they already know. And we could build prisons and lay out punishments for them, if they are just foolish and need to learn the truth that they are making decisions that are hurting themselves and others.

But through law and punishment alone, we cannot change the hearts and desires of those who are selfish, prideful, deceitful, hateful, gossipers, slanderers, adulterers, lustful, addicts, etc. Because the law doesn’t make any change to the inside, it just strives to force people to conform on the outside, leaving the underlying urges of people’s hearts to do things that are not right or good. The law doesn’t create obedience on the inside, it hides inward disobedience under the mask of compliance.

In fact, the law on its own then serves as a catalyst for those to argue, “But if I am born with this urge in my heart, then who are you to deny me” as they strive for the very lawlessness and destruction that their hearts desire. And can’t we, see this is true when we look at the eradication of our communities which were once vibrant and interactive and alive – but that have been traded for isolation and fear and all kinds of, wickedness rising up around us?

Yes, this world when left in the hands of men is headed on a collision course with disaster. Because men are either foolish, or they are selfish, or they are both. And there is no other kind of man. You yourself that is reading this, have you devoted much time to helping your neighbor this week? Have you clothed and fed the homeless? Have you treated your friends with kindness? How about your enemies, have you treated them with loving kindness? Have you loved and praised God like He deserves?

And some of you will jump at that with a startled reaction, and say “But I thought that we were talking humanly, why did you have to bring God into this?” And yes, that is the reaction of proud men who want to solve this predicament on their own. We do not want to admit that we are not in control and that we are unable to build our own stairway to heaven. Isn’t that the struggle? That we want to do it our way so that we can get some credit for ourselves?

And yes, there is one path that many choose where they can take credit for their own choices, their own decisions, their own works. And they can choose to lay the evidence of their life’s works on the table and be judged by a righteous and perfect God, and they will get what they deserve – the pit of eternal flames. Because each and every one of us deserves that if we are only under the law, right? How many times have you worn clothes of different types of fabric? How many times have you looked at someone other than your spouse with lust and committed adultery in your heart? How many times have you seen something that wasn’t yours and longed for it in envy and jealousy instead of being satisfied and content with the many blessings the Lord has already given you? How many times have you done things in the dark and alone and in secret that you don’t want the world to know about? How many times have you forgotten God’s way and done it your own way?

Do you not know that you are a wicked, foolish person far from the perfect ways of a just God who will judge with righteousness and uprightness? Do you not know your need to be changed on the inside – not by religious adherence to traditions of men, but by the transforming power of something greater than you that can change your very heart, nature, and desires?

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
Luke 3:15-18 ESV
http://bible.com/59/luk.3.15-18.ESV

I’m not asking you if you’ve received the baptism of John where you promise with your mouth to repent and interact with some water from this world, friend. I’m asking if you’ve come in contact with the living waters of the baptism of the Holy Spirit coming into your life and changing you from the inside out. Is there any breath of His abundant life in your lungs? Is there any fire in your bones for sharing the Good News with the nations? Is there a transplant for your cold, hard heart so that you now go out to serve and love your neighbors, the needy, the afflicted, the imprisoned, even your enemies?

And do you realize that none of YOUR works are pure, perfect, and good? But do you realize that if you allow Him to use you, He can do amazing works through you? If you realize this in your mind, I ask you, are you allowing it to take place in your heart?

And humanly speaking, if we all lived like Jesus. If we followed His example and His teachings, wouldn’t it be a better world? Are there some things that each of us must give up that our hearts desire and long for by nature, yes. But there is something much greater than desire, than pleasure, than lawlessness – and it is love for God and for others – and the payoff isn’t “someday when I get to heaven”. The payoff is now, both for you and for those around you.

Every good and perfect gift is from God, and His gifts don’t come with hidden consequences and destruction for you and those around you. But how many times have we accepted curses from that genie whose gifts always come at a cost because they come quick and easy – instead of living in the blessing of an abundant life filled with God’s presence.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11 ESV

hballingerLeave a comment

Love, Love, Love

It’s very easy for us to become critical of each other, noticing and pointing out flaws, maybe even talking about others behind their backs. But this is not love, nor is it letting Christ shine forth through our lives.

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Galatians 5:14-15 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.5.14-15.NLT

Even if we see someone who is trapped in sin that the Word of God promises that they will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God and that will lead them to hell – do you realize that we are given warnings about not falling into the trap of spiritual pride when dealing with these situations? That we are meant to be acting in love towards one another with hopes not just to catch and expose imperfections,  but to help others overcome and be freed from the sin that binds them.

When we stop look for good in people and start examining them for faults,  we are bound to find them. And when we recognize sin in the lives of others, it is usually because we are familiar with that evil spirit ourselves. Whether we are looking in love, forgiveness,  and mercy, hoping to serve our neighbor – or whether we are looking with condemnation, accusation, and judgement,  hoping to catch our neighbor – it’s an important difference.

There is one that waits for the opportunity to devour people because of their sin – and his wolves are very good at biting and tearing at one another, weakening the prey and preparing them for death, slaughter, and destruction.  But there is another who heals,  who offers forgiveness, who reconciles us to be more like Himself – and His followers are very good at loving one another, and building each other up, and sharing one another’s burdens. And the difference between the two comes down to perspective. One’s followers look down on the others in pride,  while the followers of Christ look at others equally and in unity. These followers of Christ see neighbors and friends in need of the very same unmerited and undeserved grace that their own walk of faith is materializing and bearing witness to in their life of serving and loving others.

So we have to ask ourselves,  are we motivated by love towards others or do we enjoy the pride of being critical toward others? Are we aiming our examining eye inward at ourselves,  using the Word of God a surgical instrument or are we using it as a sword to slay our brothers and sisters? Do we know how to target the real enemy who is not flesh and blood, or have we comforted our thirst with the blood of the innocent instead of tasting of the living waters that fill our lives to overflowing?

It is easy for me to point out warnings and scriptures that identify those lost and trapped in sin and headed to destruction – and if all that I offer is a warning, is a statement of the impending danger, and I don’t offer the Good News of Jesus Christ that leads to Hope,  Faith,  and Love – can I say that I’ve shared Truth or just that I’ve lifted my stone in the air?

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT
http://bible.com/116/1co.6.9-10.NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.5.19-21.NLT

Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
Revelation 22:15 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rev.22.15.NLT

You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Ephesians 5:5-19 NLT
http://bible.com/116/eph.5.5-19.NLT

For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.
1 Timothy 1:9-11 NLT
http://bible.com/116/1ti.1.9-11.NLT

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14 NLT
http://bible.com/116/heb.12.14.NLT

A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.
John 8:35 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.8.35.NLT

And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,  ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’
Mark 9:47-48 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mrk.9.47-48.NLT

Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.  When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’  Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’  And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’
Luke 13:23-27 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.13.23-27.NLT

For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.
Ezekiel 33:18 NLT
http://bible.com/116/ezk.33.18.NLT

No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Luke 13:5 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.13.5.NLT

Yes,  and these warnings are true because the Word of God does not lie.

I cry out warnings in love each day. I’m sowing the seed of this Good News that Jesus Christ can come into your life, and change you. But many are too wrapped up in the ways of this world and don’t really want their eyes to be opened yet. I know,  because that used to be me.

So I just keep sharing truth and hope and faith and love – trusting that those that are His will hear His voice before it is too late.

And some are lost and need hope (a turn to God – change of attitude).

And some are babes and need faith (a focus and dedication and ongoing growth in His will).

And some are among leaven and need love (a remembrance of His undeserved, unmerited mercy and grace as opposed to spiritual pride).

And many are headed for destruction and need truth (it is truly a narrow path with ditches on both sides – in misunderstood grace as a license to sin – and in misunderstood works as a stairway to heaven).

When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 3:7-9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.3.7-9.NLT

But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.
Ezekiel 33:19 NLT
http://bible.com/116/ezk.33.19.NLT

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

1 John 1:9 ESV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Acts 3:19 ESV
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,

Ezekiel 18:21-23 ESV
But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

Acts 17:30 ESV
The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

Proverbs 28:13 ESV
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

James 4:8-10 ESV
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Acts 2:38 ESV
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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A man gives birth to children? How?

Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.
Galatians 4:19 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.4.19.NLT

Paul was a man, but he talks to the Galatians about having labor pains. And he says that he’s having them again for his children. As Mandee and I read this verse for our devotional this morning,  she asked,  “Who is this talking?” And I told her this was Paul in his letter to the Galatians. Her next question was, we’re these his words to them or was he repeating Jesus’s words? She immediately realized, “At first, I was clearly reading this too literally. He is a man,  he can’t have labor pains.”

We then continued digging into what this verse was saying as I prodded her with questions about what it might be saying to us. And Mandee quickly Her that he is now feeling pain because they are not growing and maturing with Christ evident in their lives as Paul wished and she stressed the importance of spiritual growth as opposed to relying only upon a once upon a time yes or no acceptance of salvation.

So I asked,  why do you think that this is the second time that he is feeling pain? And she grasped onto the fact that he had first felt pain for them when they were lost and we’re not saved. Man,  I have to tell you,  it is so amazing to see my wife maturing in the Word of God,  learning to examine the divine instruction handed to us in the Scriptures and to rightly divide the Word of God,  learning to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and discern truth for herself.

You see, I have been blessed with the opportunity to have labor pains for my wife. My life was touched and I was called shortly before she was led to the Lord. And my very heart cried out for her soul because she was not yet seeking the Lord for a short while. But I did not judge her, I did not condemn her. I did not beat her up with scripture. I loved her and prayed for her,  and I made it my focus to be so loving and dedicated to both the Lord and her that she could not deny that my life had been touched. And some time later, she came to know the Lord.

And with the calling upon my life as is upon every Christian man to lead our family in our spiritual growth, I get to continue hoping and caring for both hers and, Mia’s spiritual growth. And it is so beautiful to see it in action, so much so, that it helps me see past their imperfections with a loving heart – not because I’m satisfied with where we are today,  but because I can see and know that He’s working on us,  that we are in the potter’s hands. So even when I see an imperfection, a visible crack on the outside of the cup,  a fault that causes me pain remembering that we are fallen and are not yet a perfect reflection of Christ – I am also encouraged to know that the Holy Spirit is clearly at work on the inside, because the cup is becoming more and more beautiful each day as my wife is drawn closer to the Lord – as our family grows and learns and loves together.

And we see and understand the message of spiritual maturity that Paul is tali about in this verse. It isn’t about knowing the scripture more and being able to review it or talk about it – but it’s about allowing Christ to live through us and in us. It’s not about our perfect attendance record on Sundays at a religious service,  it’s about His perfect attendance in our lives, touching our lives and the lives of those around us as we learn to care for and love others and have genuine concern over their salvation and the state of their spiritual walk with the Lord.

Do you think that Paul would have “labor pains” over people’s salvation if they were just a number to him? If they were just another spiritual notch in his belt of baptisms or raised hands or people who came to the altar to accept Christ? If he saw them as trophies or crowns to be earned for his own honor and glory? No, he had labor passions for these “children” of his because he loved them each. He cared for them as individual souls who have value and purpose and meaning in their lives.

And isn’t this the lesson of spiritual maturity? Not that we learn to practice religion better,  but that we learn to love and care about those lost and in need of salvation and those who are not yet living faithfully and mature in Christ. Not that we learn to exalt and honor one another with empty kisses, but that we learn to love each other enough to encourage each other to press on towards a spiritual maturity that sees past self and loves God and loves one another not just in our words but in deeds and actions.

God is so good. We are not meant to be a child forever. We are each meant to grow. We are each meant to go forth and sow the seed of Jesus Christ into the world. We are each meant to care and love for those around us in need. We are each meant to share the Good News of, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior through the testimony of our lives.

Are you not yet a Child of God, do you not yet know Him as your personal Savior? This isn’t a question of whether you know ABOUT Him,  but do you KNOW Him? If not, then I encourage you to pray with me –

Lord, I have heard your name before, and I have heard about you before, but I’m afraid that I don’t know you. Please,  Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to come into my life and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I might know how to love and serve God more by loving and serving others. I repent of my old,  sinful ways,  and ask for your forgiveness and your power to lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil. I pray that your Kingdom will be come and your will be done in my life from this day forward – for your honor and glory,  I surrender my life to you. I pray this in your Holy Name,  Amen.

If you know Him,  but are still walking like a child today when you should by now be shortfall mature and teaching and leading and caring for your your brothers and sisters – may you remember the mountain of evidence that the enemy has stacked up against you and the price that was paid to cast that mountain into the sea,  to cast your many sins as far as the east is from the west,  and may you know the grattitude of the whore at the feet of Christ Jesus.

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.  When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other.  But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.  You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”  Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 7:36-50 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.7.36-50.NLT

Are you sowing seed, Christian? Is your life producing children of God? Are you even feeling any labor pains yet? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit today, or will your life prove barren and fruitless?

I don’t ask these things to shame you,  friend, unless we need to know shame and be humbled to repentance together. I have confidence that you arewalking upright,  friend,  and I only hope to encourage you to find value and purpose in each breath of life,  in every “now” that have available.

May His healing hand drive away any bitterness or unforgiven or sin of any kind that was keeping you separated from the love that He has to be poured out upon your life and spilled out onto those around you. May you know spiritual maturity,  and may these birth pains become familiar to you as well.

hballingerLeave a comment

Strong in Love

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT
http://bible.com/116/1co.16.13-14.NLT

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We face spiritual attacks upon our lives daily – but once we have Christ in us,  these “attacks” shift into being tests, into challenges – and once we set our hope firmly upon Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can recognize them as opportunities.

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The world might ask, in what kind of mad,  twisted realm do trials,  sufferings and persecution become opportunities? And we can explain to them that our own nature, we can understand the normal reaction of the flesh towards these things – we understand that being hurt by another,  the flesh cries out for payment of revenge in return. But we also have another voice that is active and alive in our lives, which tells us that even when it is to our clear detriment in this life,  even when it will not clearly benefit us in any way,  that we have the opportunity to choose to bring love,  peace, patience,  joy,  kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness,  and self control into this world even as a response to the evils of this world.

And when we do,  and when it is clear that it was not for our own benefit or gain or manipulation – what clearer and undeniable testimony might we raise up so that another might realize the truth of Christ who lives in us? How can someone who considers themselves or enemy and considers themselves an enemy of God deny our pouring out blessing upon their lives as repayment for the pain and hurt and disappointment they have dealt or to us? But isn’t this the very example of Christ,  that He loved us even when we were still sinners – that He went to the cross for each and every one of us who might choose to turn to Him and bear His name upon our hearts and our lives?

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So we have a great encouragement for standing guard against the attacks of the enemy,  but we have a great opportunity to see them with open eyes for what they really are – moments on this earth in our own lives where we might be like Christ in the garden at Gethsemane – where we might say,  take this cup from me Lord if you will, because it is bitter for me to drink, but it is better that your will be done than my own.

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And what is amazing is that once we are on other side of the trial,  once the Lord has moved that mountain and cast it into the sea because of our faith as small as a mustard seed that proved us faithful and clinging to Him firmly – we find that He is faithful and true and that He does bring us through and provide for us and bless us. And as we learn to do this,  moment by moment,  decision by decision,  as we serve the one that we have chosen to be our master,  we are molded,  we are shaped to be more and more like the thing that influences and directs our actions,  more like whatever is master over our lives.

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So we remain on guard because we should know who is in control. Are we still a slave to sin that is holding us captive and controlling or lives?  Then we need to find freedom from our captors,  we need to ask Christ to break those chains, and we need to walk out of that prison cell as we are sent on our mission to bring Christ to the world by being Christ in the world. We are the body of Christ,  being led by the Holy Spirit, bringing His good work and love and truth into this world – or we are dead flesh, waiting to be tossed into the flames with the sin that we have chosen to worship by allowing to have mastery over our lives.

If you admit that you have sinned, that is good,  because otherwise there is no truth in you and you would be a liar in the deep depths of darkness. But do you realize that there is one who offers you a spirit of power and strength and confidence over sin?  Do you realize that the Holy Spirit is not a voice of timidity or fear or guilt or shame – but one of deliverance,  of renewal, of victory over sin and temptation and the tricks of the enemy?

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So how do we walk in strength when we are so weak ourselves in the flesh? We choose to walk in His authority and power,  we choose to accept His annointing upon our lives. We seek for His will to be done in our lives, knowing that whatever the cost, He is the only prize worth receiving. 

Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.  But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Luke 10:19-20 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.10.19-20.NLT

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord ’s favor has come. ”
Luke 4:18-19 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.4.18-19.NLT

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 ESV
http://bible.com/59/jhn.13.34-35.ESV

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:7-12 ESV
http://bible.com/59/1jn.4.7-12.ESV

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14 ESV
http://bible.com/59/gal.5.14.ESV

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:8-10 ESV
http://bible.com/59/rom.13.8-10.ESV

hballingerLeave a comment

Habit or Love?

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV
http://bible.com/59/1co.11.25.ESV

Life Application Study Bible
———————————————‘
Jesus said, “Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” How do we remember Christ in the Lord’s Supper? By thinking about what he did and why he did it. If the Lord’s Supper becomes just a ritual or a pious habit, it no longer remembers Christ, and it loses its significance.

Personal Commentary
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It’s supposed to be about our hearts, not just our minds or our outward actions.

This is why we can’t argue theology hard enough to bring someone to Christ – that will only teach someone how to study religious things closely. That might win what Jesus called a “religious convert” when He was rebuking the Pharisees and explaining that they cross the oceans to win converts who were twice the devil they themselves were. Religious practice, even works, if they are void of love,  if the Holy Spirit is not the one actively manifesting those things,  then they are nothing but empty religious sacrifice,  like filthy rags in the eyes of God.

Practicing religion doesn’t buy you a stairway to heaven. Attending church and tithing doesn’t pave the way to earning God’s favor. Doing great works for the needy doesn’t convince the Lord that you are worthy of His love. Yes, all of these things are morally good, and if a person is Holy Spirit filled and led, these things should be manifest from the love that fills our heart towards God and towards others, our of the grattitude that we have for this gift of grace that we have received.

But if it comes out of obligation to try to meet the requirements of the law,  if it comes from our trying to be perfect,  or our trying to earn honor or respect our titles or position – we must ask ourselves if we are striving in vanity and pride or if we are humbly seeking a closer relationship with our Lord and Savior.

People can trade in their opportunity for the Word of God to bring them closer to understanding and knowing Him and settle instead for intellectual pursuit of high minded theology and understanding. But His resolve is for us to lean not upon our own understanding,  but to trust in the Lord. Do you see that He’s bidding us to participate in a trust filled relationship with Him – not a religious or theological exercise. Isn’t this part of what He means when He tells us that He desires mercy and not sacrifice?

When we look through the repeated examples of those imperfect people mentioned in the Bible,  don’t we uncover a recurring theme that proves that He uses imperfect lives, imperfect people, even people with clear and visible faults and failings – but when they truly desire a close relationship with Him, that His power and His grace and His glory is demonstrated perfectly and clearly as His work and not their own. I wonder why this is such an easy message to overlook? Is empty religious practice maybe one of the most slippery and sly tactics of the enemy use to tempt us to take our hearts and our eyes off of a close,  restored relationship with the only prize worth having?

Isn’t this why even the religious will look at a sold out, Christ loving, life surrendering, self sacrificing disciple filled with Christ the hope of glory who lives in them – and they will be confused about a God that draws near and close to His children and that is involved in every aspect of their lives,  both blessing and disciplining those who are His, and providing for them in every way that is best for their eternal growth, many times at a cost to their worldly comfort and pleasure that the world can’t understand is a blessing of sharing in the sufferings of Christ. The religious happily lift things to their “gods” on occasion as ceremony and practice,  but never draw close,  and are satisfied to put their religion back on the shelf whole they return to their worldly lives until it is time once again to offer sacrifices.

But this is not the story of a Child of God. This is not the description of you who love the Lord. You see, those who know the Lord,  those who love Him, those who truly seek to be drawn closer and closer to Him,  to be reconciled into His presence – those who seek Him not only as Mighty God, those who not only seek Him as Lord, those who do not only seek Him as Savior – but those who seek Him as their love,  as their portion, as their prize – this is us, friend.

Please, do not settle for religion when you can have relationship. Do not settle for practiced sacrifice when you can have presence and mercy and power. Don’t settle for ceremony when you can enter into worship and experience the breath of life touching and moving and stirring your heart. Don’t settle for surface examination of the Word of God,  or even in theological examination,  when you can let the Word of God be written upon your heart and applied in your life as we are changed and revoked in the potter’s hands.

Are you in His hands today? Are you close and in His arms, friend? If not, are you running back towards His house, seeking to return to His house,  His presence,  His love? His loving arms are open,  friend. His forgiveness,  His mercy,  His grace is there for you.

Do not settle for separation, do not think that one day, after you die you will see God – for that is true of many who will meet Him at judgement and who will hear,  “Depart from me,  I never knew you, you workers of iniquity!” Know Him today,  do not say,  “I will tomorrow” – you do not know that life will allow you another breath. Turn now from whatever is capturing your eyes and your desires and your ginger and your thirst for laser things that will only drag you into the pit of flames with them – and know and love the only one that has true, sacrificial,  godly love for you that will fill that emptiness in your heart forever.

Yes, He is your soulmate. Yes, He is the love that is meant to take over your life. Yes,  He is the all consuming fire that is meant to fill our lives to overflowing.

Has His love taken over your life?

Do you want it to?

Or are you “just fine” on your own?

Wake up, or realize today the death that you are walking in. One way or the other,  hear the warning cries of His messengers,  and decide not only who you will serve,  but who it is that you truly love.

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”  And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Luke 10:25-28 ESV
http://bible.com/59/luk.10.25-28.ESV

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Powerless? Or powerful?

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
http://bible.com/116/1co.6.19-20.NLT

Please hear this journal entry from a voice of love and concern for you,  friends – I cannot condemn you or judge you – I can only share the Truth of the Word of God.

There is no such thing as cheap grace. There is no such thing as a lukewarm Christian. The choices are salvation or judgement. This is a pass/fail test. We cannot be living in lasciviousness and debauchery and refusing to repent and dishonoring God while claiming to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit. We are either, saved by grace and walking with Him – or we are still headed to destruction.

If you do not know this truth,  you are deceived. Being a Christ follower is not about escaping consequences or about working towards rewards. It is about grattitude, love, obedience,  and service – it is about a change on the inside that demonstrates itself outwardly in a changed life.

If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
John 14:15-17 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.14.15-17.NLT

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.  Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.
John 14:23-24 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.14.23-24.NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:19-26 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.5.19-26.NLT

And some will say, but I prayed a prayer,  I “accepted” Christ as my Savior,  so I’m free from sin and I have my heaven ticket, so even though I continue to sin,  He has forgiven me, the work is done, and I have nothing to fear, right? Please read for yourself the Word of God and know that you are deceived. 

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.
Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
Hebrews 6:1-12 NLT
http://bible.com/116/heb.6.1-12.NLT

And those without understanding will say,  then what good does it do me to participate in this Christian religion? And I will tell you that the religious practice alone, nor hiding your sins from others and making the appearance to others that you are religious can no sooner save you from the condemnation that you are facing,  than openly practicing the true desires of your evil heart for the whole world to see.

When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 3:7-9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.3.7-9.NLT

It isn’t about talking or knowing about righteous things,  but about doing them. And not under our own power,  but through the, Holy Spirit who lives in us who are His.

Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.  You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.  A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.  So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.  Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
Matthew 7:15-23 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.7.15-23.NLT

1 Corinthians 4:20 ESV
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

1 Corinthians 1:18
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT
http://bible.com/116/1co.2.14.NLT

So we must examine ourselves to be sure that we are in the faith.

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you ; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT
http://bible.com/116/2co.13.5.NLT

Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord . Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,
“We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.
“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy. You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you. You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.
“All our enemies have spoken out against us. We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”
Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people! My tears flow endlessly; they will not stop until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.
My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird. They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me. The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!”
But I called on your name, Lord , from deep within the pit. You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!” Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.”
Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life. You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord . Be my judge, and prove me right. You have seen the vengeful plots my enemies have laid against me.
Lord , you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made. My enemies whisper and mutter as they plot against me all day long. Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.
Pay them back, Lord , for all the evil they have done. Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall on them! Chase them down in your anger, destroying them beneath the Lord ’s heavens.
Lamentations 3:40-66 NLT
http://bible.com/116/lam.3.40-66.NLT

And if you find yourself not in the faith, friend, I encourage you to seek Him while there is still time. Believe in your heart and declare with your mouth and your life.

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
Romans 10:9-11 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rom.10.9-11.NLT

Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.  Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer.  If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”
Luke 13:6-9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.13.6-9.NLT

I am pleading on your behalf. Christ is pleading on your behalf. Repent and seek first the Kingdom of God AND righteousness.

Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.  When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’  Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’  And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out.  And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God.  And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then. ”
Luke 13:23-30 NLT
http://bible.com/116/luk.13.23-30.NLT