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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.

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Waiting Eagerly

Five years ago today, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our daughter. We knew that she was on her c way,  we knew that the time was drawing close. We had even caught shadowed glimpses of what she would look like in the scans and x-rays provided by the doctors. But we hadn’t yet held her with our own hands or seen her with our own eyes.

But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
Galatians 5:5-6 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.5.5-6.NLT

And 5 years ago today,  little Mia was born.  And we became parents. We didn’t receive this new title and position of parent as an obligation,  but we received it with grattitude, because our blessing was clear and evident. And we only had an idea of the challenges and wonders and blessings and trials that would come as part of being parents, as we eagerly awaited the exciting new journey ahead of us.

As a parent,  life is changed and rearranged. All kinds of things take on new meaning and perspective. And the same is true of us who live by the Spirit. And living by the Spirit is different than trying to fulfill the law under our own power.

You see, someone can decide to try and follow the law by human effort, just as Abraham tried to fulfill Gods promise by sleeping with Hagar to bring forth a child,  but this was not God’s promise, this was not God’s will. This was not the work of the power of God,  but it was the striving of man. But when the time was right, God fulfilled His promise and through His power fulfilled it exactly as promised,  something that Abraham’s attempts on his own fell short of.

How often do we get caught up in trying to make it happen ourselves? How often do we want to rush things along so that we can feel responsible,  so that we can take credit,  so that we can feel like we made  a difference, instead of trusting Him and giving Him all of the credit?

I wonder how much of our lives are, spent in our own pride and vanity,  striving against the wind, versus how much of our life is faith expressing itself in love? I wonder how few might understand the difference? How few might find that narrow gate of faith in Jesus Christ that is the one true way? How many will be tricked and trapped and snared by the enemy instead?

We stand upon that great scale – but not just a scale of justice weighing our works – for our works will be tried by fire and only the things done with a pure heart will not be burned away – only those things done as faith expressing itself in love will survive the purifying fires. Those things done out of religious obligation, or out of manipulation in an attempt to gain favor or honor for oneself – they will be burned away. Because it is our heart that is weighed, so that no man might boast in His own works.

You see, the things weighed will be those things that Christ did through us when we were simply willing and equipped to be used by the Holy Spirit to do God’s will. It won’t be our own works of filthy rags,  but it will be His annointing that has been poured out through us into the lives of others.

And that is why we are eagerly awaiting to receive by faith the righteousness promised to us. Because if we think that we are already righteous,  have we closed our eyes on the work He is still doing and still has yet to complete in our reconciliation to be more like our teacher and instead thought much of ourselves even before our time has come? Have we fallen like the one third who saw their own beauty and forgot how they reflected the image of Christ and foolishly became prideful of themselves? Or have we kept our eyes set firmly upon Christ,  knowing that we are in comparison lowly sinners, so little different from the lost of this world other than our knowledge and faith in our Lord and Savior who is reconciling us to be more like Himself.

Yes, there is a perspective that is right before the Lord, and it is not one of pride,  but one of humility,  of mercy,  of servitude towards God and towards our fellow man. And this attitude is the result of grattitude,  of faith,  of trust in the undeserved gift of grace that He offers us. And we receive it not our of our empty religious practice or striving on our own, but we receive it through our faith producing love. That is the only worthy and blameless offering that we can lay upon the altar that will not be consumed by the refining fire, and it only comes through a relationship with Him,  through the Holy Spirit alive and moving and active in our lives.

So we wait eagerly,  those who rest our confidence in the Lord,  and who have abandoned any foolish confidence in ourselves.

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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

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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
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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

hballingerLeave a comment

Do I have to? Do I want to?

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Yes, truly caring for someone can be a consuming and thankless job. And there are those that can be an especially heavy drain on our resources, time, and effort. There are those that will come to you not to share their lives with you, but who will only want to use you for what you can provide them in this world, with no real, genuine interest in the message of love that can provide for them eternally or in a relationship of love with one another.

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And it should humble us, that we usually do not love others enough to persevere through even their lack of it towards us and continue to love and serve and forgive them – because that is the example that Jesus gave us. He didn’t just love and serve and provide for his friends and the faithful. The ones that he fed with a miracle are the same ones that left in droves when He called them to the heavy cost of true discipleship and when He called them to eat of His flesh and drink of His life.

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Many have no real interest in loving like Christ, a life of sacrifice, putting the needs of others (yes, even of our enemies) ahead of our own lives and wants in this world. Many want to play religion and practice ceremonies, many are even okay with trying to live up to the law, but few are truly interested in loving each other – in serving each other – especially when it comes to those who won’t repay our kindness in turn. But that’s why it is a narrow path and few will find it.

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You see, I’m studying this lesson and I’m being chastised over this topic because recently I have grown weary of certain people’s demands upon my life. And doesn’t me calling it “my life” speak volumes about the state of my heart and perspective? You see, I slipped out of the “everything is His and I’m just a steward” into thinking MY stuff, MY life, MY time, and MY resources. Yes, I got distracted and took my eyes off of, Christ and Christ alone and look where it has landed me once again – humbled by my own prose and selfishness – coming to the Father yet again, brokenhearted at my own foolishness and vanity.

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Praise God from whom all of our blessings flow – and is any greater than His mercy and grace – that can take an old, busted, imperfect vessel like me to carry His Holy Spirit – and that in the process He changes me, He reconciles me to be more like my teacher. Not that His work in me is yet complete, because I am still in the potter’s hands. But He is reshaping me and working through me – I know it even if others might not yet see it.

And I know it because I love Him and because I am getting to know Him closer and closer each day as He draws me closer, as my steps bring me closer to my Father’s house along this journey. And the path is narrow, but there is only one destination worth reaching. I’m so glad He is the one ordering my footsteps, and that I’m learning to walk by faith, not by sight.

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When I remember that His way really is best, and when I remember the joy that comes in giving sacrificial and following faithfully, and when I remember the undeserved gift that He has given me – it stirs me inside. Not just in my thoughts and my logic and my examining – but in my heart. And then I realize that I WANT to love others, that I am compelled to love others, that the drive of the Holy Spirit in me does overcome the concerns of the Flesh in this world. And it isn’t about HAVING to do it to live up to God expectations – that would be someone under the curse of the law. It’s about WANTING to do it – and that comes with a heart change that only He can make inside.

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Have you asked Him to touch your heart today, friend? I pray that He will touch yours and mine. God bless your day ahead and the example and testimony that your life will demonstrate of His love alive in your thoughts, words, and actions.

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.  But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:44-48 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.5.44-48.NLT

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Will You Join in my Struggle?

Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:30 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rom.15.30.NLT

Do we care enough to join in the struggles of other believers?

I have to admit that for me,  the answer is – “Not often enough,  but I’m learning to change.”

In our Friday night small group,  I’ve explained that one of our key goals is becoming a closely knit group that cares about each other. Not just a group that prays the grocery list of prayer requests,  but that digs into the emotions and spiritual struggles of each others’ situations both together in action and together in prayer – so that we mourn together and we celebrate together.

Unity in the body of Christ,  I have to believe is less about the facts and details of our theology and more about being of one mind and direction, seeking God’s will as communicated in the Word of God, being draw closer to the Lord in our walks, and in turn closer to one another. And when we are in unity seeking first the Kingdom of God and righteousness, all those other things, those things that Christ explains to the Pharisees are the lesser things – they will be added to us.

Doesn’t He tell us that love fulfills the law? Doesn’t He tell us that there is no law against the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Doesn’t He tell us that we should keep in step with the Spirit and not walk in the flesh?

So why is there so much bickering and argument over these lesser things, over the details of the law? Why are men so interested in learning about God in their minds but refusing to love in their hearts?

And someone might say, but what if I love someone or something that the Lord doesn’t love? And I say, how can this be unless it is sin,  unless it is evil?

And they will say,  but how can I know if someone is evil? And I say,  the Lord tells us that our enemies are not flesh and blood, that He does not wish that even one should perish, that we should love and pray for even those men and women whom we think are our enemies. Not to pray for their evil or wickedness to prevail,  God forbid! But that we pray that they come to know Christ closer and be delivered from those unseen forces that are influencing their lives because of the sin they have not yet released from their clutches.

Sinners cling to sin, that’s what we as men and women of flesh and blood do until it is cast out – until He who is in us overcomes it. But until then, we hold onto it,  we even try to hide it from ourselves. We act foolishly as if we can hide it from God,  like Adam and Eve in the garden. So we all need to be made aware of sin wherever it exists in our lives, and we need to pray for deliverance through His strength,  not just our own striving. We need to be opposed to sin, both in our lives and the lives of others – not so that we can consider ourselves perfect or expect others to be perfect – but so that we can do our part to minimize sin’s affect on ourselves and others.

You see,  God gives us divine instruction because He knows what is best. He wants to protect us from those things in the world that will harm us spiritually and eternally, and lead us into the life that is most rewarding. Now I must mention, that sometimes, worldly rewards, pleasures, and treasures can lie in direct opposition to us obtaining those eternal treasures. The divine instructions are about eternal treasure, not about the temporary things of this world. But the amazing thing is that once we set our eyes upon the eternal,  He provides for the temporary as well.

So this is the understanding that we want each to come to. And it isn’t a logical conclusion that we have calculated in our minds. It is not a theological proof that we are looking to exercise and manipulate within the world for our own profit and gain. It is a divine wisdom and understanding given to those who are unveiled Children of God, who are seeking His will, and not our own.

And it is foolishness to the wise of this world,  and even to the religious, because it isn’t about things that can be measured and compared between men. It isn’t even about something that we can fully lay claim to for ourselves until this race is at its end and we kneel before the one we call Lord.

“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 7:21-23 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.7.21-23.NLT

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things.
If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.
For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Philippians 3:12-21 NLT
http://bible.com/116/php.3.12-21.NLT

It is the most important realization of our lives – that we are not worthy,  and neither are they – but that God in His mercy and grace extends His love to us, who will believe,  and who will follow,  and who will lay down their lives and be raised to a new life in Christ, running this race to the end,  understanding that we are temporary travelers in a strange land, headed along the narrow path back to our Father’s house, where He awaits with open arms.

I’m not concerned with the party. I’m not concerned with the celebration. I’m not concerned with the house that He’s prepared with many rooms. I’m not concerned with the riches and rewards.  I’m seeking my Father’s arms. Set toot eyes upon your destination, friends. Choose today what you are seeking,  for you will receive your heart’s desires – but will your heart’s desires be what you want in the end?

And if we want these things for ourselves,  shouldn’t we want them for others? If we say we love Him,  shouldn’t we love like Him. So go, get to know your brothers and sisters personally, and grow together during this temporary journey, and prepare yourself to return to His arms.

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

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No excuses, faith. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget about the law.

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 
Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
Romans 3:19-28, 30-31 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rom.3.19-31.NLT

Continue reading “No excuses, faith. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget about the law.” →

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Where can safety be found?

But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,  and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
Jude 1:20-21 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jud.1.20-21.NLT

Some of us are friends – not even because we know each other,  but because we know Christ. Once we know that our enemies are not flesh and blood, the world begins to be filled with the opportunity of friends – because even those imperfect people doing things we might not agree with, or even those that we find opposing us are just in need of the same rescue,  the same grace,  the same deliverance that we ourselves accept daily.

Continue reading “Where can safety be found?” →

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Not Ashamed?

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 NLT
http://bible.com/116/rom.1.16.NLT

What things do we do that demonstrate to the world and even to ourselves that we are not ashamed?

What things can we do to grow bolder and more confident in the Word of God, in the Good News of Jesus Christ?

Will we do them?

Continue reading “Not Ashamed?” →

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How much further?

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
Acts of the Apostles 1:6-7 NLT
http://bible.com/116/act.1.6-7.NLT

Oh how impatient I can become when I’m wanting to know what is ahead,  when I’m wanting to know what the future holds for me and my family, when I’m wanting to know how to best plan for the future. But some things are not meant for me to know.

I am humbled so often by my search for knowledge and understanding that at times is in perfect alignment with seeking the Kingdom of God and righteousness,  but that at times seems to compete against that goal.

Sometimes I try to put God in a box by thinking that I understand how He works,  then I am reminded of Job and Ecclesiastes. Sometimes I try to put Him on the shelf as I try to figure out how I can accomplish these goals. Sometimes I find myself needing a reminder that the power of Christ is in me and that through Him all things are possible.

You see,  there is great Hope that can be found in realizing that we don’t have to figure it out on our own. HOPE is the gift of grace that we grasp hold of and cling to, thankful for the gift, even while we haven’t even yet unwrapped and opened it.

I wonder what percentage of our life opportunities for joy and peace in each moment have been squandered by our wanting to know,  by our anxious thoughts, by our stress, by our contemplating the future instead of making the best of this moment? And don’t the clouds begin to roll away and reveal the glory of a future where we are building up the best in each moment instead of being paralyzed by anxiety?  What good does it do for us to worry about the future? It will not change it for the better, but our pressing on and doing our best right now will. This is why we need the grace of HOPE.

But you might say, this is easier said than done – and you are right. I am no wiser for saying such things, I am only wiser if I actually do them. And this takes Faith. Faith is not the easy and broad path chosen by the many,  but it is filled with trials,  and with struggles,  and with lessons,  and with discipline – but it is only there that we will grow. It is only there that we will no longer be paralyzed. It is only in Faith that we will find that peace that comes without understanding. It is only in Faith that we will find the joy that comes from giving what you cannot afford to give to those who are not able to repay you. It is only in Faith that we will find the forgiveness and mercy to extend to those who consider themselves or enemy but who are merely lost friends waiting to be freed from the bondage of their captors. 

FAITH is grace awakening, arising from sleep, stepping forth into our lives. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God. Faith is the life giving waters that feeds the plants. Without Faith,  there is no power,  no source,  no authority over the enemy’s plans to harm you. With Faith we are able to participate in His Kingdom and we are able to participate in righteousness. A lack of Faith leaves us fruitless, powerless, and not equipped for His use.

So let’s not become confused and seek to only grow in understanding, which is a never ending pursuit of knowledge, but let’s seek His promises and His commandments and exercise the Faith to see them fulfilled in our lives. Let’s walk in the confidence of knowing that His power is real and that He is working all things for our good. And this is especially true in those fiery trials that give us the opportunity to bear fruit abundantly as we long for the treasures eternal and remove or eyes from the distractions of this world.

So He promises that we will be freed and we find HOPE in that promise. And He tells us not to worry about tomorrow but to focus on the work at hand, so we walk in FAITH. And the glory of the Lord is that His LOVE reveals itself to us when we are not even prepared or expecting it,  because only He knows the date and time to provide for our Freedom.

And the freedom that I speak of is not freedom from the fiery trials,  but the freedom from slavery to sin,  the freedom to walk above the trials and temptations,  the ability to tread upon the heads of serpents and scorpions – and in the trials for His power and authority to be manifest in our lives.

This is a new kind of LOVE, a gift of grace powerful and militant and victorious over sin and temptation. And He pours it out on us,  grace upon grace, victory after victory. And we know the treasures worth having and holding onto that will not rot or rust – treasures of love like joy,  peace,  patience,  kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness, long suffering, and self control. And these treasures eternal are called the fruit of the Holy Spirit because they are the fruit that grow from trees that are tapped into the vine of Jesus Christ, the source, the life.

Yes,  this is His LOVE, that He loves us and He frees us so that we can bring this hopi fruit into the world, that we can be the seed bearers of His LOVE into a world in need of Hope,  Faith, and Love – a world in need of deliverance from bearing the rotten fruit of disease and death into a life eternal.

And what is amazing is that He does it on His time and His plan. We find Hope,  we walk in Faith,  and one day we look up and realize the Love that He is pouring out through our lives,  we realize the victory that is taking place over our old temptations, we realize the change that is taking place – and that we never knew the dates and times that He was using us,  nor will we know them in the future as they come to pass – but like the wind that we know exists because of that which it moves,  He has moved us,  and used us, because we were equipped,  because we were faithful.

What an amazing realization, to be used by God – either to serve someone,  or to encourage someone,  or just to be an example to someone that Christ is real and alive and that He has the power to change lives. You see, I find that the undeniable times that He used me aren’t in the grand plans or efforts that I’ve make to serve Him or others,  but in the times unexpected and unnoticed – He surprises me,  He humbles me,  and He touches me.

And this is nothing compared to the glory of that day when we will be fully in His presence, freed from this temporary world and it’s opportunities to grow and shine and be refined by the trials. But have we yet realized that the growing occurs now? If we have a foundation of Jesus Christ, what have we built upon that foundation, friends? Are we growing? For we also never know the date or time at which our opportunity to grow and bear fruit will be at its end. What will we have as the testimony of our Love for our Lord and Savior?

If tomorrow was that day, are you ready? Use your time faithfully friends.