This morning, these verses have been resonating in my spirit - Revelation 7:9-17 NIV:
[9] After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
[10] And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
[11] All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, [12] saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks
and honor and power
and strength
be to our God
for ever and ever.
Amen!”
[13] Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes---who are they, and where did they come from?”
[14] I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. [15] Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. [16] 'Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,' nor any scorching heat. [17] For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.' ”
What a great reminder of the reality that is heaven, our eternal dwelling place!
When things are difficult here, in this temporary life, let us join ourselves to that which is being sung continually in Heaven! He is worthy of all praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength for ever and ever!
I was reminded of this song: "To Him Who Sits on the Throne" here is a link: https://youtu.be/KhhLcw--CH0
Amen!
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Monday, August 19, 2019
The Whole Measure of the Fullness of Christ!
This morning I am reflecting on some of my favorite verses from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 4:1-7,11-16 NIV:
[1] "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
[7] "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it."
[11] "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
[14] "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
This past weekend we had some great teaching and imparting of truth, and these verses sum up much of what we heard, at least in my mind and heart. To summarize quickly:
1) We are called to ONE body of Christ, by the Holy Spirit. Paul just hammers this home, there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father! There is no room for division if we are one. Let us lay down our banners and denominations and embrace our oneness.
2) We are called to maturity in Christ, attaining the whole measure of fullness of Christ! That is an unbelievable, understated sentence that we could mine for ages. We are talking about the second person of The Trinity, the very Son of God, and we are going to attain this fullness of Christ! The Fullness of Christ can only be found in intimate relationship with Him, and through the Power of Holy Spirit! This is what maturity looks like - our hearts fully joined to Him.
3) Maturity in Christ Jesus then allows us to walk in Truth, in relationship which safeguards us from bad teaching, deceit, and the lies of the enemy. As we mature, we welcome the joining of ourselves to the rest of the Body of Christ, seeing our place, purpose and destiny in Him. We each have a part and it is in obedience to and relationship with Christ that we operate - He is our head!
These are spiritual truths that are attained through spiritual means, not knowledge for our mind! We are called to trust our hearts, to lay down our opinions and ideas about how things are supposed to work, and allow Holy Spirit to guide us spiritually to real understanding! We are being called to maturity, and it is Spiritual Maturity. This is not about numbers in our particular congregation, or programs or outreaches! This is about the ONE Body of Christ! We do have our parts to play, but it is a small part in a much greater ONE.
God has apportioned to us the grace necessary to achieve exactly what He is planning! He is the God of strategy and tactics, the Lord of supply and provision, the God of perfect timing! He will accomplish exactly what He intends, and He will use each of us! We are all equal parts of this great Body of Christ.
It is time to build each other up, to help one another to grow into the fullness of who they are! This is not a competition, but rather a team building event! We are called to raise up and release people into the their destiny! We are called to join ourselves to each other to support one another in love! Let us live our lives worthy of the calling we have received! Let us embrace one another and together pursue the whole measure of the fullness of Christ!
Amen!
[1] "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
[7] "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it."
[11] "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
[14] "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
This past weekend we had some great teaching and imparting of truth, and these verses sum up much of what we heard, at least in my mind and heart. To summarize quickly:
1) We are called to ONE body of Christ, by the Holy Spirit. Paul just hammers this home, there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father! There is no room for division if we are one. Let us lay down our banners and denominations and embrace our oneness.
2) We are called to maturity in Christ, attaining the whole measure of fullness of Christ! That is an unbelievable, understated sentence that we could mine for ages. We are talking about the second person of The Trinity, the very Son of God, and we are going to attain this fullness of Christ! The Fullness of Christ can only be found in intimate relationship with Him, and through the Power of Holy Spirit! This is what maturity looks like - our hearts fully joined to Him.
3) Maturity in Christ Jesus then allows us to walk in Truth, in relationship which safeguards us from bad teaching, deceit, and the lies of the enemy. As we mature, we welcome the joining of ourselves to the rest of the Body of Christ, seeing our place, purpose and destiny in Him. We each have a part and it is in obedience to and relationship with Christ that we operate - He is our head!
These are spiritual truths that are attained through spiritual means, not knowledge for our mind! We are called to trust our hearts, to lay down our opinions and ideas about how things are supposed to work, and allow Holy Spirit to guide us spiritually to real understanding! We are being called to maturity, and it is Spiritual Maturity. This is not about numbers in our particular congregation, or programs or outreaches! This is about the ONE Body of Christ! We do have our parts to play, but it is a small part in a much greater ONE.
God has apportioned to us the grace necessary to achieve exactly what He is planning! He is the God of strategy and tactics, the Lord of supply and provision, the God of perfect timing! He will accomplish exactly what He intends, and He will use each of us! We are all equal parts of this great Body of Christ.
It is time to build each other up, to help one another to grow into the fullness of who they are! This is not a competition, but rather a team building event! We are called to raise up and release people into the their destiny! We are called to join ourselves to each other to support one another in love! Let us live our lives worthy of the calling we have received! Let us embrace one another and together pursue the whole measure of the fullness of Christ!
Amen!
Friday, August 16, 2019
A New Song for a New Day!
This morning I was trying to turn to Psalm 99, but instead it opened to Psalm 40 and I started reading. I decided it was so good and so appropriate, that I would read it in "The Passion Translation" - and here it is in its fullness:
1 "I waited and waited and waited some more,
patiently, knowing God would come through for me.
Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.
2 He stooped down to lift me out of danger
from the desolate pit I was in,
out of the muddy mess I had fallen into.
Now he’s lifted me up into a firm, secure place
and steadied me while I walk along his ascending path.
3 A new song for a new day rises up in me
every time I think about how he breaks through for me!
Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until
everyone hears how God has set me free.
Many will see his miracles;
they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!
4 Blessing after blessing comes to those who love and trust the Lord.
They will not fall away,
for they refuse to listen to the lies of the proud.
5 O Lord, our God, no one can compare with you.
Such wonderful works and miracles are all found with you!
And you think of us all the time
with your countless expressions of love—
far exceeding our expectations!
6 It’s not sacrifices that really move your heart.
Burnt offerings, sin offerings—that’s not what brings you joy.
But when you open my ears and speak deeply to me,
I become your willing servant, your prisoner of love for life.[a]
7 So I said, “Here I am! I’m coming to you as a sacrifice,[b]
for in the prophetic scrolls of your book
you have written about me.
8 I delight to fulfill your will, my God,
for your living words are written upon the pages of my heart.”
9 I tell everyone everywhere the truth of your righteousness.
And you know I haven’t held back in telling the message to all.
10 I don’t keep it a secret or hide the truth.
I preach of your faithfulness and kindness,
proclaiming your extravagant love to the largest crowd I can find!
11 So Lord, don’t hold back your love or withhold
your tender mercies from me.
Keep me in your truth and let your compassion overflow to me
no matter what I face.
12 Evil surrounds me; problems greater than I can solve
come one after another.
Without you, I know I can’t make it.
My sins are so many!
I’m so ashamed to lift my face to you.
For my guilt grabs me and stings my soul
until I am weakened and spent.
13 Please, Lord! Come quickly and rescue me!
Take pleasure in showing me your favor and restore me.
14 Let all who seek my life be humiliated!
Let them be confused and ashamed, God.
Scatter those who wish me evil; they just want me dead.
15 Scoff at every scoffer and cause them all to be utter failures.
Let them be ashamed and horrified by their complete defeat.
16 But let all who passionately seek you
erupt with excitement and joy over what you’ve done!
Let all your lovers rejoice continually in the Savior,[c] saying,
“How great and glorious is our God!”
17 Lord, in my place of weakness and need, I ask again:
Will you come and help me?
I know I’m always in your thoughts.
You are my true Savior and hero,
so don’t delay to deliver me now, for you are my God."
Thank You Lord! You heard my prayer!
As for Psalm 99 - it is a personal blessing to me that the Lord has used to make sure I know He is speaking to me, and that He has got my situation firmly in hand!
Psalm 99:1-7,9 NIV:
[1] "The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
[2] Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.
[3] Let them praise your great and awesome name---he is holy.
[4] The King is mighty, he loves justice---you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right.
[5] Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
[6] Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them.
[7] He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them."
[9] "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy."
Thank You Lord for hearing all my prayers, my unspoken petitions and even my complaints. You love me, and want me to know that You hear, and are answering all my concerns!
Amen and Amen!
1 "I waited and waited and waited some more,
patiently, knowing God would come through for me.
Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.
2 He stooped down to lift me out of danger
from the desolate pit I was in,
out of the muddy mess I had fallen into.
Now he’s lifted me up into a firm, secure place
and steadied me while I walk along his ascending path.
3 A new song for a new day rises up in me
every time I think about how he breaks through for me!
Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until
everyone hears how God has set me free.
Many will see his miracles;
they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!
4 Blessing after blessing comes to those who love and trust the Lord.
They will not fall away,
for they refuse to listen to the lies of the proud.
5 O Lord, our God, no one can compare with you.
Such wonderful works and miracles are all found with you!
And you think of us all the time
with your countless expressions of love—
far exceeding our expectations!
6 It’s not sacrifices that really move your heart.
Burnt offerings, sin offerings—that’s not what brings you joy.
But when you open my ears and speak deeply to me,
I become your willing servant, your prisoner of love for life.[a]
7 So I said, “Here I am! I’m coming to you as a sacrifice,[b]
for in the prophetic scrolls of your book
you have written about me.
8 I delight to fulfill your will, my God,
for your living words are written upon the pages of my heart.”
9 I tell everyone everywhere the truth of your righteousness.
And you know I haven’t held back in telling the message to all.
10 I don’t keep it a secret or hide the truth.
I preach of your faithfulness and kindness,
proclaiming your extravagant love to the largest crowd I can find!
11 So Lord, don’t hold back your love or withhold
your tender mercies from me.
Keep me in your truth and let your compassion overflow to me
no matter what I face.
12 Evil surrounds me; problems greater than I can solve
come one after another.
Without you, I know I can’t make it.
My sins are so many!
I’m so ashamed to lift my face to you.
For my guilt grabs me and stings my soul
until I am weakened and spent.
13 Please, Lord! Come quickly and rescue me!
Take pleasure in showing me your favor and restore me.
14 Let all who seek my life be humiliated!
Let them be confused and ashamed, God.
Scatter those who wish me evil; they just want me dead.
15 Scoff at every scoffer and cause them all to be utter failures.
Let them be ashamed and horrified by their complete defeat.
16 But let all who passionately seek you
erupt with excitement and joy over what you’ve done!
Let all your lovers rejoice continually in the Savior,[c] saying,
“How great and glorious is our God!”
17 Lord, in my place of weakness and need, I ask again:
Will you come and help me?
I know I’m always in your thoughts.
You are my true Savior and hero,
so don’t delay to deliver me now, for you are my God."
Thank You Lord! You heard my prayer!
As for Psalm 99 - it is a personal blessing to me that the Lord has used to make sure I know He is speaking to me, and that He has got my situation firmly in hand!
Psalm 99:1-7,9 NIV:
[1] "The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
[2] Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.
[3] Let them praise your great and awesome name---he is holy.
[4] The King is mighty, he loves justice---you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right.
[5] Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
[6] Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them.
[7] He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them."
[9] "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy."
Thank You Lord for hearing all my prayers, my unspoken petitions and even my complaints. You love me, and want me to know that You hear, and are answering all my concerns!
Amen and Amen!
Monday, August 12, 2019
Flip Those Chains
This morning I felt like I should read from Isaiah 14, and saw something I don't remember having read before, although I know for sure I have read it several times. I like it when something new is highlighted, as it seems there is something fresh the Lord is saying. Here are the verses that grabbed my attention this morning - Isaiah 14:1-2 NIV:
[1] "The Lord will have compassion on Jacob;
once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
[2] Nations will take them and bring them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord's land.
They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors."
This is actually a pretty interested couple of lines. I could focus on several things, but this morning my heart is drawn to the theme of overcoming. I don't mean from a political or power perspective, but rather personally.
If one were to read these lines as pertaining to internal struggles, captivity to strongholds of sin, thought patterns, deception or anything else that can keep a person bound or captive, that is my what is on my heart this morning. What a message of hope! I love that last line - "they will make captives of their captors, and rule over their oppressors.
In Jesus, who has defeated all the forces of the enemy, who has destroyed death and broken the gates of Hell, who has paid the price for all of our sins, who has given us His righteousness, we have the opportunity and ability to do exactly what is described here. Jesus is not bound by any chain, or any power! He is not oppressed by the enemy, nor suffering defeat as his hand!
If we join ourselves to Jesus, and become hidden in Him, then we will experience victory! We will command those things that have bound us, and rule over them, in Jesus and through Jesus! We don't have the strength on our own, but in Him the victory has already been won! We can flip the chains, and bind those things that we have been bound by!
Lord, Thank You for all that is available to us in You! Help us to settle for nothing less than what You have won for us! 2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Amen!
[1] "The Lord will have compassion on Jacob;
once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
[2] Nations will take them and bring them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord's land.
They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors."
This is actually a pretty interested couple of lines. I could focus on several things, but this morning my heart is drawn to the theme of overcoming. I don't mean from a political or power perspective, but rather personally.
If one were to read these lines as pertaining to internal struggles, captivity to strongholds of sin, thought patterns, deception or anything else that can keep a person bound or captive, that is my what is on my heart this morning. What a message of hope! I love that last line - "they will make captives of their captors, and rule over their oppressors.
In Jesus, who has defeated all the forces of the enemy, who has destroyed death and broken the gates of Hell, who has paid the price for all of our sins, who has given us His righteousness, we have the opportunity and ability to do exactly what is described here. Jesus is not bound by any chain, or any power! He is not oppressed by the enemy, nor suffering defeat as his hand!
If we join ourselves to Jesus, and become hidden in Him, then we will experience victory! We will command those things that have bound us, and rule over them, in Jesus and through Jesus! We don't have the strength on our own, but in Him the victory has already been won! We can flip the chains, and bind those things that we have been bound by!
Lord, Thank You for all that is available to us in You! Help us to settle for nothing less than what You have won for us! 2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Amen!
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Bending and Flexibility
This morning I had a dream where my honey and I were at a conference and we were talking about flexibility and creativity in the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ. There was a focus on specifically breaking molds and ideas of how things should go, to get people out of their preconceived notions, to enable them to see and be open to the Lord moving in different ways. When I got up to speak, the Holy Spirit hit me hard and gave me the word "bend". The idea was that we needed to learn to move with the breath of the Holy Spirit, but stay rooted, much like stalks of grain. The idea was flexibility over rigidity. The second word He gave me was "swell" as in waves that aren't crashing but causing natural up and down movements. Again the sense was being willing to move in synch with the Holy Spirit. Being rigid when the waves are swelling causes points of contention, and ultimately damage (If you think of a solid dock trying to withstand significant swells).
As I sat down to pray this morning, I felt led to read from John 19, which is his recounting Jesus' crucifixion and death. I was reading through that and was drawn to the comment about Jesus being given wine vinegar on a sponge shortly before His death (John 19:28-30). As I did a little research, I was immediately confronted with all sorts of ideas, research and religion concerning this simple fact. This particular event is recorded in all 4 of the Gospels, and so it was significant, and it did fulfill a prophetic picture of the Messiah.
What caught my attention in reading the different statements, was how much religion was influencing different people's comments. By religion, in this case, I mean specific teaching about rules and interpretations around certain topics of which drinking alcohol is one. There are certain denominations that teach that drinking any alcohol is sinful, and thus, there were people that were commenting from this point of view. Other denominations don't have the same strict belief concerning alcohol, so people were commenting from that perspective as well.
My point is that this isn't really an arguable point, nor is it in anyway related to salvation, to God's mercy, to His love for us, to our identity as His son's and daughters, and yet it is something that people get all bent out of shape about. It is a small example of how religion can cause division and conflict where it should not exist. We can become so confident in our particular opinion or perspective, that we can get offended by, or judgmental towards those that have a different opinion.
Many of us have sat under teaching from specific denominations, with particular emphasis and opinions. I believe the Lord is calling us to learn to lay down our strongly held opinions to allow us to see His perspective, and to more fully join ourselves to the Body of Christ. God is so much bigger than our petty arguments about how to interpret certain scriptures. He is God and He is perfect, and none of us will ever, this side of heaven, grasp and understand His perfection. We can however learn to bend in our understanding, seeing Him as being bigger than our understanding. We can learn to allow others to have different interpretations, perspectives and opinions and still be in relationship with them in the Body of Christ.
I dare say that no single denomination, or church, has all the truth or perfect theology. We are still learning and understanding God's ways, and this will always be the case. God is bigger than all of our combined understanding of Him, so let us give each other grace and press into God for greater understanding. Let us repent of our sins of judgment towards our brother and sisters from other churches and denominations, and let us pursue unity in spite of our differences. Let us learn to bend and be flexible while rooted in Him!
Amen!
As I sat down to pray this morning, I felt led to read from John 19, which is his recounting Jesus' crucifixion and death. I was reading through that and was drawn to the comment about Jesus being given wine vinegar on a sponge shortly before His death (John 19:28-30). As I did a little research, I was immediately confronted with all sorts of ideas, research and religion concerning this simple fact. This particular event is recorded in all 4 of the Gospels, and so it was significant, and it did fulfill a prophetic picture of the Messiah.
What caught my attention in reading the different statements, was how much religion was influencing different people's comments. By religion, in this case, I mean specific teaching about rules and interpretations around certain topics of which drinking alcohol is one. There are certain denominations that teach that drinking any alcohol is sinful, and thus, there were people that were commenting from this point of view. Other denominations don't have the same strict belief concerning alcohol, so people were commenting from that perspective as well.
My point is that this isn't really an arguable point, nor is it in anyway related to salvation, to God's mercy, to His love for us, to our identity as His son's and daughters, and yet it is something that people get all bent out of shape about. It is a small example of how religion can cause division and conflict where it should not exist. We can become so confident in our particular opinion or perspective, that we can get offended by, or judgmental towards those that have a different opinion.
Many of us have sat under teaching from specific denominations, with particular emphasis and opinions. I believe the Lord is calling us to learn to lay down our strongly held opinions to allow us to see His perspective, and to more fully join ourselves to the Body of Christ. God is so much bigger than our petty arguments about how to interpret certain scriptures. He is God and He is perfect, and none of us will ever, this side of heaven, grasp and understand His perfection. We can however learn to bend in our understanding, seeing Him as being bigger than our understanding. We can learn to allow others to have different interpretations, perspectives and opinions and still be in relationship with them in the Body of Christ.
I dare say that no single denomination, or church, has all the truth or perfect theology. We are still learning and understanding God's ways, and this will always be the case. God is bigger than all of our combined understanding of Him, so let us give each other grace and press into God for greater understanding. Let us repent of our sins of judgment towards our brother and sisters from other churches and denominations, and let us pursue unity in spite of our differences. Let us learn to bend and be flexible while rooted in Him!
Amen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)