Don't Give Up

Back in May my computer crashed and the last good backup I had was October 2011. Recovering as much as I could from different sources felt more and more like something I didn’t want to do; I even was tempted to stop writing but God was working on my heart. Now I don’t know if my computer failing had spiritual meaning but God sure did use it to see if my writing and even my quiet time with Him was just a habit or if there was a deeper purpose. I knew in my inner being I wanted to pick up where I left off but wasn’t eager about copying all my journal notes from almost two years ago, still the longer I waited to get started the more this hunger from inside my heart grew. I have caught up now and this is what I have found – my notes, no my time with God is everything to me and though I had to work hard to gain the ground I lost my determination is stronger now than I think it ever has been. This is true in all areas of our lives, the things we live for, the things that compel us point to who we are. If our life is centered on Jesus then He is the thing we cling to when all else has been stripped away and as we work to once again be on the mountain top with Him we realize just how important those moments are when we are with Him even, no especially in the valley.

Truth...

Does it make one a fool to believe someone they love, even when they know that person is being less than honest? To answer this question we must look at our relationship with Jesus Christ. We know God knows everything about us yet there are times we hide away in an attempt to keep something from Him. Sometimes what we try to hide are things others can see but in every case Jesus is concerned with what we are hiding in our hearts not our deeds. Does Jesus turn from us when we are less than honest with Him? Then why do we feel like turning from those we love when they struggle with telling us the truth? It comes down to this regardless of how it makes you look in other’s eyes, foolish, naïve, or something not quite right mentally, will you love with the love of Jesus or is your love bound by the limitations of humanity, which is really not love at all.

See yourself through God's eyes

(Romans 12:3 NLT) Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

For many that means your value is much more than you think, for God gave His only Son so that you could be adopted into His family – you are of great value to our Creator! For many more that means you need to take your eyes off yourself and humbly lay your works and all that you are at God’s feet knowing your efforts are worthless unless Jesus is the center of all that you do. All of mankind struggles with extremes either we believe the enemy’s lies about us being worthless or we over compensate and puff ourselves up for all to see. Both are wrong, for it is the in middle where we experience relationship with Jesus. With either extreme our eyes are more on ourselves than what God has done so that we might walk with Him. When our eyes are not focused on Jesus neither are our ears and we cannot follow because we are spiritually blind and deaf. How much greater it is to follow the One that has traveled this unseen path before. Jesus came to show us the way being born of a virgin, living as a man, being tempted by the enemy, and laying it all down for those who persecuted Him. Did Jesus puff out His chest and proudly pronounce to the world who He was? Did Jesus hide in the shadows because He was something less than what God called Him to be? Neither is true for Jesus walked right through the middle, disrupting all the enemies plans setting free those He came in contact with and many that He didn’t. Jesus followed where His Heavenly Father led Him, how can we do any less?

Gay Rights Continued

If God made some people gay then certainly He gave them a way to reproduce others like themselves. Oh, wait a minute you mean they have to take heterosexuals babies and pervert them to be like they are. Hmm, doesn’t sound like the way God would do things; God creates but it is the devil that perverts. Then I wonder where being gay comes from? What, you say God created all men (and women) equal but it is the devil that comes to kill, steal, and destroy that which God has created. When God created Adam and Eve He did not later create two Adams or two Eves and told them to multiply the earth also, no the seed for mankind had begun and God’s creation was complete. It is the devil that has perverted God’s creation so that he might kill God’s plan for their lives, steal the joy He intended, and destroy the purpose God had given them to multiply. Yet they are multiplying by fighting for equal rights which not only allows them to marry but as a married couple they should be able to have children just like any other married couple but they need to adopt heterosexual babies and train them to be like they are. Who is fighting for the rights of these children? If it is not right for heterosexuals to force their ways or beliefs on gays then what makes it right for gays to push their agenda on those whom the devil has not perverted? Oh wait a moment the devil wanted to be like God by planting a seed, an idea, he perverted individuals then joining them to be couples. Now he can sit back and let them pervert others so even though the devil cannot create anything through perversion his lies and deceit can still grow. Hmm, seems like God’s people ought to fight that, if I remember correctly God’s wrath grew against the Israelites when they allowed the devil to pervert them so that they worshipped the golden calf. I wonder if His judgment won’t soon be poured out on America for harboring those who are doing the same today.

As God’s children we are to love the sinner while hating the sin. These people who claim God made them gay, though they are being used by the enemy, are still loved by the One who created them. Therefore, we being ambassadors of God’s love are to reflect His love for them while we stand up for what is right and true. America has got itself into a terrible fix following the kindness of humanity but leaving behind the righteousness of God and those who lead this great country and her people down this wrong path will answer for what they have done and I wonder what will be their reasons why when they stand before God on that horrible day? As God’s children we have been called into this battle even though we did not choose it simply by association because we live in America. If we decide to bury our heads in the sand while all this is going on around us we too will be judged. This is enough to cause a righteous indignation to bring us to our feet and justice and truth to cause us to shout out that which the Lord has said so that we might be beacons of His righteousness therefore pleasing God and avoiding His coming judgment.

What does sin look like?

I realize that yesterday I threw out some ideas that may take a little while to process inwardly and I want to help by clarifying what sin looks like as a Christian. When someone says “sin” our minds tend to gravitate towards the obvious ones like murder or rape, things you would go to jail for but as children of God, i.e. people who have had God’s light shine on their lives, sin could be something as little as if you hear God’s Holy Spirit nudge you to speak a word of encouragement to someone and you don’t for fear you may get it wrong. The closer you get to God the more your life is exposed to His light, the more His light shines on your life the more little things begin to show up that require repentance. By this process we become more like Jesus, God is molding us to be His instruments but we can never become complacent about these things, to do so would mean we stop growing spiritually. At the same time we cannot allow ourselves to become discouraged because of sin. Paul said in chapter 8:1-2 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Know this, we will inevitably fail because we are human but God’s fully aware of who we are and what we are capable of He only asks that we love Him above all else and obey but obedience does not require perfection. For we serve a God who knows our thoughts and knows if our hearts are for Him. 8:5 “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” As we move closer to the people God intended for us to be we better understand the love of the Father, so much so that we now call Him “Abba, Father.” Verse 17 “And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” In this life we will know the good, the bad, the highs, and the lows but through it all we shall remain in Him who died for our debt and who was resurrected for our freedom. Though we cannot fulfill the law because we are human God has made a way that we might not be separated from Him, it is through His grace that we stand redeemed and as His redeemed we are His trophies of grace. God’s light shines through us so that the world may know that no longer must they follow the road to destruction and death but God has made a way into eternal life! (Romans chapter 8 NLT)

Romans 7

Though I have read Romans 7 before it is interesting how the full affect doesn’t hit you until God wants to speak to you through it (true for all scripture). I’ve often heard about how the world is turned off because they see the church as a place full of hypocrites and for the most part I would agree; as Christians we have no stronger testimony than to live what we believe but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The disconnect for me is this – if I am a follower of Christ Jesus and I am dead to sin through the death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord then why do I still struggle. Notice I didn’t say tempted, for even Christ was tempted. No I struggle as Paul talks about here in verse 14 “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.” He is not talking about what he used to be like; instead he is talking about the present (read verse 15). The difference now that we have accepted Christ is that we recognize sin for what it is, thus proving that the law is good. Paul says that being saved from our sins does not keep us from being human nor does it void out our sinful nature. What, how can this be! Paul came to this conclusion when he wanted to do right, he inevitably would do what was wrong and like Paul I love God’s law with all my heart. What I have not understood is what Paul talks about next. Verse 23 “But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.” Read chapter seven and remember chapter six, verse fifteen “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!” Though these words came from Paul’s lips we must keep in mind this is God’s Word and this message was not simply how Paul felt or what he was going through but was a divine message from the Creator of all life sent to all of His children, for we all struggle. If you don’t struggle with sin as a child of God then either you are dead physically or you were never alive spiritually. Without understanding this principle that Paul talks about I would allow my sin to derail me and therefore break the continuity of the harvest of “good deeds” God was doing within me, which Paul talks about in verse four. In review God gave us the law so that we might know our own short-comings and therefore understand our need for a Savior but the law was twisted by the enemy of God to stir up evil desires. Once we came to Christ Jesus we were no longer judged by the law but loved by God’s grace. That meant many things, one we now are able to produce a harvest of good deeds for our Lord but it also means we are still human and the nature of sin still is within us. It also meant there would now be a war raging within us between what we know is right and what sin would have us do. Therefore, not only did we need Christ before being saved but we need Him more and more every day! If we love Christ Jesus the war will not die down but instead rage all the more but if we ever get complacent about our sin then we have turned from Him and need Him all the more.

Romans chapter 7

I have read Romans 7 several times now. There is something there I don't want to miss or cut it short because of time; I will post soon.