Give It Up?

Picture it, you graduate college and you have your entire life planned out.  You have applied to the company of your dreams for employment.  You are about to marry the person of your dreams and you are deeply in love.  And then God shows up and changes everything…. Could you deal with that?

This was Mary’s answer;

Luke 1:³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Here is Paul’s answer;

Acts 22:¹⁰“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

This is Jesus answer;

Matthew 26:³⁹Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

You say that you’re not like Jesus, Mary or Paul but you have the Spirit of God within you.

Can you put God ahead of you will and your desires?  Can you put God first and not just in acknowledgments but as supreme rulers, Lord and author of your life?  Can you be satisfied in Christ completely?  Or do you require things to be satisfied and add God for the hard times?

Our Father’s Provisions

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When I was younger and preparing to graduate high school,  my old man made me an offer.  Actually,  it was two offers one would be to work for his construction company and the other was to go to college.  In regards to the first proposal he took me to work with him long before graduating high school.  I started at the bottom just a typical laborer.  No special treatment and I was basically treated like everyone else but sometimes worse.  On the job site I wasn’t his son but just another hard headed worker making 5.00 an hour.  The work was hard and harsh as I worked in all types of weather and conditions.  The work was back breaking and sometimes the verbal abuse (construction talk) didn’t make things easier for me.  It seems as if everyday I came home wanting to quit but how could I, I lived with the boss.  Those four years of high school were hard and my summers disappeared.  While my friends played during the summers I worked.  I got up at 5am, prepared coffee and headed out to the equipment yard.  Saturdays were spent greasing heavy equipment and making repairs or scoping out Mondays new job site and doing all of the logistics of moving dump trucks, trailers, backhoe tractors, lumber and everything else needed for completing a job.  As I grew and showed my dependability, my responsibilities increased and I was seen as an equal.  Now I was being treated as a co-owner and he taught me how to use the heavy equipment as well as how to run the business and build the business.  He would leave me to run the job sites but the work was still hard.  When everyone else went home; we were still on the job site working.  We begin to do jobs just him and I.  It was during these times only with him that I began to see my father beyond the business and the hard exterior.  I saw a father who just wanted to shape his son and build character within him.  He was preparing me for the future.  I then began to long for the jobs that we could do alone.  I loved being with that man more than the tried worn down one that would be at home.  During these father and son jobs, we talked about life and the Gospel.  During these times of earning earthly food, clothing and shelter I was being feed the spiritual food that would later give birth to eternal life.  Yes, this was the original youth ministry and children church that so many kids miss out on.  But as I got ready to enter college or not; he gave me a choice.

I could continue to work for him or go to college.  Working with him would force me into the world, I would have to get my own place and pay my own bills.  But he said if I was to go to college, I could stay at home and not worry about bills or providing for myself and just focus on my education.  His desire was for me to have what he didn’t which was an education and he laid out the truth for me about the business.  I choose college and studied engineering.  Thinking back on it I see it so much clearer now.  That time working for him actually prepared me for college more than high school did.  Working for him at times put our relationship in danger.  Working for him put life in perspective.  In college I learned about myself and who I was, I learned about other beliefs and what made the Gospel message so different.  In college I learned about Christ and my relationship with Christ and my identity in Christ.  But college also taught me pride, something working with my father decreased.  See my father has no respect of person.  After graduating college, I had been taught that pride gets jobs and I quickly learn that no amount of pride will help because God holds all the cards.  During my seeking in college, he provided for me, not always with the things I wanted but with the things I needed.  See in college I had the safety of home.  I had the safety of being in my father’s presence and being able to run to him quickly.  I thank God for the character building because it came in handy.

Then one day working an hourly job, I ran across a few classmates that I actually help graduate.  With a puzzled look on their faces they asked me; “wow you haven’t found a job yet?”  At that moment my pride finally broke and gave out completely.  I finally saw who holds my life and it’s not me or my abilities nor is it my intelligence.  It’s not all the things the world and universities teach you to have confidence in.  I finally looked at the cross and realized that I wasn’t even smart enough to know I needed a savior so how could I hope to run my own life?  My earthly father taught me that the only certain thing is hard work and the rewards belong to the heavenly Father.  If you live by the standards of men, you are doomed to fail but if you live by God’s standards all of His provisions are yours if you would just humble yourself.

Accessing our Father’s provisions doesn’t have a secret formula, it’s actually very simple.  As simple as my choices, God has presented two options to us. Number one, a life in the world filled with hard work and uncertainty.  A life that will ultimately kill you and forget your name as soon as the funeral is over.  A life of long nights and hard days, a life slaved to sin and the world.  A life without benefits or a retirement plan.  A life that will give you nothing when the rainy days come.  But a life of study, a life of seeking righteousness is a little different.  See the life of study was always the Father’s plan and His provisions are set for you accordingly.  He said to seek me and study my commandments and write my statues on your heart and all of the things the world chase after will be added to you.  It was kind of like my earthly father’s offer but this one can protect me from myself.  This offer has humility built-in because it’s based on a humble cross of conviction and salvation.  Seeking after God leads to a point of realizing that you are a sinner and that you as much as the roman soldiers nailed Christ to the cross. Yet the Father forgave you and Christ justified you and reconciled you back to the Father.  Because of that your name is written in the book of life.  That day when I saw the cross and really understood the Gospel, I was changed.  I realized that I didn’t have to do it all alone.  I realize that my Father was just trying to tell me to just focus on learning of Him and He would take care of the rest.  From that day I trusted in Him.  In the world He has His hands on me and I didn’t even know until now that I have passed out of the valley of the shadow of death.  All that time in the world wondering looking for answers, even in a place were everyone thinks they have the answers I found only fools and I was one of them.  I was wasting a life trying to be a man and God had called me out to be more than just a man but a child of God.  His elected servant and all He wants is for me is to be like His oldest.

God’s provisions are there but He has given us a choice.  Listen, prodigal sons and daughters you can have a life out there having fun with a world heading to destruction and hell or you can go to the Word and study.  You can submit to study of the living God and learning of Him and serving Him.  He said that if you would do that then you can stay at home and abide in Him and Him in you.

^{Matthew6 33}But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If we were to break this verse down the greek word for seek means: to seek in order to find [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into, to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after, to seek i.e. require, demand, to crave, demand something from someone.  The object of this seeking is God’s kingdom and righteousness which means:  in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God, the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting, in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due.

Does it make sense now?  Do you know why we are lacking now?  But this seeking should never be in a attempt to gain material things because then you are not seeking God out of the love He has shown you and the love you have for Him.

Open Our Eyes

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We keep doing things over and over while never getting the results we expect to get.  We try to do a lot of good things, good things that may well help the church, help our nieghbors but we are trying to do them without seeing first.  The Holy Spirit has really been keeping this short  saying from Matthew 6; “seek ye first the kingdom of God“.  But today it became even clearer and the door swung wide open and the Spirit began to illumate the scripture to me.  I had been struggle with a little household task and just couldn’t figure out why something so simple was giving me such a hard time.  I tried three times and just couldn’t fix the door in my daughter’s room.  I finally decided that I needed to get up a little higher to make sure that I can see.  As soon as I was able to really see what I was doing and what had to be done; I fixed the door in less than 30 seconds.  See, when you get ahead of God, move without out God and move not according to His will; it’s not simple not being led by God it’s more like walking blind to everything.  But you will never know unless you first follow after God and walk in His righteousness and how do you do that?

This is how, by being imitators of God which is inline with His will for our lives to look like Christ and what did Christ do seek first the will of the Father and everything else was added unto Christ (John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.).

Ephesians 5

¹Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ²and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

³But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^{[a] 6}Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Big Expectations

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The more I think about it, I think we can be a little crazy. We expect the perfect job, the perfect spouse, the perfect kids, perfect friends, perfect family, perfect co-workers( I’m guilty of this one for sure), perfect house, perfect pet, perfect car, perfect clothes, perfect credit, perfect weekends, perfect church, perfect pastor, perfect deacons, perfect church members and perfect weather. But the problem is that we live in a imperfect world run by the Prince of the air and the sinners being deceived by him. Plus the saved ones don’t make it any better cause we have these same demands as the sinners do.  But here’s the twist, what we think is perfect is when things go our way. So what happens when a sinner or ex-sinner gets their way… they satisfy the flesh and not the glory of God. Plus notice how nothing that is said about the person’s own life/lifestyle.  All of our expectations are focused on the external.  There is no self examination.  We even have ideas of a perfect God that does our will and not His will.  Our expectations case judgment upon us and should bring us to repentance as our true heart exposes the sin nature of mankind.  What you want or desire do always line up with God’s will and shows us how badly we need Christ.  Thank God for the Son and thank the Son for sending our comforter the Holy Spirit.

Two types of Christians

There was a father who had two boys. The oldest son was 12 years old and the other 7.  This father loved his sons with all his heart and would do anything for them.  Everyone that knew this father also knew how much he loved his sons.  They could see the love in his eyes and how he watched over them while they played at park.  They could see the love in his heart as he took care of  his kids when they were sick.  And if possible, he loved them even during punishment when the boys were bad.  The father was pretty successful but he and his family didn’t live a lavish life style, they were humble people.   And the boys needs were met; occasionally they would get the desires of their heart.  One day the father decided to treat the boys with a surprise toy shopping spree.  He first went to the oldest and asked him to take a ride with him.  The older son immediately started to question his father about the trip, how long they will be gone, why they are leaving, was he going to feed them and so on.  The older son basically interrogated his father’s intentions as if he father was either incompetent or didn’t have a clue.  It upset the father to see such of a lack of trust in him by his oldest son.  He had never given his child any reason to doubt him or second guess his actions.  Yet, the older son felt it necessary to question his faithful father.  Now don’t get me wrong,  the older son would do everything the father would ask of him.  Plus, the older son was a model kid.  He was never in trouble and followed the rules to the letter of the law.  He just never really like doing things he didn’t have control over.

So the father asked the youngest son to take a ride with him.  Before the father could finish his sentence the younger boy had put on his shoes and was heading to the car.   It filled the father’s heart with joy to see this child have so much trust in him.  Unlike the older son, the youngest always had his moments but he was sincere and loved his father with all his heart.  The youngest has had his share of mistakes but was always honest with his father.   Because of this the youngest son always held the things given to him in such high regard.  See the younger son, understood that sometimes he didn’t really deserve a lot of the gifts.

So the father and the youngest son left for their trip.  The father had a few stops to make a long the way but the son was patient and enjoyed the ride as well as the time alone with his father.   His father shared stories and the son learned more about his father, things he didn’t know.  During this trip, the bond between the two got stronger.  The two finally reached the toy store and the father told the son to get whatever he wanted.  While the father watched his little boy search the isles looking for that special toy the father decided to pick something up for the oldest.  After the toy store, they headed to the family’s favorite restaurant to pick up take out food for everyone.  To the oldest son’s surprise, his little bother returned with 3 toys.  He was upset and asked his father why didn’t he tell him were he was going and how come his little bother has 3 toys.   His father didn’t say a word and simply presented the boy with a toy.   Yes, it was only one toy but it was one in which the oldest has been asking about for some time now.  The father said to him, you should trust me and know that I have your best interest in mind.  You could have gotten more but you didn’t come.  You worry some much about yesterday and its already gone.  You even worry about today and I have already planned today for you.  And you constantly worry and plan for the future.  But no one knows what tomorrow brings nor is it promised to you.  Trust me and rest in me, knowing that I will take care of you because I love you so much.

So which one you?  The oldest or the youngest?  What does  your relationship with God look like?

Struggles

A lot of times Christians question why they suffer such heartache.  Why do we face such apposition.  The answer is simple and its not what we have been told all of our lives.   The answer is found in Romans 8:28-30.  Read it and holla back…

Got Love? You should because you’re saved right?

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Got Love?
Have you ever rejected someone that loved you before? I don’t mean puppy love or dating love or even that “do for me then i love you” stuff either. I mean “LOVE” have you ever rejected someone who LOVED you. OK if you are still confused I will describe this love for you. Whenever you needed someone to talk to, when you needed emotional support, when you needed advice, when you needed a blessing, when you needed encouragement, when you thought that you were all alone they were there, a person that would without thought give up their life for you, a person the would give their last for you, a person that put you before themselves like it was nothing, a person that would go without so you can have, a person that would sit up with you all night praying over you when you are sick, a person that would do away with their plans to be with you. Right now you are thinking only a fool would reject someone like that, somebody would have to be out of their mind to throw that away…

Well it happens, more often than you think. This is how Jesus wants husbands to love their wives just like He loves the Church. And the Church rejects Him just like that, as if it was nothing every time we sin. But you say you repent right? Saying I’m sorry is not repenting.

This is repentance:

In Biblical Hebrew, the idea of repentance is represented by two verbs: שוב shuv (to return) and נחם nicham (to feel sorrow).

In the New Testament, the word translated as ‘repentance’ is the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), “after/behind one’s mind”, which is a compound word of the preposition ‘meta‘ (after, with), and the verb ‘noeo’ (to perceive, to think, the result of perceiving or observing). In this compound word the preposition combines the two meanings of time and change, which may be denoted by ‘after’ and ‘different’; so that the whole compound means: ‘to think differently after’. Metanoia is therefore primarily an after-thought, different from the former thought; a change of mind accompanied by regret and change of conduct, “change of mind and heart”, or, “change of consciousness”. One of the key descriptions of repentance in the New Testament is the parable of the prodigal son found in the Gospel of Luke 15 beginning at verse 11.

So tell me, are you really repenting? Especially when you willfully commit the sin, you knew it was wrong before you did it. So how can we just continue to reject that Love. Once more He will take you back without hesitation because His Love is TRUE….

“i know him”

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Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:4-6 ESV ..

In regards to salvation, we can look at the scripture, the actual word of God and see how he views those that say they are saved and do not keep God’s commandments.  Its more than just saying I believe but to live like you do.

Salvation Vs. Working out salvation

Below is a post from my favorite site http://www.abideinchrist.com,  this post talks about our daily experience as a Christian.

Dying Daily and Our Life in Christ

Spiritual growth is making real in our daily experience what is already true for us in Christ.

Our progressive sanctification is an ever putting off all that belongs to the old man, and putting on all that belongs to the new man in Christ.

The old nature of man in Adam has not evolved better over the last two thousand years. Has the carnal mind with its urges become so good to the Holy Spirit that we no longer need to subject it to the Holy Spirit? Undisciplined self-gratification has never been compatible with strong, vibrant, mature spiritual growth. You cannot be a mature believer and live anyway you choose. You cannot give nature all that it desires without defrauding the grace of God.

Romans chapter seven pictures every Christian’s spiritual battle in progress. Our old nature, though judged and condemned and deposed in the death of Christ is forever revolting against the sentence of death. It struggles daily to regain its lost supremacy.

The believer who is in Christ not only has died with Christ, but is bound to “die daily” with Him so long as he is in the flesh.

The two natures, at present are dwelling together, even though they are at perpetual war with one another. When one is weak the other is strong. When one loses the other conquers.

The crucifixion we have undergone as believers in Christ is personalized in our own person. The believer is “always bearing about in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” Our spiritual battle is a spiritual intimacy with Christ against the forces of Satan. Christ began a spiritual warfare that has not ended for us (Col. 3:9, 10).

We are new creatures in Christ whose inward man is “renewed day by day.” The new man from above battles daily with the forces of evil.

The cross and the resurrection of Christ extend their influence and power over the Christian’s life until the day we are presented perfect to our Father in heaven. The development of the Christian toward perfection is always going in two opposite directions. There is the mortifying, suppressing, subjecting the natural man, and the nurturing, renewing and developing the spiritual man who lives within.

In the crucifixion of the old man we make the death of Christ our own. The carnal mind must always be delivered up to death for Christ’s sake. This is our life-long experience.

If we are to become like Christ in our daily practice we must subdue our sinful desires, behaviors and bring them under the influence of the cross.

Our sanctification is prolonged and perpetuated in our daily experiences.

We are to have the same mind of Christ. We have been judged in the person of Christ knowing that He bore our sins in His death, follow on in the path of the cross judging and mortifying all that we find in our lives contrary to Christ. Anything that is opposed to Christ in our lives must die. We must deny and die to the expression of the old life as we knew it before we become Christians. We must refuse the indulgence of the old man.

The Holy Spirit is always bringing us to the surrender of self in all its forms to the will of God.

Our Savior’s suffering is never more beautiful than when reproduced in our daily lives as we die to self, fleshly desires and unholy ambition.

However, no amount of self-denial of the old nature will make us holier, unless we are brought at the same time into a deeper intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. As we abide in Christ we walk as Christ walked.

Self-denial creates voids in our soul that must be replaced with Christ and divine affection. It is our desire to appropriate the eternal life Jesus has given us. This new life in Christ creates within the believer a hunger and thirst for more of Him. Meditation on the Word of God and contemplation of the character of Christ promotes that end. In the process He conforms us to the likeness of Christ until, we have attained the fullness of the stature of Christ, His life constantly imparted and His character reflected in our lives (2 Cor. 3:18).

Daily communion with Jesus is a certain way of overcoming sin in our lives. Our growth in grace and knowledge of Christ can never fail to promote the subjection of nature. Our natural man cannot endure the burning heat of the unclouded presence of Christ.

May our steady gaze upon Christ blind our hearts to the desires of the unregenerate life-style.

Oh, blessed day when the battle is over and we cease from our putting off and putting on and we are presented spotless in Christ “when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortal.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Salvation Vs. Working it out

I recently ran across a podcast of a Paul Washer sermon.   The things he said sparked an interest in this man.  So,  I googled him and found a lot of stuff out there calling him a false prophet.  I saw blogs and forums filled with comments about this man and his message.  People questioning their salvation and eternal resting place.  So I, being a minister as well want to start a bible study lesson on the subject of salvation.  But not only salvation but the goal of it all.

A lot of times we forget to read scripture in its full context.  Also, please beware everything that is stated as “biblical” on the Internet.   Please try the spirit by the spirit.  That goes for anything I post as well.

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