Fresh Bread

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I’ve been recently impressed to start writing again to express some of the warnings and exhortations God has been speaking to me. Please partake, and more importantly, enjoy! To God be all Glory.

Obtaining the Promise

Joshua 5:13,14
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of Him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,’ he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”


The road God sets is rocky. It’s a troubled road, and I find my heart crying out ‘How do I go forward, Lord?’ more often than not. The desire to please God is within me, and is strong. The law and word of God are always with me. My faith and confidence in God is firm; I will stand with Him alone, and He is not a man that He should promise and not fulfill. I’ve spied out the land ahead with my heart too. But all this preparation seems in vain, because If I’m going to get to what God called me to, things need to change inside. Things inside aren’t yet fit for my calling. Simply put, I want what I’ve been called to, and I want the character that pleases God, gives me rest, and will rightly fulfil my office and calling in the Kingdom of Christ Jesus.
So over the last two years I’ve had many many spiritual enemies. And strong ones. And I’ve been frustrated at every turn in my efforts to advance the football. Even when I cut a sin out of my life, the root error of that sin remains. I can’t get my heart right. And I’m sure many of you feel this same inability to properly align our souls and our hearts with the Will and Good Purpose of God. I want my heart to beat like His does. I want my compassions to be kindled when His are. I want to be freshly saved everyday. And I believe that those who know Him will attest to the same things.

So I set out a while back, with good intentions, to subdue the enemy. But dear child of God, there are grave dangers in how we set out to claim our spiritual inheritance, as I discovered.


Joshua 5:13
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of Him with a
drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

Listen to the Lord’s Response, and think very carefully about it:

“Neither,’ he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”

Joshua is in a very interesting spot here: He is marching into God’s Promise. He is fulfilling the destiny God has allotted to Him. He’s in line with the revealed will of the Lord through Moses, was well disciplined in the wilderness, and eager to strike the hot iron of God’s Purpose. But God again confronts Him, and even as a potential enemy! If ever a man was ready to enter, would it not be Joshua, who had faith with Caleb before God to enter, who spent long hours with Moses in the Tabernacle tarrying, who saw the miracles of the wilderness and remained faithful?


You must get this, dear child of God, to grasp the principle of this scripture: God is here to fulfill the promises to you because of His purposes, and His purposes alone. He will not fulfil His promises because of your qualities, or any ability (or lack of ability) you may have. God will not give you the victory because of the mountain-moving strength of your faith, nor the tender preciousness of your heart, nor the meek humility of your eyes, nor the determination and singleness of your purpose, and most importantly, certainly not because of the iron will you exercise over your body and mind. A real danger lies in believing we are the source of the Victory, or the reason for its outcome. "Some trust in horses, some in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God." No, you cannot have what God promised because you posses any of the beautitudes, nor any of the fruit of the Spirit, nor anything whatsoever. In fact, your goodness and ministerial calling can stand in the way of God’s real purpose in your life and others, if it is not submitted to Him. Are all those strengths and qualities needed in true spiritual service, and for the general joy of life? Yes, of course! The fruits and gifts are obviously all quintessential elements of God’s work in and through our lives. But God isn’t into our Victories, nor our righteousness. He’s into His own Ways and Character, because it’s the only really pure one. Can’t we obtain the what God has offered us when we are able? Yes, we can, at our own whim. But it will be of no value, and will eventually be stripped from us if we don’t lay it down first at the feet of the Commander of the Armies of the Lord. If the Victory is ours, then it is no victory at all. Actually, victory out of step with God is even worse than a defeat: God is giving us over to great enemies if he lets us succeed in our folly. If the Victory is God’s, however, then it is victory indeed, and will be grander than we ever thought possible. Obtaining the Promise in the proper time and course that God Wills is of utmost importance to the real fulfilment of God’s grand design. Don’t take shortcuts. Don’t evaluate your own strength, it will only distract. Be patient. Don’t respond to enemies that are drawing you out of course with the Will of God. Don’t let anything draw you aside from the honest joys of the ‘simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.’ And above all, once you have been anointed for your purpose in Christ, have this attitude in you:


Psalm 37:7
Be Still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him, do not fret when men succeed in their ways;


Don’t try to obtain the calling for yourself, even if it is truly, verifiably, and prophetically the will of God. Don’t try to fulfil the promise by the spiritual strength and power God has given you. Victory itself belongs to God alone, and not to us. Wait for the ‘wind to sound in the mulberry trees,’ (1 Sam 5:24) and the Lord will give your enemies into your hands, and raise you up closer to your calling. ‘Be imitators of them who through faith (strength) and patience (timing and way of God) inherit the promises,’ and like Abraham, ‘having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.’

 

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Following our own Imagination

Jeremiah 23:16
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the Lord...who follow the stubbornness of their hearts....

When God first spoke me as a young Christian, I became infatuated with having it happen again. Not only did I want to hear from Him again, I wanted to be able to hear from Him whenever I called. So I started to review the messages He had given me, how I got Him to respond, and I took a good hard look at the way in which He spoke. It makes sense right? Go over the previous things to do it again?

Wrong. Psalm 77:19 says it perfectly:
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

and Again...

Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

We can't figure those things out at all. We can't figure out how God spoke, how to get Him to speak, or anything really that He does. We can't figure out how God works! We are a little bag of worms, and we try so hard to find some reliable groove that we can settle into with the Lord so that we can have things the way we want, when we want. It doesn't take long to find out that our desires to keep in touch with God on a high level can be selfish, or self-aggrandizing; "I hear from God a lot. Let me tell you what He says." And worse still, is that the tendancy to look backward at previous experience will leave us studying the heart, and not going forward into God. If we are unwise then when we have experienced Him enough, we start to try to figure out how to get God to speak to us whenever we call, to ensure it will be there when we want or need it, or to tell others how to do it. But God doesn't serve man's purpose, and cannot be constrained to a methodology or formula.

We must always approach the Lord's intervention with a right attitude; that the things which are done and said by God are from a higher plane, one that truly is unsearchable.

The real dangers arise when someone starts to think he has figured it out, and that his thoughts are somehow God's thoughts. Because God speaks into our hearts (we have the mind of Christ, and we are one in Spirit with Him), the danger is to call our heart God, and to call the soul our source. The soul may be our life, and the deepest part of us that is discoverable, but it is not our source; God's thoughts are not our thoughts. God has thoughts we cannot think, nor comprehend, nor even perceive. We are not fitted to grasp Him; i do not think it possibe to be fitted to do such a thing! We are simply fitted to know that He is there, and He will be God to us and for us, and that we will have thoughts that are given by Him. If we ever do believe to have figured it out (having mapped out the ways of faith, and the mechanics of Spirit), then we come dangerously close to those foolish prophets Jeremiah so ardently condemns, those people who are blinded into following the vanity of their own minds.

It will help us to remember that the heart is not the beacon; God's Word and Spirit are those beacons. Keeping this in mind will prevent us from following our own imagination.

 

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Job 14:4
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Job 15:14
What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

My cat has been barbering herself lately. It's quite an odd behavior, and has gotten a little out of hand, to be honest. She has a beautiful calico coat that's always very clean, bright, and soft, and she is nearly a perfect cat by all personality and cleanliness standards. Her affections are always very warm, and she is just a joy to have around.

But as I say, she has taken up self-barbering! From months of licking and chewing, her lower legs and thighs are now stripped, leaving only a meager layer of fur to cover the bare skin. For the longest time we couldn't figure it out, but I believe the answer has come to light: she is too clean. She doesn't like litter on her paws, or people patting her after a thorough coat-cleaning; she'll make sure that your hand is thoroughly washed by her sandpaper tongue before you touch her. But this standard of cleanliness has grown into a self-destructive thing.

We too can slip into that sort of a spiritual condition, where we become so obsessed with pleasing God or cleaning our heart that we do not live or walk as a normal person. We set the bar too high. We become all derailed with spiritualities, and we get weird. And the funny thing is that once we get so consumed with the spiritual, we start to lose some of the chief things God was attracted to in us! My cat's coat is probably her 'glory,' as paul would call it. But now she is out of balance, and a healthy habit (like cleaning) that is there to maintain her coat has grown into a big problem. She's losing the very thing she's trying so desperately to improve.

We should be careful not to miss some of the purpose of Christ in our lives by taking a burden that is not ours to bear. Did we receive the Spirit by effort? Can we keep or increase it by our effort? We cannot. God cares for our goodness in His sight, of course, but the labour and trouble is more His than ours; we have certain responsibilities, and so does He. But as Job says, no one can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. So stop trying.

Rather, in rest and repentance you shall be saved, and in quietness and confidence is your strength. Worrying about the problems, and amplifying the issues in your own eyes will not inspire God to move faster. He knows where He is going, and He knows how to get there, and often our attempts to clean ourselves can be an impedence to Him. Perhaps we have even hurt ourselves by trying constantly, in vain, to clean our own foolish heart. "If only I can get one more thing, I will be clean, and can finally rest." Good luck buddy. Good luck.

But the bible is gracious enough to give us the keys to true cleanliness, and it is not what you might think:

Psalm 19:9
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever.

Once again, man's thoughts of cleanliness and God's wisdom about cleanliness are on different lines. We seek to clean to be holy. God seeks to have us fear Him in order to be clean. But this fear is the work of God too, and is wonderfully promised to us:

Jeremiah 32:39
And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them.

Notice that the fear that God gives is good.

So lets put away, once and for all, the heart cleansing and watching which misses the real purpose of the discipline. Lets release back into our Heavenly Father's hands the things which only He can accomplish, without letting go entirely. Remember, the yoke is easy, and the burden light, but there is a yoke. Just don't get fall into the pit of trying to clean yourself in vain.

 

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This is brother Hien's amazing story of God's Grace, as told by Ravi Zacharias. It's great...Enjoy!

During my ministry in Vietnam in 1971, one of my interpreters who traveled with me was Hien Pham, an energetic, devoted young Christian who had worked very closely as a translator with the American military forces, purely as a civilian, with no official or military responsibilities. He just knew English so well that he was able to be of immense help to them in their linguistic struggles.


By virtue of that same strength he also worked with the missionaries. He and I traveled the length of the country and became very close friends before I bade him good-bye when I left Vietnam to return home. We were both very young, and neither of us knew if our paths would cross again. Within four years, Vietnam fell, and Hien's fate was unknown.
Seventeen years later, in 1988, I received a surprise telephone call than began with, "Brother Ravi?" Immediately I recognized Hien's voice. We got caught up with our pleasantries, then I asked him how he had managed to get out of Vietnam and come to the United States. I was not prepared for the story I was about to hear.

Shortly after Vietnam fell to the Communists, Hien was arrested. Accused of aiding and abetting the Americans he was in and out of prison for several years. During one long jail term, the sole purpose of his jailers was to indoctrinate him against the West -- and especially against democratic ideals and the Christian faith. He was cut off from reading anything in English and restricted to communist propaganda in French or Vietnamese.
This daily overdose of the writings of Marx and Engels began to take its toll on him. One of the books he was given to read pictured the communist man as a bird in the ironclad cage of capitalism, throwing itself against the bars of "capitalist oppression" and bloodying itself in the process. Yet still it continued to struggle in its quest for freedom.

Hien began to buckle under the onslaught. Maybe, he thought, I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. Maybe my whole life has been governed by lies. Maybe the West has deceived me. The more he thought, the more he moved toward a decision. Finally, he made up his mind. He determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or ever think of his Christian faith again.

The next morning, he was assigned to clean the latrines of the prison. It was the most dreaded chore, shunned by everyone, and so with much distress he began the awful task. As he cleaned out a tin can filled to overflowing with toilet paper, his eye caught what he thought was English printed on one piece of paper. He hurriedly washed it off and slipped it into his hip pocket, planning to read it at night. Not having seen anything in English for such a long time, he anxiously waited for a free moment.
Under the mosquito net that night after his roommates had fallen asleep, he pulled out a small flashlight and shinning it on the damp piece of paper he read at the top corner, "Romans, Chapter 8." Literally trembling with shock, he began to read:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.... What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?...
....Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:28, 31, 32, 35, 37-39)

Hien wept. He knew his Bible, and he had not seen one for so long Not only that, he knew there was not a more relevant passage of conviction and strength for one on the verge of surrendering to the threat of evil. He cried out to God, asking for forgiveness, for this was to have been the first day in years that he had determined not to pray. Evidently the Lord had other plans.

The next day, Hien asked the camp commander if he could clean the latrine again. He continued with this chore on a regular basis, because he had discovered that some official in the camp was using a Bible as toilet paper. Each day Hien picked up a portion of Scripture and cleaned it off, and added it to his nightly devotional reading. In this way he retrieved a significant portion of the Bible.

The day came when, through an equally providential set of circumstances, Hien was released. He promptly began to make plans to escape from the country. After several unsuccessful attempts he began again to build a boat in secret. About fifty-three other people planned to escape with him, and Hien was taking the lead.

All was going according to plan until a short while before the date of their departure when four Vietcong knocked on Hien's door. When he opened it, they accosted him and said they had heard he was trying to escape. "Is it true?" they demanded.

Hien immediately denied it and went on to distract them with some concocted story to explain his activities. Apparently convinced, they reluctantly left.

Hien was relieved but very disappointed with himself. "Here I go again, Lord, trying to manipulate my own destiny, too unteachable in my spirit to really believe that You can lead me past any obstacle." He made a promise to God, fervently hoping that the Lord would not take him up on it. He prayed that if the Vietcong were to come back again, he would tell them the truth.

Resting in the comfort of that impossibility, he was thoroughly shaken when only a few hours before they were to set sail the four men stood at his door once more. "We have our sources, and we know you are trying to escape. Is it true?"

Hien resignedly gave the answer, "Yes, I am with fifty-three others. Are you going to imprison me again?" There was a pronounced pause. And then they leaned forward and whispered, "No. We want to escape with you!"

In an utterly incredible escape plan, all fifty-eight of them found themselves on the high seas, suddenly engulfed by a violent storm. Hien fell with his face in his hands, crying out to God, "Did You bring us here to die?"

As he concluded his story, he said, "Brother Ravi, if it were not for the sailing ability of those four Vietcong, we would have not made it." They arrived safely in Thailand, and years later Hien arrived on American soil where today he is a businessman- forever grateful for America and praying that she would open her heart as a nation to Christ.

taken from http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/8/13/2154/70327

 

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Isaiah 52:1,2Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, holy city. No longer shall the uncircumcised or the unclean enter you. Shake off the dust, ascend to the throne, Jerusalem; Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion!

I've been recently quickened about God's Liberty. With hindsight I can now say that one of the chief evidences of the Abiding Presence of God is not emotional surges, nor is it great insight or a special awareness of higher knowledge, or any alteration to our consciousness (though those things do come with the handiwork of God), rather, it is liberty. Liberty to do as one pleases, liberty to choose, liberty from unhealthy fears and mis-constraining suggestions. There are right constraints, obviously, for the law of God is called the law of liberty, and contained therein are the constraints which enable real liberty. But there are also a myriad of wrong constraints, and the Lord will break every iron band.

Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Notice also in the scripture above that the work of God is to get us back to the throne of our own lives, making choices and decisions for ourselves. That's probably why it was such an affront to God to have a king on the throne, since the king, and not liberty, would be making the choices that would guide the nation of Israel. God wants us to be able to make choices for ourselves, guided by understanding and desire! I will say it again, because this can be hard for some Charistmatics to hear: God wants us to make life's choices. God is the Wind, but we are the captain. Without Wind, you're staying right where you are. But without commanding your own boat, you may be headed for a shipwreck.

There are certain things God is simply not asking us to give up, and this can be difficult to discover, especially for the youthful or overly zealous. God wants us to be us, and to remain us. God also wants to get us back onto the throne of our own lives so that it can be spent on the Lordship of Christ Jesus. We make the choices, but He wants them in the direction of Christ. Liberty enables just that! He is not asking us to yield anything of ourselves, except to be simply and purely devoted to Christ, and even that should be born of love for Him and a free will. He has no deep delight in other forms of service, though he graciously accepts it.

There is a real danger in not recognizing the liberty once it visits, or in simply pushing it aside for something else, but Paul exhorts us to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (gal 5:1) Certain people even return to their sin once they are free, returning to the thing which stole their freedom in the first place! We are foolish creatures!

Do not fear liberty in Christ. Do not fear having strength in Christ. Do not fear possessing authority in Christ. These are the things that accompany the salvation of God, and are there to enable you to serve Christ with Godly fear and genuine joy. The liberties can be very good, but don't be afraid to be brought out into a "broad place," a place of liberty. The land lies before, go wherever though desirest! God has no delight in false submission! "Oh God, thou choosest for me!" Nonsense! Get thee hence, serve Christ, and enjoy liberty!

Psalm 18:19
He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

God delights to bring you into a large place! Don't put false constrictions on your right liberty in Christ, and don't throw off the yoke of Christ! Enjoy True Liberty in Christ!

 

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Freedom from the world to be a slave to Christ. Liberty in Christ brings peace to the soul. That's what He left us along with the Comfort of being brought to the "narrow Way" for wide is the road to distruction. Be wary of what you allow yourself, for our God is a jealous God and will not having you serving God and mannom, for you will hate the one that constrains, and Jesus does constain much. Liberty is freedom from the world, that really doesn't leave anything but devotion to the things of God with the desire to be as jesus was, hated and despised by the world.

 

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Freedom from the world to be a slave to Christ! That says it completely. But to be this sort of a slave is so different, so very different, isn't it? I've always heard that 'you're gonna serve somebody, so you might as well choose the Highest.' Well, Amen! I also have heard that there were many many trees in the garden that Adam could eat from; he was free to do so. There was only one tree that he couldn't touch. Sometimes we Christians, especially charismatics, try to make our way harder than it ought to be, as though there is some virtue to be found in difficult or meager circumstances. God delights in abundance and freedom, and delights to see His children choose of their own accord the things that are right in His eyes. Slavehood to Christ is not pharisaiacal. It's wonderfully, upliftingly free. Demanding in cases, yes, but when the going is good, the going is real real good. Even in Christ, it seems the difficult, constrained times are accented with notes of Glory.

 

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Sorry but picking and choosing scripture is no different than choosing outside of the faith for answers to life's questions. Only God has the right to differentiate between people of different denominations. In fact I don't think He would ever deem it in so broad a term. God made us all equal when He gave us a rebirth. We came in with Jesus as the covering, and we go out of this world with everything He has given us or we go out of this world with lost rewards. Your idea of liberty is much different than mine I think. I'm rich with things stored in heaven. I don't have need of all the other fruit trees. I just want the tree of life. Jesus is on the throne in my life not me.

 

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btw it's not good practise to edit a post after it's been responded to.

 

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Sorry about the edit...it's just that some of my words sounded so harsh, and that's an attitude I'm trying to avoid. I naturally gravitate towards an 'apodictic' tone when I write about spiritual things, and I don't like it.

Your idea of liberty is much different than mine I think.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to show. I suppose I'm trying to expand the broadness of what it means to serve Christ. We have this narrow vision that service to God's Spirit is full time ministry behind a pulpit, or behind a guitar on stage. It's as though massive parts of life weren't created by God in Christ, and we Christians try to eliminate them from sight or activity. All things ought to be richly enjoyed, that God might be thanked and praised! Serving Christ is not, by definition, a trial. It is what we make it. Of course there are required duties. But our enjoyment and enrichment of ourselves and others in them is really up to us.

That's what I 'm trying to convey. I'm not trying to eliminate the responsiblities, duties, burdens, exhausting efforts, overwhelming troubles, cares, and constancy of the whole walk, not at all. I'm trying to say that we have failed to explore so much of life in our walk with God. We cut so much out that we deem not to be of God, simply because it isn't in line with religious activity. And worse yet, we cut things out that He hasn't even dis-allowed, trying to be god!

I believe God wants to release the entire gammut of human experience into His servants' experience of Himself. We ought to be free in Christ. Free to imagine, dream, and do. Free to experiment and expand our service in fresh and novel ways that contravene no law, but add vibrancy without adding flesh. I think part of the staggering beauty and mystery of the gospel is the creativity and oddity of some of the miracles and circumstances. We have such a narrow vision of what that freedom can be, it is staggering. Remember, I'm not advocating fleshy and indulgent expressions of emotion or display for Christ. Simply trying to open Christian's vision to how deep and wide our God actually is. Very deep. Very wide. I certainly don't believe our freedom in and enjoyment of Christ could expend His provision. Christ made the stars! The whole Universe! Every fruit! Every car! Every phone! Every computer, every musical instrument, and every note that instrument can play. Let's use them all for His Glory, and enjoy them richly.

I will post again several parts of a work by George Macdonald (who is both Oswald Chambers' and CS Lewis' inspiration). Please read it! It is so very good, and better than my attempts to convey the issue.

 

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Notes on denying one's self:

Some seem to take this to mean that the disciple must go against his likings because they are his likings; must be unresponsive to the tendencies and directions and inclinations that are his, because they are such, and his; they seem to think something is gained by abstinence from what is pleasant, or by the doing of what is disagreeable—that to thwart the lower nature is in itself a good. Now I will not dare say what a man may not get good from, if the thing be done in simplicity and honesty. I believe that when a man, for the sake of doing the thing that is right, does in mistake that which is not right, God will take care that he be shown the better way—will perhaps use the very thing which is his mistake to reveal to him the mistake it is. I will allow that the mere effort of will, arbitrary and uninformed of duty, partaking of the character of tyranny and even schism, may add to the man’s power over his lower nature; but in that very nature it is God who must rule and not the man, however well he may mean. From a man’s rule of himself, in smallest opposition, however devout, to the law of his being, arises the huge danger of nourishing, by the pride of self-conquest, a far worse than even the unchained animal self—the demoniac self. True victory over self is the victory of God in the man, not of the man alone. It is not subjugation that is enough, but subjugation by God. In whatever man does without God, he must fail miserably—or succeed more miserably. No portion of a man can rule another portion, for God, not the man, created it, and the part is greater than the whole. In effecting what God does not mean, a man but falls into fresh ill conditions. In crossing his natural, therefore in themselves right inclinations, a man may develop a self-satisfaction which in its very nature is a root of all sin. Doing the thing God does not require of him, he puts himself in the place of God, becoming not a law but a law-giver to himself, one who commands, not one who obeys. The diseased satisfaction which some minds feel in laying burdens on themselves, is a pampering, little as they may suspect it, of the most dangerous appetite of that self which they think they are mortifying.

Some of the things a man may have to forsake in following Christ, he has not to forsake because of what they are in themselves. Neither nature, art, science, nor fit society, is of those things a man will lose in forsaking himself: they are God’s, and have no part in the world of evil, the false judgments, low wishes, and unrealities generally, that make up the conscious life of the self which has to be denied: such will never be restored to the man. But in forsaking himself to do what God requires of him—his true work in the world, that is, a man may find he has to leave some of God’s things—not to repudiate them, but for the time to forsake them, because they draw his mind from the absolute necessities of the true life in himself or in others. He may have to deny himself in leaving them—not as bad things, but as things for which there is not room until those of paramount claim have been so heeded, that these will no longer impede but further them. Then he who knows God, will find that knowledge open the door of his understanding to all things else. He will become able to behold them from within, instead of having to search wearily into them from without. This gave to king David more understanding than had all his teachers. Then will the things he has had to leave, be restored to him a hundred fold. So will it be in the forsaking of friends. To forsake them for Christ, is not to forsake them as evil. It is not to cease to love them, ‘for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?’ it is—not to allow their love to cast even a shadow between us and our Master; to be content to lose their approval, their intercourse, even their affection, where the Master says one thing and they another. It is to learn to love them in a far higher, deeper, tenderer, truer way than before—a way which keeps all that was genuine in the former way, and loses all that was false. We shall love their selves, and disregard our own.

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Taken from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/macdonald/unspoken2.xii.html

 

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Serving Christ is not, by definition, a trial. It is what we make it. Of course there are required duties. But our enjoyment and enrichment of ourselves and others in them is really up to us.

That's what I 'm trying to convey. I'm not trying to eliminate the responsiblities, duties, burdens, exhausting efforts, overwhelming troubles, cares, and constancy of the whole walk, not at all. I'm trying to say that we have failed to explore so much of life in our walk with God. .

My recommendation is that you do eliminate the responsibilities, duties, burdens, exhausting efforts. overwhelming troubles, cares and constancy of the whole walk
In simple terms I recommend that you let go and let God. That is liberty.

 

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In simple terms I recommend that you let go and let God. That is liberty.

Yeah, you're right. I hope to get those other quotes up soon. The moderator has to read through them. Please do read them though once they are up, they are quite good. They say a little more of what I'm trying to emphasize.

 

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Alright thanks. You need to get them mod approved?

 

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2 Cor 1:12
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

Ministering by the grace of God has been something I've not really understood for so long. I've tried desperately to find the line between ministering by the flesh, and following the Spirit. It seems so easy for me, a university graduate, a well-spoken, well-read young man to simply pull out my vocabulary, and wow my hearers into a sense of importance and value about what I am saying. But I know the Spirit of God knows that stuff instantly, and dispels it without a question. It just ain't the Word of God if it ain't the Word from God. And so often we get the mixture, some fleshly wisdom, some Grace of God. How do we know the difference?

One element of ministering out of the Grace of God is ministering out of what God alone has built in. I'm not advocating not to learn or pursue personal growth, but rather to focus on those things that are God's handiwork and heart alone. Those will be central, core elements of the message that God has. We ought to take dear note of things which cross our paths and direct our lives, I say, of those things that we had nothing to do with in choosing or experiencing. Those things are brought by the Grace of God.

A few scriptures in Jeremiah give us evidence of the Spirit quickening part of His tough grace to Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 38:6
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

And not 20 verses later, Jeremiah is ministering to the king the quickened Word of God in his spirit, out of the very experience that God had brought him into.

Jeremiah 38:22
And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

The quickening arrived, and Jeremiah followed it to deliver his inspired discourse. And during the course of the prophetic message, the Spirit reminds him of his experience in the mire, and He speaks to the king out of it.

And so here we see the Grace of God at work, as God works into a man's life the message the prophet must give out. And the prophet is not exempt from his message, because God is desiring to do literally to the prophet what he is willing to say figuratively to the hearers. He will work His colour into the fabric of prophetic ministry before it is put on display.

There are a great many other elements to ministering out of the Grace of God, but I don't yet understand them, having very little experience with things like inspired utterance and direct spiritual leading. But I know this, that the core of the Lord's work in and through our life will have the earmark that it is of the Lord, and not us, and that the glory will go where it ought to, to the Source.

Fleshy wisdom tends to analyze and produce an answer that appears to fit the bill, by human estimation. Fleshly wisdom, I believe, is what we know and what we understand, and is centered on man's comprehension rather than on God's Gift of Light. I believe a lot of book learning, which (especially in the spiritual) so often tends to an empty and arrogant fruit, centers in fleshly wisdom. Remember that this isn't bad for natural life, but the life of the Spirit is so very different. The Life of God, as Ravi says, isn't based on arguments.

Be blessed, and richly serve and enjoy Christ another day!

note: obsolete, the posts need to be approved, I think because it only contained a quote of Macdonald, and no main text.

 

[JPPT1974]

We are to serve Christ
Each and everyday to the
Fullest extent!

 

[deg]

I recently encountered a desperate time in my life when to keep going seemed hopeless and foolish. I was crowded in with fears and doubts, and there wasn't one meager grace around to give me indication that God was Present and observing. It felt also that as I would continue to walk in the direction I knew I should go, the ground would continue to crumble under me. It truly was desperate, and my resolve to endure was thinning.

And then as I sat there considering my retreat, I heard the words "He that endures to the end shall be saved." And in that moment, as I took up the offer to continue to endure, I realized that God's hope reaches place we never thought it could. Even in the hopeless, dire, no reason-whatsoever-to-go-on situations, God would say this:

"He that endures to the end, shall be saved."

And so we know with all assurance that we can keep going, and that there is purpose and direction in our course, because if we do keep going, we shall be saved. But if we draw back, His soul shall have no pleasure in us, and He gives no assurance of salvation there. Endurance and assurance are brothers.

This scripture is saying one thing; when you are out of energy, and have been battling for months and months, or maybe years, and your motivations are whithered, and your drive is stalled, and you eyes are sore from looking for God, still you must stand your ground under every billow and wave, because God is still God, is still at work, and has promised to save you if you remain faithful in your situation. He has not forgotten His Promise to you. Never forget this scripture dear friend.

He that endures to the end shall be saved.

And so we can rest our hope on God, tighten our belts another notch, and drudge through the mire of war yet another mile, knowing that on the far side of that hill is a precious promise that is inconceivably good.

Please listen to this song, dear friends, and let it comfort you in the times that the sufferings of Christ abound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQVmR0jV52Ahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQVmR0jV52A

Worth It All - By Rita Springer​

I don't understand Your ways
Oh but I will give You my song
Give You all of my praise
You hold on to all my pain
With it You are pulling me closer
And pulling me into Your ways​

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I'm not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I'm desperate in seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I need
I will say to You​

It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this​

You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this​

 

[deg]

Good Morning!

Luke 22:46
And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

I slept in this morning, and so was not able to get to writing my daily word until now, and it's almost ten o-clock. It's funny though, because yesterday I was quickened about denying the flesh, and rising out of sleep.

There's obviously a natural and healthy habit to getting up at a certain time, regardless of how much you have to do in a day. It's a good thing to bear this sort of a yolk, and we can easily see that those who have lost their love of life or who are generally lazy will sleep all day. It's just a bad habit to get into. Over the last few months or so I've been exercised to rise with the sun, and it's been quite a good thing.

Today, I did not.

It's funny that only yesterday I was warned in scripture to "rise and pray, lest I should enter into temptation." It was this word rise that particularly caught my attention:



[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon[/FONT]

Rise
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Strong's Number: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]450[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Anistemi[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]an-is'-tay-mee [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Verb[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]

1. to cause to rise up, raise up
   1. raise up from laying down
   2. to raise up from the dead
   3. to raise up, cause to be born, to cause to appear, bring forward
2. to rise, stand up
   1. of persons lying down, of persons lying on the ground
   2. of persons seated
   3. of those who leave a place to go elsewhere
      1. of those who prepare themselves for a journey
   4. of the dead
3. at arise, appear, stand forth
   1. of kings prophets, priests, leaders of insurgents
   2. of those about to enter into conversation or dispute with anyone, or to undertake some business, or attempt something against others
   3. to rise up against any one

[/FONT]There is a sense of war, confindence, a taking charge of life again in this word "rise." This rising is not just making sure you're awake, it's like you're going from the bedchamber to the throne room to prepare your country's affairs, listen to counsellors and issues, and make judgements. Apparently in Judah, the king was to make righteouse judgements in the morning.

Jeremiah 21:12 O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning...

In this arising, there is a sense of strength, opportunity, and responsiblity. Without this 'rising' out of the flesh and natural man, our prayer life will be lackluster, and we will let prayer slip down into empty words that are sent heavenward with little else but hope. It's funny though; the activity of our faith and our spirit in our prayers is the exact same, and uses the same principles as getting out of bed. This rising (this sense of standing up and going forth with strides) is the very sense that must empower, invigorate, and inspire our prayers, especially those of the early morning. You will notice a new life in your day, and a special 'take charge' wisdom will pepper your entire days affairs, if you remember to not only pray but to rise first.

So get out of bed, and rejoice, 'for this is the day the Lord hath made. I will be glad and rejoice in it!'

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

I remember that I felt Jesus liked me to arise early and spend time with Him in study and prayer. It was really a special time of getting ready for the day by dressing in the armour and preparing myself to go forth for Him. "All spiffed and ready for Your orders Sir. What are my orders for today? Amen captain, this soldier is prepared"
I like this thread

 

[deg]

I like this thread

Thank you! You're the first person to say so! It's nice to get some feedback everynow and then, even if just to let you know that people are reading.