The Prophets and the Truth

I received the following comment to the posting What if Todd Bentley, the AntiChrist, and the Pharisees Threw a Party (but no one came)

"Just remember...The bible is very clear when it comes to prophets. When a person calls themselves a prophet as he has the requirement of God is 100 percent accuracy or you are a false prophet...."

As I responded, I thought that this topic deserves a separate posting. I am no expert, but I want to share what God has been teaching me over time. I understand how the commenter feels, but I think it is also important to look at what the scripture actually says:

Deut 18 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

This is a statement that if something spoken in the name of the Lord does not come to pass, it was not given by God. That person has spoken presumptuously. It is not necessarily a test to see if a person should be labeled a false prophet. For instance, when I think I hear from the Lord, I may share that with someone. Or, I may sing it as a song in a public setting. Now I do not think God ever misspeaks, but I am human and I can easily not hear correctly or give an interpretation colored by my own flesh. We are living in a different dispensation than when these scriptures were given. Mercy and righteousness kissed at the cross.

For example, we do not practice the preceding scripture 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ , just as we do not practice the “eye-for-an-eye” retribution of the law and many other things. Although this scripture should make us consider how fearfully serious it is to speak in the name of the Lord, we must also remember we are now subject to a higher law of love - the true and everlasting interpretation of everything given in scripture as shown forth in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

In those previous times, the Holy Spirit came upon individuals for special purposes. Those of us now in Christ Jesus have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit with us always. We can commune and hear from God every day. Our whole lives should be “prophetic” and tested by the Word of God to discern where we are not hearing correctly. It can become confusing to us when the gifts begin to get more of our attention than the Giver of Life. Time and time again I have been turned back to the simplicity of the One thing necessary – that I abide in Christ and in His Word with Him.

The problem with using these scriptures from Deuteronomy as the only litmus test comes from not taking the whole council of scripture into account. If I use this as a litmus test, then any person who does prophesy accurately and work signs and wonders should be considered a true prophet of God. Of course, the Word of God expressly warns against this as well.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

So, the outward examination of power (prophesy), signs, or wonders, in of themselves is not how God protects us from deception. I think we miss this point pretty often! Instead, He gives discernment as we receive a love for the Truth from Him. It always comes down to focusing on Jesus and the Word of God. Love Him with everything within you!

As I’ve discussed previously, I love to see God’s Holy Spirit move and be manifested through His people. However, the warnings against those who would become false prophets and those who would receive them are very strong. We cannot fully receive the pouring out of God’s Spirit on all flesh unless we are willing to receive the whole council of God’s Word regarding these things in the last days, including warnings against deception. If you believe God that His Spirit will be poured out, you must also believe Him that there will be a great apostasy and much deception. Others hypothesize about the details and how it is being manifested even now. I personally feel it is enough to recognize the sign of the times and cry out to God to fill my heart with a love for and a focus on the truth. This is not to say God has not appointed certain men and women to proclaim both the outpouring of His Spirit and the warnings against deception in specific cases. However, I am of the opinion that many of these self-appointed watchman, while beginning with the right heart, fall into the same trap of the flesh they are speaking against. As for me, I tremble in fear at the awesome Majesty of the Lord and wonder “who am I that He would tell me anything”. I pray the Lord will teach us all the humility we need to run hard after Him, and truly hear His voice clearly. I am frail and easily drawn by my flesh in either direction without submitting everything I am to Christ.

I hope this has been helpful. I tend to get both sides angry at me, but my whole point is that there is ONE side. Focus on communion with Jesus Christ and His Word and God Himself will cause everything to fall into place. This comes to me as I write – “Do not fear little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” The kingdom is so much more and so different than we imagine in our limited conception. Oh how I love JESUS, because He first loved me.

What if Todd Bentley, the Antichrist, and the Pharisees Threw a Party? (but no one came)

I just started reading Tozer’s “The Pursuit of God”. It seems like I always read excerpts by Tozer and I love what he says, but I never get around to actually reading his books. I posted a quote by him the other day because it was so appealing to me at the time. I haven’t wanted to post anything myself because I have too much in mind – the words are far too analytical to describe what I really mean. So, if my casual ramblings at this hour profit anyone, know it must be God’s wonderful Spirit communicating things I never even intended to write about this morning.

At this point all I know is that I know nothing and God knows everything. I’m convinced this is a good thing since Jesus IS my wisdom and understanding, after all. This post applies generally to doctrine and specifically to the topic on revival I wrote about last time. I’ve noticed that people arguing (talking) about this whole thing in Lakeland with Todd Bentley seem to be quite far to one side or the other. There are exceptions, but in general they either say Bentley is the Antichrist or they say Christians who don’t appreciate him are missing God.

If you want to know what angle I’m coming from – Well, I believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit (as well as the accompanying gifts and fruit) is real and for every believer. I know God desires to talk to His children and use them to manifest the life of Jesus Christ in a powerful way. I also totally believe in supernatural healing and that God doesn’t care if you are an ex-IRS auditor wearing a bone in your nose when you pray for someone to be healed. Tattoos, body piercings, and even a criminal past are not (necessarily) disqualifications from ministry for a truly born-again believer in Jesus.

I am also passionate about His precious love letter, the bible. In it I see that God speaks very strongly about false prophets in the end times, of lying signs and wonders, and about not despising prophecy but testing it. If you are seriously going to tell me that you love God’s Word, then you had better TAKE seriously the warnings about the coming deception and falling away in the last times, as well as the need for a love for the truth. If these concepts don’t ring some bible bells, please check your local Concordance. The Holy Spirit is truly awesome and powerful. I want to listen carefully to everything He has told me about the generation I believe I am living in.

So, in my limited understanding of the truth, I feel pretty strongly that any person who is going to “thus saith the Lord” should be completely UNhostile to brothers and sisters wanting to be Bereans and examine things according to the Word of God. Prophetic people must grow up into the love of Christ as the Word of God commands and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit as they exercise their gifts. As Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 13, even the most awesome prophetic gift will pass away. Anything, no matter how spectacular, that is not done in love will have NO eternal impact because love is what will remain in the Kingdom of God.

Plus, for good measure I will throw in that saying the name of Jesus is very different than proclaiming it. “Jesus” CAN be just a word unless you talk about and offer revelation about the whole redemptive purpose of the Living Word. Ok, so that concludes my John the Baptist portion of this posting. But please continue preparing the way of the Lord until next time, alright?

Before I go on, I want to remind us that every believer is a child of God and the real question in this time is not how to convince the “other side” of the error of their ways. The real question is, how can we get the church as a whole to focus on the revelation of Jesus Christ and not arguments, manifestations, or feelings? One of these things is actually the name of the last book of the bible, remember? The Revelation of Jesus Christ (yep, not “Revelations”). Funny how God can sum everything up so concisely at times, isn’t it?

In the world of religious thought I am often sure in my spirit that the answer to difficult questions both embraces completely (while at the same time lying somewhere completely outside) what two diametricallly opposed viewpoints are certain is the absolute truth. Ha! Imagine that, God’s ways being above our ways. This is not to say in any way I don’t believe in absolute truth. I just think it is obvious that the deep spiritual truths we are learning from God in any moment are only expressed in a representative way by the limitations of our intellect and physical existence. If every child of God has the Spirit of God indwelling, then it should also be obvious that on the deepest spiritual level we are all in COMPLETE agreement regardless of our understanding or expression of doctrine. Obvious or not, we miss the truth of this basic agreement in a BIG way, which causes a great deal of unnecessary pain in relationships in the church.

This in no way invalidates the importance of correct doctrine. However, I don’t think we ask the right questions. We get so bogged down that we forget that Paul gave us a way out of the doctrinal maze by telling us that knowing Christ was the ONE thing that is needful. Think of it, Jesus told Martha the same thing about Mary.

But how gracious, wonderful and merciful the Father is to enlighten our spirits about the truth of who Jesus is through such means as bible study, spoken prayer, and exhortation of one another. The method and the means are beside the point, but still required! What an interesting mystery and exciting hint at our entire dependence on Him to receive anything at all. I recently read two books by very different authors – Watchman Nee and Andrew Murray. I am always thrilled to have my faith strengthened when I observe how Christians in different cultures and times have found Jesus to be the same as they seek a deeper revelation of Him.

I happened to read the two books simultaneously and they began to express an idea in the same way. This is the simple truth I have often pondered – that we cannot receive blessings or things we request from God as some separate items apart from Christ Himself. Prayer for any virtue or need (patience or healing for example) will be much more effective if we realize He is not waving a magic wand over us, but instead opening us up to a deeper revelation and expression of the life of Christ. Now, this is far from latter rain dominion-ism, but it is the deep spiritual truth that can only be hinted at by the scripture:

Galations 2: 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

So, if you want to be effective in spiritual warfare, consider how Jesus did it. He walked around being Jesus. The light and the truth that shone from Him into the spiritual darkness of the world effectively conquered it. If we learn to wait more and more upon God in the course of our everyday life, we will more and more walk in the Spirit of the Holy One of Israel. Then, it will be His life shining light through us into a dark world. True humility is an awesome gift from God because it puts us in the proper position of total dependence on the One who has All Power to give. And the truly incredible thing is, God longs to give it to His children. However, we forget over and over again that the purpose of it all is to reveal more and more the person of Jesus Christ to a dark and dying world. Everything we need or desire is truly found in Jesus and we can receive nothing of value apart from Him.

I offer this as a “whatever is good” writing for my brothers and sisters who may be cruising the Internet reading all kinds of well-intentioned, but negative material on both sides of this discussion about the Apostolic/Prophetic Movement or the Lakeland Revival. I admit I’ve done my own share of browsing, asking God what it is that I should be learning. Though I have my own opinions about the specifics, I believe they are (mostly) beside the point at this time. My hope is that I’ve been able to point to Christ as the simple and only solution to our questions. Thanks for reading.

With love, in Christ,
Karen.

Spiritual Political "Correctness"?

"Many tender-minded Christians fear to sin against love by daring to inquire into anything that comes wearing the cloak of Christianity and breathing the name of Jesus. They dare not examine the credentials of the latest prophet to hit their town lest they be guilty of rejecting something which may be of God. They timidly remember how the Pharisees refused to accept Christ when He came, and they do not want to be caught in the same snare, so they either reserve judgment or shut their eyes and accept everything without question. This is supposed to indicate a high degree of spirituality. But in sober fact it indicates no such thing. It may indeed be evidence of the absence of the Holy Spirit. Gullibility is not synonymous with spirituality. Faith is not a mental habit leading its possessor to open his mouth and swallow everything that has about it the color of the supernatural. Faith keeps its heart open to whatever is of God, and rejects everything that is not of God, however wonderful it may be. Try the spirits is a command of the Holy Spirit to the Church. We may sin as certainly by approving the spurious as by rejecting the genuine. And the current habit of refusing to take sides is not the way to avoid the question. To appraise things with a heart of love and then to act on the results is an obligation resting upon every Christian in the world. And the more as we see the day approaching." — A. W. Tozer

Ride the Wave of Revival - Through Repentance

This topic has been burning me up for weeks. I don't know how to write about it except just to pour it out as it has been LIT UP in my heart by Jesus.

Consider the meaning of repentance - a turning around and a changing of the mind to a new opinion. With regard to God and sin it is saying "You are right and I was wrong - teach me to understand that in every aspect of my existence".

What is this I hear? A voice saying revival and salvation without explaining the meaning of the cross of Christ and true repentance. Proclamations of deliverance that neglect to proclaim the fullness of Him in whom we have salvation by grace through faith. These voices speak “peace, peace when there is no peace.” They seemingly heal the hurt of God’s people a little, even as the scriptures say they will do in these days. THERE IS NO REVIVAL WITHOUT TRUE REPENTANCE.

Consider the meaning of salvation by grace through faith - Trusting that Jesus' death on the Cross was sufficient to pay for my sins. Jesus says we who believe in Him, though we die, we shall live forever with Him. If we have faith and trust in this, we can participate in the rest of the promise. The bible says "It is of God that we are in Christ Jesus." The Father placed us in Christ – we were a part of Him when He died on the cross. We were IN Him when He was crucified and our old man was crucified with Him. When the Father raised Jesus from the dead, we were raised with him with a new life of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, living within us. Now we can learn to let Christ live His awesome life through us.

A prayer asking Jesus into my heart will not save me. I must know what salvation is before I am able to have faith in what Christ has done. Yes, it is possible signs and wonders will startle me into understanding that God is real, but what must I do to be saved? God wants to soften hearts to receive His truth, not JUST to be "wowed". True faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If the word is not proclaimed, in what is the prayer of faith at the altar call trusting? THERE IS NO TRUE REPENTANCE WITHOUT THE UNDERSTANDING OF SALVATION. But understanding comes by grace from the Spirit of God who uses men to deliver the gospel of peace - what a privilege!

Romans 10:14-15
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

And for those who have already been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, how are we to be revived again except “according to your word” OH GOD !?

When it all comes down to it, there is only ONE THING we must know – Christ crucified.

Do we, as God’s children, desire to walk in supernatural power working the signs and wonders of God? There is so much enthusiasm for this now and I love to see God’s people excited about Him. But if I am not in a position of humility, what power am I operating in? What does humility really mean? It is a position of complete and total dependence on God. We may often say we can do nothing without God but in truth, we do many things without Him. Every day we (often subconsciously) assume our natural talents, understanding, or skills will get us through situation after situation. In work done for God, it is often the same. We apply techniques or prayers we have been taught to create the desired effect and God in His mercy often does move simply because He loves us and we are His children! But good intentions to work for God are not enough if we REALLY want to see the power of God manifested.

We must apply the death of the cross to our entire soulish life, including our desires and plans for God. It is of God that we are in Christ Jesus. The Father placed us in Christ – we were a part of Him when He died on the cross. We were IN Him when He was crucified and our old man was crucified with Him.

I pray we will receive a deeper revelation of what this means. This is the key to humility. We cannot simply be humble by determining in ourselves that we desire to be humble. We cannot be fully submitted to the will of God by desire alone. It is only through apprehending BY FAITH that our old man (and our soulish self-reliance) was put to death with Christ that we may become progressively more humble, more submitted to God, and more able to receive the resurrection life and power of God. Vessels of honor are formed and cleansed for honorable work only as the potter remakes them through revelation of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:7, 10-11
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us .... always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

as always - with love IN HIM,
Karen.

Father, Hear Us Call on You

The Global Day of Prayer is coming up this Sunday (see video in previous post). Two years ago, I wrote this song (press PLAY button below to listen) a few weeks before the Global Day of Prayer. As I learned to play it, I realized the Holy Spirit had given me a prayer and a song hinting at the revelation of Jesus to the world in and through His people in the end times.

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So, this blog is about what I desire and am asking the Father to do as HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of His children lift their hearts to Him in unison in just a few days. It is the same cry as the lyrics of this song – My prayer to see the heart and will of the Father be manifested in the earth. It is long, but this barely scratches the surface of all that fills my heart from the Word of God on this subject.

Prayer and Song for the Global Day of Prayer

Call on You

Father hear us call on You
Father won’t you make this worship true?
All we really want is to see Your Face
Spirit, Jesus, lend your grace

Pour out all You are
On Your sons and daughters
Fulfilling all Your words and all Your times
Through softened hearts and open eyes

Jesus poured out His blood
Covering the earth with a Holy flood
Glory, water on the sea
Glory now, in you and me

Pour out all You are
On Your sons and daughters
Fulfilling all Your words and all Your times
Through softened hearts and open eyes

Yahweh hear us call Your Name
Aish Ha Ruach, the Eternal Flame
Consume our ways and let them go
Holy River, begin to flow
Through us and all around
Salvation spring up from the ground
Sons and daughters prophesy
As the Morning Star begins to rise

And Father won’t you please

Pour out all You are
On Your sons and daughters
Fulfilling all Your words and all Your times
Through softened hearts and open eyes

Father hear us call on You

Time and time again, the psalmist David appealed to the Lord to hear His cry and answer speedily. God assures us that He will indeed answer our cry as His Spirit moves us into a desperate supplication day and night for His Kingdom to come to the earth.

Luke 18:1-8
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Father won’t you make this worship true?

And so we ask Him to give us what we cannot just “muster up” for ourselves – true faith, love, devotion, and passion for Jesus. We ask God to fulfill His word that Jesus gave to the woman at the well.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

What does it mean and how can we worship Him in Spirit and in truth?

All we really want is to see Your face
Spirit, Jesus, lend your grace

The whole point is to see Jesus. Who is this Son of God? What does it mean that the Living Word, the Manifestation of all the Promises of the Living God, is alive and walks the earth living His life through us?

Revelation of the Person of Jesus is the key to it all. As we see Him, we are transformed into what He created us to be – children of the living God able to glorify and reveal to the world and all the principalities the perfection of our Creator. We do this as we worship Him in Spirit and truth through the grace given by the same Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

1 John 3 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Ephesians 3:10-11 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord

It is no longer I who live in these moments that my faith takes hold of the promise of the Father.

Pour out all You are
On Your sons and daughters
Fulfilling all Your Words and all Your times through
Softened hearts and open eyes

Joel 2:28-29

“ And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days

John 12:38-41
that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

“ Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

“ He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

I may continue on these things in a future post because there is so much here to set my heart on fire. I love the names of God used in the song and how they reveal things about God. Yahweh - the Great I AM. Aish HaRuach - literally fire of the Spirit or the consuming fire of God's Holy Spirit. Holy River - the Spirit of God who flows corporately through His people (see references to the river of life in Revelation.) I especially love the Morning Star and the idea of the revelation of Jesus rising like the sun in our hearts as He glorifies Himself in the church.

Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

As always,with love,
IN CHRIST,
Karen.

Global Prayer Meeting!

The Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) (http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/) is coming up on Sunday. Here is a wonderful description of the event and its history.

It is amazing that hundreds of millions of Christians will gather publicly to cry out to the Father for the world. Locally, we enjoy going to the Austin House of Prayer (AHOP) (http://www.austinhouseofprayer.com/). For the ten days leading up to GDOP, many people from several local churches have been participating in round-the-clock prayer at AHOP. We went last night for two hours.

Shortly before the time of prayer, I was reading the GDOP website to see what the theme for the day was on Sunday. Repentance was the focus and I asked the Holy Spirit to give me prayers to begin our time of worship and prayer. I could hear worship music in the prayer room from the group that preceded us and, as I hummed along with their tune, I began to sing and write down these words as the Holy Spirit answered my request for an opening prayer:

Turning from darkness of my inner man. Letting the light of Christ shine into those corners. Trusting the Father to keep me in Him. Repenting of hardening my heart and not believing in the greatness of His infinite love. Lord, let times of refreshing come to your children, as the Living Word of your Son breaks the grip of sin. The chains fall and hope comes as the cross wipes out the curse of sin and death upon our lives. So, give boldness for the first ones to step forward, humbling themselves and rending their hearts instead of their garments. Inwardly broken instead of outwardly righteous. And as they obey in love, your Spirit falls afresh and others are able to come receive of the living stream of life. And He shows His goodness in new ways as Your Kingdom comes upon the earth. Open up the eyes – Let us see what eyes can’t see. Open up the ears – Let us hear what ears can’t hear. But inwardly through You we will know and follow.

Pour out Your love in my heart by Your Spirit that You promised. Let compassion fill my heart for the aches of others. Let my heart reach beyond myself and cry out to You for them. Only Your love can do this to me and with me. I confess a hardness of heart. I confess of self-centered ways. I confess I am weak and I acknowledge You alone are my strength. And I thank You for showing me that this is true. And I thank You for keeping me from thinking I could figure out a way to You. For in Christ is found all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. To Him be glory, power, blessing and dominion forever and ever. He is worthy. My lovely Lamb. My fierce and gentle Lion. The forever Lover of my soul. Whose Father is my Keeper and my Guide. Whose Spirit is my Thought and Light through the mind of Christ He bestows upon me. Thank you thank you thank you.

Receive

Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I contemplate with wonder how Jesus loves us so much that we would be a motivation to Him during His crucifixion. Do you realize that we were the joy set before Him? The depths of this love are incredible to me.

I've been affected by the lyrics to a song by an unusal woman by the name of Cindy Ruakere. It is called RECEIVE. Oh Lord, that you would give us grace to be the ones through whom Jesus receives the reward of His suffering.

That the Lamb may receive the reward for His suffering,
That the Lamb may receive His reward through me.
Only by grace can this ever be done,
To Lay my life down is a gift from the Son,
And to the Lamb,
Who stands among us as King,
I give up my life,
I give up my life,
I give up my life as an offering
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Reveal the Glory

Hebrews 1:1-3

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Storms

This is a picture I took floating in the water in Bonaire last year. I thought it would be good to ponder in relation to the last post on trials. There is so much beauty in what is left behind after the storm. Just remember in the middle of the raging sea, Jesus has the power to say, "Be Still."

Hope and Expectation

In meditating on Romans 5, I find it is always encouraging to think of how trials cause us to grow closer to God. It is one thing to find what God’s Word says in the midst of discouragement, but it is another to already have the promise in our hands before the difficulty comes. I think this is the key to developing the kind of hope that is described as an “alert expectation” in the Message translation of this passage.

Romans 5
(Message)
3-5There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

The very last portion of this passage is a great description of how I sometimes feel so thankful to God for His generosity in ways I cannot even begin to describe. It is what God has offered in the mind of Christ as an answer to the philosophy “if I expect the worst, then I won’t be disappointed”. There are times I live with a keen awareness of the ever-present excitement He has placed in every born-again spirit. May we all grow in hope to the point where we are continually aware of the hope of His Calling in this way!

I also like “passionate patience” – it speaks of steadfast, steady, and determined, but with a smile. It is how I imagine Jesus. I like the imagery of heat from trials being used by patience to form or forge the tempered steel of virtue. This is what I desire. It is the expectancy of waiting for what God will do with a difficult situation, knowing it is going to be good because He cannot be anything else BUT good. Of course, every detail of the trial is not always good, but the result the Father desires in us is good.

The spiritual growth and maturity that comes forth is due to the repetition and proving out of this sequence in our lives. I believed this was true before I experienced it several times, but I did not KNOW it to be true in the same way as I do now. I also expect to have a deeper revelation of this hope as I continue to have trials in this life. Every trial causes that hope and faith to grow as God’s faithfulness is proven out again and again in our lives.

Amplified Version

3Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

4And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

5Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

One thing we need to remind our brothers and sister of is this - endurance is simply to keep on going. Don’t give up and you win. You don’t have to be great at it or feel wonderful or look wonderful. You are enduring and growing simply by continuing to trust in God and to take one step at a time forward in times of trouble. Unswerving is a great word to describe this endurance. If we are on a path lit by the Word of God, we must not swerve, but keep a straight path. The path is narrow but the way is clearly shown – again, often only one step at a time in the middle of dark troubles.

This translation says that the character that is grown through these troubles produces the habit of joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. I want spiritual life to be my habit, rather than a response from the flesh. This becomes a habit by enduring trials. Trusting in the strength of God alone to teach you and guide you and rescue you. It is only by experience that we begin to notice where we are still trusting in our own knowledge or abilities to get us through difficulties. The warning signs become easier to recognize because they all come down to a lack of peace.

Most often, when I miss God speaking to my heart, it is because I have let turmoil become so loud that it is impossible to hear anything resembling a “still small voice.” I must remember to stop a moment, recollect God’s faithfulness, and then seek to step into the life of the Spirit instead of just jumping ahead with my first reaction. In fact, the goal is to have my first reaction be the habit of joyful and confident hope that the Lord is going to lead me if I just relax and let Him do it. He is so amazing!

In the Small Things

Hello to my dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

It has been some time since I've written you regularly but I hope you are well and staying in the love of Jesus! We are doing well and thank the Father for His faithfulness in keeping us and leading us through life.

I have been writing infrequently in the past year, but much more recently. I feel it is time to begin sharing the Word of God with others again and so I naturally thought of all of you who have been with this e-mail devotional list for these several years now. I am thinking of sharing via a blog (a journal-like website) in the future. I think it may be better in that it will be less formal and I could share teachings that continued from day-to-day without worrying about completing the entire train of thought in one long message. Please let me know your opinion or thoughts on this. You could still get the entries e-mailed to you if you prefer e-mail. But, if you get too much e-mail, this may be better for you.

The purpose of these writings will remain the same as always: to share what God has taught me and to encourage us all to renew our minds according to the Word of God. My prayer has always been to demonstrate in a practical way the supernaturally-natural way God teaches us to put on the life of the new Man (Jesus) as we submit ourselves to His Holy Spirit.

Anyway, here are some musings I had yesterday after working in my garden and reading the bible. As I sat down to read, I thought (or maybe it was the Holy Spirit asking me) "What is it that you want to learn from God today?" I wrote:

To minister to the Lord better

I didn't really even know what I meant by that - I just wrote it down and went on to read John 14 which talks about how Jesus goes to prepare a place for us and that we know the way because we know HIM and He IS the way. Then, I came to

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Then I knew where God wanted me to go – To minister to the Lord better, love Him more.

Of course, that is more easily said than done since I can’t just love Him more because I think it’s a good idea. So God gave me the answer (and a new question) at the same time in

If you love me, keep my commandments

What are these? Simple, I thought -

First, love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength.
Then, love your neighbor as yourself.

And there is so much here, Lord.
How do I love you with all my heart?

I first say, Holy Spirit, I need you to make Jesus more real to me. I can’t love anyone unless you give me the love of God. I put my hope in You to give me understanding of Your love.

Romans 5
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

God says that His love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He has already done this. We have His love in our hearts. The more we comprehend the depths of His love, the more we will love Him with all our hearts.

Ephesians 17-19 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

When the hope of God blooms again in my heart, I have the revelation again that all the things we do in life are just an endless realm of possibilities of fun and joyful glorification of the Father and all He has created. Instead of a burden, life is a possibility. This is hope to me – when things we have to do seem like possibilities instead of burdens. I will not hesitate to say “fun” because fun does not have to be a selfish or meaningless seeking. Fun can be a satisfaction that comes from completing or moving in things that God has planned for us from the beginning of time simply to show His goodness. Sometimes we limit our understanding of this to big “ministry” type actions and accomplishments. But, do we understand? I want to understand. When I enjoy planting a plant or singing a song or learning to play the piano or writing– this is not selfish indulgence but participation in the purpose God has for edification of my spirit. It does not even have to be something anyone else ever sees to glorify God. It is glorifying God simply because it is something I have done in my life as I submit to God and choose to let the life of Christ be my life. Oh how wonderful if we would “notice” God in this way in all the details of our daily life.

An example – I plant a plant and get pleasure out of seeing it grow. I say in my heart, “God this is for and because of You.” The pleasure in my heart is like a revelation of the Father’s love. The growing plant and my pleasure are glorifying God – revealing who He is to my own self. God is concerned with the individual heart in a deep, intense way. It is important to Him that I, as an individual, understand that He wants me to enjoy this plant growing. That I, as an individual, see His goodness in the fruit coming forth from a tomato plant. That I, as an individual, realize He has nurtured every second of the existence of every cell in that plant and caused it to have life and to grow. A miracle of the greatest kind has occurred in ONE SMALL PLANT for me to see and notice. Me! If no one else, maybe I will see Him in it. It is quite an amazing thing to ponder.

I think of how many plants are growing in my garden. Then I think of all the things we consider “more” important that He does. It is truly incredibly generous in a supernatural way, to live and exist even for a single day surrounded with all He does in the multitude of “small” things in our lives. The best way I can summarize this thought is – in the smallest thing we can see the infinite nature of God, the infinite goodness, power, and love. Today I looked to the small things to receive by faith the revelation of His love poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.


Well, this has been more devotional than exegetical today, but I hope it has encouraged you. I have a little more in-depth study of the surrounding verses and the nature of hope from this passage that I can send you next time. Abide in Jesus’ love and walk in peace until next time!

As always, with love,
IN JESUS,

Karen