John 15:15 “I have told you everything the Father told me.”
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you…”
John 16:18 They kept asking, "What does he mean…”
It was customary, even for those who walked with Jesus to have persistent and puzzling questions. Jesus intention, at times, was to induce such questioning to fully engage the heart in the quest to know him. This is part of the learning, transforming process: coming to perplexity, searching diligently, finding answers, being filled with wonder.
Luke 2:47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Luke 4:32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
Luke 5:26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
This is worship.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
A Nation of Miracle-Workers
Mt 21:19 Seeing a fig-tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig-tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."…
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
Being able to curse a tree and have it wither instantly would be a pretty cool trick, but Jesus said we would do greater things than this.
As a sign, the withered tree was important. God would curse and kill the naturalistic Jews of that generation. They would miss the saviour and spend eternity in hell because they sinned and refused to recognize the time of God’s coming to them.
As a trick, cursing a tree was trivial compared to the miracles we will be able to perform by the power of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
Believers identify and condemn sin on a monumental scale in our own souls. In spiritual revival and the pursuit of holiness, we will see huge permanent sin in our lives joyfully removed and disappear into an ocean of grace and mercy.
In fulfillment we will stand and judge the world’s sin with God and urge him on in judgment as he makes level paths for his feet by casting an actual mountain into an actual sea as a final sign of the removal of sin in preparation for the arrival of perfect righteousness.
1Co 6:2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world?
Re 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One–third of the water in the sea became blood,
Mr 1:3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
By his power, we can do this now in our own lives.
No body cares about mountains and trees in the new world. God cares about the miraculous work of transforming the morality of the godless into godliness. That is all that will matter for all eternity. That he chose us, changed us, empowered us to do miracles of transformation in repentance and faith, turning to him and continuously finding him as the source of new life again and again and again for ever.
Pr 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Isa 26:7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Heb 12: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
Col 1:29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
We are miracle-workers. And the miracles we perform are of greater and more eternal significance than any material, any earthly matter. By the power of God, we are human-nature changers and we will live forever.
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.
Being able to curse a tree and have it wither instantly would be a pretty cool trick, but Jesus said we would do greater things than this.
As a sign, the withered tree was important. God would curse and kill the naturalistic Jews of that generation. They would miss the saviour and spend eternity in hell because they sinned and refused to recognize the time of God’s coming to them.
As a trick, cursing a tree was trivial compared to the miracles we will be able to perform by the power of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
Believers identify and condemn sin on a monumental scale in our own souls. In spiritual revival and the pursuit of holiness, we will see huge permanent sin in our lives joyfully removed and disappear into an ocean of grace and mercy.
In fulfillment we will stand and judge the world’s sin with God and urge him on in judgment as he makes level paths for his feet by casting an actual mountain into an actual sea as a final sign of the removal of sin in preparation for the arrival of perfect righteousness.
1Co 6:2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world?
Re 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One–third of the water in the sea became blood,
Mr 1:3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
By his power, we can do this now in our own lives.
No body cares about mountains and trees in the new world. God cares about the miraculous work of transforming the morality of the godless into godliness. That is all that will matter for all eternity. That he chose us, changed us, empowered us to do miracles of transformation in repentance and faith, turning to him and continuously finding him as the source of new life again and again and again for ever.
Pr 4:26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Ps 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Isa 26:7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Heb 12: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees! 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
Col 1:29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
We are miracle-workers. And the miracles we perform are of greater and more eternal significance than any material, any earthly matter. By the power of God, we are human-nature changers and we will live forever.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Christi-Sanity
Mr 5:15 NIV
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; (NLT perfectly sane)…
Notice the desire and action that defines the character of this “perfectly sane” individual.
Mr 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.
Mr 5:20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Wanting to be with Jesus and excitedly, convincingly telling others about Jesus, is the picture of perfect sanity.
How would you, or God, define the state of mental health belonging to those who do the complete opposite?
Mr 5:15 they were all afraid.
Mr 5:17 And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Anxiety and denial of reality and self-delusion are the norm.
Devotion to Christ is the only sane choice. We are not aiming at normal. We are aiming at truth and health, no matter how fearful or objectionable that picture may seem to “the crowd”.
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; (NLT perfectly sane)…
Notice the desire and action that defines the character of this “perfectly sane” individual.
Mr 5:18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.
Mr 5:20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Wanting to be with Jesus and excitedly, convincingly telling others about Jesus, is the picture of perfect sanity.
How would you, or God, define the state of mental health belonging to those who do the complete opposite?
Mr 5:15 they were all afraid.
Mr 5:17 And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Anxiety and denial of reality and self-delusion are the norm.
Devotion to Christ is the only sane choice. We are not aiming at normal. We are aiming at truth and health, no matter how fearful or objectionable that picture may seem to “the crowd”.
Monday, March 30, 2009
So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church.
There is a recurring sin in our church (and others I’m sure) that flies in the face of the command found in 1Peter 1:22 love one another deeply, from the heart.
I am speaking of the idea people get when they have decided that their church has become disposable and that they are deserving of one that will do a better job of meeting their needs.
What many choose to do once their church has become expendable like this, is to use the departure experience as a means of determining how loved or lovable they really are.
Some people decide to use church-members as guinea-pigs to see how long it takes for someone to realize they are missing and just what kind of affection they will demonstrate once they do realize. 2-3 weeks says I’m pretty important. 6-7 weeks says Nobody likes me, I think I’ll continue my search for a better church.
If you are contemplating this self-pitying, people-using experiment, there are a couple of questions you ought to ask yourself first…
1. Do you love theses people that you are deserting, deeply from the heart?
2. Is this how love treats people, abandoning them to see what kind of distress can be caused?
3. Is this how you generally treat relationships that matter to you?
4. Have you then, actually loved? (ever?)
5. If you have not loved, how is it then, that you expect a group of people who struggle with self-centeredness as much as you do, to come flocking to you in your absence?
6. If you have not loved by calling people that were absent, how is it then that you expect everyone else to excel where you have failed?
7. If you have not served, committed, how is it that you could ever expect anyone to notice you were gone?
8. And if you have loved, served, committed and left, how fearful do you think those you left behind are going to be? When your immaturity and inability to communicate with grown-up words comes to the fore, how willing do you think people are going to be to confront that quivering lower lip of yours?
In short: Who do you think you are?
In shorter: Please don’t treat the people of this church with such loveless contempt.
In shortest: Grow up!
Try rather, obeying. Try rather, loving and if you a have to leave, consider Paul’s example in church relationships.
Eph 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Php 4:1 my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown… dear friends!
1Th 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
1Th 2:17 brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
Love... one another... deeply... from the heart.
I am speaking of the idea people get when they have decided that their church has become disposable and that they are deserving of one that will do a better job of meeting their needs.
What many choose to do once their church has become expendable like this, is to use the departure experience as a means of determining how loved or lovable they really are.
Some people decide to use church-members as guinea-pigs to see how long it takes for someone to realize they are missing and just what kind of affection they will demonstrate once they do realize. 2-3 weeks says I’m pretty important. 6-7 weeks says Nobody likes me, I think I’ll continue my search for a better church.
If you are contemplating this self-pitying, people-using experiment, there are a couple of questions you ought to ask yourself first…
1. Do you love theses people that you are deserting, deeply from the heart?
2. Is this how love treats people, abandoning them to see what kind of distress can be caused?
3. Is this how you generally treat relationships that matter to you?
4. Have you then, actually loved? (ever?)
5. If you have not loved, how is it then, that you expect a group of people who struggle with self-centeredness as much as you do, to come flocking to you in your absence?
6. If you have not loved by calling people that were absent, how is it then that you expect everyone else to excel where you have failed?
7. If you have not served, committed, how is it that you could ever expect anyone to notice you were gone?
8. And if you have loved, served, committed and left, how fearful do you think those you left behind are going to be? When your immaturity and inability to communicate with grown-up words comes to the fore, how willing do you think people are going to be to confront that quivering lower lip of yours?
In short: Who do you think you are?
In shorter: Please don’t treat the people of this church with such loveless contempt.
In shortest: Grow up!
Try rather, obeying. Try rather, loving and if you a have to leave, consider Paul’s example in church relationships.
Eph 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Php 4:1 my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown… dear friends!
1Th 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
1Th 2:17 brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.
Love... one another... deeply... from the heart.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Eagerness Crosses the Line into Anxiety
Paul who wrote...
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Also confessed in the same letter...
Php 2:28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
If Paul fought for joy in this arena, we will too.
Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Also confessed in the same letter...
Php 2:28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.
If Paul fought for joy in this arena, we will too.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Fasting’s Effect on the Mind at Prayer
One of the functions of fasting is to flood the brain with messages from the body which say, “I have an idea, let’s eat.” And “Oh! Here’s another thought: How ’bout we eat now?” And then “I know… let’s eat something!” And on it goes.
The creative idea receptor in the brain gets so flooded with these messages (which are then willfully converted to spiritual desire for Christ) that it is in a sense, dulled to any other creativity. It can think of nothing better to solve it’s basic predicament and so, mental energy towards other dilemmas is diluted as well.
What fasting does then is to muffle the creative problem solving center of the brain ( or even crash it) and lull us into a sense of utter dependence. Prayer in this state of reliance flows much more easily and naturally. It is more comfortable to be on our knees (whether in mind or body or both) humbled before our provider-sustainer, begging him again and again for the things we need, the things we want, that only he can manage, only he can supply.
I challenge you if you have not fasted before, to try a 24-hour fast.
Eat breakfast and then have only water until the next breakfast meal.
Convert every hunger pang into a prayer of request to your creator-sustainer.
Wait on him. Pray with others who may have joined you in this fast and then …
Mt 6:17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
As individuals and as a church, we are in need of much favor from God right now.
Let me encourage you to do everything you can to pray well. Think about joining us at Bev’s on the 31st . Think about learning how to pray by praying with us, Sunday mornings at our drop-in prayer meeting from 9-9:45
The creative idea receptor in the brain gets so flooded with these messages (which are then willfully converted to spiritual desire for Christ) that it is in a sense, dulled to any other creativity. It can think of nothing better to solve it’s basic predicament and so, mental energy towards other dilemmas is diluted as well.
What fasting does then is to muffle the creative problem solving center of the brain ( or even crash it) and lull us into a sense of utter dependence. Prayer in this state of reliance flows much more easily and naturally. It is more comfortable to be on our knees (whether in mind or body or both) humbled before our provider-sustainer, begging him again and again for the things we need, the things we want, that only he can manage, only he can supply.
I challenge you if you have not fasted before, to try a 24-hour fast.
Eat breakfast and then have only water until the next breakfast meal.
Convert every hunger pang into a prayer of request to your creator-sustainer.
Wait on him. Pray with others who may have joined you in this fast and then …
Mt 6:17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
As individuals and as a church, we are in need of much favor from God right now.
Let me encourage you to do everything you can to pray well. Think about joining us at Bev’s on the 31st . Think about learning how to pray by praying with us, Sunday mornings at our drop-in prayer meeting from 9-9:45
Monday, March 23, 2009
WHAT GOD ALLOWS HIS PEOPLE TO SUFFER
...for His glory, by our joy.
Here are some verses to consider as we continue to ask the question this coming weekend,
“Is it possible that God would allow his church to go through the Great Tribulation?”
Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that IN ME you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
(This may or may not include the “Great Tribulation”, none the less God allows his people to suffer for him)
Joh 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(It is our souls, not necessarily our bodies, that God is concerned with)
Mt 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
Hebrews 11:35 b (People who lived by faith) were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith,
Re 13:17 so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Mark 13:19 because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no-one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
Both Pre-Tribulation Rapture speculators (like Reg Sr.) and Post or Mid-Tribulation speculators like myself (Andy) believe that Holy-Spirit filled Christians will go through “The Great Tribulation”
The question is this: Will these people be members of the church or will the church have been caught up and these new saints scattered around the world, left to suffer persecution that the rest of us have been spared?
And if we can’t be certain of that answer, should we not be at least prepared to suffer along with the tribulation saints as one of them? Can we draw a distinctive line between church and tribulation-saints and if we think we can, what if we are wrong?
Consider the freedom of being prepared to die for Christ and know that it is only by the development of this component of faith that you are truly free to live for him.
Here are some verses to consider as we continue to ask the question this coming weekend,
“Is it possible that God would allow his church to go through the Great Tribulation?”
Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that IN ME you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
(This may or may not include the “Great Tribulation”, none the less God allows his people to suffer for him)
Joh 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(It is our souls, not necessarily our bodies, that God is concerned with)
Mt 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
Hebrews 11:35 b (People who lived by faith) were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith,
Re 13:17 so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Mark 13:19 because those will be days of distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no-one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
Both Pre-Tribulation Rapture speculators (like Reg Sr.) and Post or Mid-Tribulation speculators like myself (Andy) believe that Holy-Spirit filled Christians will go through “The Great Tribulation”
The question is this: Will these people be members of the church or will the church have been caught up and these new saints scattered around the world, left to suffer persecution that the rest of us have been spared?
And if we can’t be certain of that answer, should we not be at least prepared to suffer along with the tribulation saints as one of them? Can we draw a distinctive line between church and tribulation-saints and if we think we can, what if we are wrong?
Consider the freedom of being prepared to die for Christ and know that it is only by the development of this component of faith that you are truly free to live for him.
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