This truth I have discovered has to be shared. I can't keep quiet...so here it is.
Did you know that when we (as believers) gather together to worship our God, we actually create a throne for God in our presence? Psalm 22:3 says, "Yet You (God) are holy, O You (God) who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel."
The Gentiles are also apart of this praise; when we receive Christ, we have been grafted into the family of Israel, God's chosen people, a priesthood of believers! And what have the praises of God's people created for Him? a throne!
I have few things for us to think about the next time we go and worship with the church body:
What kind of throne are we creating? When we relentlessly praise God in unity, with all our souls, minds, hearts, and strength, I can visualize a throne of great glory and gold of the finest we have never seen before. Our praises expect to see, not hope to see. Our worship moves from a superficial experience (here today and gone tomorrow) to an everlasting experience that lives on when the worship is over! We bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth as we pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Sing, people of God, sing and usher with power the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. Allow your praises to unite God's throne with His people! :) Then those looking on from a distance will seek with intrigue and desire for Christ. Our praises will bring hope to the lost, the broken, and the disheartened.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Mangrove Christians
Have you ever met someone who re-dedicates their life to Jesus after living a life of sin, yet again? It appears that they sincerely give their life over to Jesus; they have this amazing emotional experience and become caught up in the redemptive work of Christ. This last for a few days, then the worries of this world and the temptations of this culture begin to do its evil work at drawing this person away from the Lord. Do we blame the world and the culture? Or do we blame the person? Let’s see what Hebrews 6:1-8 has to say about this person:
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
To answer our question of who do we blame, I think we blame the person. Too many Christians today fall away from God so easily. They seem to need a constant experience in order to stay focused or committed to God. They need someone to hold their hand and keep them on the straight and narrow path. They blame everyone for their failure: their life's problems, their parents, their church, their Pastor, their family, their friends, etc.
However, it is their immaturity that cripples their growth. They only focus on the elementary teachings of Jesus. They only know the simple message of salvation. They never dig deeper in the Word; they don’t study their Bible; they focus only on the surface of their faith, keeping them ensnared in defeat; they don’t fully understand the power that lives inside them. They know the traditions of their faith, yet they don’t recognize the God ordained authority they hold in their soul: The Holy Spirit.
The warning in all this is that these people have definitely tasted the heavenly gift of salvation; they have shared in the power of the Holy Spirit. They have even experienced the goodness of God’s Word and the power it holds for their life. These are not unacquainted individuals. They are fully aware. But they are people who do not produce the fruit of righteousness, because they go backward in their faith instead of full-fledged forward in the power of God’s spiritual maturity that is offered to them. Two things happen to this person:
1.They are unable to be brought back to repentance. For they are in a trounced cycle of failure. They are so used to their ways, they can’t move forward. But this is not the real reason they can’t repent fully.
2.They continue to crucify Jesus. Their immaturity costs Jesus’ His reputation and their ability to be an influence to others in His name. Every time a person falls away in the same area of sin, they put Jesus back on the cross. Look at a picture of Jesus on the cross and tell me if putting Him there, yet again, is fair? Of course it is not; it’s wickedness to say that Jesus’ suffering was not enough to keep a person from sinning.
Those who fall away become like fine roots of a plant; a fine root is short lived and succumbs to an ongoing root turnover. Not much different than the immature Christian who experiences constant turnover in their faith. Their life as a Christian is filled with thorns and thistles, rendering them useless and ineffective.
However, the Christian who becomes more like the prop root of a plant grows deep down into the ground, drenched under water. They are known for supporting a heavy plant like a mangrove:
These Christians are drenched in the Word of God and are tapped completely in surrender to the Power of His Spirit. Daily you will see this person lay their wills down and pick up the Spirit of God inside them and live forward in God's will. They suddenly have the wisdom and knowledge needed to see fruit in their own lives. They grow deep and wide: deep in Jesus and wide in influence. They support a heavy weight of suffering in their lives and truly count it all joy. They can carry the worries of others and provide words of wisdom and knowledge that truly lift up a desperate soul.
These Mangrove Christians experience the fruit of being grown up; they see so much more than doctrine and elementary teachings, they see the power of God at work through human flesh! Why would these Christians ever turn back? They wouldn’t. There is nothing in this world worth having in place of this kind of Spirit-filled, power-fueled, and growth-maturing life! Stay the course my fellow Mangroves and to all that are fine roots, get on board, will you?
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
To answer our question of who do we blame, I think we blame the person. Too many Christians today fall away from God so easily. They seem to need a constant experience in order to stay focused or committed to God. They need someone to hold their hand and keep them on the straight and narrow path. They blame everyone for their failure: their life's problems, their parents, their church, their Pastor, their family, their friends, etc.
However, it is their immaturity that cripples their growth. They only focus on the elementary teachings of Jesus. They only know the simple message of salvation. They never dig deeper in the Word; they don’t study their Bible; they focus only on the surface of their faith, keeping them ensnared in defeat; they don’t fully understand the power that lives inside them. They know the traditions of their faith, yet they don’t recognize the God ordained authority they hold in their soul: The Holy Spirit.
The warning in all this is that these people have definitely tasted the heavenly gift of salvation; they have shared in the power of the Holy Spirit. They have even experienced the goodness of God’s Word and the power it holds for their life. These are not unacquainted individuals. They are fully aware. But they are people who do not produce the fruit of righteousness, because they go backward in their faith instead of full-fledged forward in the power of God’s spiritual maturity that is offered to them. Two things happen to this person:
1.They are unable to be brought back to repentance. For they are in a trounced cycle of failure. They are so used to their ways, they can’t move forward. But this is not the real reason they can’t repent fully.
2.They continue to crucify Jesus. Their immaturity costs Jesus’ His reputation and their ability to be an influence to others in His name. Every time a person falls away in the same area of sin, they put Jesus back on the cross. Look at a picture of Jesus on the cross and tell me if putting Him there, yet again, is fair? Of course it is not; it’s wickedness to say that Jesus’ suffering was not enough to keep a person from sinning.
Those who fall away become like fine roots of a plant; a fine root is short lived and succumbs to an ongoing root turnover. Not much different than the immature Christian who experiences constant turnover in their faith. Their life as a Christian is filled with thorns and thistles, rendering them useless and ineffective.
However, the Christian who becomes more like the prop root of a plant grows deep down into the ground, drenched under water. They are known for supporting a heavy plant like a mangrove:
These Christians are drenched in the Word of God and are tapped completely in surrender to the Power of His Spirit. Daily you will see this person lay their wills down and pick up the Spirit of God inside them and live forward in God's will. They suddenly have the wisdom and knowledge needed to see fruit in their own lives. They grow deep and wide: deep in Jesus and wide in influence. They support a heavy weight of suffering in their lives and truly count it all joy. They can carry the worries of others and provide words of wisdom and knowledge that truly lift up a desperate soul.
These Mangrove Christians experience the fruit of being grown up; they see so much more than doctrine and elementary teachings, they see the power of God at work through human flesh! Why would these Christians ever turn back? They wouldn’t. There is nothing in this world worth having in place of this kind of Spirit-filled, power-fueled, and growth-maturing life! Stay the course my fellow Mangroves and to all that are fine roots, get on board, will you?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Hidden Sin is Not Secret to God
Hidden sin is not secret to God. And hidden sin does not go without its consequences.
Joseph's brothers in Genesis 42-45 realized this when they went to Egypt to get grain for their families. For years they had been concealing the sin of selling their brother, Joseph, to Egypt to be a slave and for lying to their father about his supposed death.
There is a cost to living with hidden sin. The company a person keeps torments them. People who live with hidden sin entertain the companions of guilt, anxiety, uncertainty, and paranoia. Interestingly, their foes become mercy, grace, integrity, and faithfulness. These qualities, that they once knew, no longer abide in their being. For righteousness cannot live among evil. This truth is realized in this person’s dealings, their decisions, and their thoughts. They are consumed with themselves, their dreams, their vision and their purpose.
After a while, their new companions have a grave effect not only on their inner being, their personal character, but also their appearance. The Psalmist tells us, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” (Psalm 32:3-4).
It is not until sin is confessed and reconciliation with God and men is complete, that a person will experience peace, insight, wisdom, and fruit. They may experience marginal peace, insight, wisdom, and fruit, but never the fullness of God.
Joseph, unlike his brothers, was faithful to God. He chose not to sin because he loved and honored God more than his own fleshly desires. In the end, he was fruitful in all he did, regardless of the affliction he endured. He never lost his companions of mercy, grace, integrity, and faithfulness. He showed this when he forgave his brothers, reconciled those relationships, and blessed them.
Joseph was a man, not a boy. Boys hang onto their selfish desires, but men do the right thing and surrender their will to God's. Joseph put childish things behind him; he pressed onward for the prize set before him: the example of a forgiving Savior.
Joseph's brothers in Genesis 42-45 realized this when they went to Egypt to get grain for their families. For years they had been concealing the sin of selling their brother, Joseph, to Egypt to be a slave and for lying to their father about his supposed death.
There is a cost to living with hidden sin. The company a person keeps torments them. People who live with hidden sin entertain the companions of guilt, anxiety, uncertainty, and paranoia. Interestingly, their foes become mercy, grace, integrity, and faithfulness. These qualities, that they once knew, no longer abide in their being. For righteousness cannot live among evil. This truth is realized in this person’s dealings, their decisions, and their thoughts. They are consumed with themselves, their dreams, their vision and their purpose.
After a while, their new companions have a grave effect not only on their inner being, their personal character, but also their appearance. The Psalmist tells us, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” (Psalm 32:3-4).
It is not until sin is confessed and reconciliation with God and men is complete, that a person will experience peace, insight, wisdom, and fruit. They may experience marginal peace, insight, wisdom, and fruit, but never the fullness of God.
Joseph, unlike his brothers, was faithful to God. He chose not to sin because he loved and honored God more than his own fleshly desires. In the end, he was fruitful in all he did, regardless of the affliction he endured. He never lost his companions of mercy, grace, integrity, and faithfulness. He showed this when he forgave his brothers, reconciled those relationships, and blessed them.
Joseph was a man, not a boy. Boys hang onto their selfish desires, but men do the right thing and surrender their will to God's. Joseph put childish things behind him; he pressed onward for the prize set before him: the example of a forgiving Savior.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Righteous Anger vs. Destructive Anger. How to Tell the Difference
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. Micah 7:18
God’s anger is a righteous anger. Man’s anger is a destructive anger. What makes the difference?
God’s anger flows from His character of justice. He angers over sin and uses that anger to do justice. Justice’s purpose is to propel repentance; once repentance has taken root and the action of change begins to reveal itself in a person’s life, then God lets the anger go. God does not deal in bitterness or harbor grudges. His purpose is holy and loving. His anger moves a person’s life from sin to His unchanging love. For it is in this unchanging love that God chooses to reside. It is here He finds His greatest delight. His unchanging love is filled with grace, mercy, and kindness.
However, man, in his right to be angry at times does not come to this full circle to grace, mercy and kindness. He who is angry may be angry for the right reasons; he may want justice and will struggle to get that justice and he may even experience the repentance he is longing after; but repentance for man is not enough. For man does deal in bitterness and grudges. Instead of unchanging love, man wants payment for the wrong done. This is where their anger becomes unholy, unrighteous and destructive. Man holds onto his anger, allows it to grow, fester, and destroy.
So, how does man go from this destructive state to the state of delighting in unchanging love, filled with grace, mercy and kindness?
God has granted us everything needed that pertains to our life and everything needed that pertains to godliness. The conduit we find this “everything needed” is through the true knowledge of His Son, Jesus. When we grow in our knowledge of Jesus, he becomes the endless channel that makes it possible for us to be partakers of His divine nature allowing us to also delight in what He delights: unchanging love. We are able to be righteous in our anger and holy in our love. We are able to escape the corruption that anger produces in our hearts and find joy in the changed lives around us. But the minute we cut off that channel, stop learning and growing in our Lord, Jesus Christ, we put a kink in the channel and the flow of God’s delights stop. Subsequently, we become corrupt in our love; we desire payment as we anchor our hearts in bitterness and grudges. We finish with never knowing the true joy of unending love, unchanging grace, and unswerving mercy.
Instead of striving and struggling in our nature, we embrace the knowledge of Jesus, our Lord, by growing moment by moment in His nature. For by His grace, His peace, His love, “…He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:4)
God’s anger is a righteous anger. Man’s anger is a destructive anger. What makes the difference?
God’s anger flows from His character of justice. He angers over sin and uses that anger to do justice. Justice’s purpose is to propel repentance; once repentance has taken root and the action of change begins to reveal itself in a person’s life, then God lets the anger go. God does not deal in bitterness or harbor grudges. His purpose is holy and loving. His anger moves a person’s life from sin to His unchanging love. For it is in this unchanging love that God chooses to reside. It is here He finds His greatest delight. His unchanging love is filled with grace, mercy, and kindness.
However, man, in his right to be angry at times does not come to this full circle to grace, mercy and kindness. He who is angry may be angry for the right reasons; he may want justice and will struggle to get that justice and he may even experience the repentance he is longing after; but repentance for man is not enough. For man does deal in bitterness and grudges. Instead of unchanging love, man wants payment for the wrong done. This is where their anger becomes unholy, unrighteous and destructive. Man holds onto his anger, allows it to grow, fester, and destroy.
So, how does man go from this destructive state to the state of delighting in unchanging love, filled with grace, mercy and kindness?
God has granted us everything needed that pertains to our life and everything needed that pertains to godliness. The conduit we find this “everything needed” is through the true knowledge of His Son, Jesus. When we grow in our knowledge of Jesus, he becomes the endless channel that makes it possible for us to be partakers of His divine nature allowing us to also delight in what He delights: unchanging love. We are able to be righteous in our anger and holy in our love. We are able to escape the corruption that anger produces in our hearts and find joy in the changed lives around us. But the minute we cut off that channel, stop learning and growing in our Lord, Jesus Christ, we put a kink in the channel and the flow of God’s delights stop. Subsequently, we become corrupt in our love; we desire payment as we anchor our hearts in bitterness and grudges. We finish with never knowing the true joy of unending love, unchanging grace, and unswerving mercy.
Instead of striving and struggling in our nature, we embrace the knowledge of Jesus, our Lord, by growing moment by moment in His nature. For by His grace, His peace, His love, “…He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:4)
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