Relentless 2

In the movie, Tomorrowland, there was a quote I appreciated but without changing the meaning, I am going to exchange the word "wolves" with "spirits".

There are two spirits who are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. The question is… which spirit wins?
 
... The one you feed.

 

What would the difference be, in our life, if we continually laid aside the things that weigh us down and entangle us? What would it show the world, about WHO is your Lord?

Hebrews 12:1-3 says:

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What kinds of things can we lay aside?

·      We can lay aside this perverse world- all it approves, all it encourages, all it hates, all it denies, all it strikes at, resorts to, conspires, fights for and tries to hide.

“We do not fight flesh and blood but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” 

·      We can lay aside the enemy.  Satan hates God and those who represent God and those formed in the image of God.  Satan often uses what he hates to destroy what he hates.   Satan is a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy.   He is the father of all lies and deception.  He has an enchanted tongue -manipulative, slippery and dangerous.  He loves to draw us in for a fight but when he comes soliciting a response ask Jesus “Will you get that?”  

But if you take the bait, and find yourself down on the mat of this life and Satan starts counting down… remember he is not the refereeing official of your life but God is.  And by God’s amazing mercy and grace, get up because He who is in you is greater then he who is the world.  

Remember Jesus has won the fight for us- now we just have to finish the race and we aren’t even to do that alone.

·      We can lay aside circumstances of life, the false illusions of what the world calls life, and the burdens of this life that so easily tires us.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

·      We can lay aside the subtle things that cause us to inadvertently step down from the ROCK that gave us LIFE and LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.  Stay alert of precarious rickety ladders of consciousness that set the mind in motion to themes of bleak, mundane, barren, hopeless outlooks. Watch out for fears, anxieties, imaginations, ideals of productivity, human philosophy, and unsatisfying self-filling prophecy that gets the best of us.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Jeremiah 1:9

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Corinthians 10:5

"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39
 
  ·   And finally lay aside the sin.  Don’t travel down sins tempting highway, seek Jesus who was tempted by never sinned.  Ask God to show you a way out.  

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Sin leads to death… Sin steals our joy, peace, hope… it separates us from living in the power of God, which gives us life.  Shame and guilt of sin keeps us from speaking the truth to others and if we do speak it, it feels false because of conviction of sin.  When we sin our mindset is tarnish and our reputation is hurt and even destroyed.
 

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:9

But undeservedly, there is renewal and strengthening of one’s soul when one genuinely confesses their sin to God and seeks Him for forgiveness because Jesus, who is paid for our unrighteous, separates us from the burdens of our sinfulness that we may learn from our mistakes, remain hopeful and finish the race.

“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalm 103:12

So let me ask again ... What would the difference be, in our life, if we let go of these things that weigh us down and entangle us?  What would say about the LORD of our life? Would they aid in helping you remain in God's relentless Spirit?

Relentless 1

The “Way” was the name for the Christians before they were called  “Christians”.  They were called the “Way” because they followed Jesus Christ who is the “Way”.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Peter, John, Paul, Philip, Thomas, Luke and so on… lived in the “Way” which empowered them to think outside the confines of the fleshly understanding.  Their reality, birthed by the Holy Spirit, expounded into the reality of God.  They lived in the world but knew they were no longer of the world system of understanding.  So when they found themselves in physical restraints and circumstances they endured and accomplished many great and mighty things in God/ Jesus Christ.   

Has the name Christian, however good, somehow caused us to forget the “Way”?  Has it become like the word “Faith”, used but absent of relationship with God and guidance from God?

Some say action is faith but is it? We can do many “well-meaning” actions that are not spearheaded by God but of out of human traditions and understandings.  And I have seen the bed ridden have more faith in their eyes and heart then those using their mouths and hands.

The first church body had to deal with a great many entanglements including persecution from the world in which it lived but it was fueled and living by God’s RELENTLESS Spirit.

Jesus said,

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
  

The Way is living outside mirror maze of ourselves,our ideology of faith and of course the world.  It shatters those mirrors so we can see outside the box that has kept us captive and a stranger to reality of God.    

We are start to see each day, hour, minute are from God - and that we are to live and learn to live in the relentlessness Spirit of God.  He pulls down all the strongholds that try to exalt themselves over God. 

I am reminded of the words of Gamaliel as he strongly warned the Sanhedrin…

“I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin it will fail.  But if is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5:38-39

In a manner of speaking, we don't want to be fighting against God in our life- we want to live in the "Way" which God intends for us... That not men, circumstance, day, month, year or evil can stop us from living the relentless life He prepared for us, planned for us, paved for us and wants for us. 

Lord give us fresh eyes as we read these verses… eyes that no only see the words but what is being revealed behind the words, and allow what we see to be set alive by your Spirit in our soul- that it will do what it was intended to do in this time forward. 

There is A Sun Rising Up

When I awoke, the lyrics from one of Dave Crowder's songs were being said in my head.  They were:

"There's a sun rising up in my soul. Lord in my soul."

I then read the word for the day...

"For the LORD God is our sun and our shield.  He gives us grace and glory.  The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.  O LORD of Heaven's Armies, what joy for those who trust in you."  Psalm 84:11-12

So what are the chances of the word "sun" being mentioned twice in a short amount of time?   

I decided to see what the Hebrew word for "sun" meant in this scripture. I figured if the Hebrew word for "love" encompasses more then one word and meaning so might the word "sun".

Sun

1. Sun
2. sunrise, sun-rising, east, sun-setting, west ) of direction
3. Sun (as object of illicit worship) Object not sanctioned by custom or law; improper or unlawful to worship.
4. Openly, publicly (in other phrases)
5. Pinnacles, battlements, shields (as glittering or shining) 

 Here are a few things that came to mind as I read these translations. 

1. God is our beginning and our end.  

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.…" Revelation 22:13-14

Strangely I must note I had a dream early this morning of a white city.  It is under the tab labeled "Personal Notes".

2. He is the author and finisher of our faith.

"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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

3. God is the light of His people that cause them to grow and grow spiritually.

"The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

4. In a paradox, God being God is for some reason becoming more and more unacceptable to nations around the world.  His ways are seen to them as improper and unlawful even.  It is even improper to pray and worship him in some public places.  Though the evil things of this world are embraced, celebrated, and are encouraged.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12 

"Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1: 28-32

"Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers." Matthew 24:9 

5. The "public" evidence of God is all around us.

^"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.   For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles." Romans 1:20-23

6. Jesus, who is God, will soon come back in a brilliant light.

"For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes." Matthew 24:27

Wow! May not go with rising and setting of the sun but goes right along with the "east" and the "west" part.
 
7. God is our glittering and shining fortress.  He is our high tower.  A pinnacle in which our soul is secure from all that comes against it.  For those things are nothing at the feet of God.

"My loving kindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?" Psalm 144:2

The Lord is coming....

David Crowder Band - My Beloved (Live Performance from Passion) from david-crowder-band on GodTube.

 



 

Is Praying For Yourself Selfish?

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I find it odd- this philosophy that it is selfish to pray for one’s self.  In fact last night as I put my head down on my pillow this philosophy was still on my mind.   It did not sit right in my soul.   In my mind I saw it as thorny stem.

I could be misunderstanding the perspective of such teaching but prayer- is it not communication with the LORD who is to be the source of our LIFE?   To deny communication and help from the LORD is to deny LIFE itself from living within us.

As I write this word comes:

“Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”  Colossians 2:8   

The Lord is my strength and that is why I pray for myself, for without Him I am lost within myself and the things of this world can easily overwhelm me.

I am reminded of the Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus says: “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

God is gives me the daily spiritual bread to sustain my faith- like I said before- a living word not a religious word.

In what manner is one praying for one's self- selfish? I am not praying to be materially rich however I am praying to be spiritually rich in Him.  For the things of this life never satisfy but God who is boundless never ceases to amaze me and He will BE forever as those things of this life will disappear and vanish. 

I pray for myself on a daily -sometimes even on an hourly basis.  I pray that God transform my thinking that I may live as God intended.   I pray for God's liberating will to work in my life.   Is this selfish or is this surrendering to God to allow Spirit and truth to live in me?

I do not think praying for yourself in this manner is selfish.   For if one strives only in the flesh and prays in the flesh and lives accordingly to flesh...  can they see their obvious need for God?  Where is the Spirit working in our life if we do not pray for ourselves to be refreshed, encouraged, inspired by God?  I believe to pray in this manner (for refreshing, encouragement, inspiration, guidance, etc) is to deny our fleshly understanding and agree and consent with God’s will for our life.  In deed how refreshing it is just to think about prayer in this life giving way.  Now think about how a refreshed, encouraged, inspired soul behaves?  It is a light that is put on a stand.  It is a city on a hill.   It is salty.  It is a soul of beatitudes living in us!

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5&version=NLT 

Thank you Lord that you are doing all these things in my soul this day! In Jesus Name Amen.

Prayer does changes things but it first starts with the one who prays.