Desires We know As LIFE

My thoughts…

I was thinking about us… humanity… God’s chosen creation… And how He created us in His own image (Genesis 1:27).  How that image is to reflect God… I then thought of what we all desire as humanity.

We all desire hope… joy… peace… grace… what is faithful… righteousness… morality… justice… love… acceptance… courage… humility… self-control… purpose… security… and eternal life in Heaven. 

And it is clear when we read God’s word… these desires have not only been put in us by God our Creator but can only be had, satisfied and answered and given by God our Creator.

But by denying God in our daily life, we deny and deprive ourselves of what we desire most (what we somehow know as “Life”).  And nowhere else to turn we turn to the substitutes of the world that fail, never satisfy and destroy our soul.

When we deny God we reflect the fallen and hungry world BUT when we take hold of God’s hand like a little child- LIFE comes…  For we were made by Jesus Christ.  

“He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made and without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men…” John 1:3

(Take your hands and lock your fingers together.  One of your hands illustrates your soul and the other illustrates God who is Life.)  God created our soul to yoke “perfectly” with His Spirit just like our hands fit together perfectly. Note: Matthew 11:30

Several verses in the bible say, “Clothe yourself with Jesus Christ.” This would also illustrate how the Spirit of God perfectly fits our soul.   

Allowing our soul to be yoked, calibrated, receptive, obedient, abided in the Spirit of God manifests His good, perfect satisfying will in our life (Romans‬ ‭12:2‬)‬‬ and produce what is says below. 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no Law.”  Galatians 5:22-23

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

The Spirit alone gives eternal life.  Human effort accomplishes nothing.  And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63   Note: Galatians 3:3

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life... (John 14:6) It makes perfect sense then if He created us then He is the source of what we desire to fulfill and define as LIFE.  But in order to experience and have what our soul desires, we have to come to Jesus the source of LIFE.  We have to surrender our life to Him and make Him Lord and Savior over our soul. He is the only way we will ever experience LIFE and LIGHT for our soul on a daily basis. 

“For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled it with what is good.” Psalm 107:9

Come and experience the way, the truth and the life in your soul!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus I know by the way I have been living I have not only failed to experience LIFE in you but have looked to other things to try to satisfy my soul and in doing so have sinned against you - for I have looked upon them as if they were gods.  Forgive me.

In my faulty human understanding I have also sinned against you and others as well.  In this I ask humbly for your forgiveness.  I have heard that you created me and my rightful place is with you.  You are the LIFE and LIGHT in which I have sought for so long.  Jesus I surrender my life to you.  Be my LORD and Savior and fill me with your glorious Spirit that I may not strive in the ways and understandings of men but in your perfect will for my life. 

Thank you Jesus for laying down your life for mine that I may have life and life more abundantly in you.   Help me to know you and grow in you according to your word.  Help me find a spirit filled bible believing church that I can grow and be part of.  Help me as I read your word to understand it and have it enrich my soul as you guide me in reading it.  Enrich the soil of my soul that the roots of my faith will grow deep in your love.  In the measure of faith you have given me- I pray this in your wonderful name- In Jesus name Amen.

*May the Spirit of God be poured out upon you according to your honest words of faith in Jesus Name, Amen.

Are We Living Free in Christ Friend?

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FREE IS RUNNING A RACE? I don't know about you but running a race in faith doesn't sound all the appealing when you feel like you are trying keep up with life itself sometimes.  Life is hectic enough.

WHAT RACE?  Apostle Paul writes "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  He continues with "Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker with you.  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty.  Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:22-27

THE RACE IS YOURS.  No one obtains the race but you.  You believe Jesus and trust in Him the race is yours.  You obtain it by that "simply humble" understanding.   You are responsible for you as you keep your eyes on Jesus Christ who has the price for you.  

THE ISSUE. The problem is we sometimes get that simple truth mixed up along this walk of life.   We seem to think we score points or lose points on what we do and not do.   How much or long we read our bible.  How long we pray.     (Don't miss understand me, these things are important but quality then quantity is more important.) We even lose track of this satisfying and peaceful truth when we look at other people's life and compare.  We start to think like the world that says "we have to earn our love and salvation from God.  That is when we allow the race to be taken away from us.   There is no longer freedom but bondage to some obligation God never forced upon us.

SIMPLE BELIEVING THE TRUTH. God simply asked us to believe and trust in Jesus Christ who paid for our sins so we may have eternal life in heaven and life more abundantly.   Knowing the grace and goodness of God energizes me in faith of Christ but the philosophy, tradition, logic and doctrine of men steals that mindset of God's goodness and grace away.  When that goodness and grace is stolen from you all you have is "religion."   You may even wonder back and forth from religion and faith but when that happens are you satisfied? You poison the waters with religion and your faith is choking because of some human thinking.

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving,  Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to he tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." Colossians 2:6&7

Your value is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and knowing how much he loves you sets you free human mindsets we all have a tendency to fall into.      

OBTAINING THE RACE?  How do we stumble because we race against others or even some desired version of ourselves?  Think the prize has already been won.  We just have to keep our eyes on Christ to receive it.

Too often I find that I race against myself.  I compare, I see my failures, I see how other human beings look upon me, and sometimes I even put too much emphasis on what I do "religiously" instead of what Jesus has done and is currently doing for me.  That can lead to feelings of inadequacy to being puffed up

YOUR COMPETITOR.  Your only competitor is yourself.  Stay away from anything that isn't based on the simple truth of your value in Jesus Christ and what he has done.   I am my worst enemy.  It the thorn in my flesh of feeling inadequate.   Jesus is our partner through the wooded trail of life where he points out the hazards on the pathway and helps us back up when we do fall down.  He encourages us when you feel tired and want to give up.  He is not just your teammate but your trainer.  He isn't concerned on how fast we run or walk- just as long as we stay with him.  Your validation comes from the love of Jesus Christ and this love keeps us from the allure of ideas and actions that lead us astray from the peace and comfort of God's love.

TEMPERATE.  Paul writes "everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things."

Temperate means to be moderate or self-restrained; not extreme in opinion and statement.  It means to moderate in regards in indulgence of appetite or passion and not be excessive in degree as things, qualities, etc.  It is not a false humility that is secretly inflating pride or some other emotion and it's not yelling and spiting on the congregation in front of you either. 

I know when I am being "religious" when I am being extreme or indulging my flesh in someway.  Indulging my flesh is like the initial explosive flame fueled by a puddle of gasoline but slowly goes out.   The initial stimulus was great like a drug to an attic but the results are the same.  The effects wear off and you are looking for the next way to get a high.   The byproduct of religious thinking or motives close me off, make me ridged, prejudiced, boring, indifferent and the world as colorless place.   

LOST AND FOUND. Recently I have started to paint again.  I haven’t painted in sometime because I thought I couldn’t honor God if I wasn’t painting something "religious."

This soon gave me no desire to want to paint or do any other type of artwork.  Religious thought had in essence closed off the doorway to the gift that God had given me.  I lost the joy of doing it.  

Then on a recent trip to my hometown in the Pacific Northwest, God awoke a desire and interest to paint again.  He showed me the clouds, the rain puddles, the waters of the Puget Sound.  The detail and colors of a shake wood roof, the steam rising in the sunlight, the snow capped mountains, the farm land, the mounding forests, the flowering trees, the livestock, the peeling paint on a fence.

The world is full of God's transforming ever changing beauty but I wouldn't not have seen it if God did not free me from "my" religious mindset.  I couldn't enjoy the walk of being an artist and that gift would have still been in the back of the closet in my mind.   

Same if we have a religious mindset towards reading our bible or praying or worship.   The joy would be stripped away and we would wonder away from the joy of walking with the Lord.  The race would be yanked from us by our own mindset.

God is not "Religious".   We can't earn anything that God isn't and hasn't already given us when we came to him and he showed us the saving reality of his Son Jesus Christ.  Religious thought only builds up human understandings of God and old religious systems that were suppose to be torn.   

Religious thought is: instead of opening a door or pulling up the shades or opening a window we grope for the same ordinary light switches.    

How many layers are we going to paint on the perfect good surface before we realize the surface we originally started off suited us best?

How many building blocks are we going to add to a foundation that is perfectly solid and sound?

Is routine…living in a box?  Are we allowing God to take us on spontaneous ventures to touch other peoples lives or have we become stagnant in our thinking and seeing life.  God has given us gifts and abilities but instead of using them we restrict them.  We say this is the way it has always been done.   Everyone else does it this way.   So if everyone is stampeding over a cliff you are going to follow? Really?  There are needs in every church.   Not every church is the same.  Those people who come need those needs met by a God who hears their cries.  So if God has something to say during a service or a Sunday school lesson you are going to stick to your plans instead of His?  Who really is the head of the church?  Last time I checked it was Jesus Christ,  I am I right? 

READ THIS CAREFULLY: When are we really going to except the justice in Christ Jesus and the freedom and forgiveness it has permanently given us? Religious thinking makes us ignorant, blind and deaf to the needs of others.  We don't hurt with them or celebrate with them.   We don't offer them the grace or mercy God gives to us.  We think if we fling a couple scriptures at them or ignore them or act as Job's buddies we have done our job.  What is that proverb about singing a cheerful song to someone hurting?"

Can we earn anything more that the Lord isn’t already given and giving us? No.  So way do we act the way do?

I think we can stand to learn a lot from children.  They are full of faith and sometimes their faith is greater then our own.  Look how they run in the grass.  Look at their curiosity as they search for potato bugs.  Look how they are enjoying the moment.  Look how they can see when someone is hurting and come to see if they can help.  They know Jesus loves them because they believe the simple truth some adult taught them at home or at a church. 

Look what Jesus has done to set us free from our religious thinking.  Let's walk freely with him and obtain the race marked out for us in thanksgiving and joy.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.   And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

Attending Church- Your Important Role

A person, who I love dearly, had conversation with me this week about going to church. She didn’t think it was all that big a deal about not attending church. She figured that as long as she believes Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, she is fine. The problem with that kind of thinking is it based on our own perception of life and as long as we are in our own way of thinking we are never going to be enlightened and see how God can use us as a member of his body.

Ever see a foot or hand all by itself? Some of you may have on a battlefield or a real bad car accident. A hand and foot cannot function without the rest of the body. To be a part of Christ’s body you have to be a participant in Christ’s body. Just as blood flows all throughout the body; a person must be ministered to and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, which flows through the gathering of believers.

I used to spend hours in front of my parents fireplace on cold wet Puget Sound days. In front of the fire I would do homework, eat, and watch television. The logs would become this bright hot orange lava color and occasionally an amber would pop out of the fire and land on the black slate hearth. Where it’s glowing beauty would fade and become as cold and dark as the hearth itself.

If an individual chooses not to gather with their church, they can become like a amber that has popped out of a hot fireplace.

Our own perception of life can make us blind to our Christian calling within the church. Consider the words of Jesus to the Laodicea Church. “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! ‘You say, I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and power and blind and naked. I advice you to buy gold from me- gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be ashamed by your nakedness. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in and we will share a meal as friends. I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:15-22

Roles are very important in the body of Christ. We may think the church only consists of a Pastor, Sunday school teachers, and a congregation but if you believe that then your robbing yourself of the role God has for you.

The body of Christ is a city on a hill (Matt. 5:14) and just like a city it needs people for God appointed roles to fill so it can be growing and healthy.

Romans 13:4-8 says: “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with the Christ’s body. We are all parts of one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have the faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have the a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

1 Corinthians 12:28-13 says: “Here is a list of some of the members that God has placed in the body of Christ. First are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who can get other to work together, those who speak in unknown languages. Is everyone an apostle? Of course not. Is everyone a prophet? No. Are all teachers? Does everyone have the power to do miracles? Does everyone have the gift of healing? Of course not. Does God give all of us the ability to speak in unknown languages? No! And in any event, you should desire the most helpful gifts.”

Ephesians: 4:9-13 says: “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.

Abram called out 318 trained men in his household and went in pursuit of those who took his nephew Lot and their possessions - they recovered everything the Kedorlaomer army took from them.

Abraham took trained men, men who knew their individual roles and took them seriously. It takes people filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to stand against, battle and get back what the enemy has taken from the church family – not just physical but spiritual needs. It takes people disciplined in the faith to stand against what is evil and provide assistance when needed.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:18 “I tell you this: Whatever you prohibit on earth is prohibited in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth is allowed in heaven.”

If man does nothing to stop evil, heaven can do nothing about it. If man stands against what is evil then heaven will bound it but if no man does his role that God intended than the church that supports a community will fall apart. What is your role in your church?

Justice, Mercy, Faith

Hi Everyone,

Lately I have been reading and God has been really speaking to me about justice, mercy and faith. Justice, mercy and faith became the topics when I sought God for direction on what to teach in adult Sunday school class and it has continued to build for the last few weeks. And in a season where we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, these things gain even a greater importance. Why did Jesus come down to earth for us?

Justice, mercy and faith, what do they mean to you?

I have found that justice, mercy and faith guide a person in discretion, good sense, humility, discernment, integrity, self-control, moral excellence, love and trust in the Lord.

For godliness is just, merciful and faithful and Godly love is also just, merciful and faithful.

What is Godly love? Is Godly love just, merciful and faithful?

According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable and keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”

We all must examine and seek God for what is just, merciful and faithful. We all must see that we cannot be just, merciful and faithful without God’s help. For without God’s help we are helpless to stand against the sinful desires- the sinful desires that keep us away from the faith in Jesus Christ. We are helpless to see the things that come to trip us up, make us fall, and lead to eternal torture in what most of us know as hell.

For when we seek God’s help- it is surrendering our explanations and understandings in life so God can transform and build it up in the truth of Jesus Christ.

Friends, we cannot just sit around and seek what we want in the truth – we must seek the “truth” out in God. God doesn’t mind if we investigate but don’t just investigate the things you want to hear in God and stop. Like it or not God is not a buffet salad. A buffet salad god may look good because we choose what we want in God but wouldn’t you rather know GOD and what He expects from us fully- for He is true wisdom and whom we all will have to answer to.

I don't know about you but I rather know my “appetite” in God to be right then wrong.

There are lots of great things I like to put on my romaine salad such as shrimp, crab, grilled chicken, or pork and even taco meat but I choose these things because I like them not because of nutrient value or because they are good for me- Some of us (me included) rather pass by all the veggies that are high in nutritional value because they don't taste all that appetizing - same is true with a god we pick and choose -hence the name “salad bar god”.

God is God and we can't pick and choose what "He" is or else "he" would be a false god. If we pick and choose what we just want from God then "he" might as well be an idol that we have made with our own hands that really does us no good. If we believe in a god that isn’t just, merciful and faithful then how can we know and truly believe in justice or receive justice? How can we receive or give mercy? How can we know and be faithful if we have no living definition or rock solid foundational platform to live by and build upon?

For when we try to be just, merciful and faithful in own power and in own ways, it simply doesn't work and we “can” end up miserable, depressed, stressed, unhappy, feeling as a failure and feeling like we are always missing something.

This "missing something" is more then just heading out to the car without our keys… it’s about journeying through life without the REAL keys to life.

The REAL keys to life make us “whole”. Whole -we aren't continually checking our spiritual pockets and asking ourselves "what the heck am I missing? I know there has got to be more to this life"

The real keys to life make it possible to live and see life in a new way and perspective that we have never experienced before. God’s justice, mercy and faithfulness are continual and never ending and they ripen and grow in us as we mature in God’s truth. But in order for them to ripen and mature, we need God’s help and that help comes from the truth in Christ Jesus.

For without Christ Jesus in our lives we could not possibly be just, merciful and faithful.

Not to loose anyone here…. but in Christ Jesus we are born of the Holy Spirit who guides us to all truth in what is just, mercy and faithful.

Jesus came so we wouldn’t just be saved but so we would find and mature in these wonderful things. …”For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law- justice, mercy and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.” (Matthew 23:23)

For in the important things we see who God really is and wants to help us become.

Please read carefully, here you will see there is no fluff:
“But to all who believed him and accepted him (Jesus Christ), he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan- this rebirth comes from God” (John 1:12-13)

Jesus said, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
“What do you mean?” Nicodemus asked.
Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe us. But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about the things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. An as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved darkness more then the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:5-21)

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)

“But I will send you the Counselor- the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me. And you must also tell others about me because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27)

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and none of you has asked me where I am going. Instead, you are very sad. But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is unbelief in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the prince of this world has already been judged. Oh there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me. All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me.” (John 16:5-15)

Yep… you have heard it before… Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Merry Christmas
Humbly
Jeff

Words to Continue to Discover

These are a few of the words that have been "sticking out" while I have been reading my bible.

"The Just" and "Justice" or "do what is right".
"Mercy"
"Faith" and "walking humbling with God"
"Compassion"

Here are some verses God has directed me to lately.
Matthew 23:23
Micah 6:8
Matthew 5

As I examined these verses I read "but you ignore the important things of the law- justice, mercy and faith" Matthew 23:23

Micah 6:8 says "No, O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

Matthew 5:6-9 "God bless those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called children of God."

As "the just" we are to not only hunger and thirst for justice (Matthew 5:6) but we are to love mercy (Matthew 5:7) and have a pure, "humble", heart of "faith" (Matthew 5:8) which achieves and works for peace (Matthew 5:9).

Luke 6:36 After Jesus says to love our enemies, he says "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate." Jesus then goes on to speak of not judging others or we will be judged. He also speaks of forgiving others and giving to others which all "just" and "merciful" people of the Christian faith should do.

(NLT) Proverbs 16:6 "Unfailing love and faithfulness cover sin; evil is avoided by fear of the LORD."
or
(KJV) Proverbs 16:6 "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged : and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."

I feel led to dive deeper into these words.
What is "Justice" and "being Just"?
What is being "merciful"?
What is "walking humbly with God" and "Faith"?

Our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ is just, merciful and faithful are they not?... And are we not to reflect them and all their ways?

If you feel led check out these words on your spare time and you will see examples of them all throughout the bible.