Sunday, March 4, 2012
Derivation: Hebrews 11:26
The reproach of Christ is to me greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
You Know Me - Steffany Frizzell
This song is amazing! I'm not positive, but I'm almost certain the lyrics are based on and are a beautiful expression of Psalm 139. I encourage you to read Psalm 139 either before or after you listen to the song.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I Love Laughing at Myself
"IF WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN!...er...wait...is it when? Oh! WHEN we all get to heaven." *hysterically laugh at myself*
Messing up can be a good thing if you get a good laugh out of it.
Messing up can be a good thing if you get a good laugh out of it.
Purity Part 1
God finds great delight in those who refuse to be covered in the dirt and filth of this world and have determined to live set apart, godly lives in the midst of a perverse generation. He searches for those whose hearts are exclusively committed to him and the furthering of his Kingdom: he takes great pleasure in the purity of their heart, he savors their worship and loves to bless them (Psalm 24:4-5); for he knows that through them his life can flow untainted into the dying world all around; he knows that they can be trusted with the burdens of his heart; he knows that they will remain set apart, forsaking the world and its wisdom and presenting their bodies as holy sacrifices unto God (Romans 12:1). God is jealous for the pure in heart.
Nevertheless, though he desires purity - total separation from the world and its systems, and total abandon to God and his wisdom - above all else, the workers, the harvesters, remain few. For purity is no longer something that is desired by God’s people - desired enough to be pursued at the cost of their lives, anyway. The church has become like the harlot to whom Israel is so often compared in the Old Testament: we have ignored this New Covenant that God has made with us and have chased after worldly pleasures.
Where are the men of God? Where are those who would rather lose their life than be stained with sin? They are trapped within a cage created by their own self-indulgences. All that remains is a shadow of what was - sin has destroyed everything else that had any worth.
Nevertheless, though he desires purity - total separation from the world and its systems, and total abandon to God and his wisdom - above all else, the workers, the harvesters, remain few. For purity is no longer something that is desired by God’s people - desired enough to be pursued at the cost of their lives, anyway. The church has become like the harlot to whom Israel is so often compared in the Old Testament: we have ignored this New Covenant that God has made with us and have chased after worldly pleasures.
Where are the men of God? Where are those who would rather lose their life than be stained with sin? They are trapped within a cage created by their own self-indulgences. All that remains is a shadow of what was - sin has destroyed everything else that had any worth.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Helper
"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7)
What an amazing statement, and one whose reality and weight is so often overlooked; and if not overlooked, never really applied in the personal lives of people. How different would we be if we allowed the truth of this statement and its pertaining reality to the Spirit-filled people of God to conquer our doubts and fears; if we allowed the Holy Spirit - the Helper - to be fully Himself within us, expressing God's love and manifest presence to the people around us? What changes would be made if we were to grasp both mentally and spiritually this certainty, that as we walk in our neighborhoods and other public places, the actual Spirit of God lives within us (in full measure) and wants to come out of us through our speech and the way we do life and into the needy, broken lives of people around us?
The truth: we have divine power and presence which abides on the inside.
The current reality: we don't fully believe in Jesus' statement, that it was better for Him to go away so that the Spirit might come. We don't fully understand as we should our purpose in this life and the person (the Holy Spirit) who indwells us to help us accomplish that purpose. And we are so wrapped up in our own affairs, that the yearnings of God's heart are not important to us: we go days and maybe weeks without acknowledging their existence, and we certainly do not let them break us or move us.
Don't be fooled. It is no mistake that the church today has only a vague, impersonal knowledge of that which it possesses. The enemy is ever vigilant to cloud the understanding Christ's bride. But you should not be deceived by his wiles: recognize your identity as a son/warrior/messenger of the Lord, and bring and establish the Kingdom wherever you go.
What an amazing statement, and one whose reality and weight is so often overlooked; and if not overlooked, never really applied in the personal lives of people. How different would we be if we allowed the truth of this statement and its pertaining reality to the Spirit-filled people of God to conquer our doubts and fears; if we allowed the Holy Spirit - the Helper - to be fully Himself within us, expressing God's love and manifest presence to the people around us? What changes would be made if we were to grasp both mentally and spiritually this certainty, that as we walk in our neighborhoods and other public places, the actual Spirit of God lives within us (in full measure) and wants to come out of us through our speech and the way we do life and into the needy, broken lives of people around us?
The truth: we have divine power and presence which abides on the inside.
The current reality: we don't fully believe in Jesus' statement, that it was better for Him to go away so that the Spirit might come. We don't fully understand as we should our purpose in this life and the person (the Holy Spirit) who indwells us to help us accomplish that purpose. And we are so wrapped up in our own affairs, that the yearnings of God's heart are not important to us: we go days and maybe weeks without acknowledging their existence, and we certainly do not let them break us or move us.
Don't be fooled. It is no mistake that the church today has only a vague, impersonal knowledge of that which it possesses. The enemy is ever vigilant to cloud the understanding Christ's bride. But you should not be deceived by his wiles: recognize your identity as a son/warrior/messenger of the Lord, and bring and establish the Kingdom wherever you go.
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