The much needed change

John 7:1; “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him.”

When the church ceases to become dynamically fruitful in this world it becomes irrelevant to those around them, even more it becomes irrelevant to God.  How often has Christ wanted to enter the epicenter of our lives but could not and would not because “we, the Jewish leaders” (the Christians) were always looking for some kind of way to kill or chase him out of our life?

When the heart of the church fades, when the passions and faith, the love and hope go away… Jesus goes away.  When we no longer live for the heart of Christ we become blind to the fact that Christ left our building.  Jesus came and said in John chapter 7; “I couldn’t go up to Jerusalem because they were trying to take my life. They are trying to take me out of the world that I created!”

When the heart of the church no longer pounds with life, Jesus no longer resides within that church.  Time and time again we see churches praying crying out to God saying, “O Great God, how is it that such a loving creator can see the beggar in desperation, the beaten wounded and the crippled helpless and yet not do anything about them?” but each time God answers us with the same answer, “I did do something, I made you!”  Has the church gotten so blind?  Have we lost ourselves in the midst of this world?  Just days ago I found my close friends in a confrontation about meaningless things and right in front of them exists a world of great need, yet neither of my friends was willing to reach out and give a helping hand.  Are we so stuck on trying to justify ourselves that we lose sight of the heart of Christ?  Are we so focused in the way that we choose to live life that maybe just maybe we are chasing Jesus out of our city?

Everybody comes to the conclusion that the world needs to be changed, but not many people actually see that the change needed is actually them:  Even more, we the church, need to be the change that we wish to see in this world.  We have to come to the place where we no longer chase our Christ out of our world but instead we must come and join Him on His quest.   

If we strive to become fruitful and engage in the needs of our world we will once again open the gates of our “city” so that Christ will gladly enter.  If our hearts once again become intertwined with the affairs of Christ, then our city walls will be destroyed allowing Christ to enter from every direction to teach, heal and mend the broken hearted.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Everybody can become great…, because anybody can serve.  You don’t need to have a college degree to serve.  You don’t have to make your subjects and verbs agree to serve… you don’t even have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.  You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”   

Sitting at the table amidst His disciples Jesus began to speak saying, “drink my blood and eat my flesh”... later in the conversation he boldly states, “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me.”  This whole conversation found in the book of John chapters 13 and 14 is focused on the idea of who we are, who Jesus is and who we are supposed to be in Jesus.  Without effort Jesus steps forward and says, “Guys listen to me, do you want life?  Do you want to live to the fullest of abundances?  Then join me in my heart, consume my blood and eat my flesh for if you feed on me and my word you shall live because I and I alone am the sole provider for life.

There is a very old rendition of the word intimacy.  I heard this quite some time ago.  If you break the word intimacy into three parts it sounds like this, “into-me-see.”  Jesus enters our realm, our world, our life passionately desiring intimacy with us.  As he bluntly invades our hearts he tells us to see into him so that we may learn to live with him.  We must acquire to see into the heart of Christ so that we may learn to know him. With arms wide open Jesus looks towards us daily saying, my dear children see into me, see my goodness, my faithfulness and my love that I have for you.  Come and enter in communion with me and let me journey you through my heart so that you may once again be fruitful and so that I may once again enter your world.

“The soul would have no rainbow if there were no tears in the eyes…”

And as life's pains and sorrows commence to embrace us, as we begin to lose ourselves in the darkness of life we become blind to His Grace realizing that the frigid pit in which we are stuck in is all our eyes can see.  Often times there are stark and desolate holes that we find ourselves lost in.  And after much arduous escaping attempts we gasp for life only to notice ourselves curled up, trembling with doubts and fear from the horrific pits of darkness.  But in the midst of our pit, in the furious fiery furnace, in the center of our lion’s den, if and when we turn our focus upon Jesus, our eyes become wide open and we clearly begin to see that He is here standing amidst our pit waiting for us to allow him to take the reins of our life.  Outlying above the lonesome darkened hole that we are in…, far above the valley of the shadows of death…, beyond the vastness of the heavens endures the story of Christ.  Though there are different explanations for these dreadful dwellings, these pits of life nevertheless are brief moments, but the story of Christ stands firm for all eternity! 

I have learned that there are excruciating pits of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others come from behind. But I've learned to allow my God to comfort and grow me so that whatever lies within these pits will dread and fear me.  It is in the darkest of moments that we must focus to keep our light on so that maybe just maybe someone will be led home to the arms of God. In the core of all difficulty rests some type of opportunity.  We must embrace trials and tribulations and burn them as fuel for our journey.

Jesus Christ made a public spectacle of Satan’s army the day He died for our sins! For Christ won the battle for our souls by removing our burdens our sins and our slavery to Satan! This is the encouragement we have as believers!

Colossians 2:11-15 says: “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, (meaning he made them a laughing stock… humiliating them in the deepest of ways) triumphing over them by the cross.”

As we read the written story which scales across creation we translucently contemplate that Christ has given us eternal life, He forgave our sins, freed us from the condemnation of the written code, and gave us victory over the evil forces of Satan! Christ redeemed us from Satan’s evil grip! The dark spiritual powers and authorities were conquered and disarmed by our Jesus, who is to be praised and blessed forever and ever!!! Truly Satan bruised the heel of Christ; but Christ crushed his head! (Gen. 3:15) God used Satan against himself! For Satan thought he won the victory; but instead, he lost! If Satan and his malevolent brigade had known that Jesus’ death was to bring victory to the lost, he would’ve protected Jesus, keeping Him from dying for our sins! For, as it is written in 1 Corinthian 2:7-8, “...we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”  Thanks be to God for giving us victory in Jesus Christ, the Savior! By fighting the battle Satan himself didn’t understand that God released the forces that work against us! Jesus didn’t come to take the world from Satan; He came to take us from Satan’s world!

 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God!” 1 John 5: 3-5

His Loving Grace.

There is an umbrella of grace that spreads over all creation showing us that God is always at work.  If allowed by us, every difficult situation that we are in, God can and will turn it around for his glory.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28; “Come to me, all 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.” 

It is often difficult for people to believe that if they come near to God, they will NOT find themselves drowning in condemnation, but instead they will find that they are swimming in an ocean of compassion.  Jesus called out to all who were weary and who found their hearts exhausted to come to him and find rest.  He is telling us that God will be for us our “bed” where we can find rest.  Many have persuaded themselves to believe that the one who is “Love” could not and would not embrace them.  Though we deserve God the least, He is the one that we need the most and without him we have no life… but what's strange is even though we constantly turn our faces from him, out of everything that exists he passionately desires us the most. So then if God is love, those who know God best would love people the most.  We must learn to grasp love and throw away condemnation for even God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to bring the world life.

For Love is Grace, and Grace is love undeserved.  Love uplifts the lowly with understanding and invokes only thankfulness, and it gives to those who deem themselves unworthy of it. Grace is patient and kind, for the love it gives is without condition. It fills all those who are poor in spirit, that they shall lack nothing more.

I believe it was Ravi Zacharias who once said; “Love is a commitment which will be tested in the most vulnerable areas of spirituality, a commitment that will force you to make some very difficult choices. It is a commitment that demands that you deal with your lust, your greed, your pride, and your power, your desire to control, your temper, your patience, and every area of temptation that the Bible clearly talks about. It demands the quality of commitment that Jesus demonstrates in His relationship to us.” 

When we come to Christ and allow him to weave within us his love we find rest in Him and eagerly begin to bask in his presence while pouring upon him our burdens. When we truly learn to live in a commitment to Christ's love we realize that the choices that we make don’t just affect us and our generation but that of the future generations to come.  Our faith is not just about us… our journey with Christ is not just about us.  Our life here on earth is not just about us.  It affects all those around us and the future generations.  Every decision we make, every action we take will cause an effect on the people around us. We must be careful on how we live the very breaths of life, for if we do not, we might just find ourselves with everything this world has to offer and later find we have lost ourselves in the disorder. Unless we understand the Cross, we cannot understand why our commitment to what is right must be precedence over what we prefer.  What we believe in our hearts must make sense in our mind.

Animosity is the foe of love because it makes a person unforgiving and unwilling to give love unconditionally.  It is the adversary of hope because it makes people incapable of seeing a better future.  It is the rival of faith because it makes you stop trusting in anyone but yourself.  I believe that many of us have become blinded by a foul bitterness and if we are not careful we will lose the ability to see such things as love, grace, truth or even affection.  More importantly you may close your eyes to what your heart needs you to see most.  “When love does not come to you, it breaks your heart, but when you do not give love away, it hardens your heart.  One thing vaster than our need to be loved is our need to love.  We are designed to love.  From the very beginning you were made for love.  We are the object of God’s love.”  Erwin McManus

And as we give way for God to encounter our lives he sends his promise, His holy spirit to teach and guide us into his heart.  And we learn that the ways of the Spirit are always more sensuous than the ways of the flesh because it ravishes, intoxicates and exhilarates the invisible and inner person to an unimaginable depth beyond our possible dreams. God's Holy Spirit satiates us with peace and pleases us emotionally, physically and psychologically. He satisfies all our feelings and affections within our heart and soul. The Spirit's power is the real, exciting, mystical kingdom. It is a rich, luxurious palace overflowing with thrilling and ecstatic serenity and pleasures engulfing our soul with consuming delights. It bestows amazing endowments, joy, peace which God's gladly shares.

Worship is mans answer to God’s grace.  And when men come to worship at the throne of grace, when they accept to dwell in the love and grace of the Father, they get an over consuming fill of Jesus who is the full representation of God.  Jesus is the final and the full source of life. Let us Marinate and revel in His grace and presence... For His love and grace is the only hope for each of us.

Destroying Our Idols

“And when we allow the temptations of the world to embrace us, we begin to sink deeper and deeper into our sinful nature falling into a realm where we soon discover that we are lifeless, blind, mute and deaf. We become like the idols we have created.”

Psalm 135: 15-18; “the idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.  They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.  Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them.”

The great peril for life in the midst of any culture, whose idols are pleasure, and comfort rests the fact that people harden their hearts and become egocentric.  Our idols may not necessarily be silver and gold but they can surely be the pleasures and the comforts that we so dearly hold to.  Finding ourselves buried in the epicenter of our idols can and will lead to our destruction.  When we are dictated by our desires and pleasures we can easily become influenced by our surroundings.  Go ahead, test it. Ponder upon your truest desires and pleasures and see if your surroundings don’t influence you.  See if the competiveness, the pride, the actions of those around you drags you into their realm of thinking.   Whether it be singing, teaching, playing sports or even writing, whatever it is that you gladly do, if you position yourself in a vulnerable situation amongst the enjoyments of your hearts without inviting God to partake fully in your engagements, you can so easily spark the creation of an idol. And by creating the attractions within the heart without implicating God, one can soon find themselves learning to trust in something that is lifeless, blind, mute and deaf… and with time they will eventually become like their idols.  Helen Keller once said; “the only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” 

An idol worshipped within the mind is as odious to God as an idol made by hand.  From the moment we are born every one of us become a slave to idols, and the intrinsic objective of living a triumphant life is to allow the God of the universe to invade us in fullness to where we no longer live for godless idols but for the one true God.  And when we accept Christ Jesus as our Lord and savior we no longer belong to our sinful nature of idolatry...  Because everyone born of Christ Jesus is free and free indeed!

Clearly we can see that Man's mind is filled with idolatry and false notion; so much so that if a man conceives or allows the sinful realm around him to enter within his core, it is assured that at that very moment he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own mind. When your thoughts and opinions become rebellious against the Word of God, breathless, lifeless idols are born. But the day will come when you will quickly find your idols shattered in Gods dust.  For even Gods dust is superior to your idols.  What happens is, the idol which you create today will push you out of the recollection of the one and only God whom you are planted into, thus supplanting who you were created to be with who you are creating too become. Every time we inwardly submit to the strongholds of pleasure, comfort and pride, we ignite the birth of an idol.  And each of these idols must be smashed, splintered, and obliterated from the milieu of our hearts. The only way pleasure and comfort are accepted is if they are inundated with God so much so to where everything that we do, even though it pleases and comforts us, brings praise and honor to God Almighty. 

The good news is that idols are manmade, and no matter how intimidating they may be, they are always inferior to us, and that is why we will always have it within our power to destroy them.

So where does God fit into all of this? Though we are born to a sinful nature we must learn to live an “idoless” life. We can only do so by allowing the love of God which flows abundantly throughout us to rejuvenate our being. We must annihilate our manmade idols and we must come to the conclusion that God doesn’t judge us by our good deeds but by his magnificent love, His immaculate grace which inundates the heavens and all existence making a way for us to live.  I believe that Worship is a man’s answer to God’s grace… and if we learn to worship God through all of our actions his love will guide us to an intimate relationship where manmade idols cannot and will not exist.

“The difference between grace and works is the difference between worship and idolatry. The man inebriated with the thought that all he has is God's gift finds himself repeatedly on his knees, adoring, thanking, and praising Him. But if we do not grasp grace we plummet into idolatry, for that is the inevitable corollary of self-sufficiency.” Dale Ralph Davis. God’s Divine Grace will not be assisted in the performance which merely belongs to Him, by the imperfect performances of men.  For man to attempt in the completion of what grace began, offends the Lord.  Therefore, let everyone know, that grace is either absolutely free, or it is not at all: and, that those who profess to look for salvation by grace, either believes in their heart to be saved entirely by it, or they proceed inconsistently believing that they must earn their rights to salvation through their deeds.