Imagination of your heart

If you had one question to ask God what would it be?  What profound thought would you desire to be answered? I'm frequently caught in deep thought pondering about God and his ways.  I lose myself over and over again in his greatness.  Sometimes as I begin to travel deeper in thought about God I begin to ask questions, questions that lay buried within my heart for quite some time, questions that I thought were placed away forever in the corner closet of the attic within me.  In Matthew chapter 22 the Pharisees united together to come up with what they thought was an exceptionally complex question so that they may try to trap Jesus in his words.  After agreeing on a question they sent an expert in the Law to Jesus asking him more or less; “Out of all the things that God has ever said, which is the most important?”  Jesus replied; “Love the lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with your entire mind and the second is like it; love you neighbor as yourself.”   

I believe that three universe exist; the universe that we live in, the universe of God, and the universe within us.  The universe within us or our “inner universe” comprises entirely all of our thoughts, our imaginations and everything that intertwines through us.  But more importantly it combines two universes together: our inner universe and the universe that we live in.  The object of successful living is to learn to live abundantly by combining all three universes together.  When a person can utterly overflow their inner universe and their outer universe with the universe of God, then and only then will they finally live life to the fullest.

The Proverbs say; “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  Our imaginations are not just a place where we can day dream or a place where we can lose ourselves to a mystical world; it’s so much more than that.  Our imagination is a gift given to us by God and its part of the human essence that allows us to dream and create inside of us an inner universe that actually has an effect on our outer universe.   Jeremiah 33:3 says; “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  God is saying; “if you just come and have a conversation with me, if you just invite me into your daily life, if you call to me, I will tell you things that go beyond your wildest imaginations, things that people dream to know.”  I love this cause it tells us that once we allow God to converse with us in every aspect of our lives he begins to expand our minds and begins to teach us his ways.  He is saying that if you invite him in your every thought HE will erase the boundaries of everything that you have ever thought was possible or probable and allow you to see life in an entirely new way… the way HE sees it.  By allowing God in your conversations he will begin to expand your mind with understanding and knowledge of love, hope, faith, truth and ALL that partakes of the spirit.  

There is a parallel verse to Jeremiah 33:3 and its found in Ephesians 3:20, it says; “now to him who could do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generation, forever and ever amen.”

 I think that the human imagination was created by God, designed in us so that God can in a sense have a playground or maybe a workroom where he can begin to speak within us and give us a picture of our lives and of humanity.  I also believe that he gave us our imagination so that we may see a picture of the future or what the world would look like if we just connect with him or affiliate with him and his power so that he can create that particular reality through our hands?  The truth is that when we allow God into our minds and into our hearts he broadens our imagination and views on everything, allowing us to see through his perspective… is it possible that there are things going on around you that you simply can’t see because you just don’t have the eyes to see them?  Is it possible that what God wants to do in your life is not only to expand your imagination, your dreams, faith, and hope but is it possible that he also wants you to see more as well? Is it possible that He just wants you to begin to see the invisible as the visible?  Is it possible that God has been and still is actively working all around you every second of your life but you have not developed the capacity to see him?  It’s through the human imagination that God gives us the capacity to connect the visible to the invisible. 

A part of the human brain is to create imaginations but the other part is the will.  In psalms 73 Asaph says; “and the evil imaginations of their hearts and minds know no limits…” the problem with all crimes or wrong doings is that the people who committed the wrong, let that ‘wrong thought’ evolve within their imagination. Maybe there were times in your lives where you trusted and loved someone but they brought so much pain and hurt, so much betrayal and disappointment to you but what hurt you the most was that you never imagined them to do anything like that...  the problem is that before it ever even happened, it was imagined. 

Whenever God gives us a gift of great value and essence it can always become a curse… Part of the dynamic of the human imagination is that we can choose which way to go within it.  You can take your imagination to destruction, violence and evil, you can take it to places that are seemingly unimaginable. We have been given the choice on how to live our lives.

The universe that you create in your imagination is the universe that will hold you captive.  Our imagination holds us responsible to do what we want with our WILL.  But there is this difficulty between imagination and WILL; believe it or not every time you imagine, it’s actually your WILL choosing where it wants to go… it’s completely engaged in this internal universe.  Scriptures tell us so as a person thinks in their hearts that’s who they are because when you are inside your heart, your mind, imagination and your dreams, you are creating not just the world that you will live in but also you are creating the YOU that will live in this world.  And inside this created universe your WILL is the creative agent.  And as you create this world your ‘WILL’ will choose what to take into the world of reality.  Your ‘WILL’ determines what to take from the invisible to the visible… Genesis 4 gives us a conversation found within the life story of Cain and Able.  I think that this passage is some of the greatest insight from God on what happens when we allow our minds to go wild.  God said to Cain; “why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you but you must master it.”  The human imagination is the playground or workroom where we can create our universe.  But our will is what God has given us to ensure that we can have mastery over our imagination and it’s what our imagination steers into reality.  God was saying to Cain, “Cain why are you angry, why are you letting yourself get upset? Cain why are you acting like you do not have a choice?!!  If you do what is right, it’s not too late for you.  You know what to do; you know how to do it and your capable of it.  You must choose to be the master of your imagination.

Just a Thought

Becoming your Superman.

The blood of a superhero flows within you.

In a hurry as if everyone depended on him, the little boy grabbed his superhero cape and jetted out the door hardly hearing his mother as she yelled after him; “Tommy, don’t stay out to long! Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes!”  With a grin on her face she turned towards her husband and said; “That boy is off to save somebody again.  When will you tell him that superhero’s don’t exist? He is old enough to know now!… I just don’t want the other kids at school teasing him.”

Wasn’t it fun when you where just a kid and you were allowed to use your imagination without limitation? As we get older we begin to live in a world surrounded by fear.  But children have this amazing way of not knowing when they are supposed to be afraid.  Somehow they find courage and strength to press on in the darkest of hours when adults seem to have long forgotten who they are truly meant to become.

Becoming the Ultimate Superhero is not something to be taken easy.  Many people live their lives wishing and hoping that they were something more than they really are.  The reality is… they are, we are… each of us is born to become the Ultimate Superhero.  

As a child I grew up a huge fan of superman.  In fact secretly I still am.  I have had superman hats, shirts, belts, gloves, house slippers, posters and many other superman accessories.  But growing up I was a superman loner fan.  Everyone else liked Spiderman, Batman, the X-men or whatever other insignificant superheroes that linked in the shadows of Superman.  When I was young I liked superman not only because he was the strongest, fastest and most elite but as well because he could do everything that I have ever dreamed of doing.  As an adult I now look at this superhero with a different perspective.  I guess I’m drawn to him because of the similarities between him and what we “Christians” are supposed to be like.

Growing up superman had no idea of his supernatural strength.  He thought he was just like everyone else, limited in a sense by the boundaries of this universe.  As he began to grow and mature something inside of him began to erupt causing an over-abundance of powers to overflow from within him. When we Christians are young in spirit often times we feel limited and powerless to do the work of our Heavenly Father.  We don’t realize that deep down within us is a surge of power just waiting to be released for the glory of our Father.  As superman began to enter into his adolescence, his powers became exposed to him when in desperation and in need… it seems even for us, when we are in desperate times, in our deepest of troubles, if we humbly approach the throne of grace, it is at those times when we look up towards God that HE begins to release the powers of his Spirit which he placed within us.  You see, it’s not where you’re from that’s important; it’s WHERE YOU’RE GOING. It’s not what you drive, it’s what DRIVES you.  It’s not what's on you; it’s what's IN you.  And it’s definitely not what you think, but it’s what you KNOW that is of importance.  And if you truly dedicate yourself to God you will succeed indeed at becoming a chosen superhero.  Superheroes are born superheroes.  They don’t just become a superhero one day after doing something incredible.  They have always had the blood of a superhero flowing within them.  We must always let the world know us as who we are! Not as you think you should be!  Christians are superheroes sent by God to bring his children home.  Sooner or later if you are posing to be someone you really are not,  there will come a time when you will forget to pose and the photographers around you will quickly pursue you taking photos so that all may see the real you, the one who faked his “superheroness.”

Superman was born with many powers but did not discover them until a later age.  Among his powers are a chilling breath that can freeze anything in its path, laser eyes which can melt the toughest of metals, strength that can lift cars, move buildings and even stop a locomotive in its tracks, speed faster than a speeding bullet, and the ability to fly anywhere and everywhere.   Although superman’s world is not our world, they are very similar indeed.  All of his power, his strength and endurance come from the sun.  It’s as if he is one with the sun, like he belongs and must partake daily from it.  He desires and craves the energy that the sun puts out.  In fact he is powerless without the sun.  Our power as well comes from a Son, but not from the sun that exhorts our earth, but from the one and only Son of the living God. We may not have super powered breath that can freeze a flame without putting it out, but we do have a breath so powerful that when used correctly it can extinguish the fires of hell.  We may not have laser eyes that can cut through cement walls or the strongest of metals, but we do have such a powerful flame in our eyes that when we release the fire of love from within, we can impact and change even the toughest of criminals who daily are being crucified on their cross. We have the strength given to us from God to move mountains and to fight the armies of a thousand worriers single handedly.  There are no limitations contained in us because through the power of the Holy Spirit we my dear friends have the abilities to do all things because Jesus went to the father for us. All of the power that lives within us is given to us from the Son of God.  If we desire and crave Jesus, if we long to encounter him daily he will pour upon us his wondrous power in an exceedingly way so much so that any force that comes our way will stop at the sound of the voice which Jesus placed within us.  Jesus himself said in John 14:12-14; “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.”  Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “For this I reason to remind you to fan into flame the gift of God… … for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of POWER, LOVE, and SELF-DISCIPLINE.” This spirit, this Holy Spirit of power, love and self-discipline utterly completes what we need to live the life of the superhero within us.  If we build upon our strengths the power that is within us will gradually destroy the weaknesses contained in our blood.

There was a comic series that was written and published a few years after superman’s greatest debut.  It was the story of superman dying and then coming back to life. Superman’s job here on earth as well as his passion was to provide protection for mankind from the evil that lurks throughout this world.  Our job as well is to provide protection to humanity by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.  One day Superman was faced with an enemy that he couldn’t defeat.  He fought his fight but in the end he fell to his enemy.   After his death he came face to face with his father who in turn gave him a choice between life and death.  I'm frequently reminded of this story and how each one of us when facing the death that sin brings into our lives have a choice to make; Life with Christ or death with sin.  We like superman were given a choice from our Heavenly Father.  The only difference is that we must make our choice daily; to live lively with HIM or to die along with this world.  There is a power beyond powerful flowing within us, in fact words can’t even describe this power, and it abides entirely within us eagerly waiting to be used.  It is the power of the living God.  With this power we become more than superheroes, we become a chosen son of the Holy God… simply put we become Christ-like.  

Just a Thought

I often think about my past; remembering things that I used to do, not because they haunt me but because those thoughts remind me of whom I am now in Christ Jesus.  Remembering my old ways aids to advance my current life.  It helps me to abscond further and further away from the lifestyle that I once had.  I remember not too long ago I was living with a friend who would often aggravate me to the point of where I just wanted to fall off from the map of friendship with him.  My response to an irritating person was always “silence.”  I would simply ignore whoever was bothering me.  I tried hard not to be exceedingly cruel but to be honest I think keeping silent in a moment where words are needed can be beyond excruciating.  In fact I believe that silence can be the beginning downfall of many relationships.  When extremely annoyed I would act as if the person who brought me to that point of annoyance did not even exist.  Literally they would enter the room, ask a question or try to start a conversation and I would just walk away as if they were invisible.  It’s silly and childish to do things like that but it was the way I coped with frustration, annoyance and many other issues. 

I remembered a girlfriend I once had; she would walk into my house after an argument we just had and act as if nothing was wrong.  Now I'm not the type of person who likes to argue but I like all matters to be solved before I could move on.  And because certain issues were not taken care of, I just kept my silence thinking to myself that I won’t say or do anything until that certain person sees their fault.  I wanted them to figure out the mistakes on their own.  Christians must try hard not to let the ways of their past dictate their lives.  We should not let our past be part of who we are now.  With the help of our Lord and Savior, everything that we used to be should quickly demolish, leaving behind our old worldly self, and advancing in excessive growth through Christ.  By allowing Christ to destroy our anger, frustration, lunatic obsessions, and any other outrageous ways that us humans have, we open a passage to a new beginning  living as Christ asks us to live.

This past week God placed a passage on my heart that put a great challenge on the hearts of the people I shared this with. 

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”  “Yes Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” then Jesus said, “Feed my Lambs.”  Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”  He answered, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”  The third time Jesus said to Peter, “Simon son of John do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” said Jesus.  “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  Again Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

I want to put your focus just on a few words from this passage; “Feed my sheep.” The idea of these words is far beyond the majority of what people think.  The profound meaning of these words I believe touch the very essence of what a Christian must be.  What did Jesus mean when he told peter to feed his sheep?  Why did he repeat himself three times?  “Do you love me,” said Jesus, “then feed my sheep!” 

Lately here in Spain I have seen that more and more people own a dog.  In fact the majority of all my Spanish friends have a dog.  These dogs have become more than just a dog; they have become part of these peoples family.  I have one friend in particular who treats his dog like a true friend should treat another friend.  Every morning he wakes up to feed his dog breakfast, but before he does he lovingly welcomes him into his arms caring for him as if he was his beloved companion.  This friend of mine not only cares for his dog once or twice a day but all day long he serves this dog in a compassionate way as if they were the only two beings left alive on this planet.  He cheerfully provides care for this dog as if this it were a king. 

Now I don’t want to compare us to dogs or say that we should serve them but I want to simply illustrate what Jesus was saying when he said, “feed my sheep.”  I read this passage one day and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart explaining the very meaning of what Jesus was saying.  Another translation of the word feed is “to supply nourishment.”  Jesus is saying, “If you declare that you love me; then go! Rain heavily in a nourishing way upon all my sheep!  Feed them the love that I have poured out upon you! Hold MY sheep in high honor humbling yourselves before them cascading your very being upon them as if they were a chosen king! Offer yourselves in a serving manner so that they may know my name!”  If we truly love Jesus, there should not be even a hint of immorality, impurity, greed, anger, malice, deceit, hatred, annoyance, discrimination, or anything else that does not come from the Holy Spirit to reside within us. Apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians that such a man does not have any inheritance in the kingdom of God.  We cannot act in any such way toward any of Christ's sheep! But instead we must feed them with a loving kindness, building them up according to their needs in such a serving way that God may be glorified through our actions. 

How often do we find ourselves so occupied in our own world that we forget the true meaning of our calling?  How many friends do we walk by without lending a hand or our heart for their needs?  Better yet how many Lambs that need to be fed daily do we come in contact with and simply walk by like they don’t even exist? If you love me, then feed my sheep!

Colossians chapter 2:20; “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?  What is it about us that we eagerly talk the big talk regarding our profound love for Jesus Christ but we don’t even come close to living the life the he called us to live?  Why do we still submit to the principles of this world, touching with our own hands in a desperate way, tasting everything that this world offers in an overindulging way, and even handling what God calls sin with our own heart and soul which one day praises God and the other day abuses him?!!  The devil hurriedly comes and offers us a buffet of sins with a pleasing approach and we rudely push others out of the way so that we may taste just a little.  James the brother of Jesus says it best; therefore get rid of ALL moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly except the word planted in you which can save you… …with our tongue we praise our lord and father, and with it we curse men who have been made in Gods likeness.  Out of the same mouth come both praise and cursing!  My dear friends if you love our precious Lord Jesus Christ, then your patience, loving kindness, gentleness, compassion humility, etc. should saturate entirely over the lambs of Christ so that they too may learn of HIM and share in the heavenly kingdom.  Blessed are those who nourish Christ's sheep!!