Morning and Evening Readings...

My morning and evening bible readings (I've been reading the Bible in the mornings and at bedtime since beginning of the year) have been a blessing. I'm in the book of 1 Kings right now, and notice things I haven't noticed before. The Bible is such an amazing and miraculous book! I am so humbled by all of the wisdom and paradoxes that are laid out for us to ponder and pray about. Until this reading I thought that the widow who gave Elijah the bread (her last) got bread and oil for the rest of her life. On this reading I see that the reason she was out of bread was because of the severe drought, and Elijah told her that the flour and oil would replenish itself UNTIL it rained again:



1Ki 17:14  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 

https://wonderingpreacher.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/elijah-and-the-widow-of-zarephath-a-prayer/

Spiritual Gifts

My morning reading was in the book of 1 Corinthians, and it is interesting to me that the things that caused contentions then still do so even today. I guess we do not change all that much, do we?

1Co 11:18 ... when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,
1Co 11:19  for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.


The Lord even has a plan in this, He's got it under control even when it all looks out of whack to you and me. And we must take care when we think we have it so much better than everyone else, because all good gifts come from God, not from ourselves, and He has these things to further His kingdom, which in His kindness and generosity He has made available to us who do not deserve it, let's face it NONE OF US do.

1Co 12:22 ... the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
1Co 12:23  and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
1Co 12:24  which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
1Co 12:25  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.


When we proudly wag our finger at others for their shame, shame, shame, we need to be careful (and I say this especially to myself!!!I am GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY  of this terrible offense),  because the Lord who sees all will correct the problems correctly in His time. In the meantime let us not know anything more than Jesus and that He was crucified for our sins that we might live and reign with Him forever.

1Co 2:1  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
1Co 2:2  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Co 2:3  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
1Co 2:4  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1Co 2:5  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

True Love

Open rebuke is better than secret love.   
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 
 Proverbs 27:5-6


Does anything more need to be said?

Do You Love Me?

Jesus asked that of Peter 3 times. "Peter do you love me?....Feed my sheep"

So often I hear people say that they "love" Jesus, and it might be true. However Jesus knows whether we really love Him, or whether the "love" we have is all just talk and no action.

Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men

Last night one of the girls I work with said when WTC was hit in 2001, she broke up with her boyfriend the following week. The reason? She said she found herself thinking of all the people she loved, but her boyfriend was the furthest thing from her mind. She realized then that she didn't really love him, so she broke up with him. At first I thought this strange but I realize now that she was right to do this. She was being honest and so she did what she knew she had to do, she had to do what is right.

There are things that you do for the ones you truly love. There is a communion that you have, you would suffer and even lay down your life for those that you love. You would know if that isn't there. How much more would that be true of our relationship to Jesus? He likens our relationship to a marriage. What kind of relationship would it be if the husband did all the loving, and the wife only gave lip service? Would the marriage last?

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

I was brought up Seventh day Adventist, so these verses were always used to say "You see? We have to keep the Saturday sabbath to prove that our love is real." Is that really what He's talking about here?
No, that isn't what Jesus is saying here. That would be too easy, and if that were the case, the pharisees would have been His biggest supporters and truest lovers.

 Jesus laid down His life for the sheep. He died a vicious death why? Just for loving people, truly loving them, and being hated for it. How did He love them? He healed them of all manner of their diseases and told the hypocrites (the ones hiding behind their masks) the truth so that He could heal them of their hypocrisy. And how did they thank Him? You would think that they would love Him, and yet, when He was brought to the courts, even his closest disciples left Him. When He poured out His heart in Gethsemane, the ones who you would have thought would endure everything with Him, fell asleep! Then when Jesus went before the Jewish sanhedrin, the disciple who said he would never let Jesus down denied he even knew Him! That is the kind of love we have, the kind that Peter had, and the kind that I see all too frequently. It is a said love rather than a true love,  and I am ashamed of myself for being that weak. I definitely do not want to be comfortable in that weakness, and pretend to having "love" when I know it is all just talk.

I pray that the Lord would kindle His fire in me, and make my heart of stone into a heart that truly desires to do His will, to the laying down of my flesh.

 1Jn 3:16  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 


No pretense of love or holiness will pass the test here. God desires our whole entire being. If we truly love Him, we would feed His sheep, the way He fed His sheep, even to the laying down of our lives as truly living sacrifices to the truth of His word, not caring whether people agree with us, or "love" (or say they love) us, but doing what Jesus did even if it gets us killed, but perhaps causes even one person to see the truth and become truly saved by God through any suffering we might suffer. That is true love. That is feeding God's sheep. Not fluffy words that get you "kudos" and empty words of comfort and praise that don't hold the forever test. Not things that stroke our egos into thinking we are something when we are nothing. How true is your and my love really? Can it go through the fires and endure the hatred of men and still all-the-while hold out hands to try to reach those who are lost? Or will we succumb to our flesh and come up with every excuse as to why God doesn't expect us to do that, and that He wants us to coddle our and each other's flesh. Loving our flesh....and each other's flesh....is that the love Jesus taught us? Is that what the Bible says? If your Bible says that, it isn't the same Bible I have been reading.

God Feeds the Ravens...

I love the way Pastor Dykstra preaches. He speaks honestly, and exposes that what God does is so different from how we would do it. He points out that the Bible says that God feeds the ravens, but doesn't do it in a way that we feed our pets. He makes the food available, and the ravens have to expend some energy to get it. God's love also requires something from each of us.

Listen to the whole sermon here:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=923121784410

Yes He is merciful and kind, and yes He is HOLY (a very important part of God that many would rather forget about).

This sermon talks about worrying, the sin of worrying. We all do it, so don't flatter yourself thinking that you don't, lol. We all do it, me too, guilty. Thank the Lord, He provides these councils to help us not to hurt us. When we worry, we hurt ourselves. Everything He tells us about sin reveals that we abuse ourselves with our sin in one way or another. He shows us our sins not to be angry at us or because He hates us. He hates sin. He hates sin because sin destroys us. When He spanks us, it isn't because He is a hateful and angry God. Why is that our first reaction? Because we have a convoluted perception of who God is, and that He does what He does not because He loves punishing us, but because He loves us and wants to prevent us from heading for even greater harm.

 He requires something from us. Perfection? No.

 Trust.

 Trust gets rid of worry. Trust even in the most difficult of times. Trust even when everyone hates us or want to kill us. God still provides us through anything we will go through in this life, and in ways that we often don't give Him credit for because He provides for us indirectly. Trust that even though standing for what is right will get us hated, even by the most "loving" people....and God will see us through.

It's a Pity

image link

The way I see the word "pity" used these days brings up an image of someone who disdains the unfortunate by having a haughtiness while looking down at other people's misfortune.  I've often seen it used in such a way, and also that it is wrong (politically incorrect) to pity other people's misfortunes, that to feel pity is somehow demeaning. More and more it seems that it is more acceptable to be cold and unfeeling rather than to feel pity.

Merriam Webster's definition of the word "pity":

1. sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy b : capacity to feel pity

2. something to be regretted <it's a pity you can't go>

1. She has had a hard life and deserves your pity.
2. I felt deep pity for the lost dog.
3. He didn't live to see his daughter grow up, and that's a pity.

I think God pities us, I think Jesus pitied Jerusalem when He wept (see link for image above).  I think the word "pity" has become distorted just as the word "charity" (God's perfect love) has devolved to now mean giving your cast aways and left overs to the poor. 

I think it would be good if we all felt a good dose of pity for the weak, the perishing, and the lost. Did "pity" get a bad rap because of "Mr. T"?

Mr. T

Perfection Part 3

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Those words sound nice as the pastor reads them in front of the congregation, and everyone nods their head and smiles at the person in the next pew. And then everyone goes home, and looks with scorn on the young woman with a child out of wedlock, or the homosexual and his "partner". Easier said than done....

What does it mean, to "love your enemy"? Does it mean you agree with everything he or she says and does? Does Jesus agree with everything I say and do? I should freely exclaim that is not the case at all. Then how can I quote those verses above and say we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect?

I was watching a talk show while I was working out yesterday, and there was a woman and her daughter who had lost another daughter because the daughter's ex-boyfriend and his new fiance murdered her viciously. The mother and brother of the fiance was on the set of this program, sitting quite a distance apart from the mother and daughter. They also connected by video to the fiance daughter/sister at her prison where they say she will be for the next 18 years. The fiance said she was sorry. Honestly, she didn't truly seem sorry to me, and her words still sounded like she didn't feel like it was her fault. On this show they described how she participated in the murder. They described how she joined the all day vigils while they were searching for her, and helped in the searches. The mother and daughter told of their heartfelt anger and their doubt in the truth of the sorrow and asking for forgiveness because the fiance's mom never apologized until the time of this broadcast, and that the boy's mom and dad immediately came to her to say how terribly sorry they were. The mom, brother, and fiance had ugly looks on their faces, and were not attractive to begin with. It was easy to dislike them, and think "They aren't sorry! They are guilty as sin and are not a bit sorry...but somehow just want to get sympathy for their terrible daughter/sister" ...and then I remember the parable:


Mat 18:21  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Mat 18:23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28  But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Mat 18:29  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:30  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31  So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

I might be able to fake it....but if I were that mom or that sister, I confess that I would have a really hard time forgiving that girl and her family. It came out (and she denies it) that she was the primary instigator in the murder. She did not want the girl alive because she thought her fiance might still have feelings for her and wanted the ultimate proof that he no longer loved her. But she is asking for forgiveness, regardless of how terrible the circumstances and how much we may dislike her, she is looking for forgiveness....and so thinking on the words of Jesus, and the impossibility of my own fleshy reaction to this situation, I would ask, as His disciples asked Him in another situation:

Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 

and the answer from Jesus:

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

I have my people that I am struggling with to forgive. They have not asked for my forgiveness, but should that stop me from having a forgiving heart?  Does that mean what they did wasn't wrong? Does it mean that I agree with what they did and accept the wrongs as right? No. It just simply means that I know what they did was wrong, and I let it go to God, and say with Jesus: "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do"

God's Book

 Link to image

I had once heard somewhere (I really can't remember where anymore.... so I apologize that I cannot give the source) that our lives are like books that we are writing for others to read (just like the Bible records the lives of people in other times and the things that God did for them and through them). I am writing my own book with how I live each day, each day is a journal entry into the book of my life that is written into the sands of time (think of the sandy beach in the footprints poem... and the sands moving down through an hourglass) each day is leaving it's imprint in the story of my life.
....As such, am I happy with my book so far? Is it one that I want others to read?

The Bible has many references to lives lived many years ago, and tells the whole story. It tells of both the good and the bad  that had happened, and also tells how the Lord intervened in the lives which are on display in it's pages. We can see the highs and the lows of what the flesh can do and how it all falls short, because in the end Jesus needed to die to redeem all that was so hopelessly lost. Even King David who was a man after God's own heart, made some very tragic decisions that caused him sorrow and shame, but the Lord used him as a key person in Jesus' family tree.

When I think of all of the pages of MY book, there are pages I would like to tear out and never let anyone see because I would be horrified to show off my shame. But when I picture it from God's perspective, seeing it as revealing His love and compassion of HOW MUCH God is able to forgive, it tells a different story. It tells a story of reclamation and of the incredible success in spite of impossible odds against it.

This brings to my mind:

 Luk 7:36  And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
Luk 7:37  And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
Luk 7:38  And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Luk 7:39  Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
Luk 7:40  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
Luk 7:41  There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
Luk 7:42  And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Luk 7:43  Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Luk 7:44  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Luk 7:45  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
Luk 7:46  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Luk 7:47  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Luk 7:48  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

The passage above doesn't say what the pharisee's sins were, but I imagine that he had terrible sins just like anyone else...but let's just say he didn't, that he lived an almost perfect life...and didn't need God's forgiveness (or so he thought)...his self-justification blocked the love Jesus wanted to bestow upon him, and not only that, Jesus said "to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little" ...

Wow.

You mean to tell me if I live a scrupulous life and have very little that I need forgiveness for, that actually works against me??? What?

Let's look at another one:

Luk 18:9  And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Is your life one that you would be embarrassed to have published? Then how much more wonderful it would be read your book with the addition of the  love bestowed through Jesus. Then we see all these things in the proper context of forgiveness, and the love that it grows in us (His recipients) as a result of that wonderful forgiveness that reached so deep that all those many horrible things are now turned into the beautiful gold of all that love which gets returned to Him in our answers to His generosity.

In Spite of the Fact...

link to image

Ugh! this is a difficult one to write about...

The word spite is such a venomous word. It has such an abruptness and curtness, and the way it is pronounced it sounds to me like it is being spat out, and it also has a bite (because it rhymes with bite?) to it. It's a word that came to mind today as I was on my way to work. Spite.

Recently we had a "compliance" meeting at my place of employment. In this meeting we were told that the company is very open to hearing all of our complaints so they can correct the many problems besetting our workplace, cut waste, and get rid of the problem people. They promised it would be completely confidential, and told anecdotal stories of people that got justice and then some by calling the compliance hotline. What a temptation to tell this new company the things that have happened to me, and how I had failed to receive my deserved justice....and not only that, but that the person who did me such injustice has been placed over me as a "lead"....now's my chance to get back...Spite.

 link to image

When I first thought of this opportunity, it seemed delicious. Ahhhh yes, I can finally get justice...but there was a little something that didn't feel quite right, so I put it to prayer and asked for God's input, because to me it didn't seem wrong to finally get the record set straight.

So as I'm driving to work, the word "spite" pops into my head. I mull over the word, and think of the people that have really wronged me, and that I have spiteful feelings toward. There are 3, and I named them, and I placed them before the Lord, and asked the Lord's help to release it truly...because I've tried, and then I see it come back once again with a vengeance.

Jesus suffered the greatest injustices ever experienced, and yet completely without malice He asked the Father to forgive them (and me)....and He says to me:

Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

(for those who love works, there it is... all the works God requires of us is to forgive others as He has forgiven us, 
that's the whole ball of wax)

Faith vs Fear

Simple and concise, and accurate. Those are the three components of these charts  (link removed at NehemiahMinistries website owner's request) which compare a life lived in faith, and one that is lived in fear. The "SELF CYCLE" always results in fear. The "LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT" results in faith. Seeing that so simply and elegantly put makes my heart sing and rejoice in the truth of it!

That is the component (fear)  which bothers me so much from those who try to impose their methods of worship onto others. Where is it coming from? Is it coming from a place that longs for loving fellowship? Well, on some level, I do believe that they do desire loving fellowship. Are their methods  coming from a place that imposes subtle threats, and stirs up fear in others, fear that God will punish those who don't follow the prescribed rituals for obedience? That is how it is perceived by me anyway...

Jesus said what He did to us because He loves us. He did not come to condemn the world (John 3:16-17), but to stir us to follow Him, and not a church organization or a system of doctrines and rituals. Jesus desires a relationship with us that is based on truth, an honest one, where we admit our failures, and accept His mercy and life-giving intervention working in us and through us. It is His light that needs to shine through us, not our fear-based efforts to try to placate an angry God

Hebrews 4:15-16  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.   Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Merry Giggling Christmas :)

I saw this on CPR Ezra's blog...I LOVE IT :D

Agape is the Greek Word for Love

Actually, I once heard a Bible teacher say Agape was a word coined by Paul because there was no word in the Greek at that time which conveyed the kind of love that God alone is capable of having all the time.

 link

 The word "charity" has come to mean something other than what it meant in the old King James English. It used to be the word for the kind of love that Jesus has for us, full of grace and compassion and long suffering. Now it means giving to the Salvation Army your cast offs that you no longer need, or doing something out of pity, or out of wanting others to commend you for your "charitable works". I've seen this passage sometimes used to beat fellow brothers and sisters over the head with to "encourage" them (it has happened to me personally and I've seen it used on others too) to be more "loving" ( in other words: "don't say anything that will cause me to face anything that will challenge my selfishness and otherwise fleshy sensibilities please"). This is a passage that is personal. It is a passage that the Lord speaks to His own in times of quiet reflection. It isn't something to harass others with to get them in lock-step with yourself, forcing them to be your personal "yes-men" out of their "love" for you. It is to remind us of God's love, and how we often do not measure up to that incredible love that He has for us, and that His Spirit grows in us by His doing.

THE LOVE CHAPTER

1Corinthians 12:30-13:13  Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

  But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,
                          I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 

 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity,
                         I am nothing. 

 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity,

                         it profiteth me nothing. 

 Charity suffereth long, and is kind;
               Charity envieth not;  
                      charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
 Doth not
          behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not
          her own,
is not
         easily provoked,
thinketh no
         evil;
 Rejoiceth not
         in iniquity,

but  
   rejoiceth in the truth;
   Beareth all things,
   believeth all things,
   hopeth all things,
   endureth all things.

 Charity never faileth:

but whether there be prophecies,  
        they shall fail; 
whether there be tongues, 
        they shall cease; 
whether there be knowledge,
        it shall vanish away. 

  For we know
                     in part,
and we prophesy  
                     in part. 
  But when that which is perfect is come,
                     then that which is in part shall be done away. 

  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

  And now abideth  
                      faith,
                      hope,  
              charity, these three;
                                       but the greatest of these is charity.