tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49864410518070191282024-03-05T16:08:41.059-08:00Kidd Family BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-40503961724440019312014-01-15T12:54:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.507-07:00Why we homeschool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VQQmQRIX3rrekx3Vj75Pv2A7xqHDBV6xNO1J7oeq4D8D8rzN9WAB_dnitka4SkdJt9pmf0wU0Bn5FtNkbMz02ZpKwyw72ZgADFDTs7luL5hT_ANQMbtjHPS1INsRIZO14G_TokYiuNU/s1600/homeschool101logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VQQmQRIX3rrekx3Vj75Pv2A7xqHDBV6xNO1J7oeq4D8D8rzN9WAB_dnitka4SkdJt9pmf0wU0Bn5FtNkbMz02ZpKwyw72ZgADFDTs7luL5hT_ANQMbtjHPS1INsRIZO14G_TokYiuNU/s1600/homeschool101logo.jpg" /></a></div><br />When my wife and I started this homeschooling journey 11-12 years ago, we started out with many "good" reasons for homeschooling our children, and I am thankful for them. When considering homeschooling, I remember a pastor at the church we attended giving us some wisdom out of the Bible. He said, "If you want your children to become fools, let them spend most of their time with fools. If you want your children to be wise, let them spend most of their time with wise people". That made good sense to me, and it still does. Also, since most of the people in this church were homeschooling, it made it easier for us to decide to homeschool. Furthermore, since the public schools are a haven for foolishness, bad behavior, bullying, etc. we wanted to protect our children, shelter them, and provide a Christian worldview for them to follow. We wanted to be able to influence them more than their peers and protect them from the public school agendas of evolutionism, gay rights, sex ed, etc. <br /><br />A few years later, our family joined a very traditional, “family-integrated” church group. Our reasons for homeschooling stayed the same in some ways, but we became more legalistic and behavior-focused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wanted our children to grow up to be "good" people, who attend a "good" church, find a "good" spouse, get a "good" job(only if they are men :) ), be good citizens, have many children, dress nice, and do all the things we thought were best for them. We wanted our children to stay true to the faith so we would look like great parents, and our children would turn out to be model Christians who dress, talk, and act like a Christian. We figured that by sheltering them and keeping out all evil influences, we could achieve this goal. Our goal was to only allow them to associate with others who were "like-minded".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have since left that church and many of the ideals they represented.<o:p></o:p><br /><br />What we have been considering lately is this: Are these reasons for homeschooling enough? What are the main reasons why we homeschool?<br /><br />After looking at the first three websites that popped up on Google search, I am convinced that most people are excluding God and any spiritual reasons from their decision-making process. Although practical reasons are good, they are not enough.<br /><a href="http://www.oddparts.com/missions/homeschool.htm" target="_blank">Reasons to homeschool web site 1</a><br /><a href="http://12most.com/2012/02/07/compelling-reasons-to-homeschool-children/" target="_blank">Reasons to homeschool web site 2</a><br /><a href="http://www.homeschool-curriculum.org/reasons-for-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">Reasons to homeschool web site 3</a><br /><br />My wife was looking at a facebook post the other day that asked for a vote on reasons for homeschooling. She was amazed that out of 120 responses, only two of them said that God had led them to homeschool. Most of the responses involve some sort of a criticism of the public school system, and the need to protect their children from it. Other responses involved the superior education their children were able to receive at home.<br /><br />Even though I happen to agree with many of these good reasons for homeschooling, they aren't the primary goal any more for us. If our goal is to shelter, protect, and produce good behaving people who are well-educated, we haven't really gained much. Yes, good character and being different from the world is good, but why? If that's all we have, we are only going to produce Pharisees who look down their noses at those who are different or don't measure up to their standards. <br /><br />Philippians 3:4-9<br /><em><span class="text Phil-3-4" id="en-NIV-29426"><sup class="versenum">4 </sup>though I myself have reasons for such confidence. </span><span class="text Phil-3-4">If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:</span> <span class="text Phil-3-5" id="en-NIV-29427"><sup class="versenum">5 </sup>circumcised<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29427F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)"></sup> on the eighth day, of the people of Israel,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29427G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)"></sup> of the tribe of Benjamin,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29427H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)"></sup> a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29427I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Phil-3-6" id="en-NIV-29428"><sup class="versenum">6 </sup>as for zeal,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29428J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)"></sup> persecuting the church;<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29428K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)"></sup> as for righteousness based on the law,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29428L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)"></sup> faultless. </span><span class="text Phil-3-7" id="en-NIV-29429"><sup class="versenum">7 </sup>But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29429M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)"></sup> for the sake of Christ.</span> <span class="text Phil-3-8" id="en-NIV-29430"><sup class="versenum">8 </sup>What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29430N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)"></sup> Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29430O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Phil-3-9" id="en-NIV-29431"><sup class="versenum">9 </sup>and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29431P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)"></sup> but that which is through faith in<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-29431a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+3&version=NIV#fen-NIV-29431a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> Christ—the righteousness<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29431Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)"></sup> that comes from God on the basis of faith.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29431R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)"></sup></span></em><br /><br />So, what is our goal now? My wife wrote this last week, and I think it sums it up very well.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><em>The world is and has been changing, the tide has/is turning….. It is time to rethink “Christianity” in our country. Who are we called to be? Why are we doing what we do as far as homeschooling/raising our children/discipling others? Why has God called us to raise our children this way? Live this way? Is it to protect? Shelter? NO! God is asking us to be and raise up a people that KNOW and LOVE Him in such a way that they will be able and willing to stand ALONE with Him in adverse circumstances. Yes, as Christians, we are a blessing to one another but the world needs Christians that won’t back down individually or in small groups, a people that don’t need or rely on a mediator and 100’s or even 1000’s of other likeminded people standing with them. There is a time coming and has come in some countries, when there will no longer be the possibility of crowd following and still walking with God. Our children and families may not have “beautiful” lives and futures by our homeschooling, “Christian” standards…they will need to have an intimate relationship with God to walk through adverse circumstances with Him. Our goal in homeschooling is not and cannot be to “protect, instill, groom, etc”. It is to raise up godly men and women that are willing to walk with God in a Holy Army that will require everything of them.<u5:p></u5:p></em></div><br />To summarize, we homeschool because we believe God has called us to raise our children up as disciples of Jesus:<br />1. We believe God has called us to this task of homeschooling(discipleship).<br />2. We want our children to know Jesus relationally, and love him with all their heart.<br />3. We want our children to love others and be a light to them, not judge them harshly.<br />4. We desire our children to have the ability to think for themselves so they won't follow the crowd.<br />5. We desire our children to be strong in the face of adversity, willing to follow God no matter what the cost.<br />6. We desire our children to be among those who do not love their lives even unto death. Rev. 12<br /><br />To wrap this up, let me share with you something I learned from watching the new Hobbit movie: The Desolation of Smaug. In the movie, the wood elves are hearing reports about the evil rising in middle-earth. They argue amongst themselves about whether they should just continue hiding in their safe place, ignore the suffering of others around them, and try to wait for the evil to pass. Here is a quote.<br /><br /><em>Tauriel (female elf): When did we allow evil to become stronger than us?<br />Legolas (male elf): It is not our fight.<br />Tauriel (female elf): It is our fight.</em><br /><br />Tauriel ends up defying the wishes of the leader of the elves(Thranduil), leaves the safety of their home, and helps those who need help. First, by healing a dwarf, and second, by giving her assistance in the fight against evil.<br /><br />I ask you this same question - When did we Christians allow evil to become stronger than us?<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-64672967598888457732013-12-01T19:50:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.526-07:00A word of encouragement and Blessing to Homeschoolers<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Word of Encouragement and Blessing to Homeschooling Mothers, Fathers, and Children<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If Jesus were speaking directly to you right now, and he is speaking to you, he would say:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you for choosing the narrow path, the difficult way. It leads to abundant life, great blessing, and eternal benefits and rewards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have called you to a Holy, set apart lifestyle and you have responded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know the way is difficult and you feel like giving up sometimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come to me when you feel worn-out, tired, burned-out, stressed out, and heavily laden with many burdens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will give you rest and life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Resist the pull to compare yourself with others and look to the right or the left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Re-focus your gaze and your heart upon me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember that your main purpose in raising your children is to teach them to love me with all their hearts and to follow me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Homeschooling Moms, the Father is so pleased with your love and care for his children. Nothing escapes the Father’s notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your purpose and calling as a mother and teacher during this season is valuable and significant beyond what you can see with your limited perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have sacrificed much to make the decision and accept the call to train up your children in the way the Father has created them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Father is pleased with you and proud of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t grow weary in doing good, continue to fight the good fight of faith and finish the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strength, wisdom, and energy will fill you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May an increase of love, purpose, and vision come upon you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moms, resist the lie that comes and tells you your task is without purpose or significance just because nobody seems to honor or recognize you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The First will be Last, and the Last will be First in my kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may appear to be Last according to the values system of this world, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, you are first because you are a loving servant.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Homeschooling Dads, support and love your family in more ways than just financially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Encourage your wife and children, be genuinely interested and engaged in their day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your interest and encouragement will help pull them through difficult seasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have sacrificed much to be a homeschooling Father, and the Father notices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is pleased that you work hard to support your family in many ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your words have life and can encourage your family to be the overcomers I have called them to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You, as a Father, have the power to call forth and encourage the identity of your wife and children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your example of hard work, servant-leadership, self-sacrifice, love, and courage sets the tone for your family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come to the Father for your true identity and vision, do not go to the world for identity and their standard of success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are a true son of God, now go and call forth your children as sons and daughters of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teach them to love this world with my love, and train them for war to defeat the darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t call you to homeschooling so that you and your family would hide from the world, but I called you to homeschooling so you can raise up world-changers who will carry my love to the lost sons and daughters.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I declare over the children clear vision, ears to hear, and teachable, tender hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let them have open minds that listen to their mother and father’s wisdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give the children the Father’s heart for this world and his love for people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the spirit of rebellion over this generation be broken and not touch these children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the children choose wisdom and life that leads to blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the children really come to know God in a deeply personal way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let them resist the world, the flesh, and the devil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let them avoid the snares of the enemy and stay on the narrow road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let them learn to hear the voice of God and obey that voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the Holy Spirit fill them and flow through them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show them who you really are, Father, and show them what you have created and called them to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You children are precious to the Father, you are his beloved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come to the Father through me and you will know true life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-17681725369045929242013-10-28T07:36:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.532-07:00Cessationism is Dead!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeTue6kYBT5YkpeegZ7o9v7bb53qL4kla_ZBjfkSJfR0dQ30NHQrf47fqlCXzgx0UnQUw4RS5kswuSkPx0Xo9N3TvJBwHunwToJB33hiHpnhTTa7gINEBmYKwCFQho5SW6PIbW4G9EWI/s1600/beating-a-dead-horse.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeTue6kYBT5YkpeegZ7o9v7bb53qL4kla_ZBjfkSJfR0dQ30NHQrf47fqlCXzgx0UnQUw4RS5kswuSkPx0Xo9N3TvJBwHunwToJB33hiHpnhTTa7gINEBmYKwCFQho5SW6PIbW4G9EWI/s1600/beating-a-dead-horse.gif" /></a></div><br />Cessationism is on its way out, but those like John Macarthur with his "Strange Fire" conference, are still trying to beat this dead horse. Here are a couple links I would like to share regarding this issue.<br /><br />AW Tozer states the issue very clearly when he says in the article I have linked to below:<br /><br />"it will be seen how empty and meaningless is the average church service today. All the means are in evidence; the one ominous weakness is the absence of the Spirit’s power. ... The power from on high is neither known nor desired by <strong>pastor</strong> or people. This is nothing less than tragic, and all the more so because it falls within the field of <strong>religion</strong>, where the eternal destinies of men are involved.<br /><strong>Fundamentalism</strong> has stood aloof from the liberal in self-conscious superiority and has on its own part fallen into error, the error of textualism, which is simply orthodoxy without the <strong>Holy Ghost</strong>. Everywhere among conservatives we find persons who are Bible-taught but not Spirit-taught. They conceive truth to be something which they can grasp with the mind."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/41471-an-open-letter-to-john-macarthur-from-a-w-tozer-he-being-dead-yet-speaketh" target="_blank">An open letter to John Macarthur from A W Tozer</a><br /><br /><span id="goog_799436890"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/a-final-appeal-to-john-macarthur-on-the-eve-of-the-strange-fire-conference-106681/" target="_blank">Michael Brown appeal to John Macarthur</a><br /><br /><a href="http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2012/06/error-of-cessationism.html" target="_blank">Link to earlier article on our Blog - Cessationism is heresy</a><span id="goog_799436891"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://swordofthekingdom.com/2013/10/26/john-macarthurs-strange-fire/" target="_blank">"John Macarthur's Strange Fire" - from Stephen Crosby</a><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-13060831396686963052013-06-10T07:51:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.537-07:00Lawyers or Lovers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWCwzI2heqz60zvaGiPk-5DEDzgNOuZuLu5urU1UK_BOq2oZ-uXdQwrTf3p7dEpGUWA3JRmuMu-S62_2GdledPxaCKfcWIU5va4YEm4wr3aW48ycrn0UaZ-td5uBW_7D-RNBWev0EwQw/s1600/Fighting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWCwzI2heqz60zvaGiPk-5DEDzgNOuZuLu5urU1UK_BOq2oZ-uXdQwrTf3p7dEpGUWA3JRmuMu-S62_2GdledPxaCKfcWIU5va4YEm4wr3aW48ycrn0UaZ-td5uBW_7D-RNBWev0EwQw/s320/Fighting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Loved this Post by Steve Crosby. Right along the lines of what God has shown us these past couple years.<br /><br /><a href="http://swordofthekingdom.com/2013/06/09/lawyers-or-lovers/" target="_blank">Lawyers or Lovers</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-46489918976187802542013-05-10T11:14:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.543-07:00The Prophetic Lifestyle<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNHnRaP75oYIMsE30wAi1xchwVAPml_LL0YPNowM1ZWFLXSVEF7VKUdyIi_Tt-JUt6DGQNVj_cNIP0twnY6CQChBzum3U7EViWUMJKcLnkr34JOO_athNylAtBFAqNOJp5V3hEcjzzgY/s1600/gandalf-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" mwa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNHnRaP75oYIMsE30wAi1xchwVAPml_LL0YPNowM1ZWFLXSVEF7VKUdyIi_Tt-JUt6DGQNVj_cNIP0twnY6CQChBzum3U7EViWUMJKcLnkr34JOO_athNylAtBFAqNOJp5V3hEcjzzgY/s320/gandalf-large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />A post by Brian Harrison prompted me to begin thinking about the apostolic nature of our lives, and what it means to speak apostolically. <a href="http://www.commandedblessing.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-does-apostolic-look-like.html" target="_blank">What does the Apostolic look like?</a><br /><br />Brian mentions 4 things that are characteristics of apostolic statements/actions.<br />1. It's Heavenly and not Earthly<br />2. it is corporate and not personal<br />3. It is sacrificial and not self-serving and therein emits the aroma of Christ.<br />4. It is authentic and not fabricated<br /><br />I was reminded of the close tie between speaking/living prophetically and speaking/living apostolically. Just a couple days previous to reading this article by Brian, I had read the preview for a book at Amazon.com that talks about what it means to live prophetically. I love the way this guy writes. I had stumbled across his web-site when looking at the openheaven.com forum.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Let-Your-Light-Shine-Ashmore/dp/055739225X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367535382&sr=1-1&keywords=let+your+light+shine+ray+ashmore" target="_blank">Let your Light Shine - Ray Ashmore</a><br /><br />Here is the the Amazon description for the book:<br /><div><em>Jesus is The Prophet. Every word that comes from His lips is prophetic. Every expression of His will is prophetic. Every work of His Spirit is prophetic. The Holy Spirit is the conveyer of truth to the church both in words and deeds; and the church is to be a picture of that very truth to its community and world. Prophecy is far more than words or visions. Prophecy is a life lived individually and in a gathered community that bears testimony to God and His redemptive work. Prophecy isn't restricted to the simple understanding of the prophetic ministry that most charismatics espouse. True prophecy always, without exception and in every way, lifts up Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.</em></div><br />and a profound excerpt from the book:<br /><em>"By extension, as we steep ourselves in the word of God, we learn from Him, grow in Him, and become truly prophetic. It's not that we will be prophets, but we become prophetic in our living. How does this take place? It takes place by the Holy Spirit as He transforms our lives into Christ's likeness. As we grow into His image, The Prophet Jesus grows in us. He is put on display through us. His words and thoughts are expressed by us. Our words reveal Him and our lives display Him. Our actions, the events in our lives, and our responses to them are all symbolic of Christ's life and His will for us. We are prophetic in the truest sense of the word."</em><br />This got me thinking about how our lifestyle as Christians is to let the Life, Love, and Character of Jesus flow out of us in such a way that we become a prophetic statement to the world. We become a testimony of what God and his Kingdom is really like. The advancement of his Kingdom depends upon us entering into union with Jesus and living the life of the Spirit. This is what living a prophetic life is all about! I had always thought of prophecy as being prophetic utterances - but this has opened my eyes to the fact that there is much more. Prophetic utterances flow out of our union with Christ and getting a hold of his heart of Love. They do not flow out of our intellect, they flow out of deep communion and identification with Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. <br /><br />Old Testament prophets did not just pronounce "Thus saith the Lord", their lives also became prophetic statements of the Heart of God for his people. They did not just pronounce judgment, their lives became so filled with God's heart of Love, Mercy, and righteous anger it drove them to do some fairly interesting things that looked quite ridiculous.<br /><br />One of the problems with many Christians is this: We have a tendency to <strong><em>Know</em></strong> a lot of stuff, <strong><em>Say</em></strong> a lot of stuff, but are can be very deficient in the area of <strong><em>Doing</em></strong> much of <em><strong>the stuff</strong></em>. Jesus said that we would be able to <strong><em>Do</em></strong> the same works he did, even greater works. It is not enough to know what to do, even to talk a lot about what to do. When we become Doers of the Word, and not hearers only, we enter into the true prophetic lifestyle.<br /><br />I also believe that this strong disparity between what we Christians preach and what we practice has made us an object of scorn and ridicule from the world's perspective, and not in a good way. Listen to this comment by Steve Crosby he posted on Facebook.<br /><br /><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><em>Many of you are not going to like this post because of how "broad a generalization" it is. I don't care, so please don't respond to me about how "every one is not that way." I won't post your comments if you go down that road. I am not talking about the EXCEPTIONS here. I am talking about the NORM. I am talking about the PUBLIC PERCEPTION of Christians and Christianity. My wife has worked for Sta<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">rbucks for 8 years. Her UNEQUIVOCAL, NON-NEGOTIABLE, REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE (not phony baloney-Sunday-morning-Wayne's<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span> world of Christianity) is that the customers who are the most vocal about their "Christianity," who come in for their "Bible studies," and their "fellowship groups," who "pass our their gospel tracts," are the nastiest, rudest, most inconsiderate, demanding, selfish, impolite, cheap, self-centered, and unthankful of all her customers. Nothing hinders the cause of Christ more than . . . "Christians." I understand why our culture despises "Christians and Christianity." I do too. I don't even use those terms any more when describing myself. They are hopelessly contaminated in the minds of the world. Lord, please deliver the world from your "followers."</span></em></span><br /><br /><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">I realized that if we focused more on letting our lives be so consumed with Jesus and his love, we would present a much different testimony to the world - the testimony of Jesus, the true spirit of Prophecy. Didn't Jesus say they will know we are Christians by our love for one another? They will not know we are Christians by our doctrines, how well we know our Bible intellectually, our ascetic lifestyle, faithful church attendance, good preaching, cutting-edge worship, or hyper-spiritual experiences. They will know we are Christians by our LOVE. </span></span><br /><br /><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">Sometimes, the Love of Jesus within us will compel us to say things that will offend people, but they will know we are speaking from Love - not self-interest, self-righteousness, or condemnation. They may hate us, reject us, and kill us - but let it not be because we were too Religious. Let it be because of our identification with Jesus Christ. Let it be because "the" prophet Jesus is speaking through our life.</span></span><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-37083219053120338082013-05-06T14:49:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.549-07:00Don't forget what you look like!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbX1qOcaRPpdBBVsSeT6JdxP-riXCk1aEpsVbXBnw2EDOPdFbCHtHl_HuWKPjREQT05nE8jYJ61G6xXfruyuTkcjBBgo1AgMC3D2eyMCoS0cfb8JBlKgMSFTVibhSixkrYrp-maJ2E4c/s1600/Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbX1qOcaRPpdBBVsSeT6JdxP-riXCk1aEpsVbXBnw2EDOPdFbCHtHl_HuWKPjREQT05nE8jYJ61G6xXfruyuTkcjBBgo1AgMC3D2eyMCoS0cfb8JBlKgMSFTVibhSixkrYrp-maJ2E4c/s1600/Mirror.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Why do we believers sometimes do the things we don't want to do? Why do our children disobey us when they know better, even though we have taught them and trained them to do right? When they get around other children and act like fools, we as parents sometimes ask: Why? And then, why do we sometimes start to think we are bad parents because our children are disobedient? The list could go on and on. <br /><br />When I was praying about this the other day, I realized that one of the roots goes back to forgetting who we are in Christ.<br /><br /><strong>James 1:22-25</strong><br /><span class="text Jas-1-22" id="en-NIV-30289"><sup class="versenum">22 </sup>Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30289AM" title="See cross-reference AM">AM</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Jas-1-23" id="en-NIV-30290"><sup class="versenum">23 </sup>Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror</span> <span class="text Jas-1-24" id="en-NIV-30291"><sup class="versenum">24 </sup>and, after looking at himself, goes away and<strong><em> immediately forgets what he looks like</em></strong>.</span> <span class="text Jas-1-25" id="en-NIV-30292"><sup class="versenum">25 </sup>But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30292AN" title="See cross-reference AN">AN</a>)"></sup> and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.</span><br /><br /><strong>2 Cor. 3:18</strong><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18" id="en-NIV-28860"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-28860a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Cor%203&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28860a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup><sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28860AA" title="See cross-reference AA">AA</a>)"></sup> the Lord’s glory,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28860AB" title="See cross-reference AB">AB</a>)"></sup> are being transformed into his image<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28860AC" title="See cross-reference AC">AC</a>)"></sup> with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Cor%203&version=NIV#en-NIV-28860" title="Go to 2 Corinthians 3:18">a.</a> Or <i>reflect</i></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"><em></em></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">When we behold Christ in prayer - we are actually reflecting the Lord's glory, and being transformed into his image. That means the glory of the Lord is in us and reflects from us!</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">When we start to get our identity from what anyone else says about us, or from what the enemy says about us - we have forgotten who we are in Christ. When we allow others to tell us who we are instead of God, we have forgotten what we look like and have just raised them above what God says about us. When we make what someone else, our self, or the enemy says about us more important than what God says about us, it is a form of idolatry! Only God has the legitimate right to tell you who you are!</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">Here is what you look like in Christ.</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">1. God's dearly-loved child</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">2. Perfect, Righteous, Holy, Pure, spotless</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">3. A child of light, not a child of darkness</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">4. The light of the world</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">5. Inheritors of all God's great and precious promises</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">6. A new creation</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">7. Full of power and love from the Spirit of God</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">8. Overcoming, overwhelmingly-conquering saints</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">9. Blessed with abundance beyond compare. Filled with life to the full and overflowing.</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">I believe the root of sin is forgetting who we are in Christ. When we forget who we are in him, we begin to separate from him and function from the flesh. When we know deep within who we are, we will not act independently of him. </span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">Along with Adam and Eve, Jesus faced the same temptations we do from the enemy and from others. For Adam and Eve, the temptations from the Devil were not only to get them to doubt God's nature and character, but to get them to believe Lies about themselves. In Jesus' Temptation, notice the words Satan used in Matthew 4:3 & 6. "<strong><em>If</em></strong> you are the Son of God" The Devil wanted Jesus to take a shortcut and function independently of his nature and identity. He wanted Jesus to function independently from God as his Father, and his identity as the Son of God to make things happen prematurely and illegally.</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">When other people wanted to make Jesus their King prematurely, he would have no part of that either. The opinions of the masses did not sway him from who he was and what he was called to accomplish.</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"></span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18">When we are secure in our identity, traps like shortcuts, sin, pride, and what others think about us will have no root.</span><br /><span class="text 2Cor-3-18"><em></em></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-50413730006581867372013-04-01T15:41:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.555-07:00Barriers to God's Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBW4BU1D-9e29hPK8P2shMDlVPs-_bo8OiLpzKVmmbx0X8GRy825OfJb0p7sskBiJMu-rtJJ1-BQxNTlxpQSFy3RqQ4WI4CBmti5ryMM9lg2OI_crJJ6q1BDZc-ltZNSaKv2KukCi5h0/s1600/Ruts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBW4BU1D-9e29hPK8P2shMDlVPs-_bo8OiLpzKVmmbx0X8GRy825OfJb0p7sskBiJMu-rtJJ1-BQxNTlxpQSFy3RqQ4WI4CBmti5ryMM9lg2OI_crJJ6q1BDZc-ltZNSaKv2KukCi5h0/s1600/Ruts.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />In pondering our earlier Post, <a href="http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-significance-of-gods-love.html" target="_blank">the Significance of God's Love</a>, I was thinking about things that can hinder us from expressing God's love. What keeps us from really moving out in faith to love our families, our neighbors, and our brothers and sisters in Christ?<br /><br /><strong>1. Ruts</strong><br />One of the major barriers I see in my own life is the tendency to fall into a Rut. It is entirely possible to lock ourselves into a mindset that never looks outside our daily routine. Even seemingly good, religious activities can become a rut that prevent us from seeing what God is doing and keep us from seeing the real needs of those around us. If my goal is to get to the "church meeting" on time, why would I stop to help my neighbor? In the parable of the Good Samaritan <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 10:25-37</a>, isn't it interesting that it was the "professional" religious men who passed by the hurt man. I assume they were too busy and stuck in their "rut" to allow themselves to feel compassion on him. They allowed what they deemed good, getting to their destination on time, to get in the way of seeing from God's heart of love and compassion.<br /><br />We Christians need to learn to slow down, relax, and just love the people right in front of us. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fam2vZDka90" target="_blank">"Stop for the One"</a> as Heidi Baker says. Instead of getting grand ideas about doing big things for God, if we could just get in touch with God's heart and then crawl out of our rut long enough to see a need and "stop for the one" right in front of us, we will be the ones Jesus works through to change the world "with" him instead of "for" him.<br /><br />In church meetings, even in so-called Charismatic churches, ruts often keep God locked up. He is "in" us, but he desires to get out. We can assume that the order of service is to be followed, but miss the real needs and what God is doing. Our rut keeps us from ever expecting anything different, it keeps us from seeing the real needs around us, and it limits our faith.<br /><br />Order of service in a Charismatic Church: Pray, worship, preach 5-15 mins about giving financially, take an offering, worship some more, preach again, alter call with musical accompaniment, done.<br /> <br />Order of service in a traditional church: All stand, sing Hymn 596, All Sit down, sing Hymn 278, All stand up, repeat Lord's Prayer, Pastor Prays, take an offering, scripture reading, All sit down, preach, most people fall asleep, Sermon complete, most people wake up, all stand up, sing Hymn 193, done. <br /><br /><strong>2. Wrong Judgments about others</strong><br />Another barrier I see is the tendency to lock ourselves and others into an imaginary rut through critical, negative thought patterns. The tendency can be to look at ourselves and others based on past experience instead of peering prophetically into truth by faith. If we look only at what lies on the surface, we fail to see the beauty and potential that may lie beneath. Only when we see as God sees can we really love. Could this be why the words "Faith, Hope, and Love" are tied to each other. A hopeless, faithless perspective is an unloving perspective. Of course, seeing sin as wrong does not preclude faith and hope. Truth and Love are also tied to each other very closely and cannot be separated from one another. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:14&version=NIV" target="_blank">John 1:14</a> To see truthfully is also to see lovingly and with a grace-centered perspective. To see with all of these(Faith, Hope, Love, and Truth) is to see from God's perspective instead of a fleshly perspective.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1%3A27&version=NIV" target="_blank">1 Cor 1:27</a> Jesus chose disciples who were the most unlikely to be world changers, but he also saw their potential. God rescued and saved many of us, also the most unlikely to amount to anything from the world's perspective. We need to be careful to see others by the Spirit and discern by the Spirit. If we make wrong judgments, we will miss what God is doing and operate in unbelief.<br /> <br /><u>Personal Examples</u><br />These are things I noticed in my own life when pondering this issue. I realized I had some repenting to do and a need to allow God to deliver me from my "rut". <br />1. <strong>Judging others outwardly or from past experience</strong>: I often pass by co-workers several times a day, some of them I have known for years, but rarely assume they might have needs or may have an interest in God so I mostly ignore them and expect nothing.<br />2. <strong>Daily Routine, busyness</strong>: We eat at approx. the same time each day, do our chores, and I put my children to bed at about the same time every night, anything that strays out of the routine is often seen as a hindrance.<br />3. <strong>Compartmentalizing God</strong>: I get up and spend some time with God in the morning, maybe read my bible or a devotional, maybe worship and listen for his voice, but many times don't consult him about throughout the day or remain sensitive to his presence, love, or inward voice.<br />4. <strong>Separating Sacred from Secular</strong>. Seeing religious activities as Sacred, and all else as worldly or unimportant. Therefore, not seeking God unless the activities are seen as sacred or religious.<br /><br />I realized this tendency toward "ruttishness" and religiousness was a generational sin that needed to be broken. If we come out of agreement with these ruts and wrong perspectives, and come into agreement with God's perspective of love and freedom, they lose power over us.<br /><br /><strong>3. Wrong judgments about God</strong><br />When we really get to know what God is like, and we know experientially and by faith how much he loves us, we will be free to love others in the same way. The more we comprehend the love of God, the more we will desire to love people in the same way. If we view God as distant, mean-spirited, out to get us, and waiting to catch us in an act of sin so he can strike us dead and throw us into hell, we will certainly not treat others with a loving spirit. If we see God as our best friend, close to us, for us and not against us, bearing our burdens, ever-present, kind, compassionate, forgiving, fun-loving, etc, we will become like him. As we behold God, we will become like how we view him. That is why it is critical to have an accurate picture of who God really is and how he relates to us.<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+3%3A18&version=NIV" target="_blank">2 Cor. 3:18</a> He does not relate to us like he did to those under the old Covenant so we do not need to relate to him out of fear and condemnation. We relate to him on the basis of the new covenant he has made with us through Jesus, we are Righteous and Holy, fearless, his beloved children, and his close friends. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%203:7-9&version=NIV" target="_blank">2 Cor 3:7-9</a><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-83414842923833315342013-03-28T08:09:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.562-07:00Tribute to my Wife<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj745YzF5D3HBK2UNH8OfdYEbEtkImdYaSwIwIc-xG4Cb05LliW6TmKcdsUPZs2xcnok-4w48R2KYrinIg08xuKKxmYhFF_WcflVqKUJ1Gbmj8Iq53sOYzHpTpEvYPznJ_n2uLC_Xr2d4k/s1600/Ondrea_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj745YzF5D3HBK2UNH8OfdYEbEtkImdYaSwIwIc-xG4Cb05LliW6TmKcdsUPZs2xcnok-4w48R2KYrinIg08xuKKxmYhFF_WcflVqKUJ1Gbmj8Iq53sOYzHpTpEvYPznJ_n2uLC_Xr2d4k/s200/Ondrea_2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi869d9yFlSHHyTzk2GtIiHR6J-s9EK-F4o80wJwyuvPdn7uJItWqvhKbIu_bEwl5-2TXUCROEWDQJz0T6Ieo1gT3rvgxx2-a4Ub1QFimv_9IfMUiKQIpcSVgml2GhyphenhyphenNCN3cFw_M1eFeFg/s1600/Ondrea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi869d9yFlSHHyTzk2GtIiHR6J-s9EK-F4o80wJwyuvPdn7uJItWqvhKbIu_bEwl5-2TXUCROEWDQJz0T6Ieo1gT3rvgxx2-a4Ub1QFimv_9IfMUiKQIpcSVgml2GhyphenhyphenNCN3cFw_M1eFeFg/s1600/Ondrea.jpg" /></a></div><br />It is my wife, Ondrea's birthday tomorrow, and I want to say a few things in her honor. <br /><br />Ondrea is the most faithful, dedicated, devoted, loving, and beautiful wife I have ever known. Ondrea has been like a rock to me during the many times when I have struggled and been up and down. Her unconditional, unfailing love has been a beautiful picture to me of the love of God and his heart for me. I am so thankful for all the times where she demonstrated love to me when I didn't deserve it. I know I have been a clod at times, and she knows me better than anyone else, yet still loves me.<br /><br />Ondrea's wisdom and insight into the heart of matters is amazing. I can't count the number of times where her encouragement and Godly wisdom has lifted me out of wrong, negative, ungodly thinking. Her prophetic insight from the heart of God helps clear up my cloudiness. I don't even want to think where I would be right now if not for my wife. It is amazing to see how God put us together because we complement each other so perfectly!<br /><br />Ondrea's example of one who wholeheartedly loves to do God's will and obey him has been a tremendous inspiration to me. She has a strong desire to listen to God's voice and be obedient no matter what. And, she does it because she loves God so much, not out of obligation.<br /><br />Her commitment and love for our children also amazes me. It's not easy training, teaching, and taking care of 6 children. It takes a lot of energy, time, and love to make a Godly home. Great children don't just happen by accident.<br /><br />Happy Birthday, Ondrea!! May greater blessings, health, love, and fulfillment be yours this year!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNuMHv34vq96IknwvzRwHNc1qKXSkPdghX3YB9w2UGP23zHN8kH5yAnXqYtPN6d-6D2wWKOTZWUBNUAkmAdTcnQ2KKLPuFSzXsQ_iNXcvKMudkM8Pa9czxYFGhgd5eNPMeJ1QmAfw-5M/s1600/Honeys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNuMHv34vq96IknwvzRwHNc1qKXSkPdghX3YB9w2UGP23zHN8kH5yAnXqYtPN6d-6D2wWKOTZWUBNUAkmAdTcnQ2KKLPuFSzXsQ_iNXcvKMudkM8Pa9czxYFGhgd5eNPMeJ1QmAfw-5M/s320/Honeys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-83911165112238756912013-03-25T13:22:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.567-07:00The Significance of God's Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZwBBhuLyO_pY4NOaKAiF28xneEYKBi2QsqNKzizBxcBmwkLwdvbtQD8igtqE-tgC1o7kQ7PkYepfD4VvtWHRgfgnBc1_LjeFLiWY4NO6fCR-jQDn7F7nforMDqe1TUa-6NpWnPrKrc0/s1600/sacredheart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZwBBhuLyO_pY4NOaKAiF28xneEYKBi2QsqNKzizBxcBmwkLwdvbtQD8igtqE-tgC1o7kQ7PkYepfD4VvtWHRgfgnBc1_LjeFLiWY4NO6fCR-jQDn7F7nforMDqe1TUa-6NpWnPrKrc0/s1600/sacredheart.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />My wife and I have been pondering the significance of and meaning of Love. We are convinced that gaining a proper understanding of God's Love, and then walking in it is the most significant thing we can do. We are also convinced that in mainstream Christianity, this is the one thing that is most often missing.<br /><br />For some of us who have been Christians for a while, it is important to examine why we do what we do. We need to be asking, "what is the point of what we are doing"? Are our activities and effort rooted in the 2 greatest commandments: love for God and others, or rooted in selfishness? Do we view life and relationships with a what's in it for me perspective, or are we living in love?<br /><br />For some of us, our picture of love needs to be re-painted. It is critical to avoid defining love in the context of our twisted culture. The greatest type of Love described in the Bible is not eroticism, family love, or feelings of affection toward something, although some types of love may involve these things. When the Bible says that God is love, what does that really mean? We must be careful not to define God and love through the lens of our culture or the world. Much of the world's way of seeing love is based on sentiment. Sentiment is defined as: <span class="ssens"><em>marked or governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism. </em>Most of us define love as a feeling, based on past experiences, especially ideal experiences. If someone makes us feel good, we may define that as love. Although this is an aspect of love, it is not the whole enchilada. And, it is easy for our experience of love to be twisted and distorted if the person seemingly expressing love toward us was doing it for selfish reasons.</span><br /><br /><strong>Several different words for Love</strong><br />My wife and I did a study of the Greek/Hebrew words for love and came up with some interesting observations. Without going into great detail, I would like to share a few highlights. Most people who have read their bible are aware that there are several greek words for love while the English language only has one word for Love. However, love can mean a lot of things depending on the context it is used in. "I love pizza" means something quite different than "I love my children". I want to center in on the greek word Agape primarily, but first give a brief description of the greek word Phileo. <br /><br /><strong>Phileo</strong><br />Phileo is a friendship affection for someone, mainly based on qualities that are considered loveable and likeable. However, Agape is based primarily in the qualities of the giver, not the receiver. Since Agape originates from God, who IS love, this would make sense. Rather than loving us for what we can do for him, or because we possess certain lovable qualities, God loves us because of who HE IS. Since Agape originates in who God is, nothing we can do will change his love for us. God does Phileo us, and we also Phileo him as our Father and friend. See this article: <a href="http://www.neverthirsty.org/pp/bible-questions/answer00919-does-god-love-us-with-phileo-love.html" target="_blank">Does God love us with phileo love?</a><br /><br /><strong>Agape</strong><br />It is important to note that Agape sometimes contains the concept of Phileo and cannot be entirely separated from it. When someone expresses Agape towards us, we are probably going to feel loved. However, Agape love is primarily defined as an esteem, regard, and commitment to someone or something that then results in action. Agape involves being so committed to something or someone that we give of ourselves sacrificially. Interestingly, Agape is not just descriptive of God's love toward us, it is also used of those who loved darkness in <strong>John 3:19</strong> - <span class="text John-3-19" id="en-NIV-26140"><em>This is the verdict: Light<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26140AE" title="See cross-reference AE">AE</a>)"></sup> has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil</em>.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26140AF" title="See cross-reference AF">AF</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text John-3-20" id="en-NIV-26141"><sup class="versenum"></sup></span> These people loved darkness, which means they were wholeheartedly committed to darkness and this resulted in evil deeds. Agapao is most beautifully seen in God's love toward us. John 3:16 describes God's love for the world, which compelled him to sacrificially give Jesus, his son for us. Jesus sacrificially gave of himself for us on the cross. <strong>John 15:13</strong> - <span class="text John-15-13" id="en-NIV-26713"><span class="woj"><em>Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. </em>The giving of one's life is demonstrated by Jesus as the supreme act of Love. </span></span><br /><br />Agape is the word used in all these scriptures.<br />1. <strong>Matthew 22:37</strong> - <em>Jesus replied: <span class="woj">“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.</span></em><br /><span class="woj">2. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013&version=NIV" target="_blank"><strong>1 Corinthians 13</strong></a></span><br />3. <strong>Revelation 12:11</strong> - <em>They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.</em><br /><em></em><br />The meaning in Revelation 12:11 is that they did not esteem their own lives so much as to hold on to them. They released their lives up to God and allowed his greater love to replace their desire to hold onto their own lives. This is what is meant by Jesus when he asks us to give up our lives for him. We will either love our own life so much that we hold it back from God and others, or we will give our life to him so his love can flow in and pour out of us to others.<br /><br /><strong>Agape love is the most important thing - <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013:%201-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 13:1-3</a></strong><br />Without love, we are nothing and we have nothing. We can do loads of good works, but without God's love, all our accomplishments, efforts, programs, meetings, and interactions with others are meaningless and amount to NOTHING. If "<em>God is love</em>" <strong>1 John 4:8</strong>, it must be exceedingly important.<br /><br /><strong>Love can only be fully understood and appreciated experientially.</strong><br />It is interesting to learn about and study what Love means, but unless it is received and given away experientially, Love will remain shallow and incomprehensible to us. "<em>We love him because he first loved us</em>". <strong>1 John 4:19</strong>. As we understand the nature of God's love in Jesus for us, and we come into a revelation of it for ourselves, we are changed and find that same love flowing out of us. If we say we love someone, but there are no tangible actions or emotions expressed toward them, they will likely remain feeling un-loved. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+2%3A16&version=NIV" target="_blank">James 2:16</a><br /><br />I have experienced this with my family, my wife expecially. When she or my children bring a concern, feeling, or problem to me, I sometimes start out by trying to say all the right words to comfort them like: "I know how you feel", "I understand", or "That must be difficult". But these words sound hollow unless coupled with God's love. Real love only ignites when I seek God's heart of love by listening without self-preservation, seeking to truly identify with and understand them. At this moment, true compassion and empathy forms within me and my desire is to truly seek what is best for them rather than what is best for me. There is a bridge of selfishness and pride that must be crossed over to embrace the other person right where they are at. When love activates, it frees me from the desire to prove myself good or right, and it frees me from the desire to prove them wrong and seek to fix them intellectually and externally.<br /><br />As we meditate upon and increase in revelation about the single greatest act of love in history, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we will gain insight into the true nature of Agape love. This song powerfully communicates Jesus' amazing love for us. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-QcBtMp9VI" target="_blank">Arms Wide Open</a><br /><span class="text John-15-13"><span class="woj"></span></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-86989565410305914632013-03-20T15:15:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.573-07:00Relationship and Friendship with God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuk2htCTIrfZ9-aKg2hOJz9nk7I8vn6K6NeV9xcz4EN15Gs6MEIAc24LIH9ygENdmS59if8Fm3ctVyqnUPIJBuwS9HHd2JXZKxF_l-d_lnAh7yZai_ca9EMvTZdRu17Dh-DKGmZrm4VKE/s1600/friend.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuk2htCTIrfZ9-aKg2hOJz9nk7I8vn6K6NeV9xcz4EN15Gs6MEIAc24LIH9ygENdmS59if8Fm3ctVyqnUPIJBuwS9HHd2JXZKxF_l-d_lnAh7yZai_ca9EMvTZdRu17Dh-DKGmZrm4VKE/s1600/friend.gif" /></a></div><br />My wife and I have been pondering the significance of relationship with God in the Christian life. We are convinced that without relationship with God, there cannot be a Christian Life. How can you claim to be a Christian without a relationship with God through Jesus Christ? How can you be his disciple if you don't really know him personally. It isn't enough to have intellectual knowledge about him, it isn't enough to have all your doctrines about him straight, it isn't even enough to claim you believe he exists, or to believe intellectually he has died for your sins on the cross. It isn't even enough to cast out demons, work mighty miracles, and lead lost people to salvation in his Jesus name. Without a genuine, authentic relationship with him, you aren't really his disciple. <br /><br />Matthew 7:22,23<br />22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'<br />23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'<br /><br />I know this verse can be over-quoted to put people in fear and condemnation, but the point of it is, do you know Jesus? If we really know Jesus, we will act like him. 1 Cor. 13 comes to mind. Of course, I understand that relationship with God is something that we grow into. But, with childlike faith - I believe we can grow in our relationship with him much more quickly. Religious strongholds in our culture hinder us from enjoying the kind of relationship we were created for. He is our loving Father, our closest friend, and our bridegroom. If you are experiencing anything less, you are believing lies.<br /><br />A couple Old Testament examples come to mind that beautifully illustrate the kind of relationship God desires to have with us. How much more closely can we walk with God as his sons and daughters in the New Covenant! We are only limited by our level of desire, and what we believe about him and ourselves.<br /><br /><strong>1. Abraham</strong> - James 2:23 - And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.<br /><br /> Why was Abraham considered a friend of God? I can see at least 3 reasons: <br /><ul><li>He had great Faith and trust in God's character and nature. He trusted in the goodness of God. He believed God would take care of him no matter what came his way. Abraham left the comfortability and predictability of his home in Ur to set out for a promised land he knew nothing about. He blessed Lot with first choice of land, knowing God would care for him. He believed God would give him a child, even though he and Sarah were well past child-bearing age. Yes, he tried to shortcut this process at first, but he learned his lesson and his faith grew until he was convinced God would do a miracle.</li><li>He walked in obedience because of this great trust in God, even being willing to give up his promised son if necessary.</li><li>He communicated with God regularly (see Gen. 18:16-33). Friendship with God grows with communication. This means we will take time to not only talk to God, but listen to God. <span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></li><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></ul><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><strong>2. David - </strong><em>Acts 13:22 - After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'</em><br /><br />What made David a man after God's heart?<br /><ul><li>David, like Abraham also had great Faith and trust in God. In faith, he slew Goliath. In faith, he refused to take a shortcut to becoming King by slaying Saul. He entrusted his life to God.</li><li>David was a worshiper - he wasn't afraid to let his emotions show about God, and he really loved God.</li><li>David was transparent - He wasn't afraid to share his deepest, darkest thoughts about God, his struggles, and his enemies.</li><li>David owned up to his sin and was truly repentant when he made mistakes. He realized he had not only sinned against man, but he had also grieved God's heart and sinned against him. (Ps 51)</li></ul>Why do you think David had such a strong friendship with Jonathan? David's friendship with Jonathon probably went a bit deeper than "How many philistines did you slay yesterday?" Or, "did you catch last night's game between Philistia and Israel? Lahmi the brother of Goliath was really on fire until Sibbeakai the Hushathite and Azmaveth the Barhumite double-teamed him and shut him down." Not only did David and Jonathon risk their lives for each other in battle and in the struggle with Saul, but David and Jonathon must have trusted each other because I am confident they communicated honestly and transparently with each other. They knew each other. The depth of our friendships is directly proportional to our ability to share with each other on an honest, open heart level. As our relationship with God grows, he frees us to have more open relationships with the people in our life - whether with our wives, children, or others.<br /><br /><strong>Friend rules</strong><br />My wife and I were also pondering relationship with God as it relates to a list of rules about friendship we communicated to our children last year.<br /><br /><em><strong>1. Learn to laugh at yourself, don't take yourself so seriously.</strong></em><br />Why not have fun in our relationship with God? Sometimes, we take ourselves way too seriously as Christians. God is full of joy and playful. He enjoys it when we embrace this aspect of his nature. See my post: <a href="http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2012/01/exuberance-and-joy-of-jesus.html">The exuberance and Joy of Jesus</a><br /><br /><em><strong>2. Let others go first.</strong></em><br />How many of us let God go first when we pray, in making decisions, or in the details of life? How often do we start off with our lists and requests before first considering what is on God's heart? How much deeper could our relationship with him go if we learn to let him go first.<br /><br /><strong><em>3. Make playtime fun for everyone. "If it's not fun for all, it's not fun at all"</em></strong><br />How often do we ask ourselves in our times with God, or in our gatherings as the Church - "Is this fun for God"? Many of the meetings I have been in were probably NOT fun for God(as a matter of fact, they weren't fun for anyone). I'd rather gouge my eyes out than attend those kinds of meetings. You know the kind, where 75% of the people are snoring or bobbing their heads.<br /><br /><strong><em>4. Have a pleasant/cheerful attitude.</em></strong> <br />How much do you enjoy talking with people who complain constantly? Yes, God wants to hear our honest thoughts, and there's no sense being fake with God, but we can also determine to praise him and be thankful despite the circumstances. God doesn't enjoy it when we remain locked in misery. Being mired in misery and complaining is not the inheritance of a child of God. Yes, we will be in process at times, but we must not remain in process indefinitely.<br /><br /><strong><em>5. Don't push other's buttons.</em></strong><br />What pushes God's buttons? Willful disobedience, pride, dishonesty, hypocrisy, rebellion, etc. Of course God has grace for us as his children, and of course he still loves us, but as a friend of God, why would we want to do things he doesn't like?<br /><br />In relationship with God, it's not all about us! We must learn to take God into consideration and ask, WHAT IS GOD GETTING OUT OF THIS RELATIONSHIP? Is God really enjoying this?<br /><br /><strong>An Interesting observation</strong><br />Recently, I was reading H.A. Baker's autobiography <a href="https://www.irisglobal.org/pdf/Under-His-Wings.pdf">Under His Wings</a>. H.A. Baker was a missionary to Tibet, then China and is best known for his book, <a href="http://www.godspeak.net/veil/veil_index.html">Visions beyond the Veil.</a> Both books deal a death blow to the lie of Cessationism. Below is what he wrote shortly after his born again conversion experience. After his conversion, he began to feel great love for others, and things like Prayer and the Word of God began to make sense to him finally. However, he was surprised to learn that other members of his church hadn't also experienced this same thing.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">When I looked over the congregation I felt sure that these church</span><span style="font-size: small;">members did not know what I had just found out: that God is still alive, </span><span style="font-size: small;">that the Bible is for Now, that we and God and the Bible need to get </span><span style="font-size: small;">mixed up together.</span></em></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><em> </em><br /><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><div align="LEFT"><em><span style="font-size: small;">During those two years my personal dealings with the members of that little church confirmed my first impression after my experience in the barn that other members of the church, with perhaps a few exceptions, had never received what I received there in the barn. Now, why was that? Evidently because these church members, like myself, had never been properly taught that each should personally contact Christ by prayer. This </span><span style="font-size: small;">weakness was largely due to the belief and teaching of the fundamental part of that church at that time. It taught that on the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached the first New Testament gospel sermon, he made </span><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">known the Lord’s plan of salvation and the conditions of church membership when he said to the convicted multitude, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” So far all right. But that church made its great mistake in stopping the middle of that verse. The verse continues, “and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38.</span></span></span></em></div><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: medium;"><div align="LEFT"><span style="font-size: small;"><em></em></span><br /></div><div align="LEFT"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Why did out church stop in the middle of that verse and not follow Peter’s instructions all the way? It was because of the theory that no one could receive the Holy Spirit since the days of the founding of the church by the apostles. This misconception, as well as failure to teach the necessity of individual prayer to make the “repent” effective, resulted in that little church’s membership being made up of people who had never really prayed and made personal contact with Christ. Through ignorance and unbelief they had missed the promise, “ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”</em></span></div></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><strong>Conclusion</strong><br />Without communication/communion with God, it is impossible to be a real Christian and grow in relationship with God. Granted, friendship with God is something we are all growing in, but if there are false, religious mindsets in us, it will be impossible to mature and grow in this relationship. Let's get rid of the idea that God is confined to the pages of the Bible, and we can only hear his voice when we read it. If all I have are biblical principles to live by, that makes me no better than a Mormon, Jehovah's witness, or Muslim. Let's get rid of the idea that the Bible has replaced the Holy Spirit and become the third person of the Trinity. As Steve Crosby says, that's nothing more than Bibleolatry. Hear my heart, of course the Bible is very important. However, without the activation of the Holy Spirit, the Bible in itself has no power to change us. It will become law to us, and it won't make any sense. The real power and life of God is found only in connection/relationship with him. Apart from him we can do nothing.<br /><em><strong>John 15:5</strong> - I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.</em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-10398968324368907302013-01-09T14:09:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.578-07:00Dangerous children<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MxhU9xTZAFtl6TVAUAMZtaBeyp3bmqxvWlnnzu3hrVqpfyKrNPRcYwgH0JmMv0eEa-W_jQjm5M6slb8O5S682bvF-03kPdXcRUXFN6haTu4KZwvJRcMjO5BWoHHKiWstB5eZUsQFriA/s1600/DangerousChildren.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MxhU9xTZAFtl6TVAUAMZtaBeyp3bmqxvWlnnzu3hrVqpfyKrNPRcYwgH0JmMv0eEa-W_jQjm5M6slb8O5S682bvF-03kPdXcRUXFN6haTu4KZwvJRcMjO5BWoHHKiWstB5eZUsQFriA/s320/DangerousChildren.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />As I was praying for my children today, I was reminded of why we are doing this parenting thing. Why did God want us to have six children? What purpose other than to do our part in fulfilling the mandate to be fruitful and multiply does God have in mind for our children? I want more for them than to just land a decent job, have a nice family, afford a house and car, be good citizens, have enough money, be tithers, go to church(tongue in cheek), and be hard workers. Although some of those can be good things, I want them to be a Godly seed who seek first the Kingdom of God.<br /><br />Several things came to my mind that I really desire for my children from a Kingdom perspective. I know these are also the things their heavenly Father desires for them.<br /><ol><li>Be passionate for God, radical lovers of Jesus, worshiping him in Spirit and truth.</li><li>Be more than once-a-week Christians, I want them to love and worship God with their entire lives.</li><li>Discover and walk in their God-given purpose, talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts.</li><li>Be full of the Holy Spirit and power.</li><li>Not just know by faith that God is present, but also regularly sense God's inner presence and peace in their spirits.</li><li>Know and experience the immeasurable love the Father has towards them. I want them to know his smile and sense his blessing upon their lives.</li><li>Know that their Heavenly Father is not distant, but he is close to them and cares about them deeply.</li><li>By God's Grace, be wholeheartedly committed to remaining morally pure until they get married to the spouse God has in mind for them (if he wants them to get married)</li><li>Listen to the voice of God and be led by the Holy Spirit, even in the details of life.</li><li>Regularly experience the joy and freedom that comes from the Holy Spirit.</li><li>Commune with God in prayer on a regular basis, not out of discipline or habit, but because they love to spend time with the Father.</li><li>Give of their time, talents, gifts, and finances for the building of God's kingdom, not to build an earthly kingdom and build up earthly riches.</li><li>Love their own children and all people with God's love.</li><li>Deal ruthlessly with any sin issues or idolatry in their life so they remain pure and unstained, maintaining a clean conscience.</li><li>Live a life of non-compromise with the World, or the world's way of doing things(Church, money, entertainment, appearance, music), but not in a legalistic sense. I desire them to do what is right and holy with a heart of love for God and others.</li><li>Rather than living in fear of the enemy and his lies, I want them to strike fear in the heart of the enemy. I want them to be courageous and bold, not backing down in the face of opposition.</li><li>I want them to be free to confront the status quo and speak their minds in freedom and truth.</li><li>I desire them to be truthful, honest, and humble. Able to be real in their relationships with others and with God.</li></ol>As you can see, the accomplishment of these things is impossible without God. In fact, I am continually growing in many of these things myself. However, if we don't raise the target high, they won't have anything worth shooting at.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-42204184045568658912012-12-14T07:20:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.585-07:00The Year in Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPvGzHk_in54peaHa6NnWuJ7A1XCbdrgBhZPdlOLFJ2UIlrZESIYzckCVeNyMIJIYTytIGP3MrUMr30DPJ0OmpQoF91hEdWudnzVAnVjTp_gg-agLpqCckwWTN3yY_yQbJZqc8c-P1fo/s1600/MerryChristmas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img bea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPvGzHk_in54peaHa6NnWuJ7A1XCbdrgBhZPdlOLFJ2UIlrZESIYzckCVeNyMIJIYTytIGP3MrUMr30DPJ0OmpQoF91hEdWudnzVAnVjTp_gg-agLpqCckwWTN3yY_yQbJZqc8c-P1fo/s1600/MerryChristmas.png" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Holiday greetings to all of our friends and family~<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This year has been a busy and interesting year for our family, so we would like to share some highlights with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope this letter finds you thankful, contented, and blessed. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our family has much to be thankful for this Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started out this year by taking a trip to Florida in February.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We celebrated Liliahna’s birthday with Winnie the Pooh and Friends on Feb. 4<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We visited Disney World, Epcot, Sea World, Animal Kingdom, St. Augustine(oldest city in the US), and Kennedy space center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids had a blast, Disney’s Magic Kingdom was their favorite, Epcot was our favorite.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We added a few animals to our menagerie this year – and got rid of a few last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We no longer have any cows, but we did buy a couple goats to try milking next year(this will be Ondrea’s project).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We picked up a free miniature horse that Savannah is trying(unsuccessfully so far) to tame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We participated in 4-H this year. 4-H created a very busy season running around the fair-grounds in August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great time seeing Chad’s brother Clyde and his family at Thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their kids are sure cute!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have continued homeschooling, and this has been our best year ever – the kids are doing quite well(most of the time)!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have taken a few field trips with a homeschool co-op this fall, and a couple of our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We studied Idaho History this fall, so took a trip to the Coeur D’ Alene museum and a trip out to Wallace/Murray to learn some mining history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Chad had a knee surgery this fall, and is recovering well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He enjoys spending time with his family, writing in our blog(http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com), and working around the mini-farm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Ondrea had two shoulder surgeries this year, and is also recovering well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chad and Ondrea both had opportunities to serve and take care of one another during this season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though recovery had its challenges, it was actually a wonderful time to slow down, be more relational, and learn how to delegate some responsibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ondrea is still homeschooling all of the children and loving it(even though it is challenging).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She really enjoys gardening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a successful garden this year, in spite of the shoulder and even branched out to some more flower gardening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are still digging carrots and picking kale out of our garden as well as growing herbs and lettuce inside.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Silas (14) has continued to grow in responsibility, and is doing great in his homeschooling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is getting straight A’s so far this year(we are trying out a new grading system).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Silas raised 2 turkeys this year(we ate one for thanksgiving, it was great) and he and Savannah each raised a lamb(also very yummy).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is continuing to excel at the piano and will be starting an internationally recognized program through Carnegy Hall next month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He likes to garden, play guitar, take care of his goat(Jimmy), and is excitedly looking forward to “the Hobbit” movie this month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Silas did archery in 4-H this year, and likes to golf when he can get time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and Savannah plan to raise a bottle-calf next year, and sell it the following year for some profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Silas also likes to cook – we have had many wonderful meals and desserts prepared by him this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since he also likes to eat(a lot), this is a logical thing for him to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hmm… I’m hungry, Mom, can I make a batch of cookies this afternoon”? Silas will be taking Driver’s Ed this spring, and will do well I’m sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has had a lot of practice driving the riding Lawn-mower around the farm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Savannah (12) is becoming quite the young woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves working with animals, singing, listening to music, and photography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She took riding lessons this year, and has become quite competent with a horse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She got a Grand champion prize for her Pet Rabbit 4-H project this year at fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Savannah also has a very unique sense of humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Savannah is doing well in her music lessons, playing the piano and singing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has a beautiful voice, is quite talented and loves to perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is also doing very well in her school this year and has beautiful handwriting (her favorite subject).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is incredibly talented and creative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is also a big Lord of the Rings fan and looking forward to The Hobbit<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Liliahna (9) loves to help and is quite the encourager and gift giver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She enjoys doing crafts, sewing, cooking, and helping with the little ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has a very sweet and caring spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liliahna did “Cake decorating” in 4-H this year, the rest of the family did a good job eating the cakes she made each month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liliahna has quite the imagination, and she comes up with some great little plays and skits that she and the other children act out for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is also doing great in her music lessons and continuing to improve at the Piano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liliahna has a passion for China and dreams of adopting children from there someday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is excited to begin learning Chinese next year as well as study about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also loves to garden too and talks about starting a plant nursery someday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Elijah (7) – Is a very passionate and expressive young man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His middle name is “David”, and we see a lot of similarities between him and David in the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a worshiper, and very emotional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elijah likes to play with Legos and likes to play with his “Lord of the Rings” action figures with his brothers and sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is quite acrobatic, so to keep him from bouncing off the walls too much, we put him in a gymnastics program for a few months this fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also bought a trampoline this fall, and he has learned quite a few flips and bounces on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elijah learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels this summer!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Evangelina (5) is a very interesting and imaginative person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can sit and play with her toys, read, or color for hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves to play with her ponies, dolls, read books with mom and dad, and also loves to play with her brothers and sisters. She participated in a princess ballet class this summer, and was adorable!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves to play dress-up, do anything involving imagination, and has quite the sense of humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is doing wonderfully in school and would go through weeks of curriculum in a single sitting if she could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also has learned to read this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Peter (3) is very energetic and joyful, truly a “people” person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He likes to interact with people and play with his siblings when he gets the chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He likes to play with Thomas the train and toy cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got glasses at the beginning of the year since he is near-sighted and has one eye that wanders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called them “Blasses” at first, and the name stuck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Petesey, where’s your blasses?”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are patching one eye to attempt to correct the wandering eye now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t seem to slow him down much though!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter is also quite smart, and studies his toys intently to figure out how they work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One morning, as Ondrea was getting him out of his crib, he announced quite passionately, “Mom, there’s a genius in my bed!” He also likes to say, “that’s Brilliant”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking forward to 2013, we plan to do 4-H again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, Ondrea got an idea to start a small business, which we are moving forward with a little at a time(Riverbend Spice Company).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have some ideas to write some children’s books(with the children participating in the writing process), and a book about rethinking Church/Life/God from the perspective of God’s Love rather than the perspective of Rules/Religion/Tradition. We have no more surgeries planned(thank God), and we are looking forward to growing in our relationship with God, our family, and the other special people God is bringing into our life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is so good, he is everything to us, our healer, creator, helper, encourager, forgiver, loving Father, closest friend, Savior, and center of our world!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Love & Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Chad</span></st1:country-region><span style="color: #003300; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, Ondrea, Silas, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Savannah</st1:place></st1:city>, Liliahna, Elijah, Evangelina, and Peter Kidd</span></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-43943035331013982522012-11-28T14:40:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.595-07:00God is everything you need<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx0XJKWbbjcJTot5wL5ObCpawlofMUj3jG26RXen3uoOUzD6Rxv0OC6QajOrDopkitcIIQqoNt8DTpt8UXOTHLzHaCWq4iyE4uOqhKVs7Y7ZKkoVp-FADi0PDCBH4E4N0XvB3C5nlf8s/s1600/dmtas0075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx0XJKWbbjcJTot5wL5ObCpawlofMUj3jG26RXen3uoOUzD6Rxv0OC6QajOrDopkitcIIQqoNt8DTpt8UXOTHLzHaCWq4iyE4uOqhKVs7Y7ZKkoVp-FADi0PDCBH4E4N0XvB3C5nlf8s/s200/dmtas0075.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>I was meditating on and praying about who God is to me a couple days ago. Personalizing and meditating upon who God is to us is one of the most important things we can do. What we think about God is the most important thing in life. What he is for us and who he wants to be for us personally. God loves us, he enjoys us, he is deeply personal, as well as being mighty on our behalf. If we have a distant, impersonal view of God, our picture of God needs to be re-drawn. How you see God determines how you view yourself and how you view others. The more you have a wrong view of God, the more religious and legalistic you will become. The Pharisees are people who lost sight of what God is really like, so they couldn't receive Jesus when he came, even though he did great signs and wonders.<br /><br />We must answer the same question that Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am". Our having the right picture of him is critical. In fact, so critical, that it was upon this revelation that Jesus said he would build his church. The picture of God that we have is our bedrock, he builds the church on the image of himself that we have in our heart. With the right image of God, hell cannot prevail against us.<br /><br />Here is a list of things that God is to me that I received while meditating on this the other day.<br /><br />God, You are my peace, my righteousness, my provider, my love, my strength, my life, my shelter, my strength, my best friend, my savior, my maker, my redeemer, my healer, my light, my truth, my shepherd, my bread, my water, my sustainer, my king, my comforter, my guide, my greatest encourager, my example, my teacher, my father, my standard, my holiness, my breath of life, my center, my hero, my champion, my caregiver, my rock, my fortress, my refuge, my strong tower, my defender, my fear-vanquisher, my storm calmer, my liberator, the patient gardener of my soul, my foundation, my master-builder, my priest, my perfect sacrifice, my older brother, my fire, my desire, my exceedingly great reward, my rewarder, my master, my grace for every situation, my everything, my gate to life and the Kingdom, my heaven, my hope, my reason for living, my welcoming arms of love, lifter of my head, my judge, discerner and revealer of the secrets of my heart, my Head, author and finisher of my faith, my completer, my wholeness, binder of my brokenness, object of my worship, my forgiver, you hide me from my enemies, you are the lover of my enemies, my seed sower, my gift giver, and my miracle worker.<br /><br />God loves you so much and desires to reveal himself to you in all these ways. He wants to be everything you need, for every situation. I am finding that if I allow God to be these things to me at different times, my picture of him enlarges and I become more aware of his love and his presence.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-33054008402155279442012-11-21T16:23:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.601-07:00Thankfulness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZZ42GShCsU9jXdHSf6OrVrP4gm8zXZ41TwWYyB9I9z9YED03TqlpqpGZgOJsAKQb0fO2xJFa6mBpgG9q6VWdCMGuKCCQl7nypY2OW_0XJgUa2IC2rGb4wohCEedDb8mCJorl7H6btn4/s1600/RoastTurkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZZ42GShCsU9jXdHSf6OrVrP4gm8zXZ41TwWYyB9I9z9YED03TqlpqpGZgOJsAKQb0fO2xJFa6mBpgG9q6VWdCMGuKCCQl7nypY2OW_0XJgUa2IC2rGb4wohCEedDb8mCJorl7H6btn4/s320/RoastTurkey.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />This week, our family has been pondering the things we are thankful for. My wife acted upon a great idea she had last week. She painted a large, leafless tree on a mirror in our house. Then, everyone in our family was given leaves to write down the things we are thankful for. We then taped all the leaves onto the "Thankful Tree". The tree ended up with about a hundred leaves on it. Most of the things people write are about God, the blessings we have, and the people in our lives. The tree has been a reminder of all the things we have to be thankful for and the tremendous amount of blessings we have in our family.<br /><br />Ondrea and I have been increasingly understanding what a key role thankfulness has in our lives. It enables us overcome negativity, doubt, and bad attitudes. I guess that is why Paul tells us to give thanks in all things in Eph. 4:20. "<em>always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ</em>."<br /><br />As I was praying a couple days ago, I decided to read Hebrews 10. I began to get insight into some things we as Christians can ponder and be truly thankful for. As a result, I felt led to incorporate a time of communion during our family's upcoming thanksgiving day celebration.<br /><br /><strong>Hebrews 10</strong><br /><strong>v.1-4</strong><br /><em>The law is only a shadow<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30135A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup> of the good things<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30135B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup> that are coming—not the realities themselves.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30135C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup> For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30135D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)"></sup> those who draw near to worship.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30135E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)"></sup> <span class="text Heb-10-2" id="en-NIV-30136"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">2 </span></sup>Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30136F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Heb-10-3" id="en-NIV-30137"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3 </span></sup>But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30137G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Heb-10-4" id="en-NIV-30138"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">4 </span></sup>It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30138H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)"></sup> to take away sins.</span></em><br /><br /><span class="text Heb-10-4"><strong>v.11-14</strong></span><br /><span class="text Heb-10-4"><em><span class="text Heb-10-11" id="en-NIV-30145"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11 </span></sup>Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30145S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)"></sup> which can never take away sins.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30145T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Heb-10-12" id="en-NIV-30146"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">12 </span></sup>But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30146U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)"></sup> he sat down at the right hand of God,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30146V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Heb-10-13" id="en-NIV-30147"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">13 </span></sup>and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30147W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Heb-10-14" id="en-NIV-30148"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">14 </span></sup>For by one sacrifice he has made perfect<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30148X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)"></sup> forever those who are being made holy.<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30148Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)"></sup></span></em></span><br /><span class="text Heb-10-4"><strong>#1:</strong> <strong> Christ has paid for our sin completely! </strong><br />We don't have to offer animal sacrifices for our sins any more! Jesus has done away with the need for any further sacrifice for sin. This may seem very elementary, but if you ponder it - think about how amazing and revolutionary this must have been for the Jewish People of the 1st century! If you have ever owned Goats, Sheep, or Cows - you will also see the significance of Jesus Sacrifice! I am thankful that I don't need to offer any of our goats at the temple to pay for my sins this year. Our family has 3 goats, Gracie, Jimmy, and Promise. They have become like Pets to us - how sad it would be(especially for our children) if we had to slaughter one of them in order to be forgiven for our sins!! And then, on top of that, it wouldn't even fully erase the guilt, it would only serve to cover our sin until the next time of sacrifice. Animal sacrifices didn't really pay the price for sin, they just pointed to the one who actually could take away the sins - Jesus! The animal sacrifices were a costly reminder of the consequences and terribleness of sin. <br /><strong>v. 17-18</strong><br /><div class="first-line-none top-05"><span class="text Heb-10-17" id="en-NIV-30151"><em>Then he adds: </em></span><em><span class="text Heb-10-17">“Their sins and lawless acts</span><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Heb-10-17">I will remember no more.”</span></span></em></div><div class="first-line-none top-05"><span class="text Heb-10-18" id="en-NIV-30152"><em>And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.</em></span></div><div class="first-line-none top-05"><br /></div><strong>#2:</strong> <strong> Since</strong> <strong>God doesn't remember our sins any more, neither should we!</strong><br />We have been cleansed from sin - we are no longer sinners, we are saints! The sacrifice of Jesus has taken all our sins as far away as the east is from the west. ALL OUR SINS - PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE! <br />How amazing that we don't need to be reminded of our sin any longer. In fact, this passage(along with v. 2,3) seems to be alluding to the truth that because of what Jesus did, we don't need to be pondering, replaying, or beating ourselves up about our sinfulness any more! If the point of the sacrificial system was to remind people of their sins - the point of Jesus' sacrifice was to cleanse us of guilt so we can move on from and forget about our sins! Of course, we will remember our sins in our minds at times, but the guilt and condemnation attached to them can be be erased!!<br />As our family celebrates communion this week - we see it as a celebration of Jesus' sacrifice in taking away our sins and guilt. It is not a time to grimly reflect on our sinfulness and awfulness - it is a time to reflect on God's goodness and be thankful for all Christ has done! We remember that the blood he shed was costly, we remember that his broken body paid the price for our freedom. However, we do not reflect on our guilt and awfulness, trying to dredge up feelings of guilt and remorse. We are not guilty any more! We are cleansed, purified, righteous, holy, new creations.<br /><br /><strong>v 19-22</strong><br /><em><span class="text Heb-10-19"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">19 </span></sup>Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30153AC" title="See cross-reference AC">AC</a>)"></sup> to enter the Most Holy Place<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30153AD" title="See cross-reference AD">AD</a>)"></sup> by the blood of Jesus,</span> <span class="text Heb-10-20" id="en-NIV-30154"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">20 </span></sup>by a new and living way<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30154AE" title="See cross-reference AE">AE</a>)"></sup> opened for us through the curtain,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30154AF" title="See cross-reference AF">AF</a>)"></sup> that is, his body,</span> <span class="text Heb-10-21" id="en-NIV-30155"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">21 </span></sup>and since we have a great priest<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30155AG" title="See cross-reference AG">AG</a>)"></sup> over the house of God,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30155AH" title="See cross-reference AH">AH</a>)"></sup></span> <span class="text Heb-10-22" id="en-NIV-30156"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;">22 </span></sup>let us draw near to God<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30156AI" title="See cross-reference AI">AI</a>)"></sup> with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30156AJ" title="See cross-reference AJ">AJ</a>)"></sup> having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30156AK" title="See cross-reference AK">AK</a>)"></sup> and having our bodies washed with pure water.</span></em><br /><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22"><strong>#3: We are now children of God!</strong></span><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22">We can boldly and confidently be in God's presence because of the precious blood of Jesus! Hallelujah! We have access to God's presence at all times, in fact, God lives in us! We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We can draw near to God in faith, believing that we are pure and right with God. There is no place for guilt or shame because we have been cleansed and purified once and for all. It is finished! This is the most exciting aspect of salvation to me - being his child. We are "brothers and sisters", we are members of the family of God! I have a relationship with God, he is my friend!</span><br /><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22"><strong>Conclusion:</strong></span><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22"> I am so thankful that my life is becoming "Christ-centric", instead of "Sin-centric". There is such freedom in a confident relationship with God - believing that he sees me as pure, Holy, and "in" Christ. There is no need to grovel or make up for my mistakes. He loves me and accepts me as I am because I am in Christ, who is righteous and perfect. Therefore I am righteous and perfect. I am confident that my name is written in heaven, and I have an incredible inheritance that will last for all eternity. Now that is something to be thankful about!!</span><br /><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22"><strong>Luke 10:20</strong></span><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22">However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your <strong>names are written in heaven.”</strong></span><br /><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22"><strong>Hebrews 12:23</strong></span><br /><span class="text Heb-10-22">to the church of the firstborn, whose <strong>names</strong> are <strong>written</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>heaven</strong>. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the <strong>righteous made perfect</strong>,</span><br /><strong><br /></strong></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-51622577651181352612012-06-27T12:26:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.608-07:00Husbands love your Wives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7l8MbKik_2VhCIsf2wGU-Fv5bqpaxe7-4Nnpd9EsF9ZG2yvkOnzWLjM6rgA_VLGvWZCwJMeYE9iefiTocmHRJCdzsd-G9NXwpeaCtDA6CMnWbEs-KYUdQnUL2NDrutwigqzsgNgHkYo/s1600/Heart.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7l8MbKik_2VhCIsf2wGU-Fv5bqpaxe7-4Nnpd9EsF9ZG2yvkOnzWLjM6rgA_VLGvWZCwJMeYE9iefiTocmHRJCdzsd-G9NXwpeaCtDA6CMnWbEs-KYUdQnUL2NDrutwigqzsgNgHkYo/s1600/Heart.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><strong>Eph. 6:25</strong><br />Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her<br /><br />How are we husbands to love our wives? I have been on a journey to discover this over the last couple years. I realized how much I had really failed to love my wife in the years before. I think there were 2 main problems.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: large;">1st problem - unhealed wounds</span></strong><br />I needed healing for many lies I had believed from my past. I took many of the things she would say to me as personal rejection. Many of the patterns of conflict we encountered were due to the grid I viewed life through. Therefore, any appeal from her that even hinted at the fact that I wasn't meeting her needs in some way was immediately taken personally and defensive walls would go up. Over the last couple years, with my wife's unconditional love and healing prayer, God has healed me and set me free from many childish ideas and ways of reacting. I have also been learning to feel. We men have a difficult time with emotion, and this was a big one for me. I still have far to go, but God has done more than I could ever imagine!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: large;">2nd problem - wrong view of authority</span></strong><br />I covered much of this in my post about the husband as the priest of the Home. <br /><a href="http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/man-as-priest-of-home.html">http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/man-as-priest-of-home.html</a><br /><br />I wanted to add some stuff here about this issue as it relates to how a husband learns to love his wife. Of course, it also applies to wives loving their husbands.<br /><br />We learned through some teaching videos we watched last year that there are basically 3 types of relationships that many husbands and wives will find themselves in. My wife and I disagree with some of the psychological pidgeon-holing on some of the videos, but we did take some very valuable things from it.<br /><a href="http://lovingonpurpose.com/">http://lovingonpurpose.com/</a><br /><br /><strong>1. I matter, you don't</strong> - (<u>The controller</u>) This occurs when one partner dominates the relationship. Their vision, decisions, dreams are all that matter. The weaker partner never has much to say and they just always go along with the stronger partner. This is because the stronger partner forces their way(always wins) and does not have enough respect for the thoughts, feelings, and wisdom of the weaker partner.<br /><br /><strong>2. You matter, I don't</strong> - (<u>The doormat</u>) In this type of relationship, the dominating person is not the problem. The problem lies in a wrong view believed by the person who is weaker. This type of person lives to only serve and meet the needs of the other. They will never speak up or let their needs, thoughts, or feelings be known. This may sound holy, submissive, and very Christian-like, however, this person will typically breed hidden resentments and feelings of being un-cared for. They never make their thoughts known because they believe they don't matter and they probably won't be listened to anyways. These people will many times be nice to you to your face, but the moment your back is turned will spew out all kinds of anger and resentment.<br /><br /><strong>3. You matter, and so do I - (</strong><u>Healthy relationship</u>). Both partners have a high respect for one another's thoughts, feelings, and needs. This may not always be possible in all marriage relationships because sometimes, 1 partner is un-cooperative. This is the type of relationship we all desire and long for. In this type of relationship, both partners are free to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs without fear of backlash. Unconditional love and a high respect for each other is paramount. Decisions are made together, without one partner needing to force their way. Both people can be seen as equally able to hear from God and make wise decisions.<br /><br />Typically, in the church circles my wife and I were a part of over the past few years, the first two ways of relating were the only ones we ever saw. We unfortunately fell into these faulty ways of relating to each other as well. In these types of churches, the only person who really matters in the family is the Husband. The wife and children only live to serve him. The husband believes "I matter, you don't" subconsciously, even though he would never say it out loud. In the church, the same way of thinking is practiced. Lip-service is given to the importance of women, but they are allowed to participate very little if at all in the actual church meeting.<br /><br />The wife believes "You matter, I don't". The wife many times will be unable to really communicate how she really thinks or feels since she subconsciously believes, "I don't matter". She begins to believe that she was only created to keep the clothes washed, put food on the table, have babies, teach the children, and maybe become an herbal expert :) Her identity is squashed by this mindset. She does not believe she can hear from God or play a major role in any decision-making. Her thoughts, dreams, desires are minimized since the husband's thoughts, dreams, desires are all that matter. <br /><br />Some churches will not even allow a woman to speak because they believe that a man is the only one who can really handle theological questions and biblical truth. Women are only qualified to teach other women and children. Do you see how damaging this mindset can become when applied in the home? This means that the woman can never take any viewpoint contrary to her husband and can never disagree with him on spiritual, theological, or practical issues. This mindset takes a low view of and has no respect for the humanity and intelligence of women. Bible verses are thrown around and pulled out of context to support this viewpoint. Any time the bible is used to dominate or control other people, love has just been cast out and the Spirit of Fear has been let in. There is no fear in love, perfect love casts out fear. If we men will learn to really love, then our wives can be truly freed from fear. On the flip-side, the reason people want to stay in control is out of fear. I remember fearing that my wife might disagree with my decisions, so I didn't even ask her opinion. I just went right ahead and did them because I was the authority in the house. <br /><br />Like I said in my article about Man as priest of the Home, if I would have taken my wife seriously, I would not have blundered into so many mistakes and bad decisions. We men need to be humble enough to listen to our wives and make decisions together with them. Any time a decision comes to the point of a power struggle, the quality of the relationship has to be sacrificed. These wrong beliefs will always hinder good communication and good decision making.<br /><br />Oh, and by the way - these concepts also apply to how we view our children as well. Many a controlling, authoritarian parent has abused their children because they were "unsubmissive". We need to heed well the command to not exasperate our children with bullying and controlling intimidation tactics. They also have feelings and thoughts that need to be respected. If they become disrespectful, there are certainly consequences - but we don't need to bully them into submission.<br /><br />Paul says we men are to love our wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. How well are we loving our wives as Christ loves the church? How well are we giving up ourselves and laying down our lives for our wives? Jesus lowered himself and became a servant to humanity. In laying down his life for us, we see the ultimate example of love. Christ humbled himself and elevated others. He had a very high view of humanity. His purpose was not to be served, but to serve. We men need to learn to serve our wives! Get this! They do not exist to serve me and meet my needs! Yes, in a godly relationship, our wives will desire to serve us and meet our needs, but that will never be forced upon them as their "role".<br /><br />Ephesians also tells us to "submit to one another". Yes, husbands, this implies that there are times where we will need to submit to our wives! Since our wives do have the spirit of Christ living in them, we are in fact submitting to Christ when we choose to listen to and submit ourselves to what they have to say. Ouch! see <strong>Gen. 21:12 - <a href="http://bible.cc/genesis/21-12.htm">http://bible.cc/genesis/21-12.htm</a></strong><br /><br />Submission/Authority is a minor issue when compared with Love. Love is the major issue. Love always wins. Love does not seek to have it's own way(1 cor 13:5). Submission/Authority is a lesser form of relationship that at times has to be resorted to when one person isn't in right relationship with God. However, if true love is present and both people are submitted to God and hearing from him, there will rarely be a need for the Submission/Authority issue to come up.<br /><br />For example: Look for a second at how we relate with God. Do we always relate to God as slave to master? No, we relate to him as son to father, bride to bridegroom, brothers, family, etc. I believe the slave to master relationship is a lesser form of relationship that has no place when our primary motivation is love! Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments". He didn't say, "Since I am your master and Lord, keep my commandments! <br /><br />Unfortunately, many husbands are communicating this type of relational message to their wives. "Since I am your authority, do what I say!" "Since I am your head, you have no say in the decisions around here." "Your feelings and thoughts don't matter since I am the master". That isn't love. That isn't 1 Cor. 13:5.<br /><br />Love is communicated when the relational message that both husband and wife are conveying to each other is "You matter, and so do I". Since "I matter", when I disagree with you I will speak up and be honest about it in a respectful way. On the flip-side, it also means I will not insist on my own way, because "you matter" and I respect you. We have high levels of respect for each other, and we have a high level of respect for our selves. Since I have a high level of respect for myself, I will not allow another to control or dominate me since I am accountable to God and I will not violate my own conscience. It also means that since I love you, I will pray for you and even speak up and tell you about it when I see you about to walk over a cliff. This type of relationship is the only one in which we can be free to be honest with each another and be free to give/receive true love. True love is not coerced, it is freely given. In this type of relationship, we are self-controlled, spirit-controlled, and accountable to God.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-42816270672626800802012-06-19T15:52:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.614-07:00Cessationism is heresy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxF8hWW_rrnYunW7G-9BCgZ146JLlvP8vt48dg7-wVHcQrRs47ZFq_QH3qqwru7piSD6JIzjUl8R6jNnaXWgQQFpj9Nw1muEcIUOLdVE0ankh2247QTZGZgwbO0EwtsUW632-QWIiA2a4/s1600/Wonders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxF8hWW_rrnYunW7G-9BCgZ146JLlvP8vt48dg7-wVHcQrRs47ZFq_QH3qqwru7piSD6JIzjUl8R6jNnaXWgQQFpj9Nw1muEcIUOLdVE0ankh2247QTZGZgwbO0EwtsUW632-QWIiA2a4/s1600/Wonders.jpg" /></a></div><br />Liked this post by Steve Crosby about the errors of Cessationism. He goes so far as to call it Heresy, I wholeheartedly agree!<br /><br /><a href="http://swordofthekingdom.com/2012/06/02/cessationism-undermines-the-gospel/">http://swordofthekingdom.com/2012/06/02/cessationism-undermines-the-gospel/</a><br /><br />The power to do miracles and live a spirit-filled, fruitful, overcoming life is proof that Jesus really rose from the dead. The power to do miracles by the Holy Spirit validated Jesus' message, it validated the early disciples' message, and it validates our message.<br /><br />If we don't serve a risen lord who can still do the very same things through our lives today, our message and preaching is in vain! 1 Cor 15:14<br /><br />Jesus promise was that we would do the very same things he did, and even greater works!<br /><strong>John 14:12</strong><br />Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.<br /><br />It is ridiculous to think that miracles ceased with the death of the last Apostle, and it is foolish to believe that God no longer speaks to his people today through Spiritual Gifts, discernment, dreams, visions, etc. If gifts were given to the church for edification and to build up the early Church, why would God pull them away with the death of the last apostle? What makes us think we no longer need these gifts today?<br /><br />God is the same Yesterday, Today, and Forever. The same roadblocks of religious thinking that kept the Pharisees of old from receiving the person of Jesus when he came 2000 years ago are the same roadblocks that keep modern Pharisees from believing in the power and work of the Holy Spirit today.<br /> <br />Cessationists hinge most of their beliefs on one passage of scripture that I believe is easily refutable. They believe that spiritual gifts ceased when the perfect came as described in <strong>1 Cor. 13:8-10</strong><br /><span class="text 1Cor-13-8" id="en-NASB-28674"><sup class="versenum">8 </sup>Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-9" id="en-NASB-28675"><sup class="versenum">9 </sup>For we know in part and we prophesy in part;</span> <span class="text 1Cor-13-10" id="en-NASB-28676"><sup class="versenum">10 </sup>but <strong>when the perfect comes</strong>, the partial will be done away.</span><br /><br />Cessationists believe that "the perfect" is referring to the completion of the <strong>canon of scripture</strong>. I believe this is an incorrect interpretation for 3 main reasons.<br />1. Paul had no idea that there was such a thing as a "canon" of scripture at the time of this writing.<br />2. "if there is knowledge, it will be done away". <span class="text 1Cor-13-9" id="en-NASB-28675"><sup class="versenum"></sup></span>Did knowledge pass away also with the completion of the Canon? No.<br />3. verse 12 implies a time when we are face to face with Jesus and have reached a state of complete knowledge. Even with the completion of the scriptures, none of us can claim to have complete knowledge.<br /><strong>1 Cor. 13:12</strong> <span class="text 1Cor-13-12" id="en-NASB-28678"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #002850;">"Face to face", then, can only refer to when we see Jesus face to face at His coming. John says we will see Him face to face (Rev 22:4), and that when he appears we shall see him as he is (1Jn 3:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="text 1Cor-13-12">The time when we will "know fully" has nothing to do with the completion of the canon of scripture. It is talking about the time when we will see Christ face to face and are literally dwelling in his presence continually.</span><br /><br />Spiritual gifts and miracles are necessary until the end of the age when Jesus returns and wraps up history. When we see him face to face and are living in his presence continually, spiritual gifts will no longer be necessary.<br /><br />Also see:<br /><a href="http://apologetica.us/2012/02/06/why-1-corinthians-138-10-is-not-a-good-text-for-cessationism/">http://apologetica.us/2012/02/06/why-1-corinthians-138-10-is-not-a-good-text-for-cessationism/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.prophecyeducation.com/cessationism.htm">http://www.prophecyeducation.com/cessationism.htm</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/2000-Years-Charismatic-Christianity-pentecostal/dp/0884198723">http://www.amazon.com/2000-Years-Charismatic-Christianity-pentecostal/dp/0884198723</a><br />2000 years of charismatic History is a good book that gives first-hand accounts of miracles and spiritual gifts throughout the last 2,000 years. This book offers undeniable proof that miracles and gifts have never ceased. Literally hundreds of eyewitness and first-hand accounts of miracles have been recorded <strong>after</strong> the completion of the Canon of Scripture. While reading this book, I was amazed at the number of references to spiritual gifts and miracles in the writings of the early church fathers 100-300 AD.<br /><br /><br />There are many well documented reports of healing miracles. This video in 2 parts is one of them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/u54Hctyfts4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FKv9wb9pgEI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-3767563005942159212012-05-14T15:33:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.619-07:00The power of a focused Heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenIMuh3OGAkCpioX_PML3p_UrAGtN_WU4oteL8AQyjuA0iGFWD0Z0Mrv34uXPW9-6i1P7pdQE2O3dD1SYlj0XMSvrH96YTfUHzTTLb2NVMZwMx_9U-BhEyDAM6vbNuF1lhI3AmIYnm7A/s1600/HeartDroplet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenIMuh3OGAkCpioX_PML3p_UrAGtN_WU4oteL8AQyjuA0iGFWD0Z0Mrv34uXPW9-6i1P7pdQE2O3dD1SYlj0XMSvrH96YTfUHzTTLb2NVMZwMx_9U-BhEyDAM6vbNuF1lhI3AmIYnm7A/s1600/HeartDroplet.jpg" /></a></div>Last year, Ondrea received a prophetic picture while praying for me. In it, she saw my heart like a White horn - when I blew the horn, it had tremendous power to change things. This means that when my heart is turned and focused intensely toward the Lord, there is great power and anything can happen! The power of intercession and prayer are magnified when my heart is turned towards the Lord. Prophetic words and energy can flow from my spirit when my heart is turned towards the Lord. Just like a horn produces a sound, the energy that is produced from a focused heart is in harmony with the Lord's voice and purposes. The horn also represents the multiplication of sound that occurs. God multiplies power and energy when I pray or act in accordance with his desires and heart. Even if I don't feel anything tangible, I can expect fruit and change when my heart is focused towards God. I love this prophetic picture because it is so clearly portrays a heart that is in union with the Lord's Heart.<br /><br />I found it to be true that when I am able to keep my heart turned towards the Lord, my faith level soars. I find it easier to avoid distractions and am full of anticipation for what the Lord is going to do. When my heart is divided or distracted regarding earthly concerns, my faith level plummets and I find myself faithless, discouraged, and disheartened.<br /><br /><span class="text Matt-13-22"><span class="woj"><strong>2 Corinthians 3:16-18</strong></span></span><br /><span class="text Matt-13-22"><span class="woj"><span class="text 2Cor-3-16" id="en-NIV-28858"><sup class="versenum">16 </sup>But whenever anyone <strong>turns to the Lord</strong>, the veil is taken away.</span> <span class="text 2Cor-3-17" id="en-NIV-28859"><sup class="versenum">17 </sup>Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.</span> <span class="text 2Cor-3-18" id="en-NIV-28860"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.</span></span></span><br /><br />When we inwardly turn our hearts toward the Lord, the veil is taken away. We are able to see clearly and receive truth from God. Conversely, when our hearts are turned away from the Lord, there is a veil keeping us from seeing clearly. The veil keeps the light of his love and truth from our hearts.<br /><br /><strong>Matthew 13:22</strong><br /><span class="text Matt-13-22" id="en-NIV-23562"><span class="woj">The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth<sup> </sup>choke the word, making it unfruitful.</span></span><br /><br />It is impossible to have a passionate, burning heart for the Lord when our lives are filled with distractions and wordly cares. A heart that is focused on the Lord is in love with him and his words are meaningful to us. We will hang on his every word and listen intently to his voice. Similarly, when my heart is focused on my wife and I push out all distractions, my love for her intensifies.<br /><br /><strong>Proverbs 4:23</strong><br />Watch over your heart with all diligence,<br /><span class="text Prov-4-23">For from it flow the springs of life.</span><br /><br /><span class="text Prov-4-23"><span class="text Prov-4-23">This scripture is a basic principle of how life works that contains great truth. It is an ancient path, so listen carefully. The eternal principle is this: <strong>"Our hearts contain life, and that life is going to flow into something, so be careful what you let that life flow into."</strong> </span>If we allow the life in our hearts to flow out into things that God does not intend it to - we will have nothing left over to give to the things that are important. It is imperative to "Watch over your heart", guarding diligently what you allow the life of your heart to flow into. If we give our hearts over to our jobs, we will have nothing left to give to God or our families. If we give our heart to making as much money as possible, the spring of life will run dry eventually. If the life-flow of our hearts is not rooted in God and aligned with God's heart, that life in our heart will eventually run dry.</span><br /><br /><span class="text Prov-4-23"><strong>Matthew 6:21</strong></span><br /><span class="text Prov-4-23">For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.</span><br /><br /><span class="text Prov-4-23">This scripture contains another, similar basic principle of life: <strong>The flow of life from our hearts will be directed toward whatever we treasure.</strong></span><br /><br /><span class="text Prov-4-23">This is why Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. We will find it increasingly difficult when the flow of life from our heart is divided up into two separate streams. One stream flowing into the things of the world, and the other stream flowing into the things of God. We will find that when our hearts are intensely focused on the things of God, the worldly stream dries up. Conversely, when our hearts are intensely focused on worldly things, the God stream dries up. We cannot maintain two streams flowing in opposite directions! It is pride and foolishness to think we can! Believe me, I have tried it and failed from experience!</span><br /><br />When we are united with God and our heart is turned towards him; when we have surrendered to him, his spirit can flow through us. Then, rivers of living water can flow through us as<strong> John 7:38</strong> says <span class="text John-7-38" id="en-NKJV-26367"><em><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> "</span></sup><span class="woj">He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”</span></em></span><br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj">On the practical side (help for when our heart isn't focused on the Lord):</span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj">I have found that is quite difficult to turn my heart toward God when I am believing lies about him. Like the prodigal son, I believe the Father might be angry with me so that lie keeps me from turning to him and receiving the love and rest I so desperately need. We need to renounce lies about God and receive the truth about his true nature and our true nature before we can have an open, honest heart that is turned towards him. When we are believing lies or we are bound in sin, we will continue to hide and run from him. We will build up walls of self-protection from him and from others. It is important when we are in this place to call out to him for help. I have also found it helpful to renounce lies and speak truth out loud and/or bring them to another person. If there is sin, confess it to God and if necessary to anothe believer. When you do this, it breaks the hold of the lies and then you can be free to behold him with an unveiled face again. I have found it helpful to ask my wife for prayer when I start to fall into the performance trap and feel my relationship with God beginning to slip. Not only does it break the cycle in my head, it lets her know I have needs and weaknesses that she can be praying and encouraging me in.</span></span><br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj">I love in the movie "Seven days in Utopia", the main character is a golfer who had lived for nothing but Golf since he was a child. Pushed hard by a Father driven to make him succeed, he finally breaks down and sees God's truth. Here are the lies he wrote down and buried:</span></span><br /><br /><ol type="1"><li>My golf scores are a reflection of my self-worth.</li><li>Failure in golf is failure in life.</li><li>Success in golf will bring the fulfillment that I long for.</li><li>My calling in life is to play golf.</li><li>The opinions of others are paramount in the choices I make.</li><li>God is a crutch for the weak.</li><li>Tradition is sacred and never to be challenged</li></ol><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"></span></span><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj">I have also found it helpful to prayerfully make a list of lies, then make another list of God's truth. Here is a sample list that I wrote up about a year ago.</span></span> <br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>1. Lie</strong> - God is only available to me if I have been good enough today. If I have prayed this morning, </span></span><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj">been nice to people and basically been perfect.</span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>Truth</strong> - God is near to me, will flow through me, and is available to me at all times, whether I have been perfect or not. In fact, I need him even more when I have failed. Look at the Joy of the father when his prodigal son came home!</span></span><br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>2. Lie -</strong> Tomorrow will be a better day. Even though today is really screwed up, a good night's sleep and some time will fix things. I can't approach God today so I must resign myself to failure and misery today.</span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>Truth -</strong> God works Today! If I turn my heart and repent now, God will meet me now! I don't have to wait until tomorrow. I can have a soft heart again now! No day is too screwed up for God to redeem now! <strong>Hebrews 3:7,8</strong> - <em>"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts"</em></span></span><br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>3. Lie - </strong>I have screwed up too badly for God to save me. In fact, I am a screwed up person. I am a lost cause. Who am I to enter God's presence and draw near to him. He probably wants nothing to do with me now.</span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>Truth - </strong>I am God's Son! I am cleansed, forgiven, perfect, righteous, holy. I can go boldly to God because I am in Christ!</span></span><br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>4. Lie - </strong>I am a failure and will never rise above the mistakes I have made. Things will continue the way they always have. I am destined for defeat and failure all my days. I will not succeed or accomplish anything of worth.</span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>Truth - </strong>I can do all things through Christ. I am more than a conqueror. There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. No failure is too great for God to redeem and change. No cycle of defeat too deep for him to break. I can and will move mountains and defeat giants by Faith.</span></span><br /><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>5. Lie</strong> - I don't have what it takes to do what God is asking. I'm not gifted enough, don't hear from God well enough, am not smart enough. I'm too selfish and don't have the right personality or enough charisma. I'm not a very good leader.</span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj"><strong>Truth -</strong> Joshua 1:9 - <em>Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go</em>. The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in me! I am complete in him. I have all I need in him! <strong>Galatians 9:8</strong><em> And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, Having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.</em></span></span><br /><span class="text John-7-38"><span class="woj">I choose to receive from God everything I need to be a blessing to others. God has blessed me and will continue to pour out his love, gifts, wisdom, strength, provision, and care so I can pour out to the people around me!</span></span><br /><br />I also created another similar list of lies/truth towards the end of this article.<br /><a href="http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2012/02/living-by-faith.html">http://bigkiddfamily.blogspot.com/2012/02/living-by-faith.html</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-70321493014274199322012-05-07T13:05:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.625-07:00Forever YoursThese are the words to a song that Ondrea got in prayer this morning. We would like to set it to music.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><u><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Forever Yours</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Let us consider carefully how we listen</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Spirit speak</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Open our hearts, leave nothing hidden </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Spirit speak</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">As we listen You’ll make us to be your…<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Lamp on a stand,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Lifeline to the lost,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Beacon in the storm,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Welcome to the house on the hill<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Let us consider carefully how we listen</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Consume us</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Set our hearts on fire, burn away the chaff</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Consume us</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">We long to glorify you Lord, make us your…<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Lamp on a stand,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Lifeline to the lost,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Beacon in the storm,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Welcome to the house on the hill<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">We are forever yours,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Our life is forever yours</span><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-30931701421157149962012-04-16T13:22:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.630-07:00Dangerous!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzbiy4gYLKX9gdgwFZfN-TuyJ3KveSlOPE7ePBd86sQeoS3dvQsmC0OJQShYh2hL5R3-_fC8Q-WpSHYPslJthMYoXNKNCDXmII752pE2kquhrbLRGl-BhjncSe4ZDJNZeIjUBs8wFhWU/s1600/DANGEROS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzbiy4gYLKX9gdgwFZfN-TuyJ3KveSlOPE7ePBd86sQeoS3dvQsmC0OJQShYh2hL5R3-_fC8Q-WpSHYPslJthMYoXNKNCDXmII752pE2kquhrbLRGl-BhjncSe4ZDJNZeIjUBs8wFhWU/s1600/DANGEROS.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />If you are a Christian who has been outside the fold of mainstream, institutional Christianity for any length of time, you have probably realized that some Christians consider you to be dangerous.<br /><br />The other day, my wife was emailing a woman to ask about a local homeschool co-op limited membership. The limited membership would allow us to go on field trips with the group. My wife asked if we should send our twenty dollars before or after we are approved for membership. The woman e-mailed back and said we would have no problem getting in as long as we attend a "mainstream" Christian church and agree to their statement of faith.<br /><br />Since we don't attend a mainstream Church, we realized in the minds of many Christians, we are considered "dangerous". They believe we will have some sort of influence on people and lead them astray from the established truth.<br /><br />If you are considered "dangerous", that might actually be a good thing, because that may mean that you are being "effective". Jesus was considered to be "dangerous" and was sent to his death. He rocked the boat, ruffled some feathers, and caused a stir! When we actually listen to the Father's voice and obey him, it is the religious, institutional people who get offended most, not the world!<br /><br /><strong>John 12:9-11</strong><br /> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26590">9</sup> Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26591">10</sup> So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26592">11</sup> for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.<br /><br />Unbelievable! They wanted to kill Jesus for raising Lazarus from the dead? Furthermore, they wanted to kill Lazarus because he was telling people his testimony! Jesus was a very "effective" man, but to the chief priests he was "dangerous". He was upsetting their control over the people, and that's what religious institutions are usually all about - control!<br /><br />Who actually persecuted the early disciples first? Was it the Romans? No, it was the Jewish religious leaders. Yes, the Romans persecuted them later, but it was the Religious leaders who were the first to persecute real Christians. Why? because Christianity upset their positions of authority, and it drew the people into a real relationship with God that skirted around the prescribed rules and methods they had set up. They couldn't control that!<br /><br />When Jesus died, the veil that separates us from God was torn in two. We have free and bold access to the presence of God; no more priestly mediators, no more "order of Worship" is necessary. However, it is ironic that Religious systems have been trying for the last 2000 years to sew the veil back up and put it between us and God again! <br /><br />It is considered "dangerous" thinking to believe that you can hear God's voice for yourself and worship him wherever you are. It is considered "dangerous" to interpret the bible with only the Holy Spirit to guide you. It is considered "dangerous" to learn from God outside the guidance of a seminary or religious institution. It is considered "dangerous" to question a leader's decisions or actions. It is considered "dangerous" to question doctrine or traditions. It is considered "dangerous" to heal, cast out demons, or do miracles. It is considered "dangerous" to say you had a dream, vision, or revelation from God. It is considered "dangerous" to exercise spiritual gifts, expecially the gift of tongues. It is considered "dangerous" to do what God tells you to do, even if it looks foolish. You get the point, these are all things that can't be controlled!<br /><br /><strong>John 7:15 - 17</strong><br />The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” <sup class="versenum" id="en-NASB-26345">16</sup> So Jesus answered them and said, <span class="woj">“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">17</span></sup>If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or <i>whether</i> I speak from Myself. </span><br /><br /><span class="woj">Jesus learned from the Father, not just by going to a religious school. He may have attended school when he was young, and he most certainly celebrated the Sabbath and went to the Synagogue. He learned from those who were wise, but most of all - he had a relationship with the Father, and he was taught by him!</span><br /><br />I am not saying that seminaries and churches are never helpful, but I am saying that we need to be able to hear from God for ourselves. Do we need to receive wisdom from others? Absolutely, but we also need to learn to question authority(without rebelling), and get our direction from God first. He will tell us to do things that are abnormal and seem absurd to some, but we need to do them anyway. <br /><br />The most effective Christians are the ones who are not afraid to be different, labeled as "dangerous", and who will step out in faith. We need to be able to go against the grain, break the mold, rock the boat, and swim upstream without fear of Man.<br /><br /><strong>Galatians 1:10</strong><br />Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.<br /><br />Please hear my heart. I am in no way condoning rebellion, lack of accountability, or disparaging leadership. What I am saying is, you can still be a follower of Christ outside of traditional, institutional Christianity. In fact, you will probably be a more effective Christian :)<br /><br />God may call our family to join a Church or even start a Church at some point. But it will be for a purpose, it will be led by His voice, and it will be different than we or others would expect. We are determined to do nothing out of a desire to meet our own selfish needs or be part of a good church club. It would be nice to get rid of that feeling that we are "dangerous", but at what cost?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15:5&version=NKJV"><strong>John 15:5</strong></a><br />“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-34928453690789681682012-04-13T10:12:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.637-07:00Sinner or Saint?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt9pToNIlvKWWmmxAWLGTbWSA2t4bdu-HHCvtdY2ZzUGs-lSk4xTegWXV7CigYHIB390SyMSxxreuz1ubM3P_D8exWZRmNq99xExEoF3Ay7ITAHT3YE6MMN6ijOlahFGLpy88ZS2VbMI/s1600/saints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt9pToNIlvKWWmmxAWLGTbWSA2t4bdu-HHCvtdY2ZzUGs-lSk4xTegWXV7CigYHIB390SyMSxxreuz1ubM3P_D8exWZRmNq99xExEoF3Ay7ITAHT3YE6MMN6ijOlahFGLpy88ZS2VbMI/s1600/saints.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Is a Christian still a wretched sinner? What does the bible actually say about this? Do we still have an old nature or do we have a new nature? If you really have a new nature, what is that new nature like? Can someone have two natures? <br /><br />A post on the blog <a href="http://modernreject.com/2012/03/are-you-a-saint-or-a-sinner/"><span style="color: #d52a33;">Modern Reject</span></a> states the following in very bold words:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">We’ve all heard Christians say it and we’ve most likely said it ourselves: “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">We tell unbelievers that we are sinners just like them, only difference is, we’ve met Jesus, accepted His gift of salvation, and been saved.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">And let me just say, this is completely false.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">That’s right. <strong style="border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We are lying when we speak these words. We are not sinners. We are something quite different…</strong><span id="more-1249094091" style="border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><em style="border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">You see, somewhere along the way Christians got the idea in their minds that they need to refer to themselves as “sinners” and not saints. Yet, the Bible, more specifically, the New Testament, does not refer to followers of Christ as sinners in the present tense.</div></blockquote><br />The world seems to know that there is a sharp distinction between a sinner and a saint, but why don't most Christians understand this? This is a serious case of mistaken and confused identity.<br /><br />If you are a Christian, and have always believed you are just a sinner saved by Grace, you are in for a real treat. Get ready to be set free and released into a completely new and radical way of seeing yourself as God sees you!<br /><br /><h3> A Sinner is not a Saint, and a Saint is not a Sinner!</h3><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5:8&version=NIV"><strong>Romans 5:8</strong></a><br />But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: <b>While</b> <b>we</b> <strong>were</strong> <b>still</b> <strong>sinners</strong>, Christ died for us.<br /><span class="keywordresultextras"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5:7-9&version=NIV"></a></span><br />Paul reminds us that Christ died for us while we <strong>were</strong> still sinners. (Rom. 5:8) Catch that? Paul did not write that Christ died for us while we were still sinners so that we could <em>remain</em> sinners. Look at Romans 5:19 - we are made Righteous through the obedience of Christ. Also, notice the contrast between the words "sinners" and "righteous". You are either a "sinner", or you are "righteous". You cannot be both. You must stop seeing yourself as a sinner, and see yourself as God sees you, as a righteous saint.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5:19&version=NKJV"><strong>Romans 5:19</strong></a><br />For as by one man’s disobedience many were made <strong>sinners</strong>, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made <strong>righteous</strong>.<br /><br /><h3> Good Heart, Bad Heart </h3>It is very common to hear Christians quoting <strong>Jeremiah 17:9</strong> - The heart <i>is</i> deceitful above all <em>things, </em>a<span class="text Jer-17-9">nd desperately wicked; w</span><span class="text Jer-17-9">ho can know it?</span><br /><br />Many take this to mean that <strong>all</strong> men's hearts are deceitful and wicked, including Christians. But is this really true of the new covenant Christian? No, a Christian is one who has a good heart, whose heart has been changed through the new birth, the soil of this kind of heart is fertile and fruit-bearing. This kind of heart hear's God's truth and lives it out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+8:15&version=NKJV"><strong>Luke 8:15</strong></a><br />But the ones that fell on the <b>good</b> ground are those who, having heard the word with a <b>noble</b> <b>and</b> <b>good</b> <b>heart</b>, keep it and bear fruit with patience.<br /><br />Did you catch that? "a noble and good heart" So it is possible to have a good heart! And here's how it happens - God gives us a new heart the moment we are born again and surrender our life to him!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+36:26&version=NKJV"><strong>Ezekiel 36:26</strong></a><br />I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+8:10&version=NKJV"><strong>Hebrews 8:10</strong></a><br />For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23:26&version=NKJV"><strong>Matthew 23:26</strong></a><br />Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.<br /><br /><span class="keywordresultextras"></span><strong><u><span style="color: #0066cc;">Matthew 12:35</span></u></strong><br />A <strong>good</strong> man out of the <strong>good</strong> treasure of his heart brings forth <strong>good</strong> things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.<br /><br />Matthew 23:26 shows us that is possible to have a cleansed heart that is pure. How wonderful and freeing is that? Matthew 12:35 also shows us that it is possible to be "good" and have "good treasure" stored up in our heart with "good things" coming out of it. Amazing!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+7:38&version=NKJV"><strong>John 7:38</strong></a><br />He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, <strong>out of his heart</strong> will flow rivers of living water.”<br /><br /><span class="keywordresultextras"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:18&version=NKJV"><strong>Matthew 7:18</strong></a><br />A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.</span><br /><br /><span class="keywordresultextras">Jesus said that two types of water can't flow from the same source. Jesus also said a bad tree can't bear good fruit! I'm telling you loud and clear - if you are a Christian - you are a good tree! You are not a bad tree! The scriptures are so clear - I could go on and on with scripture after scripture! You cannot have two natures - one good, the other bad! Any object or being cannot have two natures. For example, Wood is wood, that is it's nature! Gold is Gold, that is it's nature! Your nature is either sinner or saint it cannot be both! You are a born again new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! </span><br /><br /><h3> The Struggle between Flesh and Spirit</h3><span class="keywordresultextras">Yes, we will still struggle with the Flesh, but I can prove that many reference where some translations say "sinful nature", the actual greek word used in many instances is "sarx", the word most often translated to "flesh". It is more accurate to translate that word in these cases as "flesh", not "sinful nature". For example, in Romans 7:18, the NIV translates "sarx" as "sinful nature", but the New King James more accurately translates it as "Flesh". Yes, we still struggle with the "flesh", but the flesh is simply our old patterns of behavior and ways of behaving. The flesh is <strong>not </strong>our nature. "Sinner" is <strong>not</strong> our nature. Wicked and Deceitful are <strong>not</strong> our nature. </span><br /><br /><span class="keywordresultextras">Sin is an invader to be fought against and removed, like a speck of dust that gets in your eye or a sickness that invades your body. If we have a speck of dust in our eye, we take it out. If we have sickness, we seek healing from it. It shouldn't become part of who we are! If we have sin, we need to confess it, repent of it, and then have nothing to do with it! We are not to identify ourselves with the sin. Sin is <strong>not</strong> a part of us, it is something to get rid of! Since we are "in" Christ, when God looks at us, he sees the righteousness of Jesus, he sees the new creation. He doesn't see our faults, sins, and failures. Isn't this amazing! If God doesn't identify us with our sin any longer, why should we!</span><br /><br /><span class="keywordresultextras">Here is an example: If we get angry, the enemy is the one who brings shame and condemnation, saying things like "you're just an angry person, you'll never overcome this, you are an evil sinner! We must not receive that curse to our identity, instead we must declare the truth like this. "I am a saint, I am righteous, I am holy, sin has no place in me! Jesus, cleanse me from this sin, remove its effects from me, and fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can walk free from this sin!" This type of response sows to the Spirit, and you will reap a harvest of righteousness because you are drawing near to God. The first type of response pushes you away from God because you believe yourself to be unclean, dirty, and unable to go to God for the grace you so desperately need. Here is the lie we begin to believe. "If God hates sin, and I am a sinner, he must detest me." But, if we are able to separate our identity from the act of Sin, we can partner with the Holy Spirit to war with it and overcome it. We will hate the sin, but not hate ourselves. This mindset will empower us and fill us with the desire to be free from the sin. This mindset will then enable us to turn to God, drawing on his love and grace to overcome it.</span><br /><br />Example: Two men are walking through a dirty, muddy parking lot. One is dressed in a new, clean, white Tuxedo. The other is dressed in old, dirty, oily overalls. Which one of these men is going to want to stay out of the mud more? You guessed it, the clean one. When we see ourselves as clean, we will have no desire to partake in sin. We will desire to remain pure and undefiled. This is a much more powerful motivator than the lie that we are dirty, rotten, filthy sinners! Of course, we must never forget that the only reason why we are clean and pure is through the love, grace, forgiveness, and power of God! We are completely dependent on him! <br /><br />It's time to start believing the truth, rejecting the lies and shame. We are saints, born again new creations, sons and daughters of God, full of boldness and confidence regarding our identity "in" Christ! Anything less is faithlessness and a denial of the real power of God to transform lives and hearts!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2 Corinthians+5:17&version=NKJV"><strong>2 Corinthians 5:17</strong></a><br />Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a <em><b>new</b> <b>creation</b></em>; <strong><em>old things have passed away</em></strong>; behold, all things have become <b><em>new</em></b>.<br /><br /><h3> The new creation is Holy and Righteous. </h3><h3> <u><span style="color: #0b5394;">Ephesians 4:23-24</span></u></h3><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><span class="text Eph-4-23" id="en-NKJV-29296"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>23</sup><span style="font-size: small;"> to be made new in the attitude of your minds; </span><sup>24</sup></span><span style="font-size: small;"> and to put on the <strong>new self</strong>, created to be like God in true <strong>righteousness and holiness</strong>.</span></span></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "> </div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "> </div><h3 class="result-text-style-normal text-html "> You are holy and pleasing to God</h3><h3 class="result-text-style-normal text-html "> <span class="text Eph-4-23"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><u>Romans 12:1</u></span></span> </h3><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-28247"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></sup> Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, <strong>holy</strong> and <strong>pleasing to God</strong>—this is your true and proper worship.</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /><br /><strong>Objections:</strong><br />Some will raise an objection from 1 Timothy where Paul states he is the Chief of sinners or Worst of Sinners. Here is my response to that.<br /><br /><strong>1 Tim 1:12-16.</strong>"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.<br />Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- OF WHOM I AM THE WORST. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, THE WORST OF SINNERS, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." <br /><br />I have a hard time believing that Paul was actually talking about himself in a present tense being the "Chief of Sinners" Literally. I believe he is talking about what he would be like without Christ. He is very aware of his weaknesses and the ugly sinfulness Christ has delivered him from.<br /><br />Whatever the flesh once manifested itself to be in our lives--some extreme form of evil, whatever we have done that is now, in our own sight, bad or ugly --we have to remember that is an area of weakness that needs to be guarded very carefully, because we can return to that in an instant, no matter how long we have been Christians. There is that aspect of realizing the depths from which we have come and where we could fall back to without Christ. However, I believe the scripture also has to be examined in context to be clearly understood.<br /><br />Paul refers to the time when he was persecuting and killing those who followed Jesus (past tense). Paul no longer did these things - it would be ridiculous to state that Paul remained a terrible "sinner". It would bring no glory to Christ if Paul's life did not change. Pauls life was radically changed when he encountered Christ. It brings great glory to Christ when the worst of sinners comes to him and their life changes in such a dramatic, black and white fashion. Here is Paul - a persecutor, blasphemor, and violent man - now he is gentle, humble, peaceful, and loving. Did he still sin? Of course! Did he still have the capacity to fall back into grievous sin without the grace and love of Jesus Christ? Sure! But was his identity still a wretched sinner? Absolutely not!<br /><br />I believe there is a strong distinction in the New Testament between a sinner and a saint. However, sometimes our behavior may not line up with our identity. A sinner will sometimes act Saintly, and a Saint will sometimes act sinfully. As we become more secure in who God says we are, and the radical change that has taken place in our nature, our behavior will change.<br /><br />I love the past tense descriptions of our old way of life in Eph. 2:1-3. There is no question in my mind that we are no longer sinners, but we are now saints!<br /><br /><strong>Eph. 2:1-3</strong><br />As for you, you <strong><em>were</em></strong> dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you <strong><em>used to</em></strong> live when you <strong><em>followed</em></strong> the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also <strong><em>lived</em></strong> among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we <strong><em>were</em></strong> by nature deserving of wrath</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-18943996268579558062012-04-12T08:53:00.000-07:002014-03-18T13:23:39.644-07:00Overcomer or Overcome?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZvMJ3QU9p-kyRjPTWjbgm1ViGMfc2gP0aPI4gxW1e2aHtcQqpycAN2yt5asJc-TJeKhs1JnsDbh_KrZDSROW9IpIdiFeG8eosFQdnZbhYwJG-13ooN4BO8cz4TYcWYXdjstllgCHeFo/s1600/BreakThrough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZvMJ3QU9p-kyRjPTWjbgm1ViGMfc2gP0aPI4gxW1e2aHtcQqpycAN2yt5asJc-TJeKhs1JnsDbh_KrZDSROW9IpIdiFeG8eosFQdnZbhYwJG-13ooN4BO8cz4TYcWYXdjstllgCHeFo/s1600/BreakThrough.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /> A couple weeks ago, I was pondering the significance of being an overcomer in the Bible. I was amazed to see how many times the phrase "to he who overcomes" and the word "overcome" are used. I realized that being an overcomer is not so much something we do, but it is who we are. As Christians, it is our true spiritual identity. The only way to truly overcome is to live out of that identity. We <strong>are</strong> overcomers by faith, it is our inheritance as children of God. <br />1 John 4:4 teaches that every believer is an overcomer. This victory is something that every child of God partakes in. It is not based upon what the believer has earned or achieved, but it is based on WHO indwells the believer!<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 John+4:4&version=NIV"><strong>1 John 4:4</strong></a><br />You, dear children, are from God and have <b>overcome</b> them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.<br /><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 John+5:4&version=NKJV">1 John 5:4</a></strong><br />For whatever is born of God <b>overcomes</b> the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.<br /><br /><strong>The issue of our identity</strong>:<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+32:28&version=NIV"><strong>Genesis 32:28</strong></a><br />Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have <b>overcome</b>.”<br /><br />Interesting that Jacob was given a new name because he had overcome. Receiving a new name is a symbolic and prophetic way of communicating our true spiritual identity as a child of God. There is great power in learning who we really are, what our true names are.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3:12&version=NKJV"><strong>Revelation 3:12</strong></a><br />He who <b>overcomes</b>, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.<br /><br />We need to see ourselves as overcomers, not as those who are overcome.<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2 Peter+2:20&version=NKJV"><strong>2 Peter 2:20</strong></a><br />For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and <strong>overcome</strong>, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.<br /><br />We have the spiritual DNA of Jesus Christ, THE overcomer. Since he has overcome the world, so have we.<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16:33&version=NKJV"><strong>John 16:33</strong></a><br />These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have <strong>overcome</strong> the world.”<br /><br />Why is it significant for Jesus to say that we can have peace and be of good cheer because he has overcome the world? Because it was his plan that we would live "in him", "abiding in him". As long as we abide in THE overcomer, Jesus Christ, we are also overcomers by default.<br /><br />Every generation and every culture has it's issues and struggles to overcome. In the seven churches of Revelation, Jesus points out issues he sees with each church, but then he concludes with a promise to those who overcome.<br /><ol><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+2:7&version=NKJV">Revelation 2:7</a></strong><br />“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who <b>overcomes</b> I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+2:11&version=NKJV">Revelation 2:11</a></strong><br />“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who <b>overcomes</b> shall not be hurt by the second death.”’</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+2:17&version=NKJV">Revelation 2:17</a></strong><br />“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who <b>overcomes</b> I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+2:26&version=NKJV">Revelation 2:26</a></strong><br />And he who <b>overcomes</b>, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3:5&version=NKJV">Revelation 3:5</a></strong><br />He who <b>overcomes</b> shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3:12&version=NKJV">Revelation 3:12</a></strong><br />He who <b>overcomes</b>, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3:21&version=NKJV">Revelation 3:21</a></strong><br />To him who <b>overcomes</b> I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.</li></ol>If you are a true Christian, you are an overcomer! You are more than a conqueror! You CAN do all things through Christ, who strengthens you! You HAVE overcome the world! You have overcome Satan! You are seated(past tense) at the right hand of the Father because you are IN Christ, THE OVERCOMER! <br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2:6&version=NKJV"><strong>Ephesians 2:6</strong></a><br />and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the <b>heavenly</b> <b>places</b> in Christ Jesus<br /><br />You are not defeated! You are victorious, triumphant!<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2 Corinthians+2:14&version=NKJV"><strong>2 Corinthians 2:14</strong></a><br />Now thanks be to God who always <b>leads</b> <b>us</b> <b>in</b> triumph <b>in</b> Christ, and through <b>us</b> diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge <b>in</b> every place.<br /><br />I like the way Ed Tandy Mcglasson says it in "The Difference a Father makes".<br /><a href="http://www.edtandymcglasson.com/">Ed Tandy McGlasson Ministries</a><br />He says you are either a "Survivor" or a "Thriver". A survivor does his best to just get through the day, but a Thriver is one who squeezes everything possible out of Life, making the most of every opportunity. That is how Jesus lived, and that is how he desires each of us to live.<br /> <br />Jesus lived under the smile, blessing, and approval of his Father, he was not living out of a desire to gain his Father's approval or the approval of others. If we can also live out of this kind of identity as ones who are beloved by the Father, we will also understand our identity as an overcomer, a "Thriver".<br /><br />However, the enemy has labeled many of us and imparted to us a false identity. Many of us were cursed by parents who didn't know their identity either, survivors. When we really understand who God has created us to be, receive the Father's blessing and purpose into our lives, we will not want to settle for just surviving any more. We will begin to live as Paul described in <strong>Philippians 3:12-14</strong>.<br /><span class="text Phil-3-12"><sup class="versenum">12 </sup>Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. </span> <span class="text Phil-3-13" id="en-NKJV-29435"><sup class="versenum">13 </sup>Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing <i>I do,</i> forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, </span> <span class="text Phil-3-14" id="en-NKJV-29436"><sup class="versenum">14 </sup>I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.</span><br /><br />When we communicate with our children, it doesn't do a whole lot of good to berate them and beat them up for their failures and mistakes. But it does a tremendous amount of good to remind them of their true identity. When they are complaining, remind them of the fact that they are overcomers. When they make a mistake, we can say something like, "That's OK, you'll get it next time - because you <strong>are</strong> an overcomer, you are a Champion, you can do all things through Christ, you have what it takes to succeed!" If we keep speaking like this in faith to ourselves, and to our children, we will eventually get it. Something will change deep inside of who we are, and we will truly see as God sees. Instead of seeing ourselves and others as failures or survivors, we will see overcomers, champions, thrivers, victorious, able to do all things. We will see ourselves and others through the eyes of Faith, we were born to overcome!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdd6VkGE70vvnT6yi06NpIORgOTarUAy4xMyPNKmn95Mlq5I1PNJCZ83yzGOE9tBwd8Hf7q1xHc7lrGeMBIlj_5HEycuMaSiP63CNJNoTO-yzAzwUGIK6G_Ws-N5YJpioXqBegP3QJAg/s1600/Flying.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdd6VkGE70vvnT6yi06NpIORgOTarUAy4xMyPNKmn95Mlq5I1PNJCZ83yzGOE9tBwd8Hf7q1xHc7lrGeMBIlj_5HEycuMaSiP63CNJNoTO-yzAzwUGIK6G_Ws-N5YJpioXqBegP3QJAg/s400/Flying.bmp" width="397" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdd6VkGE70vvnT6yi06NpIORgOTarUAy4xMyPNKmn95Mlq5I1PNJCZ83yzGOE9tBwd8Hf7q1xHc7lrGeMBIlj_5HEycuMaSiP63CNJNoTO-yzAzwUGIK6G_Ws-N5YJpioXqBegP3QJAg/s1600/Flying.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://www.living-water-productions.com/">http://www.living-water-productions.com/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Disclaimer: I haven't read anything off the web-site, I just searched for and liked this painting.</div><br /><span class="keywordresultextras"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-44453265955241052792012-02-22T18:38:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.650-07:00Positioned for Transformation<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfd9vjWczmAg5QwMneoOmxvWXveLq-UAGpXumItTcUKT2a490oiMZcsVZ2CIPvEQws7xKfSEdpTvVuSJ5es8C4xWzf2DdlSI6gXk09DO2QOFLXp1giawrMH-6kuRWFci5qA_GXm4LNro/s1600/Chrysalis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfd9vjWczmAg5QwMneoOmxvWXveLq-UAGpXumItTcUKT2a490oiMZcsVZ2CIPvEQws7xKfSEdpTvVuSJ5es8C4xWzf2DdlSI6gXk09DO2QOFLXp1giawrMH-6kuRWFci5qA_GXm4LNro/s1600/Chrysalis.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />These are my notes from a message I listened to last year by Lance Wallnau called "Positioned for Transformation" I found it to be very encouraging, especially when going through difficulty, or as he calls it, the "process".<br /><br />Here it is:<br />The “process” is about integrating the Word into your life experience so that you become a “message” as well as a messenger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This is why John the Baptist was able to say “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I am the Voice</b> of one crying in the wilderness.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">When you have found your Voice, you are manifesting your destiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s called your Authentic Voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You won’t find your authentic voice until you have had Process events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Process events knock the echo of other people’s voices out of your life so that you can discover the unique expression God gave to you.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You might have an echo that says “You’re not going to amount to anything”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, ”You know, you’re not really built for that”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But your authentic voice changes that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is why you need to proclaim out of your mouth what God wants to see manifested in your life.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You can stop the process of God through whining, complaining, unbelief, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you will get a smaller measure of what God has in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a matter of fulfilling the prophetic word God has for your life.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Process events are the experiences you’ve had, the trauma, the climactic church splits, betrayals, heart breaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are also your breakthroughs, moments of exhilaration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of that comes together to encourage you, and to shape you for your ultimate destiny.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Everybody wants breakthrough, blessing, supernatural encounters, etc, but nobody wants the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everybody wants to have the heart of David, or to rule like Joseph.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, if you really want that – do you want to go through the process that David or Joseph went through?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">To release <country-region w:st="on">Israel</country-region> out of Jacob, there had to be a process event.(worked for years for Laban)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is more interested in releasing <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Israel</place></country-region> out of you than making you happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he knows your ultimate happiness is when you conform to the image of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Process events are the necessary chiseling to release the genius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The process is usually from high to low, high to low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, if you understand the process you can learn to endure the process and then learn to actually enjoy the process.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">What did David do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David had a revelation of something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Thou hast enlarged me when I was in my distress”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was expanding David to be able to rule, and at the right time he would rule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">David figured out how to take the low points and make them his passion points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took his pain and process, and turned them into an occasion for worship and intimacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The psalms is the journey of an artist/musician in warfare with the devil who writes his songs from the solitude of reflecting on the processes he was in so he got an anointed perspective that led into an overcoming state.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">It’s here that you learn the art of fulfillment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t understand this, you won’t have a happy, overcoming disposition during the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll just be holding on until you get to the next mountaintop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to be happy on the mountain top, but it’s much more difficult in the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not just enjoy the whole thing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You don’t really have to know the future, you just have to have the right attitude toward the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joseph didn’t have a clue that he would rule in <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Egypt</country-region></place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was simply faithful in what he was given at the time. He gave himself to the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started out with a dream, but he didn’t have have any idea how that dream would be fulfilled or the details of how it would work out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, he tried to make it happen too soon by declaring the dream a little prematurely to his Dad and brothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he encountered the process, and he remained an overcomer during the process.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc9JdShZ2i5aZwnpXTR68krfUXN6JSBYdEljliC-oIlS_YqYYebvJAgU3wPh-WMkOTiSYwnJovri14Vrp1i6PHQW4yK-MK753FtJTBudu-xGnR4VSdYRL6q-OCfxJvqvc8ULfNBY_er0/s1600/Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc9JdShZ2i5aZwnpXTR68krfUXN6JSBYdEljliC-oIlS_YqYYebvJAgU3wPh-WMkOTiSYwnJovri14Vrp1i6PHQW4yK-MK753FtJTBudu-xGnR4VSdYRL6q-OCfxJvqvc8ULfNBY_er0/s1600/Butterfly.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-69042479294256903472012-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.656-07:00Growing in Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxWEfFekNoH2QrIol0TxpEH9UcJkA3tkYO_LhKVEu1HreUqtZVZfEFwIdQYRxu_JdFaux-W_CA-aJZBuJ6RMJcGDEQVMsfGVpISOOu3o2Lzr2WPNL1OyKU9c7W4xU3IZ6jxu-2eEqlrY/s1600/Faith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxWEfFekNoH2QrIol0TxpEH9UcJkA3tkYO_LhKVEu1HreUqtZVZfEFwIdQYRxu_JdFaux-W_CA-aJZBuJ6RMJcGDEQVMsfGVpISOOu3o2Lzr2WPNL1OyKU9c7W4xU3IZ6jxu-2eEqlrY/s1600/Faith.jpg" /></a></div><br />You may have heard it said, "You just have to keep your eyes on Jesus", or "Just behold him with the eyes of your heart". When we become self-focused and lacking in Faith, this can be quite difficult to do. It would probably be easier to just go lift up the corner of our house or lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps. It is actually quite impossible to keep our eyes on Jesus simply by trying harder.<br /><br />How do we learn to live by Faith, and not by sight? How do we learn to see with the eyes of our heart, not just our natural eyes? How do we increase our Faith so we are not living by feelings? How does Faith grow? Why do we wrestle with our Flesh, and sometimes never seem to have victory?<br /><br />Let's look at Romans 12:2 and 2 Cor 10:5<br /><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-28248"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ro 12:2</span></sup> <em>Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. </em></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><em>2 Cor 10:5 - We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take <strong>captive every thought</strong> to make it obedient to Christ.</em><br /><em><br /><span class="keywordresultextras"></span></em></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">The Battle begins in our Minds. I believe the main reason most Christians lack Faith and live by feelings, is because their thought life has not been taken captive and made obedient to Christ. We are in a war! Our minds must come into alignment with the Mind of Christ, the Word of God!<br /><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Galatians 5:17 says "<em>For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other</em>"</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">We must learn to recognize ungodly thoughts that set themselves up against the knowledge of God, and take them captive!</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><span class="text Rom-10-17" id="en-NKJV-28206">Romans 10:17 - </span><span class="text Rom-10-17"><em>So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.</em></span></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><strong>Faith comes and grows by a revelation of the Word of God. As we meditate on and ponder the Word of God - it becomes revelation to us. God's word then becomes more real than our circumstances and what we see with our natural eyes. God's word becomes tangible - it becomes filled with faith and we can see the evidence of things unseen with the eyes of our heart.</strong></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><span class="woj">John 5:38, 39 <em>But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.</em></span><em> <span class="text John-5-39" id="en-NKJV-26250"><span class="woj">You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.</span></span></em><br /><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><span class="text John-5-39"><span class="woj">God's word must become more than just "information", it must become "Revelation". The Pharisees had lots of information - they knew the scriptures inside and out, backwards and forwards. What they were lacking was "Revelation", God's word was not really "abiding" in them. We must become one with God's words, they must become our daily bread, our life. This happens when we grow in relationship with God and as we overcome in the daily battles. His words move from our heads into our hearts and become part of our daily experience. We learn to trust him and his words more than we trust ourselves. </span></span><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><span class="text John-5-39"><span class="woj">How did Jesus defeat the devil in the wilderness? (Luke 4). That's right - with God's word. The devil was able to quote God's word, but he did it in a mocking way. That's because he doesn't really know God's heart. Jesus knows God's heart, and was speaking out of his deep relationship with God the Father when he used God's Word to defeat the devil. Jesus lived a life of absolute trust and dependence upon God the Father and upon the Holy Spirit. The wonderful thing about the temptation of Jesus is to see how completely Jesus trusted God as his provider, and the keeper of his future. Jesus refused to give in to short-term thinking ("turn these stones into bread") and instead looked with the eyes of faith into what his future would be like if he actually gave in to the temptation.</span></span></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Here is what I have done in the past, and what I strongly suggest you do. When you are having dark, defeated thoughts or are being tempted by the enemy; first, write the thoughts down. Identify each of these thought patterns as lies, then ask God to show you the truth and shine light into those areas of darkness. Write down the truth God speaks to you to replace those lies. Most of the time, it will be a direct scripture. It could also be a picture, vision, or dream. Or, God may speak truth to you through someone else who you are sharing your struggles with. You can do this in many areas, whether it be Fear, anxiety, self-focus, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, purposelessness, envy, jealousy, provision, etc.</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">A counselor at a church we once attended, Robert Fetveit, often said: "I am an evangelist to the unconverted areas of the believer's heart"</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">We must learn to replace lies with truth throughout our daily lives. But you can't fight lies by just casting them down - you must replace the lies with the truth of God's words. Then, turn the truth into a prayer of faith that is in the direct opposite spirit as the lie. You can craft very personal prayers to combat the enemy. Here are some examples:</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">1. Not feeling God's presence, feeling rejected or abandoned by God.</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Prayer of Faith: God, I believe that you are present right now, whether I feel it or not. I believe you will never leave me or forsake me. You promised that nothing can ever separate me from your love. <strong>Romans 8:38,39</strong></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">2. Purposelessness</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Prayer of Faith: <strong>Jer 29:11</strong> - God, I know you have plans for me, to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future. You have not forgotten about me, You have engraved me on the palms of your hands. <strong>Isaiah 49:16</strong>. I believe you exist, and you will reward me as I diligently seek you - <strong>Heb. 11:6.</strong></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">3. Bitterness and unforgiveness.</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Prayer of Faith: I refuse to allow this person to control my life and make me angry. They do not determine my identity, only you can do that Lord. I am your son(or daughter), you are well pleased with me. Even though this person may hate me and has wronged me, I believe that you love me, Lord. This person has made me extremely angry, but I ask you to remove this anger, Lord. Lord, I release this person and what they have done to me to you. Judgment and vengeance is yours, and I refuse to judge and seek vengeance. <strong>Luke 6:28</strong> - Lord, I choose to bless and pray for __________. Lord, I ask you to remove from me the bitterness I feel. I choose to forgive<em> ___________. </em>Lord, is there something you would like me to do as a blessing for this person, would you have me write out a blessing or send a gift to this person? </div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">4. Fear</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><em><strong>2 Timothy 1:7</strong> - For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. <strong>1 John 4:17</strong> - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. <strong>Romans 8:15</strong> -</em><span class="text Rom-8-15" id="en-NKJV-28132"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em> </em></span></sup><em>For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”</em></span><br />Prayer of Faith: Lord, wrap me in your arms of perfect love and drive out all Fear. I come to you as your son(or daughter) and cry, "Abba, Father". I refuse to give way to Fear (<strong>1 Pet 3:6</strong>) and declare that the spirit of fear has no power over me. I have the Holy Spirit in me that gives me power, love, and a sound mind. I have overcome the world, just as you have overcome the world.<br /><br />5. Feeling like God is angry with you or disappointed in you today</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Prayer of Faith: God, I believe you never change - you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You loved me yesterday when I felt your love, so I believe you also love me today. You are not fickle and capricious like pagan gods. Your love is constant, it remains the same every day. You have always loved me, you love me now, and you will always love me - regardless of how well I feel like I have performed. I know I am not perfect, and I sometimes fail - but I believe that will never change how you feel about me. I am your son(or daughter), and you love me just like a human parent loves and wants the best for their children. Just like the prodigal son who returned to his father smelling like pigs, you still loved him and accepted him - you ran to him and embraced him before he could even say a word.</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">6. Failure</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Prayer of Faith: I know a wise man falls and gets up 7 times. This failure will not defeat me - in fact, this is how I will defeat the enemy, by getting back up <strong>quickly</strong>. I only really fail when I have fallen and refuse to get back up, wallowing in self-pity and self-focus. Lord, I repent for what I did, it grieved your heart and hurt others. I receive your forgiveness and restoration. Let your face shine upon me - restore to me the joy of my salvation (P<strong>salm 51</strong>)</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">7. Anxiety</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Prayer of Faith: I refuse to worry about tomorrow - tomorrow has enough troubles of its own. I bring this situation to you that I am anxious about - release your peace into it. I choose to focus on you and not let my mind become divided. I receive your peace, because you are the prince of Peace. I choose to focus on your hugeness, your provision, your blessings. I refuse to dwell on something that will probably never come to pass. I thank you for a positive outcome, and I picture you, Lord, right in the middle of this situation or circumstance. I refuse to give in to a bleak picture where you are not present.</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">Refuse to become over-focused on the lies and problems - all these examples are intended to get our focus back on God and the truth. This builds faith!</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "><br /></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html ">If all else fails, and you can't even pray - cry out to Jesus for help! He will come and rescue you, he is your rescuer!</div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div><div class="result-text-style-normal text-html "></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-50817817557833179362012-01-17T08:42:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.663-07:00Experiencing God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS6Zns96sYIUiHlCQySWQwI_cCybKa9eZkDBTIVhieJtqtV0pOsqOkete6ipwTMqsL57_xtr20aboqgSjliVbiKX-XiulSoF-m35KK5DC5MTXHroLQPfq19V1D8nxVMlZ_n1qMGtgjV4/s1600/Castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS6Zns96sYIUiHlCQySWQwI_cCybKa9eZkDBTIVhieJtqtV0pOsqOkete6ipwTMqsL57_xtr20aboqgSjliVbiKX-XiulSoF-m35KK5DC5MTXHroLQPfq19V1D8nxVMlZ_n1qMGtgjV4/s320/Castle.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br /><br />People under the influence of religious spirits will usually minimize experiences. Don't get me wrong, I fully know the danger of experiences that are not aligned with the word of God - but don't let that deter you from experiencing Jesus. He desires you to know him personally, not just to read about him in a book.<br /><br />Example: <br />What if you had read many guidebooks about DisneyLand, watched some videos about it, heard from others how great it was and what a fine time they had. But, when you got there you found the gates were closed. A person at the gate said: "There are enough things written about DisneyLand so that people don't really need to experience it any more. Go home and read your guidebook some more!" Wouldn't you feel a little ripped off, even cheated? I'll bet your kids would be wailing!<br /><br />Reading about a beautiful sunset, or the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees is far different than actually being there - seeing it, feeling it, smelling it, savoring it!<br /><br />That's what the Church of today has done to God - in fact, that's what the church has been doing since the church became institutionalized. The bible was taken out of the hands of the common people and only those who were "qualified" could interpret it for you. A priest had to be a mediator between you and God. No, the Holy Spirit is our teacher and he will use his word to guide you into experiencing God and doing his will.<br /><br />The bible becomes dry and dull when we don't take it as a guidebook for really experiencing him and obeying him. As Jim Palmer put it in "Wide open spaces", it is a launch-pad, not a landing-strip. The purpose of the bible is to get to know God and have a living relationship with him. Many churches esteem the Bible so highly, they almost believe it is the 3rd person of the Trinity! Father, Son, Bible. We are not to worship the Bible, we are to worship God! I am not minimizing the Bible - I am simply putting it in it's proper place!<br /><br />I believe those who make a big deal about Sufficiency of Scripture are many times off base because they under-emphasize experiencing God. The scriptures are only sufficient when they lead you into a real relationship with the living and very interactive God - who speaks to us today! Of course, he isn't going to tell us to do something opposite of what he has already spoken through the scriptures, but there are a lot of areas where we will need more specific guidance through the Holy Spirit.(e.g. why are spiritual gifts necessary if the scriptures are sufficient?) Scriptures can become twisted and bizarre when a person doesn't have a real relationship with God and is not taught by the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is the Holy Spirit who is doing the work in Hebrews 8:10,11. He is the one who applies God's word to our heart and teaches us. <br /><br /><strong>Heb 8:10,11</strong><br /><strong><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">10</span></sup></strong>For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-KJV-30104"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">11</span></strong></sup>And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.<br /><br />The bible in the hands of a person not relying on the Holy Spirit is a very scary thing! Look at what happened to the religious people of Jesus' day. Their over-emphasis on the scriptures, interpreted in the wrong spirit(without love), caused them to miss Jesus!<br /><br /><strong>John 5:37-40</strong><br /><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">37</span></sup> And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, <span class="woj"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26249">38</sup> nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.</span> <span class="woj"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26250">39</sup> You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,</span> <span class="woj"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26251">40</sup> yet you refuse to come to me to have life.</span> <br /><br /><strong>Luke 11:52</strong><br />“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”<br /><br />The experts in the law knew <strong>about</strong> God, but they didn't really know God. To really know God comes from personally experiencing him. Experiencing his love, his forgiveness, his truth. When his truth comes into contact with our lives, it changes our hearts and makes us like him. Real knowledge of God comes from an interactive relationship with the living God!<br /><br />In conclusion:<br />Reading <strong>about</strong> something is far different than actually doing it and experiencing it. Let's look at the experiences of the early disciples not as something to be theorized about or doctrinalized as events that only happened in the past. Instead, let's look at them as something to be sought after for our day.<br /><br />Habakkuk 3:2<br /> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-22771"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></strong></sup> LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. <br />Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy<br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="0" id="stSegmentFrame" name="stSegmentFrame" scrolling="no" src="http://seg.sharethis.com/getSegment.php?purl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fpost-edit.g%3FblogID%3D5196973607236023507%26postID%3D1213573452208463215&jsref=&rnd=1327517645710" style="display: none;" width="0"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986441051807019128.post-31807698137483857712012-01-16T16:25:00.000-08:002014-03-18T13:23:39.669-07:00The Exuberance and Joy of Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdap278xkRndQA9oJMb-DQYQ3iig7QjdXWcvjuKnH2V40Evme12msiICFBosm-QDMzoVwYw4eb3aDqPxbDeMwGZUJ5g6dzIwWeF7_spyVrWhWws17vNf4d6ZmlDZBzB5lS6ef0jboSe-8/s1600/JesusLaughing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdap278xkRndQA9oJMb-DQYQ3iig7QjdXWcvjuKnH2V40Evme12msiICFBosm-QDMzoVwYw4eb3aDqPxbDeMwGZUJ5g6dzIwWeF7_spyVrWhWws17vNf4d6ZmlDZBzB5lS6ef0jboSe-8/s400/JesusLaughing.jpg" width="331" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBHmPqbyHNgjuW1ibwkVF_hOW5uQ5QioUpID1G_6d7zaNyhcF-cmg0lSD7j_C_ryP7-0rKFuPA3mgqOwCZT-Li35neEAKDkpqT7bj5oYUJt38kF55IbJQ1uaelQqRrvev9zZe3lbAKjg/s1600/JesusLookingUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBHmPqbyHNgjuW1ibwkVF_hOW5uQ5QioUpID1G_6d7zaNyhcF-cmg0lSD7j_C_ryP7-0rKFuPA3mgqOwCZT-Li35neEAKDkpqT7bj5oYUJt38kF55IbJQ1uaelQqRrvev9zZe3lbAKjg/s1600/JesusLookingUp.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><strong> Luke 10:21</strong><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, <span class="woj">“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.</span> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We have been reading the book "Beautiful Outlaw" by John Eldredge. While not agreeing with some of his broad-brush strokes in other books he has written about what most men are like, we have found this book to be very refreshing and gives a much-needed glimpse into the real personality of Jesus.</div><br /><a href="http://updates.ransomedheart.com/beautifuloutlaw/">Beautiful Outlaw Web site</a><br /><br />We gathered with some friends along with our children a couple weeks ago and shared some of the different characteristics of who Jesus is, and found it to be a great discussion. We are focusing as a family on getting to know Jesus better as he really is. The religious fog surrounding who Jesus really is has confused and kept many Christians from experiencing a daily, interactive relationship with him. <br />Some of the interesting characteristics we shared about Jesus included:<br />1. Fearless<br />2. Courageous and determined<br />3. Close to the broken and downcast<br />4. Prickly - unshaven (a picture of his humanity and realness)<br />5. Humble and real<br />6. Sacrificial Servant<br />7. Exuberant and enthustic<br />8. Exceedingly Joyful<br />9. Peaceful<br />10. Extravagant Giver<br />11. Good receiver<br />12. Eyes of Fire<br />13. Intense<br /><br />I will add to this list as I get time, it is by no means comprehensive, but gives a picture of the direction we were heading as we shared.<br /><br />I shared a dream I had about 2 years ago that helped me get a better glimpse into Jesus' personality. I remember in the dream, there was a gathering of people who were waiting to see God revealed, like he was going to come out on stage where we could all see him. The anticipation was great amongst the people gathered there, and I remember wanting to get into the front row. When a man came out on stage and began telling jokes(good ones of course), we were all taken aback a little. And, he was actually quite funny. He then came down amongst the audience, and began to touch people, dancing and laughing the entire time. His Joy was contagious, and everyone he touched began to laugh uncontrollably, including myself. He was having a great time of it, he absolutely loved filling people with this joy. I remember thinking - this is the most exuberant, excited, joyful person I have ever seen.<br /><br />When I woke up, I realized that this man was Jesus Christ. This dream has changed my view of Jesus, and has stuck with me to this day. Many times I look back and I can still remember how this dream changed my picture of who Jesus is in my heart.<br /><br />When I woke up, I was also reminded of the scripture Zephaniah 3:17<br /><strong><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">17</span></sup></strong> The LORD your God is with you, <br />the Mighty Warrior who saves. <br />He will take great delight in you; <br />in his love he will no longer rebuke you, <br />but will rejoice over you with singing.”<br /><br />I am also reminded of David in 2 Samuel 6:14 "And David danced before the Lord with all his might." He was undignified, not caring what people thought - his only focus was on "the Lord". "with all his might" speaks to me that he was very exuberant and enthusiastic in his dancing; this was no mournful ballroom dance. David's dance was a dance of joy and an expression of enthusiastic love and praise to God. Let's get rid of our religious, dignified, Michelangelo-like picture of what David's dancing might have looked like and see it how it really was.<br /><br />Also see 2 samuel 6:5 "David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals"<br /><br />Here we have a picture of David and others celebrating with all their might. This is not a solemn, dignified worship service here, this is un-restrained abandon before God. This is a picture of what the "man after God's own heart" did to show his love and passion for God.<br /><br />2 Samuel 6:16, 20<br /><strong><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">16</span></sup></strong> As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. <br /><strong><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">20</span></sup></strong> When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” <br />The religious spirit operating through David's wife tried to shut down this worship. The religious spirit always despises and looks with contempt on those who express great joy and enthusiasm. See how she criticizes and finds fault with what David was doing by focusing on what he was wearing rather than looking at his heart, sounds just like the Pharisees of Jesus' day doesn't it?<br /><br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-8179"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">21</span></strong></sup> David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-8180"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">22</span></strong></sup> I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-8181"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;">23</span></strong></sup> And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.<br /><br />See how David responded to her criticism? Rather than attempting to please her, he gave absolutely no place for the spirit of religion - in fact, he said he would go even further next time. "Even more undignified than this" David did not care how people perceived him, he knew his heart was pure before the Lord.<br /><br />In conclusion:<br />We all need to have revelations and experiences to help us get a real picture of who Jesus really is. We need to get rid of the religious thinking and demonic lies that have distorted our view of who he really is. How can you have a relationship with someone like the man pictured in most of these paintings?<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus">Traditional depictions of Jesus</a><br /><br />Much Christian art (and theology) has concentrated on guilt and suffering. But Jesus came to bring joy to the world - not to make guilt-ridden wrecks. This collection of paintings from artists from 18 countries gives their impressions of a laughing, loving Jesus who is a living presence.<br /><a href="http://jesuschrist.uk.com/download/">Jesus Laughing Exhibition</a><br /><br />I believe Jesus is very un-religious, in the sense that he really enjoys life and people. I believe he loves to laugh, and he has a sense of humor. He created you with a sense of humor, didn't he? What makes us think our creator would have less of a sense of humor than his creation?<br /><br />I invite you to open yourself up and ask God right now to reveal to you the real Jesus so you can experience his exuberant love and joy!<br /><br />Jesus is passionate for you, his heart burns to reveal himself to you. His heart is directed towards you, his eyes are ablaze, turned in your direction. He longs to give you his joy and he is enthusiastic to spend time with you. He wants you to experience him and get to know him! Don't be afraid of experiencing and encountering Jesus!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROJjlc3cMgh_dtJ5gnL1BbTDpkl6__oeusMRL9Vcy3nKjkd2OOr0tkr1iIQiMM7E4Ymj_X0y0k0SCCSxR9iwBFDUVMDGau3pIqzcf-RdoanA0VrL8c7S8V_FJIESX7adSx7IzJbS5VE4/s1600/JesusClose.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROJjlc3cMgh_dtJ5gnL1BbTDpkl6__oeusMRL9Vcy3nKjkd2OOr0tkr1iIQiMM7E4Ymj_X0y0k0SCCSxR9iwBFDUVMDGau3pIqzcf-RdoanA0VrL8c7S8V_FJIESX7adSx7IzJbS5VE4/s640/JesusClose.png" width="640" /></a></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="0" id="stSegmentFrame" name="stSegmentFrame" scrolling="no" src="http://seg.sharethis.com/getSegment.php?purl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fpost-edit.g%3FblogID%3D5196973607236023507%26postID%3D8739697520178918818&jsref=&rnd=1327516586779" style="display: none;" width="0"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076227876151642208noreply@blogger.com0