Isaiah 42 and Matthew 12:18 call us to look to the Son, who is also the Servant of the Lord. Sometimes our perspective gets out of focus, we become selfish, we look at others and make comparisons and become full of despair, we look at the world and the mess of humanity and become discouraged or even afraid. The Word tells us to look at the Son. To focus our attention upon the One, crucified and raised to life.
The Father delights in the Son and calls us to do the same. At the heart of salvation, of having peace with God and the peace of God, is delighting in the Son, looking to the Son. The Word says every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. That every eye will see him or look at him, even those who pierced Christ.
God the Father will get mankind's attention with the Son sooner or later. The salvation choice, the life giving choice is to look to the Son today. To acknowledge our need of the Savior today and walk each day with our attention upon the Son. Easter is about the Person, Jesus Christ who was declared with power to be the Son of God through the resurrection from the dead. Look and live!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Come To me
Oswald Chambers in his book, "As He Walked" states the following.
"All the questions that matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words "Come to Me." Not-'do this' and 'don't do that', but "Come..." Have you ever come to Jesus? Watch the stubbornness of your heart and mind, you will find you will do anything rather than the one simple, childlike thing-Come. Be stupid enough to come, and commit yourself to what Jesus says. That attitude of coming is that the will resolutely lets go of everything and deliberately commits the whole thing to Jesus. At the most unexpected moments there comes the whisper of the Lord, 'Come to Me,' and we are drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus alters everything. He meets our sins, our sorrows, and our difficulties with the one word-Come."
"All the questions that matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words "Come to Me." Not-'do this' and 'don't do that', but "Come..." Have you ever come to Jesus? Watch the stubbornness of your heart and mind, you will find you will do anything rather than the one simple, childlike thing-Come. Be stupid enough to come, and commit yourself to what Jesus says. That attitude of coming is that the will resolutely lets go of everything and deliberately commits the whole thing to Jesus. At the most unexpected moments there comes the whisper of the Lord, 'Come to Me,' and we are drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus alters everything. He meets our sins, our sorrows, and our difficulties with the one word-Come."
Thursday, March 8, 2012
God's Good Work
The GOOD work (Phil. 1:6): A work only God can do within man, the work that every person requires to be complete, restored to the image of God, redeemed from sin’s death & despair. God created & it was ‘good’, Jesus said why do you call me good, only God is good. We define a lot of things with ‘good’, but ‘good’ is something that comes from the hand of God the Father. Every good & perfect gift (Ja 1:17). The Father loves to give ‘good’ gifts to his children (Mt. 7:11). The good work is the Christ work, the Divine work. Rom 8:28-work in all things for good-the good being Christlikeness. The restoration of the image of God to the spirit of man, the shalom of God bringing wholeness & completeness to the heart of restless mankind. The good work is bringing order out of chaos (Genesis), the good work is bringing life out of death, redeeming power out of the cross, hope out of an empty grave, life in the person of the Son. Only God can do this. When men do something ‘good’, it is a little spark of the Holy God. The good is holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, truth-those powers that bring freedom to the human heart. The hope of mankind is that they would allow God the Father to do the good work in them through faith in Christ. All other ‘works’ only treat symptoms, the good work of God is to make the tree good, then the fruit will be good. Ultimately the good work is the life of Christ in us that brings hope, joy, peace, the shalom of the true and living God.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
HE IS
Ps 103:8 , The Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger & abounding in love. I have been trying to allow Matt 12:20 (Is.42) to sink into my spirit. It speaks of the compassion, mercy, gentleness of our Lord, and harmonizes with the passage from Ps.103. The Psalmist goes on to say that the Lord remembers we are dust, he does not treat us as our sins deserve. The WOW of that should humble us & bring tears of joy and shouts of praise. The Lord could squash us, destroy us, should destroy us, as the wages of sin is death. But He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (Jn. 3:17). That saving presence overflows with grace, compassion, love. HE IS more than we can describe or imagine. HE IS the greatest lover in the universe. HE IS the one who does not break the bruised reed or blow out the smoldering candle. HE IS the One who touches the leper to make him clean. HE IS the hope of the nations as it goes on to say in Mt. 12. He IS my hope because I need, am hungry for grace, compassion, patience, love.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
HIS - ABSOLUTELY!
It's easy to miss, Philippians 1:1-'slaves of Jesus Christ' (doulos-Greek word). Not a servant, but a slave. Paul & Timothy belong to Jesus Christ-they are His property. Their will has been swallowed up in the will of Christ, their heart is saturated with the life of Another, their desire is single, undisputed-to please their Master, do His will, bring glory to His name. Wesley captures this spirit in his covenant service, "Put me to what you will, rank me with who you will...". Oswald Chambers says, "Be absolutely His!". Whether in what some would say is a big way, or in a simple way, those used of Christ, those who break the darkness with His light, who overwhelm the harshness & hatred of this world with love, who diffuse compassion in a selfish, uncaring world, those who do so are 'slaves of Christ.' These are the holy ones of God. These are His-bought with a price they glorify God with their bodies. Their lives speak of One greater who has invaded them with holy grace. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit so that they are HIS! Their sacred journey is the road less traveled, the narrow path that leads to life, they are following in the footsteps of Jesus. The world does not understand, but it doesn't matter: grace produces a life beyond explanation. They are focused on the 'least of these.' Their reward is in the Master's affirmation, 'well done good & faithful servant'. They neither strive for recognition nor glory, Christ is their all. When all else in life is forgotten, they want to remember, I'm His & His forever!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Transitions
As I read God's Word, it's about people in transition. Those in the O.T. narrative attempting to follow God's leadership and be the people they were created & redeemed to be-for His glory. In the N.T. the story continues. Those who encounter Jesus are always in transition. About the time the disciples think they have it mastered, Jesus takes the road less traveled. Those who cried out for mercy from Jesus were in transition. Their life became a 'new work of God'. The sacred journey, life, is a process with a purpose. Our tendency is to confine the process to what makes us comfortable, secure, applauded. To confine the process is to minimize our discovery of the purpose-ruthless trust in the Father. As I am in transition, learning new roles, listening to hear what the Father wants & being willing to jump off a cliff if I need to, fear creeps in. Blackaby in Experiencing God Day by Day (2/3) states, 'Most fear is fear of the unknown. We do not know what lies ahead of us so we become apprehensive...fear is no excuse to disobey God." Life is one continuous transition-no matter how much we think we are in control. Our false sense of security in the picture we put together can hinder us from exercising trust in the Father. A resounding message from God's Word is 'FEAR NOT'.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Pharoh In Us
Reading the Exodus story. Pharoh is an interesting person. As I read about his stubborn refusal to cooperate with God's plan, I thought about the Pharoh in all of us. Pharoh showed a few flashes of remorse, regret, or something, but never really got on his face before God in repentance. I wonder how much the Pharoh in all of us is hindering the Lord from doing a new work in His church. Our refusal to repent, our attempt to manipulate the situation, our personal sin that we sweep under the rug, all hinder the Lord from pouring out the Holy Spirit upon us. How desperately the body of Christ in America needs an exodus from our current status into the promised land of victory over sin and world. A life of power and victory, of light and love awaits us in the promised land of the Spirit filled life. The pharoh in us resists any call to repentance. We run to our comfort zone of experiences from long ago, and rationalize our personal and corporate coldness and lethargy. We blame the culture and Christ remains outside knocking on the door. Hard and cold hearts fill our churches. We have become like the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day, thinking we are the holy ones, we have moved into the abyss of self delusion and spiritual darkness. Lord, remove the pharoh spirit from our hearts in order to do your new work in us and through us, for your glory. I repent-revive me again O Lord.
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Look At My Servant -The Easter Person
Isaiah 42 and Matthew 12:18 call us to look to the Son, who is also the Servant of the Lord. Sometimes our perspective gets out of focus, we become selfish, we look at others and make comparisons and become full of despair, we look at the world and the mess of humanity and become discouraged or even afraid. The Word tells us to look at the Son. To focus our attention upon the One, crucified and raised to life.
The Father delights in the Son and calls us to do the same. At the heart of salvation, of having peace with God and the peace of God, is delighting in the Son, looking to the Son. The Word says every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. That every eye will see him or look at him, even those who pierced Christ.
God the Father will get mankind's attention with the Son sooner or later. The salvation choice, the life giving choice is to look to the Son today. To acknowledge our need of the Savior today and walk each day with our attention upon the Son. Easter is about the Person, Jesus Christ who was declared with power to be the Son of God through the resurrection from the dead. Look and live!
The Father delights in the Son and calls us to do the same. At the heart of salvation, of having peace with God and the peace of God, is delighting in the Son, looking to the Son. The Word says every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. That every eye will see him or look at him, even those who pierced Christ.
God the Father will get mankind's attention with the Son sooner or later. The salvation choice, the life giving choice is to look to the Son today. To acknowledge our need of the Savior today and walk each day with our attention upon the Son. Easter is about the Person, Jesus Christ who was declared with power to be the Son of God through the resurrection from the dead. Look and live!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Come To me
Oswald Chambers in his book, "As He Walked" states the following.
"All the questions that matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words "Come to Me." Not-'do this' and 'don't do that', but "Come..." Have you ever come to Jesus? Watch the stubbornness of your heart and mind, you will find you will do anything rather than the one simple, childlike thing-Come. Be stupid enough to come, and commit yourself to what Jesus says. That attitude of coming is that the will resolutely lets go of everything and deliberately commits the whole thing to Jesus. At the most unexpected moments there comes the whisper of the Lord, 'Come to Me,' and we are drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus alters everything. He meets our sins, our sorrows, and our difficulties with the one word-Come."
"All the questions that matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words "Come to Me." Not-'do this' and 'don't do that', but "Come..." Have you ever come to Jesus? Watch the stubbornness of your heart and mind, you will find you will do anything rather than the one simple, childlike thing-Come. Be stupid enough to come, and commit yourself to what Jesus says. That attitude of coming is that the will resolutely lets go of everything and deliberately commits the whole thing to Jesus. At the most unexpected moments there comes the whisper of the Lord, 'Come to Me,' and we are drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus alters everything. He meets our sins, our sorrows, and our difficulties with the one word-Come."
Thursday, March 8, 2012
God's Good Work
The GOOD work (Phil. 1:6): A work only God can do within man, the work that every person requires to be complete, restored to the image of God, redeemed from sin’s death & despair. God created & it was ‘good’, Jesus said why do you call me good, only God is good. We define a lot of things with ‘good’, but ‘good’ is something that comes from the hand of God the Father. Every good & perfect gift (Ja 1:17). The Father loves to give ‘good’ gifts to his children (Mt. 7:11). The good work is the Christ work, the Divine work. Rom 8:28-work in all things for good-the good being Christlikeness. The restoration of the image of God to the spirit of man, the shalom of God bringing wholeness & completeness to the heart of restless mankind. The good work is bringing order out of chaos (Genesis), the good work is bringing life out of death, redeeming power out of the cross, hope out of an empty grave, life in the person of the Son. Only God can do this. When men do something ‘good’, it is a little spark of the Holy God. The good is holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, truth-those powers that bring freedom to the human heart. The hope of mankind is that they would allow God the Father to do the good work in them through faith in Christ. All other ‘works’ only treat symptoms, the good work of God is to make the tree good, then the fruit will be good. Ultimately the good work is the life of Christ in us that brings hope, joy, peace, the shalom of the true and living God.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
HE IS
Ps 103:8 , The Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger & abounding in love. I have been trying to allow Matt 12:20 (Is.42) to sink into my spirit. It speaks of the compassion, mercy, gentleness of our Lord, and harmonizes with the passage from Ps.103. The Psalmist goes on to say that the Lord remembers we are dust, he does not treat us as our sins deserve. The WOW of that should humble us & bring tears of joy and shouts of praise. The Lord could squash us, destroy us, should destroy us, as the wages of sin is death. But He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (Jn. 3:17). That saving presence overflows with grace, compassion, love. HE IS more than we can describe or imagine. HE IS the greatest lover in the universe. HE IS the one who does not break the bruised reed or blow out the smoldering candle. HE IS the One who touches the leper to make him clean. HE IS the hope of the nations as it goes on to say in Mt. 12. He IS my hope because I need, am hungry for grace, compassion, patience, love.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
HIS - ABSOLUTELY!
It's easy to miss, Philippians 1:1-'slaves of Jesus Christ' (doulos-Greek word). Not a servant, but a slave. Paul & Timothy belong to Jesus Christ-they are His property. Their will has been swallowed up in the will of Christ, their heart is saturated with the life of Another, their desire is single, undisputed-to please their Master, do His will, bring glory to His name. Wesley captures this spirit in his covenant service, "Put me to what you will, rank me with who you will...". Oswald Chambers says, "Be absolutely His!". Whether in what some would say is a big way, or in a simple way, those used of Christ, those who break the darkness with His light, who overwhelm the harshness & hatred of this world with love, who diffuse compassion in a selfish, uncaring world, those who do so are 'slaves of Christ.' These are the holy ones of God. These are His-bought with a price they glorify God with their bodies. Their lives speak of One greater who has invaded them with holy grace. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit so that they are HIS! Their sacred journey is the road less traveled, the narrow path that leads to life, they are following in the footsteps of Jesus. The world does not understand, but it doesn't matter: grace produces a life beyond explanation. They are focused on the 'least of these.' Their reward is in the Master's affirmation, 'well done good & faithful servant'. They neither strive for recognition nor glory, Christ is their all. When all else in life is forgotten, they want to remember, I'm His & His forever!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Transitions
As I read God's Word, it's about people in transition. Those in the O.T. narrative attempting to follow God's leadership and be the people they were created & redeemed to be-for His glory. In the N.T. the story continues. Those who encounter Jesus are always in transition. About the time the disciples think they have it mastered, Jesus takes the road less traveled. Those who cried out for mercy from Jesus were in transition. Their life became a 'new work of God'. The sacred journey, life, is a process with a purpose. Our tendency is to confine the process to what makes us comfortable, secure, applauded. To confine the process is to minimize our discovery of the purpose-ruthless trust in the Father. As I am in transition, learning new roles, listening to hear what the Father wants & being willing to jump off a cliff if I need to, fear creeps in. Blackaby in Experiencing God Day by Day (2/3) states, 'Most fear is fear of the unknown. We do not know what lies ahead of us so we become apprehensive...fear is no excuse to disobey God." Life is one continuous transition-no matter how much we think we are in control. Our false sense of security in the picture we put together can hinder us from exercising trust in the Father. A resounding message from God's Word is 'FEAR NOT'.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Pharoh In Us
Reading the Exodus story. Pharoh is an interesting person. As I read about his stubborn refusal to cooperate with God's plan, I thought about the Pharoh in all of us. Pharoh showed a few flashes of remorse, regret, or something, but never really got on his face before God in repentance. I wonder how much the Pharoh in all of us is hindering the Lord from doing a new work in His church. Our refusal to repent, our attempt to manipulate the situation, our personal sin that we sweep under the rug, all hinder the Lord from pouring out the Holy Spirit upon us. How desperately the body of Christ in America needs an exodus from our current status into the promised land of victory over sin and world. A life of power and victory, of light and love awaits us in the promised land of the Spirit filled life. The pharoh in us resists any call to repentance. We run to our comfort zone of experiences from long ago, and rationalize our personal and corporate coldness and lethargy. We blame the culture and Christ remains outside knocking on the door. Hard and cold hearts fill our churches. We have become like the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day, thinking we are the holy ones, we have moved into the abyss of self delusion and spiritual darkness. Lord, remove the pharoh spirit from our hearts in order to do your new work in us and through us, for your glory. I repent-revive me again O Lord.
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