God - Give Me A Vision? Yes - it can and will happen!

It is interesting that every time I mention the need to consider evangelizing (whether at home or abroad – wherever God directs) people blanch and balk. Building God’s house is something that should be foremost in our minds and we should be asking ourselves how we can be of use to God in doing that. Instead, we have become contented sheep in a pasture. I am not saying that everyone is like this – but the majority of response is always the “don’t bother me” or “I evangelize by my life and example.” So, here is a question – Is this what God wants? Would want you to say? The Attitude that God wants you to have?

“Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law.” 

Psalm 119:18

The Bible is filled with hundreds of examples of people being given a vision, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah, Micah and more. Seeing God’s vision for your life is not a crazy thing, and many times not even miraculous. God often uses a mental picture to clarify the next step He wants you to take. I admit, that there are differences in people and the way that they think. Many are visual thinkers, able to read and picture the story in your mind. For others, this is harder and you tend to think in words and logic. For the visual thinker, seeing God’s vision is a Technicolor experience. But what if you’re not a visual thinker? How do you get God’s vision if you’re not a visual thinker?

The same way that you do anything else that you do respecting God – “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth (2 Tm.2:15).”  After you've read the Bible and ask God, “God, is there anything you want me to see from this? Is there anything I need to know that I’m not thinking about?” And then you wait.  James 1:5 says, “If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking.”  God wants you to ask him for advice, and he wants you to be specific and He’s waiting for you to ask!

Psalm 119:18 is a verse you should memorize: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”  Every answer to every problem you have or will encounter is in the Bible.  But you've got to read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it, and with that seek God’s vision for your life or even if it is  just for today.

What is keeping you from seeing what God wants you to do and then rising up to do something about it? What vision has God given you? What do you think you’re supposed to do about it? James 1:5 “If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking.”

Jim

Mary Did You Know.....about the Holy Spirit?

Lately, we have been studying about the Holy Spirit in our meetings and it has been an interesting one. In this process arose a question. Did Mary, the mother of Jesus know about the Holy Spirit? Luke 1:35 states, Luke 1:35 states, "The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God." So the answer is yes, but what are the intricacies of this passage? What does what the angel said mean?

Throughout the scripture, the Holy Spirit is always in a role of sanctification and setting apart things for specific uses. This instance is no different. Notice that the passage states that the Spirit would "overshadow" her. This is the same word used when Jesus states his famous lament over Jerusalem, that He would protect her as a mother hen would protect her chicks (Lk.13:34). From the start when the angel reveals this to her, the Holy Spirit is already at work in this process. Instances where we would say in today's time, "Wow, they were lucky" the scripture shows us that behind the scenes it is the Holy Spirit that moves to protect her. 

• An angel appears to Joseph in a dream to tell him to take Mary as his wife and not to put her away as society of that day would have demanded (Mt.1:20).
• The child would be born "of her" which is a significant statement. It takes a man and a woman to conceive a child, a fact all too prevalent in our society today. Yet, this is NOT the case with Jesus. Ph'p 2 and John 1 both state that Jesus left being in the form of God to take on a human form. Mary was the vessel through whom this would happen. But not as common births would go. Lk.1:34 - even Mary asks how this is going to happen, and once again we are back to vs.35 where we are told it is the Holy Spirit working within her to make this happen. Think about this - the same Holy Spirit that in Genesis moves on the face of the deep to create the worlds that exist even today, is the same Holy Spirit that brings this about in Mary. Jesus was indeed as Paul states in Gal.4:4, "born of a woman" because there was no man involved.

It was for this reason, that Jesus was called by men, “the Son of God” (Is.7:14). We know it is because Jesus left being in the form of God to take on the form of a man, and the Holy Spirit that makes the circumstances for this happen. It would be this instance with Mary, that Jesus would be the fulfillment of scripture as manifested “Emmanuel” or as the translation is, "God with Us." This is a statement of prophesy made more than 500 years before it would happen. The concept that God would leave heaven and come walk among us as humans, which is just what Jesus did (Jn.1:1-14; Ph'p.2). These circumstances, revealed in such a simple sentence indeed make one call out because of them, "God is WONDERFUL IN HIS COUNSEL." Indeed, even if we foo foo creation, one can only look at the circumstances of Jesus' birth and proclaim that "GOD IS MIGHTY!" That this event now 2000 + years ago would make Jesus the "Father of Eternity" for us all. That a small baby if people would just hear his Word, be the Prince of Peace for us all.

And he dreams of hopes unspoken

When the tears of man will cease

And his mother holds him closer

For he is the Prince of peace

"The Prince of Peace," 

by TransSiberian Orchestra

Merry Christmas,

Jim

Sucking Sour Persimmons

“The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

Rom.14:17

Have you ever noticed in the lives of most “believers” the one thing that seems missing is joy? We start off life as a believer as a new being, free from sin, forgiven and alive in Christ. But, what happens to that joy that we started with? Why is it that when you talk to many believers – especially about coming to God's house regularly or for some just getting through a day, you would do better to suck on a sour persimmon?

The easiest thing for us to lose as believers is our joy.  AND – it can be lost in the simplest of ways and with the simplest of things. You can lose it with one phone call or email, a letter or conversation. And there are a lot of people who are conspiring to rob it from you. Jeremiah the prophet said in Lamentations 5:15, “There is no joy left in our hearts”  Cranky Christians are a bad witness and look like they've been baptized in vinegar because they’re never really smiling, have no happiness and rather than give reason for the hope that is in them have people avoiding them because the feel like they are going to get their head chewed off. 

God wants us to be witnesses with our countenance of the JOY that can be found in Him. Paul states in Rom.14:17 “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” The sad thing is that many “mature” Christians have lost their joy and don't even know it.  They've become so addicted to living the soured life that they can't see the unspeakable joy that God has right in front of them. And – like an addict, they will not admit that they have lost it.  Has there ever been a point in your life when you were closer to God than you are right now? Has there ever been a point in your life when you were more joyful in the Lord than you are right now? If so, what caused you to lost that?

Did you know that it’s quite easy to get your joy back, too? The first step you need to do is admit you've lost it. Yes...you made a mistake, you didn't do EXACTLY what God wanted you to do or be how God wanted you to be – even though you made a good show of it. That said - Now is the time to make the change.  You can ask God about it; HE IS waiting to help you. David did this in Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation”  Did you know that God will do that?  Do you know that if you ask, God will GIVE you the Holy Spirit if you are seeking for it and wiling to take the opportunity God will bring before you?  Jesus said in Lk.11:13, “As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.”

So, what has changed  about your spiritual walk and quiet time with God since you first heard His voice? What are the things that are robbing you of your joy in Christ?  This is always a season of change, a chance to begin anew again. But you don't have to wait for a New Year's Resolution to do this. You can start right now. 

Jim

Book Review: Jesus Continued: Why the Spirit Inside You is Better Than Jesus Beside You

Book Review: Jesus Continued: Why the Spirit Inside You is Better Than Jesus Beside                        You 

                       by: J.D.Greear

This book has been a good and interesting read. I have read several on this subject ranging on each pole of the subject, from conservative to out there. I found this book to be a good well rounded consideration of the Holy Spirit.  I have to admit up front that I was a little disturbed at the title until I considered what Jesus said. Then, the book became a journey for me to consider how the Holy Spirit works and manifests in my own life. I found myself renewed, both in what I already knew and what I was considering in the chapters of the book along with the Scriptures.  Well written Mr.Greear.

This said, I did find myself wanting more out of certain chapters or references.  Perhaps this is where personal investigation should take place. I liked the fact that he continually references Jesus’ own words and refers to the gospels. Perhaps the most important statement in the book, is that it is about God’s ability to work in us, not our own abilities, power or potential. I think I better understand now Paul’s sentiments that he learned to rejoice in his weakness.  I recommend this book to you heartily. I don’t believe you will be disappointed.

Spiritual Gifts - How to Grow Them

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Gal.5:22,23

As we spoke about this last Sunday, I thought it expedient to write about it for this article, as well as the fact that it is a time of the year that we are considering gifts to each other and other people that we know. Spiritual gifts are gifts of yourself, which God’s Spirit has brought about in you and your heart.  Gifts like this require us to dig deep within our hearts and cultivate the right atmosphere for them to grow.  When there are no roots, or in shallow soil, it may initially sprout and look good, but it doesn't last. The plants wither quickly because they don’t have roots. This is readily seen in Jesus’ statement regarding the parable of the sower.

“The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up”

 Luke 8:13

Many times we hear God’s Word and may even get excited about it, but we don’t allow it to change us. But we don’t take the time to let it sink in. How do you develop spiritual roots? There are two ways that I am aware of 

1. Taking daily time with God and His Word 
2. A weekly (or even more often) small group time with other believers.

These are the only ways that the roots can reach your spirit and at the same time find the nurturing food required to produce the fruits that the Spirit can bring forth.

If you’re not spending time with God on a daily basis, you’re going to dry up and blow away when Satan comes around and applies pressure. Satan knows your weak points and targets them with stealth - you won’t be able to handle it. You've got to make a daily time with God to listen for Him and His voice. Whatever it takes to keep the focus on God, do it! Crucial to this is spending time with people who Love God! Nobody has a complete perspective on life. Every one of us has blinders on. The people in your weekly gathering can see things in your life you can’t see. That’s why we need each other! You learn from the people God’s family as you encourage each other and your roots go deeper. You want to be a person with deep spiritual roots so that when a spiritual recession comes and lasts several years, you’re able to keep bearing fruit and people will find in you a reason for hope.  

So, some questions to ask yourself may be:

• How does your schedule need to change so that you can spend more time with God?
• What things do you need to follow through with that will help you not only grow deeper but grow richer in God’s Spirit?

Jim

Blocking God

Ever wondered what the world would be like if everyone shared the Spirit of God within them?  Ever since the beginning, God put part of Himself in us (Gen.2:7) and has wanted to be part of us and have a relationship with us since. God has done many wonderful miracles for people to show us that He is God, He loves us, and that His way is the better choice of this world. Even the most drastic thing of all, to give His only Son (Jn.3:16), to show mankind that He loves us. 

For "church folk" this should be a given. At one point in our lives, we said that we understood this. That God was missing from our lives, our lives were a shipwreck, and that we wanted God to come into our lives and hearts. Then....something happened or happens. We take the relationship for granted, we no longer "feel" the need to be so dutiful to pursue a close relationship with God and as long as God is hanging in the shadows, we're in control of things. We'll drag God out if we need Him, but we begin to treat Him like the unwanted relative in the room.  Sometimes we never give God a chance to talk to us. We've made up our minds. We want to do what we want to do, not what God wants us to do. Our hearts are hardened, and we’re unwilling to listen and just don't care. When we close our hearts to God, we cannot hear God's voice calling to us. But if you really want to hear from God you have to understand what is keeping you from from God. They have been with us since Eden.  

1. Pride. Thinking that we don’t need God in our lives and that we can handle things ourselves. Pride keeps us from being open to the possibility that God might want us to choose another path. 
2. Fear. Just like Eden, people can’t hear God speak because they’re afraid (Gen.3:10) to hear God speak. We're afraid that God will see, what we think we have hidden - but God already knows (Heb.4:12; 1 Jn.3:20) 
3. Bitterness. When you hold on to hurt, resentment, or a grudge, then you’re not going to be able to hear God, because your heart has grown cold and made you defensive, even to God’s love.(Eph.4:31; Heb.12:15)
4. Resentment. Resentment is a self-inflicted wound that allows people or things from your past to  to hurt you today. Rather than let go and forgive and get on with your life, These things hold us back like boat anchors.

Jas.1:21,22 states, "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." 

“receive with meekness” in this passage means you let go of your pride, fear, bitterness and resentment. To stop trying to figure it out on your own and open your mind and heart so that you can hear from the Lord (Heb.4).

Jim