Morning At Last

Some people think of our Christian walk like climbing a ladder.  I suppose it comes from thinking about Jacob’s ladder reaching to Heaven or may be the influence of our natural life – climbing the corporate ladder, so to speak.  In truth, we aren’t climbing anything and our Christian walk is much more of a metamorphosis.

I’m a fan of Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.  It’s an allegory of our Christian walk where little Much Afraid follows a path through rugged mountains to the high places.  Along the way she confronts various fears and finds truth to overcome them.  As she embraces the lessons she faces, she is changed from the inside out.  There is a follow up book called Mountains of Spices where we find that her Aunt is told she can ascend to the high places without leaving home.  Therefore we see our Christian walk is not so much a journey or a mountain to climb as it is a metamorphosis.  As we turn loose of those things that we believed were our nature and allow God to show us the Truth of who He is in us, we are changed from glory to glory.  It’s a liberating process that brings us more and more into leaning on Him and less and less on relying on ourselves.

That is why I have a problem with much of the existing church programs as they are today.  Too many of those occupying the leadership positions are leading the members to depend on them instead of helping them discover God within.  I know many of them feel responsible for the people under their charge and they believe they have to lead people in such a manner.  The truth is, all of the Five Fold Leadership: Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists, are charged with one thing and that is leading the church into maturity.  That’s it and mature Christians are able to hear from God for themselves and have learned to be obedient to that voice even when it is telling them to do something the rest of the church around them isn’t doing.  It takes courage to follow God.  You have to be willing to let things that you identified with go and embrace the light He is giving you today while knowing that people around you might not understand.

God calls each of us as individuals.  He loves our diversity.  Our Christian walk is about learning to follow the leadings of the Spirit as He relates to us personally.  The unity of the body is more about letting Him join the diverse parts into a harmonious whole than it is about making us all the same.  That is one of the things I love about Him.

Today we met and remembered all the good things God did through His servant Paul.  For many, those are traditional words commonly used to refer to a Christian’s death but in this case, they truly fit.   So many people have told me that Paul’s service was the best memorial service they had ever been to.  It was full of Joy because of all the lives he touched and thankfulness that He had embraced what God had done in his life and shared it freely.   Better than anyone else, I know his faults but his virtues clearly outshone them.

We stopped to reflect on his legacy and to thank God for him.  Now it’s time to lay this shell he has left to rest and seek what God has for me next.  I have been a good wife and mother but I know there is much more and I am looking forward to it.

is the death of His saints…Psalm 116:15

October 15, 2009 my husband and best friend finished his earthly race.  Paul and I would have been married 35 years on Dec. 21 and already I miss being able to ask his opinion on things.  Like all of us, he had his faults but the best part of him far outshone them.

It’s time to lay his remains to rest, gather friends and remember the good times and then let God lead me into the rest of my life.

You never know how you will respond to fire until you have to walk through it.  It seems like life has had problems lined up for my family to face.  Everytime one simmers down into a level of normalcy, another rises up.  It has served to keep us slightly off balance.  Six months ago our grandson, Asher, was born needing immediate heart surgery.  He is doing well but faces more surgery in the future.  It’s hard to think about such a little guy with such a heartwarming smile having to face more pain.

Now, my husband is in the hospital facing colon cancer surgery and what ever comes with that.  He has lived most of his life battling muscular dystrophy and this makes things that much harder.  I’m sharing this because I want my readers to know that I’m not immune to the hard things of life.  “In this world, we will have tribulation”.  There’s no way around it.  The good part is in the rest of that quote that He, Christ, has overcome the world.

If you are facing similar stuff today, know that Jesus promised to never leave you nor forsake you.  He has the strength to carry you through if you will rest in Him.  Paul and I are looking forward to the day we get to have new spirit bodies that aren’t subject to the corruption of our present ones.  Can you imaging not getting tired or having joint pain or traveling between the Spirit realm and the physical at will?  I agree with the Word where it says

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

I plan to walk through the present with my eyes on the future and remembering the sweet times of fellowship God has granted me in the past.  He doesn’t love me any less because I am facing hard times now.  God is still good.  He still loves me and has plans to give me a future and a hope.

If you ask most Christians if they want to be an Overcomer, they will generally say yes. Then when adversity hits, they find their super Christian halo gets a little dented and tarnished. The more you try, the more you fail. That’s the lesson of Failure. Each time you fail, teaches you another way that doesn’t work. The question is, will you keep going until you find the solution to your problem? They say the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who fails is that the winner gets up one more time.

I have some good news for you. In your Christian walk you will never be good enough to become an Overcomer. You were never meant to. We all want to be like Jesus in this world and yet He said He only did what He saw the Father doing. Being an Overcomer means that you have raised the white flag of surrender. You realize that you will never be good enough, smart enough, lucky enough or talented enough to succeed in what God is calling you to do. You are going to have to submit and let Him do it through you. Don’t be afraid of the failures you have faced in life. Let them show you what you are not so that God can show you what He is in you.

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Yeah, like the caterpillar turning into the butterfly or the tadpole into the frog.  The process goes on whether the critter wants it to or not because the alternative is totally unpleasant.  Who knew when my sister gave me this blog that it would speak much more of what God is doing in me than others?  I seem to be sheading the image I was “supposed to be” and emerging as an individual happily led by the Spirit of God.  Whew, what a relief to know that He is my safety net and that I really am in the palm of His hand.

Growing up, I was a middle child and you would think that would give me the security of living firmly in the center of the pack but it didn’t.  Aware of my individuality, I never found a place in the social pack that seemed to fit me.  After many years of striving, I finally realized that God made me as an individual and I had better embrace what I am.

Now maybe that seems nonsensical to you and it leads to places that will get me marked as dangerous by some of my peers.  You see, I was ordained in my local church and even taught Bible school for a time.  It was wonderful training for me but if you want to run with that pack, you have to teach what they believe.  I never understood why they all wanted new revelation but felt it was dangerous to actually get it.  What do they think it means when the Bible says,

Joh 21:25  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Ok, so if Jesus did other things that weren’t contained in the Bible, why should it rock our theological world if He reveals one of them?  I’m not claiming great revelation here, I’m just asking the question.

I’ve had a great local church.  (It’s not the one I was ordained in.)  For years I prayed for a house of prayer and God let me see it come to fruition.  You would think I would jump in and be a very satisfied driving force within it.  However, I never got the Heavenly go ahead to do that.  I enjoyed it for a season but now it’s time to move on.  I’m not talking about church hopping.  If you believe in the universal Body of Christ, you can’t leave it to join it elsewhere.  Either we are one or we aren’t.

For the record, I’m not against the churches.  They are necessary parts of the plan of God in the Earth but sometimes God calls you outside the camp.  Sometimes He wants you to think about things that aren’t written in the book they are reading and that’s OK too.

I’m not telling anyone else what to do.  The same Holy Spirit that is leading me on is available to teach you as well.  Jesus said that if we would let Him, He would lead us into all truth.  That’s what I want, the all truth part.  So if I write something that you don’t agree with, leave it here and go on.  Sometimes we travel parallel paths and sometimes they only intersect.  That’s ok too.  It’s time for me to explore the places God wants to reveal to me now.  I am not going to apologize for it.  I don’t need a title.  I don’t need a following and I have His approval.  Embracing my God-given individuality, I’m shedding the expectations of others and pressing on to know God.  I don’t know what this butterfly will look like but I’m itching to find out. :0)

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

As I’ve said in the past, I like to read Michael Q. Pink’s blog.  The following is a familiar scripture that his wife paraphrased for him to meditate on while he was traveling.  First off, how sweet that she would do that for him.  If more wives would strengthen their husbands and see themselves as part of what they were doing when they left home, it would strengthen their marriage bond.  (Conversely, men need to include their wives but that is a post for another day.)  Secondly, we all can share in the strength of this verse.  Simply begin to meditate on it for yourself.

The Lord is my Shepherd… therefore I want for nothing.

Because He loves me, He supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory.

He makes me to lie down in lush green pastures along the banks of cool still waters, giving me rest and restoring my soul by the washing of the water of His word.

He has given me the robe of righteousness to keep me on the right path.

And though I walk through the dark valley, I have no fear of evil; I have no fear of death, for He is with me, always giving me confidence, strength and comfort.

He gives me great favor and causes me to triumph over my enemies.

His anointing over me fills my cup to overflow.

His goodness and His mercy follow me all the days of my life on Earth, and then I am privileged and abundantly blessed to live in His house forever.

Amen!

The following is a repost of something my friend Marty posted on a site we both visit.

Once again, if this raises your eyebrows, you don’t have to accept it.  There is no place in the Bible that says we will all come to doctrinal agreement before the Lord returns.  However, I believe that God’s love is so much bigger than traditional church has perceived it to be.  Is anything too hard for God?

Much teaching has been done on how some will be saved and the majority will burn in hell forever.  Without going into our beliefs on what hell is, if you do a word study on ‘eternal’, you will find that it means “for the age” or “age during”.  The original language does not support our concept of eternal suffering.  Instead, our Bible tells us that everything will be brought in submission to Jesus and then He will offer it up to His Father (1 Cor 15:24).  There is nothing hinted at about there being a portion that He couldn’t reach so they have to be stuck in some corner of the Universe and suffer forever.

Let me tell you about the complete love of God
about how God loves His creation
Let me tell you about a God who so loves His creation that He is willing that All be saved
A God who must follow His own laws, no matter what

Let me tell you about how all will be saved
As in Adam all die, in Christ ALL are saved
About how in God, by law, all thing must be restored
To the glory and sinlessness that was before

Let me tell you about the meaning of “hell”, and the “Lake of Fire”
Of how it is a judgment, a redemptive judgment
That judgment is designed to correct us, not destroy us
Let me tell you about how Jesus plans to redeem His chosen ones, all of them

Let me tell you about how Jesus is going to personally train His saints for 1000 years
And these saints will rule with Him on the earth
They will rule over the believers who do not yet understand the law
They will rule over those who are not yet believers, who everyone else thinks will fall

Let me tell you about how Gods love is so great that He will not lose a single individual
That those believers who are not resurrected in the first resurrection
Will be resurrected with the wicked in the great white throne resurrection
Who will received either a few or many lashes, but by law, no more than 40 lashes

Let me tell you about how the saints will rule the world
And teach the nations to become righteous
How their weapons will be hammered into plows and war will cease to be
And how these saints are currently in training by God for the job ahead of thee

Let me tell you of a future
Where no one is sad
Especially the mother who thinks her child died and went to hell
How she will discover the truth of the age, and end up with a big smile

Let me tell you about the age in which we live
An age of a set and determined period of time
Where sin is the king of the world which keeps the people from being free
But God’s plans of redemption is hidden in the scriptures for all to see

Let me tell you of a coming age
In which children will play with lions
And death is no longer in our vocabulary
As we live in the light of God

Let me teach you of a God
Who has our best interest in hand
Who has already redeemed us
From the sinfulness of man

Let me tell you about the love of your savior Jesus Christ

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy

Hope Beyond Hell (PDF form but you can also get the book. )

The Inheritance for Men and Women

I’m still chewing on the Beatitudes.  Before I started studying them, I viewed them as something that some of us would partake of when we finally got to Heaven.  You know, if you were particularly merciful, there would be some kind of reward when you finally stood before God’s throne.  I now realize that they are character traits of those who are fully matured sons in the Kingdom of God.

This morning I got to thinking that if the Beatitudes are character traits of members of the Kingdom of Heaven, shouldn’t there be some kind of correlation between them and the Fruit of the Spirit?   The more I thought about it, the more I am convinced of it.  After all, it is the Spirit working in us that causes us to grow up into the image of God that He fashioned us to be.  How could they not correlate?

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (Love)

Unless you have experienced the Love of God, you remain full of yourself. If you catch a glimpse of the kind of love Jesus has that caused Him to die for the whole world even when it hated Him, you can begin to die to self.   Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn! For they shall be comforted. (Joy)

I can’t imagine anything more comforting than to know that death isn’t the end of life and that you will see your loved ones again.  It gets even better when you realize that when Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, He didn’t leave anyone out.  I don’t know how we ever got the idea that Adam could sin better than Jesus could make atonement for it.  When did Adam get bigger than Jesus?  I know our churches don’t actually say that but isn’t that the end result of most of the hell teaching you hear?  Adam sinned so we are all born in sin.  Actually, the Bible doesn’t teach that we are all born in sin but rather that we are born in mortality.  We bear the penalty of Adam’s sin which is death.  Did you have any choice in the matter? Neither did I.  Why then do we think that through Adam all sinned but Jesus work will only apply to a select few that are lucky enough to be picked by the Father?  We call that Good News?

1Jo 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jo 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Rom 5:17  For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Rom 5:18  Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek! For they shall inherit the earth. (Meekness)

I covered meekness in the blog post so I won’t go into it again here.  I will however point out that it is a fruit of the Spirit that grows as you submit your life to Him.

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness! For they shall be filled. (Faith)

Psa 17:15  As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

1Jo 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Can you feel the hunger rising in you to be like Jesus?  It’s not about doing what He did.  It’s not about the miracles.  It’s about knowing Father God like He did.  It’s about having access to heavenly places and walking as he walked.  We can’t do that and stay as we are.  As we yield ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in us, He is preparing a people that He can dwell in.  Since He is doing the work, go ahead and get hungry because you will be filled.

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful! For they shall obtain mercy. (Kindness)

I’ve recently spent some time in a forum where people are coming together to discuss what God is doing today.  It amazes me when some of these people are so judgmental against those who don’t see things as they do.  Phi 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Unless God gives us eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, none of us would change.  We have got to be Thankful to God and merciful to our brothers.

Speaking of Mercy…

Psa 89:14  Justice and righteousness are Your throne’s foundation; mercy and truth go before Your face.

Isa 16:5  And in mercy the throne shall be founded; and he shall sit on it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice, and swift in righteousness.

I have always heard it taught that God’s judgment is tempered by mercy.  I recently read a post where someone made the statement that God’s judgments are His mercy.  That brings a little different slant to it.  At first I thought HUH?  After I thought about it for a while, I could see what they were saying.  We have always been taught the condemnation side of judgment but if you believe that God is in control of this mess we call life, and if He really does have a plan that doesn’t violate His Word and brings everyone before His throne, then His judgments are merciful.  They stop the transgressor from continuing his evil ways and bring him to repentance where he can learn God’s ways.  Only God can change men’t hearts in such a way.  We really do serve a big God.

Mat 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart! For they shall see God. (Goodness)

Psa 24:3  Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
Psa 24:4  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

Again, our hearts can only be pure because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  None of us have the power to tame our tongue much less out heart.  The farther we go in God, the more we realize how much we need Him.  He does the work in us

Tit 3:3  For we also once were senseless, disobedient, being led astray, slaving for various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
Tit 3:4  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5  not by works in righteousness which we had done, but according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Tit 3:6  whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior;

Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God. (Peace)

This world is in dire need of peacemakers.  Unfortunately, most of the divisive factions believe they are right and it’s the other guy that has to change.  Once in a while a “Ghandi” stands out and we proclaim them as peacemakers but there is always another faction that will rise up and destroy it.

True lasting peace will only be accomplished when the Kingdom of God becomes the acknowledged ruling system of the Earth.  Therefore, those who walk as Sons of God in the Earth, will be peacemakers for they will carry out the expansion of His Kingdom in this material realm.

Mat 5:10  Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (Long Suffering) Is anyone as long suffering as those who are crying out to God while they are being persecuted.  Even if you internalize this scripture and see it as dying to self so that the spirit can control your life, it’s a long process and like Jesus, you learn patience through the things you suffer.

It’s not my intention to draw this out further.  Obviously it could become an extensive study and I have other things to dig through.  I just hope my readers find something in all of this that makes them take a serious look at their own life and how much they are yielding to the Lord.  It does make a difference.

Some of my other Posts relating to this topic:

The Beatitudes Part 1

Changing Direction

The following is a repost that a friend of mine made in a forum we both visit.  I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says but I think it’s something we should all take a look at. When I realized that God really is sovereign, it threw things like self will or free will into a tizzy.  How could both of them be true?  Craig takes a crack at it and comes up with a pretty interesting answer.

When the Lord revealed Universal Salvation, I concluded that free-will was a joke, but upon further investigation, it was not free-will but the doctrine of self-determination which was the joke.

Free-Will says we can live and move and have our being within a boundary and habitation in which it is placed, but Self-Determination says we can go beyond that boundary and habitation in which we’re placed. One is true, the other is not. We cannot self-determine, no matter what we choose, we do it always within the habitation and boundary that God has placed us.

Why would this be an important distinction? It all comes down to judgment (God’s Judgement). If we had no free-will, then there is no such thing as sin. If we had no free-will, then God cannot judge us, nor can he ‘repay’ or ‘recompense’, as Scripture says He does.

From that point, the only thing a person can do is disregard Scripture and then finally they disregard anything to with Christ, Christianity. and you are left with a pantheistic belief system, that strips God of His Fatherhood, and makes Him once again some out of reach, impersonal ‘higher power’. and numerous of other slippery slopes that are very much valid.

You remove freedom of will, you remove the need to renew our minds, forgive one another, even love one another. Without freedom of will, there is no accountability and responsibility. A seered conscience, not knowing the difference between good and evil, infants being thrown to and fro by every wind of doctrine that tickles their ears, and the latest fad in pyschological philosophy.

Everyone reserves the right to be wrong, but I do not settle for being wrong when the Lord has said we can know what is right, and if we ask for Wisdom, He gives it lavishlessly.

Craig Nolin