Exodus 3:3 - "And Moses said 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.'"
What a stunning phenomenon - a burning bush that was not consumed! It was miraculous; and it fascinated Moses to the point of total abandonment of all present concerns for the "meaning of the miracle".
Once, however, he forsook all to be satisfied with this revelation, God began to speak to him out of the miracle; and from then on, there is nothing more said about the burning bush. Suddenly, there was something more to the miracle than just the miracle itself...for it was really just a vehicle for an audience with God!
Throughout the Bible, and even in modern-day experience, God has "traveled" in the unusual manifestations of the Holy Ghost. Yet it has been and still is essential that we not become so mesmerized with the manifestation that we miss the "Divine Passenger" and His greater purpose!
I Samuel 10:6 - "And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man."
The ultimate conclusion for Saul in the experience of this verse was not the ecstasy of being in the Spirit or even the prophecy that came from his lips but rather the transformation of his life.
As well, in Acts 9:4, Paul supernaturally came into the presence of the risen Christ and consequently fell to the ground. Just laying there in that presence must have been surreal; yet tucked within the experience was an encounter...and though the experience "floored" him, the encounter "remade" him and redesigned his life's theme into "Lord, what will you have me do" (verse 6)!
However, as there are many today who miss the transformational encounter for the sensational experience, there are sadly many more who miss BOTH...who believe that God doesn't ride in such vehicles anymore! To them, our sermon title would not be "Don't Miss God for the Burning Bush" - it would rather be "Don't Miss the Burning Bush for the Sheep", as sheep-tending was very NORMAL and certainly very UNSENSATIONAL in Moses' days!
Not only should we seek out the encounter in the experience; but we should also "turn aside" from our religious "normalcy" and embrace that unusual and peculiar side of a miraculous, unconventional and extra-ordinary God!
Selah
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
I WAS JUST KIDDING
Proverbs 26:18,19 - "As a madman who casteth firebrands, arrows and death, so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor and saith 'Am not I in sport ("I was only joking" - New Living Translation)?'"
Ephesians 5:3,4 - "...let it not be once named among you...neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting: which are not convenient..."
filthiness = Greek "aischrotes" = obscenity, vulgar/indecent conversation
foolish talking = Greek "morologia" = senseless, "stupid" chatter
jesting = Greek "eutrapelia" = quick-witted scorn or ridicule
Years ago as a pastor, I preached this message; and it created quite a debate among the members of the church, as to just how far can a Christian go in saying things in fun that ordinarily would be offensive.
"You're so big that when you hang your shirt out to dry, people think someone is holding a tent meeting."
"Well, you're so old that you were a waitress at the Last Supper."
I actually heard that exchange between two ministers...and yes, I laughed. Down through the years of my life, I have engaged in humor that, if spoken outside of humor, would have been hurtful.
The question is: does saying hurtful things become OK just because we add the disclaimer "Oh, I was just kidding"?
The Holy Ghost in Proverbs 26 gives the picture of an insane person on the loose with dangerous weapons in their hands. They certainly may not mean to hurt anyone - but hurt someone they certainly will! Regardless of innocent intentions, hurtful talk hurts - always! Insulting and degrading jokes, IN GOD"S EYES, have no place among those who aspire to imitate Him!
Ephesians 5:1 - "Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children."
Ephesians 5:2 - "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us..."
Ephesians 5:3 - "...as becometh saints (holy ones)"
Bottom Line: we are holy ones, governed by the love of Christ, who seek to imitate our dear Father! Coarse jesting is ranked in the same category as fornication and uncleanness and is not to be "once named among you" - it is not to exist in our ranks!
Ephesians 5:14 - "...Awake thou that sleepest..."
A sleeping person is alive; but they are unaware...especially of any danger that may be lurking nearby. When Christians engage in the wordly behavior mentioned in our texts (including low-grade humor), they begin to "go to sleep" and to become unaware of what is really important.
Most certainly Christians can and should laugh - but on the high level of "...IN THE LORD"...not in the lowlands of mockery and scorn, hurting beloved fellow saints and possibly becoming a stumbling block to their faith! We are EDIFIERS - and we are to "redeem the time" for edifying one another, agrressively strengthening, exhorting and encouraging one another to the fullness of Christ!
Even if no one's feelings are hurt, scornful ridicule is a waste of "redeemed" time!
Colossians 4:6 - "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt..."
It is our responsibility to accustom our conversations with themes and tones of God's grace, the full scope of God's unmerited-yet-aggressive favor in Jesus Christ. His grace in our words will be like salt to food - it makes the food both wholesome and palatable!
And let that grace first make "palatable" our own thoughts, feelings and opinions - long before those thoughts, feelings and opinions come out of our mouth! Let grace be real and "believable" to our own hearts, about our own selves first; then it will come more natural to spread that grace to one another, rather than spread the corrupting bacteria of a dirty or distasteful joke!
Ephesians 5:3,4 - "...let it not be once named among you...neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting: which are not convenient..."
filthiness = Greek "aischrotes" = obscenity, vulgar/indecent conversation
foolish talking = Greek "morologia" = senseless, "stupid" chatter
jesting = Greek "eutrapelia" = quick-witted scorn or ridicule
Years ago as a pastor, I preached this message; and it created quite a debate among the members of the church, as to just how far can a Christian go in saying things in fun that ordinarily would be offensive.
"You're so big that when you hang your shirt out to dry, people think someone is holding a tent meeting."
"Well, you're so old that you were a waitress at the Last Supper."
I actually heard that exchange between two ministers...and yes, I laughed. Down through the years of my life, I have engaged in humor that, if spoken outside of humor, would have been hurtful.
The question is: does saying hurtful things become OK just because we add the disclaimer "Oh, I was just kidding"?
The Holy Ghost in Proverbs 26 gives the picture of an insane person on the loose with dangerous weapons in their hands. They certainly may not mean to hurt anyone - but hurt someone they certainly will! Regardless of innocent intentions, hurtful talk hurts - always! Insulting and degrading jokes, IN GOD"S EYES, have no place among those who aspire to imitate Him!
Ephesians 5:1 - "Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children."
Ephesians 5:2 - "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us..."
Ephesians 5:3 - "...as becometh saints (holy ones)"
Bottom Line: we are holy ones, governed by the love of Christ, who seek to imitate our dear Father! Coarse jesting is ranked in the same category as fornication and uncleanness and is not to be "once named among you" - it is not to exist in our ranks!
Ephesians 5:14 - "...Awake thou that sleepest..."
A sleeping person is alive; but they are unaware...especially of any danger that may be lurking nearby. When Christians engage in the wordly behavior mentioned in our texts (including low-grade humor), they begin to "go to sleep" and to become unaware of what is really important.
Most certainly Christians can and should laugh - but on the high level of "...IN THE LORD"...not in the lowlands of mockery and scorn, hurting beloved fellow saints and possibly becoming a stumbling block to their faith! We are EDIFIERS - and we are to "redeem the time" for edifying one another, agrressively strengthening, exhorting and encouraging one another to the fullness of Christ!
Even if no one's feelings are hurt, scornful ridicule is a waste of "redeemed" time!
Colossians 4:6 - "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt..."
It is our responsibility to accustom our conversations with themes and tones of God's grace, the full scope of God's unmerited-yet-aggressive favor in Jesus Christ. His grace in our words will be like salt to food - it makes the food both wholesome and palatable!
And let that grace first make "palatable" our own thoughts, feelings and opinions - long before those thoughts, feelings and opinions come out of our mouth! Let grace be real and "believable" to our own hearts, about our own selves first; then it will come more natural to spread that grace to one another, rather than spread the corrupting bacteria of a dirty or distasteful joke!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
SINCERELY PERFECT
Philippians 1:9,10 - And this I pray...that you may be sincere...
In the profession of a stone mason, the craftsman may once in awhile strike the stone in a wrong manner and thus create a flaw in his work. If he is a bona fide artisan, he will simply start over. If however he is half-hearted in his ethics, he may try to "patch" the flaw with a little wax. Once the wax hardens, it would be virtually invisible to the untrained eye...except on a really sunny day. Just as soon as the heat sets in good on that wax, it will begin to melt and thus reveal that the carving was not in truth what it had appeared to be.
The word "sincere" means literally "to be without wax"; and here in our text, Paul prays that the believers in Philippi will be "without wax", that they will always be in truth what they seem to be and that there will never be a part of their heart that they reserve in secret for themselves alone while the other part of their heart is given to God and their brethren. This latter condition is of course called hypocrisy - when what appears is not what really is.
Besides the quality of faith, if there is anything that God requires in order to walk with Him, it is sincerity. GOD WANTS US TO BE REAL...or better yet...TO BE REALLY AND COMPLETELY HIS!
Genesis 6:9 - Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Genesis 17:1 - The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him "I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect."
These two men were certainly far from being "flawless" (as some take the word "perfect" to mean); but they were REAL with God - there was no passion, desire or any part of their heart held back from Him!
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with ALL thy heart and with ALL thy soul.
"...ALL thy heart..." The bottom line in walking with God is not a condition where we will never fail again; but it is keeping ALL of our heart before God and belonging to God!
When I was in my twenties, I went on a hunting trip with some brethren out in the woods of northeast Mississippi. Our number was divided between some older, experienced hunters and some younger, unseasoned "deer chasers". As we quietly plodded along a certain trail with our guns resting back on our shoulders, one of the older gents up front slyly whispered
"Got your safety on, Brother Jay (what I was called back then)?"
There could then be heard a slight "click" coming from my direction, followed by my reply
"Oh, yes sir...always got that safety on."
Can you say "wax-covered hypocrite"? By close observation, I had learned how to mimic the walk of those experienced hunters, possibly fooling my peers; but the shrewdness of that "real McCoy" veteran of the woods melted the wax of my disguise and revealed a "green horn" just trying to fit in!
Ananias and Sapphira were not wholehearted with the Holy Ghost, and it cost them their lives (Acts 5). Paul feared for the Corinthian believers that they would be corrupted from the "simplicity" (singleness, wholehearted devotion to Jesus that has no competitors) that is in Christ (II Corinthians 11:3). Christ Himself commanded in Matthew 5:48...that word again was "commanded"...that we be perfect (wholeheartedly devoted) even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect (wholeheartedly devoted)!
Weaknesses and yet-to-be-refined flaws all included, GOD WANTS US TO BE REAL WITH HIM AND REALLY HIS...or simply said...sincerely perfect!
In the profession of a stone mason, the craftsman may once in awhile strike the stone in a wrong manner and thus create a flaw in his work. If he is a bona fide artisan, he will simply start over. If however he is half-hearted in his ethics, he may try to "patch" the flaw with a little wax. Once the wax hardens, it would be virtually invisible to the untrained eye...except on a really sunny day. Just as soon as the heat sets in good on that wax, it will begin to melt and thus reveal that the carving was not in truth what it had appeared to be.
The word "sincere" means literally "to be without wax"; and here in our text, Paul prays that the believers in Philippi will be "without wax", that they will always be in truth what they seem to be and that there will never be a part of their heart that they reserve in secret for themselves alone while the other part of their heart is given to God and their brethren. This latter condition is of course called hypocrisy - when what appears is not what really is.
Besides the quality of faith, if there is anything that God requires in order to walk with Him, it is sincerity. GOD WANTS US TO BE REAL...or better yet...TO BE REALLY AND COMPLETELY HIS!
Genesis 6:9 - Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Genesis 17:1 - The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him "I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect."
These two men were certainly far from being "flawless" (as some take the word "perfect" to mean); but they were REAL with God - there was no passion, desire or any part of their heart held back from Him!
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with ALL thy heart and with ALL thy soul.
"...ALL thy heart..." The bottom line in walking with God is not a condition where we will never fail again; but it is keeping ALL of our heart before God and belonging to God!
When I was in my twenties, I went on a hunting trip with some brethren out in the woods of northeast Mississippi. Our number was divided between some older, experienced hunters and some younger, unseasoned "deer chasers". As we quietly plodded along a certain trail with our guns resting back on our shoulders, one of the older gents up front slyly whispered
"Got your safety on, Brother Jay (what I was called back then)?"
There could then be heard a slight "click" coming from my direction, followed by my reply
"Oh, yes sir...always got that safety on."
Can you say "wax-covered hypocrite"? By close observation, I had learned how to mimic the walk of those experienced hunters, possibly fooling my peers; but the shrewdness of that "real McCoy" veteran of the woods melted the wax of my disguise and revealed a "green horn" just trying to fit in!
Ananias and Sapphira were not wholehearted with the Holy Ghost, and it cost them their lives (Acts 5). Paul feared for the Corinthian believers that they would be corrupted from the "simplicity" (singleness, wholehearted devotion to Jesus that has no competitors) that is in Christ (II Corinthians 11:3). Christ Himself commanded in Matthew 5:48...that word again was "commanded"...that we be perfect (wholeheartedly devoted) even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect (wholeheartedly devoted)!
Weaknesses and yet-to-be-refined flaws all included, GOD WANTS US TO BE REAL WITH HIM AND REALLY HIS...or simply said...sincerely perfect!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
WHAT SHALL WE SAY...IF GOD BE FOR US
Romans 8:31 - "What shall we then say to these things?"
There are things that need something to be said to them.
1) Certainly, things that oppose the progress of God's will need speaking to.
Zechariah 4:7 - "Who art thou, oh great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain"
Jude 1:9 - "Yet Michael...when contending with the devil...said 'The Lord rebuke thee'"
2) And things that have yet to take their place in God's will need speaking to.
I Kings 13:1,2 - "And, behold, there came a man of God...and he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said 'O altar...men's bones shall be burnt upon thee'"
Matthew 21:21 - "...if ye shall say unto this mountain 'Be thou removed'...it shall be done"
But here in Romans 8:31, it is the work of God that we are to speak to...or actually speak from!
vs. 14 - "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God"
vs. 15 - "...ye have received the Spirit of adoption"
vs. 16 - "The Spirit itself beareth witness..."
vs. 26 - "The Spirit itself maketh intercession..."
vss. 27-30 - "...he that searcheth the hearts...did foreknow...did predestinate...called...justified...glorified."
How shall we react to these things...what shall we say because of these things that God has done and is doing for us?
"WHO CAN BE AGAINST US"...that is what we shall say!
There are things that need something to be said to them.
1) Certainly, things that oppose the progress of God's will need speaking to.
Zechariah 4:7 - "Who art thou, oh great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain"
Jude 1:9 - "Yet Michael...when contending with the devil...said 'The Lord rebuke thee'"
2) And things that have yet to take their place in God's will need speaking to.
I Kings 13:1,2 - "And, behold, there came a man of God...and he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said 'O altar...men's bones shall be burnt upon thee'"
Matthew 21:21 - "...if ye shall say unto this mountain 'Be thou removed'...it shall be done"
But here in Romans 8:31, it is the work of God that we are to speak to...or actually speak from!
vs. 14 - "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God"
vs. 15 - "...ye have received the Spirit of adoption"
vs. 16 - "The Spirit itself beareth witness..."
vs. 26 - "The Spirit itself maketh intercession..."
vss. 27-30 - "...he that searcheth the hearts...did foreknow...did predestinate...called...justified...glorified."
How shall we react to these things...what shall we say because of these things that God has done and is doing for us?
"WHO CAN BE AGAINST US"...that is what we shall say!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
COMING AND GOING
I Corinthians 14:26 - How is it then, brethren? When you come together...
Philippians 2:24 - But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly...
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace...
Whether it is saints with saints, saints with ministers or saints with their God, the word "coming" seems primarily to be associated in the New Testament with saints. We are (and should be) always coming together with one another!
Contrast now the word used between saints and sinners:
Matthew 28:19 - GO ye therefore and teach all nations...
Mark 16:15 - GO ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel...
Luke 14:23 - GO out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in...
There are many saints that are severely handicapped in their spiritual health, not because of poor preaching but because of no fellowship - they will not COME together with God or other saints.
There are even more whose handicap is even more severe...because they ONLY COME together with saints and they NEVER GO to sinners!
Our Christian DNA is divinely designed with both a "COME YE" and a "GO YE". These to concepts are innate in every born-again person - they come up naturally and spontaneously from the regenerated heart without outside suggestion or manipulation. It is totally inherent and instinctive for believers to seek out both saints and sinners, one for communion and the other for conversion.
How is your spiritual health today? Have you been avoiding, neglecting or just outright resisting your DNA as a child of God? You'll feel alot better if you will just come out of your cave of solitude, plead the Blood of Jesus Christ for victory over the fear of being hurt, and seek out fellowship with believers and friendship with sinners (for the opportunity to testify)!
When the Lord returns or calls us home, may He always find us COMING AND GOING!
Philippians 2:24 - But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly...
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace...
Whether it is saints with saints, saints with ministers or saints with their God, the word "coming" seems primarily to be associated in the New Testament with saints. We are (and should be) always coming together with one another!
Contrast now the word used between saints and sinners:
Matthew 28:19 - GO ye therefore and teach all nations...
Mark 16:15 - GO ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel...
Luke 14:23 - GO out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in...
There are many saints that are severely handicapped in their spiritual health, not because of poor preaching but because of no fellowship - they will not COME together with God or other saints.
There are even more whose handicap is even more severe...because they ONLY COME together with saints and they NEVER GO to sinners!
Our Christian DNA is divinely designed with both a "COME YE" and a "GO YE". These to concepts are innate in every born-again person - they come up naturally and spontaneously from the regenerated heart without outside suggestion or manipulation. It is totally inherent and instinctive for believers to seek out both saints and sinners, one for communion and the other for conversion.
How is your spiritual health today? Have you been avoiding, neglecting or just outright resisting your DNA as a child of God? You'll feel alot better if you will just come out of your cave of solitude, plead the Blood of Jesus Christ for victory over the fear of being hurt, and seek out fellowship with believers and friendship with sinners (for the opportunity to testify)!
When the Lord returns or calls us home, may He always find us COMING AND GOING!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
TOO MUCH FOR GOD
Judges 7:2
"And the Lord said unto Gideon 'The people that are with thee are TOO MANY for Me to give the Midianites into their hands..."
What a predicament...to have too much for God to work! Most would blame not having enough for their not working; but God here blames having TOO MUCH for His not working! And that is exactly where Gideon found himself. From living in a cave to leading as a captain, Gideon had done everything right in preparation for this national deliverance God was about to work through him.
1) He had become officially right with God - 6:17-23
2) He had, in his new rightstanding, brought down his family's idol - 6:25-32
3) He had received and responded to the Holy Ghost (in an Old testament way) - 6:34
4) He had affirmed through two divine signs that this calling was truly of God - 6:36-40
But there was another event that took place between #3 and #4 that was not of Gideon's doing: people from all over Israel began to rally to his side. As Gideon had responded to the Holy Ghost by blowing a trumpet, the people responded to the trumpet and began to naturally amass an army. Now what could be wrong with that? Not a thing...except that what began by the Spirit was now being finished in the flesh!
In our zeal for the Lord, our imagination (of course under the more spiritually sounding tag of an "open vision" or the "discerning of spirits") often takes over from the Holy Ghost that which He has started; and we usually end up adding way more to the "mix" than God originally intended. We mean well! We really only wanted to help! Like Namaan, we just thought it ought to happen this way or that (II Kings 5:11).
Nevertheless, God said to Gideon "You've got too much for Me to work"!
I wonder if He might be saying that to the American Church?! I wonder if through the years of abundant "revelation", proseprity and freedom, we believers in this country have accumulated way too many "accessories" for the worship and work of the Lord?!
If we have, then before the "revival" move, we can like Gideon expect a "downsizing" move, where God whittles away at the excess add-ons of our ministries and lives until we are left with only that which He originally called us and graced us to walk with and in!
Let this word from the life of Gideon be like a spotlight on our multiple "irons in the fire" for God; and let it be a great release from the stress of trying to maintain more than we were meant to carry out! And let it finally be a great big "governor" on our zealous engines; so that we never again outrun and overshoot God in His working out of His will in our lives and thus have to carry the burden of "TOO MUCH" in our own strength.
II Kings 10:16
"And he (Jehu) said 'Come with me, and see MY zeal for the Lord..."
Our zeal usually embellishes (sprucing up the truth with extras that are "not so true") God's instructions and words. Yet, only HIS zeal (Isaiah 9:7) can perform His own will!
He started this thing - let Him finish it!
"And the Lord said unto Gideon 'The people that are with thee are TOO MANY for Me to give the Midianites into their hands..."
What a predicament...to have too much for God to work! Most would blame not having enough for their not working; but God here blames having TOO MUCH for His not working! And that is exactly where Gideon found himself. From living in a cave to leading as a captain, Gideon had done everything right in preparation for this national deliverance God was about to work through him.
1) He had become officially right with God - 6:17-23
2) He had, in his new rightstanding, brought down his family's idol - 6:25-32
3) He had received and responded to the Holy Ghost (in an Old testament way) - 6:34
4) He had affirmed through two divine signs that this calling was truly of God - 6:36-40
But there was another event that took place between #3 and #4 that was not of Gideon's doing: people from all over Israel began to rally to his side. As Gideon had responded to the Holy Ghost by blowing a trumpet, the people responded to the trumpet and began to naturally amass an army. Now what could be wrong with that? Not a thing...except that what began by the Spirit was now being finished in the flesh!
In our zeal for the Lord, our imagination (of course under the more spiritually sounding tag of an "open vision" or the "discerning of spirits") often takes over from the Holy Ghost that which He has started; and we usually end up adding way more to the "mix" than God originally intended. We mean well! We really only wanted to help! Like Namaan, we just thought it ought to happen this way or that (II Kings 5:11).
Nevertheless, God said to Gideon "You've got too much for Me to work"!
I wonder if He might be saying that to the American Church?! I wonder if through the years of abundant "revelation", proseprity and freedom, we believers in this country have accumulated way too many "accessories" for the worship and work of the Lord?!
If we have, then before the "revival" move, we can like Gideon expect a "downsizing" move, where God whittles away at the excess add-ons of our ministries and lives until we are left with only that which He originally called us and graced us to walk with and in!
Let this word from the life of Gideon be like a spotlight on our multiple "irons in the fire" for God; and let it be a great release from the stress of trying to maintain more than we were meant to carry out! And let it finally be a great big "governor" on our zealous engines; so that we never again outrun and overshoot God in His working out of His will in our lives and thus have to carry the burden of "TOO MUCH" in our own strength.
II Kings 10:16
"And he (Jehu) said 'Come with me, and see MY zeal for the Lord..."
Our zeal usually embellishes (sprucing up the truth with extras that are "not so true") God's instructions and words. Yet, only HIS zeal (Isaiah 9:7) can perform His own will!
He started this thing - let Him finish it!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
WALK WORTHY
Ephesians 4:1 - "...walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called"
Colossians 1:10 - "...walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing"
I Thessalonians 2:12 - "...walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory"
In all of the above passages of Scripture, we are told to WALK WORTHY...of our calling, of our Lord and of our God...that is a pretty tall order! Jesus Himself set "being worthy" as a priority of following Him: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me...he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37,38).
To begin with, to be worthy actually means to be weighty, to have substance...the more one has, the more one is worth. Therefore, to walk worthy of something or someone that has worth means to live in accordance with their worth, in agreement with and reflective of their worth.
So what is Jesus worth? If we put Jesus Christ in an old fashioned balancing scale, what would we have to put on the other side to bring up the scales to a balanced position? Walking worthy of the Lord means we are to bring up our side of the scales in accordance with His worth. What is He worth?
Obviously, to those of us who have been saved by Him, no list could be long enough to include everything which makes Him worthy; but we can begin with possibly the greatest ingredient of His worth. At least, it is this feature of Him that moves the saints in heaven to throw down their crowns and prostrate themselves before Him, singing "Worthy, worthy, worthy..." (Revelation 5:9).
In Revelation 5, we are allowed to go up with the Apostle John into heaven, where we find him weeping over a book of truth, full of the mind of God; and yet no one can be found who is worthy to break the seven seals that keep this "fountain" of the will of God closed. But he was soon comforted by one of the elders there, who told him that One had finally come forward who was worthy to open the book.
I find it interesting how things work in heaven. Everything is done with purpose and meaning, nothing done "just for the heck of it". And whoever does something in heaven must be worthy to do it because everything in heaven is worth something and thus requires corresponding worth. Even to the opening of this book, not just anyone could loose those seals and reveal its contents...only One worthy!
So John is told that the Lion of Judah, the Root of David "hath prevailed to open the book" (verse 5). Notice that someone had to "prevail" to gain the worth necessary for this task - someone had to succeed or win or prove themselves superior in some other deed in order to be worthy for this deed. And it was the Lion of Judah that prevailed!
Well, John was comforted that the book would be opened...that there would not be some part of God's will that would remain hidden. So he lifted his eyes to see the Lion that was worthy to open the book; but to his surprise, he saw, not a lion, but a Lamb! The elder said that the Lion had prevailed - but John's eyes saw a Lamb...and a most unusual Lamb!
This Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which we are told are the seven Spirits of God. Now obviously, we know that John is seeing Jesus Christ in symbolic picture-form, a common pracitce of God when desiring to reveal deep facets of His Son. John is seeing Jesus Christ, full of the Holy Ghost (seven meaning "fulness"). The eyes, in Biblical symbolism, refer to wisdom, discernment or spiritual perception; while the horns point to power, outright force and ability. Jesus had the fulness of the Holy Ghost in infinite wisdom and infinite power!
But He had that full capacity as the Lamb...and more especially as the Lamb that had been slain. What a paradox - what a seemingly contradictory situation - all that power in a meek and gentle Lamb...that was slain! And the scene of Him as a Lamb, taking the book, compelled all watching to fall down and sing "Thou art worthy" (verse 9)! And they even declare in the song why they ascribe worthiness to Him - because HE HAD BEEN SLAIN, which in turn redeemed all of those singing. That was the previous deed that he had prevailed in which qualified Him for this present deed of opening up the will of God in the book to be loosed in the world!
What is that then which makes up the worth of Jesus Christ? It is the weight of the grace and truth that he was full of (John 1:14), which was His by the fulness of the Holy Ghost, which He had because He loved not His own life...even unto death and to the fulfilling of the love of God. How shall we walk worthy of that?
John 14:17 - "Even the Spirit of truth...ye know Him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
Acts 1:8 - "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses (martyrs = one who testifies with his or her life what he or she believes) unto me..."
Hebrews 9:14 - "...who through the etrnal Spirit offered himself..."
The worth of our walk is based on the Spirit and His grace that we have received and the yieldedness we give to that Spirit. And the primary work of that Spirit is to "offer" us, similar to the "offering" of the Lord that Spirit brought Him to. That is real wisdom...that is real power!
I Corinthians 1:23,24 - "But we preach Christ crucified...the power of God and the wisdom of God."
LIVE CRUCIFIED and WALK WORTHY!
Colossians 1:10 - "...walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing"
I Thessalonians 2:12 - "...walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory"
In all of the above passages of Scripture, we are told to WALK WORTHY...of our calling, of our Lord and of our God...that is a pretty tall order! Jesus Himself set "being worthy" as a priority of following Him: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me...he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37,38).
To begin with, to be worthy actually means to be weighty, to have substance...the more one has, the more one is worth. Therefore, to walk worthy of something or someone that has worth means to live in accordance with their worth, in agreement with and reflective of their worth.
So what is Jesus worth? If we put Jesus Christ in an old fashioned balancing scale, what would we have to put on the other side to bring up the scales to a balanced position? Walking worthy of the Lord means we are to bring up our side of the scales in accordance with His worth. What is He worth?
Obviously, to those of us who have been saved by Him, no list could be long enough to include everything which makes Him worthy; but we can begin with possibly the greatest ingredient of His worth. At least, it is this feature of Him that moves the saints in heaven to throw down their crowns and prostrate themselves before Him, singing "Worthy, worthy, worthy..." (Revelation 5:9).
In Revelation 5, we are allowed to go up with the Apostle John into heaven, where we find him weeping over a book of truth, full of the mind of God; and yet no one can be found who is worthy to break the seven seals that keep this "fountain" of the will of God closed. But he was soon comforted by one of the elders there, who told him that One had finally come forward who was worthy to open the book.
I find it interesting how things work in heaven. Everything is done with purpose and meaning, nothing done "just for the heck of it". And whoever does something in heaven must be worthy to do it because everything in heaven is worth something and thus requires corresponding worth. Even to the opening of this book, not just anyone could loose those seals and reveal its contents...only One worthy!
So John is told that the Lion of Judah, the Root of David "hath prevailed to open the book" (verse 5). Notice that someone had to "prevail" to gain the worth necessary for this task - someone had to succeed or win or prove themselves superior in some other deed in order to be worthy for this deed. And it was the Lion of Judah that prevailed!
Well, John was comforted that the book would be opened...that there would not be some part of God's will that would remain hidden. So he lifted his eyes to see the Lion that was worthy to open the book; but to his surprise, he saw, not a lion, but a Lamb! The elder said that the Lion had prevailed - but John's eyes saw a Lamb...and a most unusual Lamb!
This Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which we are told are the seven Spirits of God. Now obviously, we know that John is seeing Jesus Christ in symbolic picture-form, a common pracitce of God when desiring to reveal deep facets of His Son. John is seeing Jesus Christ, full of the Holy Ghost (seven meaning "fulness"). The eyes, in Biblical symbolism, refer to wisdom, discernment or spiritual perception; while the horns point to power, outright force and ability. Jesus had the fulness of the Holy Ghost in infinite wisdom and infinite power!
But He had that full capacity as the Lamb...and more especially as the Lamb that had been slain. What a paradox - what a seemingly contradictory situation - all that power in a meek and gentle Lamb...that was slain! And the scene of Him as a Lamb, taking the book, compelled all watching to fall down and sing "Thou art worthy" (verse 9)! And they even declare in the song why they ascribe worthiness to Him - because HE HAD BEEN SLAIN, which in turn redeemed all of those singing. That was the previous deed that he had prevailed in which qualified Him for this present deed of opening up the will of God in the book to be loosed in the world!
What is that then which makes up the worth of Jesus Christ? It is the weight of the grace and truth that he was full of (John 1:14), which was His by the fulness of the Holy Ghost, which He had because He loved not His own life...even unto death and to the fulfilling of the love of God. How shall we walk worthy of that?
John 14:17 - "Even the Spirit of truth...ye know Him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
Acts 1:8 - "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses (martyrs = one who testifies with his or her life what he or she believes) unto me..."
Hebrews 9:14 - "...who through the etrnal Spirit offered himself..."
The worth of our walk is based on the Spirit and His grace that we have received and the yieldedness we give to that Spirit. And the primary work of that Spirit is to "offer" us, similar to the "offering" of the Lord that Spirit brought Him to. That is real wisdom...that is real power!
I Corinthians 1:23,24 - "But we preach Christ crucified...the power of God and the wisdom of God."
LIVE CRUCIFIED and WALK WORTHY!
Monday, April 5, 2010
LOOK!
Matthew 14:14 - "Jesus...saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick"
Luke 7:13,14 - "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her...and he said...'Arise'"
John 4:35 - "Look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."
If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times - "Where's the power of God today". Believers all over the country are flocking to seminars and conferences on how to retrieve the old-time power back in our churches and ministries. Dozens of formulas have been presented that explain the loss of power as a lack of faith, a lack of prayer or maybe a lack of praise and worship. Then, upon getting these areas back on track, healing and delivering power are guaranteed to come back into your hands when you touch the sick.
However, according to the above Scriptures, the reason for the absence of power is not just a lack of faith or a lack of prayer but a LACK OF CARE! It was compassion that proceeded the above mentioned miracles - enough compassion, in fact, to MOVE the Lord! THE POWER IN HIS HANDS STARTED WITH THE BREAKING OF HIS HEART! I'm not so sure if many would come to a seminar for power today if they knew that they would have to "hurt" before they could "help"!
Sometimes, we have to use several extension cords to connect a power source to a power need. In these two accounts in Matthew and Luke, there were TWO cords from the One who had the power to the one who had the need...and this second cord of heart-moving compassion for many today in our fast-paced culture has come unplugged! We don't really mind praying for the sick - we just don't want to get so involved!
And the first cord before compassion is simply "LOOK"! I think that cord has not only been unplugged but wrapped up and hidden somewhere! Oh how quickly we change the TV channel when the hungry-children commercials come on! We dare not tarry and LOOK at someone troubled in a hospital waiting room, lest we become moved and get involved! But Jesus LOOKED! He opened His eyes and His heart to the full intensity of the need in front of Him.
In John's Gospel, Jesus tells us to look at something else...the harvest. He was actually talking about the Samaritan woman and her neighbors that were about to experience salvation (in an Old Covenant way), and He was calling them a "harvest". He looked beyond their ethnicity and viewed them spiritually, as God sees them - the harvest! We are to stop overlooking people (ignoring them as though we didn't know they were there) and we are certainly to stop "underlooking" people or looking at them as something less than they are.
Exodus 2:11 - "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and LOOKED on their burdens..."
Yes, Moses was willing to look and willing to get involved...but only with his own view and his own feelings. His well-intentioned efforts ended up in murder and him running for his life. God then had to hide him away for 40 years in order to show him the bigger picture - how GOD saw things, how GOD felt about them and what GOD intended to do. God saw more than just one Hebrew being abused. He saw a nation that needed to answer their calling, as well as other nations (Egypt and the nations of Canaan) that needed to answer for their idolatry. Moses' passion was not deep enough or wide enough to cover these other parts of the whole. With God, it is always bigger than just the immediate need in the particular individual in front of us! As Moses took on God's will in his fresh "look" at the situation (Exodus 3), then and only then was Moses ready to have divine power!
So where's the power? Its all in the look!
Luke 7:13,14 - "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her...and he said...'Arise'"
John 4:35 - "Look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."
If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times - "Where's the power of God today". Believers all over the country are flocking to seminars and conferences on how to retrieve the old-time power back in our churches and ministries. Dozens of formulas have been presented that explain the loss of power as a lack of faith, a lack of prayer or maybe a lack of praise and worship. Then, upon getting these areas back on track, healing and delivering power are guaranteed to come back into your hands when you touch the sick.
However, according to the above Scriptures, the reason for the absence of power is not just a lack of faith or a lack of prayer but a LACK OF CARE! It was compassion that proceeded the above mentioned miracles - enough compassion, in fact, to MOVE the Lord! THE POWER IN HIS HANDS STARTED WITH THE BREAKING OF HIS HEART! I'm not so sure if many would come to a seminar for power today if they knew that they would have to "hurt" before they could "help"!
Sometimes, we have to use several extension cords to connect a power source to a power need. In these two accounts in Matthew and Luke, there were TWO cords from the One who had the power to the one who had the need...and this second cord of heart-moving compassion for many today in our fast-paced culture has come unplugged! We don't really mind praying for the sick - we just don't want to get so involved!
And the first cord before compassion is simply "LOOK"! I think that cord has not only been unplugged but wrapped up and hidden somewhere! Oh how quickly we change the TV channel when the hungry-children commercials come on! We dare not tarry and LOOK at someone troubled in a hospital waiting room, lest we become moved and get involved! But Jesus LOOKED! He opened His eyes and His heart to the full intensity of the need in front of Him.
In John's Gospel, Jesus tells us to look at something else...the harvest. He was actually talking about the Samaritan woman and her neighbors that were about to experience salvation (in an Old Covenant way), and He was calling them a "harvest". He looked beyond their ethnicity and viewed them spiritually, as God sees them - the harvest! We are to stop overlooking people (ignoring them as though we didn't know they were there) and we are certainly to stop "underlooking" people or looking at them as something less than they are.
Exodus 2:11 - "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and LOOKED on their burdens..."
Yes, Moses was willing to look and willing to get involved...but only with his own view and his own feelings. His well-intentioned efforts ended up in murder and him running for his life. God then had to hide him away for 40 years in order to show him the bigger picture - how GOD saw things, how GOD felt about them and what GOD intended to do. God saw more than just one Hebrew being abused. He saw a nation that needed to answer their calling, as well as other nations (Egypt and the nations of Canaan) that needed to answer for their idolatry. Moses' passion was not deep enough or wide enough to cover these other parts of the whole. With God, it is always bigger than just the immediate need in the particular individual in front of us! As Moses took on God's will in his fresh "look" at the situation (Exodus 3), then and only then was Moses ready to have divine power!
So where's the power? Its all in the look!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Don't Chop on God's Altar
Exodus 20:25 - "And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."
DON'T CHOP ON GOD'S ALTAR
An altar is a facility for worship. It is not the actual worship; but it is that which assists the progress of worship. We must have altars...but God says "Don't chop on 'em"!
When you find a stone for the building of the altar, don't try to reshape it or refine it. Take it like it is - simple and spontaneous. Even if its shape will make the altar look non-uniform or lop-sided, nevertheless leave it like you found it. If YOU try to make it different, even with good intentions, you have polluted it - and polluted altars make polluted worship!
Now the building of an altar does take SOME human organization - the stones will not just pile up together by themselves. You do have to make a song list and practice, for example. But we can go TOO FAR in how we try to enhance worship. And we've gone TOO FAR when a person can't even worship from their heart in the spirit because they have to mentally concentrate on all the enhancements!
The key ingredients of true worship are the sacrifice, the fire and the altar for the sacrifice. And along with order (I Kings 18:30), the altar must have simplicity. It must be simple enough for the heart (more than the head) to pour itself out freely and spontaneously in thanksgiving and adoration without the fear of being ticketed by the "rhythm police" or having one's eye poked out by one of the "accessories" of our enhanced worship machine!
The unenhanced stones of real worship may not win us an award for being "up with the times" or recognition on MTV for being "hip"; but they will certainly attract divine fire for the melodies that finally have the freedom to flow and for the ease with which the worshiper can focus on the sacrifice!
Organize...yes! But don't chop on the stones of God's altar! Let them be simple and spontaneous and uninhibited before their God. Talented or not, they will hold up the Lamb for a sweet fragrance to God! Hallelujah, that's worship!
DON'T CHOP ON GOD'S ALTAR
An altar is a facility for worship. It is not the actual worship; but it is that which assists the progress of worship. We must have altars...but God says "Don't chop on 'em"!
When you find a stone for the building of the altar, don't try to reshape it or refine it. Take it like it is - simple and spontaneous. Even if its shape will make the altar look non-uniform or lop-sided, nevertheless leave it like you found it. If YOU try to make it different, even with good intentions, you have polluted it - and polluted altars make polluted worship!
Now the building of an altar does take SOME human organization - the stones will not just pile up together by themselves. You do have to make a song list and practice, for example. But we can go TOO FAR in how we try to enhance worship. And we've gone TOO FAR when a person can't even worship from their heart in the spirit because they have to mentally concentrate on all the enhancements!
The key ingredients of true worship are the sacrifice, the fire and the altar for the sacrifice. And along with order (I Kings 18:30), the altar must have simplicity. It must be simple enough for the heart (more than the head) to pour itself out freely and spontaneously in thanksgiving and adoration without the fear of being ticketed by the "rhythm police" or having one's eye poked out by one of the "accessories" of our enhanced worship machine!
The unenhanced stones of real worship may not win us an award for being "up with the times" or recognition on MTV for being "hip"; but they will certainly attract divine fire for the melodies that finally have the freedom to flow and for the ease with which the worshiper can focus on the sacrifice!
Organize...yes! But don't chop on the stones of God's altar! Let them be simple and spontaneous and uninhibited before their God. Talented or not, they will hold up the Lamb for a sweet fragrance to God! Hallelujah, that's worship!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Two opinions: I WILL and I AM
In I Kings 18, Elijah asked the wavering Israelites "How long halt ye between two opinions". There are in this world basically only two opinions. Throughout the Bible, one can see as well that there have only been two systems of worship (the worship of God and the worship of devils), two groups of people (covenant or non-covenant people) and two wills (God's and Satan's). So once again, even though there are many different thoughts and theories, feelings and fancies, all of those will come under one of two all-inclusive opinions that can be summed up in the phrases "I WILL" and "I AM".
The angel Lucifer said in Isaiah 14:13,14 "I WILL" five different times, each time setting his will was against the Lord's will. It represents the inclination to have or to be something independent of the plan and provision of God. However, in Exodus 3:14, God introduces Himself to Moses three times as "I AM". Satan and the nature of Satan says defiantly "I WILL"; but God simply says "I AM"!
The original issue in I Kings 18 was not about the outright taking of one of these two opinions: it was rather about the people of God "halting" between these two opinions...wanting "I WILL" and "I AM" at the same time. But oil and water do not mix...and "I WILL" and "I AM" will not mix either! Just listen to the strength in both opinions: "I WILL" with the strength of self-confidence and self-reliance and then "I AM" with the power of eternity (Psalm 90:2 "From everlasting to everlasting THOU ART God")! Satan and his children have to "will" to become anything - but God just IS! The first Adam had to struggle and toil for life; but the Last Adam simply said "I AM life" (John 14:6)!
Let us all consider that life truly is a yoke (Matthew 11:29,30); and that there is no such thing as purely independent life - we are either yoked up with God or with the devil! And the easy one is God's yoke, where we do not have to try so hard to "will" Christ-likeness but we can rather simply BE Christ-like by yielding to the Spirit of Christ within - JUST WALK IN THE SPIRIT!
NO MORE HALTING, FELLOW BELIEVER! Abandon "I WILL" and rest in "I AM"!
The angel Lucifer said in Isaiah 14:13,14 "I WILL" five different times, each time setting his will was against the Lord's will. It represents the inclination to have or to be something independent of the plan and provision of God. However, in Exodus 3:14, God introduces Himself to Moses three times as "I AM". Satan and the nature of Satan says defiantly "I WILL"; but God simply says "I AM"!
The original issue in I Kings 18 was not about the outright taking of one of these two opinions: it was rather about the people of God "halting" between these two opinions...wanting "I WILL" and "I AM" at the same time. But oil and water do not mix...and "I WILL" and "I AM" will not mix either! Just listen to the strength in both opinions: "I WILL" with the strength of self-confidence and self-reliance and then "I AM" with the power of eternity (Psalm 90:2 "From everlasting to everlasting THOU ART God")! Satan and his children have to "will" to become anything - but God just IS! The first Adam had to struggle and toil for life; but the Last Adam simply said "I AM life" (John 14:6)!
Let us all consider that life truly is a yoke (Matthew 11:29,30); and that there is no such thing as purely independent life - we are either yoked up with God or with the devil! And the easy one is God's yoke, where we do not have to try so hard to "will" Christ-likeness but we can rather simply BE Christ-like by yielding to the Spirit of Christ within - JUST WALK IN THE SPIRIT!
NO MORE HALTING, FELLOW BELIEVER! Abandon "I WILL" and rest in "I AM"!
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Visions of God
In Ezekiel 40, we read of the hand of the Lord taking the prophet Ezekiel from the land of Babylon to the land of Israel in the visions of God. That phrase intrigues me...in the visions of God! There was the land of Israel, to be seen by any and all in the same way as any and all might see it, with its hills and valleys, its cities and towns. Yet, Ezekiel saw it in the visions of God! He saw the land beyond the spectrum of light available to the naked eye...much like the devices used today to see infra-red light.
Infra-red light emanates from us all like a heat wave; and when looking through a special device, it looks like red light or heat radiaitng off of the object being viewed. That light is always there; but it can only be seen with assistance.
In the visions of God, Ezekiel was "assisted" by the Holy Ghost (the "hand of God") to see people and places in a fuller spectrum of light, like God sees them all of the time. He was able to see not only their outward visible features but also their genuine heart condition, regardless of what seemd to be. He could see their potential, whether good or bad; and he could even see the heavenly beings sent to comfort or condemn them. All of this was always there to be seen; but only the assisted eye, only by the anointing of the Spirit, could one see in the visions of God these other (infra-red, if you will) qualities.
If ever we needed a scriptiral truth to be real to us today, it is this one. For we sorely need to view our times in a fuller spectrum of light - we desparately need to see all things and all people in the visions of God! Otherwise, we may miss the hidden potential of some and simply "throw them away" out of our minds and our care. We might also be deceived by the glowing charity of others and yet overlook their absolute hardness and rebellion to God. We might get frightened by the looming storms of our day or we might get discouraged with the manifold wickedness of our world and lose sight of the mission of the Lord!
Yet one glimpse in the visions of God, and Paul began to sing in his prison cell!
Philippians 1:19 - "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation..."
One glimpse of the REAL potential of the situation (getting to the other side to deliver a man from a legion of devils), and Jesus went to sleep on a "pillow of faith" on a ship that was sinking in despair (Mark 4:35-5:20)!
In the visions of God, one can clearly see that "all things work together" because we are in our Father's training ("chastening" - Hebrews 12) program. Whatever comes along, though not necessarily caused by God, will be coordinated by Father God into our conformity to the image of the Son (Romans 8:28,29)!
On and on the list could go from the Bible of people that were "assisted" in their vision to see life in the visions of God. Let us lift up our eyes, as Abraham (Genesis 13:14), and look around us in the visions of God! Let us see Lot accurately as one, though family, that needs to move on! And let us see the true potential of what has been left to us when someone else has already taken the best for themselves! Let us turneth off the TV and turneth on the visions of God to see the Cross and the Empty Tomb in all things and all things in Christ!
Infra-red light emanates from us all like a heat wave; and when looking through a special device, it looks like red light or heat radiaitng off of the object being viewed. That light is always there; but it can only be seen with assistance.
In the visions of God, Ezekiel was "assisted" by the Holy Ghost (the "hand of God") to see people and places in a fuller spectrum of light, like God sees them all of the time. He was able to see not only their outward visible features but also their genuine heart condition, regardless of what seemd to be. He could see their potential, whether good or bad; and he could even see the heavenly beings sent to comfort or condemn them. All of this was always there to be seen; but only the assisted eye, only by the anointing of the Spirit, could one see in the visions of God these other (infra-red, if you will) qualities.
If ever we needed a scriptiral truth to be real to us today, it is this one. For we sorely need to view our times in a fuller spectrum of light - we desparately need to see all things and all people in the visions of God! Otherwise, we may miss the hidden potential of some and simply "throw them away" out of our minds and our care. We might also be deceived by the glowing charity of others and yet overlook their absolute hardness and rebellion to God. We might get frightened by the looming storms of our day or we might get discouraged with the manifold wickedness of our world and lose sight of the mission of the Lord!
Yet one glimpse in the visions of God, and Paul began to sing in his prison cell!
Philippians 1:19 - "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation..."
One glimpse of the REAL potential of the situation (getting to the other side to deliver a man from a legion of devils), and Jesus went to sleep on a "pillow of faith" on a ship that was sinking in despair (Mark 4:35-5:20)!
In the visions of God, one can clearly see that "all things work together" because we are in our Father's training ("chastening" - Hebrews 12) program. Whatever comes along, though not necessarily caused by God, will be coordinated by Father God into our conformity to the image of the Son (Romans 8:28,29)!
On and on the list could go from the Bible of people that were "assisted" in their vision to see life in the visions of God. Let us lift up our eyes, as Abraham (Genesis 13:14), and look around us in the visions of God! Let us see Lot accurately as one, though family, that needs to move on! And let us see the true potential of what has been left to us when someone else has already taken the best for themselves! Let us turneth off the TV and turneth on the visions of God to see the Cross and the Empty Tomb in all things and all things in Christ!
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