A High Wall of Safety

On Monday mornings my hubster goes to a men's breakfast very early, and because I usually can't go back to sleep I roll over and turn on the TV for a few minutes, to catch the morning news.  This morning, the headline took a few seconds to register on my sleepy brain.  50+ dead, over 200 wounded in Las Vegas?  What?  As the events have unfolded this morning, I am profoundly sad.  In fact, I'm brushing away tears as I type. 

Here in the blog, we've been looking at the topic of wealth and work.  Below are the verses I had planned to blog about this morning.  (I had actually started a draft of this post yesterday.)

The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense;

they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

Proverbs 18:11 (NLT)

How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
    in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 36:7 (NLT)

My college friend, who formerly lived in a remote part of British Columbia, last month moved to Edmonton, Alberta.  Almost as soon as she arrived there, two separate terror attacks occurred.  She must wonder what she has gotten herself into.

I've been contemplating a major trip next summer, to commemorate a big anniversary.  Another friend has warned me that part of the world is not safe.  I texted her a bit ago to say it is looking a whole lot safer than Vegas at the moment.

The hard truth is that we live in a broken, sin-sick world that needs a whole lot of Jesus.

And, no physical place on earth is truly "safe" from all harm, accident, illness.

The first verse above describes the false safety that wealth provides.  But, wealthy people still die in accidents.  They still get serious illnesses.  They may even lose their wealth and become impoverished.  Wealth is not a "high wall of safety".

As Christians, what should be our attitude toward "safety"?  

1.  Our eternal future is secure.

No matter what we stumble into, or crash into, or sorrow that enters our lives, we know that after this earthly life, we will be in Heaven with our Savior.  So, no matter the hideous, horrific events along the earthly path, the heavenly destination is gloriously beautiful.  What a precious gift and promise!

2.  Nothing in this life can touch us unless the Lord Himself allows it.

The story of Job is so helpful here.  Job was a man who was well-known to Satan, the archenemy of God's people and, indeed, of all mankind.  He was well-known because of his righteous devotion to God.  We might say that he was "the best man on earth" in his day.

Still.....

God allowed Satan to physically, emotionally, and financially devastate him.  It appears the only thing left to Job were some people/relationships, and Satan used those to bedevil him too!

Job, through his unspeakable losses, grew in his faith.  He came to realize these four truths we are embracing this morning.

3.  His ways are not our ways.

God uses all things to bring glory to Himself, and this is a manifestation of both His perfect goodness and His perfect holiness.  

Because of this, we often cannot understand why He allows what He does.  Often, when we cry out an anguished "WHY?!", we get no definitive answer.  He is not required to explain Himself to us and, it is entirely possible we would not be able to understand/comprehend an explanation, were He to provide one.

Keep in mind that, when Job questioned the Lord, He did not give a specific answer.  Instead, the Lord God asked Job a series of questions designed to remind Job of the huge chasm between us humans and our infinite, incomprehensible God.

4.  His love is unwavering, and we can trust in that.

There, then, is our "safety net", our "high wall of safety".

It helps me to realize in horrible times that the love of my Savior, who cloaked His very position in the Godhead for my sake, who died a most horrific death in His earthly body for my sake - - that His love never leaves me.  That His Spirit, Who lives inside me, never forsakes me.  Ever.  His Spirit is "the shadow of His wings".

Of course, the unredeemed world-at-large thinks we are kooks for believing such "nonsense", as they continue to put their trust in different things, different idols.  But, as for me, I am content to trust in the Lord my God, and to believe with all my soul the truth of His Word.

For me, He, in all His majesty, is more than enough.

Let's meditate on His love this morning.  Here are some verses to help us do that.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)

But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy and truth.

Psalm 86:15 (KJ2000)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 (ESV)

2Through him we have also obtained access by faith^b into this grace in which we stand, and we^c rejoice^d in hope of the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:2-5 (ESV)

For sure.  

Holy God, we humbly ask that You pour Your love out abundantly on those shattered by the Las Vegas terror attack.  Please lavish healing and comfort and eventually bring peace to wounded bodies and spirits.  The only answer to such horror is You.  Please give us more of You, dear Jesus.  In the Name that is above every other Name we pray, amen.

The Most Holy Place: Where Earth and Heaven Met (3)

Let them make for me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them.

Exodus 25:8 (NET)

Why all this falderal about The Tabernacle (and its more recent translation, The Temples) anyhow?

What's the big deal?  Why is Resplendent Daughter spending so much time on this topic?  Aren't we supposed to be studying Hebrews?!  Ha, ha, well, we are!  Our main text for today is Hebrews 9:11-14 (ESV).

11But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,^ethen through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify^f for the purification of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our^g conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 

I was surprised to learn1 that the Tabernacle's construction and rituals, the Levitical priesthood, and the transporting of the Tabernacle from place to place are mentioned in 50 chapters of our Bible.  So, to ignore the study of this very important Bible component would be akin to ignoring a book of the Bible the size of Ezekiel.  Additionally, it is a representation of the true Tabernacle in Heaven.  We have already seen in previous posts parallels to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  But, there is one additional reason, one that resonates the most with me; and, that is the one I want to explore today.  In today's post, we will focus on the last and most innermost area of the Tabernacle/Temple, the most "sacred ground", the area called The Holy of Holies.

First, let's examine the physical characteristics of this most holy place.2 

Its entrance was marked by a gorgeous piece of tapestry, similar to the one that marked the entrance to The Holy Place.  (If you have been following my blog, I wrote about that room in the last post.) 

The description of that tapestry can be found in Exodus 26:31-34.  The base material was the finest of linen and it was woven through with scarlet, purple and blue threads, with artistic renderings of cherubim (a specific class of angelic beings - - see Ezekiel 1, 10 and Isaiah 6).  No priest, except for the high priest, was ever allowed to touch this curtain; and, the high priest could touch it only once each year.

The room itself was 15'x15' square. There was no light in the room.  When light was needed, that is, once a year when the high priest (shoeless and with head bowed) entered on the Day of Atonement, the Shekinah Glory of God Almighty, appeared as a brilliant cloud, descended and lit the room.  The ark contained one piece of furniture only: the ark of the covenant. Now, you will be glad to know that I am not going to launch off into an extensive exploration of the ark of the covenant in this post.  But, here is a brief description.3  

The ark was constructed of acacia wood and was 45" long, and 27" high and wide.

It was overlaid with pure gold.  Around the perimeter of the ark's top was a raised "crown", ornate like a crown, and the top of the ark was overlaid with the purest gold.  This flat surface was called the mercy seat.  It was on this mercy seat that the priest would sprinkle the blood of the Passover lamb, when he entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.  When this occurred, the presence of God Himself, the Shekinah Glory, would appear and fill the room.

And now (finally), your "big takeaway":

The Holy of Holies still exists today.  

"What?!", you exclaim.  "The Tabernacle is nonexistent.  The Temples have been destroyed.  How can that be?"

One of my very favorite verses in the Bible is Luke 23:45 - - 

"The sun stopped shining (was darkened) and the veil of the Temple was torn down the middle."

The Temple veil was 60 feet long/tall and 30 feet wide, weighing thousands of pounds.  Moreover, it was (depending on your source) from 1 to 4 inches thick.   This was a massive curtain.  Luke tells us that, at the moment of Jesus' death, presumably God (who else?) split that sacred curtain (which no one was to touch except once a year, remember?) right down the middle, from top to bottom.

Why?  Why would He do that?  What does it mean?

Jesus had just poured out His life on the Cross, paralleling the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb in the Temple at that same time.  It is entirely possible that, at the moment Jesus died, the High Priest was IN the Holy of Holies sprinkling blood on the mercy seat.  The times of day (when Jesus died and when that lamb sacrifice was to occur on the Day of Atonement) match up!

When Jesus died for our sins, His blood forever paid the price.  There was no longer any need for a physical ark or mercy seat.  The "curtain" separating God from mankind was torn because Jesus Christ, our High Priest, had made an eternal sacrifice, an eternal way for mankind to come to God.

"But, ... you said the Holy of Holies still exists today?"  Yes, that Holy of Holies is in the heart of each and every believer in Jesus, every follower who has asked Him to sprinkle His blood on his heart. At the moment a person asks Jesus to come into the very core of their eternal being, into his spirit, and merge His Holy Spirit with his, that spiritual veil that separates sinful man from a holy God is torn, forever torn.  The Holy Spirit then dwells in the "heart" of every person who gives his or her life to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Hallelujah!  Let's praise Him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzewtL2spMw

Sources:

1     http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4Reasons_for_Studying_the_Taberna.htm

2     http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Holy_of_Holies.htm

3     http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Ark_of_the_Covenant.htm

To Dwell Again

I was idly listening to a couple of entertainers on talk radio this afternoon as I drove home from church.  One of them was telling (true or not...) of a lady who had been a vegetarian for most of her life. Then, one day, she decided while at a coffee house, to try a turkey sandwich.  Now, she's enjoying BBQ!  She said that after one taste of that turkey sandwich, she just can't get enough!

That's the way it is for me with the study of the Word of God.  I have been severely deprived of my Bible study these past few days, due to a home/family project of large magnitude.  As a result, I am starving!

So, here we are, on the first Sunday of Advent which, this year, also happens to be the first day of Advent!  As a Baptist, we don't celebrate Advent the way the more "high church" denominations do; and, I think that's a shame, really.  So, since I love my particular denomination, I just choose to add Advent celebration on in my personal study.  Since beginning this blog, I have used two different Advent devotionals the past two Advents.  The first was from John Piper's "Solid Joys", and the last one was from Ann Voskamp's Advent study: "The Greatest Gift".  Both added a wonderful flavor to meditations on this sacred season.

This year, here in the blog (because in my personal devos) we will be hearing from A.W. Tozer, an early-to-mid-20th century theologian.  Not a Baptist, Tozer was a pastor in a denomination called the Christian and Missionary Alliance (the C&MA).  He wrote several books, including the famous "The Pursuit of God".

Today's Advent meditation concerns God's interactions with mankind, from the time of Adam and Eve until Jesus' birth.  In the Garden of Eden Genesis 3:8 tells us God walked through the Garden. Clearly, He regularly communed with Adam and Eve there freely, in their sinless states before The Fall. After their catastrophic, cataclysmic choice to believe Satan rather than God, everything changed.  God, for thousands of years, no longer "dwelt among", that is lived among, mankind.  It was not until the birth of Jesus our Savior that God once again was for a prolonged time "with us". "And His name shall be called Immanuel, 'God with us'." (Matthew 1:23)  The gospel writers were adamant about this point.  John too, in his gospel, drove the point home:  "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us..."(John 1:14)

In the intervening years, from The Fall to The Incarnation, God appeared to men from time to time. He manifested Himself as various natural phenomena, such as a recurring, guiding cloud or a column of fire (the Shekinah Glory.)  At other times, He took on the form of man briefly (appearing to Abraham and to Moses, to Gideon, Daniel, Jacob and others).

But, when He put on flesh and revealed Himself as The Son, He came to abide with us, to dwell with us forever.  The Son has declared the Father, the Scriptures say in John 1:18.  In the Person of God the Son, Jesus makes manifest all the fullness of God the Father, whom no man has actually seen. We would be unable to bear such radiant majesty and glory.  We so lack the capacity to absorb His greatness that to actually see the Father would utterly destroy us.

"And we beheld His glory...." (John 1:14b)

When the first century folks saw Jesus with their physical eyes, they were looking at God, though very few realized it.  When we 21st century people "see" Jesus with eyes of the spirit, it is being revealed to us then all there is for us humans to know of God.  Jesus gives us as much of God the Father as we can tolerate in our humanness. And, Jesus does this miracle now through the Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.

Yes, today, when we embrace God through the Person of His Son, when we worship Him with the offering of our lives, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell with us forever.  He seals us as God's own, never more to be separated.  Physical death cannot then separate us from the love of God.  In fact, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38). Nothing has that power. The Holy Spirit marks us permanently, like with a Sharpie permanent marker.  (If you've ever tried to get Sharpie ink off a surface or out of a fabric you can appreciate the analogy!) Even stronger, greater and more final than a Sharpie is the seal of the Holy Spirit on the soul of the believer in Jesus Christ.

He dwells with us who are His, and we will dwell with Him forever.

Making Biscuits

I recently completed a Beth Moore Bible study, her latest, "Entrusted"1, and I thank my sisters at First Baptist Canton (the two Barbaras, Tangella, Kathy...and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone...) for their joyful dedication in bringing this study to the north Canton community.  It was a pure joy.

In the study, toward the end, Beth asked her pupils to consider their own ministries and those areas that are the most troublesome.  On Day Three of Section 3, we were examining 2 Timothy 2:15.  I ask you to read it below, as it is pertinent to our study today of Hebrews 3, the main text.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

On this topic, here is what I wrote in my workbook the day I was plowing through my Bible study "homework":  "Regardless of the biblical teaching, if we twist the Scriptures in order to remove the power, reality, applicability of them to us today, then we are profaning the Word of God and spreading error."

This is something constantly on my mind as I study and especially as I blog (and vlog).  There are many times in writing a blog post I stop and ask the Spirit if my interpretation is right.  The consequences for being wrong are just too great.

In particular, and extremely relevant to Hebrews 3, is the tendency to crash one truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ into pieces against another.  If I, and others who teach, "correctly teach the word of truth", we won't do that.

So, here is our passage from Hebrews 3 today, ESV translation.  We may spend more than one post here.  We'll see.

1Therefore, holy brothers,^a you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s^b house. 3For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.^c

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

12Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.15As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

The theme that resonates through this chapter with me is "steadfastness".  Interestingly, when I googled "steadfastness in Christ" the first page was full of Mormon links.  I mention this to point out the potential for erroneous interpretation in this passage.  One of the reliable sources I often visit in blogging, gotquestions.org also roped 2 Timothy 2:15 into the study of this topic.  So, you see, it is a delicate one.

The image that comes to mind for me is making biscuits.  I hope to God that I am a better Christian blogger than I am a biscuit-maker!  The trick to making a light and fluffy biscuit is to not "handle" the dough overly much.  The more you handle it, knead it, stir it, the heavier and clunkier your biscuit. You end up serving something no one wants to eat, causing your Southern sisters to cluck and shake their heads!

So, this is what I want you to do.  Read Hebrews 3 here or, if you are really intrigued, in a couple of other translations, and then jot down in a couple of sentences what God seems to be saying here through the author of Hebrews.  And, next time we are together here in cyberspace, I'll try to make some good, fluffy biscuits!

Father, once again, I thank you that Your Word is divine.  We are like ants trying to comprehend a skyscraper.  Without the illumination your Holy Spirit provides, our understanding of the Bible is impossible.  Precious Lord, please protect our souls from error.  We are so prone, as were our spiritual ancestors, the members of the first century church!  If they, then how much more so we?  So, guard our hearts and at the same time illumine them!  Let Your Word be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1    Moore, B., Moore, M., & Smith, K. (2016). Entrusted: A study of 2 Timothy. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press. 

Fly, Firefly, Fly!

Good morning,

Right in the middle of "life" this week, one of my best high school friends "moved on up".  The last time I saw her was about five years ago.  Although we were close in high school we lost touch after graduation, except for infrequent high school reunions.  She went on to serve God faithfully for more than 40 years, as a wife, mother, school teacher.  Her testimony was to God's grace in her life.

What I remember most about her was her calm and gentle spirit.  She was naturally quiet and reserved.  While we were in high school, she lost her mother to sudden illness.  Her mother had been a beautiful, precious, vivacious soul.  We all grieved over this loss.  But, her mother would have been proud of the godly life my friend lived.

It is my loss that we did not remain close over these 40 years.  I guess that such parting-of-the-ways is a result of going out to fulfill one's calling.  However, there is a "tie that binds", as the song goes ... the Holy Spirit of God who lived in her and also in me. Later today, I will be traveling with my best childhood friend to pay my respects and to rejoice with her loved ones. We are secure in the knowledge of where her soul now resides.

I heard a conversation yesterday between someone I dearly love and a second person I greatly respect. They agreed together that neither one of them "is religious".  With great difficulty, I kept my mouth shut, because it was "neither the time nor the place", if you know what I mean.  Do you see, though, that they most certainly ARE religious?  They are merely worshipping something or someone else other than the One who created them.

The god of this world, Satan, has blinded so many to the Truth.

Even if you read this and scoff at that statement, let me ask you this.  What if you are right and I am wrong?  Well, I will have lived a life of peace and joy, even in the middle of various trials along the way, and when I die....nothing.  I will have lost nothing except, you may argue, a few years of temporary, earthly pleasures.  But, what if you are the one who is mistaken...about the meaning and purpose of life, about there being an eternity of either Heaven or Hell?  Are you really willing to gamble your eternal soul, based on what someone else has told you, without doing a thorough investigation of the matter?

C.S. Lewis was a tremendously intelligent man, a professor of English at Oxford University, London. He reached that point of saying, "I've got to check this Jesus stuff out, to see if it is true."  He wrote a book about his journey of discovery.  It is entitled, Mere Christianity.  Here is some of what he wrote:
“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” 

In so many ways, we are like a lightning bug trapped in a jar.  Did you ever do that, as a kid?  Trap a firefly (we call them "lightning bugs" here in the South) in a jar, with holes in the lid?  The bug knows it does not belong in the jar.  There is something within its very DNA that cries out to that fact.  It is in a hostile environment.  Its entire existence is spent trying to get to that world where it belongs, and it won't find any true satisfaction until it does.

We are not mere flesh and blood and bone.  One of the unbelievers I mentioned above said yesterday, "We really have very little understanding of how the human brain works.  It is a miracle."  Yeah.  A divinely created miracle.
There is a soul within each of our bodies, and that soul is the "real us", and it will live somewhere forever. 

As a Christ-follower, I know where my eternal home will be.  I know this, beyond all doubt.   It's not because I'm "good".  It is because Jesus Christ was and is and ever will be perfect.  As His child, His righteousness has been conferred to me, forever.
 Again, C.S. Lewis - - 
“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” 
That taste of Heaven, like the light in the firefly is, thanks to Jesus, already inside me.  The Holy Spirit cries out, "Daddy! Father!" to God. 

So my friend, who is newly arrived to Heaven, got there the same "one and only way" I will.  There IS but one way there, and His name is Jesus.  Don't be deceived.  There is a place.  She is there with others I have known here and whom I'll see again, when it comes my turn to "fly, firefly, fly!"

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.

Acts 20:24

7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r2Hn8fBYbA

Father, I thank you for the privilege of being Your child.  Thank you for possessing me and transforming me by fusing my spirit with Yours forever.  Being in this present world, I have Your downpayment of eternity within me.  That light of life, Your Spirit, will never be extinguished.  And, when it is my time to "move on up", to "fly away", Your Spirit will take me to my forever home.  I thank You and praise You, because You have done this marvelous thing...something I could never achieve or do.  To You is due all the honor and glory and eternal praise.  In Jesus' name, amen.


Source:
1  https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/801500-mere-christianity

War Room

Good morning,

Last week, right in the middle of the play performances, I needed a break, lol!  The movie, "War Room", was in its opening weekend.  Because I had heard that it was a great movie with a Christian message, I asked Hubster to take me to see it Saturday night.  If it was "that good", I wanted to give my money on opening weekend.

I was not disappointed --- great movie.  If you have not seen it, and you are a Christian, go. (Even if you are not a believer, you will find it provocative.)

Why blog about this?

Yesterday, I mentioned that I'm preparing for a mission trip to Peru.  I've been asked to teach Bible to a group of Peruvian ladies in Cusco.  One of the topics I've been asked to teach on is how the women can lead in their churches.

The religious culture of Peru is highly Roman Catholic.  There are a few charismatic Christian churches there as well.  The group we will be working with is called Zona Zegura.  It seeks to make Christian converts and start home churches, of which, last I heard, they had about 12 active, vibrant home-churches established.

This is, of course, a very different model from what we have here in the States, for the most part. There are no huge Sunday School programs to oversee, no children's choirs, etc.

The movie, "War Room", dealt with relationships, specifically relational troubles between human and God, and between husband and wife.  Some of you may find this strange, but before women can minister effectively in the church, regardless of that church's design, first their relationships with God, and then with their husbands (and children) must be right.
That's where we will begin.

We have a mutt dog, named Charlie. He loves to go to the park, which is allowed by city law, as long as he stays on a leash.  However, my idea of walking in the park and his idea of the same are totally different.  Charlie's path is not linear.  It is zig-zaggy, wherever his nose leads him.  He smells everything, licks most things, pees on a few things to mark his territory and, yes, usually wants to make a big...."deposit" (which I, as a dutiful citizen, then clean up).

Let's consider Romans 8:14 (NIV).

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

We who are Christ-followers must allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us.  We do not lead the Holy Spirit as Charlie wants to do at the park.

The Greek word for "are led" in Romans 8:14 is ἄγονται, , or "agontai".
The meaning or word picture is of an animal being led on a rope or bridle .... or leash.  We get an English word from this Greek word, and it is "agony".  Are you surprised?  Probably not.  Even for the transformed, redeemed soul, the human will does not want to be led.  It is an agonizing struggle. Yet, it is one we must face.

Before we can lead anyone else, we must allow ourselves to be led by God's Spirit.
Ok, so HOW do we do that?
The beautiful message of "War Room" showed us the way.  It's not "magic"; but, well, it IS supernatural.

We are led by the Holy Spirit when we can hear His voice and follow.  And, how do we hear it?  By immersing ourselves in prayer and in the Word of God daily.  (You knew that was coming, didn't you? Oh, I feel the tension in the rope.  The digging in of the heels has begun!  Beloved, I feel your agony because I resisted for over 50 years.)  This is where the battle begins, where leadership begins. If this is not right, none of the rest will be right.  This holy relationship is the foundation for all Christian leadership.  To lead well, we must first follow.

"Lord, I want to learn how to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I know that You sent Him to be a Leader and a Guide for my life, so today I open my heart to Him. I ask You to help me learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice and to know what He is leading me to do. With all my heart, I request that You help me become sensitive to Him so that He can lead me in all the paths You have designed for my life".1  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:
1 http://www.renner.org/holy-spirit/learning-to-follow-the-leader/
2 http://biblehub.com/text/romans/8-14.htm

Got It All Figured Out

Good Evening,

This is a deviation from the usual time that I post my blog.  All day today I've been attending a political event and will also be doing the same tomorrow.  So, I've waited until tonight to have my personal devotional time.  Not the best practice, but as I'm sure is the case in your life, "some days are just like that".

The text for today is 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.   Here it is in The Message version:

14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.

There are people who say they will not come to Jesus Christ until they have all their questions about Him and the Christian faith resolved.  More than likely, those people will never come to Christ.

Let me explain why I believe this.  Great amounts of factual knowledge never brought anyone to salvation through Jesus Christ.  An evangelist almost never "reasons" someone into being saved, although that is not because our faith is unreasonable.

First of all, some people are disingenuous when they say that they'll come to Christ when they get all their questions answered.  They use this as an excuse, to keep Jesus Christ "out of their hair".  At their core, they are rebellious, not wanting to submit to anyone, much less to a God.  They are their own god, and that suits them just fine.

Second, while ours is a defensible faith and a reasonable faith, a person can never get enough "facts" to enable them to avoid "the leap of faith".  God planned it that way.  The scriptures say that "without faith, it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He IS and the He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).  God desires that we trust and depend on Him, not on facts we can amass.

This is why the Holy Spirit is crucial to our coming to Jesus Christ.  Unless the Holy Spirit draws a person toward Christ, we in our unregenerate state are unable to receive Him.  God has promised that the person, however, who diligently seeks Him will surely find Him.  God doesn't play "gotcha".

So, what is it that the Holy Spirit uses to draw a person to Jesus Christ?  From my observation, it is the love and grace of God, demonstrated in His forgiveness and restoration through His Son, to which we are drawn.  Factual, "empirical" evidence is insufficient.  The Law is certainly a distinct turn-off.  (No one is attracted to the "thou shalt nots"!)  The Law is useful to the extent that it shows us what sin is (Romans 3:20, 7:7); but, it does not redeem or restore.

Do you remember the extravagant woman, in Luke 7:36-50?  You remember!  The one who crashed the dinner party, poured expensive ointment on Jesus' feet, crying hysterically, kissing His feet...
Who was she?  What drew her to Jesus? Did she come to Him because she had studied the facts and had it all figured out?  Doubtful. Scripture does not identify her other than to imply that she was well-known, infamous even.  Either she was someone who was keenly aware of her desperate need for a Savior; or, she had already encountered Jesus and was expressing her boundless love and gratitude. I'll bet it was the latter.  I'll bet it was that she had been made spiritually alive, encountered God's unreasonable grace, as typified by Jesus' words to her there at the house of Simon the Pharisee:

"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

 (vs. 50)

Not "your intellect".  Not "your proofs".  Not "your womanly charms". Not your "good works". Faith.  Boom!
Senseless, isn't it?  Silly, perhaps? Unfathomable, no?  "Unfair" - - - totally.  The woman in Luke 7, probably a prostitute (she was certainly shunned), appeared to be in no way deserving of the grace of Jesus Christ; and, she knew that right well.  She had "spiritual discernment" about her own, broken condition and about the priceless gift of grace she had been given.

Oh that we could all be like her, realizing every day our desperate need for more and more and more of Jesus!

Father, I thank you that I don't have it all figured out - - - and never will, unless You choose to reveal all to Your children when we are with you face-to-face, forever.  I imagine You will have us walking by faith for all eternity, for that is the way You have given us here.  If our faith pleases You here, how much more will that faith relationship be intensified in Heaven?  Father, teach us to every day tap into Your love and grace, not only for our own sakes, but even more importantly for Your kingdom. It is Your love that draws people to salvation (2 Corinthians 5:14).  May we show it, passionately, to this lost, dying world.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Groanings Which Cannot be Uttered

Good morning!

In the recent past I have encountered skeptics who ridicule prayer, saying things like, "The sky is not listening."  This makes me extremely sad because the truth is that prayer is a foundational support of each and every believer.

When you accepted Jesus as Savior, He sent the third person of the Triune Godhead to live in your very heart of hearts.  The Holy Spirit will be with you until the end of your days, until you see Jesus face-to-face, and perhaps even beyond.

What is the role of the Holy Spirit, God dwelling within us?  Well, there are several:
1.  to bring glory to God through us
2.  to legitimize and energize our worship
3.  to transform our lives daily as we desire to become more like our Savior
4.  to guide us through the sometimes awful twists and turns of this earthly life
5.  to communicate with us, teach us, enlighten us
6.  to help us to pray

It is this last one that I want to focus on this morning.  But, first, a little background is probably a good idea.

In the Old Testament, God's Holy Spirit did not rest upon each Jewish person equally.  There were ones whom God chose to have an abundance of his Spirit:  Noah, Abraham, Moses, the prophets, etc. You probably know many of the Old Testament stories.

When Jesus died, was buried and resurrected, He re-appeared to many after His resurrection, in His resurrected body.  During that time, shortly before He ascended to Heaven, He promised that, after He left, the Holy Spirit would be sent to indwell His own believers.

This actually occurred during the Jewish feast of Pentecost.  Flaming tongues of fire?  Remember that?  It is recorded in Acts 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost ^[a]had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ And there appeared to them tongues as of fire^[b]distributing themselves, and ^[c]they ^[d]rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other ^[e]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them ^[f]utterance.

The Spirit rested on EACH ONE of them, not just a select few.  This was a radical shift in God's communion with His people.  It was such a powerful infusion of the Holy Spirit, that the believers gathered there began to speak in the foreign tongues of the others surrounding them.  They witnessed to those people, preached the gospel, and many hundreds came to know and accept Jesus as Savior.

That same power resides in you today, dear believer!

The Godhead is in constant communication with Themselves.  They are Three; but, they are also One.  With the Holy Spirit living inside of you, you have an immediate link to the God of the Universe.  The Holy Spirit is the conduit by which we come to know God more and more, deeper and deeper.  How can that happen if we do not talk to Him, if we do not pray?

The writer of Hebrews said this about prayer, in chapter 11, verse 6:
It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him.
So, it is vitally important that, as a believer, you believe that God hears you.  I truly think that this is why many Christians live such prayer-less, disconnected, powerless lives  - - - to some extent or another - - - they do not believe that their prayers are being heard!  However, this is a lie from the adversary, a deception from the evil one.

Look at what the apostle Paul says about the Holy Spirit's role in prayer, in Romans 8:26
In the same way the spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should.  But, the Sprit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  
(NASB version)
I love how the King James Version puts that last part:  "groanings which cannot be uttered".
Isn't that magnificent?  The Holy Spirit, living inside you, groans in prayer over your needs, especially when you do not know what to pray or how to pray!

This is why Paul instructed those he had led to Jesus to "pray without ceasing".  (I Thessalonians 5:17)  What does this even mean?  It means to do your best to live in an attitude of prayer, breathing a prayer in all circumstances, good, bad, in-between, as if your best friend were with you always (He is) and you talked with Him about everything.  He is concerned about every minute detail of your life, and is waiting patiently for you to draw near to Him.


We'll camp out on the prayer topic for the next few blog posts.

"Father, teach us to pray!  We often feel so inadequate.  Help us to pray to you in everything, remembering that you do not count the number of times we say "Father" or "Lord" or "Jesus" when we pray.  You are not interested in pompous prayers or inane repetitions or prayer formulas.  You are interested in our hearts.  You want us.  If we come to you in faith, believing that you hear us, you will!  Holy Spirit, thank you for laying my prayers at Father's throne and praying for me when I unintentionally pray perhaps out of Father's will.  I thank you for those precious promises in Hebrews 11:6 and Romans 8:26.  They bless me to the core!  I love you, Lord!"

First of all . . .

Let's go ahead and get this out of the way.
I am not a paragon of spiritual virtue.  Rather, I am a middle-aged lady, trying my best to follow Jesus.

What I purport to do on this blog is this:
1) to share with readers what God is giving me from the Scriptures.
The Word of God is alive, powerful and so sharp that it can pierce you through and through before you even know it! You know, some days, when we dive into the Word, we get more out of it than others. That is frustrating to me, but there it is.
2)  to share with you honestly about what it means to be "resplendent" on a daily basis.  Some days, I am more resplendent than on other days . . .  that is, I allow the Holy Spirit of God to fill me some days, more than others.
So, let's get started!  Thank you for taking this walk through life with me.