Prepare to Stand, not prepare to Survive

Having just finished a weekend of celebrations for Thanksgiving here in Canada, I have been thinking along the lines of "preparations". So much time, money, planning, and effort goes into 'preparing' for this day. Preparing/preparations for so much, whether it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, our future - whatever - it occupies and preoccupies our thoughts and our lives.

In the present state of economic instability & chaos, (some economists say that we are experiencing what they have labelled an 'economic tsunami'), you hear alot these days concerning what can be done & the necessary preparations: for example for coming food shortages, for environmental changes and disasters looming on the horizon, for fuel shortages hurricane predictions, economic recession, etc.

There are radio and television analysts, as well as politicians, who eagerly clamor & examine these issues with determination and resolve that they will lead the people towards the necessary changes & preparations. Their promise is if we will but 'prepare' ourselves for these days ahead, we will be able to 'save ourselves' and escape tribulations and devastation, economic woes, and collapse of pensions, uncertainties pertaining to our futures. Also, I have seen many interesting websites of which it seems their main goal is to 'warn and prepare people' for calamities; to provide various items for emergency scenarios. There is an array of various inventions that are available for purchase, said to be useful (according to their literature) to protect against various catastrophes, to aid 'preparedness' for all manner of necessities; power shortages, nuclear attack, and on and on it goes.

But I got to thinking. Whoa, wait a second. What does the Bible teach? First of all, imagine the energy that would be necessary & could be expended towards these preparations as well. Would there ever be an end to it? Imagine how all consuming this preoccupation could quickly become, and take hold of someone; it could become an all-consuming need, driven by & thriving on fear, on the hope of being able to fully 'prepare' oneself and store up' for the days of trouble just around the corner.

But if I look at the Bible, the message isn't 'prepare to survive'. It's prepare to stand! Our hope is in Him. Has He changed? Is He the same yesterday, today and forevermore? The world wants to survive but we know God has great things in store for those who love Him! He wants us to stand on the solid Rock of His Son and declare our God is forever and eternal! God would have us know that He is with us, He is faithful, and so we must prepare ourselves to STAND! Spend time in His presence and allow God's power through His Holy Spirit to search us, to prepare within us a sanctuary. He's our stronghold .

So, instead of being preoccupied (though it's tempting) with trying to prepare for calamities that we are told are looming, or prepare for the unknown and going into survival mode, let's all joyfully welcome more of the Holy Spirit who wants to stir up the faith that is within us that we may stand! What a treasure in our earthen vessels! That we might stand before Him! God said that we can come boldly before Him (with joy in our hearts) "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4:6

I am convinced that those who have went before us, through the centuries, faced their own chaos and economic catastrophes. What were there preparations? WEll, certainly first of all they recognized that they no longer fought against human beings. This was completely finished with the New Covenant. They recognized their struggle was against principalities in the heavenlies.

Imagine telling Corrie TenBoom to save up and make preparations ! I think it's so encouraging to think about them and their faith. And how much they loved God and devoted themselves entirely to the Lord. They thrived not because they made preparations for all manner of catastrophies, (that did come upon them). Jesus said and I truly believe they survived with a great witness to the keeping power of God because they prepared to stand before God! They took God's Word into their hearts and sowed precious seed in the hearts of even and most importantly, their worst enemies. They were empowered to stand, to withstand the most cruel and harsh, degrading human conditions on the earth so powerfully, with a fierce love of Christ that would not at any cost be denied. They withstood as it says in Ephesians all evil principalities & rulers because they clothed themselves in His armor. As all others who have been so courageous and withstood every form of evil had done so before us. Eph. 6:10-18

10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Christ in You

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27. Christ joined to you, not Christ by Himself. Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So the central secret of all history is the union of the creature and the Creator, not just the Creator, certainly not just the creature, but the union. We’ve found the whole meaning of life in time and life in eternity when we’ve found that. It’s probably beyond intelligible apprehension by the finite mind, as well as beyond intelligible description. Probably our minds cannot completely compass this infinite glory, but thank God our hearts can experience it, and they do.

And to some extent our minds can compass it—union. We’ve got to think around that. We know that that’s life, for that is what eternal life is. There is only one eternal life, of course, God or Christ, but God is Three. God is Three dwelling in Each Other. So original life is not one Person, or still less one thing, it’s Three living People living in each other and proceeding out from Each Other in their several offices.

(Norman Grubb)

Two Things

I was challenged this morning when I read in Colossians 1 Paul's words :

"Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love [which ye have] to all the saints"

Paul had heard about these Christians and was firstly, thanking God, and also praying for them.
Why ? Because he had heard two things, which he was thankful for.
He had heard:

1. of their faith in Christ Jesus

2. of their love of all the saints.

Two Things.

It's important to understand that faith must be in Jesus Christ. That's the starting point and no amount of reasoning can do away with this. WE must be ever so careful of this.

I was sent a link (thanks Maureen) which I read, and they seemed to conclude that faith doesn't necessarily have to be in Christ alone, quotes:

"Even if we think Christ - as the divine Logos - is the way to God, that doesn't mean that you have to become a Christian to find Him."

"Once they know his name, some people will then be able to connect that name with the Truth that has been in them all along." ?yikes (further in colossians it seems to say, "and you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled". In order to become reconciled, they needed to understand how estranged and alienated they truly were. Not that truth has been in them all along. (yikes). Truth can only become a part of us through Christ. He is the one who makes us new and the old 'me' pass away. To be alienated means to be separated from or estranged from. The only way to not be alienated and an enemy is to understand our need for His redemption because of our lost condition. Knowing Christ truly is not understanding or appreciating truth that has been in us all along, but understanding our own NEED to be forgiven and reconciled and that apart from Christ's mercy and forgiveness we cannot be restored and become His reflection. )

"I KNOW in my heart of hearts that it is to that light that every one of us will return.. call it Jesus or God or Allah or Goddess or Krishna.. it doesn't matter.. It is the place that we come from and it is the place that we return to heal and whole once again."

**the implication in this article is that there are many ways to know the Light, the Truth, and even though they may disagree on the name or way to the Light, they are still the same. There is alot of talk about feelings, experiences, and statements like 'in Love and in the Light' .. yes, feelings and experiences are fine but they can also deceive us all and lead each of us astray very quickly

Please stay faithful to Him. Yes, it is Jesus.

Love Him.

Love the Saints.

Union with Christ

My son broke his right clavicle on Saturday! I am just trying to put together a few of my thoughts since this. I have had alot going on. But I must say, I think I have such a remarkable son. He has not complained of anything at all, nothing, zippo. This despite the fact that he will be out of commission for quite a few weeks from a sport that he loves with a passion. He excels as a hockey player and it's a real avenue for him on many fronts ... he is homeschooled (his last year) and hockey outings are a real part of his life and social interaction and enjoyment. So I praise God for this young man that I already truly admire, who seems to have a remarkable peace and trust in God.

I have thought about trusting God through this all. My heart has praised him because I know how steadfast He is, His peace, His comfort, His ability to completely captivate our being on every level that needs His touch, .. well that is breath-taking. The touch of the Lord!

On my way outside doing some chores last night (I am relegated to this as my son can't at the moment) I just was praising and loving the Father. I am so thankful that he sees us all as those who need their love and attention span 'stretched' at times. We give our attention to so many things, even knowing deep down inside, that only He truly satisfies. We get taken up and preoccupied with life and ever so subtley we lose sight of the joy of Jesus and who He is.

I have thought about how important it is to be thankful for His loving tender care. Thankful for the help of His Holy Spirit to guide us and relieve us of our wandering ways, and nudging us back into the deeper union with Christ. He wants us to truly see, see what we need to see, but see how great God is, and that His comfort, peace, and assurance is there to help us and to keep us strong in our faith, unwaivering, trusting Him. Abilities that can only come from Him.

Luke & I were reading about the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes. WE as a family were talking about the miracles that Jesus performed, as well as the impact it had, or didn't have, on others. Luke & I noticed today that the disciples hearts were hardened after the miracle of feeding those five thousand. They failed to see what perhaps we think was very plain and obvious. So Jesus sent them off, then sent the people off, and went and prayed. It was during that night (probably a long terrifying night, it says the fourth watch) that the disciples were on the sea, a storm raging, that Jesus walked on water towards them. In their despair, they didn't seem to recognize him here either. It seems they had lost sight of the ability of Jesus to rescue them and help alleviate whatever storm or need(s) arose in their midst. I am so thankful that Jesus has given us the Word, that we can read it and have our heart and eyes opened up to the miraculous provision of the Lord for us. He truly is our provider, our sustainer, our help & our hope.

May our eyes and hearts be upon Him! He is looking after us, so no need to doubt, no need to fear, He will come and strengthen us !

What are YOU looking at ??

When we look at Christ what do I see and what do you see ?

Is it about how my life or your life can be better ? I mean, what is it ?

Or is it about enduring despite our weaknesses, and really reaching out to the poor and suffering ? and helping those who are blind and without hope ? Is that our burden ? Oh, is it ? Do we have a burden?

What is Christ about to you ? More importantly, what is Christ about to me ?

Is it about spirituality ? Is it about being spiritual, (whatever that means in these days,) what is it about ?

Is it about his heart and love for all that would seek, for all that would hunger, for all that would be desperate enough in this world for Him, to seek Him, with all that they could ...

What are YOU AND I looking at ?

I fear that I have fallen prey to humanism and to other reasonings and 'truths', and the greatest danger i fear for myself is that in the end, I would deny what is my heart's one true desire ... to be a very real touch of the Master to broken humanity. It's such a heart wrenching place -but are we touched by the sufferings of others? I fear that I would veer off and I would not be what I was created to be, an image of Christ, but instead an image which is of my own imagination and reasoning.

I need a great deliverance against every imagination that is false .

Timothy said that we shouldn't consent to any teaching that is not according to godliness:
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, [even] the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; (from such withdraw ourself)

Imagine the pleading of Paul's heart to those he loved and cared for. He didn't just pen these words down in a moment of inspiration. I mean think about it, feel it~ the great intensity sweeping over his heart, the tears that would fall quickly, as he wrote with such a passion and penned each and every stroke. And then afterwards, he would sit there and pray and pray and pray and weep . For sure, his heart was fully embraced and in touch with the Master, and so when we read the Word, such as Paul wrote here , we too, we must feel that great depth, that goes beyond what we have reasoned and imagined things to be. We so need the Holy Spirit to take ahold of us in the same way!

a review on the movie Fireproof

Last week I saw an interview with Kirk Cameron concerning his new "Christian movie".

for anyone who might be interested, this is Joel Spencer's review on it.

Hmmmm

I just read a blog on the Free Believer's Network "What is Relationship with God?".
You may want to read it here before you continue on as my post relates to this.

I certainly agree on many of his comments concerning the nature and expression of God's love
through His people.

But to say that any and all people who are loving and kind - are therefore children of God - and that because they love, they are therefore citizens of heaven, or that they know God - well this is not necessarily true.

Yes I fully agree that love is the ultimate and the deepest expression of Christ in us, (the width, depth, height) and that love, His love, is the factor that should motivate us, challenge us, and move us onward into a deeper expression of Himself in this world.

However, we also know that it is those who have been forgiven much that indeed love much. It is people who are forgiven of their many sins, saved by grace, ... these are those who love deeply and above all, value and appreciate Him much. They in turn are those that love and appreciate others in this same way. So again, it is those who are forgiven much that love much.

To make a conclusion or assumption that just because people are loving and kindhearted, they therefore know God, are Christians - however you want to say this, is not true. This is the exact same erroneous thinking of those who would say - 'because you go to church' - ' because you speak in tongues' - 'because you are baptized' -'insert your [particular] belief here', that you are therefore someone who knows God. Just because things appear a certain way, or someone concludes it to be so, it certainly does not necessarily mean that it is.

Salvation truly does require faith and a belief in the gospel, an endurance against many things, for ALL MANKIND are lost and without hope and truly all mankind are therefore in desperate need of God's mercy and forgiveness. This was why Christ died on the Cross 2000 years ago. No matter how loving people are, without Christ in their lives, they still need this revelation of what the Cross means for THEM and thus to be transformed by it.

We must not lose sight of the fact that all men need to know and believe Christ died for their SINS.

This is why we must keep our message of Christ simple, we must share it in a simple way. Simple is the key. We live it and share it in a very simple way - whether it's blogging, emailing, coffee shop, work place, whatever sharing. Simple is definitely the key. Of all people, Paul could have spoke in a very scholarly way considering how educated he was. He could have used his mind to speak in a very scholarly and eloquent way to others, but he laid that at Christ's feet, didn't he? He chose instead to speak in a very simple way to others - and to lay that at Christ's feet. So that it was Christ who would find root in people's heart. That is how the cross truly works! But it is the Cross, the power of the Cross, that saves mankind. And it is faith in WHAT HE HAS DONE ALONE that saves us.

Love will always be a mystery to mankind without the Cross. But love is complete (and perfect) with the Cross, the ultimate expression of love. Shall we speak of a love that does not speak of the Cross first - a love that is not of above and not of Christ? Many may know 'of' love and speak 'of' love with many words, (scholarly & complicated) but love 'without the message of love on the Cross' SIMPLY is not a love that will endure nor have power to transform one into the image that Christ would have for all. It might look similar, but is it ? It certainly would not go to the Cross and lay down one's life. We must remember from whom we have believed.