Independence

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

            In the Garden we grasped for independence from God.  We could determine right from wrong.  We could be our own gods.  Independent, just like Him.  But our bid for independence left us naked and ashamed.  So we sew for ourselves a covering that in Hebrew means to restrain, to be afraid and we hid ourselves from the presence of God.  We’ve been hiding ever since; fearing the exposure, the nakedness.

            Our grasp for independence is sin.  It is wickedness.

 Proverbs 18:3—“When wickedness come, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace.”

            When you look at the actual Hebrew words this verse shows a progression or path.  First comes the morally wrong position, i.e wickedness.  This morally wrong position causes a despising or contempt. We have contempt for the revelation that we are not righteous; that we are not in fact like God.

From here two paths emerge.  One is to dishonor and shame.  We are ashamed of our own lack of living up to the standard; our own lack at being like God.  This leads to exposure through stripping or defaming. We hate the exposure of our own nakedness.  No matter how hard we try we cannot be like God.

But there is another path.  In bedded in the Hebrew is an alternative way. The other path puts a slightly different twist on the contempt.  The contempt can also lead to lightly esteeming. This lightly esteeming is not of the sin, but of our own ability to be like God.  We no longer exalt ourselves as knowing right from wrong.  We recognize our own lack and in humility we lightly esteem our own ability to live a righteous life.

The Hebrew word for disgrace can also mean a gathering of crops in ripeness of age or a betrothal. The lightly esteeming leads to a harvest or a betrothal.  We surrender ourselves over to the God who loves and cherishes us.  We cry out “Be the Lord my Righteousness!”  We embrace dependence on the Living God to make us holy.  As we humble ourselves we find ourselves swept into a betrothal with the Bridegroom.  We find ourselves in Christ, where the promises of God are fulfilled.  It’s the Promised Land! 

            As we all have to deal with our own morally wrong or wicked positions at some point in our lives (“for all have fallen short of the Glory of God”), which path you chose determines whether you become a woman of disgrace or a beautiful bride.  Many chose to hide their shame fearing the exposure, so they have no close friends and stay very busy.  Their business is a talisman to ward off the day of exposure.  We must cover our nakedness with business.  But there is another path.  Our contempt could lead us to lightly esteeming our own lordship over our lives.  It can lead us to the Cross-where we confess our inability to direct our own steps and the dire need to be clothed in the righteousness that can only come from God.  This surrender and defeat of our selves leads, not to a shameful exposure, but a beautiful betrothal.  Surrender to the Lordship of Christ and you’ll find yourself a Bride dressed in white.

Get Out of Shittim

“Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan where they camped before crossing over.” (Joshua 3:1).

Shittim was the place the Israelites camped at in Numbers 25 when they succumbed to all kinds of sexual immorality along with idolatry as they worshipped the gods of the land. They choose to appease and join with the people of the land.  They sucked up to peer pressure and the culture around them.  You just can’t get to the Promised Land when you’re camped at Shittim.  You see the word Shittim means sticks of acadia wood.  Acadia only grows in very dry, barren land.   Acadia is a wood of scourging thorns used to flog.  Shittim is a place of self-flagellation.  It’s a place where you flog yourself for your past failures. Your just can’t seem to get it together and be like God.  Where you beat yourself until eventually you no longer are able to stand; and the sin that is crouching at your door seizes you.

Joshua showed you the way out of Shittim.  You need to move camp to the Jordan.  Jordan means to cast down.  When you camp at the Jordan, the river of life in a barren land; you cast down your self.  You no longer sit on the throne.  You’re being made ready to follow your God, now that you no longer sit as judge and king.

“After three days the officers went throughout the camp giving orders to the people:  ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.  Then you will know which way to go, since, you have never been this way before.’” (Joshua 3:2-3).

 The Ark of the Covenant was the focal point of the Presence of the Lord.  Now you’ve been made ready to follow the Presence of the Lord.  And He will lead you into the Promised Land.  If you’ve been camped at Shitttim in your life; you need to know that this is a way you’ve never gone before.  Don’t be surprised that you don’t know the way, but trust the Lord and follow Him.  Look for His Presence.  Keep your eyes on the covenant that He made with you on the Cross.

Lord God, You are an awesome God, full of mercy, grace and loving kindness.  Teach us how to move out of Shittim; to break camp with self-condemnation.  Teach us how to cast ourselves down.  Make us ready for Your Presence to be enthroned in our lives.  Help us to keep our eyes focused on the covenant You made with us on the Cross.  Lead us across the Jordan to the Promised Land, where You, O God are the Lord our Righteousness.  Thank you sweet Jesus, Lover of my soul!

Death or Life?

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

Natural death is a separation of the soul from the body.  Natural death began in the Garden but that day we surely died to God.  We separated ourselves from the presence of the Living God.  We chose death instead of Life.  We chose separation, independence from God.  Surely we died to Life and Life abundantly.

            There is only one way back.  That is to choose Life.  The Hebrew word translated life is (ית) chay.  The first letter of life is (י) yod, which means a child’s hand extended to grasp.  The second letter of life is (ת) tau, which is actually a combination of two other letters:  (נ) nun and (ך) daleth.  (ך) Daleth is a broken man and (נ) nun is a crushed man, the Messiah.  So (ת) tau means a broken man embraced by the Messiah; it is the letter representing salvation. So in the Garden the word for Life pictorially represents a child’s hand grasping the salvation wrought by the Messiah.   Why a child’s hand?  Only as a child are we dependent without shame.  Only as a child can we run naked without fear.  Only as a child are we clothed and provided for by our Father.  Our only job as a child is to obey.  We don’t need to figure things out; that’s His job.  We just smother Him in hugs and kisses when he walks through the door.  And He sits down, pulls us on His lap, and tells us stories.  Go sit on your Father’s lap grasping the salvation He offers and choose life!

Father, how I love You!  Forgive me for choosing independence, for exalting myself.  Grant me the gift of repentance.  I choose Life.  I choose being a child of God.  Fill me with Your love so that I won’t hide in fear from Your Presence any more.  But instead I would trust in Your Salvation.  Thank you Jesus, for giving me the victory over death!  Oh Father, be my God and I will be Your child.  Amen.

The Blessings of Impotence

Doesn’t it just aggravate you when the people in your life consistently enter into some sort of sin?  Maybe they’re manipulative or fearful or lacking simple self-control.  Why can’t they just get a grip?  You’ve told them a number of times just balance the checkbook before you write another check.  Do you really need that bowl of ice cream?  How about the revelation that you’ve grown accustom to wearing clothes and clothes cost money, Mr. Scrooge. Have you considered wearing a DVD player on top of your head so you can get a little attention?  You’ve explained the immorality of their actions a number of times, yet nothing changes.  How can you respect and love someone who refuses to do what is right?  Judgement and indignation now sit on the throne and scream in your ear.

            You should be angry, very angry.  This person refuses to be fixed by you.  You have all the answers.  Yet they refuse to let you be their god.  Doesn’t your flesh just rage when your own impotence is revealed…Hmmm…”Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on the flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.” (Jeremiah 5:17).  Once again we’re back at the Cross confessing our idolatry of trusting in our flesh.   “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”(Luke 18:13).  “Heal me, O Lord and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved,”  (Jeremiah 17:14).

            Lord we thank you that we can come to you and repent.  We have trusted in our flesh and tried to lord over these people in our lives.  Forgive us.  Cleanse and anoint us that we might humbly trust in the Living God.  Thank you for being our Hope and our Righteousness.  Thank you for transforming us into people who trust in the Lord and whose confidence is in the Cross of Christ. Thank you Jesus for setting us free from sin and death!! We ask You to be our Righteousness.  We entrust the workings out of their salvation to You.  We ask that You supernaturally step in and set this situation right.  Most importantly we ask that we would be set free to love these people and to seek and speak life to them.  We desire to obey You and for You to be enthroned in our lives! Glory to God! We love You Jesus! Thank You. Amen.

            Impotence is such a blessing in our life!  It enables us to see the futility of trusting in ourselves.  That rage inside of you, when submitted to the Holy Spirit, convinces you of your need for God. These people have been the very tool of God in your life to reveal your idolatry. Have you thanked God for the revelation these problems have brought into your life?  Try it. Thank You Jesus for the blessing of the exposure of my impotence because of trusting in my flesh!  Thank you for enabling me to be set free from my idolatry to trust in You instead! Remember He’s a very big God.  Trust Him to turn the do-do in your life into gold!  “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8).

You Will Be Like God

“’You will not surely die, ‘ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:4-5.

          

  So begins the Fall from successful living.  “You will be like God.”  We’ve been trying to be like God ever since.  Pride is the exultation of self.  Humility is the exultation of God.  The Kingdom of Man requires man to be king.  The Kingdom of God requires God to be King.  When you determine what is right and what is wrong independent of the Scriptures, you have exalted yourself.  You are god.  And way too often, we bow down and worship.

            We who live in a democracy have a lot to learn about a kingdom.  First it has a king.  He is not elected because we want him to be king.  If we don’t want him to be king, he still is king.  He makes the rules regardless of our opinion on the matter. He does not rule by opinion polls. The best non-democratic example we have is the parent-child relationship.

Because of original sin, we as people are born with ourselves enthroned in our lives.  It doesn’t take long for new parents to realize who the king in the household is.  This little precious tyrant determines when you sleep, when you eat, where you go, how long you stay, etc.  The process of growing up begins as the tyrant is overthrown and submission to loving authority is put into place in that little person’s life. So you also have been born into the Kingdom of God and if you’re going to mature the tyrant; the man-king, must be overthrown.  You must learn not to play in the streets of sin, nor stick your wet, sticky fingers in the light sockets of immorality.

But it goes much deeper than just the external acts of obedience. Your whole inner man must be brought into submission to the King.  You must choose to align yourself internally with the King.   You much choose obedience from the heart.

As you contemplate yielding such incredible amount of authority over to an uncontrollable God, remember Psalms 45:10-11:  “Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear:  Forget your people and your father’s house.  The king is enthralled by your beauty.”  This King loved you enough to die for you when you were in rebellion against His rule.  You can trust Him.

Jesus is Your Enabler

            Zechariah prophesied about Jesus (Luke1:74-75)  as our Savior He would “…enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”  Jesus didn’t come to condemn but to save.  He is the first place to run to when you fail.  He will enable you to live in holiness. 

            “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3.  The key to Jesus being your enabler is your knowledge of Him.  I’m not talking about the mental ascent as when one knows the multiplication tables and when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  I’m referring to a personal intimacy with Jesus.  Remember this salvation business was all His idea.  He found you; you didn’t find Him. Well, same thing goes for intimacy.  This is His idea.  Jesus desires intimacy with you.  Yes, you.  All He’s waiting for is you to agree.  What in the world could possible hold you back from such an invitation?  What ever it is dump it like you would the unidentifiable frig fur from last month’s culinary delights.  You see you are wanted; you are desired.  And not just by a nobody, but the Somebody of the universe.

            The problem with this wonderful intimate relationship with your Creator who lavishes love on you, is that He requires obedience.  We’ve in the past always liked having ourselves as the head honcho.  Now He requires that place in our lives.  This is where we slip back into munching frig fur.  We forget that He loves us and not just a little, but lavishes His love on us.

 O’ Lord give me revelation of Your abundant love for me. I know that I have reverted to the sinful habits of my old dead ways instead of embracing the truth and power of the Gospel that has set me free from slavery to sin.  Forgive me.  Enable me to truly understand that in love You predestined me to be adopted as your child through Jesus Christ, in accordance with Your pleasure and will. (Ephesians 1:5)   How great is the love the Father has lavished on me, that I should be called a child of God!  And that is what I am. (1 John 3:1)  I thank you, Jesus, that no force in heaven or on earth can separate me from Your love. (Romans 8:39)  And I thank you that the Power to accomplish this is the same Power that raised Christ from the dead!  Hallelujah! Glory to God! Amen! 

The Living God

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:7

“His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.”  Isaiah 29:26

If we are to love God we need to talk with Him, not at Him. We need to seek Him and not give up until we find Him.  Don’t allow your flesh to settle for ritual or religion.  The Father is actively looking for those that are looking for Him.  You will find Him, but you have to be willing to submit to the Holy Spirit.  Isaiah 59:2 says that your iniquities have separated you from God.  This is were our flesh rises up and screams, “I know right from wrong.”  Or the enemy stands accusing and condemning you about what a loser you are.  You see, when we pray then hear and see no answer, our flesh knows how much easier it is to figure it just wasn’t God’s will to answer but the Lord made it plain in Matthew 21:22 that He would answer every prayer.  The alternative is to submit our flesh to the searching and purifying of the Holy Spirit. Sin is notoriously deceptive and thrives in the cover of darkness.  Be prepared; the sin is often not what we expect. 

“…God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ…”(Romans 2:16). The secrets will be judge.  The question every believer has to ask themselves is when do I want to deal with the secrets:  now or the Day of Judgment.  Do I want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!” or “Well done piece of toast!”? 

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stone, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”(1Corinthians 3:11-15).

  You see these secrets are often in the foundation.  They’re many times not the good works that men can see, but hidden even from ourselves and we need the Holy Spirit to reveal these secrets.  “The heart is deceptive above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.’”(Jeremiah 17:9-10).

 God often violates our image of ourselves and /or who the Lord really is.  We think we’re really angry at the way the guy in front of us cut us off on the drive home.  But really somewhere in our heart we’re still believe that we really were at fault for our parents getting divorced.  We think that God is really mad at us because we screw up all the time.  But really He just wants to pull us up into his lap and give us a big hug. “ But you don’t know the things I’ve done.  Besides circumstances, my own actions, “friends”, and even family have told me over and over what a screw-up I am.”  You have forgotten that the Alpha and Omega knew all those things before He ever called you into His kingdom.  So repent from you foolish unbelief in the power of God to work His will in you.  He knows all things, understands all things, and has the most power.  It is His opinion that matters.  He says He loves you.  Trust the Lord’s opinion.  Allow Him to define for you what constitutes a right relationship with Him.  Dearly beloved, allow Him to define who you are.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God!” 1 John 3:1

Lord God, forgive me my pride and arrogance!  I am not my Creator.  I am not able to define who I am, nor what constitutes a right relationship with You.  Search my heart and grant me repentance for any unclean thing in me.  I trust in Your love, Your power, and Your wisdom.  Create in me a clean heart that exalts You!  May Your kingdom come and Your will be done! Thank you Jesus!  For in You I have a steadfast and trustworthy hope.

His Voice

“Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you.  Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”   Deuteronomy 4:1

Obedience leads to a tremendous amount of blessings.  This principle is throughout scripture.  But you cannot obey unless you first hear what is required.  You need ears that can hear and eyes that can see in order walk in obedience.  Ecclesiastes 3 states that there is a time for everything.  Well, is it a time to tear down or a time to build?  How do you know?  You have to consult the One who created time to know the answer.  This requires, not only hearing His answer, but also knowing it is the Lord when He speaks.  In John 10 the Good Shepherd refers His sheep as knowing His voice.  They don’t know about His voice; they know His voice. 

  You see the Pharisees knew scripture, but the disciples knew the Lord.   This knowing Him means to know Him intimately, not just as a casual acquaintance.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion." Hebrews 3:15.

Hearing His voice leads to intimacy.  He bought this on the Cross.  He paid a heavy price to open the door to an intimate relationship with you.  He wants you.  How are you going to respond? 

You can know by reading any of the Gospels that interaction with the Lord will mean many blessings, but also, that He will violate your theology, offend your pride, and turn your world upside down.  Be prepared.  He’s not an idol that requires a systematic ritual to obtain a guaranteed result.  No, He’s far from controllable, but always trustworthy and faithful.  At times, He can be so gentle and tender; but He also doesn’t mind spitting in your eyes so you can see.  If you chose this dynamic relationship with a risen Savior, the adventure you set out on will not be boring and you’ll never regret it, but I make no promises about it being easy.

Oh, Lord, You are the Lord of Glory, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  Give this lump of clay the ability to trust this wild, noble and good Lion.  Let this dirt bound creature of earth fly in the heights of heaven.  Let this rebel delight in obedience.  Let this deaf, cold, dead heart hear Your voice and beat wildly, enthralled with Your Presence!  Amen.

Start at the Beginning

The crack of the whip rings in the air. A gasp escaped from the lips of the bruised and now bloody man’s back

 My greed.

 The whip cracks again.

  My bitterness.

  The blood from His back splatters those standing close.  Again the whip cruelly lies open His back.

 My hatred.

 Crack.  The blood sprays their faces.

  My lust.

 Crack.  The blood splatters their clothes.

  My selfishness.

 Crack.  The blood is in their hair and on their feet.

 My jealousy.

  Finally, He’s thrown to the blood soaked ground.  Only to struggle through town with a rough-hewn beam thrust on His shredded back.  Each step a struggle amidst a mocking crowd.

 My drunkenness.

 At the top of the hill to the joy and delight of the crowd He’s thrown down on top of the rough beam and the nails are lined-up on the wrists and the hammer raised.  The thud of the hammer rings out amidst the cries of agony.

 My gluttony.

 His body twists in a jolt of blinding pain as the crowd cheers the thud of the hammer.

 My lies.

 Thud.

  My gossiping.

  Thud.

  My hypocrisy.

 The blood was splattered liberally around the ravaged body of the Man.  It was sprinkled on all who drew near. 

  It’s far easier to step to the back of the crowd and look the other way. My inability to live, as I should is far less noticeable the farther back in the crowd I stand.  If I just look the other way, why, I can see that I’m certainly not as bad as those others over there.  It’s much more neat and orderly back here.  Not so messy. Cleanliness is next to godliness, you know.  I’m sure if I just get busy enough that nagging emptiness that snuck up on me will go away.

 Back here I can mark my sin up to only being human and my unanswered prayers as “it must not have been God’s will”.  My flesh’s attempt to deny that the Lord is my righteousness and that He promised to answer when I pray will keep me neat, orderly, and in control instead of bloody.

 What is this about the Holy Spirit wanting to be in control and that He wars against my flesh? War is not neat, orderly, or nice.  I hate this flatness; this emptiness in my life.

  What to do, what to do?

 Do I dare trust Him to win the war?

This emptiness bleeds the life from my soul.

 The war begins as I decide to draw near and be splattered by the Blood; I look into His eyes and cry out in agony “I’m unworthy of this sacrifice!”  Oh, how it rips and shreds my pride and arrogance.  It reveals my absolute nakedness and filth.  How can my flesh stand this!   It can’t.  It dies.  And I weep for I have always had this flesh beside me to guide me.

            Those nail pierced hands gently cup my face to draw my gaze upward.  It is frightening!  How can I endure such pain again!  But the hands are so gentle as they wipe away the tears. I give His face a quick glance.  How can it be?  With all the exposure of my wicked sin there should be wrath and anger.  My sin is so ugly and caused so much pain.  So what was that look on His face.  He didn’t appear to be angry.  Perhaps I should look again.  Oh, no! What do I do?  This kindness, this love on His face, could it be for me?  How could He love me when I’m so ugly?  Again those gentle hands draw me up on to His lap and He rests my head against His chest.  And as He cradles me in His lap I think, “Perhaps…could this be…love?”

           

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            To all those that are weary, burdened and hunger for more, come and we will go on a journey to find Life and life abundantly.