What Is Your Will In Christ?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am no less afflicted by the struggles with my flesh than anyone else. I am no more perfect or elevated. My own failures in this life haunt my heart, even though I have taken them to our Lord and know they are forgiven. I suffer from the knowledge that they have caused the greatest love of my life to suffer and I remain humbled before Him by His grace and mercy to forgive me. Jeff Holmes the man is imperfect. But what I am about to tell you here is strongly worded and I am strongly convicted that it is not affected by my imperfection. The reason I can say this is because I am convicted to firm belief that the perspective that is presented here is His. I'm beginning to understand that I may have lived this whole life, nearly 50 years for this one purpose: to get this one message out and to speak it with urgency. Because it's urgent in God's own heart. I don't believe in physical zombies, but I do believe that spiritual zombies exist in g...

  What is God's perspective? He spells it out clearly in His Word, but it's not something that will have life or meaning to us without the revelation of His Holy Spirit. It's more than intellectual and more than a book full of words. It's spiritual. The Holy Spirit gives life to it in our hearts and minds and when He does, things begin to make sense. In essence, we can read the Bible from cover to cover many times over and never "get it" until the Holy Spirit reveals it- brings it to life in us. He interprets it and removes the veil from our spiritual eyes to begin to see for the first time what it all means. My personal definition of God's perspective would be the point from which He views and judges all things. Remember God's statement in Isaiah 55:8-9: "My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ...

Basic science teaches us that some things conduct electricity and some don't. Among those that conduct electricity best are metals. A fact of all of these conductors, is that the purer the metal is, the better it conducts. Impurities in these metals create "resistance" and reduce the flow of electricity through them. These traits are replicated in us in terms of being conductors, or conduits if you will, of the Power of the Holy Spirit through us. There are certain impurities that we are all aware of that create resistance to the Holy Spirit, but there may well be impurities that we're not aware of. I've spent most of my life wondering why we don't see more of God's people exercising Christs words "greater things than these will you do in my name". We all know of the things to which He was referring. He had performed many healings and miracles that brought glory and fame to our Father and moved men to believe in great numbers. I'm not propos...

When we come together to worship our God, we are inviting Him to come and dine on our praise and worship. We are inviting our most treasured love to dinner. How will we prepare ourselves for this intimate occasion? What will we serve Him? What will we offer the greatest love of our lives as an offering of our deepest affections for His pleasure? What will we offer Him in our worship? Will it be yesterdays tasteless, warmed-over mashed potatoes? Or will it be the choicest, most savory dish that our love for Him inspires us to serve Him? Will it be His favorite dish that we labor to prepare because we know that it pleases Him? Or something that we prepared with the minimum of effort on the spur of the moment just to get the job done? Spiritually, how will we dress for this occasion? Will we come to the table in our daily work grubbys to serve the King of our hearts? Or will we prepare our hearts to appeal to His desire because we know that it satisfies His desire - His desire to fi...

The love song of my God is endless and sweet. It's music is wrapped in love and carried by the purest spirit to stir the hearts that hear it. The words of it tell a tale of a universe created for one purpose, as a gift for the cherished ones, the beloved of the singer to enjoy and to flourish in. A world made and given to the love of the singers heart to share and to walk together hand in hand. A gift of mystery and wonder, one filled with beauty and inspiration beyond the ability of any other to create. You hung the stars like jewels in sky above for the love of your heart to gaze upon in wonder as they sparkle in the night. And along with them you placed the moon as a soft glowing night light for your beloved to enjoy in the evening. Every morning you faithfully command the sun to rise and shine upon the love of your heart, to give warmth and light to live. You cause the earth to bear fruit to feed the ones you desire and tend the gardens of the earth to the benefit of those you ...

The King of Kings came in humility The sons of men to save All the while His enemy sought to put Him in His grave He gave His all, His heart, His everything to make all blind men see He sought to save even the least of these and one of them was me At any time he could have called it off and the host of heaven down But the Creator of the universe chose to wear a thorny crown Lord of heaven, the Son of God they dared to be His Judge He allowed them to pass sentence and willingly He did trudge Satan laughed in ecstasy as they cursed and spat upon the King With just a word at any time He could have changed everything But carrying a cross to Calvary's' hill He chose to die my death In a moment He could have called it off with His very dying breath But though His body wrenched in pain He chose to hold His peace He Came to save even the least of these and one of them...was me

In the early days of my young life With the lack of understanding rife "Jesus loves me this I know" Clashed with "if you sin to hell you go" But as I grew I learned to read And in my heart His word did breed the marvels of His loving grace and soon I learned to seek His face He made me see that forgiveness is the key to my becoming His That Jesus loves me now I know So no more the threat to Hell I go And as I live apart from sin His promise grows now deep within With understanding I now see A Fathers' heart that teaches me His true desire is for my heart to seek His own, to be a part of His radiant glory, His life to share And by obedience I show I care That my desire is for His own That by His grace I have grown My eyes now see, I understand I live by scars of my Saviors' hand

The Lord asked me "Did you hang the stars in the night sky to be seen by all who look upon them and do you know all of the names I have given them? Did you place the sun, the moon and the planets in perfect order and do you keep them in place?" "No Lord" I responded. "Then you're not the master of the heavens" He replied. The Lord spoke again and He asked me "Did you give your breath to create life on the earth and all that sustains it? Did you give life to the animals and the ground that feed you? Can you give life to even one thing?" "No Lord" I responded. "Then you are not the giver of life" He replied. The Lord spoke again and He asked me "Do you know the count of the leaves on the trees of the world or the number of the feathers that cover it's birds? Do you even know how many hairs are on your own head?" "No Lord" I responded." "Then you are not the accountant of the universe"...

As I stubbornly walk through this life working to succeed in earning the reward of my works, you have spoken to my heart and my weary mind the truth of my condition. In days past, most of the effort I have exerted each day was in the determination to win the sustenance to continue and the right to declare what is mine in this world. I have worked with rigid determination to succeed and to claim what I have earned in this life. My will outweighing the limits of my body and my mind focused on obtaining the goal of my desire. My efforts have at times left me broken, bleeding and exhausted beyond words. My body aching from the strain and my mind so weary as to be devoid of the ability to think further. In the end, with my resources stripped and my mind ravaged by the effort, I look to see the measure of my accomplishment and am awed by the work that remains. In my weariness, when I fall to rest, I look to the next day and realize that I cannot see the end of my tasks and I know not the da...

Oh to soar on wings of love to kiss the face of God above to see the beauty of this place the knowing smile upon your face as we discover gifts you've shared ones that let us know you cared to give the very best to us that all we have to do is trust every word you've spoken deep in love and give the praise to you above but who will see the beauty of your hand and all that you've created in this land to recognize the hand of God and in joyous chorus will applaud the precious loving Fathers' heart with which you wrapped this work of art to see beyond a world of hurts and come to know that hidden lurks a gift that we can only know with loving faith our hearts will show when to the truth our hearts aspire only then to soar much higher

How sweet the moment man realizes the limitations of his mortality and surrenders his life to the design of an immortal and everlasting God How blessed is the heart that seeks to touch the heart of it’s Creator and know the love that loves without limit without end and without cause How joyous is the life that is redeemed from the righteous justice of everlasting death to be given the privilege of life eternal at the price of faith in a Savior How free is the spirit of man repentant, relieved of the burden of sin and filth to fly holy in the presence of the Father and be warmed by the Son How deep is my love for the one who would bear my shame, my sentence of death and still be anxious to give me healing and unfailing love

When casual is common place and a heart's indifferent to sin It's apparent to those who know, that His Spirit is not within For His passion is His trademark, and I strive to live sin free When the loving God of righteousness dwells inside of me His Spirit is anything but casual when it sets my heart on fire and with indifference to sin I do not dare provoke His ire For He is the God of righteousness and sin my unholy bane For where sin lives, He does not allow His Spirit to remain The deep and aching emptiness I feel when sin I allow to be Is the void left by His Spirit when it departed from inside of me So I long to walk in righteousness so that His Spirit can remain I cling with heartfelt passion to Him who removes sins' evil stain

When the mighty trumpet sounds to mark the return of the King of Kings and the arrival of the day of judgment, what will matter at that moment? What will our thoughts be? At that moment, the test of all tests will be over and the grading of our hearts and lives will begin. The mighty and terrible day of judgment will have arrived...  to reveal even the best kept secrets of our lives and the deepest recesses of our hearts will be examined. There won't be time to change our answers to the questions He has asked. No time to go back and change who we are at that moment. The whole of our lives will be held up to be measured against the instruction and teachings that the Lord God, Holiest of Holys has given us to live by. He will look at the commissions that He has given us in this life to see if we fulfilled them in obedience as He commanded. As we stand small and puny before the great throne of the omnipotent and holy God on that day, all of heaven will be watching breathlessly hopi...

Lord of my creation, can I be set apart from this world to walk wholly devoted to living in communion with you as my heart desires? Can I be released from the curse of my sin and the sins of my fathers to walk in your favor as those to whom you have shown favor before me? Can I walk in the power of the mighty one who created all that I know and serve faithfully the purpose of my creation? If so, then it is the true desire of my heart that this would be my destiny in your heart. It is my desire to bring forth to the God of my heart the fulfillment of His purpose in the breath that He gave me. This life I live has lost its attraction in light of my love for you. So what am I to do? All things in this life seem to lead to confusion and disappointment, but my love for you brings me joy and fulfillment. My faith in you will not fail me in that the demands of this life will be answered by you in your perfect time and in ways that I may not yet see. Like the birds that you love I will not fea...

He tells me wait, my faith to test I have to trust, in Him to rest The world would say that all is lost as the walls cave in they count the cost Over the edge and beyond return Can’t calm my fear, emotions burn But it’s in His hands, I can’t look back I pray my Lord, give me faith I lack I know you love me, your word is true For in the end your light shines through Your faithfulness, my endless hope Your patient love the strength to cope Darkness threatens and storms will roar But I'm in the hands of one I adore Mountains loom high, and oceans rage But I trust in Him of endless age For all the while in my heart I know These trials, His lesson, my faith to grow

What is this song in my heart Lord? It ebbs and it flows. It reaches height in crescendo that I have never heard. It fills my heart with exhilaration but then the sweetness of it brings me to tears. I struggle to write the music, but my words cannot describe its depth. Its melody is beyond the capacity of my heart to contain for its richness is more than I can bear. It brings to me the freedom for my spirit to fly and the fulfillment of longing that I have never experienced to such fullness. It is your spirit within me my Lord that gives music to my soul. Your presence within me is overwhelming in ways that I struggle humbly to describe. I am both pauper and king. My place in this world is that of indebted peasant, but I am graced by the presence of the living God in my heart. My wealth cannot be purchased at any price and the richest of men may not be able to share in it but by your grace. I am rich in your mercy, wealthy in measure of your grace. In your love I hold that which is pr...

From the dawn of the morning suns' first light to the vibrant colors of it's setting in the evening From the first twinkling of the stars in the dusk to the pale fading of the moon before the dawn The longing of my heart seeks your presence Father For your presence brings my heart to joyful life Your spirit renews my soul and refreshes my own Your words are the music my ears long to hear Your glory is the light my eyes need to see The weight of your presence the touch I long to feel How long my Father must I wait to feel your tender loving heart with mine once again Whatever is that measure of time My heart counts with anxious beats

There are moments my Lord, when I am alone with you that my passion runs high for the God of my creation and my mind struggles to imagine what my eyes cannot see. Moments when my heart races at the thought of what it will be like to be in the house of my Father. The place where your heart rules over hearts seeking your own and the enemy is no more. The place where all that exists is holy and pure and fashioned from the beauty of your heart, a place that evil never touched. These are moments when my mind wonders and I consider your everlasting greatness and immeasurable power. Moments when my mind can't resist the desire to see the God of all the universe whose throne sits high beyond the stars. Moments of longing when it struggles to imagine what no man could conceive. But in those moments when my imagination strains to create the image that no man knows, my heart speaks fondly of the God it would recognize in an instant. The face is gentle, it is that of a loving and all knowing ...

Lord God above the highest stars, you alone are the architect and creator of all that exists Time came to be at your command and by your direction all that you have made is ordered by it At the sound of your holy voice, that which was not came into existence and remains by your will The mere shadow of your glory gives light to the sun at your whim and all that lives is sustained There is nothing that exists but by your choosing to allow it, for none can contend your power None can defy you, but in your patience, you gave choice to men to worship, or die by their disbelief Great and unending is your mercy to those who seek it true of heart, respecting your omnipotence The mysteries and the complexity of your work challenges the minds of men from all generations Yet the greatest of your offerings to men is the simplest in its' pure nature, the love of your heart What can be said of you Lord God, that is equal to your greatness? You have not yet created the words Yaweh, as m...

Father… I am created from the dust If there be any good in me … If there be any beauty in me … It is not credit to me … For it was spawned by the very breath of life breathed into me by my Holy Creator … That which is Holy in me is your goodness and your beauty … Which exists by the presence of your very breath

Who am I Lord to question what you have declared acceptable? Who am I to judge anything but by your word and your decree. It's by your word and your decree that I know anything. Any other is folly for your word is the only truth that exists and it was authored by your mouth. It existed before the time of men began and has stood unchanged by the interpretations of men and the efforts of the enemy to hide it or pervert it. It stands alone as the highest shining monument of all time unable to be changed by the efforts of any who would come against it. The light of it gives men the mercy and grace to see as they walk the path of this life. The spirit of it gives wisdom and understanding to those who would founder in blindness and ignorance without it and fall to their death. It gives sustenance to live and strength to walk the miles. It brings healing to the broken and comforts those who would tremble as they walk. The enemy of mens souls has made substitution to snare the feet of th...