What Is Your Will In Christ?

So far, we've just been revisiting history that many are familiar with. Most Christians are familiar with the fact that the Children of Israel are God's chosen people. But the important connection between us that I want to point out is yet to come. Be aware that I'm not attempting to reveal some "never before revealed information" - that would be impossible. Our Bible has been scoured faithfully by scholars and those thirsty for knowledge of our God for centuries. But what I am hoping to do, is to bring back into focus some details important to our knowledge of who we are, who the Children of Israel are, and the eternal relationship that exists between us. So, on with the mission ... We're surrounded by worldly ideals, attitudes and theories. They come to us in the news and in all forms of political, social and even entertainment media. But if they're not consistent with the word of God, then they're the ideals and values of frail and perishable

Authors Note: It occurred to me after I put up the previous post, that my goal may be more correctly stated: There are numerous parts of Christ's Church that are called on a regular basis to pray for the people of my focus in this writing, but not everyone understands why. I'm hoping to bring some clarity to them... Being human with all of the physical and intellectual limitations of beings having a typical life span of less than 100 years, I think it's hard for us sometimes to keep in mind the realities of an infinite God. If our entire lives were to be examined by someone else, and we were asked to describe exactly what we were doing at an arbitrarily chosen minute, say 10 years ago, we couldn't recall. But our God, being omniscient and infinite can instantly recall every moment not only of my life and yours, but of every human being He ever created from the moment He created Adam. He suffers no limitation of His ability to recall. His memory is without fail. Th

I'd like to share something that I know some Christians recognize fully, but that others don't yet grasp. As you read this series of posts, please take your time in reading and check my references to scripture so that you can be at ease with what I'm sharing. It's nothing new, but something that not everyone recognizes and appreciates. And it's not something that I feel a lot of Christians are taught to understand with any recurring frequency to keep it in mind. The subject is one that the Lord's been speaking to my heart about for the last few months. It's taken some time in meditation and in checking it against His word in order to be able to share it. The subject first came up in conversation with a trusted spiritual brother a few months ago and without further discussion between us, it's continued to come back to my thoughts like an unending echo. It deals with the wholeness of Christ's Church - God's family, and the fact that it ca

There are numerous interesting people mentioned in the New Testament and of course none are even remotely as great as our Lord - There are of course,none fit to compare to even the shadow of His greatness. But among the other remarkable characters, I've always been drawn to be interested in the Apostle Peter. Having taken him from his humble beginnings as a raw, hard working fisherman, our Lord discipled him to become a fisher of men and gave to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. But his transformation didn't really begin until he got his feet wet. It wasn't until he spent a little "time on the water" that the calloused fisherman himself was really hooked ... Before he came to know Christ, Peter was just a common man. He was singularly unimportant and without any reason to believe that his future would be much different than his past. He wasn't a scholar or a dignitary on any level. One might get the impression that he was coarse, passionate, outs

Gratitude, something that I fear may not be expressed as much as it should be in our relationship with our Creator. It's the third word weighing on my heart and mind these days. It's a response. To be an honest expression, true gratitude requires an act of thoughtful recognition and bears the burden of a response. Gratitude: "thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive." - Wikipedia In order for our response to be appropriate to the benefits received and expected to be received, we have to "acknowledge" the full scope of the benefits. To "acknowledge": "1. a. To admit the existence, reality, truth of. b. To recognize as being valid or having force or power. 2. a. To express recognition of: acknowledge a friend's smile. b. To express thanks or gratitude for." - thefreedictionary.com My concern regarding this

GHG - Powerful Medicine To Cure The Runaway Human Ego Part 3 - Humility One Wikipedia definition describes Humility as, "A quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God's sake." This is the definition to which I subscribe and the one I aspire to be consumed by. It doesn't mean that as a Christian, I still carry the sins or the due judgment of my past. By the grace of God to forgive them through Christ's sacrifice, I'm no longer guilty before God. I no longer live under the conviction of them. But, I do remember ... that it's only because of His grace. I remember that by any sin, including the sin that I was born into, I was guilty and subject to judgment and thereby the punishment of death. I do realize that my right standing with God is a gift - unearned and undeserved and one for which my gratitude should never wane as long as I enjoy the et

GHG - Powerful Medicine To Cure The Runaway Human Ego Part 2 - Grace There are various definitions and interpretations of the word grace. But I'm convicted of, and impressed by only one - the undeserved favor of God. As Christians we should recognize that it's purely by grace that we're saved. We should know that our salvation isn't something we can earn or make happen by our own efforts. If we don't ... then we're missing a huge element in our relationship to our Lord. It was made possible purely by an act of God - a benevolence or act of charity that was unmerited, unearned and certainly undeserved by man. There's nothing we can do to promote our own salvation other than choosing to accept what God has implemented... nothing. As Christians we're very much aware of the awesome grace offered to us through Christ's sacrifice. But the moment of our salvation, though the pinnacle of His grace to us, is not the beginning of, nor His only gr

GHG - Powerful Medicine To Cure The Runaway Human Ego Part 1- Introduction Most people seem to have something they prize or pride themselves on. It may not be outward, but given a little time, you may eventually spot it. In the world, self reliance, self confidence and pride are promoted regularly as necessary elements to get ahead, achieve a higher position, to amount to, or accomplish anything. They can become core elements or foundations stones of thinking that establish a perspective that everything in ones' life is built on. In the world, the natural human focus is generally on self first. Humanistic views and values are taught in public schools, are available through worldly counseling and are shared regularly in the various forms of media and human conversation. If accepted, they can establish a rating system by which people and things are valued. It's the world's intellect - what it "knows". Growing up exposed to the world, it's h

Over the past weeks, you may have noticed that there have been a lack of posts to this blog. I have to confess that I came to a point where I began to question whether my writing, along with other things, was becoming a performance that I felt obligated to maintain or whether I was still allowing the Holy Spirit the freedom to lead. So I've taken some time out - not just from this part of my life but from some other very worthy activities as well to submit these things to the Lord and ask some questions: Lord, though I know these things are good and that they bless your heart, are they what you really want me to be doing or have I made assumptions because of their worthiness? I felt led to participate in them at some level in the beginning, but am I continuing now because my flesh likes routine? Because it's become expected by others? Or am I still following your leading? Was your intention for me to participate only for a moment or for the duration? Where am I? I fo

Have you ever tried to light a candle in a darkened room only to watch it sputter and struggle to stay lit? It's almost as if the impurities of the wick or maybe just the wax of the candle challenge the struggling flame for it's right to survive. Sometimes, without the patience to once again hold the igniting fire to the wick, we'll watch the sputtering flicker of flame die out and once again yield to the darkness. As Christians, we are spiritual candles of our Lord's creation. I can relate to that struggling candle in so many ways while looking back at my own life. It seems so clear to me looking back now, but in the beginning, there were so many things that I had to learn in order to be able to see and it's clear that I'm still learning now. As the illumination of that struggling flame in my life has grown stronger, it's given me the ability to see more things clearly that before were in the dark. There have been sudden drafts - events in life, conceived

Of all of the things that we can pray for, if you were allowed to ask for only one thing in your lifetime with a guarantee that it would be granted, what would you ask for? What all inclusive and perfect request could you make that is guaranteed to satisfy every condition, every situation and every need perfectly? What could you ask for that would encompass all people and things and create an environment of peace, healing, joy, contentment etc.? Jesus knew, and He shared it with us in yet another profound example for us to follow in The Lord's Prayer; Matthew 6:10 (NLT) "May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven." In my lifetime I've had countless opportunities to pray on my own behalf and also on behalf of others. I have approached our God with so many situations and needs knowing that He alone has the ability and power to control the multitude of circumstances of any life. Every time, I've searched my heart and mind (my own wisdom) for

The next example of our Lord Jesus in "The Lord's Prayer" that we will discuss is in regard to forgiveness as a critical element of our communication and relationship with our God. It's a reference to a spiritual posture and mandatory core element of our lives before Him. Matthew 6:12 "and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us." The proof of the importance of this elemental necessity abounds in the Word of our Lord. The essence, or spirit of this statement to be included in prayer is something He later demonstrated in discussion with His disciples. In the following passage Jesus more fully demonstrated the reality of our situation in relationship to our Heavenly Father and the necessity of what our posture toward others should be: Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT), 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" 22 "No!&