some bits from a really great, thought-provoking article I read today:
"WORSHIP IS [that is, this is the very ESSENCE, the defining nature of worship] ENJOYING THE PRESENCE OF GOD."
"Many Christians, today, do not have the conscious presence of God in their lives."
"The Holy Spirit is to us what the pillar of cloud and of fire were to the children of Israel. The Holy Spirit is God's manifested presence in our lives."
"Many people confess faith in the Lord Jesus, but do not have his presence in their lives; and [consequently,] they do not have the assurance of their salvation."
"Some of the most frightening words in the Bible are found in Exodus 33:1-3 where God gave the children of Israel his Protection, his Provision, and his Promise, but not his PRESENCE...."
"Do not settle for God's protection, his provision, or even the promised land [!] without his presence. When you have the presence of God, you need nothing more; and you should settle for nothing less!"
[note, I do not yet know who the author of this article is ~ but if/when I find, I will add as a comment to this post for future reference.]
30 November, 2011
Being Built into a Spiritual House
I am still meditating on Monday night's powerful, loaded teaching by the pastor at my church.
We looked at, primarily, 1 Peter 2 ("spiritual house") and 1 Corinthians 2 ("spiritually discerned"), so the following is a kind of a swirl of the overall teaching from the other night, and it's swimming around in my heart and mind as if to suggest this is a SIGNIFICANT truth ~ that is, I can "feel" the Lord really impressing this to my heart:
What does it mean that the [authentic] church is being built into a SPIRITUAL house? We, governed by SPIRITUAL realities; We, having the MIND OF CHRIST; both individually (as living stones) & collectively (as a corporate Body, being "edified" - as in "edifice" - as in BUILT UP INTO) the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit....
We, the very DWELLING place of God, his PRESENCE manifest AMONG, & IN, & TO & THRU us, making us a CITY ON A HILL, & thus a DECLARATION of GOD'S GLORIOUS GRACE!
We, an authentic church which has not merely the FORM of godliness, but which is unswervingly characterized by God's POWER, operating in dependence on his Holy Spirit, having been dramatically transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of HIS marvelous light!
WE, now, the "place" where God's PRESENCE abides, are both made FOR & (through Jesus Christ alone!) redeemed TO ~ WORSHIPPING GOD FOREVER, in SPIRIT & in TRUTH!
(1 Pet. 2, Eph. 1, 1 Cor. 2:1-5, 10-16, Ex. 33, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, a whirlwind survey thru the book of ACTS, Jn 4:23-24, et al.)
Oh, how we have TASTED, how we SEE that the Lord is GOOD!
We looked at, primarily, 1 Peter 2 ("spiritual house") and 1 Corinthians 2 ("spiritually discerned"), so the following is a kind of a swirl of the overall teaching from the other night, and it's swimming around in my heart and mind as if to suggest this is a SIGNIFICANT truth ~ that is, I can "feel" the Lord really impressing this to my heart:
What does it mean that the [authentic] church is being built into a SPIRITUAL house? We, governed by SPIRITUAL realities; We, having the MIND OF CHRIST; both individually (as living stones) & collectively (as a corporate Body, being "edified" - as in "edifice" - as in BUILT UP INTO) the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit....
We, the very DWELLING place of God, his PRESENCE manifest AMONG, & IN, & TO & THRU us, making us a CITY ON A HILL, & thus a DECLARATION of GOD'S GLORIOUS GRACE!
We, an authentic church which has not merely the FORM of godliness, but which is unswervingly characterized by God's POWER, operating in dependence on his Holy Spirit, having been dramatically transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of HIS marvelous light!
WE, now, the "place" where God's PRESENCE abides, are both made FOR & (through Jesus Christ alone!) redeemed TO ~ WORSHIPPING GOD FOREVER, in SPIRIT & in TRUTH!
(1 Pet. 2, Eph. 1, 1 Cor. 2:1-5, 10-16, Ex. 33, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, a whirlwind survey thru the book of ACTS, Jn 4:23-24, et al.)
Oh, how we have TASTED, how we SEE that the Lord is GOOD!
17 November, 2011
Perfect Grace!
God's perfect holiness requires our perfect holiness, OR his perfect (eternal!) judgment on us for LACK of it.
But thanks be to God that his perfect LOVE provided a perfect substitute - Jesus! - so that he would pour out his perfect judgment & wrath on the only one who really WAS (& is & is to come) perfectly holy, so that he could pour out his grace & mercy on all of US who would find our lives hidden IN that perfect substitute - Jesus! - & WHY would God do this? Not just so we'd be LIKE him! But so that we could be WITH him! FOREVER!
This isn't fundamentally a "perfecting" story - though we are, in Christ, perfected.
This isn't ultimately a "we WIN!" story - though, in Christ, we do!
It's not a "look at us, we're so great!" story - though Christ is the lifter of our heads, and he will exalt us at the proper time! - or, as some of us tend to think, a "woe is me, if only I could be perfect without Jesus' sacrifice!" story - though our hearts ought to break with what breaks the heart of God.
This is not a "religious" story, or even primarily a "rescue" story - though we are, in Christ, really rescued!
No! This is, first of all!, a LOVE story!
****
Our holiness is not the END - it's the MEANS! That we might receive and ENJOY, NOT our own perfection!, but GOD HIMSELF!
****
If we do not have Jesus' perfection - which he FREELY gives to all who would believe on his name! - If Jesus is not our ark of safety, and we do not stand before God clothed in HIS righteousness, we cannot survive the eternal INFERNO of God's GLORY. But he does not give us Jesus' righteousness so we will merely survive; he gives us the nature and heart of Jesus so we could be one with HIM!
HE is our heaven! Glory to God for his perfect grace!
But thanks be to God that his perfect LOVE provided a perfect substitute - Jesus! - so that he would pour out his perfect judgment & wrath on the only one who really WAS (& is & is to come) perfectly holy, so that he could pour out his grace & mercy on all of US who would find our lives hidden IN that perfect substitute - Jesus! - & WHY would God do this? Not just so we'd be LIKE him! But so that we could be WITH him! FOREVER!
This isn't fundamentally a "perfecting" story - though we are, in Christ, perfected.
This isn't ultimately a "we WIN!" story - though, in Christ, we do!
It's not a "look at us, we're so great!" story - though Christ is the lifter of our heads, and he will exalt us at the proper time! - or, as some of us tend to think, a "woe is me, if only I could be perfect without Jesus' sacrifice!" story - though our hearts ought to break with what breaks the heart of God.
This is not a "religious" story, or even primarily a "rescue" story - though we are, in Christ, really rescued!
No! This is, first of all!, a LOVE story!
****
Our holiness is not the END - it's the MEANS! That we might receive and ENJOY, NOT our own perfection!, but GOD HIMSELF!
****
If we do not have Jesus' perfection - which he FREELY gives to all who would believe on his name! - If Jesus is not our ark of safety, and we do not stand before God clothed in HIS righteousness, we cannot survive the eternal INFERNO of God's GLORY. But he does not give us Jesus' righteousness so we will merely survive; he gives us the nature and heart of Jesus so we could be one with HIM!
HE is our heaven! Glory to God for his perfect grace!
03 November, 2011
Let the Truth Speak for Itself
I needed to receive this word, today...AMEN!
"People filled with the Holy Spirit should be marked with the true features of witnesses. They neither dither nor dogmatize. They are sure of their aim but are not arrogant. They have the cool assurance of knowing that two plus two equals four with no need to prove it - no polemics. They are passionate but not pushy (with a few exceptions). They let the truth speak for itself, no browbeating people into submission. They do not wear boxing gloves. The preaching formula is always 'thus says the Lord,' not 'I’m telling you!' Witnesses just pass on what they had heard and saw. It is not their business to defend it or even to invite questions. It is the Lord’s responsibility to confirm the righteousness of His own Word."
~ (Evangelist) REINHARD BONNKE
"People filled with the Holy Spirit should be marked with the true features of witnesses. They neither dither nor dogmatize. They are sure of their aim but are not arrogant. They have the cool assurance of knowing that two plus two equals four with no need to prove it - no polemics. They are passionate but not pushy (with a few exceptions). They let the truth speak for itself, no browbeating people into submission. They do not wear boxing gloves. The preaching formula is always 'thus says the Lord,' not 'I’m telling you!' Witnesses just pass on what they had heard and saw. It is not their business to defend it or even to invite questions. It is the Lord’s responsibility to confirm the righteousness of His own Word."
~ (Evangelist) REINHARD BONNKE
02 November, 2011
Does Our "Eschatology" Rescue the Perishing?!
Just thinking out loud. Particularly as the matter of "End Times" theology has paradoxically both excited/intrigued me AND irritated/deflated me....
I LOVE considering Jesus' return! I LOVE the urgency of seeing how current events line up with biblical prophecy.
But I DESPISE how matters of interpretation about prophecies that are still largely mysterious nevertheless manage to cause HUGE divisions in the Body of Christ, and to what end? (no pun intended....) If we are divided, on matters that are NOT intrinsic to the Gospel (see prev post - I am not advocating we abandon clear truths of Scripture - but where we have perhaps loved our TEACHINGS more than the WORD? let us lay those differences aside!), are we not in our division giving up the very ground to the enemy that WE should be conquering? Land that was promised to US?
So, lately, I find myself reading much about and also now in a church that holds to a kind of "end times" perspective that is a) quite different from my previously (albeit loosely) held assumptions, and that b) has VAST implications for how I might live, today, if this is an accurate interpretation of Scripture. So much so, in fact, that I am tempted to say every other "end times" view fits pretty squarely into the "not yet" category whereas this approach with which I now find myself presented is filled to overflowing with a sense of the "already." So, in my zeal, I whipped out the following as a status update on my facebook profile several minutes ago:
What if our "eschatology" - FAR from being a peripheral concern - were to not merely "inform" but absolutely TRANSFORM the way we live our life, NOW? That is, what if our "end times theology" is the wrongly held conviction that God's Kingdom is for THEN, but not NOW? What if the so-called tension between the "already" and "not yet" is so far much more defined by the "not yet" that we LOSE the ALREADY? What if "fixing our eyes on Jesus," and "setting our mind on things above," and praying "THY KINGDOM COME, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" is - not some social justice march, per se, but rather the RALLYING cry for an army of Christ-followers who are storming the gates of Hell to take back all those lost and captive to sin, declaring Christ as King and Victor....NOW. ALREADY. AND FOREVER!
I wonder if anyone will have anything to say about this??
O, Church, where is our URGENCY? (And how and where along the line had I lost mine?!) Where is our dependence on God's GRACE and the leading of HIS SPIRIT so that we are STILL able to GO into the ends of the earth? Did he not say we are to make disciples of EVERY nation until the END OF THE AGE? Oh, it's there, right in the text! (cf Matt28) Because his promise is to be WITH us....until when? Do you see? This means AT LEAST until every last perishing one is rescued from the clutches of sin and death! (And of course, the "rest" into which we eventually enter is nothing less than the heaven of HIS PRESENCE, so he will NEVER leave us!)
O, Church, where is our HOLINESS? Where is our relentless mortifying of the sin in our own mortal bodies, so we may WALK in the freedom Christ purchased for us, not allowing the enemy to get strongholds in our thoughts and lives, setting up fortresses in our lives and minds AGAINST the knowledge of God! Where is our pursuit of the prize? Where is the JOYFUL EXPECTATION that our faith, ONCE FOR ALL delivered to us, is that SURE thing, kept and preserved by Christ himself - Do we not know whom we have believed? Are we not persuaded that HE is able to keep that which we've committed unto him against that day? And if we ARE, then why are we weak and whimpering and fattening ourselves in the day of slaughter when we were made MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Christ?!
O, ME of little faith! How I have sat, wearied by my own sin and frailty, longing and frantically searching for Home when I had the ruby slippers all along....GET UP, WOMAN!
You were made for more than this!
His grace IS sufficient for you!
His power IS perfected in your weakness!
Now is not the time for grieving! Now is the time for LAYING HOLD of the promises of God, not in weakness but in the strength of HIS might!
Sit no longer under the weight of merely enduring this life until you can be holy in the next!
O, Church! The Gates of Hell cannot prevail against us - Since when do gates launch an attack? Are they not stationary, trying merely to prevent OUR advance?
So what ought we to be doing? Standing STILL??
I LOVE considering Jesus' return! I LOVE the urgency of seeing how current events line up with biblical prophecy.
But I DESPISE how matters of interpretation about prophecies that are still largely mysterious nevertheless manage to cause HUGE divisions in the Body of Christ, and to what end? (no pun intended....) If we are divided, on matters that are NOT intrinsic to the Gospel (see prev post - I am not advocating we abandon clear truths of Scripture - but where we have perhaps loved our TEACHINGS more than the WORD? let us lay those differences aside!), are we not in our division giving up the very ground to the enemy that WE should be conquering? Land that was promised to US?
So, lately, I find myself reading much about and also now in a church that holds to a kind of "end times" perspective that is a) quite different from my previously (albeit loosely) held assumptions, and that b) has VAST implications for how I might live, today, if this is an accurate interpretation of Scripture. So much so, in fact, that I am tempted to say every other "end times" view fits pretty squarely into the "not yet" category whereas this approach with which I now find myself presented is filled to overflowing with a sense of the "already." So, in my zeal, I whipped out the following as a status update on my facebook profile several minutes ago:
What if our "eschatology" - FAR from being a peripheral concern - were to not merely "inform" but absolutely TRANSFORM the way we live our life, NOW? That is, what if our "end times theology" is the wrongly held conviction that God's Kingdom is for THEN, but not NOW? What if the so-called tension between the "already" and "not yet" is so far much more defined by the "not yet" that we LOSE the ALREADY? What if "fixing our eyes on Jesus," and "setting our mind on things above," and praying "THY KINGDOM COME, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" is - not some social justice march, per se, but rather the RALLYING cry for an army of Christ-followers who are storming the gates of Hell to take back all those lost and captive to sin, declaring Christ as King and Victor....NOW. ALREADY. AND FOREVER!
I wonder if anyone will have anything to say about this??
O, Church, where is our URGENCY? (And how and where along the line had I lost mine?!) Where is our dependence on God's GRACE and the leading of HIS SPIRIT so that we are STILL able to GO into the ends of the earth? Did he not say we are to make disciples of EVERY nation until the END OF THE AGE? Oh, it's there, right in the text! (cf Matt28) Because his promise is to be WITH us....until when? Do you see? This means AT LEAST until every last perishing one is rescued from the clutches of sin and death! (And of course, the "rest" into which we eventually enter is nothing less than the heaven of HIS PRESENCE, so he will NEVER leave us!)
O, Church, where is our HOLINESS? Where is our relentless mortifying of the sin in our own mortal bodies, so we may WALK in the freedom Christ purchased for us, not allowing the enemy to get strongholds in our thoughts and lives, setting up fortresses in our lives and minds AGAINST the knowledge of God! Where is our pursuit of the prize? Where is the JOYFUL EXPECTATION that our faith, ONCE FOR ALL delivered to us, is that SURE thing, kept and preserved by Christ himself - Do we not know whom we have believed? Are we not persuaded that HE is able to keep that which we've committed unto him against that day? And if we ARE, then why are we weak and whimpering and fattening ourselves in the day of slaughter when we were made MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Christ?!
O, ME of little faith! How I have sat, wearied by my own sin and frailty, longing and frantically searching for Home when I had the ruby slippers all along....GET UP, WOMAN!
You were made for more than this!
His grace IS sufficient for you!
His power IS perfected in your weakness!
Now is not the time for grieving! Now is the time for LAYING HOLD of the promises of God, not in weakness but in the strength of HIS might!
Sit no longer under the weight of merely enduring this life until you can be holy in the next!
O, Church! The Gates of Hell cannot prevail against us - Since when do gates launch an attack? Are they not stationary, trying merely to prevent OUR advance?
So what ought we to be doing? Standing STILL??
24 October, 2011
People of the WORD!
I love the internet - there is SO much at my fingertips, as far as good biblical teaching, sermons online, etc. SO many tables at which we can sit, & eat till we are stuffed & overfull, & equally as many outlets for evangelism & ministry.
But, there are also SO many dangers, so much opportunity to proliferate BAD teachings, & all in all, how much of this really aids the Body at large IF WE AREN'T ABIDING IN THE WORD!? There is a very real danger of harm, & the very real presence of spiritual enemies who wish to snatch the truth before we are able to receive it in the good soil of our hearts (cf Luke 8).
And having Twitter & FaceBook saturated attention spans really only continues to ERRODE our patience for careful examination, critical thought, & taking the time to prayerfully seek God's face that he might make HIMSELF known to us, so we aren't so easily tossed about (& often we do not know this is happening!) by every wind of doctrine.
A HELPFUL QUESTION: What is the "trend" of your sermon-listening/book-reading? How much of what you hear is SCRIPTURE saturated, and how much is the mere pontificating of this or that teacher/preacher?
In God's wisdom - as an anchor to our souls! - we are to measure & test all things by his WORD, to BE a people of BOOK! This does not mean powerless, spirit-less, merely academic analysis -
This "Book" was Spirit-authored, & our ability to receive it is Spirit-empowered, & our love & application OF it is Spirit-quickened!
If we are HIS, we LOVE his Word! What this does mean? We have, in this span of time from Christ's first coming until he comes again (& forever after!), the GLORIOUS privilege of fellowshipping WITH God & worshipping him in Spirit AND in Truth, such that God himself is our Teacher.
If you have a dark spot in your understanding, ask the Lord for revelation & diligently search the WORD of God, because in his Word you will find the Light which reveals Christ.
(cf 1st John, esp. 2:18-27, & 4:1-6) ....
Blessings,
~Leah
But, there are also SO many dangers, so much opportunity to proliferate BAD teachings, & all in all, how much of this really aids the Body at large IF WE AREN'T ABIDING IN THE WORD!? There is a very real danger of harm, & the very real presence of spiritual enemies who wish to snatch the truth before we are able to receive it in the good soil of our hearts (cf Luke 8).
And having Twitter & FaceBook saturated attention spans really only continues to ERRODE our patience for careful examination, critical thought, & taking the time to prayerfully seek God's face that he might make HIMSELF known to us, so we aren't so easily tossed about (& often we do not know this is happening!) by every wind of doctrine.
A HELPFUL QUESTION: What is the "trend" of your sermon-listening/book-reading? How much of what you hear is SCRIPTURE saturated, and how much is the mere pontificating of this or that teacher/preacher?
In God's wisdom - as an anchor to our souls! - we are to measure & test all things by his WORD, to BE a people of BOOK! This does not mean powerless, spirit-less, merely academic analysis -
This "Book" was Spirit-authored, & our ability to receive it is Spirit-empowered, & our love & application OF it is Spirit-quickened!
If we are HIS, we LOVE his Word! What this does mean? We have, in this span of time from Christ's first coming until he comes again (& forever after!), the GLORIOUS privilege of fellowshipping WITH God & worshipping him in Spirit AND in Truth, such that God himself is our Teacher.
If you have a dark spot in your understanding, ask the Lord for revelation & diligently search the WORD of God, because in his Word you will find the Light which reveals Christ.
(cf 1st John, esp. 2:18-27, & 4:1-6) ....
Blessings,
~Leah
19 October, 2011
I'm Desperate For You!
Some reflections on last night and this morning, as I am conscious of the fact the Lord has been more about "wrecking" me than (at least as it seems) "refreshing" me in this corporate "revival."
******
We sing that we are "desperate" for the presence of God, but do we really know what we're singing? I am experientially realizing that genuine revival has to start where the Lord INCREASES OUR DESPERATION. A repeated word being spoken over me these days is in essence that "demolition precedes the rebuilding"....
An analogy from losing weight - because toxins are stored in our fat cells, when we begin to lose weight, especially any significant amount, those toxins get released into our bloodstream, and we begin to experientially FEEL worse, even though we are actually being CLEANSED! These toxins MUST be unlocked from the cells where they've been stored in order to get into the body's transport system so they can be expelled, and the body can....HEAL.
So, I thank you, Lord, for the KINDNESS of your demolishing work in the idol-factory of my heart. However much it increases my DESPERATION, I receive this as your PROMISE that you WILL come and fill the empty places and bring RESTORATION!
~L
******
We sing that we are "desperate" for the presence of God, but do we really know what we're singing? I am experientially realizing that genuine revival has to start where the Lord INCREASES OUR DESPERATION. A repeated word being spoken over me these days is in essence that "demolition precedes the rebuilding"....
An analogy from losing weight - because toxins are stored in our fat cells, when we begin to lose weight, especially any significant amount, those toxins get released into our bloodstream, and we begin to experientially FEEL worse, even though we are actually being CLEANSED! These toxins MUST be unlocked from the cells where they've been stored in order to get into the body's transport system so they can be expelled, and the body can....HEAL.
So, I thank you, Lord, for the KINDNESS of your demolishing work in the idol-factory of my heart. However much it increases my DESPERATION, I receive this as your PROMISE that you WILL come and fill the empty places and bring RESTORATION!
~L
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