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Posts Tagged ‘Alive in Christ’

Being at the Knife Edge (of Faith) – Part 2

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Being at the Knife Edge of Faith (Part 2)

As I have mentioned in Part 1, the Lord has had me ‘ruminating’ over the life of Elijah.  In particular, Elijah’s response to Jezebel’s death threat where he runs in fear (1 Kings 19), after having such great faith and victory on Mt Carmel in defeating 850+ prophets of Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18).

Perhaps now is the time to explain what I mean by ‘Being at the Knife Edge of Faith’.

In 2 Cor 5:7 it says we (ie: followers of Jesus) are to live by ‘faith and not by sight’ – this is what I am calling ‘being at the knife edge’.

Genuine faith challenges all of our natural settings and senses.  Our default, human settings are to live by ‘sight’.  In other words, we normally and naturally live by all of our human senses and judgement.  Also, let us not forget, our default, human settings are also heavily tainted with the sinful condition (our fallen nature) of living and serving ‘self’.  Jeremiah 17:9 describes the human heart as ‘deceitful above all things and beyond cure’.  Romans 3:23 says ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God‘.  When we truly come to Christ, when we are truly born again, when we truly give up our lives to Christ, God transforms our default settings.  That is, we longer live for self and we longer live by what we see. [‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ – Gal 2:20]  We live by complete faith and trust in our Heavenly Father, being led continually by the voice of our Father.  [For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God – Rom 8:13-14] [My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me – John 10:27]  Day by day we are to walk in the Spirit.  [So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature – Gal 5:16] [Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit – Gal 5:25]  Day by day we are to have our minds renewed.  [Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind – Rom 12:2]

This faith living is a challenge and an opposition for our ‘natural man’ who wants to keep control of our lives and every situation.

Getting back to Elijah.  Even with the great faith moments that he had had, Jezebel’s threat struck a chord in his humanity.  Elijah lost it.  Something deep within Elijah rose to the surface.  Fear came in, instead of faith.  Elijah chose death instead of life. Like the contest on Mount Carmel, the Spirit and the flesh had a contest, but this time the flesh won (for a while).  Elijah had fallen.  Ah!, but God can use these situations to flush something out that can deepen intimacy with Him.  I am remembering Peter when he had a ‘human moment’ and denigned Jesus 3 times.  God highlighted the weakness, repentance came in, and a greater intimacy and committment came in.

I have much more to say about Elijah but let me leave you with these verses from Colossians 3:1-10:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator

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The Day the King Came to Visit

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , on February 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Once upon a time there was a great King who ruled the land with justice and mercy. One day the King come to stay with the Lipona family (the Lipona’s lived in a region of the land called Religionville).  Here is the story of when the King came to visit the Lipona’s.

There was a loud knock at the door.  Mr Lipona headed for the front door.  “Who is it darling” asked Mrs Lipona.  Mr Lipona opened the door, “It’s only the King” he replied.  Mr Lipona ushered the King into the lounge room.  “Wait here” he said to the King, “You have come at a most inconvenient time.  We are in the middle of a baked dinner.  Wait here in the lounge room til we finish our dinner, and don’t touch anything OK!”  instructed Mr Lipona as he left the room.

Quite a while later Mr Lipona came back into the lounge room and said to the King “What are you doing here?”  “I have come to stay a while” said the King.  “Stay!  Stay!” exclaimed Mr Lipona, “We have no where for you to stay!”  “Haven’t you got anywhere for me to stay?” asked the King.  Mr Lipona thought intently “We have the doghouse outside, I guess Disona our dog won’t mind you sleeping in his doghouse for a day or two” he said.  “I’m a little hungry” said the King.  “You just can’t drop into people’s places around dinner time and expect to get fed can you?” replied Mr Lipona, “It’s time for you to go out to the doghouse, we are all going out to the movies tonight”.  “Maybe Disona will share with you some of his biscuits.”

The King disappointingly headed outside to sleep in the doghouse as the Lipona’s left for the movies.  The Lipona’s arrived home very late that night and they completely forgot all about the King outside in the doghouse.

The next morning, as the Lipona’s were eating their bacon and eggs at the breakfast table there was a knock at the back door.  “I wonder who that could be?” said Mr Lipona as he headed for the door.  “Oh, it’s the King” he exclaimed as he opened the door.  “Don’t come in” he said to the King, “We are already late for church.  What do you want anyway?”  “I’m a little hungry” replied the King.  Mr Lipona laughed “Didn’t you hear what I said?  We are already late for church.  There is no time to get you anything.  Look!  By the time we get home from church today we want you off this property, OK! said Mr Lipona sharply.  “OK” said the King.

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  “‘These people honour me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'”

– Matt 15:7-9(NIV)

Friends, we need to stop fooling ourselves and start honouring God in all areas of our lives.  We cannot fool God.  He knows when we honour Him and He knows when we dishonour Him.

Holy Spirit, bring back the fear of the Lord into each one of our hearts so that we reverently honour the Father in all that we do, in Jesus name, Amen

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

– Isa 66:2 (NIV)

“I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.  Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.  Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

– Amos 5:21-24 (NIV)

You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.
You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.
You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

– Amos 6:4-6 (NIV)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

– James 1:27(NIV)

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.
Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

– Amos 5:14-15(NIV)

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

– Zech 7:9-10 (NIV)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former.

– Matt 23:23(NIV)

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The Dog That Ate Too Much

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , on February 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Once upon a time there was a dog named Nofrute.  Nofrute was an extemely fat and lazy dog.  Oh, he occassionally used to get his Master’s slippers, but that was not without a lot of grumblings and protests.  Nofrute lived with his Master in a large house near a place called Redemption City.

One evening, Nofrute’s Master had an important meeting to attend so he had left Nofrute all alone, inside the house, for a few hours.   As soon as his Master left, Nofrute headed straight for the refrigerator (Nofrute was highly controlled by the cravings of his stomach).    Nofrute pried open the refrigerator door and started devouring a large bar of chocolate.  Then he ate a  4 litre tub of ice cream, 24 scones with whipped cream, 4 packets of chocolate biscuits, 10 large bags of chips (that he found in a cupboard) and finally 8 litres of soft drink to wash it all down.  Nofrute started feeling very sick.  He laid in the middle of the lounge room with his legs in the air.  Nofrute was in great pain and was having difficulty breathing.

An hour or so later Nofrute’s Master come home and saw Nofrute lying in the middle of the lounge room with his legs in the air.  He raced over only to find Nofrute had died.  The Master wept and wept and wept.

John 4:31-34
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (NIV)

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Being at the Knife Edge (of Faith) – Part 1

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , on January 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Thoughts about Elijah Running in Fear – 1 Kings 19:1-4

The Lord has had me ‘ruminating’ over these verses in 1 kings 19 for several weeks now.  It seems the Lord wants to show me something.  Here are some thoughts about these verses.

1 Kings 19:1-4
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (NIV)

Why would such a powerful and annoited man of God be fleeing in fear from an evil woman’s threat?

Well, it is difficult to say (with accuracy) why Jezebel’s threat had such a fearful effect on Elijah.  We know, for sure, that Jezebel was no match for God.  And we know, for sure, Elijah had great faith and power from God – he had just called down fire from Heaven to consume the sacrifice and had just put #450 prophets of Baal to death(read 1 Kings 18).

So this is THE burning question for these verses!: Why would such a powerful and annoited man of God be fleeing in fear from an evil woman’s threat?

Well, one thing is certain, Elijah ‘took onboard’ Jezebel’s threat and he had fled in fear of his life.  It would seem to me that Elijah has had a ‘human’ moment.  His humanity has kicked in, for whatever reason, and he is running for his life.

I’ve been thinking about Elijah’s words at the end of verse 4:  “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Here, by the words we can tell, Elijah is really having a big crisis.  God needs to slap this guy about the head and tell him to wake up to himself – right?

Wrong, God really deals with Elijah tenderly.

1 Kings 19:5-8
5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he travelled for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. (NIV)

God sends an angel to provide bread and water to Elijah for the JOURNEY.  What journey?  Wasn’t Elijah just running for his life (anywhere away from Jezebel).  I think so, for he took no provisions.  Now he has a journey!  Now he has a purpose and a destination.  And the destination is to the MOUNTAIN OF GOD! Woohoo!  Praise the Lord!

Did you notice the ‘forty days and forty nights’ bit?  Well it’s not an accident :-).  God cleansed the earth with rain for 40 days and 40 nights during the flood.  Moses fasted for for days and forty nights before writing down the 10 commandments.  Our Lord Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before being tempted.  This ‘journey to the mountain’ for Elijah was (potentually) a time of cleansing, a time of reflection and prayer and a time of subdueing and mastering the soul and the ‘flesh’.

Did it work?

To be continued…

P.S. I haven’t even touched on why I called it “Being at the Knife Edge of Faith” yet .  Maybe it has something to do with faith and humanity(‘the flesh’)?

Blessings

Steve

# In 1 Kings 18:19 it says this:
Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (NIV)

Did Elijah and the people allow the 400 prophets of Asherah (Baal was a male god and Asherah a female god) to escape?

My thought is no.  They were also part of the problem in Israel.  They have now become redundant because “The Lord, He is God”[v39]  Also, not killing them would have amounted to doing half a job.  Surely God would have rebuked Elijah for not killing them as well. Also of note is that these 850 false prophets were the ones that ‘ate at Jezebel’s table'[v19].  Perhaps a popular vocation in a time of famine 🙂 .  Seeing that the people came from ‘all over Israel'[v19] was the number for false prophets greater than 850?[purely speculation].  Perhaps I should have said Elijah and the people ‘put at least 850 false prophets to death’.

P.P.S. Did you read 1 Kings 18?  This is just something I found amusing in 1 Kings 18.  It’s when Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal.  Look at this translation of verse 27…

1 Kings 18:27
About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” [New Living Translation]

Perhaps your God has gone to the toilet – ho, ho, ho!

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Being a Man of God

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2009| 1 Comment »

Well, I haven’t posted anything since September 30 – WOW!

There has been much happening.  Our Senior Pastor’s son Sam went to be with the Lord suddenly (he didn’t wake up one morning).  This was a great shock and was, and still is, a difficult time for many, especially his parents and family.  Friends from the small group that we lead were involved in a serious car accident and one has had her lower leg removed.  My wife’s parents were involved in a serious car accident and her mother is still recovering (she is going OK).   I have changed jobs – this has been unsettling for me.  We had a very large tree fall on our house (it landed mainly on the garage – praise God) and my dad has been battling (and winning) with a stomach cancer.

img_1301a1

Hmmm, if I am honest I would have to say, by the grace of God, we have coped quite well.  I can honestly say the Lord had prepared us and sustained us.  This is not to say I wasn’t distracted by the events – I was.  I mean, at times, there was a numbness and a ‘shellshock’ness.  When I mean distracted I mean taking my eyes off the Lord.  I remember saying to myself and the Lord that “I’m not quite right am I”.  I mean there are parts of my ‘being’ that have been crying out for the Lord refreshment and this is happening (really – don’t worry 🙂 ).

I’ve been wondering, when end times come and there is great hardship and suffering and persecution will I be distracted and take my eyes off Jesus?  Not if I am prepared.  Not if I build my house upon the rock and not upon the sand.  Not if I am serious about becoming a real man of God.

Here is a great Word to men about ‘Being a Man of God’ preached by Paul Washer.  I found this one over at here

Blessings

Steve

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Confidence (Part II)

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2008| 1 Comment »

Confidence

I would like to explore ‘confidence’ a little more and its place in the Christian life.  Why am I choosing to talk about confidence rather than choosing faith or hope or trust?  Well, it’s quite simple, ‘confidence’ is what the Lord has been speaking to me about lately.  Actually, He has been speaking to me about four ‘words’.  These ‘words’ are LIFE, GLORY, COURAGE and CONFIDENCE.  LIFE AND GLORY, in my present thinking, have tended to group together and, it seems, COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE are tending to group together as well.  I’ve covered (in my blog) LIFE and GLORY and COURAGE a little so I would like to get a ‘bit more of a handle’ on CONFIDENCE.

In this world, when we lack confidence or we loose confidence, it seems that we can sometimes regain confidence by doing things to sow into our self confidence.  Therefore, we might join a group to be around those who are more self confident than ourselves or we might start reading self help books or watching motivational DVDs etc to gain a positive and confident mind set.  We can deliberately feed ourselves with self motivational material to bolster self esteem, self confidence and ego.

Now I am asking myself, is it wrong to build up our self confidence?  From the world’s perspective, that would be a definite no.   My observation is the more self confident we are, the more successful we are likely to be.  Conversely the more we lack confidence, the less likely we are to be successful.  In fact, if we lack confidence, it is unlikely that we will ever achieve everything we are capable of.  So self confidence is a good thing?  Right? (note question mark) Feeding our self confidence can be a tool to maximise our potential in this world else our visions and dreams and potential aren’t met and, a kind of, self fulfilling prophecy associated with a lack of confidence and not reaching beyond ourselves keeps us small and insignificant and trapped in a cocoon of fears and doubts.

So, you can see, there is a pretty good argument for us to develop our self confidence so that each of us can attain our dreams and visions and potential.  A question comes to mind, can we take our self confidence and fit this into our Christian faith somehow?  It seems to be a healthy thing to be self confident.  Surely we could be ‘a hell of a lot’ more useful to God and his Kingdom if we are self confident.  (I think I am being a little sarcastic)

Can you see through this nonsense I am going on with?  Perhaps the SELF in self confidence gave it away.  There should have been warning bells going off in your head.  If not, then perhaps you have been sucked into thinking that walking with God and self confidence are compatible.  I understand there is some clever marketing going on that mixes self confidence, self esteem, Christianity and using our friends to sell product to.  Woops I digress.

‘Self confidence’ or ‘confidence in self’ by it’s very nature and definition stands opposed to confidence and faith in our Lord

Let’s look at the example of King David.  I believe King David had confidence, but it wasn’t self confidence that he was relying on.  His confidence wasn’t in his own abilities.  His confidence was firmly and securely placed in the Lord. He chose, in his spirit and in his heart, to place his confidence in the Lord. This is in vast contrast to what the world teaches, that is, a confidence in self.

When we consider the account of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel Chapter 17 it isn’t just a faith moment for King David.  There is a walking in the confidence of God.  God is in David and David is in God.  The two were one.  You know, this might sound funny, but I believe even if David didn’t defeat Goliath, the Lord would have still been well pleased with him.  Anyhow, David’s confidence is firmly and securely placed in the Lord.  Consider David’s words…

his Holy discontent…

“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” [v26] NIV

“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God” [v36] NIV

his concern for Saul and his army…

“Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” [v32] NIV

as he confidently prophesied over Goliath…

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” [v45-47] NIV

Opposition before the Battle

Even when those around him misunderstood him, doubted him and intimidated him this did not shake David’s confidence in the Lord. Let us consider some of King David’s opposition to his confidence in the Lord even before his battle with Goliath.  This might be helpful when people and circumstances attempt to rattle our confidence in the Lord.

When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” [v28] NIV

This was the first attack on David’s confidence.  It was a misjudgment of David’s heart and motives. Notice it came from someone close to him, his oldest brother.  Let’s consider David’s brother for a moment and where these words are coming from.  He is part of Saul’s army.  The army was dismayed and terrified v11.  Personally, his brother would have been feeling defeated and powerless and ashamed. Thus out spews an attack from his heart that tries to cut his younger brother down.  This is Satan at work here, working through the words of his oldest brother, trying to tear down David’s confidence in the Lord and it was coming through someone that David would have respected and looked up to.

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” [v33] NIV

Here is the second attack on David’s confidence and it’s a double whammy.  Don’t dismiss this one.  Satan is speaking through Saul now.  These are mind changing words.  “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him” is a powerfully suggestive statement to anyone who has a weak mind and weak resolve.   “You are only a boy” – Saul is suggesting that David is inadequate for the task and thus again his confidence in the Lord is questioned and attacked.

He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!“ [v43-44] NIV

This is the third attack on David’s confidence.  If you look at verses 4-7 you can see that Goliath looks terribly intimidating.  Now, with his words, Goliath is blatantly intimidating and cursing David but David’s confidence in the Lord will not be put off and he gives this response to Goliath…

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” [v45-47] NIV

So How Do We Get This Type of Confidence in the Lord?

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. [v34-36]

David came into the battle not with self confidence but with God confidence because he KNEW God.  He knew and had PROVEN the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in previous battles.  David’s life was in his Heavenly Father’s and his Heavenly Father’s life was in him.  David’s life was a life of EXERCISED faith and trust in his Heavenly Father thus his complete and unshakable confidence was in the Lord for the battle with Goliath.

“For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.” [Psalm 71:5-6] NIV

King David’s hope and confidence extended beyond the lion and the bear.  From David’s youth his hope and confidence was in the Lord.  Can you imagine David lying on the side of a hill, tending the sheep and singing and praising his Lord.  Or perhaps praying to his Heavenly Father under the stars at night. In this fast paced, crazy world where are we to get the time to develop our relationship with the Lord?

Even from birth, David says he relied on the Lord.  How can he say this?  Could it be that we all have a measure of confidence when we are born.  It is just that we loose that confidence or are robbed of that confidence through the journey of life – I’m not sure.  Is David’s life an example of a life that hasn’t been robbed?  I think so.  David is walking in the confidence of God.

Remember, we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy ; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” [Jn 10:10] NIV

One of the best ways for Satan to make us ineffective is to rob us of our courage and confidence. These are essential ingredients for LIFE and essential ingredients for advancing the Kingdom of God.  Can we truly LIVE without courage and confidence? Will we ever be victorious overcomers in our lives and in this world without courage and confidence in our Lord Jesus?

Here is the challenge!

Are we able to begin to allow courage and confidence in our Lord Jesus grow in our lives?  As God moves our lives from our safe, cocooned environments where we are controlled by our fears and our insecurities, our procrastinations and our indifference, our avoidance and our laziness, our slothfulness and our sinfulness we will begin to truly glorify the Lord in each and every victory we have in our lives.  All glory and praise to the Lord as each one of us becomes fully alive in Him and we gloriously display the victories available through Him – Amen

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Lord of the Rings – Works of Service Clip

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , on September 26, 2008| 1 Comment »

Scene from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ with voiceover about serving (part of a talk)

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. [Eph 4:11-13] NIV

Blessings

Steve

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We were Meant to Live for SO much more…

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , on September 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

I couldn’t find exactly what I was after so I put subtitles on this ‘Meant to Live’ acoustic by Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman

Part of talk I am doing – enjoy

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The Virtue of Confidence

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The Virtue of Confidence

There are times in our lives when our confidence in God can be incredibly rocked and challenged.  The writer of Hebrews encourages those that were suffering great persecution and trial to: “not throw away their confidence” and to “hold firmly til the end the confidence they had at first”.

The complete text says:

“Do not throw away your confidence (that is our holy courage and boldness); it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”   But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” [Heb 10:35-39] NIV

And in [Heb 3:14] it says“We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first“ and in the following verses the writer warns not to harden their hearts and therefore receive in themselves a rebellious and unbelieving heart towards the Lord.

King David, when challenged with enemies that would completely destroy him handled it this way…

“The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me,breathing out violence.
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.“ [Psalms 27:1-14] NIV

There is no doubt that our enemy wants to destroy our confidence (if we allow him).  He knows how glorious we can become when we put our complete confidence in the Lord.  He knows the potential that is within each one of us to glorify  our creator and (with great vigor) he attacks our courage and confidence in our Heavenly Father.

The Bible says that “the Lord will be our confidence“[Prov 3:26] and  that “the effect (or outworking) of our righteousness (in Christ) will be (an inner) quietness and confidence forever“[Is 32:17].

And finally,

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes;its leaves are always green.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” [Jer 17:7-8] NIV

Final Encouragement:
Continue to have great confidence in the Lord “being confident of this,  that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” [Phil 1:6] NIV

Blessings,

Steve

Confidence Part II

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Being Fully Alive! (Part 2)

Posted in Christian, Christianity, tagged , , , , , , on July 21, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Saint Irenaeus

The authentic and complete text of Saint Irenaeus:

“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation already brings life to all living beings on the earth, how much more will the manifestation of the Father by the Word bring life to those who see God”

(AH IV, 20, 7)

AH = Adversus Haereses (Against the Heresies) – Saint Irenaeus.

Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor about the year 125. He was still a young man when he met Polycarp of Smyrna, who represented a generation which had known the Apostles chosen by Christ, especially Saint John.

After the persecution of 177, it was necessary to rebuild the Church of God which was at Lyon. Irenaeus succeeded Pothinus and thus became the second bishop of Lyon-Vienne. Not only did he assure the presence of Christ the preacher and shepherd at the crossroads of the Three Gauls, but at the same time he carried out the composition of his masterpiece which is cited today under the title of Adversus Haereses (Against the Heresies). The actual title expresses more clearly the double movement of Irenaeus’ theology and *polemic. It is called Detection and Refutation of the False Gnosis.

Source:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology/IRENAEUS.HTM

(a good read if you can get through it)

* Polemics, is the practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, or political matters. As such, a polemic text on a topic is often written specifically to dispute or refute a position or theory that is widely viewed to be beyond reproach.

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