Divine Revelation: Justice with empty principles

I've received, or been taught something, perhaps as recently as today. Right now my wife and I are facing a battle with how, where and to what extent we live. The battle takes many forms and we're far from walking the path of total righteousness. There is however this resonant harmony amidst the cacophony. Its what I think I'm coming to learn as being able to see Christ in the battle that you're engaged in; in that, I'm seeing what he's teaching me, about me, in this situation.


I have always operated with a profound sense of justice and need to execute the same. When you're young this manifests itself as "hey that's not fair" when you get older it turns into words like equitable, or just, some other more literate and adult sounding term, but mostly it's the same argument; "hey, that's not fair!"


What I realize is essentially the same principle but with a few layers. The first and most obvious now, is that when we cry out for justice, we're literally asking God to take away our mercy and send us to hell. Now that shakes me! The second level to that is how we should operate within ourselves and with others with regard to whose scale of just and unjust we should adjudicate. For if we use our own, it's destined to be a moving target, but God's then we are built upon the Rock. The desire for justice can be as large and grandios as the execution of our Savior on the cross, or as small and minute as being upset that you didn't receive what you thought was due. What a wide path of destruction! Both lead to death.


On the flip side, how can we account for the necessity of mercy in our lives and the lives of the people we come in contact with? Couldn't this be the same width? Showing of mercy, leading to life, for the killing of an innocent man, to showing mercy to those who short us in a personal relationship...maybe we were legitimately shorted, and we actually do deserve the thing in question. My answer is that we should show mercy always, in conversation, in work, in duty, in worship, in relationship, in business. What is the worst that could happen? That you're deprived of something that you're owed? Isn't God himself the arbiter of all things? Will he not repay? 


I dunno, my belief is that my speech and my dealing should be full of grace and mercy. To the point at which I'm counted a fool for being so willing to be taken advantage of. If a fool, I'm a fool for Christ, for I prefer to love God's creation and give of myself to it, than to deprive them of the joy that God has shared by the giving of his mercy to me. For certainly his mercy was not weak, invisible, or free, but came at a great cost. The greatest cost; how much less am I asked of and how little do I give, begrudgingly! I've lived in the complete opposite way, but now, perhaps now, I can live the way God intended...

Perceiving God: Walking in Holiness

You know I feel that there is a war on; it covers the Earth in every imaginable way and it's unceasing in it's pursuit of the chosen ones. The small seeds of this war are much like that of a dandelion, which in spring is a pretty yellow sheen and seems wonderful, but then it goes to seed it's wonder turns to pollution and unsightly ornamental devastation. So small, yet so unimaginably potent they are though, these seeds create and cultivate the lies coming straight from hell.

Something I've discovered recently is the mere psychotic suggestion of an idea immediately roots in fertile ground when you're not on your guard. Something as simple as a person you trust or love saying that God punishes you if you don't tithe. "He get's his money somehow!" The charlatan asserts, with his eyes on the god of money which he serves. I've heard preachers and teachers say that or some derivative of it. At the root of their theology, every single time is some measure of performance and prosperity doctrine.

When we haven't been classically trained or rooted in walking with God we have no defense for these mere suggestions by the evil one; who works and is at work in the false teachers everywhere! We casually let the stranger into our house, as though we were doing the right thing, (do unto others) and then, the stranger now has power over you, at least in some small way. I can say this, because the very next time something disastrous occurs to you, you may have or probably will wonder if that person you trusted was right! For the weak, they are right, and there is only one response! Blind obedience to a false scripture, to a false teacher and to false doctrine. Indebted to the idea that God must some how be so weak and inept as to "need" something from you, in order to bless you or make you his own. But even they don't know that!

So, you see, words are very powerful, sometimes even the uttering of words gives them power, if only in the mind of the listener. That is why I believe we need to be on Guard! Ready to give an account, able to provide a defense of the things which we believe and to have on the spiritual armor that Paul talks about in order to stave the fiery darts of the fallen one.

What does this lead me to? Well, in truth, we cannot even defend that which we are not obedient to, much more understand. God calls us to strict obedience, and how are we able to build obedience? By the faith that he gives us. In so doing we should desire to walk with him in the cool of the garden. For me, that's in his word, asking him to gently rebuke me and to teach me his ways. HE WANTS TO! That is so thrilling for me. Faith comes by hearing of the words of CHRIST! You can listen and read and comprehend that which the Father wants to you understand, but comprehension is just the smallest part of the equation. Obedience is the larger portion, because obedience needs to exist before comprehension, if ever, will occur. Don't you understand that if you say you don't like to read the Bible because it's boring, that you're really saying that "I don't believe God can/will illumine my mind, and further it's probably not up to him anyway!" In so doing you demonstrate a lack of faith, and further elevate yourself to the high office of KING! For you are NOT ONE.

It is when we listen, when we read, when we meditate, when in patience, fear and humility we bring things before God that we do not understand, hoping if but peradventure he might open our eyes; this is when we see God. This is when he opens us up and enlarges our heart. This is when he teaches us to be his adopted children!

If you haven't understood so far, your holiness is not your own. It's merely the expression of God's sovereign will for your life, the demonstration of his victory of evil and ultimately an expression of his love for you! It brings me the greatest joy to know my Father in Heaven, who was and is and is to come, has before the foundation of all things known and unknown, decided the preamble, body and conclusion of his servants life! For what are we to know but that which he tells us? And what can we understand but that which he gives us understanding? And what can we do but that which he has allowed? Has he left us to writhe  and to toil, hoping by if some possibility our performance can merit his holiness?! HOW CAN THAT BE? For by GRACE ARE YE SAVED! If saved, then set apart and if set apart, made holy. God does not save that which he does not intend to make holy. For how else could we know him, approach him or even worship him? Will God accept the praise of the wicked? He doesn't even hear their prayers!

What then? I believe that if we ask God to teach us his laws and show us to meditate on his ordinances, for those who are his, he will. Each to his own measure and by the fullness of the times that we might know the summing of all things Christ. In so doing he has created a child who walks in holiness with him.

Get in your Bibles, for God is certainly real!

Reflections on a Rainbow - Spurgeon

Reflections on a Rainbow

The bow is seen in the clouds.

Genesis 9:14

The rainbow, the symbol of the covenant with Noah, foreshadows our Lord Jesus, who is the Lord's witness to the people. When may we expect to see the token of the covenant? The rainbow is only to be seen painted upon a cloud. When the sinner's conscience is dark with clouds, when he remembers his past sin and mourns and laments before God, Jesus Christ is revealed to him as the covenant Rainbow, displaying all the glorious hues of the divine character and declaring peace. To the believer, when his trials and temptations surround him, it is sweet to behold the person of our Lord Jesus Christ—to see Him bleeding, living, rising, and pleading for us. God's rainbow is hung over the cloud of our sins, our sorrows, and our woes, to prophesy deliverance. By itself a cloud does not give a rainbow; there must be the crystal drops to reflect the light of the sun.

So, our sorrows must not only threaten, but they must really fall upon us. There would have been no Christ for us if the vengeance of God had been merely a threatening cloud: Punishment must fall in terrible drops upon Him. Until there is areal anguish in the sinner's conscience, there is no Christ for him; until the chastisement that he feels becomes grievous, he cannot see Jesus. But there must also be a sun; for clouds and drops of rain do not make rainbows unless the sun shines. Beloved, our God, who is as the sun to us, always shines, but we do not always see Him—clouds hide His face; but no matter what drops may be falling or what clouds may be threatening, if He shines there will be a rainbow at once.

It is said that when we see the rainbow, the shower is over. It is certain that when Christ comes, our troubles withdraw; when we look on Jesus, our sins vanish, and our doubts and fears subside. When Jesus walks upon the waters of the sea, how profound the calm!

Attack Surface

God is great!

Every few days or better stated, every once and awhile I don't read my bible. I'll look at it, the little voice says, "You need to pick that up and read it!"

And I ignore that little voice. For instance this morning. I saw it, I thought, "nah, I'll be indoors all day, focused on preparing for my interview tomorrow, I'll be ok!"....

Two fights today, over petty nonsense. Certainly nothing worth arguing about, yet there it was.

 It's like I told my Dad tonight, A Psalm a day will keep Satan away!

Read your Bibles!