In my life, I have realized that God lights a fire big enough to purify me but not big enough to burn me up (Malachi 3:1-4; 1 Corinthians 10:10-14)  and you know why it doesn’t burn me up? Even though this world is not all as it should be, Christ came. He took  the load of our sin (Isaiah 59:2) leaving us only with grace (Isaiah 53:1-3). So now, I can meet with God and that changes everything (John 14:17-18, 14:26).

Every war is an opportunity to make peace the way God would (Matt 5:9). Every homeless person is an opportunity to provide shelter the way God would (Isaiah 58:7). Every hungry person is an opportunity to feed the 4000-5000 like Jesus would (Mark 8:1-13; Matthew 14:10-21).

So don’t look at the world like some sort of glorious mistake. When we were planted here, we were given a divine call to be responsible for what happens here. Instead of waiting on God to come do what He’s already called us to do, why don’t we rise into our calling to affect the world for the better?

Paying God back for our sins with

daily devotions

scriptures on our walls

regular church attendance

The  Holy Spirit uses these disciplines

And by His power

These disciplines help us to come out of the pit

These disciplines help change us.

Pride sets in

We begin to boast in our strength

We look down on others like we don’t remember

what we were like two years ago.

The Father comes and knocks us off the hill

And so we learn

Saved By Grace through faith

Not by works lest any man should boast

So we  boast all the more in our weakness

We know that we rely on God’s strength.

Hatred becomes compassion.

Superciliousness becomes understanding.

Pride becomes repentance.

The first becomes the last.

Suddenly… there He is.

^{[AMP]PHIL 3:10}[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [^[b]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

¹¹That if possible I may attain to the [^[c]spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

What does it mean to attain?

Attain carries the connotation that we don’t just wake up day and have our goal but that each day we wake up, we have acquired just a little bit more of what we hope to have more abundantly one  day.

I think we miss out on that perspective if we are perfectionists. Perfectionists cannot deal with the middle time – the time when things are incomplete; imperfect; not quite shiny enough.

Here is how Paul encourages me (continuing in the above chapter):

¹²Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

¹³I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

Or as Joyce Meyer would say: “I’m not where I need to be but thank God I’m not where I used to be. I’m okay and I’m on my way.”

Praise God for that revelation. The believer bound up in fear, guilt and regret is ineffective (stuck). When we walk by grace, on the other hand, we continue to grow despite our imperfections, our incompleteness, and our lackluster state.

Remember, You cannot get to the finish line without running the race. You cannot get to perfection without passing through imperfection. There is no peak without a valley.

There’s something to be said about sober minds in a dark  world. It is hard to have. Sometimes, I think our emotions can be a coating and cause us to act against reality/common-sense.

Last night, I watched “The girl with the dragon tattoo.” Almost walked out twice but I knew there had to be a reason I was there.[Spoiler alert] At one point during the main writer’s investigation, he figured out that the killer was someone he knew and he went to the killer’s house  to investigate. The killer  came back home and the writer ran out the back door. When spotted, the killer invited him in for a drink. The  was an insidious look in his eye but our dear writer obliged.

Cut to the basement and our writer is now awkwardly strapped to a neck brace device. Anyway, the killer makes his speech and says something that really impacts me: “Why don’t people trust their instincts?” he asked smugly. “You knew I was the killer and yet you did not decline my invitation in.” He explained that sometimes, people’s desire not to offend will get them  in situations that they know will cause them pain.

I saw that theme over and over again in the movie. We knew what was about to happen and sensed that it could somehow be stopped but our hero or heroin was not suspicious enough.

It’s the same thing that happens when a woman knows a certain man is watching her in an alarming way but she doesn’t report anything to the police because  suspicions are not evidence enough and she is worried that she might offend either the man watching her or the police officers that are going to have to investigate the incident.

I want to submit that suspicions are a form of evidence. Please  believe that if you suspect something, you have a reason. Something is out of the ordinary and it might be more than you think. Don’t toss it out in the name of fear. Perhaps that’s the reason why we won’t ask a friend what’s wrong even when we  know that something is out of the ordinary (in the name of avoiding offense).

Stop and think… why do I think this. Pray for guidance. Do what makes the most sense and don’t let offense be your reason for setting your mind to the sidelines and allowing a problem to aggregate.

” ⁸Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [^[f]in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

⁹Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset--rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (^[g]identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.” – 1 Peter 5[amp]

Our  worst mistake is thinking that we do not have an enemy. Pretending the problem isn’t there is NOT going to make it go away. Vigilance demands that we do not  treat ourselves like we’re crazy just because we’re worried that someone might not believe us or that we might offend somebody.

Submit your minds to God everyday and pray for Him to lead you.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/valiant

Vraiment Vaillant Vendredi

His life always has been and is to this day about serving all of us (Mark 10:43-45).

He is the last. (Revelation 22:13)

And one day, the last shall be the first. (Mark 10:31)

So spend yourself… if you want to be like Jesus (Isaiah 58:10)

He’s not standing aloof, yelling at us from the sidelines to deal with it. He speaks truth yesterday, today, forever. He knows and has experienced the full extent of humanity plus an added bonus as its creator. (John 1:10-11; Hebrews 4:15-16)

The last to get married. (Revelation 19:7)

The last to drink the cup of wine. (Matthew 26:29)

The last to sacrifice his life for us.(Hebrews 10:10-12)

The last…

connoisseurs of words like a gale force

moving the hearts of people in one direction

toward darkness…

toward light;

A mouthpiece for a cause;

A prophet inspired by a dream.

So if you do speak,

speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;

speak up and judge fairly

and defend the rights of the poor and needy.

So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32 Amplified Bible)

1. God speaks truth to us.

Today, Tuesday, we cultivate the habit of facing the truth, to turn our backs on the Eden reaction that runs and hides when the truth seeks us out. As long as we are afraid of the truth, we will stay stagnant. God’s word can’t build us up if we don’t give it a chance. That’s why abiding in God is not just hearing but also doing. Truth forces a response.

For instance, it is true that if I jump into a den of hungry lions, I probably won’t come out. My response? I won’t jump into a den of hungry lions.

When Jesus speaks, I am not just listening to an interesting guy. I am listening to the truth and I build my life on it; I subject my emotions to it and my actions follow suit. Even if it is painful, I know now that the way of the Kingdom is the opposite of what Adam and Eve did. The way of the Kingdom calls us to come into the light and be purified by fire.

For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved. But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are–wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God's help, in dependence upon Him]. (John 3: 20-21 Amplified Bible)

Don’t go the wrong way. False humility runs and hides from the truth. Jesus calls His disciples to embrace the truth even if it means realizing you’ve messed up. You really are not getting the message of the Messiah’s new covenant if you’re still sewing fig leaves and hiding behind bushes when your conscience convicts you. Let us work hard to put that bad habit behind us.

Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

2. We speak truth to God.

I don’t know why we bother hiding our questions and problems from God like it’s going to shock and surprise Him.  Today is a day when we focus on hiding nothing from God.

If you’re worried about something, tell Him. If you’re confused about something, talk to Him. There is nothing He hasn’t seen and there is nothing He doesn’t know how to handle.

Sometimes, we think He will condemn us for our weaknesses. He came because we were weak and He came to make us strong so bring all your weaknesses and faults to the table. Bring all your complicated questions. Bring your past. Bring your hatred. Bring your anger… throw it at His feet because as long as you are holding on to it, probably nothing is going to get done to solve your problems.

We’re not called to pretend we’re perfect. God doesn’t play that sick game with us. That’s more a frail human thing. His culture is not like that based on what I’ve seen in scripture and experienced walking with Him.

Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. (I Peter 5:6-7 Amplified Bible)

Therefore, rejecting all falsity and being done now with it, let everyone express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body and members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25 Amplified Bible)

And then as is characteristic of the Kingdom of God, it extends to our dealings with others:

3. We speak truth to others

only as God leads. In turn, this means that when others are speaking truth to us, we listen with discernment and with a mind to do what God would want us to do.

The story starts out with God revealing Himself to you in powerful ways. You have absolutely no doubts. In fact, you are amazed and you praise Him for gracing you with His awesomeness. Then comes the call,

“Now, go and tell my people what you’ve seen and heard.”

You respond, “Of course! This is amazing.” but maybe people are not impressed. You’re saddened. You go back to Him and say, “Lord, I have done what you asked. Do not put me to shame. Please, show yourself true. Show them what I have seen.”

But the years wind down, the seasons change and the prophecy is not fulfilled… yet.

You begin to succumb to your fears like Peter did when he took his eyes off Jesus and planted them on the wind and the waves.

The second you doubt what you know to be real, it’s like the fabric of your mind begins to crumble. He has so burned His word into your heart that the presence of doubt is such a contradiction… an infection, in fact, it feels like. You know the doubt is out of place and so you cry again, like Peter, “Lord, save me [from death]!” or like Jeremiah, “Your words were found, and I ate them; and Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts…Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail and are uncertain?” (Jeremiah 15:16, 18 Amp.)

You cry out because you know what you saw. You cry out because you know what you heard. It is as if someone has doubted the fact that the sky is blue. You saw this sky but they did not. It would be a discontinuation in reality if you turn your back on what you have seen. Jeremiah put it like this:

” You tricked me, LORD,

and I was really fooled.

You are stronger than I am,

and you have defeated me.

People never stop sneering

and insulting me.

You have let me announce

only destruction and death.

Your message has brought me

nothing but insults

and trouble.

Sometimes I tell myself

not to think about you, LORD,

or even mention your name.

But your message burns

in my heart and bones,

and I cannot keep silent.” (Jeremiah 20: 7 – 9 CEV)

His voice… is like fire. It burns and brands the soul at a level that no amount of derision from your mates and the devil himself can reverse.

The Lord finally answers(Jeremiah 15:19), “If you return [and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair], then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile [cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God’s faithfulness], you shall be My mouthpiece.”

They walk around convinced they are free

But their chains are made up of horses’ tails.

Their whips are steeped in hydroquinone.

Wishing away melanin, mercury is now condoned.

Dangerous seed are still being sown -moving through generations.

They live for today but the inevitable is drawing near.

He beats her, insults her, looks down on her

and her soul, so tied up,

begins to echo his remarks.

Death is knocking on the door.

Wake up, O sleeper!

Rise from the dead

and Christ will shine on you.

Did  you know that it was His custom to teach those who approached Him? That was His “as usual.” If you lack wisdom, draw near. I understand now. I have experienced so many occasions where I was struggling with temptation and I turned to Him devoid of strength and said, “I feel [x]; I am weak in [x].” and even without my explicitly asking, He just gave me grace.

SOMEHOW, me crying out to Him was all it took for Him to solve my  problem. He’s so gracious.

He will not turn you away. Draw near to Him and He will feed you.

*Mt. 11:28-30     *I Peter 5:7     *James 1:5

*Heb 11:6     *James 4:8(vs. 6-10)     *I John 5:14-15

*Heb 10:19-22     *HEBREWS 4:14-16

 ² Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

I read some crazy things today about how women are treated in Islam. Jesus isn’t for treating anyone in such an objectified, disposable approach. Everyone is important to Him and we must treat our spouses as such if we are to follow in His footsteps as true disciples.

   ³ “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

 ⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

This whole, “He said we could” nonsense really gets a lot of people. It’s amazing what people will do if they’re given orders/permission from their superior.

Don’t do things just because you can

*I Cor. 6:12

*Gal 6:7-9

You must live to do only what is good. That is the goal in life.

Aim for God’s original intention.

*Mark 10:6     *Col 3:1-3

Aim higher y’all. Our vision has become too narrow.

   ⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’^{[a] 7} ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^{[b] 8} and the two will become one flesh.’^[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

A husband is supposed to be making this amazing sacrifice but these guys are really selling it short. They just want to get it, get what they want and pull out once satisfaction runs out, it seems.

That is not God’s highest good for you. It is most definitely NOT God’s will for you to spend your whole life seeking a false high, leaving a trail of people you’ve used and abused on the way (and this goes for everybody). We are to be living sacrifices who serve one another, not use one another.

*Romans 12:1, 9-10

The type of love God shows is there to support us and minister to us even when we’re being stupid. Hos love does not wait for us to get it together; rather, it is ferocious and hunting. It seeks us out in our darkness to shower us with blessing after blessing that will pull us into the light and THAT is how we are transformed. Emulate your Father.

*Matthew 5:43-48

⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Don’t ruin the beautiful ART God has made. He has designed something truly unique; the meshing of two already individually complex human souls. It is a process that takes time and is an experiment (to use a Scientific analogy) that must be performed only under all the right conditions: not too early, not too rushed, not for the wrong reasons, not apart from Christ…

I feel like it’s so complex that when done right, it’s MIND-BLOWING but when it’s done the wrong way, you have a catastrophe with a bunch of complex things lying around

 ¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.

So… what hard questions have you asked Jesus today? Draw near. It is His custom to help you understand. Listen patiently.