The Struggle to Serve

Romans 12:1 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." 2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

It is reasonable that, as a result of the grace that we have received through Christ and by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, we continually seek to know (both understand and experience) the ways of God, which are always good, acceptable, and perfect.  Not so much for the sake of how it affects life around us, but for the sake of it's affect on us.  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3  And, 1 Peter 2:15 "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 

And therein lies my struggle.  I find that I am often frustrated by those in authority around me, as I disagree with some of their decisions and direction.  It is not something that comes naturally to me, as my ambitions rise up and compel me toward my goals, to honor them anyways.  Scripture teaches us to place ourselves as sacrifices for the whims of others, but not as victims complaining or congratulating ourselves for our pious suffering.  We are called to serve in every aspect of our lives, and this to the glory of God.  This, as His witnesses.  We have received a service beyond comprehension, that God came down to supersede His own religious system to set us free to love, in love, by His love.  And this is our testimony, not just by the things that we say, but by the lives we live in service to others.  

Serving those who take advantage of you, like humanity took advantage of Christ on the cross, will never get easy.  But this is what we are to prepare for.  This is what Scripture calls, "your spiritual worship," which could also be translated "your reasonable service."         

1Peter 1:13 "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 14 "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance," 15 "but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct," 16 "since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”"  

Our "former ignorance" protects itself from the others, but the holiness of God conducts itself in service to others and not for selfish personal gain.  But for the benefit of those in need.

As we deal with the effects of the decisions those in authority over us may have on us, remember the service that Christ provided at the cross.  He served, and as we have received so should we give.  And this is the will of God.

Encountering God, Pursuit

Encountering God is a life's pursuit.  The moment that we cease to pursue Him we have become distracked from the goal.  The NKJV words Isaiah 50:7 like this, "For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed."  Even in times of pressure and struggle He must be the focal point.  If not, what we will encounter will be the consequence of denying Him.

Hosea 6:3 "Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; 

his going out is sure as the dawn; 

  he will come to us as the showers, 

as the spring rains that water the earth.”"

This verse is part of a call to repentance.  In this call we find a truth about knowing God.  What we know of God must be worked out in our experiences, and that "knowing" must me pursued.

Verse 6 "For I desire steadfast love (or mercy) and not sacrifice, 

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

Our religious practice (a life of praise is an accurate definition of religious practice) must be the outworking of our inner reality.  We know and experience Him, and in turn our lives and choices are shaped by understanding Him.  We stumble, but we recognize our short comings because we know Him.  

Israel fell and Ephraim was judged, because of their pride (the ultimate in misdirected focus).  The knowledge of Him is the cure for pride.  In knowing and experiencing Him there is no place to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  In knowing and experiencing Him we become acutely aware of our inadequacies and shortcomings.  Still, in knowing and experiencing Him, we find that the possibilities are endless, because He is endless.  And in knowing and experiencing Him we will begin to embody His image.  Even in times of trouble, our hope will not fail, our confidence will not be shaken, because we know Him. 

Encountering God

Encountering God is not merely a practice of waiting for a "sense" of His presence, but it includes recognizing that God reached toward you through His Son, Who in turn reached toward you on the cross and by filling you with the Holy Spirit, Who in turn reached toward you by convicting you of sin, providing comfort, and illuminating the truth.  Encountering God starts with the decision to reach back through a lifestyle of worship and praise manifested in, at times, exuberant corporate worship gatherings.

Encountering God is a pursuit of what has been provided.  We know that physical healing has been provided through the strips that Jesus suffered during the passion week.  We know that our Father is sovereign over all authority and power.  We know that as He created all things material, and He sustains their continued existence.  We can trust that we, His children and witnesses, can expect the necessary provision for what we are called to do.  We know that He put His Spirit in us, who are created both with natural bodies and inner spirits, and placed us in the world as His witnesses.  So, we can expect the "normal" will be defined by the intersection of the "spiritual rhelm" and the "material rhelm".  We can expect that God will be present and "inturupt" the natural order that He created as He sees fit.  And we pursue this understanding by an effort, by the power of His Spirit, to allign with the truth of His provision.  It is true that we cannot expect something if we do not know that it is ours.  So, first in knowing what can be expected through provision we can then allign our understanding with the truth, and then experience the reality.    

Encountering God is an expectation.  We expect that God will be present, because He said He would be.  We expect to see His "evidence" in the lives of those around us.  And we can expect the manifestation of His prsence, because He is already in the midst of everything.  This is so because all things exist within Him, as in Him we live, move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28; Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:17)  

What else does "encountering God" mean?  

Romans 8, a summary

Recently, my family has been touched by the fear of death.  Since this trial began I have been constantly meditating on the truth that our life is hidden in His hands, and standing on John 11:4, as I believe it is the Lord's heart in this situation. 

This morning I was reading through Romans and was stirred by chapter 8.  In this time it has a new significance.  This is the product of the Spirit's movement on my heart this morning. 



Set your mind on the things of the Spirit. 

The mind that is set on the things of the flesh is plagued by fear.  This fear, in the mind of the flesh, is frantically grasping fruitlessly, as it has no power to affect life in place of death.  But we, who walk according to the Spirit, know peace even in the midst of death, because Jesus affected life in place of death when we could not. 

We have an intimate, experiential knowledge of this peace that comes by walking by the Spirit, because the Spirit resides within us.  And the Spirit of God gives life, even to our corruptible bodies, just as He raised Jesus from the dead. 

We are free from falling back into the fear of death, because He has adopted us as sons and daughters of God.  Since He has provided the revelation of His love in this way, we cry out, Abba! Daddy!  Whatever we may go through pales in comparison to this love that IS and is being revealed to us, that Father loves us.  Because of this, we can remain confident when our weakness becomes obvious.  Even when we don't know what to do or say, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf, "and know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." 

He knew you would choose Him before time began, and because of this, He predestined you to be made like Jesus. 

Since Father did not spare His only Son, we know He will give us everything that we need.  Who can rightfully accuse us?  Who or what can put a wedge between us and Him Who has been raised up to the thrown at the right hand of the Father, and has been given authority over everything and anything? 

Because of our connection to this Jesus we are more than conquerors.  This is because we are convinced that there is no possibility of us being separated from Father's love, this love that Jesus has shown us through Jesus Christ.  

A Psalm from the Shadows

I feel so tied up by life.  Where is the freedom?  Where is the joy?  My circumstances, although always better than someone else, seem to hem me in, taking away choice and the excitement of discovery.  Life is like four walls with no windows and no door.  I can't see outside of the day to day, and there seems no way out.  Are You with me here?  Am I as alone as I feel?  You said You would never leave, that there is nothing that can change the connection between us, but I feel bare, exposed, like a car just sitting in the desert fading and being devoured by rust and time.

I give You my impossible dreams.  There is nothing I can do to make them a reality?  It seems fruitless and futile to dream, like there is no reason to keep trying, no good goal to attain, no higher level to aspire to, but I choose to continue to believe.  If my cup is to drink mediocrity, my prayer is that You find glory in the fact that I will continue to praise You.

As it seems there is no point, I can't give up.  I choose to believe you.  That you have won the victory even while I am on the bottom of the pile.  You said to stand.  You don't expect me to fight.  Is this why it seems futile?  Because it is a battle that I can't win. 

Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

To me this verse means a lot.  Paul says to “put on” the armor, and in that I will be strong.  I think of the strength of God and how putting on His strength, by relying on Him, is what covers my weakness.  I can do nothing on my own; I can’t even stand in the truth.  In the recognition of that is the beginning of receiving the strength I need to stand.  But even in being empowered by the Lord to stand, it is not those around me who are the enemy.  Even as it seems some would leave me here to flail against an unseen enemy.  They don't lift a finger, waiting for me to quit.

I can't feel you here.  But I trust you are.  You said you would be...

 

The Divine Hero, Called of God for a Purpose: Confessions of a Misguided Minister

I remember it being spoken over me, maybe 10 years ago, that I will be called "the ambassador of love."  This phrase always seemed comical to me.  It sounds somehow silly. It is not what I would like to be remembered as, but this is the word of the Lord spoken over me by one of His prophets.  Not just a self proclaimed mouth piece of the One and only Living God, because I hear the voice of my Father in the words.  The Spirit in me bears witness to it, and His Spirit takes my life and holds it up to the light of the word.  "Ambassador of Love"  And like Joseph, the word of the Lord tested him until the day that it was fulfilled.

"Ambassador of Love," this is not the gallant conqueror that I want to see myself as.  It is not the Conan like figure, riddled with muscles, blade flashing in the light against the backdrop of the scorched earth, the lone warrior triumphing single-handedly against the forces of evil.  Don't get me wrong, I don't want to glorify myself, but I want to be a glorious demonstration of the power of God.  The power that takes a devastated life, like mine, and changes it to a life with an eternal significance.

"Ambassador of Love" sounds somehow sweet, docile, like bunny rabbits hopping and skipping in a field of wild flowers, or like the Care bears with their arms linked engaged in their care stare, emanating a vivid rainbow. 

And this, I am realizing, is my insecurity.  I want to be called of God to do the work that He has created me to do, but I don't want the call that He has spoken over my life. 

This insecurity has created havoc in my life; the source of the depression that drags me down, at times, making me someone that I never wanted to be.  This desire to honor God with my life, but not in the way that He has called me to.  It seems that I have romanticised the work of the ministry.  Like Barbie and Ken driving off into the sunset in their pink corvette, I have a picture of what it should look like.  As if the creation can tell the Creator how the finish product would best represent Him.

Thinking about this grieves me, as it dishonors the blood of the martyrs, those who have given their lives as a testimony to the greatness of our Father in Heaven.

Father forgive me for only being willing to serve and glorify You in my own expectations.

John 1

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, John is writing to Jews and Gentiles alike.  He masterfully uses a term “word” (Gk. “logos”) that held meaning in both cultures.  The Greek word Logos, for the Greek is wisdom, which in Stoic thought logos, wisdom, and reason are synonymous terms for the impersonal, governing entity over the universe.  In Jewish culture logos or wisdom is the Law of Moses, as revealed by God at Mt. Sinai.  John using this term brings the two cultures together in the conversation, and he then takes them to the next level.  The Logos of God is Jesus, the word of God in the flesh.  In this John establishes, for the Jews, that Jesus is not only the Messiah, but that He is God in the flesh.  For the Greek, John establishes that the logos of God came in the flesh, personally, in the person of Jesus.  He takes the application of these two cultural mindsets and joins them in the lineage of the family of God, as “all who receive Him; He gave the right to become the children of God.” (ESV, John 1:12)  In this there are none left out.  There is no ethnic lineage that qualifies one more than the other for the favor of God through the word become flesh.  He is available for all.  And He withholds nothing from those who will believe in His divinity and receive the gift of God, the word in the flesh sent to make the fullness of the grace and love of the Father known to all. (John 1:17, 18)