The Body

Thursday, September 29, 2011, 3:30 a.m. – The song, “Remain in Him,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Corinthians 12:

Spiritual Gifts

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

One Body, Many Parts

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

My Understanding: Spiritual gifts are not something we are born with, i.e. they are to be distinguished from natural gifts and talents. We are all born with a propensity toward particular likes and dislikes, and natural abilities and talents, such as one person excels in math or science while another may be gifted in writing or in the ability to retain knowledge of facts. Some of us may sing or have the natural ability to learn a musical instrument or a foreign language. Others can draw or build while others, still, have a talent for fixing things. These are natural abilities and talents with which we are born or with which we have the potential to develop. All people, whether Christian or not, are born with natural bents toward something, with natural abilities, and/or with natural gifts and talents.

Spiritual gifts, nonetheless, are given by the Holy Spirit of God to those who are in Christ Jesus, through faith, and by God’s grace. They are given to us for “the common good,” i.e. they are to be used to benefit others. These are supernatural gifts, in contrast to our natural talents and gifts with which we are born. And, they display themselves in supernatural ways, i.e. the Holy Spirit within us gives us a supernatural ability to do something that we, in our natural selves, do not have that ability to do, and this is to show that this is from God and not from ourselves. So, these gifts are not dependent upon our natural abilities.

In other words, God may take someone who is shy and who stutters and make that person a great evangelist. God may take someone who has never written music before and give that person the ability to write music and lyrics as a way to share the gospel. He may give another the ability to have great wisdom beyond his or her years, or the gift to have knowledge that he or she did not naturally attain. He may give another great faith, and another the ability to understand and to share the truths of his word in very practical ways that can be applied to our daily lives. These gifts are also not something that we can choose to do in our natural selves. The Holy Spirit gives them to us as He determines, and they are completely dependent on God, who may call us to do something completely different than we would have ever imagined or dreamed that we would ever do.

These spiritual gifts, again, are given to us for “the common good,” i.e. to benefit others. We, as believers in Jesus Christ, form one body – the body of Christ. We don’t all have the same gifts and abilities, both naturally and supernaturally. We have each been given an assignment by God and a particular role or part in the body that we are to fill. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, not only do we enter into a vital and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but by our supernatural heart transformation by the Spirit of God within us (our spiritual baptism into God’s family), we enter into His body and are thus united by faith with others who have also accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

I believe, as we spend time with the Lord Jesus, in developing our relationship with him and in walking in obedience to him that he will reveal to us the spiritual gifts he has given to us as well as the specific assignments he has for us as his servants. He wants us to be “fruit bearing” disciples in many ways. We certainly bear fruit each day that reveals that we are the Lord’s disciples, or not, just by how we act, speak, and think, as well as by our heart attitudes, which come out through our words and body language. Not one of us is perfect. God has given these gifts to clay vessels. We are still in flesh bodies. Yet, we are to daily be taking up our cross and following Christ Jesus, our Lord, desiring to obey him. We must realize that, in everything we do or say, we are showing whether or not we are truly followers of Jesus Christ. So, this is one way in which we bear fruit.

Another way in which we bear fruit is by using the spiritual gifts God has placed within each of us for the common good and by fulfilling the assignments given us by God via his working within us and out through us. We are not to desire to be particular parts (roles) within the body just because we like those particular roles, i.e. because they are the parts that get the most honor, or the least amount of flak. Some parts are more naturally treated with honor and respect while other parts may be disregarded and perhaps even disdained. We are to eagerly desire the greater gifts, which are usually the ones that get the most flak. Yet, it is still the Holy Spirit who determines which gifts we are given.

Not only should we not seek gifts for the honor we might receive from them, but we should also not shy away from the gifts God has placed within us just because those particular gifts are less honorable in man’s eyes. In other words, we should not feel as though we are insignificant just because we may be a thumb or a big toe. If you have ever had a part of your body injured to where it did not function, you would realize ever so quickly how much you used that part of your body and didn’t even realize it until you didn’t have it. God made our human body parts to be interdependent, and he has made his spiritual body the same way. We need each other. So, don’t let Satan get you trapped by man’s thinking and by man’s evaluations of who is important and who is not. Be who God created you to be!

Sadly, I must say here that there is a catch to all this, but not one God did not know about and that he has not made a way for us, too. We may be in a right relationship with God and eager to follow our Lord wherever he leads us. We may know what gifts and assignments he has given to us, yet the body of Christ, his church, may see us as insignificant or as a sore thumb sticking out and thus a part they want to get rid of. Though they probably would never say the words, “I don’t need you,” yet many local congregations and church leaders reject parts of the body of Christ because they don’t fit in with their human vision of what they think their congregation (body) should look like. So, those bodies end up with missing parts and with a lopsided body, because all the parts are not being permitted to function as God intended them to function within the body. Sadly, this kind of attitude is being taught to many pastors via human philosophy and reasoning and thus they reject the teachings of God’s word on this subject.

Yet, we must not be discouraged and think that God has forgotten about us or that man has some kind of power to limit our usefulness within the body of Christ. None of this catches God by surprise. He has a plan for our lives that cannot be thwarted by man. In vv. 24-25 we learn that God is the one who has combined the members of the body together and that he has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body. What I believe this is saying is that, even though man may slight us and may reject us as parts of the body because they don’t like our particular part and thus we lack honor, God will honor us by providing a way that we can be useful parts of his body so that there is no division in his body, i.e. that there are no parts cast aside. So, if you have been rejected within the body and have been dishonored and cast aside because of your obedience to Jesus Christ, know that God will not abandon you. He still has a plan and a purpose for your life and he still has an assignment for you as his servant, so just seek his face and ask him to reveal to you what he has for you and then obey him.

Remain in Him / An Original Work / September 23, 2011

Based off of John 15:1-17


VOICE ONE:

Walk with Jesus.
He’s your Savior.
He invites you;
Be His servant.
Obey His word.
Do what He says.
Sit at His feet.
Worship your Lord.
Call Him master.
Obey Him now.
Turn from your sins.
On your knees bow.
He’ll restore you,
If you ask Him;
Forsake your ways;
Your cross bearing;
Follow Jesus.


Follow Jesus
Where He leads you.
Abide with Him;
His words in you.
Remain in Him,
Bearing His fruit.
God will hear you
Because He cares.
Be His foll’wers.
Stay in His love.
Peace He’ll give you
From up above.
Love your neighbors,
Enemies, too.
You’ll be God’s friend.
He won’t leave you.
He appoints you.


VOICE TWO:

Walk in fellowship with
Jesus, Savior and friend.
He’s invited you to
Be His servant again.
Obey all His commands,
And do all that He says.
Sit at His feet each day.
Worship Him for always.
Call Him master and King.
Obey Him in all things.
Turn from all of your sins.
Live in vict’ry again.
He’ll restore you today,
If you call Him and pray;
Forsake all of your ways;
Take up your cross today;
Follow Him for always.


Follow Jesus your friend
Where He leads you today.
Abide always in Him.
Let His words dwell within.
If you remain in Him,
Bearing fruit from within,
God will answer your prayers,
Because for you He cares.
Be His followers now.
Remain in Jesus’ love.
You will know peace within;
Comes from heaven above.
Love your neighbors and friends,
And your enemies, too.
God will call you His friend.
He will ne’er forsake you.
He has appointed you.


Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/remain-in-him

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMnxopsr1Nw

The Bread and The Cup

Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 7:37 a.m. – The song, “When in The Stillness,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read I Corinthians 11:17-34 (NIV 1984):

The Lord’s Supper

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

And when I come I will give further directions.

My Understanding: Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 20:22-23 asked the sons of Zebedee if they could drink the cup Jesus was going to drink. They said, “We can,” not really knowing what they were saying for sure, as none of them truly understood what was yet to take place, otherwise they would not have deserted their Lord. Jesus told them that they would indeed drink from his cup, but he was not speaking of a physical cup at communion. He was speaking about how they would, with their lives, share in his death and resurrection and in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 26:38-39, told his disciples that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, because he knew that he must go to the cross and die for our sins, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, which was his greatest suffering of all, or perhaps second greatest next to having his Father look away from him because of all the sin that was now upon him. He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Again, he was not speaking of a physical cup but what the cup represents, which is his blood shed for us on the cross for our sins. The cup thus represents death to sin, both in Christ’s death to our sins and our death to sin when we invite him to be our Lord and Savior.

Mark’s gospel adds to Jesus’ question “or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.” Again, Jesus was not speaking of physical baptism in water, but he was speaking of what our baptism represents (or symbolizes) which is Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, his burial and his resurrection in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin so that we can go free – free from the ultimate penalty of sin in hell and free from the control of sin daily. So, when we partake in this baptism, not the physical baptism in water, but this spiritual baptism of the heart and of the Spirit of God, we are identifying with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection in our own death to our sins, burying them (leaving them behind) and being resurrected to new life in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to walk daily with him in humble obedience.

Paul, as recorded in I Corinthians 10:14-16, addressed the situation of idolatry and the Lord’s Table. He was speaking of the actual participation in the remembrance of Christ through communion, yet he was also speaking of what the communion symbols represent. He told the Corinthian church to flee idolatry, and then he reminded them that when they drink the cup in communion, for which they gave thanks, that the cup represents their participation in the blood of Christ via faith in Jesus and via repentance (turning from sin), i.e. dying to their sins and leaving their sins behind them. And, then he reminded them that the bread symbolized, not only Jesus body given for us, but our participation in his physical body through faith, through our own crucified lives, and through fellowship with him and with his church, his body.

And, then he said something that really spoke to my heart yesterday when I read this passage. He told them that they could not drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, too; they could not have a part in both the Lord’s Table and the table of demons. Certainly he was addressing a problem of combining the remembrance of the Lord’s Supper with idolatry, yet at the heart of this is something much deeper and that is that they were combining idolatry with their communion (close, intimate relationship) with Almighty God on a daily basis. They were trying to follow the Lord Jesus and worship him yet they were following after idols, too. So, this was a heart issue, not just one of proper etiquette at the communion table. They were trying to hold on to their old lives and have Christ, too, and the Lord was letting them know that we can’t do both. We are either for Christ or against him. We can’t sit at his feet and expect to have sweet fellowship with him if we are holding on to any sin, if we are not obeying him, and/or if we are following the idols of men, too.

So, it is in this context of the true meaning of the cup and the bread that we can understand more fully the significance of Paul’s words to the Corinthian church here in chapter 11. Certainly he was addressing a problem in the church when they met together for the Passover meal followed by communion (the Lord’s Supper), yet at the heart of this is something much, much deeper. The problem with the heart attitudes of these people did not begin when they walked into the meeting place. The problem existed in their hearts before they ever met together. And, the problem existed more than just in their physical celebration and remembrance of what Jesus Christ did for us when he died on the cross for our sins, but the situation was much worse than that, for it affected their daily communion with the Lord in fellowship and obedience to him. They had sin issues that impacted their ability to come to the Lord’s Table in daily communion with the Lord in the reading of his word (the bread) and in true worship of the Lord in giving their lives on his altar as living sacrifices (the cup), leaving their old lives of sin behind them and daily being renewed in their minds and hearts in following the Lord in complete obedience.

Self-examination

Paul then quoted Jesus’ words that he spoke to his disciples at his last supper with them prior to his death on the cross. Jesus had told them that the bread they were about to eat represented his body which was given for them and that they were to partake of it in remembrance of him. Likewise, he said that the cup represents (or symbolizes) the new covenant of salvation that God established with us through Jesus Christ shed blood for us on the cross for our sins. And, likewise, he told them to drink from the cup in remembrance of him and what he did for us in dying on the cross for our sins.

Though certainly Paul was speaking of the physical act of taking a physical piece of bread and eating it and taking a physical cup with the juice of the vine and drinking it and doing so in remembrance of Christ and what he did for us on the cross, this is not merely about a communion service. This is about our lives on a day-to-day basis, because the cup represents our death to sin and the burying of our sins, because of God’s grace and what Jesus did for us in conquering sin on that cross. As well, the bread represents partaking in his body, which was given for us, when we give our lives to Jesus Christ in complete surrender to him as living sacrifices on his altar, forsaking the pattern of the world and living lives pleasing to God.

So, when we read this passage of scripture, we must understand not just what communion represents in what Jesus Christ did for us, but we must recognize the reality of what it means to our lives when we give our lives to Jesus Christ as his servants and for him to be our Savior, Lord and master of our lives. The communion table that we partake in at a gathering of the church merely is a symbol of the daily communion we should have with our Lord Jesus Christ in fellowship, taking in his word into our hearts, in surrender to his will for our lives, in obedience, in confession and repentance of any known sin in our lives, in hearing what he says to our hearts and doing what he tells us, and in worship of him as living sacrifices on his altar. The Lord’s Supper represents all of this, so when we partake in the physical act of communion it is representative of our lives and our relationship with Jesus Christ, too, as to whether or not we are truly partaking in his body (the bread) and blood (the cup) in our day-to-day lives.

So, when Paul said that we must examine our own hearts before we partake in communion so that we don’t enter into this remembrance in an unworthy manner, this is speaking of so much more than just a communion service. This is speaking of our everyday lives. We must daily examine our hearts before we come to our Lord’s Table and sit at his feet to hear from him and to have our personal times of worship with him, to make certain that we are not partaking of those times with him each day in his word and in prayer in an unworthy manner, i.e. with unconfessed and unrepented sin in our hearts. It is self-defeating to sit at his feet in this unworthy manner and is a mockery of what he did for us and is a mockery of the very act of our getting together with him each day to hear from him. We cannot share in his table and the table of demons, too. We cannot share in the fellowship of a personal, intimate and vital relationship with Jesus Christ if we are not giving our hearts completely to him in complete and full surrender and obedience to him, to the best of our understanding.

So, I pray that when we come to our Lord in our times with him each day at his table in communion and fellowship with him that we would examine our hearts before him to make certain that we are not partaking of our daily communion with him in an unworthy manner, too, and are thus making a mockery of our relationship with him, and are thus heaping upon ourselves judgment of God, i.e. his divine discipline on our lives because of our sin. This is the prayer of my heart and I pray it will be your prayer, too:

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/when-in-the-stillness

Song on video

When in The Stillness

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at

Song on video

A Way of Escape

Monday, September 26, 2011, 8:00 a.m. – When I woke this morning, there were three different songs going through my mind. The first was “Remain in Him,” which is about remaining in close fellowship with Christ and his words abiding in us so that we bear much fruit and thus prove ourselves to be Christ’s disciples. The second song, “Your Servant,” is a prayer and is about being the Lord’s servant, walking daily in his footsteps, asking for his guidance and direction, praying to be his witness and to show the love of Jesus to others; desiring to make him Lord and master of my life, for me to be his servant, and for me to be an example of one who has been set free from the power of sin and death. The third song, “When in the Stillness,” is a prayer, as well, in those quiet moments alone with God, asking him to speak to my heart, to be my desire, to teach me to love others with his love, to make him King of my life, for me to obey his words and to walk in his truth, and to be an example of his love to the hurting and to the fallen, teaching them how to follow Christ, too.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Corinthians 7-10:13 (quoting 10:1-13):

Warnings From Israel’s History

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

My Understanding: The children of Israel, God’s children and chosen people, were living in slavery in Egypt for many years. God heard their cries and he sent Moses, his servant, to speak to Pharaoh and to tell him to let God’s people go. Pharaoh did not comply, so God sent plagues on Egypt. Still Pharaoh did not let God’s people go, so God sent a plague of death of the firstborn sons on all households, in Egypt, which did not have God’s sign of the blood of the covenant of salvation with his people, a symbol prefiguring Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, on their doors.

Deliverance

When God saw the blood, he passed over those families and they did not incur God’s wrath, which is a symbol of our salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. The blood is a sign of our freedom from the penalty of sin and the control of (slavery to) sin over our lives, so that we can walk in fellowship with and obedience to Christ Jesus, and so we can live in God’s righteousness all our days. When God sees the blood of Christ offered up for us and for our sins as a reality in our lives, in that, by God’s grace, we have repented of our sins and we have made Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, he will pass over us, as well, and we will not have to face the ultimate penalty of sin in hell forever, but we will live forever with God.

Pharaoh then let the children of Israel go, but after he did he had second thoughts, and so he pursued them with his army. Yet, God had led his children out of Pharaoh’s grasp and he would continue to lead and protect them. He parted the sea so that the Israelites could cross the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their left and on their right. Pharaoh’s army thought they could pursue Israel through the sea, but they were wrong. Once the Israelites were all safe on shore and Pharaoh’s army was in the sea, God let the waters go back and Israel’s enemies were drowned. This, I believe, is also a symbol of our salvation. When God sets us free from the power of sin over our lives to which we were once bound as slaves, he continues to rescue us and to provide the way of escape out from under our temptations. When Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, it was not so we would return to slavery, which the Israelites at one point wanted to do, but he set us free and he conquered our foe (our former slave master) so that we would no longer be in his grasp.

Then God provided for his children everything that they needed, both physically and spiritually. They were continual recipients of his provisions and blessings. He imparted to them his leadership and protection to lead them, and he afforded his protection, as well, to follow them from behind. He arranged for them a rock from which they received water, which was a symbol prefiguring Jesus Christ as our solid Rock on whom we stand by faith. From this Rock water flows, as well - the water (Spirit) of eternal life springing up within us, giving us eternal life and new lives in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We receive this Spirit within us by faith via heart transformations through the Spirit of God in cleansing us from all sin and in empowering us to walk daily in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. God gave his children, as well, manna from heaven, which is a symbol prefiguring Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life from heaven given to us. So, this whole story of how God led his children out of slavery into the Promised Land is a symbol of our freedom from slavery to sin and of our salvation we have received through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Yet, though God performed miracle after miracle in the lives of his children, and he demonstrated his love, mercy, grace, kindness, blessings and provisions for them over and over again, still he was not pleased with them because they did not obey him. They grumbled and complained because they were not satisfied with God’s provisions for them. They even wanted to go back to being slaves rather than to move forward into the unknown by God’s grace. They replaced God in their hearts with idols and they disobeyed his commandments over and over again. They did not honor him as their Holy God and chose to serve and worship created things instead of the creator. They slapped him in the face by forsaking the one who loved them, who gave himself for them so that they could go free, when they returned to their vomit and chose to be slaves again to sin. And, times have not changed. The same applies to us when we refuse to obey God and we go our own way.

Examples and Warnings

The children of Israel of Moses’ time serve as examples to us to “keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” And this story serves as an example to us of God’s grace, kindness and mercy in providing for us the way of salvation from our sins and from the ultimate penalty of death (eternal separation from God and eternal punishment in hell). These things were written down for us as examples and as warnings, so that we understand all that God provided for us and so that we don’t forsake our Lord by falling into the devil’s trap again. We are not to follow men and the idols of men, but we are to follow Jesus Christ in wholehearted devotion, forsaking all other gods, our sins and the ways of this world.

We should not be involved in sexual immorality in any fashion, even in giving approval to it by our acceptance of it in our forms of entertainment, nor should we entertain it in our minds or flirt with it via unwise relationships. Nor should we commit spiritual and/or sexual and/or emotional adultery against our God and against our spouses, if we are married. We should not test the Lord in any manner by flirting with temptation or by allowing just a little “poop” in our brownies, i.e. the little bits of evil we allow our minds and hearts, to dwell on them or to consume them via the media, so that we can be entertained. We should also not ever think we have arrived spiritually to the point to where we could never be tempted by sin, or to think that we would never give in to sin’s control again, and thus return to the vomit and slavery from which we were rescued out of by God’s powerful hand in salvation. Spiritual pride comes before a sinful fall, so we must guard against pride and we must guard against falling into sin again by being watchful, praying, and by heeding God’s warnings.

Yet, God promises us that no temptation has seized us or overtaken us except what is common to man, i.e. we are all in the same boat. We are all sinners and we are all capable of falling into sin at any moment given the right opportunity. Yet, praising the Lord, God is faithful! Amen! He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. This does not mean that we are not free to welcome those temptations or to even provide an opportunity for temptation in our own lives via unwise choices, but that, if we are listening to and are obeying our Lord, and we are not testing God by flirting with sin, he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear in his grace and strength within us. He will provide a way of escape out from under the temptation so that we can stand up under it. This does not mean he will remove the temptation, but that he will show us the way out so that we do not give in to the temptation to sin against our Lord, if we will listen to and obey him. He has provided the way for us to be free from sin, but we have to seek him, listen to him and then obey what he shows us. If we don’t, we are on our own, and most likely we will fall.

The children of Israel took God’s salvation, grace, provisions and blessings for granted. They did not remain faithful to him, but they strayed from their pure devotion to God, because they got their eyes off of God and placed them on man and man-made idols, instead. May we, myself included here, heed these warnings, and may we not follow the examples of the Israelites. May we, instead, heed God’s voice, listen to his wise counsel, take his way out from temptation, obey him in all things, follow his leading and guidance, and then we will know his blessings.

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness
Of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord,
I humbly pray.
Be my desire,
Set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in
Fellowship with You,
Listening to You;
Sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently,
Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting
For Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts
Be King today.
Help us to live for
You ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from
Your word within us,
Help us obey You,
Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment,
Lord, in Your presence,
Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,
Lord, our master;
Be an example
Of Your love,
Helping the hurting,
Lift up the fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You,
Follow You always,
Bearing their cross and
Turning from sin;
Walking in daily
Fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/when-in-the-stillness

Song on video

Marching Orders

Sunday, September 25, 2011, 5:40 a.m. – The song, “Remain in Him,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11:

Lawsuits Among Believers

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers!

The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

I also woke this morning from A DREAM: A group of us were outdoors. I was getting ready to go inside a restaurant to eat with some people. David was busy going here and there. I asked him if he wanted to join us, but he declined. John was outside when we went inside the building. The restaurant appeared to be inside a very large building with multiple rooms inside, as well as it was on a second or third floor in this building.

Then, I heard John crying. So, I went running downstairs to find him. I must have assumed he was still outside. Yet, as I ran down the stairs, his voice became faint, i.e. I could tell I was not headed in the direction of his voice. So, I called out to him, “John, where are you?” And, then I heard him. He was upstairs from where I had just come.

So, I ran back upstairs to find him. It looked as though a piece of railing had now broken off in my hand. It was about a foot long, I think. I was now carrying it in my hand as I ran back up the stairs to find John. I reached John and I saw that he was injured. The front part of his leg, where his leg and foot join together (connect) looked like he had gotten a huge chunk of skin cut out. The injured area, a deep crevice in his skin, was in the shape of a circle and was about an inch deep into his skin. There was another area above it that was injured, as well, but it was not as deep. My immediate thought was to take John to the hospital. END

My Understanding: I read several news stories, which I will reference below. I am going to paraphrase them to some extent as I believe the Lord is applying this dream to these news stories to give me a picture of what is really going on behind the lies. Most of what we read or hear in the mainstream media these days is government controlled and is mostly made up stories for the benefit of the American people in order to manipulate and deceive us into believing their lies. So, the Lord gives me dreams and visions to show me the truth behind the lies, and then I share what he shows me to the best of my understanding.

Obama’s Speech

What I believe is behind Obama’s speech is not really a political message to the black caucus to support and to vote for him in the next election. I believe this is a message to the world to get behind and to support the New World Order and its global takeover of the nations of the world. I believe I am representing this global order in a leadership role, though I am not certain exactly who I represent. I believe John represents humanity, in general, though I do also believe he is more specifically representing American citizens or perhaps more specifically Christians throughout the world. The building with the restaurant represents the U.N. or this global order’s organization, and the meal is the one we are all being invited to, i.e. to partake in this global order. David often represents kings and/or kingdoms, which I believe are being invited to join the New World Order but who are declining the invitation, which is why the innocent people of the world are being injured and killed in order to put pressure on these rulers of nations to comply with the N.W.O.

When I heard John crying, I ran to find him and ended up with a piece of railing in my hands, which I carried like a stick on my way to find him. One of the meanings of railing has to do with criticizing, protesting or objecting, attacking, denouncing and/or condemning. This takes me to Obama’s speech in which he was telling the black caucus to stop crying. He told them to put on their advancement boots and to follow him in a fight. He spoke about the future and faith. He spoke about winning a battle and the people’s need to unite behind him in support of his mission. He spoke of hurting people; people scarcely alive, and he voiced concern that so many folks were warring against “us” every stage in “our” progression toward some goal. Then he called for the humans to put on their war footwear and to stop bawling, and to keep going forward.

The article about Obama’s speech stated that a Rep. Cleaver, from Missouri, expressed concern over what he considered a concession to the GOP by Obama which he called a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich.” I believe this is the meal that the kings and rulers of this world are being invited to and it is definitely being sugar-coated in our news to make it look like we are going around the world helping these poor nations to gain democracy and freedom, when it is nothing of the kind. This is definitely of Satan and is leading up to the rule of the beast of Revelation over the entire world. That is why the injury on John’s leg, right at the point on his leg where he would be tying boot strings snugly against his leg, was a deep wound and in the shape of a circle (global order). And, the message that is really behind Obama’s message is a “railing” to the world. So, in this sense, I am representing Obama in this dream and the real concession is to unite with the New World Order.

In essence, what Obama is saying to the world, I believe, is that the kingdoms of this world need to stop their bawling over our advancements against them, our killing of their innocent civilians, our takeover of their governments, their lands, their natural resources, et al, and that the leaders of these nations, including the Congress of the USA and state leaders, need to get behind Obama and the N.W.O. and cooperate, support and unite with the N.W.O. I believe these advancement boots tied around the ankles of the people of the world are like shackles of slavery which have caused this deep wound into the skin right at the junction between the leg and the foot. The future Obama is speaking about, I believe, is this rule of the beast over the entire world where we cannot buy or sell unless we have its mark. The folks he said were warring against us are the people of the world who don’t want the N.W.O. forced upon them. And, all of the lies being told us are the “sugar-coated Satan sandwich.”

Libya

The second article is about the political situation in Libya. The Lord has been giving me dreams about this situation from the get-go. The two sides supposedly fighting against each other in Libya are a creation of the N.W.O. What is really going on there is the same thing that has gone on and is still going on throughout the world and that is that the N.W.O., of which we are part, and factions within our government are party to, are bullying the nations of the world into submission to the takeover of the N.W.O. throughout the world. So, it is NATO troops (which includes at least some U.S. troops) coming against the innocents and Christians of nations and even against U.S. troops who are either Christians or who are a threat to the takeover of the N.W.O. and they are killing them in cold-blooded murder. Our government in the U.S.A. is party to this. Our military is party to this. And, yet we proudly wave our flags and say “God bless America” and we lift up our troops as though they are the saviors of the world in helping these other nations to gain freedom and in protecting our freedoms. We need to wake up America! This is the beast at work, i.e. the “sugar-coated Satan sandwich” that we are being asked to partake in, i.e. to accept hands-down.

When I ran up those stairs with the piece of railing in my hands, this was the N.W.O. stepping up their advancement against the kingdoms of the world, including against our own. Their goal is to destroy the governments of the world so that they can take over. This hefty force by fighters in Libya and in the rest of the world is the N.W.O. pushing their way into control of the world, which Obama’s speech represents. The “stubborn strongholds” of these nations are their governments and the people who don’t want their nations to be taken over, their resources and lands stolen from them, and their people raped, pillaged and murdered for no apparent reason. This advancement produced this injury in John’s leg, i.e. this deep crevice in the shape of a circle (global order). This is the N.W.O. against humanity everywhere and against Christians (true followers of Jesus Christ). The new interim governments in these nations (and ours, too, though we don’t see it yet) is the N.W.O. in every case, including in Libya. The way it will unite us all together is via force.

The N.W.O. must take the governments of the world, for this is key to them spreading their control over the entire world. That is why they have no choice but to attack (railing against) these nations (and we’re on the list, too), because that is the only way they will gain world dominance and will finally be able to have the kind of rule spoken of in Revelation. And, that is where this is all headed.

This article spoke of, in connection with this shift in government, of a disaster controlling phase, which I believe the “hospital” represents in my dream to which I intended to take John with his injury. The article states that this organization should be commanded by folks who are effective, even if they are from among our own people, until the deliverance, i.e. the takeover, of these nations is accomplished and the N.W.O. is established in every nation of the world and a new body of law and rule and order is established. And, this is what Obama’s speech was really about and the real “railing” is not just verbal but comes with a stick in hand (weapons of warfare) and comes against the people of the world and tells them that they better stop their wailing and they had better get with the program and submit and subject themselves to the rule of the N.W.O., because they are coming to take us all over whether we like it or not, and it may be sooner than we think.

To the Word

So, with that in mind, in facing the reality of the times in which we live and the reality of the nearness of the events of Revelation soon unfolding in front of our eyes, in particular Revelation 13 where it tells us about this rule of the beast over the entire world, we need to look at the meaning of this passage of scripture and its application to our current and very real present world situation in which we now find ourselves. Paul talked here of how brothers and sisters in Christ were taking one another to civil court, i.e. they were involving the government of the land in matters that should have been resolved within the church. In other words, they were involving the world and unbelievers in civil matters between fellow believers in Jesus Christ that should have been resolved internally. And, not only that, he also addressed the fact that the lawsuits themselves were a sign that they had been completely defeated already.

I believe this goes to the issue of how the church has invited the U.S. government inside the church in a position of overseer, i.e. authority that often supersedes the authority of the church leadership. It also goes to the issue of the church adopting so many of the patterns, philosophies, teachings and marketing schemes of the world and thus the church has invited worldly counsel into the church. The church has adopted this false (a lie) notion that we, in the USA, are “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” and US flags are prominently displayed near the altar in most church sanctuaries. There is a worshipful attitude taught by the church toward the US government, founding fathers, former US presidents, the constitution and flag of the USA, and our military.

We are taught inside the church to give pledge (guarantee) of our allegiance (loyalty; devotion; commitment; adherence; faithfulness; duty) to the US government (represented by the flag) with our hands (our deeds) over our hearts (center of emotion). This is deliberate, folks! We were indoctrinated within the church to support and follow the USA government, to believe in them, to be loyal to them at whatever cost, etc. The Bible says that Jesus Christ (God the Son) is the only one deserving of such heart devotion. We need to wake up! Because of this, we have been completely defeated, i.e. most Americans (including Christians) do not question the words or actions of our federal government and we believe their lies. We are a deceived people! And, most don’t want to even hear it.

Yet, we were saved by Jesus Christ through his death on the cross for our sins and through his resurrection in conquering our sin so that we could go free. We were cleansed from sin and from our old lives so that we could walk new lives in Christ, free from the control of sin and free to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ. We should no longer live according to the pattern of this world, but we should daily be being renewed in the attitude of our minds so that we have the mind of Christ in these matters. We have to stop being man followers and we need to be followers of God. We have to stop believing the lies and we need to seek out and find the truth and be willing to accept the truth, most of which is spiritually discerned. And, we need to stop trusting everything we read or hear in the news so that we are not supporting the beast of Revelation thinking we are supporting the good guys. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. We are a deceived people in America and we need to wake up and listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us about the times in which we live and we need to start being followers of Christ alone and pledge our full allegiance to him from our hearts.

Remain in Him / An Original Work / September 23, 2011

Based off of John 15:1-17


VOICE ONE:

Walk with Jesus.
He’s your Savior.
He invites you;
Be His servant.
Obey His word.
Do what He says.
Sit at His feet.
Worship your Lord.
Call Him master.
Obey Him now.
Turn from your sins.
On your knees bow.
He’ll restore you,
If you ask Him;
Forsake your ways;
Your cross bearing;
Follow Jesus.


Follow Jesus
Where He leads you.
Abide with Him;
His words in you.
Remain in Him,
Bearing His fruit.
God will hear you
Because He cares.
Be His foll’wers.
Stay in His love.
Peace He’ll give you
From up above.
Love your neighbors,
Enemies, too.
You’ll be God’s friend.
He won’t leave you.
He appoints you.


VOICE TWO:

Walk in fellowship with
Jesus, Savior and friend.
He’s invited you to
Be His servant again.
Obey all His commands,
And do all that He says.
Sit at His feet each day.
Worship Him for always.
Call Him master and King.
Obey Him in all things.
Turn from all of your sins.
Live in vict’ry again.
He’ll restore you today,
If you call Him and pray;
Forsake all of your ways;
Take up your cross today;
Follow Him for always.


Follow Jesus your friend
Where He leads you today.
Abide always in Him.
Let His words dwell within.
If you remain in Him,
Bearing fruit from within,
God will answer your prayers,
Because for you He cares.
Be His followers now.
Remain in Jesus’ love.
You will know peace within;
Comes from heaven above.
Love your neighbors and friends,
And your enemies, too.
God will call you His friend.
He will ne’er forsake you.
He has appointed you.


Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/remain-in-him

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMnxopsr1Nw

Referenced News Stories:

Obama tells blacks to 'stop complainin' and fight
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_BLACK_CAUCUS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-25-00-04-36

Libyan forces besiege Gadhafi's hometown Sirte
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_LIBYA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-25-05-57-55

The Grip of Sexual Sin

Saturday, September 24, 2011, 8:20 a.m. – The song, “The Ransom,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Corinthians 5:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

My Understanding: After Paul had finished addressing the Corinthian church concerning their worldliness, their spiritual immaturity, and their issue with following after men and man’s wisdom instead of following Christ and his wisdom, he next took on the problem of gross sexual immorality that was going on within the church, that the church knew about, and that they did nothing to address the problem, or to try to stop it. This problem was compounded by the fact that they had great pride in their leaders and their human knowledge, and they probably thought they were doing pretty ok. The particular area of sexual immorality to which Paul was referring was that of an incestuous relationship.

Again, these problems Paul had to address with them, as their spiritual father, were not exclusive to the Corinthian church. Sin is sin no matter the era. And, the same kinds of problems Paul addressed in the Corinthian church of his day exist within the church yet today, and I believe are now in epidemic proportions. There is much immorality going on in our churches today – pornography addiction (even among a high percentage of clergy), extra-marital affairs (even among church staff members), unwanted advances by church leaders towards those in their employ or under their authority, loose morals, sexual humor, flirtations, sexual remarks, acceptance of sexually-oriented material, et al. And, much of this goes unchecked because the church people and/or the leadership do not want to deal with the problems, and they don’t want to confront anyone, and they often make excuses for this kind of behavior, so it continues within the church to the detriment of the innocent.

And, then Paul addressed the attitudes of the people toward this sin. They were proud. I don’t know that he meant they were proud of this situation, but rather that they were proud of their own Christianity and religiosity and they apparently were not moved to grief and tears over what was going on between this man and woman. And, again, I believe this kind of attitude has reached epidemic proportions in our churches today, which I believe is a reflection of our society as a whole and of how much the church has adopted the ways and attitudes of the world about sin and thus they have become just like the world and do not, for the most part, stand out in stark contrast to the world and its ungodliness. I find that Christians today, for the most part, though not all, are more interested in being sociable with their friends in the church and would not want to upset those friendships by finding out what is really going on spiritually in their fellow Christian’s lives, let alone care enough about their brothers and sisters in the Lord to take the time to confront the sin in the sinner and to help the brother or sister toward restoration back to a right relationship with God.

Paul’s advice to the Corinthian church was to hand this man over to Satan so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. I am certain there are many interpretations as to what this means. I believe that, in this context, the thought here is that this man knew he was sinning but had not repented. Maybe he had been confronted but he did not change his situation and no one, apparently, was calling him to account for his actions. The first rule should always be to confront lovingly and humbly the person who is caught in a sin for the purpose to restore the person back to a right relationship with God. Yet, if the person refuses to repent and refuses wise counsel from the church, then the church is to expel the person from the church fellowship so that he or she is forced to face the reality of his or her sin in hopes that he or she will repent and will turn back to God. As well, this action should be taken so that the rest of the church is not infected and follow suit, thinking that the church obviously does not take serious sin very seriously.

I believe that this problem of sexual immorality existing in the church unchecked is compounded and is assisted by television, popular music lyrics, video games, movies, commercials, magazine covers, store window displays, the internet and easy access to pornography, etc., which all help to promote and glorify sexual humor and sexual encounters. Most romantic movies are about people sleeping together who are not married to each other or are about extra-marital affairs. Even stealing, lying, cheating, etc. are glorified in movies and TV shows. And we, as Christians, have often allowed all this sin into our homes and minds under the guise of entertainment and have even excused away the parts we found offensive, if we even found them offensive, because we felt that the movie or show, overall, had redeeming features to it. We have become so desensitized to sin that we barely even notice it when it shouts at us in the face or we excuse it away or we just don’t want to have to confront it because we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. And, I believe many leaders in the church are not willing to address these issues because they themselves are struggling with these sin issues and are not living victorious lives over sin.

So, Paul had to take a strong stance on this sin issue that was going unchecked, not because he enjoyed being the bad guy and just loved to confront people in their sins, but because he loved them greatly and he grieved and wept over their sins and prayed for his brothers and sisters in Christ to be free from the power and control of sin over their lives. He knew how much sin destroys lives, marriages, homes, relationships, health, and most of all it destroys our fellowship with our Lord and makes us slaves to sin instead of slaves to righteousness.

Paul’s strong stance, which was from the Lord, was that they should not associate with brothers and sisters in Christ who are living actively sexually immoral lives and who are refusing to repent of their ways. He said we should not even eat with them. He was speaking to the church as a whole and what action they should take with those within the family of God who are living in sin and who are refusing to repent. This action is for their benefit to help them to see that the church will not just stand by and allow them to destroy their lives, so this is an act of love, kindness and mercy. This action is also for the benefit of the rest of the church so that the remainder of the church does not get the notion that it is ok to live in sin and so this kind of unchecked sin does not spread throughout the congregation to where many more are involved in sexual immorality, too.

Some people will call this judgmentalism, but we are to judge sin within the church according to scripture and we are to love and care enough about one another to confront sin and to be willing to help others to flee from sin so that they can walk in victory, too. Yet, we cannot make anyone change. Sometimes we just have to let them go and we have to let them make their own mistakes until they come to their senses and they realize the futility of the way they have chosen to live and they choose for themselves to come back to God.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins, not just so we could escape hell, though many would think that and even teach that. He died so that we would be free from the power of, control of and bondage to sin in our lives on a day-to-day basis. He paid the price! He paid the debt we owe so we could go free! He rescued us from the body of sin and death so that we would no longer live to gratify the sinful nature. Yet, so many Christians still don’t get this. They think sin has power over them and that they are helpless in its grasp. But Jesus conquered sin when he died and when he rose again, so we don’t have to be controlled by sin any longer. We can be free! It does not mean we will never sin, but what it means is we don’t ever have to feel powerless against sin and its deceitfulness any longer. We don’t have to give in! In Christ we have the power to say “NO!” to sin and to reject its grip on our lives.

The Ransom / An Original Work / September 8, 2011

Jesus paid the ransom, so we’d be forgiven;
Purified from our sin, so we’d be set free.
Crucified on a tree; took on him our sin.
Buried our sin with Him; rose in victory.
Jesus calls us to Him; asks that we flee from sin;
Obey His commandments; live eternally.

God our Father loves us, which is why He gave us
His Son to die for us on a cruel tree.
God created us to walk in fellowship
With Him, daily trusting in His righteousness.
He has a plan for us to abide in His grace;
Be transformed in our hearts; live for him always.

Won’t you trust in Jesus? Be your Lord and Master?
He wants to forgive you; give you victory
Over sin and yourself; Jesus set you free.
Daily walking with Him, live victoriously.
Invite Him in your heart. He’ll give you a new start.
Your old life behind you, a new creature be.

Song lyrics and sheet music at:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/the-ransom

Song on video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8itooCN1I3k
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1175/The-Ransom

Remain in Him

Remain in Him / An Original Work / September 23, 2011

Based off of John 15:1-17


VOICE ONE:

Walk with Jesus.
He’s your Savior.
He invites you;
Be His servant.
Obey His word.
Do what He says.
Sit at His feet.
Worship your Lord.
Call Him master.
Obey Him now.
Turn from your sins.
On your knees bow.
He’ll restore you,
If you ask Him;
Forsake your ways;
Your cross bearing;
Follow Jesus.


Follow Jesus
Where He leads you.
Abide with Him;
His words in you.
Remain in Him,
Bearing His fruit.
God will hear you
Because He cares.
Be His foll’wers.
Stay in His love.
Peace He’ll give you
From up above.
Love your neighbors,
Enemies, too.
You’ll be God’s friend.
He won’t leave you.
He appoints you.


VOICE TWO:

Walk in fellowship with
Jesus, Savior and friend.
He’s invited you to
Be His servant again.
Obey all His commands,
And do all that He says.
Sit at His feet each day.
Worship Him for always.
Call Him master and King.
Obey Him in all things.
Turn from all of your sins.
Live in vict’ry again.
He’ll restore you today,
If you call Him and pray;
Forsake all of your ways;
Take up your cross today;
Follow Him for always.


Follow Jesus your friend
Where He leads you today.
Abide always in Him.
Let His words dwell within.
If you remain in Him,
Bearing fruit from within,
God will answer your prayers,
Because for you He cares.
Be His followers now.
Remain in Jesus’ love.
You will know peace within;
Comes from heaven above.
Love your neighbors and friends,
And your enemies, too.
God will call you His friend.
He will ne’er forsake you.
He has appointed you.


Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music

Song on video

A Trust

Friday, September 23, 2011, 9:12 a.m. – The song, “Your Servant,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Corinthians 4:1-7 for my quiet time with the Lord.

Apostles of Christ
1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

My Understanding: Paul began this section of his letter to the Corinthian church with the word “So,” which means “thus,” “For that reason,” or “As a result.” In other words, his comments that follow in this chapter refer back to what he said earlier and explain the reasons for these comments that follow. So, we must look back and see the context of the “So,” in order for us to fully comprehend what he was saying in this chapter and why he said it the way he expressed his thoughts in this section of his letter.

Paul had just spoken to the Corinthian church concerning a report that had come to his attention with regard to divisions in the church. The divisions were being caused because people were becoming followers of men and were choosing one man above another to follow. One followed Paul, another Cephas, another Apollos and another Christ. So, Paul asked the questions: “Is Christ divided?” “Was Paul crucified for you?” I think those are really good questions to ask ourselves whenever we are tempted to follow any man over another or to follow men over and above Christ, in particular. Men (and women) are just human beings. Paul said that the men they were following (excluding Christ, I believe, who was God in the flesh) were only servants of God, each doing his assigned task given to him by God, yet it was God’s power behind them that was causing the church to grow, not the men themselves. Paul was putting things for them in the proper perspective.

In this context of addressing this issue with people in the church becoming men followers and thus it causing divisions in the church, Paul addressed another parallel issue, and this is the issue of men’s wisdom vs. the wisdom of God. He explained to them that the gospel message he preached was not that of human wisdom, “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” He told them that he did not come to them with “eloquence or superior wisdom.” He said that his message and his preaching were not with “wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,” so that their faith “might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Paul said that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight, so there should be “no more boasting about men.” He said:

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words” (1 Co. 2:13).

These issues Paul addressed with the Corinthian church are not peculiar just to them. We face the same issues in the church today. Many follow denominations, which I believe divide the church. Many follow a particular pastor because of his charismatic personality and/or because of his teaching. Many, as well, follow a particular local fellowship because of the building, the programs, the music, performances, and activities, etc. The Mega churches are very popular because of their abilities to offer more services, activities, programs, etc. And, included in this is the parallel issue of following man’s teachings, philosophies, goals, mission and purpose statements, rules and regulations, doctrines, marketing techniques and philosophies for how to build the church, i.e. how to build man-made businesses. Many church congregations have gone to following books written by men to interpret scripture for them, or to follow books written by men even over and above the teachings of scripture - books based upon man’s wisdom, with its “wise and persuasive words” and with the wisdom (reasoning and thinking) of this world. Yet, as Paul said, human wisdom, if this is what we follow, empties the cross of Christ of its power.

So, Paul said, “men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and those entrusted with the secret things of God.” Being entrusted with something or having a trust is having a “charge; custody; care; protection; care; responsibility; and/or guard” over something or someone (MS Thesaurus). It is a lot like having the care and responsibility of having a child or of being given the responsibility over a group of people or over a financial fund. We are to take care of what has been entrusted into our care and to make certain that it gets the appropriate care, attention, nurturing, and/or distribution as required or as necessary. Paul said that he and his fellow apostles were entrusted with the “secret things of God,” i.e. the things of God that cannot be discovered through human wisdom, but that God has revealed by his Spirit, i.e. through the teachings of scripture, especially with regard to Jesus Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and through the power and witness of the Holy Spirit.

We have all – those of us in Christ Jesus – been entrusted with our salvation and with the gospel of Jesus Christ, with the word of God, the Holy Bible, i.e. the scriptures, and with the presence and working of the Holy Spirit within us in giving us the mind of Christ (see 2:16) so that we can discern what is from our Lord and what is not of him. As well, we have been entrusted with our personal relationships with Jesus Christ as our Lord (master) and Savior (from the control of sin over our lives), and with whatever spiritual gifts and abilities the Spirit of God has placed within us to use for God’s glory, his purposes, and for building up the body of Christ, His church. And, just as the apostles were required (not a suggestion) to prove faithful with the trust they were given, we are, as well to prove faithful with all that we have been given, mainly with our salvation, the gospel, the word of God (to obey it and share it), with our personal relationships with Jesus Christ, the assignments and tasks we have been given to do corporately and individually, and with the spiritual gifts given us.

So, going back to Paul’s opening statement in this chapter which begins with the word “So,” Paul, I believe, is contrasting the teachings of men, which is based upon human and worldly wisdom (thinking and reasoning) with the secret things of God, i.e. the word of God which is God-breathed and is of the Spirit of God and thus spiritually discerned. He is contrasting being followers of men with being true followers of Jesus Christ, understanding that it is the power of God behind the men that does the work of God, and this does not come from the men themselves. And, he is making an appeal, I believe, for the church to return to their first love, Jesus Christ, to follow him only as their Lord and master, realizing Jesus Christ is the one who died for them, not some man they are following.

Paul, I believe, is making an appeal to the church, as well, to make sure they are following the wisdom of the Spirit of God and not the wisdom of man. So, when he said that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful to that trust, he was not only giving testimony to his own relationship with Jesus Christ, but I believe he was appealing to the church to do the same, to stop following after men, to not get caught up in the wisdom (thinking and reasoning) of men, but to make sure they are being faithful to Jesus Christ, who died for them, and that they are being faithful to all that has been entrusted to their care, which is to protect, keep, guard, defend, and uphold the truths of God’s Holy Word and all that has been given to them via the Spirit of God and their relationship with God.

So, Paul said he had made these applications of these truths to his own life and that of Apollos for the benefit of the church so that they could learn the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written,” so that they would not take pride in one man over another. There are many varied interpretations of that verse in chapter 4, vs. 6. I will share what I believe it means, based upon what I believe the Lord is teaching me here with regard to the context of this letter to the Corinthian church so far. I believe he is saying that they should not go beyond the word of God in their teaching and practice, i.e. to where they become followers of men and/or followers of human and worldly wisdom. I don’t believe he was speaking against practical understanding and application of scripture, teaching and preaching of scripture, and/or the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts in teaching us the truths of God’s word, etc. If that were true, there would be no need for teachers and preachers or for us to witness to others concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What I believe is meant by not going beyond what is written is that we should not be following man’s wisdom and philosophies or even interpretations of scripture as though they are God’s God-breathed words to us. We need to be discerning of all teaching to make sure it is Biblically based and is sound in doctrine and is not teaching us something that goes against God’s word or against God’s divine nature and will for our lives. For instance, the teaching that says that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do are so obviously in conflict with the teachings of Christ and of the New Testament. All we have to do is start with Matthew and read through the New Testament and we can’t miss it. Where some have removed teachings clearly of God from scripture in order to please men’s ears, others have added on rules and regulations of men not required of God and have required these of men. So, that is why we need to know God’s word and we need to be discerning about what is true and what is false.

So, as servants of Christ, which all of us are, if we are true followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are being warned here against becoming followers of men and against following one man over another or following men over Christ. We are also being warned against following men’s wisdom and philosophies, which means we need to be in the Word of God and know what it says and apply its truths to our lives in obedience to God’s commands so that we will be able to discern what is true and what is false when we hear it. We won’t know if what we are accepting is made up by men or is actually in God’s word if we don’t bother to check it out. So, we need to be diligent about this matter.

And, we are being encouraged to be faithful with what trust we have been given. We have been given salvation from sins, so to be proved faithful with that trust, we must turn from our sin and we must walk in deliberate obedience to Christ and to his word. We have been entrusted with the word of God, which means we need to read it, study it, know what it says, obey what it teaches, and share it with others so that they can know and obey it, too. We have been entrusted with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Lord (master) and Savior, so we need to submit to his will for our lives, both his revealed will in his word and in finding out what specific tasks he has assigned for us to do and then in doing them. And, we need to spend time with him daily at his feet listening to what he has to teach us and then obeying what he says to us.

We have also been entrusted with spiritual gifts and abilities, so we should use them as God intended for us to use them for his glory and for the edification of the body of Christ. And, we have been entrusted with finances, homes, vehicles, resources, children, grandchildren, spouses, other relationships, et al, and we are to care for them as God intended us to care for them in nurturing them, encouraging, spurring, teaching, loving, etc., for all of this is what it means to truly be the Lord’s servants, which we have been called to be.

Your Servant / An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Lord, I love to have You near me
As I go throughout my day,
Walking daily in Your footsteps,
As I humbly pray.
List’ning to You, hear You teaching
Me to live and work for You,
Lord, I pray You lead and guide me
Daily in Your truth.

Lord, I want to be Your witness,
Telling others of Your grace;
Telling how they can be set free
Of their sins today;
Share with them the love of Jesus,
He died on a cruel tree,
So that we’d be forgiven
For all eternity.

Lord, I want to serve You only,
As I bow on bended knee,
Making You my Lord and master,
And Your servant be.
Humbly walking in obedience,
Doing what You say to me,
Lord, may I be an example
Of one who’s set free.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/your-servant

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io7ncxAL15Q
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1226/Your-Servant

Our Desire

Thursday, September 22, 2011, 8:28 a.m. – The song, “Refresh My Spirit, Lord,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read I Corinthians 3 for my quiet time with the Lord this morning.

On Divisions in the Church
1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” 21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

My Understanding: Paul’s description of the Corinthian church sounds much like the church in America today. The church is worldly, for the most part, and is filled with spiritual infants who have not grown to maturity in Jesus Christ. In Paul’s day, as in our day, too, the problem was that the people had become followers of men instead of becoming mature disciples of Jesus Christ. Now, in their case, the men they were following appeared to be true disciples of Jesus Christ who were not leading the people the wrong direction spiritually, so they had that in their favor. Yet, as human beings, they got caught up in following the men more than they followed the God who was behind the men, and that is what Paul thus had to address with them. Because they followed the men, they became divided over which man was the better to follow, not realizing that the men were just servants of God doing their assigned duties. The men were not to be the focal point of the people’s attention and admiration; rather they were to see that it was God behind the men.

Another problem exists within today’s church that is of even greater concern, I believe, than what Paul was addressing in his letter to the Corinthian church. They, at least, were following godly men who were teaching them the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as far as I know. Today we have many men (and women) within the church who are teaching a false gospel and who, themselves, are followers of men over and above being followers of Jesus Christ, so they are leading their people, as well, to be men followers. They have adopted the teachings of men, men’s philosophies, men’s marketing schemes, et al, as their guides for how to build Christ’s church, only what they are building is not the Lord’s true church, but rather they are building social clubs, businesses and corporations of men based upon human philosophy, thinking, reasoning, human counsel and wisdom instead of godly wisdom and counsel as found in God’s Holy Word.

I don’t know at which point the church of Jesus Christ in the USA (not speaking here of a denomination but of the body of Christ as a whole) transitioned from following the teachings of scripture to following the teachings of man primarily, or allowing man’s teachings to determine our understanding of scripture. Perhaps this has always existed within the church via denominationalism, church doctrines and church literature used to teach the Bible, yet I believe this problem has grown so much worse in the past 20 years to the point where people depend upon the church and church leaders so much for their understanding of scripture that they allow men’s teachings often to supersede the teachings of scripture without even realizing it, because it is so subtle. I find so many “Bible study” groups studying books written by men (not God’s God-breathed word) instead of studying the pure scriptures, and this has led, I believe, to the infiltration of false doctrines within the church.

As well, today’s church appeals much to the flesh of man, and it desires to attract the sinner to the church via worldly methods so that they are attracted by the flesh of man. Many are watering down the gospel message to make it more appealing to the sinner and more palatable so that more people accept its false gospel. It is being taught that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, so this completely removes guilt for sin and the need to turn from sin, thus it leaves its followers still in bondage to sin. They forget that all through the New Testament, beginning with the teachings of John and Jesus, that we are taught that we must repent or perish in our sins. We must obey God, for if we do not, we are not truly his. Yet, this false gospel tickles men’s ears and makes it easier for them to accept Christ, but the Christ they are accepting is not our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because he requires that we repent; that we turn from our sin and that we follow him in obedience.

Since the church has adopted so much of men’s teachings, philosophies and marketing techniques for attracting the world to the church, the church itself has become just like the world and thus we have a very worldly church today that is in great need of revival and of God to come and to refresh our spirits and to revive our hearts and to make us more like Jesus and less like the world. We need our Lord Jesus to move us in our spirits to want to serve and obey him in all things and for him to be our hearts’ one desire above all else. We need to have our Lord create within us pure hearts that are fully devoted to him so that his love and power can be lived out through our lives so that we may be his witnesses in being lights for the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world dying in their sins.

Paul said that we should each be careful in how we build upon the foundation that Jesus Christ laid down for us to follow and to build our lives upon. First of all, we need to make sure we are building our lives upon the right foundation, i.e. Jesus Christ, and that we are not building our Christian lives based on lies, deceptions and false gospels. When we have the right foundation, then we need to make sure we are hearing the Lord’s voice and that we are walking in obedience to him and that we are not being led astray in our pure devotion to the Lord by becoming men followers. One day we are all going to be judged and our work will be shown for what it is, because the day of God’s judgment will reveal our works with fire and the fire of God’s judgment will test the quality of each man’s work.

Though I don’t completely understand the receiving of rewards in heaven for what we do on this earth, the scriptures do teach that we will receive rewards according to our faithfulness and obedience to our Lord in doing what he has assigned each of us to do. And, I know there will be some who, though genuinely saved, will not have much to show for their Christian lives, and will be saved only as ones escaping from the flames. May that no be true of any of our lives. May we live lives pleasing unto God and impact our world for Jesus Christ and his full gospel. And, may we, as well, not count on being one of the ones just escaping the flames, either, because we may not have the right foundation to begin with.

The Bible says that the true church is the people of God who are true believers in Jesus Christ. The church is not a building or a business or a corporation or a social club. The sanctuary of God is not a room in a church building and we do not enter into God’s presence or into the “house of the Lord” when we enter a church building. The house of the Lord is in our hearts, his sanctuary (the Holy of Holies) is in our hearts, and we come into his presence when we worship him in spirit and in truth. When we buy into the idea that a building is the church or a business is the church and we become followers of men more than we are followers of Christ, then we experience the breakdown of what the true church really is and should be. When we follow the wisdom of this world and men’s philosophies for how to build the church over and above following the word of God, then we are destroying God’s church, his temple, i.e. the relationship intended between Christ and his church.

This calls for wisdom! We need to prayerfully consider before Almighty God where we have become followers of men over and above being followers of Christ, and where we are building upon flimsy foundations laid by men instead of building our Christian lives upon the only true foundation for our lives, i.e. Jesus Christ. We need God’s wisdom and discernment to know where we are following after the wisdom of this world, thinking we are following God’s wisdom and counsel for his church. We need to be discerning of the craftiness of men who scheme against us and against the church and who are leading the church to destruction via their false teaching. We need this wisdom and discernment so that we are not caught in Satan’s traps and are overtaken by men’s teachings, thinking we are following Christ, because Satan is the great deceiver and his goal is to deceive Christ’s followers.

I pray that we would all pray to God for much discernment in these days ahead of us to know what is of God and what is not of God so that we are not followers of men and of a false gospel but we are true followers of Jesus Christ and of his gospel message. And, I pray that we would all pray for our Lord to refresh our spirits and to revive our hearts so that we are walking in humble obedience to him and to his will for our lives. This is my prayer:

Refresh My Spirit, Lord / An Original Work / August 8, 2011

Based off of Psalm 51 & Matthew 11:28-30

Refresh my spirit, Lord. Revive my heart today.
Move me to serve You, Lord in all I do and say.
Be my heart’s one desire; my spirit set on fire
In pure devotion, Lord, to love you and obey.

Create within me, Lord, a pure heart, this I pray,
So I can worship You and yield to You always.
May all Your love and pow’r be lived in me, I pray,
So I might love as You; be Your witness today.

Jesus says, “Come to me all you with heavy hearts,
And find in me your peace, and give to me your all.
My yoke is light to bear, ‘cause I paid for your sin,
So you might be set free, and purified within.”

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/refresh-my-spirit-lord

Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlPBpizIc04

Your Servant

Your Servant / An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Lord, I love to have You near me
As I go throughout my day,
Walking daily in Your footsteps,
As I humbly pray.
List’ning to You, hear You teaching
Me to live and work for You,
Lord, I pray You lead and guide me
Daily in Your truth.

Lord, I want to be Your witness,
Telling others of Your grace;
Telling how they can be set free
Of their sins today;
Share with them the love of Jesus,
He died on a cruel tree,
So that we’d be forgiven
For all eternity.

Lord, I want to serve You only,
As I bow on bended knee,
Making You my Lord and master,
And Your servant be.
Humbly walking in obedience,
Doing what You say to me,
Lord, may I be an example
Of one who’s set free.

Song lyrics @ Public Domain

Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/your-servant

Song on video