Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.

I have been thinking about this passage. I intend to mediate on it until it gets down into my heart. I’ll be honest, I struggle with it because I don’t fully understand it; maybe because I am thinking too much. The curious item is the word “through.” How do I do things through Christ?

I know I have invited the Holy Spirit to live inside of me. I know that many preachers will pontificate that we should get God’s word deep down inside us so that His thoughts become our thoughts. I agree with that. But that to me is Christ working through me, not me working through HIm.

So I have envisioned myself stepping into Jesus’ body, wearing Him as a suit of spiritual armor. In my vision, His body completely surrounds me, fitting like a glove and the golden light of God’s love and power surround us both. This golden light radiates out to touch all the I come near to, good or bad. It protects me from evil and empowers me to do good. It is now my intention to hold this vision in my mind until His body becomes my body. The way I see it, it’s not enough to have the Holy Spirit inside of me; we should have Christ surrounding us. This, I believe, is what it is like to live in the kingdom of God; doing all things through Christ who strengthens me.

God speed!

Predestined Freewill?

Did God direct Jesus’ life, as a puppet master manipulates a marionette from above by strings, or did Jesus choose to follow his father’s direction? If he chose to follow God, then he could have chosen not to be the messiah, but this seems unlikely due to the circumstances of his birth. What do you think?

Be Saved

Salvation is not just about saving yourself from hell when you die; it’s also about being saved from yourself while you’re still alive.

Justification

Within the course of my daily affairs, I quite often witness, and that is to say that is all I see, the phenomenon of justification. There is a theological form of justification, which Noah Webster so eloquently defines in his 1828 dictionary, “remission of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the atonement of Christ.” Our beautiful goal, but not the justification I am witness to. What I speak of is man pardoning himself for his own self-centered behavior.

Trust me; I am not here to condemn but to share. We are creatures that rely on our five senses and our wits to navigate, negotiate and translate the events of our lives. We learn from experience, but each experience is skewed by our emotional perception, and our hurts don’t heal very fast. Without relying on God and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, we are doomed to a mundane life full of self doubt and often chaotic thoughts. This in turn manifests our cardinal behavior. The world appears to rotate around us and as long as we keep our ears and eyes closed, it will forever remain that way. Should anyone question our reasoning or actions we can robotically render a justification. We see ourselves as victims or “in control”, or a little of both. It’s nonetheless uncommon for our conscience to boil up from inside and cause us to justify our behavior by venting to a friend; a ritual so common that we don’t even realize that we’re doing it let alone know that we probably shouldn’t.

There is no good or righteous justification for our self-centered behavior. It is not endearing us to our loved ones, friends and especially God. Instead, look outside of yourself through the eyes of love. Live your life devoted to loving all and fill your heart and mind with compassion instead of self. First Peter, chapter three tells us so profoundly and beautifully in verses eight through twelve:
“ 8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”

Let’s try to heed the still quiet voice within us, the Holy Spirit, and be loving and compassionate and leave justification to God.

God speed!

Old Story, New Lesson, Just Ask

I was listening to Bill Winston preach a sermon on the Kingdom of God, which is very good, and he read the story of the young man who had asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life (Matt. 19:16-22). Jesus answers him stating that if he wants eternal life, keep the commandments. The young man said that he had, to which Jesus responded, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.”

To understand how this story relates to each of us individually, this was Jesus’ command to the young man, which was initiated from the young man asking Jesus a specific question. Jesus’ response was suited to the young man as it related to his life and his circumstances; he may very well have a different response to you.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

And again in Luke 11:9-10 “9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

So ask. Ask Jesus what he would have you do. He is waiting for you.

God speed!

Grace

Grace: a theological state defining the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. I have to say that many times throughout my life I have experienced grace, and in recent weeks I cannot tell you the number of times I have noticed it. I would say that I have noticed it because I’ve been looking for it. As Jesus says, “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8)

My days have been hectic and full of turmoil, surrounding me both in the people in my life and the thoughts within my mind. However, I know that because I am seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and doing what it takes to feel the love of God, that the end result will be success. No matter how crazy, or busy, or complicated things seem, I know I will come out on top when the dust settles. I know this because I can feel God’s grace and all I have to do is keep seeking that first. That’s how it works. It works that way for me; it works that way for you.

I recently had someone says to me that I have God’s favor. I don’t take that statement lightly. I ask for it, I look for it, and I choose to live my life in a manner that keeps me in God’s favor. I like to think that I am accomplishing living in a state of grace by graceful living, meaning elegance and beauty of form, manner, motion, and action. I live a glorified life and I invite you to join me for everything is sweeter when shared.

God speed!

A Withered Branch

I have been wrestling with too many things lately. The back and forth issues of living in this natural world by spiritual means can be a daunting lifestyle to uphold. Thankfully and friend of mine came to the rescue; my friend sent me a line of scripture from John 15, 19:

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

That explains a lot, which I will not go into now, but in looking up the verse I read the most beautiful words. They touched my heart and I would like to share them with you—my friend.

John 15

The Vine and the Branches

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

God speed!