OVERCOMING LIFE

Blood-bought saint’s overcome adversity “by the word of their testimony.” Our testimony is produced by our experiences, growing with each new experience, so we must have experiences… even unto death experiences, to have a powerful testimony. Overcoming Life is the metaphorical four-legged stool. The seat is our shared testimony, and the legs supporting our testimony are the commandments of the Overcoming Life: “Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart”, “Rejoice Always”, “In Everything Give Thanks”, and “Pray Without Ceasing.” And the thing about a four-legged stool... it can only function as its designer intended with all four legs in place. Ditto God’s saints: The Great Architect of the universe designed us to overcome through obedience to these commandments, all of them. We conquer, subdue, prevail… are victorious, when we overcome the intended consequences of adversity through our growing testimony of Good arising out of the ashes of Bad. For it is God who wills and does in us of His good pleasure, masterfully turning life’s interruptions into good in accordance with His purposes, and transforming us in the process.

 To trust in God with all of our heart... soul... mind... strength, is to submit to His Lordship and recognize our total dependence on Him. God’s ways are infinitely beyond our comprehension so we must “lean not on our own understanding.” Rejoicing demonstrates the joy of the Lord, producing strength. Giving thanks in every “thing”, every circumstance of life, enthrones God in our heart adding worth to His name. Ceaseless prayer, the abiding life of John fifteen, engages God to release His Kingdom rule into our circumstances, in accordance with His will, aligning us with His heart and purposes, and bringing the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The word of our testimony declares our heart to God, to all those about us, and to the powers of darkness: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” We need trust that faces death and does not flinch! The enemy is defeated not because our circumstances improve, but in spite of our circumstances -- no matter what they do. He is defeated when we refuse to allow our circumstances to degrade our Faith, Trust and Hope in our Daddy. He is defeated when we trust, rejoice, give thanks, and pray even during the worse storms of life. This is how we overcome... this is the “words” of our testimony...

Overcomers reflect our Lord’s nature so others can understand what He is like. The Apostle Paul understood the Overcoming Life, for he penned its commands out of his own personal experiences, out of the blood and flesh from his whip scared back.  Paul understood to the point of literally rejoicing in infirmities, troubles, suffering, hardships, afflictions, persecutions, in a nutshell adversity, referring to them as momentary “light afflictions” common to all saints. And hence the need for the four-legged stool!  John the Revelator spoke of the eternal rewards of overcomers in his letters to the seven churches, utilizing the Greek present participle to denote continuous action – overcoming requires patience endurance, for it is a lifestyle. Overcomers will eat from the Tree of Life, be unhurt by the second death, be fed hidden manna, be given power over the nations, be acknowledged by Christ before God as His own possessions, be pillars in the temple of God, be called by the Lord’s new name, and will sit with Christ on His throne. WOW!

Overcoming is a spiritual discipline... a habit of choice, and like all disciplines must first be understood, then practiced, to become a discipline. Trust, rejoice, give thanks, pray, and share your testimony of God’s goodness, even when bad things happen, because Daddy is sovereign in His allowings, and purposeful in His working out of our “things.” He does not give us overcoming life; He gives us Life... His Divine Life, as we overcome. And He wants us to have a testimony... He wants us to overcome!                                                                                                          

“FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD… "

(Rev. 12:11; 1 Thess. 5:16-18; Phil. 2:13; Rom.8:28; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; Job 13:15; 2 Cor. 4:16-18, 11:23-27, 12:10)

COLORING “TRUTH” WITH OUR MISCONCEPTIONS

We must approach God’s word tabula rasa style, with no preconceived notions about God. We are an opinionated people, and it is all too easy to superimpose our opinions and desires about the nature of God on our interpretation of His word, coloring “truth” with our misconceptions. By “nature” I mean the fundamental qualities of God, His essential character, His relational identity, what is knowable about God by man. This is why we miss God’s will so much and get our life into a mess.

It is essential to lay aside our opinions about the nature of God when we approach His word, letting the word interpret itself through the Holy Spirit. For Example: The Bible speaks in many places about the “goodness” of God. When we approach these passages with the world’s mindset as to what is “good”, we create a mental filter through which we interpret these passages, and, most importantly, all other passages – compounding the error. The current popularity of the Health and Wealth message is a prime example of superposing our desires on God’s word and skewing its meaning, equating the goodness of God with our physical and material well-being. God’s goodness was forever demonstrated at Calvary, and is defined by His will -- His purposefulness in redeeming and transforming a people to inhabit His Kingdom.  Jesus didn’t die just to save us from hell, and He certainly didn’t die so we could have a life full of physical and material blessings – our “best life” can never be now. He died to transform us for Kingdom life, to change us into vessels of honor fit to inhibit His Kingdom. The Apostle Paul called this being “conformed to the image of His (God’s) Son”, to be molded and shaped into the image of Jesus sharing inwardly His likeness... His nature.  To do the works Jesus did, we must become like Him. Make no mistake; this is the number one passion of God’s heart, the number one “good” He has graced us with. In redemption we say yes to the call of the Father. In transformation God puts us on His potting wheel and begins to mold and shape us, using the pressures of life applied at just the right time and just the right place to orchestrate our metamorphosis. These “pressures” are the adverse circumstances of our life, the things we normally call bad, the things God allowed that He might take the enemy’s bad and turn it into good according to His purpose... our transformation. Everything that moves us closer to God -- makes us more Christlike -- is God’s goodness in action. God is too good to leave us the way we are. We should expect The Way into the Kingdom to be difficult, for Jesus said it would be. We must learn to rejoice and give thanks in adversity, knowing God is at work on our behalf, transforming our nature while purifying our faith. And we desperately need transformation for we are sin stained spiritual cripples who need to  become beacons of radiant light reflecting the holy nature of Christ to a world drowning in sin’s darkness.

Coloring truth has led to thousands of denominational flavors, and the spiritual deception of many into fringe factions. The natural mind, unaided by the Spirit of God, cannot know... comprehend, the things of God, “for they are spiritually discerned.” The job description of the Holy Spirit... “The Spirit of truth”, has two entries: 1) Manifest the life and nature of Christ in willing submitted saints. 2) Lead, guide, direct, comfort, and teach willing saints about God through the revelation of His word. We must allow the Holy Spirit to be the mental filter through which we interpret God’s word, for the Holy Spirit is, operationally, the mind of Christ in us: We must allow the Holy Spirit to do His job in us. We must learn to color truth by the Spirit of Truth.

COLORING TRUTH 
BY THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

ADVERSITY KNOWS OUR ADDRESS

Saints are appointed to “afflictions” (1 Thess. 3:3), walking the narrow and “difficult” way (Matt. 7:14), as they go through many “tribulations” to enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). These three words, affliction, difficult, and tribulation are translated from the same Greek word thlipsis, which has as its origin the act of squeezing and crushing grapes. Simply put thlipsis means the adverse pressures of life.

All is not well on planet earth for in this fallen world adversity and affliction are a reality.  God gives us power to deal with the works of the enemy, but we are not immune from the works of the enemy.  God does not give us overcoming life. He gives us life... His Life, as we overcome. And nothing happens... absolutely nothing, to God’s children apart from His caring presence… nothing! The difficulties of life test and try our faith which requires some degree of doubt.  Struggle strengthens faith by burning out the dross of doubt as we choose faith over doubt, leaving only pure proven faith... overcoming faith, developing “the word of our testimony”, developing trust. It is most important to remember during the storms of life who to fear, and who loves us.

TO FEAR GOD IS TO TRUST HIM

Life’s circumstances will always present things that elicit fear: illness/disease, impending death, loneliness, financial problems, rejection, abandonment, failure, the unknown, loss of control... pressures of every kind abound. Whether physical, financial, relational or emotional, we will face hardships, and in these times we have a choice of what we will fear: We can fear God, or fear everything else.  To fear God is to trust Him when everything around us is saying He can’t be trusted: to revere, respect, honor, extol  and trust Him enough to believe by faith that He is good, sovereign and present when life is hard, cruel and out of control. (B.M.) To fear and trust God in the face of adversity takes living faith, a steadfast pursuit of God through thick and thin, through the mountain top of blessings and through the valley of adversity, never despairing, even when everything around us says He isn’t there, to continually pursue God, and not merely pursue answers, resolution or a desired outcome.  This is faith in the face of adversity: Trusting God’s goodness in spite of any apparent evidence against it, recognizing His ways are above our ways. (B.M.)

THE CROSS IS PROOF ENOUGH: GOD LOVES US

Jesus is the ultimate expression and proof that God cares for us and desires to be with us.  Christ is Emmanuel…God with us.  The cross of Christ is proof enough that God loves us beyond measure…beyond comprehension…beyond explanation, regardless of what happens to us, and He is good... always good!  The cross of Christ finishes the love debate: God loves us!  The resurrection of Christ proves whatever is happening to us is not the ultimate; death does not have the final say for Christ conquered the grave... He lives and is coming again to fetch us home.  God has the final say: There is coming a resurrection of the dead and living, an undoing of everything that is wrong.  The adverse pressures of life...painful speed–bumps that threaten to derail us, do not happen apart from our Father’s caring presence.  Rather than put our faith and trust in a certain outcome, we need to put our faith and trust in a certain Someone.  Nothing happens apart from the Father…and that’s enough.

“FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU”

DIVINE STEW

There is a popular notion that salvation, becoming a follower of Christ, is just adding Jesus to our life, like adding potatoes to a stew. This could be called “cheap grace” for it requires nothing in the way of transformation – the passion of God’s heart. Jesus came and died for us that we might have His life, not ours. We are not the chef, and we do not control the stew our life becomes. God’s word clearly states we are either slaves of sin or slaves of righteousness by our willful choice: One or the other, there is no third choice.  Hear the Apostle Paul speak: ^“Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slave of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)”? The continuous action of the Greek text indicates a lifestyle (not an occasional act) of obedience... obeying the commandments of Christ, which leads to righteousness... right standing with God, juxtaposed with a lifestyle of sin... disobedience to the commandments of Christ, which leads to death... separation from God. The three personal pronouns (i.e., anyone, his, him) indicate one’s real enslavement is to the power behind the lifestyle, not the lifestyle, the lifestyle is the product of our surrender to someone’s will. Someone is making the “stew” we call our life. The extent of our control over our life is found in the basic choice of who will be our chef, God or satan. Only in our submission can the Lordship of Christ come forth. Only in our death to Self can the Life of Christ come forth.  True freedom is found in divine slavery, the freedom to be the stew God desires.

(Rom. 6, AMP)

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT TO WHOM...

OUR END WAS FIXED BEFORE OUR BEGINNING

God lives in eternity which has no time, no past, present, or future. Eternity only has “now.” God sovereignty works out His divine purposes through election, the selection of prescreened people who have a heart and passion for God. Election is God choosing the people in time who already chose Him in eternity: This is God in eternity past prescreening people by looking into time future and seeing who would say yes to the call of the Father. God’s foreknowledge always precedes His choosing, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined ... these He also called.” Predestination sets the boundaries of our meandering within the framework of God’s saving grace as our “steps”, our life, is ordered by the Lord. Our end was fixed before our beginning. The “now” we live is simply God’s plan being executed. Ever wonder how your name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundations of the world? Well... now you know...

Before the first “Let there be” in Genesis God, in eternity past, looked at my heart as a man living in time.  He looked beyond my sins, my short comings and my weaknesses because He had a decision to make and it would be based on only one thing; would I say yes when He called me to be one of His children?  Would I give my life, my heart and my very soul to Him?  When He seen in my heart that I would willfully serve Him, he wrote my name in the Lambs Book of Life!  Then He planned and decreed every aspect of my life to be, setting boundaries and orchestrating events of my life to make me receptive to His call, to justify me with the righteousness of Christ, to grow in me the spiritual nature and attributes of Jesus and, finally, to glorify my body with a heavenly body like His.  Then on December 7, 1999 at 7:45 p.m. like a bolt of lightning out of eternity into time the call of God came to my heart and I said yes.  At that very moment I was justified, declared righteous and placed in right standing with God through the precious blood of Jesus.  Since that moment I have been on a journey with God; the Holy Spirit is implementing God’s plan, the plan He made eons ago, and as I behold the glory of Jesus I am being transformed into His image, from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). This is the Holy Spirit doing His job, manifesting Christ in me. As I learn to abide in the Spirit, setting my mind on things above , the holy nectar of God’s presence envelopes me more and more in intimate fellowship. My “steps”, my life, is ordered by the Lord. My end was fixed before my beginning. The “now” I live is simply God’s plan being executed. And someday soon this old body of mine will also be glorified as I am changed and caught up to meet my Lord in the air.

OUR “STEPS” ARE ORDERED BY THE LORD

SPIRITUAL METAMORPHOSIS: A PROFOUND CHANGE IN NATURE

We derive our English word metamorphosis from the Greek metamorphoo which is a key word in understanding God’s plan for mankind. Metamorphoo means to transform, to form or fashion, to change or cause to change completely in form or nature. Metamorphoo can be physical or spiritual, and carries the sense of transformation into something elevated... better... more beautiful. The butterfly is transformed from a caterpillar via the cocoon by changing its outward form to reflect its inner DNA. As applied to saints metamorphoo means to change the outward expression of our nature to an expression that represents... reflects, our regenerated inner nature: Literally, to conform to our divine inner nature... the implanted DNA of our Savior. 

Metamorphoo is translated “transfigured” and “transformed” in scriptures, which are synonymous terms, and is used four times: In Matt. 17:2 and Mark 9:2 Jesus is transfigured... transformed: The Lord allowed the glory of His internal supernatural nature to change His outward physical expression -- radiating glory through His human body -- and His form became resplendent, shinning like the sun, affirming His essential glory as Jesus the Messiah. In Rom. 12:2 and 2 Cor. 3:18 saints are transformed with a renewed nature, the nature of Christ, by a lifelong spiritual process of change into Christlikeness. Metamorphosis in the natural realm is a predetermined process that follows the implanted DNA plan of living organisms. Metamorphoo in the supernatural realm is a predetermined process following the plan of the Holy Spirit in whosoever will. These three verses capture the essence of the saint’s transformation process:

“For those whom He foreknew (of whom He was aware and loved beforehand) He also predestined from the beginning, foreordaining them to be molded into the image of His Son and share inwardly His likeness, that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom. 8:29, Amp. Bible)

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). And all of us, as with unveiled face, because we continued to behold in the Word of God as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured (changed) into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord Who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18, Amp. Bible)

“Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude), so that you may prove for yourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you.” (Rom. 12:2, Amp. Bible)

God’s plan from the get-go has been the complete metamorphosis of man, in both spiritual nature and physical form, into one befitting His Kingdom -- into the nature and form of His Beloved Son. Transformation frees us from bondage to the desires of Self, our fleshly carnal nature, and liberates us from the limitations of our physical bodies. God predestined this for all His children, that His Son might “become the firstborn among many brethren.” As we continue to behold in the Word of God the glory of our Lord -- setting our mind on His Kingdom -- we will be, progressively, renewed... transformed in nature... literally made new again... and qualitatively better, becoming a new creation.  Paul told us a mystery in 1 Cor. 15 50-54: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Our renewed spiritual nature, the nature of Christ, will need a renewed physical body, a glorified spiritual body, to walk the streets of gold with. The transformation of our physical body into a glorified spiritual body... our Glorification, will occur when our Lord comes to fetch us home. The Master Potter is at work, His hands are upon us, ever molding and shaping us into vessels of honor fit for Kingdom life. These are a few of the many passages that attest to our spiritual metamorphosis. You see... we are just caterpillars, but God... He wants to transform us into beautiful butterflies...

WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED

THE GREATEST COMMISSION: ROMANS 12:1-2

The Apostle Paul was concerned with the way his Roman brethren were living out their Christian experience.  Rome in the first century had some unfortunate parallels to Sodom and Gomorrah during Lot’s time.  And, apparently, the Roman saint’s were displaying a lifestyle that had changed very little since their conversion. Fast forward two thousand years: Same problem, different country -- the modern church in the United States.    

In Romans 12:1 Paul begs his fellow believers to submit to the Lordship of Jesus: “I appeal to you therefore, my fellow believers, and beg you by all the mercies and tender compassion of God, that you make a decisive dedication of your bodies presenting body, soul, spirit, mind, heart, and will, as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted and consecrated to God. This pleases God and is your reasonable, rational and intelligent divine service -- your spiritual worship -- to God.” (John’s translation) A “living sacrifice” is a continual sacrifice, as the Greek present participle so indicates, a lifelong sacrificial process of dying to Self that Christ might reign in our hearts and minds. (Gal. 2:20) God views this as an offering of pure worship, esteeming His worth by our sacrifice, and is pleased. Lordship is a willful change of ownership prompted by “the mercies and tender compassion of God”: “And you are not your own ... For you were bought at a price (purchased with preciousness and paid for by Christ) ... The precious blood of Christ.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Peter 1:18-19)

In Romans 12:2 Paul commands his fellow believers to embrace Transformation through mental renewal: “Brethren, stop assuming a lifestyle that is not representative of your inner spiritual nature, but is patterned after this world.  Change your way of living to express and reflect your inner spiritual nature by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve in practice God’s will, His good, well-pleasing and complete will.” (John’s translation) As brethren... saint’s, we have the DNA of our Lord’s nature implanted deep within our spirit, waiting to be manifested through us by the Holy Spirit. It is in the willful setting of our mind that we choose, moment by moment, to walk according to the indwelling Spirit of God or according to our fleshly carnal nature... Self, to set our minds on things above or things below. Choosing rightly, consistently, will develop the spiritual discipline of walking in the Spirit... being led by the Spirit of God, putting to death by the Spirit the deeds of the body. And this leads to sonship, becoming children of God! (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16)

What matters now and in Rome two thousand years ago is not that we are Christians.  What matters is that we are Christlike.  God’s goal is not a label – God’s goal is a lifestyle. Romans 12:1 establishes the believer’s relationship to God: He is Lord and we are His devoted Love-Slaves. God made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), Lord and Savior (2 Peter 3:18), and as Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah, He brings salvation.  But He is also the Lord God Almighty, and total submission as a bondservant... Love-Slave, to His lordship is mandatory. Romans 12:2 commands change, Transformation into the very nature and attributes of Christ, in a word... Christlikeness. Self must die that the Christ-Life can come forth!

Together, Romans 12:1and 2 form the Greatest Commission of scriptures, for it is in Lordship and Transformation that we are equipped for the “righteous works” God has prepared for us. The great Love Commandments, the Great Commission, everything we are and do in Christ comes forth from the release of His essence within our spirit, as we are changed from the inside out. This is how we become vessels of honor fit for Kingdom service. This is how we release the Holy Spirit to manifest Christ in us. This is how the Christ-Life flows through us -- a Life living its Life through our life – making us Salt and Light to a dying world. This, in a sense, is the whole enchilada... what we call salvation.

A LIVING SACRIFICE

SHALOM LIFE

Hebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation, conveying feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom, though commonly used as a greeting and farewell, means much more than simply “Peace”, “Hello”, or “Goodbye.” Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, and harmony -- the absence of agitation or discord -- with the sense of “to pay for... to be fully paid.” Peace is the Shalom of God, wholeness, well-being, harmony and rest that is fully paid for. God’s Peace... His Shalom, defies our understanding because it is completely absence of agitation, discord and anxiety, even during the storms of life. Shalom does not ignore adversity, it conquers adversity! The Shalom of God is the essence of our salvation.

Many search for fulfillment, happiness and contentment, in the pleasures, passions and possessions of life, never realizing they are really searching for Shalom. The bling of this life serves only to distract, hinder and prevent us from finding true peace, and can never fill that little hole in our soul that can only be filled by God. There is only one way to find true Shalom... true peace, and that is to find God or, more precisely, to be found by the searching God who passionately pursues every person as long as they have breath. We cannot have the “peace that passes understanding” without knowing the God that defies understanding.

The “God of Peace” dispenses peace from His Kingdom of peace as a gift. Jesus is called Sar Shalom, the “Prince of Peace”, and as the preincarnate word gave His disciples peace, not as the world gives but as only He could give: “These things I have spoken … that in Me you may have peace.” We will find God’s Shalom... His peace, in Christ... in “The Word Made Flesh”...  in the words He spoke. Christ said He came that we may have Life... abundantly eternal life... abundantly peaceful life. Shalom Life can only come from Him who created and put all things into place. There is only one way to find true Shalom - and that is in the Word of God. Therefore “Study to …

THE PEACE OF GOD

“FOR AS A MAN THINKS IN HIS HEART...

Behind every word or action of life lies a thought, the mental process preceding all human activities. It is here in the deep regions of what God’s word calls the “Heart” and the world calls the “Mind” that a battle for control rages: To control one’s thoughts is to control one’s life. This spiritual warfare is often subtle, often painful, and always deadly, for something must die.  

Saints, we are not some squalid run down thought-hostel accepting the riff-raff thoughts of this world, at least we shouldn’t be. Our heavenly Father is in residence; our body is His temple... His Holy of Holies. God said it... and it is true. (1 Cor. 3:16-17, 6:19-20) We must allow this reality to change us. Jesus, in referring to the ruler of this world, said, “he has nothing in Me” (Jn. 14:30): he has no claim on me; there is nothing in me that belongs to him so he has no power over me. Satan had no place of access to put his thoughts into our Savior’s mind. What Jesus was saying is “he (satan) has no thoughts in me.” The Apostle Paul spoke of this when he said “Nor give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27): Leave no room... dwelling place, or foothold for the devil -- give no opportunity to him. What Paul was saying is “Do not give satan a dwelling place... access point, to induce thoughts into your heart.” Let us be diligent to remember that our bodies belong to the Lord -- purchased by His Son and inhabited by His Spirit. We are just property managers of God, charged with keeping His temple clean, free from thoughts that would pollute and be offensive to Him. (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Jn. 3:3)

The enemy’s most effective thought-tool is desire, the most powerful and compelling of thoughts. Jesus warned of the saint’s desire for pleasure and the “other things” of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and our concern... preoccupation, with this life. (Sower Parables) To where... or to what, we set our desire will determine our fate in this life and in the next life to come. Jesus called our earthly desires thorns that surround and choke... suffocate, His life giving Word. We need to stay out of the thorn bushes of misplaced desires if we want to avoid getting pricked to death.

The “pure in heart” are blessed with “clean hands”, for action follows thoughts: They shall “ascend the mountain of God ... stand in His holy place ... for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5: 8; Ps. 24:3-4) The pure in heart understand a stronghold at its core is just a fortress of thoughts, a fortification of misplaced desires Self does not want to give up: They have rooted out and pulled down every last renegade stronghold, “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:3-5) The pure in heart have set their heart on things above, not on the things of earth-life, for they have died and their life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:2-3) The pure in heart have trained their heart to meditate on true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, praiseworthy thoughts, allowing the peace of God to mount guard over their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7-9).

The pure in heart are submitted to the Lordship of Jesus and committed to the death of Self, for they know they are in a war. An unleashed mind, with thoughts flying in free-association like a ping pong ball, is the beachhead of the enemy's assault. Victory comes through jerking the lease, bringing every thought into subjection to Christ – obedience to His will, words, and ways -- until discipline creates a spiritual habit. Daydreaming is not good dreaming unless it is God dreaming. Controlling that space between our ears, heeding and heeling to the Holy Spirit, is essential to a renewed mind. And without a renewed mind... well, we would be better off with no mind at all...

SO IS HE... “

(Prov. 23:7)

THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE

The Natural Man: Psuchikos, of the senses, is unrenewed man in communion with the world, the nature we are born with. Sarkikos, carnal or fleshly, is the propensity to indulge and satisfy our Natural Man with the sinful appetites and desires of this fallen world, to live according to the flesh -- what John called the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Desire for the world’s material things, physical appetites, pride, prestige, independence, power..., these are the tentacles of carnality that draw us to the world. The Natural Man loves to be in control and is naturally carnal, naturally lives life in concert with the desires of his flesh. The Natural Man’s real name is Self.

The Spiritual Man: Pneumatikos, spiritual, is renewed man in communion with God, the nature Christ died to provide for us. Spiritual Man is the product of one’s new birth into God’s Kingdom through a willful heartfelt confession in the atoning work of Jesus and repentance for sin. The Spiritual Man is the implanted nature of Christ... the Christ-Life, which will be made manifest by the Holy Spirit in the new believer’s life.  This, in essence, is what makes one a “New Creation” upon their confession of faith: Their enslavement to sin is broken and the nature of our Savior is downloaded into their spirit.

Self will want to maintain control and will resist the immergence of Christ’s nature, setting the stage for a lifelong battle between Self and the Christ-Life. Self must die or his carnal nature will bleed over into the Christ-Life producing “Carnal Christians”. Self will not go quickly or quietly... it won’t be a quick death.   “I am crucified with Christ … I die daily.” The daily moment by moment choices we make determine which nature is immerging and in control. This is the process of being conformed... molded, into the image of God’s Son, sharing inwardly His nature. This is progressive transformation, the normal Christian life.

PROGRESSIVE TRANSFORMATION

CHRIST IS OUR EXAMPLE

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,  that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

If we are to follow Jesus' example here in 1 Peter 4:1-2 we must arm ourselves in the same manner, with the same thought and purpose, willing to endure suffering rather than fail to please God. Paul did and shared this weapon with his disciples, the elders of Ephesus: “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.” (Acts 20:22-23) How would we respond to prophetic words of persecution, hardship and tribulation awaiting us at every turn? I am not implying that all messages from God will be of this nature, but there is an oblivious imbalance to the possibility of this reality in the church today. Much of the five-fold ministry within Christ’s Body focuses on prosperity, health, and peace, as if God’s only concern is for our physical well-being and material happiness. This encourages people to seek God for what He can do for them, to seek only His hands of provisioning. The foundation of their love for Him shifts from who He is to what He can provide. They seek to fulfill ministry’s proclamations rather than obey the God who “gave gifts to men”, who gave ministry to the church. They are not interested in magnifying Jesus, whether by life or death (Phil. 1:20). They want the good life now!

Notice how powerfully this verse speaks to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, and the power of suffering as a tool of transformation: Suffering moves the saint from living for his human appetites and fleshly desires into living for the will of God... the mind of Christ. And notice that intentional sin ceases when we stop pleasing our Self with the world’s pleasures and begin to please God.

There are two Christian best sellers, one called “Your Best Life Now” and the other called “Love Your Life.” Have you thought about how misplaced these concepts are? Jesus said “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” As Christians our “Best Life” can only be our Blessed Hope of eternal life with our Savior; our “Best Life” can never be now... in this life... in this world. Saints who want their best life now and love their life here on planet earth have forgotten they are strangers and pilgrims in a hostile land, and are living without God’s greatest survival weapon... the mind of Christ. They are literally unarmed...

The Apostle Paul warned of a time when people... the church, would not tolerate or endure sound and wholesome truth, but with ears itching for something pleasing and gratifying would gather to themselves teachers and ministries chosen to satisfy their own desires – wandering off into myths and man-made fictions. (2 Tim. 4:1-4) I think the time is now...

“ARM YOURSELVES ALSO WITH THE SAME MIND”

THE DESERT: WHEN GOD IS SILENT

We all struggle with the difficult seasons of Christian life. Far from the mountaintop lie valleys of despair, and beyond, vast desert wastelands where God seems far off and we feel we’ve lost our bearing... missed the turn sign on The Way. Desert experiences can be a spiritual banquet for the willing Christian. Differing from the valley where adversity finds our address, and the mountain top where the presence of God prevails, in the desert there is no “still small voice”, there is no voice at all.

Elijah’s desert experience reminded him not to fear, that God was still The Boss and in control. David’s desert experience reminded him that God had not left him or forsaken him, and to put his faith in God, not in the experience. Our Lord had two desert experiences. The first, His forty day temptation in the wilderness, tested and approved His heart, that the enemy had no place or access in Him, and He “returned in the power of the Spirit.”  The second was in the garden of Gethsemane where our Lord experienced the extreme anxiety of separation from God at the worst possible time. The enemy attempted to crush His will to obedience... and failed: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Although scripture highlights the experiences specific to each case, it is probable these experiences were shared by all:

*Fear not, for I AM with you, and I AM in control. *I will never leave you or forsake you, so have faith in God. *Give no place to the devil. Be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. * God’s will must be endured, and therefore can be – God’s will can always be endured!

The desert is an opportunity to learn more about God and ourselves. Left to our own devices we would never leave the temple, never venture into the barren desert wilderness. God speaks to us in many different ways we fail to recognize when basking in His presence. In the desert we begin to “see”... perceive, with the eyes of the Spirit. The lessons of the desert experience are similar, though wrapped individually for each of us.   That we are never ever alone and have nothing to fear, for God is in control. That we must plow up the fallow ground in our heart and sow it with God’s word, leaving no access point for the enemy to gain entry. That we must be filled and continually refilled with the Holy Spirit... God’s power in us, willing and doing of His good pleasure. And, that we must will to do His will, be obedient, for God’s will is purposeful – He’s a good good Daddy – and can always be endured. God told Elijah “Go back the way you came”: Take a trip back through your desert absorbing the experience completely then carry on God’s work. The primary reason for the desert experience, the critical lesson, is, after all, trust, our overwhelming need to totally trust God in all matters of life and death – in all matters... period – for there is nothing that trust in God cannot defeat... nothing! 

“GO BACK THE WAY YOU CAME”

IS GOD A RESPECTOR OF PERSONS?

The Bible interprets itself, using the context of verses and related passages to explain itself. The question at hand, “Is God a respecter of persons”, is discussed in seven related passages where the context in each passage is either Salvation, Judgment or Rewards, which explains the application and intention of this precept. It makes perfect sense and accords with the whole council of God that Salvation, Judgment and Rewards would be universal precepts applicable to all saints. Therefore, God is no respecter of persons when it comes to Salvation, Judgment, and Rewards. Except for these three areas, of course God is a respecter of persons: God is at liberty to deal with us differently, individually and uniquely. He created us as unique individuals with unique pathways of transformation, reflecting our uniqueness. We are born into different cultures and life situations having unique mixtures of attitudes, proclivities and personality traits,   have different innate interests and desires, are susceptible to different temptations, face different trials and chastening, have different callings and giftings, and drag behind a long train of unique and constantly changing life experiences. Jesus said the way to eternal life is difficult: Our uniqueness makes our confirmation into the nature of Christ uniquely difficult. (Acts 10;32; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; James 2:1; 1 Peter 1:17; 2 Chron. 19:7)

Some examples: Job, a man whom God Himself called “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil”, was chosen by God to demonstrate faithfulness under the harshest of adversity – including the death of his ten children – while his “comforting” friends suffered nothing. John the Baptist spent 30 years in the desert, wearing clothes made of camel’s hair and eating bugs, followed by a three month local ministry and prison, before losing his head. When’s the last time you seen a minister in camel’s hair clothes with locust breath. Stephen, the newly appointed deacon, was stoned to death before he could get new business cards printed, while Phillip, Stephen’s classmate in the first class of deacons lived to a ripe old age, had a long impressive evangelistic ministry, raised four godly daughters, and became the first, and so far the only flying deacon, being instantaneously transported from place to place -- carried by the wind of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John – the “disciple whom Jesus loved” -- lived to a ripe old age dreaming of heaven, while the other eleven apostles were tortured and killed in the prime of their life.  The Apostle Paul, who wrote half the New Testament and planted churches throughout the world, suffered far more than anyone recorded in scriptures, was denied healing by God, and was beheaded in prison, while Lazarus, a friend whom Jesus loved, was raised from the dead to a long and peaceful life. God blinded one man for thirty plus years to demonstrate His Glory, and blinded Pharaoh’s heart, leading to his destruction. Jesus healed only one person out of the “great multitude of sick, blind, lame and paralyzed” at the Pool of Bethesda. .  And then there is Hebrews 11 where the great overcoming faith of the patriarchs is juxtaposed with the equally great faith of other unnamed saints who were tortured, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, slain with the sword, and left destitute, afflicted, tormented and homeless. “And all of these – the patriarchs and the other unnamed saints -- obtained a good testimony through faith.” (vs. 39) Hebrews 11:5 puts this in perspective: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him...”; Let’s understand this: Enoch lived a blessed life, literally walking with God, then was transported home by God bypassing death.  Enoch got a get out of death free card and was transported away to paradise by God while other saints who were equally faithful and pleasing to God were tortured, imprisoned, murdered, and left destitute and afflicted! That sounds a little biased if you’re the one who has a date with a tree-saw! God does not treat us all the same! He deals with each of His children as uniquely created beings with unique personalities, dispositions, proclivities, whom He has predestined to be conformed into the nature of His Son. He is focused on our perfection... our transformation into Christlikeness, and uses the unique circumstances of our life to mold and shape each of us. Be God’s

ASK ENOCH...

THE PURPOSEFUL GOD

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD: The steps of a good man are ordered by the lord. “Ordered” is from the Hebrew word “kun” and means “to establish, to prepare, fixed, set in place”. If such a small thing as a step is controlled and ordained by God, there is nothing in our life He is not sovereign over, concerned about, and involved in - absolutely nothing! (Psalms 37:23)

THE NARROW GATED DIFFICULT WAY: Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? “Adversity” is from the Hebrew word “ra/raah” and means “the entire spectrum of bad.” Adversity is God’s judgment on mankind, a reality of life. (Job 2:10; Matt. 7:14)

THE WORK OF GOD: Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked?  In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after Him (i.e., know what is to happen). God “appoints” through willing good and allowing bad. (Ecc. 7:13-14)

COUNT IT ALL JOY:  Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, Though the olive crop fails and the fields provide no food, Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will be jubilant in the Lord, I will rejoice in the victorious God of my salvation. Rejoice... In everything give thanks. (Hab. 3:17-18; James 1; 2-4; Rom. 5:3-5; 1 Thess. 5:18)

GOD TURNS BAD INTO HIS GOOD:   He knows the way I take, When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandments of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. Only melted purified gold is minted! All things work together for our good. (Job 23:10-12; 1 Peter 1:6-7, 4:12-13; Rom. 8:28)

GOD’S PURPOSE... OUR PERFECTION: The Lord God is my strength, my personal invincible army; He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And enables me to walk over my “mountain” of trouble and suffering, And to make spiritual progress. Therefore, you shall be perfect... spiritually mature... Christ-like. (Hab. 3:19; Matt. 5:48)

ADVERSITY, GOD’S SCULPTURING TOOL:  We are predestined to be conformed to the image... nature, of Christ, for God loves us to much to leave us the way we are. The purpose of trials and tests is to teach us faith.  The purpose of tribulation, the pressures of life, is to teach us godly character... Christlikeness, through patience endurance. The purpose of chastening is to teach us obedience. The purpose of reaping what we sow is to teach us dependence on God. The purpose of demonic opposition is to teach us grace.  The purpose of persecution is to teach us godliness, filling up in our bodies what is lacking in the suffering of our Lord.  All of life’s difficulties work together for good in the believer to bring forth the implanted nature of Christ and teach us how to rest in the Lord... the peace of God. (Rom. 8:29; 1 Peter 1:6-7; Rom. 5:3-5; Heb. 12:3-11; Gal. 6:7; 2 Cor. 12:2-10; Col. 1:24; 2 Tim. 3:12)

ALL DIFFICULTIES ARE WITHIN GOD’S PURPOSES

THE SECRET

I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have learned how to be content, satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted, in whatever state I am. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to everything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me. I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. Therefore saints: Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything... not even one single thing. In every circumstance and in everything continue to make your needs known to God, by prayer and petition with definite requests, and with thanksgiving. And God's peace shall be yours: That tranquil state of a soul assured of salvation through Christ and fearing nothing from God, being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort... that peace shall be yours. God’s peace which transcends all understanding, that is better than knowing why, shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  In this rejoice in the Lord always, delight and gladden yourselves in Him.  Again I say, rejoice!

I AM SELF-SUFFICIENT 
IN CHRIST'S SUFFICIENCY

End Note: This is based on Phil. 4:4-14, Amplified Bible, modified by the writer. Though this teaching, contextually, evolved out of Paul’s physical needs, the application is obliviously meant to be all inclusive: “all circumstances, every situation, all things, anything, everything, whatever sort, etc.” Paul lived the narrow gated “difficult” way, facing adversity at every turn, the same way we are called to, but he had a secret.                              

MUSINGS ON A COLD WINTER DAY

THE WARMTH OF THE SON: Sitting in the woods this wintery afternoon, feeling the warmth of the sun’s filtered rays, there is a stillness... a quiet reflectiveness as if time itself has stopped. We are such predictable creatures, adrift in a hostile world that hated our Savior and surely hates us, though we run from the thought. Many of us, saints so called, have built our house on shifting sand, dreading the storm but dreading death to our misplaced desires even more.  It would have been simpler if God had wiped our mental slate clean... tabula rasa, but He chose to give us free will... free choice, the right to choose wrongly. And, therein is our dilemma. So we wiggle and squirm, trying ever so hard to pay the piper – under the table so to speak – to have our cake and eat it too. Not all of us will make it home to heaven. There is a “great falling away”: It has already begun. Some... “few” is the term used in scripture, will give in to the “jealous yearnings” of the Holy Spirit and submit to lordship... to death... to a life quite different than we expected... to life on the narrow difficult Way. Most will join the many on the broad crowded easy way to nowhere... nowhere we really want to go. There is little solace in the warmth of the Son’s rays, till commitment seals one’s heart...

MY HANDS: My hands look old. All wrinkled up, spotted, gnarled, and veiny, they look old. They remind me of the quick passage of time. As I sit here, the sun streaming in through the window on this cold wintery day, I can feel the creeping passage of time as I look at my hands. I suffer from no delusions of grandeur; I have not done enough for the God whose love rends my heart. Mine is not a quest for payback; how could anyone suppose to earn or pay for what Christ did? No, my thought is a simple one: Time is the great deceiver, an enemy sold far too short that sprints while I saunter along through evil days, never quite redeeming the time – never quite doing my all for The One who gave His all for me. My hands remind me of my humanness, a life on the downhill slide toward home, loved beyond measure but still struggling with the unmitigated scope, breadth, and depth of that love, wanting somehow to balance the scales while knowing full well the impossibility. My hands remind me they will not always look old...

LESSONS OF THE GOD-STRUCK

Uzzah, at great personal cost, teaches us a valuable God lesson. God is not a household deity, guarded in our keeping. Our role on this Earth is not to keep the Almighty from mishap or embarrassment. He takes care of Himself. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” And yet there is something far more fearful and dangerous than to fall into His hands: not to fall into His hands.  But perhaps the most fearful and dangerous thing of all is the sin of Uzzah: to think that our job, should God stumble, is to ensure He falls into our hands. We can learn much from Uzzah about God and about ourselves. God is not safe, He's dangerous, not safe at all -- what “consuming fire” is -- but He is just and good. He seeks seekers then rewards their seeking. He seeks worshipers, gracing them with His life changing presence. But caregivers, protectors, any kind of God-handling is risky at best and deadly at worst. The all knowing, ever present, all powerful creator of all seems to think that being God is sufficiency by definition. We need to relinquish our assumed role as God’s protector and throw ourselves headlong into His tender embrace, taking refuge in Him and climbing into His lap of grace. And when He graces us with His presence, always be willing to dance.

Michal, at great personal cost, teaches us another valuable God lesson. God is not the safe-keeper of our reputations.  God is not some priggish domestic deity, a heavenly Miss Piggy intent on prescribing etiquette that maintains polite assemblies, aghast by any outbursts of fervor. Our role on this Earth is not to keep ourselves from embarrassment, to protect our death-grip on propriety. We can learn much from Michal about God and about ourselves. Michal is described as Saul’s daughter, exhibiting his DNA, playing to the opinions of others at the cost of honoring God. Pride and dignity are catchwords for deifying self, the natural born enemy of fervent abandoned worship. God didn’t play to the crowds when He made His beloved son of “no reputation”, the greatest act of worship ever, and He doesn’t give a flip about how our expressions of worship are viewed by others. Worship is for God, and pure sincere heartfelt worship always puts a twinkle in Daddy’s eyes, always! The Psalms command us to “make a joyful noise” when in the presence of the Lord. Shrill cries of gladness and loud exuberant shouts of praise may sound like irreverent din, noise, to the natural ear. Sadly, the Spirit expressed is as strange to some as the manner of expression. Ditto dancing. It is our passion that God loves, for worship without passion is only a discipline. We must come before our Father dignified or undignified, robed or in rags, with the elite or social outcasts, always willing to dance.

We can learn much from David about worshiping God. The Hebrew “panah” translated presence or face is used when God says to Moses “My presence will go with you”, and when God says to David “Seek My face.” Panah has kingly origins: To see the King’s face meant being in his direct presence. Ditto God. “The lord spoke to Moses face to face”, in His presence. Panah coupled with the preposition “le” means toward face, “before.” David danced “toward face” of the Lord, literally “Before the Lord”, in His presence.  For those who think David’s dance was some type of solemn sedated ritualistic procession, the original Hebrew begs to differ: Danced, Karar: To whirl about, to roll, to move to and fro. Leaping, pazaz: To jump, jingle, with expressions of great joy and delight, with the nuance, to be impetuous. Play, sachag: In the Piel Stem: To be merry, laugh, celebrate, rejoicing with strong expressions of joy. Some translations, such as the NKJV, incorrectly insert the word music after play, as if David was simply playing his flute. Mighty, oz: With all one’s physical strength and power, often used of God’s empowerment. When David removed his royal robes and put on the linen ephod of a priest, he divested himself of human status and position, humbling himself as a servant of God, and worshiped in wild abandoned fervor. This dance was a wild kinetic expression of singing, shouting, no doubt screaming, while leaping and jumping about, unchoreographed spontaneous combustion. David was a man after God’s own heart, pursuing his pursuer, who suddenly was found by the lifelong object of his passionate pursuit. And David danced.                                         

DANCING BETWEEN

DEATH AND BARRENNESS