Everybody desires a relationship with God in some form or another. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has put eternity in the hearts of men. New agers try to find God within themselves. Jews believe in the One true God but are still waiting on the Messiah. Catholics & Protestants believe on God but are divisive over theological doctrine taken out of context.
To walk with God means to have Him set before you at all times (and when you fail there is a mediator who bridges the gap). To fear Him and keep His commandments. Although laws and rules are needed to regulate society, you can get too bogged down in them that it chokes off relationships and you become legalistic-afraid to live your life because you might sin or mess up.
Focusing on the spiritual aspect of the faith can lead to being less legalistic. Since God’s will is to conform us into the image of His Son, His Spirit empowers us to carry out the Law by writing the law on our hearts so we do it naturally-or supernaturally, and it’s not as much “work”. So if it’s all about us, then it’s “works” and not the Grace of God supernaturally empowering us.
Read a devotional by Oswald Chambers on Twitter today that said “God does not call us to be spiritual but to walk before Him.” Technically striving to be spiritual can be a distraction too. It’s still focused on us. Put God first and focus on Him and gives you the strength and the will to do everything else, and gives you the desires of your heart as well because the more you know Him the more you know your authentic self.
Since we can’t see God because of our human nature which is independent of God, we must have our spiritual lives awakened in order to acknowledge Him. By seeking Him with all our hearts, confessing His Son and our wrongdoings and accepting the sacrifice, and seeing ourselves for who we are in Him-not as sinners saved by the grace of God but as bloodwashed Saints who are complete in Him, lacking nothing, more than a conqueror, etc.
Even D.L. Moody in his book, Men of God, said even Jesus couldn’t do anything apart from His Father, so Jesus’s oneness with God enabled Him to live the perfect life and be the sacrifice for our sins. So the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit would be three distinct persons of the Godhead which work together in One Spirit to bring about God’s purposes on the Earth which is to lift the curse of sin, destory Satan, and establish God’s church on Earth.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
God’s perfect will
Some people spend their entire lives trying to find God’s perfect will for their life and waste a lot of time in the meantime. Some say God has a perfect and an acceptable will. Some more calvinistic preachers teach that God only has a perfect will and this leaves many believers frustrated and depressed because they worry that if they step out of line they will be living in “sin” again. Just another weapon of Satan-legalism.
God’s perfect will is that everyone be right with Him and no one sin. God allows bad things (sins) to happen because He gives man free will and can turn that bad thing into something good. I believe it’s Genesis 50:20 that says, “for you meant it for evil but God used it for good.” When we miss up, God can work it out (or predestine) it for our own good-a closer walk with Him.
Since we’re not perfect, God’s acceptable will is that we just trust Him with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding and He will direct our paths and make us more like Christ in the meantime. He may give you choices that are acceptable to Him; such as renouncing marriage to serve Him more fully or what kind of job to take.
God’s perfect will is that we obey His law perfectly out of devotion to Him and not legalistic self-righteousness; but when we miss the mark (you know we will-if not you’re in denial), remember that Jesus fulfills the Law.
You can try to obey the law but sometimes you may have to sin to sacrifice for someone else-like lieing to protect someone. Rahab lied to protect the men of God. As for stealing or adultery, it would be turning grace into a license to sin to do either one of those. Unless you go through a divorce (which is nothing more than a legalized breakup with bureaucratic politics attached) and you fall in love again. I’ve learned from many christians who have had amazing 2nd marriages that the adultery Jesus referred to in Matthew 19 meant breaking the connection and reestablishing a new one. Celibacy is always acceptable but it should be your own personal choice or its not a sacrifice if you are forced to do so.
An e-word of prophecy: it is God’s perfect will that you trust Him today and love Him and love others but don’t fail to take care of yourself. In doing so you fulfill the law and the prophets. You are guraranteed to screw up so when you do, just remember what Jesus did for you a couple days ago (a day with the Lord is as 1000 years).
The Value of Friendship
In Proverbs it says something to the effect that kisses are multiplied by enemies and a brother is born for adversity. People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Some people will support you through the hard times; some will be sincerely caring, while others will do it simply just to fill a void in their life and not out of love. Only God knows the difference.
In the flipside, many will flock to you when you are prospering; mostly just to see what they can get out of you, but your true friends will encourage you in your endeavours, while others will shoot you down. These latter types are usually intimidated by you and very insecure in themselves. It’s also a form of adversity that God will use to keep you humbly dependent on Him as your pursue that which He has for you.
The theme of the popular Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, is “no man is a failure who has friends.” I believe it was my earthly father and a college/career pastor who once said you are rich if you only have two true friends in your entire life. If you have more than that, you are loaded even if you are dirt poor and sweeping floors at McD’s.
The 80/20 Rule
It has been said that 80% of people hate their jobs. So what are the other 20% doing? Also, 20% of people do 80% of the work. 20% of the world is said to be right with God by christian perspectives. Rather ironic don’t you think that 80 & 20 come up quite frequently.
80% of people hate their jobs because more than likely they either aren’t doing the work God has for them or they are trying to find fulfillment in their work apart from God, making it an idol. The remaining 20% have found true fulfillment out of their work out of their relationship with God or they chose to “settle”. The latter isn’t good because it leads to repressed emotions which lead to depression and other mental illnesses.
The 20% that do most of the work are the ones who have all the motivation because the other 80% are unmotivated; either because they are living defeated lives because they have been beat down and burned by society or they are confused and don’t know what they want out of life. This group is also likely to suffer from repressed emotions which contribute to the rise of mental illnesses today. In proverbs it says the desires of the heart will kill the simple. (E’s paraphrase). It’s good to live simple, unless you are doing it because you don’t any get up and go (which comes from being either fully spirit-filled or fully replying upon yourself).
As far as 20% of the world being right with God-how do we know this? Because we are doing what man does and assuming that a person is right or not right with God by what they do. A person who appears to be doing God’s will may be self-reliant and the person who appears to be living in sin maybe just be struggling but may be more in love with God than the “righteous” person.
Either way, true fulfillment comes from finding purpose in your life which flows from a vibrant relationship with your Creator. People with no zest for life are deemed “losers” by society and can’t be in fellowship with God because God calls you to make a difference for His Kingdom. The first two words in Gospel are “Go.” You think Jesus is the most influential man who ever lived because He just sat around “waiting upon the Lord” and “resting in His work.”
Mind Control is everywhere
Starting with college recruiters telling you that you owe it to yourself to finish college, thereby convincing you to take out student loans and creating a demand for public education which in turn causes a rise in tuition expenses which also increases the national deficit with public funding for education.
Religious institutions which try to basically tell you how to live your life so you won’t “embarrass” their assembly and they have to excommunicate you. They also try to teach you they have the truth no one else has and many protestant denominations got their start by taking one or more verses out of context.
The Health system which gets paid off by pharmaceutical companies to prescribe “lifelong medications” and even pinpoint a psychological diagnosis above all other possibilities.
The news is the worst with most of their stories being in a negative context to stir up fear and anxiety in the hearts of its viewers. Fear becomes anger turned inward which leads to depression and eventually psychosis then the healthcare system gets ahold of you and won’t let go.
Businesses extending “credit” by getting you to go into debt on that new car or expensive house. Actual commercials for psychotropic drugs with more and more of them being geared toward toxic antipsychotics.
For that matter, I’m even guilty of mind control just for communicating if you take everything I say as Gospel Truth. Friends, there is only one source of Truth and that is the One who Created you and gave Himself for you. He is the source of all wisdom and gives liberally to those who Ask, Seek, and Knock and dont’ doubt it when He gives it to them as long as you seek with the right motives of knowing God and loving and serving Him deeper. All He wants is a relationship and through trusting in our Heavenly Father we won’t fall into sins that separate us by hardening our hearts agaisnt Him and others.
“Receiving Christ into your hearts” because the church convinced you you had to is a form of mind control. Salvation comes as a result of divine conviction when one turns to God as his Source of everything and the Holy Spirit points toward the Blood & Cross as the sacrifice for sins and proof of God’s love. When you realize how much your Father loves you and who you are in Him rather than who you are in the world you began a deeper relationship with Him that transforms you supernaturally from the inside out-which religious rules & rituals and holy living in and of itself can never do.
Knowledge is power, power can be corrupt unless it’s backed by wisdom that comes from a relationship with God and impacts your life for the good of the Kingdom.
Restoring the Years
Something strange is going in my life lately. After struggling with social anxiety most of my adult life making it difficult to relate to people and being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder solely on the fact that I can talk fast (out of nervousness), I have been set free. I may have lost my wife in the process due to all the emotional distress I went through while struggling and trying to be a good leader but I believe God will restore all those years supernaturally. I was just hoping to get the last 10 years restored that I’ve struggled with depression but with all the friends from my high school days I’ve found on Facebook, I feel like I may have retroed back to my teenage years; back to when I first believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As many pastors say (I think it’s my recent role model Pastor Joe Wood of Reverb Church in Parker Colorado)-”something good is going to happen.” God is good to those that trust Him so He’s always up to something God while drawing us into a deeper relationship with Himself-life’s ultimate calling. For those that haven’t trusted in Him He’s very patient waiting for them to come to repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus so they won’t be judged when He comes back.
Go Sam Houston ’96
True Love: Your Soul Mate
To clarify there is only one soul mate you will ever have or ever need. He’s the One who created you, and gave His life for you. Hence the words, “soul” mate. Whether you commit to marriage or celibacy is entirely your decision but you should seek wise council, first and foremost with your Heavenly Father. You have to look for the right person to settle down with but only God can draw two people together. But He wants to have first place in your life so marriage isn’t good for you if it’s an idol. Because human love is so conditional, He’s the only pure and true love a person will experience. However many will never experience this loving relationship because their hearts have been hardened by sin in their life. The sad thing is, it’s not necessarily their sin. It’s sins done to them such as trauma at a young age. Celibacy is just as big a commitment, better if you can do it but don’t force yourself if you desire a mate. Marriage can only work if both parties can maintain a singleminded devotion to God. The word “single” in 1 Corinthians 7 simply means single-minded and it’s something everybody should have regardless of marital status. Because Jesus taught that there would be no marriage in the kingdom of heaven, God’s calling for you life has nothing to do with your marital status. But if you desire marriage and can keep it from distracting you from His call, then go for it. Even if you go through a divorce and happen to fall in love again. I’ve learned over the years from believers who have been divorced that when Jesus said whoever remarries commits adultery that it means breaking the connection and reestablishing a new one with your new mate. The only way the 2nd marriage will work is if you worked through whatever issues killed the 1st marriage. However if you use that teaching and go and get married 3 or 4 times then that shows you may have an underlying issue to bring to the throne of grace. If you have two failed marriages you either have really bad luck with the opposite sex or something you are not dealing with. However I have known a few christians who have taken a 3rd wife. My dad was one and he was a good example growing up. 25 years with two of them and the last few with the third before he passed on good friday 2005 at 76 and he loved them all the same because God loves us all the same. I knew God was teaching me something thru sister wives and Kody Brown. LOL. If bigemy was legal. . .I would have to work more but for reasons other than income. 
Now that I feel set free from social anxiety, I’m glad I was shy growing up because it may have protected the ladies from me since I may quite possible have my dad’s charm. Could be a generational curse or a blessing, you think? Anyway, I may have missed out on the best years of my life due to social anxiety but thanks to social media sites like Facebook I may get a chance to fix that by the grace of God.
Life On The Rock
I actually love that show on EWTN. Shh. ..don’t tell my protestant friends I watch NunTV. Mother Angelica is cool too.
Jesus said He would establish His church on the rock. He is the rock of our salvation as the promised Messiah and this planet is the rock where He will establish His church.
Any church group that claims to be a New Testament church or the one true church is cultlike. But then again anybody who adds to or takes away from the Word would be the same, and that would be just about every religious sect.
We are under the Old Testament and New Testament. You can’t understand the NT without the OT. A Catholic priest once said you have to study the whole council of God to understand His plan for redemption. Jesus said He came to fulfill the OT Law, not abolish it.
Billy Graham once said he estimated about 80% of people who sit in church pews likely don’t know God. There is know way to be sure of this unless we become omnipotent but obviously from the parable of the wheat & tares most people who say they are christians do not have an active trust in a living God that they profess to. The more spirit-filled a church is, the more true believers/worshippers there likely are.
It all boils down to why you go to church. Social connections? Business leads? Looking for a hot date? The only reason God will accept is love and devotion to His character thru His Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. That happens when we are born-again and “see” the Kingdom of God. When the spirit of God opens our eyes and we see Him and quit looking inside ourselves.
In closing, you can be so eternity conscious that you become no earthly good. Eternal life starts now when you receive the Messiah. You have your best life now by following Him and trusting Him. He’s coming back here so we aren’t necessarily going there. Let’s unite the true believers/worshippers and establish His church so He can return quicker.
The church doesn’t meet in a “building”. It meets wherever two or more true believers are gathered in His Name. You can start a home group like the earthly church did in Acts and have praise & worship, prayer, bible study, and communion.
Also if you are looking for a hot date, find one that’s on fire for the things of God.
Seeing Our Good Deeds
Jesus taught us that people would see our good deeds and praise our Father who art in Heaven. What good deeds was He referring to? Many people do good charitable deeds in the name of the Lord and don’t know Him personally (Matt. 7:21). Our good deed is our active trust in a living God that spiritually transforms us from the inside out. The way we act when we go through a trial points heavenward if people can sense our confidence is not in ourselves. If our confidence is in ourselves people won’t notice because we will be too much like everyone else. Our goodness doesn’t make us right with God since it is a reflection of His image anyway, and our badness doesn’t send us to hell since it’s a result of our lack of trust in God and is covered by the blood anyway. What determines our eternal destiny is the attitude of our hearts toward God. If we recognize our spiritual poverty which means we are bankrupt without a relationship with our Heavenly Father and there is nothing inherently good in and of ourselves apart from Him, then the ministry of the Holy Spirit will point us to the Cross of Christ. It’s a divine influence upon the heart that is manifested in our lives. Following our spiritual awakening we should have a new desire to hunger and thirst after the things of God and a relationship with Him that is ever deepening. However sometimes we end up running into obstacles that chain us to our past again and when we finally recommit we have to start all over with God again. Oftentimes it’s hard to recommit than it was to commit the first time.
Society and its Expectations
The reason we’re all so crazy and stressed out these days is because we aren’t balanced. We push ourselves too hard to live up to a standard of perfection set by societal standards which says if we don’t go to college we’re a loser. If we don’t have a career or a mate by the time we are 30 we’re a loser. If we have life controlling issues we are losers. There’s nothing wrong with having big goals of wanting those things because nothing is impossible with God but it must flow out of a relationship with Him in order to have peace and fulfillment. He’s our ultimate boss and counselor so we get our “increase” or “promotion” in His timing and in His way. All we have to do is trust Him for it and seek first His Kingdom. If any of the other areas competes with Him then its an idol. When did stuff become so important? Couples base their success on having two lucrative careers and a big house then when one gets laid off and can’t afford it the finances crumble, then the marriage, then they have more problems with legal issues. If you get stressed out and have a breakdown you are considered weak and then there’s no help for them because all mental hospitals care about is getting their insurance money and they dope you up until you can find some other way to deal with the pain of your emotions. Those that don’t go to the hospital turn to alcohol and drugs to self-medicate, or to stealing to support themselves and end up in jail or prison. Once you have a mental diagnosis or a record you’re pretty much out of luck because you can’t live up to societal expectations. If you’re wise enough to beat the stress by living simple in the country then you’re labeled “white trash.” I’d rather be a redneck and have less stress than be overworked and chronically stressed out all the time. Stress causes illnesses (mental and physical) which increases the demand for healthcare. More healthcare funding for people who can’t afford it puts a burden on the Economy.
Be blessed not stressed,
Bro. E
