1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (KJV)
“1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.”
At what point can we say we know something? If love is not guiding our knowledge then our knowledge is guiding us. Being known by God trumps all that I know; I can let go of anything as long as God has hold on me. Knowing things helps me and opens doors otherwise would not be opened; being known of God saves me, heals me, comforts me, and owns me. “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Corinthians 13:8).
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
GET HIM
1Cortinthians 1:22-25
“22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”
Signs and wonders is what the Jews were after; great wisdom and intellect is what the Greeks were after. These two things are what most people are after today. Nonetheless, the scripture tells us Jesus is both the power and the wisdom of God: “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Therefore, it is not signs and wonders we need, nor cognitive strength to tickle the intellect. We need to simply elevate Jesus in all that He is, who He is, why He is, and where He is relationally in our actions and reactions. The simple truth that we are lost and undone without His love and what He did for us on the cross of Calvary is what we need. Consequently, we need to ask ourselves; what are we after? We must be after Jesus, and this “after” must get a hold of us so deeply that everything else we are interested in takes second place to Jesus when His power and wisdom is released through any shape, form, or manifestation. It is going to take more than just a onetime event, it will take disciplining, nurturing, and formation for His power and wisdom to take hold of us. Relationally, He is a person; to get the power and the wisdom He is, is to get Him.
“22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”
Signs and wonders is what the Jews were after; great wisdom and intellect is what the Greeks were after. These two things are what most people are after today. Nonetheless, the scripture tells us Jesus is both the power and the wisdom of God: “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Therefore, it is not signs and wonders we need, nor cognitive strength to tickle the intellect. We need to simply elevate Jesus in all that He is, who He is, why He is, and where He is relationally in our actions and reactions. The simple truth that we are lost and undone without His love and what He did for us on the cross of Calvary is what we need. Consequently, we need to ask ourselves; what are we after? We must be after Jesus, and this “after” must get a hold of us so deeply that everything else we are interested in takes second place to Jesus when His power and wisdom is released through any shape, form, or manifestation. It is going to take more than just a onetime event, it will take disciplining, nurturing, and formation for His power and wisdom to take hold of us. Relationally, He is a person; to get the power and the wisdom He is, is to get Him.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
PRESENT
Psalm 89:35-37 (KJV)
“35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.”
Yes, that ole moon has witnessed many minds work through things down here. Remember when I was kid lying in the crass studying the moon as it studied me. This scripture is making reference to Jesus the seed of David taking hold of a Kingdom with no end. It also has its eye on that moon watching the narrative lived out. The moon watched Alexander the great shove things around on the board; also saw Daniel watch it in a vision before the boy was even born. There is more to life in presence than one could imagine. Things are not as large as they appear when we catch the essence of presence. The moon has been present for many moons and has kept its faithful eye upon our narrative. In presence, there are more witnesses out there than are mentioned. If the truth be known they probably see connections and things we never see. It would do us good to pay attention to our surroundings; there is evidence in this scripture they are paying attention to us. There is a harmony in presence if we can grab a hold of it.
“35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.”
Yes, that ole moon has witnessed many minds work through things down here. Remember when I was kid lying in the crass studying the moon as it studied me. This scripture is making reference to Jesus the seed of David taking hold of a Kingdom with no end. It also has its eye on that moon watching the narrative lived out. The moon watched Alexander the great shove things around on the board; also saw Daniel watch it in a vision before the boy was even born. There is more to life in presence than one could imagine. Things are not as large as they appear when we catch the essence of presence. The moon has been present for many moons and has kept its faithful eye upon our narrative. In presence, there are more witnesses out there than are mentioned. If the truth be known they probably see connections and things we never see. It would do us good to pay attention to our surroundings; there is evidence in this scripture they are paying attention to us. There is a harmony in presence if we can grab a hold of it.
Friday, February 5, 2016
LIGHT
Matthew 10:27 (KJV)
“What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.”
Jesus did not come to a world full of light; He came to a world full of darkness. It is in our darkness He speaks. This is the point of transformation and once the change has been made we have something that makes sense; we begin to speak “in light.” We say things with understanding; our hearing comes from a place of change, a place where we see things differently. Before this we cannot see change, we cannot see past our worldview; our paradigm is unhopeful, doubtful, and full of unbelief. Once we really hear Him speak and we realize He is for us and not against us, light begins to appear.
“What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.”
Jesus did not come to a world full of light; He came to a world full of darkness. It is in our darkness He speaks. This is the point of transformation and once the change has been made we have something that makes sense; we begin to speak “in light.” We say things with understanding; our hearing comes from a place of change, a place where we see things differently. Before this we cannot see change, we cannot see past our worldview; our paradigm is unhopeful, doubtful, and full of unbelief. Once we really hear Him speak and we realize He is for us and not against us, light begins to appear.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
CONNECTED
Psalm 94:17-18 (KJV)
“17 Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.”
In the midst of crafty minds the mind of God is present. This is the best place to be in the midst of crafty minds; connected to God’s mind. He is our help; He is full of mercy and knows when we are leaning on Him. He holds us up when everything seems to be falling apart; our part in this is to connect and stay connected to Him. He will pull us through, if not in this life, He will in the eternal.
Monday, February 1, 2016
FROM HERE TO THERE OR THERE TO HERE
Hebrews 12:1-3 (KJV)
“1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 F...or consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
“This chapter is an exhortation to follow the witnesses of faith just mentioned: not to faint in trials: to remove all bitter roots of sin: for we are under, not a law of terror, but the gospel of grace, to despise which will bring the heavier penalties, in proportion to our greater privileges” (Jamieson – Fausset – Brown).
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses”
We must understand, although our Christian experience and accumulation of all we know may be personal it is far from being individualistic. We must acknowledge the importance of being accountable to all God has worked out through those who have gone before us and are with us, they are our witnesses. What does this mean “they are our witnesses?” It means this: we are in search of truth as they were and are. What exactly have they witnessed concerning truth and how does that apply to our search? How can their witness add to our witness or subtract? How did Elisha get a double portion of Elijah? He respected what Elijah had right and learned from what Elijah may have had wrong. He was up close and personal enough to catch it. Our search is just as personal as theirs; they did not act individualistic and neither should we. There is value in what they have witnessed and there is value in what we have witnessed. Whether we are looking towards Jesus or at Jesus, it is all Jesus just the same. Let Jesus take hold of us as we take hold of Him. We are all dying. What are we doing between now and then to get as much as we can get? Regardless of the resistance Jesus encountered, still yet, He accomplished His mission in His death; so can we if we take joy in what is set before us. Rather than looking back and interpreting what we see now with what they have seen; let us start at the beginning and read forward then maybe the transformation can transform us further as we go. As with Elisha, their witness is not designed to keep us where they have been it is designed to lead us further. There is no need for restoration if in Christ we become a continuation.
“1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 F...or consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
“This chapter is an exhortation to follow the witnesses of faith just mentioned: not to faint in trials: to remove all bitter roots of sin: for we are under, not a law of terror, but the gospel of grace, to despise which will bring the heavier penalties, in proportion to our greater privileges” (Jamieson – Fausset – Brown).
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses”
We must understand, although our Christian experience and accumulation of all we know may be personal it is far from being individualistic. We must acknowledge the importance of being accountable to all God has worked out through those who have gone before us and are with us, they are our witnesses. What does this mean “they are our witnesses?” It means this: we are in search of truth as they were and are. What exactly have they witnessed concerning truth and how does that apply to our search? How can their witness add to our witness or subtract? How did Elisha get a double portion of Elijah? He respected what Elijah had right and learned from what Elijah may have had wrong. He was up close and personal enough to catch it. Our search is just as personal as theirs; they did not act individualistic and neither should we. There is value in what they have witnessed and there is value in what we have witnessed. Whether we are looking towards Jesus or at Jesus, it is all Jesus just the same. Let Jesus take hold of us as we take hold of Him. We are all dying. What are we doing between now and then to get as much as we can get? Regardless of the resistance Jesus encountered, still yet, He accomplished His mission in His death; so can we if we take joy in what is set before us. Rather than looking back and interpreting what we see now with what they have seen; let us start at the beginning and read forward then maybe the transformation can transform us further as we go. As with Elisha, their witness is not designed to keep us where they have been it is designed to lead us further. There is no need for restoration if in Christ we become a continuation.
JESUS MANIFESTO
1 John 3:8 (KJV)
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
There is no pit to deep Jesus cannot reach in and pull us out, no river to wide He cannot “CROSS,” no mountain to high He cannot climb, no sinful shame can hold Him back from taking us in; His heart is to deliver us, to heal us, to be our friend to the bitter end (Joh...n 6:39, 44). This is the very core of what John is saying concerning sin. From the very day we took our first breath in this life the devil works to destroy us. Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Simply, the devil is out to destroy us; Jesus is out to save us and to give us a life worth living. The angel proclaimed to Joseph in a dream in Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. “ We must understand the simplicity of the Gospel and not complicate it with religious junk. The simple fact is Jesus came to save us from our sins. Jesus came to justify us, not our sins; Jesus has come to confront our sins, He has come to wrestle us to the ground until we tap out that we may hear what He has to say concerning our iniquities or our self- will that gives birth to our sins. He has come to destroy the works of the devil in our lives. This is His manifesto. Sounds pretty positive to me. Jump up in here JESUS
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
There is no pit to deep Jesus cannot reach in and pull us out, no river to wide He cannot “CROSS,” no mountain to high He cannot climb, no sinful shame can hold Him back from taking us in; His heart is to deliver us, to heal us, to be our friend to the bitter end (Joh...n 6:39, 44). This is the very core of what John is saying concerning sin. From the very day we took our first breath in this life the devil works to destroy us. Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Simply, the devil is out to destroy us; Jesus is out to save us and to give us a life worth living. The angel proclaimed to Joseph in a dream in Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. “ We must understand the simplicity of the Gospel and not complicate it with religious junk. The simple fact is Jesus came to save us from our sins. Jesus came to justify us, not our sins; Jesus has come to confront our sins, He has come to wrestle us to the ground until we tap out that we may hear what He has to say concerning our iniquities or our self- will that gives birth to our sins. He has come to destroy the works of the devil in our lives. This is His manifesto. Sounds pretty positive to me. Jump up in here JESUS
NEW SONG
Psalm 40:2-3 (KJV)
“2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”
A “new song” is a “now song.” An older song is about what has happened, maybe even many moons ago; a new song is a song expressing what is happening. With every deliverance, healing, or transformation, a melody appears in our hearts to tell what God has done. Sing a new song, what is God doing now? He has established our goings, what is our fresh and new vision for life? What is our new appointment? What is our mission? Sing it out!
“2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”
A “new song” is a “now song.” An older song is about what has happened, maybe even many moons ago; a new song is a song expressing what is happening. With every deliverance, healing, or transformation, a melody appears in our hearts to tell what God has done. Sing a new song, what is God doing now? He has established our goings, what is our fresh and new vision for life? What is our new appointment? What is our mission? Sing it out!
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