We walk together with a person, Jesus. We get to, actually. He moves from place to place and from glory to glory. We go too, both ways. Together we go from strength to strength, faith to faith. Strength does not move to greater strength, but new strength. Faith also becomes new faith, not increased faith. We do not progress by resisting the resistance but by following on to know the Lord. We are not associates with Him, we are One. We go from Tom to Jesus, from diminishing glory to the new inward Hope of Glory We go together to the Father, by Him. The lighted path brightens more light, new illuminations all. First pales and dies, second resurrects renewed. First withholds, next gives; First decays, next sprouts. Originally we fail, new makes it work; First ends, next starts again. In the beginning it breaks, following reveals treasure; First wounds, then healing comes.…
Category: <span>Healing Cross</span>
I wanna talk about forgiveness for our sins. I am driven to understand again remission of sins. I must apply again the removal of sin, and be clean once more. O blood, O blood of God, be here, my conscience purge; my mind and heart. Free me, blood of Christ, scour the depths, clear me O exempt my soul. Just as if I had never sinned, O justify me anew. Just as if I had never left, O draw me closer than before. I must be intimate, next to, in and around You; surround Ye me, O precious Savior. Advocate for me, O Jesus Christ the Righteous. I need to lawyer-up now, for despicable is my potential, and my will; an ugly enemy. The carnal mind hates God, I shame when mine appears. Deliver me from bloodguiltyness, if, only a minute peeve, it buds. It struggles for identity, it’s desperation…
“The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world. Reality is an absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an absolute and so is a human life. Whether you live or die is an absolute. Whether you have a piece of bread or not , is an absolute. Whether you eat your bread or see it vanish into a looter’s stomach, is an absolute. There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other side is wrong, but the middle is always evil. The man who is wrong still retains some respect for truth, if only by accepting the responsibility of choice. But the man in the middle is the knave who blanks…
Lamentations 3:12-15 12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. Ezekiel 24:16-18 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the…
In thoughtful reflection, I set aside some time, and contemplated how a friend may have been feeling. I suddenly wondered, does God ever do what I am now doing? Do our thoughts and feelings matter to God? Growing up as a child and then a young man, I don’t remember many times anybody asking me, “Tom, what do you think about this?” “What are your feelings? I remember only a few occasions of someone sincerely saying to me, “how are you doing?” In the Bible, when Jesus met a rich young ruler, it says that He loved him. Yes, though the man did not grasp Jesus’ message, Jesus loved him. When Peter didn’t understand Jesus’ feet washing ministry, Jesus, nevertheless, took time to identify with Peter’s bafflement. Then The Lord explained things. Jesus took the side of and defended an adulterer one day, causing quite a stir. I mused about…
Men epitomize peculiarity and exemplify complexity and have diverse shades, both dark and light and in between too. Who can know a man but God, and who can know the spirit in a man but God the Spirit? Man has tons more aptitude for creating than our “predecessors,” the fish and the ape. (Ha, ha, just kidding about our ancestry), of course; what can an animal really do? Animals can operate instinctually, which connects to their self-preserving nature. They sense danger, flee or attack, evoke camouflage. They procreate, feed their young. Some animals can learn conditioning-response to commands, but mostly when bribed ala food treats, or pleasures. I was watching the amazing dolphins swim, jump and more. I noticed they never refused the little fish prizes given after every feat of wonder. To their favor, dogs and pet grizzly bears will defend their human masters. After all, they know when…
Have you ever counseled the strong willed man? Not a chance of turning him. Bent, deeply bent, its like trying to lasso a rhino. Regardless, everything in a man’s heart will be on the table one day. For this cause man would be better off, by exposure to God’s Word, to keep a not so naive, but rather a “what’s in there” inventory. However, not on purpose he might have repressed the stuff right out of his “aware” ability. It might be a blind spot. No problem for God. Circumstances designed specifically for this cause will unearth it all, O unwelcome thought! To our advantage, when God performs this “suppressed frame uncovering” we can ascertain the force of the barbaric inner man; especially one lacking restraints —powerful. Like a dam let loose, it smashes walls and trees and banks. Raucously causing ruckus behind and before, no jars can contain it.…
God may do a new thing and can we follow it? Maybe the lesson of the last 20 years ended and now we move on. Maybe, like Moses it has been 40 years. Can we flex? Let me tell you why we don’t really want to but nevertheless are able. I came to some conclusions while watching a video of a quadriplegic who loved God so much that every day just brought more desire for His presence. I sadly realized, watching, that what little suffering my life consisted of did the same, however, it didn’t really give me a desire for more of the suffering. I really don’t want to suffer anymore even though it did lead me closer to my Savior —this, a rude awakening. So, in suffering, two things may eventuate; one, we grow tired of the adversity; two, we accumulate great discipline for a life-style of pain,…
He remains not aloof, but comes close – – – He waits not passively, but initiates – – –He continues not far, but next to me – – – not tomorrow, but now! His Love unrelenting, His presence shadowing – – –His face imposes, His heart exposes, pride non-existing, His transparency shines. His lowliness is obvious, meekness assuring, tenderness alluring, my confidence returning. His authority undaunted, His mercy defends me; His wisdom incalculable, His faith immeasurable. His actions miraculous, His penetration deepens; His power beyond scrutiny, His works accomplished, yes completely! His pardon all erasing, His salvation eternal, His compassion now cleanses, His graciousness never ending. “How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give his only Son, to make a wretch his treasure. How great the pain of searing loss, the father turns his face away, as wounds which mar the chosen…
We ought not to underestimate the psychological effect of the statistical world picture; it displaces the individual in favor of anonymous units that power up into mass formations. Anonymous …..cosmic loneliness tends to lead to one of four kinds of depression depending upon a person’s temperament. So what do these people do? They join the herd, and they forget. They begin to take drugs, alcohol, and become involved in immorality. When people join the herd to escape their problems, immediately they lose their identity and any possibility for proper potential development. Carl Stevens Humanism talks much of man with a capital “M” but hardly anything of the individual man. It has produced humanism out of the Enlightenment that has ended in ugliness. Francis Schaeffer. Apathy and lack of feeling are also defenses against anxiety. When a person continually faces dangers he is powerless to overcome, his final line of…