We must be built up continually. We must be seeing the world from a finished work perspective and not from the perspective of the natural universe. Eternity must be in our hearts. Ezra the Scribe knew of this idea and wrote Psalm 119. His was a continual prayer; “turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken me O Lord. My soul cleaves to the dust, quicken Thou me O Lord according to thy Word. My soul melts for heaviness, strengthen me O Lord. Stablish the Word to thy servant who am devoted to thy fear. Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy Law graciously. Incline my heart unto thy commandments. Let thy mercies come unto me…” Then comes many verses of meditative origin. See, we must pray to build ourselves up but then allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in the meditation of…
Category: <span>Law – Grace</span>
Grace cannot act where there is either desert or ability. Grace does not help-it is absolute, it does it all. All thoughts below originate with William Newell A life without grace will lead us to wrongdoing — either through the short skirt of shamelessness or the long skirt of controlling self and others. Both encourage sin, one by giving it up, the other by holding it back. Grace is vital for people who kill their neighbor, but also for the finger pointing busy-body across the street — or anybody else for that matter. First, grace is God acting freely. Is your life happy with letting God do anything He wants? Has your whimpering manipulated God, or your bizarre flip-out? Can your smug religious works move Him? Not this God. He “doeth whatsoever He will in the army of heaven.” Do you have a sense of privilege?…
Parliament on the River On Easter comes Resurrection, although, the day may bring to a close an unimaginable period of pain in hardship, dying, burial. These are the extremes, the unexpected, the unexplained which lead up; the stuff which perplexes, shames, incapacitates. These take the limelight away from all former challenges of any sort; they ravage the mind, annihilate the soul, blow out of the proverbial water, and throw for a total loop. Have we seen them? They are not every day occurrences but may have found us. Our prayer is for God’s delicate help when it happens. Speaking hypothetically, prior to undergoing deep present distresses, life for most had a certain capacity, a confident bent, a sure system, a reliable set of rules, and a precise level of weightiness. This private, methodical, safety-network involved and normalized our coping with stress, our adapting to situations, our equilibrium protecting, our buoyancy…
Downtown Budapest John the Baptist was a burning and shining light. What qualified him? Perhaps 2 Cor 4:6 helps “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The light of the knowledge of the glory of God? — Light of knowledge? — Of glory? — Of God? — God’s glory’s knowledge? — “Gnosis”, “doxa” in the face of Jesus? — John reflected Jesus’ face of knowledge of the glory of God. How can a person be a shining light? If he or she leads many to righteousness, they will shine like the stars in the firmament says Daniel 10. Ecc 8:1 points out; “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to…
The theme of “will of man versus the sovereignty of God” presents a problem age-old. No, I have not solved it, but the dilemma finds resolution in the person of Christ. What do I mean? Well, the gap between active and passive states of mind, for instance, dissolves when we allow for the presence of both mind-states in their precise and proper manner and timing. We recognize these dispositions as they are as easy as giving and receiving, or opening/closing the hand. There are times when we do both simultaneously; we call this “exchange.” I take the ice cream cone and at the same time hand over the money. At the gas pump, for every ounce of petrol dispensed into the tank, my card is “rung up” to the equivalent dollar amount, side by side. The sense of equity and fairness combines these aspects of receiving and releasing quite naturally. So, what’s the…
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: “Holy and without blame” is more than conduct, but relates here to an identity, a self worth, a dignity and ultimate nobility. “Without blame” defines a self image which does not impute sin or trespasses to itself and this person is blessed as in Psalm 32:1-2. Sin was originally imputed or “reckoned” to the whole human race, from Romans 3, 4 and 5, then the very same sin was transferred onto Jesus in Isaiah 53.6, 1Peter 2:24, and in 2 Corinthians 5:21 He became sin that we would become the righteousness of God in Him. This refers to His righteousness being imputed to us at the point of salvation. Following this? So, “holiness” becomes not an issue of conduct, but a setting-apart…
Life began on the first day of the week; on that, of all days first, when the sinless Savior died. It came out of Him, a fountain erupted, and swept the plains, valleys and hills till the life-effect sprouted buddings and blooms tall and broad. Bitter waters turned sweet and an ax head swam home to shore. A great net retrieved fish till net-burst, then waters came out of a person’s belly. A man stood up and walked right on the waters; which same waters make glad the city of God. Devils rankled the waters and a storm erupted, heads got washed; then calm resisted so feet got a good washing later. The waters headed north, over the mountains; an ark-boat buoyed, one and only to be seen. Men came out of that time capsule and water became wine at a wedding, many a year later. Yes, showers of blessing drenched the vines and men…
Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea, a great High Priest, whose name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me, my name is graven on His hands, my name is written on His heart, I know that while in heaven He stands, no tongue can bid me thence depart, no tongue can bid me thence depart. Selah “When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin, because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the Just is satisfied, to look on Him and pardon me, to look on Him and pardon me.” The song continues. David feared to bring the ark of God into the city of David, having watched as that Holy Presence smote…
Some folks are sane, others insane. Lined up on one side of the field are health, healthy mind and heart, single-eyed, balanced, and whole. On the other team; divided, double-minded, sick, unbalanced and ignorant are the terms. “Holiness” for man speaks of set-apart-to-God; the other guys can be referred to as “profane.” This second term meant originally, “outside the temple.” The Hebrew brings out these definitions also: “exposed, common, wounded, break a word, dissolve.” Ephesians 2:14-15 teaches: “For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” “He” is Jesus and His Peace creates a buffer of protection for the soul against internal division. What was the middle wall? Enmity, the law of…
Always carrying about in our body the death, state of death, dying, liability to death, or suffering of Jesus? Which one is revealed in 2 Corinthians 4:10? Well, I understand that I will suffer what is common to man in this world, I am liable to the death of my physical body at all times, and I am aware that I am dying and one day will eventually die as the body grows old and expires. My question is; how do these produce life in others? I have a tendency toward agreement with certain scholars that the “state of death” of Christ gets the reference here. This is the one given to me at salvation and this is what I carry. Why? Because, by His death, my “death” died. Yes, my being dead in trespasses and sins, died, by the death of my Savior, and this reality I carry with…