I’ve Dedicated 15 years of my adult life trying to discover “what makes us tick,” So what have I learned? God may remove a beautiful face to fix the ugly “inner” face of a man or woman. A person is wholly who they are on the inside — a person with inward beauty far exceeds one with merely a veneer. The outer face remains important — Largely to break ice with those mesmerized by the shine of cosmetic disguise. The goal of gaining audience (breaking ice), is to eventually get inside them and let God go to work. God knows how to do the surgery, since He knows the end from the beginning– It may take years. Afterward, the outer prettiness means so much less to them. That’s all? No, there’s more: God gives allowance to the loss of a child, to teach us how He felt about the…
Healing at the Cross Posts
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” 2 Corinthians_8:9 ” For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 Again and again, the Bible tells me and you about an exchange. Christ’s death for my life, Christ’s death for your life. “One died for all — we’re all dead.” 2 Corinthians 5:14 “Planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Romans 6:5 We also, while applying these truths to our hearts, must perform our own exchange by faith. We exchange our past — our history for God’s history, and allow His obedience to become our own. We “bring every thought…
In every person there lies hidden, a cry for love. Why hidden? Love’s lacking has built a fortress of defense — a defense which protects the cry. It can be destroyed. It is not eternal, but a human cry — a cry which burros deeper at every resistance, at every abuse — at every un-loving. We don’t deserve love, nevertheless we cry for it; we have squandered it, still, we seek it more. We have accepted lesser forms of love: physical touch, social acceptance, a paycheck. True love beckons from somewhere beyond, somewhere below, the vague within. It’s unexplainable, imponderable, mystical, baffling. The goal of God re-invigorates our souls crying. His aim re-awakens the stifled need. He seeks to un-bury the raw beckoning because He can’t fill an already filled box. But how accomplish this? God withdraws the manifestation of His presence. And the Psalmist bellows out: “Do not hide your face…
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew_6:14 Literally, “falling to the side,” men have lapses or slips and with these times come offenses to others. They trespass other’s dignity, honor, or personal respect. These trespasses we must forgive, (send away), and dismiss when they come to us. In other words, we relinquish our rights and thus maintain the flow of unity with others. Matthew 5:39 teaches us “That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” It all relates to the cry of Jesus, while on the cross dying: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 “I am acquainted with a family which came to America from Germany. The English…
“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” Isaiah 35:8 ‘The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” Proverbs 15:24 “God completely heals the wounded who have failed completely (Psalm 147:3). He comes and binds up the transgression—called the “breach,” in Isaiah 30:26— and He heals the stroke of the wound. The stroke refers to the paralysis brought in by the demon armies in the unconscious mind and in the body. The demonic influence exerted in this process is to control the responses of the central nervous system.” Dr. Carl H. Stevens “Take the example of a man who committed adultery … He was sobbing, overwhelmed with sorrow,…
The unconscious mind must never take the place of our conscious mind. In that unconscious mind Is my life history, weakness and strength, hurts and helps — but also Adam’s history, projected there from hell. I must forget what is past, but also cast down imaginations and high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of Christ. “Remember, our imaginations determine our self-image.” “The human mind is extremely complicated. Little is understood about the three compartments of the mind: the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious. The unconscious is vast, making up 90 percent of the mind. Largely undefined, the unconscious is open to Satan’s entrapments. Often, Satan projects lies about the images in the unconscious mind to the subconscious, which represents 5 percent of the mind. The subconscious feeds the conscious mind— the remaining 5 percent.” Dr. Carl H. Stevens So we deduce: human weakness can reflect in us wrong…
In 1 Corinthians 15:10. Paul proclaims: “I am what I am by the grace of God. “There is nothing that will bend a man’s will like the recognition of divine love which is blessedness to come in contact with, and to obey.” “You may try to sway him by motives of advantage and self-interest, and to thunder into his ears the pealing words of duty and right and ‘ought,’ and there is no adequate response.” “You cannot soften a heart by the hammers of the law. You cannot force a man to do right by brandishing before him the whip that punishes doing wrong.” “You cannot sway the will by anything but the heart; and when you can touch the deepest spring it moves the whole mass.” Maclaren biblehub.com “You have seen some ponderous piece of machinery, which resists all attempts of a puny hand laid upon it to make it…
In 1976 I got saved. I was not seeking it, I was not looking for it. I don’t remember making a decision per se. No, He found me and the message He brought was irresistible. I was so ready, I was so lost. I just had never allowed myself to see the full extent of my empty, lonely, wretched state. He put a light on it and the need became apparent, then the glorious remedy appeared. I received Him so gladly. Today I revisit the day of my salvation. It happened on day-shift at the mill, a sunny day. Men fished off the sea wall; myself and others started in on bag lunches. A blond haired man, about my age, approached me. He creatively shared with me how Jesus had walked on the water, how Peter (in the Bible), had done so also, and maybe we can do this…
Like a River dam or lock, We must manage the flow of grace. This includes That flow coming into our house, and then the flow going out. This is our stewardship . This is spoken of in 1 Peter 4:10 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” I must first learn how to receive grace, but not in vain. Grace “received” is accepting something which I do not deserve. Can you do it? `Pride can inhibit this action. Many, many speakers, leaders, church members, choir singers, administrators or faculty cannot receive grace. Unsaved folks balk at grace often. The reason? Grace is based never on the receiver, but rests in the open hand of the Giver, God Himself. It all depends on the vicarious atonement of Christ. Precious people look inward and discover…
Accede, Accept, Access. “Come to, receive, come in — for coming, for taking, for entering.” The words of my Title are from Latin derivation, but have great significance to us believers. They mean: We come, we believe, we gain entrance. Jesus cried out, “come,” and we came — then we received Him — then we were given power to become sons of God with access to Father. To come required a drawing of invitation. To receive required a removal of obstacles and a cleansing. To enter requires continuance in our purified state. Friends, we are accepted in the beloved — we have touched power and grace — we have access to the Father in heaven! When we consider the above with a view to a gathering of souls, we discover “Unity, Peace, and Oneness.” For these we must endeavor — to keep the unity of the Spirit… a unity produced…