Bring Back The Glory Daze

Proverbs 29:18, (Amp), Where there is no vision (no redemptive revelation of God), the people perish.

In this battle we are in, we are either being tempted to ‘lose heart’, or we’re ‘being dazzled’ by the enemy of our soul. Either way, to give in to him, is to lose. This ongoing unfolding revelation of ‘Christ in us the hope of glory’ is not a static position. In Him we live, move and have our being.

The saving of our spirit was an event, but the outworking of our salvation within our soul is a process, a glorious journey. The notion that somehow, in the miracle of being re-birthed, our soul was also instantly transformed is as ludicrous as straining at gnats and swallowing camels.

If the scripture is true (‘Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever’), why is there an enticement to long after something other than Him?

I love reading and seeing how the Father expressed the one life of His Son in and through our early brothers and sisters in the church, but instead of worshipping Him, we begin to worship that ‘expression’ of Him operating in and through others.Is he not bigger than that limited expression? I mean the whole thing of communal living and its many spin-offs is most commendable, but who He is has not changed.Without the eyes of our heart being constantly opened to the unfolding revelation of the Christ in us, it is very easy to view Him being somewhere out there, kind of like Fox Mulder on the X-Files: ‘The truth is out there.’

I remember when my wife discovered she was pregnant (with our first child) and not just sick with the flu as she had thought. Talk about a revelation! I don’t think it is stretching things too far, using the illustration of our family Doctor clearly detecting the real cause of my wife’s situation, than it is with God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, clearly defining what has and is happening in us since being re-birthed.

The present need to see Him and know Him in the now of our moment is going to be life or death for us. Paul asked, ‘Who has bewitched (bedazzled) you?’ (and of course he was addressing stupid pagan gentiles right? I don’t think so!). ’O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.’

Is there really much difference between us and the prodigal son famished eating pig food, refusing to listen to the Holy Spirit? Rather than feasting upon the hidden manna we have in Him, in our blindness and hunger, we imbibe in another gospel than only intensifies the leanness of soul.

Rich

It's Not My Fault

I had left "church", but didn't know why. I just knew I was sick of all the crap I saw and was a victim of.

"What could be done to fix all the problems we saw?" "How could things flow as smoothly as we saw in the New Testament?" "How come we can't get back to the new testament model of church?"

I'm not sure the word 'victim' fits in, in light of the many repeated warnings that are given, about not giving heed to 'another' gospel!
It is not about ‘blame,’ it has nothing to do with the IC (institutional church) or its man made leadership.
Was Adam/Eve, victims? Or, was it a choice they made with their eyes wide open so to speak?!
Was He not speaking, warning us in our journey? 'In the day you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts.'
How could any of us come to see the Truth in the person of the living Christ apart from being brought to see that 'we choose' a path that seemed right in our own eyes, but that path lead away from knowing Him, into a place of becoming very religious, which resulted in, having a form of godliness, but having no power.

It is of my opinion that until we come to not only seeing the reality of Christ in us the hope of Glory along with, It is no longer I that lives, but Christ, tempered with the knowing, (revelation) although re-birthed, us still having Satan in our flesh, it will continue to be the blame game.
Hey you wouldn't hit a person wearing their victim glasses would you?

Another gospel that bites us on the ass is this one. "How could things flow as smoothly as we saw in the New Testament?" "How come we can't get back to the New Testament model of church?"

Without a continuously growing revelation of Him being our only Life, (he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit) we gravitate towards models, types, shadows.
If in fact He IS the same yesterday, today, and forever, why are we looking to anything other than to Him today??? 'Today is the day of salvation.'
Most of churcianity is consumed with an external Jesus...reach out and touch the Lord as he passes by...or if He would only step down from heaven, then surely the gates of hell would fall. Or take me past the brazen alter into the Holy of Holies etc, etc.
What crap! Apart from being deceived, why do we insist on having a shadowy relationship with the Lord?

2 Corinthians 11: 1
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

Rather than turning our eyes upon Jesus, we look to the past or the future, why, because He is seemingly nowhere to be found in the now of our daily living.Is it possible along with our other brothers and sisters we also need,
Ephesians 1

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe,

Rich

What is That String Tied Around my Finger For?

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to and end,They are new every morning, new every morning,Great is your faithfulness to me, oh Lord, great is your faithfulness to me.

I am so over come in how the Lord continues to reveal the greatness of his heart for me. I so delight in how His spirit is confirming to my heart the Truth of Christ in me the Hope of Glory. It has been most thrilling the reading I have been doing of late.I am just finishing the book, The Journey of Desire by John Eldridge. In it on page 199, he makes a reference to a story he laid out in the previous pages about how a village in Mexico had been subjected to a plague of insomnia, and how it seeped into every day living.He goes on to say under the heading of,

Our Worst Enemy

The first time I read this story I simply laughed. But it haunted me, and on a second reading I began to realize that it’s my story too. I said to myself, it’s not a bad plan. Right above my bed I think I shall hang a sign that says, God Exists. You see, I wake most mornings an unbeliever. It seems that during the night, I slip into forgetfulness, and by the time the new day comes, I am lost. The deep and precious truths that God has brought to me over the years and even yesterday seem a thousand miles away. It doesn’t happen every morning, but enough to make it an ongoing reality. And I know I am not alone in this.”

Later on page 200, he continues; Forgetting is no small problem. Of all the enemies our hearts must face, this may be the worst because it is insidious.Forgetfulness does not come against us like an enemy in full battle formation, banners waving. Nor does it come temptingly, seductively, like the lady in red. It works slowly, commonly, unnoticed. Forgetfulness, it can so easily cut us off from our Life, so slowly, we barely notice, until one day the blooms of our faith are suddenly gone.”

I love this quote from Deut. 4:9 Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children--Later on Paul is appalled, (Gal.1:6) I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way.

He has to send Timothy to the Corinthians to “remind you of what I teach about Christ Jesus in all the churches wherever I go” (1Cor.4:17)

Peter, who knew firsthand the grief that comes from forgetting, writes his letters to combat this cancer of the soul:1Pet.5:10And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

2Pet.1:11-13
for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

People tie strings to their fingers to offset forgetfulness.God told the Jews to bind what He told them to their foreheads. Some of them took him literally and what exists today is hilarious in their antics.I need it strapped right there in front of me, every single day.

God Exists!

Rich

Which Way Did He Go?

What options do I have? Let’s see, there’s the ‘right way, and the wrong way.’
I guess that math would work except for the G Word~God, and oh yeah, His WAY!

Is it any wonder that God in the person of the Christ seems to have vanished? (move over Houdini) But this disappearing act seems to plague most ‘Christians’, what’s that all about?

This is a great article that I believe addresses much of the malady believer’s face today.

http://www.christ-life.org/LIS-Mag/LIS300.pdf

Has God Disappeared Part 2

Rich

The Gospel According To Me

Sovereignty, election, predestination, freedom to choose… Why does it have to be an ‘either-or?’ Maybe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Calvinism vs. Armenism for example: maybe it’s both and then some!
I was discussing this issue today with a friend and brother, musing about the wild and almost unthinkable possibility of coming to see and know the Truth totally apart from either Calvin or Arminius!

For as long as the church has been around, the flesh in believers wants to try to come to the pontificating forefront with its absolute and adamant conclusions regarding the scriptures, much like two doctors congratulating each other on the brave, ground-breaking, never-having-been-done-before open heart surgery they performed.What we don’t see in this picture is that unfortunately the patient died. However, as long as the doctors’ perceptions were right, that’s all that matters, I guess.

Maybe there is so little known about the Truth Himself because of the propensity of us worshiping our erroneous conclusions. Rather than focusing on simply what it might mean ‘to know Christ as our life’ we are too busy making sure no one gets to God apart from our particular brand or version of the truth. For example, maybe “grace” encompasses far more than what we have determined it to be or mean, including things that we are so certain would have nothing to do with Grace.

For example: (2Corinthians12:8-10 1Corinthians 15:10)
These are but two examples of the same thing, His grace.
In the first picture of grace, Paul is empowered to accept the buffeting messenger of Satan (in his flesh) to be God’s will for his life. Actually, Paul was glad to let it happen. In the second picture we see him ‘laboring more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God.’It’s the same grace at work accomplishing two (according the natural way of thinking) diametrically opposed things. One is to accept, the other is to rise up and fight.

To not allow ourselves to think, ponder, and muse over what the Father may in fact be trying to lead us to see, is to set one’s self up as the final authority!

As I have witnessed repeatedly in the institutional church, the moment a child of God (possibly prompted by the Father of their spirit) begins to ask questions of those in leadership, these ‘anointed ones’’, prompted by pride, fear and reputation, seek to put an end to this unholy disruption. The collective working body of knowledge (the truth according to man) will not allow for upstarts to begin thinking for themselves.

It reminds me of the movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, when Dorothy’s dog Toto begins to pull back the curtain concealing the machinery orchestrating the wizard’s ‘magic’. Hiding behind this curtain was a mere man, masquerading as the “Great Oz” bellowing out with fire and smoke, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

Seems to me, that Pharisaical attitude was most prevalent when Jesus, the Word was made flesh and walked among us. It was hard (understatement of huge proportions) for those professing their certainty that maybe they just might be wrong in their understanding of what they perceived as truth up to that point (John 5:39). Fear-based thinking dictates that everything line up and fit in with the way it is supposed to, and of course that way is ‘our way.’

I remember a brother sharing just such a dilemma. He had been struggling with the whole thing of election vs. free will. While he was sleeping, he said he sensed the Lord boil it all down most simply for him in a dream. In the dream, he was about to enter a tunnel. Above the tunnel a sign read, ‘Predestined from the Foundations of the Earth.’ As he emerged out of the tunnel, he was prompted to look back, and to his chagrin he noticed a new sign above the tunnel that read, ‘Whosoever will!’ Upon awakening, my friend saw it did not have to be either-or, but both were working in harmony creating a perfect balance.

Rather than admitting we just don’t know about a lot of things, (which by the way, would make plenty of room for most of us that are in the same boat to have some very real heart-to-heart fellowship), we instead declare our perceived but adamant gospels of truth which serve to broaden the gap between us. Of course, this gospel of ours makes no bones or room for anyone to think contrary to our collective body of knowledge, which is at best, having a form of godliness, but lacking the power.

I remember hearing that yesterday’s heresy usually becomes today’s dogma.
Funny thing is that there was a time that it was perceived to be a ‘Godly’ thing to burn or drown such heretical thinkers. Is it possible that not too far under the veneer of our religiosity, there still exists this ‘godly desire?’

Instead of seeing all 'truth' summed up in The Truth, our perceived conclusions may amount to nothing more than successfully to alienate us from those with the same Seed, Son, and Spirit within them.The basis of all that we share in this common union (communion) in Christ, is abandoned for a much greater prize, our desire for prominence and recognition.

Rich

Light shall shine out of darkness

2Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, " Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

From the movie The Matrix, http://www.moviesounds.com/matrix/choice.wav

It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth~what truth? That you are a slave Neo, like everyone else you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell, taste or touch; a prison for your mind.

This is from a friend of mine:

Deception is the first and greatest mark of a life of futility. This is so because deception is the one all-encompassing ingredient needed to keep people trapped in lives that go nowhere. The working of deception is the goal of God's primary enemy - Satan. Deception is a worldwide phenomenon because it is a human phenomenon. We should expect this would be so because the entire world is under the influence and control of the evil one: "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." (1 John 5:19). We should also expect Satan's first and primary tool for injury in this world to be the lie and the practice of deception. After all, this is how Satan got control of the world in the first place: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"" (Genesis 3:1).

We should expect considerable resistance from the evil one toward our efforts to allow the Father to bring us out of the futile life of deception we were born into in the natural. Make no mistake about this point - we were all born (in the natural) into a spiritually generated dream world. Humanity is trapped in a dead-end existence leading to personal and corporate failure and ultimately to self-destruction. Yet, we have no legitimate or necessary need to feel either trapped or hopeless. The trap of a hopeless life is a self-imposed trap.

The reason we may have hope even in a fallen world is because there is a loving God who is in ultimate control over all of creation. This loving God desires to be our loving Father and to release us from the bondage of the life of futility. The means of this release is found in the verse just before the one quoted above from 1 John: "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him." (1 John 5:18). The apostle John does a marvelous job of giving us the entire picture of reality in two short verses. If we are born of God (reborn or born again) then we are safe, even though we still live in a world under the control of the evil one.

Rich

Who You Gonna Serve

2 Timothy 1:8

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,

Ephesians 3:1

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--

Rich

Gotta Serve Somebody

Bob Dylan

You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,You may call me R.J.,
you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

You're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

God, You Need us to Help

I find it quite incredulous as I browse and peruse various blog’s, not them as much as the responses to these ‘gifted ones.’
Meaning, you’d swear it was the fourth part of the trinity coming down from heaven speaking such unheard of and profound statements.
Mouths opened wide, in awe of such ‘insight’, obviously something that the everyday Christian could not attain to. Where is the reality of, 1 John 2:26-27
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Bowing at the feet of a so called ‘anointed’ person like a spiritual groupie, is totally whacked. It appears to be impossible to many, for the Father of the rebirthed one to learn directly from Him alone.
As one person said years ago, ‘there are so many Dr.’s in the pulpits today, you’d think God was sick.’
As the rebirthing was miraculous, so is the ongoing training of the Father, Him making known to the believer what s/he needs to know. The wonderful joy that comes in hearing from the mouths of the redeemed as well as the lost, that confirming witness to their spirit what He in fact has been doing and showing them.
I love what Oswald Chambers said, “Don’t necessarily look for the person trying to tell you something new, but be ready to hear as the Father puts a name and a face on what you have been struggling with from deep within.” In other words, a confirmation.
In closing, another thing I want to say here about the whole deal of ‘discipleship,’ rather than seeing it is Him alone that disciples each of us.
All of us being on the same level footing in Christ Jesus. Each learning from Him through each other. More often than not much of what goes down in the name of making disciples is making them converts of our opinions.

Rich

Desire

I have been reading some of John Eldredge's books of late, and this quote from his book, "The Journey of Desire" is most breathtaking.

"Do we form no friendships because our friends might be taken from us? Do we refuse to love because we may be hurt? Do we forsake our dreams because hope has been deferred? To desire is to open our hearts to the possibility of pain; to shut down our hearts is to die altogether. The full proverb reads this way: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy."
The road to life and joy lies through, not around, the heart-sickness of hope deferred."

Rich

Still Waiting

Hello,

Still waiting for the next call. Other than the two friends I chat with pretty much on a regular basis, it would be great to hear a new voice.

Rich

Pick up, Pick up....

Bottom line, sure God can use anything~"anything", but again, this trying to communicate via forums, etc seems too platonic in a sense.
Is it wrong to share what we know to be the Truth, don't think so, but not being able to connect in real time (live voice chat) is most frustrating, at least to me.
Again, it all boils down to a trust/transparency thing, if its not there, many truthful things can be shared, but it’s just talk, rather than hearts being brought to life in His presence. Again, I put out an appeal to any who want to share this One Life we have in Christ!

Rich

Magic Carpet Ride

The following is from my brother Dave Aldrich, I love how the Father is becoming so real to him!

Rich

Weird, wild, strange, bizarre. Don't those words describe well this Life in Him? Maybe even (may I go as far as saying that) they describe God himself? Is that thunder? Otherwise it's... "Step right up folks and get your god in a box. Don't worry, he won't bite. Heck you don't even need to get close to him. He's just there when you need him, nice and safe like... real predictable. All ya gotta do is check the owner's manual for a list of ingredients and how to operate the little fella. Batteries not included."

Call Me

I have decided to make a change in my life.

I have had this blog for about a year. As much as I looked forward to being able to use it as a vehicle to share my thoughts, writing the blog has been an exercise in frustration for me. The spontaneous, intuitive flow I enjoy when talking, totally dries up when I try to fit into the blog world. I love nothing more than to share with other believers about the Lord. He is my life, my reason for being, and my breath. However, that passion gets short-circuited when I try to capture that spontaneity in the written word. I feel totally restricted and confined. I am not a writer by nature. I am a communicator, yes, but in a verbal sense.

For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, there is a scene depicting the character Sundance, a crack-shot gunfighter, trying to ‘go straight’. He has a sort of job interview with a grizzled old guy who’s in charge of ensuring the payroll gets transported safely in the wilderness region of Bolivia. Since the area is crawling with bandits, the old man wants to know how well Sundance can shoot, so he picks a target and tells Sundance to aim at it. Time after time, Sundance misses, which doesn’t inspire confidence in his potential boss. Just as the old man is about to dismiss him, Sundance asks, “Can I move?” (meaning, he wanted to show his shooting ability on his own terms and in his own way). When allowed to move, he hit everything thrown his way with rapid-fire precision. “Yer hired!” was his boss’s incredulous reply.

I can identify totally. That line, “Can I move?” is representative of who I am. As Paul said in Acts, “In Him I live, move and have my being”. I simply cannot express myself in the written word. God has simply not wired me that way. To me, it is just another expression of that which appeals and is alluring to me to try to connect, fit in and belong, as I did for a good portion of my life in the institutional church. Case in point – even this final entry is being edited by my wife!

I’m not planning on shutting my blog down for the moment. But I am extending, once again, the offer to connect, fellowship with you via SKYPE (see the icon on this site. It’s a free download with no spy-ware). Using SKYPE, you can send instant messages via Yahoo Messenger as well as participate in a live voice chat. In both cases my user name is ‘ptemailman’.

As I was sharing with a friend via SKYPE, I realize God gives us the choice to settle for something far less than Him. How grateful I am for the fact that He wants me to know the truth! In the process the truth will set me free. Stopping this blog is the first step.

I extend the invitation to reciprocate, to get to know me beyond the printed word. I would absolutely love to fellowship with other believers who want to know Christ. If that does or doesn’t happen, I’m going on with the Lord.

Hello???....Can you hear me now?...over….

Rich

Rats In A Maze

C. S. Lewis was bold enough to put words to: "We're the rats in the cosmic laboratory." Sure, he may have our good in mind, but that still makes him the "vivisectionist"--the experimenter.

Rich

Taste and See

I was reading from a Brothers blog today, something I hadn’t read before, (most encouraging) but also something I had previously read. I wanted to make it available here for any that visit me, which may not visit his blog.

A Wild Ride http://weblogs.oxegen.us/lifestream/archive/2005/08/17/9841.aspx

Also a previous article entitled, "Feasting on the Tree of Life"

http://www.lifestream.org/LSBL.Aug05.html

Rich

Blackout Anniversary: August 14th

Following is a letter my wife wrote to a friend two years ago after a widespread blackout caused mayhem in southern Ontario and northern-eastern United States. Since August 14th is the anniversary of the blackout, I thought it was worth printing - if only to remind us of how dependent we are on things we take for granted - like electricity!

My Blackout Adventure
by
M. Broadbent

You may have heard it all started in Cleveland. This is incorrect.

It started with a loaf of bread and a computer programme.

The truth is, my husband Richard caused the blackout. He was trying to install a new programme on our computer at 4:14 PM. The instant he pressed ‘Enter’, the computer made a terrible grinding sound, flashed very bright, then went black. After that, 50 million people were in the dark.

And now for the rest of the story:

We were out of bread, so at about 4 PM I left home to go to the supermarket. You know the slide-y kind of doors that open automatically? Well, they would not open! I stamped my feet, jumped and waved to get the sensor's attention, but to no avail. A customer had to pry the doors open to let me in.

About two dozen people were standing with their carts in the eerily dark front entrance of the supermarket, but the manager would not let us proceed. Customers, their carts loaded with groceries, were emerging from the black bowels of the store like zombies from “The Night of the Living Dead”. But – they had bread. Dark thoughts wormed through my carbohydrate-crazed mind. "HAND OVER YOUR BREAD, AND NOBODY GETS HURT!!!" I concocted a scheme to grab a loaf and make a run for it. However, I restrained myself with my Superior Restraining Ability (plus, the manager was way bigger than I am).

While waiting for the lights to go back on, I spotted a friend and we had a nice chat. The manager told us the power was out all the way to Kitchener, 45 minutes away. A fellow customer figured somebody must have hit a hydro pole. I called Richard on my cell phone to tell him I would be late. Richard told me my brother had just called and informed him the power was out all the way to Windsor, 3 hours the other way! I mused, that had to be some telephone pole! Using great wisdom and foresight (to avoid triggering a riot right there in the supermarket entrance), I whispered my news to the manager. I felt very important. His eyes widened. He then suggested we all go home, because it looked as if the situation was going to take a while to resolve.

I made two new friends in the parking lot. We each informed the other of whatever information we had, chatted a bit, then went our way. I'll likely never see them again.

I got in my van and turned on the radio. The announcer said the station was in 'emergency mode' and was relying on battery power. I started to get concerned. Nobody knew what the heck was going on! Was North American under some kind of terrorist attack? There was a rumour there had been an explosion at a Con Ed plant in New York. Land lines were no longer working. Within minutes of calling Richard on my cell phone, I tried again, but even it wouldn't work. The only contact we had with the outside world was by car or battery operated radios.

I decided to go to a convenience store to buy bread, but found our local variety had already closed down (I did, however, peer into the darkened store and spied the clerk crouched down behind the counter). I travelled four blocks to the next one. It was open, but the tiny parking lot was crammed with cars. I went in, and found a line of people snaked all the way to the back of the dark, sweltering store. People were buying whatever they could, especially batteries and ice. To my dismay, I found the store was already out of bread…groan… but in true Canadian style, everybody was being so nice, joking and using very good manners. I was impressed with my fellow countrymen. Since I had to wait in line anyway, I also bought batteries and ice, two very hot commodities.

I travelled across town to three other stores. All were closed.

Bank machines were inoperable, all planes were grounded at every airport, nobody could get gas at the service stations, it was an extremely hot and humid day and there was no electric fan or air conditioning to be found, anywhere! Fridges, freezers stopped dead. The most dangerous thing was that there wasn't a working traffic light in all of southwestern Ontario, and the Blackout occurred at the beginning of the rush hour. The radio announcer was advising everyone to consider every intersection a 4-way stop. Citizens jumped out of their cars and began directing traffic. Dairy Queen gave away their melting ice cream cakes. Officials were advising people not to drink tap water. This was getting very serious and more than a bit scary.

There was nothing to do! Couldn't watch TV or get on the computer. The local swimming pool shut down because the pump wasn't working. When I got home, I ate some cheese and crackers washed down with lukewarm milk for supper and listened to the radio. Then I went outside to read "East of Eden" until the sun went down.

It was really remarkable how people were helping each other out. Because bank machines didn't work, thousands of people were caught not having enough change to buy anything to drink, so strangers were just giving them money. Grocery stores gave away cases of bottled water. I noticed a whole lot of people outside walking their dogs or just chatting with neighbours. Kids were playing ball, riding bikes or running around - many more than usual. I walked down to the park to see the stars. It was pretty cool without the urban glow - the stars were magnificent. We lit some candles and navigated with flashlights.

We were really lucky, because our power came back on at 9:30 PM Thursday. However, in London, an hour away, power was not restored until Saturday. Our Ontario premier declared a state of emergency. He told anybody who was not an essential worker to stay home Friday to cut down on the amount of energy being used by factories and office buildings. Toronto, Canada's largest city, was absolutely and totally shut down. Subways didn't work, people were stuck in high-rise elevators, and streetcars were inoperable. Nobody could get home, yet everybody was very nice about it - patient and good-humoured. Most spent the night sleeping on the sidewalks or in city parks (Toronto has many beautiful parks).

So, as soon as the lights came on in most Ontario cities, guess where people headed in droves? Can ya guess?

Tim Hortons! People were waiting more than half an hour in line just to get a cup of coffee, and the line to go for the drive-through was several city blocks long!

Many things I learned from the Blackout. We, like most people, were totally unprepared. I will buy many emergency candles and ensure we have plenty of matches. I will replace my flashlight batteries twice a year. I will always have the fuel tank in the van full. I will have a sufficient supply of soup, water and dry packaged goods. I will fill my freezer with bread. I will buy stock in Tim Hortons.

And Richard is forbidden from installing any more computer programmes.

The Alchemist

Following is a letter my wife wrote to a friend. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie "Bruce Almighty", the character of God, as played by Morgan Freeman, had endued the character, Bruce (Jim Carrey) with his powers to answer prayer. Bruce had been complaining that God (at the very least) was cruel, ignorant or indifferent, but God showed him differently:

Richard and I were talking this morning about the movie "Bruce Almighty". One line in particular spoke to us, so I looked it up on the Internet. Prior to Morgan Freeman (God) saying the line, God had allowed Bruce to give people 'yes' answers to their prayers (letting people win the lottery, etc.). However, Bruce found out that just by giving people what THEY thought was best for them, it ended up tragically in case after case.

Bruce was about to discover God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want. He has a purpose in allowing things to happen the way they do:

God: Triumph is born out of struggle. Faith is the alchemist. If you want to paint pictures like this, you have to use some dark colours.

***

I LOVE that line! I looked up the word 'alchemy' and here's the definition:
2 : a power or process of transforming something common into something special
Isn't that cool?

So then - we ended up watching the DVD just for scenes that had been cut from the movie. One scene depicted a chubby young boy in PE class being ridiculed by the 'jocks' as he attempted to climb the ropes. One of the kids said something like, "Oh, yeah. This oughta be good - Filbert's gonna try to climb the rope! Maybe if there was a hot dog on top he could do it!" and they all laughed. Filbert prayed, "God help me!" and Bruce (acting as God) answered his prayer by giving Filbert incredible strength. He all of a sudden found himself with the ability to race up the rope like lightning, much to the admiration of his peers. The boy whispered, "Thank you, God!"

But...when God showed Bruce the ramifications of his intervention in Filbert's life, Bruce was amazed at how Filbert's personality had changed. In one scene, Filbert is beating up another kid in the school yard, while the same 'jocks' who had previously ridiculed him cheered him on. Bruce said, "Why, that's Filbert! What's gotten into him?" This is how God replied:

God: Oh, yes... Filbert. Brilliant young man. He was going to be a great poet. The soul of his work would have been built around his childhood pain. Now he's headed for a career as a professional wrestler. He'll eventually test positive for steroid use and end up managing a muffin shop.
Bruce: That's a disappointment.
God: He got what he prayed for.
God: Since when do people have a clue what they want?

So, this is what came to me:

As Richard said, Bruce had been endued with power, but did not have God's wisdom.

So, all the above made me think of our children in particular. Who's to say that the struggles they're experiencing right now is not EXACTLY what God will use in their future to birth a revelation of who He is? And even though we are appalled at what SEEMS to be, and we question God's methods and if He even cares about our kids...our Heaven Father is saying, "Well? What do you thnk? I'm the one painting this picture. Will you allow me to paint it as I see fit? Will you trust me that I know what colours to use? No matter how bad it looks, no matter how seemingly awful it may get from your human perspective, will you believe Me that I am in total control?"

"Triumph is born out of struggle. Faith is the alchemist".

Yahoo! We get to struggle!!! But we also get to triumph!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rich

'Christian' - Label or Life?

'Christ-ones': nameless, faceless...







The following was written by a believer named Tripp at http://muchmoreofjesus.blogspot.com/

Since the Church was birthed on Pentecost, many have only embraced a historical Jesus versus The Indwelling presence of the "Anointed One." In-"Christ" (Christos-Anointed One)Interestingly enough, The Disciples were first called "Christians" in Antioch....Why?It is well known that Saul, who was later to be called Paul, spent thirteen years in Tarsus developing his trade as a tentmaker. Moreover, as Saul was growing in a practical sense, he also was being given/ministered to, by the Holy Spirit a far deeper revelation, which would ultimately change the world.You may ask, well, what was this great "revelation"? Listen to Paul's own words inspired by God in His Epistle to the Church of Ephesus.

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” (Eph. 3:1-12) nasb

Again, what is this mystery?

“I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in me/you, the hope of glory.”(Col.1:25-27)nasb

Now, Saul/Paul, after thirteen years was hunted by Barnabas and brought from Tarsus to Antioch. And it was here, that a large number of people assembled over the course of a year, and Paul ministered this new-found mystery, which had now been revealed, which is Christ In Me, the hope of Glory...and in Antioch the Disciples were first called "Christians" (Christ- In- Ones).

(It is my prayer, that all will begin to embrace, the Reality of "Christ-In" me, versus the Historical Jesus of the past, and the word "Christian" will be known, as it was known in Antioch... Amen)

The following is from Connie, another believer:

Hey Tripp,
Thanks for a wonderful message of truth.

This very concept seemed to seep through my noggin the other day after I'd visited a "christian" website. I used those quote marks around the word so as to make a point. They were promoting services and workshops and such for people to get involved with. Like arty things,,,,dance, theater, etc. Anyway this idea just occured to me: They promoted "christian" art and "christian" theater and I knew that there really was just art and theater, but performed by christians. The art exists without a "christian" adjective, you know. Like you pointed out, the word is used as an adjective, when in reality it is a noun. A Christian is a person who can do anything: art, business, family, learning, etc. and those things don't have to be "christian" to be acceptable. The things done are acceptable if the Person doing them deems them so. It might seem nitpicking, but to me, it seems a matter of true vs. false.

Your teaching helped to confirm that to me, thanks.

Wouldn't it be so nice and cool and peaceful if christians would just do their thing without telling anyone it was a christian thing they were doing. Let the life speak for itself. Let the light shine for itself. Maybe a whole lot more people would pay attention to christians if they (christians) weren't so enamored with their own selves and the things they were doing.

_______________________________

Rich speaking: this is what I gleaned from what Tripp wrote:

Since coming to know Jesus as my life, I found it exceedingly interesting to learn that believers were first called Christians at Antioch. Why? It’s because Antioch was FAR AWAY from JERUSALEM! Jerusalem was the ‘happenin’ city. All the religious big shots hung out there. You would expect that something as dramatic and explosive, in terms of God revealing the mystery He had kept hidden through the ages (that being ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’) would have been proclaimed with much fanfare in Jerusalem. But, no – God had a different idea. The ‘Christ-ones’ became known as such in Antioch…little-known, far-away Antioch. The religious leaders, the ones who had been entrusted with conveying God’s truths to the masses, weren’t privy to God’s astounding revelation! This isn’t the only time this happened. He was Lord at His birth, but no one knew this except the God the Father. Jesus said, ‘no one knows the Father, except the Son makes this known, and no one knows the Son, except that Father makes it known’.

Re: Connie’s reply to Tripp: as she wrote, the term ‘Christian’ is a noun, not an adjective. Christ is neither a prefix nor a suffix! It is either Life we are seeking, or it is religious superstition or religious trappings. I, too, cringe when I hear the word ‘Christian’ being placed in front of words such as festival, business, radio, music, novel, art, etc. I particularly wince at the term ‘Christian Ministry’. Now, the person at the helm of it may think s/he has a ministry, but it’s not necessarily of God. What’s more difficult - for the Lord to work through General Motors or the institutional church? Can He work through IBM as well as through a 2000 member congregation? Yes! There is no sacred or secular as far as God is concerned.

Most Christians seem to relate more to applying Christ as a label, a tag-on to their lives instead of as their VERY life. As a good friend put it, he used to plan aspects of his daily life something like this: “Well, the person who runs this business is a Christian therefore it's best to go to him, or this lady on the radio is a Christian psychologist... got to listen to her”. Nonsense!

From what is becoming most clear to me (in light of Connie's words) being a Christ-one means something far different from what we have traditionally believed. Jesus’ desire is that we not be seen at all, as far as what most would understand a Christian to be. We are to be nameless and faceless. We have nothing about which to boast or flaunt - our race, gender, ‘stock’, ancestry, etc. died at the cross. We are becoming more and more unobtrusive, to be of no reputation, living supernaturally in the natural world. The more we need to be ‘seen’, the less He is seen. We will eventually not be seen at all, meaning, what people will see is Christ, not us. And as Christ is being fleshed out in whomever, it is going to cause great consternation; even amongst those we would call brothers. There will be no room for the independent self. The independent self knows nothing of grace, nor does s/he want it. God will severely deal with this.

When we prefix the name of Christ to anything, it becomes a mockery (I would even go so far as to say it is anti-Christ). He is NOT in buildings, programs clubs or anything of the kind. He dwells in folks He has sired. These people may have never been part of the institutional church, but they know to Whom they belong. Anyone who has partaken of His grace is among the re-birthed, and the Father knows the ones who are His. Jesus said, “No one knows the Father, except the Son makes this known, and no one knows the Son, except that the Father makes it known”.

According to biblical accounts, a man named Phillip was sent to speak to a high-ranking eunuch about Jesus. The eunuch asked, “Is this about one that is to come, or one that has already come?” Phillip began to preach Christ to him. Phillip wouldn't have even been there except the Lord dialed him into what was happening! And that is why God says we are in this world, but not of it. His life in us has free access to reach out and touch those with whom we come in contact daily. The focus is not upon what we do, but knowing He is there in me in spite of whatever is going down around me. IT'S NOT ABOUT "OUR" MINISTRY! It’s purely about His ministry operating in us.

It amazes me every time I think about how that for most of Jesus' earthly life, no one knew He was God in the flesh, and I see that being equally true of the Living Word being fleshed out in us.

Are we willing to forego the limelight? Are we willing to be made of no reputation? Are we willing to have no identity? Are we willing to be, as it were, planted in the ground, unseen, unheard, so that His life can be formed in us? THAT is what it means to be a Christ-one.
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Rich

Freedom

As we are partaking of His increase there is at the same time a separation taking place between our soul and its ties with our flesh, and that my friend is where this hellish battle is warring intensely.
His increase spells a most painful but needed decreasing.

Simply because we have been re-birthed (born-again) this has not in itself freed us yet from the many entanglements our soul has in its ties to our flesh.

If you continue in this relationship I have called you into, you will know the Truth, and the Truth will (continually) set you free.

Rich

The Self in Control

Our whole problem with sin began as a desire to be in control of our own life. The cruel irony of this issue is that this was never really an option for us. At least, control as we wanted it was never really an option.What we wanted in the Garden of Eden and what we want to this day as independent selves is total control to go our own way. The problem is that we do not have “a way.”We can choose Satan’s influence or God’s influence but we cannot choose to be “self-influenced.” Our choice is to accept either the truth or the lie. The truth is that God is the Lord over our life. Satan’s lie is that we can be the lord of our own life. In truth, trying to be lord of our own life means letting Satan be the “power behind the throne” in our life.

The independent self is caught in the middle of a paradox. The dilemma we find ourselves in is that we want the one thing we are incapable of achieving. This one thing is the pure and complete independence to go our own way. We find it difficult (or impossible) to accept that we were simply never equipped by our creation to do this. It is for this reason that trying to run our own life inevitably leads to frustration and stress.

We get into trouble when we accept the lie of the evil one that we can walk apart from both God and Satan. This is the grand deception. What Satan neglects to tell us is that walking apart from God’s lordship simultaneously results in Satan’s lordship operating in our life. In the end, the only legitimate control that we can exercise in our life is self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23
Not only is self-control seen as legitimate but it is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit. Self-control is a gift from God.The ability to control the self is something we can only receive from the Father. Because the control of self is a property derived from the Spirit, it can only come from the individual-self. Self-control only comes through the individual self that is focused on and directed by the Holy Spirit in our spirit. Therefore the only path available to us to receive this gift is through the individual or spirit directed self. The independent self can never exercise true self-control.

(From my good friend Bill Landon)

Rich

Confidence

2Cor.1:8-11

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came {to us} in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;who delivered us from so great a {peril of} death, and will deliver {us,} He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through {the prayers} {of} many.

Rich

Oxymorons

James 1:20-22

20For man's anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires].
21So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. (and receive with meekness the engrafted word)
22But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].1…Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
2If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know’.

Receiving the implanted, engrafted Word of God with meekness is a wonderful thing because therein lies the power to save my soul. Power derived from weakness? God seems to delight in such oxymorons!

I believe with all of my heart that the moment a Christian is translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom reality of the Father’s love and light, it was God’s intention to begin the needed and necessary 24/7 working, training and disciplining in our souls. However, this does not come without a price. We know the Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. To me, this means that grace is ineffective without the necessary, crucial humbling required in our lives to bring us to see our need for Him, the grace-full One.

Many think that the various spiritual or physical maladies that seem to plague Christians exist because the believer is somehow defective. Actually, deficiency is not the issue. Defiance is the issue. This defiance (Satan in our flesh) expresses itself in the believer operating out of the knowledge of good and evil. This knowledge is Satan’s stronghold over our souls, deceiving us into believing we are doing the ‘Christian’ thing - in fact, even trying to be like Jesus, when in actuality we are not. Here’s the test - is our so-called knowledge of the Lord really transforming our souls (mind, will and emotions), or is this knowledge we possess as Christians being used to keep us self-centred, self-absorbed, divisive and derisive of other believers?

’Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart’.

I wonder how this 'meek and lowly', yet all-powerful Saviour is making Himself known to us. Maybe He will appear to be anything but kind or loving as he unveils the enemy’s lies we have believed all our lives. These are the strongholds that have kept us locked into trying to get Him to help us versus allowing Him to expand and expound upon the grace that wants to transform us, and these strongholds don't give up without a fight.

Jesus said, ‘All of you who labour and are heavy laden; come unto me, and I will give you rest’.
Is this rest some thing, or is it in fact somebody? If rest is somebody – the person of Jesus – then we need to seek Him only. The bible states that God is love and just maybe what the Lord is endeavouring to relate is this: ‘I want to give you true knowledge of my love for you, and in so doing it will allow Me to continue to set you free. Where - in your spirit? No – your spirit was already set free when my Son’s spirit was birthed within you. The freedom I want to work in you will be processed in your soul.’

Christians tend to use catch-phrases such as the following: ‘establish truth in our innermost being’, ‘reflect His likeness and image’, ‘be a self-for-others’, etc. Although these statements are good and valid, the truths resident within them will not set us free. The best we’ll have are glorious statements or correct terminology. As stated earlier, the processing occurs in our soul as we learn to submit to this discipline.

Rich

Making Darkness Light

A condensed version of Acts 9:1-22:

3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

What an incredible story! Talk about a man on a mission.

If not familiar with this story, it’s a good read. Saul, renamed Paul, is blinded by the Light, and it’s in this blinded state that he begins to see for the first time in his life.

What blinding situations must occur in one’s life before there is sight? It is this very issue of blindness that I want to explore.

I have always loved the following verses:

‘I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name.’

‘And I will bring the blind by a way [that] they knew not; I will lead them in paths [that] they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them’.

Coming to see Him, the Living Lord, as my only Life is a daily transformation occurring within my soul. Learning to live out of this miraculous union I now have with God, who has become my Father, is where true life is being discovered.

Back some years ago, the Lord impressed upon my heart words to this effect: “That which I have for you has been deliberately hidden for you, not hidden from you. What unspeakable joy you will experience as you continue to trust me in this journey! Together we will find it. Together we will celebrate the treasures of darkness.”

Without a doubt, I believe the Lord wants to make us eyewitnesses of Him, not simply to parrot what others have said, no matter how good that might be. ”Who do you say that I AM”? He wants our spiritual sight to become clear so that no matter what the circumstance, we see Jesus.

The other day, while chatting with a brother via the web, it dawned upon me that maybe, just maybe I have been suffering through some needed death experiences.

I come from a mixed background spiritually. I was raised Roman Catholic, was born anew in 1972, and subsequently traveled in Charismatic, Pentecostal, Full Gospel and Vineyard circles. It was customary to launch into spiritual warfare when being confronted with what appeared to be ‘bad things’, and wanting to appear strong in the Lord, I was determined I must overcome these negative influences.

However, what I am coming to see is this: Paul, the Apostle of Grace, who was intimately acquainted with grace, and walking in the power of God’s grace, nevertheless was ushered into very dark circumstances. Three times he cried,”Lord! Remove this messenger of Satan from me!” The Lord replied, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Paul wrote, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

While chatting with my friend, what became clear to me was the fact that the Lord did NOT remove the buffeting messenger from Paul’s life. Why?
So that he might experience the treasures of darkness. To his and our natural way of thinking, it would seem most proper to ask a loving God and Father, “Please remove this torment”. But what Paul at that point could not see was that in the midst of the distasteful and humiliating situation, inner illumination from the Holy Spirit was about to break through. Paul was about to receive so much more than he could ever dreamed of asking! Blindness was being dispelled. He was going to see what the prophets would have loved to see and hear.

“Blessed are the hungry [for righteousness] for they shall be filled. Blessed are the poor in spirit" (or from the Living Translation) “God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the realities of the Father’s love is given to them.” I know the Lord causes the sun to shine upon the just and the unjust, but He so passionately wants there to be an intimate, experiential knowing of the reality of there not only being a God, but One who wants to become a Father to them.

What need is there for His grace in our lives if we see no need? Paul’s greatest necessity was not to be delivered from his buffeting tormentor, but to be awakened to see his need for the Lord and to rest in His bountiful provision.
Paul in this most dark situation began to see so much more of what and who constitutes grace. He said, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong”.

Our loving Father wants to usher us into the necessary circumstances and situations that He will use to illuminate within us the true knowledge of this glorious treasure we have in these jars of clay. Salvation is so much more than the rebirthing of our dead spirit! Heaven is not our goal - knowing Him in the now IS! Today is the day of salvation, and in this day His grace is sufficient.

Rich

Maybe there's more to this than meets the eye

2 Corinthians 12: 1-10

7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in Hi
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

I love this inside look into our Brother Paul’s life. It’s most fitting that he’s also known as the Apostle of Grace.

So very often, as we continue our journey through life, there’s a tendency to camp at the foot of some great blessing or event. Although the location may be good or even very good, settling there can rob of us of the best. What is the best? “That I might know Him”!

Many are called, but few choose to give up the right to themselves. Becoming a ‘self for others’ is the ongoing work of grace of God in a believer’s life.

If anyone knew the grace of God, I would say it was Paul. Yet on the heels of the abundant revelations Paul received, it’s as if the Father said to him, “Oh, by the way Paul, because you have seen and heard things that are not permitted to be spoken about I’m going to give you a wonderful blessing!”
"Wow! Oh boy!” Paul must have thought. “Not only am I privy to these spectacular revelations, I’m about to get a fabulous surprise! Okay, Lord - let me have it!”

So, what was this great blessing? It was not exactly as Paul had pictured, because the Lord allowed Paul to be buffeted by a messenger of Satan. I’m sure that for most of us, stinking thinking would kick in quite effectively at this point. A messenger of…Satan? Time to brush up on Spiritual Warfare 101: ‘How to Cast Out Demons’! However, could it be that Paul (although well versed in the grace of God), needed a further and deeper revelation of Him and His grace? I see this ordeal as being used by the Father to bring Paul further along than he could possibly have gone on his own.

In my life, I recall a time of unbearable anguish and grief because of following the leading of the Lord to “be in the ministry” (a very long, sad, but ultimately wonderful story). As a result of this quest, my wife and I lost everything.

At the time, the four of us were temporarily renting the downstairs of a match-box sized duplex. I was out mowing the postage stamp of a back lawn when I sensed my Heavenly Father speaking to me. He said, “You think you have missed my best, don’t you”? Deep within my heart I knew that is exactly what I felt. I will not elaborate now, but suffice it to say, He had the cross hairs focused square upon my heart. He proceeded to ask me - had I known what was going to happen in my life, would I have signed up for it? I didn’t have to ponder on that too long. NO!!! He continued to say that in fact He had me enrolled in something so much better than any Bible School I could have chosen – that I had NOT missed his best. He was bringing about the best! The circumstances and situations didn’t change, but there was a new hope that instilled deep within my heart - the beginnings of coming to know the Truth: Christ in me the Hope of Glory.

Isn’t it amazing that there are reserved for us treasures of darkness that can become ours as we follow Him through the shadows?

I often ponder about Joseph. He said to those who betrayed him, (his own brothers) “You sold me, but God sent me. That which you intended for evil, He intended for Good.”

Jesus said that unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone, but if it dies, it brings forth an abundance of fruit. Is it possible the Father does just that, buries His sons and daughters alive, so to speak, in the abject darkness…so that He can produce fruit?

As our souls come into alignment with our spirit union, maybe we, like Joseph, also can speak forth the truth: 20"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive”. And as Paul said, “I Paul, the prisoner of Christ”. Notice he did not say he was the prisoner of Rome, nor of circumstances, but the prisoner of Christ.

Living as mere mortals, governed by our souls, we will miss out on His best for us. The Holy Spirit is longing to make known His redemptive purposes in the lives of His sons, but although called, many will not pay the price, will not ‘glory in [their] infirmities’.

Ephesians 4:18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Rich

What’s the sword for?

The Prince of Peace said, I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword.
Peace isn’t some commodity that is doled out to us, but instead it is a Person, and that person Christ Jesus is to be revealed to us.

Who do you say that I AM?
Is it possible that the many things we attribute to “peace” have nothing to do with Him?
Is it possible that as the Truth confronts us and our stinking thinking that in the process of the Truth setting us free, it will make us miserable first?
Yes He is the lover of my soul, with a Godly jealousy, but anything that is rooted or founded upon lies, the Truth will confront.
Either the Truth is going to be my greatest friend or my worst enemy.
I need to clarify here that the Truth to me is inseparable from Him, the Truth, Life and Way of the Father, Jesus Christ.
There are so many words tossed around in Christendom that are synonymous with things that have nothing whatsoever to do with the reality of the Truth.

I love the story in Joshua where the angel of the Lord appears to him, as Joshua scrambles to his feet, he asks, are you for us or against us?
Joshua 5
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?"
14 He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?"
In today’s language He said, I’m here to take over, you pick a side.

And a sword will pierce even your own soul--to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

Peace

Rich

Guard Your Heart

“In the day you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your heart”.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Of whom does the Holy testify? The Christ. Where is the Christ? “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit”. The Christ indwells the believer!

Prophecy is so much more than what those in the pro-gift circles, who focus more on the gifts than on the indwelling Gifted One, have claimed. They focus on, even lust after the ‘gifts’ (ex. prophetic utterances, miracles, signs, wonders, casting out demons, etc.). The Holy Spirit’s emphasis is not on the gifted ones, but on the Gifted One. The subtle lie of the enemy distorts scripture so that our focus is shifted away from the centrality of the indwelling Christ and onto the gifts. The Holy Spirit will NOT testify or witness to anything that we do as a result.

If we see Christ as being external to us, we will try to be LIKE Him. This is the foundation of the whole “What Would Jesus Do?” movement. Any attempt to be ‘like Jesus’ is nothing more than religious activity. Religion is Satan-inspired, a futile, man-made quest to attempt to attain a state of holiness by human efforts. Rather than causing us to acknowledge our complete and total dependency on God’s indwelling spirit, religion seduces us to focus on what we can do. This effectively cuts us off from grace.

Christ will not be formed in us if we try to emulate Him. How, then, is He formed in us? It’s Christ in us, working through us, as us: “he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit”. As Paul wrote, the fruit of the spirit is Love, and all that flows from that love is merely a living expression of Him who is Love. There are no substitutes for the true (experiential) knowledge of the Father’s love for us. The burning reality of Jesus’ words, “when the Holy Spirit comes, he will reveal me and glorify me” thrills me to no end.

“In the day you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your heart”. We harden our hearts by default. When the Holy Spirit testifies or witnesses to the reality of Christ indwelling the believer, and we dismiss this by trying by our own efforts to be LIKE Jesus (rather than acknowledging His existing presence in our hearts) our hearts become hardened. By this I mean we have a tendency to think that by our own efforts, we have to conjure up a scheme to keep our hearts pliable - rather than seeing we are one with, indistinguishable from, Jesus Christ who indwells the spirit of the believer. His heart is NOT hardened! We are already joined to the fruitful One! Because of this union we have with the fruitful One, we will bear fruit in our soul as we learn to live out of that fundamental, heart-softening truth and by paying heed to the testimony of the Holy Spirit as He witnesses about Christ.

Is it possible the Holy Spirit is whispering in our hearts (much like a stuck record), ‘I see Jesus in you, I see Jesus in you’ over and over? If we have been reborn or re-birthed then the miraculous has taken place. Jesus’ prayer, ‘Father I pray that they will be one even as we are one. I am the vine you are the branches’ is a result of that miracle.
It has never been an issue of my truth versus your truth. There is only one Truth~Christ Jesus. Otherwise, he would have said, “Hey guys, want to hear some neat truths?” Instead He said, “I AM the Truth, Life, the Way of God”.

Does the Father desire to make us eye witnesses of this fruitful One to whom we are joined? Or do we simply mouth truthful things?

It is essential that we learn to differentiate between what Christ does and who Christ is – that apart from Him we can do nothing – that we are utterly dependent upon his Spirit to produce fruit out of a pliable heart. That is the testimony of Jesus in a grapeskin.

Rich

Fight The Good Fight

I said to a friend recently, "we're not trying to get a hold of the Truth, the Truth has got a hold of us."
The truth more often than not is seen as something separate from Him, the Truth, Life and Way.
I like where it talks about the flesh waring after the spirit and the spirit waring after the flesh. Without knowing Him as our Rest, we resort to carnal tactics.
The Truth is always wanting to make himself known to us in our daily living, as I like to say, in the nasty-now-in-now.
I'm so grateful for the ongoing and much needed illumination the spirit of God brings to me so that I can face life's challenges rather than trying to escape. Learning to live out of my spirit rather than out of my soul.
I wonder if in fact that was one of the issues Paul addressed at one point when he said, "You are living as mere natural men." Natural in the sense even though rebirthed, they were living as if the spirit of the Lord was not in them.
Nothing is as it appears to be. The natural man is fading away daily, but the inward man is being renewed daily.
His grace is the ability to fight this "good fight" of trusting in His faithfulness.

Rich