Have you ever abused the grace of God? I mean, knowing that it was there and that it would never leave. That because you know He is never changing and always loving that you could "get away with" something? Don't get me wrong, the idea here isn't to avoid worldly consequences for any sort of action or even heavenly ones. But I think there comes a time in a Christian's life when they get really solidified and rooted in understanding His love and grace and it opens up a new facet of relationship with Him.
Let me explain. In the world we all have fathers. Many can relate to the idea that, when they were young, they could get away with certain things because of how they knew their father viewed them. They understood their report with their father or mother, as the case may be. I'll never forget the first time I cursed in anger in front of my parents as if it were NOT the end of the world for me. My parents knew I was overcome with emotion and were willing to overlook my temporary lapse in judgement.
But God is not just any parent. He is perfect light. There is no darkness in Him. Yet He is merciful and long-suffering with us when we are sometimes darkness. He dedicated His incarnation to that very premise. Once I learned to accept and depend on the fact that His mercy and love and grace are eternally mine, no matter what I do, then I had to re-evaluate how I live. I no longer felt the need to beat myself up about mistakes and found that this released me, freed me, to chose better. There was no pressure. God was going to love me no matter what. Something about that freedom makes me love Him and want to do what's right.
But then one day I got angry with Him. Not angry with the idea of God. Not angry with someone else's idea of God. I had come to know Him and have a real personal relationship with Him. I was truly angry with God, The Father. My Father. Because I received Him as a real person and entered into a relationship with Him, I started to enjoy some of the dynamics of a real father-son relationship. As sometimes happens between any father and son, I got angry with Him. I can honestly say that I lashed out at Him because I wasn't getting my way. I wanted to hurt God.
What does any child do when they want to register just how displeased they are with their parent? They rebel. I chose to violate my own conscience, to sin, knowing full well that were I to calm down and change my mind (repent, for those of you who only speak christianese), He would offer me only acceptance and love. And I was so angry with Him and so aware of my eternal place in His heart that I didn't even think of playing the "I don't believe in you anymore" game. We've been through that one before; He didn't flinch. So I went out and acted the fool. Now, what violates my conscience most is going to be different than what violates yours most. That's just how it is. So for the sake of this discussion just imagine what single thing you would be the most ashamed of doing in anger. Yeah, I did that.
He tried to stop me. He spoke to me in the usual ways, on all channels, all frequencies. I responded with, "OH YEAH!!! WATCH THIS!!" He gave me no warning. There was no fire or brimstone. There were no threats. He was just calm. Eventually He stopped talking. That gave me pause. But it didn't give me a stop. I was still mad and He was going to KNOW IT!
When it was all over with, I felt like Hell. I was emotionally bankrupt. My soul ached. My body and my spirit were just fine. Some feelings were hurt but besides that there was little or no wreckage. It was an odd feeling. I noticed that He had not only protected me during my tirade but also all of my interests. There were no discernable consequences! God says to me, "Son, you have a choice to make now." I said, "I know, Dad." He said, "I don't have to explain it to you, do I?" I said, "No. I know that I can choose to see what I just did through your eyes or through the eyes of the world. I know I can be forgiven. I know you still love me. I know that this tantrum changes nothing." He said, "That's my boy. Now come on home."
Having never done something so wrong for so long presented a dicey situation for me. Never before had I been so tempted as a christian to condemn myself. Never before in my life had I ever earned the right to wallow in self-pity, self-hatred, self self self. But He was speaking to me more than ever. He kept reinforcing how my life is defined by Him. How my value is not determined by any single action. How the torturous death of Jesus was such a high price that I could never make heaven go into debt. He just kept pouring love and mercy and grace out into my heart. "My ways are not your ways." He said. "Do you now understand that being conscious of sin is pointless? I have no more anger left to give. Jesus paid the tab for last night's behavior. Should you continue to live in anger at me or anything else, Jesus will still have been sacrificed. I am free to love you not matter what you do, son. And you are forever free to receive that love. I will wait for you." In the face of all that, I truly truly repented. Not just of what I did to voilate my conscience but of even getting angry at my Father.
But it wasn't until today, 5 days later, while talking with Him again, that I finally understood what my actual sin was. The real "issue" to be dealt with, father-to-son was that I had abused His grace. Had I been aware of grace the night I got angry, I never would have become angry. And I could probably prattle on and on about how I got so distracted that I missed His grace, but that's not of eternal significance. What's eternally significant for me AND YOU is that in order for me to see grace, He allowed me to abuse it and NOT SAY A WORD about it. He comforted and consoled and counceled me out of a mire of self-centered pain after I had rebelled against Him in anger. Then He let me believe the matter was settled, that I had learned the lesson, and then waited patiently for it all to dawn on me. He withheld nothing while He waited. He gave me full-on revelation this week. He took me to new heights. He walked with me and talked with me. He continued to be my Father.
I purposely abused His grace and His reaction was to give me even more of it.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Ancient Egypt Mysteries?
I've been watching this show on the pyramids and ancient Egypt and such and I can't help but think that Joseph and the Israelites greatly influenced the evolving spiritual beliefs and technology of very early Egypt.
Many scientists are starting to look at the totality of archeological evidence from Egypt and are becoming more and more baffled at not only how they knew what they knew but how they did what they did. They understood things like harmonics, subtle energy, the spirit man, advanced biology, architecture, etc.. In many ways, they seem to have knowledge beyond that of our current generation.
The reason we don't hear more about this is the obvious question that comes up when confronted with such archeological evidence: how did they do it? What was their source. Logic dictates that if Egypt of 10 thousand years ago had greater technology than we do now (not computers or silicon, but an understanding of the workings of the environment in which they lived that went beyond our current grasp of what we call "physics") how did they learn it? We have an unbroken written record of most of world history since the time of these ancient people and yet in all that time we have not yet learned what they knew. Now, assuming you believe the archeological evidence surrounding the intellectual development of man, our species only learned agriculture 12 thousand years ago. That would mean that the Egyptians learned mastery of physics, biology, and chemistry beyond our own knowledge in only 2,000 years. They would have achieved something in two millenia that we have not been able to relearn in the past 10. I think we can, therefore, eliminate an organic or natural progression of science and spiritual subjects. The knowledge the ancient Egyptians had must have been given to them. But who would do it and why?
It's at this point that modern science simply bows out and claims that there is insufficient evidence to even theorize about the benefactor of Egyptian knowledge. There is a fringe group that has existed for some time now who have actual credentials in the fields of anthropology, archeology, biology, astronomy, and physics who have at least attempted an answer: aliens!!! OH, SO CLOSE, GUYS!! But no, it's not aliens. I can s ympathize with the longing for some great benefactor from the sky, I really can. I'm afraid we've had the answer right in front of us since Moses first put quill to papyrus: I AM. This is the part of the archeological evidence that the world omits.
Let's take a look at a short story that may shed some light on how a regional power called Egypt gained an advantage over the rest of the world. There was a boy named Joseph who had been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. What's implied in the entire story is that though Joseph was sent away to live in a foreign land, God went with him. Now, God gave Joseph a dream warning of a famine. He told the current ruler of Egypt who was wise and listened. In fact, it's the way in which the Pharoah responded to hearing Joseph's vision that I believe is most telling:
Gen 41
37 So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, " Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you." 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, " See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
Now, Joseph was the unofficial ruler of Egypt. Joseph loved God. God loved Joseph. Joseph loved Egypt. God loved Egypt. Because both Joseph and Pharoah had heeded God's warning (or accepted His wise council), God continued to bless both Israel and Egypt. Yes, because of the famine Joseph's entire family moved to Egypt where they all prospered together. I believe that this period of time, between Genesis 41 and Exodus 1, Egypt got the vast majority of it's knowledge. Now, we all know that the relationship between Egypt and God soured. There came a Pharoah who apparently did not have any respect for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So Israel was extracted and the deluge of God's wisdom was abruptly shut off.
With full Bible knowledge we can safely say that there was demonic activity in and around Egypt before Exodus but I believe it got stronger over the years after Israel left. You see, God had shared His favor and His wisdom with the Egyptians. In Isaiah it even states that God wants to prosper Egypt, Syria, and Israel. It was always His desire that Egypt be great, though Israel was His true people. And Egypt was great. So great, in fact, that what remains of that ancient culture baffles us. And the demonic siege on Egypt is the same as any other demonic siege: steal, kill, destroy. Demons weren't after egyptians, they were after their legacy!
It's my belief that through their relationship with God and His chosen people before Exodus, Egypt was raised up high. They were raised up higher even than we are today! But they gave in to lusts, were seduced by strange voices, and their legacy was stolen! Nobody in their right mind would look at Egyptology with all it's many gods and strange rituals and beliefs and think, "These people were clearly taught higher sciences by the Hebrew God."
Many scientists are starting to look at the totality of archeological evidence from Egypt and are becoming more and more baffled at not only how they knew what they knew but how they did what they did. They understood things like harmonics, subtle energy, the spirit man, advanced biology, architecture, etc.. In many ways, they seem to have knowledge beyond that of our current generation.
The reason we don't hear more about this is the obvious question that comes up when confronted with such archeological evidence: how did they do it? What was their source. Logic dictates that if Egypt of 10 thousand years ago had greater technology than we do now (not computers or silicon, but an understanding of the workings of the environment in which they lived that went beyond our current grasp of what we call "physics") how did they learn it? We have an unbroken written record of most of world history since the time of these ancient people and yet in all that time we have not yet learned what they knew. Now, assuming you believe the archeological evidence surrounding the intellectual development of man, our species only learned agriculture 12 thousand years ago. That would mean that the Egyptians learned mastery of physics, biology, and chemistry beyond our own knowledge in only 2,000 years. They would have achieved something in two millenia that we have not been able to relearn in the past 10. I think we can, therefore, eliminate an organic or natural progression of science and spiritual subjects. The knowledge the ancient Egyptians had must have been given to them. But who would do it and why?
It's at this point that modern science simply bows out and claims that there is insufficient evidence to even theorize about the benefactor of Egyptian knowledge. There is a fringe group that has existed for some time now who have actual credentials in the fields of anthropology, archeology, biology, astronomy, and physics who have at least attempted an answer: aliens!!! OH, SO CLOSE, GUYS!! But no, it's not aliens. I can s ympathize with the longing for some great benefactor from the sky, I really can. I'm afraid we've had the answer right in front of us since Moses first put quill to papyrus: I AM. This is the part of the archeological evidence that the world omits.
Let's take a look at a short story that may shed some light on how a regional power called Egypt gained an advantage over the rest of the world. There was a boy named Joseph who had been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. What's implied in the entire story is that though Joseph was sent away to live in a foreign land, God went with him. Now, God gave Joseph a dream warning of a famine. He told the current ruler of Egypt who was wise and listened. In fact, it's the way in which the Pharoah responded to hearing Joseph's vision that I believe is most telling:
Gen 41
37 So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, " Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you." 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, " See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
Now, Joseph was the unofficial ruler of Egypt. Joseph loved God. God loved Joseph. Joseph loved Egypt. God loved Egypt. Because both Joseph and Pharoah had heeded God's warning (or accepted His wise council), God continued to bless both Israel and Egypt. Yes, because of the famine Joseph's entire family moved to Egypt where they all prospered together. I believe that this period of time, between Genesis 41 and Exodus 1, Egypt got the vast majority of it's knowledge. Now, we all know that the relationship between Egypt and God soured. There came a Pharoah who apparently did not have any respect for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So Israel was extracted and the deluge of God's wisdom was abruptly shut off.
With full Bible knowledge we can safely say that there was demonic activity in and around Egypt before Exodus but I believe it got stronger over the years after Israel left. You see, God had shared His favor and His wisdom with the Egyptians. In Isaiah it even states that God wants to prosper Egypt, Syria, and Israel. It was always His desire that Egypt be great, though Israel was His true people. And Egypt was great. So great, in fact, that what remains of that ancient culture baffles us. And the demonic siege on Egypt is the same as any other demonic siege: steal, kill, destroy. Demons weren't after egyptians, they were after their legacy!
It's my belief that through their relationship with God and His chosen people before Exodus, Egypt was raised up high. They were raised up higher even than we are today! But they gave in to lusts, were seduced by strange voices, and their legacy was stolen! Nobody in their right mind would look at Egyptology with all it's many gods and strange rituals and beliefs and think, "These people were clearly taught higher sciences by the Hebrew God."
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Do Angels Have Free Will?
I would think it would be obvious that since a third of the host of heaven rebelled with Satan, they had to freely choose to do so.
But then God told me something today. I remembered there's a part in the Bible where it talks about how God doesn't tell the angels everything. That there's some stuff they just are not privy to. Then I asked in my heart, "Then why do they fight so hard for us? I guess they just do as they are told." And He said, "No. They do what I ask because they love me."
He went on to explain that their comission, and therefore their power, is rooted in love. If they did not do everything they do out of love, it wouldn't have the needed power to win battles in the spirit realm. Angels are extremely powerful beings because they are incredible lovers of God.
But then God told me something today. I remembered there's a part in the Bible where it talks about how God doesn't tell the angels everything. That there's some stuff they just are not privy to. Then I asked in my heart, "Then why do they fight so hard for us? I guess they just do as they are told." And He said, "No. They do what I ask because they love me."
He went on to explain that their comission, and therefore their power, is rooted in love. If they did not do everything they do out of love, it wouldn't have the needed power to win battles in the spirit realm. Angels are extremely powerful beings because they are incredible lovers of God.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
The Rock
A rock is sturdy and good to build upon but it's also hard to get through. Once you get through it, it's solid. That thing you thrust into it is not moving. But what about a man who is like a rock?
Matthew 16:15 He said to them, " But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, " You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, " Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter [The Rock], and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Wow. Strong statement coming from the Son of God. Jesus is revealing two things to us here.
Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, " Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
23 But He turned and said to Peter, " Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Ouch! Jesus had said many times throughout his time with his disciples "have I been with you guys so long and you still don't understand?" Peter was chief among the misunderstanders. Even after Jesus was resurrected, the day of pentecost had come, and the apostles were all baptised in the Holy Spirit, again Peter has trouble understanding or accepting the truth about what Jesus had accomplished:
Acts 10:10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four- footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, " Rise, Peter; kill and eat."
14 But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean."
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, " What God has cleansed you must not call common." 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
Three times, dude. Three times God had to illustrate to Peter that the new covenant freed all men, especially Jews, from eating restrictions. In fact, Peter knew the law and the prophets had been fulfilled. Jesus said so Himself. But poor Peter was so hard-headed.... The man actually is on record in scripture attempting to correct Jesus several times. And this is "The Rock" on which Jesus would build His church? Are you kidding me?
Well, here comes the part where Peter serves as the perfect illustration for the difference between how men think and how God thinks. Remember what God said in Isaiah:
55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
You see, just as it was hard for anything Jesus said or did to penetrate Peter's thick skull, once it got in there it never left. The harder it was for understanding to break through Peter's hard head, the more secure the understanding was once he had it.
So the very attribute of Peter that makes many people wonder why Jesus chose him is the same attribute that caused him to stand before all Jerusalem and preach reconciliation to the very people he had watched murder Jesus only months before.
A hard-headed man alone is dangerous. A hard-headed man for The Kingdom of God is glorious. God bless all of us hard heads.
Matthew 16:15 He said to them, " But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, " You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, " Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter [The Rock], and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Wow. Strong statement coming from the Son of God. Jesus is revealing two things to us here.
- Peter has been chosen to lead.
- Peter is comparable to a rock.
Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, " Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
23 But He turned and said to Peter, " Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Ouch! Jesus had said many times throughout his time with his disciples "have I been with you guys so long and you still don't understand?" Peter was chief among the misunderstanders. Even after Jesus was resurrected, the day of pentecost had come, and the apostles were all baptised in the Holy Spirit, again Peter has trouble understanding or accepting the truth about what Jesus had accomplished:
Acts 10:10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four- footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, " Rise, Peter; kill and eat."
14 But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean."
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, " What God has cleansed you must not call common." 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
Three times, dude. Three times God had to illustrate to Peter that the new covenant freed all men, especially Jews, from eating restrictions. In fact, Peter knew the law and the prophets had been fulfilled. Jesus said so Himself. But poor Peter was so hard-headed.... The man actually is on record in scripture attempting to correct Jesus several times. And this is "The Rock" on which Jesus would build His church? Are you kidding me?
Well, here comes the part where Peter serves as the perfect illustration for the difference between how men think and how God thinks. Remember what God said in Isaiah:
55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
You see, just as it was hard for anything Jesus said or did to penetrate Peter's thick skull, once it got in there it never left. The harder it was for understanding to break through Peter's hard head, the more secure the understanding was once he had it.
So the very attribute of Peter that makes many people wonder why Jesus chose him is the same attribute that caused him to stand before all Jerusalem and preach reconciliation to the very people he had watched murder Jesus only months before.
A hard-headed man alone is dangerous. A hard-headed man for The Kingdom of God is glorious. God bless all of us hard heads.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Peter Finally Gets It
Why Peter Wept
We know that after The Last Supper Jesus shared with His disciples, yet again, that He was about to be arrested, tortured, and executed. Here's how Peter responds to it as written about in Luke:Luke 22
31 And the Lord said, " Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
33 But he said to Him, " Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."
34 Then He said, " I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
How many of you know that Peter spoke from his heart when he said he was willing to follow Jesus even to death?
But later on, when Jesus was arrested and stood before the Sanhedrin, Peter was pointed out several times by random people as being one of the disciples. And just as Jesus had prophesied, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. Here's how it's recorded in Matthew:
Matthew 26
74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, " Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly.
He wept. He wept with gusto. I'm sure at one point he was crying so hard he couldn't breathe. Jesus had meant so much to him. I think it's safe to say that after 3 and 1/2 years with Jesus, Peter had come to love Him like a best friend. And Peter had betrayed Him. Not only did he not believe Jesus when He warned that Peter would deny Him, but then he witnessed himself actually doing it. I'm sure the sorrow and shame of it all is what caused him to begin crying, but I believe something else happened once the tears began to flow.
You see, if you look back at Luke 22:31 Jesus warns Peter that he will act unbecoming of a Christian but He doesn't leave it at that. He encouraged Peter even before the warning: "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." Jesus was sort of saying, "Look, you are about to go through something you don't believe yourself capable of. Know that you are mine and that I have a purpose for you. You will betray me, and I've always known it, and it never affected how I see you. You cannot fail, Peter, because I have guaranteed you."
You see, the word translated as "bitterly" is the greek word "pikrōs" which can be translated as "bitterly" but also "violently". I believe God has shown me that once the rooster crowed, Peter remembered not only that Jesus warned of his denial, but more importantly He prefaced that warning with a commission of trust: "...and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
So Peter heard the rooster crow, went outside, and the enormity of what Jesus had told Him that night hit him like a ton of bricks. Jesus knew Peter would betray Him, yet Jesus never lost faith in Peter. Jesus knew that Peter would start behaving as he did before he became a disciple. In Peter's mind this behavior had to be unforgivable. Suddenly, he understood. He understood completely. The denial didn't matter. The cussing didn't matter. PETER DIDN'T MATTER. In that moment, all that mattered was that Jesus had prayed for him. Jesus had chosen Simon Peter, cussing sailor, one who would act as a coward during his master's time of greatest need. In that moment, Peter understood love. That kind of revelation will make a man weep violently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)