Setting Your Mind Away from the World (Part 2)

My last post I shared about how I have been wrestling with Mark 8:33 "...For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Then I began to read Colossians 3:1-17. In the epistle to the Colossians, Paul seems to be writing to a church, which is wrestling with their identity in Christ versus tradition and false philosophy, especially tradition derived from the Old Testament.

Paul then exhorts them to focus on the right things. Colossians 3:1-4, tells me that as a believer a radical change has occurred. I have died in Christ, my life is hidden in Christ, and when he returns in glory I will also appear with him in glory. Nestled in these truths is the command, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Paul doesn't leave the reader hanging here with such a command. He commences to tell us what are earthly things in verses 5-10 and that these things must be put to death and put away, because God has given us a new life or new identity in Christ. Having then new life/identity, verses 11-17 describes how as a person of God I am to live my life amongst others, especially other believers.

I find it very interesting that the context of setting my mind of things above is set in a community. I am not to do it alone nor is it to be an effort for self edification only. Rather its to be with other brothers and sisters, where I am to live in Christ-likeness and accept and also give correction and redirection through Christ's word. Even more as I set my mind on the things above, what it looks like is, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Lord, your word is challenging, sometimes it seems impossible, but your promise is that you are near, and that you will never leave me nor forsake me. So please Lord help me set my mind on you, killing all that is sinful in my life and living as I ought to live giving you all honor, thanks, and glory. You are so much better than the world's best. Help me to see this always and to live this always as part member of a body living for you.

Setting Your Mind Away from the World (Part 1)

In Mark 8: 31-34, we read about Jesus revealing His true mission to sacrifice himself and to defeat death by rising from the dead. What I found interesting was the response from Peter. The scripture said he, Peter, "took Him (Jesus) aside and rebuked him". Peter rebuked God! This is absolutely crazy especially since just verses before Peter confessed to Jesus, "You are the Christ."

Thinking about this interaction with Jesus and Peter, I made two observations. First, I believe Peter didn't understand yet who Jesus truly was and what it meant that Jesus is the Christ. On the other hand, the fact that Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him at least in some way expresses a close relationship with Jesus, especially since it seemed to be out of concern or surprise for his teacher, discipler, rabbi, and friend.

Now the response from Jesus comes strong and hard, "Get behind me, Satan!" Christ rebukes in a way that leaves no room for Peter and his intentions but to accept his place as being wrong and perhaps even demonic if you want to be literal.

Added and what really stuck with me for the past days is the following sentence from Christ, "For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." These verses spoke to me in a way that I can only describe as the Holy Spirit grabbing my attention and gently lifting my chin up to see something more important that what I try to perceive on my own.

Another reason why this verse brought great impact was because the night before I read the passage from Colossians 3:1-17, which I will share about in my next blog entry.

Lord, I thank you for your Word that points us to something more important. Lord, please protect me from any idolatry, focusing my mind and heart on the only God that should be worshiped. Please help me come to you humbly, knowing your plan is good and nothing can be better than your will. May I not dare rebuke you or advice you in any way, but Lord give me eyes to see, a mind to ponder, and a heart to understand the magnificent riches you have given to me by grace through Your Son Jesus Christ.

I've Been Yoked

Recently, a friend and I began talking about relationships. Relationships can be a very wonderful thing and at the same time be a very uncomfortable thing. It can be one of the most edifying things and one of the most weakening things. Whether, a relationship is of a romantic nature, a familial nature, a business nature, or social nature. I can't help see it as God's blessing onto mankind, because of the nature of relationship. Ultimately, God created man for relationship with Him, but sin twisted its purposes and blessings.

As I thought about relationship, two passages came to mind; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and Matthew 11:25-30. A common symbol between the two is of a yoke as it relates to relationship. Looking at an actual yoke, I can't help but squirm a bit, imagining having such a device around my neck, feeling the pressure on the back of my neck and either feeling myself pushing it against my shoulders or feeling it pulling at my head. The scripture compares being yoked, being strapped to this contraption, as being in a relationship.

Reading 2 Corinthians, Paul gives a stern warning against a believer entering into any type of relationship with an unbeliever. What was the problem with the Corinthians Church that Paul had to admonish them in such a way? I can only guess, but it seems that the audience of the letter were having issues with relating to the unbelieving people around them, compromising their first and most important relationship; there relationship with God. He paints a vivid contrast to the spiritual state of a believer compared to an unbeliever and then explaining why such a contrast exists, because God made us vessels that would worship him and be a witness of His Gospel.

Another view of relationships and of being yoked is from Matthew, where Christ pronounces his gracious authority to establish a relationship with the Father by simply coming to Him with all our burdens and misconception about God and receive rest in coming to Christ and following Him. We have a refuge in Jesus from the world's attack by knowing God Father through His Son.

Pondering these two verses, I can't help but be convicted that I am yoked. We are all yoked to someone or something. But are my relationships reflective of how God purposed relationships, characterized by righteousness, restfulness, holiness, worshipfulness, gospel-centeredness, etc.

May God give me the conviction to take my relationship with Him seriously, so that in all I do, say, or think, it may reflect the glory of Jesus Christ onto a world that has not experienced such honor or riches. May I humbly follow Christ and put on His yoke, rather than following my own desires and in so doing rejecting the only truly satisfying relationship with the Creator. May God give me relationships where His purposes are clear and my own purposes redeemed by Christ's blood. May I hold strong to being yoked to Christ.

Worship I Want to Experience

Last night, I read a blog entry from Worship Matters, where Bob Kauflin shared an excerpt of a interview he had with Tim Smith asking him questions on worship. I was struck by the content of the interview. Bob Kauflin shared this:

"I said that if worship leaders simply lead people into a desire to repeat what we just did, or the 'worship experience,' we haven’t done what we’re called to do. I make the point that for worship leaders in the church, our job isn’t to lead a worship experience, but to build a worshiping community."

This a convicting statement for me as a person sitting in the pew. If this is the goal of every worship leader to help encourage us to lead a life of worship, not just feeding off an experience, I can't help but be praying for these guys! Its not just about good music or the right song selection, but its about edifying me and the rest of in the pew to live life worshiping God, not just on Sunday, but everyday, even until our Lord returns and then after!

I can't help but be led to the the passage in Romans 12:1-8, where the Apostle Paul writes to church in Rome about worship. Worship is our response to God's mercy, where we live our lives as holy and living sacrifices to God. This looks like, at least in the context, us serving one another with the gifts God has given. This seems to be where Bob Kauflin's worship paradigm is founded, according to the movement of the interview.

May the Lord provide me the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the heart to understand what it means to worship Him. May he bless all the brothers and sisters out there using their gifts to lead the body of Christ into a worshipful lifestyle, not just an experience. May Christ get all the glory.

Abba! God the Father

Last night, I was up till 12:30 spending time with two brothers in Christ. We shared. We prayed. We fellowshipped. It was a refreshing feeling, where we felt God's presence and love and where I faithfully believe the Lord loosed spiritual bonds that were hindering us from experiencing the relationship Christ promises.

By the end, one of the brothers began encouraging us to experience God the Father as 'Abba' Father, not just that far away 'Dear God' type of prayer life that I know I have gotten used to. Oddly, out everything spoken the whole night, this encouragement/exhortation was the hardest to accept. Perhaps, it because its the most important and critical aspect of my walk that must be rearranged or perhaps just the feeling that I know right now, 'I'm not there yet'. However, I want that relationship.

So, pondering this, the Holy Spirit brought to mind a couple of verses. Romans 8:12-18, tells us of the assurance of the Holy Spirit's change in our being, witnessing to us that we are God's children, being able to call to God the Father as 'Abba' or 'Daddy'. This for me is very challenging. Though I know that this is true, I must confess I need to experience this tremendously more.

Another verse is Luke 11:1-13, where Jesus describes how to pray and the attitude we must have when we prayer; primarily of perseverance, of faith in the Father's character, and of knowing He will provide that which is best and not something fake or dangerous. Even more awesome is that Christ tells us God's desire and intention is to give us the Holy Spirit, if we indeed dare to ask for such a wonderful thing.

Abba, I am poor and weak, but you have called me to yourself through Jesus Christ. Abba, please give me the Holy Spirit to empower me to be your child, to do what your child does, and most importantly to help your child experience you as Your will desires. Please bless your children.

Eagerly Waiting in Grace

Last night at bible study we studied Hebrews 9:11-28. It was very gory passage talking about blood of animals and the blood of Christ and how a will and covenant are enacted only when certain conditions are met, being death or a sacrifice of life. But as it winded down to the end the passage, the words that really help me experience the awe of God's plan of salvation was verses 27-28.

In verse 27, the writer of Hebrews in very simple words lays down the utter hopelessness of man, destined to die and to be judged by a Holy God with a verdict of guilty for sin and thrown into the fire of eternal punishment. But in verse 29 this same God before the world was created planned to become man and planned to die that He may bring salvation to those he had chosen.

The interesting thing is the very last part words from verse 28, which says that Christ brings salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him. I have been hearing the term the 'truth of now and not yet', where there exists a scriptural tension where a concept is true right now, but will realized truly later on. Such is our salvation. I am saved through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone right now, but the true experience of salvation will not occur until the return of Jesus Christ. So the question I've been asking myself is whether I am eagerly waiting Christ's return.

Lord please give me a desire to not just experience you now, but also to desire to see you truly when you return as our Lord of lords and King of kings. Please change my motivations and actions that they may reflect and revolve around your return Lord Jesus.

Gratitude, Obstacles, and Seasons

Tonight's 4th installment of Soul Care Class taught by Pastor Freddy Baez was again a refreshing time of receiving care and learning more about how to care for others. What was taught was both deeply practical, but also deeply spiritual. The following was what I learned and took from the class tonight.

Expounding from Psalm 119:27, Professor Baez shared that sometimes we fall into situations where we do not feel the truth of God in our own fractured reality. Because of this, as we experience times when things are going against us, we must set our hearts to thank God and worship God for who He is and what He was done. He then shared one very practical way that helps him see the reality of God. Every night Pastor Baez practices what he calls the 'Discipline of Gratitude', where as he is laying down to sleep, he counts and names the blessing God has provided for him this past day. He simply begins this time with God by thanking God for allowing him to come back to his own bed to sleep, not a jail cell bed, nor a cardboard box on the street, nor a friend's couch do to some unfortunate circumstances. He just thanks God for a comfortable bed to sleep in tonight, then continues to thank God for every blessing both big and small.

Another topic shared tonight was 'Obstacles that cause a Non-Growing Spiritual Life'. First was guilt or not having a clear conscience before God, caused by unrepented sin or incorrect understanding of God. Second was lack of personal pray or not spending time with Christ, sharing time in simple deep fellowship with God. Third was a lack of spending time in the Word or not knowing the mind of Christ, where we live life not feeding spiritually from God or still drinking milk even though we should be working on meatier understanding from the Scripture. And lastly was lack of purpose or understanding of our part in God's ministry in the Body, where a believer is not serving God and being part of God's community, using one's gifts.

And the last thing I left with was homework to think about what season of our spiritual walk we are in based on a biblical character. The Pastor shared about whether we might be Nehemiah, where we are working on rebuilding ourselves or helping to rebuild something spiritual. Or perhaps, Jonah, rebelling against God's command and experiencing the repercussions of disobeying God. I have been pondering this and trying to evaluate who I feel I am in the scripture right now.

May the Lord help me to have eyes that see His blessings and give thanks for them. May the Lord help me spot what obstacles lay in from of me in growing closer to Christ. May God help me to understand where I am spiritually in my walk so that I might study and see how God is using me, training me, and/or changing to be more like His Son, my Lord.

When Feelings Try to Rule

Today I have been feeling distance from the presence of God. Perhaps its some unresolved sin in my life. I am in the process of evaluating. Things do feel a bit different than before. When I felt this distance from God, there was always this feeling of inadequacy, which would lead me to various addictive vices to try and fill the emptiness. Now, as I try to focus on the cross rather than my feelings, I have found myself running to God's Word, realizing his presence may not be felt, but His Word is a constant reminder of His presence and desire to speak with me.

Today, my men's group went over the 2nd part of the Gospel of John. I couldn't help being encouraged by Christ's promise to give us joy, to give us peace, to allow us to pray, and to give us a relationship with God the Father. We also read Psalm 139 in our weekly church prayer meeting, which helped me see the amazing truth of God's knowledge. Then at the close of the meeting, I felt God lead me to dwell on Psalm 23.

May God help me to persevere and to lean on truth more than feelings. May pour into my heart his peace, love, mercy, kindness, patience, and joy than come from His Holy Spirit.

The Grace of God by A.W. Pink

Chapter 13 of A.W. Pink's The Attributes of God end with the following words:

"God the Father is the Fountain of all grace, for He purposed in Himself the everlasting covenant of redemption. God the Son is the only Channel of grace. The Gospel is the Publisher of grace. The Spirit is the Bestower. He is the One who applies the Gospel in saving power to the soul: quickening the elect while spiritually dead, conquering their rebellious wills, melting their hard hearts, opening their blind eyes, cleansing them from the leprosy of sin. Thus we may say with the late G. S. Bishop, Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection."

Pondering and taking in the closing words of the chapter. I see a beautifully vivid picture of God's work of salvation. I also see a most ugly and despicable nature of man, myself included, before being regenerated by the Holy Spirit's power. This passage helps me to see how hopelessly situated I was as an already dead enemy of God. It leaves me no room but to fall on my knees and worship. I can not do nor boast of anything in myself as Ephesians 2:8-10 states. But may I boast in only one thing; the cross (Galatians 6:14).

Family Matters

Lately, I have been feeling an urgency to more clearly define a scriptural family life. It been burning in the back of my mind for quite a while now ever since being married, and yesterday, being at our first family fellowship gathering, brought to surface some thoughts. As we discussed communication, and how critical it is to be able to convey express our feelings, expectation, and our lives clearly, the Lord brought to mind two verses; Genesis 2:24 and Lamentation 3:22-24.

As a couple, my wife and I discussed how our family backgrounds and cultures define how we communicate with one another. I come from a pretty loud family. Arguing or not, we sound like we are yelling at each other. Whereas my wife's family is very quiet. Rarely is a loud uncontrollable laughter ever heard. But if we asked each other, if we experienced happiness and comfort in our mutual families, the answer would be 'yes'. Then we began to discuss how we want our own family to be like. Do we have to bring our old family patterns into our newly found family?

Reading Genesis 2:24, I can't help but feel God is creating something new. While some characteristics from our previous family aren't all bad, the essence is that a new family, a new organism has been created through God's blessing. That means for me that God has allowed us to begin building a new family that can keep to the good experiences and cultural characteristics of our old family, while also throwing away and repenting of unhealthy patterns that hinder my new families present and future health.

Ultimately, I feel like passivity is not the answer to building a family. Christ must be sitting on the throne guiding our every decision and every thought, and we must be responding with urgency knowing that God desires to bless us and make our family a witness to the world. Many times I feel that I wait too much and only respond to the things around us only when the world presents a problem. At the same time, I believe God desires me to be a wise and a hard-working steward of the family he has given us. This means I must think about how to lay foundations and structures in my family to not simply respond to all the world throws at us, but to be able to correctly and efficient manage my family when the storms come rolling in, and they will roll in.

The verse that comes to mind in the process of learning about building my family is the verse from Lamentations. I can't help but feel overjoyed by who our God is reading these verses. Jeremiah shares the overwhelming sadness he feels looking at the present state of Israel, God's chosen people. After years and years of sinning, God brings the nation into exile, leaving the city in waste. But Jeremiah, though faced with the judgment of his kindred, still sees God's love and mercy always new every morning.

In the same way, I feel like many times our pasts tend to define our present state whether it is individually, as a family, and as a community. But God's love and mercy for us as blood washed believers never ends and renews itself every morning as we wake up. This encourages me to rely on God to continue on building, cultivating, and leading my family the way God has envisioned. I may make mistakes; I may miscommunicate with my wife and children; I may find myself feeling hopelessly tired, but God's there providing me with everything I need to repent and continue building and defining our family.

May the Lord have mercy on our family, and continue to provide wisdom, provision, and joy in Jesus as we reform our family and continue on reforming as God convicts us and shows us His most awesome and perfect will.

Satisfying Sunday... More Conviction

Today was a great Sunday. Even though the day was filled with activities, God brought tremendous rest to my soul. Worship was a huge blessing as I felt the Holy Spirit pushing through my heart and hopefully the hearts of other worshipers too.

Additionally, by God's grace, my pastor shared how he spent his vacation several weeks ago. He described how he left the hustle and bustle of New York City and arrived at his father's farm several hours away. And though he was on vacation he found himself, by the request of his dad, softening soil for the planting of corn and mowing his dad's lawn and the neighbor's lawn too. Was my pastor tired? Probably. Was he disappointed that he didn't get to rest and relax? No! He enjoyed every moment of it, serving His dad, which flowed from a life long relationship built upon God's grace.

I sat in the pew thinking about how God's been convicting me of my own unhealthy relationship with my dad. My pastor's story has given me renewed hope that God can bring to life what is dead and allow me to mend the mutual pain my father and myself have caused each other.

May the God of peace and joy, grant me peace and joy as he brings to light my sin and helps me to be rid those things that keep me away from experiencing more of Christ. My father and I develop a relationship that reflects a healthy relationship with God.

As Christ Honored the Father...

This morning as I was playing Hillsong's 'Hosanna' on my guitar, I couldn't help experience the awesomeness and hugeness of God and the ugliness and depravedness my own sin. It really hit when I began to sing the bridge of the song.

'Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity'

What God exposed through His grace was my lack of love and lack of forgiveness I have towards my father. Some regretful things happened while I was growing up. And to this point, I don't think my father has truly felt he was wrong for anything. He isn't a believer, and since I became a believer its been a constant uphill battle to show respect and love to my father as I see the fruit of his own sin. This sense of hopelessness feeds my unfaithfulness towards God as I wonder why God can't bring my father to faith and repentance. So as I sang the bridge to 'Hosanna' I couldn't help but sense God pointing the sin in my heart with regard to my dad.

I couldn't control my emotions anymore. And I began to beg God to show me how to follow Him through the commandments 'to love our enemies' (Matthew 5:43-48) and 'honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you' (Exodus 20:2-18). And in an instant, in my mind's eye, God brought me to Gethsemane. The Hoy Spirit brought to life Matthew 26:36-45. I gazed at Jesus on His knees praying to the Father, asking for the Father's will to be done, even if it met death to himself. Jesus was honoring His Father and doing what was required to bring atonement for sin. I felt Christ's exhortation to honor my dad, as Christ also honors His Dad. Its something to pray about as Father's Day comes up.

May the Lord give me the strength, wisdom, and love to see my father as God sees my father. To be able to see that God is working even though I may not see it. May God pour into my heart His grace and mercy, so my words, actions, and thoughts would be saturated with the Cross when next I interact with my dad and there after. May I be less and Christ be more.

A Bigger Life in Christ

Today's blog entry from 'Of First Importance' (here) was a very telling one. It helped put into words what I have been going through for that past weeks. Ever since beginning this blog, I have been concentrating more on following Christ than trying stop sin in my life on my own, and I have found my temptation to be weakened and powerless.

Tonight's a short one entry. I'm just pondering about the Gospel and how following Jesus is really awesome and satifying.

Healing Regret

Today we learned about regret in our 3rd of six sessions learning about 'Soul Care', a introduction to counseling at OCM Church in Chinatown, NYC, taught by Professor Freddy Baez. I learned a very helpful acronym today to help guide me when I need to admonish, exhort, or encourage someone struggling with regret. The acronym is S.E.R.V.E, standing for 'S' for 'Surrender to God', Matthew 16:24-27; 'E' for 'Enquire/Entreat of God', Psalm 55:1-3,16-17; R for 'Relationship with God and His People', 1 John 2:8-13; 'V' for 'Vulnerability with God and His People or Humbleness', Proverb 16:18, 1 Peter 5:5-7; and 'E' for' Empowerment from God to others', John 21:17.

So far every Thursday, I have been edified more than expected. Professor/Pastor Baez shared that he expected to not only teach us the material, but that the material would also heal us and change us. Today's lesson helped identify and show me some hard facts. As we looked through the scripture I was struck by how the Word of God acts as a mirror to reflect my shortcomings and my sin, but also my only hope. It brought to mine my sin of pride, my sin of self reliance, my sin of anger, and my sin of not caring for my wife as God has called me to.

When I returned home, I reread the passages above. The passage that seem to jump out at me was the verse from John 21. I began reading John 21:15-19. In the passage, we read about the resurrected Jesus interacting with Peter. Just several days ago Peter denies Jesus, his Discipler, his Lord, his God, his friend, not once, but three times. Peter is recorded as weeping bitterly obviously from guilt, sadness, regret. But now, we see Jesus counseling Peter, restoring Peter. Jesus in turn asks Peter 3 times whether Peter loves him. And each time Jesus responds to Peter's professing of love for Jesus with a command to feed/tend to Jesus' sheep. As we read on through the passage, Christ also reveals to Peter the hard road ahead even as an elderly man. And exhorts Peter to 'Follow Me'.

I can't help but think about God's grace and mercy. I have sinned, I am sinning, and I will sin, but as I seek to truly love Jesus, Jesus will forgive us, heal us, change us and empower us. He doesn't promise us an easy life though, but a life worth following Jesus.

Lord, may you continue to mold me as I stick close to your Son. By your Spirit, show me through your word the sin I have committed against you and restore me through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

The Only Fear That Matters

Today was a pretty stressful day at work. We had inspectors surveying our institution for the past 3 days. And as I thought I wouldn't have to make contact with them, today I was called right smack in the middle. All the big heads were there from my workplace. Honestly, a sense of fear began to sneak into my heart and mind. But God graciously, provided the right perspective. His word reminded where my true fear ought lie; not in man, but in God, as it is proclaimed in Psalm 118:5-7.

So I wanted to share what the scripture has taught me about fear. I should fear God because He is the Creator and the Blesser (Revelation 14:7). I should fear God because He and He alone can help me in my struggles and my fears (Isaiah 35:3-5). I should fear God because he is my Redeemer, who promises to help (Isaiah 41:12-14). I should fear God because he lovingly and purposefully created me (Psalm 139:12-14). And I should fear God because He knows the plans he has in stored for me (Jeremiah 29:10-12).

Isn't it strange? As a believer in Christ, I fear God not because He is a holy watchdog out to hunt me down when I sin, but because he is almighty, loving, merciful, and kind, who has all the right to destroy me for eternity, who doesn't need me, but graciously calls me to himself through His Son and by His Holy Spirit. The ultimate and most awesome fear is the fear of God, which empowers me to fight all other fears. Praise the Lord, our Almighty and Most Powerful God!

Christ, The Knowledge of God

Today more than usual, I found myself running to the Cross to find refuge, safety, and peace. For some reason my thoughts today floated towards sin than towards God. Thoughts of anger, pride, and lust attacked me as I began walking out of the house. But thank God, I felt the Holy Spirit also kick it up a notch to allow me to fight for what is true, good, and satisfying. He witnessed to my heart about the power of the Cross.

The sinful thoughts have died down so far, and I have been left with two pieces of scripture that have really kept me focused on Jesus. The verses are Matthew 11:25-30 and 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.

As I was battling out with the sin present in my thoughts, I tried my best to enact the second part of 2 Corinthians 10:5, 'take every thought captive to obey Christ'. It was vague to me what I was doing though. Only later, in trying to describe the war going on in my mind, did my friend lead me to this verse. And I read it and I never realized that this verse is in the context of inner spiritual turmoil going on in the church of Corinth, surfacing as prideful arguments caused by strongholds of sin. This is in conflict with the knowledge of God, and to fight this I must come to Christ with everything. Christ discerns for me what is true and good.

While pondering this, I also thought about the verses from Matthew 11. I came across these verses several days ago. And what I noticed there that I never noticed before was the fact that before Jesus calls us to come to him to get rest, He thanks God the Father and describes His relationship with the Father and describes our relationship with Himself, where Jesus focuses on the revelation of the knowledge of God the Father, which Christ reveals.

Pondering these two verses together I couldn't help see the common point, which is the knowledge of God. Paul talks about bringing all thoughts to obey Christ that we may not be hindered about the knowledge of God and that we may have the authority to discern falsehood and rebuke it. John talks about coming to Christ to receive rest from our labor and our burdens, where I believe that rest for our souls occurs because Christ reveals to us the knowledge of God. So as I look at these two passages I can't help be spill out in worship for Christ! I know God because of Christ! Wow!

May I continue to see Christ as most awesome, because through him I know God and know what it means then to be a child of God. All glory and honor and praise be unto Him! And may the sweet, awesome knowledge of God through the Holy Spirit continue to change me and make me more a man of God, a husband of God, a brother of God, a child of God... ultimately more like Christ. Amen.

How Fragile I Am

This past weekend was a very awesome weekend. The Lord opened the opportunity for me to share the Gospel with 4 people. However, speaking honestly, though sharing the Gospel gave me a spiritual high, the after effects were not as welcomed. I must confess my biggest weakness in sharing the good news is myself. I must constantly refocus and put all my faith in Christ's work, not my own. I tend to feel very excited, but also very fearful that I might have said the wrong words. I tend to feel an awe about pointing people to the eternal God, but I also feel hopeless when I think about them not accepting His grace. I tend to feel disappointment, wishing that God would call them to himself right then and there, but they don't. However, I also have hope that someone else would reap what God allowed me to sow. I can only find one word to describe my state during and after sharing the Gospel. That word is fragile.

As I prayed, confessing my sin of unfaithfulness, asking him to help me understand all the emotional highs and lows, asking him to help me grow from the tension experienced and involved with sharing the Gospel. The Lord led me to think about clay jars. 2 Corinthians 4, takes us beside Paul as he is describing His ministry of sharing the Gospel and the hope therein. I could not help, but be comforted by Paul's words, as if he were writing to me. I was encouraged as follows:

1) Verses 1-2 tells me that the Gospel truth is to be presented simply and that it is nothing to be ashamed of.

2) Verses 3-6 tells me that if I do not see the Gospel penetrate into the lives of the hearer, I do not need to feel responsible for their rejection of it and that Jesus must continue to be the main focus.

3) Verses 7-12 tells me that I am fragile, but God has given me and all believers a treasure to behold and to share with others. The Gospel shows me that I am weak, but God is strong. That my goal is to be as John the Baptizer said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 2:27-30).

4) Verses 13-15 tells me my only power and hope should come from Jesus' and that as I share I must keep focused on Him. That my goal in sharing God's grace with others is for them to have thankful hearts, so that God gets the Glory

5) Verses 16-18 tells me that all the negativity I experience should be compared to the Gospel to help me understand that this world and myself are not the goal. Heaven and being in God's presence is the goal, which is a promise God has provided through faith in Jesus Christ.

May God help me to be an effective and humble vessel to bring the Gospel to the lost. May God help convict in me that it is not by wisdom, nor by might, but by the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6). May God help me to see Him working and not myself.

A Holy Appointment with a Train called Grace and Mercy

Do you have a needy people in your spiritual community? One who you dread receiving a phone call from, because you know an inconvenient request will be made by them? Yesterday night, I was presented with an opportunity to serve a elderly believer at church. It would take several hours of my time, so that the person may serve and show love to their own family living a distance away.

I admit I do not have a servant heart. I do WHAT I want to do, not what others may need. I honestly was real annoyed, but as the night winded down, I reluctantly began to give in to the request and made a decision to give the elderly person a call to let them know I was willing to honor their request.

God taught me something huge. When I called this morning, the person said that the favor wasn't needed anymore and that they had to get off the phone, because they were watching a sermon on TV about 'grace and mercy'. Those words 'grace and mercy' echoed in my ears, then into my mind, and then into my heart. It felt like an oncoming train just hit me even though I had seen it coming miles away. To add salt to my wounds the elderly person had a gift for me when I reached church that morning! OUCH!

God taught me something about my attitude and motivations. As I wrote in my last blog, as a believer I am saved by grace through faith, that I may not boast but live a life of humility knowing how awesome it is to be saved and how blessed it is that God served me first before I even had existence on this earth. But not just that, my own life has been changed by Jesus such that it should be identified not just as being saved, but identified also with good works.

I thank God for His mercy to help me see my sin of hypocrisy, my sin of disloyalty, and my sin of pride. May God through His Holy Spirit help me to live not as I want, but as He wants, motivated by His 'grace and mercy'.

A Workmanship of God

Workmanship means to be a product of a workman's effort or endeavor. Tonight at church, we had a special praise night event, where the theme was serving. The worship time was great, and seeing the youth and the young adults working together to get this event going, was very encouraging. What also hit me was the message.

As part of the preaching speaker spoke quickly about Ephesians 2:8-10. These verses from Ephesians has been reoccurring verses for this year. And whenever I hear these verses, I experience both excitement and dread. Excitement because of the familiarity of the section of God's Word, but dread because I wonder what God's trying to tell me.

As I read it, it continues to remind me of God's grace in saving me, not through any of my own doing, but because He was pleased to save me. More than that, my salvation is not just personal experience, but God saved me because he has a plan for me. A plan that involves me doing good works. This is pretty cool. That means my good works aren't what I have to do to gain God's favor, but good works, based on the verses, in my life happens through Jesus Christ and what He has done. May I continue to witnssing all satisfying, all empowering, all merciful, all graceful events that testifies to God's plan to save me and save the whole world...