Growing In Christ – Is Your Water Safe?

Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 NASB

NOTE TO READER: Sometimes I ask myself why I blog so many personal things? My answer to myself is, there just might be someone else out there going through this, too. If exposing myself, and showing what God is doing through my circumstances helps someone else, then I am glad to be laid bare so that God will be glorified. God is doing a great work in all of us.

My mom wrote me, recently, and asked me if I have any good news to report. I don’t want to lie to my mom, but I don’t want to go into a litany of how hard things are either.

So, I thought about it for a few minutes.

I can say with great joy that a sink hole has NOT sprouted underneath our house. THAT is very good news. I actually feel like I dodged a bullet there.

What else is good news? Let’s see… … OH! Here is another bit of good news. So far, the Bubonic Plague has avoided our neighborhood. I can’t tell you what a relief THAT is. Nothing like a flood of rats invading your neighborhood, and starting a plague, to put you in a foul mood. I find it difficult to look on the bright side as I cough up a lung. Call me a buzz kill, but there’s the truth at last.

Even more good news….my kittens have discovered the joys of attacking rolls of toilet paper. It looks as if teenagers sneaked into my home and rolled the interior of my house. I am not sure I want to know how two very tiny kittens got toilet paper draped all over my ceiling fan. But there it is.

Before I could burst into flames and get mad, I had to do a gut check. These are, after-all, mere kittens. Serving them up for dinner might be an overreaction on my behalf. So, I wanted to look on the bright side. I looked, and looked…and looked.

This is all I could come up with: If we are ever invaded by hordes of ravaging rolls of toilet paper, our home is safe. Our kittens would be heroes of epic proportions.

See… that is good news, right?

Aside from not having a sink-hole filled with plague, and toilet paper, in my neighborhood, I have been having a difficult time looking for excuses to do the happy dance.

There is this pesky thing called circumstances. Some circumstances loom large enough to make you look forward to rampaging rolls of toilet paper.

What do I do with the circumstances in my life when all they want to do is bring me bad news? Not bad news like, “Hey, Dude, you have a flat.”, but the bad news that the continued onset of unemployment brings? What do I do when life gets real?

Do I embrace the fear and let it tear me apart? Do I wallow in the immobility of that fear, like a deer in the headlights? When life gets real, what do I do?

Here, again, is where we have had to learn that the Warriors of God do battle best when they are on their knees. When the world is taking your home away, when your friends have given up on you for being a constant failure. When no one will hire you for what ever the reason of the day is…what do you do?

Do I let the overwhelming doubt and fear I feel consume me? Do I paint my world in the colors of fear and panic and doubt? I have learned that, when I paint like that, I have put an ugly filter on every thing I see, do and believe. It is in this fear that I can really mess up my head. You can believe you are a failure. You can believe this is the end. You can believe there are no answers. And that becomes your reality.

Some realities you may have to endure. Looming homelessness is not one I want to experience, but if it does, what will flow through my heart? I will I curse God and die? Will I abandon this faith I have been writing about? There are some circumstances that no amount of “Positive Affirmation” will overcome.

But when I am blocked by raw panic and fear, there is one thing I can do. I can trust God that, no matter what my circumstances are, He is aware of them. I know that God is my Father. God has no evil intent for me. He has only good and loving kindness for me.

I rest assured in His love for me. Losing everything I have might be the very best thing that could happen to me. I know that, when I come through this, I will be a better Child of God for it. Sometimes God has to purify us so that all idolatry is burned away from our hearts. What I will gain from this trial is far better than anything I will lose.

The blessings do not begin until I learn that I can trust God with all confidence and unconditionally. In my poverty, I can assure you, dear reader, that God is love. In my need, I have learned to pray blessings on you. In my salvation, I pray for your salvation. I have been given a gift of Love that was never there before. And I can tell you, my brother, that I love you without condition, just as God loves me.

I have peace in the midst of this storm. That is the benefit of knowing God. I cannot imagine going through this trial without the strength of God in me. I have been stricken in my body, I have been stricken in my wealth, I have been stricken in all the things I hold dear and valuable, but I am willing to lose all I am and have if it will draw me closer to God.

WATCHING MY HEART

Here is why I am writing you, my friend. Jesus said this: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:38 NASB

Left to my own devices, raw sewage would flow from my heart. But Christ has changed, and is changing me. I just have to be careful to guard what I let into my heart. It doesn’t take much plutonium to poison an entire river.

Because Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, I have something I never had before this. I have hope. I have faith. I have love. These things live in my heart.

HOPE: I have hope that God will take away everything that gets in between He and I, and I will be made into the image of Christ. I have the hope of eternal life in me. I am saved. Nothing the world can do can take that from me.

FAITH: I have faith that, no matter what my circumstances are… “…I know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” And I am definitely called according to His purpose. It doesn’t matter why I am in the circumstances I am, whether my foolishness brought this on, or it is by design, or any other reason you can think of. I know that GOd turns even our worst mistakes and trials and troubles into blessings.

I have faith that this is exactly what God is accomplishing in me, today.

LOVE: I have Love in my heart where, just a few months ago, I had a heart of stone. I receive this love from the Father, and I gladly give this love to you, and anyone else that needs to see that; in this cold and callous world filled with darkness, fear and hatred, there is one who loves you more than anything else in all of creation. God loves you. God IS love. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God when we belong to Him through Christ Jesus, our savior and lord.

BREAKING THE DAM

My fears can block that flow. My doubts can turn this flowing river into a stagnant lake full of unclean things. When I take the reins from God’s Hand, and tell God, “I got this, God”,I have just blocked the flow of faith, love, hope and joy. I have turned the living waters into a cup of sweet poison.

Faith, Hope, Love, Joy…these are all gifts from the Loving and ever giving God. They are our possession because of Jesus Christ. They belong to us in abundance only in as much as we are willing to give it away.

I can look at my circumstances, or I can look at what I DO have. I do not have wealth. I do not have a home. I do not have many possessions, but what I do have, I give freely. I give because God gave freely to me through Jesus Christ.

It isn’t when we have things from God that we become wealthy, it is when we, in our poverty, approach God, our Loving Father, in Heaven, and trust Him that we have all our provision. And what he gives in abundance, we give likewise.

Today, all I have to offer is this Hope: You can have eternal life if you accept the sacrifice that Jesus made, on the cross, on your behalf.

Today, all I have to offer is Faith: Faith in God, faith in the atonement for my sin, faith that all things will work out for my good. How will I know what being poor is like unless I comprehend it? How will I understand giving until I am in need? How will I see God’s provision unless I have been driven to the place where that is all I have left? I pray you never ask to be made into the image of Christ unless and until you understand this; God will do whatever it takes to humble you, and make you aware of what is important to him.

Today, all I have to offer you is this Love: That God loves you enough that he, in the form of Jesus Christ, came to this earth in the flesh, a perfect man, and for our sake, took on the responsibility for all our sin, and died on the cross for that sin. His love for us held Him to that cross until the entire debt was paid.

When Jesus said. “It is finished”, he announced the begging of your life, if you accept it. You are already dead in your sin, if you chose to be. You will have eternal life in Him, if you accept this free gift.

This is what I have to share with you. Maybe in time, God will bless me in ways that I will have the heart and means to seek out the poor, the lost, the starving, the prisoner, the naked, the sick and bring them to the living waters I have found.

My Prayer: Dear God, My Heavenly Father, I praise you that you love me enough to discipline me. I am joyful, deep in my soul, that you are making me into the image of your Son. I pray, Lord, in Jesus Name, that you get me out of the way so that your son, Jesus Christ will be all people see when they meet me. I pray abundant blessings on everyone who reads this poor tome. I pray you fill them with your love, just like you have filled me with your love. I pray that you are their provision. I pray that, where this ill-health, you heal it, where there is discord, you make holy harmony. I pray where there is lack in you, you become the abundance they need. Teach us to not inhibit the flow of your love and calling. Make us all fountains of YOUR living water.

In Christ here is life, love, healing, hope, faith, and most of all, there is LOVE.

Let’s be about it.

I love you

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Growing In Christ – Dealing With Your Past

English: Broken Heart symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This tome is written to men and women who, like me, strayed from the Love of God and the Joy of Salvation, and lived a life that you’d rather forget ever happened. I am writing this to you. I am writing this from a lesson I am going through as we speak.

I want to try to prepare you that this is coming. I knew in my heart of hearts that, eventually, the Lord will deal with this issue in my life, but was still blindsided by the intensity of it. Not every act of obedience will bring immediate joy, but it will eventually lead you to a joy that you will never understand until you grow in Christ.

God’s discipline is a good thing, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. Remember, God disciplines the ones He loves. When He disciplines you, it is in love, not wrath. Jesus already took on the wrath of your sin. What God is doing is a gift of the Holy Spirit, so that you will grow to be like Christ in all things.

The hard work of the walk is, after redemption, you still have to deal with the mess you made in the wake of your fallen state. You will have to deal with the forgiveness and contempt you hold for yourself. You will have to deal with the anger and unforgiveness of others. You will get to learn what grace feels like when others forgive you, and mean it from their hearts.

God wants to take you from where you are positionally in Him, forgiven and complete, to where His view of you in Christ is materially obvious to others, so that, when you live, you will live in the image of Jesus Christ. There are still lost souls out there who need to know that it is possible to get from where they are to where God is.

First, I need to define some very real truths:

1. Accusation is from Satan. When the enemy (Satan, the World, etc) decides to point out your flaws, you will feel condemned, unworthy of the love of God, and basically, despair. The accusations of Satan are like tormenting fires. His accusations are arrows that hit you and burn you. The goal of Satan is to get your eyes off the work the Spirit of God is doing in your heart. The goal of Satan is to get you to take your eyes off Jesus. The goal of Satan is that you forget the joy of your salvation.

2. God is Love. God, in His love of you, disciplines you. He does not condemn. Your condemnation was taken care of on the Cross of Christ. If you have accepted the Salvation of Jesus Christ, then your sin is forgiven. The Bible makes it clear that there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. You are not going to Hell. You are saved. Nothing can take that away from you.

3. We have to grow up, sometime. God insists you grow up in all ways to be like His Son, Jesus Christ. You were not raptured the second you believed because God intends to use you in His service. He wants to make you into something beautiful so that others will be drawn to the saving glory of Jesus Christ. He will not allow you to be comfortable in your old habits. However, this, too is optional. You will grow into Christ likeness only as you are willing to grow, and eager to surrender your old ways to His new ways.

THE SUBJECT AT HAND

The groundwork is laid, and I hope you got it. I am deeply sorry if I have done an inadequate job of not making the above clear. But if this is you, you will know it. If this is not for you, please pray for the person that is going through this.

A: The Unforgiveness and contempt you hold for yourself.

This is a tough one. The more tender-hearted you become, the more you realize what a large swath of pain and confusion and anger you have left in your wake. This is, perhaps, the strongest shock to your system you will face. This is where you have to learn some important lessons.

LESSON 1: You are Forgiven.

Where did your salvation come from? It came from the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. The perfect human took on all our imperfections and our sin and was nailed to the Cross and died for them. In His dying, Jesus absorbed and accepted all the complete wrath of God. “For the wages of sin is death.” And Jesus paid that wage for you. When you realized that you were in sin, and you were led to the Cross of Christ, and confessed your sin, you immediately felt the forgiveness of God, and His cleansing Breath (Ruach Ha’Kodesh – The Holy Spirit) enter you and cleanse you of the stain of your sin. You are forgiven.

LESSON 2: Forgive Yourself.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9

It is hard to look at the destruction our pre-Christian lives left behind. And if you took the time and diligence, as I did, to make a thorough mess, there will be more to face and deal with. Sometimes you just have to take things one at a time. Sometimes, you will have to face it over and over.

Sometimes Satan, the World, and others, will not let you forget what you have done. This feeds the fire of your unforgiveness of yourself Here you have to cling to the truth that God has forgiven you. He has cast your sin as far away from Himself as the East is from the West. God has chosen to forget your sin. When God sees you, He sees His beloved Child, covered in the blood of Christ, who died for that very sin you are beating yourself up over. When others want to rehearse your sin, when YOU want to rehearse that sin, you have to return to what you know.

You know that you are forgiven.

WHAT ABOUT THE PAIN?

The grief you feel is the grief God felt when you did all that destruction. It is actually healthy. Before you were saved, you may have felt a bit guilty, or not. You probably went along justifying your actions, like I did. Eventually, you built up a wall around yourself so that other’s couldn’t bother your conscience. The thing about walls, while they effectively keep others out, they also keep you imprisoned in your own world. You become unapproachable, unteachable, unassailable, and unwelcome.

There will be some measure of pain when this wall is torn down. The reason you feel this pain is because you finally have a conscience. Embrace the pain, and take it to God. Don’t deny the pain you feel. It is normal. It is what remorse is supposed to feel like. You feel remorse because God intends to grow you up, and teach you how to deal with your messes. Learn from this remorse, and see what God wants you to do with it.

The Evangelism of today teaches something quite different. It teaches you that you can just walk away from all your past without a second thought of the harm you have done to others. This is an ungodly teaching. Modern Evangelism teaches that there is no need to repent of sin, or regret your sin, that that is an unhealthy emotion that is bad for your self-esteem.

The Good news of being a Child of God is, you are no longer the sinful you. It stops being about you. It starts being about being remade into the image of Christ. In that rebuilding process, you will find freedom and joy. To assume there is nothing to go back and make right is one of the most self-indulgent things you can ever believe.

The pain of seeing, finally, what you have done to others is healthy. It is so that you will be able to see outside of your own self-interest and see what others had to endure because of your sin. This pain is actually the road to your freedom, as it drives you to obey God and make things as right as you possibly can. How rich and joyful is the Grace of God, and His mercy. What a sense of freedom you will know when you obey God, and do His will.

Part of the pain is that the old self just doesn’t want to die, and the new self doesn’t need all that baggage your old self left at the door. The New Self, the new creation, has to deal with this. The new self can deal with it because Christ makes you able. In Him is your strength. You can do all things through Christ.

You will have to deal with the anger and/OR unforgiveness of others.

This is where you get to have YOUR grace and mercy tested. WHere it is at all possible, find the people you caused harm to, find the people you lied to, the people you used, the people you led into sin. Confess what you have done. Seek their forgiveness.

What you will discover:

1. Some people have already forgotten it.

2. Some people remember it, but don’t care.

3. Some people remember it and forgive you anyway.

4. Some people remember and will not forgive you.

5. Some people remember it, will not forgive you, and want you to suffer for it.

6. Some will say they forgive, but the anger that shows in their eyes tell you other wise.

I can go on and on, here. I know about this because in my efforts to make restitution, I have faced everything from happy tears to death threats. And I am not making that up. I have tried my best to exclude exaggeration in my discourse, unless I am trying to emphasize a very obvious point.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THESE PEOPLE?

To those who have genuinely forgiven you, and have shared the fellowship of Joy in the Lord, you have gained a brother.

To those who forgot, you still seek forgiveness, but don’t rehearse the issue. Let it go.

To those who say they have forgiven you, but the look in their eyes tells you otherwise, all you can do is ask their forgiveness. You probably have given them a good reason to write you off, but you cannot beat yourself up over it anymore. You can pray for them. Their anger is their poison. Your prayers are the antidote. Leave it at God’s feet.

This is especially hard when you encounter this attitude with people you genuinely love, and want to have fellowship with. Some hurts never heal. Some people will never like you, or accept you. That is the hard part. But you need to take it to God. And you need to leave it with God.

HERE’S THE GOOD STUFF: You will get to learn what grace feels like when others forgive you, and mean it from their hearts.

This is definitely the good stuff. How sweet it feels when a brother genuinely forgives you and shows it. It is a wonderful thing to gain a brother. It is good that you have a new friend in Christ.

Being shown Grace is powerful. It is the genuine reflection of Christ in others. It teaches you that Grace is obtainable. It teaches you that you can do the same thing. Grace is a gift, and when you receive it, and you give it, it multiplies.

How sweet are the tears that forgiveness brings. How deep is the laughter and joy when you are clean of this sin.

This is what really makes it worth it, from a human stand point.

Being shown grace does wonders for you. It gives you hope, and teaches you that YOU TOO can be Christ like. A living example of a brother showing the character of Christ is good medicine.

It is true that some people are just plain weary of dealing with you. But it is a genuine joy when you encounter real grace.

SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET:

Now that you have reconciled with Christ, all the skeletons get to come out of the closet. As scary as this sounds, this is a good thing. God will take your past and turn it into a blessing. If you have told God you want Him to make you into the image of Christ, and into His Character, then all the closets, both obvious and secret, will eventually have to be dealt with.

Don’t be afraid of the skeletons. They are dead. If you are in Christ Jesus, you are a new creation. Let love have her perfect work.

Let’s Be About It.

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Have a Heart

Dr. Martin Luther King at a press conference. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Samuel 16:7

English Standard Version (ESV)

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King marched on Washington D.C., and gave one of the most stirring speeches I have ever heard in my life. I still get chills when I hear recordings of his landmark speech, and want to shout AMEN!

My formative years were in the South. I have very clear and vivid memories of the race riots. I recall that restrooms and buses and most public discourse was very divided along racial lines. Later on in life, our family moved to Texas. I was in 6th grade by that time.

I had family members in Mississippi who were in the Klan, and I never understood why they were so angry at everyone else. What I did know from the Klan was, it was founded by the Democrats. You couldn’t hold down a job in Louisiana if you weren’t a democrat, back then. My Uncle was some kind of grand poobah in the Klan.

It wasn’t until I moved to Brownwood, Texas that I encountered different races. I loved it. I embraced it. I did this because, regardless of the color of their skin, they wanted love just as bad as I did. And I didn’t know I was supposed to not like anyone that was not white.

I heard just as much racism in Brownwood as I heard in Louisiana. This time it was divided along MANY lines; Black against White, Black against Hispanic, Hispanic against Black, Hispanic against White. White against Black, White against Hispanic.

I still didn’t get it. Why were the same people I was going to Church with, the ones who say Jesus is their Lord, behaving this way? Why were Christians of other races doing this, too?

Maybe I didn’t know I was supposed to be a racist. No one in my family ever said I needed to hate anyone. So I didn’t. Three of my closest friends were not white. One was black, and gay, one was Hispanic, and one was American Indian. It never occurred to me that their skin color should matter. I was taught all my life that God is love, and that we are to love one another.

When I got to High School, I was the only white guy in the first ever Black History class at Brownwood High School. I wrote my Term Paper on John Washington Carver. That really opened my eyes. I memorized Dr. King’s speech. I analysed it to the nth degree.

The one thing that Dr. King asked everyone to understand was that we all live for the day when we are not judged on the basis of our skin color, but on the content of our character.

I am not saying this so “Whitey” can play up to the brother. That is not at all my motive. You will like me or hate me for reasons that are your own. I cannot control that.

This is why I am writing this blog, tonight.

The prophet, Samuel, went to find the future King of Israel among the brothers of David. God rejected all of them, then told Samuel to anoint David as the future King of Israel. Samuel was flabbergasted. The Oldest brother was first in line. He was the eldest. He was tall and handsome. But God told Samuel that Samuel was looking only at exterior appearances, but God was looking at the intent of David’s Heart.

What is it that makes any of us worthy of anything? What is it that makes even our enemies respect us? It is a matter of the intent of our heart.

Do I want to hold a grudge against anyone, regardless of skin color? What gives me that right? If I take my judgement over the will of God for a person, I am rebelling against God.

Do I want to hold on to a bias, a racism, a hatred that is generations old? Why? The problem is not skin color. It isn’t because I am white, or you are black, or Hispanic, or from the Middle East, or China or Japan, or Mars, even. Your racism has more to do with the love you have of your desire to sin than anything another person’s skin color ever deserves.

Does it matter if that person really hates you? NO. Jesus said to turn the other cheek. He said to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. If racism is a problem for you, look into your own heart. The hate is in there. The ugly creature that loves his skin color above the will of God is the one who is the problem.

God is spirit, and is to be worshiped in Spirit and in Truth. Jesus sent the disciples into all the world to tell of the good news of the coming of Christ. Jesus did NOT say, only if you are a certain skin color. He sent this message out into all the world.

Point all you want at the flagrant racism of people of other color, but first, look into your own heart. Are you not also a racist? Then start there. You cannot serve the Living God and be a racist. It ends in your world when you give your heart to Jesus Christ.

The problem is not skin color. Not really. The problem is the unresolved evil that lives in our own hearts. It is easy to cure, too. Recognize you are in sin when you are being a racist. Confess this sin and ask Jesus into your heart. The Spirit of God will lead you into an understanding of the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The evil that lives in your soul is what makes you hate anyone else. It is not their fault, or their problem. Even if that other person is being a hate filled vile person who wants to kill you simply because your skin is not the same as their skin. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God will teach you a love for them too.

No laws, no legislation, no regulation, no force on earth can change your mind about anything. Not even God, not if you don’t want to change. If you love swimming in the sewage of your own evil thoughts, then disregard this blog.

If you want to end racism, let the Spirit of God change you. You can end it in your heart. Starting with YOU is the first step to healing. Only the Living God can change a man or woman. But not even the Living God can change you if you do not want to change. The only way to get this change is to realize that this sin separates you from God. The wages of sin are death. Jesus Christ came to this planet, as the SOn of God, and died for this sin, along with all other sin. He rose from the dead to prove he is Lord over Life and Death.

Man has tried long enough to force a change that only God can affect in our hearts. All mankind has done is make it worse, by emphasizing it. God makes this a non issue by filling you with His love.

When God looks into your heart, what does He see?

Let’s Be About It!

I love you in the name of Jesus Christ.

David G. Perkins

PS – If you are wondering if I am a white guy, I had a DNA test done. Here is my pedigree: My line begins in Israel. It went from there to Mesopotamia. From Mesopotamia to Greece, where it stayed a very long while. While it was in Greece, it had an affair with some Basque people. After a few Centuries in the Med, we moved to Scotland. From Scotland, to the New World.

I am a mongrel.

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The Adventures of Big Sweety – Chapter 2

Chapter Two

At first, things were a struggle. Not the farm. No, Pop was away enough that everyone else had learned how to do just about everything that needed doing. But for Big Sweety, taking on those unique skills that his Dad brought home with him, became his responsibility. He was glad his Dad had taught him so much about electrical wiring, plumbing, carpentry, painting and all the things that go into turning a house into a home. He had no idea how much work his Dad must have done between adventures in the NAVY. He had lots of opportunity to apply those skills.

Between him and Momma Sweety, the “young ‘uns” had everything they needed to grow up, get an education, and learn to be responsible adults. But Big Sweety had to stay home and help his Momma. Pop’s death was hard on her, and although she always had a song in her heart, and smiled a lot, sometimes, she would get that far away look, and then would go be alone somewhere on the farm. Big Sweety understood. He had to do that, too, sometimes.

Every time Big Sweety and Momma Sweety had a break, though, Big Sweety had to hit the books and do a lot of homework. He thought his Momma was the toughest teacher he ever had. When he took his Senior Year finals, though, he had made the highest scores in the county. Several colleges wrote him saying they would sure love to have him at their school. They offered to pay for everything. He wasn’t sure, yet, that he wanted to go. While he thought about things, he poured himself into the work of the farm. That was two years ago, and he was still thinking.

Momma Sweety knew all along that Dad had been teaching Big Sweety about shooting and survival skills. One day, she came up to him and said, “Sweety, you need to go git yer brothers and teach ‘em how to do all those things your Poppa taught you. They’re old enough, now, and it is time fer ’em to learn.”

Big Sweety looked at his mom as if the poor woman had grown an extra head. “Um…H..how did you know about that?”, stammered Big Sweety.

“Son,” Momma Sweety said, “ a woman grows eyes everywhere when she becomes a Momma. They ain’t no such thing as a secret on my farm. A rooster don’t catch a bug without my knowin’ about it. Now git. Take your brothers and teach ’em how to grow up’n do the “man things” yer dad taught you…and take Daisy, with you too.”

“DAISY?!?!?”, Big Sweety was exasperated at that. “Momma, Daisy is a girl. What’s she need to learn all that stuff for?”

Momma Sweety looked Big Sweety right in the eye and said, “Lookie here, young ‘un. My girls are gonna grow up and know everything your Daddy taught you. I ain’t gonna have no fainting daffodils on my farm. No sirree. A girl can do just about as many things as a boy can do, and they can do some things boys don’t even know exist. So I ain’t gonna have no arguin’. Go git yer sister and teach her just like your poppa taught you.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Said Big Sweety. He knew better than argue with Momma Sweety when she got that look in her eyes. That stare could put the fear of God in a statue. He might be twice her size, and stronger than anyone around, but he was not about to cross Momma Sweety when she starts glancing at the big wooden spoon. She was always telling him, “You still ain’t too old for me to spank, boy!”. He believed her. Besides, he really loved her a lot. She was strong and soft at the same time. Besides, he needed most of those spankings. He was glad she knew when to hug him, and when to swat him. He figured he has to have the best mom in the world.

He went and got Daisy, Dan and “Hassle”, and taught them what his poppa taught him. He also taught them how to do all the things poppa had done to make a house a home. He knew that men played as important a role as women did when it comes to making a home. It’s just that they see different things as being important.

Funny how life just picks up and keeps moving. That was fine with Big Sweety. He had a naturally sunny disposition, and welcomed each new challenge. Nothing seemed to really get Big Sweety down. He has a kind heart, a generous nature, and his Momma was always sayn’, “That pup ain’t never met a stranger!” Which is true. He wanted everyone around him to feel welcome and part of the experience, what ever the experience at the time was.

Faith

King of the Hill

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Ephesians 4:1-7 NASB

Have I ever known the truth of the gospels? Have I brought to the word of God my “informed opinions” about religion, Christ, God , Salvation and Lordship only to see that they are broken on the Rock of our Salvation, Jesus Christ? His word is true. My opinion of His word is formed out of my seeing Him through a Glass Darkly. But the Spirit of God, who dwells in me, gives me sight to see, and ears to Hear. I am able to discern between Heavenly truth, and a false doctrine.

Have I been so caught up in all the false doctrines that have become modern evangelism, that I have lost sight of what is true, what is genuinely Holy, what is eternal? Have I become so “Purpose Driven”, so “Seeker Sensitive”, so caught up in “Church Growth Evangelism” that I have forgotten the very words of Christ? Have I gotten so caught up in the “Word of Faith” Movement that I have turned the King of Glory into a vending machine of my earthly desires? Does my “Emergent Church” become so muddled that the sacrifice of Christ has been turned from a conviction of sin to “Christ is my buddy”, and you can believe what you want about him as long as we all get along?

Christ was speaking plainly when He said of Himself: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” – Matt. 10:34 NASB

If I take my agenda, and use the scriptures to support that agenda, I make either myself a liar, or God. The math is easy. God is not a liar, as there is no hint of darkness in Him. Jesus pointed out that Satan is the father of lies, and those who lie are his offspring. Satan is not God.

Am I worried that I will offend people with my “dogmatic” view? Not any more. I had to come crashing against the hard truths of the Scriptures to learn that the Gospel according to Jesus will offend almost everyone who hears it. My agenda has no place in His kingdom. My purposes are no longer mine, not if Jesus Christ is truly my Lord. If Jesus is my claim to salvation, I have to learn that, while I am positionally complete in God’s eyes, I am complete because the blood of Christ covers me, and the Holy Spirit is in me.

But in order that the unsaved, the dead in the world, can come to life, I have to let that completeness be made manifest in my earthly life. I cannot do that and hang on to my pet theology. As long as I insist that God has to agree with me, I am as big a liar and heretic as Satan is.

American Evangelism is doing all it can to lead people away from the real truths of the Gospel. It eliminates the need for repentance, it makes Jesus your material slave to the benefit of your earthly delights. It makes Jesus equal to all the other ways and theologies of the earth, as if “All Roads Lead To Heaven”.

Ours is an exclusive faith. And it is a hard truth. It is not a popularity contest. It is not a truth derived by a consensus of the people. It is not an excuse to live any way you want just because you have acknowledged that Jesus is real.

Jesus is the King. He is the only way to heaven. He rules and reigns throughout all the Heavens, and is returning to rule on this earth.

He is the King of the Hill by virtue of the Hill He chose to Die on. He said to anyone who will call Him Lord: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? – Matt: 16: 24-26 NASB

That is not a warm fuzzy, people, but that IS what the Lordship of Christ insists on. He is the King of Glory, and the Lord of Hosts. This is a hard lesson for me, but it is what my Lord insists on.

Lift up your heads, O gates,

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in!

Who is the King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.

Psalm 24: 7-10 NASB

Lets be about it!

I love you in the Name of Jesus Christ, My Lord and Savior.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit….

Mathew 5:3 “Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶνοὐρανῶν”

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Jesus

NOTES ARE FROM “THE BLUE LETTER BIBLE“

Textus Receptus

InterlinearReverse Interlinear

English (KJV)	Strong’s	Root Form (Greek)	Parsing

Blessed	g3107	μακάριος makarios	blessed, happy
are the poor	g4434	πτωχός ptōchos	destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford (men of this class most readily give themselves up to Christ‘s teaching and proved them selves fitted to lay hold of the heavenly treasure)
in spirit:	g4151	πνεῦμα pneuma	the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides the soul
for	g3754	ὅτι hoti	that, because, since (Conjunction)
theirs	g846	αὐτός autos	himself, herself, themselves, itself
is	g2076	ἐστί esti	“he/she/it is” (third person singular of ‘to be’)
the kingdom	g932	βασιλεία basileia	the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings
of heaven.	g3772	οὐρανός ouranos	of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Jesus

Jesus has a habit of choosing people who the world will overlook or ignore. They are the common, uncomplicated masses that have nothing but themselves to offer.

Modern Evangelism sells is a faith that emphasizes self; Strength of self-will, strength of a beautiful and optimistic mind-set, the strength of what we bring to the table, what we can offer Jesus, to take or leave. We make of ourselves managers of Jesus call, and make of Jesus nothing more than a vending machine who will make us wealthy and happy and successful.

There is no emphasis on the RICHNESS of His grace, the Joy of His salvation, and the discipleship of Jesus as Lord.

“But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,”

John 2:24 – King James Bible “Authorized Version”, Cambridge Edition

Growing up in evangelic churches in the South, I always heard the phrase, “Decide for Christ”. This emphasizes something that Jesus never trusted: Our way of thought. Jesus did not ask you to “decide for Him”, but that we should yield to Him, and that is entirely different. To choose Christ means you will yield to Him.

Christ’s Kingdom on this earth, in this time, is made up of the “unaffected loveliness of the commonplace” – Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest.

I can be the wealthiest man on earth, and still be poor in spirit. What I am blessed in is my poverty. I tried to conform to His will by my strength, my will, my knowledge, my nobility of disposition. That is where I found that I have nothing in my own soul to recommend me to Him. In my “Religious Bigotry”, I thought I could take everything I am and Christ would have to accept it, just the way it is. I even gave Him permission to, if it actually needed it, to modify what I brought to the table.

On top of that show of raw arrogance, I began to claim treasures from Him. I believed that if I were not successful in the world, beautiful to the world, and holier than anyone else, to be seen in the world as a saint, and a popular one, at that, then I was not standing fast in the completeness of all the Gifts God had given me.

It has taken my material circumstances to teach me that Jesus has no need of anything I bring to Him, and that His blessings are not as shallow as the ones I was “claiming” in His name.

He has no use for me being good, and bringing Him my imperfect accomplishments. It is when I recognize the poverty of my spirit that the Kingdom has a place in me, and I in it. I can enter the Kingdom and possess it only when I recognize what a pauper I am, and understand that treasures are built in Heaven, and that His riches surpass anything that the world has to offer.

No effort of mine will reveal the true loveliness of Jesus and His Kingdom. This kind of loveliness that reveals God is unconscious. The conscious influence I bring is something I add to what the Spirit is trying to do through me, the unconscious and unfiltered loveliness of Christ. It is when I think that I am useful to Jesus, when I contribute MY opinion or My ability, that the loveliness of the Lord vanishes and I take the lime light. The glow of His touch fades because I have taken its place by my strength.

It is when I come to Christ, poor in spirit, that what Jesus said is true: “He that believeth in me, out of him shall flow rivers of living water.” If I stop and look at what is flowing, I immediately spoil and interfere with that flow. It is in my unguarded moments that my real and true relationship with Christ as my Lord is revealed. That is the unconscious and unaffected flow of Christ flowing from you. I cannot improve on that. All I can do is desire more, and as I submit to the Lord, I have more. If I believe I have to stop what I am doing and add to that flow, than I become consciously and willfully an intruder on the unconscious and natural flow of the work of Christ. It is when I keep my eyes on Jesus that I am the most useful to Him. I become a bystander to His glory.

The people who have influenced my walk in the Lord weren’t the ones who thought they did. The people who genuinely influenced me the most were the ones who had no idea that they were even remotely on my radar.

I know when Jesus is at work when He produces, in the common people of life, and the common circumstances they live in, that lovely flowing river of life. It is in the common place that Jesus is most inspiring.

My Prayer: Lord, take me out of the way. Teach me to abandon all the stuff I try to bring to you, and replace it with the knowledge that I am actually poor in spirit. Make me teachable so your living waters will flow out of me.

I get, now, why Paul said that all He had was dung, compared to the greatness of Jesus and His salvation.

To serve Jesus, I must come to Him empty of my self, and desiring to be filled with Him.

Let’s be about it.

I Love You,

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

In light of my last two blogs, I wanted to re-post this.

David G. Perkins

A long time ago, while I was trying to be a student at Seminary, I attended a small church in Fort Worth, TX. This particular church had more Seminary professors per square foot than almost any other church in Fort Worth. I always wondered why this church was as small as it was. The Pastor, another Phd. grad from Seminary, was trying with all his might to get this church to wake up and get about the task of evangelizing.

The Pastor was really working on this, one Sunday morning. His sermon was full of urgency for the call of Christians to obey the will of God. While he was preaching, the free verse narrative came to my mind. When I originally posted this on my old web site, I thought I was giving a clarion call to the church. What I only recently came to understand…

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Faith

Tools in My Tool Box

“Knowledge makes [one] arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” I Corinthians 8: 1-3 NASB

Impress

Seminary did, for me, exactly what it was supposed to do. It provided knowledge for me to put in my tool box, labeled, “Ministry”. Many of my friends in Ruston, Louisiana tried to warn me against going to Seminary. The biggest and loudest argument I heard was, “Seminary will destroy your faith.” Nothing can destroy what God has given you, and if your faith was so easily destroyed, it must not have been real faith in the real God.

Now, since I have been there (No I did not graduate. Circumstances happened in my personal life, and I dropped out to take care of that. I have not returned, even though I would love to. It is not time). I can tell you about knowledge, faith, and Love, and many, many, more things.

At Seminary, I was taught about Love. I learned how to find it in all its richness in the Bible. I learned about the 4 loves. I learned when and why each love is applied. I learned how much more powerful a word it is in Greek and Hebrew than it is in English. I also learned about faith, giving, mercy, grace

I also learned about Adult Education. I LOVE TO TEACH. It is one of my two passions, vocationally. I am also learning to love writing, even though I am a novice at that. I learned about what all the Philosophers, worldly and spiritual had to say about live, love, and the pursuit of happiness.

I suppose that, based on all the stuff I learned at Seminary, I could regale you with a veritable plethora of my Religious, psychological, educational, and scriptural knowledge.

It is only recently that I have learned that these are merely tools in my tool box. I could have a bazillion tools in my tool box, but if I don’t know when and why and how to use them, they are all dead weights. Carrying them just makes me hot, tired, sweaty, and arrogant (Look how BIG mine is!!)

Then it hit me:

“If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” I Corinthians 13:2 NASB

My knowledge is either a stone around my neck, or a fragrant gift of incense from God. It either carries the weight of Law, which has proven not to save any human soul, or it carries the redeeming Love of God.

Knowledge is good to have, but only in one circumstance. If it was given by God to further His kingdom. Yes, knowing Veterinary Science is a gift from God. One of the most Godly men I have known was a veterinarian, serving in Egypt with farmers. He built churches, and helped with his knowledge to reach people who would have not known Jesus otherwise.

Knowledge tends to be at enmity with God. We think knowing a bunch of stuff, especially a bunch of stuff about the Bible makes us Christian. Satan knows the Bible better than almost any of us, but he is far from Christ.

Going to a 6 weeks bible study that covers the word GRACE is not the same as understanding the Grace God showed you through your salvation. One is just knowledge, the other is experience.

Reading all about the word Love is nothing more than noise, unless you have experienced the Love of God.

I may memorize entire books of the Bible, and it is useless knowledge that I will distort to support my own theology.

The only way I can make use of the tools in my tool box is through the direct and meaningful revelation in my heart. If only my mind understands these things, then I am basically useless. But if I know them because God has revealed them to my heart, then I have powerful tools that are energized by the Spirit of God.

Look: I can come across a person with a flat tire, stop and offer a tire jack. But if neither one of us really understands the tire jack, we are both useless, even in the face of the tool.

Or what if I see that person with the flat, and just stop long enough to show them my tire jack, but I am not willing or able to show that person how to use it by example? Again, nothing is accomplished.

What if I yell at that person, “If you only had a tire jack, you wouldn’t be in this spot!”. But I am not willing to show that person that I can use it for them, and teach them where to get one, and how to use it, for themselves? Again, I have useless knowledge.

If I will stop, and share my tire jack, and show them how to use it, and then GIVE THEM MY TIRE JACK, I have been generous in my grace and knowledge. You don’t even have to give them your tire jack, you may just need to make them aware that there are tire jacks, and show them where you got one, WHILE you are helping that person.

Knowledge is no good if I don’t know how to use it. Or WHY I am using it. Nothing God gives us is intended to be our little secret. He expects that, as He has blessed you, you will, out of the love that dwells in you, give without hesitation, the gift you have been given. He promises that, if you give away what He has given you, He will give you more. You cannot out give God, if it is done in Love.

So, what will I do with all my knowledge if I am not willing to know Christ, the Savior and Lord who died for me? I might as well throw it away. At best I will use it to glorify myself, or I will use it to punish someone else.

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, Philippians 3:8 NASB

I would rather unlearn everything I know than live a life that does not reflect the Love Christ has shown me. Being found worthy of Christ is much more important than all our credentials and training and knowledge.

Knowing Christ, and having Love for Him is more than anything any knowledge will give you. And it is the key that unlocks the real knowledge of Heavenly things. It is THIS knowledge that reveals the Love of God in us. It is THIS knowledge that teaches me that Jesus is much more than my savior. It is a love that compels me to want to walk after Christ, as my Lord, too.

My Prayer: Dear God, I think you for your persistent Spirit. I think you that, as painful as it may sometimes be, you are willing to remove from me anything that is not a reflection of Christ in me. I thank you that you give eternal life to those who are dead. I praise you that, where I was once dead, you have raised me from that death. Lord, teach me that knowing you is more important than anything else I can know. AMEN

Let’s be about it!

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Surprised by Giving

I heard a great message today by Michael Yousef. http://www.leadingtheway.org/ “Surely Not Me … And Definitely Not Them

It is definitely worth a listen. You can read my babbling later.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Heb 13:2

The really nice thing that is coming out of my circumstances is, God is using my circumstances to pare me down to what I really believe, to seek that which I do not understand (About God), and to test the things I claim I believe.

One of the big tests and refining fires of God is to see if what I say I believe is: A. Godly (Is there a genuine Biblical basis for what I claim?), B. Not just in my head…”knowledge puffeth up.” Does this belief actually live in my heart. Does it walk, or just talk? C. Where this knowledge is weak, that I get opportunities to apply it in the “real” world. Nothing defines you better than your circumstances and opportunities those circumstances offer, to be like Jesus. In my weakness to obey, God is my strength to be obedient. That is when it lives in my heart.

I find the answers to:

Do I live the commands of Jesus Christ, to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul and my strength, and do I actually love my neighbor as much as I love myself?

Do I have the strength of character to take my eyes off my circumstances and look the Lord straight in the eyes? Do I have the courage to live out my love and faith in the midst of my circumstances?

I read in the Bible: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38 KJV

Here is a conviction that is being driven into my soul. That verse says that I am to give. It is an active tense verse that calls for immediacy of action. It begs a large question of me. Am I ever ready, and ever-present in my observation of life that I am waiting for the opportunity to give? If I give, am I being genuine in my love toward that person, or am I doing it out of “religious obligation”? When I give, have I already begun adding to my ledger the anticipation of getting something in return?

Why do I give?

My prayer is that God use the Holy Spirit to make me into the very character and likeness (I know, that was redundant), of Jesus Christ. He gave for two reasons: 1. Obedience, and 2. Love of God, and Love of Mankind. His LOVE is what led to His obedience. It was not a religious obligation, it was a genuine act of grace and love and mercy. He gave what He was rich in. He gave sacrificially.

Here is the big point God is trying to bore into my very thick skull. Give out of love. Give what you have. Jesus Himself did not have a home. He lived off the kindness of strangers, sinners, and the disciples. But what He did have, he gave even unto death.

Now comes the hard part. Being unemployed means not having the goodies I had when I was employed. And there may come a day soon, that I will be homeless. My Debtors are calling daily, some are suing, and, even though I have over 100 applications out there, I am getting crickets.

Here is WHY I am sharing this intimate detail with you: Those are my circumstances. I can tell you exactly what I would have done in my Pre-Christian life. I would have panicked, paced the floor, gotten angry and taken it out on my loved ones, and generally would have made an ass of myself.

What God is teaching me in these circumstances is that, He is able to carry me, and continue to change my character into the character of Christ.

So now comes the test.

Do I get so involved in how unlucky I am, how I am a loser because I am unemployed, because I cannot even buy my family the very basics of life? Am I so wrapped up in my apparently overwhelming circumstances that I forget that I am being made into the image of Christ?

This morning, while the Spirit of God was showing me these things, He asked me, am I willing to give as Christ gave? Of course, in my best legalistic, and Hyper-Calvinist voice, I reminded the Spirit, I have NOTHING! What can I give? I have to beg for just the basics of life!

It was then he reminded me that I belong to God. I belong because of the Salvation that I have accepted in Jesus Christ. God is teaching me, through my circumstances, that I can give to others even though I have “nothing”. What I do have is a lot of time and my body.

I have a heart that God has healed. I have a mind and heart for the downtrodden, that I never knew existed. I have eyes that can see the differences between a taker and a person in genuine need. When I see opportunities, do I respond with the Love of Christ, or do I keep my head down, my eyes averted, and focus on my own problems. Are MY circumstances more important that the Love of God?

Am I afraid to trust God that, when I approach a stranger, my giving will be a blessing from God?, That HE will be my courage, and my blessing? That it is HIs desire that I be just like His Son? Do I trust God that He will empower me and make me able?

Jesus becomes manifest in our lives when we obey Him, out of Love, and desire to be like Him. It is not a duty. It is not a forced obligation. It is an external expression of the Love of Christ being revealed in my heart. It becomes a gift from Christ when I give it to a person who happens to need a smile, a kind word, or a blessing.

My sins were very many. Do I love others with the same gratitude and joy that I love God for my forgiveness?

I have hands: I can open a door with a smile and a “God Bless You”. I can carry a package for someone, while I show love to that someone.

I have a heart: The Spirit of God will reveal to me the ones He wants me to touch, and when I am in doubt, I will touch anyway. Love and Grace and Mercy are more fresh and delightful when given with reckless abandon. It doesn’t mean you are stupid for going where no one else will go. It means you trust God to carry you because you are giving away the love God has shown you.

I have feet: I can walk however far it takes to help someone.

I have the Love of Christ: He said He has not come into the world to judge the world, but to save it. Do I look on the helpless, the needy, the lost, the ones who are lost in their circumstances, just to judge them unfit for my love, my mercy, my grace, my gift? Or do I see an opportunity to share the Joy, love, mercy, and grace God has shown me?

“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:47 NKJV The words of Jesus

Is my heart so hardened by my circumstances, or my “Religious Wisdom”, that I cannot see that it is my arrogance God is trying to cure? My sense of self-righteousness is broken on the rocks of those in need. My heart is being molded into the Character of Christ when I step out of my circumstances and learn to give, even out of my need.

“Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.” Luke 7:44-46 NKJV – The Words of Jesus

Am I really willing to do for others what I say I am willing to do for Jesus?

I can push a shopping cart that an elderly person is struggling with. I can put a shopping cart away for a soccer mom who is harried by her circumstances. I don’t know what God is doing in her life, but maybe, just maybe, my act of kindness will be that one act that God uses to help her turn a corner.

We do not know what we are doing when we are urged to show kindness to a stranger. That stranger may be at a breaking point that my kindness will heal. This is a gift from God, and not of my own doing. A smile is medicine. A hug is security to someone so lost in their circumstances that they believe they are alone. Giving will soften a hard heart, both mine and theirs. Love has turned my cynicism into a willingness to believe that Jesus’ love will be translated to another person when I demonstrate it.

Am I willing to give love to the unlovely? Am I willing to give my time for someone I cannot even stand being around? It is easy for me to help people I love, or even like. It takes Christ in me to help me to love my enemies, pray for those who spitefully use me. It takes the courage only Love of Christ in you generates to kneel down and give water to someone who may be out to ruin you. Doing this in love is a blessing to them, and will soften their heart. Given for any other reason is poison.

My friend from England, an Engineer, used to tell me that I am such a jack-ass that I kick the door down, shoot everyone in the room, THEN try to determine who the bad guy is. He was right. Now, can God turn that behavior into someone who is willing to open the door, and give to everyone in the room, despite who is worthy of the gift? Yes. He can, He does and He will.

Do I wait for the Big moments. Do I want to be Moses, and be known as the friend of God? Do I want the lime light? Do I want the return on the gift instead of being willing to give out of my need?

I know myself well enough to know that I am always looking for the big moments. God will fill me with His love, grace and mercy, but my understanding of its significance is revealed in my behavior. Is there enough evidence to convict me of being like Jesus?

I praise God that I lost my job, if learning these things is what it takes to make me aware of the power and love of God.

My Prayer: My Heavenly Father. I praise your name. I glory in your mercy and grace. I pray, Lord, that you take all of us “Religious Bigots” and turn us into the very image of Christ. This especially applies to me. I am grateful you are turning my lip service into a real walk. I confess that I only had a head knowledge of you, before these circumstances. I glory that you love me enough to discipline me. I am grateful that, instead of casting me aside as completely lost, you sought me out to redeem me.

Glory to God. I praise your name. You are the helper of the hopeless, and the defender of the weak. You are my Lord. Jesus is my Savior and my Lord. Thank you for turning my heart of stone into a heart that loves. Keep me constantly in your eyes, and deliver me from my own foolishness.

I pray because I am bought with the price of Jesus’ blood, and am redeemed by His sacrifice.

Amen

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” I Cor 6: 19 – 20

Jesus did not come into the world to make bad people good. He came here to make dead people live.

Let’s be about it!

I love you,

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Does Jesus Know Me?

“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3 HCSB

Welcome Home!

Have I Misunderstood Jesus?

I owe a debt of gratitude to the book, “My Utmost for His Highest”, for this lesson. I recommend his works for the serious disciple.

The nice thing about being disciplined by God is, I have learned that it is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. It took 20 years for me to actually meet Him.

My soul is in danger when my knowledge of doctrine out paces my intimate relationship with Jesus. If I were at the empty tomb, would I weep with Mary? Doctrine didn’t matter a hill of beans to Mary. Any Religious Bigot, full of doctrine, could have made an idiot of Mary. But what the Religious Bigot could not make fun of where she was concerned; Jesus had cast 7 demons out of her. Still, Jesus’ blessings were nothing compared to Jesus Himself.

Mary stood there, looking at Jesus, at the empty tomb, and didn’t recognize him. The second she heard His voice, she knew that she had had intimate dealings with the one who spoke.

She said, “Master!”

Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and observe My hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into My side.

Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.”

John 20:27

Thomas had stubbornly doubted. He would not believe unless he saw it for himself. I am convinced Thomas was from Missouri.

I have to ask myself this question: Am I doubting something about Jesus? Have I missed the experience that others testify about, but have not had? Am I like Thomas in that, unless I have that personal touch, I will not believe? “Except I shall see…, I will not believe.”

We don’t know when Jesus’ touch will come, or how it will come; but when it does come, His touch is precious beyond description. Then I fall on my knees and say, as Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” And that is exactly what happened to me.

Have I, like Peter, selfishly denied Him? Is He my Lord only when it is convenient? Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses. After the Resurrection, however, Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Jesus restored him in private. After that, Jesus restored Peter in front of the disciples…”Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee.” In my past, I found it expedient to deny Christ in order to further my career. And that caused a deep hurt in my soul. Then His touch came. “Thous knowest that I love Thee!”

Do I really have a personal history with Jesus?

The proof of my discipleship is that I have an intimate connection with Jesus. I have knowledge of Jesus which nothing can shake. It is not a doctrine. It is not something I can learn at Seminary. It is a relationship more intimate than that shared between a Husband and his wife. He knows me. And I know Him. At last.

I remember what Jesus Christ healed me of when He touched me. I remember where I was. I can tell you the date and time it happened. Where others had written me off, He had forgiven me and redeemed me. And I can still hear His voice when he told me He loves me. Nothing can take that away.

My brothers and sisters; When you are in doubt, or too tired to keep moving, or have fear, or need His assurance, start with where you were, and what He did, when He first came to you.

Praise Him for His love for you, that He chose to save you.

Turn to Him…you will hear His voice. Fear will vanish. Peace will come. And rest will happen.

Lets Be About It.

I Love You

David Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

The Adventures of Sammy Snardfarkle – Chapter 1

Chapter One

He lived on a medium sized working ranch, that also was a farm. The oldest of 10, two brothers and 7 sisters, and, of course himself, Sammy took most of the responsibility of the farm. He remembered the day it happened.

His father was a Navy man, and was always off to sea, doing something exciting. He knew this because, every time his Dad packed up his duffel-bag to go away, Sammy would ask him:

“Dad, where are you going now?”

Dad: “Out to sea again, Sammy.”

Sammy: “Do you have to go?”

Dad: “Yes, I have a duty. And I am needed… ‘somewhere’.”

Sammy: “Is that ‘somewhere’ very special?”

Dad: “I am sure that where I am going is both special and exciting. Most Places I go are.”

His dad made every sea adventure sound exciting.

Sammy: “Be safe, Dad.”

Dad: “I will, son.” His Dad stopped packing and looked at the floor for a second. Then he squatted down and took Sammy by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. Sammy thought he saw pain in his dad’s eye, even if it was just a brief second.

Then Sammy’s Dad said: “While I am gone, I want you to take care of Mom and your brothers and sisters. Make sure the horses, cattle and sheep are fed. Don’t forget, it’s almost harvest time. There will be plenty of work to keep all of you busy. And tell your sisters to feed the chickens and gather the eggs every day. Can you do this for me, Son?”

“Yes, Dad, I can.” Sammy said. His dad was always going away, but he always returned. He didn’t understand why his Dad was acting all different, this time. It was just another adventure.

Sammy asked his Dad, “What’s it like, being on the ocean?”

His dad was not expecting this question, but he said, “Well, Sam, it’s nothing like anything you have ever known. It makes you feel as if you are free, and it makes you feel as if you are very small. The ocean is powerful, and it’s soothing. There’s lots of silence, sometimes, then there are mighty storms and loud wind. When it’s like that, a man determines what he believes is true about himself. The sea can be a harsh mistress, but can also be a great teacher. I hope, someday, you will find time to learn these things, son.”

Then his Dad did something he never did before he left for an adventure. He grabbed Sammy and hugged him, and kissed him, and held him really tight, and said, “I love you, Sam.” His Dad had a lot of strong muscles, and Sammy was afraid he was never going to breathe again. His Dad’s part of the Navy was named after some aquatic animal…guppy, froggies, or seals, or some such. He never really understood that part, but it made sense, cause his Dad said they do a LOT of swimming.

Then Sammy did what he never has done before, either; He hugged his dad back, kissed him, and said, “I love you, too, Dad.” Then his Dad got up quickly, grabbed his duffel-bag, and left. Dad was off on a great adventure.

Sam learned a lot from his dad, when his dad was home from adventuring. First thing he learned to do, before he could walk, was to swim. His Dad always told him, “Water is your friend, Sam. Never be afraid of water.” He also learned other things, like; How to hunt, how to camp out, how to make food out of almost everything on the land. How to make medicines, how to ride a horse and rope.

Sammy especially loved it when his Dad took him way off to the edge of the land, where there was an empty, dried out pond, and they got in the middle of the dried out pond, where it was lower than all the rest of the land. It was there that his Dad taught him how to shoot almost every kind of weapon he could imagine. He learned how to use a knife, and even learned how to throw almost any kind of knife at a target, and hit the target. He even learned how to make a blow gun, a cross-bow, and his own bow and arrow set, complete with a quiver for carrying arrows.

It was their secret.

His Dad made him promise that he would NEVER tell his mom or siblings. Sammy always kept that promise. He also promised that, when it was time, he would take his brothers and sisters and teach them everything his Dad had taught him. Sammy promised. Sammy ALWAYS kept his promises. His Dad taught him that. “If a man gives his word, he must keep that word. You only get one reputation, so don’t ruin it.”

His Dad was always telling him, “Son, when you get really tired, or afraid, or just plain ‘don’t want to’s”, remember, you always have 10% more in you than you believe you do. You just have to reach for it and use it. Never quit. Never give up.

Never “ring out”, whatever that meant.

Sammy’s favorite books were “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis. He liked them because he felt they were true to life, full of adventure, and they gave him hope that, one day, he would get to go on his own adventures, like what happened in Narnia, and what his Dad did. There even used to be a king in their land who was called “Aslan”. But that was probably a few thousand years ago. No one had ever seen him again, after he left, one day. Sammy just figured the guy got tired of being king, and went on his own adventure.

I guess this is where I mention that, just like Narnia, but without all the sense of being a fairy tale, Sammy’s world was the same. Animals and people lived together, and could talk to each other. Sammy and his family were all Dogs, of the Beagle variety. Sam was exceptionally tall for a beagle, just like his dad. When he walked on just his back legs, Sammy was almost as tall as a teen-aged human boy.

Sammy, at the ripe age of 15, was older than his siblings by about 5 years. His mom always called him “Big Sweety”, because Sammy was big for his age. Sammy called his Mom, “Momma Sweety”. It was their favorite names for each other. But when his mom had to scold him, it usually started with, “Samuel Thaddeus Snardfarkle!…” That was when he knew he was in really big trouble. He promised his Dad, that, while Dad was away, he would be the “Man of the House”, what ever that meant. I usually meant more chores than his brothers and sisters had. But Momma Sweety was always there, by his side, helping with the really tough chores.

One day, while Sammy was driving the tractor down to the South part of their land, to pull stumps, he saw an official looking car drive all the way up their drive way (About 2 miles of caleche. Caleche is not ordinary dirt. It is hardened Calcium Carbonate. It is hard and dry, most of the time. It also powders to a fine talcum when it gets really dry, and you ride your car over it a lot. And when it rains, it turns into the most difficult mud you can imagine. Sometimes, when it rained, you could get your car stuck in it.)

Sammy watched the car drive slowly. His keen eye could see that the people riding in the car wore Navy uniforms. He turned the tractor around, and drove as fast as that tractor could go. Which was not really fast, but faster than he could jog.

By the time he got near the house, stopped the tractor, and ran the rest of the way to his house, the car had gone, leaving a large dust cloud of fine caleche powder in the breeze. He saw his Mom sitting on the porch, in the swing, holding a letter. She was crying really hard. When she saw Sammy come up to her, she grabbed him and held him, and cried and cried, and cried.

Sammy managed to pry the letter out of his Mom’s hand. It was from the Department of the Navy. It had all kinds of flowery language on it, but the bottom line was, his Dad had died on his adventure. They said they were “Sorry for your loss.”

Sammy was 15 when this happened. And it hit him that his Dad was never coming home, and now, he had to be the Dad. He was scared. He held on to his mother and cried, too.

And he started looking for that extra 10%.

He knew he would need it.

Faith

FEAR NOT

False Evidence Appearing Real

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

― Frank Herbert, Dune

Common sense tells me that the world is full of fright and fear. We have endless war, we have a disastrous economy, and eventually, we wake up to discover that the people we voted into office, and the people who run things all over the world have only one desire: Our Destruction. And that those who they do not destroy, they intend to enslave.

In combat training, the biggest thing a soldier has to learn is to keep fear from locking his brain into immobilization. Nothing makes life as real and scary as having a bunch of people you don’t know shoot at you. That is why soldiers are put through an almost interminable set of training methods that break that fear. You learn to step into a different place in your mind where fear may still present itself, but it is no more a bother to you than a gnat trying to hijack a freight train. You learn to acknowledge the fear (It keeps you alive), but not to let that fear rule your heart.

When I fought in the Martial Arts, and faced an opponent that, from all visual signals, could mop the floor with my face, I used this as an opportunity to fall back on my training. Part of that training was the comfort of knowing that I know all the skills and techniques that my worthy opponent knows. I just have to tell fear to go sit in the corner while I fall into combinations I understand, that my opponent doesn’t. I can honestly say that I have lost as many fights as I have won. Most of the fights I lost were because I let fear confuse me to the point that I forgot my training.

Those two examples describe having to face extreme fear. Then there is the daily “Worry”, “Anger”, “Anxiety”, and basic hand wringing we all experience. Trust me, these fears seem to me, at least, much more difficult to face than combat or Tournament Fighting. Even Street Fighting has a basic set of rules, and I always fall back on my training. The Fear is real, but does not rule me. And when I am able to work beyond the fear, fear loses all power over me.

Having recently joined God‘s army, I am learning a new set of skills to help me face my fears. These skills exist to help me face the same fears I was facing anyway, but using a different set of techniques.

Fear is the prime motivator in the secular world. Fear motivates greed, lust, power, and preservation. The fear of losing is what drives this world. The fact that fear is the prime motivator of secular life is an indication of a severe psychosis in our world.

We fear losing our homes, our status, not being able to pay our bills, not getting the respect from our spouses or children in the manner we think they should show. We wonder what to do when we have overspent our limit on our credit cards. But we use those cards because we want to maintain a lifestyle that is not maintainable otherwise. Life becomes about things, and the things become our masters, and our masters are afraid of loss.

We are fearful of the punishment of a society that will think you are a failure of you do not march in the same lock-step manner it marches. The biggest fear we have is the conflict over the loss of our uniqueness while trying to conform to an unforgiving world that demands you follow it’s rules. And it rules by fear. The World punishes, without mercy, anyone who cannot keep up.

The worst part is, the world insists that you achieve through debt. The world wants to loan you what you already have, and charge you interest for it. We are a debtor society who are about to see the final bill come due. The world wants you to think that there is no escaping this system.

Anyone who tries working outside the boundaries of this debtor system will be punished. Just try to buy, sell or rent or get a job with a poor credit rating. The credit system tells the world just how much you are able to play its game of slavery. This system makes life more expensive than it really. The fear of not keeping up, and the fear of losing all your status and stuff, drives you like a slave into deeper debt.

You will never be free as long as you wish to play this game. You will be punished by this system. There is seldom any real reward or freedom in this system. What reward you receive is a bribe to keep you in the game. Any freedom you have is an illusion used to make you happy you are in debt up to your eyeballs.

In the mean time, fear keeps gnawing at you because you are falling behind. You fear the ultimate rejection of this system, and fear the punishment it will bring. This wold only has illusions of love and joy and freedom. And these are also tools that are driven by fear…fear of loss.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I John 4:18

Knowing that “The Lord disciplines the ones He loves…”, I have learned that I must be taken to the point of surrender.

It is not at all what I am trained to do in the secular world. It is not what is taught if you want to succeed on the world’s terms. And surrender is one of the very top “bad words” in the military. In the worlds way, there is only move forward, don’t hesitate, be decisive, rely on your strength, knowledge and courage. And it is brutal. You have to kill your opponent in order to win. You get to keep all the spoils of that killing.

In God’s army, the very first thing a warrior has to learn to do is surrender; Not to fear, not to the enemy, but to the sovereignty of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Surrender to the way and will of the Lord is the very first lesson in God’s boot camp.

It is Jesus who said this:

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much ore clothe you? You of little faith! “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Mat 6:24-33 NASB

I have prayed for this faith. I have asked to know the Love of God. But I had never had it vigorously tested until recently. I am faced daily with the hard questions: “Is this nonsense?”, “Am I INSANE?”, “Shouldn’t I just take matters into my own hands?”, “Is it true that God will supply all my needs, or is it true what the world says, that God will only go so far with me and I have to do the rest on my own.”

The hardest battles I have to face today is the uncertainty of not knowing outcomes, but learning to put my trust completely in God, who loves me. I am learning that God is in control of ALL the outcomes. The game is rigged in God’s favor.

I have to surrender all my doubt to Him. I have to place all my trust in Him. I have to surrender my pride, and my own resourcefulness, so that God will fill me with His faith, His love and His provision for my life.

The conundrum is that, left to my own strength, I cannot do any of these things. Even in my surrender, I need God to work in me, via the Holy Spirit, to assure me that surrender is the first step to victory.

These past 5 months have been a real trial. God has used it to teach me that He is in control. He breaks my pride, and drowns my arrogance. He shows me that His love, for Him and for Others, is the cure to fear. He shows me that He is all my provision, that defeat is not what God has in store for me. But for me to walk into the victory He has planned for me, I have to get out of His way.

I now know that, when things get real, and I want to fear, the thing that will defeat me is NOT the circumstance I am in. What will defeat me is my fear of the circumstance I am in. It is FEAR that defeats us. Fear is unbelief. It is anticipating a punishment that doesn’t exist. Fear is its own punishment. Fear is the willful disregard of the evidence of the love God has for me.

Fear made Peter sink into the sea when Christ was willing Him to walk on the water. I am defeated when I lose sight of faith and love. Faith that God has my back, no matter how ugly things look. Love is from God. When the light of the love of God resides in me, fear runs away, like a roach who has been exposed. God’s love never leaves. It is my perception of His love that changes, based on my faith and trust in Him. But His love never goes away. I just have to look at Him, instead of the waves of circumstance.

I affirm and avow that it is God who is sustaining me through my trials. It is God who proves He is more powerful than any thing the World can throw at me. It is God who shows me daily that, no weapon formed against me will prosper. It is God who embraces me in His arms when I want to fear. He does not judge me for being afraid, He loves me because He has become my first resort. His love makes my fear vanish.

Where the World judges me as not fit for them, God has said I am perfect for Him. I am redeemed through the Blood of Christ. In God’s eyes, I am complete. He is teaching me that, as my heart exchanges its attitudes for Godly values, I know that I can trust God to deliver me from anything that I face.

He may not make all my problems disappear, but He will be there to walk me through it. He will be there to be my strength when I want to faint from fear. He will carry me, He will sustain me. I have learned that, no matter what, God is my provision.

All this is true because I have accepted the free gift of Salvation from death. I accept that Jesus Christ IS the only begotten Son of God, and that Jesus took on all my sin and died for them in my place. I know and confess that Jesus had the power to raise Himself from the dead, and that the Lord Jesus, having demonstrated that power, has proven that, if I will follow Him, I too will know the power of God.

When Jesus becomes my Savior and Lord, I see that the Love of God resides in me. And I see that, as I submit to God, through the Holy Spirit, my heart will be transformed from doubt, fear, anger, selfishness, lust, and my will, and into a vessel that carries all the character and power of Jesus.

From God’s point of view, Armageddon has already happened, and Jesus is already on the throne of this world. But from my perspective, that is in the future. Even though all things are complete and finished from God’s point of view, I still have to experience time and life on this planet. During that time, as I live this life, I have to learn that the only way THIS warrior will win is by surrendering – To the Love of God.

“Perfect Love casts out ALL fear.”

“God is Love.”

Let’s be about it.

I love you

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Revealed Truth, or Religious Bigotry?

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ Jeremiah 29:11-14 NASB

I have not written in the last few days. I had to ask myself some hard questions. One of those questions was: “Am I showing the truth, or being a religious bigot?”

An opportunity to answer this question presented itself, today. So, now I can tell you what I have learned. I am not going to bore you with my testimony. Let my current life be my testimony. And I am a work in progress. But over these past two weeks, I have been struggling with how dogmatic my writing sounds.

I am by God‘s grace, and training, a researcher, and an analyst. I am very good at it too. I will not bore you with this, either. I say it so I can tell you this:

The difference between a researcher and a religious bigot is, the religious bigot will not accept that any other point of view, other than his own, is true. He will be so dug in that he cannot, and will not, even entertain conversation that will allow a different point of view.

The Religious Bigot believes that his answer, even if it contradicts hard evidence, or Jesus Himself, is actually the correct one. And the contradiction against Christ does not present a mental conundrum to him, either. The religious bigot will plot the curve then try to find data that supports it, or will bend the existing data to force it to agree with it. He has the answer before he knows the question. In his heart, he has cut out several things Christ has had to say about Himself, Salvation, and what it really means to follow Him.

A researcher will look at as much evidence he can find. He will weigh the evidence. He will let the evidence speak for itself. He will suspend his biases in order to see if something is hidden in the data that he would otherwise not choose to see. Even if that data represents a major threat to his understanding of things, he will look. If the shock doesn’t kill him, he will adapt to that truth. He knows the difference between a truth and an opinion of a truth, even in his own mental frame-work.

I have spent, literally, all my life researching and studying as many religions as I could find. I even attended many of their religious meetings in order to get a better understanding of them.

All my research has driven me back to some very basic truths. This has shown me the difference between what you call a fundamentalist and what I call a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist, in any religion, has boiled his faith down to things that are the bottom line of his faith. The American definition of a fundamentalist is actually the definition of a religious bigot.

Here was the hard part. There is only so much the human mind can comprehend when it comes to spiritual matters. There comes a time when you must rely on faith and hope.

In Christianity, I have discovered that, the gift of Faith comes from God alone. And when I rely on it, I am shown things that have been right in front of me all along, but did not have “The Third Eye” opened to it, yet.

Being a researcher, I am open to every possible interpretation of any event that you can imagine. I know that, if I have the truth, nothing can remove it from my heart. However interesting and entertaining that journey into another viewpoint is, I can test it against the baseline of revealed truth, and know it for what it is.

Am I dogmatic? Absolutely. What I have been writing about all this time is directly from the scriptures. There is no room for my opinion of it, or my interpretation of it. It is the truth as Jesus and the Apostles, and God have revealed it in the scriptures.

As a researcher, I want to hear other views. I am not afraid of differing opinions, or what others think is revealed truth. I can do this without my ego being attached to it because I have learned, in my return to Christ that “Truth is its own witness, and Time is the Judge of all truths.”

I am dogmatic over the things I have delved into, and have seen for myself are true. There are things that are true that I could never discuss in a church or over a pulpit. I have learned the hard way that, even though it is the truth, most people cannot fathom that it is true. I have discovered that, even things that are mentioned in the Bible are outright rejected by most American Christians.

But what I know, I must write about.. What I write about are truths as revealed in Scripture, and how God has applied it to my life, and my wife’s life. We are in total agreement over these things. We arrived at this over very different routs. She is my partner and my love, and we walk together in our calling.

WHAT THIS BOILS DOWN TO

It is a heart condition that will keep us from growing to be like Christ.

When you are saved, spiritually, you are complete. The Holy Spirit marks you as being a child of the Living God because of your faith, IN YOUR HEART, that Jesus Christ is who he said he is, and did what he said he will do. Your faith was born in your heart, after God placed the seed of faith in you.

Spiritually, you are complete. There is nothing lacking in you spiritually.

The reason you were not raptured when you were saved, is so that that spirit can take over your heart.

Here is a good explanation of this:

THE CONDITION OF THE HUMAN HEART

In Scripture, the heart is the seat of indwelling sin as well as its subject. It is from the heart that indwelling sin springs in a person’s experience. Indeed, sin has invaded as an enemy and now possesses the very throne of God himself. So says the preacher:

Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is the unfortunate thing about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone; The hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is madness in their hearts during their lives—then they die.

This is a very good description of the heart. When you are saved, you are complete in the eyes of GOd. This is because the Holy Spirit now dwells in you. However, “When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world, and show where right and wrong and judgment lie. He will convict them of wrong…” John 16:8 (NEB). (Click the link, you will find a very well written article that covers this topic in-depth).

Being complete in the spirit is why you are saved. But the heart has to be Cleaned out of all its old habits. It is the heart that contains all our sin, impulses, evil and wayward living. If you really want to grow to be like Jesus, you cannot stay content being complete in the spirit, you will want God to do His heart surgery on you. Even if you know it might hurt.

I strongly recommend this book if you want a complete study of why this cleaning is part of the Grace of God:

“Grace: The Power To Change”, by Dr. James B. Richards, 1993 ISBN: 0-924748-07-9 Look it up at your favorite book dealer. CDB carries it.

So, if I am a dogmatic about anything, I am dogmatic about the lessons I have had to learn, by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in my life. It is hard work, and it comes only as we are willing to submit to these changes. It is a work I was never willing to do myself. But the Spirit of God compels me to submit to a work only He can do in me.

The fact that I am willing to change according to the will of God proves I am not being a religious bigot. I am very open to any change the Spirit of God needs to make in me so that I will end up being just like Christ, my Lord. I am willing to sacrifice anything and everything I love and hold dear, if it is what God needs me to do, if it will mean I get to be like Jesus. That especially includes all the hidden matters of my heart.

You must be willing to have your heart changed. Eventually the Spirit of God will tire of you quenching it. If, in your wisdom (Translates to Arrogance), you want to delude yourself into thinking that you do not need to change your heart, fine. My invitation is only to those who, like me, have discovered the Lordship of Christ. Jesus is more than a Savior. In order to understand the Lordship of Christ, a Christian must be teachable, and allow the Holy Spirit, not your opinion, to be the teacher.

Lets Be About It.

I love you,

David Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Rest in the Lord

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This is dedicated to the original Christian blogger – Oswald Chambers.

This morning I opened my copy of “My Utmost For His Highest“. It the classic edition of Chamber’s Daily Devotional. The Classic Edition is how Chambers actually wrote in his devotional diary. It is not modernized or watered down. Back in his day, one was allowed to call things exactly as they saw them, and were ready to face whatever consequences they faced for speaking out. And the listener had the right to not be offended.

I am always pleasantly surprised to discover that today’s entry just so happens to be an issue I am wrestling with at the very moment.

One of the repeated experiences Jesus dealt with concerning His disciples was their fear and unbelief. Circumstances in my life, these last 6 months, have given me a new perspective on these items. Rather than try to give you, the informed reader, my interpolation of what Chambers wrote, I am going to give it to you word for word, just as Chambers wrote it in his diary. It was written in the British language as used during WWI, England. Any spacing was added by me so that this can be digested in bite-sized paragraphs. Chambers could pack a LOT into a sentence. It is a skill I pray fervently for.

I want to thank my Christian Brother, Rick Mansfield, for giving me this special edition copy after I was saved. God bless you Rick. I love you.

Published by permission of DODD MEAD & Company, INC.

Copyright, 1935, by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copy right renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. ISBN-0-916441-42-3

p.225

August 12th

THE THEOLOGY OF REST

“Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Matthew viii. 26 RV

When we are in fear, we can do nothing less than pray to God, but our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His Name should have an understanding confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones.

Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who do not know God. We get to our wits’ end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him and His government of the world; He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead.

“O ye of little faith!” What a pang must have shot through the disciples – ‘Missed it again!’ And what a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead.

There are stages in life when there is no storm, so crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him.

We have been talking a great deal about sanctification – what is it all going to amount to? It should work out into rest in God which means oneness with God, a oneness which will make us not only blameless in His sight, but a deep joy to Him.

Let’s be about it!

Love always,

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

Eternity In Your Heart

This is blog 1 for August 12th, 2013. Blog 2 will follow. It will be along the lines of the message I have been given to share.

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

Why do I write? Whom is my message for? Is it really MY message? How do I have the right to say the things I say? This is not my “normal daily” post, that will follow this one. This post is an editorial based on my understanding what I have been called to do. Normally, I am indifferent to the hostility, and not too concerned over all the indifference. I knew this was coming before I started blogging.

Hostility can mean I hit a nerve. Whether I hit that nerve in a good way or a bad one is usually revealed in the emails I get. If I discern that I was misunderstood, I make amends as quickly as possible. If I discover otherwise, I let it alone. Only a fool grabs a dog by its ears.

Indifference is something I have no control over. Only God Himself can cure that.

So why do I write? Is it to get attention? No. Is it to gain popularity? I have never enjoyed a huge amount of popularity. But I understand the importance of what I have been given to say. The message I have is unpopular, and the target audience is so narrow, I expect nothing much in return.

So, why do I write, and to whom do I write it?

I write to those brothers and sisters who have eternity in their hearts. They are either in the process of understanding salvation, or were once aware of their salvation. The fire burns, however small, in their hearts. They know something is missing. They know that the life they are now living is not what they set out to live. They understand that what they are doing is not what they thought it would be.

I write to them because I have lived that life, and am sharing everything I have come to understand in the process of coming home. If you already have your pet religion, and “God in the Box”, then this message was never intended to be for you. You are still welcome to read it, but it is not for you.

To you who have this song of Heaven still echoing somewhere in your heart and soul, I am writing. You once understood the joy of salvation, or you are about to understand the joy of salvation. You are far away from that joy. You have done things that you hope never, EVER make the light of day. The burden of your wanderings are so great, you have given up any hope of being allowed to return to God. And even when you think you want to go home, you have, somehow, convinced yourself that there is no way you can ever return to God.

I get that. I have been there. I have despaired to the point that I wanted to die and get it over with. And just as I had given up completely, God stepped in and showed me something. And that something is what I am writing to you.

YOU ARE SAVED:

You understand that there is sin in your life. You understand that sin separates you from God. You understand that if you die in this sin, you will also experience the death of your soul. You understand that God loved Humanity so much, He sent Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, to take your place, die on the cross, and absorb ALL the wrath of God, so you do not have to. You confess that Jesus rose Himself from the dead to prove He has power over life and death. If you have made this confession, or do make this confession, then you are saved. There is no power in existence that can take that away from you. No person or religion has the right or ability to condemn you for what you have done. In God’s eyes, you are complete. You cannot even take yourself from God’s hands. His gifts are without repentance.

YOU KNOW THERE IS MORE:

You ask yourself why, if I am saved, do I keep sinning, and have no peace, and don’t like where my life has taken me? Why does God hate me? Why cannot I find peace. You know there is more to your life than the lies you bought at the expense of your heart, at the expense of your family, your friends, and everything else you held dear. Most of the time, you even doubt there is even a God who really cares.

But the fact that you ask yourself this, that you wrestle with this, that you cannot find peace in your current circumstances means that the conscience God has given you is uneasy with where you are now. It is the proof that you belong to God.

I can say this, because I just left that place.

You still have Eternity in your heart. That eternity was given to you by God. You are his beloved child. And that Eternity is calling you home. Not to leave this earthly plane, but to return to His embrace. He is waiting for you. And when he sees you turn around, HE will rush to you and take you up in His arms. He is longing with all His might to show you that He has always been there, that He loves you, that your life is only beginning when you come home. The chains you are in are there only by your will, not his. His love breaks all chains. His mercy redeems any loss you have known. His Grace has covered everything you have been doing. When He looks at you, He sees the blood of Christ. The only thing keeping you from God is you. It is simply your will. He has never gone away from you.

It is to you that I write. I can because I have come home, and have not looked back. Any losses I have known are replaced with His love and forgiveness. I no longer fear. I no longer am angry. I no longer despair of my sin. I have come home. This is what God is urging you to do. Come home.

THERE IS WORK TO DO:

After you return, God will heal your wounds, show you things that you have not been able to see on your own. Wisdom will be your love, and understanding will become your companion. God will show you that you could never have even been saved had it not been for His will at work in you. And now that you are home, and healing, God will show you the exact same thing He has shown me.

There is a final harvest coming all over the world. There are millions of people who are lost and have no idea that they do not have to be. In your environment, if you are willing and have a submitted heart, God will take your old character out, and replace it with the character of Jesus Christ. You may be the “only Jesus” people around you see. But the reason you have the longings you do, is because you feel the call of God to bring you Home to be made into a disciple of Jesus Christ.

This call is for anyone who is saved. Many will respond. Not many will be chosen. All are saved, but few are willing to go through what it takes to be a disciple. The secret of this success lay not in your ability, not in your intelligence, and not in any religion, or religious point of view. There is only the point of view God has revealed in the Scriptures. There is only the point of view as revealed by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

You are the one to whom I write. I write to you because I can attest that this is real. Is is sweet. It is amazing. It is also hard and defies any human logic and common sense. The really hard part is, there is no room for compromise where Christ is concerned. This is why you will meet resistance as you change into the image of Christ. You will have to do battle with your own understanding of things, you own ego, your own common sense, and any religious point of view you vaguely remember following.

Jesus did not come here to start a religion. He came here to save your soul. Now He needs people to follow Him to complete the upcoming revival. There are many souls and not much time.

YOU WILL KNOW:

You will know if what I am telling you is true or not. You will know because, lately, God has been sending witnesses who show you some of this, or that, and in pieces, you are putting this puzzle together. You will know I am speaking the truth by how your soul reacts to it. Even if your mind rejects it now, even if this message sounds judgmental or intolerant, you will know in your soul I am describing you. Come home, for Christ’s sake.

You will know if this message is not for you, too. You will know because it trips up your understanding of God. It messes with your religion. Because you would rather judge the messenger than listen to the message. But the message I write is true. I am not writing to anyone who cannot receive it.

I don’t know who you are, but God does. I don’t have a religion to support, I don’t have any pep talks to make you feel better about being selfish. I have no ‘affirmations” that will give you immediate blessings of health or wealth. All I even have is my salvation. I have chosen to come home. I am one beggar telling another beggar where I found food, water, and a place to rest.

WHY IS IT HARD?:

It is hard because:

1. You will have to allow God to humble you.

2. You will have to be willing to surrender everything you have and know in order to follow Him.

3. You will have to go through the experience of being shown how God is in charge of everything that happens, and that He has your best interest in mind, no matter what experiences you will go through.

4. You will have to face the fact that, when you really start telling the truth, no one wants to hear it, and you will lose friends (But gain even better ones), and you will probably be laughed at a LOT because of the changes that God is making in you.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?:

1. Peace

2. Love

3. Mercy

4. Grace

5. Patience

6. Joy

7. Courage

8. Rewards in heaven.

Being saved means you get to go there when you die. Rewards are based on your willingness to submit to be made into the image of Christ and obey Him in all things. The gain you will have will be given to you when you get there. Any blessing you get while still here will be for the growth of God’s Kingdom. God is not interested in growing YOUR church. He is interested in growing the number of the fellowship of believers.

I am writing this to you because it is currently what Sandy and I are going through. I can write this because I have been where you are.

Come home.

I love you.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

It’s Not a Popularity Contest

Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence. I Corinthians 1: 26-29

Down the street from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is, I think, a Mobile Station. I have not been there in about 21 years, so my memory may be a bit off. That gas station was pretty popular with a few of my friends. I asked one of those friends why he liked that station so much. It looked a bit dumpy, and the prices weren’t any different from anyone elses’. My friend, also named David, told me to just go and get a tank of gas, I’ll find out.

Eventually, I did.

Back then, we still had the option of full service or self service. I chose self service. While I was fueling up my car, this ragged looking guy walks up and offers to clean my windshield. I told him I had it, but thank you. He looked at his feet for a minute, then insisted he wash my windshield. The areas surrounding the Seminary, at that time, were known for having less than savory individuals. I didn’t want any complications, so I let him.

As he cleaned my windshield, I could hear him mumbling under his breath. I assumed, by his ragged dress and missing teeth, and mumbling, that he might be going through the DT’s. Getting off booze can be very hard.

I watched him like a hawk. I wasn’t sure what this crazy guy might do next. But he WAS doing a beautiful job on my windshield, rear windows, side windows, headlights, and anything else he could find to shine. The owner of the gas station just sat there and watched. I wasn’t sure what was going on, and I sure didn’t want any trouble. After I paid for my gas, I decided I might give him a couple of dollars, even though I was concerned that this poor lost soul would just take it and get some cheap wine and get drunk again.

As I handed him the money, I said in my best preacher voice, “Here you go Mister, and may God bless you.” The old guy looked at me and grinned a real toothless grin. He said, “your’e one of them seminary boys.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. He wasn’t copping an attitude at me, either. He was just looking at me as if I were the unfortunate one. I saw genuine pity and love in his eyes. I was confused. I looked at the station owner. He was just sitting there grinning at me.

I told the crazy man that, “Yes, I go to the Seminary.” He wanted to know what I was learning there. I tried to go easy on him, but, in my perverse ego, I wanted to impress this obviously homeless man in a way that he would ask me about Jesus.

I regaled him with the best the seminary taught me.

He told me that I should feel good that I have learned so may things. Then he started asking me all kinds of questions about the scriptures. Questions I thought I knew the answers to, but discovered I didn’t. He was very graceful with me as he told me that it is OK to fill my head with all “them idears” about things, but it is useless if I want to really help people.

After that, I got an old fashioned schooling on the scriptures. He tied all the prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament to the fulfillment in the New Testament. He showed me how it is possible that the son of God can be God and Man simultaneously. And if I hadn’t already been saved, I would have gotten on my knees right then and confessed all my sin again.

It turns out that this guy DID used to be an alcoholic. He was also illiterate. He did not complete elementary school. He was considered “Stupid” by the Public Schools. Back in His day, teachers were allowed to call things just as they saw them.

He told me he couldn’t read or write, or drive, or hold down a job. The gas station owner gave this guy money for cleaning windows, changing oil, etc.

I asked him how he knew so much about the Scriptures. He said he had memorized the entire Bible just by listening to it on tape. And the more He listened, the more he understood. And the more he understood, the more God revealed. He was saved by hearing the word.

I made several trips to that station during that semester. It was usually when I went for a jog or bike riding. I would stop there and listen to him talk.

I learned so much from him. I almost went back to the Seminary Registrars office to ask for a refund. What I was learning from Him was exactly why I went to seminary.

I judged this man out of his appearance. I could tell just by the way he behaved that he was uneducated, slightly crazy, and homeless. What I didn’t know was, he was one of Jesus own disciples. I was embarrassed at myself for the way I treated him, and by the way I had judged him. I was supposed to be the Bible Scholar. But I learned more from the Scriptures that semester than I did at Seminary.

He was gentle, humble, had a great sense of humor, and did not consider his earthly circumstances anything to be ashamed of. He actually felt sorry for all us preachers who don’t understand the value of being willing to give up everything just to follow Christ.

That stung a bit. In fact, even though he was being loving and gentle and kind to me (It was obvious I was the ignorant one in the crowd), some of his words to me stung. Especially when he said he doubts many of the students at the seminary would follow Jesus if it meant being a laughingstock, or being absolutely broke, or having to lose everything we owned just for the sake of the gospel.

He was not trying to be mean or judgmental, he was just describing to me what he clearly saw, that I didn’t see. He was not trying to condemn me, or scold me. He was attempting to get me to see things the way Christ saw things. All that man knew was the Word of God. And he actually lived it every day.

This man was not popular, and was considered a bit crazy. But He embodied the fact that “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

All He was doing was telling me what the word said. He was not giving his opinion of the word, either. He made it clear that he wouldn’t do that. But for every question I had, he knew where to find the answer in the word of God. It was obvious that he was a chosen one.

So, here’s the deal. It isn’t about how popular you are, or how many people “Like” you on FB, or on your blog. It isn’t about making people “Warm and Fuzzy”. It isn’t about “Telling others what to do”, either. It is simply about knowing the word, and being just like Jesus. That is exactly what this man did. He had absolute faith in God, absolutely knew and understood the word, and, just like Jesus, gave us what we needed to hear in order to teach us, convict us, and lead us to a better understanding of what it means to be saved.

This is a lesson I have had difficulty learning. My ego is putting up a fight with my calling. I want to get “Liked” on FB, I want to be popular. I want to have a million “Friends”.

Locally, a relationship is what it takes to get people to see what it means to be a Christian. But I cannot have a cup of coffee with everyone on this planet. I have a love for people that I never knew was possible. It is Christ who put that in me.

My calling , for now, is to write. I am to write about what I learned as I come back to Christ. Much of what I write is uncomfortable even for me. But, just as this crazy old homeless man tried to drive through my thick skull, it isn’t about being popular. It is about telling the truth. Those who have an ear for the truth will hear it. Those who just want their ears tickled, or want to make God in an image that is not God, will be disappointed.

I have to remember, it is not about me. I have to get out of the way. It is about the message.

That message is that God loved you so much that He gave us Jesus to die for our sin. Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God. He took on our sin, all of it. He took on our sickness, all of it, he took on the wrath and judgement of God, all of it, so we will not have to at the day of judgement.

If you have accepted this free gift, you are saved. If you believe with all your heart that Jesus died for your sin, and confess with your mouth that He rose again on the third day to prove he is lord of death and life, then you are saved.

Furthermore, if you want to follow Christ, you must die to yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him.

This is not warm and fuzzy. You will become unpopular as you tell this message to people. You will lose friends. You will get fewer and fewer likes on FaceBook. Your words will offend people.

I am not telling you what to do. If it were up to me, things would be different. But there is a reason it is called Discipleship. In God’s army, the first thing a warrior learns is to surrender to the will of God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You cannot serve God and yourself. You have to be willing to give up all of yourself and be remade into the image of Christ. Daily.

God gave us common sense. It is good for dealing with life in the natural. But common sense never discovered God. If it could, Jesus would never had to come here and die. The things of God are understood by the supernatural work of God, because of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. If you are trying common sense to make sense of the Bible, you have missed more than half of what Christ has said.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.“ Matt. 16:24 NASB

Let’s Be About It.

David

Faith

So Was Jesus

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16 NASB

I Prayed to God: I confess…

…I am tempted to lust

God Answered me:

:So Was Jesus

….I am tempted to steal

:So Was Jesus

…I am tempted to lie

:So Was Jesus

…I am tempted to covet my neighbor’s wife, car, home, children, bank account, way of life.

:So was Jesus

…I am tempted to Murder

:So was Jesus

…I am tempted to blaspheme

:So Was Jesus

…I am tempted to bear false witness

:So Was Jesus

…I am tempted to never forgive, never forget, and hope that my enemy suffer greatly

:So Was Jesus

…I am tempted to get jealous and envious

:So Was Jesus

See…the covenant written long before the creation of the earth, before the angelic wars, before Lucifer fell from Grace is, “The Wages of Sin is Death”. God will not tolerate sin in His kingdom. Sin is what ever I do that separates me from God. I discovered there is nothing I can possibly do to cover my own sin…it lays me naked before God. I need a cover because I am ashamed at being cold and naked in front of God. My best efforts at covering myself are transparent and useless.

God created me in His own image, and in his likeness. I look like Him, and I am supposed to have His character. I don’t.

I want to do God’s will and be pure before Him. I already know that I have nothing that will satisfy God in this regard, but, If it were possible, I am tempted to give everything I have, own, or can offer, everything that is me if it means saving me, or any other Human God created.

God answered me

:So Was Jesus – And that is what counts.

Let’s Be About It

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

How Do I Say Thank-You?

For all the friends who prayed for Sandy and I. Thank you. Early this AM, we were scheduled for cut off. By time Sandy picked me up from where I was all night, our electrical balance was zero. Prayer definitely changes things.

In my hyper-Calvinist view point, I saw prayer in this regard as a practical thing to tame the fearful heart, and calm an intemperate mind. I felt that, after prayer, I had to “Gird my loins” and do whatever form of soul selling I needed to do to get this bill paid.

By the grace of God, Sandy and I saw your prayers being answered. Strangers we only met yesterday intervened and worked things out with the utility company. Our debt is mostly gone, and what is left over will be distributed over a two month period as an addendum to the bill.

I am telling you these personal details for the following reasons:

1. I asked for your prayers. I have learned to be accountable in all things, great and small, through this, so I wanted to tell you, your prayers released a Grace on my family.

2. Like I said, I come from a Hyper-Calvinist world. We are an arrogant lot, knowing the scriptures well, but not understanding them where it applies to practical and real faith. The Mustard seed kind. God is changing my heart daily, and my faith in the more “Mysterious” aspects of prayer and faith needed this lesson. Consider it “Boot camp” for the soul.

3. I have been unemployed since April. That means NO income. But God has demonstrated His grace, mostly in the miraculous, and sometimes through people who give out of their own need. And sometimes through strangers.

4. Lessons Learned: Arrogance has no place with God, neither does pride. If I have been anything over these last 30 years, I have been very prideful and arrogant. I needed this. Really trusting God is defined in moments like these. It preaches real good when all your stuff is lined up, and things aren’t very desperate. But I have an understanding of a kind of Grace I never knew existed. This is, afterall, why, 2 years ago, I began to return to God. I needed to see that He loves even the most fallen and wayward child.

5. Intercession works. And it is one of our first responsibilities as Christians. Instead of clucking my tongue at people who are fallen or having a very difficult life, I have to understand that I am not God, and have no right to judge them. I have to understand that they may be crossing my path for a reason. The same reason God stood back to see what Hezekiah would do. This is why intersession needs to come before rash behavior. When I intercede for someone, I get a clear picture from God, via the Holy Spirit, how to address what I have seen.

6. This makes me excited to see what God will do next over our House, and other bills. I hate what my family is going through due to my unemployment, but I love what God is building through this experience.

Thank you. I pray God’s blessings for all of you a thousand times over.

And ten-thousand blessings for that person who we never knew before.

In Jesus’ Name. I love you.

Let’s Be About It!

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

The Advocate

“…It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:34 KJV

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26 KJV

Have I taken into account that Christ intercedes on my behalf? Do I take into account that the Holy Spirit interceded on my behalf when I had no idea how to pray? They do this when we belong to Jesus Christ, when we begin to get off track, or need His supernatural help. This is a comfort to me (A strengthening, or fortifying knowledge), giving me the strength to bear up, even when I fail. The second I sin, Jesus intercedes on my behalf. And when I have no idea how to pray, the Spirit of God prays for me in heavenly languages.

Have I asked to be like Christ? Then why do I bear bitterness and anger when I see other Christians act less like Christ? Do I also express judgement when I see a non-Christian sin? Do I go to God and say, as the Pharisee did: “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” Luke 18:11 Do I count that person’s sin as a justification to show others just how righteous I am? When I see that someone who has confessed Jesus Christ stumble, do I cluck my tongue at them, shake my head, and decide that person is not really saved?

Have I judged other Christians for condemning me when I was in the throes of sin? I have done this and worse. But I have prayed to be like Christ. And God will have nothing less than that from me, as I am His child, and He intends to remake me into the image of Christ.

The heart of Christ is to intercede on our behalf, continually, before God. To this day, Jesus is confessing me before God as I am confessing Him before men. The Spirit of God, in His mercy and grace, reminds me that I have asked to be transformed into the image of Christ. He shows me how I look when I stand in the place of Jesus and judge others for their shortcomings. This type of pernicious meanness has no place in the Kingdom of God, and no place in the hearts of those who will genuinely follow Christ.

I will submit my heart to intercede on behalf of the very people I judged. I will confess to the Lord that I have attempted to do His job FOR Him. And I will pray ardently for the saved and the unsaved.

This is, after all, what my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is doing for me.

Let us take up our crosses and follow Him.

I love you,

Let’s be about it.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

By the Will of God

Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Romans 3:23-24 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

We inherited our sin nature through Adam and Eve. Since then, before we were saved, all our desire has been to satisfy the desires of our own heart. The Bible clearly shows that there is nothing we can do, produce, or say, or think that will be pleasing to God: “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Is 64:6 When we come to the startling discovery that there is nothing we can do to be considered right before God, we feel a sense of loss. We ask ourselves, “What must I do to be saved?”

The fact that we have come to this point is proof that God has already begun His saving work in you. Before you asked yourself this question, you lived a life where it would not occur to you to even consider God or His will for you. But the second we are made aware that there is something missing, and there is nothing you can do about it, you ask again, “What must I do to be saved?”

In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Here is when you learned that to cover the sin that separates us from God, Jesus, out of obedience to the will of God, gave His life in the place of yours (All of Humanity). What did this mean? Jesus obeyed God and became the one who took on all our sin, had it nailed to the cross, and accepted complete separation of God, and consumed all God’s wrath. Jesus did this out of His Love for God, and in obedience to the will of God.

He became a Gift to us, from the Living God. God does not desire that anyone should perish. Jesus told Nicodemus in the garden, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should have everlasting life.” John 3:16. He took this one step farther in the very next verses: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:17-19 KJV

So, if you have accepted this gift of God, you are saved. What this means is, now that you are saved, God sees you as saved. All the attributes of Salvation are at work in you. You are complete in God’s eyes. When He looks at you, He sees that the blood of Christ has covered you. You are no longer condemned.

IT THAT ALL?

Positionally, you are complete in God. He sees you as saved. You have eternal life. But what now? Can I go on acting like I used to act before I was saved? Yes, you can. But that will negate any testimony you could have about Jesus. One sure clue of your salvation is that you will want to know more about the one who saved you. If you ignore that urge, two things can happen. One is, you will fall right back into that sinful life Jesus died for. Or you will become a legalistic individual who tries to live the Christian life by your own will and power. Neither of these things is a thing God can bless.

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Phillipians 2:13

If you still feel the attraction toward our Savior, you will begin to feel in your heart the same power that drew you to Christ in the first place. When you tell God you want to be just like Jesus, you are telling Him that that finished work He sees in you positionally, you want the Holy Spirit to make manifest in the life you live on Earth. If this is your desire, then you will discover that you cannot fake the Character of Christ for very long. You will fail if you try to do this on your own. It is not the nature of the flesh to do this. You could stomp your foot and tell everyone “God loves me the way I am.” or “This is just how I am, and God loves me. ” or “I am saved, I am going to Heaven. God doesn’t expect me to change.” Yet, you ASKED God to make you into the Character of God, not you own character.

YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

We are either depending on our ability or God’s ability. There is no in between. Jesus wants all of you, or none of you. He said he would rather be hot or cold, but He will spit out luke-warm. Are you saved? If you met the conditions for salvation, yes. From God’s point of view, are you complete? Yes. But that is just the position you hold because of the Blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing about you personally that He will accept outside of you being made in the image of His Son.

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” I Corinthians 3:12

The people of Corinth were saved. The saved ones of Corinth did something that brought their salvation to no effect. They returned to their old lifestyles, and behaved no differently than they did before they were saved.

“Falling from Grace is not losing the born again experience. Falling from grace is when you leave the realm of God’s ability. It is when you attempt to have righteousness by your performance” Dr. James B. Richards. Impact Ministries, Publication Department. 3300 N. Broad Place, Huntsville, Alabama 35805

This is the assertion that you either can do it all on your own, or you don’t need to be transformed into the image of Christ.

There are a lot of people who complain about the “Hyper-Grace Movement”. This movement teaches that all your sin in forgiven from the past, in the present, and in the future. That God already knew you were going to sin, and He has already chosen to overlook it. This is scripturaly inaccurate. I can flesh this one out later. These same people are the ones who think that because they have had a salvation experience, there is nothing else that they need to do to please God. The end result is the exact same as the Hyper-Grace Movement. This same thought teaches, by implication, that you do not have to change a thing about yourself because you are already saved. This, too is a doctrinal error, and is offered by people who either do not really know the scriptures, or have chosen to accept only the things of scripture that please them.

If you are still alive, and you are saved, the Spirit of God will not be content leaving you unchanged. He will call you and call you to be transformed in to the very image of the character of Christ. To refuse to give any part of yourself, and ultimately, all of your self, in every aspect, in every way, is to tell God that you either don’t trust Him to complete in you His perfect work, or you are telling God you are already perfect, and there is nothing about you that needs growing up to be like Christ.

Your fall from grace comes when you are called to be like Christ, but do not sacrifice your will and self to allow the Spirit of God to change you. When Christ said that many are called and few are chosen, he was not talking about your salvation. If you are saved, you are saved. Nothing can change that. The chosen are the ones who allowed the Spirit of God to work in them so that they can obey Christ when He said: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23 NASB

If you are content to be saved, but not effective in a call, just continue doing what you are doing. But you need to know, the complications that exist in your life exist because you have chosen to try to make Christ into your image that let the Spirit of God transform you into the likeness of Christ. Grace is not cheap. It cost Jesus His life. The ones He chooses are the ones who lay down their very lives, all aspects of it, and walk in the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. It is all an act of Grace.

I can say all of this because I have just survived 20 years being saved, but not allowing the Spirit of God to work out my flawed character and make my character into the image of Christ. My life used to be a living Hell because God allowed me to be my own master. I could not be Godly and be myself at the same time. Today, Christ is healing the wounds, and is turning what is positionally true in God’s eyes in to a child of God, made in the image of Christ. This is not something I can do for myself. It is simply allowing God to get me out of my own way so the Spirit of God can recreate me. My desire is that God use me to witness to the lost and the fallen. And I no longer want things done my way. I only want things His way.

If He is calling you, allow Him to remake your character into something He can choose to follow Him.

It is all a choice.

I love you

Let’s Be About It!

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 NASB

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1 Samuel 16:7

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Chapter Two

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“But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,”

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I heard a great message today by Michael Yousef. http://www.leadingtheway.org/ “Surely Not Me … And Definitely Not Them

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Heb 13:2

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“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3 HCSB

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Chapter One

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― Frank Herbert, Dune

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I John 4:18

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THE CONDITION OF THE HUMAN HEART

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THE THEOLOGY OF REST

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This is blog 1 for August 12th, 2013. Blog 2 will follow. It will be along the lines of the message I have been given to share.

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

YOU ARE SAVED:

YOU KNOW THERE IS MORE:

THERE IS WORK TO DO:

YOU WILL KNOW:

WHY IS IT HARD?:

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?:

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“…It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:34 KJV

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26 KJV

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IT THAT ALL?

YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

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Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.