Category Archives: Faith

Faith, Observations

Growing Pains – Lessons from the Kindergarten of God – Part 1


When dealing with yourself, use your mind. When dealing with others, use your heart. John Maxwell

“When dealing with yourself, use your mind. When dealing with others, use your heart.”  – John Maxwell

Introduction – Dedicated to my co-workers at Cates Control Solutions

I was writing about the Core Values of the company I work for. I feel I have to interrupt that series for two reasons: 1) My recent behavior betrayed that I adhere to those values only when it suits me, and 2) The lessons I am learning here are rich, meaningful, and important.

Something happened at work, the other day.  In my mind it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.  It was time for me to take action and speak out.  That is exactly what I did.  I spoke out.  The end result was less than stellar.  My conversation had deteriorated to the point that I was not being constructive, but destructive.  The very people I wanted to reach were put off by my behavior and speech.  Nothing was gained, and any trust I had earned was in jeopardy of being lost.  I had let my mouth run before I had put my mind in gear.

All this time I had been praying about, speaking about, and writing about the finished work of the cross, and the exchange that took place between God, Jesus and Man at the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.  My behavior and speech betrayed an entirely different story, though.  And when I finally cooled off enough to listen, I heard a Loving God tell me that my conduct was less than becoming for His child.  It was a simple rebuke, and lovingly spoken, but I have not been the same since.  I am undone, and I hurt that I let my Lord down so blatantly.

Being filled with the Spirit of God doesn’t mean you are finally a fully grown child of God.  It means you have just been born again.  And being born, you are nurtured for a season in the sweet and warm light of the Spirit.  As you grow, however, the Spirit of God will begin to gently and lovingly teach you lessons on the character of Christ.  If you pay attention, and receive these lessons, you grow, and it doesn’t hurt.  But if you are a jackass, like I tend to be, the Spirit will let you have your way, and deal with you lovingly, but in a way that you can see your selfishness in the same light as God sees it.  That is where the pain is.  When I see myself behave badly, I feel the same pain as the Spirit must feel when looking at rebellion.

“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” ― John C. Maxwell

“For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:12

Where Are My Roots?

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:1 – Jesus

I have a choice.  I can abide in Christ, or I cannot.  I can choose to do either one.

Choosing not to abide at all has a consequence all its’ own, and I will not write about that here.

The choice to abide in Him is what this is about.

When I choose to know God and be transformed into the likeness (behavior) of Christ, I am aided by the very power of God to be conformed into Christ’s likeness.  When I chose to take matters into my own hands, I have stopped abiding in Christ.  This branch in me bore fruit, but not Godly fruit.  This branch must be pruned in order that it may bear good fruit.  The sap that runs in the branches, powered by the Holy Spirit, bears good fruit.  Good fruit is that which leads others to Jesus, that which demonstrates Love, Mercy, Grace and Forgiveness.

The Spirit of God will deal directly with you, without condemnation, and with all Love, Grace and Mercy. It is only Satan who accuses you and condemns you. The Children of God behave as Christ does, the Children of Satan, behave as Satan does. The evidence of who we follow is borne in the fruit we bear.

What is My Fruit?

“Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” Matthew 7:16b – 18 – Jesus

Do my words and deeds bear fruit that others will enjoy and grow from?  Do the words of my mouth bring life or death?  Is my confession holy or unholy? If my words cause division, strife, scorn, hatred, and alienates my confession from my identity, then I am bearing bad fruit.   My first fruit has to be forgiveness of my own shortcomings, so I can forgive others of theirs.  I can do this when I remember that Jesus died of ALL sin.  He became all sin and bore the wrath of God.  In exchange, He gave me His holiness and His Grace and His Love and His Mercy and His standing with God.  This exchange, this fruit, has to grow in me as I abide in Him.  Apart from Him I can do nothing. There is no other way I can bear good fruit.

I am grateful to God that He chooses to forgive and prune me, rather than just throw me away at the first sign of my weakness.

Where Are My Thoughts?

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1 – Jesus

If I want to be received well by my fellow-man, I must treat my fellow-man with all the love and respect with which I want them to treat me.

It may be that, when my fellow-man judges me, that they simply do not really know what I am doing, or what my vision of my job is.  It may simply be that they are unhappy with the way I do things because it is not the way they would do it.  It may be that they cannot let go of a past whose spirit I embrace, but whose method have not grown to keep up with the amazing growth of Cates.

When I judge them, rather than accept them, I have closed any door of communication that could exist.  I have lost a friend.  If I want to have friends at work, I must first be a friend at a work.  “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.” Proverbs 17:17

I desire to understand my co-workers as well as be understood by them.  My words and behavior will determine if I can accomplish this.

What Am I Doing?

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 – Jesus

If I am forgiven, I must speak forgiveness to others.

If I have received Grace, I must speak gracefully to others.

If I have received Mercy, then I must be merciful to others.

If I am Loved of God, then I must love and be lovely to others

I Will Reap What I Sow.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” 

This is a universal principle. You do not have to be any religion to see this happen in your life. You will always get back what you give to others, and you will get it more abundantly than you gave it out. The difference between the Christian doing this, and others doing it is this: When a Christian does this, the end result is the Glorification of God for what He accomplished through Jesus Christ.

I have a choice of where I want to store up my treasures. Being merciful and graceful doesn’t mean everyone will be merciful and graceful back to me. Some people are just evil in their hearts and delight in the demonstration of that evil. But, for the most part, people will always give back to you what you give to them, and they will give it back with interest, and they will invite their friends to do the same.

If I am reaping something at work, it is probably because I sowed it, first.

My Prayer:

My Heavenly Father, I love you and Praise you because of the finished work of the Cross, and all the gifts you have given me because of it. I pray, in the Name of Jesus, that you bind my tongue to the truth, and teach me mercy, grace, forgiveness and love. I pray that you teach me how to encourage others to do the same. – AMEN

“Truth is that which corresponds to reality. Reality is what exists regardless of human opinion.” – Chris Putnam

Part 2 coming.

Let’s Be About It!

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Lessons from Life; Part One


Unmerited favor is described in this blog. Mark is my big brother in Jesus, and one of my mentors. Thank you Mark for being there for me.

theheartseeker's avatarTheHeartseeker's Blog

A mouse named Zoey

A few weeks ago, two of my children were outside and made a discovery that has impacted our lives on so many levels. One of them looked down, and noticed something small and helpless in our driveway. It was a baby mouse – only a few days old. The day was sunny (and abnormally warm) and the tiny mouse appeared to be near death. It was at this point, that the children made a decision… they decided to pick up the mouse, bring it inside, and attempt to nurse it back to health. This decision required the necessity of making a new mouse “home” (a cardboard shoebox with all the necessary “mousy” materials and surroundings). It also required some research online (they looked up several articles on baby mice and what they needed to survive). In their research they discovered that baby mice needed “mouse baby…

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THE LURKING BEAST OF A WEIGHED-DOWN HEART – April 19


This is a one of my all time favorite blogs.  The author is incredibly descriptive.  It isn’t about me dropping my guard, but me doing something that invites the little foxes in.  How much does a person need crushing before he catches on?

THE LURKING BEAST OF A WEIGHED-DOWN HEART – April 19

April 19, 2014 by JD Blom

 

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“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36

 

20 on explore on Sunday, July 1, 2007There is a beast that roams my small acreage.

I have never seen its shape for it comes out only after I yield to sleep. Yet, the evidence of its presence confronts me at sunrise every morning. I walk into my field and shutter at the thought of an unwanted presence having recently crossed the very path of my footsteps.

I know what it hunts. I see the numerous holes it has dug in pursuit of its prey – gophers. I do not object to that pursuit. However, I wish that it would get its own. This beast has found that it is easier to steal from me. It has discovered that at the bottom of the fluttering location flags is a gopher trap that often, by the time of darkness, contains a dead gopher. It then absconds with the gopher and my trap. I have lost two traps to this beast.

I can tolerate the presence of this beast lurking in the darkness since we have a common nemesis – gophers. However, I know there is a danger that goes beyond the thief of traps and the annoyance of hole digging (this beast does not have the common courtesy of backfilling its holes).

English: Badger hole This large hole was in th...My concern is for my chickens. I know that it is just a matter of time before this beast finds that a roosting chicken is about as easy to catch as a trapped gopher – and much more satisfying. Therefore, this beast has become my enemy before I lose something I value more than a dead gopher.

I am not sure of my success. Therefore, I must stay vigilant to the unseen dangers.

IMAG0018There is a danger to our souls that lurks in the darkness. Our danger is that the day of judgment will come upon us unaware, when we do not expect it, and when we are not prepared for it. The danger is that we are called to meet our Lord, and He is the furthest thing from our hearts and low on the list of that which we love.

We are most vulnerable to this danger when we are unconscious to its presence. That is why we are encouraged to stay awake. We are to stay vigilant against the beast of a heart that is weighted down. We are to watch ourselves from becoming satiated with an inordinate pursuit of the good things of this world and an over-indulgence of the appetites of the body.

Many of us live in an amicable truce with the cares of the world. We fall asleep and allow the beast of our cravings to roam free because we consider them a normal course of our existence. We live with competing loves because it does not appear that they are having an effect upon our spiritual lives beyond an occasional thief of joy and the annoyance of our disrupted façade.

I believe that the danger of a weighed-down heart is far greater than we realize. A weighed-down heart is evidence of misplaced love. Misplaced loves have to be killed before they can burden our hearts, steal our fruitfulness, and even cause us to give up.

From my experience, I rarely get a clean shot at my misplaced loves. They grow in the hidden crevasses of the normal course of my life. I can become so accustomed to these cares, that I fall asleep to their danger.

I have to go to their lair and smoke them out.

There is only one way to smoke out misplaced love. It is by the work of the Spirit in our lives that affections are set upon God and God alone and misplaced love is killed. We have to come to the Spirit in pray and ask the Lord to examine our hearts for anything that we love more than Him. When we feel weighed down by the cares of this world, we must yield all to the Lord and set our eyes upon the things of the Spirit.

We mustn’t fall asleep to the danger. We must not accept a beast prowling in the darkness of our hearts as normal. The danger of a weighed-down heart is nothing to ignore.

PRAYER: Father, I do not want my love to be misplaced.  I do not want to love anything more than you.  Lord, examine my heart.  Show me where I am being weighed down by the cares of this world.  Show me the good things that I pursue more than you.  Show me where my appetites are out of control.  Help me give to you those loves that I have allowed to become too elevated.  Help me keep my eyes on you.  Help me stay awake to that which I am setting my mind upon.  Keep me in your steadfast love.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

 

JD Blom's avatarA DEVOTED LIFE

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36

20 on explore on Sunday, July 1, 2007There is a beast that roams my small acreage.

I have never seen its shape for it comes out only after I yield to sleep. Yet, the evidence of its presence confronts me at sunrise every morning. I walk into my field and shutter at the thought of an unwanted presence having recently crossed the very path of my footsteps.

I know what it hunts. I see the numerous holes it has dug in pursuit…

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Me and My Big Mouth – Part III.


Taming the Tongue

1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,a and set on fire by hell.b 7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,c these things ought not to be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. James 3:1 – 12 ESV

Too often, I speak without thinking, I think without reason, and I reason without listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

That is when what I think I am saying turns into a thing I never intended to say.

One thing is clear; When the Spirit of God gives you utterance, it will most likely surprise you more than it surprises the listener.  The reason that is so is, the Listener was looking for the answer deep in their heart, and the Spirit of God simply reveals the heart of the hearer, and He gave you utterance to that listener, despite of what “wisdom” you think you have..

My mouth will speak what is in my heart.  My heart will believe what I choose for it to believe.  When what I chose to believe is contradictory to the will of God, I have ceased to represent God, and the finished work of Christ.  When I do this, I am reproved of God.  He is gentle and loving, and does not condemn me when he corrects me.  You can tell who the Children of God are when they correct you the same way.  If I am wise, I learn…if I am a fool, I am broken on the truth.  If I refuse to learn, then I am useless.

This is what I pray the Spirit of God will write on my heart:

Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.”  Luke 21:15, ESV – Jesus

This is true of every utterance you have.  Wether in writing, or in speech, in thought or in deed.  I must labor into the rest of the finished work of Christ, and allow the Spirit of God to do His mysterious and powerful work in me.  To do anything else is rebellion against the One whom I say I have accepted in my heart.

Even Confucius understood this:  “If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant, then what ought to be done remains undone.”

Paul said it best:

15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…

I pray that the Spirit of God first teach me this wonderful love, and write it on my heart.  I pray that, if I have to speak or write, under any circumstance, that I do it in the love He has poured into me. I pray that I do not rely on my own understanding, but learn to get myself out of the way before I attempt to tell anyone anything.

Let’s Be About It!

I love You,

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Test of Authenticity


Luke 6:46 ESV : “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Luke 6:46 ESV : “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

 

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

I am doing a research, right now, where I compare the writings of two different Christian Leaders.  One of these leaders manages to take everything he discusses back to the finished work of the cross.  The other one, a more influential person, acknowledges the work on the Cross, but manages to take his work back to Adlerian Psychology, Mixed with Ericksons Stages of Development.  I recognize other influences, in there, too, but, whether he calls his modality these things, or not, this is what he is doing.

One leader takes the hurt soul and shows us where we are complete in the finished work of Christ, and are given a host of gifts.  This leader tells us our identity no longer lay in the things of this earth, but, as a new creation, we are now completely loved, accepted, and are being made in the likeness of Christ our savior.  The rest of his works describe the scriptural basis of Christian Authenticity.

The other leader, despite the finished work of Christ, wants to take us through our developmental stages of life, point out where we were “wounded” and how that affects our lives, and uses several psychological gimmicks to justify and solidify this teaching.  Then he peppers it with scripture in an effort to undergird his writing.

This inauthentic approach never releases you from sin, never gives you a chance to labor into the rest of the finished work of Christ, and never releases you from a past that Christ clearly died for.

At Cates Control Solutions, we have a saying about Responsibility:  We accept the responsibilities of our position and know we are accountable to meet our obligations.

So, what is my responsibility to what I am reading.  Simple, when I read any leader of the “Christian Faith”, the test of authenticity I have learned to recognize is this:  It either takes you to the finished work of the Cross, and how that makes you a new creation, or it doesn’t.  When Christ died of our sin, he didn’t die for just a few things.  He died of everything, so you will receive everything that is His.  You do not have to regress and confront anything in your past.  Your past is dead.  When Christ rose from the dead, Your NEW SELF rose with him.  OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY.  I also know from experience, any “woundedness” I carry is because I have not rested in the finished work of the cross.  I do not have to identify myself with anything but Jesus, and seek the Kingdom of God.  There is nothing I need to go back and fix.  I labor to rest in the finished and authentic work of Christ.  I have received all gifts and benefits of the Child of God.

Tonight we observe that Christ died on the cross.  He fulfilled His responsibility, and set you free from all encumbrances.  My responsibility as a new creation, is to make sure I do not get mired down in any doctrine of man that attempts to denigrate the finished work of the cross.

After all, When Jesus said it was finished…He meant it.

I love you in Jesus Name…

…It’s Friday, but SUNDAY IS COMING!  Halleluiah!

David G. Perkins

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Easter


These are the free gifts of God, through Jesus Christ.

These are the free gifts of God, through Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus didn’t hide eggs.

He didn’t hand out candy.

What He hid was our sin.

What he gave out was his life.

This is his gift to you …

…If you will have it.

I love you in the name of Jesus,

Let’s Be About It.

David G. Perkins

 

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If I Had Been There


image

If I had been there, would I have…
…cried like his mom did?
…mocked him like the guards did?
…stand in open condemnation as the High Priest did?
…observe with the joy of blood sport as the local rabble did?
…betray him as his followers did?
…shriek in loud cheers as Satan did?

Chances are, had I been there, I would have done all of the above.
Chances are, I would have done these things out of the same pitiless ignorance that they did.

Even in all his betrayal, pain, and separation from the Father, he asked God to forgive us, since we really didn’t know what we were doing.

Jesus didn’t die for our sin, He died OF them.  He died for me.  He died for you.

I Love You
David Perkins
Sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Unrelentingly Relentless


Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. I COR 9:24 ESV

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith  Hebrews 12:1-11

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

re·lent·less

riˈlentləs/adjective

adjective: relentless

1.

oppressively constant; incessant.

“the relentless heat of the desert”

synonyms:

persistent, continuing, constant, continual, continuous, nonstop, never-ending, unabating, interminable, incessant, unceasing, endless, unending, unremitting, unrelenting, unrelieved;

 

To Find My Path of Unrelenting Relentlessness, I first Had To Relent

Part of dying to my old self meant putting away my old self-habits.  I know that the only way to do that, and make it stick, is through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.  And THAT has to be what I call “Heart Surgery”.  For the change to keep, my Heart Beliefs HAVE to align and harmonize with the Spirit of the Living God.  From there, whatever characteristics I stored in my mind are overwritten with the Character of Christ.  When that happens, my body follows.

To relent is to soften your position on certain fast held beliefs.  To relent is similar to repent, which is to change your mind.  The difference is, I must be willing to soften my unrelentingly relentless stance on a wrong belief, it is when I am unrepentantly unrelentless that a character other than that of Christ is revealed in me.

This is why it is written:  Ezekiel 36:29 NIV – ‘“I’m going to give you a new heart, and I’m going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I’ll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it with one that’s sensitive to me.”   Before I can learn to relent, I have to submit to the Heart Surgery of the Holy Spirit, and be recreated, which is where II Corinthians 5:17 is revealed in you: “Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come”

As a new creation, with a new Spirit and a heart sensitive to the voice of God, you can be remade into the image of Christ.  There are dangers in this, though.  The Spirit of God is gentle, and will never force its will on you without your consent.  You can ignore it, you can deny it, you can do whatever you want.  If you are willing to relent, then you will be changed, gently, without condemnation, and grow to be more like Christ.

WHAT AM I WILLING TO BE RELENTLESS ABOUT.

At Cates Control Solutions, Relentless is defined as follows:  “RELENTLESS: We will not back down from our pursuit of excellence in every aspect of our business.”

So I wondered where that is found in scripture.  Here is an example – Philippians 4:8“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise — dwell on these things.”

In order to pursue excellence, I must relent on my attitude that “Good Enough is Good Enough.”  I must find where EXCELLENCE is taught in the Bible, and I must let the Spirit of God write these things on my heart.

Excellence, like any other Core Value, is as meaningful as you will allow it to be, and is only as effective as it is written on my heart.  It is my hard-earned experience that I cannot fake this value of the relentless pursuit of Excellence.

Click the word EXCELLENCE, to see what the Bible has to say about Excellence.

Frankly, left to my own devices, Good Enough is Good Enough for me.  It is not in my carnal nature to want excellence, or to pursue excellence.  This can only come from a changed heart.  It is not just for the sake of Cates Control Solutions that I chase, unrelentingly, after Excellence.  It is first, and foremost because the Spirit of the Living God is pursuing excellence in me.

“RELENTLESS” and all the other Core Values becomes real, not because it is a rule at the office.  It stops being mere words when the Spirit of God is allowed to turn my heart of stone into a heart that is sensitive to the will of God.  If I approach all of the Cates Core Values this way, then it will not matter of this is posted on our wall, or the back of my business card.  I will not have to be reminded by the “Thought Police” to pursue this, either.  It will simply manifest itself as the natural outcome of my unrelentingly relentless pursuit of the Character of Christ.

My Prayer:  Dearest God, My Father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord, My Savior, and my Brother, that I relent in my stiff-necked will, and turn toward your voice, and become unrelentingly obsessed with all the things you say are excellent.  I know all the qualities exist in the Person and Likeness of Christ.  Lead me, Dear God, to be just like your son.  – AMEN

Now, Let’s Be About It!

I love you in the name of Jesus Christ.

David G. Perkins

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Single Minded


David G. Perkins's avatarDavid G. Perkins

English: Icon of Jesus Christ English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

James 1:4-8

King James Version (KJV)

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The difficult part of the disciple’s life is getting out of the way of the Lord when He is doing a work. Have I asked for the single-minded determination that trusts God in all things? Then I shouldn’t…

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The Looking Glass


In my dreams. Photo by E. Tom Hussey

In my dreams. Photo by E. Tom Hussey

JAMES 1:23-24 – For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

We interrupt this series on values to bring you this message.

I Corinthians 15:49 – Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about how our perception of ourselves affects what we believe is true about ourselves.  For example, I have this self-image of me from when I was in peak athletic condition.

In my minds mirror, I see me as still being fit, muscular, coordinated, strong, with real strength, not bottled strength.  In my minds mirror, I still have long, curly blackish/brown hair, full of waves and curls.  In my mind’s eye, I am still wearing 32 inch waist pants.

What the mirror in my mind ells me.

What the mirror in my mind tells me.

The mind can be a tricky thing, and can lead me to many false assumptions based on what I think is true.  Often, my warped ego guides me to many fallacies and false assumptions.

The other day, I did something I honestly RARELY ever do.  I looked at myself in the mirror.  My first impression was, “Hey!  That’s my Dad!  I thought I buried HIM in 2005!”  But when I moved, so did the man in the mirror.  Then it dawned on my conscious mind, and my ego mind, that is not my dad, but ME!!

It was then I realized why I don’t look in mirrors.  I am not that guy my ego told me I am.  I am the very image of my Dad.

IN THE BEGINNING

When God created us, we were made in the image of God, meaning we looked like he looks.  We were also made in the likeness of God, meaning we used to act as He acted because we saw what he did.

AFTER THE FALL

After the fall, we lost touch with God, and lost what was His likeness.  We were not able to return to our glorified state.  No work we could expend any effort on would make us righteous in God’s eyes, even though we became self-righteous in our own eyes.  The ego can really fool a person.

THEN CAME JESUS

Yes, Jesus is the Son of God.  God said so rather loudly at Jesus’ baptism.  But it was the Son of Man that faced temptation.  It was the Son of Man that asked God to take away the cup.  It was the Son of Man that faced God’s wrath.  It was the Son of Man that rose from the dead to prove he is the Son of God, too.

The Image of Christ

We are asked to be like Christ, but we, on our own are not capable.  The best we can do is try, but we eventually fail.  But the scripture says we need to become like Christ.  Peter was the first person to prove that, if you don’t keep your eyes on Christ, you will fail in your effort to be just like Jesus.  The labor into the rest of Christ likeness was that all Peter had to do was keep his eyes, and faith, on Jesus, and he would have walked on the water, by faith, as he was already doing.

In the Garden of Eden, the wind and waves Adam and Eve faced was the lie that doing something else will make you just like God.  They then doubted they were already like God.  They took their eyes off the facts, and the truth, and considered a lie, and a false premise based on circumstances.  Forbidden Fruit.

THE EXCHANGE

If you will consider this, instead, and accept it as fact, instead of believing what you think you apparently see, you will learn that you are already like Christ, if you have accepted His death and resurrection.  When Jesus became all your sin, you received, in exchange, all that Jesus is.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

II Corinthians 3:18

It is all a matter of what we focus on.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8  

Just like Jesus died of our sins, voluntarily, we are able to die to ourselves, voluntarily, as we labor into the rest of accepting that, all that Jesus was, we inherited when He arose from the dead.  When we keep our understanding on this truth, when we comprehend this exchange, and when we accept it in faith, no matter what we think we look like, you will look to God, like His Son, Jesus, and you will eventually appear to others to have the likeness of Christ, too.

After all, that is why you weren’t raptured the second you believed.  You are the only Jesus people will see.  When they see Jesus in you, they will want to know what happened to make you this way.

We are transformed in to the image of Christ

We are transformed in to the image of Christ

Let’s Be About It!

I love you in the Name of Jesus

David G. Perkins

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Faith, Observations

Integrity


Proverbs 10:9

 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,

    but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Vocabulary Word: Integrity

FROM THE HEBREW – תֹּם            FROM THE GREEK – καθαρός

Transliteration
tom
Pronunciation
tōm (Key)
Part of Speech
masculine noun
Root Word (Etymology)
Outline of Biblical Usage

  1. integrity, completeness

    1. completeness, fulness

    2. innocence, simplicity

    3. integrity
.
Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon
 Transliteration  Origin
katharós
of uncertain affinity
Definition  [ Thayer’s | Strong’s ]

Thayer’s Definition

  1. clean, pure
    1. physically
      1. purified by fire
      2. in a similitude, like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit
    2. in a levitical sense
      1. clean, the use of which is not
Matthew 5:8 – WH – μακαριοι οι καθαροι τη καρδια οτι αυτοι τον θεον οψονται (5695)
                                                                               Matthew 5:8 – KJV – Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see (5695) God.

I hated calculus in college.  Even though Isaac Newton was one of my heroes, and Leibniz was inspired, and is a genius in his own right, calculus was not my friend. Differential equations were hard enough, see for your self:

differential equations

RIGHT?!?

Now, look at an example of an integral equation:

Integral Equations

Even worse, right???

Anyone?

 Well…it was hard for me to do these.  It wasn’t until I audited a class on Engineering Dynamics that I got to see integral equations at work. I went to the book store and bought the Schaum’s Outlines for the Calculus, Differential through Integration, including transformation equations.  I studied it, now that I had a visual idea what it means.  I finally made decent enough grades in Math to move on.  Today, I am researching Vedic Maths (Another blog, another time).

 The moving picture at the top of the screen is an illustration of integration at work.  It shows in form what integration looks like.  Everything moving together, at different rates of speed in order to be a complete, whole, and functional system.  It is pure in that it does not deviate from its’ design.  It’s purity, or innocence is maintained as long as no foreign objects, wrenches, junk, dirt, rocks, etc are introduced to the system.  Throw a wrench in the works, you have a system that is broken, and fails to meet its’ designed expectation.  The timing of the gear’s mesh is perfect for its function.

Each gear is identifiable as being separate from each other…they have their own identity.  They work as one because of their relationship to each other.  Their design is harmonized, and functional, as long as it is being used for its’ purpose.

So, Cates has this one value that goes like this:

“Integrity – We commit “to do what we say we will do.” If that commitment is in jeopardy, we will immediately work with all involved to get back on schedule.”

The first thing I asked myself, when I first saw this is, “How do I measure integrity?”  If some one has integrity, do they have ENOUGH integrity.  However, that question contradicts itself…if you lack integrity to the smallest degree, you lack integrity.

The ethics of hell teach us that we can do the wrong thing for the right reason, the right thing for the wrong reason, do nothing, or in doing something, we may cause more harm than good.  Our society, being bereft of a moral compass is fine with the ethics of hell because, “What matters is your intent, how you felt”.  That makes any outcome acceptable because you meant well.  But I can still hear Grandma Wells telling me, “Little David!  The road to hell is paved with good intentions!”

And she was right.

Because of that exercise in logic, I had to ask myself, “Who here decides what the baseline of integrity is?”  I asked this of myself because of other places I worked.  Other companies are all about the bottom line.  It was “good integrity” in their eyes if you supported the bottom line at the expense of all sense of right and wrong.  To fail to do this, would be a lack of integrity in their eyes.

Integrity, as I think I understand it, is not subject to any ones individual whim, and remains a constant without deviation.  So, who decided what integrity is, anyway???

GOD DID.

I believe the scriptures are the word of God.  I believe that, if it is in the Bible, God wanted us to learn something from it.  For a list of places where integrity is even remotely hinted at, CLICK THIS LINK.

As you can see, I looked up the definition of integrity as used in the bible, both Old Testament and New Testament.  The New Testament does not use the word directly in the Greek language, even though some translations have translated the meaning of the word as “integrity”.  It is still accurate.

 

Let me begin with the Hebrew translation:

Vocabulary Word: Integrity

FROM THE HEBREW – תֹּם

Transliteration
tom
Pronunciation
tōm (Key)
Part of Speech
masculine noun
Root Word (Etymology)
Outline of Biblical Usage

  1. integrity, completeness

    1. completeness, fulness

    2. innocence, simplicity

    3. integrity
.
Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon

Here we see what God intended for mankind.  When we were in the Garden of Eden, we were COMPLETE.  We reflected the FULLNESS of God as we are made in his image and likeness, meaning we look like him, and were supposed to act just like him (That is what likeness meant, His Character).  We were innocent of sin.  There was no corruption, nothing lacking, we had everything we needed to walk after God and fulfill his design for His purposes for us.  In our innocent state, we had no guile, no deceit, no awareness of what we might do wrong.  We were innocent.  We were pure.

That is how God designed us.
THE FALL
At the fall, because we considered Satan’s lie that God was holding out on us, and we believed that lie, we learned what sin, separation from God, illness, and corruption was all about.  We were no longer pure, innocent, complete, full of His glory, and life got really complicated.   Instead of becoming LIKE God (The state we were actually already in), we became like Satan (The State Satan was already in.)
The fall is where we died.  That is why God told mankind that eating the fruit will kill you.  Our soul perished, we were broken.  We had a wrench in the works, and we threw it there.  This is why Jesus was able to tell people this:
  John 3:18 AMPLIFIED : He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation–he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]
Because we were already dead, and if we chose to not believe in Jesus, we are ALREADY condemned because our souls were already dead.  Dead souls is not what God had in mind.

SO, HOW DO WE GET FROM THE FALL TO INTEGRITY???

I am glad you asked.

Integrity, like Attitude, is not something you can fake for very long.  It is another attribute that is often imitated, but never duplicated.  Integrity, REAL integrity lives in a redeemed heart.   Here, I’ll show you from the New Testament:

 FROM THE GREEK – καθαρός
 Transliteration  Origin
katharós of uncertain affinity
Definition  [ Thayer’s | Strong’s ]

Thayer’s Definition

  1. clean, pure
    1. physically
      1. purified by fire
      2. in a similitude, like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit
    2. in a levitical sense
      1. clean, the use of which is not
Matthew 5:8 – WH – μακαριοι οι καθαροι τη καρδια οτι αυτοι τον θεον οψονται (5695)
Matthew 5:8 – KJV – Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see (5695) God.
As I mentioned in my last blog on ATTITUDE, after the fall, we lost the ability to naturally have holiness as a way of life.  In order to redeem mankind to a working relationship with God, Jesus had to come here and become all of our sin so that, in exchange for him becoming all our sin, we are given all the attributes of Christ.  If we have accepted this free gift, we are now the Children of God.

BECOMING PURE IN HEART

 Last August, when the Spirit of God filled me and got hold of me, the first thing He did was work at getting my mind right.  It is one thing to intellectually agree that I am saved and am a child of God, but it is entirely a different thing to apprehend this fact in my heart.  To be infused with the spirit, not merely possessed.  This is the first step of integration for the new believer.  You are infused, immersed, filled…down to the mitochondrial level, all the way into the DNA.  Infused with the life of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
That is why Galatians 2:20 says :“I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.”  
And why II Corinthians 5:17 says:  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
When this happens, the world begins to look different. As you permit the Spirit of God to affect change in you, you begin to see things the way God sees them..  You begin to think His thoughts.  You begin to want to do as Jesus did.  And what did Jesus say would happen if you allow Him to graft you into the vine, and if you abide there?
He said THIS:  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Do you see where this heads?  It starts with The Spirit infusing you and guiding you to be like Jesus.  The more you submit to this process, the more you desire this process.  You desire it because once you walk in it, you discover a joy and pleasure you have never known.  Fear is gone, and assurance lives in you.  The laboring in to rest for this comes in where you have to remember that you are dead, Christ is alive in you.  It takes time and effort to get this fact down.  The more you understand it, the more you can walk the walk.  The pruning part of the Greek definition comes in when the Spirit cuts away every unproductive thing in your heart and mind.  That way, you have more resources available for what is left of you.  Eventually, as the graft of you into Jesus (The Vine) solidifies, you will produce good fruit, as Jesus did, and more.

OK, Dave, but can we get back to the Integrity thing???

 

Sure.
Here is what I am trying to say.  Many, many people can emulate Integrity, but in the long run, they either succumb to the fatigue generated from faking it, or they deviate from the walk, even though they think they have integrity, because the source of all things holy is not their source.
A changed heart and a changed mind must integrate with the Spirit so you can harmonize with the will of God.  God empowers you when you surrender to the gentle work of the Spirit.  It eventually feels effortless compared to how it used to feel to fake this attribute.
Like Love, Faith, Grace, Mercy, Attitude, etc, Integrity must come from the heart and infuse your thinking.  When that happens, you will walk the walk.  You cannot walk this walk without the power of the living God who, in the form of the Holy Spirit, dwells in you, and infuses every aspect of your being.   HE does this, not you.  You simply become Him the more you submit to His love and guidance.

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

There are plenty of times I want to deviate from God’s will for my life.  Every time old habits or my old flesh try to come back to life, I have to labor back into the rest of God.  I do this by knowing and proclaiming the scriptures, and through prayer.  My old self  lied, cheated, stole, and, basically, broke every commandment that existed.  I even made up commandments so I could rebel against them, too!
Now, I am filled with the Spirit of God, and I genuinely want and desire to be like Christ.  Fortunately, there is nothing I have to do but submit.
Integrity really is how you are when no one else is looking.  What you do with your thoughts and intentions when you are alone reveals your true character.  Unless you have allowed the will of God through the power of the Holy Spirit to change your heart, you cannot fake integrity for very long.
THe big challenge is when your public life and your private life actually harmonize with the will of God.  THIS is what having integrity really means.  In the case of CATES, having this integrity means always keeping your word, honoring your commitments, being pure in your intent, and having your work ethic match your intent.
This is how it is in God’s kingdom, too.
If you struggle with integrity, chances are there is a part of your heart you hold on to, and do not let God transform.  The lack of purity there will always, in one form or another, manifest itself in your daily life.  This is a tough one.  It is tough because, even if you are aware of this discrepancy, no matter how much effort you put into changing it yourself, the change will never take place.  Not with out you submitting to the will of God.  This is what it means to labor to rest.  Give up your will, and deny your self, and see what it is that God wants to do in your life.
I have never met a living soul who regretted walking in the life God made possible through Jesus.  But I have seen misery in many forms from people who think they have it all together but don’t know Christ.
Do you want integrity?  Do you want it to become easy to obtain?  Trust the finished work of the cross, and let the Spirit of God lead you to this…after-all, it IS why Jesus said His yolk is easy, and His burden is light.
Now, Let’s be about it.
I love you in the name of Jesus.
If you have a prayer request, please write me by filling out the form below.
Love always,
David G. Perkins

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What Were You Looking For?


what-we-see-depends-mainly-on-what-we-look-for

Philippians 4:8-9 ESV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”   Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

When I was a teenager, my Dad decided it was time for me to learn how to fly one of his several airplanes.  Considering my driving history, I thought he surely had a screw loose, somewhere.  By time I was 16, I had already totaled a few cars.  Still, I do love to fly, and had always wanted to fly right seat with my Dad on his adventures.

Our airport was the municipal airport in Plainview, Texas.  At over 3300 feet, altitude, the airport has a whole lot of sky to fling your airplane into.  Dad made sure the wind was relatively calm before he would let me take off.  The high plains are very windy much of the time.  There is a saying in Lubbock, Texas (45 miles south of Plainview), that if the wind ever stopped blowing, everyone would fall down.  Wind is a fact of life, there, and you adjust your walking by leaning into the wind.

Taking off into the wind made flying that much more fun, as I had to generate less lift with the engine.  Flying in the wind, however is a challenge.  This is where the word attitude comes in.  In flight, your attitude is the approach you have to take to flying in the wind, ESPECIALLY when you are landing an airplane.  Landing an airplane on a calm day was challenging enough for me, but landing in high wind was a contest between me and the wind to see who will master my aircraft.  This is when attitude becomes everything.

When nature threw strong wind at me, I had to turn the airplane into the wind on approach to the landing strip.  This is called “Crabbing”.  I am approaching a runway almost sideways, and at the last-minute, I correct my attitude so I can land moving in the right direction.  Another factor in landing attitude is that I could approach the runway only in a narrowly defined angle.  This is called the “Glide Path” .   As you approach the runway, you will see a group of lights.  If my glide path is too low, I will see three or more yellow lights.  If my glide path is too high, I will see red lights, if my glide path is correct for the landing approach, I will see green lights.

Maintaining the right attitude for landing is everything, too.  I am already crabbing in to the runway because of a wind situation, and I also must keep my approach angle right.  If I am yellow on approach, I will not land on the runway.  If I am red, I will land too far in on the runway to keep from overshooting.  I must crab in on a green light.

While I am worried about those two aspects of attitude, I also have to make sure my wings are as level as I can keep them on approach, and that my nose is not too high, or too low.  So, there are possibly 4 parts of attitude I must pay attention to when I am landing.  Overdoing or under-doing any part can mean a bad landing.  Bad landings can complicate your life in ways you don’t need.  It was all about attitude.

 

“WELL, THE METAPHOR IS OBVIOUS, ISN’T IT?”

I hope so.

At CATES (Where I work), one of the twelve principles we live by is: “ATTITUDE – We choose to be positive”.   If you want to approach a subject and land on it with successful outcomes, it helps if your attitude is positive.  Being positive makes all the difference in the world.  It is fairly clear, after over 8000 years of examination, that God has given us the ability to affect the outcomes of every aspect of our lives, simply by determining what we believe is true about it.  Our beliefs change every aspect of our life.  If you believe things will always go wrong, then you will experience that outcome.  If your approach to your fellow-man is negative, then you will reap the benefit of your view of others, and have no genuine friends.

Attitude is one of the very first things the Lord had to really work with me on.  I was a negative and pessimistic individual, whose attitude was reinforced by the outcomes of my life.  My assumption was that I was right because everything always turned out exactly as I thought they would.  God showed me that attitude is a choice.  How I choose to approach anything will directly affect the outcomes.  Attitude is a choice.  It is a habit.  It comes from the heart.  It becomes positive when you learn to look at the world differently.

 

“HOW DID YOU DO IT?”

I’m glad you asked. I didn’t.

My attitude about life, work, love, marriage, co-workers, clientele, family, or anything didn’t change until I fully understood what the finished work of the cross gave me.  When I accepted that Jesus BECAME all sin for all time, and took on the wrath of God in our place, and in exchange, God poured on us all the benefits of being His child, an heir to the throne, a member of God’s family, a love beyond measure, and total forgiveness for all my sin, I finally understood what it felt like to see the world and people the way God does.

I learned to love because God loved me enough to bury my sin with Jesus, and raise my dead soul into a new life.  I had been born in the spirit.  Where I was dead, Jesus’s resurrection gave me life in Him.  The Spirit of God cleansed me and changed my attitude. I began thinking new thoughts.,  I loved for the first time.  I saw people as my brother or sister.  While I am aware of my and others continuing failures, I felt only love for them, and chose to show grace and mercy.  It was easy to do this because this was what God showed me.

So, frankly, I didn’t change my attitude.  Experience has taught me that, I can fake a good attitude only so long, but whatever is hidden in my heart will become manifest over time.  On my own strength I do not love long, I show no mercy or grace, and my attitude is very rotten.  Since I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, I am able to be like Christ and love, show grace and mercy, and look for opportunities to give with a positive attitude.

 

GUARD YOUR THOUGHTS

 

I cannot, by my own strength, maintain this loving attitude.  Only when I guard my thoughts am I able to be filled with this powerful love.  I can break my connection to God simply by going back to my old way of thinking and behaving.  God leaves this up to me.  The way I maintain a good attitude is by staying in the word, praying continuously, and submitting to Gods love and will.  It is only by the continual renewing of my mind that I can be a blessing instead of a curse. I am confident in Christ enough that I know I am weak, but Christ in me is infinitely strong.  If I catch the old self trying to assert his attitude and beliefs, all I have to do is remember that my old self died with Christ, and my new self, the child of God, is who lives through Christ.

Attitude is a choice.  When the blowing wind of earthly things challenges my attitude, when the weight of the world wants to crush me, when my co-workers decide to be peevish and negative, when a thoughtless and selfish humanity threatens to ruin my day, I simply remember who I am in Christ, and ask the Spirit of the Living God to sustain me so I can be a witness to all the things that would otherwise drag me down.  A simple choice of attitude can turn things around, and your witness can cause others to want to know where you have this strength of character.  Then you can tell them why you are joyful in the face of adversity, and strong when temptation desires your soul.

Think on the good things of God continuously, and you will see the world in a very different lite.

It is all a choice, a labor into the rest of the finished work of Christ.

You will always get what you are looking for.

Let’s be about it

I love you all,

David G. Perkins

PS – Click HERE to see how the Bible addresses ATTITUDE.

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Have I Really Thought About It?


hands-heart

Proverbs 27:19 As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person.” (NLT)

Proverbs 23:7a “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (KJV)

Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” – Jesus (ESV)

It is time to get back into the swing of blogging.  I cannot use the excuse, “We are moving” because, well, we have moved!  Verb tense informs me I am out of excuses.  If you have followed my blogs, you have seen me go from being strongly antagonistic to Christians and Christianity, to finally realizing what the full measure of God’s grace is.  God’s grace, accomplished through Jesus’ finished work on the cross, removes my excuses for hate, and for hell.  I either must acknowledge that all things were finished when Christ said they were, or I must choose to defy the living God and call Him a liar.  In my case, I not only accept that what Jesus did on the cross was a complete work of grace and mercy, but I confess with my mouth that, when Jesus was raised from the dead, He proved He and He alone has authority over life and death, including my own. This makes Jesus my Lord as well as my Savior.

Now, when I am confronted with a problem, a trial, or a temptation, I ask myself, “Did Jesus die of this too?” , and “Did He die this death for me?”,  The answer, being “Yes!”, leads me to a trust that, because of the finished work of the cross, I can rest in the assurance that therein lay the power of the Spirit to bring me into harmony with the will of God.  That trial, temptation, or problem takes on a different meaning in that light.  This happens because, as I labor into the rest of the finished work of the cross, I am infused with the same Spirit of God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  I now live because Christ lives in me.  It is by the power of the Spirit of God, and the grace imparted as a free gift, that I am able to go from someone who hated God, and was openly at war with Him, to someone who is more than willing to submit to His will.  I see submission as a strong desire, not a law, or a rule.  I see it as a labor of love.  The more I am infused with His love, grace and mercy, the more I desire it.  The more He shows me these things, the more I want to give them away to people who, like me, who do not deserve it.  It is for these people Christ came to this earth.  Not for the religious, or the righteous, but the lost.  And I was lost.

Where He Leads

If you have read my earlier blogs, you know that God used my sudden unemployment to get my attention.  I had actually started praying and reading the Bible just a few months prior to my getting fired from the Military Base.  During my unemployment, God led me from being a complete monster to being one of his own children.    The first thing God restored was my walk with Him.  The second thing God restored was my marriage.  What wonders and miracles were seen during that time.  The third thing God dealt with was my willingness to go where HE sends me, not where I want to be sent.  I had sent out over 500 resume and applied for over 300 jobs all in a very defined territory.  I wanted to live in Colorado springs.  Failing that, I wanted to live in any dry, arid environment.  I hate humidity, and prefer drier climates.  The end result of all my searching was crickets.  I spent almost 10 months trying my best to get a job in that defined territory.  After months of futility, I had given up.  I was, by this time, not only jobless, but we were homeless.

After I gave up trying to find a job, Sandy and I prayed.  I remember this clearly.  This was one of the most honest prayers I had ever prayed.  I told God, “I give up, God!  I quit!”  I was tired of getting no results.  All I wanted was to go do what ever it was God wanted me to do.  Sandy is my witness.  3 minutes barely passed after I prayed,  when I got a phone call from the person who would eventually be my boss.  There was one problem…the job is in Houston.  I had no desire to live anywhere NEAR Houston.  It is low land, and very humid.  Summer there is a whole new definition of hot and sticky.  God must have been mistaken…right??  Wrong.

One of my prayers, during my job search, was that, if I had to return to the secular world, and not be a full-time minister, that God would lead me to a company where the work environment is not hostile, where people behaved in a civil manner, and it was OK to be a Christian.  I wanted a job at a company that made no bones about their values, and those values were based on strong Christian values.  When I had given up trying to get a job in the mountains, and asked God to find a job for me, and I received a call within 3 minutes of my praying that prayer, I ended up at this company that describes the exact environment I had asked God to lead me to.

From Found to Discipleship

So, here we are, caught up with each other.  And I see that, now I am no longer lost, God has no intention of letting me bask in the answered prayers I just described.   When God saves you, He has no intention of letting you remain the same.  His goal, through the power of the Spirit of God, is to transform you into the very likeness of His own Son, Jesus Christ.  And you have to start somewhere.  Where is He starting me?  Remember that I prayed to be allowed to work in a company whose values are based on Christian values?  The expectation of this company is that I will live by 12 values that they put on the back of each business card, and openly declare in everything they do.  These 12 values are what this series will be about:  

The 12 Values:

INTEGRITY

COMMITMENT

TEAMWORK

(Be) PROACTIVE

ATTITUDE

RELENTLESS

DISSENT

IMPROVEMENT

DO UNTO OTHERS

ORDER

DISCIPLINE

RESPONSIBILITY

HOW DO I THINK ABOUT IT?

Cognitive acknowledgement and understating are, at the minimum, a requirement.  If, however, I want to BE these virtues, and live them, they must be more than well-defined words for me.  Over the next few weeks, I will be taking on each virtue, and describing how God infuses a submitted heart with the ability to not only desire to do these things, but to actually do them.  This is not because I have already learned them, or live them as well as I can, but because I have been shown in clear terms that, where the heart is, therein lay the treasure.

It all becomes a choice.

Care to join me?

Let’s be about it.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23

In the Name and the Love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior,

David G. Perkins

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Transition States: When I Grow Up


mercy-grace

“The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

 “But he who is forgiven little loves little.”

—  Jesus

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
from whom the whole body,joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV

If you are among the millions of the faithful readers of my blog, you are aware of all the events that have transpired over these last several months, and what I have learned about them.  My hope and prayer is that I grow in the Lord with each new adventure.  I also hope and pray that, as I share these rather intimate things with you, that some of it resonate with you, and my life can serve as some sort of learning tool (Perhaps, if no other lesson can be learned, you can learn that my life serves as an example of what happens when you do NOT listen to God).

This will be my final entry in the “Transition States” series (I hope).

We live in Texas now.  Getting here has been an adventure in ,and of, itself.  The adventure to Texas actually began last November.  We are still looking for our permanent home, but that is just a matter of time and patience.

Here is what I’d like to share with you about this adventure.

LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT GIVING, BY RECEIVING

One of my favorite “Pre-Grace” hobbies was to bash everything and everyone even loosely associated with Christianity.  You can appreciate the irony of having been in a position to totally rely on Christians for help.  Fortunately, this help arrived after my conversion to a state of Grace.  This experience has served to reinforce my prayer to God that He turn me into a giver.  Being on the receiving end of the giving process teaches lessons that I seriously doubt I would have learned under any other circumstance.  I do not say that God created my circumstance, as I am fully aware that my former lifestyle is what led to my circumstances.  What I DO say is, God uses our circumstances and turns them in to blessings.  And if we are paying attention, we get to learn from these blessings.

Here is the first thing I have learned from receiving:

Romans 8:28  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  ESV

In order that Ephesians 4:15, “We will grow…” can become manifest in our lives, sometimes we have to see for ourselves that the Love of God is real, purposeful, and practical.  How did Jesus identify the Love of GOd that is real?  In John 13:34 – 35  – We read that Jesus defined the real evidence of the Love of God.  Jesus said – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  

God’s love is very real, and is demonstrated through the Children of God.  I know, I know…  “Most of His children act like Satan!”.  Chances are, those ones aren’t God’s children, just impostors.  Let’s be clear here.  I am not talking about people who SAY they are Christians.  I am not talking about religious people who affiliate with a church or organization that claims to be Christian.  I am talking about people who, in spite of their obvious imperfections are being driven by the Love of God to behave in a way that reflects the Grace and Mercy of God.  This i snot something a person ca fake, either.  It CAN be imitated, but never maintained to the depth and extent that a person, driven by the Spirit of God, walks it in their lives.  It is unnatural for the flesh to demonstrate this type of love.  The flesh always wants to know, “What’s in it for me?”

The Spirit of God will lead a Christian to behave in a way that appears foolishly contradictory to the flesh, and, often, in  spite of that person’s misgivings, he will act in a way that surprises even himself.  But the obvious reality of the Love of God will shine through, and be understood by the recipient.

Let me offer these illustrations to emphasize my point.

God’s Love is Real

As you have read in the past, my family and I were in a situation where we were utterly helpless to help ourselves.  We didn’t just pray for miracles, we relied on them.  Many of these miracles came through people who were moved by the spirit of God to be for us what we could not be for ourselves.  When we could not pay our bills, others did.  When I couldn’t feed my family, others did.  When we lost our home, others gave us shelter.  Some of the people who ministered to us did so knowing full well what my past was, and gave anyway.  The love of God will constrain a person to do what others would not do, even when it appears to defy logic and go against common sense.

And when we received these gifts, the Love of GOd shone through them, and made my heart grow in Godly Love.  When you have nothing, and others give you something, your genuine character is revealed.  The Character God is trying to reveal in me is His.  One of a grateful giver.  For me to see this real love of God, I needed to know what it is like to witness Charity from the Children of God.  The ones who walked out of Love of GOd, demonstrated a grace and love and compassion that often moved me to tears.  And I was touched by the hand of GOd when the Hand of His Children were so moved.

There were some who gave expecting God to reward them.  We could tell who they were, too.  There was no presence of God in their giving.  There was, however, the presence of scorn, judgement, resentment and some degree of hate.  The gifts they gave made us hesitant to receive, but, having little choice, in some cases, we accepted the gift.  Our only response was to pray for the giver that, like my heart was changed, that their heart of stone be removed and replaced with a heart of compassion.  One of these givers let me know almost daily what their sacrifice cost them.  They went to great pains to let everyone they knew how generous they were being because they gave to us sacrificially (Just be careful what you post on Facebook, you never know who is reading).   They let me know to my face that they did not help us out of love, but out of obligation.

What did I learn from these people who gave out of scorn and obligation?  I learned to love those who do not give out of the love of God.  I learned a compassion I never knew I had.  The “Pre-Grace” David would have behaved out of anger and pride, and caused a great deal of trouble for these people.  But this David, the New Creation (II Cor. 5:17) learned to pray for hurt souls.  I learned to intercede on their behalf.  I learned to give back to them even when they were busy cursing me. I learned that God’s love is truly unconditional, and I love these givers unconditionally, just as God has loved me by sending me His son.

God’s Love is Purposeful

Here is where the rubber met the road, for me.  The circumstances I was in were a nightmare of my own creation.  I had, once again, failed my family, and put us in a very bad situation.  As I was slowly learning about the Grace of God through Jesus Christ, I had to put aside many of my religious opinions and non-christian beliefs.  And there were many.  I did not believe in mercy or grace.  I did not believe God loved me enough to forgive my past, much less answer my prayers of repentance.  There were many religious Christians who went far and wide to reinforce this attitude, too.  Through all my self loathing and general hatred, God used people and circumstances to demonstrate to me that His love is very real, very present, and unconditional.  This demonstration of His love, directly, or through His Children, served several purposes.

One purpose was that my heart of stone should be removed and replaced with a heart of flesh.  That my dead spirit would be removed and the living Spirit of the Living GOd will take its place.  That the dregs of my wasted soul would be cleansed and brought back to life.  Contained in the love of God was all the Grace of God, all the Mercy of God, and all the wonder of his infinite ability to restore even the bases of the fallen.   He healed my broken heart, and created a new creation.  As I received the love of God and the love of His children, my heart grew, and I learned how to love ion return.  I learned there is a difference between a “taker” and a “receiver”.  A taker grabs from others whether the thing grasped was given or not, and he takes for personal gain, no matter what it costs others.    In order to receive, you have to be humbled, and share the love that is given.  I cannot receive the gift of love if I am not seeking the gift of love.  I cannot appreciate fully how to give the gift of Love if I have not fully received the gift of Love.

When the Love of God is shone in my heart, all fear, all doubt, all greed, all lust, all hatred, and all that separated me from Him died.  What replaced it was His life, His spirit, and His love.  God’s love has the purpose of multiplying itself towards humans so that humans can know that the Creator of the universe loves them enough to die for them.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son…”

Redemption is the purpose of Love, and restoration is the work of love, and reproduction is the fruit of love.  God’s love is purposeful, and it is real.

God’s Love is Practical

Last July, our water bill was due.  We had no money.  We prayed fervently for God to help.  While we were praying, the phone rang.  Someone’s bible study group had heard about our situation and had raised some money for us to pay this months bills and get a few groceries.  The money was on its way as we were on the phone.  God taught me that He truly is my Father and takes care of His children.

Am I saying that God will be your ATM machine?  No way.  What I am saying is, when you need to understand what fullness of Grace and Mercy means, that you ARE a child of GOd, that you ARE loved, God will use circumstances that are very real to you and speak to you through them.  He will not see your real need and send a hallmark card that says, “Thinking of You.”  God will move time and circumstances and people to move according to His will so that you can see that He cares for you.

I am learning to trust God more and more with my life.  And I am seeing that He genuinely cares what happens in my life.

By time November came around, I had sent out over 500 resume and applied to over 300 job openings.  I was getting crickets.  I couldn’t even get a job at a Quick Mart, or a 7-11, or a grocery store.  On my own efforts, I had gained nothing but frustration.  I am new to really and completely trusting God, and knowing that He cares for every little detail of my life.

Out of frustration, I had become really depressed and despondent over the job situation.  I came to the point where I had given up completely.  One November afternoon, Sandy and I got together to pray.  I told her the truth.  I had just given up.  I quit.  I couldn’t find a job, and I was done looking for one.  I told her I wanted to talk to God about it, first, though.  We prayed.

I told God, “God, I give up!  If you want me to have a secular job, then YOU will have to make it happen.”  3 minutes after praying that, I got a phone call from the company I now work for.  And working here has been a gift from God.  I love where I work.  I love the people I work with.  This job is better than any I have had in over a decade.  The company I work for was founded on strong Christian principles, and it is no big deal to stop in the hallway and pray with someone, or talk about Jesus.

God showed me he cares.  His demonstration of His love was very practical.  I learned from this that there is no such thing as an issue too small for God, or a mountain too big.  God loves me enough to meet my every need.  He loves you that much too.

WHEN I GROW UP

When I grow up, I pray that God make me a giver beyond my imagination, and beyond all reason.  His love for me meant that I had to learn to receive, and meant that I had to grow.  In learning how to receive, I have learned why I must give.  In learning to receive, I learned that God needed to teach others how to Give.

When I grow up, I want to be Just like Jesus, and give to the point that it hurts.

I love you

Lets Be About It

David Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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From One Brother to Another


This blog is simply a re-posting of someone else’s blog.  If ever I have known an example of Christian grace, faith and charity, it is exemplified in the life of Mark Fox.  Mark and his entire family live out, daily, the walk of Christ.

If it weren’t for their loving influence in my life, their steadfast prayers, their devotion to the truth, and uncompromising stance in it, I would not have come to understand Grace as well as I do today.  I owe them love, grace and more than I could ever say in public.  Their example of Grace and Mercy in my life is part of what broke me on the anvil of God’s Love through the finished work of Christ.

Enjoy, and please follow this brother’s blog.  He really and truly knows what he is talking about.  It is a gift from God.

A Heartseeker’s Journey into Truth

I love you,

David Perkins

Let’s Be About It

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Transition States: Leaving Missouri


hands-heart“I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content — whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.” – Philippians 4:12 HCSB

What a difference a year makes.

This year represents several transition events.  Going from:to in many areas of my life, has been the way of 2013.

From being employed to knowing unemployment.

From having plenty to having nothing.

From having a home to being homeless.

From having plenty to eat, to wondering how to feed my family.

There have also been some outstanding transitions, as well.

From hating life to loving life.

From being alienated from God to understanding that God loves me.

From fear to assurance.

From hate to love.

From death to life.

From being unemployed in 2013, to starting my new job in 2014.

From the death of the old self, to the birth of the new self.

From losing useless friends to gaining real and meaningful friendships.

Now, we are going from Missouri to Texas.

These last 11 years in Missouri are a mixed bag of great memories and some sot so great ones.  Mostly, being here has given me the opportunity to be refined in a way I doubt I would have known had I been living where I wanted to live.

During my spate of unemployment, I sent out over 500 resume, and applied for several hundred jobs.  It wasn’t until I gave up trying and asked God to take over this process that I got a job.  I asked God to do this, and within 3 minutes of my praying that, I had my first phone interview with a company I had not applied to.  The company is located in the opposite direction from where I wanted to move my family.

Sandy witnessed all this.  She saw her husband go from being a monster, to becoming a child of God. These last 9 months of unemployment have been the most productive months I have ever lived through.

I am now a child of God.  I am the redeemed through the finished work of the cross.  I have faith, hope and love, literally for the first time in my life.  Anger is a vague and distant memory for me.  Love is the theme in my heart.

The work Christ did on the cross satisfied all the Law and Prophets of the Old Testament.  There is nothing that can be added to it, and nothing that can be taken away from it.  It is finished.

My prayer for you, for 2014 is this:

I pray that you learn what I learned.  That God is not mad at you.  That you are loved by the being that created the entire universe.  That, on your behalf, Jesus Christ became every sin that ever existed and will exist, and absorbed all the wrath of God in judgement for becoming all of sin.  Jesus died of all our sin so we can live.  An exchange took place on the cross.  Jesus took all that had become our inheritance: sin, death, disease, and hell, and in exchange for that, He gave us His inheritance:  Life, Love, Healing, wholeness, His Kingdom and His Father, our God.

I pray for you to discover that when Jesus rose from the dead, He gave you the power to rise, a new creation, with Him.  I pray that you understand that all you have to do to be saved is understand in your heart what Jesus did, and accept it, and confess it with your mouth.

I pray for the same transition I had, from death to life, from hopelessness to hope, from despair, to joy, from being lost to knowing you belong to God, and nothing can take it away from you.

The Kingdom of Heaven is in you, and God dwells in you, and the Spirit of the Living God empowers you when you make this transition.  No religion ever brought you this.  It is not a religion, but a relationship.

I look forward to this new life we will live in Texas.  Sandy and I are going to get certified and ordained in the Ministry.  I am going to work for my new employer as if I were working for God Himself.

I am going to give and give and give all that God has given me.

I pray that you prosper and grow in the Lord in 2014.

I am glad I have experienced 2013 in all its various shades of joy and despair.  I would not have learned that, no matter what state I live, whatever my condition, God is my father, and He provides.  I will cherish 2013 for the rest of my life, and remember Missouri with fondness.

My next blog will be written in Texas.  I look forward to sharing the adventures God will be taking Sandy and I on.

God bless you in 2014.

Love

David Perkins

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Thank You God


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:2 HCSB

1:2 χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

GRACE – χάρις – Transliteration: charis  Pronunciation: khä’-rēs   Part of Speech: feminine noun

Outline of Biblical Usage
GRACE:  a free gift.  God’s ability.  grace is that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech good will, loving-kindness, favour of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues, what is due to grace, the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace, the token or proof of grace, benefit, a gift, bounty,thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward
PEACE – εἰρήνη – Transliteration: eirēnē   Pronunciation: ā-rā’-nā   Part of Speech: feminine noun

Outline of Biblical Usage
a state of national tranquillity, exemption from the rage and havoc of war
peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord, security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous), of the Messiah’s peace, the way that leads to peace (salvation)
of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is, the blessed state of devout and upright men after death
from – ἀπό Transliteration: apo   Pronunciation: ä-po’   Part of Speech: preposition

Outline of Biblical Usage (In the context of this sentence):
of origin
of the place whence anything is, comes, befalls, is taken
of origin of a cause

Dear God,

How do I tell others what a magnificent thing you have done in me?

Where a cauldron of angry fire once lived deep in me, now exists a calm peace, a tranquility that can come only from you. God, you have seen me struggle for decades with my overwhelmingly sinful nature, yet, in a day, in a single hour, your gift of love was poured into my heart, and I now know peace, love, joy, harmony, the stillness of soul only you can bring.

The first thing your word taught me is that you are not angry at me, but that you love me infinitely.  You proved this when You sent Jesus.

This changed me.

Where I was unable to change, your gift of love to me made me able to receive. In receiving, I became a new creation. There was no self to repair once I understood that, because Jesus died, my self died with Him. The “Me” that used to be no longer exists. The echo of memories are only a dim note, drowned out by your beauty, grace and love.

When I understood that, when Christ rose from the dead, so did I; This new man was born the day I understood that I have a new life in the risen Christ.

What words or actions can you lead me to that will help others know that you can change them, just as you have changed me?

There are those who knew me before this change, and they know me now that I have changed. Let your love so shine in my soul that they will understand that this is real, and it is all because of You, Lord God. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, the sinless one who became all sin and shame, I, a terribly sinful one, full of darkness and corruption, became holy and acceptable to you. I accepted this free gift of your grace. Not that I can brag or draw attention to me, but that, because of the wonderful thing you have done in me will lead others to the cross of Christ.

I know people will only believe what they only want to believe, there is nothing I can do about them. But, Lord, even with them, let the light of your love and grace be so full and alive in me that even they will see, and have to choose whom they will believe.

What joy and wonder you have written on my heart, Dear God. Thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Thank you for the great exchange that makes me wholly acceptable to you, dear God. I have all the promise living in me, and all sin is forgiven and destroyed. Your mighty work defeated all the darkness in the universe.

All we have to do is accept this free gift.

Dearest God,

Make me an instrument of the Gospel of Peace. Let my life be the grace and love that was Jesus’ life. No matter where I go, no matter what I do, let me always remember what you have done for me.

I love you, Dear God, because of the life of Jesus that is now abiding in me. I am complete, and lack nothing. You prove to me daily that you are all my provision. Where I was homeless, I now have a home. Where I was unemployed, I now have a job. Where I was penniless, you have provided all I need.

The greatest thing, though, you have given me, Lord, is eternal life. So, I ask, Dear Lord, that you take my life and make it your instrument of the Gospel of Peace.

I thank you and praise you, God, because of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

ROMANS 12:1 – Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. HCSB

Let’s be about it.

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Exchanging Gifts


Isaiah 40:31 – But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 can also be translated, “They whose hope is in the Lord will exchange their strength (with Him … by inference).

Throughout the Bible, God shows us that He is trading our small, weak things for His great and mighty things.  He has taken us from slavery to freedom, from the wilderness, to a promised land, from famine to feast, from weakness to glory.

Jesus traded His kingdom for our Hell.  On the cross, Christ became all our sin, sickness, death, and curse so we can have His holiness, health, life and blessing.  He became all sin so we can have no sin.  The simple act of accepting this gift, in our heart, and confessing Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, who died for you and rose on the third day, makes you alive again.

The exchange is simple and irrevocable to any who will accept it.  His life for your death.  All he was, He gave to you.  In exchange, you gave Him all you were; your sin, your disease, your death, your curse.  Now, if you will simply accept this gift from Him, you are a son of God   You are the righteousness of Christ, you are whole, you are clean, you are acceptable in the eyes of God.  You are loved.  You were loved long before you even understood that God loves you.  God reached across all time and eternity and gave the life of His only begotten son in exchange for your life.

You now have eternal life, if you will accept this exchange.  It is free.  There is nothing you have to do to earn this gift.  Christ already did that.

This is God’s gift to us:  Jesus Christ.

When Jesus became Sin, you became Holy.  When He died, your old sin self died too.  When He rose from the dead, you rose with Him, and are now eternally His.  You are blessed.

 
God gives good gifts.  
 
 
I love you
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
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