Category Archives: Faith

Faith, Observations

Transition States: Laboring to Rest


God Gives Rest To The Weary“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  – Jesus – Mathew 11:28 – 30 HCSB

Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell]. – Apostle Paul – Hebrews 4:11 AMP

Sometime around 1989 or 1990, I was walking around in a mall in Fort Worth, Texas.  I ran across a display of art called Stereograms.  These are the computer generated art that look like a bunch of dots or squiggles on a canvas.  In order to see the image hidden in all the dots and squiggles, you had to relax your eyes.  As you relaxed, your focus changed from what you think you see, to what is actually there, hidden in plain sight.

After you learn to do this, repeating it seems simple.  Well…I had to train myself to do it.  Relaxing my eyes was not easy for me.  It meant letting go of my visual boundaries in the middle of a mall full of strangers.  It also meant letting my mind experience something new, visually, so I can see what I normally would not perceive.

Here is an example of a stereogram.  To see the image in the stereogram, look in the center of the picture, and completely relax your eyes, or let them go “unfocused”.  The hidden image will pop out.  At the bottom of this post, I will tell you what is on the image.

Did you see it??  Spectacular, wasn’t it?  If you didn’t see it, please don’t stress out, and don’t stop trying.  Learning to relax and see what is right in front of you isn’t always easy.  Trust me on this, I have a hard time relaxing, and seeing most of the time.

Keep at it.  You WILL see it the second you relax and allow yourself to see.  This is an example of striving to rest, or laboring to rest.  Unless you relax and allow your eyes to rest on the image, you cannot see it.  You have to work at letting go, at seeing things differently than you are used to.  Once you DO see, it becomes easier to see.  Eventually, your eyes will just know how to do it.

On the surface, this picture looks more like chaos than order.    The patters you think you see are mere distractions, leading your perception away from what is hidden right in front of you.  Seeing what is really there is actually a volitional act.  The mind is conditioned to see and perceive what it accepts as real or truth.  To get the eyes to see and perceive what is not easily seen, you have to rest in the ability to see.  You have to let go and trust your eyes to do the seeing, without forcing them to filter based on a fear or an opinion.

Once you see what is on the image, you perceive a reality that underlies all the noise.  And coherence happens, and the message is understood.  But you first have to get beyond the noise to understand the signal.  You have to relax and trust.  You will see when you do this.

YOUR HEART HAS EYES, TOO.

“[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), and [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.”  Letter of Paul to the Ephesians – Eph. 1:17-21
When you hear a truth, or a lie, your heart knows.  You can be in a pitch black room, blindfolded, but when someone lies to you, your heart “gets a catch”.  And when someone tells you the truth, your heart resonates to it.  You know deep inside when you have been lied to.  The depths at which you perceive a lie or the truth is based on how much time you have invested in knowing what is true.  When you know what truth sounds like, deep inside, you can spot a lie a mile away.  You never have to study lies to recognize one.  Your heart knows.  That is having eyes in your heart.
The more time you spend learning truth, the better you are at knowing the truth and discerning what a lie is.  Perhaps this is why Politicians are so deluded.  All they do is study how to lie and deceive.  The truth would probably kill them.
The Apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart will be opened so we can see.  Jesus also commented on people who have eyes to see but refuse to perceive, and ears to hear, but refuse to understand what is heard.  Even His disciples had this problem.
In Mark 8:17-18, Jesus admonished His disciples for being somewhat obtuse:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning and saying it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet discern or understand? Are your hearts in [a settled state of] hardness? [Isa. 6:9, 10; Jer. 5:21.]  Having eyes, do you not see [with them], and having ears, do you not hear and perceive and understand the sense of what is said? And do you not remember?'”  Amplified Bible
What is it that we need our hearts to see and remember?   In the case of the disciples, they had already forgotten that Jesus IS the Bread of Life.  They were looking at what appeared more real to them than the very truth that stood in front of them.  With God, all things are possible.  The leaven of the Pharisees was that the Pharisees had taken the will and word of God and added to it until they had developed a life sucking, religious system that enslaved the Jews.  Jesus repeatedly told the disciples that he had come here to free mankind from the chains and heavy burdens that religion and the world had put on them.
With carnal eyes, the people heard what they wanted to hear, and ignored the real message of Jesus.  The people expected Jesus to overthrow the Romans and restore order to the temple.  But that is not the freedom that Jesus was talking about.
A change happens to us when we first become Christians.  We see, as if for the very first time, things that are in the scriptures, there were there all along, but were hidden from our understanding.  We read the scriptures, and they suddenly made sense.  The words were always there, but our ability to perceive them was not.  When we became Christians, the eyes of our heart were opened.  We SAW the truth in our heart.  We understood.  Even the world we looked at appeared different.  We were seeing and perceiving what God had placed right in front of us.  The cares of this world, the temptations of the flesh, the hardness of our hearts were what was keeping us from understanding.
So what happened? Just like what happened in Ephesus, we fall prey to our own vain imaginations, or to a religious system that leads you, ever so gently, back into that darkness from which Christ delivered you.  We become burdened with falsehoods, and are told that the hell that appears in front of us is the real reality.  That we must work hard, and strive to overcome the world.  That God helps those who help themselves.  We return to a fallen state (Not loss of salvation, but not allowing the Spirit of God to change you).  We then become legalistic and tell people who God is mad at us all, that he is going to get us if we don’t repent from (Fill in the blank, there are millions of single issues religious groups fight over).
The Christ that we first perceived fades into the distant past.  Your joy turns into struggle and anger.  The place in your heart that was full of life returns to the barren desert that you lived in before Jesus.
“The eye (Of the Heart) is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.

But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very light in you [your conscience] is darkened, how dense is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23 Amplified
What makes our eye darkened?  Remember what Jesus asked the disciples?  “And do you not remember?”
We are in control of what our heart looks at.  We are in charge of what we choose to remember, to believe, to hold as being truth.  God did not create us to be robots or automatons.  We are free to chose our lives, our destinies, our way of being.  What we believe is true in our hearts manifests itself  in the material world.
When we first believed, our eyes were opened to a beauty, to a love, to a joy we never knew was possible.  All that disappeared when we took our “eyes” off Jesus.  We can choose to forget whet Christ has accomplished for us, and in us.  We can do this simply by choosing to forget how to see what He has accomplished.  We return to the way the world tells us to believe.  We buy in to a religion that teaches us that WE must work in order to prove ourselves righteous before God.  That our efforts, the sweat of our brow is where God will judge us.
WE FORGET WHAT CHRIST ACCOMPLISHED
Jesus Christ did not come here to start a religion.  Jesus came here to fulfill all the requirements of the Law and the Prophets.  Because all the law did was show mankind that we are not able, on our own ability, to please God, and the Prophets foretold of the Messiah who will come and be slain, Jesus mission on earth was to satisfy the requirement of the law, and manifest what the prophets spoke of.  Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Jesus did not come here to judge you.  Because He fulfilled the law, you are free from all condemnation.  You were set free.
Remember that freedom you felt when you were first saved?  You felt it because your heart saw that you were genuinely free, and that all the ability of God was given to you.
Religion is a man-made structure that uses guilt, fear, and condemnation to drive you to do what it wants done.  Religion, just as in Jesus’ day, robs us of our joy, our hope and our freedom in Christ.  Religion exists only to serve itself, but blames its falsehoods on Jesus and the Bible.
Jesus came to restore a loving relationship between God and Man.  When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he didn’t just die FOR our sins, although that is what happened, Jesus BECAME all sin, for all time.  He WAS sin.  And God, in fulfilment of the requirements of the Law, poured all His wrath on Jesus.   Jesus fulfilled the law.  Jesus alone did this.  God abandoned Jesus on the cross for this to happen.  Fellowship between God and Christ was broken.  This is why we hear Jesus shout, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  This was prophesied by Isaiah, and is the fulfillment of the prophesy that the lamb of God will be slain for the redemption of mankind.  When Jesus became sin, he and he alone took on, absorbed, and suffered the entire and full wrath of God.  When that was accomplished, Jesus said, “It is finished”.
WHAT WAS FINISHED?
Your death was finished.  When you accepted this free gift of Jesus’s death on the cross, you accepted life, forgiveness, and eternity.  You accepted that Jesus, and He alone took on your judgement so you can receive His blessing, eternal life.  When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved he and he alone has power over death, too.  When you believed that Jesus was your sacrifice, in your place, and you believed he rose again, you rose with him.  You rose in new life with him because you were dead and buried with him on the cross.  All sin leads to death.  Jesus died.  All sin is dead now.
Jesus did what no other human could do.  Because he was without sin, and the law required a sacrifice of a completely sinless being for the remission of death, he became all of humanities sin for all time.
LABORING TO REST
In order for me to be free from my hyper-Calvinistic mind-set, and be free from religion, and have a real relationship with the Living God because of Jesus, I had to completely understand what happened on the cross and at the resurrection.
The picture was right in front of me the whole time.  I just had forgotten to see it.  I became first religious, then returned to a fallen state, as if I were never a Christian.  When I tried to return to that Joy, I did it my own way based on the religious constructs I learned at the teachings of the denomination I was raised in.  It was all works
Praying was an effort, a labor not built on love.  It was, frankly, a drudgery.
The Bible had become foreign to me, but I read it anyway.  It was a lot like eating dust.
Forget witnessing.  I was all fire and damnation and fear and manipulation.   You cannot give a love that is not in your heart to give.
I had forgotten Christ’s complete work.  I was trying to recreate the love of God by my own efforts.  I was trying by the will of my flesh to be pleasing to God.  It was as if I were telling God that the sacrifice and Resurrection of Christ was not good enough, or complete enough, that I had to do something myself, on my own volition, by my power, to assure my salvation.  It was all work, and no play.
Laboring in to the rest of Christ sounds like a contradiction.  It isn’t.  If you want to walk in Christ, like Christ, after Christ, you first have to learn to rest in His completed work.  There is no other way to do it.  None.  Believe me, I tried.
What does this mean,  “Labor to rest”?  Remember the stereogram above?  The first time you try to see the hidden images, you have to work at relaxing your eyes so you can see.  You have to rest your eyes.  You have to relax.  You have to allow the image to form without your physically forcing your eyes to work.  This is the opposite of observing.  We observe for information, but we see in order to know.  In order to see the image, we first have to rest.
When I put forth my very best effort at Christ likeness, the effort at maintaining it is exhausting. When I try to be “sinless” I sin.  When I try to love on my own power, I either pervert it, or turn it into hate.  There really is a very fine line between Human love and Human hate.  When I give to others by my own will, I always, eventually, want recognition for it, or expect something in return.  In other words, my efforts lead only to my own glorification and limited ability.
THE LABOR IS TO REMEMBER, AND REMEMBERING LEADS TO COMMUNION AND HARMONY WITH GOD.
My labor to rest is to get my ego out of the way.  My labor is to allow the complete work of Jesus to exist in my heart.  My labor is to recall constantly what Jesus accomplished for me, and to rest in it, so that the Spirit of God will make Christ manifest in my life.  This resting is so others will be led to life, salvation, back to God, through Jesus Christ.
Not My Will, But Thine
Getting my ego, my self, my flesh, my will, my desires out of my way is my labor.  This is a volitional act.  My ego does not want to die, either.  It has been running my life for over 50 years.  Death to self is the last thing my mind and ego want.  But I have to die to self in order to rest in the completed work of Christ.  This means, as a volitional act, I choose to die.  I do this when I accept the truth of what Christ did at His death Burial and resurrection.
It is His will that I accept this free gift, unadulterated by the cares of this world, or by a religious system made by mankind.  There is nothing I can do to add to or take away from His gift.  I can alter how I see and rest in it, but I cannot change it, or how it applies to my life.  In order for me to do this accepting, I have to struggle with my ego and lead it to its death.  Fortunately, the Holy Spirit works in me to do this, too.  All I have to do is surrender to it.
Death to self is frightening at first, but painless, and brings such joy as I have never believed was possible.
In dying to self, and relaxing, or resting in the complete work of Christ, I am able to see clearly what is in front of me.  I see with new eyes.  God was hidden in plain sight the whole time.  As my old self dies, more of God is revealed in my heart.  That is when I know that:
I am saved
I am a Son of God
I am full of the Holy Spirit
I am free from sin (The deisres of sin have become meaningless compared to the love and joy of Christ)
I am not a slave to sin, but to righteousness.
I am a new creation
I am more than a conqueror
I am the righteousness of God in Christ
I am crucified with Christ
I am justified before God by faith in Christ
I am God’s workmanship
I am hid in Christ
I am saved by Grace
I am an Heir of God
I am a joint Heir with Jesus
I am accepted in the Beloved
I am at peace with God.
The world teaches fear, slavery, and doubt.  You are in the chains of the world if you chose.  Religion only wants what it wants, and will use any means necessary to accomplish its means, even use the name of Jesus to justify its’ selfish lusts.
The freedom you have is standing right in front of you if you will simply labor to rest in the completed work of Christ Jesus.   All the promises of God are already yours.   You cannot earn them, you cannot make yourself righteous, you cannot be a slave to the world or a religion and still be free to rest in the Lord.
All you have to do is understand what transpired on the Cross and at the resurrection, and rest in that. Then the hidden things of God will appear to you as bright as the sun on a spring morning.  You will have new eyes to see and new ears to hear the mysteries of the Living God, who is heaping His love and goods on you.  All you have to do is relax in the finished work of Christ.
The image above has Christ on the cross, the two who were hanging on the crosses next to Him, and a Roman soldier getting ready to pierce Jesus’ side.
Let’s be about it.
I love you
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Faith

Because of Christ, I AM


This entry is  a long one, folks.  Go get some coffee, or a soda, or the beverage of your choice…and maybe a snack.  I will wait right here for you.

I dedicate this post to the following individuals, without whom, I would not have given up my old religion, and embraced the gift of Grace, provided by Jesus’ sacrifice on my behalf.

My beautiful and Godly wife, who introduced me to my ignorance, and walked me back to the Cross.

Glenda Dowd who shared Dr. Jim Richards, “Grace: The Power To Change” with my wife, who in turn used this book to open my eyes.

To Casey Merseal, who always makes me think.

i-am1

[And I pray] that the participation in and sharing of your faith may produce and promote full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [thing] that is ours in [our identification with] Christ Jesus[and unto His glory].  Philemon verse 6. Amplified Bible

Recently, a post appeared on my FB page.  It was from an organization called “The Ministry of Second Timothy“.  Here is a quote from the very first paragraph:

“YES, THE CURSE ON AMERICA APPLIES TO YOU TOO: AS
THE LAW HAS NOT YET BEEN FULFILLED BY CHRIST.
BY DEIRDRE”

The author of this blog went on to say:

“…any natural man observing this fact who considers themselves someone who acknowledges truth, will find it hard to rebut the spiritual fact that Deuteronomy 28:43-44 and Deuteronomy 28:49-51 (below) are currently in effect REGARDLESS OF WHAT PAUL THE APOSTLE SAID IN GALATIANS 3:13; so if you count yourself among the smart, you better start listening to what JESUS SAID and forget the lies of Paul the Apostle!

The author further said:

“JESUS clearly said that He did not come to destroy the law, yet those who exalt Paul over Jesus, still claim that Jesus has already destroyed the law and therefore the Old Testament does not apply. This is a lie and those who worship the words of Paul are devil worshippers.

So it does not matter that Paul said that Jesus has already redeemed us (past tense) from the curse of the law. We have not yet been redeemed because Jesus is still fulfilling the law – so we are still under the law! Please don’t be foolish – listen to Jesus! 

JESUS SAYS:
17 “DO NOT THINK THAT I CAME TO DESTROY THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS. I DID NOT COME TO DESTROY BUT TO FULFILL. “

The most interesting thing the author said after that was:

“JESUS IS STILL FULFILLING THE LAW IN THIS YEAR 2013; IN FACT HE JUST WOKE ME UP THIS MORNING AND SAID “RISE AND COMPLETE MY WORK!” THEN ONE OF HIS ANGELS PLACED A SONG IN ME WHICH I WILL SHARE AT ANOTHER TIME, BUT THE CHORUS IS SUNG LIKE THIS:
MY FATHER SAID “RISE” AND COMPLETE HIS WORK. COMPLETE HIS WORK. COMPLETE HIS WORK.
MY FATHER SAID “RISE” AND COMPLETE HIS WORK. COMPLETE HIS WORK. COMPLETE HIS WORK.
SO I KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH GOD THAT ALL HAS NOT YET BEEN FULFILLED, BECAUSE I AM A WORKING ON A PROCESS THAT JESUS TASKED ME TO COMPLETE – A PROCESS MODEL “FOR HOW TO CREATE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING.” WHICH SHALL BE USED FOR MANKIND TO EXTEND OUR SCIENCE SO THAT WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO HEAL THE WORLD.”

I am compelled to address this.

Firstly, Timothy was a disciple of Paul (Said blog is called, “The Ministry of Second Timothy”).  Here is something Peter had to say about this:

“And consider that the long-suffering of our Lord [His slowness in avenging wrongs and judging the world] is salvation (that which is conducive to the soul’s safety), even as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the spiritual insight given him,  Speaking of this as he does in all of his letters. There are some things in those [epistles of Paul] that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist and misconstrue to their own utter destruction, just as [they distort and misinterpret] the rest of the Scriptures.  Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard, lest you be carried away by the error of lawless and wicked [persons and] fall from your own [present] firm condition [your own steadfastness of mind].”  2 Peter 3:15-17 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
If Paul was a disciple of Satan, then Peter endorsed a child of Satan as being one of their own (The fellowship of the Apostles).
Jesus hung on the cross.  John, the beloved apostle, recorded the following:
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (ended), said in fulfillment of the Scripture, I thirst. [Ps. 69:21.]   A vessel (jar) full of sour wine (vinegar) was placed there, so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a stalk, reed of] hyssop, and held it to [His] mouth.  When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished!  And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”  John 19:28-30 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Jesus did not only die for our sin, he became all sin and was judged by the Living God for it.  Jesus did this in our place because we are not able to do it for ourselves, and God loves us too much to let all of Humanity’s souls perish.
Because of the fall of Adam, all humans inherited a dead spirit  We are born already spiritually dead.  Jesus had this to say about that:
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.  For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.  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.]”  John 3:16-18 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Christ and Christ alone is our salvation.  What He finished on the cross is the burden of the Law.
It is written:
“Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.  [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].”  Colossians 2:14-15
What Christ finished on the cross is also stated in the book of Romans:
It is written:

“But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.  Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [resurrection] life.” Romans 5:8-10 AMPLIFIED BIBLE

Christ not only put finished to the demands of the Law, but he also freed us from the burden of the law.  The law existed only to show mankind that there is nothing we can do on our own strength to be righteous before the Living God.
Because we are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we can now say with confidence that we belong to the kingdom of Heaven.  When we learn to walk in the freedom that this grace from God brings, we will be able to draw others to the same saving grace.  This is why we weren’t raptured the second we believed and were baptized.
Walking in the freedom of grace is not a license to sin.  Knowing what this freedom means will draw you to walk in the likeness of Christ.  You will discover that the short-lived pleasures sin brought you will fade into oblivion.  This will be true because you have a new spirit in you.
It is written:
“A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them.”  Ezekiel 36:26-27  AMPLIFIED BIBLE
That Spirit delights in the presence of God.  The freedom from the influence of sin is amazing, it is lovely, it is beautiful, and it is light.  You will never know true freedom unless you understand what Christ’s death on the cross bought you.
The alluring draw of the Spirit of God will lead you to walk after Christ.  It will be effortless.  Being Human, we will still fall into error, on occasion, but we no longer have to fear the punishment of God.  Jesus finished everything when he finished it on the cross.
God is not mad at you.  He is not mad at the unrepentant sinner, He loves them.  The myth that God is mad at you is a religious construct used by people who want to control you, and have the desire to be the dispenser of the will of God.
The delusion that there is anything else to add to the finished work of Christ implies that Christ was not actually able to finish what He started.  Mohammed made the same mistake.  That mistake brought us “The Religion of Peace”.  There is no work that needs to be accomplished outside of what Christ said we need to do.
It is written:
 And when they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped Him; but some doubted.
Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, ‘All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.  Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age.’ Amen (so let it be).”  Matthew 18:17-20  AMPLIFIED BIBLE
WHAT WE ARE BECAUSE OF THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
I am using the following material with permission.  Below is a summary written by Dr. Jim Richards.  This summary tells us what the finished work of Christ has purchased and given us.

Because of the Finished work of Christ:

I AM:

A son of God and an heir of God

It is written:

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!  The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.  And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.”  Romans 8:14-17 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Full of the Holy Spirit
It is written:
“But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God]. [Rom. 8:14.]  But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of in and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].  And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.”    Romans 8:9-11 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Free from sin
It is written:
“Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.”  Romans 6:11 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
and
“ For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].  What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God’s favor and mercy? Certainly not!  Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)?  But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.  And having been set free from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in thought, purpose, and action).”  Romans 6:14-18 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
A new creation
It is written:
“Therefore if any person is [in-grafted]  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!”  II Corinthians 5:17 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
More than a conqueror
It is written:
“Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?  Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter. [Ps. 44:22.]  Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.  For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:35-39 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
The righteousness of God in Christ
It is Written:
“For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].”  
II Corinthians 5:21 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Crucified with Christ
It is written:
“For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law] have [in Christ’s death for me] myself died to the Law and all the Law’s demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to and for God.  I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  [Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.]”  Galatians 2:19-21 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Justified by faith in Christ
It is written:
” Yet we know that a man is justified or reckoned righteous and n right standing with God not by works of the Law, but [only] through faith and[absolute] reliance on and adherence to and trust in Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). [Therefore] even we [ourselves] have believed on Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law [for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the Law given by Moses], because by keeping legal rituals and by works no human being can ever be justified (declared righteous and put in right standing with God). [Ps. 143:2.]”  Galatians 2:16  AMPLIFIED BIBLE
God’s workmanship
It is written:
“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”  Ephesians 2:10 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Hid in Christ
It is written:
“IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [Ps. 110:1.]  And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.  For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.”  Colossians 3:1-3 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Saved by Grace

It is written:

“For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;  Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]”
Ephesians 2:8-9 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Accepted in the Beloved
It is written:

“For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]–[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:5&6 AMPLIFIED BIBLE

At peace with God
It is written:
“THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”  Romans 5:1 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
So, you see, all the above states what the thesis of Paul was, and what was accomplished when Christ nailed the Law to the cross, became sin on our behalf.  We can boldly say, “It is finished” with Christ.
The Judaizers of Paul’s day attacked Paul in the same manner that the Judaizers of today attack Paul and anyone who will put stock in Paul’s writings.  We do not worship Paul.  We worship the Living God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.  That is the same Jesus Christ that appeared to Paul on Paul’s journey to Damascus.
Paul was chosen by Jesus.  Paul was endorsed by Peter and James and John.
The message is clear.  Jesus does not need anyone to complete the finished work.  It is finished.  No self-appointed messiah can stand before the Living God and demand that His children must obey the Law that Jesus already fulfilled, and still lay claim to the finished work of Christ.  It is by grace alone we are saved.  No one can claim before the Living God that Jesus failed to complete the finished work, the work of promise that was foretold in the Law and the Prophets.  God did not appoint you to be the Messiah Part II.
Christ’s work is finished.
Let me encourage you, brothers and sisters, to cling to the finished work of Christ.  It is the only path to Salvation and freedom from sin.  Nothing you can do either by the Law or of your own effort will ever make you righteous.  You cannot save yourself.  If you could, Jesus died in vain.
We who know this message of Grace, who are hidden in Christ, who drink deep of the Gospel of Grace offered by Jesus Christ, we few must take to the world, not being absorbed by the will of the world, but to show the light of the Grace that lives in you because of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Let’s be about it.
I love you
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Faith, Observations

Transition States: Saving Grace is Sustaining Grace – Revisited


Grace is Sufficient

 

This blog was originally posted on October 31, 2013.  I mention that I was homeless in this blog.  That has changed.  I and my family are no longer homeless.  I am now employed.  The job I have is probably the very best job I have had in over 25 years.  (Truthfully, nothing compares to full time ministry, IF you are actually serving the Lord, and not your own desires).

Since writing this blog, and getting employed, I am met with new challenges as a baby believer.  It is easy to take one’s eyes off Jesus when the cares of work and living confront you.  As I re-read this blog, I was reminded how strong my faith was when I wrote it.  Life was much harder then.  The difference between then and now is, then I was keeping my eyes continually focused on Christ and His finished work.  Re-reading this blog has reminded me that I need to remember, “The main thing is to always keep the main thing, the main thing.”

I hope this blog reminds you, my fellow struggling traveler, that there are much more important issues than what you think you are facing.  Keeping your eyes on Jesus will sustain you.  

You have all my love and prayer, whoever you are.  DGP  Romans 8:28 

The other day, I decided to turn off the auto-delete feature in my email program.  Suddenly, my inbox was stuffed to exploding with e-mails suggesting that if I ingest a little blue pill, my wife would suddenly be a happy person, or that my auto insurance was inadequate for me, AND that my house needs new siding.  I found that one delightful, as it is very difficult to side a homeless man’s house.

Buried in the midst of that deluge of magnificent offers was a question sent from one of the roughly 20 million alert readers of my blog.  She asked this question:  “Is Saving Grace the same as Sustaining Grace?”.

That is a very good question.

The short answer is:  YES!

If you are busy, or need to run, go ahead, I just answered that question, but if you need me to fill that answer out a bit, read at your own risk, the best answer I could come up with.  CAVEAT LECTOR:  Have your own Bible available, and never take my word, or anyone else’s word for anything.  Read the Bible and see if what I am saying is true, or not.  If it is not, please let me know BEFORE you unsubscribe to this incredibly stimulating and popular blog.  And that would leave just me and my mom as subscribers.

The long answer is:

I have to make certain assumptions of the person who asked me this question.  Here is the list of assumptions I am making.

YOU BELIEVE:

There IS a God.

That God is the SAME God mentioned throughout the Bible (Christian).

God sent His Son into a sinful world.

His Son, Jesus, did for us Humans what we could not do for ourselves.  Jesus made the broken bridge of communion with God whole again so we can have fellowship with God, and live in eternity with God in Heaven.

Jesus accomplished this feat by being nailed to the cross.  When He did that, he nailed the Law on the cross with him.  The Law led to the awareness of sin.  Jesus, who committed no sin, became all sin.  When Jesus became all sin, he was cut off from the Father: “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is (Aramaic), “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

When Jesus died, He descended into Hell and received the full wrath of God.  Jesus paid the full price for every type of sin that ever existed, does exist, and will exist.  He purchased your freedom when He gave up His life.  But God did not intend for Jesus to stay there.  While Jesus was in Hell, He remembered the promises of God, and spoke them, that God will not leave Him in Hell, nor forsake Him, and that He will commune with God again, and will sit on the throne of the Heavens.  Jesus confessed all this while he was in sin and receiving the full wrath of God.  And God sent the Spirit, His own Holy Spirit and brought Jesus back to life.

Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He has the authority to be called the Son of God, and that He has full authority over life and death.

Jesus became every sin imaginable and conquered it in Hell.  He rose again and gave gifts to all who will accept them.  Here is a list of the things Jesus gave us through His resurrection:

  • Rom. 6:4-8 We were crucified with him, died with him, buried with him and united with him in his death.
  • Rom. 6:5, 8 We will (Do live) live with him, united with him in his resurrection.
  • Rom. 8:17 We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
  • Rom. 8:17 If we share in his sufferings, we will also share in his glory.
  • Gal. 2:20 We have been crucified with Christ, and he lives in us.
  • Eph. 2:5-6 God made us alive with Christ, God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.
  • Col. 2:12 We have been buried with him in baptism.
  • Col. 2:12-13 God raised us and made us alive with Christ, through faith.
  • Col. 2:20 We died with Christ to the basic principles of this world.
  • Col. 3:1 We have been raised with Christ.
  • Col. 3:3 Our life is now hidden with Christ in God.
  • Col. 3:4 When Christ appears, we will appear with him in glory.
  • 1 Thess. 5:10 He died for us so that we may live together with him.
  • 2 Tim. 2:11 If we died with him, we will also live with him.
  • 2 Tim. 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him.

When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were born again.  When you were baptized, you were crucified with Him.  When you came up out of the water, you were raised again with Christ.  You are now a resurrected being.  We were dead in our sin, but because Christ became all our sin and died for them on our behalf, and we accepted this free gift, we are now new creations (II Corinthians 5:17).

Look at the list above again.  Look them up in your Bibles.  These are not theoretical constructs.  These statements are the absolute truth.

The same Grace that gave you a new life IS the same grace that sustains that new life.

THEN WHY DOES MY LIFE BLOW CHUNKS?

This happens to almost every believer who is not exposed to the truth.  You were not exposed to this truth because most people don’t know enough to tell you this truth.  Religion and religious tradition do not share this truth for fear of losing control over you.

You were saved, and life seemed sparkly and good.  God answered every prayer you prayed.  His presence was felt everywhere you went, and the meanings of the words in scripture were finally making sense to you.  But then, life happened, and your joy dimmed to a cold ember, and you no longer felt God’s wonderful presence.

When this happened, you were probably told that that is all part of growing up.  That God coddled you while you were a baby Christian, but it is now time to grow up and handle things yourself.

You were never informed that the same Grace that saved you will sustain you forever to the day you arrive in Heaven and meet Jesus face to face.

It is all about how you look at things.

If you go back to worldly thinking to solve your problems, you will get the same results that you got before you were saved.  You now have the Mind of Christ.  You have His Holy Spirit in you.  You are God’s righteousness already.  You are complete in every way possible in the spirit.  The difficulty comes in when you forget this fact, and return to your old way of thinking and handling problems.  If it didn’t work the first thousand times you did it, why do you think it will suddenly change?

If you want to live the walk of Christ, you have to make Him your Lord of life, too.  When you commit to do that, you must teach your heart what the scriptures declare about you (See the list above).  The Spirit of God will help you write these truths on your heart.  As you read the scriptures, and pray, you will get revelation on how to change your heart to what Jesus has said is true of you.  To walk after Christ is to rest in His completed work.  You are a co-heir to the very throne of Heaven.  You are God’s beloved child. You are no longer guilty of any sin.  And the Spirit of God will change your mind about sin so that whatever sin you struggle with will become less important than your desire to walk after Christ.

If you are saved by the grace of God, you will also live in it, if you chose to.  It really is that simple.  It is all in what you chose to believe is true as regards what Jesus accomplished on the cross and his resurrection.

This is not a license to sin, either.  Grace is God’s ability to make you righteous in Christ.  Jesus’s righteousness in now YOUR righteousness.  You are righteous and holy before God.  Your desire for God will grow and your desire for sin will diminish.

It is also not about giving up anything, but learning how to enjoy the things God invented without perverting it as the world has done.

Change your heart, and your life will change.  It all depends on what you focus on.  Remember that it is written: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matt. 6:33

I became a Christian on October 27, 1986.  And for a while, life in Christ was amazing.  Then the world got in the way and I went back to my old way of thinking about it.  I did this because I was told that that is how it is when you become a Christian.

I was never taught that God’s saving grace IS God’s sustaining Grace.  Grace is from God, and is permanent once you have accepted Jesus as your lord and savior.

If all you wanted was the fire insurance and not the walk, fine.  But your life will be as miserable as it was before you were saved, and probably more so, as you are now a child of God refusing to learn from Him.

To be sustained in Grace (God’s ability), you have to learn to see the world and all things as God sees them.  You have to believe that what Christ accomplished at his death and resurrection is permanent, not just a one time deal.

I am new at this whole grace experience.  It took me 26 years to finally see that being a Christian didn’t work out for me simply because of what I believed was true about God.

God is not mad at you, he is not out to get you or punish you.  You are His beloved Child whom he loves.  Jesus already took on God’s wrath in Hell.  You no longer have to fear God.  He is now your real father.  And He loves you.

 When you slide back into your worldly view of things, you reject the gift Christ gave His life to give you.  (See the list above).  You are telling Christ that His grace is not good enough for you and that you need to take the wheel from here.

But if you really want to experience the sustaining grace, you need to make Jesus your Lord, too, and trust that what He has done for you is real, is now, and is permanent.  The Spirit of God will honor that faith and teach you how to manifest all the gifts of God in the material world.  THIS is, after all, why you were not raptured when you first believed.  We are to exist as Christ existed, and lead all men to salvation.

Like I said before, the difference between a victorious life in Christ and going back to your old life is all in what you believe to be true about the Grace of God.  It is always in you.  It is always with you.  Even when you sin, God’s love for you never departs from you, and your salvation is not taken away.  The ones who fall from grace are the ones who think works righteousness will please God and make him love you.  You are already loved by God and He finds absolutely no fault in you.  This is all because you have accepted what Jesus did for you.

I may be new to this whole Grace thing.  I was raised in a very legalistic tradition by the Southern Baptists.  I went to a Southern Baptist Seminary.  But like Paul, I count all that as so much “dung” (Insert your own preferred aphorism here).  Compared to the amazing Grace of God and the truth that it reveals to my heart, nothing else matters.  The changes this has made in my life has been so powerful that many people have commented on what a completely different human I am.  That is also true.  My old self died when Jesus died.  My new self rose, righteous before God, when Jesus arose from the dead.  I simply needed to understand what all that meant.

So, yes, the sustaining Grace of God is the exact same thing as the grace that saved you.  One happened in a single point of time, and the other is just the same grace walking through time sustaining you, if you will accept the truth of the Scriptures.

Change your mind and change your life.  God’s grace is really all you need to walk in the likeness of Christ.  If you received Him as your savior and want to experience His sustaining Grace, then change what you believe about being saved.

Let’s be about it.

I love you,

David G. Perkins

Sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Faith

Transition States: Lay Your Burden Down


Leave This at the Feet of God

Leave This at the Feet of God

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

What freedom have we been granted?  When we accepted Christ as our Savior, what transaction took place?  What were we set free from?

We read in Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  

We also read in Romans 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

To really appreciate this, we need to understand that Jesus didn’t simply die FOR our sin.  Jesus BECAME sin itself.  Jesus became every reward sin brings, too, including guilt, condemnation, doubt, fear, anxiety and death.  Jesus became all of this.  By becoming all of sin and all of the side effects of sin, God poured His wrath on Jesus.   Jesus died in sin.   He went to Hell in sin.  But God brought Him back to life while He was in hell to show that Jesus has authority over life and death…over the consequences of freedom and the consequences of slavery, over the consequences of love and hate.  Sin was defeated, and death along with it.

It is written:  “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” II Corinthians 5:21 ESV

It is also written: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.”  I Peter 5:6-7

The humbling comes in when we have recognized what Jesus did on our behalf.  Jesus did a thing that we cannot do for ourselves.  When we see that this is what happened, we experience what the evangelists call “repentance”.

What is repentance?  It literally means “Think Again!”, or “Change Your Mind.”

What, in our thinking changes?

If we have accepted this free gift of salvation, a work done by Christ, and have accepted it in our heart (Literally, all our mind and all our being), then we literally become a new creation.

It is written:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.  Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us”  II Corinthians 5:17 – 19

One thing becomes apparent.  WE did not do the dying, Jesus did.  We did not do away with our past, God did.  We did not bring the “new things”, God did.  Everything is a free gift from God.  Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves, and because we have accepted this free gift, we are completely and totally free from our past, our sin, our sin nature, our guilt, our shame, our fear, and any other thing that will cause us to be anxious where the provision of God is concerned.

And what did Jesus say was this provision of God?  It is written:  “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

So why do I still feel overwhelmed, and anxious and lack this abundance Jesus said I would have?

THAT, my friend is the million dollar question….that I just happen to know the answer to.

One thing slavery brings you , over time, is complacency.  You become so familiar and comfoprtable with your chains that you hardly notice they exist.  You buy into the idea that “this is just how things are”.  You develop coping mechanisms that help you deal with the fact that, somewhere, deep inside, you know things are out of whack, but you are being told being enslaved to the world is “normal”.  Psychology and religion teach you that if you can just think like this, or take this pill, or adjust your feelings, you will learn to cope with how difficult life is as a slave to sin.  It all depends on you, and your willingness to continue wearing the chains that are enslaving you.  In principle, we are being taught how to be happy in our chains.

Operant Conditioning and other Behavioral Modification tools are used by governments, the Press, religions, and psychology to persuade you to change your thinking from one mode to another.    A powerful tool used, as a subset of Behavioral Modification is Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).   The presuppositions of NLP might even sound good or true or even altruistic.  Keep in mind, however, that these are the tools of Politicians and Advertising agencies and many writers.  The meanings of words are changed, subtly, until the real meaning of a thing can actually be confused for its opposite.  (Read Orwell’s, “Animal Farm” for a very stark treatment of this fact).  The underlying premises of these things is that you will always want to move away from pain towards pleasure, from fear to comfort, from difficulty to ease.  The world will appear to have these things, ready and waiting for you if you will just leave the chains alone.

I took a course in “copyediting” for the Marketing Industry.  The introduction to the course taught me that all advertisement, all political manipulation, all people who want you to buy whatever it is they are selling, use the following (and a host of other) tactics to get you to buy into it:

1. Fear – Fear of lack, fear of pain, fear of loss, fear of the unknown and unknowable.

2. Envy – Create a desire in you to covet what others actually have or might acquire before you do – a play on fear of loss.

3. Pride – Create in you a belief that if you have whatever they are selling, you will be above others, better than others, more popular than others (A play on the fear of loss), happier than others, and if you can get it before your peers get it, you will be in a superior position to be admired and praised, as you clearly had the “wisdom” to acquire what you didn’t really need before others felt the urge to envy your acquisition.

These are just 3 of the hundreds of tools applied in the arts of manipulation, Fear, Envy and Pride, but all the rest have their root in these three items.  All these are tools of slavery that teach you that self-esteem is more important than anything else on earth.  All I have to do is distract you long enough to make you believe what I am selling will make you happy and solve your problems.

Persuasion, real persuasion, is based on facts, manipulation is based a high degree of fact and a small margin of unsupportable speculation and supposition.  That small margin only has to be spoken in a way that it entices an emotion in you to cause you to react to it (That is where NLP techniques are used).  The more you hear it, the more you believe it. The more you belive it, the more you want it.  It doesn’t take much for you to believe any lie if you hear it repeated often and in earnest, with the voice of authority.  Think of what Jesus had to say to the Scribes and Pharisees and their religion.

These are things I became familiar with, and used, until I came to understand what walking after Christ actually means.    I learned through the sincere, but misguided teachings of my religion how to be a salesman, not a disciple.  I learned how to lead, but not how to serve.

It is written:  “Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them.  But it must not be like that among you.On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life — a ransom for many.” Mark 10:35-45

Remember that in my earlier blogs I made this claim for myself:  “I am just one beggar telling another where I found food, shelter and water.”   I have discovered I am wrong.  It was a “catch phrase” I was taught in Seminary so that I could manipulate someone into feeling like I was one of them, on their level, and sympathetic to their plight, even if I clearly was not.  I was in error using this phrase.

And in illustrating my error, I hope to shed some light on the million dollar question.

Here is the error of that phrase.  Simply put, it places the listener in a position to have to look at me, not Christ, as proof of God’s love.  It is a misdirection, not a revelation.  My state of being in Christ is revealed without having to say anything.  If I am a child of the Living God, through Jesus Christ, it will show, above anything and everything else, to the degree I have accepted the freedom Christ has brought me.

So, even though I had come to understand that I was free, I still called myself a beggar.  That is not only an error in my thinking, it is also arrogant of me to say something like that.  The arrogance comes from the presumption that I know better than God what God has done in me.  The error is that I am no longer a beggar.  I was, in effect, misdirecting my listener and telling him that, although I am saved, I am STILL beggarly in my life.  I have openly denied the freedom and gifts Christ has bought for me on the cross.  I just told my listener that, you may be saved, but your life will still probably suck.  And I am learning that that is just not the case.

It is written:  “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father! ”The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ — seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”  Romans 8:15-17

The suffering Paul mentioned was the fact that He and other Christians were being persecuted by both the Church of the Pharisees and by the Romans.

The reason I am not a beggar is because my accepting Christ as my savior also means I am literally adopted by the LIVING GOD, creator of the Heavens and Earth, and all that exists therein.  I am HIS son.  I can call him daddy, and not be considered silly for doing this (At least not by God, the rest of you are up for grabs).

Just as, and because of, Jesus put to death all sin and the side effects of my sin, I am no longer bound by my failures, my sin, my weaknesses.  I am a new creation.  A new life form.  For fear of losing you, I will not go into what this has proven to mean at the DNA level.  It is a very complicated subject.  But you are now a new creation.  OLD THINGS ARE DEAD AND GONE.  They died when Christ died.  You are risen because Christ rose.

It is Written:  “Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.  For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection.  For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims.”  Romans 6:4-7

When you accepted the completed work of Christ, you accepted that you were once dead in your sin, and now are a new creation, alive in Christ.  Sin and death no longer have power over you.

It is Written:  “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;  it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2: 1 – 10

Just like I am no longer a beggar, but an Heir to the Throne of Heaven, I can tell you that, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, so are you, an Heir to the Throne.

All that has to change is your thinking (beliefs, mind, heart).  The world’s rules and thinking no longer apply to you.  In fact, as a Child of God, the more you try to walk after the world, the more difficult it will be to understand what God wants for you in this life.  Your misery will multiply.

In order to defeat fear, lust and pride you need to understand that you are no longer guilty of your past, and you are no longer the same you that used to exist.  All the old stuff died with Christ, and your freedom was paid for.  It was paid for by Jesus.  You are no longer a slave to fear, Jesus killed it when He died on the cross in your place.  You no longer need to worry since God has nothing but good intended for your life.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE!  THINGS STILL SUCK IN MY LIFE!!

OK, I’ll buy that.  but…It is written:  ” For as he (you, me, anyone else) thinketh in his heart, so is he…”

You become your thoughts (your beliefs, desires, will, etc).  Christ died for all your failures.  you are not destined to fail if your heart is to follow Christ.  It is all how you believe you are.

While it is true that there are universal principles at work, and you can actually get what you ask for, you will also reap what you sow.  God is not a vending machine, or an ATM.  But if serving Him means you need certain things to be true in your life, ASK.  He will be faithful to supply your need.

It is written:  “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14

CAVEAT LECTOR:  Be careful what you ask for…you may get it.  Jesus said, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”.  Is what you are asking for going to glorify God in the Son?

Earlier I quoted Mark 10:35-45.  How does this compare with what I have been saying about not being a beggar?  My mind is changed, and is changing.  The worlds values no longer seem as important to me as serving Christ does.  My heart is in the trans-formative state of becoming Christ like.  My old beliefs and habits are falling away to the degree that I am willing to let God work in me through the Holy Spirit.  I surrender to God, and am being made into the likeness of Christ.

One thing I am learning is, even though I may have tremendous need, and am experiencing hardship, I can still serve God by serving my fellow man.  I no longer want to pray for a Cadillac and a huge house because that only serves my self.  We have enough self-serving Christians as it is.  What I find myself truly wanting to do is to walk in whatever way God leads my heart to walk.

I am no longer bound by my sins.  And they were many and very grievous ones, at that.  I am forgiven and am free to have the mind of Christ.

Why is your life still so overwhelming?

Simple.  Lay down your life to Christ.  Learn of Him.  Learn to see your situation as He sees it.  What was once unbearable becomes bearable.  What was once overwhelming becomes very manageable.  Fear no longer rules your heart.  Fear has no place in you.  The love of God overwhelms fear so that it cannot live in you.  Without the distraction of fear and anxiety, you are more able to see solutions that never occurred to you before.  Lust becomes a memory, not a plague.  Pride falls before the feet of Christ.  You have absolutely nothing he wants or needs, except you.  He loves you.

CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE

It is written:  “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.

Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men.  And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross.

For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Philippians 2:5-11
As a Child of God, you can ask anything you want in Jesus’ name.  But the things the Spirit of God will lead you to ask for will be shaped by the type of call God will place on your heart.
One thing is certain, all calls of God will be so that “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In the mean time, as regards the chaos that defines your life, or my life, or anyone elses, it is clear and evident proof that you will always attract the things you believe are true for you.  You will reap what you sow.
If you want your life to really change do this:  “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”
The desires of God for you will become YOUR hearts desires.  Everything else will fall away into the useless flotsam and jetsam of a fallen world.  The troubles that may visit you as you walk after him are difficult only in the respect that you have trusted, or failed to trust God through Jesus Christ
This is not for cowards or doubters.  It is only for those who genuinely believe and want their life to make a real difference in this world.  Sometimes God may tear someone completely down and empty them of everything that they thought meant something just to begin this new work.  Walking after Christ means to rest in His completed work.  I promise, things will change if you will first seek Him.
IF YOU CAN ACCEPT THAT YOUR SIN NATURE WAS TRANSFORMED BY CHRIST’S RESURRECTION, THEN PLEASE ACCEPT THAT YOUR MIND IS ALSO TRANSFORMED FOR THE SAME REASON.
It is written:  “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2
Let’s be about it.
I love you
David G. Perkins
sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com
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Faith

Transition States: Serving Man Is To Serve Christ


"I AM the bread of life" - Jesus

“I AM the bread of life” – Jesus

For I have come down from heaven,not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. – John 6:38 HCSB

Do I understand that, for Jesus to make that statement, He had to be completely emptied of His Heavenly place of honor, leave His throne, and become one of us?  He humbled Himself and served God’s will by serving man.  Jesus left His own personal will behind, was filled with the Spirit of God at His baptism, and served God’s Will.  Not out of law, compulsion, or as a slave, but out of Love for His Father.  Jesus served God by serving man.  And He did it by the power of the Holy Spirit that had filled Him.

I grew up believing that if I sang in the church choir, went to all the youth rallies, worked in the annual church “revival”, attended the Summer Camps, and basically behaved myself, I would be a good christian.

When I became an adult (Not to be confused with growing up), I attended church because I wanted to please God.  I confused the scripture that says, “Hebrews 10:25 – KJV – Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”  Again, I saw a lot of “activity” and heard a great deal about God and Jesus, but it came across as a knowledge gained through consensus, a creating God out of parts of scripture that appealed to the idea of what I want God to be, rather than learn what the Bible actually says about God, His will, and Jesus, the Lord.

Let me be clear, and I will probably be pilloried over this, but you can research this yourselves.  The “Church” is the ekklesia…the body that consists of those who genuinely believe.  The “Church” is NOT the building you go to and socialize in.  These edifices are full of people who have no real belief or understanding of the scriptures.  They gather to serve themselves.  The “Church” was never called to serve itself, glorify itself, or do its own will, expecting God to approve its’ own agenda.  When we are filled with our own purposes, we have immediately forsaken the will of God.    Today’s churches have become irrelevant for this very reason.  It is a fortress that expects the sinner to come to it for help, and offering only trite messages, based on the popular psychology of the day, and “supported” by whatever scripture they can find to support that view-point.  They are the “Hucksters of the Gospel” you read about in the New Testament.   Having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof.

Christ’s church, His ekklesia, consists of those who have believed in  their hearts that Jesus died for and became their sin.  That Jesus became every sin that ever was and ever will be, and died and went to hell, a sinner, for our sake.  Christs church understands that, while Jesus was dead in Hell, cut off from God, but receiving the complete and full wrath of God, God reached into Hell and brought Jesus back to life.  Jesus, having been restored, preached freedom to the captives in Hell and took the captives and freed them.  Then Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He has the right to be called “Christ the Lord”.  Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  He put all sin and death away for our sakes.  If you accept this simple truth in your heart, and declare with your mouth that Jesus did all this and rose from the dead, YOU HAVE SALVATION.  THAT is all there is to it.

Those are the people who are the ekklesia, the church.  And believing these things, are sold out, in faith, and grace, and have determined to follow their Lord.  These are the people who need to stick together.  These are the people who need to support each other.  Wherever two believers are gathered, Jesus is in their midst.  It is there they can support, exhort, teach and worship together.  You will not find that in the established church.  If this were not true, the established church would have no idea what religious dogma is, nor would they be trying to force their own agenda down the throat of the Living God.

Results matter, and what has become the modern church is proof that they have abandoned their first love, and taken upon themselves the idea that they know God’s will better than God does.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV

I cannot do what Christ wants me to do.  Not if I intend to do it on my own power.  The only way I can “walk after the lord” is to rest in what HE accomplished on my behalf.  The minute I abandon the power and will and faith of Christ, and attempt to do His will on my own, I have abandoned the very thing Christ has asked us to do…ABIDE IN HIM.  Abiding means to rest, pitch your tent, make Him your home.  Know Him through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  It is what every New Believer experiences.  Unfortunately, because discipleship is a lost art, that new Christian becomes a blown out candle.  Then when he asks his pastor, or some other respected elder why has the joy left, that respected adviser usually tells them, “Well, this is all part of maturing . ”  God worked in you because you were a baby christian, but we all have to grow up, and do for ourselves.  We have to obey God through our effort”.  I actually was told that at Seminary.  We were taught that we must abide, but we were taught that it is an effort to do so, and we just have to work hard to get ourselves to abide.  I actually believed that, and the result was, I became as bad a sinner as I was before I was saved.  I didn’t understand what abide really meant.

Abide is a very intimate term.  Get to know Him through spending time with Him.  This starts with reading the word and prayer.  The Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead is the same spirit that now lives in you.  As long as you abide, you grow, and produce fruit.  But is done by resting in Him.  Believe as simply as you did when you were first saved.  Trust that He will guide you, teach you, uphold you, love you, and instruct you.  Give up your ideas of God’s will, and learn what His will actually is.  Rest in Him.  You cannot do this by your own strength.  You are already forgiven.  You are already His child.  You are already adopted into the Kingdom of God.  When you learn to relax and trust this truth, you will abide in Him.  When you do this, you will be shown how things look from God’s point of view.  You will, out of love for Christ, WANT to please him.  This is not something you can ever do on the power of your flesh.  It is only when you abide in the rest of the Lord that HE will guide you and teach you.  Your desire will be to do as Christ leads you.  He will make sure you have all you need to do His will.

John … said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”  But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.” – Luke 9:49-50 NASB

You do not need “The Church’s” permission to serve Christ.  You already are a co-heir to the throne of Christ.  You have within you all the same power that God used, through Jesus, to create the heavens and earth.  The kingdom of God dwells in you.  You are now His child.  God is not sitting “way up there, in the distant by and by, sitting on a throne, unapproachable”.  He dwells in you.  His kingdom is in you.  You have all the power and authority and grace and love of God.  You are Saved and belong to Him as if you were Jesus Himself.  When He sees you, He sees his beloved child.

That “someone” who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, was obeying the will of God because it became his heart to do so.  He did not need the permission of the disciples because he already had the kingdom of God in his heart.  He had a change of heart.  He learned a new thought.  Repent simply means to think again.  The disciples were already jockeying for position of authority, and desired to rule over others since they were the “First Disciples”.  This may be why Jesus chose Paul to do what others refused to do.

It is as simple as understanding that the price Jesus paid on the cross, in hell, and through His resurrection, Jesus gave you, the believer this free gift, that you are also the adopted son of God.  You have God’s permission to rest in Him and watch him use you as he moves you in your heart.  No church, ever, was able to do this for you.  It is simply and ONLY the completed work of Jesus Christ.  It is a free gift.  It goes beyond eternal life.  It goes beyond your resources, your thinking, your will, and your ability.

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.  And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;  Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.  And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.   And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. – Acts 3:1-7 KJV

All of what I have written is because I am going through a transition state of understanding what Jesus actually gave himself for.  It was not a religion.  It is so that we can be restored to the place we were before the fall of man.

Peter and John were on their way to the church (Synagogue) to pray.  They were obeying the edict of the assembly.  But on their way, Christ showed them an opportunity to do the will of God.  This is because the Holy Spirit had taught them the Mind of Christ (Read the first few chapters of Acts).

Interestingly enough, it was the established church of their day that had a huge problem with this behavior.  They, however, had the joy of the Lord in them, even under persecution, because they had obeyed their Lord.

They didn’t have permission from the local church to obey Christ.  They simply were moved in their hearts and minds because it is what moves Christ.  Serving man is more important than serving your church.  Giving freely of all you were given by Christ is true obedience.

SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE

The transition state I am going through is a real object lesson.  All I ever had, believed or possessed has been taken away from me.  I own nothing, I have nothing but my clothes, a wife who loves me unconditionally, and a wonderful family.  We live in a basement.  But we are discovering a joy that we would never have understood had this not happened.  We are learning that, out of our need, we give, we serve, and we obey.  We do this, not because we are trying to please God.  We please God because, when He moves us to be like His son, and we follow that lead, we get to see Christ at work.  We are finding that you do not have to have a lot of resources to give.  You do not need things to serve.  You start with what you do have, and let God guide you.  You do this because you are abiding in Christ.  You learn to hear his voice.  Our joy has multiplied because of this transition.  We are being remade into the image of Christ through resting in Him and knowing His word.

Where others have disassociated from us, where finances have fled from us, where all we ever thought important has been lost, we find that we have been given a new heart, a new mind, and a living Holy Spirit.

I do not need things to serve man.  I just need the same Love in my heart that drove Jesus to do for me.  I did not have to follow any rituals, or attend a church to get this knowledge or understanding.  My heart didn’t change from some church activity or program.  My thinking was renewed into the will of God by trusting that what Christ said he did, He did.  And trusting that what Christ said he will do through His Spirit in me, HE will do.  I can do nothing of my self.  I can only be useful to God if I let Christ make me into something completely new and different from all that I was.

I have learned that it is better to abandon my religion and pursue Christ.  I am inviting you to do the same thing.

Let’s be about it.

I Love You

David G. Perkins

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Transition States – Leaving My ‘Old time Religion’ and Learning to Walk in Grace.


New Creation

Transition States

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”  Ezekiel 36:26 NASB

DEFINITIONS:

Masoretic Text of Ezekiel 36:26

וְנָתַתִּ֤י לָכֶם֙ לֵ֣ב חָדָ֔שׁ וְר֥וּחַ חֲדָשָׁ֖ה אֶתֵּ֣ן בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם וַהֲסִ֨רֹתִ֜י אֶת־לֵ֤ב הָאֶ֨בֶן֙ מִבְּשַׂרְכֶ֔ם וְנָתַתִּ֥י לָכֶ֖ם לֵ֥ב בָּשָֽׂר׃

Reverse Interlinear

“Moreover, I will give” – nathan – gift (A form of the word GRACE.)  – to give, bestow, grant, permit, ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate, pay wages, sell, exchange, lend, commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, yield produce, occasion, produce, requite to, report, mention, utter, stretch out, extend

“You a new” – chadash – new, new thing, fresh

“heart” – leb – Outline of Biblical Usage

  1. inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding

    1. inner part, midst
      1. midst (of things)
      2. heart (of man)
      3. soul, heart (of man)
      4. mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory

      5. inclination, resolution, determination (of will)

      6. conscience
      7. heart (of moral character)

      8. as seat of appetites

      9. as seat of emotions and passions

      10. as seat of courage

“spirit” – ruwach – 

  1. wind, breath, mind, spirit

    1. Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
      1. as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy
      2. as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning
      3. imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power
      4. as endowing men with various gifts
      5. as energy of life

      6. as manifest in the Shekinah glory

      7. never referred to as a depersonalised force

“within” quereb – midst, among, inner part, middle

  1. inward part

    1. physical sense

    2. as seat of thought and emotion

    3. as faculty of thought and emotion

“and I will remove” – cuwr – (Pronounced ‘suwr’) –

  1. to turn aside, depart

    1. (Qal)

      1. to turn aside, turn in unto

      2. to depart, depart from way, avoid

      3. to be removed

      4. to come to an end

    2. (Polel) to turn aside

    3. (Hiphil)
      1. to cause to turn aside, cause to depart, remove, take away, put away, depose
      2. to put aside, leave undone, retract, reject, abolish

    4. (Hophal) to be taken away, be removed

 

“stone” – ‘eben – perverse, hard heart

“flesh” – basar –

  1. flesh

    1. of the body
      1. of humans
      2. of animals

    2. the body itself

    3. male organ of generation (euphemism)
    4. kindred, blood-relations

    5. flesh as frail or erring (man against God)

    6. all living things

    7. animals

    8. mankind

English (NASB)   [?] Strong’s Root Form (Hebrew)

“Moreover, I will give

 h5414 נָתַן nathan

you a new

 h2319 חָדָשׁ chadash
heart h3820 לֵב leb
and put h5414 נָתַן nathan
a new h2319 חָדָשׁ chadash
spirit h7307 רוּחַ ruwach

within

 h7130 קֶרֶב qereb
you; and I will remove h5493 סוּר cuwr
the heart h3820 לֵב leb

of stone

 h68 אֶבֶן ‘eben
from your flesh h1320 בָּשָׂר basar

and give

 h5414 נָתַן nathan

you a heart

 h3820 לֵב leb
of flesh. h1320 בָּשָׂר basar

36:26  καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν καρδίαν καινὴν καὶ πνεῦμα καινὸν δώσω ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν καρδίαν τὴν λιθίνην ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν καρδίαν σαρκίνην

Thank you for dredging through all those definitions.  It may be a stretch to prove a point, but I wanted to make sure the point was understood based on what the bible is actually saying.  BASICALLY this verse is saying that GOD will take away my mind, will, heart, understanding, and place inside me HIS mind, will, heart, understanding, and remove my dead spirit and replace it with HIS living and holy spirit.

I have been going through radical changes in my thinking (To change your thinking,  means to repent, and to repent is to change your thinking).

Here is what happened: I prayed.

I prayed that God remove from me every thing that stands between me and Him.  I confessed I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, and that Christ died on the cross for my sin (He BECAME all sin, and God judged HIM for being sin, and He died).  Then He, being sin, was cast into hell.  But while He was there, He was brought back to life in the transfigured form that the apostles saw on the streets three days later.  He did all this so that I would not have to die.  He did this so all law and prophecy will be fulfilled.  He did this so that, instead of we humans souls having to suffer the complete wrath of God, we inherited eternal life instead.  I prayed that God remove anything and everything that stands between me and Him.

If you have been reading my poor blog, you know what happened.  If not, the reader’s digest version is that God answered my prayer.  Everything that could be removed from me was removed from me.  What I have left is a loving wife, a beautiful family, and the presence of God.  Oh, and we were able to keep our clothes and our car and our cats.

I digress, though.  I prayed.  My hearts desire is to know Christ and be like Him.  In the above verse, we learn many things.  We learn that it is NOT our selves that does the work.  It is God that does all the work.  My efforts not only get in the way, but prohibit God from working in me.  I know this is true because I have tried all my life to understand what it means to be like Christ.

This is where, recently, I found the difference between “Theology” and “Religious Dogma”.  Theology is simply “The knowledge of God”.  “Religious Dogma” is self explanatory, but I will expound on it as we go.

Albert Einstein once said, “I want to know God’s thoughts; the rest are details.”  That is where I stand.  That is basically where I have always stood.  I was raised in a very traditional, large, protestant religion.  Where this religion’s dogma aligned with the doctrines of God, we were taught the doctrines of God.  Where they differed, we were taught a very skewed religious bias, a dogma that placed more importance on our religion and our religious movement than on the will of the Living God through Christ Jesus.  We were basically renting the parts of scripture that suited us, and changed the understanding of the rest.   This kind of dogma replaces a genuine understanding of the Living God, via the work of the Holy Spirit, and replaces it with man’s interpretation of God and His role in the Universe, Life, and our selves.

But the promise of God is that HE will do this work, and HE will replace my corrupted thoughts with HIS thoughts, His will, HIS understanding of things, His Spirit will be my new life as I was dead in my spirit.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:1-10 NASB

God took out all my dead junk and replaced it with HIS life.  Literally.  His name is Jesus.

But religious dogma taught me a knowledge ABOUT God, based on evaluations derived from external observation…a what you see is the sum of the knowledge of God.  It emphasized imitating Christ by MY strength, and not resting in the Lord.

Theology, real theology, describes, instead, an intimate knowledge of God.  It is based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  The intimacy is more profound than the intimacy between lovers.    It is attained only when you have accepted the free gift of Salvation brought by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The religious dogma I was taught was simply a mental knowledge of the scriptures.  It was a cerebral understanding of what Christ accomplished through His life, Death and Resurrection.  To reinforce all this knowledge, we studied, in depth, the writings of the Church Leaders (By that I mean, mostly the leaders of our religion, and, where they applied, the writings of all the commentaries and letters of all the historical Church Leaders.)  If there was a commentary that did not quite line up with our dogma, it was either ignored or explained away.  It is called “rationalizing”.

God never said we are to rationalize our faith.  He asked us to come and reason with Him.  HE will make us clean.  He will do all the work.  He and He alone can accomplish in us all the works that He promised.

All the self-inflicted rules and dogma of my former religion were emphasized in the light of the idea that WE must do all WE can to be like Christ.  We were taught many amazing things that remained in our heads, but never reached our hearts.  This Head Knowledge is a walk that relies on self-enforced rules.  This affliction is the religious dogma that has turned every person on earth away from Christ.  It has proven over time that all it does is  condemn you, and try to force you to behave in a way that is not in your nature.  It disregards the fact that our flesh (Heart, Mind, Soul, Will) is at war with God.  It is a self reliance that works only for a little while until we fatigue of doing something that is not in us to do in the first place.

In the opening verse, we see that these changes can only be done by God, according to His will, through His spirit.  This is done when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” II Corinthians 5:17 NASB

When we rest in the completed work of Christ, we are no longer guilty.  We are no longer in sin.  We are no longer in rebellion against God.  We are NEW creatures.  And the changes that are made start from the inside, not the outside.  They are a vine that, as we grow in Christ Likeness, produce the fruit of the spirit.

Where religious dogma emphasizes a memorized set of rules that force you to rely on yourself to fulfill, the Knowledge of God, through a changed mind, heart, and spirit in Christ, emphasizes the work of God in you through the Holy Spirit.  You receive as a gift the Mind of Christ.  You receive as a gift the will of God.  You receive as a gift the total forgiveness of all your sin.  This fruit of the Spirit will eventually manifest itself outwardly as you make the transition inwardly.

I am writing about this now because I am in that transition state.  I am leaving a dead life of works based faith behind, and am transitioning into a life of faith based walk in Christ.  The biggest difference, besides the change of heart, the change of attitude, the change in the way you view the world, is, you no longer walk in sin and rebellion, and it becomes effortless as you begin to rest in the completed work of Christ.  You can still sin, but the more of the Mind of Christ you allow the Spirit of God to reveal to you, the less you will want to sin.

I no longer have to try, by my own strength, to be like Christ.  Christ is transitioning me from where I was to where He wants me to be.

This does not make God’s Grace a license to sin, but the freedom from the sin nature.  All I have to do is accept, in my heart, what the Word of God says about the accomplished work of Christ.  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So, I hope this tome will encourage you to change your mind about the knowledge of God.  Your religious dogma will not get you very far.  It only makes sin more exciting than knowing God.  Even Atheists have a religious dogma and a religious fervor.

I will write more on the details of Grace that brought about this transition.  It is difficult, only in the respect that I have to overcome a lot of my old thinking and believing patterns, and accept the thoughts of Christ.  Faith becomes reality.  No matter what you think about, that is what you become and receive,  It is a universal principle.  Faith in Christ will bring you a new life far beyond anything you ever imagined.  I know this because this is what is happening to me.

I am in the transition state that exists between my religious dogma, and my new walk in Christ.

Care to join me?

Let’s be about it.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

 

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It Is Well


  1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
  2. When sorrows like sea billows roll;
    Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
    It is well, it is well, with my soul.

    • It is well, with my soul,
      It is well, it is well, with my soul.
  3. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
    Let this blest assurance control,
    That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
    And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

  1. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
    My sin, not in part but the whole,
    Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
    Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

  1. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
    If Jordan above me shall roll,
    No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
    Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

  1. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
    The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
    Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
    Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

  1. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
    The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
    The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
    Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

Copyright: Public Domain

Main subject: Peace

Scripture: Psalm 146:1

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Our Position in Christ: When Trouble Comes Knocking


Forgiven“One of the great inhibitors to our boldness is the responses that people in our lives give.

Although God is merciful and ready to forgive, people are not.

We cannot let the responses of people affect our honesty before and our trust in the Lord.

Though people may reject us, God does not.”

Richards, James (2001-12-01). Grace: The Power To Change (Kindle Locations 542-544). Whitaker House. Kindle Edition.

THE WORLD

When the world says I am a loser, I am too old to be part of what they are doing, or too fat, or overqualified, or under-qualified, or whatever excuse the world offers because I am not in my 20’s or 30’s and that is all they are looking for, it is easy for me to get discouraged.

When old friends or family know that I am a new creation in Christ, and say they have forgiven my past, but still treat me as if I am still that same old self, or they are so in love with their opinions and assumptions of me that the facts and evidence do not count for anything, it is easy for me to get discouraged.

MY MIND

Discouragement temps my mind to resort to old beliefs, to old habits, to old methods of acknowledging to opinions of the World and Family.  I find it refreshing that because I am a new creation, I have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16 – For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.  KJV

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. KJV

When I rest in the Lord, I find what His mind desires for me.  When I find that He desires the fruit of the spirit of God, then I am able to rest in Him and walk after Him.  Then I am not discouraged, or angry, or disappointed.  My temptation to be my old self literally vanishes.  I find that instead of discouragement and anger, I have joy and peace.  I see the Grace and Mercy He purchased on my behalf, and receive it, and am filled with it, and understand how Godless and Religious people have missed it.  It is impossible for me to resort to my old self when I pray for these circumstances.  I have tested the claims of the scriptures, and find that they are true.  They are true because I have placed my faith in the Grace of God and His mercy.

Because of the Hope He has given me, my mind calms down, and I can wait on Him to see what he has already set in motion for me.  His ability to keep me focused on His will makes it possible for me to Wait on Him:

“O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, and He shall give thee thy heart’s desires.  Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him; and fret not they self because of evil doers.”

If I try by my own strength to follow the will of God, I become a law unto myself, and forgo the Grace (Ability) of God.  Then I have to try to do everything right, even though all my effort will never be enough to please God or get me saved, or change me into the likeness of Christ.  If I fail in any single thing by my own effort, then I have failed completely.

There was only One who lived a sinless life, and who walked in the will of God.  Jesus’s promise to us is that, when we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, WE will have the same ability as God poured into Christ.

ABIDING IN HIM (The Mind of Christ)

There is a verse in the Bible that talks about ABIDING.: 1 John 2:6 – “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

The Greek definition of the word walk could more accurately be translated into this phrase: rest in the Lord so HE will cause you to walk.  If I try to walk on my own strength, the best I can do is produce what is NOT the will of God for my life.  I know this because I just spent the last 20 years doing that very thing.

It is because Jesus rested in the will of God that He was able to know and do the things He did: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him (God the Father) who sent Me.” John 6:38 NASB  Parenthesis added by me.

Our position is one of rest in Christ, who set the example by resting in God and His will.  When we do that, life becomes clearer and simpler.  By resting in Him, a very intimate relationship in the Greek language, we get to know Him and His thoughts and His will.  This intimacy causes our love and dependence on Him to grow geometrically.  After doing His will in your life, sin and temptation become apparent for what they are:  Death and Destruction.

God has placed a new desire in my heart.  It is become apparent that I cannot, nor do I want to, return to the world I left behind.  All having my way has gained me is loss and destruction.  Now I am beginning to see glimmers of what God wants for me, and I can wait on Him because Christ did the same.  Christ makes me able to rest in Him.  Christ makes me able to walk after Him because HE is my motivation and ability and power.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

I tell you all this because I know you are human, and go through the same temptations.  Believe me when I tell you that the gift of God’s grace (ability, will, mind, power) comes as you surrender yourself to it.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

In Christ there is rest.  In my own will there is the sweat of my brow that leads to failure.  I know that my present circumstances is not the judgement of God on me, but simply the logical and natural consequences of living by my own will instead of trusting God.

God is with you if you are going through this, too, if you believe in His Son.  His Mercy has forgiven you and His grace sustains you.  Rest in Him, give whatever it is you are going through to Him.  He will show you a better way than any way you can come up for yourself.  I know this, too, is a fact.

You are His beloved.  You are an heir to the Kingdom of Heaven.  He is longing to help you if you will rest in Him.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NASB

PRAYER:  I thank you Lord for this opportunity to share this topic with my brothers and sisters who are going through the storm of doubt, frustration, disappointment and anger.  Because you have delivered me from these things, I desire to share this with anyone who will listen, and I pray you pour your Holy Spirit on those who read this message and take it to heart.  I love you God, that you have sent Jesus Christ who died for our sin, and in our resting in Him, we are led to the green pastures and clear water that is your will for us.  Reveal to each of us your will for our lives.  I pray this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. AMEN

Let’s be about it!

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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And We Know…


Holy Pottery

And we know that God causes all things

to work together

for good

to those who love God,

to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 NASB

The temptation to despair looms large when things around you have completely gone to hell.  The difficulty lay in seeing the hand of God even in this situation.

I have to remember that God is not mad at me.  God is not judging me.  When I reap the consequences of my behavior, it is not God that is punishing me.  Everything has either a logical or natural consequence.  When I am in a storm of my own making, I understand that it is not God that brought the storm.

It IS God that stands with me in the midst of the storm.  It is God that sustains me when I feel faint from the effort of having Hope.  Just like Nebuchadnezzar saw, when he threw the three into the fiery pit, “One standing like the Son of God“, I can say with all confidence that, even though I lit this fire, God stands with me in this pit, and God protects me from the harshest elements of it.  The experience is still mine, but the strength to endure and the ability to gain wisdom comes from God Himself.

Because I am crucified with Christ, my old sin nature was put to death.  Because He rose from the dead, I rose anew, a new life form.  I know that after this last trial, I will walk out refined and purified.  I cannot make this claim unless Christ is my life.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. “ Galatians 2:20 NASB

Because of Jesus, and my redemption by His blood, I can, with all confidence say, I have been made anew.  When this refining fire is over, I will be stronger in the Lord.  I will know God in intimate ways I never would have comprehended had I not been subject to the logical consequences of my behavior.

God has not punished me.  Jesus took on that punishment when He became all my sin on the cross.  Because of this great gift, I am now the adopted child of God.  God will allow consequences to come my way, natural and logical, when I step out of His will for my life.

I praise God that He has given me the freedom to think for myself.  And I praise God that He upholds me when I reap what I sow.  From this lesson, I have learned that doing things God’s way is far better than seeking riches, fame, and the praise of men.

God has, and is, and will work even this situation out to His glory, to my best good, because I am called according to His purposes.

I may not understand why, sometimes, it seems as if He is a thousand miles away.  It may be that my fear of the flames has distorted my view of Him, and He has been right here all along, holding me, because I have fainted.

Through this fire, I have seen my unnecessary beliefs, behaviors and possessions disappear in smoke.  All I thought was important couldn’t stand in the fire of God’s just mercy.  What remains is a grace that I never imagined could exist.

Now I have joy, love, and peace, and I comprehend the love of God.  I am His beloved.  Now I am useful for His purposes in me.

I thank you God that you allow me to go through these things.

I cannot be that new creature and cling to the old things.  They are incompatible.  As God’s adopted child, and co-heir to Heaven, my old belongings would only pollute the things and places God intends to give me.

I praise you God for a wisdom that in infinitely more than any human wisdom.  Where the world sees a failure and a loser, you see a new creation, fresh from the master’s refining fire.

I am happy to lose everything I thought was meaningful and important, knowing that what God will be giving me is worth more than anything the world has to offer.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;

the old things passed away; behold,

new things have come.”

II Corinthians 5:17 NASB

Come to Jesus and be refined in the fire of His love.  You will never regret it for all eternity.

I love you.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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It Doesn’t Matter


Grace is SufficientII CORINTHIANS 5:17 HCSB   “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”

What’s New?

“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;”    

Jesus made it clear that, if we have rejected Him, we are already dead, “Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.” John 3:18 HCSB

We are dead before we accepted Christ.  We are cut off from God.  We have no home in Heaven, no hope of eternal life.   We are still born entities who have not been given the gift of eternal life via the Holy Spirit.  We are already dead.

There is a familiar saying that, “Jesus did not come here to make bad people good, but to make dead people live.”  I have no idea who said this, so I cannot give attribution.

Jesus came here to die so that I can live.  When Jesus was nailed to the cross, all the law of sin was nailed to the cross.  The law existed to demonstrate that it is impossible for me to obey God on my own power.   Jesus put “finished” to the law when He was nailed to the cross, “having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. “ Col 2:14

All the reasons that people can think of, all the accusation that Satan accuses you with, any right anyone had to find fault with you was put to death the moment you accepted Him.  Furthermore, sin itself no longer has command over you.  When you accepted Christ, the Spirit of God immediately came to you, moved in to your body, your mind, your life, and brought YOU to life in Christ.

Jesus became sin, and died of it, took it to Hell with him and paid the full penalty for it.  All sin was put to death and no longer has any authority over you.  The only power sin has, now, is whatever you give it.  The good news here is, now that the Spirit of God lives in you, you have all the resources of Heaven to help you overcome sin.

BUT WHAT ABOUT MY PAST?

old things have passed away

When you accepted Jesus Christ’s free gift, your past died with Christ.  Your new life was created when He rose from the dead.  Your acceptance of this completed work put to death your old self.  “…having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” Col 2: 12-13 NASB

When you accepted Jesus’s sacrifice for you, you were buried with him in death, and the new creation that arose from the dead is the new creation that now lives in you.

Your past is just that, the past.

I know, I know, everyone else still treats me as if I am the old me.  That is OK.  People will eventually see that you are no longer that person.  This takes time and patience.  The new life you will live will be a product of Christ living in you.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  Galatians 2:20 NASB

You died.  Christ lives in you, now.  Your old self is dead.

Yes, you still have memories of the past, but they no longer have power over you.   The Spirit of God lives in you, now.  Allow the Spirit of God to work in you to change you into the likeness of Christ.  You have to forgive your past.  God already did.

The past has just as much hold over you as you let it.  Forgive your past.  People change very slowly, but they will change.  As evidence of your new life dawns on others, you will be treated differently.  Let time and patience do their jobs.

GOD LIVES IN YOU

The greatest thing that you will learn is, now that you are born into the Kingdom of Heaven, you are now an adopted child of God.  “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”  Romans 8:15 NASB

Fear of punishment for your past can go away now.  You are no longer a slave to your past, so you can stop acting as if it has any influence over you.  It died when you died.  You died when you accepted the free gift of salvation.  It is now Christ that lives in you.  You are His brother.  God is now your father.

I John 4:15 says that God abides in you, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

QUALITY OF LIFE

This new life, this “Zoe” as it is said in the scriptures, is not just living, it defines a new quality of life.  Your life changes because you are a new born creature.  Where you didn’t exist, you now exist in Heaven.  Zoe is not just a life form, but a new life form that has a new quality of life.  This quality of life manifests itself in you as you grow in Christ.

We are possessed of this quality the second we are born.  All that God is, has, and gives, lives in you.  It is your inheritance.  The fullness of the Kingdom of God is yours, now, today, because you were born into the kingdom of Heaven.

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Sin used to be your master.  This is no longer true of you.  Where you were once dead in your sin, sin now only has the power over you that you allow it to have.  But, even then, the Grace of God covers our sin.  We do not abuse this grace, but have access to it so that we can be continually made into the righteousness of Christ.  Christ’s righteousness lives in us.  It becomes manifest in us when we realize we are free from the curse of sin.

Being free from sin is not comprised of a list of “Don’ts”.  The influence of the Spirit of God will show you a view of sin that you never had before.  Sin does not become a list of don’ts, but a fact of “Don’t want to”.  Sin no longer will have the power over you that it used to have.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”  Romans 6:1-8

Before we were born again, we had no righteousness.  Now, we are alive in Christ, and HIS righteousness lives in us.  He did this for us, so we cannot brag about it.

IT NO LONGER MATTERS WHAT EVERYONE ELSE THINKS

In God’s eyes, you are His child.  In His eyes, you are complete.  You are loved and lovely.  You are whole and pure.  When you accepted this free gift of Jesus’ death and resurrection, you were born into the Kingdom of Heaven complete in every way.

The world may not recognize what God has done in you.  But as you submit to Him, by the power of His spirit, God will make manifest in your life all the riches of His Kingdom.  He will do this in you as you humble yourself before the Lord: “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”  James 4:10

Don’t let people convince you that you are not His.  Don’t talk yourself into going back to your old life.  Let the power of the Living God work in you.  It is written that a broken and contrite heart, God will not despise.  It takes you emptying you of yourself and allowing the completed work of God, that is in you, to be made manifest in your life.

No one can take this away from you.

Jesus said: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

No one can rob you of your God-given gift of life and abundant living unless you allow it.   Abide in the word, abide in the love of God.  Let the power of the Spirit of God rule in your life.

I promise, you will see life and live life differently than you ever knew was possible.  The problems you think you have today, will be manageable because you will see them in the light of the Love of God, and His wisdom.  Many of the problems you have today will stop being problems because God will change your heart.

Where the law of sin said “You can’t”, Jesus and the power of His resurrection says, “I DID!”.

Where guilt and the world and Satan says, “You are a failure”, Jesus says, “My success is YOUR success, recieve it and walk in it.”

Where the Accuser says, “You are guilty!”, Jesus said, “You are innocent.”

The love and power of God abides in you.  Fear and sin no longer rules your life.  What God has placed in you cannot be removed.  God wants to make His power and life manifest in you.  As you seek Him, and pray, and search His word, and believe, the life God has placed inside you will be known to the rest of the world.

Chose you this day whom you will serve…

Let’s be about it.

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Single Minded


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 be surprised when the lessons are tested.

My own efforts get in the way of God’s perfect work. Then I have to start all over again. Eventually, I will weary of trying to perfect the work of the perfect teacher, and will submit to her ways. Until then, I am tossed around by the unstable will of a mad man.

Either I believe that God will do a thing in my life, or I don’t. Getting from knowing to believing can be a daunting task. God will never tire of taking me through my lessons until I can get to the point that I truly believe in His promises. When I can regard my circumstances and realize they are not as important as His promise in me, I will no longer be double minded.

I will have confidence in God and His will for my life when I understand that He has nothing but His best interests in my life, and is not setting me up for failure. The waves of the storm are here to confirm that my anchor is stayed on the Lord.

When the tests get really real, and I cannot see God in my circumstances, I need to remember that He is hiding me in the cleft of His rock. Here is where I discover the “All Things” of His promise, and that even in this circumstance, as painful and challenging as it appears, is another way He is engineering my circumstances to bring me into the fullness of the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I should never be dismayed when I ask to be made into the image of Christ then see that God will refine me in His fire. When I can rest in the confidence of His love for me, and know that even this is not a surprise to Him, then I will be able to see God be glorified in my flesh, so that He can be seen in the midst of my storm.

All things will work together for my good. Getting single-minded means that I have to stop analyzing all my reasons to fear, and dive headlong, with reckless abandonment, in to the will of the Living God. It is there, where He is my strength, that I can accept my circumstances for what they are. An answered prayer.

God disciplines the child He loves.

Let’s be about it.

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Our Position in Christ – Christ is the Center


Walk as Children of LightI have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

Galatians 2:20 NASB

Central to the Christian faith is this one fact:  Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.  God sent the Son to fill the law.  That law is that the wages of sin is death.  Jesus died on the cross, nailing the law to the cross.  If you read yesterday’s blog, “Our Position in Christ” you read that our sin died with Christ in Hell.  If you accept this mystery, you understand that your sin was put to death when Christ was put to death, as He became Sin and took on the wrath of God in our place.   Where you were dead in your sin, and had no hope of salvation, you are now alive, you are born again.

You are saved when you believe with all your heart:  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “ John 3:16 NASB

If you do not accept this free gift, you are still dead: “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  John 3:18 NASB

You are not condemned after you reject Him.  You are already condemned because you have not yet accepted Him.  This is true because all humans are born dead in sin. We are born cut off from fellowship with the Living God.

Accepting this free gift is what it means to be born again.  You are born in the spirit of God.  You are now a child of God.

CRUCIFIED IN CHRIST

Your old life was put to death.  Just as Jesus proved he has power over sin and death, the Spirit of God moves in you to prove that the same things are dead to you, too.  All life before Christ was dead life.  Because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead nowlives in you, you are a new creation, and the power of the Living God resides in you, giving you real life.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”  II Corinthians 5:17 NASB

Your self was put to death, and the Spirit of God now lives in you.

NO LONGER I, BUT CHRIST

Contrary to popular opinion, salvation is not a community project, nor does it rely on a corporate salvation.  Salvation is as individual as each fingerprint.  No church, committee, group, or government will be there when you are standing before God.   If you are saved, you, as an individual, can claim that you no longer live, but Christ lives in you.

The same power that lived and worked in Jesus Christ is the same power that lives and works in you.  This power will guide you to make you into the Character of Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-6 explains – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ” 

The same power that raised Jesus up now lives in you.

THE LIFE YOU NOW LIVE

A changed life is what happens when you genuinely accept this free gift of salvation.  The Spirit of God will work in you to help you overcome the life you left behind.  A changed life is the first evidence the world has to see that the power of God lives in you.  You cannot do this on your own.  If it were possible to do this, there would have been no need of the sacrifice of Christ. We do not have the ability or power to live a sinless life, or a life that is pleasing to the Lord.  Only the Spirit of God living in you can do that.

Things will change.  This is not a works based theology.  This is simply a fact of the power of the spirit of God.  You will change from inside.  The things that did appeal to you, will no longer have that appeal.  The sin that you enjoyed will not have that power over you any more.  This may mean you will lose friends, but it also means you gain new ones.

Because the Spirit of God lives in you, you will no longer be compelled to live any way you wish, but you will desire to live a life that is pleasing to God.  This is also not something you can do for yourself.  It is a gift of God.

Your faith in God, your faith in the Saving Grace of God, through Jesus Christ, is what will live in you.

IDENTITY

We were identified with death before Christ became our Savior and Lord.  Now that you are saved, your identity has changed.  When God sees you, He sees His own beloved child.  You are no longer dead to Him.  The blood of Jesus paid the price of your separation from Him, and you now enjoy open and complete communion with Him.

Romans 8:2 states you are free from the law of Sin and Death – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Your old identity, the “Old Self” as it is referred to in Scripture, is dead.  The new man, the Spirit of God, lives in you.  “…since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-…”

Your identity is now in Christ.  This is the new self.

THE MAIN THING

Being saved is not about a religion.  it is about a relationship to God because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  The main thing is that it is all about Jesus.  We were not raptured the second we believed because we are to be made into the character of Christ so that others will be saved..

CHRIST IS THE CENTER

Central to our faith is Jesus Christ.  Everything past, present, and future is about Jesus Christ, and what He has done to redeem mankind.  When we are born again, Christ is the center of our existence.  The Spirit of God will move in you to create in you a character that you could not create in yourself.  That character will be the character of Christ.  That character will lead you to do the things of Christ so that others will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, too.

The things you will accomplish because of this new character will be things that are pleasing to God.  Your old self is dead.  You no longer have to live like that again.  The things that were once important to you will no longer be that important.  The more you get into the Word of God (The Bible), and pray, and fellowship with other Christians, the more you will discover your desires will become the desires of God for you.

Keep Christ as your center, and you will grow.  Lay aside all the things that get in the way of your walk with Him.  Pray, read the word, and grow.  Your life doesn’t really begin until you have accepted Christ as your savior.   When you do that, you will discover He is also Lord over your life.  He will lead you places that you never thought were possible, and the life you live will be full, satisfying, and complete.

You will be made into the image of Christ.

WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR ME

Jesus death on the cross was not just to defeat Satan.  It was not just to put the letter of the law on the cross.  It was to bring you life.   He did this because of His love for you.  He was holy and pure, and became sin and death, so you can have life and holiness. You were dead before you accepted Christ as your lord and savior.  Now you are alive.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are already dead.  While your heart beats, let the Spirit of God move you to see what Christ has done for you.

We live because the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us.  This is the free gift…eternal life.

Let’s be about it.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Our Position in Christ – Introduction


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

“For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”  Matt. 12:40 HCSB – Jesus

The law states:  “The Wages of Sin is Death”

The Law:

We read that the wages of Sin is death: Romans 6:23  This is the universal law of Sin.  Death is eternal separation from God.  Humans are born dead spiritually.  (See John 3:16 – 18).

Jesus came here to fulfill the requirement of the Law.  He died on the cross.  He said of Himself: “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”  Matt. 5:17 – HCSB

The Old Testament Law was given to prove that no effort of Man (Humans) can satisfy the law.  We are born into a sin nature.  We inherited that nature from first man, Adam:  “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men,because all sinned. In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression.”  Romans 5:12 – 14 HCSB

What the Law did was amplify the fact that there is sin.  The Law was nailed to the cross when He was nailed to the cross because He is the fulfillment of that law.  The law created a debt that no human could pay.  We couldn’t pay it because the Law proscribed that the sacrificial offering must be pure and blameless.  Jesus was pure and blameless.  He was tempted in all ways, like we are, but did not sin.

Paul says this of Jesus being nailed to the cross:  “He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.”  Colossians 2:14 HCSB

The Sin:

What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ? EPH 4:9

Jesus told the disciples that, like Jonah, who was in the belly of the fish for 3 days, He will be in the belly of the Earth for 3 days.  We are taught that Jesus, who was without sin, BECAME sin for our sake: “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” II Corinthians 5:21 HCSB

This is not a trivial point.  This is, in fact, the WHOLE POINT, isn’t it?

We are sinful by nature.  Look at the world around you, and try to convince me that sin does not exist.  If the only sin you ever committed was to tell a little white lie, then, there is sin.  There are no degrees of rebellion against God.  ALL sin is rebellion.

We inherited this sin nature from Adam.

Here is what gives Jesus His street creds.  He was blameless before God.  He was not guilty of any sin.  He CHOSE to come here, in the form of a human, and assume the burden of our sin because we were eternally damned unless the sin debt was paid.  Jesus, who IS life itself, took on the burden of death, so we, who are dead at birth, may have life in Him.

Jesus became sin.  He didn’t just accept the responsibility for our sin, although that is what He did; Jesus BECAME sin itself.

Think about this.  Think a long time, if you need to.  This is not trivial.  This is the center point around which all our hope and claim of Salvation rests.

Jesus became every sin.  He became the ugly things we do and say.  He became all the hate.  He became every rapist, every murderer, every evil thing that has ever existed and will exist.  He became the very engine that drives evil to do what evil does.  Every vile thought, every adultery, every greed, avarice, every sickness we have ever had or can imagine.  Jesus BECAME these things.

JESUS DESCENDED:

Jesus shouted out on the cross, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”.  God will not look on sin.  God has no fellowship with evil. The only place evil has to go from there is hell.  And that is where Jesus went.

Having become all sin, all evil, all that is vile and full of reproach, Jesus descended into Hell.  He took on the full and complete wrath of God, and suffered the total separation of God.  There was no longer that sweet communion between Jesus and His Heavenly Father.  He was cut off.

Jesus became sin and absorbed and endured the complete wrath and torment of God’s judgement.  There were no angels there to help him.  The Holy Spirit was not there in Hell.  God was not there.  It was just Jesus.

Psalm 88 describes this event:
I am counted among those going down to the Pit.

I am like a man without strength,
abandoned among the dead.
I am like the slain lying in the grave,
whom You no longer remember,
and who are cut off from Your care.
You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit,
in the darkest places, in the depths.
Your wrath weighs heavily on me;
You have overwhelmed me with all Your waves.
Jesus was alone in Hell.  He was dead.  He gave up His purity to become a complete abomination to God and Man.  And Satan had a short-lived party.  This was the goal of Satan.  That the King of Glory should fail and die.  Jesus’ torment was complete.  He had completely emptied the cup of God’s wrath.  Sin had brought Him to death and Hell.
Psalm 88 says:

Lord, why do You reject me?

Why do You hide Your face from me?
From my youth,
I have been afflicted and near death.
I suffer Your horrors; I am desperate.
Your wrath sweeps over me;
Your terrors destroy me.
They surround me like water all day long;
they close in on me from every side.
You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me;
darkness is my only friend.

While Jesus was there, He remembered the promises of God…just as Jonas prayed in the belly of the whale, Jesus remembered God’s eternal promise.  If Jesus would become sin, and bear the wrath of God, for the sake of all humanity, then God will raise Him from the dead, and seat Him on the Right Hand of the Father.

On His own, clinging to the promises, in the face of the unmitigated wrath of God, Jesus remembered…

“…the Lord…He heard me, …thou heardest my voice.” (Jonah 2:2), “…I will look again to the Holy Temple.” (2:4), “…THOU BROUGHT UP MY LIFE…”(2:6)

And in the Psalm 16:10 – “For You will not abandon me to Sheol;  You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.”

While Jesus was remembering the promise, and praying, and crying out, the Spirit of God came to Him and brought Him back to life.  His soul had died for our sakes.  He was condemned and died.  But the Spirit of God came to Him in Hell and brought Him back.

While Jesus was there, He accomplished several things.

Jesus preached to the prisoners in Hell:

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, after being put to death in the fleshly realm but made alive in the spiritual realm. In that state He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while an ark was being prepared.”

Then He took the keys of Hell from Satan, and in proving He has all authority over life and death, and owns the keys of Hell, He took the captives from Hell and set them free, all who believed.

Satan no longer has any authority over anything.  Any thing he does have, he takes from humans who are willing to give it to him.

When Jesus came out of Hell, He proved that He is the King of Glory and the owner of all life and death.

Jesus proved that He alone is the Lord of the Universe and rules over all things.

Jesus gave us all this free gift of His grace, this life, if we accept it.  We are not alive spiritually unless we accept this gift:

“Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. For it says: ‘When He ascended on high, He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people.’

“But what does “He ascended” mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth? The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. ”  EPHESIANS 4:7-10 HCSB

Our first free gift is LIFE.  We are brought from death into life when we accept this free gift of Jesus’ sacrifice.  He proved He has this authority.

If you have accepted this free gift, then you are saved.  Salvation is yours.

Jesus gave us all manner of gifts on His ascension.  If you have accepted this gift of salvation, Jesus wants to walk you into His lordship.  This is where we walk in many more gifts.

He turned us from the unrighteous to the righteous.  We have gone from being lost to being found.  This King of the Universe came here to do this for us, since we can not do this for ourselves.

The hardest thing for me to overcome, having received this new life, was the idea that I am no longer a slave.  I am not a slave to sin and death.  I am free from eternal damnation.  My guilt has been replaced with His love.  My shame has been replaced with His grace.  I have received His mercy.  And he has taken me by the hand and lifted me up and no longer calls me a slave.  I am His brother.  God is my Father.

THE CALLING OUT

When we accept this gift, we are immediately separated from the values of this world.  The Spirit of God will walk with us to teach us, convict us, and guide us into Christ likeness.

When you are saved, you are called.  The rest of this series will look at several of the gifts you have received from Him, so that you can answer this call.

The goal is that you will be made into the image and likeness of Christ.  You are called to bring others to the same saving knowledge of Christ as you have been given.  God equips whom He calls.

We are saved.  In God’s eyes, we are complete.  While we are still here on this earth, God intends to make manifest to the world, the completeness you have in Christ.

This series will look at the promises of your walk.

Let’s be about it.

I love you

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Growing In Christ – Is Your Water Safe?


Rivers-of-Living-WaterWatch over your heart with all diligence, 
For from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 NASB

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

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

So, I thought about it for a few minutes.

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

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

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

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

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

See… that is good news, right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WATCHING MY HEART

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BREAKING THE DAM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s be about it.

I love you

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Growing In Christ – Dealing With Your Past


English: Broken Heart symbol

English: Broken Heart symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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

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

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

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

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

First, I need to define some very real truths:

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

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

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

THE SUBJECT AT HAND

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

A: The Unforgiveness and contempt you hold for yourself.

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

LESSON 1:  You are Forgiven. 

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

LESSON 2:  Forgive Yourself.

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

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

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

You know that you are forgiven.

WHAT ABOUT THE PAIN?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What you will discover:

1.  Some people have already forgotten it.

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

3. Some people remember it and forgive you anyway.

4. Some people remember and will not forgive you.

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

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

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

SO WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THESE PEOPLE?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET:

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

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

Let’s Be About It.

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Have a Heart


Dr. Martin Luther King at a press conference.

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

1 Samuel 16:7

English Standard Version (ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is why I am writing this blog, tonight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s Be About It!

I love you  in the name of Jesus Christ.

David G. Perkins

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

I am a mongrel.

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King of the Hill


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

   Lift up your heads, O gates,

            And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in!

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

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

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

Psalm 24: 7-10 NASB

Lets be about it!

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

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Blessed are the Poor in Spirit….


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

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

NOTES ARE FROM “THE BLUE LETTER BIBLE“

Textus Receptus

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

Blessed

 g3107 μακάριος makarios  blessed, happy
are the poor g4434 πτωχός ptōchos

destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford (men of this class most readily give themselves up to Christ‘s teaching and proved them selves fitted to lay hold of the heavenly treasure)
in spirit: g4151

πνεῦμα pneuma

   the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated

the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides

the soul
for g3754

ὅτι hoti

 that, because, since (Conjunction)

 
theirs g846

αὐτός autos
  1. himself, herself, themselves, itself
is g2076

ἐστί esti

  “he/she/it is” (third person singular of ‘to be’)
the kingdom g932 βασιλεία basileia
  1. the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings

of heaven.

 g3772

οὐρανός ouranos

  1. of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah

  2. of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s be about it.

I Love You,

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?


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

David G. Perkins's avatarDavid G. Perkins

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

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

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Tools in My Tool Box


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

Impress

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then it hit me:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s be about it!

I Love You

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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