Tag Archives: Jesus

Faith

Sufficient


And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  II Corinthians 12:9 NASB

The truth is, Jesus never needed anything from me.

In the very beginning, all creation was created through Jesus.

After facing a terrible scourging, Jesus carried His cross to Golgotha where He spent several agonizing hours on that cross.  He took on all of our sin and faced the complete wrath of God over it. Jesus descended into Hell to release the prisoners.  He took the keys of Hell and Death from Satan.  After doing all that, He raised Himself from the dead, just to prove to all of creation that He has power over life and death.

Jesus did all this on His own.

If I genuinely want to be like Him, there is not one whit I can bring to Him.  By His grace, and through my weakness, all I have to do is get out of His way, and let Him empower me to be Just like Him.

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Faith

Ye Are The Light


“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Genesis 22:18

Abraham was considered righteous, not because of any law, but because of his faith in the promise God gave him. It was this light of faith in God that cause even other nations to admit that there is a God, and he favors those who obey Him.

After the Law was given, it was immediately apparent that no one could keep the Law. What the Law did was to make sin more visible. Sin became a larger target because the Law pointed it out so readily. When it became apparent that the Law couldn’t work, instead of resorting to the Faith of Abraham, the religious leaders of that day added even more laws to the books.

The light that was supposed to shine for all nations to see, became a burden on Israel that snuffed out that light. Even so, the religious leaders of that day, all the way up to Jesus, made being Jewish a very exclusive thing. Instead of being the light to the world, and a serving the world, so all nations would be drawn to God, the religious leaders kicked out everyone except those who would become Jews. According to Jesus, those disciples became more of the sons of Satan than their teachers were.

The Light Came Forth

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4-5

Jesus did not come in tot he world to eliminate the Law, but to be the complete fulfillment of that law. He was the sacrifice that would cover all the sin of the world. No other sacrifice would do. Even so, those who insisted that the law overrule the will of God, preferred to stay in their darkness. And the rest of the world remained in the darkness, except those who accepted that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, who died for the sin of the world, and rose again to prove that He not only had power over life, but over death too. This is why believers know that they have inherited eternal life.

The Light Shined

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5

While Jesus was among men, He proved He was the light of the world. He came to throw off the burden of the Religions of all time, and to shine light into the hearts of men. He raised the dead, healed the sick, made the blind to see, and the lame to walk. Many miracles Jesus did to prove He is the author of Life, and wholeness, and any who believed in Him will not taste death.

Before The Light Was Put On The Cross

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Matt 5:14

Because Jesus had empowered the disciples to be like Him, He called them the Light of the World. He did this because He knew he was going to his death, and afterward, to His Father, in Heaven.

The Light Sined Brighter after the Ressurection

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

The thing about light is, it gains strength after it multiplies. The more light you add, the brighter the shine. The more powerful the light source, the greater the reach and power of the light. Jesus returned to His Father. He left behind the power source. And the light began to shine into all the vessels that chose to receive it. And the power multiplied, and the light shone even farther.

Of the 3000 that were saved on the day of Pentecost, there were many Jews there, from all nations. They, too believed, and received. They took this light to the ends of the earth. History is replete of the writings of the Rabin that returned from Jerusalem to their respective nations, of seeing the Christ after the resurrection. Of being present when he rose into heaven. And when the Holy Spirit burst forth in the streets. It is widely believed that the gospel did not leave the area of Israel and Samaria until the Apostles took it there. But the Gospel had preceded them. It was the will of God. The Apostles were taken to these lands to help build churches, and to eliminate all the errors that had crept into the teachings of the Gospel. This included the attempt to reintroduce the Law of Moses to a people who believed, but were not necessarily Jewish.

Where The Light Lives Today

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” Philippians 2:15

We are called to be the image of our Lord. We know that there is nothing we can do on our own to do this. The “church” today has lost its light. The “Church” today is irrelevant.

I was taught a long time ago that, “There is not enough darkness in ALL the Universe to put out the light of one small candle.”

There is an awakening happening today, in America. There are genuine believers who recognize that the cheap grace that is taught in our churches will not save anything or anyone. Not really. There are real believers who are being awakened, who are being asked to give up their lives to become just like Jesus.

These people are the real church. Listen to the Lord, all you people. He is calling for a revival in our land. Some of you will be chosen. The rest of you will not. You are chosen the moment you realize that you must lose your selfish ways and submit everything you are and have to the will of God. That will is that we become the very image of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.

Jesus is calling us to follow Him. We cannot do this until we get over our selfishness, and sacrifice all our character so that the character of Christ can live in us. This i snot something we are able to do on our own, and no flesh is wiling to submit. Anything in us that refuses to bow before our Lord is that part of us that we have refused to submit to Him.

We are running out of time.

The Spirit of God, working in us, will take all that you are, and transform you into the likeness of Jesus.

Not only will you do the things Jesus did, but greater things that that will you do.

“And he (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23

Let’s be about it.

I love you,

David

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Faith

“Follow Me”


Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Matt. 16:24 KJV

Is my Christianity at war with Jesus? Have I replaced the sound doctrine of being Christ-Centered, with the new gospel of a Self-Centered theology? Have I turned Christ into a vending machine and replaced scripture with a man-centered psychology where self-esteem is more important than the knowledge of the Holy? Do I abuse scripture to fill my personal desires, rather than listen to the desire God has for my life?

I have asked to be made in His image, but have I refused to give up my self-love, self-dignity, self-respect and self-esteem? Have I believed that Christ is my servant, that must grant my every wish? Do I believe I am not a Christian unless I am prosperous, unless Jesus gives me a better golf swing, and helps me lose that extra 50 pounds, and make my sales quota skyrocket?

Does my easy-believeism teach me that salvation is proved when all my selfish intentions come to fruition?

Has my Christianity become a get what you want from God, instead of a give all you can for Christ?

Do I abandon the requirements for an eternal life that honors Christ, for a life where Jesus is forced to honor me?

The real gospel of self-sacrifice and Christ-Likeness is no longer in vogue. I have to get to the place where I understand that to be remade in the image of Christ, that to follow Jesus, is to commit myself to the death of my self. I do not win Christ likeness unless I lose my self. I live in eternity when I die to my own whims and allow the character of Christ to replace my fallen character.

Have I come to the point where I am ready to give up everything I hold dear just to follow Him? I have no desire, at the end, to put on a form of Godliness only to hear Christ tell me, “Get away from me, I never knew you.”

I make this my prayer:

“Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess everything, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive. Let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley, Thy life in my death.” – Anonymous

To live is to die, but to die to self, and follow Christ, is to live.

I love you,

David

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Faith

Mastery


English: Jesus ascending to heaven

English: Jesus ascending to heaven (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Ye call Me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am.” – Jesus – John 13:13 KJV

A very remarkable thing about our Lord, Jesus, is that He doesn’t insist that you make Him your Lord.  He doesn’t say, “Thou SHALL make me your Master!”.

We are free to curse him, and we do.  We are free to use His name in vain, and we do.  We were free to spit on Him, and we did.  We are free to put Him to death, and we did.  We can do all this to Him, and he will not even utter a word about it.  Which is exactly what He did. Jesus said we can speak all manner of evil and vileness against Him, and still be forgiven for it.

How then are we compelled to obey Him, if he is not going to insist that we obey?

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

I did not become a Christian by my own will or by my own power.  It was at the will of God that the life of Jesus was created in me.  I became a new creation.  And when I beheld Him, I instantly recognized His right to absolute authority over me.  I beheld my creator.  His redemption, seen through God’s eyes, tells me that Jesus is worthy to be my Lord.

Had God forced this on me, it would have made Him a tyrant.  I am, and have always been free to choose to allow Jesus to be Lord.  His beauty, His life, His authority over death assures in my soul He has absolute authority over all Creation.  It is no ordeal to desire to follow him.  When I see Him, I want to obey Him.

 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 NIV

This is a relationship that is described between a Father and a Son.  Obedience is only possible between equals.  Jesus told us that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father.  He declared that He and His Father are one and the same.  “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things He suffered.”

I bear the image of Christ, because He lives in me.

When I rebel against His authority, it is only the things that are not His that refuse to bow to Him.  As I give up these things to Christ, and He replaces it with His character, then my whole attitude of life is that I want to obey Him.  He obtains Mastery over the things I have no control over.  I am still free to do as I please, but it pleases me to be like Him.  That is the difference between legalism and grace.

I can still sin all I want, I just do not want to.  I am a new creation.

I love you

David

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Rest in the Lord


Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11: 28-30 KJV

Unexpected things happen.  A series of events can unfold in a way that tells you your prayers have been answered.  In fact, things are happening exactly as you prayed it.  How can you deny that it is God working to answer your heartfelt prayer?   That door finally opens and you walk right in.  It was as if there were no effort on your part.  

Out of nowhere, something happens that completely shuts the door you just walked through.  There you are, off-center, and confused.  Did you really hear from God?  Would God play tricks on you, like that?  How can you sort this out?  You go through various stages of grief and confusion.  After the smoke settles, you

First off, God is not the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33).

As you recover from the shock, and let your body rest, and your mind get back on track, you may begin to detect a pattern that will reveal the answer to your questions.   Go back to what you last remember.  What was it that God told you to do before you got all caught up in that circumstance that set you back.

For example, I know that I know that I am to write something every day.  I have no clue why, except that I love to write, and it is what I have been told to do.  If you have read my previous blogs, you will recall the story behind why this is so.   Taking this example further, lets say that my need for a real income overwhelms me to the point that I grab just any old job that comes along.  All I really know is, I am supposed to write.  I am supposed to pray and study the Bible every day with my wife.  I am to seek the Lord with all my heart.  But my panic at losing my car, or the internet connections (No connection, no blog), losing our home, takes over and I pray fervently that a job opens up for me.  And I get that job.

Lets go further.  What if, after I start that job, I discover that the physical demands are far beyond my body’s ability to do that job.  That the consequences of this is that something fairly serious happens to my body that means I cannot return to that job.  What happened?  This is what I ask.

What did I know before I begged God for that particular job?  I was to write, and God would honor my efforts, and when it was time, I will have the job that God has been preparing me for.  Did God, then, let me have my own way?  Did I take my eyes off what I was told and take matters in my own hands?  If the end result of that event show you that your relationship with Him was interrupted, that your obedience was put on a back shelf, and the joy has left your heart.  And God forbid, that even your body is carrying the wounds of your decision, then you probably got exactly what you asked for.  Your will over what God has shown you is His will for you.

If this describes you.  Be still.  Ask God for understanding.  Go back to the place where the communion and blessings ended.  Repent for trying to run ahead of God.  He loves you.  He will restore you.  He will heal your heart.

As a Daddy, sometimes I have to just let my daughter have things exactly the way she wants it in order for her to see that what she asked for wasn’t what she genuinely needed.

God disciplines the ones he loves.  But He is never cruel, and does not let you drown in your guilt.  He also does not play the role of the accuser.  Sometimes He will let you have it your way.  Sometimes it is the only way you will learn.

There really is no better way than to trust and obey.  If you are genuinely called of God to serve Christ, keep your feet nailed to what you were told to do, and don’t run ahead of the will of God.

I love you,

David G. Perkins

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Faith

Amazing Grace


I promise I will return to a more inspirational dialogue with you.  But before I can, there are several terms I plan to give light to so that you and I will both know what I am talking about when I say it.

I grew up in the deep south.  When I was a young lad (A very long time ago), I watched my sister and other girls go through the agony of charm school.  The social graces were taken very seriously in the south.   Grace was taught as one of the “Christian Virtues”.

There are many Christian virtues.  Grace, Love, Hope, Mercy, Forgiveness, compassion, gifts, blessings.  All of which are one form or another of Grace.  We are to grow to be like Christ in all ways, including these graces.  It is not something we can do for ourselves, either.  It always begins with a submitted and wiling heart.  It calls for true discipleship, and commitment.  This is not something that comes naturally to people.

For example.  There are several phrases used by Southern ladies that, on the surface, sound very graceful.  One of them is “God Bless You!”  That sounds graceful, right?  You have to know “Southern Ladies Code (SLC)”.  SLC is an entirely different language, but it uses the exact same words as the Bible uses.  When I was a kid, if a Southern Woman was dealing with someone she thought was difficult to deal with, she would tell that person, “God Bless You.”  It would sound genuine, it would be given in a vocal inflection that you thought was genuine, too.  But behind all that acting, the Lady in question was actually saying, “Oh my GOd!  You are just too stupid to actually be alive!”, or some variation on that theme.  And when the other Ladies heard this, the recipient would see them smiling and nodding at you.  They were not blessing you either.  They were just agreeing with the Spokeswoman of that blessing.

This deviation was understood among “polite society”, but was, none the less, a hypocrisy of the phrase.  You were, in fact being judged and cursed, but ever so politely.  It was a mockery of what Jesus would have done had he actually been present.

The reason for this hypocrisy is that, unless the living God, in the form of the Holy Spirit builds Christ-like character in you, the very best you can hope for is a convincing act that imitates, but is not the same as, genuine Godly character.

Since we are relearning what it REALLY takes to be a Christian, and we want to see a huge revival in our land, and we need to understand what the difference between cheap grace and real grace is, I have left the rest of this page with as many definitions as I can find on this topic.

There will not be a test, not from me.  But the test of your faith will be received based on whether you are genuinely saved, or just playing church.  Genuine Christ-likeness calls for a total sacrifice of our wills, and desires, to be made in the image of Christ.

Source Materials: http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/charis.html and http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?type=getTopic&topic=Grace

Grace:

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by GRACE ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his GRACE in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by GRACE are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)

In Jam 4:6, “But He giveth more grace” (Greek, “a greater grace,” RV, marg.), the statement is to be taken in connection with the preceding verse, which contains two remonstrating, rhetorical questions, “Think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain?” and “Doth the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) which He made to dwell in us long unto envying?” (see the RV). The implied answer to each is “it cannot be so.” Accordingly, if those who are acting so flagrantly, as if it were so, will listen to the Scripture instead of letting it speak in vain, and will act so that the Holy Spirit may have His way within, God will give even “a greater grace,” namely, all that follows from humbleness and from turning away from the world. 

The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon

Strong’s Number:   5485

Original Word: cariß – from (5463)

Transliterated Word: Charis

Phonetic Spelling: khar’-ece

Parts of Speech: Noun Feminine

Definition: grace –

that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech, good will, loving-kindness, favor.

of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.

what is due to grace

the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace

the token or proof of grace, benefit

a gift of grace

benefit, bounty

thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward

NAS Word Usage – Total: 156

blessing 1, concession 1, credit 3, favor 11, gift 1, grace 122, gracious 2, gracious work 3, gratitude 1, thank 3, thankfulness 2, thanks 6

Greek lexicon based on Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” These files are public domain.

Bibliography Information

Thayer and Smith. “Greek Lexicon entry for Charis”. “The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon”. . 1999.
For an even more complex and lengthy definition of the Word Grace, see this reference:

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

1

Strong’s Number: g5485

Greek: charis

Grace:

has various uses,

(a) objective, that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard; it is applied, e.g., to beauty, or gracefulness of person,Luk 2:40; act, 2Cr 8:6, or speech, Luk 4:22, RV, “words of grace” (AV, “gracious words”); Col 4:6;

(b) subjective,

(1) on the part of the bestower, the friendly disposition from which the kindly act proceeds, graciousness, loving-kindness, goodwill generally, e.g., Act 7:10; especially with reference to the Divine favor or “grace,” e.g., Act 14:26; in this respect there is stress on its freeness and universality, its spontaneous character, as in the case of God’s redemptive mercy, and the pleasure or joy He designs for the recipient; thus it is set in contrast with debt, Rom 4:4, 16, with works, Rom 11:6, and with law, Jhn 1:17; see also, e.g., Rom 6:14, 15; Gal 5:4;

(2) on the part of the receiver, a sense of the favor bestowed, a feeling of gratitude, e.g., Rom 6:17 (“thanks”); in this respect it sometimes signifies “to be thankful,” e.g., Luk 17:9 (“doth he thank the servant?” lit., “hath he thanks to”); 1Ti 1:12;

(c) in another objective sense, the effect of “grace,” the spiritual state of those who have experienced its exercise, whether

(1) a state of “grace,” e.g., Rom 5:2; 1Pe 5:12; 2Pe 3:18, or

(2) a proof thereof in practical effects, deeds of “grace,” e.g., 1Cr 16:3, RV, “bounty” (AV, “liberality”); 2Cr 8:6, 19 (in 2Cr 9:8 it means the sum of earthly blessings); the power and equipment for ministry, e.g.,Rom 1:5; 12:6; 15:15; 1Cr 3:10; Gal 2:9; Eph 3:2, 7.

To be in favor with is to find “grace” with, e.g., Act 2:47; hence it appears in this sense at the beginning and the end of several Epistles, where the writer desires “grace” from God for the readers, e.g., Rom 1:7; 1Cr 1:3; in this respect it is connected with the imperative mood of the word chairo, “to rejoice,” a mode of greeting among Greeks, e.g., Act 15:23; Jam 1:1 (marg.);2Jo 1:10, 11, RV, “greeting” (AV, “God speed”).

The fact that “grace” is received both from God the Father, 2Cr 1:12, and from Christ, Gal 1:6; Rom 5:15 (where both are mentioned), is a testimony to the deity of Christ. See also 2Th 1:12, where the phrase “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” is to be taken with each of the preceding clauses, “in you,” “and ye in Him.”

In Jam 4:6, “But He giveth more grace” (Greek, “a greater grace,” RV, marg.), the statement is to be taken in connection with the preceding verse, which contains two remonstrating, rhetorical questions, “Think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain?” and “Doth the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) which He made to dwell in us long unto envying?” (see the RV). The implied answer to each is “it cannot be so.” Accordingly, if those who are acting so flagrantly, as if it were so, will listen to the Scripture instead of letting it speak in vain, and will act so that the Holy Spirit may have His way within, God will give even “a greater grace,” namely, all that follows from humbleness and from turning away from the world.

See BENEFIT, BOUNTY, LIBERALITY, THANK.

Note: The corresponding verb charitoo, “to endue with Divine favor or grace,” is used in Luk 1:28, “highly favored” (marg., “endued with grace”) and Eph 1:6, AV, “hath made . . . accepted;” RV, “freely bestowed” (marg., “enduced.”).

For an even more comprehensive understanding of all the uses of Grace in the bible, see this link: http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?type=getTopic&topic=Grace

 

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Me? PERFECT????


Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 KJV 

I almost titled this “War Of The Words”.  If you are here for some homiletic inspiration, you will be disappointed.  This is a class room, today.

A long time ago, I worked for an engineer who is from Cambridge, England.  We discovered that it was not the Atlantic that divided us, it was our common language.  Tom lacked a fully developed comprehension of North Louisiana colloquialisms.  Sometimes, the results of us both using the same exact words in the same exact sentences led to completely opposite results.

I also had a friend, at that time, who was from North Beirut.  He was working very hard to understand Louisianian.  In those parts of Louisiana, if you wanted someone to roll down a car window, you would say, “Hey, crack the window.”  Both Tom and my friend from Lebanon had a bit of turmoil when I would say, “Crack the window”.   My Lebanese friend would ask, “Why cracking the window?  It is perfectly good!”  And he would stare at me as if I had lost my mind.  So, I would use common English and say, OK, ROLL down the window.”  Again, he would stare at me as if I had just grown an extra head.  He would say, frantically with frustration, “Window is GLASS, Dawid, one cannot roll glass like it is a sheet!”   My Lebanese buddy was a near genius, he had a 4.o in college, had earned SEVERAL undergraduate engineering degrees and a couple of Masters degrees in the same amount of time I attempted to make it through ANY type of degree.

Either way, Tom or Lebanese friend, I would go through the illustrative mechanics of rolling down a window, while I highlight the virtue of the Louisiana brevity and colloquial meaning.

After about a year, Tom and I were finally on the same page.  My Lebanese buddy was continuously surprised by words that sound exactly like Lebanese, but were English, and the meanings were vastly different.

Did you know that in India, cow has around 50 + definitions?  It all boils down to how you say it, your inflection, where it lay in the sentence, and the verbs, adverbs and other modifiers that surround it.  You may think you are calling a woman beautiful there, but actually be insulting her in ways that would cost you your life.

Why all this palaver over words?  Because, unless you actually read Koine Greek, and Hebrew, you can get lost over what something means.   The good news is, with all our modern study tools, books, and the internet, you can become aware of what each and every word in the entire Bible means.

I talk to Athiests, Christians, Hebrew, Arabic speaking peoples, people from the Philippines, and parts of Europe.  I have to be very careful that when I say something, I know, in their vernacular, what it is I am actually saying.

One big issue I run in to constantly is a lack of understanding of the word “perfect”.

A good example is ” Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthiew 5:48

By commonly accepted definition, we typically understand that perfect means that it has no flaws, whatsoever.  We also know that NOTHING on this planet, created or constructed is exactly perfect.  Not even the Pyramids, which are off by a very tiny margin of error.  No computer can create anything completely perfect, either.  It can come incredibly close, but at some point, on some level, a flaw can be found.  Genuine perfect means utterly and completely flawless. That is how we understand the word “perfect”.

So, is Jesus telling us to do something that is impossible?  NO.  What is impossible is our understanding of the words that were used to translate the scriptures into something you can actually read.  Unfortunately, translations, transliterations and interpretive bibles are flawed, and inaccurate.  Some can come incredibly close, but still, most languages lack the precision of being able to show mood, intent, flavor, idea and place in a simple word or description.

So, when most translations say Perfect, we think of an unattainable idea and give up.  A friend wrote me and told me that we cannot be perfect, that only God is perfect.  So WE try OUR best.

That simple statement is so inaccurate I can write a book on it.  We cannot do ANYTHING to make our life perfect before God.  Only the Spirit of God working in a submitted heart can work Anything in us.

Because I will be writing on the topics centered around the Lordship of Christ, and how that actually defines what a real Christian actually is, I will have to define terms, on occasion.  This is one of them.

Below is every use of the concept ‘perfect” used in the New Testament.  Read it carefully.  There are scripture references attached to each definition.

One thing I will add:  Any of the qualities of Christ, that we are told to have, always begin when you are saved.  That is the point at which the Spirit of God comes to you to BEGIN something in you.  After that, your growth TOWARD that thing is determined by how well you submit to the will of God.  The reason you weren’t raptured when you were saved is so the rest of this planet can watch you grow in Christ.  That is so that some others may be saved.  You will be the only gospel some people ever see and hear.  We are called to walk like Christ and be just like Jesus.  We also sin.  So, the world will be watching to see how you handle your sin.  Will you repent and grow, or will you try to justify it, or will you try to rationalize your sin to God and others, or will you lie, further betraying your relationship with Jesus.  You cannot do any of this on your own power or will.  Only God can do this in you as you submit to Him.  The third thing that the Character of Christ is, it’s complete before God.  When He sees you, he sees you are covered in the blood of Christ, and he declares you are complete, perfect, and whole.   So, even though, in this world, and on this earth, you are still growing into the character of Christ to the day you die, God already sees you as perfect.  You must keep growing so that your life becomes a living testimony to others about why you are a Christian.

Part of growing up is being able to read the bible for all it is worth.  You have to know what it says, why it says it, and what was really meant when it said it.  The Holy Spirit can lead you to the Bible, but He cannot make you drink deep of it.

Please look at these definitions of “perfect”.  Look up the reference verses.  You will see that your understanding of the word is vastly incomplete when you compare it to what it really means.  And this is only ONE of the many character traits of Christ we are to grow into.  Just remember, you cannot do this on your own power or will.  Only a heart submitted to the Holy Spirit can make these changes in you.

A-1

Adjective

Strong’s Number: g5046

Greek: teleios

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

signifies “having reached its end” (telos), “finished, complete, perfect.” It is used

(I) of persons,

(a) primarily of physical development, then, with ethical import, “fully grown, mature,” 1Cr 2:6; 14:20 (“men;” marg., “of full age”); Eph 4:13;Phl 3:15; Col 1:28; 4:12; in Hbr 5:14, RV, “fullgrown” (marg., “perfect”), AV, “of full age” (marg., “perfect”);

(b) “complete,” conveying the idea of goodness without necessary reference to maturity or what is expressed under (a), Mat 5:48; 19:21; Jam 1:4 (2nd part); 3:2. It is used thus of God in Mat 5:48;

(II) of “things, complete, perfect,” Rom 12:2; 1Cr 13:10 (referring to the complete revelation of God’s will and ways, whether in the completed Scriptures or in the hereafter); Jam 1:4 (of the work of patience); Jam 1:25;1Jo 4:18.

A-2

Adjective

Strong’s Number: g5046

Greek: teleioteros

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

the comparative degree of No. 1, is used in Hbr 9:11, of the very presence of God.

A-3

Adjective

Strong’s Number: g739

Greek: artios

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

is translated “perfect” in 2Ti 3:17: see COMPLETE, B.

B-1

Verb

Strong’s Number: g5048

Greek: teleioo

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

“to bring to an end by completing or perfecting,” is used

(I) of “accomplishing” (see FINISH, FULFILL);

(II) of “bringing to completeness,”

(a) of persons: of Christ’s assured completion of His earthly course, in the accomplishment of the Father’s will, the successive stages culminating in His death, Luk 13:32; Hbr 2:10, to make Him “perfect,” legally and officially, for all that He would be to His people on the ground of His sacrifice; cp. 5:9; 7:28, RV, “perfected” (AV, “consecrated”); of His saints,Jhn 17:23, RV, “perfected” (AV, “made perfect”); Phl 3:12; Hbr 10:14;11:40 (of resurrection glory); 12:23 (of the departed saints); 1Jo 4:18; of former priests (negatively), Hbr 9:9; similarly of Israelites under the Aaronic priesthood, Hbr 10:1;

(b) of things, Hbr 7:19 (of the ineffectiveness of the Law); Jam 2:22 (of faith made “perfect” by works); 1Jo 2:5, of the love of God operating through him who keeps His word; 1Jo 4:12, of the love of God in the case of those who love one another; 1Jo 4:17, of the love of God as “made perfect with” (RV) those who abide in God, giving them to be possessed of the very character of God, by reason of which “as He is, even so are they in this world.”

B-2

Verb

Strong’s Number: g2005

Greek: epiteleo

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

“to bring through to the end” (epi, intensive, in the sense of “fully,” and teleo, “to complete”), is used in the Middle Voice in Gal 3:3, “are ye (now) perfected,” continuous present tense, indicating a process, lit., “are ye now perfecting yourselves;” in 2Cr 7:1, “perfecting (holiness);” in Phl 1:6, RV, “will perfect (it),” AV, “will perform.”
See ACCOMPLISH, No. 4.

B-3

Verb

Strong’s Number: g2675

Greek: katartizo

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

“to render fit, complete” (artios), “is used of mending nets, Mat 4:21;Mar 1:19, and is translated ‘restore’ in Gal 6:1. It does not necessarily imply, however, that that to which it is applied has been damaged, though it may do so, as in these passages; it signifies, rather, right ordering and arrangement,Hbr 11:3, ‘framed;” it points out the path of progress, as in Mat 21:16;Luk 6:40; cp. 2Cr 13:9; Eph 4:12, where corresponding nouns occur. It indicates the close relationship between character and destiny, Rom 9:22, ‘fitted.’ It expresses the pastor’s desire for the flock, in prayer, Hbr 13:21, and in exhortation, 1Cr 1:10, RV, ‘perfected’ (AV, ‘perfectly joined’); 2Cr 13:11, as well as his conviction of God’s purpose for them, 1Pe 5:10. It is used of the Incarnation of the Word in Hbr 10:5, ‘prepare,’ quoted from Psa 40:6 (Sept.), where it is apparently intended to describe the unique creative act involved in the Virgin Birth, Luk 1:35. In 1Th 3:10 it means to supply what is necessary, as the succeeding words show.”*
[* From Notes on Thessalonians by Hogg and Vine, p. 101.]
See FIT, B, No. 3.

Note: Cp. exartizo, rendered “furnished completely,” in 2Ti 3:17, RV; seeACCOMPLISH, No. 1.

C-1

Adverb

Strong’s Number: g199

Greek: akribos

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

accurately, is translated “perfectly” in 1Th 5:2, where it suggests that Paul and his companions were careful ministers of the Word.
See ACCURATELY, and see Note (2) below.

C-2

Adverb

Strong’s Number: g197

Greek: akribesteron

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

the comparative degree of No. 1, Act 18:26; 23:15: see CAREFULLY, EXACTLY.

C-3

Adverb

Strong’s Number: g5046

Greek: teleios

Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly:

“perfectly,” is so translated in 1Pe 1:13, RV (AV, “to the end”), of setting one’s hope on coming grace.
See END.

Notes:

(1) In Rev 3:2, AV, pleroo, “to fulfill,” is translated “perfect” (RV, “fulfilled”).

(2) For the adverb akribos in Luk 1:3, AV, see ACCURATELY; in Act 24:22, AV, see EXACT.

(3) For the noun akribeia in Act 22:3, see MANNER.

Vine, W. E. “Perfect (Adjective and Verb), Perfectly”, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Blue Letter Bible. 1940. 24 June, 1996 12 Jul 2013.
<http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?
type=GetTopic&Topic=Perfect+(Adjective+and+Verb),+Perfectly&
DictList=9#Vine’s>

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Me And My Big Mouth – Part II


This is from my personal journal, “Lessons From a Broken Heart.”

“The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.”  Proverbs 12:16

When I pray to be like Christ, I have to be willing to sacrifice my opinion and passions to Him, too.  Do I shoot first and ask questions later?  Even today, I must be aware of what flies out of my mouth.  Have I surrendered my thoughts, my mind, my opinions to God, through the inner working of the Holy Spirit?

I have asked to be like Christ.  When the Holy Spirit begins to work in my heart about minding my manners, minding my opinions, minding my tongue, do I have the courage, will and discipline to submit to the Lord’s will, or do I still shoot off my mouth.

God intends that, if I belong to Him because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I will be remade in the likeness of Jesus.   When I submit to the will and leading of God, the Holy Spirit, I am telling Him that I no longer am lord over my mouth, that I want wisdom.  I can learn by the gentle guidance of the Spirit of God, or I can learn through the foolishness of my uncontrolled passions. My over-quick desire to give the world my own opinion, instead of keeping silent, and waiting for the Spirit of God to give me wise words can be the same lesson.  One method is followed by people who are ready to learn wisdom.  The other method, the Spirit of God will use to teach a fool who wants to stop being one.

Everything I do reflects on my relationship to Jesus Christ.  Have I asked to be like Jesus, but refuse to surrender to His will?  Then I am indeed a fool.

“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.”  Proverbs 29:11  ESV

I have a lot to learn.

Dear God,

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior AND Lord, that you continue to teach me wisdom in a way that I don’t have to relearn a thing the hard way.  My heart’s desire is to be just like Your Son, Jesus Christ.

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Me and My Big Mouth


If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless . James 1:26

This is a tough topic.  I want to tell you a story.  Before I do, though, I want to say something from my heart.  

The subject of controlling the tongue is difficult for me.  My passions run very deep.  When I experience a thing, I tend to experience it all the way down to my toes, and deep in my soul.  I am only just now learning the discipline of the tongue.  I am not like Christ in this regard.  I am swift to speak, and slow to listen.  So, my writing about this topic is from fresh experience.  I am guilty of the very thing that I despise about religious people. Religious people lack self-control. They do not allow  God guide their tongue in love and wisdom, instead of in haste, which leads to harm.  I cannot throw stones when I am as guilty as those who do not belong to God.  If I am to grow to be like Christ, I must submit my passions and my tongue to His lordship.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that a person can overcome the evil the tongue can generate.  If we are to be like Christ, and want to tell others we are the Children of God, then we must be willing to submit even our favorite sin to God.  This i snot something we can do for ourselves.

For all those whose bodies lay on the ground in my quest for self righteousness, please forgive me for being a fool.  God is not interested in my self-righteousness.  He is interested in me having His righteousness.

“A tale bearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.” Proverbs 11:13

I know a man who used to live one county away from where I live.  He had a walk with the Lord, but life got in the way, and he didn’t submit to the will of God, and he did things his own way.  The end result is, he sinned against his own family.  He knew after the fact that he had sinned.  He called it sin.  He confessed this sin.  He grieved for his sin.

The people who he knew, who were sincere in their faith, who went to church, who prayed, who tithed, who spoke often of the love of God, and His grace, who were worship leaders and preachers and deacons, these people shunned him, and hated him because they genuinely loved his family, and hated what he had done.  He wanted to talk to someone, anyone, about this, and how to return to God, to seek forgiveness, to know the joy of fellowship.  He couldn’t find any one in his town who would help him, and counsel him, and lead him back to the grace of God.  He became the target of their hate, instead.  This didn’t need to happen.  But it happened because one of the fellowship could not wait to spread this juicy bit of gossip to the other believers, who also loved this man’s family.

In their fervor to be supportive of this man’s family, the spoke curses on this man, they openly held him in contempt.  They advised his wife to abandon him.  The pronounced he was not worthy of their fellowship.

Eventually, because of the loose tongues of two of his wife’s relatives, the entire community had heard about it.  The story was repeated with all the vileness of the sin glorified, and with all the righteousness as if they were God.

This man felt alone and hopeless, by this time.  No one would befriend him.  He found a couple of Christian men he thought he could befriend, but eventually, the wagging tongues of the “faithful” reached these men’s ears, and they decided it would be best to not be friends after all.

By this time, he felt that, if so many Christians were condemning him, then so must God be condemning him.   he wondered how he will ever return to God, if he is being so rejected by people who represent Him.

His hopes were raised, one day, when he found someone who would actually pray with him.  He finally had made a friend.  But before two days had passed, this new friend had his ears bent by one of the Christians who hated him.  That new friend told him that he was no longer welcome to come see him.

Rejected again by Christians, he believed he was beyond redemption.  He took up drinking with a commitment.  He knew this, too, was wrong, but he felt that he was too far gone from God to be redeemed.  After all, most of the Christians he knew were telling him that.

He gave up.  He withdrew his heart completely.  People would not hire him anymore, so he kept having to go from job to job.  He would be at a job for a while, but, eventually, his employer heard about what a terrible man he was, and found a way to let him go.  By this time, the sin he had committed had been embellished.  Over time, it took on the landscape of more than what had actually happened.  He heard many terrible things that were being said about him.  The hate the Christians showed him merely amplified with every retelling of this sin, that, by this time, had happened Severn years ago.  It grew like a cancer.

Every now and then, he would try to talk to these believers about what to do to return.  Their contempt had grown to the point that they told him he would be better off dead.  these people kept trying to break up the marriage.  They kept telling him he needs to get out-of-town, and never return. They were speaking death into his life, and into his marriage.  It got so that, they damage they were doing was far worse than the damage he had done in the first place.  These people wouldn’t leave his wife alone about it, and continuously discouraged her attempts to heal her home.  They almost caved in to the wagging tongues of these people, but somehow, they continued to work through all the noise and despair these people were encouraging in his wife.

Today, they are healed, and healing.  But it was not because of any effort of the believers who kept wagging their tongues, keeping the pain stirred up.  The were actually not happy that she had the strength and courage to work at this relationship with him.  All they wanted was vengeance.  All they wanted was their sense of justice.  And they wouldn’t let up on her, even though healing had begun in her home.

I got to watch all this, and I had several long talks with this man.  He was in a very dark place.  His wife was torn between taking the advice of this fellowship of Christians, or standing her ground and continue to fight for a promise she believed in .  The spoke death to her, but her faith in God spoke life.  She persevered through all the darkness and difficulty, and saw God do a wondrous work in this man’s life.  Yes they still spoke death.  He drew near to the Lord, and let the Lord deal with him and his sin.  Yet they spoke death.  They preached about a grace they did not practice.  they spoke about a love they refused to show.  They spoke about forgiveness, but didn’t forgive what they had already condemned.

Today, this man is becoming a powerful Christian.  he has given his heart, Mind, Soul, Strength to the Living God.  he often asks me what it will take before these other believers will stop gossiping about him, and start rejoicing that he is genuinely saved, and that God is working a wonder in his life.

I told him I had no idea.  It is hard to tell with people who love to hate, and love to spread death with their mouths.  I told him that, all he could do was keep obeying God, and stop worrying about all these well-intentioned dragons.  This is hard.  I even wanted to hate these people, but I don’t.  I love them.  I could see that this man loved them too, with a deep abiding love.  Only God could do this to a man like him.

I felt a searing pain in my own heart.  How many times has my tongue led me to cause harm?  How often have I been so self-righteous that all I could speak is distension and hate?  I cannot throw stones at those Christians who continuously showed such a lack of understanding of the will of God.  How often had I been so in love with my opinion that I didn’t take the time to see what God and His word had to say about it?  When did I forget that, for the grace of God, there go I.  I get religious just like everyone else, on occasion.  It is only when I am sensitive to the will and voice of God, that I remember that He showed me love and mercy and grace when I least deserved it.  I could easily plead that “That is just how I am!”.  But that is no excuse to the Living God.  We are born with a personality and a character.  Our character reflects who we live for.  Our character is expressed through our personality.  When the Holy Spirit comes in to you, He will replace your Character with God’s, as you submit to Him.  We are created in His image (We look like him) and in His likeness (We were supposed to act like him).  When sin became our inheritance, we lost God’s character and traded it for a cheap imitation.  When we believed in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord, then the Spirit of God moved in to make us in the likeness of Jesus, as we allow him to.  You will receive the Character of God, expressed in your unique personality.  And your personality becomes under control by the discipline of the Spirit of God.

The tongue has the power to heal, and the power to destroy.  The way it is used reveals who our master really is.  Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy.  But Christ gives us life. love, mercy and joy.  Those who have been touched by this love do not see the importance of gossip.  They only desire to be like their Lord, Jesus Christ.

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”  Proverbs 12:18  KJV

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God Is My Strength


They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalm 126:5 KJV

Man, am I tired.  Mentally, physically, and emotionally.  Not because I just worked hard today in my labors, but because I just spent the last 4 hours trying to reason with people I am called to reach.  The unsaved who are Athiests, Agnostic, occult, and the people who are playing church, but do not think they are.  My heart aches because these people would rather hate the messenger than listen to the message.  I am not a preacher.  I try not to preach.  All I am is Saved because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  See, I am not famous for my patience.  And I get impatient when I do not see results in the time span I think they should appear.

Time is in God‘s hands.  I do not know who is actually listening, and who is just being a jerk.  I don’t know who will be saved, or will not.  All I know is that I love these people who refuse to see what “Amazing Love” looks like.

Before I became a Christian, I was moved to seek God because a small group of Christians showed me love no matter what I did back.  I was rude, argumentative, and hurtful. I hated them and their Gospel.  But it was their endurance and the Love of God they showed me that finally broke me.  They were tireless, and they saw, in Joy, the results of their efforts.  They never gave up on me.  I pray, Dear God, in the Name of Jesus Christ that I learn to love like that, and persevere like that, so that even one may be saved.  There will I rejoice and praise.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9 NASB

There are people who think they are saved simply because they go to church.  When they hear you speak the truth, as lovely as you can make it, by the power of Jesus Christ, some will reject you, and even with a great deal of hostility.  I am called names.  I have had my life threatened.  I do not tell you this to draw attention to me, but because it is GOd who wills me to love and to do His will.  Do I sometimes feel like I am wasting my time, and beating my head against a wall?  Yes, but God is my strength.  Jesus persevered even to death for my sake.  By my own strength, I do not have that will or endurance.  Because the Spirit of God lives in me, I will continue, and enduring for the sake of the Gospel.  I don’t know who will be reached, but I will when I get to Heaven.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful… Hebrews 10:23 NASB

The world is run by the unrighteous.  Satan is their lord.  It is disconcerting to the world when they see the hope we have because of Jesus Christ.  The only response the world can offer is the response of their lord, Satan.  They kill, steal and destroy all that is Godly.  When you belong to Jesus Christ, you will not be welcomed by the world.  But you are to be in this world to be a light of Hope in a very dark, hopeless and fallen place.  So, when the storm roars, when people curse you for having hope, when they try to steal it, and almost succeed, remember, our Hope is in the Lord our God, because of Jesus Christ.  His Spirit is in you.  Take time to listen and feel the strength of God fill you.  He promised you that if you endure in your faith, you will endure in Hope.  Nothing can take this away from you.  Not unless you chose to let it go.  I pray, Dear God, for a renewing of my faith and hope every waking hour and even in my dreams.  Teach me to endure as you fill me with your love.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:36

I am called to a ministry.  I also have a life.  I have to work to feed my family.  I have bills.  Stuff happens, and it isn’t always good stuff.  It is the will of God that I become a living testimony whatever it is I do.  I am to write this blog every day except the Sabbath.  I am to study the word and hide it in my heart.  I am to give out of my abundance and my need.  I am to be one beggar showing other beggars where I found food, water, shelter, and life.  Even if they insist that they have to pay, I have to show them it is free.  Even if I am feeding on the food of God, and they refuse to eat what is abundant and free.  I cannot do the will of God without the Strength of God.  That is given to me by the Spirit of God, who walks in me daily, teaching me and leading me to do God’s will.  His promise is that if I give it all to Him, I will endure, even if I don’t feel like it.  The second I want to throw in the towel, the Spirit of God shows up in me and loves me, and feeds me the Grace, Mercy, Hope and Love of God.  It is a renewal I have need of every day.  Yesterday’s manna will not feed me today.  He promises me reward in Heaven.  I may be poor on earth, but when I get there, I will be called the brother of Christ.  I live for thismoment.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and  the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1

The angels watch us work.  The world watches us work. Our families and employers watch us work.  Does my confession of faith in Jesus Christ lead others to believe I am saved and belong to God?  Do I cave in just in sight of the finish line and never cross?  When things get tough, do I take a time out?  Jesus suffered greatly on our behalf, without a time out.  He drank full of the cup of God’s wrath so we will not have to die.  Do I weld my tongue to the will of God, or do I betray Him?  Do I act like I am unsaved, yet confess Jesus as my Lord?  Everyone is watching.  So, even when you sin, we can show others how Jesus Christ is Lord through our humbling ourselves before God in repentance.  Following Jesus is not about convenience.  There is nothing convenient about being a Christian.  Bur, seeing as there are so many people watching us, let us live a life that inspires others to follow Christ.

Dear God, I pray, in Jesus Holy Name, that you make me the very image of Christ, so I will not betray you or make the gospel a lie.  I am weak, and get tired.  Give me the love and endurance that kept Jesus nailed to the cross on our behalf.

I love you

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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It is God Who Works


This blog entry is dedicated to Shelia Sanchez, and all the women in the Philippines who have written me about this topic.

A NOTE TO MY DISPENSATIONAL BRETHEREN: Yes, the opening verse of this blog is a prophecy that was spoken to Israel about what God will accomplish in them when Jesus establishes His eternal kingdom. Seeing that the Jews were to be a light on a hill, drawing all mankind to God, and seeing that Israel has to this day stubbornly refused to walk in this light, God sent His own Son to be the fulfillment of the Law, thereby drawing all men unto God. Yes, this promise will finally be fulfilled for Israel when Jesus Christ sets up His kingdom. And the Jews who have accepted that Jesus IS the Messiah, will be the benefactor of the that promise. But, because of Christ, and His sacrifice on behalf of all mankind, this promise IS fulfilled in the lives of anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior AND Lord. So, go ahead and write your argumentative letters, but keep in mind, if you do, it is because you are stubbornly refusing to see what the Gospel of Christ IS, or you have not allowed the work of the Holy Spirit to tear the blinders off your eyes. I can say this because I , too, am a dispensationalist, but I have recently allowed the Holy Spirit into my life, I see that what was promised to Israels future, has already been given to all Humans who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior AND Lord. It is just a matter of will.

MY PRAYER FOR THIS BLOG: I pray in the name of the Living God, because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, that the Holy Spirit fill me while I write this blog, so that whatever I write here will be none of me and be all of God. I pray that it penetrate all the barriers that we have put up that inhibit the Spirit of God and the Power of His word to work in our beings. I pray this, God, because Jesus Christ has saved me from eternal damnation, and has delivered me into eternal life. AMEN

A New Heart, a New Thought, a New Desire

“I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean and acceptable to me. I will wash away everything that makes you unclean, and I will remove your disgusting idols. I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.” Ezekiel 36:35-27 CEV

Let’s pretend I am telling you the same good news:

“God will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean and acceptable to Him. God will wash away everything that makes you unclean, and will remove your disgusting idols. God will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, because God will put His Spirit in you and make you eager to obey His laws and teachings.” Ezekiel 36:35-27 CEV

God does Heart Surgery.

The amazing thing about God is (OK, there are SEVERAL amazing things about God), that HE will give you the longing for salvation. It isn’t something you can for yourself. If it WERE something you could do, then there is no need for God, and no need for Jesus Christ to come here and give His life for you. If we could be righteous and saved, and holy all by our selves, then God would no longer be God. We would be God.

We are not God.

When God gives you the longing for salvation, it is because, somehow, some way, God has exposed you to several things: The sin that separates you from Him, the fact that you cannot do anything at all to close that gap, and that He sent Jesus Christ to die in your place, because the wages of sin is death. It may hit you all at once, or it may come in bit at a time. But it is God that does this. You cannot do this.

God will draw you near.

After you see what he has shown you, you will understand the need for a savior. God will show you that Jesus IS that savior. His death on the cross paid for your sin. After Jesus died, He proved He has the authority to be called Lord when He raised HIMSELF from the grave. He was able to do this because He has the authority over death and life.

You will be drawn to repentance of sin, confession of sin, and redemption through Jesus Christ. And when you confess this with your mouth, you are saved. You cannot even do this unless God empowers you to do this.

YOU WILL HAVE A NEW HEART

In the Hebrew language, we learn that the Heart is the seat of the soul. The heart is located in your brain, but connects throughout your body. Did you know that, around your physical heart, there is the same gray matter that is in your brain. That local memory is stored there, and that your thoughts and feelings are shared between your brain and heart? It is true.

Our natural soul was corrupted by the inheritance of sin, and the continual and unrepentant state that resulted from the inherited sin.

What only God can do, that you will never be able to do, is replace that heart of sin, that hardened heart, with a tender heart of flesh, that is sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The reason you become this way is that, when you believed that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, the first thing you are given is God’s Holy Spirit.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SATAN, THE WORLD, AND GOD

In the World’s fallen state, it cannot tolerate the presence of holiness, and wants nothing to do with it. This is why our planet is the way it is. The World has completely rejected the things of God. You cannot expect Godly behavior from people who reject God. At the very best, you will see a very cheap imitation, and that never lasts very long. The only Godly things that last come from God.

Satan hates you. All of the fallen ones hate you. Satan will accuse you of your sin. Satan will complain to God about how sinful you are. Satan will tell you that God accuses you of your sin, and you cannot be redeemed. The only thing Satan can bring you is graceless and merciless accusation. A guilt that will eventually make you want to kill yourself. He has no joy, and he wants to rob you of YOUR joy.

The Holy Spirit of God is Grace, mercy and joy. When the Spirit of God shows you the sin, it is not accusatory, and will not leave you in shame. You will simply see your sin the same way God sees it. God has given you a tender heart, and removed your cynicism. You will understand how God sees things, and, because of the new Love that the Holy Spirit has brought to your heart and mind, you simply will turn your back on your sin.

This, too, is something you do not have the power to do. When you become aware of the things of God, the things you used to think were important will no longer be important. Your desire for sin will change. This is not to say that you will not sin, ever. You will. What it DOES mean is that when you do sin, the Spirit will lead you to understand the way God sees sin. Your heart, being in love with God, will no longer be interested in displeasing God.

Imagine you are deeply in love with someone. Will you go out of your way to displease your lover, or to please your lover?

The Love the Holy Spirit brings is a love that is far greater than any thing you can bring to your lover. And your desire to obey God will be because of that Love. It is a love you cannot muster on your own, it is a Love God gives you when you give your entire life to God, because of Jesus Christ, who IS God.

NOW THAT I HAVE LAID THE GROUND WORK

When you become a Christian, God will do all that I wrote about above, and much more. You don’t have to quit your job, but the more you surrender your self to the will of God, the more you will understand how God will use you in that job. But if that job represents a huge moral conflict between Him and your employer, when you give God the opportunity, HE will change your circumstances.

What changes? Your heart. Your understanding of how God will work in a willing and submitted heart. This comes when the Spirit of God has filled you, and leads you to be like Christ. Your circumstances may never change, you may always be poor, but God will make you rich in Him, and you will lead many to Christ.

God is not asking you to change anything, at first, because he is busy getting you used having the Mind of Christ. It does taking getting used to.

My brothers and sister, I promise you that you are not condemned if you belong to Jesus. There is no work you need to do to be good enough for God. There is no pain you have to suffer as proof that you are worthy of God.

God changes your heart so you can see where He is at work in you. And when you are able to see in you what God sees, you will develop a strong and passionate desire to see God complete you. You are NO LONGER bound by the law of sin. Your sinful nature is replaced with the nature of God. It is God’s promise to make you in the very image of Jesus Christ. You do not have to do anything but Surrender to Him.

He will do all the work. Be free from the condemnation of sin. Walk in the freedom God gives you. This freedom happens when you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. When you do that, you will receive the Holy Spirit, who will do all the work in you.

You are no longer guilty in God’s eyes. You are free.

“Therefore, now there is no verdict of guilt, no condemnation as guilty, for those in Jesus the Messiah. For the law of the Holy Spirit, that gives life in Jesus the Messiah, has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2, OJT

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Rest


“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 NASB

Vocabulary Words:

confident – πείθω – peitho -reflexively or passively to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty) – Sometimes a legal term that assesses the evidence and assents to the assertion that the evidence has presented. ALSO: You know you can trust this because you have seen that everything else has been trustworthy.

began – ἐνάρχομαι – en-ar’-khom-ahee – to commence on. Picture an action that had a starting place in time and space, and that action continues to apply itself endlessly over time. It had a start, and will not stop until all conditions are met.

good – ἀγαθός – ag-ath-os’ – A primary word; “good” (in any sense, often as noun): – benefit, good (-s, things), well. Beneficial.

work – ἔργον – er’-gon – From ἔργω ergo¯ (a primary but obsolete word; to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act: – deed, doing, labor, work.

perfect – ἐπιτελέω – ep-ee-tel-eh’-o – to fulfill further (or completely), that is, execute; by implication to terminate, undergo: – accomplish, do, finish, (make) (perfect), perform (X -ance). It is contract and engineering language. Start building, keep building, complete building. It is not built completely until it is perfected.

Two More Definitions:

Strong Language: Not coarse. Spoken with authority. Often direct. Not mincing words. Word usage that is intended to make one think. It is the language of the Teacher to the student. Plain Speaking. Getting to the heart of the matter. Meat, as opposed to milk.

Weak Language: Imprecise, Sugar coated and sweet; words that dilute the meaning or intent of the lesson that needs learning. Words for words sake, or words that weaken the intent of the lesson. Words that remove, rather than reinforce the need to actually apply it for learning, or being, or doing. It is the language of people who would rather play church than follow Christ. All milk, 2% or less milk fat, and sweetened to make it easier to swallow.

I had driven half way home, the day I lost my job at the Military base. I knew what God as asking me to do. While I look for work, WRITE. I had openly and consciously given my life to Christ as Lord a few years earlier. He was no longer “just my savior”.

I have a LOT of rough edges. I asked God what about those rough edges.

“Are you giving your entire life to me?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord, I am. ”, I replied.

“Because if you are not willing to give me 100%, we will be back where we started.”, He commented, but with gentleness and grace.

My courage and confidence in God increased when He asked me that. Coming from anyone else, I might have argued about work load, scheduling, time off, benefits, etc. When He asked me that, though, I felt compelled to throw my self into this hair, hat and all. I had tried doing it my way for way too long. I did not like the results.

I needed God to do this for me. I told God, “Lord, I want to be the very image of Christ, in every way possible. I want to live for Christ, now. I am done living this miserable life.”

“OK! That is what I needed to hear from you.”, He beamed. THAT felt good. This feels real. It didn’t have that half-hearted commitment thing going on in my heart. I could feel my roots already starting to go deep.

I had already been around the barn a million times with Him over what He had asked me to do, so I didn’t want to do THAT again. I am to write something EVERY DAY! Period.

It was my habit, in the past to run ahead of God. Most of it was sheer excitement to be doing something. But when I did that, I did it on my own power, my own way. God doesn’t do the division of labor, thing. You either want to be like Christ, or you don’t. You will submit to Jesus as Lord, or you won’t.

And that is where I had questions.

“Lord,” I asked, “I am not exactly like Jesus, you know. I mean, ask any Christian you happen to see, ‘Who’s the best Christian? It wouldn’t be me’.”

I swear, I heard Him chuckle. “No, Dave, it wouldn’t. Not this minute. And not immediately.”

“Well, God, WHAT DO I DO???”, I asked, mostly out of impatience, and mostly because I knew just how depraved I had become of these last two decades.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He said with a smile. (Frankly, I was not used to anyone being this nice to me, and it was GOOD!)

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.” Psalms 37:4-7a KJV

“REST?!?!?!”, “WAIT PATIENTLY?”, “REALLY?!?!?!?”, “God, you may not have noticed this, but I am REALLY in need of a LOT of repair, and you want me to REST?” I screeched.

“David, way back in 1987, when you first came to me, what was the very first thing I asked you to do?”, he gently asked me.

“Um…er…Let’s see…boy, that was a long time ago.” I stalled

“Uh HUM!”, He replied.

“OH! I remember, You told me to rest.”, I cowered and sorta whispered.

“Yes, David, I told you to rest. And since that is where we left off, that is where we will continue. While you obey me, you will rest in me. Learn the word. Learn to pray and praise. THAT is when I will affect the changes in you so that you will be just like Jesus. You cannot do this for your self, and you cannot do it by your self. Only I can do this thing in you.”, God instructed.

Resting was hard at first. But I want to be like Christ. I want my life to have an eternal, and holy consequence while I am still alive. For once in my life, I obeyed. I obeyed because I consciously chose to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. And Jesus died for my sin, and He rose again on the third day, to prove He has the authority to grant me eternal life, and I asked God to make me the reflection of Christ.

I no longer felt any doubt that this is what God intends to do in me. I knew then that God intends to do this in ALL the humans who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

It began in 1987. That was the point in time that I made the decision. I wandered in a wilderness of my own making for 20+ years. But the grace of God watched over me, and in His mercy, He carried me through that wilderness. And now, I have returned to Him, to home, where my heart has always wanted to be.

Then I understood this:

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” – Php 2:13 – KJV

Last time, I tried to run ahead of God and take care of becoming like Jesus on my own. Well, THAT didn’t work out so well. But because my heart has genuinely surrendered to Christ as Savior AND Lord, the Spirit of God is able to work in me, and to open my eyes, so that I can see that resting is exactly what I am to do. Changing my life to be a reflection of Jesus is GOD’S work, through the Holy Spirit. Anytime I try to take over and do it myself, I mess things up.

While I pursue obedience to what He has given me to do (WRITE!), HE will affect in me the changes HE sees I need in order to be like Jesus. I simply cannot do it. It is God who does all the heavy lifting, not me.

“David.”

“Yes, God?”

“When you feel the temptation to take over, remember Carrie Underwood’s song, “Jesus Take the Wheel.”, OK?

“Yes Sir. THAT will not be a problem, it is a great song that brings tears to me eyes, sung by a great singer who is easy on my eyes.”

I swear I felt Him Gibbs Slap the back of my head.  (That actually works on me.)

“That is the FIRST THING we will work on, mister.”

“Yes Sir, I am sorry.”

“Next time, keep your eyes on me.  I will empower you to do this, but it is still your choice.  I prefer obedience rather than sacrifice.”

And that was lesson one. It was not all that difficult. I saw how it affected God when I sin, and when He corrected me about it, He didn’t do what Satan does; accuse me. He simply showed me how it looks in His eyes. And I didn’t like what I saw. I give that part of my self to Him. He took the wheel.

The more I rest in Him, and obey what He has given me to do, the more things He is able to deal with in my life. When we obey, His love grown in our heart. His power and authority grows in us. There are some temptations I am really in love with, but God is able to break that bond and free me from them. They are fading into insignificance.

Now, all I want to do is follow Jesus. I give my life totally to Him. As I obey, as I seek the Lord with all my heart, the more He reveals to me: Of His will for me, of His character, of His Grace, Mercy and Love. The terrible anger I used to carry around, that was part of my life from when I turned 17, is gone. It is gone. And I don’t miss it.

Dear reader. God wants to do this in your life, too. When you surrender to Him, HE will change your heart, and you will welcome the change. He does this because it is his STRONG desire to give you all the Holy Gifts of Heaven, so that, while you are still here on Earth, you will be the image of Christ. You just may be the only Jesus some lost soul will see. Rest in Him. Receive His gifts.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”. – Jas 1:17 KJV

Let’s be about it.

I Love you.

Your Servant,

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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WHAT are you THINKING???


I needed steel toed boots when I researched this one. I’ll wait here while you get yours. (You can get a good pair at Orchelin’s).

This is dedicated to Cynthia and Sandy…Yes, I finally understand.

Unless otherwise stated, scripture quotes are from the Holman Bible, as shown on the following web site: https://www.bible.com/

WHAT WAS I THINKING???

Proverbs 23:7a – For as he thinks within himself, so he is. NASB

It seems like this is a lifelong pursuit. Sometimes I approached this with Herculean effort, and sometimes I petered out before I even tried.

My thoughts were toxic. They were why I was continually failing at anything I tried. On the outside, I put on the bravado if “Charles in Charge“, but on the inside I was not so in charge.

At my very best, I have very little self-control, and the things I think eventually sneak out and come to life in the manifest world. I tried self-help books, I tried “The Secret” (It is an empty gun when God’s will is not the target). I tried therapy (And have sent many a therapist to mental wards…it only takes a little peek into my mind to drive any rational human in sane), and I tried the usual self-affirming tricks you learn in NLP classes (Look it up. It is the major tool used by advertisement agencies, the Press and the White House to get you to do whatever it is they want.). Nothing could affect a permanent change in my heart.

After repeatedly running out of gas in the self-help aisle, and seeing as I am now genuinely interested in doing whatever it is that Jesus wants me to do, I had to do a lot of digging.

Here is what I learned:

Matthew 24:34 – Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. – Jesus

I prayed for God to change my heart and thinking. I came to this point after decades of being my own worst enemy.

When I read Matt. 24:34, I was floored. The reason I was floored like a mop was, the fruit of my mouth was only evil and negative, and mostly filth. I could cuss with the best of any Drill Sergeant. I said whatever came to my mind, and it was mostly filth and hate.

I especially had trouble with this the harder I tried to be “Religious”.

James 1:6 – If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself.

Uh Oh. I realized I was not being a servant to the Lord, but being a RELIGIOUS person. See, a religious person can fake Christianity (Or any other religion) really well, but like the man said, “Anyone can stand on their head for a couple of weeks. Let’s see what happens when it gets tough.”

I don’t know about you but I hate religion. I hate when people, including myself, try to be all pious and “holy”, and pretend to be righteous, when even Ray Charles can see that, when you run out of steam, you show that you are a fake. I HATE that.

James 1: 5-7 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.

On my own, I have a foolish heart. I am not known for my “King Solomon-like” wisdom. When I realized that, I surrendered again to the Lordship of Christ, who works in me His will for my life. You cannot fake this, either. It is either faith, based on Jesus’s free gift of Salvation, and your desire to serve him as He is the Lord, or it isn’t. It has to be genuine. So, I confessed that I am a self-righteous fool, who only plays at being a Christian, but I fail at it. I confessed that My heart is full of dark, squiggly, slimy evil, and asked God to shine the light of His love and Grace in my heart. (You shoulda seen the roaches run for cover when THAT happened! They hate the light. You can run, but you can’t hide! Bwa Haa haaaa!)

I Samuel 16:7b – Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

This is where you have to go into this whole thing aware of what you are asking. If you have given your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, The Spirit of God will come in and look around, and until He gets your heart redecorated to look like HIS heart, there has to be some turning away from your own ways. God does amazing Heart Surgery.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

So, if you are going to dedicate your life to Jesus, and that is what it really means to be a Christian, then the first place God is going to deal with you is your thoughts, your attitude, your sin, and your failures. He HAS to change the intent of your heart. Human intent is at war with God’s will for Humans. We are having WAY too much fun being the “Master of our domain.”

But if you have genuinely given your heart to Jesus Christ, you will not be able to help it, but to ask Jesus to change you and your heart until you are the very reflection of Him. Until this happens, the Holy Spirit will work to teach you, to convict you, to lead you to repentance, as you serve, and grow to be just like Christ.

Now, if you are like I was, a complete and total Jack-Ass, then you are in for some rough times. Trust me on this one. But don’t despair, God has all the time in the Universe to deal with you. The sooner you submit, the easier it will go. Don’t be like I was, don’t be a Jack-Ass.

Jeremiah 23:29 – “Is not My word like fire” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and like a hammer that pulverizes rock? <==(I think He was referring to my thick skull, there.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ON YOUR OWN!

I tried. Remember I said that a minute ago? I gave it over 20 years, and I failed every time. It is God, and God alone who changes you.

Philippians 2:13 For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.

You don’t have the will unless God gives it to you. You don’t have the desire to change, unless God calls you to the changes. If you try to do it on your own strength, power, and “wisdom”, then you are A: A fool, and B: BEING RELIGIOUS!!!

Stop it, and trust God. He loves you and has nothing but good plans for you if you submit.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

God will change your heart, and your thinking and your intent so that you will become just like Jesus. HE does this by HIS OWN power.

So, getting back to where I was earlier:

Proverbs 18:21 – Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Jesus says, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Man, was I in a fix. Nothing good was coming out of my mouth, so that meant the intentions of my heart were not in God’s control. I gave control of my heart to God. And when I did, we did the laundry. My thoughts changed. My attitudes changed. My INTENTIONS changed. And they all changed and are still changing to the point that I can just begin to see the image of Christ in my heart.

Along with a heart of submission, there is one thing I have to do in participation with God in this change:

Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

I have a list of things I need to watch out for. It is the usual things that will get a human in trouble, the lust of the eye, the lust of the heart, and the pride of life. Like Paul said, if it weren’t for these things, there’d be no sin.

Galatians 5:24 – Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

My desire is to serve Christ and Christ alone. This is not a decision you can make on your own, and it is not something you can fake. It is either real, or it is not. But total submission to Christ IS what being a Christian means. We are still here after we believed so we can live a life that reflects Jesus Christ, so that others will be led to eternal life through Christ. That is why you are still on this planet (IF you are, indeed, a Christian.)

Philippians 4:8 – Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise — dwell on these things.

That verse speaks for itself. But this takes discipline. Thinking on these things has changed my attitude and my heart. It has made me more sensitive to the urgings of the Lord. It has made me more willing to show Grace and Mercy to those who need it. It has made it possible for me to see the difference between Godly behavior, and no so godly behavior. All this is true because it is the Holy Spirit working in me to effect these changes.

Philippians 4:6-7 – Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Don’t worry about ANYTHING. This is a tough one, but when you allow God to change the intent of your heart, and you “think on these things”, you learn you CAN take EVERYTHING to God, with a grateful heart. And I promise you, I am a witness to this personally, The Peace of God, which passes every thought, WILL guard your hearts and minds IN JESUS CHRIST.

God will guard your heart and mind. It begins when you are genuinely IN Jesus Christ, and it ends because you are IN Jesus Christ.

SO, WHAT IS YOUR POINT???

I am glad you asked. The whole point of getting your mind right is so that the Mind of Christ will be in you. When the mind of Christ is in you, you will have the intentions of Christ, and not your own selfish ones. When you have the intent of Christ in you, you will bear good fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

When you bear good spiritual fruit, you will be like Jesus, and you will be able to be living proof that Jesus Christ is Lord, and you will be able to lead others to Jesus Christ.

So, watch your mouth. Give your whole heart to Jesus Christ and stop being religious.

You will be effective as Jesus’s disciple when you have let the Holy Spirit do heart surgery on you.

Now, let’s be about it!

I love you

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

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Go Ye Therefore….


This is not a plea for a job, OK?  This is just me…I don’t know, getting things off my chest.

I heard another ‘No’ today on yet another job application.  It get’s frustrating.  I have gotten so discouraged.  Here I am, intelligent, capable, WILLING, and not too proud to work.  It seems that, when you are dismissed from a Military base, you pretty much are dismissed from a great many opportunities.  I make no excuses.  I was rightfully dismissed.  Besides, the whole story would get more than me in trouble, so I am content to be in this position.

In my frustration, I decided to go for a walk.  That didn’t help.  I got home,.  I was still  grumpy, because taking a walk didn’t help.  Besides, my conscience was bothering me.  I am learning how to write.  How to blog, how to journal, etc.  They only writing I had ever done in my life was poetry, and seminary papers.  And that, my friend was a very long time ago.

The day I got fired from the base, I felt disoriented.  This is all I had been doing for the last two years.  And this work was good, and I am good at it.  As you surely know, by now, I have recently returned to the Lord.  So, I prayed.  I prayed HARD.  What was I going to tell my wife…my daughter?  Why was this happening?  I had worked hard for my credentials.  Now they were worthless.

As I prayed, I felt a strong sense of calm overcome me.  That kept me from going into a panic.  I slowed the car down (It is a 2 hour commute from the Base to Home).  I didn’t realize I had been speeding.

By time I slowed the car down, I was actually so calm, I could actually smile.  (That, in itself was rare for me).  You hear about those “Charismatic Weirdo’s” who say they heard from God.  I always rolled my eyes at that.  I had to take all that eye rolling back.  I mean, really, when you roll your eyes at God, HE could very well roll them right back at you, and you wouldn’t enjoy it.

I heard from God.  I didn’t take the time to make sure I was not becoming a “Charismatic Weirdo”, or anything like that.  I mean, I was really busy HEARING from God.  It was the most wonderful, calming experience I had ever had.

He asked me what I’d rather do.  I told Him, “You Know, O Lord!”

Sound familiar?  What was that that Ezekiel said to God when God asked Zeke, ‘Do you think I can take these bones and bring them back to life?”  or some thing like that.  And Ezekiel, being the courageous one of God, said, “God Knows!”.  He was hedging His bet.  It wasn’t that Ezekiel DIDN’T think God couldn’t raise the bones in the desert back to life, it was just that, well, what if it is a trick question?  Zeke knew God was testing him.  But Zeke wasn’t sure he had studied hard enough for the test.  So he said, “Thou knowest, O Lord” or something like that.  Turns out, God raised the bones and made a legion of soldiers.  That be a LOT of soldiers.  Zeke suddenly realized the point.  God can do what ever he pleases.  And it pleases God to have Ezekiel serve Him. Where I come from, that is called a HUGE object lesson.

So, when God asked ME, “What would you rather do, Dave?”  and I said “Thou Knowest, O Lord”, I swear I could see him glare at me like my third grade teacher did when I hit her with a huge spit wad.  (I got out of a beating by telling her I just wanted to get her attention so I could tell her she was beautiful…I am going to burn in HELL, I KNOW!)

It was a cop out.  I wasn’t used to the Almighty riding along in my car, and asking me questions, OK?!?

But I did get a chance to stop and think.  Thank God God is merciful and abundant in Grace, too.  I figured I was going to be the worlds largest Chicken Wing, or something like that.

I listed off several things.  I used to play French Horn.  But He said, you can practice at home, but no.  Well, I used to play piano.  Same answer.  We went like this for about 60 miles.  I gotta say, God is also very patient.  My nick name isn’t Jack Ass for nothing, you know…go ask my ex wife and my curent wife.  I got tired of playing this game.  And I asked God to just tell me what it is HE wants me to do, and I will do it.

He asked me if I still had that old fire in the belly for writing.  I looked askance at the empty passengers seat, and said, “You’re kidding, RIGHT?”  I am sure that is why the trucker that saw me do this sped way the heck up.  What would YOU think?

He said, “David, you want to serve me?”  I said “Thou Knowest, O Lord!”, but then repented and said very affirmatively, “I’d rather serve you than be the richest man on the planet”, or something like that.  There were a string of affirmations going on at the time.  I mean, I hadn’t even acknowledges there is a God for 20 YEARS.  And I really wanted to return to God’s fold, and serve.  There is nothing better in this life than serving God.

He told me to write.  Every day.  Put it in a blog.  You can only imagine what I thought about that.  I have read my writing, it bored hell out of me.  So, I was wondering if boring hell out of people was His way of getting people to run toward the scriptures, which are infinitely less boring than my writing.  (Believe me, on this, I have read the Bible too).

He told me that, while HE finds the right place for me to work, I need to keep myself busy writing.  He said he plans on using that gift as it develops.  I asked min if he had ever looked at my writer’s portfolio?  He looked askance at me…well, at least the empty passenger seat looked askance at me.

He said he would let me know what to write, and when.  I have to say, that so far, he has done just that.

My last two blogs concerned Who Is The Church.  I told God, Look, I can’t just go around shooting my mouth off like that, and not walk it, too!!!  he let me know He will take care of that, but for now, keep writing.

Here’s the deal.  I am not trying to be some great writer of great expose.  I am just doing what I have been told.  My hearts desire is, yes, to be good at writing, and writing about the things of God.  And my burning desire is to be part of the next revival that needs to break out over the land.  This planet is using the biggest steam shovel it can just to dig a hole to Hell.

I thought about what Jesus said to the Disciples just as He was about to ascent back into Heaven.

And Jesus came up to them and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given unto Me in Heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:18-20

And that is my hearts desire.  To obey.  But I know that God is right.  I have been away for 20 years, and there is a trust issue.  If I am faithful in this little thing of writing every day, He will be faithful to bless me for obeying.

I have been given a commission.  You have also been given a commission.  You do not need anyone’s permission to obey.  Trust me when I tell you, your family will think you are crazy.  Especially when you tell them that you had a chat with the Almighty.  Take Jesus, for an example.  Here he was, running around Israel, raising people from the dead, healing the sick, and telling everyone, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”  And his very own family told people Jesus was crazy.  That is your Bible Drill for the day.  Find where that is written in the Gospels).

Until the day God calls me to higher things, I will obey.  Even when I don’t feel like obeying, like today.  I was discouraged.  I didn’t even know what I was going to write about.  But as I got to the library, God showed me what to say.

Just imagine what He has to say to you, if you’ll listen.

The world is dying, out there.  Let’s be about it.

I love you.

David G. Perkins

 

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The Grace of God – Part II


Editorial View Point:

Someone asked me why my posts are SO long.  There is a specific group I am targeting.  They like the information I provide.  If you are not one of them, I am grateful that you work your way through my posts.  I am working at developing several styles to convey Biblical truths.   I suppose I could give you those “FB” style one liners, or even a daily devotional style of writing.  And I am working on that.  But when the subject is as important as the one below, I would rather include something that will bore you, the educated Christian, than leave out information that someone seriously desiring to hear God might miss.  For that, I make no apologies.  I simply write about what I, myself, had to go through to understand the difference between a religion and a relationship to God.

INTRODUCTION:

I had a very interesting, and fulfilling,  conversation with a brother in the lord, last night (Thank-You, Casey).

The subject was over what I had written in my post,  “The Grace of God”.  That post dealt with how Satan tries to trip you up, and how God carries you through this experience.  My brother, Casey, correctly pointed out the dangers of the belief that God’s grace is like a giant bandage to all sins you will commit.  That you may mistakenly fall under the same error that the Romans did, that it is OK if you sin because God has already covered that sin.

The Grace of God – Part II will cover this case.  This post is also in two parts.  In Part A, I will cover what God does with your sin if you are an unbeliever, and how he offers us hope through Christ.  This part is the cornerstone of what it means to belong to God through Jesus Christ.

The second part of this post deals with what to do about sin AFTER you are saved, and what the believer should do about specific sins.  Thank you for reading it all the way through, and please, leave a comment.  I am very interested in your opinions.

Part A

SIN and sins – Or what was the whole Jesus thing for, in the first place?

In my post, “The Grace of God”, I described what happened in the first place to separate Humans from the face to face presence of God.  We were given free will, because God didn’t make a bunch of robots.  The Angels have free will, which is why we had the wars of the angels in the first place.  God gave Humans free will because he literally wants only people who want to hang out with him to be with him.  The down side of our having this free will is, we bought the lie that Satan gave us, and ended up just as condemned as Satan.  Satan’s eternal abode will be Hell.  This is the second death.  SIN brought real death, real decay, and real evil into this Earth.  The eternal covenant God has with ALL of his creation is that God will not tolerate Sin in His presence.  It isn’t like he is allergic to it.  It is more like, God is HOLY and will only have HOLINESS around His home, which is in the highest heaven.  SIN = death.  GOD is life.  You can look at world history to see how all that turned out.

We are born separated from God.  While you are an unaccountable child, you live in a kind of grace.  When you reach the age of accountability,then all bets are off.

So, now is the right time to ask “WHO really needs salvation, anyway?”

Short Answer:  Humans.

All the World Guilty

…as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
Romans 3:10 – 12 NASB
and
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”  Romans 3:23 NASB
You can be “good”, you can give to every charity you can imagine, you can live in a way that the worst thing you ever did was steal one extra cookie when you were 4.  But, SIN, still lives in you.  You know this is true when you ask yourself, how much do I hate, how angry do I get over things, how many times have I coveted, how many times have I told a lie, how many times have I heard about someone getting killed, and thought to myself , “That bastard deserved it!”.  These are evidences of SIN.    The Bible makes it crystal clear that all Humans are born in sin, and live a life separated from God.  You can feel it in your heart.  Like something is missing, or you get a serious longing in your heart for a love that you cannot define.  You spend your entire life trying to fill that gap in your heart, and never reach it.  You turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, or whatever, but nothing can fill that hole that exists, that yearning for peace that you crave.  You can feel it.
We are all born separated from God.

So, now is the right time to ask “WHY do we really need salvation?”

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NASB
and
“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
Because original SIN separated Humans from God for all eternity.  God loves you, but His own law is “For the wages of SIN is death”.  The only way Humans can receive forgiveness was that a PERFECT Human had to voluntarily and willingly die in your place for your sin.  After the fall of all mankind in the garden of Eden, there were no perfect Humans.  God is all-powerful and sovereign.  In His own might, HE came to earth in the form of a man.  His name was Yeshua (Jesus).  Jesus voluntarily filled the will of God the Father, and died in your place for all the SIN in the world.  He did this out of His enormous love for you.  Jesus rose himself from death in order to prove He had the Authority to call himself the “Son of God”.   You need salvation because you are born in sin.  You receive eternal life with God if you accept this FREE GIFT of Jesus dying in your place.  You have the hope of eternal life after your body dies.  Jesus proved this by His resurrection from the dead.
JESUS IS HOW GOD PROVIDED SALVATION
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”  Romans 5:8 NASB

How Do We Receive this Salvation??

“…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  Romans 10:9-10 NASB

and

 “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

When you believe in your heart that Jesus died in your place for your sin, and confess with your mouth (Say it out loud),  you are saved from eternal death.  You have been rejoined to fellowship with the Living God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  The Holy Spirit will come to you, and will guide you.  You have peace with God, now.   You are no longer His enemy, as Satan still is, but you are now, eternally, God’s own beloved child.

Our Victory in Christ

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1 NASB

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

You have admitted that your SIN separates you from God.  You understand that as a sinner, you deserved eternal separation from God (This is the second death).  You believe that Jesus Christ died in your place, on the cross, to free you from the curse of SIN and death (The second death).  You have repented by turning from your old life of sin to a new life in Christ.  And you have received, through FAITH in Jesus Christ, His free gift of Salvation.

OK, But what about all the sin I keep committing???

I am glad you asked.  I will tell you.  Jesus promised you that He will send the Holy Spirit to you.

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. “ John 14:16 NASB (Words of Jesus are in red).

and

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”  John 14:21 NASB

and

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”   “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”  John 14:23-26 NASB

Once you are sealed in forgiveness by the Blood of Jesus Christ, you will not be able to be removed from His hand.  But you will still be able to be tempted by your old habits, and by Satan.  As long as you are on this Earth, that is how it is.  We are called to be IN the Earth, not OF the Earth.  We are still here after we were saved so that we can tell others how it is we have eternal life, how it is we have such joy in our hearts, how it is that we suddenly are at peace.

Now that you are saved, God’s grace covers all your sin, past, present and future.  THAT IS TRUE!  There is a heresy being taught today, that was being taught in the Apostle Paul’s day.  The heresy teaches that you can sin, and it will be covered by God’s grace, so don’t worry about it.  This doctrine is a religious point of view that God never allowed for.

The truth of the matter is that God’s grace covered all your sin from the foundation of the world.  But that is not a license to sin, in order that God’s grace can be demonstrated:

“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? ” Romans 6:1 NASB

and

“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

and

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”  John 14:20

and

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “ John 15:4-5 NASB

The evidence of your salvation will be revealed in your life.  If you abide in Christ, you will grow to be like Christ.  Yes, because you are human, you will slip and fall, occasionally.  That is why Jesus promised you the Holy Spirit, so that when you trip up, the Spirit of God will LOVINGLY convict you, and you will be led to repent, and you will have learned from that lesson, and will grow to be like Christ.

Any unconfessed sin is a barrier YOU place between YOU and God.  Has God covered it?  In his sovereignty and foreknowledge of you, he knew you would sin.  In His grace, he allows that sin.  In His mercy, He forgives that sin.  But it is not a license to continue in sin.  Jesus pointed out that if you continue to live in sin, you are not His.  If you ABIDE (A word that means to move in with, or literally “Pitch your Tent”, establish your dwelling with), then you have willingly given up YOUR own way to pursue the way of Christ.  We are to become like Christ.  This takes a daily effort.  This takes you intentionally laying aside YOUR will in the pursuit of the will of God for you.

God’s grace is not a license to sin.  It is the covering God gives you so that when the Spirit of God convicts you, you will be able to go to God and confess, and repent, and be restored.  If you are intending to be like Christ, and His Spirit has filled you, then you will not WANT to sin.

Let’s put it this way:  If you are still living a life of sin, chances are you have either never been saved, or you have intentionally chosen NOT to walk in a life to be like Christ.

Grace is not a license to sin, it is your opportunity to repent when you do.

Go and sin no more.

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I Renamed My Lawnmower


I am not playing the sympathy card, here, but I have really bad lung problems.

The problem is SO bad that if the local humidity gets above 50%, I start having problems breathing.  When it gets above 60%, I am virtually a prisoner in my own home.  My lungs are bad because of all the times I have had pneumonia, and have been exposed to really corrosive chemicals.

To make matters worse, I am allergic to almost every thing that exists in Missouri.   I live in Missouri. If I were sitting in my favorite cafe, in the mountains of Montana, sipping a good hot tea, and my wonderful wife, Sandy, were to sit down next to me, holding a package just shipped up from Missouri, I would probably have a collapsed lung, right there. I hope God smiles on me soon and allows me to move to the Mountains.  I can breathe there, and enjoy the great outdoors with no hindrances.

I think I am allergic as a judgement.  See, I used to make fun of my First Wife (Let’s call her Cinnamon).  She has allergies that can, sometimes, be pretty bad.  I used to tease her incessantly.  Not only was that an unkind act, in and of itself, and I am genuinely sorry for that, but it was cruel.  This is when I first realized that “You reap what you sew.”

So, here I am, in Missouri, allergic to every organic object that exists, and it is hot and very humid here.  Grass grows in my yard.  It wouldn’t be a problem if I could hire Skippy McDork to come out and mow my lawn, but I cannot.  SO, I mow the yard.

Today, it is hot and humid.  I can barely breathe.  So I get really exhausted pretty fast.   When it is this bad, I fade between seeing and graying out.  I wanted to get this over with.

But, as I mowed, I was able to overcome these obstacles.  And I remembered:

“The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”  Psalm 118:14

Remembering that verse lifted my heart, and I swear I felt a cool breeze go right through me.  It felt good, and I kept mowing.

As I got fatigued, I noticed that I had left a few patches.  I was tired, and didn’t feel like going back for the patches I missed.

Then I remembered:

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”  Luke 15:4

and THAT made me think of Christ dragging his beam to the hill of Golgotha.  He was tired beyond reason.  He had been beaten nearly to death.  Because HE was a workman worthy of His hire, he completed all the things God set before him to do.

And I also remembered that God intends us to harvest until he returns, and the even the corners will be harvested.

So, I did the whole Job.  I know mowing isn’t one of the “High Spiritual Callings” but if I am to believe the word of God, I need to develop the habit of practicing it.  And the word says:   “And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” Colossians 3:23   

Jesus didn’t die for only a few of our sins.  He died for all of them.  He didn’t cut corners.  He drank deep of the cup God had served  Him.

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.””  Revelation 14:14-16

The fields are ripe for the harvest.  I was reminded that, because of the Grace of God, I am still here to reap.  I remembered all this while I mowed and wanted to quit.  When we are faithful in these little things, God will trust you with bigger ones.  I have only recently returned to God, through Jesus Christ, but I have no intention of getting it wrong this time.

I have renamed my Mower “Grace” so every time I mow, and struggle to breathe, and get fatigued, and want to lay down and die, I will remember why I am still here.

“To live is Christ, to die is gain.” – The Apostle Paul

 

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The Grace of God


Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being  fell  upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Is. 53:4-6 NASB                     http://www.blueletterbible.org

I first learned of the time gap between the 1st and 2nd verses of Genesis 1 from a Messianic Jew, a former Rabi from Israel.  He was from the “School of the Prophets” group.  They delved deep into the mysteries of the Scriptures.  They knew of the “Bible Code” long before it was a popular topic.  They knew things about the Bible that even other Rabin did not know.  And that takes me back to the gap between the 1st and 2nd verse in Genesis 1.  Proving that fact is not the purpose of this writing, but you can get a decent understanding of that gap here:   http://custance.org/Library/Volume6/Part_III/Introduction.html.

The whole point of my bringing this up is to tell you that a many events occurred between those two verses.  One of those things was the Wars of the Angels in Heaven.  Two thirds of the Angels of God rebelled against God.  Very long story short, they lost the war.  Their leader, Lucifer, was cast out of Heaven. Lucifer is known by many names, but Satan is the name we know him by.  As a noun, Satan means “Adversary, enemy, etc”, as a verb, it is “Accuser”.

Satan knows what his future will bring.  He knows his day s are numbered.  Because he has been disconnected from God his mind is given completely over to sin and evil. He has become incapable of any holy thought, act of righteousness, or discernment.  Satan believes he stands a chance of winning the final battle.

In between the Angelic Wars and now, Satan managed to talk Human Souls into joining him in eternal damnation.  Satan is the one who kills, steals and destroys.  Satan will tempt you.  That is half of what this post is about.  The other half is dedicated to the Grace of God.

Satan the Tempter:

Satan will tempt you using the word of God.

Jesus had been in the wilderness for 40 days.  He was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted.  “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.” Luke 4:2

And he (Satan) brought him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:  For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:  And in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.  

Satan, as the destroyer knew that, if he could get Jesus to succumb to temptation, then the show was over for all of us.  He, knowing what his fate is, wants company in his misery.  Jesus was weakened by his trials in the desert.  If he could get Jesus to fail, there would be no hope for the redemption of mankind to God.  There is a reason it is called Temptation.  If it were easy to say ‘No’, it wouldn’t really be tempting, would it?

Jesus, as tired and hungry as he was, did the one thing he could do and not blow it.  He answered Satan with the Word of God.  He didn’t reason, justify, waffle, bargain, or debate.  He fell back to a position that shows the authority of the scriptures when they are used properly.

And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Luke 4:12

Satan Will Tempt You Over What God Actually Said

Here is where we learn to know AND understand the words of God.  Horrible things have been done on this planet simply because people do not know and understand what God said and meant.  Jesus never subjugated women, yet many faiths treat women like second class citizens.  Many people think the Bible actually said, “God helps those that help themselves.”  Misunderstanding the intent of the Word, or blatantly not knowing it will lead you into a world of deep doo-doo.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  Gen 3:1-3 KJV

Here, Satan used doubt as a tool to get Eve to wonder if what she thought she heard was actually what she heard.  In response, Eve not only used God’s word to argue with Satan, but added to what God said.  Probably to underscore her point.    Satan’s goal is, and always has been to separate us from God.  Have you ever told someone something that someone else said to you, and the person you said it to said, “REALLY?, He said that?”  Because you might be wrong, you begin to entertain the idea that you might be wrong.  Maybe you misunderstood what was said, or what that someone meant to convey by saying it.  When doubt clouds your judgement between right and wrong, you have opened your armor against temptation.  Once you are vulnerable, it is easier to tempt you.  The lesson here is to what God said and what He MEANT when He said it, and what you should do in the light of it being said.

KNOW THE WORD INSIDE AND OUT!

SATAN THE ACCUSER

Along with being the adversary, Satan loves to accuse us.  If he can make a case against you, then he thinks he wins.  The case doesn’t even have to be true, as Satan is not acquainted with the truth.  It just has to be convincing.

SATAN WILL ACCUSE YOU TO GOD.

In the book of Job, we see that Satan was in the throne room of God.  Satan waited in line so he can accuse someone to God.  In this case, God, knowing what Satan was up to, offered Job as an example of one of his children.  Immediately, Satan accused Job to God and said that if God hadn’t shown Job such favor, Job would just abandon his faith, and curse God to God’s face.

Satan will go to the Living God and accuse you every time you trip up.  He gets his kicks doing this.  He believes that he is rubbing God’s children’s failures in God’s face.

SATAN WILL ACCUSE GOD TO YOU

Sometime we mess up.  We sin.  And when we do, our conscience starts eating at us.  We pray and confess our sin, and repent of it.  But Satan will come along in an effort to rob you of your joy,  and tell you, “God is mad at you for what you did.  What a loser you are to God.  You blew it with the Big Guy this time.”  Satan will rob you of your joy if you give him one second to make his case to you.   There is a way to deal with this, and I will show you in a minute.

SATAN WILL ACCUSE YOU TO YOURSELF

When we mess up, and we know we have messed up, Satan loves to accuse you to yourself so that you will forget to go to God for confession and repentance and forgiveness.  He wants to distract you, so you will be too confused and full of self loathing to do the right thing.  He may say things like,  “You know what it says in the Book, “The wages of sin is death.”, you might as well give up.  You will never be good enough for God.  You can’t go ten minutes with out tripping up.  Man, you call yourself a Christian.”  If he can get your eyes off the redemptive work of Jesus, he can bring you down to a pit of misery and personal hell.  If you stay there, you may eventually lose your faith altogether.  This is the goal of Satan as the accuser.  To separate you from God.

WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY ABOUT YOU

THE ASSURANCE OF GOD’S GRACE

You have the assurance of God’s Grace when you repent.  You have this assurance because you have accepted that Jesus died on the cross in your place for all your sin, past present and future.  You are saved because of His death and resurrection.  When Jesus died on the cross, the eternal covenant was sealed.  Satan was defeated, and lost the right to call Earth his home, and human souls his own.  Jesus took the keys of hell away from Satan for all eternity.

     For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;  whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;  for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.  Romans 3 :23-26 NASB

When you go to God, you have the assurance that God will blot out your transgressions for the sake of the blood of Christ that covers you, and makes you God’s own beloved child.

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”  Isaiah 43:25

Because of this great gift of God’s grace, through Jesus Christ you can say:

“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  Isaiah 61:10  NASB

GOD CHOOSES TO FORGET YOUR TRANSGRESSION

Because of your faith in Jesus Christ, and because you turned to God, confessed your sin, repented of it in your heart, and laid it at His feet, you can say:  “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 NASB

Hanging on to your unconfessed sin will only weaken your faith, and open a door for the tempter to come in and twist your heart even more.  You have a loving God who is ever ready, and joyfully willing to forgive you.  You are His own precious one of you have accepted the free gift offered through Jesus Christ.  There is no other place to go to know real redemption and forgiveness of sin.  Unconfessed sin is a stumbling block to your growth in the Lord.

Have no fear.  Come to His throne with thanks giving and know he will forgive you.  You will leave the Throne Room knowing you are forgiven.  Be sure and leave that burden at his feet.  He will remove it from before Himself, and not count it as transgression against him.  You are free of this.

“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.”  Micah 7: 18-19 NASB

His desire is that you remain His child.  Because of the blood of Christ, you are saved.  When he sees you, he sees the mark of Jesus on you, and he declares his everlasting love for you.

“Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”  “For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.”  Isaiah 38:17-18 NASB

HERE’S WHY

“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.  “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  “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 3:16-18 NASB

Satan thought he could take all of Humanity with him when he tempted Adam and Eve.  Like I said, he was deluded because he was incapable of reasoning out that he was evil and defeated.  The contract was that a perfect human had to be sacrificed, voluntarily, for the sake of all mankind.  There were no perfect humans on earth.  None.  But God foresaw all this from the beginning, and became human.  He came here in the form of Jesus.  The rightful heir to the throne, and a rightful rabbi of the house of Levi.  Jesus was on record of being a priest-king. And he lived without sin among us.  He came here that we will have life.  He came here for the express purpose of being that sacrifice that would satisfy all of Heavenly law.  He became the fulfillment of the law, when he died on the cross, and rose himself up again, by his own authority.  He did this to prove He has the right to be called the Son of God.

“God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  II Corinthians 5:21 NASB

Satan has no hold over you.  He has no power over you, unless you give it to him.  You are the precious child of God.  Nothing can remove you from God once you are His child.  You become His child when you believe with all your heart that Jesus IS the Son of God, died for your sins, and rose again on the 3rd day.

Satan will try to tempt you, deceive you and accuse you in order that you may stumble.  Satan will tempt you with things you like.  Satan will tempt you with things that God means to give you anyway.  When Satan tried to tempt Jesus to bow before him, so that all the kingdoms of the earth could be His, Satan was trying to tempt Jesus with what God was going to give Him any way.

By the Authority given to Jesus, you are saved if you believe.  You are safe from temptation if you know the word for what it actually says and actually means.  By the authority given to you by Jesus Christ, you are Christs representative while you still live.  Go boldly before the throne and be free of the things that encumber you.  What Satan tries to take your joy away, do what the angels did, and say, “The Lord Rebuke You”.

Satan has no power over you at all, unless you give him YOUR power.

Go, and sin no more.

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More on The Ethics of Hell (What Makes Us Unworthy of Christ)


“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”16:7b NASB

from http://www.blueletterbible.org/

C.S. Lewis is one of my most favorite Authors.  In his great work, “Mere Christianity“, Lewis had this to say about ethics:

All quotes are from “Mere Christianity”:

“One man may be so placed that his anger sheds the blood of thousands and another so placed that however angry he gets he will only be laughed at. But the little mark on the soul may be much the same in both. Each has done something to himself which, until he repents, will make it harder for him to keep out of the rage next time he is tempted, and will make the rage worse when he does fall into it. Each of them, if he seriously turns to God, can have that twist in the central man straightened out again; each is, in the long run, doomed if he will not. The bigness or smallness of the thing, seen from outside, is not what really matters.”

“Good people know about both good and evil. Bad people do not know about either.”

“While the rule of chastity is the same for all Christians at all times, the rule of propriety changes. A girl in the Pacific Islands wearing hardly any clothes and a Victorian lady completely covered in clothes might both be equally ‘modest’; proper or decent, according to the standards of their own societies; and both, for all we could tell by their dress, might be equally chaste (or equally unchaste).

It all boils down to what is in our hearts.

It doesn’t matter what others think about what is in our hearts, although most of us crave the adoration and approval of some one.

In fact, outward appearances can be quite deceiving.  Planned Parenthood is a very good example.  They claim to offer medical services for females, that, without their help, all females would be deprived of.  The intent of the founder of Planned Parenthood was that all “undesirable races and people” be either eliminated or reduced to manageable numbers.  It was the writings of that founder that inspired Hitler.  He wrote about it in his own diseased journals.  Both Planned Parenthood and Hitler have lived up to the intent of their desires.

Now, that may be an extreme case of the ethics of Hell.  But let that serve as a good example.

As Christians, we are to be more like Christ.  As we grow in the knowledge of Jesus, and the Spirit of God works in you, to become more Christ Like, you will find that the decisions you make are more eternal than you think.

I will give you another example.  Say you, as a Christian, run across a person in genuine need.  It doesn’t matter what that need is, you fill in the blanks.  I actually heard a brother in the Lord say, “I would have helped that person, but I don’t know but that God may be putting that person through that thing in order to grow that person up.”

What that brother failed to realize, as he was doing the wrong thing for the right reason, is; Maybe God put that person in YOUR life just to see what YOU would do, and in failing to do that, whatever act of Grace, or Mercy you should have done, you yourself missed out on the growth, the blessing, the grace and the mercy for yourself.   None of us, unless God has spoken directly to you about a person, knows what is really going on with someone.   But when God places them in our path, we are to act toward them just as we would want God to act toward us.  Let us stop making excuses for our unfaithfulness.

So you will know, and we will all be accountable for our gifts of knowledge, I am going to spell out some of the “Ethics of Hell”.

1. Doing the wrong thing.   example: Orphaned children in Puerto Rico are being rounded up daily, and used as sex slaves.  After they are used up in that trade, they are taken out to the edges of town and used as target practice for criminals, gangs, and some police officers, and their police dogs.   God forgive me and all the rest of us who know this and do nothing about it.  God make us able to do something about it.

2. Doing the wrong thing for the right reason.  example:  I see someone in need, but I do not have the resources to meet that need.  Instead of asking for God’s provision for that person, or consulting someone who is in a better position to help, you steal something and give it to them, believing God will look the other way.  That is the Robin Hood stuff that our current Government is made of.   If you do harm to one person in order to do good for another, you have still been part of the harm.  

3. Doing the right thing for the wrong reason. example: You know of a family in need. You meet that need, but not in the way that your right hand does not know what your left hand is doing.  You meet that need simply so others will recognize how “spiritual and Christian” you are.  Publicity is probably not your only motive, either.  You probably are slowly positioning yourself so that enough people will think highly enough of you so you can impose your personal agenda on others.  God has His own agenda, and doesn’t need yours.  

4. Doing Nothing at all.  example – Take any of the examples above, and do nothing at all about it.  Don’t pray about it, don’t help, don’t get involved.  don’t feel compassion for others.  Don’t feel mercy or grace.  I guarantee, if you do this, you will get from God exactly what you have put into it.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to obey God, and do the right thing.  You WILL be laughed at, despised, called names, and people will actually try to stop you, some will even be “Christians” and other well-intentioned dragons.

Do it any way.  Cross that street.  Give to that person in need.  Stand between evil and the ones who will commit that evil.  The reason you weren’t raptured the day you got saved is that God is not done with your NEW LIFE.  It will be better for you to do this and lose everything than to commit the ethics of hell and save your own skin.

The simple fact of my writing this means I will be put to the test.  If you have actually read this far, then you are also accountable.  Just be careful of your intentions.  Whatever you do, what ever you don’t do, say, or think (As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he) know that God is seeing your INTENTION.  Whatever it is you intend, it will also be done to you, in the same measure.  This is why we are not to worry about what others will think of us.

We are free, by the Blood of Jesus Christ to be called the sons and daughters of God.  We have been given the authority of Jesus to do what Jesus has commanded all of us to do.

Let’s be about it.

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Do You Love Me? (The Concentric Circles of Love)


So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” John 21:15

This is for all of us who are looking for home.  This is for all of us who have been rejected and condemned by the church.  This is for you who, in one form or another, walked in service to Christ, but did something stupid, and have fallen out of relationship to Him.  This is for those of us who have, for a season, felt the loss when God let you have your way, cut the moorings from his shore, and your ship drifted, alone, lost at sea.

You miss the joy of your salvation.  You miss the sweet fellowship you had in your Bible studies, worship, and prayers.  You miss the embrace and fellowship of other, like-minded, servants of Christ.

You have been shunned by friends, family, and strangers. You think, “But they don’t know what is in my heart!”  No, they don’t, and chances are, they never will.  You have to accept some realities, and it is not easy.

Is the joy of your salvation an echo of things past?  Is the sweet embrace of the Holy Spirit now just an ache of longing?

Is the weight of your sin so unbearable that sometimes, you wonder if people are right about you, that you cannot be redeemed, that you are better off dead, that you would do more people a favor if you just went away?

I have good news for you. You are wrong.  People are wrong.  And God is waiting with His arms outstretched, waiting with all his heart for you to come home.

I can tell you this because I have just gone through this.

There was a time in Peter’s life that he swore to Jesus “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” (Mat 26:33) Jesus told Peter,  “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” (Matt 26:34)

Peter was a strong and courageous, if not a bit hot headed, man.  The thought of denying Jesus never occurred to him. He rested in his own strength to stand with Christ when things really hit the fan.

But when they did, Peter denied Christ three times before the rooster crowed.

“And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”  And he went out and wept bitterly.” Matt 26:75

Now, you weren’t at the arrest and trial of Christ, AND you are not Peter.  But, you were saved, and you were serving.  And you did something that separated you from God’s loving fellowship.  You suddenly understood what the first part of the verse in Isa 54:7 meant:  “For a small moment have I forsaken thee;”  and now you want to have the rest of that verse apply to you as well: “but with great mercies will I gather thee.”

After my fall from God, I went out and wept bitterly.  I could feel His absence as loudly as a clap of thunder.  I know it is not conventional theology to say that for a season God will separate Himself from you, but He will, and does as He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

I used to tell my wife that I want to return to His fellowship,  but I have no way of knowing how to get back to Him.  The good news, as you will eventually discover, is that you have not even left the palm of His hand.  He has simply left you to your own devices for a season.

Eventually, and my wife will attest to this, eventually, if returning is your hearts true yearning and intent, then you will have the support of the entire Kingdom of Heaven.

CIRCLE 1:  Draw a circle around yourself (Not really, but in your mind).  Include in that circle everything that is currently you.  You have to be totally honest, here.  Include all that you perceive is good and from God, and in a separate pile, include all you have said, or done, that is not of God.  You will know what those things are by the way they reveal your relationship to God.  Everything you do either accepts Christ as your Lord, or it rejects Christ as Lord.  Even though the hurt you have caused was to others, as well, in the end, it is a behavior that ultimately denies Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

God may do you like He did me, and have me pick up every little behavior that denied Him, and address each one on an individual basis.  But I am, and you can ask my wife, a Jack Ass.  It takes me longer to do things because I am stubborn.

Eventually, God will show you that, because you have confessed your sin, He has dealt with them.  He promises us all that He has thrown them as far away as the East is from the West.  That he has trampled them underfoot, and remembers them no more.  That He has cast them into the sea of forgetfulness.  Jesus died for ALL of our sin, past, present and future.  That is not a license to sin, it is the permission to forgive yourself if you have repented.

Accept this forgiveness, and forgive yourself.  Your judgment is not greater than God’s.  If He has forgiven you, then you are forgiven, PERIOD.  This may take time, or it might be instant.  In the end, you will know the joy of your salvation.  There is no sin you can commit that is so bad that God will not forgive you, if it is in your heart to repent.  All sin is a denial of Christs work on the cross.  Be forgiven.  You will be free.

CIRCLE 2:  Now, draw a larger circle around that first circle.  The first circle represents God dealing with you, and you doing business with God.

Circle 2 contains all the people your sin has directly affected.

You are forgiven, but not forgotten.  You have hurt people you love.  You must lay your offering at the alter and seek forgiveness for all the hurt you have done.  This is an ongoing process, and may not be able to be accomplished overnight.  But it is necessary.  And it is good, albeit a hard thing to do.  You have to overcome your fear of rejection, your fear of not being taken seriously, and possible the reality that you may not be forgiven.  There really is nothing you can do about that, but you must, with all Godly intention, seek forgiveness for the harm you have done.  Whatever happens from your effort, God will show you how it is a blessing.  Some loss happens, but if you stand in your faith, God will see it through.  Many times, healing happens.  And it will be good, and fruitful for both of you.

CIRCLE 3: These are the people that you did not sin against, but are really angry because you have hurt someone thy love when you sinned.  Listen closely.  You still have to do business with them.  You have to obey God in this.  Forgive their hatred and the terrible, and hurtful things they have said to you and about you.  And seek their forgiveness.  It would help a lot if the person or persons in the second circle would go with you, and help smooth things over, so that they can see that a genuine change has happened in your heart.

They will either accept that you are redeemed, or not.  They will either forgive you or not.  You do not know the hearts of men (or women), but God does.  He knows where they are in their walk, you don’t.  He knows where they need work, you don’t, and unless God uses you to affect their changes, you have no business interfering with the work God is doing in their lives.  BUT, you do get to love them. You do get to pray with them and for them.

Take care of this business.  Don’t worry about the outcomes.  Your walk doesn’t depend on how people in the second and third circle treat you, what they say about you, or if they believe you.  Your walk depends ONLY on your obedience to God.  He has called you to return to His embrace.  He has cleansed you of your sin.  He has demonstrated His overwhelming love for you.

Peter denied Christ three times.  In order to restore Peter, Jesus asked Peter, three times, if Peter loved him.  This sealed Peter in his love for Christ.  Peter eventually did die for the sake of the Gospel.

This leads to

CIRCLE 4:  Now you have done all you can to be redeemed to God, your beloved friends and loved ones, and the people who were affected by your behavior.

YOU ARE  FREE!

Be free to serve.  Be recklessly abandoned to Christ and His service for you.  This is the 4th circle.  Jesus said:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matt 28:20

Now you feel his call.  You do not need anyone’s permission to obey.  Lay your hindrances at God’s feet, and He will clear the way for you to serve Christ.  It IS your call, and God’s gift is without repentance.

Go, be about it.

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The Jewels in Your Crown: Forgiveness, Part 2


“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matt 6:12 – Part of “The Lord’s Prayer” given by Jesus Christ

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Matt 6:15-16 – Spoken by Jesus Christ

I apologize for the inevitable length of this installment.  I am doing my best to condense this without leaving out the important stuff.  There will be other parts following this one, but this part will help complete the groundwork of the battlefield of life where Forgiveness is our greatest weapon.

A great deal of this depends on you.  It depends on the state of your heart, and your willingness to genuinely forgive.  I will be covering this in this installment.  I appreciate your patience and indulgence with the length of this article.

In part one I covered a few of the stumbling blocks in our daily walk in Christ, where it comes to forgiveness.

1. Being willing and desiring to forgive.  It is MY WILL that is forgiving or unforgiving.

2. Rehearsing over and over again the litany of wrongs done to you.

3. Pride – the belief that the person who offended you ought to know you are offended and ought to come to you to ask for forgiveness, that YOU shouldn’t have to go to them.  (This one is a whopper, as Jesus himself went to the people who needed forgiveness instead of the other way around.)

4. Fear – Fear of being taken advantage of, Fear of rejection, fear of being misunderstood.

Most of our unforgiveness toward others can be boiled down to these 4 things.  I have no doubt you can come up with more than this list, but I think these are the roots of unforgiveness.

Sometimes these stumbling blocks hang around, impeding your walk for various reasons.  Perhaps you have to continue to forgive someone who insists on hurting you.  Perhaps you are angry at them, or angry for some other reason.  Perhaps you harbor anger and don’t even know it.

Before anyone decides I should walk in their shoes, let me tell you.  I have been hurt deeply by people I love completely.   The details are none of your business, but I genuinely do understand the intense pain of betrayal, of intentional deception, of abandonment by brothers in the Lord.  I have been disowned, cursed, gossiped about, lied to, and some have done far worse things than this to me.  So believe me when I tell you, I understand the pain of the deep hurt by loved ones.

When this type of hurt happens, you feel as if you are in an explosion.  Nothing is the same again, ever.  It takes time even to realize how real this situation is.  It takes time to regain your bearings from the intensity of this sudden hurt.  Your friends may abandon or betray you, your loved ones will offer you anything but hope and mercy and grace.  Those closest to you will judge you.

These are hurts that take time to get over.  The hard part about this hurt is, if you are not careful, you will let anger and bitterness grow roots and take over your heart and mind.  When this happens, your ability to love and trust and commune with the Living God is impeded by the bitterness that flows in your veins.

I am begging you today, if this is you, find a way to stop yourself from getting deeper involved in the anger and bitterness.  The last 20 years of my life are the result of me losing my bearings, and taking matters in my own hands.

When Jesus was instructing the disciples on how to pray, He included this phrase, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matt 6:12.  After that, He continued to instruct his disciples saying, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Matt 6:15-16

You will know when you have unforgiveness because your joy in the lord is diminished, your communion with Him feels incomplete.  You have a stumbling block keeping your walk from being joyous,, fulfilling and growing.  You are at a standstill with God.

Listen to these hints from the Spirit of God.  If there is unforgiveness between you and God, it is likely because you have unforgiveness between you and someone else.  Or unconfessed sin. God will wait right there with you, as long as it takes until you take care of your business.  The good news is that God will be with you because He always empowers obedience to Him.

If God acted in any other way toward you, while you hold bitterness and unforgiveness and anger in your heart, then He would be contradicting His own nature.  He would be condoning sin.

Jesus taught that we reap what we sow.  An unforgiving spirit affects every aspect of your life.  It will come back to you with interest.  When it does, this is when anger and bitterness can set root.

An unforgiving spirit will generate in you a critical spirit.  Unforgiveness is detrimental and destructive, and will influence everything else you try to do.  If you find yourself being overly critical or overly cynical, there is a chance you are harboring unforgiveness, that has given root to bitterness.

When Jesus was teaching the disciples about forgiveness, Peter (A man I can clearly identify with), asked Jesus:  “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?”

“Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matt 18:21-22

Was Jesus telling Peter you have to forgive someone 490 times, then all bets are off?  No.  Forgiveness takes practice, and Jesus was telling Peter you must forgive repeatedly.  The good news is that, the more you do it, the better you get at doing it.

In other words, Jesus was telling Peter, and the others, that there is no measuring rod.  I can tell you that, by the time you get in to the habit of forgiving, you actually lose count.  We do not return insult for insult, but we bless those who curse us, and pray for those who despitefully use us.  When you get in this habit of this kind of Grace and Mercy, forgiveness will grow in your heart until you have a joy about forgiving.  In other words, When you can learn to forgive, you will find there is NO LIMIT on forgiveness.

Forgiveness comes from your heart, not your lips.  How many times has someone said or done something to offend you, and immediately they said “I’m Sorry”, and you said “I forgive you”.  Then after they left, you couldn’t wait to tell everyone you know how you were wronged?

So the burning question here is, since Jesus has forgiven you ALL you have done against God, how many times and things will you forgive others?

Unless forgiveness comes from the heart, it is not forgiveness. You don’t really have to forget, either.  If it is genuine forgiveness, when it comes to your mind later on, it will be in the form of lessons learned.

To not forgive means you would rather wear the chains of slavery to anger and bitterness.  Some people actually fall in love with their anger and bitterness.  It gives them something to wallow in as an excuse to not do business with God.  It feeds our vanity to be this way.  We get to present ourselves as the wronged ones, and try to illicit sympathy form others, so you can look like you are really suffering for your faith.

THIS is really a faithless act, and is sin, too.  It is pride and fear that keeps you in chains.

Who are you angry with?  What did they say or do that means they can never be forgiven?  What have you said or done that means God can never forgive you?  Do you want differential treatment over this issue?  In order to be forgiven, you have to forgive.  You cannot get rid of this anger or hurt by running away from it.  You have to put your offering down and go deal with it.  You have to let the Holy Spirit deal through you for healing to really happen.

Hurt is hard, Especially when it is repeated hurt, willful hurt, intentional hurt.  No person who deeply loves can just switch off the hurt. It is a process.  It may not come instantly.

Here is the process that leads to forgiveness.  You may have to do this every 5 minutes, or every day, or as often as it takes until the Spirit of God has worked in you to forgive.

STEP 1:  ANGER  You have to acknowledge your anger.  Confess it before the Lord.  Lay it at His feet.  He loves you and cares for you.

Make this confession after you have asked forgiveness for sin and anger: “Because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I have experienced God’s total forgiveness in my life”.  “I have been saved by his grace, His love, and His mercy.”  “All of my forgiveness has come from God.”

FORGIVENESS is one of the very first gifts God gives you.  Forgiveness is ongoing in your life, because you are human, and make mistakes.  But God is HAPPY and DESIRING to forgive.  It is His joy to do this in your heart.  He will show you, that the forgiveness that began at the Cross, is still going on today, in you, in your life.  He will give you the gift of forgiveness.  Do business with God first.  Forgiveness is a gift that will grow in your heart the more of it you give away.  God has been doing this for you every day of your whole life.

Make this confession:  “I AM FORGIVEN!”  Keep doing this until it becomes real to you.  It is oftentimes a process.  But the anger has to go away.

STEP 2:  BE WILLING. Be willing to confess your anger, hostility, rage, resentment, and whatever feelings you have toward that person.  Ask God to forgive your anger and hurt for that person.  BE SPECIFIC.  When you are specific, it breaks the bondage.  You must be willing to deal with it specifically and personally.  If you are genuinely confessing something, you have to deal with it.  God will wait for you to do this, and He will empower your obedience.

STEP 3:   THE WORD.  Learn that your unforgiveness is a violation of the word of God.  If I have an unforgiving spirit, I have sinned against God and others.  Know what the Bible has to say about forgiveness and unforgiveness.  Look it up in your Bible index.  You have to know the word, confess the word, and recognize this in your heart.  Out of the overflow of your heart, comes the issue of your lips.

STEP 4:  ASK GOD to forgive you.  Be specific about what you have said, or done, or felt in your heart against the person who hurt you.  God will take that and relieve you of it.   Confess all of it.  You may have to do this a few times as things float to the surface.

There is nothing in the scriptures about CONDITIONAL forgiveness.  The Bible doesn’t say, “Ask your brother to forgive you UNLESS…he rejects you, misunderstands you, or it is just too painful for you.”  You will not find that in the Bible.

We are to forgive no matter what.  No matter the outcome.  No matter the consequences.  Even if that person doubles up on your pain, forgive anyway.

So, here we are dealing with the root of the problem.  It is an act of will that you forgive.  It was an act of will that Jesus died for you.  Jesus prayed at the garden, “Not MY will, father, but thine.”  God helped Jesus align Jesus will with the father’s will.  In the same manner, God will empower you to align your will with His if you ask from deep in your heart.  You have to be willing.

You may have to go to that brother and ask him or her to forgive you for your unforgiveness toward him or her.  You have an attitude in your heart. You have judged him unworthy of forgiveness.  Even IF he has wronged you, you still need to go to that person and ask him to forgive you of your attitude for him.

Pray this:  “By an act of MY will, Father, and by the power of the Holy spirit that lives within me, Father, I lay down my anger, my bitterness, my ‘right’ to be offended, my hurt.  I lay them all down at your feet,.”

This stops being about your feelings when you do this.  It becomes an act of your will.  Say, “I choose to lay it down”.  You will that God takes it from you.  If you leave this at the Father’s feet, God will remove the hurt from your life.  Acknowledge His forgiveness as you lay down your anger.  There may be MANY people you are angry with. Be willing to do this for each and every one of them.

It is a process.

God will let you know if you need to go to that person or not.  God will strengthen you to admit and gracefully confess to that person the conflict, as you seek forgiveness from that person about your attitude toward him.

If God sends you to that person, and you talk to him, DON’T ENUMERATE THE LIST OF THINGS DONE WRONG AGAINST YOU.  Remember what it says in II Corinthians that Love does not keep an accounting of the wrongs done against it.  God is Love, and His Spirit abides in you.  You don’t need to rehearse all the wrongs done against you to that person.  It will only make things worse.   Confess the attitude you have had toward that person, ask his forgiveness for your attitude, and leave it at that.  God will do the rest.

Genuine forgiveness does not build up a legal case, or a defense for your hurt, and say, “I will forgive you BUT.”  There are no buts to forgiveness.  You either forgive or you don’t.  Forgiveness is an act of grace, mercy, and unconditional love.  Forgiveness is given with no limitations or demands.

Don’t front-load your imagination about forgiveness.  In other words, don’t try to predict what his reaction will be.  You may be surprised at his reaction.

When you genuinely forgive others, not only do you set yourself free of the chains that bind your walk with God, but in the act of forgiving, you also set that person free of those same chains.

There is a true and genuine feeling of freedom when you allow God to work in you to remove the stumbling blocks of unforgiveness and anger.  I know this because I have been doing this.  The more I do this, the more free I feel in my heart and soul.  Anger becomes a last resort for me, instead of a first reaction.

BUT SUPPOSE THEY LIVE 1000 MILES AWAY, OR ARE ALREADY DEAD?

Ask yourself, “Is the unforgiveness still in my heart?”  If the answer is “yes” then you have a stumbling block.  Forgive them anyway.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:  Get two chairs.  Set them 2 feet apart facing each other.  You sit in one, and and you imagine that that person is sitting in the other one.  Tell that person exactly what you would say if they were really sitting in that chair.  Confess your attitude.  Ask forgiveness.  Chances are, if that person were a real difficulty in your life, you will have to do this several times before it gets real, and you forgive.  Just do it.  Ask their forgiveness for your attitude.   (I got this exercise from Charles Stanley).

Once you deal with that issue, claim the forgiveness by faith.  then tell yourself, “That is the end of THAT!”  If it turns out that it is not the end of that, do it again until it is.  I promise you, one day, you will get up from that chair, and you will be genuinely free of unforgiveness.

HOW Will I KNOW WHEN I HAVE REALLY FORGIVEN THEM?

I’ll tell you how you will know.  And I have experienced this repeatedly, so I know this is a fact.

The next time you think about them, there will not be any “static” in your heart toward them.  You will have a sense of freedom from that burden.  The harsh feelings are gone.  You will feel compassion for them and hope the best for them.  Somehow, you will be able to accept them as they are.  If the grievance is over a terrible wrong this person has done, let God have His way with that person.  It is not your place to hold unforgiveness.

When you are really and truly set free, you will be able to say in your heart, “Thank you God for teaching me about your grace.  Thank you for this lesson I would have not have learned if you had not brought me through this.  You have genuinely turned my curse into a blessing.”

This is not a one time thing.  You will have to forgive over and over in your walk.  How many times?  70 X 7.

I love you in the Lord.

Let me know if you need prayer for anything.

I am your little brother in Christ Jesus.

David G. Perkins

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