Tag Archives: Peter

Faith

Whom God Chooses…Part I – More or Less


One thing’s for sure, if you don’t really want to serve God, don’t tell Him you do, and don’t answer Him when He calls. Another thing is for sure; If He plans on using you for His purposes, He will make sure it happens. One way or another, God will prepare you for that call. The question you have to answer is: Will you allow God to prepare you?


 

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. (Heb 11:24-27)

Moses is an example of someone who took matters into his own hands…frequently. Humble in birth, but raised as a Prince of Egypt, Moses was at home with power and privilege. When Moses first set foot in the Hebrew Camp, to join his fellow Hebrews, it was obvious he had an agenda, and planned on exercising that agenda. He killed an Egyptian Slave Driver for beating a fellow Hebrew. He felt he had done the right thing, but was later rebuked by his own people for trying to break up a fight between two other Hebrews. His newly found family feared Moses was going to kill them too. Wanted for murder, and no longer feeling safe among his people, Moses fled for the wilderness.

From Prince to pauper, Moses ended up shepherding sheep near Mount Horeb. Moses had to learn to serve instead of being served. Moses had to learn the patience it takes to be a shepherd of sheep. 40 years after leaving Egypt, the Living God called Moses out of that land to return to Egypt to lead the Hebrews out to the Promised Land.

It took God 40 years to get Moses out of Moses’ way so he can serve the Living God. Moses was brash, fiery and temperamental. God needed 40 years to get the agenda out of Moses and work into him a patient humility that would later lead him to free the Hebrews from bondage.

How long will it take me to reach the end of me before I am of any use to God?


 

Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; … And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
(Jon 2:1-2 & 10)

God told Jonah to run over to Nineveh and preach the message of repentance. Jonah high tailed it out of town and went straight toward Tarsus. That is the other way from Nineveh. Jonah had such a low opinion of the Ninevites that he figured God had gotten it all wrong. Besides, the Ninevites scared him.

Jonah booked passage from home to Tarsus on the first fast boat he could find. God brought a storm. The sailors were scared. Jonah admitted he had disobeyed God and recommended the sailors throw him overboard. (He was not being brave, he knew he stood a better chance overboard than in the hands of the angry sailors). A whale swallowed Jonah.

Jonah had a few days inside the whale to think things over. Life inside a whale is not exactly a luau and grass skirts. He was miserable, scared, and alone. He found himself caught between certain digestive problems, and God.

God called Jonah for a reason. The evidence of that is what was recorded in Nineveh when Jonah preached there. Jonah was so consumed by his fears, his opinion of others, and his lack of respect for what God intended, that he decided that his agenda was more important than Gods, and his opinion meant more than God’s.

Is my agenda and opinion standing in the way of my being able to walk in the authority of God? Am I in the belly of the whale because I value my view more than Gods? Have I brought this disaster on myself, when all I had to do is obey God? I need to recognize that my understanding of things is not the same as God’s. And if I want to be used by Him, I need to see things His way.


 

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of them all, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As he went out to the gateway, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus from Nazareth.” Again he denied it and swore with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” After a little while the people who were standing there came up and said to Peter, “Obviously you’re also one of them, because your accent gives you away.” Then he began to invoke a divine curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Just then a rooster crowed. Peter remembered the words of Jesus when he said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Then he went outside and cried bitterly. (Mat 26:69-75)

Before any of us beat Peter up, how many times have we been in a situation where we had the opportunity to stand for our faith, just to act as if we never heard of Jesus?

Hands? Anyone?

Yea, me too. Sucks, doesn’t it?

Before Peter could be of any use to Jesus, Peter had to understand that the only way any of us can represent Christ is to stop trying to do things out of fear. I cannot please man and please God at the same time.

When push comes to shove, we cannot fake a relationship with Jesus. We either have one or we don’t. Circumstances and pressure will show what is really in our hearts.

Perfect love casts out all fear. Does the love of God reside in me so strongly that I fear nothing man can do? When we love someone…really and truly love them, it shows in the little things we do. In order for me to be guilty of being like Jesus, my love for Him must be strong enough that my actions do not betray Him. Anyone can talk the talk, but it takes real stones to walk the walk.


 

…Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. (Act 7:58)

33 A.D. – The conversion of Saul

44 to 46 A.D. – Apostle Paul’s First Missionary Journey begins

From the time Saul was converted on the road to Damascus, to the time He was able to serve Christ as an apostle, Paul needed 11 years to learn what the completed work of the Cross meant to all mankind. Three of those 11 years were spent being taught directly by Jesus Himself. Imagine all that seminary learning and religion he had to unlearn. In order for Paul to be useful as a servant of Christ, he had to see that all his higher education and religious upbringing amounted to nothing but a heaping pile of “dung”.

Am I so full of my religious notions and education that I am useless to the call of Christ? Has my religious conviction and intellectual pursuits become a weapon I use to beat genuine believers to death with? Am I so busy being righteous that I am scaring the lost further into the depths of darkness? How long will it take Jesus to empty my cup of all the nonsense I think I know about God, so I can actually be used of God? Let my claim, Lord, be, only Christ and the Cross, and Him risen.

THE PROBLEM OF FOLLOWING CHRIST

The problem of following Christ means I have to be emptied of my agenda, I have to be willing to obey when he calls, I have to see things the way He sees things, I have to understand His love and the power of His grace so that I can give that away freely. I cannot let the arrogance of what I think I know get in the way of what God wants me to really know. I have to know that I cannot change unless He changes me. I cannot grow unless He grows me. I cannot become less of me unless He takes that part of me away that does not belong to Him.

If it is my heart’s desire to answer the call of the Lord, I have to become More of Him, and Less of Me. It is not until I come to the end of me that I can see the beginning of Christ in me.

Let God empty you of you. Let Him fill you with Him.

Will you have More or Less?

Let’s be about it.

I love you

David G. perkins


Standard
Faith

When We Fall


Pro 24:16 For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity. (Amplified, e-sword)

 

Peter hopped out of the boat, but let the waves scared him, causing him to forget to keep his eyes on Jesus. Peter cut off a man’s ear. Jesus rebuked Peter, and put that man’s ear back on. Peter denied Jesus 3 times. Later on, after the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me?” Peter refused to eat with the Gentiles. The Lord lovingly rebuked him, and taught him that it was OK, because He had opened the entire world up to receive the Gospel. And all things were now clean because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Paul led an army from the Temple in Jerusalem into all the land of Israel and surrounding territories to persecute, murder, torture, and commit many atrocities in the name of the God of the Pharisees. Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus. Jesus blinded and rebuked Paul. After he was healed, and the eyes of his understanding were opened, Jesus sent Paul into all of Europe and the Mediterranean to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible, we see that every man of God has fallen, and God lifted them back up.

All of these situations have something in common. When they fell the Lord rebuked them. When the Lord rebuked them, it was for their healing and understanding. Their ignorance of God’s way was stripped away and replaced with a better understanding of who and what the Lord is, and what God desires of all of us.

 

WE ALL FALL.

 

God did not bring that fall, you probably did. God will not judge you for that fall. All of God’s judgment and wrath was poured out on Jesus at the Cross. Because Jesus Christ is our Lord, we are not judged when we fall. God does not look down on you in scorn and say, “Well, you certainly deserved THAT!” Remember this scripture when you fall: Rom 8:1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. (Amp, e-Sword). The failure is not in the falling. The failure comes when we don’t learn the lesson God reveals to us through that fall.

I will use an example I heard Graham Cooke use at a church in Carrolton, TX. When a mother is teaching her baby to walk, and she stands the baby up, scoots back a bit, and holds out her arms, and says, “Walk to Mommy.”, and the baby takes a few halting steps, then falls and crawls the rest of the way to Mommy; Will that Mom get angry with the child and, in her scorn, tell the baby, “I told you to WALK! You fell down! I no longer love you because you don’t walk exactly as I do!” No! No mother who loves her child will do something that cruel.

God invites you to walk as His Son did. You take a few halting steps, yet you fall. Will God declare you unfit for His kingdom? Will he berate you for being a sinner, unworthy of His love? NO! God does not do that with His children. God loves us much more than any human could possibly love her child. God is Love, Joy, Peace, Forgiveness, Gentleness, Kind Hearted, Peaceable, Hope, and Redemption. To act any other way towards us, His children, would be out of His own character. God is teaching all His children to walk – toward Him.

 

WHEN WE FALL

 

You are not condemned by God.

Because we are seeking Him with all our heart; God will use this experience to take your understanding of Him to an even higher level. God is all about a relationship with you through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ONLY way you can have a relationship with God. And Jesus, having become all sin that ever existed from eternity to eternity, understands what it is like to fall. He stands before God DAILY advocating on your behalf.

In your fall, you will experience the love, grace and kindness of God, through Jesus. You will learn that there is a difference between devotion to a person, and devotion to some principles or to a cause. Jesus didn’t come here proclaiming a cause. Any cause that replaces Jesus in your life, even if you think you are serving Jesus in it, is idolatry. Jesus came here to proclaim that your relationship with God is healed and renewed and available. The door to the Kingdom is open when we go through Jesus.

We are called out to a relationship, not a religion. We are called out to be made into the likeness of Jesus, as He is in Heaven. When we fall, we will be lifted back up by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. You are his beloved child. He loves you so much that He sacrificed His OWN beloved child so you can live.

We will fall, but when we do, God will reveal Himself in our circumstances, and show us what we need to learn from it, so we will grow stronger in a loving relationship with Him.

 

WHEN THE LORD LIFTS US UP

 

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. (Amplified, e-Sword)

God’s thoughts of you are exactly the same as He has for Jesus. You are His beloved. You are His prize. You are God’s very own child. You have inherited all that Jesus has because you have believed in Him.

God has woven plans for you from before the beginning of time, and nothing can stop Him from fulfilling it in you. God will lift you up, and set you on His path. You will know you are not condemned, and that you are greatly loved of God. Sometimes, the path God has planned for us gets tangled when we take matters in our own hands. Rest assured, this will not surprise God. You will never hear God say, “Man, I didn’t see THAT coming!” Your progress is in His timing. Your growth is His idea. You are the redeemed.

This is not a license to fall, either. The deeper your relationship with God grows, the less the things of the world will appeal to you. When you fall, and the Lord lifts you up, you will see a side of Him that offers you redemption in the area you fell. He will show you a higher level of life to live. He is all about upgrading us to a perfect relationship with Him.

Php 1:6 And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. (Amplified e-Sword)

You are God’s own handiwork, and He never tires of bringing you, lovingly, into the image of Christ.

 

WHEN YOU ARE REDEEMED

 

Remember what you were redeemed from. Remember who the redeemer is. When you meet someone in need, do not think that you are free to ignore that person. Don’t delude yourself by saying that, “He must be going through this because God is trying to teach him something, and he probably deserves it.” We have no right to judge what a person is going through, and we do not actually know. Only God knows. God just may have put that person in your path to see what YOU will do with the situation. Will you cross the street in order to remain clean, or will you dip your hands deep into the situation to show that person the only Godliness he may ever see? God’s redemption from any fall, from every fall, comes with gifts of love, grace, mercy, healing, and joy. When we experience these things, we are free to give them away to anyone who we run across. We are given generous measures of Grace. Grace is not ours to hoard. We give freely because we have been given freely.

 

 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

 

When you fell, you weren’t abandoned by God. When the Lord showed up to heal your circumstances, He walked beside you and taught you what you need to understand, in order to overcome this situation. It is the Lord who will lift you up. This is the work of God. Left to our own devices, we would rather wallow in our failures and whine about them. As a child of the Living God, we do not have to fear being alone in our darkest hour. We can trust God that He will heal us and redeem us in our darkest times. The Lord will never abandon you or forsake you. No power in any part of the universe, or in heaven, or beneath, can tear you out of God’s hand. Be encouraged, my friend, when you have problems, or when you fall. After you pass through this dark place, you will walk out of it looking more like Christ. God will turn this darkness into daylight, and turn your curses into blessings, so that all men will see that God is good.

When we see others fall, we are to treat them in the exact same manner as God treats us when we fall.

Let’s be about it.

I love you in the love of Jesus Christ

David G. Perkins

Sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

 

Standard
Faith, Observations

Reckless Abandonment


 

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

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

I rode 12 miles on my bike today. I know, that doesn’t sound like much, especially considering just a decade ago, 30 to 50 miles was my norm. Today, though, 12 miles was perfect for me. One thing bike riding does for me is burn out the extra energy I seem to collect. I am a physical/tactile learner, but I can be easily distracted if I don’t take time to get physical. I hung up my Superman Cape about a decade ago, so bike riding, I feel is the perfect way for me to blow steam. While I am busy working my rotund body, my mind is able to float free, get creative, imagine, explore, think, and sing. (My mind sings loud, when it sings…it comes with its own orchestra, too!) So, while the singing and orchestra was playing gently in the background (I love to take the Old Hymns and arrange them for a Solo singer, with vocal back ground, accompanied by a Knabe Baby Grand Piano, and the London Philharmonic. I KNOW! That’s a lot to put on one bicycle!)

Where was I… OH, singing quietly in the background… riding my bike. OK, so there was my mind, singing, flying high, praising God. My mind started looking at how far I have come since I first set out to ride around Pearland. Baby steps. I reflected on how much has changed in a year, in a decade, in my life. In my younger days, I was an adrenalin junkie. Suddenly, I realized when it began.

THE WELLS FAMILY REUNIONS

(Please wait while the Orchestra changes to nostalgic background music)

When I was little, the Wells Family Reunions were my favorite part of summer. Going to them meant seeing all my cousins, Uncles, Aunts, and my Grandmother Wells (A woman of God if ever there was one.) I haven’t thought about them in decades. Flashes of memory came to me…swimming like a tadpole in the big pool at the Carthage, Texas park. Next to the swimming pool is a large pavilion that can seat a couple of hundred people. We had picnic tables lined up everywhere, and food everywhere. After “Uncle Lindsey” gave his traditional (ONE HOUR LONG) blessing on our gathering, we dove into the food in supreme Southern Baptist Style. Herschel H. Hobbs would have been proud of this “fellowship”. After victuals, the Wells family participated in their favorite sport – GOSSIP. They way this worked is, all the hens sat at one group of tables, and all the men went outside to smoke and tell their balderdash about their triumphs and failures. After a few minutes or so, you had to rotate through the crowds, so you can catch up on any gossip you may have missed, and “share” the gossip you just heard. After a few minutes of this, we kids would decide that there had to be better adventures for us outside. If we dawdled, our momma would swat us on the hiney and tell us to “git!”. And we got.

When I was little, my big brother was the daredevil. So were my cousins, Jackie, Gary and Jeff. I was the observer. I really wanted to participate in their fun, but I was “the Brat”. During one of these reunions, I watched my brother and cousins and sister swinging on the swing set. From my perspective, they were flying high in the air. After flying so high, they jumpped out of their swings. The goal was to see who can fly the farthest. I wanted to do that, too. I would wait my turn, but my brother would say, “Scram, Brat!!”. And he would take the swing out of my hands. That was OK, it’s how brothers are. Things got better when we got older. But back then, I was just a Brat.

My Uncle Dan was my all time favorite Uncle. I loved him with a fierce love. I thought he was the funniest, most interesting person in the world. He was a sailor in WWII, and boy did HE have some stories! He could also tap dance like a fiend. He was able to make me laugh so hard my belly would hurt.

Uncle Dan must have seen me trying to break into the line at the swings. He came out and gave the big kids some money to go get a coke (In the South, in Texas, EVERY carbonated drink on earth is a coke, OK?). When they left, he asked me, “Wanna Swing?” I nodded my head yes. He picked me up and put me in the swing. He pushed me hard and I went higher than I had ever gone before. I laughed and screamed at the thrill of flying so high. He shouted, “Wanna fly like them (My cousins)?” I laughed “YES!”, and boy, did he push me really high. It scared hell out of me. I dug my feet into the ground on the down swing and hopped off. He asked me if I was scared? I told him I had never been that high before and it scared me. He told me, “Well, if you really want to fly, you have to try, and I promise to be there if you fall, OK, sport?” I said, “OK!”, and shook his hand. In those days, in the South, when a man shook your hand over a promise you made, it means that he believes you will keep that promise, and it means you absolutely keep that promise. A hand shake meant more to a man back then than it does today.

I got on my swing and screwed up all the nerve I could muster. Uncle Dan told me that, when he was on a boat in “The War, in the Pacific”, the air planes were shot right off the deck of the ship with a giant sling shot full of steam. Then he said, “Pretend you are flying that airplane, and I am the sling shot.” “Ready…Set…GO!”, And he pushed really hard, and made the sound of steam blowing out. He pushed me harder than I have ever been pushed before. And I was FLYING!

The exhilaration was magnificent. I couldn’t get enough. Uncle Dan must have pushed me forever, but he never grew tired. Eventually, I grew quiet. He asked me if I am still having fun. Uncle Dan was always about having as much fun as a person could have. He stopped the swing, and came around front. He asked me what I wanted to do now. I told him I want to jump from the swing, too, like the big kids. He looked me in the eye and said, “Well, a boy has got to earn his paratroopers badge.” He told me how to time my swing and jump, and how to fly my arms while I am air born, and how to land with my knees partially bent, and how to roll when I land. We pretended a few jumps, after which, he said, “Boy, I think you are ready to earn your wings.”

I was excited and scared, all at the same time. He reminded me, “Now lookie here; If you fall, I will catch you. OK?!?” I nodded my head. He counted down and pushed and made the steam blowing noise, and I was flying again. He said, “When I say GO, you bail out, cause the Japs have shot your plane full of holes! (I had no idea who the Japs were, but I trusted Uncle Dan.) He pushed me harder and harder, each time. I had NEVER been this high EVER, and I was beyond scared. Uncle Dan shouted, “GO!, GO!, GO!” and…

I ejected from my plane, flack filling the air as the Zeros buzzed past, firing their 30mm machine guns at me.

Then the reality hit me. I wasn’t over the Pacific, I was flailing upside down in mid-air in Carthage, Texas. I closed my eyes, put my arms over my head, and hoped for the best. I felt sick to my stomach as I fell, knowing I was going to hit the ground really hard. I was really scared, now. I had not yet, at this point in my young life, broken any bones, and I was imagining what all my broken bones will look like to my Mom, who would surely spank me for being so careless.

Uncle Dan caught me.

UNCLE DAN CAUGHT ME!!!!!

I laughed really hard at the relief of not splattering on the hard Carthage playground soil, and at the joy of knowing Uncle Dan was as good as his handshake said he was. He tickled me hard, and we laughed. Then he said, “You ready to go again??” I yelled, “YES!!!”. He said, “OK, but this time, I believe you can land on your feet. Wanna try?” I was not afraid anymore. I knew that if Uncle Dan saw I was in danger, he would catch me, like he did last time. That was the first time I ever knew that it was OK to make a mistake. Uncle Dan was going to be there to catch me. I became fearless. I wanted to show Uncle Dan I was fearless, that I was a big boy, and was ready to jump out of any old airplane. And I did, over and OVER until I think Uncle Dan was exhausted.

He stopped the swing and said, “I think you earned your wings, young man! Lets go celebrate in the pool with a coke.” And we did. I learned that, sometimes, you just have to have a joyful sense of reckless abandon in order to Accomplish your goals.

BACK ON THE BIKE

(As Josh Groban steps up to the mike, the orchestra plays the opening to “You Lift Me Up”)

By this time, I had ridden eight miles. I was on the return leg from Hwy 288, and I needed to stop at the 3rd Pond from home, and rest. The sun didn’t feel THIS hot when I left the house. Things started to go black, so I got off the bike and sat down. When I came too, and I could see again, I grabbed my water bottle and drank it dry. As I sat, feeling the cool breeze blowing off the pond, I thought about that family reunion and my Uncle Dan. That must have been, I dunno, 50 years ago? I couldn’t remember. But I remembered how brave I felt because Uncle Dan helped me learn to jump out of the swing. I sat and thought about all the daring things I have done since those days. I learned from Uncle Dan that I can do it if I believe I can do it. I don’t have to be afraid.

That is when it hit me.

I am a very young Christian. I know that because of the exchange that took place on the cross, Jesus took away all my sin and failure, and anything that separates me from God , and became all those things, and died of them. Jesus promised me that, now that I am a Child of God, I have all His inheritance, and that as long as I seek God and His kingdom, that:

John 14:26 – New International Version


“…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” – Jesus

and

Romans 8:15 – New Living Translation


“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”” – Apostle Paul

I know now that, no power of hell, or fear of man can pluck me from my Father’s Hand. I now know, HE will be there to catch me when I fall.  I can grow in all ways to be like Christ. This doesn’t mean I will never fall, but it DOES mean the Holy Spirit of God will be there when I do.

Romans 8:1 – English Standard Version


“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Apostle Paul

God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit will not condemn you, call you a failure, or judge you when you fall.  God has already poured all his wrath out on Jesus at the Cross.  In God’s eyes, you are His innocent Child, covered by the blood of Christ, filled with the Faith of Christ (Galatians 2:20), and filled with the Holy Spirit of God.  He will teach you how to fly, and how to land on your feet.  He will grow you up in all ways to be like Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, and our Brother.  God the Father is not like an earthly parent who will condemn and criticize you when you fail, but He will demonstrate His love toward you and raise you up to be just like Jesus, His only begotten Son.

We are heirs and adopted children of God, and nothing in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else,  can take us away from Him.   No religion on earth can do for you what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Your religion says there always be one more thing, one more level, one more way to tell you that you still have to prove your worthiness to the Living God. Religion will give you an opinion of God.  Religion will give you the rules you must follow to please God.  This is all any religion can do for you.  God is our Father. When Jesus said, on the Cross, “It Is Finished”, all judgment on you stopped.  All that is left is the Grace and Mercy and Love of God toward you.  God loves you and accepts you right now, just as you are. You do not have to change one thing to come to God. All you have to do is believe:

 “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 – 17 – Words of Jesus, the Savior of Mankind.

There is no other message for mankind on this earth. This is THE truth.

I am free to trust God in all things. I am free from the judgment of Man. I am free from the wages of Sin and Death. I am all that God says I am. I am an Heir with Jesus. I am righteous because of Jesus. I live in abundance through the faith Jesus has placed in me. I plant my tiny seed of faith in the garden of Jesus’ faith, and grow a mighty tree. I do not have a theological opinion of God, I have a relationship with the Living God, my Father, through Jesus Christ.  Jesus came here to destroy all barriers between you and God. He came to re-establish the relationship we lost in the Garden of Eden.

If you will accept him, You will be a new creation. (II Corinthians 5:17). You can trust with reckless abandonment that God is your Father, that you are His child, and the Holy Spirit will be there to catch you, and will teach you to be just like Jesus. IF you will accept this one and only truth.

Let’s be about it!

I Love you because God loved me.

David G. Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Standard
Faith

Does Jesus Know Me?


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

Welcome Home!

Welcome Home!

Have I Misunderstood Jesus?

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

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

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

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

She said, “Master!”

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

Reach out your hand and put it into My side.

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

John 20:27

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

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

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

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

Do I really have a personal history with Jesus?

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

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

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

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

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

Lets Be About It.

I Love You

David Perkins

sammy.snardfarkle@gmail.com

Standard
Uncategorized

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.


Standard
Faith, Uncategorized

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

Standard