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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 4/29/2008 11:57:34 AM
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selahgirl
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From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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I have seen alot of manipulation and the cruelty of those that seek to control groups of people in the church and outside the church. Such strategies are everywhere that you find people in conflict, and Conflict is found every where that you find people....
It occurred to me this morning, simply based on rambling thoughts and my small exposure to the strategies of men. That if a person wanted to gain control of a group that had a strong core... oh I don't know, say a Christian nation. It would seem that an effective approach would be to study the most heated areas of conflict among the people at the core of that nation... perhaps, such an issue as racial tensions.
It would seem necessary to need a platform from which to speak so that you could orchestrate a place to stir the pot and to prey upon the weakness of that nation in order to divide it's core and influence so that it begins to escalate the stirring into a heated frenzy. And then you can sit back and watch the earthquake that your influence has ignited take down building after building, and everything that stood in the way of the agenda of tyrants and greedy men.
What is the most influential position, platform, that is given the attention of the largest percentage of our society (and most countries around the world)? ... being a presidential candidate.
It would not matter if you planned to win or if you were certain you would fail. It would be a matter solely on having the platform with the most influence around the world. A platform that would cause our nation to enter into debate that truly seeks a positive hope and future of a nation as a whole -- or a platform intended to infuse a society with the poison of it's own sins and cause it to close it's ears to anything other than it's side of the argument.
What if, you searched your ranks and found someone that would actually be a good candidate to make a run for it. What if you didn't expect them to win, their becoming president wasn't really the goal of your agenda? then what?
What if suddenly and unexpectedly that person realized that they actually had a chance at winning the office? What if the society/religion that your group's agenda wanted to remove was suddenly revealed as not being as racially polarized as you had thought? what if suddenly the teachings of the people that hired you to make a run for it proved to have some relevance, BUT their motives and what they declared to be truth proved to be grossly askew?
Would there be a way for you to change your mind? To remove the pebble that you threw into their lot? Or have you already sold your deed and your very soul, so that they hold the detonator in their hand?
Terrorism comes in many forms. It is an effective form of warfare.
And our nation is fighting many more wars than we realize, seen and unseen.
The best suicide bombers are those wolves wearing sheep's clothing.
And that sheep's clothing often takes the form of a suit and a tie... or the title of Christian or pastor... But they are neither -- they are wolves despite the color of their skin or expression of their worship. God created all cultures and skin colors, and Satan corrupts people among them all.
There are racial tensions and racial injustices in this nation. There are apologies due and a lack of empathy for much that has happened to several races of people in this nation. There is a way to work toward the goals and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (a true hero and man of God), but there is something else under a sheepskin that many need to take note of. You need to look into it's eyes and ask God what spirit is at the heart of it. There are dark days ahead. There are choices to be made. And there are consequences to live/die with -- not just for ourselves, but for our children and the society/world that they will inherit.
Yes, God has a plan and prophesies are being fulfilled. But at no point does God tell us to throw up our hands and just ride it out. Rather we are to occupy until he comes, and we are to work at peace with God and Man. I do not accept that we should do nothing and say nothing. I think we should seek God when to do both, and I think his answer would surprise many of us daily.
I'm not saying this is what's happening. I'm saying it's a valid possibility. But either way, we should all take a breath and seek God diligently in this hour of the Christian Church and in our nation. Racial tensions and racial injustices are fact, but we must not undo the ground that has been gained just because a certain group chooses to rise up with an uncertain agenda that breeds deeper and irreparable conflict.
"Come, let us reason together..."
.
< Message edited by selahgirl -- 4/29/2008 1:25:35 PM >
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/2/2008 1:53:45 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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hmmm.... another crazy week. Let's look at this past weekend...
my daughter had her wisdom teeth out Friday and is needing lots of TLC during the recovery, pipe under kitchen sink breaks and floods, dishwasher breaks down (huge deal with a house full of teens and company always dropping by), some sweet little ol' lady (not much older than me, haha) rear ended me at a stoplight, hubby gets sick at a friends on his cycle late one night so I head out to pick him up just as a literal tornado blows right over the city, hmmmm... I guess that's enough for now.
but, let me tell you what God did....
My daughter had no complications and is recovering nicely and been in wonderful spirits despite it all. Still waiting on the landlord to get a plumber here to work on the sink and dishwasher, but I've been able to keep the dishes caught up in the meantime. And it flooded under the sink, but not the whole kitchen, so the mess was minimal. Little lady was really sweet, and there was no real damage to either vehicle, so we let it ride. Hubby is much better. Tornado blew over our city and hit the county beside us but damage was minor. Everyone is healthy and happy and my son got a new job that he's very excited about. On the heels of my husband doing the same...
so...
it just proves that while crazy stuff is endless in life, God sustains us and blesses us despite it all. My emotions have been a rollercoaster, but a crazy peace seemed to rest on me in the midst of the most challenging moments. God is truly with us, and that Truth will bring us thru anything we face in life. No matter if we're laughing or crying in the journey, things are gonna be okay. Just remember that. I know you've all got stories to tell as well. We all do. But God loves us all equally and just as precious. We're never alone, and life is never hopeless... because Christ is the author and finisher of our hope, of the future, and of the here and now.
Have a blessed week <3
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/3/2008 12:48:38 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
Joined: 5/20/2005
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RAWKIN THE WORLD
There is no one I know of that is speaking more under the anointing to this generation thru worship than David Crowder at the moment. It is not about the man or the band, it's about what God is speaking to all of us personally who make up the church and what voices around us are confirming that message. David Crowder's song NEVER LET GO is impacting a generation at the moment, as well as several other songs from his current cd. He is more than a musician. He is a minister, a teacher, a voice for this hour of the church... that is challenging people to walk closer to Christ, to be like him, to view the world and the chaos in it thru God's eyes and not their own, to keep their chin up, to look toward heaven for their redemption, watching, waiting and never giving up.
The moshing, the extreme expression, everything that seems outrageous on the outside is a release of the tensions swirling around this generation. Sometimes we just need to scream, like a pressure cooker, to let it all out. God has given us permission to express ourselves, he made us emotional creatures, with a keen ability to feel... not just love and flowers, but anger and frustration at the injustice around us. We all see the consequences of sin increasing exponentially from our parents generation to ours to this one. They face a much darker world than we did at their age, and there is connection of the internal and the outward expression.
What we need to do as God-ordained mentors is to be that gentle voice reminding them to keep Christ at the center of their being and their perspective. We live it, we make it available, but it is God that convicts and convinces them to embrace it and own it.
The biggest message/challenge I see for this generation is SELF-CONTROL. Not just teens but in every generation of the church merging in this hour. We have come from an era of prosperity and are entering an era of difficulty. The challenge is to maintain Godly character in the face of disappointment and loss. Satan may temporarily rob us in the physical, but the question is whether we allow him to rob us of our joy in the spiritual/in our hearts. Perspective.... how we view it... how this generation views it... if all of it is measured to the promises of God and the prophecies of his word, a peace and power emerges. But it still remains a choice, a need for self-discipline, restraint, a rejection of haste... to be constantly conversing with God in all that we do, big and small.
I see this generation hungry for that kind of relationship with Him.
And I see key voices in worship/music that are moving them in that direction. Not just music that sounds holy, but music that can seem abrasive. It is the violent that take the Kingdom by force, passivity and harp-playing churchiness stamped on something doesn't make it God's will. Jesus was a controversial speaker, a kind shepherd, emotional at times, angry at times, expressive at times... but always acting with self-control and never losing site of the will of God in everything he said and did.
That's the model for every generation.
And each person in every generation must make daily choices in the matter.
I love the teens of this generation. They are gutsier than any before.
As bad as some choose to be without Christ,
there are Godly teens that are outrageous in their commitment to Christ!
Talk about rawkin the world... this is the generation of the church that is doing it. The music is just a reflection of their worship and the challenge placed before them. God is talking thru many voices, and they are listening and ready to act on all that he is saying.
peace
^_^
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/5/2008 11:14:21 AM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
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Here's a word that seems to have dropped under the radar tho it is more intense than ever....
COUNTERFEIT
too many things these days are calling itself Christian, claiming to represent Christ, to reflect Jesus, but are nothing more than a cheap knock-off put on the market by greedy men, lacking any semblance of love, faith, hope, or Truth. We are so careful to examine merchandise with the right label that is offered from a shady source. Yet, so often we swallow the bait, hook line and sinker, when something says Christian... only to find out that it was all a lie, a counterfeit, that we've been duped... as that hook rips thru our innards and wounds us in those deep places.
be careful what you feed on.
not all shepherds are good ones.
not all flocks are part of his fold.
and not all fishermen have left all to follow Christ.
wise as serpents, gentle as doves
selah <3
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/19/2008 11:31:45 AM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
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Thoughts during a conversation with a college-age friend, who is searching out a church to attend... Thought this might be helpful to others as well. I know several ppl who are at a similar crossroads in their life. Luv and Hugs <3
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FACING A CROSSROADS
I was raised Roman Catholic. My husband was raised Pentecostal Holiness. Both of us were out of church when we met, but as our relationship became more serious, we began discussing God. It's an amazing story how God brought us together and back to him. But in the beginning we wondered how it would ever work with our church backgrounds the way they were. We began reading our Bibles together -- we weren't even in church at the time. And the church that seemed to fit our understanding best of what we were reading and what God was putting in our hearts at that time was the Assembly of God denomination.
We were there for 11 years and loved it, but felt God was calling us to a contemporary movement called the Vineyard. We were there for eight years, and have recently settled in a Nazarene church because our teens are challenged by the youth group and love it. They are also very community outreach minded, and are not just hearers but doers. Tons of opportunities are available and encouraged to get involved in practical community fellowship and service.
I was just thinking this week how refreshing it was to actually feel like a part of THE CHURCH rather than A CHURCH. I recently heard of a band called BRADDIGAN. They really stress having a heart for a global community. I think there is too much emphasis on our churches and not enough emphasis on THE CHURCH as a global force ministering to a global community.
anyway, sorry to ramble so... it's late and I'm very sleepy. I was just so moved by God lately. He is so real and active in our lives today. If a person just takes the time to believe that he is speaking to them, they will hear him saying so much to this generation of the church (young ones and old ppl). haha. (Amanda)
...
It gets complicated sometimes trying to find a church that is in tune with everything in our heart or that we feel Scripture teaches. I don't think I've ever found one that aligned perfectly. But the core of the Christian Faith, the standards of the Apostle's creed, Nicene Creed... is the heart of the Christian Faith for me, cuz it's laid out in the word of God from what I understand after reading the Bible and praying for Guidance.
Beyond that I feel like God tells us to work out our own salvation. That doesn't mean to find excuses for stuff we want to do... it means to let God fine tune your walk and make it personal. It's like being cookies made from the same doe, but shaped and decorated and flavored by the baker's own hand and preference. So there is a distinct beauty in every denomination that agrees with the fundamental teachings of the Christian Faith.
The Vineyard doesn't take a stand on several controversial issues... such as the Rapture. There were ppl that believed it and others that thought is was a ludicrous teaching. So the church taught that either could be true... but here is the catch. It was never boldly taught from the pulpit. It wasn't a big deal at first, but over time I missed hearing messages about the Blessed Hope of the Rapture. And my children weren't hearing it proclaimed and taught in the sanctuary (though they heard it at home).
So it's kind of a give and take when you step outside the fundamentals of the faith. I don't think denying the rapture will send you to hell. You might not go up when it occurs, but you just might. I don't know how God will judge or fulfill it. I'm just called to express to the people around me what I believe God wants of us and of me, and then I've gotta step aside and let them work out their own salvation with God. Our walk is so completely personal, yet so very global and community focused. I luv how it will never fit into a box!
Your heart is following desperately after what will please God. I am convinced that such motives will always lead to good things. Our heavenly Father loves us, and will not allow us to mis-step if our heart is sincere. Mastering that wrestling within our own heart is the most difficult part, but God will walk you thru it. Sometimes it's a process requiring much patience so we can be sure of what we believe, if it was always easy we would be tempted to doubt further down the road. (Amanda)
:o)
< Message edited by selahgirl -- 6/19/2008 11:43:05 AM >
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/19/2008 11:37:28 AM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
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Just got home from a recent trip and a teen friend was sharing a story of how she injured her foot while I was gone. It reminded me of a similar experience I blogged about several years ago. Thought I would repost it here. I pray someone is encouraged by it.
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CHANGING THE BLOODY BANDAGES
(from January 2004)
Had kind of a funny story to share.
I was moving my son's room around, and long story short I dropped a metal bed frame and mattress on my toe. It was the worst pain I've felt in a long time. Actually thought I was going to throw up, I crushed it pretty good. (It scared my daughter really bad. She told me later that she's never seen me cry when I was hurt).
Anyway, as I was holding my foot, tears pouring, the only thought in my head was "...when the toe is hurt, the entire body suffers..." Now why I would think such a thought when I was in so much pain that I couldn't tell you who was in the room or what day it was, I don't know. So later, I kind of wondered if the Lord was saying something (not that He caused it, but He manages to use every situation in my life as a learning lesson.
We bandaged my foot and rushed off to church for worship/video-production practice, so I didn't have alot of time to think more about it that night. But I have spent the past two days with those words ringing in my thoughts. Today I woke up at 3:00am still thinking about them. I felt that I had lived them.
My toe was purple and gashed and swollen, but it wasn't the one pounding the mattress, or screaming and crying, or shaking itself. To be the one hurt, it was rather calm :-)
But the rest of my body responded with great emotion and concern. My whole body screamed in pain. I hurt all over, even the hairs on my head I think.
I thought about all this before the Lord this afternoon, and realized how true those words are -- especially when you apply them to the Church as a body. If the church is operating scripturally as God intended, all of us should hurt when a toe is wounded (even if it's not the big one or the tiny one). You know, even if it's the most insignificant one, like the fourth one or something :-)
Two things crossed my mind:
1) If you think about it, sin is sickness. So sometimes that wounded toe in the body is someone that is in sin. That person may have inflicted that wound upon themselves by living a life of gossip or lies or something. And that person is walking around sick and crushed and wounded, causing the entire body to experience pain. In such a case, the body should respond. Before resorting to chopping off that toe, we need to offer healing by cleansing and bandaging that wound. Too often we're quick to just cut people off. (Though... the toe must be willing to yeild to change and ministry and transformation... it must be willing to participate in the healing process by trusting and setting down it's defenses. Healing requires courage from those ministering as well as from those recieving ministry).
2) And that was my second thought. Over the days that followed I had to gather the medical supplies and apply the medicine. My hands had to change the bloody bandages time and time again to keep it clean and ensure healing. What a picture of the church as a body, as a family, as people who love and care and need one another. (The healing of some members in the body is not a quick fix). But their pain remains our pain, their sickness our sickness, their sin our sin (just as Christ took our sins upon Himself). We are to be like Him, we are to bear the burdens of others. Though it seems difficult at times, we CAN do all things if we look to Him to strengthen us.
We find ourselves not wanting to trust again, not wanting to hurt anymore, not wanting to get our hands dirty, not wanting to take the time, but we have to, because it's the only way we can ALL get better, the only way the Body can get better. And as we keep changing those bloody bandages the pain becomes less and less, and the yuck slowly goes away, and God brings total and complete healing.
And soon we are able to walk and run and dance again, and we've completely forgotten that that bed ever fell <3
One last thought:
I was thinking about the woman caught in adultery, and Jesus' response of writing in the sand. I've heard people say that he might have been writing her accuser's sins in the sand which convicted them.
Along that thought, perhaps He was writing the Ten Commandments, the Law. And as those men were reminded of the Law and the fact that each of them falls short in some area of it, they were convicted.
I thought it was a good reminder to us as Christians to be careful not to insist on what we think is fair according to the Law, but rather to extend mercy in such matters. We have to be careful because if we insist on judging others according to the Law, we'll be judged by it.
The Mercy Jesus brought to us really is amazing.
I'm so thankful for it because I continually find myself falling short and needing Him.
Amanda
^_^
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/30/2008 5:04:18 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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NOT EVERYONE CHOOSES LIFE
It has been a crazy busy summer.
So many amazing friends, so many great great memories made just hanging out and being random and goofy.
My favy. haha.
God has brought so much blessing and I am humbled and so very thankful.
It crushes a person to realize that things are not what they seem,
things and ppl that were so important to you and precious.
I have lived thru many things,
but only recently have I ever been truly crushed.
It only takes one time...
but the things learned from it
are priceless, precious, and permanent.
It is definitely worth the price paid,
though the evil involved was never God's plan.
He is faithful in bringing beauty from ashes,
to bring good things from what the enemy meant for evil.
It is in the consequences of the crushing
that the sweetest fragrance is released from the most fragile of flowers.
And it is in that fragrance of prayer and sacrificial praise,
that crying out with all sincerity and passion,
that broken place, that trampled place,
that God transforms us and lets us rise up into his presence and his favor and his grace.
Some people seek popularity and power
and they will gut anyone and anything to get it.
Such people can make you bleed and never blink.
It can rob you of your hope, of your confidence that there is some kind of good in every person.
But God is a restorer.
He blesses when those around you choose to curse.
He gives you strength and newness, and seven times seventy what the enemy took.
He gives you hope once again,
that there is good in the world,
confidence that some people do reflect his character,
the courage to intercede for those that choose to embrace evil, to forgive them, to let them go with God.
The evil remains for a time, but it will never rule and reign.
Though so many claim to labor for the Kingdom of God,
not all who wear his name actually do.
There is a separation
as heartbreaking and devastating as it is.
And you can see it like a black bold line
when you examine the fruit of a person's character,
what they value most
how they treat others to get it
there willingness to kill, to justify murder,
to make excuse for the sin of those whose favor they seek,
who supply them the popularity and the power that they crave...
to look the other way
as though that makes them innocent.
There are casualties in war.
Not all are healed, not all are rescued,
not all choose Life...
and Jesus weeps.
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/3/2008 11:35:56 AM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1070
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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So I keep trying to write positive things but the negative just seems more prevalent and needing to be addressed... so does that make me a negative person?... maybe, but what can I do but write about the things that God speaks to me day to day. Should I shun the things he seems to be saying simply because it's not politically correct to talk of anything except puppies and flowers and sunshine... singing polly-waddle-doodle all the day?...
Would Lamentations have ever been written if political correctness dominated the day then, like it does in the modern day church?...
(and the parallels between the prophecies then and America's rebellion against God today are frightening btw).
so anyway, here's what came to mind as I sat with the Lord today and chatted over coffee...
HUMILITY STINKS
Life teaches that people are to be second. They are not to be first or third, they are to be second. It is a truth that God ordains, and yet so many so quickly manipulate that truth when their selfish desires are threatened.
Arrogance rises up so easily in us. We are in constant need of Christ. We walk in denial about so much, reading and hearing how we are to die daily. Yet, we fail to do it. We fail to do it because in our arrogance, we have convinced ourselves that we have died once and it is enough. We assume to be God, rather than to be like Christ...
We forget that the enemy leaves us and waits for a more opportune time. He knows that self will eventually rise up again, full of life and vigor. Scripture cautions us to be wise, to be ready to crawl up on that altar each day and to die. Instead, we remember that time in our past that we resisted temptation, and in our arrogance we deny our weakness and our sin. We convince ourselves that it was and is enough, causing self and arrogance to live on and to grow fat.
We become Pharisee.
We become full of Self, full of arrogance, manipulating all to keep from being made to die daily -- or more than we think is necessary (despite the wisdom and the word of God). We contradict what He has said without blinking an eye, we trump the will of God, thinking we have justified our rebellion with words of our own. We hear and we talk but we so seldom do the will of God. His will is for us to be ready and willing to die daily... not just in conversation or for a show... but in our heart and in our actions...
People talk of being humble as though it is a choice to be such. Humility is not a choice, it is a consequence of sacrifice and death. It is when someone strips you, robs you, violates you, and leaves you bloody on the ground for dead... because of their own selfishness. Humility is asking God to forgive them as you die. Only then is a person truly humble, only then does the fragrance of humility rise from us, from our dead and rotting flesh. Only then does self die on any particular day.
So many ppl today think that being humble is a walk thru a flower garden responding softly to anyone who speaks to you... never raising your voice and caressing the flowers as you float by them
*insert puking smilie*
Humility is a stench, not a cologne to be sprinkled over our weighty arrogance. We can write the word on a blinging badge and flash it around to make ourselves appear holy and sweet and yummier than those around us... but Walter could wear Shananay's tag just as easily.... He might fool strangers or ppl that just want their shoes shined, but the people that know him, that have to work with him... they're gonna know that he is Walter. And the nametag will become a tag of counterfeit, of an impostor, rather than an identity worth honoring. The result will be a stench of the vomit of God, rather than the stench of the rotting flesh of Self,
... the stench of hypocrisy, rather than humility.
We stink.
being humble will never change that fact
but being like Christ will make it a stench worthy of honor, pleasing to God, bringing him glory and not ourselves. We need to stop trying to be pretty, and we need to return to being people of Godly integrity <3
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RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/4/2008 3:37:10 PM
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selahgirl
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So I have learned this afternoon that I should not wander into just any thread on the forums, cuz I can't keep my big mouth shut try as I may. Frankly... there is so much garrrrrrbage that calls itself Christian that it makes me want to vomit... and when I see the remnants of that filth still clinging to my walk and my life... it makes me even sicker. It's like having lice or something... you can't kill it... it itches and itches and irritates and you scratch and scratch and cause your own infection...
I will never love this world or anything in it more than God!!!
We have no righteousness of our own... we can't even receive a right spirit from God without eventually screwing it up (am I allowed to say that... oh well) like I was saying... we are filthy creatures no matter how hard we try to be like Christ.... it just brings my recent post back to mind even more vividly...
we gotta die daily and it's not like that makes us prettier people, it just makes us consistently stinky.... consequences... reputation... a name for ourselves... that rotting piece of flesh over there is the lie I told yesterday... and the thing drawing maggots on the floor is the condescending look I gave to that cynical college boy last week... it just piles up around us as we keep cutting off pieces of our self trying to be free of the yuck...
what was God talking about cutting stuff off of ourselves? Can it possibly be healthy to sit in the midst of the decay around us that we have rejected but that remains a stench in our lives?... I'm thinking out loud again obviously... i don't know why... it just hits me some days....
... but as I sit here thinking it thru with you and with the Lord it occurs to me that cutting the yuck off isn't really what we are told to do... we are told to sacrifice it. Sacrifice involves the killing, the death, the stench, but it involves something more as well... it involves the fire. But what exactly does that mean... what does such a fire look like. That cleansing flame that takes what we cut off, our sin, our yuck, our rotting stinkiness... and it burns it up so that the filth and the stench is once and for all GONE. It is no longer in existence. There is no lasting haunting disease ridden remains surrounding us and tormenting us...
We always have the image of that sweet smelling sacrifice as being the smoke rising upward... but what is it really that is rising upward to heaven that pleases God so much?... perhaps it is cleanliness, holiness, the reversal of the evil created by the only creatures created in the image of God, the only creatures able to create anything at all, perhaps we are not only full of the capacity to create good... but also with the capacity to create evil...
could being made in his image and his likeness mean that we have the capacity to create both... and yet the restraint and power to turn from such evil... to understand the stench it causes, the suffering and pain, the ugliness, the torment... perhaps that is the sweet savor that the Lord is so moved by as he sees us undo the evil that rests in our hands to breathe life into...
choice...
choosing to burn that bag of drugs in the flame, to give up the power we hold to make everything and everyone around us bow down to our lusts, knowing the thrill of the high -- and yet the misery contained in it... perhaps climbing up on that altar, that sacrifice, that painful cutting off of something that we love and want and desire, that stench of death, the ugliness of it all... is actually worth the opportunity to create goodness... to discard the pleasure it would have brought us... to avoid the evil it would have created...
When we die to self, it is not enough to just climb on that altar and kill our flesh piece by piece. It is the fire that is the real key. It is the complete obliteration of sin and self and sickness and disease. And what is that fire symbolic of... the Holy Spirit. That is our power, that is the key to holiness and to living daily under the authority of the Goodness of God. He comes along side of us to help us... and as we sacrifice what belongs to us -- our SELF, he chucks it in the fire of God and burns it up. We offer our SELF to him piece by piece, chunk by chunk, day by day... and God removes the very existence of evil as well as it's power over us.
You thought putting a porn lock on your computer was a small thing, you thought deciding to not cheat on your spouse was only the right thing to do, you thought not stretching the truth to hide your own mistake was merely an inconvenience....
no.
It was so much more. It was the reversal of the tide, the handing over of SELF and SIN to God. You had the power and capacity to increase the evil in this world but you chose to guard what is good instead. It was no small thing. It is never a small thing to do what is right and good and Godly. People may never know about it, they may never see the test you passed, they may never understand the complexity of it all or the intensity of the heat you faced... but God does. He records it and will bring it up again one day. He is a rewarder, a proud papa. He will give honor to whom honor is due.
Humility does stink.
But God walks beside us and burns up the yuck as we hand it over to him on that altar.
As we lay there and die and we let the flames (as painful as they are) free us from our sin, as we make the choice to lay down our power and capacity to do evil, and we breathe life into what is good and full of blessing. That is the moment that we truly reflect our God, when we take on his image and we fill the heart of our Daddy with overwhelming Joy. Just imagine what it is like... to overwhelm the Almighty God with Joy... every time you have resisted the temptation to do evil, you have pleased Him, you have moved the heart of God.
It is a flame and a fire that will never be quenched. God (Holy Spirit) is there to aid us every step of the way thru this world full of yuck, thru the entire process of ridding ourselves of self daily. And it is the cross of Christ that fuels that flame. He is our source, our courage to face the pain, our strength to persevere and not grow weary in choosing to do good... He is our GREEN energy and power, the only One worthy enough or able to burn in the flame with us as our example, as our enabler, leading us to the holiness and wholeness that he has perfected and called us to. He came to be with us, to show us how to do what God's holiness requires of us, to show us what it looks like to die daily, to sacrifice our SELF, to die so that others may live, to fill the world with goodness and to rid it of evil. Christ became one of us to make a way for us to get back to what is Good... back to the throne of God...
a way out of the yuck -- and that way is thru the fire...
it's just a matter of following him into the flames to get there.
It can be scary, it can seem impossible, and there is some pain involved
but He will never leave your side, and there's no question that He will get you there
if ur willing to follow Him <3
Hope this makes sense. I just now sat down and typed it out just as it sits here on this screen, minus a few typos. haha.
Thanks for thinking it thru with me. I'm sure there is much that I have not addressed or even thought of, but perhaps it will inspire you to finish this conversation with the Lord one to one.
:o)
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