Rich Dwelling

On November 28, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Colossians 3: 16

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.

I would like to ask you to pause over these words today. For those who have been Christians for a long time and especially who have attended church for many years, the words of our faith become familiar. As such, they almost disappear. They become invisible in their familiarity. That was not the case for Paul’s audience. All he wrote was new and unfamiliar. This phrase must have sounded bizarre to them. What does it mean to have the word of Christ dwelling within us, much less richly dwelling within. What did Paul intend to convey.

Today I read some journaling I did with God on Isaiah 1: 19 (please see this entry at http://www.bornofthespirit.today/isaiah-1-19/). Though there are differences in the verses and the ideas contained within, there is a grand similarity. That is that there is something in us that is making alive all that we need to see manifested in the world around us. The living word is alive within us and that makes a difference in everything. The concept of the living word is, perhaps, a bit difficult to grasp. How can we embrace this truth so that it impacts our lives and the world around us?

We are walking, talking vessels of the Holy Spirit of God. Everywhere we go, so goes the Spirit. God’s design does not have His Word confined to the church building. It goes wherever we go. It is not the dead word but alive so it is best conveyed by a living vessel. Does this begin to sound like a heavy burden for us to bear? The wire that transmits electricity to your home conveys a lot of power but it does very little other than be available. The power is the electricity. The wire is to electricity what we are to the Holy Spirit.

There is something about God that I find truly astounding and consistent. His power does not degrade the wire but rather infuses it with life. God always accomplishes multiple blessings in one act. You have the ability to carry His light into every conference, meeting and encounter but at the same time, His power within you is blessing every cell of your being. He always blesses you first and then wishes to extend that blessing beyond all boundaries. He is the God of overflow so His plan is to overfill you so that the excess blesses all people around you.  Isn’t that astounding?

First, let us become internally aware. Become consciously attuned to the life of Christ within you. Sensitize your being so that you perceive the Lord’s tenderness within. I want you to think about the life of Christ within you so that you can experience the fullness of life in your own bones and spirit. Life should flow out from you but it should first begin in you. All that Christ is, all that he won for you is inside each one of us right now. That is a huge concept, one most of us have not yet fully embraced.

Take a moment to stop and think what this might mean in your life. I pray it blossoms into an expanding revelation of His glory within.

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Sunshine

On August 22, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 8: 12

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

I hope you were able to see the solar eclipse yesterday. It was a remarkable event; many observations to be made but there is one thing that really stood out to me. At the totality, the sky became like nighttime. What amazed me was how little sunlight it took to light up the earth again. As soon as the sun began to peek out, the earth began to look like mid-afternoon again.

It reminded me of Jesus. Without Jesus, there is only darkness. It takes only a bit of Son-shine to make the darkness flee. With even a little Son, hope arises. Someone said, “Wow, the sun is really powerful.” How much truer is that of the Son? He turns darkness into light and life. Where he is, there is no darkness. We need not stumble in the darkness because he lights our path.

Some people think those are just cute sayings but for those who walk in the light, you know they are true in a very real sense. Jesus spoke literally about himself in this verse. Without him there would be no light and no life. Without the sun, the earth would die. We need sunshine for plants to grow. Without the Son, I believe even the sun would die because everything was made through him and nothing that was made exists apart from him.

Over the next weeks you may continue to see news stories and pictures from the solar eclipse. I hope it will make you think about the glory of Jesus and his resurrection story. From the darkness of his death, light arose and through that resurrection breathed life back into each of us. Let all the earth praise the Son. Let all the universe, sing his praises. Thank you Father for sunshine; thank you more for Sonshine.

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Eclipse of my Heart

On August 21, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Joshua 10: 12 – 13

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“O sun, stand still at Gibeon,
And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.

In honor of the solar eclipse today, I decided to send you a verse about another amazing day in God’s heavens. Everything in the universe, including the sun, is in God’s domain. God actually stopped the sun and the moon in their paths because Joshua needed more time and in faith spoke the words of command. This is such an amazing passage. Joshua’s boldness is, at the very least, remarkable. Then, the fact that the sun and moon obeyed is nearly incomprehensible, but there you have it. The faith partnership of God and man can accomplish anything.

In thinking about today’s eclipse, I was again impressed by the order God created. The moon had to be a specific size and at a precise distance between the earth and the sun in order to totally eclipse the sun which is far bigger in size. It just amazes me that God thought of all these things; that He actually took into consideration the movement of the heavenly bodies and all of the implications of their orbits. Further, He considered, contemplated and calculated all of the variable involved for today’s eclipse before He created anything. These moments have been in His calendar since before the beginning of time, since before the founding of the earth.

I know some people believe this is all completely random but I just can’t swallow that argument. When you look into the sky today and the sun disappears for a few minutes you will see the glory of God in His creative authority. This isn’t happenstance. It is calculated science and He knew the math and the science in the beginning. Whatsmore, He knew you and knew you would be standing on the earth on this special and momentous day. You are part of His calculation, part of His anticipation.

I hope you will consider our God and Father today as you view this glorious spectacle of His creation. I pray you will allow Him to touch your heart with renewal and new birth. You may ponder what these signs in the heavens mean, prophetically, you may simply wonder at the glory of creation, or it may be that a sense of awe wells up within you as you remember that your own Dad made all that you see. Whatever, touches you this day, I hope that you will allow the Father to speak into your spirit the special reason He had you be born in this time and to be a part of this event.

I would like to leave you with one last point to ponder. Consider also the crucifixion account in Luke 23: 44 – 46, “And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.’ And having said this, He breathed His last.”

I hope you and Dad have a great day!

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See the Light

On August 14, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 4: 3 – 4

If our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

There is a lot going on in these two verses. Let us take the latter point first.

When one reads this passage, thoughts of the unsaved come to mind, and that is a valid perspective. However, there are many unbelieving believers. People accept Christ as their savior but it is only then that we embark upon the journey of discovery of what it means to be in him and in his glorious victory. Therefore, we must understand that this verse is referring to each of us in certain capacities. You may absolutely believe God for physical healing and yet have small or no faith for emotional deliverance. Some people have not yet learned how to believe God for finances and others can’t seem to embrace the relationship aspects. The point is that even though we believe in Jesus, we are not always believers in everything he has accomplished for us. This is a growing and learning process, a journey.

Some of us have been blinded to certain aspects of Jesus’ overcoming victory for our lives. Who, though, has blinded us? The Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthian believers, says that the “god of this world” is the culprit. Now here is where we sometimes run into difficulty. Paul was referring to Satan as the god of this world. Jesus is victorious; Jesus has defeated the devil but to the degree that we are blinded, Satan is still able to steal from us.

The body of Christ has really struggled with this idea. We know that Jesus overcame all the works of the devil and yet look around, do you see Jesus’ victory displayed everywhere in your life or everywhere in the world? Of course not. You see the devil’s influence very pervasively in the world. He is able to deceive and influence people. He has an army of fallen angels whose doom is assured, but who still contrive to bring destruction to the heirs of the Kingdom.

The real key to this verse is that it was written on this side of the cross. Jesus had already been taken up in glory when Paul wrote these words. He knew of the victorious Christ and yet he called Satan the god of this world. God gave the world to Adam and Eve but they gave their authority to Satan and he has been doing his best to disrupt humanity ever since. So, he is still a viable character out there. He is still influencing people, lying and blinding as much as he can. You, however, can overcome him in the name, authority and blood of Jesus. Satan can be defeated in every area of life. He has no absolute power, only stolen authority. He continues to “blind the minds,” but Jesus has come that we might have life.

Do not be afraid of the devil. Do not think you cannot overcome every trick he throws at you. However, do not be naïve. If you pretend he does not exist, has no power and no influence you will be vulnerable to every stupid little blinding lie he attempts to deceive you with. I do not want you to be afraid but I don’t want you to be blind-sided either. There is no cause for fear but do not discount the devil’s machinations. Many Christians allow themselves to be targets for Satan and his horde because they pretend he doesn’t exist or is completely without influence. Jesus has won our victory but it is we who must step into it. Satan has only the power we allow but naivety allows him freedom to roam and to interfere. The study of God’s Word will always open your eyes and the eye which God has opened the devil cannot blind. It is really that simple. God will show us all revelation and wisdom when we allow Him. He unveils the devil’s lies. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. Don’t let the devil tell you otherwise.

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Sun and Moon

On April 5, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 60: 20

Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be finished.

The time of Isaiah’s ministry is placed circa 740 – 700 B.C. (Halley’s Bible Handbook, 2000, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, p.366). So, the question I have is, “When is the time Isaiah wrote about in today’s verse?” John 12: 46 records Jesus saying, “I am the light that has come into the world so that everyone who believes in me will not live in the dark.” When one takes these two verses together it is not difficult to conclude that Jesus is the one of whom Isaiah wrote. Jesus is the everlasting light.

If we buy into that logic then we are heirs to some other logical conclusions. Isaiah said that because Jesus, the Lord, is the everlasting light, we will have no more darkness. That is what Jesus said too, isn’t it? Our sun will set no more nor our moon wane. In other words, there is never a moment in which you do not have light. Consider for a moment, if the sun never sets and the moon never wanes then we have the greater and the lesser light at all times. Now what does that make you think of? I believe this should say to our hearts that the Father, who is represented by the sun, is always with us shining his light into our lives. Likewise, Jesus, represented by the moon never fades. He is always the full moon, the full light of our lives. His saving grace is constant, continual. He is ever shining his loving grace and the light of life on us. Every minute of every days is bathed in the warm glow of the Father and the Son.

As if that wasn’t enough blessing for one day, Isaiah went on to reveal that the our days of mourning are ended. We live now in perpetual glory. The glory of God, the goodness of God has been sown in our hearts and it radiates the joy of the Lord into every fiber of our being.

The joy of the Lord is yours and darkness is no more. That is some pretty great news. Thank you Isaiah!

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Sun, Moon, Jesus

On January 30, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 60: 19

No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.

Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be finished.

I love the book of Isaiah. I am definitely going to look up Isaiah when I get to heaven and tell him how much I enjoyed his book and how much he helped my life. Isaiah saw Jesus. He had a revelation of his coming unlike anyone else in the Old Testament. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8: 12). That is what Isaiah told people. One is coming, he share, who is brighter than the sun, whose light will never fade.

When God speaks, it is sometimes difficult for us to take in the fullness of his communication. Is this passage by Isaiah and statement of Jesus purely metaphorical? If it is, it is good enough. Jesus is the light which lights your life. I don’t doubt if you met Jesus in person, though, that he would be a bright radiant light. In heaven there is no darkness ever because the sun is the light.

I think these two passages of scripture are as big as you believe them to be. I believe Jesus’ light is also life and it glows within you bringing you health and well-being. Could he really light a dark alley for you. If you need it, then yes. Isaiah saw Jesus and saw his radiance. He saw that the sun and moon were no longer the light sources upon which we would depend. Jesus is the light which fuels the sun; he is the everlasting. I guess that means that the son fuels the sun.

Am I suggesting that you no longer need light bulbs in your house? Well . . . I am not there yet, but were you to believe big enough, maybe so. What I really want to share with you today is Isaiah. I don’t know what he saw but he saw something magnificent. We too can live in the kind of revelation he did. Also, through his words, we may see Jesus more clearly. We may even see ourselves more clearly. What mysteries are revealed to us through Isaiah and the other writers of the Bible when we pause and let the light shine on us? I am ready for us all to see “all truth” and be inspired by the glory of the Lord.

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Follow the Light

On September 21, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 18: 28

For Thou dost light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.

It is nice to know that the Lord is your light in dark times. No matter how tumultuous the situation nor how bleak the horizon, God is your ever present light shedding illumination on your path. You do not have to remain in the darkness. His light will lead you out.

His light reveals the wisdom and knowledge for every circumstance. It is the key idea which launches your project or saves you valuable time. It is the beacon that attracts the right people at the right time. It is the insight to the best decision. It is even light and life to your body.

Let your Father be the lamp unto your feet. Just follow the light.

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