I am learning that personality should be an expression of identity, and not the other way around.
I am learning that identity does not change when it is founded in who God says you are. However, if it is based on anything else - family, friends, interests, tastes - it can and will be shaken.
I am learning to always say "I am learning" and almost never "I have learned," because there is always a bigger picture.
That is all for now.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
easter
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumberance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
- Hebrews 12:1-3
"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'"
- Matthew 25:14-23
Think about it.
- Hebrews 12:1-3
"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'"
- Matthew 25:14-23
Think about it.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
unite my heart
First post of 2008! wow - time flies.
There's been this funny thing going on recently with me. God has been speaking about purity, but not at all like He ever has before. It's less about actions and more about heart issues. Somehow everything comes back to it. I guess it's because He wants to come closer, because I want to go deeper, and purity is the key. After all,
"…without holiness no one will see the Lord."
~ Hebrews 12:14
But it means more than just basic morality or correct doctrine. Holiness is, essentially, aligning yourself completely with who God is and who He says that you are. Not just in words and actions, but in thoughts and intentions and motives and desires. I hear it all the time: "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion." So how do we think that we can ever have perfect doctrine that predicts or explains everything that occurs in our walk with God? Most people accept the fact that there are many different relationship theories and practices, and that each person's relationships in purely natural terms will be different. So why do we think that we can perfect a doctrine that not only attempts to explain God's character but predict His every action? Faithful does not mean cookie-cutter replication.
Back to purity. Purity is being all one thing, which always confused me. How can I be all one thing when I have so many things I want to do and to be? Then one day it made sense. Purity is committing yourself to becoming who God created you to be and not who you think you are. It means letting go of everything you are that He did not create you to be. It's accepting His plans and letting go of all of your own, if they don't line up. Purity is singleness of heart, serving only God and receiving ultimate approval from only Him. It is getting closer and closer to the point where we can say with Jesus, "…the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do." (John 14:30-31)
But how do you get to that point? Doesn't the Bible say that "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) How can you change what you can't understand? By obeying the only One who can.
"I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."
~ Jeremiah 17:10
Purity is being fully invested in God's kingdom and not your own. Investing is giving up something of value now in anticipation of a greater value in the future. Not only that, but it is binding your future to the future of what you invest in - I will not receive a return on my investment and will lose everything if what I invest in fails. Sometimes I think that we, as Christians, get scared when we realize just how much our lives are tied into God's kingdom. We don't realize at first how much it really costs. And so we do what the Galatians did - we attempt to withdraw our investment, and we sell our share in the Kingdom for the ability to once again "be in control" of our lives.
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?"
~ Galatians 3:1-4
"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."
~ Galatians 6:8
Somehow we think that if we can just follow rules, we'll be ok. It's too much to actually invest something of value - our lives, our time, our pastimes, our plans - but we can follow rules. Just don't change anything around. Don't demand things from us - we don't like that. We like to be in charge and have a sense of commanding our own future. Independence is next to Godliness - or above it.
"But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
~ Luke 12:31-34
God, I realize that in order to have a united heart that fears You and You alone, all of my value must be in You. I must be fully invested in Your kingdom. It's really too simple a concept to miss, but it's really easy to ignore - simply because I don't want to hear it. I like being in control, and I feel like I'm giving that up when I just obey You. At the same time, I know that walking in disobedience is merely accepting a slavery to sin, and I don't want that either. Help me to choose You all the time, with all my heart.
"Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name."
~ Psalm 86:11
There's been this funny thing going on recently with me. God has been speaking about purity, but not at all like He ever has before. It's less about actions and more about heart issues. Somehow everything comes back to it. I guess it's because He wants to come closer, because I want to go deeper, and purity is the key. After all,
"…without holiness no one will see the Lord."
~ Hebrews 12:14
But it means more than just basic morality or correct doctrine. Holiness is, essentially, aligning yourself completely with who God is and who He says that you are. Not just in words and actions, but in thoughts and intentions and motives and desires. I hear it all the time: "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion." So how do we think that we can ever have perfect doctrine that predicts or explains everything that occurs in our walk with God? Most people accept the fact that there are many different relationship theories and practices, and that each person's relationships in purely natural terms will be different. So why do we think that we can perfect a doctrine that not only attempts to explain God's character but predict His every action? Faithful does not mean cookie-cutter replication.
Back to purity. Purity is being all one thing, which always confused me. How can I be all one thing when I have so many things I want to do and to be? Then one day it made sense. Purity is committing yourself to becoming who God created you to be and not who you think you are. It means letting go of everything you are that He did not create you to be. It's accepting His plans and letting go of all of your own, if they don't line up. Purity is singleness of heart, serving only God and receiving ultimate approval from only Him. It is getting closer and closer to the point where we can say with Jesus, "…the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do." (John 14:30-31)
But how do you get to that point? Doesn't the Bible say that "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) How can you change what you can't understand? By obeying the only One who can.
"I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."
~ Jeremiah 17:10
Purity is being fully invested in God's kingdom and not your own. Investing is giving up something of value now in anticipation of a greater value in the future. Not only that, but it is binding your future to the future of what you invest in - I will not receive a return on my investment and will lose everything if what I invest in fails. Sometimes I think that we, as Christians, get scared when we realize just how much our lives are tied into God's kingdom. We don't realize at first how much it really costs. And so we do what the Galatians did - we attempt to withdraw our investment, and we sell our share in the Kingdom for the ability to once again "be in control" of our lives.
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?"
~ Galatians 3:1-4
"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."
~ Galatians 6:8
Somehow we think that if we can just follow rules, we'll be ok. It's too much to actually invest something of value - our lives, our time, our pastimes, our plans - but we can follow rules. Just don't change anything around. Don't demand things from us - we don't like that. We like to be in charge and have a sense of commanding our own future. Independence is next to Godliness - or above it.
"But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
~ Luke 12:31-34
God, I realize that in order to have a united heart that fears You and You alone, all of my value must be in You. I must be fully invested in Your kingdom. It's really too simple a concept to miss, but it's really easy to ignore - simply because I don't want to hear it. I like being in control, and I feel like I'm giving that up when I just obey You. At the same time, I know that walking in disobedience is merely accepting a slavery to sin, and I don't want that either. Help me to choose You all the time, with all my heart.
"Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name."
~ Psalm 86:11
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