Face of God

Psalms 105:4, "Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually."

I am so thankful for the people that God has placed in my life. I have been stuck in a place of wheel spinning. Victory has been held back by the thinnest of strings, in spite of the neon signs all around me pointing the way. It wasn't until I spoke to my friend Russell that they all became clear.

And I must say that the revelation the signs and Russell's words reveal bring me to a complete place of repentance for my ignorance. It is no secret that I am struggling financially and basically unemployed. Equally it is no secret that I seek God daily, that can be seen in these post if nothing else. And yet I have remained perplexed why the daily bread I see has constantly been inadequate. Why it always seems late. Yes God has provided, but that provision always seems to be just a little short.

Today, I know in part why, and this knowledge is the reason for my repentance. Like most men, my career, my income have been my identity and a source of pride. And yet God is calling me to ministry. Not unlike many, I did not simply allow God to break that association of my identity to my job, but I in turn picked up the identity of "minister." With minister as my substituted form of identity all I could see was failure because the flock is non-existence, and the resources are not flowing. If I were a church the offering buckets are empty. Compounding the issue I have looked at the promises of  God as if/then statements. If I do this, then God will do that. Once again I see nothing but failure because I am doing my part, He appears to not be doing His.

Unless you evaluate it in the context to the scripture reference. In the context of seeking God's face I am guilty. My motives have been divided, because even though my expectations of God have been passive, they have been there none the less. I have said with my expectations that I obey because I am seeking God's hand... and His handout rather than His face. I have answered God's call to rest, not to truly rest and enjoy His company, but rather to obey so that He can add to me "all these things."

My friend Dave says it is like taking your wife to dinner and a movie only for sex afterwards. Kind of like, 'can we get the romance over so we can have the reward.'

It is so subtle, but in the end huge. Those that come into the kingdom of God, those that truly see the gospel of the kingdom of God are those that seek His face. Seems odd to repent for seeking God wrongly, after all His hand is still part of who He is, but He is clear with where He wants our focus. Like when He spoke 2 Chronicles 7:14, "... My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and SEEK MY FACE and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

If you would like to see someone else's journey to see the face of God. If you would like to have fodder for your prayers as you seek His face, check out this post from my friend Dave.

Two Lessons on Community

John 6:9, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"

The feeding of the five thousand in John 6 is rich with lessons on community. One of the side lessons in John's version of the story is that the disciples did have about 10 months in wages in their treasury, and that they considered buying the multitudes the food acknowledging that spending all their savings would only give everyone a little. And so at the end of that discourse Andrew points out the young boy with the meager lunch.

It is here that we have a wonderful lesson on community as most Christians know the results. We all know Jesus took that little lunch, blessed it, and fed 5000 men plus women and children to completely full. So full that there were 12 baskets of bread left over. The lesson on community is that we can see God has placed everything we need within reach. There is rarely, if ever, a need to go into a proverbial town to meet a need right here.That is because with His blessing there is already more than enough.

Equal to the lesson that community contains all that we need,  there is also the importance of the individual being willing to be a part of that blessing. Can you image if the boy would have said, "heck no, you're not taking my lunch. That is all I have." Or what if he would have said, "My sack lunch is not going to make a dent in the need, so forget it." On the contrary Jesus says, I need your lunch, and the boy says, here you go.

So community does have within it all that God intends, and all that the community itself needs. At least to the degree that the members of that community yield to what God intends.

One of the many things that has brought me to this lesson is Lilly. Lilly from previous post has been given a home free of charge until Nov 1, but that home is 45 miles from where she was. As a result it has disrupted a hundred other things about her life. And yet my encouragement to her is to look around. Take inventory of where God has planted you. His provision is there, even if it only looks like a boy's lunch, there is more than enough for everyone to eat their fill.

So I preach this too myself as I hear it from the Holy Spirit. The answer to my hunger is not in another town, exhausting my efforts to get a little. The answer is somewhere right here in my community. It may look like a sack lunch, but it really is an all you can eat buffet for 5000. Father open my eyes to see it. Open my eyes to see when You are asking me for my lunch.

God help me to see your provision that is within reach, and with a little blessing will provide an abundance not only for myself, but for those close to me as well. 

Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34, "Do not be worried... (don't be) worried... why are you worried?... do not worry... But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself..."

Five time Jesus says, "don't worry." And yet I am filled with anxiety. What is wrong with me? Why do I keep thinking about the fact that today I do not have enough for tomorrow? Why can't I see that yesterday I did not have enough for today, and yet today is miraculously taken care of?

Over and over this scripture plays in my mind. I worry and the Holy Spirit answers with, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." And so I do. After all it was the kingdom of God that Jesus came preaching, and it is the gospel of the kingdom of God that will be being preached when He returns. In fact Jesus says preaching the kingdom of God was His very purpose. (Luke 4:43)

So as I have this time of forcing myself to ignore the anxiety and the lies creating it, I throw myself into seeking God's kingdom, and seeking holiness on the level of Christ. And amazingly I am discovering so many things about the message, and about the kingdom that I never knew.

Perhaps I will share some of the revelation in future post. Until then, if you are full of anxiety like me, focus on the kingdom of God, seek the meaning of the message and watch the anxiety disappear.

The End

Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."

There are plenty of doomsday prophets who would point to wars, and earthquakes, and volcanoes as a sign that the end of time is coming, that Jesus is on His way back. Frankly, I wonder if those prophets read their Bible because Jesus clearly states that wars and rumors of war are not the end. (Matt 24:6, Mark 13:7, and Luke 21:9) I will even go out on a limb and say that the world will not end in December of 2012 as some would say the Mayan Calender predicts. This is because Jesus says wars are not the end, but rather the sign of the end is the gospel of the kingdom will be preached as a testimony to the whole world, "and then the end will come."

I personally choose to trust Jesus on this one. However, it begs the point of what is the gospel of the kingdom? What does Jesus mean with the word "preached?" What is the "whole world?"

Thanks to the studies of Dr. Weymouth a more literal translation of the Greek yields this passage to read, "This good news of the royal reign shall be heralded in the whole inhabited earth, to set the evidence before all the nations; and then the end shall come."

T Austin-Sparks says of this interpretation, "That is a remarkable verse, for it comprehends nothing less than the whole mission, work, meaning, and purpose of the person, incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ, and it carries that through as the very meaning and business of His Church."

The gospel of the Kingdom, the sovereign reign of Christ is not going to be just spoken throughout the earth. The end is not coming because of a satellite television network sending God's word to the nations. On the contrary it is going to be heralded. The gospel of the kingdom is going to produce tangible results that will signal Christ return. The heralding of the gospel of the kingdom is going to be accompanied with a set of evidence... it is not going to be words but action. The evidence is going to be powerful, and it is going to be polarizing.

No one has seen this heralding of the gospel of the kingdom. Had they, then they would have also seen the return of Christ. In fact, few even understand what the gospel of the kingdom is or entails. But this is where God would have us go. Deep into the kingdom of God. He would have us go deep into the experience of the kingdom of God, because it is the good news, the gospel, that Jesus brought. Salvation is good news, but it is not THE good news. Salvation is the beginning. Sanctification/resurrection/reconstruction is the entrance. And once inside the kingdom of God (or should I say once it is inside of you) there is miles of spiritual journey remaining.

Ask God to reveal to you His kingdom, and watch what happens.

Sufficient Grace

Get Off Your High Horse by Tanya Cooper

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

Grace: unmerited favor, the state of kindness and favor towards someone.

What a simple term, and yet difficult concept to wrap your arms around. As I continue in my own personal struggles and find myself in a place of complaining, from a hundred directions God says to me, "My grace is sufficient." And yet I still question it. I question how can God's unearned favor pay a utility bill, let alone a mortgage? And yet Paul shows us the power of God's grace with his very life. Ship wrecked, snake bit, tortured, imprisoned, left for dead, with a constant thorn in his flesh; somehow Paul not only heard but came to understand God's grace is sufficient, it is enough.

And then I read this from Ron McDonald as posted in Jim Spivey's blog this morning, "Midlife is a tough time, for when faced with the heavy load of society's view of our 'inevitable decline towards death,' we encounter some tough questions.  The answers -- or the responses -- are to be found in getting off our high horse and accepting the fact that our success or recognition or happiness is not what connects us to the grace of God.  Instead, we walk with God when we humbly prostrate ourselves before Him, letting go of our petty complaints and competitive games, and the crazy insistence on life being on our terms (which only ensures our instant and lingering death), fully accepting the guidance of the God who accepts us just as we are and provides everything we will ever need to live forever, starting now."

So off my high horse, and enough with my petty complaints, if even to only a few. Back to shameless surrender and trusting in God's guidance, and hopefully experiencing and understanding His sufficient grace.

Kingdom Territory

Matthew 22:37, "And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

I've been reading yet another book by one of my favorite authors, T Austin-Sparks. This one is called "The Gospel of the Kingdom." In it he begins with defining the "kingdom" as the sovereign rule of God. He uses this definition as the explanation or the reason that all of the parables on the kingdom of God work together.

Of which I agree with the reasoning yet find it incomplete. And it is incomplete because all of scripture functions on multiple levels simultaneously, and to limit the message based on such a confined definition is in my opinion ungodly. After all, all scripture points to Christ. It functions in the past, present, and future. The Spirit of God can use all of it to prophesy into the life of the individual, the community, the nation, and/or the globe. Additionally, scripture describes not only the world around us, but the world inside us. Namely the world and interaction of the spirit, and soul housed in the body.

So with that in mind I must argue by the Holy Spirit that included in the definition of the kingdom of God, the most preached message of Jesus while on this earth, is the inclusion of territory. Just as a photon of light is both energy and particle, the kingdom of God is both the sovereign rule of God, and the territory where that rule operates.

Jesus spends a lot of time discussing who would be "in" the kingdom of God. If sovereign rule were the exclusive definition then at least one of the numerous references should say "under" the kingdom of God.  But it is territory that brings understanding to how the kingdom of God can suffer violence. (Matt 11:12) Because on the border of the kingdom, where the territory of God's sovereign rule meets the resistance of Satan there is a battle. And this battle rages not only in a physical realm, but inside us.

Jesus commands us to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind. In that there is a whole, then there also is a part. Therefore this "territory" of the kingdom of God is in part what portion of the whole is under the sovereign rule of God. Have we brought our whole heart under His authority, or only a portion. It is this process of taking over the whole heart, whole soul, and whole mind, where we begin to see the territory represented by the kingdom of God.

Jesus said the kingdom is in you. It is in our heart, mind, and soul. He said that the kingdom is leaven. As such, it is alive and growing inside us. Our heart, mind, and soul is the flour, it is the territory, where the kingdom of God is expanding. Just like the kingdom of heaven is the man that sows good seeds in the same area the enemy sows the tares. The territory where seeds of good and evil are constantly sown is the heart, mind and soul. The kingdom of heaven is stumbled upon sometimes like a treasure in a field and sought by others like a merchant looking for a pearl. But in all cases it is a priceless discovery when found. The kingdom even has a life of it's own, and is neither stumbled upon or sought, but sometimes finds us like a dragnet pulled through the oceans catching all manner of mankind. 

In the end, the kingdom of God is a territory. If nothing else it is a territory within us. And once inside us, once the seed is planted, it is ever growing, every changing, and ever opening of our eyes.

Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you. (Matt 6:33) That kingdom is just how much of our heart, mind, and soul we allow for God to have His sovereign rule in. It is a battle and a violent act that allows His territory to overtake ours. It is death as the cross of Christ come to bear on the self. It is the resurrection that permanently establishes His kingdom where it once was unwelcome.

Open up your hearts and let him in.

It's all part of shining.

Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

How can men see your good works, if they don't see the struggle to get there? How effective is the story of the Red Sea parting without knowing the fear of the participants?

As I continue in my own personal epic financial battle I have no qualms about asking God, what's the deal? Why does this continue? If You are so able, why do you appear so unwilling? And just yesterday it  hit me. Our struggles, which are nothing more than God's opportunities, are not there only for us to grow in character. They are there to be a light of what God is doing to all those around us. Struggles are there so that husbands, wives, children, parents, friends, co-workers, and more can see a person obey and stand in faith until God is visible to them all. 

I have often said we are here to be a reflection of Christ. Christ is the light of the world. As our light shines, it is merely a reflection of The Light. As a result we are not here to be a reflection of Christ so that we can look in a mirror and marvel at seeing Him in us. On the contrary, we see the relationship with Him. We see Him in the spirit face to face, everyone else sees that reflection. And in that reflection it is not only ok to see the emotional struggle, but it is necessary. Think of Jesus in the garden before His crucifixion. He was afraid. In Matthew 26:39 Jesus prayed, "if possible, let this cup pass from Me..." He was stressed to the point of sweating blood. And that's ok. Obeying God by necessity will bring you to a place of extreme stress. It will bring you to the very end of your faith. It is designed to expand you. It is designed to bring into the relationship with God something you have never seen before. And it is designed so that others can be a witness to it all.

Think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They were thrown into the furnace for the ages to be a witness to the power of God. Same for Daniel in the lion's den, Jonah and the whale, Job and Satan... time and time again there is trial, and God picked people to be an example to the rest of us. Like Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. All a message to the generations to come.

Is my struggle biblical in proportions? Hardly. But my struggles, and the subsequent leaning on God, placing the light on a hill, not covering it up is God's word becoming reality to those close to me. I don't want to be their example. I don't want to write of the struggles. But this is the current state of my obedience to Him, and so here I am. Where are you in the mix?

I talked to Lilly yesterday. She is the single mother, unemployed and without transportation. God has now supplied her with a 2 bedroom house free of charge until Nov 1. (My Birthday) We are still praying for a job and some transportation, knowing God has it already on the way.

I heard the story yesterday of a pedophile, as told by a daughter. An evil beyond measure. And yet this tradgedy needed to be brought to the light. The light heals. The truth sets you free. And the truth is... IT'S NOT HER FAULT!.

I encouraged a couple without a home. It's ok to hurt. It's ok to be frustrated with the lack of support. It's ok to be obedient to God to the point of homelessness. It's ok to run 180 degrees contrary to the world so that they can minister in obedience.

If we don't know the struggles, then doesn't it make light of God miraculous solutions when they come.

No one is immune. Take my pastor and his wife. Pastors of one of the fastest growing churches in America. Born into two of the finest families in this nation. Giving, loving, caring people who truly want to serve God. At yet Laura (pastor's wife) was diagnosed with Colo-rectal cancer. But God...

Her struggle to get to the point of God's healing is beautiful. Yes God healed her, but the ups and downs, the roller coaster of emotions, the prayers of "let this cup pass" are what makes it all so special. And even more, it is a light to the world. A real life, real time example of the possibilities of relationship with God. All found at www.laurashook.com

How will you shine today?

"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." (Rev 12:11)

Still waiting...

Jeremiah 29:11-14, "'For I know the plan that I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord. 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile."

It is no secret that I am in financially struggling along with the 20% of America that is under or unemployed. I had a new found hope as I recently interviewed for a manager's position. I was perfectly qualified. I gave the interview of a lifetime. The regional VP's that interviewed me said I was a "hell of a candidate." I thought there would be, for at least for some brief moment, some financial peace.

Instead, I got the form e-mail today that said, "Thank you for your interest in ************ and for giving us the opportunity to interview you on Thursday, September 15.  After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we have decided to pursue other candidates that more closely fit the requirements of this position."

In shameless surrender I have to say that the news did make me cry. It certainly stirs feelings of inadequacy. It gives me empathy for those how have given up looking for a job in that I have sent out some 300 - 500 resumes myself. But in the tears all I hear is the scripture above.

The Holy Spirit doesn't say it to me in those exact words, but He does say, " I know the plans I have for you. For your good and not for evil..."

Even though the job I didn't get had an adequate salary, it was not the perfect job. It is also beyond peculiar that I was thinking and praying about that "perfect job" this morning. For me it would be writing, and for my books to supply an income. For those same books to open doors to preach to hundreds and to thousands. But more, that there would be enough income that I could still find and minister to the Robert's, and Lilly's. That I could meet new Jim's, and Liz's, and Birmy's, and Arron's, and Ken's, and Paul's, and so many more.

The perfect job would be to bring dignity to the undignified. To bring identity to the forgotten. To make a difference in the life of an individual. The perfect job would be what LT told me today.

LT was a black man I picked up and gave a ride to this morning. Limping, in a suit, walking along the highway I had to ask if he needed a ride. He did, and was headed to the bank.

I asked him what He did for a living because along with the suit he was also wearing a white apron around his waist.

He said, "I preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't get paid, but God told me He would pay me in the end."

He did not have a car. He couldn't walk more than 20 or so steps without resting because his right foot was run over, mangled looking, with a distinctive twist right of his body. But LT had a smile on his face. LT had a fire in his belly. And LT was more than willing to share with me is fiery preaching as he left my company.

That's a good job. And a better one, that the one I was passed up on today.

Living Water

River of Life by Martha Mitchell

John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

This morning as I started on my outside sales 120+ mile trek from Hempstead, Texas to Spring, Texas I could only think about one thing. That thought was I was going to miss Tomball Love machine today. Something I have only done twice since being invited. I love it so much for the ministry and the opportunity to minister. It is truly a group that allows Christ to move through them, and the orchestration the Holy Spirit accomplishes is phenomenal.

So in this missing of something I really enjoy, and in praying for some kind of godly order to the day the Holy Spirit spoke 2 words to me. He said, "just flow." In other words, just relax and let Him order the day.

I did my best to "flow." To not complain about the task of the day, to go from appointment to appointment expecting something from God... either given or received. I really thought it would be a big day in sales. But as my first couple of appointments were no sales I once again began to think I was wasting my time. That perhaps I missed God, and should have gone to Love Machine.

It was then I recieved a text from my mother regarding an encounter a friend of hers had with Lilly. (If you don't know who Lilly is just look to your right on the screen and click on her story.) The text was a conversation Holly (my mom's friend) and Lilly had. At the bottom it said, call me.

So I did, and with much excitement my mom relayed the story that Holly had told her. It seems that Lilly has been on Holly's heart. That though she is without financial means, she has been praying for Lilly on a regular basis. And for whatever reason she has carried Lilly's phone number around, but never called.

So today as Holly sat at the Social Security office waiting for her name to be called, the Holy Spirit said, "Call Lilly." I am so tickle by the tale of Holly arguing slightly with the Holy Spirit knowing that being on the phone may delay her visit the bureaucrats if she misses her name being called. But in short order she obeyed.

She reached Lilly who was crying over the sink while doing dishes. Her call came through in the nearly exact moment that Lilly questioned if God knew she was even alive. This was the resulting text exchange.

Holly -- "Lilly... your response to my call made me smile today. I know we don't know each other but yet I sense that we do. :) We are sisters. Our heavenly Father is the same. I like that. When I think of you washing those dishes and crying... and Him telling me it's time to call you with His message of hope... it make me cry too! I love Jesus! He is so cool! You hang in there sweet Lilly. God is gonna blow your socks off! Have a great night. :)

Lilly -- "Thank you! Yes, GOD is awesome and I also feel that we are sisters in Him. You are so sweet."

Immediately after hanging up with Lilly, Holly's name was called at the Social Security office.

Holly and Lilly are in that flow of living water. They are flowing in the river of life washing down from heaven. I pray that you all see how this works, that together as we flow with Christ we operate as a body. Distance, denomination, gender, socio-economic barriers, nothing can hinder God if we will just flow with Him.

More to come on Lilly tomorrow, but in the meantime if God has told you to do anything for her, just obey and watch God blow you away.

God bless Holly, God bless Lilly, and God bless you... What a perfect act of God's own Love Machine coming to my day.

Kingdom Vision

Proverbs 28:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."

This scripture meant to me that in order to achieve success in anything, include spiritual task there must be a vision. There must be some leader to see the vision, formulate the strategic plan, and cast that vision before the troops, workers, parishioners, whatever group is to be lead to fulfill the vision. Even when I began this simple blog, I saw past the significance of the obedience and began to add my own desires to it. I began to create a strategic plan for it's growth. I thought of "formulas" to keep it fresh. I took a simple act of obedience, and turned it strategically into a ministry. Perhaps not even that. Initially I was going to make this a "Christian" business of sorts. I thought it would lead to full-time ministry, and an income. Problem is that was not God's intent to this point.

So it makes you think... Did I miss God's vision? Am I not seeing His purpose clearly? If my heart is saying full-time ministry, then where is the ministry?

What I should have been asking is what is God's vision? What is it that we loose sight of leading to death?

The prophets of the old testament had plenty of vision. They articulated this vision in a multitude of prophecies. And yet, this vision when looked at collectively is all a prophetic word about Jesus. Everything in the old testament points to Christ. Jesus sited the prophets and their prophecies numerous times when referring to Himself. He was their vision.

Yet there is more to this concept of vision. Vision not only encompasses the person of Jesus Christ, it has a mission implied with it as well. We know the opportunity to see begins at salvation. Jesus said in John 3:3, "...Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

This is the vision that keeps us from death, from a spirit in perish. To see Christ, high and lifted up, in His kingdom. In seeing Christ where He is, we can also begin to see His kingdom is inside of us. And if His kingdom is inside of us, then Christ has an action for that specific local. Regardless of where we stand in this dynamic kingdom of God, Christ has a task of being Him. As we grow in knowing Jesus, we begin to be a better, brighter reflection of Him wherever we are. We carry inside of us the kingdom of God. Sometimes that kingdom is surrounded by the kingdom of Satan, and other times that same piece is surrounded by more of the kingdom of God, but regardless see that is critical to being a reflection of Him. Seeing His kingdom, seeing His action is what is true spiritual success.

I will go on to say further that wherever we are, we are with Christ in His kingdom if we are born again. That is our spiritual local, and we can see that if we will ask for that vision. On the job, in church, at home, at play... there is an ever present opportunity to be a reflection of Christ. We do not need to work in a building with a cross on it to do this. We do not need to wear a white collar on a black shirt to have this vision.

May God open our eyes to see the kingdom, and to see Christ in His proper place.... Head of the body, directing us in unity. Seeing how the parts fit together. Seeing His vision for His kingdom.

The Offense of the Cross

Galatians 5:11, "But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? The the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished."

It is the cross and the offense it creates that stands in the spiritual way of so many people. I dare say that the cross is even offensive among people who call themselves Christians.

From the middle of Jesus' ministry to today the cross has been a point of contention for Christian and Jew alike. For the Jew they expected a Messiah to come and establish Himself Lord of an earthly kingdom. They wanted the Messiah to take what they had, and create something perfect out of it. This never has been the plan of God. God has never planned to make the earth His kingdom. His plan is that the earth and even heaven are destroyed, and that after judgment, those saved will inhabit a new heaven and new earth. I think Christians can understand this by and large.

The offense continues when it gets personal. Long before Jesus ever hung from the cross He was saying, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." (Matt 16:24). Make no mistake... God is not a masochist. Taking up the cross, never has been and never will be about the potential pain. If anything, it is about the absolute otherness of God. It is about is complete and total disregard of anything earthly. Even in His creation, this thing of life on earth, He is not anything like any part of it. The whole has been contaminated. And so the cross offends those trying to hang on to pieces of the perishable v. the indestructible love of God.

The cross offends prosperity. It is offensive to happiness. It rubs against the American dream in the coarsest of ways. People look upon others in the midst of carrying the cross of Christ and judge them unworthy. Even carrying the spiritual cross is offensive in the pain it can yield. But something happens when that cross is carried to the top of the hill. In hindsight there is a joy, a relief, a knowing that somehow you just shared in the experience of Christ. The cross is a beautiful entrance into the Kingdom of God. A kingdom not of this earth but inside you. The cross, if allowed, if picked up, if accepted will transform your very soul in the act of sanctification. It is the cross and its weight that allows Christ to live more fully in us.

From T Austin-Sparks, "The Cross is the only way to spiritual knowledge. Important as study of the Word of God may be in its own realm, as laying a foundation for the Holy Spirit to work upon, you never come to a knowledge of the Lord simply by studying the Bible. The Holy Spirit may use what you know of the Bible to teach you much, to explain your experiences, to enable you to understand what the Lord is doing, but you never get this kind of spiritual knowledge by study and by teaching.

You must be prepared to let the Cross be so applied to your life that you are broken and emptied and fairly ground to powder - so that you are brought to the place where, if the Lord does not do something, you are finished. If you are prepared for that way, you will get to know the Lord. That is the only way. It cannot be by addresses or lectures. They have their value, but you do not know the Lord spiritually along those lines."

I will close with something I just read from Henri Nouwen. It is fitting to the last couple of post concerning standing firm and this one of the cross.

"Standing erect, holding our heads high, is the attitude of spiritually mature people in face of the calamities of our world.   The facts of everyday life are a rich source for doomsday thinking and feeling.   But it is possible for us to resist this temptation and to stand with self-confidence in this world, never losing our spiritual ground, always aware that "sky and earth will pass away" but the words of Jesus will never pass away (see Luke 21:33).

Let us be like Mary, the mother of Jesus, who stood under the cross, trusting in God's faithfulness notwithstanding the death of his beloved Child."

 

From Temptation to Attack

Archangel Michael v. Satan

Hebrew 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."

Oswald Chambers used this scripture as a daily devotional I read. In it he says, "Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is that mentioned by St. James - "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." But by regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, viz., the kind of temptations Our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus do not appeal to us, they have no home at all in our human nature. Our Lord's temptations and ours move in different spheres until we are born again and become His brethren. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a man, but the temptations of God as Man. By regeneration the Son of God is formed in us, and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us to do wrong things; he tempts us in order to make us lose what God has put into us by regeneration, viz., the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come on the line of tempting us to sin, but on the line of shifting the point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil."

I think what is lacking in the revelation is one, this process of "regeneration" which can also be called sanctification is not instantaneous. In fact, the process never ends while alive on the earth. And even post salvation, the temptations of man, the lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes continue to pull on us. But, there comes a point in the "regeneration" that we are no longer influenced by lust. There is a point when selflessness is much more pleasurable than selfishness. I have yet to experience the place where pride is no longer at work, but the work of Satan to dislodge our path moves from temptation to attack. There is a place in Christ where you have the character and power of Christ within you so that the "normal" temptations, those attempts to be lured away from the path are of no effect. This is the temptation Jesus experienced after the temptations of humanity in the wilderness. He was attacked and experienced the temptation to act outside the will of God. He certainly was tempted to counter the attack.

Satan's only objective is to move man from the path of God. If he cannot lure you off it, then he will try to force you off with an attack. It is here that we hold fast. "Hold fast until I come." Jesus said in Revelation 2:25.

I can't help but think of Jesus on the cross. Here was Satan, thinking that he was killing the Son of God. But Jesus just was. All He did was be Christ, and God turned what Satan intended for evil into the ultimate sacrifice.

Stand, stand firm, hold fast... that is what Jesus did in the attacks. That is what we should be doing. It is standing firm that fulfills James 4:7 where it says, "submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Here Kitty Kitty

1 Peter 5:8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

The King James version of this scripture says Satan is looking for someone he MAY devour. In other words, the devil goes about roaring. He is about making a big noise and threat at the difficulties of life, but when it comes down to it, he cannot devour you unless you let him. There is a permission given in giving up or running away.

The past week has been brutal to say the least. For me it feels like I have stared Satan in the face as one threat after another has come. But today I am standing full of peace. Ready to continue to stand and watch what God does with all of this. In the mean time the devil can roar all he wants. My God is bigger, and like Daniel, though I am in his very den, the lion's mouth has been closed by God. There is no running, there is no fear.

Some might ask what am I going to do about this or that as the issues come lobbing in like mortars. For me there is nothing to do but stand and wait for God. That is what He is telling me. Stand firm, just like Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:11, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to STAND FIRM against the scheme of the devil."

There is nothing to do... there is only to be... To be a reflection of Christ, walking in love, trusting our Father. Something so easy to do when you realize His love never fails... God has never lost a battle.

Shame

"Eve After the Fall"

2 Timothy 1:12 "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."

This blog has the theme of shameless surrender in hopes that we might know Christ more. To this point there has been a great deal of focus on surrender. This post however is going to take a look at shameless... the absence of shame.

What is shame? It certainly is an emotion. Perhaps it is an affect of someone's actions or reactions. It can be a cognition, or mental process that a person can be conscious of or not. There certainly can be an unconscious response to shame, or at least an attempt to forgo it. But really shame can be summed up in its original origins of "to cover." Shame caused Adam and Eve to hide their nakedness. Shame causes us to hide and cover up perhaps the majority of who we really are.

Shame works bi-directional. Shame is avoided, sometimes at all cost, from men - - from experiencing it with our peers. The problem is that as we hide behind the false coverings crafted in words and deviously intended deeds, we simultaneously create a reason to be shameful when presented with God. Do we be honest with man, or God?

Shameless, as inspired by the Holy Spirit and as part of "shameless surrender," is that there be NO SHAME... shameless before man and God.

I heard something on the radio this morning. They were discussing social networking and how people have become very open because of Facebook, twitter, and the likes. We know who you are in relationship with, your sexual orientation, what you had for breakfast, and so on. But what is the one thing NO ONE talks about?

Think about it....

I know many are thinking something spiritual. And it is spiritual in what it reveals. But what I am thinking of is that no one talks about how much money they make.

For the record... I have made slightly less than $28,000 in 2011. I am not ashamed of that today. Last week, I would be very ashamed having made more than 20 times that in years gone by. But the point is for the bulk of us, perhaps even all of us... our god that we do not want to bring shame to is money. The god of money, the god of credit score, the god of financial reputation.

At the end of the day it does not matter how much I make. What matters is did I earn it in obedience to God. It would not matter if I made 28 million if I did it obeying God. There is only one place of shameless living. And that is in obedience to God.

I am not ashamed of where I live, what I do, what I wear. I am not ashamed if God has blessed me with riches, and I am not ashamed if I go bankrupt a thousand times obeying the Lord. I am not ashamed my waistline is bigger than my chest. I am not ashamed that my back is hairier than my head.:-)

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for IT IS THE POWER of God for salvation to everyone who believes. I am not ashamed of being overwhelmed in the presence of God to the point of tears, or being unable to stand. I am not ashamed to comfort the downtrodden. I am not ashamed... I am not ashamed...

I am shameless!

Effervescent

Matthew 13:33, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven.."

Whoa... hold on a minute Jesus, I thought leaven was compared to the teachings of the Pharisees. I thought that the bread of communion was unleavened to represent Your sinless nature, and therefore sin is leaven. How can the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, be like leaven?

(For those who do not know. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are largely interchangeable. This is because authors like Matthew follow the tradition of not speaking the name of "God." Therefore they substituted heaven in the place of YWHA, or God.)

Leaven in modern terms is the result of yeast being active in something like bread. In the context of the kingdom of God being like leaven, Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is like yeast.

Here is where it gets interesting.

Yeast is a living fungous substance. When added to dough the living organism begins to comsume the dough as well as multiply. The resulting by product is a gas that causes the bread to rise and become fluffy. Likewise when yeast is added to fruit juices it again begins to multiply. It also consumes the sugars and as a waste product secretes alcohol.

As a result of this leaven, juice becomes wine, and in the process gives off gases. These gases, if not released or contained in a flexible "new wine skin" can cause the vessel to burst during fermentation. We do not see the gas of wine, but we all can relate to the gas that is released from a bottle of champagne. Champagne is nothing more than wine that has undergone a second fermentation where the gas is not allowed to escape.

The result is that when a bottle of champagne is opened and poured, the bubbling experience is effervescence Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from the release of the gas.

With me so far?

The kingdom of God is an effervescent life within a life. It is a living, growing thing inside our very soul. It is producing a cleansing gas, that from time to time will result in a spiritual burb. Expelling the gas, expelling the waste byproduct is necessary as the kingdom of God expands. As it converts what is in its way to itself, the waste must go.

I know this, because it is what I experienced with 12 or 13 living examples of Christ at love machine. With all hell breaking loose around me, with what feels like life hanging in the balance, God chose today for me to burb up some shame.

How fitting that this blog's theme is shameless surrender. How characteristically God that in a season where hell itself seems to be on a personal vendetta against me, that God would have me pause in the pressure to release some gas. I laugh because there is a condition that divers can experience under extreme pressure called the bends. If they come up too quickly without the gas buildup in their blood being released they will experience extreme pain and even death. Today for me was a decompression. Today's painful burb is preventative to spiritual bends tomorrow.

Even now I hear some of you asking how.  How did you have a spiritual burb? To that, I have no answer other than God is just God. The specifics however were a release of shame. Shame of failure. Shame of not being a better person. Shame of not being smarter. Shame of not thinking the right thing, of not treating people with perfect love. Primarily I feel shame because I don't believe my life reflects Christ completely. I feel shame because I don't think my heavenly Father is proud of me. None of which is true... but all of it needed to come bubbling up. It is the effervescent life of God inside my very soul that surgically brought all of the shame to the surface so that it could be removed.  These lies were buried in my soul. They were affecting my actions and my obedience. Fear of shame was causing ungodly reactions to normal pressures.

The fathoms of the issue are irrelevant. What is relevant is that we need not resist God's effervescence. We need not push down those feelings that rise to the top. New wine skins, a born again soul... expand as needed, but they are also porous allowing the gas to escape. Expand with the Holy Spirit but let the CO2 off. There is no life in it. Let God breath into you, and as necessary exhale the crap, the lies, the barriers, the walls, the myths, the teachings, everything that exalts itself against God. Allow the leaven that is the kingdom of God leaven your entire soul.

And if you want to see this practically applied. If you want to learn to exhale, contact me and I will put in touch with someone to help you in the process.

Preoccupied with Life

There will be no post for a while.I am not out of things to write, and my realtionship to God has not waned. But as Jim told be the other day, "Welcome to the playing field brother, practice is over."

Boy howdy practice is over. So I am too deep in the lesson to stop and share. When the battle is over I will be back.

Your prayers are appreciated.

Moment of Silence

 

Not forgotten, nor in vain.

Hypocrisy/Dualism/Life

1 Timothy 1:15, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all."

1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ."

There has been a collision of events that brought to the forefront of my meditation the two scriptures above. Both were written by the apostle Paul. In one passage Paul says he is chief among the sinners. Then in the other he in affect is saying a am good enough to be imitated. Certainly it as not Paul saying 'I am the foremost of sinners, so imitate me in my sin.' Neither was it an example of Paul's hypocrisy. I believe it is more an example of Paul's understanding of what some might call dualism, or the constant conflict between good and evil. The Chinese call this Yin and Yang. I don't believe in, or fallow eastern religions, but this image of Yin and Yang is a fairly decent visualization of what is going on.

The first "event" that brought these scriptures to mind was a pastor friend who confessed, "How can I pastor people who are better at being good than I am?" This man is conscious of his spirit leading him to lead. He is aware that God has gifted, anointed, empowered him to lead people in their spiritual walk. Yet at the same time he is fully aware of his sinful nature. Equally important is that he is unaware of the sinful nature in the very people he calls "being better at being good." What better example of a man of God to be taught from. One acting in obedience, humble and aware of himself in the flesh and at the soul level, and yet without judgment. Sounds a lot like Paul to me. Sounds like a sinner worth imitating.

But it also reminds me of yesterday. Yesterday was a very bad day for me. It was bad physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. It was exhausting, and the very end of it was the ultimate in insults. I lost all connection to everything spiritual. My soul was in complete rebellion by the end. My mind was concocting all manner of lies about life and those closest to me. I was, for several hours, foremost of sinners in my heart, and even the hearts of those around me. And yet, even in my weakness, I too can still say, imitate me.

Not to imitate my weakness or distress. Certainly don't imitate my breaking down, unless you need too. But all that is good is always from God. "No one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18) And whatever is good is worth imitation because it is from Him, not the individual.

At the end of the analysis Paul was not a hypocrite, and neither am I. For that matter, if you are born again, neither are you.

As three part beings: spirit, soul, and body - we are often subject to listening to, and believing the soul and body over the spirit. This is ok. It does not negate the law of grace. It does not waste the salvation Jesus gave His life for. It is ok to breakdown, stumble, regress, relapse, fall, blowup, get mad, get sad, any host of emotions so long as those events don't cause you murder or steal etc. This is part of being human.

For me, I needed, and need to be left alone in those moments. I don't need he reminders of the failures past or present. I don't need advice. I don't need to be shocked out of it, and certainly not corrected. Think about it. If it feels like the world is crashing down around you, how do you want to be treated? What do you want to hear? Do you want you emotions invalidated? Do you want to be told not to feel what you feel? Do you want the problem simplified with a simple solution? No, you want, and I want none of the above. We want nothing more than to know we can have our feelings without fear of rejection. We want silence, but presence in the situation. In other words; we want to know the other person is there, that everything is ok, and that they will patiently wait for sanity to return. We want to hear, "It will be ok, I'm here if you need me."

We are not hypocrites. We are human. It is the dualism that creates the internal strife, and if not dualism, if not the struggle of good versus evil, then it is simply life.

Today's song says it all. "I can't stop the rain, but I can hold you until it is goes away." That is all any of us need in the dark rainy night - to know someone is there, silently "holding" us until it goes away.

She gets it.

Luke, 19:8, "... behold Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor..."

Remember Lilly? Someone contacting me wanting to help her, so I called her to check on her current situation. On the outside she is still in need of $1300 to stay in her current apartment. She has paid a few hundred to stay in thus far, but the apartment continues to pressure her for the money. On the inside she is a picture of peace, and she so gets it.

In addition to her gratitude for someone caring, she said, "I am so humbled. As  bad as my situation is there are so many more who have it worse. Like with the fires. These people worked all there lives to have something and it was destroyed." (For those outside of Texas we are in a drouth that is accompanied with massive wildfires that have destroyed millions of acres and thousands of homes.)

We talked some more and then was the next comment I wrote down. She said, "This is going to sound crazy in my situation but God is really dealing with me on tithing. I have contacted the salvation army and really want 10% of whatever I get to go to help the fire victims."

Does anyone get it as well as she does. A little obedience to show someone a reflection of Christ's love, and a persons whole spiritual world has changed. It was a spark to move a single mom from down and out, to humbled gratitude and a real walk with God. If only we all could get it. If today would would recognize God loving us, so that we can love someone else.

Real encounters with the love of Christ produces real, spontaneous results. These results are not emotional highs, they are not calculated behavior based on intellectual practice, rather these results often flow out of the heart. Like Jesus said, as streams of living water.

T Austin-Sparks wrote, "There is a vast amount of intellectual comprehension of truth and doctrine which is not touching the situation, not meeting the need... A person may know Scripture most thoroughly and yet be the most awkward, cantankerous and peevish person in daily life; or go into business relationships, drive a hard bargain and send another man to the wall for his own ends. You may have all knowledge and yet profit nothing. It is the natural man receiving on the plane of the natural man. It is mental apprehension of Divine truth, and it is not alive, it is not the 'water of Life, clear as crystal.'"

Lilly is living in the "mental apprehension of Divine truth." She is drinking the "water of Life." 

I want to close with a special thanks to Jim Spivey. He has been the most recent and persistent example of Christ' love in my life. There are many who are a reflection of Christ in my life,  but today I honor him the most by acknowledging to the world that his example of love has turned my world upside down for Christ. He is my friend, my mentor, and brother in arms. Special thanks to Mark for the introduction.

WWJD to WICD

Matthew 16:16 "Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"

I had an experience yesterday in a group setting that I would like to cautiously relay without violating any trust. It is important to understand because it proves a very important point.

The experience was to witness a grown man breakdown and wale like I have never seen before. For me the experience was more frightening than sad. It was so unique to my life's experience that I would even describe it as bizarre. I have never seen a man mid-sentence go from discussion to agonizing sorrow.

With that as a background, what would you do in the situation? I imagine some would try to comfort, some would pray quietly. I know people who would have jumped up praying in tongues, and tried to cast a demon out. There are a world of responses. Some might ask, what would Jesus do?

In this situation if you asked yourself what would Jesus do, I suspect it would lead you to a wrong conclusion. I say this because trying to "figure out" what Jesus "would" do is not living for Christ, or allowing Him to live inside of you. Thinking about what Jesus would do is applying man's intellect and understanding, albeit with a good purpose, to the situation.

On the contrary the better question is, What is Christ doing?

For me, the name of Jesus is that part of God who was alive on the earth, part man and wholly God. The personage of God that died on the cross. But Christ... that word represents the manifestation of the Son of the "LIVING" God. "Christ" says here and now.

So what is Christ doing? He is doing something. Or perhaps the something He is doing is nothing, like in my group incident. That is what Christ collectively led us all to do... nothing. We sat there and allowed our friend to safely go through his personal sorrow. We allowed him his moment of temporary insanity. Our prayful silence was not because of what Christ "would have done." Our silent support was because that is what Christ was doing in that moment.

This gentleman was thrust into his moments of pain in an extreme fear of rejection. Christ in us responded not by saying, but by living Hebrew 13:5, "I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you." Christ is, and there is a big difference with what He would do and what He is doing. In this case our collective obedience produced some remarkable results.

Piggy Pearls

Matthew 7:6, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample the under foot, and turn and tear you to pieces."

This scripture has stuck with me for 2 days. I say stuck, because for me the traditional interpretation does not fit its location. Traditional interpretation says to not offer doctrine to violent or abusive people because they might curse you or bring you harm. But that just doesn't seem like the Jesus I know. It also only loosely fits to the passage contextually.

The verse sits like a lonely piece of sandwich meat in the middle of the bread and condiments. Preceding it is exhortation to not worry, and then not to judge others. So is Jesus saying don't worry about things, but worry about people? Is He saying, don't judge people, but somehow identify dogs and swine without judgement?

Immediately following the verse is the Golden Rule, where we are commanded in verse 12 to "treat people the same way you want them to treat you." For me I certainly don't want someone to treat me like a dog or swine and withhold anything good from God.

So what is Jesus telling us in this veiled message?

I believe that He is telling us how to minister. He is saying don't worry and don't judge. But when you encounter those clearly not following God in your path then never just throw scripture, doctrine, or belief out there. Don't just give a pack of dogs a bone. On  the contrary how would we deal with dogs? We make them behave before feeding them. Perhaps they sit (pay attention) or beg (ask for) what it is we have. Swine too specific ways to be dealt with. They too can be unruly if you just haphazardly cast food, or anything for that matter, in thier direction.

I think what Jesus is saying here is remember what you are dealing with. Spreading the love of Christ is not some haphazard casting of doctrine about. It is getting in, inner acting with, and being an example to the dogs and the swine. They can't handle the heavenly food just thrown into the pen. They will tear it up and you along with it. Instead, build the report, take the time, with patience and long suffering even the dogs and swine will see the example of being treated as we want to be treated. They will not see the judgmental eye. But instead by first seeing and example of Christ in us, followed by the treatment, will be feed without the chaos.

It is funny, but perhaps the illustration is the best interpretation of all. Don't cast pearls before swine, because a pig does not know what to do with pearls. Instead be wise like a serpent and innocent as a dove.

Don't worry, don't judge, don't preach, just treat them like you want to be treated. That is Matthew 7.

Discipleship

Matthew 11:29, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me..."

From Discipleship in the School of Christ by T Austin-Sparks...

"Every teacher has his subject... What is the subject of the Lord Jesus?

... the answer is: Himself. He is His own subject. Jesus was always the subject of His own teachings. He related everything to Himself. He said, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.' (John 14:6): 'I am the good shepherd.' (John 10:14): 'I am the bread of life.' (John 6:48): "I am the door" (John 10:9): 'I am the resurrection, and the life.' (John 11:25). He is His own subject. He spoke about many things, but He always related them to Himself...

He said:'I and the Father are one' (John 14:9)...

So the one business of disciples is to know Him, and to do what He called His disciples to do: 'Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me' (Matthew 11:29)."

Disciple, as Jesus used it, comes from the Greek work meaning "learner." If we are to be disciples, if we are to make disciples, then we must do as Jesus commanded and learn of Him, or as the New American Standard says, "learn from Him."

The point is that this thing we call Christianity is beyond the moment of salvation and believing Jesus is the Son of God. It goes even beyond declaring Him Lord. And it even goes beyond the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is indeed the Helper. Without this Helper we could not know Jesus, or discover salvation. But discipleship, Christianity if you will, is learning Christ is the most subjective and experimental of ways. It is, in it's fullest forms, being so emptied of self that our vessel is filled, even possessed by Christ. Discipleship is not sitting in class objectively memorizing everyone else's written explanations of their experience. On the contrary, discipleship is getting out and walking through life with the Risen Lord alive inside of you, guiding you, speaking to you, so that the explanation of the experience is written on your heart.

Be a disciple, so that you can make disciples.

Labor Day 2011

Galatians 4:11, "I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain."

I woke up this morning fully intending to write a post about labor, and tie it cleverly into God's word. And after have several different ideas, none seemed to be what God was wanting. So my next move was to have no post at all. After all, surely one day there will be nothing to say, and perhaps today is that day.

Content with no post, I decided to go back to the beginning of this labor of love, and see what Propel has been about. Has it been a labor in vain? The thought hit me that it is all in vain if the person I am does not become a clearer reflection of Christ. Why would anyone care that these words have been immortalized on the internet if I, the author, has not grow closer to and more like Christ.

So as I read back through the many posts, I am suddenly unconcerned about their effects on the reader. I realize this labor is not about someone else. This labor is about me. It is in so many ways a diary of my walk with Christ. It is God's labor with me.

I am amazed to see where I have come from is such a short period of time. From confusion, chaos, concern, to the peace of a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. A transformation, still incomplete, but one that has brought me from judgmental to loving. So many lessons, so much change. Wow! I love you Jesus. Thank you for your labor, thank you for working on me.

Circumcised Heart

Deuteronomy 30:6 "Moreover the Lord you God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live."

In my daily time of devotion, as some would call it, I came across the following from T Austin-Sparks. This article titled Government by the Holy Spirit said, "...One of the primal features of this new day is this (take careful note of it because it is the key and the basis of everything): the voice of the Spirit is to be taken account of rather than what is going on in the religious world around. It is that which cleaves things asunder, puts things into two different realms in this book of ''The Acts.'' With this new age we see on the one hand in the religious world that which claims authority with power, position, and influence, which has established itself and taken possession, but which is shown to be something which is not according to the Spirit of God. On the other hand, over against that, we see what is brought out into such clear, manifest relief, that to hear and to take account of the voice of the Spirit of God may be, and very often is, another thing altogether.

You recall Stephen's defense. You know that he comprehends the whole of this history. He starts with Abraham: ''The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham'' (Acts 7:2). That is the beginning of this religious history, and he traces right through stage by stage until he arrives at the murder of the Lord Jesus; and he sums it up in one great declaration, sweeping away the whole ground of that established thing on the earth and saying, as comprehending it all: ''Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ear, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit'' (Acts 7:51). Something spiritual, a taking note of the voice of the Spirit of God, is something very different indeed from an established religious order on this earth, and very often runs directly counter to it.

That is a strong statement, but it is said in order that we may immediately get to the very heart of what it is the Lord is seeking in this present age: a people of a spiritual life who are governed by the Spirit of God, who take account of what the Spirit says and are obedient and conform thereunto. It is a spiritual people God is after in this age, not religious people.

Paul has built a very great spiritual structure upon this very principle. A large part of his letter to the Romans and the whole of his letter to the Galatians is occupied with the sole object of pointing out that traditional religion is one thing and life in the Spirit is another; that religion as here on this earth in all its forms may be one thing, while what is of the Spirit of God may be altogether another thing. That is what Paul set out to make clear, and he built this tremendous edifice upon this fact. If you read Galatians carefully in the light of that, you will see that that is what he is after, to divide between this religious thing and this other, which is of the Spirit...

...At any rate, the world will know something if we are really living in touch with the Lord, and there will be a language which only the spiritual can enjoy and understand. There will be those spiritual counterparts of the seed of Abraham, a people different from all the rest...

...The progress and increase of spiritual life mean this, that the gap widens all the time between the children of God and those in the world who are not such. That is not to be taken literally in this sense, that we begin a mistaken system of hiving off, shutting ourselves up, getting out of touch. That is a wrong application of the principle. The Lord Jesus is preeminently our example in that He could move in any circle, and He did so deliberately, publicans and sinners, all classes, He moved amongst them, but His power over them was in His basic difference from them. Let us be careful how we are caught in this great movement of conforming to this age. To conform is to lose spiritual power. Well, spiritual seed is what God is after, a spiritual seed of Abraham.

This is the day of the Spirit, and those who are the spiritual seed of Abraham, who are now under the power of the Spirit, governed by the Spirit, will be made alive by the Spirit continually to that which is of the Spirit and that which is not. The more we go on with the Lord, the fuller and clearer will become our perception as to what is spiritual and what is natural, even in our Christian life. It is a whole life of education. Things that we thought at one time were quite all right, quite permissible, quite in line with the Lord 's will, as we go on we come to find that even those things have come into a realm of question; the Spirit is not agreeing with them now. We have come to discover that He never did agree with them, but we were not enough alive to Him to know His mind about them. He deals with us as with children as long as we are children, but when it is time that we should leave childhood the Spirit begins to deal with us very drastically if we are going on with the Lord.

It is this kind of people that the Lord is after in this age. Oh, what a difference it would make if all the Lord' s people were really governed by this law of the Spirit of life in Christ, if their hearts were truly circumcised, that all the fruit of life should be wholly unto God, because this law of the Spirit is not outward but inward."

In all of what T Austin-Sparks writes I agree. The intrigue comes to me in the notion of this circumcision of the heart. What great implications this genderless circumcision carries. What explanations to the soul being laid bare and sensitive to God. What a description of surrender, and of the occasionally painful process of the removal of that which is in the way of our heart being totally in love with, and in touch with God. What better description of the un-learning that must take place to truly be a bond-servant of God. The removal of walls, triggers, calluses, all things preventing a pure heart. Best of all is the prayer it can be. Father, circumcise my heart that I might fully love You.

The consequences of which are described here by T Austin-Sparks.