God is calling you. He is calling you day after day. He wants you to join Him in a place called freedom. Sadly, many don't know what true freedom is, let alone live in it.
The bible says in the book of Psalms:
Psalm 118:5 (msg)
Pushed against the wall, I called out to God
From wide open spaces, He answered me.
Wow. God is calling us to freedom. Calling us to holiness. He answers our confined life in the place of freedom. Holiness is not a confined, dreadful, boring type of life. It's a life full of freedom. Full of life. Full of Joy. This is where God wants you to stand. This is where He wants you to live. Wide Open Spaces.
We can do this because there is no more fear of failure. We look to Jesus, who went before us, and simply follow the leader.
Remember grace and the law are both pointing to the same thing. Obedience. One brings you into life, the other brings death. I don't know about you, but I would rather live in wide open spaces in a fulfilled relationship with God, then to live in the confines of religious dogma.
It's your choice.
Pastorj
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
From Ransomed Heart Ministries
Here is a great word that I received from John Eldredge today. Hope it blesses you:
We have an expression that we use to describe someone who's out of sorts, who's not acting like the person we know her to be: "She's just not herself today." It's a marvelous, gracious phrase, for in a very real way, no one is quite himself today. There is more to us than we have seen. I know my wife is a goddess. I know she is more beautiful than she imagines. I have seen it slip out, seen moments of her glory. Suddenly, her beauty shines through, as though a veil has been lifted.
All of us have moments like this, glimpses of our true creation. They come unexpectedly and then fade again. Life for the most part keeps our glory hidden, cloaked by sin, or sorrow, or merely weariness. When I see an old woman, doubled over with arthritis, the hard years etched into her face, I want to cry, Eve, what happened? How truly wonderful it will be to see her in her youth again, the full flower of her beauty restored.
When the disciples saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, they got a peek at his glory. He was radiant, beautiful, magnificent. He was Jesus, the Jesus they knew and loved-only more so. And we shall be glorious as well. Jesus called himself the Son of man to state clearly that he is what mankind was meant to be. What we see in Jesus is our personal destiny.
(Desire , 116-17)
To order his book, which I have personally read, and can tell you that it is worth the read...go to the link listed below:
Desire by John Eldredge
Carpe Diem. Sieze the Day.
pastorj
Thursday, August 26, 2010
You're Not Yourself
Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. (1 John 3:2 NLT)We have an expression that we use to describe someone who's out of sorts, who's not acting like the person we know her to be: "She's just not herself today." It's a marvelous, gracious phrase, for in a very real way, no one is quite himself today. There is more to us than we have seen. I know my wife is a goddess. I know she is more beautiful than she imagines. I have seen it slip out, seen moments of her glory. Suddenly, her beauty shines through, as though a veil has been lifted.
All of us have moments like this, glimpses of our true creation. They come unexpectedly and then fade again. Life for the most part keeps our glory hidden, cloaked by sin, or sorrow, or merely weariness. When I see an old woman, doubled over with arthritis, the hard years etched into her face, I want to cry, Eve, what happened? How truly wonderful it will be to see her in her youth again, the full flower of her beauty restored.
When the disciples saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, they got a peek at his glory. He was radiant, beautiful, magnificent. He was Jesus, the Jesus they knew and loved-only more so. And we shall be glorious as well. Jesus called himself the Son of man to state clearly that he is what mankind was meant to be. What we see in Jesus is our personal destiny.
(Desire , 116-17)
To order his book, which I have personally read, and can tell you that it is worth the read...go to the link listed below:
Desire by John Eldredge
Carpe Diem. Sieze the Day.
pastorj
Monday, August 23, 2010
FORGOTTEN VIRTUE - The Toy Box
Relief. That is what it's all about isn't it? Relief. This is the quest of the human heart. To find a sense of relief in our everyday lives. This is the reason we search, strive, and accept what comes our way. We are simply trying to get back to the garden of Eden. A place of....well....relief.
It's hard to articulate what relief is to us. For some it's finally getting over the addiction. Still for others it's embarking on a new relationship. Yet still for others it's simply having a day where there is not a major catastrophe. Ah yes, relief...how sweet it is!
What we learned yesterday is, "Anytime you compromise for temporary relief, you lose." We are all searching for relief, but sadly, many people find a temporary relief in a myriad of things like addictions, imitations, and relationships. These are not bad people...they are people who are searching for relief.
The problem is when we take a temporary high to try and meet a spiritual need. When we do that, we always lose. Paul said it this way, "When I was a child, I thought like a child, acted like a child, and reasoned like a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things."
In other words, he got rid of the toys. He cleaned out the toy box. Yes, we like our toys. We like our habits. We like our (you name it). But we also know that these things only bring temporary relief. They don't heal the deeper issues. They don't really satisfy. They're just cheap imitations.
This is where holiness comes in. Holiness is putting away the toys, and looking for true relief. True relief is not found in the toys, it's found in the living God. Holiness is the "putting away" of childish things, and asking God to change you and make you WHOLE!
I want to encourage you today, to begin to put away from you all the things that are bringing temporary relief, and reach for eternal relief. You can find it in God. Total Relief!
Carpe Diem. Seize The Day!
Pastorj
It's hard to articulate what relief is to us. For some it's finally getting over the addiction. Still for others it's embarking on a new relationship. Yet still for others it's simply having a day where there is not a major catastrophe. Ah yes, relief...how sweet it is!
What we learned yesterday is, "Anytime you compromise for temporary relief, you lose." We are all searching for relief, but sadly, many people find a temporary relief in a myriad of things like addictions, imitations, and relationships. These are not bad people...they are people who are searching for relief.
The problem is when we take a temporary high to try and meet a spiritual need. When we do that, we always lose. Paul said it this way, "When I was a child, I thought like a child, acted like a child, and reasoned like a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things."
In other words, he got rid of the toys. He cleaned out the toy box. Yes, we like our toys. We like our habits. We like our (you name it). But we also know that these things only bring temporary relief. They don't heal the deeper issues. They don't really satisfy. They're just cheap imitations.
This is where holiness comes in. Holiness is putting away the toys, and looking for true relief. True relief is not found in the toys, it's found in the living God. Holiness is the "putting away" of childish things, and asking God to change you and make you WHOLE!
I want to encourage you today, to begin to put away from you all the things that are bringing temporary relief, and reach for eternal relief. You can find it in God. Total Relief!
Carpe Diem. Seize The Day!
Pastorj
Monday, August 16, 2010
FORGOTTEN VIRTUE - The Free Heart
Wholeness is the first step to holiness. This is the central truth that we have been discovering in this new series Forgotten Virtue. The forgotten virtue is holiness, but we will never be made holy until first we are made whole on the inside.
Holiness for most people, feels like an unattainable goal. It always brings up thoughts of hardship, "white-knuckling it" through life, and a general sense of frustration. Most of the time this is due to Christians "trying" to be holy as opposed to asking God to make them WHOLE first.
When we are whole, then holiness will be the natural response. No more hardship and "white knuckling it." Just simple and wholly obedient.
To do this, our heart must be set free. The Psalmist David said in Psalms 119, "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free..." The path to holiness is found in a free heart.
Here are a couple of things you can do, to allow freedom to begin in your heart:
1. REALIZE THAT YOU ARE BROKEN
News flash...we are all broken. Somewhere in life, we have experienced a breaking place. Be it a failed marriage, bankruptcy, abusive past, or you name it...The issue is not that we are broken, but what are we doing with our brokeness.
I bet that for most people, the door to deep seated sin was opened at one of these breaking points. It's time to confront it. Stop running from it. Deal with it. Be done with it.
2. ASK CHRIST TO FORGIVE YOU
Repentance means that you realize where you have missed it and get your heart right with God. If you leaned to heavy on something to deal with your pain...repent of it. Christ will forgive you. Do it right now.
3. ASK CHRIST TO SET YOUR HEART FREE
This has to deal with inner healing. Sometimes you have to let Christ take you back to those places in your past that you wish you could forget, and ask him to heal you there. Right in that place. He will do it. He will lead you by the hand and set you free.
I'm not saying it's easy, but you can be free. You can be holy. You can be whole.
Carpe Diem. Seize today. BE WHOLE and HOLY!
Holiness for most people, feels like an unattainable goal. It always brings up thoughts of hardship, "white-knuckling it" through life, and a general sense of frustration. Most of the time this is due to Christians "trying" to be holy as opposed to asking God to make them WHOLE first.
When we are whole, then holiness will be the natural response. No more hardship and "white knuckling it." Just simple and wholly obedient.
To do this, our heart must be set free. The Psalmist David said in Psalms 119, "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free..." The path to holiness is found in a free heart.
Here are a couple of things you can do, to allow freedom to begin in your heart:
1. REALIZE THAT YOU ARE BROKEN
News flash...we are all broken. Somewhere in life, we have experienced a breaking place. Be it a failed marriage, bankruptcy, abusive past, or you name it...The issue is not that we are broken, but what are we doing with our brokeness.
I bet that for most people, the door to deep seated sin was opened at one of these breaking points. It's time to confront it. Stop running from it. Deal with it. Be done with it.
2. ASK CHRIST TO FORGIVE YOU
Repentance means that you realize where you have missed it and get your heart right with God. If you leaned to heavy on something to deal with your pain...repent of it. Christ will forgive you. Do it right now.
3. ASK CHRIST TO SET YOUR HEART FREE
This has to deal with inner healing. Sometimes you have to let Christ take you back to those places in your past that you wish you could forget, and ask him to heal you there. Right in that place. He will do it. He will lead you by the hand and set you free.
I'm not saying it's easy, but you can be free. You can be holy. You can be whole.
Carpe Diem. Seize today. BE WHOLE and HOLY!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)