|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
Did I just think that out loud?... - 1/23/2008 11:37:23 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
So I've been thinking alot about Elijah and Elisha -- my two very favorite Bible people. There are just so many things I love about the whole dynamic of their lives. I love that Elijah was so bold as to declare whatever God said to declare no matter the consequences. I love that in one breath he is walking in the power of God, and a couple chapters later he's crawled under a bush feeling as human and vulnerable as you or me.
I love Elisha and how he came into his own. How he wasn't so arrogant in his youth that he thought Elijah a fool. I love that he was so determined to walk with God with the same boldness that Eljah had, and that he owned it when it came his time. He didn't try to be Elijah, he recognized that it was all about God and never about a man. Though he loved and respected Elijah as a friend and father and mentor.
And even more, I love the relationship between the two as an excellent model of discipleship and mentoring. I don't see that in the church anywhere these days. It's all about SELF-esteem and coddling the fragile psyche of the next generation.. I love Elijah's technique...
If someone (anyone) wants it, let it be according to the measure they are willing to work to be where God is at. If they make up their mind to witness all that He is doing, if their heart is right, if God determines they are worthy of such a high calling, then they will see him and serve him in that dimension.
If they are not, then they can serve him according to all that they are willing to sow. So many have modeled and taught a generation that you can beg, borrow, and steal the fruit/harvest of another. But that is not what God meant when he said that one will sow and another will reap. That statement in no way belittles the promise that you will reap what you have sown. Or that it will be measured back to you as you have measured it out.
The first comment speaks of teamwork, of God's will being performed by the church as a whole. That you should focus on the work you are called to, and let God worry with the fulfillment of all things that he has promised. The other comments are referring to getting after it. Work, chase, grab a hold of whatever it takes to serve God to the level that you have made up your mind to serve. That kind of faith and belief is what pleases him.
How bad do you want it? How distracted will you allow yourself to be by what you don't have, by mean people and hypocrites, by prosperity? Will you fight just as passionately without an audience as you would with one? Is the approval of God a good enough reward for you?
Think about that last one, before you commit to a textbook answer? God's not looking for a textbook answer cuz pat-churchy-answers make him wanna puke (Rev).
Elisha walked alot of lonely miles across that desert. He knew what it was to be outcast, rejected by people you love, unpopular, picked last, hated, laughed at, hunted/stalked/harassed, and having nothing to call your own. That's the deeper (real) meaning of that question...
Is the approval of God good enough for you?...
Just wondering... so anyway... I love Elijah and Elisha. I mean, God sent a Chariot of Fire to pick Elijah up and carry him to heaven. Despite his imperfections, his humanity, and all that. He sowed (planted) incredible faith and obedience into many not-so-fun dirty things. Elijah farmed, and farming is hard and risky work... it involves things that can't be seen or controlled on our part -- things that matter most to God.
God rewarded Elijah not for his syrupy talk and dreamy ambitions and happy thoughts, but for the callouses on his hands and the blisters on his feet, for the sweat stains in his shirt and the scars upon his heart. God was first, Self was last. That's what it means to be created in his image, in the image of your Heavenly Father. We all have the potential, it's how we were created. Now it's just a matter of to what extent we wanna live up to it.
God gives each of us control over our destiny. We can't blame anyone or any situation. It's not what hits us from the outside, it's what we fight back with from the inside. Is God our source, are we allowing him to move thru us to affect everything in this world? That's what Elijah and Elisha did. The power displayed in their lives was because they were completely yielded to the will of God. It's like being a power tool maneuvered by the hand of God. There's nothing in this world (fire, air, earth, or water) that the Carpenter can't control and use to build/create amazing things.
It's all a matter of letting him move thru us by agreeing with his will and not our own. Obedience is teamwork in action. It's working with God, carpenter and tool, musician and instrument. Anything less than total obedience is working against Him, and eventually causes a fiasco. That's why it's so important.
Obedience (submission) and Love define unity.
That's how God remains one. That's why women are to submit to their husbands and husbands are to love them for it -- because the reward (divine reaction) to submission is love. That is unity, That is God. Without obedience, the external breaks apart. Without Love, the internal breaks apart.
That is why leaders/pastors should be obeyed and submitted to as the spiritual authority, and why their reaction should be one of love rather than arrogance. That's why so much is out of balance, because people have lost an understanding of the dynamic of teacher/student, submission/love, obedience/unity. The enemy has redefined so much, and much of the church has believed the liar..
Father <3
open our eyes to your Truth.
Return understanding according to your wisdom and your mercy.
Raise up mentors like Elijah, and students like Elisha, and help a generation to yield to your perfect will, so that they may know your Power and Authority --
and so that their heart's desire and only passion is to PLEASE GOD.
When that is our center, there will always be peace no matter what chaos surrounds us. In the name of Jesus.
Amen..
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 1/25/2008 11:51:51 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
1 Samuel 1
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
God never intended more than one wife. Jesus clarifies this in the NT... he taught that it was always supposed to be one man and one woman. But God is merciful, and he doesn't zap us dead the minute we do something wrong. None of us would be alive right now if he did that. He still heard their prayers and still worked his plan in their life, but they walked with consequence in their life for every sin they committed outside the will of God.
Could you imagine the constant bickering and whining between two or more wives. Can you imagine the tensions constantly in your home over who would inherit what measure of authority or what possessions of value. The open door of jealousy, the invitation to envy and covet your brothers goods and blessing. We can be pious all we want and say, oh but some cultures do it and it works. No it doesn't. In their humanity, more than one wife will always result in a measure of forfeited peace and open doors of temptation for your children to sin.
Here we see how tormented Hannah was by the other wife. They lived in the same house, they shared the same husband. A husband that would never fully understand her hurt, because his emotions were spread out and stretched thin trying to keep the peace in his home. His heart was never fully hers as a husband should have loved her. Yes, he loved her, but it was a fragmented and fractionalized love. God didn't throw away his creation over any one sin, but multiple wives was never his plan.
9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple. 10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
How easy would it have been to have God answer this prayer and to back down after he gave you a child. But God knew her desperation and the faithfulness of her heart. He took pity on her. I kinda think that even if she would have been less faithful in keeping this vow, God still would have given her a son. Simply because of her anguish. But had she broken the vow, she would have had some hefty consequences to deal with. God is clear in his word, many times, to keep your vows made to the Lord or be left to reap what you willingly planted.
The other thing is that here was the first wife, popping out babies left and right, but you don't see her committing a single one to the service of the Lord. Blessing and Babies are poured out on her and what is her response. To ridicule and torment those without the blessing, and then to not even express any exceptional thanks to God for the favor shown to her. As a result, was it her son that was chosen for greatness. Was she honored for her motherhood... Was her name mentioned in the Scriptures as having honored God for his blessings?... nope.
She would have done well to have looked at Hannah with compassion and put herself for a moment in her place. She should have hurt for her, and knelt beside Hannah in prayer to God, petitioning God to bless her with a child of her own. We can ridicule this woman for her lack of integrity, but are we any different? How do we treat the people that we don't really like, that we feel in competition with, that we are subtly jealous of? Is our response truly any different that this woman's was toward Hannah?
That should be a challenge to each of us.
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."
Isn't that just the way... in our deepest pain, in our greatest petition poured out before God... some holy Christian person comes along and slaps us with a false-accusation. Some person jumps to a conclusion about us or our behavior, some judgmental legalistic police squad blares things on the intercom that were never in our heart. Here was Hannah, as tho things weren't bad or difficult enough, the priest rebukes her. Did she accept his rebuke and just let it play out, she was a woman afterall.... she was a peon and who was she to tell the priest/pastor that he was mistaken -- that he was wrong?
oh what a can of worms this topic could open in the trendy contemporary church...
the post-post-modern church that naively thinks it's so far removed from reeking of legalism...
15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
ELI! I LOVE YOU!
what a man of God.
He allows her to explain herself.
He immediately withdraws his rebuke by agreeing with her prayer, and sends her off with his blessing. He sends her off in peace, no condemnation, no blaming her for his judgmental attitude, no trying to excuse his error with a condescending aire... nope. He is honest and open to letting her explain, and that allows her to leave encouraged rather than weighted down. That is a leader, a man of God, a man who sees himself as a man and not as though he is God.
There's too much arrogance among many cutting-edge priests/pastors today.
I see way more compassion and sincere humility in the traditional churches rather than the current generation of churches that claim to "do the stuff." Doing the stuff in my mind is being like Christ and doing what he modeled/commanded in Scripture no matter who you are, peon or pastor. It almost feels like a Mason spirit -- a manipulative corruption empowered by a congregation that is content to follow an earthly king rather than their Heavenly King. It is a dangerous trend. Rule by absolute power. Leaders that indoctrinate congregations to believe that they are the pointman of a monarchy, and that their mandate over-rides the Scriptures.
They convince people that they are serving the Kingdom of God,
but they are actually building a kingdom unto themself. There are many kingdoms, and many thrones. There is only one Kingdom of God, and ONLY CHRIST sits on that throne... never a man, never a pastor.
We need God to raise up ELI's.
Pastors/Leaders that OWN HUMILITY
rather than wearing it like a mask to hide their selfish ambition.
I would gladly submit to the authority of an Eli despite his imperfections and humanity,
as long as he was submitted to the authority of Christ and was passionate that the Word of God trumps all else. The Church today cries out for such fallible men, such Pastors/Leaders that fight to defend mercy and justice and faithfulness (all three) -- who will fight beside us, rather than lording their authority over us on some high horse looking down.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
EVEN THOUGH I can't see the sun ... - 1/28/2008 2:41:30 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Amazing song. I love the implication at the end of the chorus "I love your rain." As though "I love your REIGN." As though it's an expression of our love and trust in Him. Despite the chaos around us, the pain, the storms that seem to go on forever... Christ will always be our choice, our love, our hope, our confidence, our comfort... well... everything.
Come what may, our Faith in Him is unshakable <3
EVEN THOUGH (by Christa Leis)
http://media.vmg.com/VMD8022R/VMD8022R-S-80kbps-06.mp3
Even though I can't see the sun
through these clouds
I know it still shines
Even though I can't feel Your love
throught this pain
I know You're alive and
Even though I can't understand
Why this storm still blows and
Even though I can't hear Your voice
I love Your rain
Even though I can't see the way
up ahead
I know that You lead
Even though I can't feel
Your presence now
I know I believe and
Even though I can't understnad
Why the storm still blows and
Even though I can't hear Your voice
I love Your rain
Who can measure Your greatness
Who can count all Your faitfulness
Who can doubt that Your presence
silences every lie.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
If you want it, here it is come and get it. - 1/31/2008 1:10:55 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
1BE MERCIFUL and gracious to me, O God, for man would trample me or devour me; all the day long the adversary oppresses me.
2They that lie in wait for me would swallow me up or trample me all day long, for they are many who fight against me, O Most High!
3What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.
4By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?
5All day long they twist my words and trouble my affairs; all their thoughts are against me for evil and my hurt.
6They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they watch my steps, even as they have [expectantly] waited for my life.
7They think to escape with iniquity, and shall they? In Your indignation bring down the peoples, O God.
8You number and record my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle--are they not in Your book?
9Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me.
10In God, Whose word I praise, in the Lord, Whose word I praise,
11In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
12Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praise to You and give You thank offerings.
13For You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living. (psalm 56)
31What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]
32He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
33Who shall bring any charge against God's elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]
34Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?
35Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
36Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
37Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.
38For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers,
39Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)
God's love is a gift. He won't force you to recieve it. But if you decide that you want it, he holds it out for you to OWN IT. By the same token, if you decide to toss it out as mere myth... he will let you decide to refuse the gift that he died to make available to you.
yeah... it's a serious thing to him.
He will move heaven and earth to protect your decision either way.
Your inheritance was death.
Christ wanted to give you an alternative, life.
He is life. So he had to give you himself, his life.
Without him, you die.
It's simply a univeral law.. reality... Truth.
The absence of God... is death.
10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever...
14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 20)
God doesn't sentence people to death. That's our destination.
God offers people a chance to live with him instead of death.
He owns all the heavens and the earth. He made them. They are his dwelling place. He offers every person ever born the chance to be his child, his family, to rule and reign with him -- not to live as a servant but as his family -- his heart breaks at the thought of being separated from you. He came to earth, suffered and died, to keep that from happening. But God will not force you to choose Life. Nor can he change the fact that he is God and there is an unchangeable plan and promise to fulfill, a plan that requires that all evil must be removed from his domain (which is only everywhere). That's why he had to prepare and reserve a place for evil.
His children will be with him forever, and he will remove everything that threatens their safety and their peace and their joy. All that seeks to live selfishly threatens all that is good. Such things will be cast into the Lake, as well as everyone that refuses to separate themself from all that is evil.
We are the only ones that actually have a choice in the matter. We are the only ones that God loved so much that Jesus lowered himself to become one of us -- so that he could die for us to end our contract with sin and death. That's the only way a contract/marriage can end... someone's gotta die.
Jesus died, so we could live.
That's the gift. He died in our place to offer us life.
If we want it.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
2008: while praying for the new year - 2/3/2008 3:05:55 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
2008 will be the year of the Second Son. First Adam, then Christ. First Esau, then Jacob. Not just the second son, but the anointing of the one other than the obvious choice. Such as David. God looks on the heart, not the appearance. The church has looked on the appearance for too long now. God will bring a revealing of things reserved for such a time as this. The anointing has been passed to those that no one even realized, but they will this year because God is moving them to the forefront.
Perseverance.
Second Wind. The Calvary.
The purpose of the reserve fulfilled. Things not hidden, but rather things overlooked...
things underestimated, things seen but not seen... now illuminated.
The glory of the Lord fills my senses! That is the passion of the chosen in this hour. Completely submerging themselves in a consuming love of God, ravenous for more of him, unwavering in their zeal to be smothered by his presence. Dying to who they were, to sin, to self. Not as a show before men, but in the prayer closet, in the throne room of their hearts. A second first-breath. A breathing of life renewed. His WORD is the breath of LIFE.
A setting of all things in order. A cleansing, a personal holiness, a fresh wind as he breathes a newness into personal, private, places of our being. Not all... but those who persevere. It is coming to his people, to his church this year. But not for the first son... it is coming to those who have not walked in the circle of the arrogant or presumptuous. It is coming to the faithful who have stood in times of trouble.
The eyes of the church bleed.
The eyes of the church bleed, wounded.
Her vision is impaired, askew. She has been stumbling as blind men for a season. Christ brings healing in 2008. Her eyes restored (the prophetic to every person who will believe) to the body as a whole. Her vision restored and righted. Prophets once murdered who live again by the grace of God.
Worship and Adore His Holy Name!
No other name.
5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,
the people I have totally destroyed.
6 The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah
and a great slaughter in Edom.
7 And the wild oxen will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.
Their land will be drenched with blood,
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause. (Isaiah 34:5-7)
Lucado commentary on Is 34-35, "... coming judgement on individuals and nations... Peoples motives were clear to God, and he rewarded those who lived by his commandments and were honest. He punished sinners... Although slow to anger, God punishes sin. Only the faithful will know God's bounty and security."
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped. (Is 35:3-5)
Not our righteousness Lord, but Yours.
Only You.
Where the presence of the Lord dwells, the instrument becomes what he says it is; rather than what it presumes to be. As long as his hand touches you, you are an extension of his will, you become a manifestation of his glory. Not your glory, but his. He lets you go along for the ride, because you are his child and he loves doing things with you.
You want the ability to become more than you are in your own strength?...
Then let God use you to perform his wil, then you become something other than...
It is his touch, his will performed that moves us to that state of being other than...
After the fact, you can continue to wear the make-over, or you can go back to the pig pen. The more you walk in that place of being other than, the more you crave to be in that place, your countenance takes on a permanent change.
Yielded and used by God. Reflecting him, an extension of his will, a manifestation o fhis glory. Blessed and a Blessing. Ministered to and ministering to others.
Oh to be like Christ!
he heals the humble and the broken.
How?... his touch.
What does it look like?...
Like Christ <3
19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
(Eph 5:19)
Worship of HIM brings change.
NOT WORSHIP.
Worship does nothing.
4 with these orders: "Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the LORD has commanded. See to it; you have my orders."
9 Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.
(Joshua 8:4-9)
The RESERVE. The CALVARY.
Those set aside to lie in ambush against the enemy. Set aside for such a time as this, 2008.
2008 will determine the opening of 2009. There is much in the balance this year. It is a time of decision as never before.
2008, a year of decision, of outcome, what willyou do with your freedom?
What will you do with your freedom?
When the stops are pulled, will you clean the pool? Will you scour the scum and prepare for a refilling? Church, will you? Individual accountability. Individual responsibility. Individual choice and decision. You. Will you prepare yourself for what God is about to do?
It begins with one. Each affects the whole, until they become One.
Yes, there is a circle of life, it is called the WILL OF GOD.
When the vessel, the pool, is clean, who will you ask to fill it?
Will you honor his desire for cold or hot, or will you choose something lukewarm again?
It was the lukewarm that caused the growth of scum to begin with.
Will you choose to swim in the water of his Spirit, in Jesus, in the water the Father has given?
What will you do with your freedom?
Choose today. Make up your mind now, before, or you will waver in indecision at a dangerous time.
There is a door that will close. There is an end to every season.
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
(Psalm 8:5-6)
Jesus Christ lowered himself, but he is still God.
He is above all else. Those that understand this Truth, will own it in 2008.
Unless you own it, you waver when you should persevere.
There is a remnant that will own it and they are being called into service this year.
Jesus Christ is LORD.
Amen.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
war in heaven and on earth? - 2/11/2008 1:14:50 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
I'm not up on theology, I couldn't even tell you what I am in such terms, but I have read my Bible and I believe every word in it. And I pray constantly for God to give me understanding. Something occurred to me today that has baffled me as to whether it could be, or if it even matters in the big scheme of things. I have thought alot over the past year of what it means to be created in the image of God. And then today, I'm not sure what led to it, but something came to mind as I considered the bloody battlefield in the church (emergent church thread) in recent years...
There was war in heaven long ago.
The angels were created with free-will which allowed them to chose whether to join Satan in his rebellion. Perhaps there was a whole working thru that warfare in heaven that was removed from us as mankind, and yet tied to us.
Perhaps the rebellion didn't take place until the plans were spoken that God would create Man in his image. Before the actual physical creation occurred. Perhaps, there are things that are spoken in those heavenly places before the throne of God that we cannot understand at this time. All that I am about to say is merely speculation and thought of possibilities, I'm not saying this is a doctrine or even TRUTH. I am trying to understand the truth in terms of what matters for us now and what we cannot know until we stand before God.
But maybe somehow the angels were given roles to play or privy knowledge in the creation and the plan of God for mankind. But the rebellion caused them to be put in chains and removed from those roles. Not that that diminished God's ability to fulfill his plan, it merely complicated things (complicated things in our small minds, not in Gods).
I know the character of my God and I know that he does not change in matters of integrity and justice. Whatever happened in heaven between him and the angels, perhaps the consequence requires a playing out over a certain time frame just like the plan of salvation that he is working out for us in this lifetime and world.
Angels have a free will. But angels cannot procreate (multiply souls). They are not offered a plan of redemption or salvation. There are unique differences between angels and people, though there are things about us both that allows us to be considered sons of God. We are both special creations to God. He loves all his creation, but we are the only ones that he came to save and to redeem back into fellowship.
those are key thoughts to what I'm thinking...
There was a war in heaven in which Satan rebelled against God, "why?" ...no one really knows except that it was rooted in arrogance and he tried to elevate himself above the authority of God. He fell from heaven, yet in Job we see that he still has access to appear before the throne of God as the accuser of the brethren and to ask permission to tempt us. So I think his fall from heaven was a loss of any measure of authority in heaven, as though he was cast out of the boardroom of God and not privy to any more information concerning God's plan for mankind or anything else.
But knowing God's Just character, something must have happened in that heavenly conflict that caused God to withhold arresting Satan and sending him straight to the lake of fire. Something that we are not to know at this time, but something that Satan used as a tactic to delay his sentence. God is bound to his word, so he waits, and he remains faithful to whatever point of His Justice that Satan has taken advantage of. Not that Satan wants redemption (which isn't even possible for him or any other angel) he just wants opportunity to manifest his hatred to God as much as possible before dying the second death. The second death removes him from the presence of God for eternity... so his meanness until that point is his rant and spewing of hatred toward God and all that God loves... mankind mainly (but also the earth, nature, the angels, all that is good in the eyes of the Creator).
So because of his playing on the justice of God, Satan remained running around heaven and earth. And just as he convinced a third of the angels to rebel against God, he tempted mankind, who also chose to rebel thru disobedience. God cursed everything that allowed itself to be used to accomplish Satan's corruption of all that God called good. He was bound to justice and Satan knew it. He knew that if he could infect the children of God with corruption and sin... a holy God would have to judge them as sin.
Satan was basing it all on his experience of causing God to have to judge a third of the angels and to bind them in chains separated from him. Satan saw how it hurt the heart of God to have to do such a thing. He was soooo looking forward to seeing the hurt he caused God for having to judge his precious mankind in the same manner. But he was not privy to the fulfillment of God's plan for mankind... the concept of God as savior was a foreign thing to the angels, especially Satan. The thought never entered his head, it was incomprehensible. It had never been done, and therefore never existed as a possibility or even as a thought.
Satan must have wondered for years and years as to why God was requiring the blood of animals. He must have thought God was simply delaying judgment because he dreaded having to judge the children he loved so much, the ones created in his image. Satan must have scratched his head in much confusion as Israel was chosen as special and marked for something... I can just see him fumbling thru his ignorance and his arrogance trying to understand what in the world God was doing making all these promises to Isreal that seemed impossible and senseless.
But then the moment came, and all of heaven stood in shock and wonder, as Christ stepped out of the person of God and into a body prepared for him on the earth to perform a role that was beyond the understanding of any creation in heaven or in earth. Like the rib taken from Adam's side, Christ-God removed himself from the God-head and lowered himself under the Father's will to go to be with Man...
selah....
I can just see Satan on the earth screaming and stumbling on the ground, scurrying to back away from the Light that walked from heaven into the dark domain on the earth. Suddenly every evil thing Satan had devised and resided in was illuminated and unmasked as the corruption and sin that he had infected it with. Heaven rejoiced at the vision and manifestation of the miraculous... while hell and the devil screamed in confusion and terror because God had come to earth to save and redeem and restore us, his children, those made in his image.
And then one by one, he touched us and changed us and offered us redemption, and one by one we have made that decision to reflect the image of Christ once again -- so that the Light increases daily and Satan's terror and power and death-grip on God's beloved is broken as God reclaims his children one by one.
I've always thought the time-frame was set simply for us. But perhaps the time frame is based upon when Satan's time is up and God fulfills whatever manifestation of justice Satan has held Him to in order to delay his own judgment. Judgment day marks not only the closing of this time of grace offered to mankind, but it also ends Satan's delay of his sentencing. All things will culminate in that one moment to eradicate all sin from God's creation and everything that has married/joined itself to it.
There was war in heaven that was connected and reflected in the earth -- because we are connected to God and we reflect the image of Christ. However, while Satan stirred up that war in heaven, you and I didn't start this war on the earth. For us, Satan brought the war to Adam and to us, and we (mankind) chose to join him. But God...
God in his mercy and his JUSTICE, made a plan of redemption for those that were born into that war zone. We cannot use the war as an excuse for our sin... because Christ has come to make a way for us to have PEACE again, to be restored to fellowship with him, to free us from the sin and corruption that we were born into...
Yes, it's not fun being here in this war, but here we are. We were actually born into existence before we became babies, we were actually born the moment that God saw Mankind in his heart, you existed before he even spoke you into a physical existence. He couldn't just erase you, he knew you and the beautiful things he had planned to bless you with. There is no way to understand how that works.
God didn't want to send each of us into the war zone. But we were already in his thoughts and in his heart, we already existed, our births were already done before they were manifested on the earth... God knew that he would have to send us because the process of our existence (life) had already begun, he couldn't erase an eternal soul once he thought it into existence and he had loved it as his child. God doesn't throw away his kids, it's against his nature... He lets them choose to leave, but it is not without great sorrow and agony of heart for him.
Satan laughs, he loves hurting the heart of God.
We are created in the image of God, because we can procreate. But spiritually we are created in his image because we can play a part in the salvation process, in multiplying souls back into the Kingdom/Family of God, in the gathering and reclaiming and harvesting of the children of God... we can claim the blood of Christ, his authority to remove Satan's death-grip on people and situations, AND we can tell our story of how Christ came and paid a great price to free us from the war, from sin, from being eternally in bondage to a place he never intended for us -- separated from him and his love for us.
Jesus came to us as God and Man. Jesus came to us as God/Christ to fulfill the role of the 'ANOINTED,' the one given something from God to say, the one sent to fulfill/handoff a divine plan/commission. Jesus came to us as Man to re-establish our authority, our place of sonship to the Father, to the Family of God. When he became a man, he was the only man that could enter heaven, the presence of God. He was the only man that was without sin.
Jesus entering into the dirt of this world as a baby... born in that humble stable... was like when Adam took his first breath from God and life entered the dust of this earth in the form of a man. There was no other man. There were no other people. He was the only one, he was without sin, he walked and talked with God, in his immediate/intimate presence.
But then, Adam sinned and infected all of us, so that we are born into corruption and a sin nature.
But do not be sad, because God did not forget us nor forsake us, though we were ugly and consumed with wanting our own way... God came to heal us and to restore us to relationship with him -- not according to our lowliness, but according to how he saw us when he first thought us into existence in his thoughts and in his heart, not according to the muck and yuck that he is cleaning off of us daily, but he restores us to relationship as beautiful children born in his image, children that he has called holy and good, justified, heirs to the Kingdom/Family of God.
Adam failed, but then Christ came as the second man, the only one.
Adam died leaving an inheritance of sin and corruption.
Christ died, leaving an inheritance of a paid debt and of freedom.
Jesus resurrected was God as God had always been.
Jesus resurrected was Man as God had originally created him to be.
I've got to stop. My housework calls.
But my thoughts continue to wander with all of this.
Like I said, some of this may be off, idk. I'm just thinking out loud.
But what if much of it is true. I can't wait to ask Christ about it all face to face someday when we're all hanging out with him in the new earth. In the meantime there is much to do.
^_^
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 2/11/2008 1:52:36 PM
|
|
|
JoshK9000
Posts: 18
Joined: 2/10/2008
Status: offline
|
How inspiring! You really have a way with words. I felt blessed by this one.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 2/16/2008 2:19:00 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
a friend of a friend (whom I've never met) just sent me a dream and asked for my thoughts about the symbolism and anything I felt the Lord might be speaking. It was a dream about her disdain at being required to take a shower with several people that she knew were really gross in sin, mixed with other people including her husband and several Christians she knew. She couldn't bring herself to do it.
She ended up being run all around by people on van trips and across fairies to participate in mundane details of ministry. She was very frustrated with everyone and everything because she was supposed to be getting ready for her wedding day. Thru all of this she was making arrangements for the wedding, the cake, ect... but she ended up with not enough time in the natural to get her shower and get herself ready. She woke up very panicked and frustrated and afraid of missing the wedding altogether.
The thoughts that came to my mind were...
-----------
The dream seems to strongly expose what that unpreparedness involves, partially at least. The church has separated itself from the very people that it is supposed to be here to minister to. Traveling on faries and in vans is riding along with a form of godliness (a Pharisee spirit, Matt 23) but not really doing much for God. Again, as in the other dream, we have let the busyness of a religious (Christian) life tie up our time and frustrate our peace. And time is running out. The wedding day is approaching, the Bridegroom could come at any moment.
The church has wasted too much time with trivial things while the broken-hearted and hurting continue to cry out for food and relationship and hope. Jesus wouldn't bother with 80% of the things the church currently holds as necessity in ministry. Measuring the church today to the example Christ set for ministry in Scripture is like comparing an apple tree to a piece of apple artwork. One lives but one is dead. No matter how pretty it appears. It is time for the church to clean up and hear the leading of the Spirit as he brings all things back into alignment. The vision of the church has gone a little eskew, but God has come to discipine if necessary (always with love). But a trip to the woodshed is in order for much of the church ^_^
The shower scene just seems to emphasize this whole thing. It is distasteful to be in intimate fellowship with the unclean, and yet that is where Christ lived most of his life while on the earth. It is a place of fear and tempation and attack and injustice and yuck. But..... when that place is a place for all of us to come clean -- then it may actually be something God is requiring and commanding us to do (he never promised us comfortable relationships and 4-star accomodations -- he promised the opposite during our time on this earth). We all need a bath, daily, no matter how clean or dirty we are. In the presence of God, in the church, in ministry, among the family, with the people of God... that's where that cleansing takes place because that's where God is.
If we want to be prepared and on time, we're gonna have to be unafraid to be in personal, intimate, and vulnerable situations with the unclean. Our hearts must remain separated, and yet... our hearts must reach out to theirs. We can't hold them at arms length, they can smell the stench of fake love and so can God. We must be wise as serpents, but we must be about the Father's business -- genuine love. It is a delicate balance. But just as Christ came to us and embraced us and ate with us and fellowshipped with us in community despite our sin and our ugliness... the church must do the same. We were them once, and we would be the same again were it not for Christ.
The church has better get real about loving God and loving people
... or she will not be ready when the Bridegroom comes.
Many of us may just miss our own wedding.
just my thoughts as I read over this in the presence of Jesus.
I pray the Lord would confirm only what he is speaking.
Love in Christ <3
------
one other thought. Your spouse is sometimes symbolic of your physical man, while you represent your spiritual man. Since your husband was in the shower, but you were not.. it simply emphasizes the fact that many in the church are going thru the motions in the physical (for appearance sake, again, Matt 23)... but their heart is unwilling to come clean and to truly love the unlovely.
yikes O_o
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 2/20/2008 12:20:53 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
be prepared... read the Bible for yourself.
2 Timothy 4
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 2/26/2008 12:30:03 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2)
OH I LOVE THE CLARITY OF THIS PASSAGE!!!
My son came home from college the other day and insisted on sharing what he and a friend had read that morning during their daily prayer/Scripture reading. He does not read my blogs or my thoughts in my journals. But what he shared was so in tune with so much that God in speaking thru a myriad of voices.
Christ freed us from the law of sin and death. He removed the weight of the condemnation brought about by the law as we walk in a cursed world in a sinful state in need of mercy each day. But the church has put the weights back upon us, it has weighted us down in many instances just as the Pharisees did. Some leaderships have guilted us into worshipping them and all that they dictate to be the law of God.
FALSE HUMILITY!
What a tool of Satan in this hour. It is eating away at the hearts of the people of God, corrupting many and crippling others. Claims and attitudes of such piousness, ranting at people that they have passed judgment or that they have failed to forgive, when they take a stand against corrupt and abusive leadership. Pushed and coerced out of the synagogue -- people are being pressured or shamed into leaving the church when they stand falsely accused by a leadership and it's cronies that are eaten up with selfish ambition masked in false humility.
Am I angry? emphatically YES.
Pray that the Lord would:
1 Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Selah
3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.
4 In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.
6 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.
8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4)
A segment of the church has lost connection with the Head, with Christ.
It reminds me of the time that a couple of the disciples wanted seats above the others, just as many leaders/cronies in the church today want to be seated above the laymen of their congregations:
24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt 20)
And many in the congregation (duped by a spirit of false-humility and their worship of angels/leaders) go along with it. Participating in the murder/excommunication of anyone that gets in the way. Don't point fingers at the Catholic church when the Protestant church is struggling with the same sin. I am very much Protestant, but sin is sin.
And again when Jesus rebuked the church leaders of his day for coming up with all kinds of ridiculous rules and regulations that enslaved people to obey the whims of men and eccentric visionaries:
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'
8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
This brings revelation to these passages in light of what is happening in portions of the contemporary/emergent church today. We are reliving such error in leadership and so the passages of then come to life today. It's not the literal sense of calling someone teacher or father... it's a matter of the heart and acknowledging the authority of that leader/teacher as though they are equal to God. Pastor-worship, Leadership-worship, Teacher-worship... other gods, little gods... sin.
Basically, Christ seems to be saying, hear them and respect them as speakers and representatives of the One who spoke the Scriptures... but not as though they are the One who spoke it. Do not call them Father or Teacher in your heart as though they are the authors of the word of God. They are not. They are mere men. They are just as lowly as the guy who cleans the bathroom or directs traffic in the parking lot, or folds the newsletters at the door. Love them and SERVE WITH THEM as brothers/sisters in Christ... but do not SERVE FOR THEM as though the people of the congregation were made to be their pawns seeking to please them rather than God. Christians had better return to seeking the favor of God rather then the favor Pharisees, or God will give them what they seek and let them choose other gods (as well as the consequences that go along with such sin). Free will.
You have ONE FATHER. You have ONE TEACHER, ONE TRUTH. Obedience and loyalty and commitment is to him and to his word only. No one, no matter what title they hold or what they insist you call them.... no one is to be exalted above any other person in the congregation. Their decisions and rules are to be held accountable by the body as a whole, not just among a couple of their buddies that call themselves a board -- and that use spiritual authority to justify when Scripture is violated and people (even children) are spiritually abused and terrorized. PHARISEE SPIRIT!!!
The Kingdom of God is a monarchy, that the Church is subject to with joy.
But the church as a functioning organism is a democracy -- a system governed by several voices and committees, where each person is granted the right to be heard and treated justly according to the commands of the King that it is subject to.
The preaching of the Kingdom of God has been distorted by many so that it has become a kingdom of men, men claiming equality to God. But they were never given that measure of authority... they were given a measure of authority to represent... but never the authority to claim what belongs only to God.
HOWEVER, pay diligent attention to vss 2-3 in that last passage:
2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
You must obey the Scripture being preached, the Word of God. You must respect leadership offering the same measure of honor and mercy and love that you would others in the congregation. But you do not obey or model the hypocrisy or false-humility or worship of leadership that they preach and intimidate with. Remember, that you are accountable to God for your own actions in how you respond. Anger is not a sin, but it can lead you into it if you lose sight of God and all that he has truly commanded in Scripture. Love and Mercy above all. You can defend Truth and Justice and still maintain Love and Mercy. We are commanded to. We must read and know what the Word of God says for ourselves. If you're not reading it and asking God for understanding, keep your mouth shut.
-----------------
you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matt 23:23)
We are commanded to not judge, but we are commanded to practice justice.
Judgment and Justice are two entirely different things.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 2/28/2008 12:53:50 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Is so much separation in the church a good thing? When we separate children and teens and the elderly, is that a good thing? Yes, it would seem wise to offer venues where each group can enter into discussion and ministry that is relevant to their age/gender needs. But what of unity, what of nurturing relationship, and teaching respect for one another in their age or in their youth. It is necessary for all to be honored and respected, old and young.
How can parents come to understand their child's spiritual struggles and growth if they are never in a small group setting with them? When is there truly opportunity for teens to unburden their heart and to share what they have gleaned from their parent's testimony and the testimony of the entire world around them (Christian and secular)? Such things need to be discussed in mixed settings as well as peer-group settings. Otherwise, parents fail to train and over-see their child's spiritual growth. Getting them vaccinated, taking them to the dentist, getting them insured to drive... physical mandates by the laws of men. But what about the spiritual mandates in light of the law of God? We don't set them loose in their physical needs, why should we believe a secular world that tells us to neglect their spiritual needs? We protect them from sexual perverts that seek to rob them of their innocence... why would we subject them and give them over to moral perverts?
We need to wake up!
We are killing our kids. We are passing thru the hands of Molech.
Being afraid of appearing unkind by secular standards has made us afraid to protect those most precious to us. Not making waves, has allowed the ungodly to drown our children in a sea of moral decay!
What if there was a small group where people encountered their peers, and another group where they encountered relationship and understanding beyond age? We coddle our youth to think that they should always be entertained, and then we complain because they are unable to sit in a mature group atmosphere and listen/participate/grow. Every intimate teaching setting.... we send the children off to classes, we send the teens off to the youth building, we sit in our adult classes... and we all remain divided and non-communicative in any real and relevant way.
We are afraid to gently guide teens from off the wall tangents back to a solid core of belief. It's just not politically correct or humanistically accepted or nauseatingly kind. We smile and say,
"hmmmm... that's an interesting thought, tell us more. Okay, good for you, I can see your point, that makes sense, that's one way to look at it, there are people that would agree with you, good for you that you have loved people in their sin and made excuse for their sin, you are so kind and merciful, yay young person that you are saying anything at all, that you are in church at all, that you feel good and positive about the off the wall tangent that you have embraced as Christian, that you have heard this abstract thought from God for yourself or at school and it makes total sense to you -- even though it totally contradicts the Word of God and the very character and goodness and holiness of God."
And we adjust the Bible to become a book of stories and myths based on ancient cultures that are more or less irrelevant unless they somehow emphasize some warm fuzzy that has tickled their fancy. Only what caters to the eccentric seems relevant to much of the contemporary church. It sure wins them favor from a lost generation, and puts warm bodies in their cool foldout chairs and livingroom style sanctuaries.
what?
I sit baffled by much of what I am seeing and hearing in every church I enter into lately. The so-called cutting edge, culturally relevant churches, the emergent church.... There is no standard of Truth in the church. Being eccentric and creative are more important that being like Christ... The Bible has been chucked out the window or buried under self-esteem books by trendy gurus calling themselves Christian leaders and experts. They know little about Christ or what he said or taught, yet they claim to speak for him and to know his heart. Christ actually warned about such false teachers springing up everywhere in the last days, along with gross deception and manipulation thru the words/speeches of arrogant men and greedy movements.
You can study the Bible all day long with Satan by your side reading aloud, but you can miss God just as surely. When you see the Bible as words on a page, as another text book, as a Christian reference source that people are free to give or take... you will never grasp the character and person of Jesus Christ. The Bible is alive, it has a Spirit that pervades it and that causes it to breathe and literally speak. Not like some electronic voice reader on a computer... it speaks with passion and conviction and anointing because it is God that speaks. It is his Word, what he has said and is saying. It is alive. The Bible is not inanimate no matter what seminary scholar or trendy Christian cult teacher claims that it is. It lives, it speaks, and the Spirit of God interprets. Word and Spirit cannot be separated or it becomes a dead faith. Both are required to hear from God.
I had a dream that the academic world had been taken over by werewolves. Everyone was mingling in a block party and small groups were being called into a frat house one by one and brutally attacked with much blood. They were given drugs and told that it would make it easier to bear by the people that were about to devour them. Then in packs they would jump on each group of three or four and infect them with their evil until they became one of them.
No one was fighting back, no one was objecting. There was a secret fear among them but they all chose to deny it and not to speak of it. They played the game and pretended to enjoy the party (all the while dreading their turn). They went willingly when called, knowing it was the end for them, that they were about to join themselves to evil. I could see everyone and everything that was happening and I was whispering to a group of teens that I knew, how to move thru the crowd to avoid being called forth. But the fear and danger were great.
The dream jumped and we were all in a very large church. A few of these werewolves walked into the church, then more and more and more trickled in. No one objected, no one acknowledged their presence, so their numbers continued to enter and increase. The congregation was in denial, though you could feel their fear level rising.
I was in disbelief and was angry that the people of God seemed so cornered and helpless against the attack that was coming. I knew that they would transform into evil at any moment and lunge upon the people of God. In my anger I stood and began to yell, "you will not touch the people of God. You have no power here. No right to be here. Leave in the name of Jesus." I began to call upon God. I began to declare how wonderful and all-powerful he is. I began to see him clearly instead of the situation around me until I forgot where I was for a minute as I was caught up in worshipping Him.
When I once again became aware of where I was, all the werewolves, all those evil people were gone. I was amazed at the power of the name of God. I stood in shock and kind of laughed in surprise. I had cried out in my fear and anger, and claimed the authority of God over the situation. And the presence of God rushed in and drove the evil out. I woke so fascinated and awe-struck by our God. It was a good dream.
But thinking on it, the congregation never changed. They never moved, they never joined in, they never responded in any way. Even after the evil had left, they continued to stare straight ahead and not even acknowledge what God had done. No thanks was given to him. Nothing. Just a hint of relief that their fear level had come down a notch.
Something is wrong in the church of today. I can't put my finger on it, but God is busy setting all things in order. He will not let it continue for much longer. His mercy is great, but he will not let injustice prevail any longer than absolutely necessary. Grace has a time limit, and I fear that we are nearing the end of it.
The church is divided on many levels.
Perhaps by sheep and goats.
If so, we had better begin to make up our minds who we want to be because neither can balance on a fence for very long. We must pick a fold to call our own which defines who we choose to align ourselves with... or we will fall hard and face the consequences of a lukewarm faith.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 2/29/2008 1:20:40 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 1237
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
In light of my recent blogs, it floored me yesterday as we began to read a new chapter in our US history book. THE GREAT AWAKENING was the topic. The situation of our nation then seems to be a mirror image of today. Have we come full circle in our faith? Is it possible that we are on the verge of a new awakening? I am undone concerning the similarities of the church then and the church today in our nation.
Here is an excerpt:
As the American colonies grew and prospered, they gradually fell into a state of spiritual decline. By the 18th century, many churches practiced a cold, formalistic Christianity. Most people claimed to be Christians, but few had ever accepted Christ as personal Savior. Even many ministers remained lost in spiritual darkness. Colleges founded to train young men for the ministry, such as Harvard and Yale, contributed to this decline by turning Christianity into a mere intellectual exercise and combining theology with the pagan ideas of ancient philosophers.
The spiritual decline was especially noticeable in New England. In the past, only those who had given evidence of personal salvation could become full members of the Puritan Churches, but by the 1660's few of the younger generation met this qualification for church membership. To solve the problem of dwindling congregations, many New England churches in 1662, adopted the HALFWAY COVENANT, which provided that descendants of church members could be admitted as members with full privileges, except for participation in communion. The Puritans hoped that this covenant would extend the influence of the church and encourage more visible conversions in the future. Instead of the church changing sinners, however, sinners began changing the church. A historian of Connecticut described the situation:
The forms of religion were kept up, but there appeared but little of the power of it... It seems also to appear that many of the clergy, instead of clearly and powerfully preaching the doctrines of original sin, or regeneration, justification by faith alone... contented themselves with preaching a cold, unprincipled and lifeless morality.
... Gilbert Tennent attacked the real problem with America's churches when he preached a sermon, ON THE DANGERS OF AN UNCONVERTED MINISTRY, in which he expressed the damage done by the preaching of unconverted ministers.
... The most powerful evangelist of the Great Awakening was the English evangelist George Whitefield ... after trying asceticism, denying himself all but the worst sorts of food and clothing, he began reading religious books and seeking the advice of friends. Slowly, he began to understand that there was no way he could earn his salvation. He wrote in his journal:
Above all, my mind being now more opened and enlarged, I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees, laying aside all other books, and praying over, if possible, every line and word. This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh life, light, and power from above. I got more true knowledge from reading the book of God in one month than I could ever have acquired from all the writings of men.
... although Whitefield quickly became the most popular preacher in England, the ministers of the established churches disapproved of his evangelistic messages and barred him from their pulpits. Undaunted by opposition and determined to spread the gospel, Whitefield began preaching outdoors.
... Whitefield used his abilities to reach all kinds of people -- rich and poor, educated and unlearned, upper class and lower class. He preached to black slaves in the colonies and wrote a gospel tract for American Indians. He founded an orphanage in Georgia and showed a special interest in reaching children with the gospel. His influence indirectly prompted the founding of some 50 colleges in the US. He is remembered as the most powerful voice of the Great Awakening, and his influence on American history lives on.
My disturbing experience in the contemporary, trendy churches of today greatly reflects the state of the church just before the US fought for her independence. It was on the heels of the Great Awakening that God's favor rested on this nation once again.
You can feel the level of evil rising as the heart of our nation pulls itself away from the shelter of his presence. He has promised that he would never leave us, that nothing can pluck us from his hand... but our nation is choosing to walk away from him. And a step in any direction out of his presence moves us (and those we love) closer and c | | |
Forum Tools
Printable Version
