As we come off our Fast we need to ask the question, "What now?" We have had a time of intimacy, of setting ourselves aside, of drawing close to our LORD, of making ourselves available and open to our God. We have withheld certain foods from our body, changed our appetite, cleansed our palate, lost weight, washed our system and feel good. Now e have to decide what we take back on ourselves spiritually and physically.
For me it has become clear that there are far too many distractions that take me away from my relationship with Jesus and the calling I have received. It is like I wanted all the Jesus offered but all the entertainment of the world. My attitude after a long day was that I deserved to relax, failing to understand that they only rest of any worth was resting in the LORD. I'll tell you, I was a man greatly distracted.
During my Fast I gorged myself on the Word and will continue to do so, and the more I ate of it the more the Spirit corrected me. I realized just from the Scriptures of the Old Testament that if I want to serve the Lord with all that I am, my mind and heart must only be occupied by him. We can't say that we do this because if we were there would be a lot more things happening. Currently it is as if we are worshiping our God from a distance whereas he demands an intimate worship from us.
We are too occupied by evil. We are like the Israelites of old who maintained Yahweh's holy temple but also worshiped other God's in the high places. We worship Jesus but we also serve the gods of this world as we chase after money, fame, leisure. We even put family on a pedestal next to Yahweh. This blof is too short to go into all the details of how we are not what we are suppose to be but I think the Spirit is already convicting you on this matter. Consider the Scripture that says:
Do not be wise in your own eyes;Fear the Lord and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:7)
Evil is anything that is contrary to the character of Yahweh. As we watch murder after murder on our television, we are assaulting the character of Jesus in us. As we listen to the lyrics of those songs, letting them sink into our heart, we are running contrary to the character of Jesus. As we read those words, see those images and allow our mind to be entertained by sin, by the things contrary to the holiness of our God, we are giving ourselves over to the gods of this world.
Do you want to be filled by Jesus, to feel his presence, to know his will, to know his strength and power? Do you want to be overwhelmed by his joy and peace despite the circumstances of your day? Do you want the concern for others to be greater than your concern for yourself? Then shun evil, throw away the things that occupy your time and fill your days with Jesus:
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
Sometimes I think we forget where we are, what we are doing, and who we belong to. We forget that we are in hostile territory and it takes great discipline to walk with and serve Jesus in this place. It takes a singleness of mind and a heart so filled with love, renewed daily, to stay the course. We need to be strong and courageous. We need to embody the words of Yahweh to Joshua:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
We need to remember that blessings flow with obedience. Every king of Israel was told that if they walked in the ways of Yahweh and kept his statutes blessings would be theirs. Every King failed. Decisions have to be made; hard decisions. Jesus told us it is better to cut off a hand our pluck out an eye than to enter hell whole. If something is causing you to sin, to do evil, to separate you from Jesus then learn to live without it.
Decisions have to be made if we are going to be a nation of royal priests:
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)
Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Friday, January 11, 2013
What's Up With This Fasting Stuff?
As a great portion of the Church spends these days in fasting, we should ask ourselves why? Why fast? Why spend time not eating, not watching television or movies? Why turn off FaceBook? Why set aside video games? Why put away those magazines? The reason is very simple. When you are in a forest all you can see is trees. You have to come out of those trees in order to see the forest.
Like it or not we surround ourselves with the things of this world. We may preach the Word of God but we still take pleasure from this world like anyone else. But those pleasures can blind us to the bigger picture. They can distract us from our calling and purpose. They can ruin out palate for the taste of God's Word. They cause our life to be complicate, cluttered and down right messy and usually it is our devotion to Jesus that gets squeezed out.
Fasting gets us out of the "trees" and allows us to take in the beauty of the "forest". It allows us to breathe, re-evaluate where we are, what we are doing and what is important. It frees up our mind and our heart so we can give them the rich "food" of heaven. It gives the Spirit room to restore our soul. It closes the door on all that "noise" so we can be still and know that God is God.
Many Christians struggle spiritually. Many say "I can't hear the Spirit". Many question their beliefs. It isn't because the message of the gospel has changed. It isn't because Jesus has changed. It is because their life is so full of "noise" they can't hear God. The solution is to do what we have always supposed to have done:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
Didn't Jesus say not to pursue the things that the pagan's pursue? But what do we spend 99% of our life doing? Is there really any difference between us and those without Jesus, besides us going to church, maybe? During this time of fasting we should be asking God to examine us, to correct our ways:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (v. 2)
The Word says to set our hearts on things above and then it says to make sure our minds are there as well. There is a reason for this: We aren't like everyone else. We aren't like our friends who get caught up in the dramas of Tumblr and FaceBook. We aren't into the High School scene. We don't make work our life. We don't live for retirement. Our goal is not to own a home, two cars and to have 1.2 children. We are not concerned about the stock market or worried over the rumours of wars. We don't diminish our calling by throwing away our calling on xbox games and movies. We are different from the world:
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)
And that is the truth of the matter. We do not live for ourselves but for Jesus. We don't live in ourselves but in Jesus. We do not seek self-pleasure but what pleases God. Our joy is not what we do but what we are because of Jesus. Our peace does not come from external matters but is a gift from Jesus, deserved or not.
I hope your goal in your fasting is to rediscover these facts. I pray you are seeking his face.
Like it or not we surround ourselves with the things of this world. We may preach the Word of God but we still take pleasure from this world like anyone else. But those pleasures can blind us to the bigger picture. They can distract us from our calling and purpose. They can ruin out palate for the taste of God's Word. They cause our life to be complicate, cluttered and down right messy and usually it is our devotion to Jesus that gets squeezed out.
Fasting gets us out of the "trees" and allows us to take in the beauty of the "forest". It allows us to breathe, re-evaluate where we are, what we are doing and what is important. It frees up our mind and our heart so we can give them the rich "food" of heaven. It gives the Spirit room to restore our soul. It closes the door on all that "noise" so we can be still and know that God is God.
Many Christians struggle spiritually. Many say "I can't hear the Spirit". Many question their beliefs. It isn't because the message of the gospel has changed. It isn't because Jesus has changed. It is because their life is so full of "noise" they can't hear God. The solution is to do what we have always supposed to have done:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
Didn't Jesus say not to pursue the things that the pagan's pursue? But what do we spend 99% of our life doing? Is there really any difference between us and those without Jesus, besides us going to church, maybe? During this time of fasting we should be asking God to examine us, to correct our ways:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (v. 2)
The Word says to set our hearts on things above and then it says to make sure our minds are there as well. There is a reason for this: We aren't like everyone else. We aren't like our friends who get caught up in the dramas of Tumblr and FaceBook. We aren't into the High School scene. We don't make work our life. We don't live for retirement. Our goal is not to own a home, two cars and to have 1.2 children. We are not concerned about the stock market or worried over the rumours of wars. We don't diminish our calling by throwing away our calling on xbox games and movies. We are different from the world:
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)
And that is the truth of the matter. We do not live for ourselves but for Jesus. We don't live in ourselves but in Jesus. We do not seek self-pleasure but what pleases God. Our joy is not what we do but what we are because of Jesus. Our peace does not come from external matters but is a gift from Jesus, deserved or not.
I hope your goal in your fasting is to rediscover these facts. I pray you are seeking his face.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Making Jesus Our Everything
I think many of us want to live a life that glorifies God. It is our desire to know each day that our Father is pleased with us. We long to hear from our King "Well done good and faithful servant". The only real question is, how do we do it?
It's not as hard or complicated as we make it seem.
There are many lists in the Bible, a number of does and don'ts, a few things that look like we can put them into practical use. You have even probably tried to follow a few of these as most of us have, and failed in doing it, as all of us have. This is the thing to keep in mind: Jesus came to free us from a law we could not live, not to set up another one to replace it.
Jesus took the law and fulfilled it because we couldn't. Then he had the Holy Spirit take the law and write it on our hearts, empowering us through the Spirit to live the law in our new life, not from a list but from our heart. The law is in us, but in a friendly, practical way. As Jesus said it is summed up in two things: Love God with your entire being and love others. If we live this then we will fulfil the law and every list we find in the Bible.
But that brings us back to the "how" question. How do I live this "law"?
Without a doubt we have a part to play in this but the biggest part is God's as he shapes us into the character of Jesus. Our part is to let him to do it and we do this by making sure that Jesus comes first. Well, let's go beyond that. We do this by making sure Jesus is our everything. The only way he becomes our everything is when we make our life and everything in it about him. Let's go beyond that: he becomes everything when we recognize that our life and everything in it is from him and for him.
In Colossians 3 Apostle Paul gives us a few lists concerning holy living. They are important lists but not ones that were intended for us to live up to. That is how the world would perceive them. They are not a list of things for us to do but instead to allow the Holy Spirit to do in us. He is able to do this when we allow him to do it and we allow him when your heart and mind are possessed by Jesus as they must be. Paul starts this section off by the single most important thing we must do (our part) every day. Let's break it into two sections. The first:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
The heart is a deceiving thing. Our emotions trip us up every day. From the heart comes jealousy, anger, hatred and many negative things. If we keep our heart focused on how things effect us, how peoples actions harm us, and make everything about us, our emotions will continue to trip us up. But we are instructed here to not make it about us. We are told to set our heart on things above and as we do this the Holy Spirit is able to do his thing in us; the love of God flows through; all the incredible things of God are let loose, and we find ourselves forgiving, having compassion, being tender, understanding other people's actions. The more we set our heart on things above the more capacity we have to love God and others
The second thing:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (v. 2)
It's not just emotions, perspective matters as well. During Paul's day the heart was the symbol of everything that made us human, including intelligence. The mind was seen as the place where we perceive things. In this case if we set our mind on things above then we will have the right perspective. As long as we are only perceiving in the natural the Spirit will not have the freedom to show us what God is doing. When we get our mind set on Jesus, everything in this world looks different. We can see the ugliness and why the world needs Jesus. As long as we are perceiving with our mind with the perspective of the world we will never fully understand the importance of Jesus to this world or God's will in our life. We will not be able to love God and others, at least not as God defines love.
Paul also reminds us why our heart and mind should be set on thingss above:
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears,then you also will appear with him in glory. (vv. 3-4)
Our life is no longer made up of things of this world but instead we are hidden with Jesus. We died. We keep forgetting that. When we accepted Jesus we died to what we were, how we felt and what we perceived, to our opinions. That is how it must be but often today it is more like Jesus just becomes part of our life instead of BEING our life. That's what Paul is saying here: "When Christ, who is your life ..." You died and the only way you can live is in and through Jesus just as he lives in and through us. This is the only way to live a life that glorifies God.
Tomorrow we will look at how this translates in our daily living.
It's not as hard or complicated as we make it seem.
There are many lists in the Bible, a number of does and don'ts, a few things that look like we can put them into practical use. You have even probably tried to follow a few of these as most of us have, and failed in doing it, as all of us have. This is the thing to keep in mind: Jesus came to free us from a law we could not live, not to set up another one to replace it.
Jesus took the law and fulfilled it because we couldn't. Then he had the Holy Spirit take the law and write it on our hearts, empowering us through the Spirit to live the law in our new life, not from a list but from our heart. The law is in us, but in a friendly, practical way. As Jesus said it is summed up in two things: Love God with your entire being and love others. If we live this then we will fulfil the law and every list we find in the Bible.
But that brings us back to the "how" question. How do I live this "law"?
Without a doubt we have a part to play in this but the biggest part is God's as he shapes us into the character of Jesus. Our part is to let him to do it and we do this by making sure that Jesus comes first. Well, let's go beyond that. We do this by making sure Jesus is our everything. The only way he becomes our everything is when we make our life and everything in it about him. Let's go beyond that: he becomes everything when we recognize that our life and everything in it is from him and for him.
In Colossians 3 Apostle Paul gives us a few lists concerning holy living. They are important lists but not ones that were intended for us to live up to. That is how the world would perceive them. They are not a list of things for us to do but instead to allow the Holy Spirit to do in us. He is able to do this when we allow him to do it and we allow him when your heart and mind are possessed by Jesus as they must be. Paul starts this section off by the single most important thing we must do (our part) every day. Let's break it into two sections. The first:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
The heart is a deceiving thing. Our emotions trip us up every day. From the heart comes jealousy, anger, hatred and many negative things. If we keep our heart focused on how things effect us, how peoples actions harm us, and make everything about us, our emotions will continue to trip us up. But we are instructed here to not make it about us. We are told to set our heart on things above and as we do this the Holy Spirit is able to do his thing in us; the love of God flows through; all the incredible things of God are let loose, and we find ourselves forgiving, having compassion, being tender, understanding other people's actions. The more we set our heart on things above the more capacity we have to love God and others
The second thing:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (v. 2)
It's not just emotions, perspective matters as well. During Paul's day the heart was the symbol of everything that made us human, including intelligence. The mind was seen as the place where we perceive things. In this case if we set our mind on things above then we will have the right perspective. As long as we are only perceiving in the natural the Spirit will not have the freedom to show us what God is doing. When we get our mind set on Jesus, everything in this world looks different. We can see the ugliness and why the world needs Jesus. As long as we are perceiving with our mind with the perspective of the world we will never fully understand the importance of Jesus to this world or God's will in our life. We will not be able to love God and others, at least not as God defines love.
Paul also reminds us why our heart and mind should be set on thingss above:
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears,then you also will appear with him in glory. (vv. 3-4)
Our life is no longer made up of things of this world but instead we are hidden with Jesus. We died. We keep forgetting that. When we accepted Jesus we died to what we were, how we felt and what we perceived, to our opinions. That is how it must be but often today it is more like Jesus just becomes part of our life instead of BEING our life. That's what Paul is saying here: "When Christ, who is your life ..." You died and the only way you can live is in and through Jesus just as he lives in and through us. This is the only way to live a life that glorifies God.
Tomorrow we will look at how this translates in our daily living.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Your First Thought This Morning Is A Clue To Where Your Heart Is
What was your first thought as you woke up this morning? Was it one of thanksgiving or complaint? What was the first task that came to mind? Was it giving or taking in nature? There are little clues that reveal to us the true nature of our heart. It is good when we have the discipline to take the negative in our life and place it in submission to the Spirit but it is even better when our heart is so changed that thanksgiving and selflessness is our knee jerk reaction.
The transformation of our heart and mind is only possible by the power of God's Spirit in us but he does need our cooperation in the process. When we accept Jesus we are given a new heart and mind, or at least the capacity of righteousness is changed in them. They are now freed from the bondage of our sin nature and given the capability to be filled with the righteousness of God. This means that we are now capable of living according to the Father's heart and the character of Jesus Christ. We will stumble as a toddler stumbles, learning how to walk and negotiate the obstacles in his life, but the grace of Jesus picks us up, dusts us off and sets us on our way again.
One of the things that helps in this transformation process is the development of thankfulness. The greater our heart is possessed with thanksgiving the easier it is for us to submit to the Spirit of God. Let's go back to my opening question: Was your first thought this morning one of thanksgiving?
"Jesus, thank you for this new day of opportunity."
"Thank you for such a wonderful night sleep."
"Thank you for your presence this morning."
"Lord Jesus, thank you for your love."
There are so many of Jesus' promises we can wake up thanking him for, such as our salvation. That one thing alone is worth an eternity of praise:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-5)
Jesus "gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age" is enough to wake us up every morning with a new song on our heart. If not, we are losing sight of God's goodness in all the busyness of our day. There is no need for it. If things begin to fade in our life it is because we have stopped paying attention to them. If your great passion for Jesus is fading, it is because you have stopped giving him the number one place in your life.
I've been at this for far too long to listen to people's excuses of why they think God has become distant to them. It hardly ever starts with sin. It usually begins when we start spending less time learning about Jesus, less time in prayer, less time talking about Jesus and less time in worship. These things are what allows the Spirit to pour freshness into us. If we dam up these sources then the river is going to run dry. A dry river always leads to sin taking over again. It is never that Jesus has withdrawn from us but us who have stopped paying attention to him.
However, remembering what we need to be thankful for is a means to keep the sources clear of any debris. It is hard to forget Jesus when we keep praising him and thanking him for everything in our life, starting with our first thought in the morning. A person possessed by Jesus Christ is a joyful and obedient person. Their character is attractive due to this attitude of thanksgiving and joy. They leave no room for a negative thought to take root and the Spirit of God continues to refresh them throughout the day. Thanksgiving is our way of oiling our heart and mind so the Holy Spirit has an easy time of continuing with the transformation. So, let us lift up holy hands and thank our Lord Jesus for the great things he has done, is doing and will do. Fill your thoughts with Jesus and your heart will fill with love and praise. Praise the Lord!
The transformation of our heart and mind is only possible by the power of God's Spirit in us but he does need our cooperation in the process. When we accept Jesus we are given a new heart and mind, or at least the capacity of righteousness is changed in them. They are now freed from the bondage of our sin nature and given the capability to be filled with the righteousness of God. This means that we are now capable of living according to the Father's heart and the character of Jesus Christ. We will stumble as a toddler stumbles, learning how to walk and negotiate the obstacles in his life, but the grace of Jesus picks us up, dusts us off and sets us on our way again.
One of the things that helps in this transformation process is the development of thankfulness. The greater our heart is possessed with thanksgiving the easier it is for us to submit to the Spirit of God. Let's go back to my opening question: Was your first thought this morning one of thanksgiving?
"Jesus, thank you for this new day of opportunity."
"Thank you for such a wonderful night sleep."
"Thank you for your presence this morning."
"Lord Jesus, thank you for your love."
There are so many of Jesus' promises we can wake up thanking him for, such as our salvation. That one thing alone is worth an eternity of praise:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-5)
Jesus "gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age" is enough to wake us up every morning with a new song on our heart. If not, we are losing sight of God's goodness in all the busyness of our day. There is no need for it. If things begin to fade in our life it is because we have stopped paying attention to them. If your great passion for Jesus is fading, it is because you have stopped giving him the number one place in your life.
I've been at this for far too long to listen to people's excuses of why they think God has become distant to them. It hardly ever starts with sin. It usually begins when we start spending less time learning about Jesus, less time in prayer, less time talking about Jesus and less time in worship. These things are what allows the Spirit to pour freshness into us. If we dam up these sources then the river is going to run dry. A dry river always leads to sin taking over again. It is never that Jesus has withdrawn from us but us who have stopped paying attention to him.
However, remembering what we need to be thankful for is a means to keep the sources clear of any debris. It is hard to forget Jesus when we keep praising him and thanking him for everything in our life, starting with our first thought in the morning. A person possessed by Jesus Christ is a joyful and obedient person. Their character is attractive due to this attitude of thanksgiving and joy. They leave no room for a negative thought to take root and the Spirit of God continues to refresh them throughout the day. Thanksgiving is our way of oiling our heart and mind so the Holy Spirit has an easy time of continuing with the transformation. So, let us lift up holy hands and thank our Lord Jesus for the great things he has done, is doing and will do. Fill your thoughts with Jesus and your heart will fill with love and praise. Praise the Lord!
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