"Dead Man Walking"
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 6 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. The arrival would not have been the only thing painful. Every step of that 3 day walk is a devastating blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Showing posts with label Sacrifice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sacrifice. Show all posts
Monday, January 9, 2012
Sunday, November 13, 2011
11.13.11
"Your Dream must Die to Live"
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15,16
"A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike!" Prov. 27:15 - Not the devotional thought for today, but it's in the reading... I just threw it in to boost the ratings! :)
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, "While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!"
What strikes me as a theme throughout God's Word is how when there is a great dream given by God, the individual must lay it down to see it come to life. Abraham is one of the most specific examples. He was promised to be the father of nations. It wasn't happening. Things seemed hopeless. Then finally, the son of promise came. Then God told him to sacrifice him.
Why do you think that is? Is it because God is mean? Is it some sort of morbid manipulation? Or do you think it's because of what it does inside the heart of the dreamer? God didn't need Isaac dead. We know that now, but I'm sure Abraham was wondering what God was thinking. What Abraham didn't realize was the need for Isaac to be dead in him.
So often we have a Big Dream. (not to be confused with the acronym DREAM which represents the Balanced Christian Life) We have this picture of something God has placed in our heart. It can be as huge as being president of the company, or as seemingly unpretentious as a fulfilling marriage. What happens when this dream is birthed in our heart is that we become attached to it. It soon becomes "about me". "This is what I want". "This is MY dream."
If we feed that too much we start to figure that we need to take our own steps to make it happen. Not that it's bad that we are motivated to accomplish great things, but if things aren't happening in our time-frame, we start to take short-cuts. Like Abraham & Sarah, we have an Ishmael. Like Moses, we murder an Egyptian. All done outside of God's plan and God's timing. This dream that has been birthed by God can actually become a tumor that kills us if we are not careful. So what has to happen?
We have to lay it down. We have to give the dream back to the Dream Giver. We have to say, "It's not mine. It's Yours." This requires trust in a God who loves us. Our flesh (being fed lies from the enemy) begins to think that God just wants to punish us. We think he just wants to take our dreams for the purpose of making life miserable. (Remember the warped perception of the third servant in Matt. 24. He says, "I knew you were a harsh master, taking what is not yours.")
The truth is that he needs to test us. He needs to prove we can be trusted with the Big Dream. If we become too attached to the Dream, it becomes our god. And God loves us too much to allow that to happen. So he asks us to lay it down.
This is not an isolated biblical example. It happens again and again and again. So often the path to the fulfillment of the dream is the OPPOSITE direction our flesh thinks we should go.
What's your dream? Is it the fulfilling marriage that you can't see happening unless you get out of it? Is it the promotion at work you seek so you want to backstab the competition? Have you been running from job to job trying to find fulfillment of your goals? What you need to do is lay it down. Offer it back to God. I think many times we believe that we've done that. We lay it on the altar, but really we pick it up again and take it with us. To really lay it down, we must grieve it's loss. THEN there's something inside us that realizes it was never ours to begin with. Then we realize who God really is. Our faith is increased, and we receive the power to step out as never before. And suddenly, and even unexpectedly, the dream has become a reality.
Do you want to know the ultimate example?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The Dream must die to live.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15,16
"A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike!" Prov. 27:15 - Not the devotional thought for today, but it's in the reading... I just threw it in to boost the ratings! :)
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, "While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!"
What strikes me as a theme throughout God's Word is how when there is a great dream given by God, the individual must lay it down to see it come to life. Abraham is one of the most specific examples. He was promised to be the father of nations. It wasn't happening. Things seemed hopeless. Then finally, the son of promise came. Then God told him to sacrifice him.
Why do you think that is? Is it because God is mean? Is it some sort of morbid manipulation? Or do you think it's because of what it does inside the heart of the dreamer? God didn't need Isaac dead. We know that now, but I'm sure Abraham was wondering what God was thinking. What Abraham didn't realize was the need for Isaac to be dead in him.
So often we have a Big Dream. (not to be confused with the acronym DREAM which represents the Balanced Christian Life) We have this picture of something God has placed in our heart. It can be as huge as being president of the company, or as seemingly unpretentious as a fulfilling marriage. What happens when this dream is birthed in our heart is that we become attached to it. It soon becomes "about me". "This is what I want". "This is MY dream."
If we feed that too much we start to figure that we need to take our own steps to make it happen. Not that it's bad that we are motivated to accomplish great things, but if things aren't happening in our time-frame, we start to take short-cuts. Like Abraham & Sarah, we have an Ishmael. Like Moses, we murder an Egyptian. All done outside of God's plan and God's timing. This dream that has been birthed by God can actually become a tumor that kills us if we are not careful. So what has to happen?
We have to lay it down. We have to give the dream back to the Dream Giver. We have to say, "It's not mine. It's Yours." This requires trust in a God who loves us. Our flesh (being fed lies from the enemy) begins to think that God just wants to punish us. We think he just wants to take our dreams for the purpose of making life miserable. (Remember the warped perception of the third servant in Matt. 24. He says, "I knew you were a harsh master, taking what is not yours.")
The truth is that he needs to test us. He needs to prove we can be trusted with the Big Dream. If we become too attached to the Dream, it becomes our god. And God loves us too much to allow that to happen. So he asks us to lay it down.
This is not an isolated biblical example. It happens again and again and again. So often the path to the fulfillment of the dream is the OPPOSITE direction our flesh thinks we should go.
What's your dream? Is it the fulfilling marriage that you can't see happening unless you get out of it? Is it the promotion at work you seek so you want to backstab the competition? Have you been running from job to job trying to find fulfillment of your goals? What you need to do is lay it down. Offer it back to God. I think many times we believe that we've done that. We lay it on the altar, but really we pick it up again and take it with us. To really lay it down, we must grieve it's loss. THEN there's something inside us that realizes it was never ours to begin with. Then we realize who God really is. Our faith is increased, and we receive the power to step out as never before. And suddenly, and even unexpectedly, the dream has become a reality.
Do you want to know the ultimate example?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The Dream must die to live.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, July 15, 2011
7.15.11 "The Cost of the Offering"
"The Cost of the Offering"
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Romans 2:24-3:8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
What have you given God? What has it cost you? When we consider that, our mind can run a bunch of different directions. Some might be thinking about a check that's thrown in the offering, some might think of some time committed, or something donated or something like that.
In I Chronicles 21, David has made a mistake. He has sinned against the Lord. The results of his actions bring a plague on his people that causes 70,000 to die. In his mercy, God relents from destroying Jerusalem. David sees an angel with a sword drawn that points toward Jerusalem.
"Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." (I Chron. 21:18)
"David said to Ornan, 'Let me buy this threshing-floor from you at its full price; then I will build an altar to the Lord and the plague will stop.' 'Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish,' Ornan said.... 'I give it all to you.' 'No,' the king replied, 'I will buy it for the full price; I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!'"
David offered the sacrifice and the angel put the sword away.
We've heard that phrase before "I will not offer that which cost me nothing." It is more profound than we realize. Following Christ demands our all. We live in an age of convenience Christianity. "I will serve Christ if it conveniences me," seems to be the mantra for many in our culture. "Heaven forbid there is a cost to following Christ."
Truly serving Christ costs us everything. If we want our life to be pleasing unto God, we need to offer him our all. Isaac Watts in the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" wrote the phrase, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
What is the payment we must make? The specifics of each individual moment will vary for each of us. At some point it may be merely a sacrifice of convenience. It may be a sacrifice of comfort zone. At other times it may be offering that which is most precious.
But why?? Why does God want this? Does he really need my money? my time? Does he really need me to give him what is so important to me?
In our minds we look at what we're giving up. He's not looking at that at all. He's looking deeper. He's looking at our heart.
In Romans 2:29 Paul is talking to the Roman Jews about what it means to truly follow Christ. He says, "For God is not looking for those who cut their bodies in actual circumcision, but he is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God, even if not from you."
The cost of the offering is the changed heart.
God isn't asking you to lay down your life because he needs it. He's asking us to lay it down because it's ONLY in laying down our lives that we can find life. Your right, it makes no worldly sense. But when we plant our hopes, dreams, fears, affections, in the grave of sacrifice, incredible life breaks forth. That's the way God works.
With that perspective, we realize that any "cost" is really no cost at all. We're only giving up that which is keeping us from fulfillment, joy and peace.
We sing the song "Offering" in our services. Here are the lyrics:
"I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due.
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
That last line is repeated a few times. It's easy to sing if you think the offering is only the song. The offering is not the song. It's the changed heart.
I will not offer Him that which cost me nothing. "Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Romans 2:24-3:8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
What have you given God? What has it cost you? When we consider that, our mind can run a bunch of different directions. Some might be thinking about a check that's thrown in the offering, some might think of some time committed, or something donated or something like that.
In I Chronicles 21, David has made a mistake. He has sinned against the Lord. The results of his actions bring a plague on his people that causes 70,000 to die. In his mercy, God relents from destroying Jerusalem. David sees an angel with a sword drawn that points toward Jerusalem.
"Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." (I Chron. 21:18)
"David said to Ornan, 'Let me buy this threshing-floor from you at its full price; then I will build an altar to the Lord and the plague will stop.' 'Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish,' Ornan said.... 'I give it all to you.' 'No,' the king replied, 'I will buy it for the full price; I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!'"
David offered the sacrifice and the angel put the sword away.
We've heard that phrase before "I will not offer that which cost me nothing." It is more profound than we realize. Following Christ demands our all. We live in an age of convenience Christianity. "I will serve Christ if it conveniences me," seems to be the mantra for many in our culture. "Heaven forbid there is a cost to following Christ."
Truly serving Christ costs us everything. If we want our life to be pleasing unto God, we need to offer him our all. Isaac Watts in the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" wrote the phrase, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
What is the payment we must make? The specifics of each individual moment will vary for each of us. At some point it may be merely a sacrifice of convenience. It may be a sacrifice of comfort zone. At other times it may be offering that which is most precious.
But why?? Why does God want this? Does he really need my money? my time? Does he really need me to give him what is so important to me?
In our minds we look at what we're giving up. He's not looking at that at all. He's looking deeper. He's looking at our heart.
In Romans 2:29 Paul is talking to the Roman Jews about what it means to truly follow Christ. He says, "For God is not looking for those who cut their bodies in actual circumcision, but he is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God, even if not from you."
The cost of the offering is the changed heart.
God isn't asking you to lay down your life because he needs it. He's asking us to lay it down because it's ONLY in laying down our lives that we can find life. Your right, it makes no worldly sense. But when we plant our hopes, dreams, fears, affections, in the grave of sacrifice, incredible life breaks forth. That's the way God works.
With that perspective, we realize that any "cost" is really no cost at all. We're only giving up that which is keeping us from fulfillment, joy and peace.
We sing the song "Offering" in our services. Here are the lyrics:
"I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due.
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
That last line is repeated a few times. It's easy to sing if you think the offering is only the song. The offering is not the song. It's the changed heart.
I will not offer Him that which cost me nothing. "Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Sunday, May 29, 2011
5.29.11 "Sin Breaks Relationships"
"Sin Breaks Relationships"
2 Samuel 14:1-15:22
John 18:1-24
Psalm 119:96-112
Proverbs 16:8-9
Each year I am in a battle to keep a birds' nest away from under our deck. It has been used by finches & robins. When living under there, the robins really get uptight when we're out here. Usually they holler at us from a distance, sometimes with a worm in their mouth because it's feeding time, and they don't want me anywhere around. When she was 6 years old, my daughter asked, "Dad, why can't we all just get along? Why can't the birds just come and play with us instead of being afraid?" I told her "that's the way things used to be." We talked about the Garden of Eden and how sin messed everything up. I can't say specifically that Adam and the robins played together, and it is hard to imagine the dynamics of the human/animal relationship there, but I do know that sin breaks relationships.
In the chapters we read today in 2 Samuel, we discover the same truth. Sin breaks relationships. Remember what has already happened: Absolom killed his brother, Amnon who had raped his sister. As a result, Absolom fled, and was in exile for 3 years. The last verse in 2 Samuel 13 says, "David... longed day after day for fellowship with his son Absolom."
2 Samuel 14 is the story about how Joab, a general in David's army is so concerned about this broken relationship that he hires an actress to tell a story to get David's attention and to bring Absolom home. Well, David brings him home, but does not reconcile with him. There is a difference between restoring relationship and reconciling relationship.
Because there hasn't been reconciliation, Absalom actually stirs up a rebellion. 2 Sam 15:6 says, "So in this way Absalom stole the hearts of all the people of Israel." Once David hears about it, he takes his family and they flee.
In today's reading in John, Jesus is arrested in the garden. In John 18:4 it says, "Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him." What was going to happen to him? He was going to reconcile the broken relationship caused by sin.
There is a great cost with reconciliation. Most of the time it comes from the "offended" submitting to the need of the "offender". We offended God with our sin, so Jesus laid down his life for us. Sin not only breaks relationship with God, it breaks relationship with those around us. We need to lay down our pride, will and opinion, to reconcile those relationships as well.
Sin is a big deal! It comes at so great a cost! We don't realize the danger of just a "morsel" of sin. It causes damage to friends, families, even kingdoms. We need to obey the Word at all costs. Psalm 119:109 says, "My life hangs in the balance, but I will not give up obedience to your laws." We need to understand that urgency. Our very lives are at stake.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
2 Samuel 14:1-15:22
John 18:1-24
Psalm 119:96-112
Proverbs 16:8-9
Each year I am in a battle to keep a birds' nest away from under our deck. It has been used by finches & robins. When living under there, the robins really get uptight when we're out here. Usually they holler at us from a distance, sometimes with a worm in their mouth because it's feeding time, and they don't want me anywhere around. When she was 6 years old, my daughter asked, "Dad, why can't we all just get along? Why can't the birds just come and play with us instead of being afraid?" I told her "that's the way things used to be." We talked about the Garden of Eden and how sin messed everything up. I can't say specifically that Adam and the robins played together, and it is hard to imagine the dynamics of the human/animal relationship there, but I do know that sin breaks relationships.
In the chapters we read today in 2 Samuel, we discover the same truth. Sin breaks relationships. Remember what has already happened: Absolom killed his brother, Amnon who had raped his sister. As a result, Absolom fled, and was in exile for 3 years. The last verse in 2 Samuel 13 says, "David... longed day after day for fellowship with his son Absolom."
2 Samuel 14 is the story about how Joab, a general in David's army is so concerned about this broken relationship that he hires an actress to tell a story to get David's attention and to bring Absolom home. Well, David brings him home, but does not reconcile with him. There is a difference between restoring relationship and reconciling relationship.
Because there hasn't been reconciliation, Absalom actually stirs up a rebellion. 2 Sam 15:6 says, "So in this way Absalom stole the hearts of all the people of Israel." Once David hears about it, he takes his family and they flee.
In today's reading in John, Jesus is arrested in the garden. In John 18:4 it says, "Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him." What was going to happen to him? He was going to reconcile the broken relationship caused by sin.
There is a great cost with reconciliation. Most of the time it comes from the "offended" submitting to the need of the "offender". We offended God with our sin, so Jesus laid down his life for us. Sin not only breaks relationship with God, it breaks relationship with those around us. We need to lay down our pride, will and opinion, to reconcile those relationships as well.
Sin is a big deal! It comes at so great a cost! We don't realize the danger of just a "morsel" of sin. It causes damage to friends, families, even kingdoms. We need to obey the Word at all costs. Psalm 119:109 says, "My life hangs in the balance, but I will not give up obedience to your laws." We need to understand that urgency. Our very lives are at stake.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, May 14, 2011
5.14.11 "Sometimes It Costs Everything"
"Sometimes It Costs Everything"
1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10
I wonder what people would say when asked this question? "Who are you most like? Saul or David?" I don't know that there are many out there who list Saul as one of their heroes. I find Saul's story incredibly fascinating. Unfortunately it's because I find that we are so much like him.
We've read in the past few days about how Saul has a habit of taking things that are "about God" and making them "about Saul". This is true in the story of the Amalekites in I Sam. 15. The Lord says this to Saul through Samuel, "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amelek... Now go and completely destroy the entire Amelek nation - men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
Those instructions sound pretty specific, don't they. No, they're not pretty, and it doesn't sound easy, but none the less, the instructions are clear. So how did Saul follow through? He did a lot of killing, but "He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but Killed everyone else. However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs - everything, in fact that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." (15:8-9)
As we read this a few thousand years later, we shake our heads, and say, "Saul, how could you be so stupid?" We don't realize that we fall into the same trap. We are all jazzed up about walking in obedience, as long as it means destroying only what is "worthless or of poor quality." I've never been a drug user. Never even tried it. So it's not hard for me to stay away from cocaine because hey, that's what God has commanded me to do. But what about when obedience costs me something I love, or something that appeals to me?
Christians get into trouble when it comes to purity before the Lord because sometimes we actually love the sin too much to give it up. There's "value" to it in our minds. Saul wasn't lacking for sheep or camels. Yet he kept them. His excuse was, "I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." (15:24)
There may be times that obedience to the Lord will cost everything. We need to remember the quote from Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep only to gain that which he cannot lose." Though the sacrifice may be great when we walk in total obedience, it is worth it when we live in the reward of blessing.
When we aren't willing to give it all up, we end up losing it anyway, and we also lose the privilege of the blessing of the obedient life. Saul found that out the hard way. "'Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.'" (I Sam. 15:26)
Oh that we could remember that there is NO cost too great in following Christ. He will never call us to do anything without giving us the strength to obey. There will be a sacrifice. It may very well be the sacrifice of our desire, our comfort, and our flesh. But it is Worth IT!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10
I wonder what people would say when asked this question? "Who are you most like? Saul or David?" I don't know that there are many out there who list Saul as one of their heroes. I find Saul's story incredibly fascinating. Unfortunately it's because I find that we are so much like him.
We've read in the past few days about how Saul has a habit of taking things that are "about God" and making them "about Saul". This is true in the story of the Amalekites in I Sam. 15. The Lord says this to Saul through Samuel, "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amelek... Now go and completely destroy the entire Amelek nation - men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
Those instructions sound pretty specific, don't they. No, they're not pretty, and it doesn't sound easy, but none the less, the instructions are clear. So how did Saul follow through? He did a lot of killing, but "He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but Killed everyone else. However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs - everything, in fact that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." (15:8-9)
As we read this a few thousand years later, we shake our heads, and say, "Saul, how could you be so stupid?" We don't realize that we fall into the same trap. We are all jazzed up about walking in obedience, as long as it means destroying only what is "worthless or of poor quality." I've never been a drug user. Never even tried it. So it's not hard for me to stay away from cocaine because hey, that's what God has commanded me to do. But what about when obedience costs me something I love, or something that appeals to me?
Christians get into trouble when it comes to purity before the Lord because sometimes we actually love the sin too much to give it up. There's "value" to it in our minds. Saul wasn't lacking for sheep or camels. Yet he kept them. His excuse was, "I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." (15:24)
There may be times that obedience to the Lord will cost everything. We need to remember the quote from Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep only to gain that which he cannot lose." Though the sacrifice may be great when we walk in total obedience, it is worth it when we live in the reward of blessing.
When we aren't willing to give it all up, we end up losing it anyway, and we also lose the privilege of the blessing of the obedient life. Saul found that out the hard way. "'Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.'" (I Sam. 15:26)
Oh that we could remember that there is NO cost too great in following Christ. He will never call us to do anything without giving us the strength to obey. There will be a sacrifice. It may very well be the sacrifice of our desire, our comfort, and our flesh. But it is Worth IT!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Sunday, January 9, 2011
1.9.11 "Dead Man Walking"
"Dead Man Walking"
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 5 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. The arrival would not have been the only thing painful. Every step of that 3 day walk is a devastating blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 5 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. The arrival would not have been the only thing painful. Every step of that 3 day walk is a devastating blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, November 27, 2010
11.27.10 "It's Much Quieter with your Head in the Sand"
"It's Much Quieter with your Head in the Sand"
Daniel 4:1-37
2 Peter 1:1-21
Psalm 119:96-112
Proverbs 28:17-18
Do you ever wish that someone hadn't told you something? Maybe it was when you found out what was in hot dogs! I wish I hadn't heard THAT! I think our lives are often spent in the pursuit of our human nature's mission statement, "Live the Comfort Zone!" We love to hover as close to that as we can. We try to make sure we chase possessions and wealth, and even the pursuit of "rest" whether that be in days off, or sleeping in, or whatever. We can have seasons where we think "it doesn't get any better than this." I have a great TV, a recorded football game, and a reclining couch. What more do you need?
Then someone comes along, and rocks the boat with an irritating morsel of truth. It may be a story of someone in need that cuts through to our very inner being. Maybe it's word of a sacrifice an individual is making to serve another. Because we work so hard to pursue "comfort zone", we don't want to hear that. We think we've built our safety net... our security. We draw the line in our schedule and say, "God I've given you enough". Even when we feel the tug of the Spirit, we don't put more in the offering because we've over spent in other areas, so it doesn't fit into the budget. We think WE have it figured out. "God, you'll mess up my plan if I follow you in this."
Let's see how that worked for Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
"I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in peace and prosperity, when one night I had a dream that greatly frightened me. I called in all the wise men of Babylon to tell me the meaning of my dream, but when they came... they couldn't interpret it. At last Daniel came in..."
He proceeds to tell Daniel the dream. Daniel is silent for an hour before sharing the meaning with him. "Daniel replied: 'Oh, that the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, and not to you!"
Uh oh...
As it turns out the dream meant that this mighty king who is known throughout the world is going to live like a beast in the field for 7 years. Sure enough, verse 29 says, "Twelve months after this dream, he was strolling on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, and saying, 'I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence, and as the capital of my empire.' While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you: You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be forced out of the palace to live with the animals in the fields, and to eat grass like the cows for seven years..." Now get this: "... until you finally realize that God parcels out the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he chooses."
That happened, and when he realized 7 years later that it was God, and not him, he regained his kingdom.
We stick our head in the sand when we surround ourselves with all that is comfortable. Then God has a way of getting our attention. Sometimes it's to the extreme of King Nebuchadnezzar. Other times it's more subtle.
We must get our head out of the sand and Live the DREAM as laid out in 2 Peter 1:
"Do you want more and more of God's kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life [Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship]: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character." (vs. 2-4)
"But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good [the discipline of Empowered through Biblical Training], and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do." [Active Ministry Involvement] vs. 5.
"Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. this will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply." [Relationships Devoted to Unity] vs. 6-7
"The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ." [Mission to Reach our World for Christ] vs. 8.
Maturing in Christ is a process that we must keep before us each day. We must challenge one another. We must get our head out of the sand and pursue with intensity the race marked out before us. It would have been much more comfortable if my ears wouldn't have heard the need.
But they did.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Daniel 4:1-37
2 Peter 1:1-21
Psalm 119:96-112
Proverbs 28:17-18
Do you ever wish that someone hadn't told you something? Maybe it was when you found out what was in hot dogs! I wish I hadn't heard THAT! I think our lives are often spent in the pursuit of our human nature's mission statement, "Live the Comfort Zone!" We love to hover as close to that as we can. We try to make sure we chase possessions and wealth, and even the pursuit of "rest" whether that be in days off, or sleeping in, or whatever. We can have seasons where we think "it doesn't get any better than this." I have a great TV, a recorded football game, and a reclining couch. What more do you need?
Then someone comes along, and rocks the boat with an irritating morsel of truth. It may be a story of someone in need that cuts through to our very inner being. Maybe it's word of a sacrifice an individual is making to serve another. Because we work so hard to pursue "comfort zone", we don't want to hear that. We think we've built our safety net... our security. We draw the line in our schedule and say, "God I've given you enough". Even when we feel the tug of the Spirit, we don't put more in the offering because we've over spent in other areas, so it doesn't fit into the budget. We think WE have it figured out. "God, you'll mess up my plan if I follow you in this."
Let's see how that worked for Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
"I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in peace and prosperity, when one night I had a dream that greatly frightened me. I called in all the wise men of Babylon to tell me the meaning of my dream, but when they came... they couldn't interpret it. At last Daniel came in..."
He proceeds to tell Daniel the dream. Daniel is silent for an hour before sharing the meaning with him. "Daniel replied: 'Oh, that the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, and not to you!"
Uh oh...
As it turns out the dream meant that this mighty king who is known throughout the world is going to live like a beast in the field for 7 years. Sure enough, verse 29 says, "Twelve months after this dream, he was strolling on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, and saying, 'I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence, and as the capital of my empire.' While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you: You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be forced out of the palace to live with the animals in the fields, and to eat grass like the cows for seven years..." Now get this: "... until you finally realize that God parcels out the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he chooses."
That happened, and when he realized 7 years later that it was God, and not him, he regained his kingdom.
We stick our head in the sand when we surround ourselves with all that is comfortable. Then God has a way of getting our attention. Sometimes it's to the extreme of King Nebuchadnezzar. Other times it's more subtle.
We must get our head out of the sand and Live the DREAM as laid out in 2 Peter 1:
"Do you want more and more of God's kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life [Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship]: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character." (vs. 2-4)
"But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good [the discipline of Empowered through Biblical Training], and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do." [Active Ministry Involvement] vs. 5.
"Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. this will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply." [Relationships Devoted to Unity] vs. 6-7
"The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ." [Mission to Reach our World for Christ] vs. 8.
Maturing in Christ is a process that we must keep before us each day. We must challenge one another. We must get our head out of the sand and pursue with intensity the race marked out before us. It would have been much more comfortable if my ears wouldn't have heard the need.
But they did.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, November 13, 2010
11.13.10 "Your Dream must Die to Live"
"Your Dream must Die to Live"
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15,16
"A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike!" Prov. 27:15 - Not the devotional thought for today, but it's in the reading... I just threw it in to boost the ratings! :)
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, "While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!"
What strikes me as a theme throughout God's Word is how when there is a great dream given by God, the individual must lay it down to see it come to life. Abraham is one of the most specific examples. He was promised to be the father of nations. It wasn't happening. Things seemed hopeless. Then finally, the son of promise came. Then God told him to sacrifice him.
Why do you think that is? Is it because God is mean? Is it some sort of morbid manipulation? Or do you think it's because of what it does inside the heart of the dreamer? God didn't need Isaac dead. We know that now, but I'm sure Abraham was wondering what God was thinking. What Abraham didn't realize was the need for Isaac to be dead in him.
So often we have a Big Dream. (not to be confused with the acronym DREAM which represents the Balanced Christian Life) We have this picture of something God has placed in our heart. It can be as huge as being president of the company, or as seemingly unpretentious as a fulfilling marriage. What happens when this dream is birthed in our heart is that we become attached to it. It soon becomes "about me". "This is what I want". "This is MY dream."
If we feed that too much we start to figure that we need to take our own steps to make it happen. Not that it's bad that we are motivated to accomplish great things, but if things aren't happening in our time-frame, we start to take short-cuts. Like Abraham & Sarah, we have an Ishmael. Like Moses, we murder an Egyptian. All done outside of God's plan and God's timing. This dream that has been birthed by God can actually become a tumor that kills us if we are not careful. So what has to happen?
We have to lay it down. We have to give the dream back to the Dream Giver. We have to say, "It's not mine. It's Yours." This requires trust in a God who loves us. Our flesh (being fed lies from the enemy) begins to think that God just wants to punish us. We think he just wants to take our dreams for the purpose of making life miserable. (Remember the warped perception of the third servant in Matt. 24. He says, "I knew you were a harsh master, taking what is not yours.")
The truth is that he needs to test us. He needs to prove we can be trusted with the Big Dream. If we become too attached to the Dream, it becomes our god. And God loves us too much to allow that to happen. So he asks us to lay it down.
This is not an isolated biblical example. It happens again and again and again. So often the path to the fulfillment of the dream is the OPPOSITE direction our flesh thinks we should go.
What's your dream? Is it the fulfilling marriage that you can't see happening unless you get out of it? Is it the promotion at work you seek so you want to backstab the competition? Have you been running from job to job trying to find fulfillment of your goals? What you need to do is lay it down. Offer it back to God. I think many times we believe that we've done that. We lay it on the altar, but really we pick it up again and take it with us. To really lay it down, we must grieve it's loss. THEN there's something inside us that realizes it was never ours to begin with. Then we realize who God really is. Our faith is increased, and we receive the power to step out as never before. And suddenly, and even unexpectedly, the dream has become a reality.
Do you want to know the ultimate example?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The Dream must die to live.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15,16
"A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike!" Prov. 27:15 - Not the devotional thought for today, but it's in the reading... I just threw it in to boost the ratings! :)
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, "While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!"
What strikes me as a theme throughout God's Word is how when there is a great dream given by God, the individual must lay it down to see it come to life. Abraham is one of the most specific examples. He was promised to be the father of nations. It wasn't happening. Things seemed hopeless. Then finally, the son of promise came. Then God told him to sacrifice him.
Why do you think that is? Is it because God is mean? Is it some sort of morbid manipulation? Or do you think it's because of what it does inside the heart of the dreamer? God didn't need Isaac dead. We know that now, but I'm sure Abraham was wondering what God was thinking. What Abraham didn't realize was the need for Isaac to be dead in him.
So often we have a Big Dream. (not to be confused with the acronym DREAM which represents the Balanced Christian Life) We have this picture of something God has placed in our heart. It can be as huge as being president of the company, or as seemingly unpretentious as a fulfilling marriage. What happens when this dream is birthed in our heart is that we become attached to it. It soon becomes "about me". "This is what I want". "This is MY dream."
If we feed that too much we start to figure that we need to take our own steps to make it happen. Not that it's bad that we are motivated to accomplish great things, but if things aren't happening in our time-frame, we start to take short-cuts. Like Abraham & Sarah, we have an Ishmael. Like Moses, we murder an Egyptian. All done outside of God's plan and God's timing. This dream that has been birthed by God can actually become a tumor that kills us if we are not careful. So what has to happen?
We have to lay it down. We have to give the dream back to the Dream Giver. We have to say, "It's not mine. It's Yours." This requires trust in a God who loves us. Our flesh (being fed lies from the enemy) begins to think that God just wants to punish us. We think he just wants to take our dreams for the purpose of making life miserable. (Remember the warped perception of the third servant in Matt. 24. He says, "I knew you were a harsh master, taking what is not yours.")
The truth is that he needs to test us. He needs to prove we can be trusted with the Big Dream. If we become too attached to the Dream, it becomes our god. And God loves us too much to allow that to happen. So he asks us to lay it down.
This is not an isolated biblical example. It happens again and again and again. So often the path to the fulfillment of the dream is the OPPOSITE direction our flesh thinks we should go.
What's your dream? Is it the fulfilling marriage that you can't see happening unless you get out of it? Is it the promotion at work you seek so you want to backstab the competition? Have you been running from job to job trying to find fulfillment of your goals? What you need to do is lay it down. Offer it back to God. I think many times we believe that we've done that. We lay it on the altar, but really we pick it up again and take it with us. To really lay it down, we must grieve it's loss. THEN there's something inside us that realizes it was never ours to begin with. Then we realize who God really is. Our faith is increased, and we receive the power to step out as never before. And suddenly, and even unexpectedly, the dream has become a reality.
Do you want to know the ultimate example?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The Dream must die to live.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, July 15, 2010
7.15.10 "The Cost of the Offering"
"The Cost of the Offering"
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Romans 2:24-3:8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
What have you given God? What has it cost you? When we consider that, our mind can run a bunch of different directions. Some might be thinking about a check that's thrown in the offering, some might think of some time committed, or something donated or something like that.
In I Chronicles 21, David has made a mistake. He has sinned against the Lord. The results of his actions bring a plague on his people that causes 70,000 to die. In his mercy, God relents from destroying Jerusalem. David sees an angel with a sword drawn that points toward Jerusalem.
"Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." (I Chron. 21:18)
"David said to Ornan, 'Let me buy this threshing-floor from you at its full price; then I will build an altar to the Lord and the plague will stop.' 'Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish,' Ornan said.... 'I give it all to you.' 'No,' the king replied, 'I will buy it for the full price; I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!'"
David offered the sacrifice and the angel put the sword away.
We've heard that phrase before "I will not offer that which cost me nothing." It is more profound than we realize. Following Christ demands our all. We live in an age of convenience Christianity. "I will serve Christ if it conveniences me," seems to be the mantra for many in our culture. "Heaven forbid there is a cost to following Christ."
Truly serving Christ costs us everything. If we want our life to be pleasing unto God, we need to offer him our all. Isaac Watts in the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" wrote the phrase, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
What is the payment we must make? The specifics of each individual moment will vary for each of us. At some point it may be merely a sacrifice of convenience. It may be a sacrifice of comfort zone. At other times it may be offering that which is most precious.
But why?? Why does God want this? Does he really need my money? my time? Does he really need me to give him what is so important to me?
In our minds we look at what we're giving up. He's not looking at that at all. He's looking deeper. He's looking at our heart.
In Romans 2:29 Paul is talking to the Roman Jews about what it means to truly follow Christ. He says, "For God is not looking for those who cut their bodies in actual circumcision, but he is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God, even if not from you."
The cost of the offering is the changed heart.
God isn't asking you to lay down your life because he needs it. He's asking us to lay it down because it's ONLY in laying down our lives that we can find life. Your right, it makes no worldly sense. But when we plant our hopes, dreams, fears, affections, in the grave of sacrifice, incredible life breaks forth. That's the way God works.
With that perspective, we realize that any "cost" is really no cost at all. We're only giving up that which is keeping us from fulfillment, joy and peace.
We sing the song "Offering" in our services. Here are the lyrics:
"I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due.
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
That last line is repeated a few times. It's easy to sing if you think the offering is only the song. The offering is not the song. It's the changed heart.
I will not offer Him that which cost me nothing. "Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Romans 2:24-3:8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
What have you given God? What has it cost you? When we consider that, our mind can run a bunch of different directions. Some might be thinking about a check that's thrown in the offering, some might think of some time committed, or something donated or something like that.
In I Chronicles 21, David has made a mistake. He has sinned against the Lord. The results of his actions bring a plague on his people that causes 70,000 to die. In his mercy, God relents from destroying Jerusalem. David sees an angel with a sword drawn that points toward Jerusalem.
"Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." (I Chron. 21:18)
"David said to Ornan, 'Let me buy this threshing-floor from you at its full price; then I will build an altar to the Lord and the plague will stop.' 'Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish,' Ornan said.... 'I give it all to you.' 'No,' the king replied, 'I will buy it for the full price; I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!'"
David offered the sacrifice and the angel put the sword away.
We've heard that phrase before "I will not offer that which cost me nothing." It is more profound than we realize. Following Christ demands our all. We live in an age of convenience Christianity. "I will serve Christ if it conveniences me," seems to be the mantra for many in our culture. "Heaven forbid there is a cost to following Christ."
Truly serving Christ costs us everything. If we want our life to be pleasing unto God, we need to offer him our all. Isaac Watts in the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" wrote the phrase, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
What is the payment we must make? The specifics of each individual moment will vary for each of us. At some point it may be merely a sacrifice of convenience. It may be a sacrifice of comfort zone. At other times it may be offering that which is most precious.
But why?? Why does God want this? Does he really need my money? my time? Does he really need me to give him what is so important to me?
In our minds we look at what we're giving up. He's not looking at that at all. He's looking deeper. He's looking at our heart.
In Romans 2:29 Paul is talking to the Roman Jews about what it means to truly follow Christ. He says, "For God is not looking for those who cut their bodies in actual circumcision, but he is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God, even if not from you."
The cost of the offering is the changed heart.
God isn't asking you to lay down your life because he needs it. He's asking us to lay it down because it's ONLY in laying down our lives that we can find life. Your right, it makes no worldly sense. But when we plant our hopes, dreams, fears, affections, in the grave of sacrifice, incredible life breaks forth. That's the way God works.
With that perspective, we realize that any "cost" is really no cost at all. We're only giving up that which is keeping us from fulfillment, joy and peace.
We sing the song "Offering" in our services. Here are the lyrics:
"I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due.
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
That last line is repeated a few times. It's easy to sing if you think the offering is only the song. The offering is not the song. It's the changed heart.
I will not offer Him that which cost me nothing. "Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, May 14, 2010
5.14.10 "Sometimes It Costs Everything"
"Sometimes It Costs Everything"
1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10
I wonder what people would say when asked this question? "Who are you most like? Saul or David?" I don't know that there are many out there who list Saul as one of their heroes. I find Saul's story incredibly fascinating. Unfortunately it's because I find that we are so much like him.
We've read in the past few days about how Saul has a habit of taking things that are "about God" and making them "about Saul". This is true in the story of the Amalekites in I Sam. 15. The Lord says this to Saul through Samuel, "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amelek... Now go and completely destroy the entire Amelek nation - men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
Those instructions sound pretty specific, don't they. No, they're not pretty, and it doesn't sound easy, but none the less, the instructions are clear. So how did Saul follow through? He did a lot of killing, but "He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but Killed everyone else. However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs - everything, in fact that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." (15:8-9)
As we read this a few thousand years later, we shake our heads, and say, "Saul, how could you be so stupid?" We don't realize that we fall into the same trap. We are all jazzed up about walking in obedience, as long as it means destroying only what is "worthless or of poor quality." I've never been a drug user. Never even tried it. So it's not hard for me to stay away from cocaine because hey, that's what God has commanded me to do. But what about when obedience costs me something I love, or something that appeals to me?
Christians get into trouble when it comes to purity before the Lord because sometimes we actually love the sin too much to give it up. There's "value" to it in our minds. Saul wasn't lacking for sheep or camels. Yet he kept them. His excuse was, "I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." (15:24)
There may be times that obedience to the Lord will cost everything. We need to remember the quote from Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep only to gain that which he cannot lose." Though the sacrifice may be great when we walk in total obedience, it is worth it when we live in the reward of blessing.
When we aren't willing to give it all up, we end up losing it anyway, and we also lose the privilege of the blessing of the obedient life. Saul found that out the hard way. "'Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.'" (I Sam. 15:26)
Oh that we could remember that there is NO cost too great in following Christ. He will never call us to do anything without giving us the strength to obey. There will be a sacrifice. It may very well be the sacrifice of our desire, our comfort, and our flesh. But it is Worth IT!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10
I wonder what people would say when asked this question? "Who are you most like? Saul or David?" I don't know that there are many out there who list Saul as one of their heroes. I find Saul's story incredibly fascinating. Unfortunately it's because I find that we are so much like him.
We've read in the past few days about how Saul has a habit of taking things that are "about God" and making them "about Saul". This is true in the story of the Amalekites in I Sam. 15. The Lord says this to Saul through Samuel, "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amelek... Now go and completely destroy the entire Amelek nation - men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
Those instructions sound pretty specific, don't they. No, they're not pretty, and it doesn't sound easy, but none the less, the instructions are clear. So how did Saul follow through? He did a lot of killing, but "He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but Killed everyone else. However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs - everything, in fact that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." (15:8-9)
As we read this a few thousand years later, we shake our heads, and say, "Saul, how could you be so stupid?" We don't realize that we fall into the same trap. We are all jazzed up about walking in obedience, as long as it means destroying only what is "worthless or of poor quality." I've never been a drug user. Never even tried it. So it's not hard for me to stay away from cocaine because hey, that's what God has commanded me to do. But what about when obedience costs me something I love, or something that appeals to me?
Christians get into trouble when it comes to purity before the Lord because sometimes we actually love the sin too much to give it up. There's "value" to it in our minds. Saul wasn't lacking for sheep or camels. Yet he kept them. His excuse was, "I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." (15:24)
There may be times that obedience to the Lord will cost everything. We need to remember the quote from Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep only to gain that which he cannot lose." Though the sacrifice may be great when we walk in total obedience, it is worth it when we live in the reward of blessing.
When we aren't willing to give it all up, we end up losing it anyway, and we also lose the privilege of the blessing of the obedient life. Saul found that out the hard way. "'Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.'" (I Sam. 15:26)
Oh that we could remember that there is NO cost too great in following Christ. He will never call us to do anything without giving us the strength to obey. There will be a sacrifice. It may very well be the sacrifice of our desire, our comfort, and our flesh. But it is Worth IT!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, January 15, 2010
1.15.10 "This Life"
"This Life"
Genesis 31:17-32:12
Matthew 10:24-11:6
Psalm 13:1-6
Proverbs 3:16-18
Think about your life. How do you describe it? What joys do you have? What sorrows? Everyone of us will have a unique perspective on how we view our life. Most often our outlook of life in general is greatly skewed by the kind of day we're having.
Do you know that your life is not your own? I don't mean "Sunday School Answer" know it, I mean REALLY know it. My life is a precious gift from God. But it's actually not my life. It's his. He's entrusted me with it. He has great plans to see mighty returns with this life. I am his investment.
Boy, that sounds like there's a lot of pressure doesn't it? It sounds like I have to really work to produce fruit from my life. It would be easy to think, "I need to take my life and make something of it." Although that may seem where this is going, that's not the correct posture.
"If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it." Matthew 10:39
That's a familiar verse, but it's so profound in its impact. Imagine you hold $10 in your hand. You must save it, but the only way you can save it is to give it away. How does that make sense?
It only makes sense based on who you give it to.
Jesus gave his life for me so I could live to give it to him. That's the only way I can have life. I'm not here to live for me. I'm not here to make sure I look good, to make sure I'm successful, to make sure I'm comfortable. I'm here to offer everything I have to Christ. All of my health, my sickness, my joy, sorrow, "my" possessions... everything is for Him and His glory.
The dangerous thought that keeps us from living this out is, "I gotta do something for me!" That separates us from God. We need to live for him. Give our all to him. The more we hang on to, the more we lose.
This life is not my life. This life is his life.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Genesis 31:17-32:12
Matthew 10:24-11:6
Psalm 13:1-6
Proverbs 3:16-18
Think about your life. How do you describe it? What joys do you have? What sorrows? Everyone of us will have a unique perspective on how we view our life. Most often our outlook of life in general is greatly skewed by the kind of day we're having.
Do you know that your life is not your own? I don't mean "Sunday School Answer" know it, I mean REALLY know it. My life is a precious gift from God. But it's actually not my life. It's his. He's entrusted me with it. He has great plans to see mighty returns with this life. I am his investment.
Boy, that sounds like there's a lot of pressure doesn't it? It sounds like I have to really work to produce fruit from my life. It would be easy to think, "I need to take my life and make something of it." Although that may seem where this is going, that's not the correct posture.
"If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it." Matthew 10:39
That's a familiar verse, but it's so profound in its impact. Imagine you hold $10 in your hand. You must save it, but the only way you can save it is to give it away. How does that make sense?
It only makes sense based on who you give it to.
Jesus gave his life for me so I could live to give it to him. That's the only way I can have life. I'm not here to live for me. I'm not here to make sure I look good, to make sure I'm successful, to make sure I'm comfortable. I'm here to offer everything I have to Christ. All of my health, my sickness, my joy, sorrow, "my" possessions... everything is for Him and His glory.
The dangerous thought that keeps us from living this out is, "I gotta do something for me!" That separates us from God. We need to live for him. Give our all to him. The more we hang on to, the more we lose.
This life is not my life. This life is his life.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, January 9, 2010
1.9.10 "Dead Man Walking"
"Dead Man Walking"
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 4 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. The arrival would not have been the only thing painful. Every step of that 3 day walk is a devastating blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 4 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. The arrival would not have been the only thing painful. Every step of that 3 day walk is a devastating blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, November 13, 2009
11.13.9 "Your Dream must Die to Live"
"Your Dream must Die to Live"
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15,16
"A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike!" Prov. 27:15 - Not the devotional thought for today, but it's in the reading... I just threw it in to boost the ratings! :)
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, "While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!"
What strikes me as a theme throughout God's Word is how when there is a great dream given by God, the individual must lay it down to see it come to life. Abraham is one of the most specific examples. He was promised to be the father of nations. It wasn't happening. Things seemed hopeless. Then finally, the son of promise came. Then God told him to sacrifice him.
Why do you think that is? Is it because God is mean? Is it some sort of morbid manipulation? Or do you think it's because of what it does inside the heart of the dreamer? God didn't need Isaac dead. We know that now, but I'm sure Abraham was wondering what God was thinking. What Abraham didn't realize was the need for Isaac to be dead in him.
So often we have a Big Dream. (not to be confused with the acronym DREAM which represents the Balanced Christian Life) We have this picture of something God has placed in our heart. It can be as huge as being president of the company, or as seemingly unpretentious as a fulfilling marriage. What happens when this dream is birthed in our heart is that we become attached to it. It soon becomes "about me". "This is what I want". "This is MY dream."
If we feed that too much we start to figure that we need to take our own steps to make it happen. Not that it's bad that we are motivated to accomplish great things, but if things aren't happening in our time-frame, we start to take short-cuts. Like Abraham & Sarah, we have an Ishmael. Like Moses, we murder an Egyptian. All done outside of God's plan and God's timing. This dream that has been birthed by God can actually become a tumor that kills us if we are not careful. So what has to happen?
We have to lay it down. We have to give the dream back to the Dream Giver. We have to say, "It's not mine. It's Yours." This requires trust in a God who loves us. Our flesh (being fed lies from the enemy) begins to think that God just wants to punish us. We think he just wants to take our dreams for the purpose of making life miserable. (Remember the warped perception of the third servant in Matt. 24. He says, "I knew you were a harsh master, taking what is not yours.")
The truth is that he needs to test us. He needs to prove we can be trusted with the Big Dream. If we become too attached to the Dream, it becomes our god. And God loves us too much to allow that to happen. So he asks us to lay it down.
This is not an isolated biblical example. It happens again and again and again. So often the path to the fulfillment of the dream is the OPPOSITE direction our flesh thinks we should go.
What's your dream? Is it the fulfilling marriage that you can't see happening unless you get out of it? Is it the promotion at work you seek so you want to backstab the competition? Have you been running from job to job trying to find fulfillment of your goals? What you need to do is lay it down. Offer it back to God. I think many times we believe that we've done that. We lay it on the altar, but really we pick it up again and take it with us. To really lay it down, we must grieve it's loss. THEN there's something inside us that realizes it was never ours to begin with. Then we realize who God really is. Our faith is increased, and we receive the power to step out as never before. And suddenly, and even unexpectedly, the dream has become a reality.
Do you want to know the ultimate example?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The Dream must die to live.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
Hebrews 11:17-31
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 27:15,16
"A constant dripping on a rainy day and a cranky woman are much alike!" Prov. 27:15 - Not the devotional thought for today, but it's in the reading... I just threw it in to boost the ratings! :)
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, "While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!"
What strikes me as a theme throughout God's Word is how when there is a great dream given by God, the individual must lay it down to see it come to life. Abraham is one of the most specific examples. He was promised to be the father of nations. It wasn't happening. Things seemed hopeless. Then finally, the son of promise came. Then God told him to sacrifice him.
Why do you think that is? Is it because God is mean? Is it some sort of morbid manipulation? Or do you think it's because of what it does inside the heart of the dreamer? God didn't need Isaac dead. We know that now, but I'm sure Abraham was wondering what God was thinking. What Abraham didn't realize was the need for Isaac to be dead in him.
So often we have a Big Dream. (not to be confused with the acronym DREAM which represents the Balanced Christian Life) We have this picture of something God has placed in our heart. It can be as huge as being president of the company, or as seemingly unpretentious as a fulfilling marriage. What happens when this dream is birthed in our heart is that we become attached to it. It soon becomes "about me". "This is what I want". "This is MY dream."
If we feed that too much we start to figure that we need to take our own steps to make it happen. Not that it's bad that we are motivated to accomplish great things, but if things aren't happening in our time-frame, we start to take short-cuts. Like Abraham & Sarah, we have an Ishmael. Like Moses, we murder an Egyptian. All done outside of God's plan and God's timing. This dream that has been birthed by God can actually become a tumor that kills us if we are not careful. So what has to happen?
We have to lay it down. We have to give the dream back to the Dream Giver. We have to say, "It's not mine. It's Yours." This requires trust in a God who loves us. Our flesh (being fed lies from the enemy) begins to think that God just wants to punish us. We think he just wants to take our dreams for the purpose of making life miserable. (Remember the warped perception of the third servant in Matt. 24. He says, "I knew you were a harsh master, taking what is not yours.")
The truth is that he needs to test us. He needs to prove we can be trusted with the Big Dream. If we become too attached to the Dream, it becomes our god. And God loves us too much to allow that to happen. So he asks us to lay it down.
This is not an isolated biblical example. It happens again and again and again. So often the path to the fulfillment of the dream is the OPPOSITE direction our flesh thinks we should go.
What's your dream? Is it the fulfilling marriage that you can't see happening unless you get out of it? Is it the promotion at work you seek so you want to backstab the competition? Have you been running from job to job trying to find fulfillment of your goals? What you need to do is lay it down. Offer it back to God. I think many times we believe that we've done that. We lay it on the altar, but really we pick it up again and take it with us. To really lay it down, we must grieve it's loss. THEN there's something inside us that realizes it was never ours to begin with. Then we realize who God really is. Our faith is increased, and we receive the power to step out as never before. And suddenly, and even unexpectedly, the dream has become a reality.
Do you want to know the ultimate example?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The Dream must die to live.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
7.15.9 "The Cost of the Offering"
"The Cost of the Offering"
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Romans 2:24-3:8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
What have you given God? What has it cost you? When we consider that, our mind can run a bunch of different directions. Some might be thinking about a check that's thrown in the offering, some might think of some time committed, or something donated or something like that.
In I Chronicles 21, David has made a mistake. He has sinned against the Lord. The results of his actions bring a plague on his people that causes 70,000 to die. In his mercy, God relents from destroying Jerusalem. David sees an angel with a sword drawn that points toward Jerusalem.
"Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." (I Chron. 21:18)
"David said to Ornan, 'Let me buy this threshing-floor from you at its full price; then I will build an altar to the Lord and the plague will stop.' 'Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish,' Ornan said.... 'I give it all to you.' 'No,' the king replied, 'I will buy it for the full price; I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!'"
David offered the sacrifice and the angel put the sword away.
We've heard that phrase before "I will not offer that which cost me nothing." It is more profound than we realize. Following Christ demands our all. We live in an age of convenience Christianity. "I will serve Christ if it conveniences me," seems to be the mantra for many in our culture. "Heaven forbid there is a cost to following Christ."
Truly serving Christ costs us everything. If we want our life to be pleasing unto God, we need to offer him our all. Isaac Watts in the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" wrote the phrase, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
What is the payment we must make? The specifics of each individual moment will vary for each of us. At some point it may be merely a sacrifice of convenience. It may be a sacrifice of comfort zone. At other times it may be offering that which is most precious.
But why?? Why does God want this? Does he really need my money? my time? Does he really need me to give him what is so important to me?
In our minds we look at what we're giving up. He's not looking at that at all. He's looking deeper. He's looking at our heart.
In Romans 2:29 Paul is talking to the Roman Jews about what it means to truly follow Christ. He says, "For God is not looking for those who cut their bodies in actual circumcision, but he is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God, even if not from you."
The cost of the offering is the changed heart.
God isn't asking you to lay down your life because he needs it. He's asking us to lay it down because it's ONLY in laying down our lives that we can find life. Your right, it makes no worldly sense. But when we plant our hopes, dreams, fears, affections, in the grave of sacrifice, incredible life breaks forth. That's the way God works.
With that perspective, we realize that any "cost" is really no cost at all. We're only giving up that which is keeping us from fulfillment, joy and peace.
We sing the song "Offering" in our services. Here are the lyrics:
"I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due.
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
That last line is repeated a few times. It's easy to sing if you think the offering is only the song. The offering is not the song. It's the changed heart.
I will not offer Him that which cost me nothing. "Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Romans 2:24-3:8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
What have you given God? What has it cost you? When we consider that, our mind can run a bunch of different directions. Some might be thinking about a check that's thrown in the offering, some might think of some time committed, or something donated or something like that.
In I Chronicles 21, David has made a mistake. He has sinned against the Lord. The results of his actions bring a plague on his people that causes 70,000 to die. In his mercy, God relents from destroying Jerusalem. David sees an angel with a sword drawn that points toward Jerusalem.
"Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to build an altar to the Lord at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." (I Chron. 21:18)
"David said to Ornan, 'Let me buy this threshing-floor from you at its full price; then I will build an altar to the Lord and the plague will stop.' 'Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish,' Ornan said.... 'I give it all to you.' 'No,' the king replied, 'I will buy it for the full price; I cannot take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not offer a burnt offering that has cost me nothing!'"
David offered the sacrifice and the angel put the sword away.
We've heard that phrase before "I will not offer that which cost me nothing." It is more profound than we realize. Following Christ demands our all. We live in an age of convenience Christianity. "I will serve Christ if it conveniences me," seems to be the mantra for many in our culture. "Heaven forbid there is a cost to following Christ."
Truly serving Christ costs us everything. If we want our life to be pleasing unto God, we need to offer him our all. Isaac Watts in the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" wrote the phrase, "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
What is the payment we must make? The specifics of each individual moment will vary for each of us. At some point it may be merely a sacrifice of convenience. It may be a sacrifice of comfort zone. At other times it may be offering that which is most precious.
But why?? Why does God want this? Does he really need my money? my time? Does he really need me to give him what is so important to me?
In our minds we look at what we're giving up. He's not looking at that at all. He's looking deeper. He's looking at our heart.
In Romans 2:29 Paul is talking to the Roman Jews about what it means to truly follow Christ. He says, "For God is not looking for those who cut their bodies in actual circumcision, but he is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God, even if not from you."
The cost of the offering is the changed heart.
God isn't asking you to lay down your life because he needs it. He's asking us to lay it down because it's ONLY in laying down our lives that we can find life. Your right, it makes no worldly sense. But when we plant our hopes, dreams, fears, affections, in the grave of sacrifice, incredible life breaks forth. That's the way God works.
With that perspective, we realize that any "cost" is really no cost at all. We're only giving up that which is keeping us from fulfillment, joy and peace.
We sing the song "Offering" in our services. Here are the lyrics:
"I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due.
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
That last line is repeated a few times. It's easy to sing if you think the offering is only the song. The offering is not the song. It's the changed heart.
I will not offer Him that which cost me nothing. "Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, May 14, 2009
5.14.9 "Sometimes It Costs Everything"
"Sometimes It Costs Everything"
1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10
I wonder what people would say when asked this question? "Who are you most like? Saul or David?" I don't know that there are many out there who list Saul as one of their heroes. I find Saul's story incredibly fascinating. Unfortunately it's because I find that we are so much like him.
We've read in the past few days about how Saul has a habit of taking things that are "about God" and making them "about Saul". This is true in the story of the Amalekites in I Sam. 15. The Lord says this to Saul through Samuel, "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amelek... Now go and completely destroy the entire Amelek nation - men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
Those instructions sound pretty specific, don't they. No, they're not pretty, and it doesn't sound easy, but none the less, the instructions are clear. So how did Saul follow through? He did a lot of killing, but "He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but Killed everyone else. However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs - everything, in fact that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." (15:8-9)
As we read this a few thousand years later, we shake our heads, and say, "Saul, how could you be so stupid?" We don't realize that we fall into the same trap. We are all jazzed up about walking in obedience, as long as it means destroying only what is "worthless or of poor quality." I've never been a drug user. Never even tried it. So it's not hard for me to stay away from cocaine because hey, that's what God has commanded me to do. But what about when obedience costs me something I love, or something that appeals to me?
Christians get into trouble when it comes to purity before the Lord because sometimes we actually love the sin too much to give it up. There's "value" to it in our minds. Saul wasn't lacking for sheep or camels. Yet he kept them. His excuse was, "I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." (15:24)
There may be times that obedience to the Lord will cost everything. We need to remember the quote from Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep only to gain that which he cannot lose." Though the sacrifice may be great when we walk in total obedience, it is worth it when we live in the reward of blessing.
When we aren't willing to give it all up, we end up losing it anyway, and we also lose the privilege of the blessing of the obedient life. Saul found that out the hard way. "'Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.'" (I Sam. 15:26)
Oh that we could remember that there is NO cost too great in following Christ. He will never call us to do anything without giving us the strength to obey. There will be a sacrifice. It may very well be the sacrifice of our desire, our comfort, and our flesh. But it is Worth IT!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10
I wonder what people would say when asked this question? "Who are you most like? Saul or David?" I don't know that there are many out there who list Saul as one of their heroes. I find Saul's story incredibly fascinating. Unfortunately it's because I find that we are so much like him.
We've read in the past few days about how Saul has a habit of taking things that are "about God" and making them "about Saul". This is true in the story of the Amalekites in I Sam. 15. The Lord says this to Saul through Samuel, "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amelek... Now go and completely destroy the entire Amelek nation - men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels and donkeys." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
Those instructions sound pretty specific, don't they. No, they're not pretty, and it doesn't sound easy, but none the less, the instructions are clear. So how did Saul follow through? He did a lot of killing, but "He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but Killed everyone else. However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs - everything, in fact that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." (15:8-9)
As we read this a few thousand years later, we shake our heads, and say, "Saul, how could you be so stupid?" We don't realize that we fall into the same trap. We are all jazzed up about walking in obedience, as long as it means destroying only what is "worthless or of poor quality." I've never been a drug user. Never even tried it. So it's not hard for me to stay away from cocaine because hey, that's what God has commanded me to do. But what about when obedience costs me something I love, or something that appeals to me?
Christians get into trouble when it comes to purity before the Lord because sometimes we actually love the sin too much to give it up. There's "value" to it in our minds. Saul wasn't lacking for sheep or camels. Yet he kept them. His excuse was, "I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." (15:24)
There may be times that obedience to the Lord will cost everything. We need to remember the quote from Jim Elliot. "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep only to gain that which he cannot lose." Though the sacrifice may be great when we walk in total obedience, it is worth it when we live in the reward of blessing.
When we aren't willing to give it all up, we end up losing it anyway, and we also lose the privilege of the blessing of the obedient life. Saul found that out the hard way. "'Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.'" (I Sam. 15:26)
Oh that we could remember that there is NO cost too great in following Christ. He will never call us to do anything without giving us the strength to obey. There will be a sacrifice. It may very well be the sacrifice of our desire, our comfort, and our flesh. But it is Worth IT!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, February 26, 2009
2.26.9 "The Goal is Death"
"The Goal is Death"
Leviticus 19:1-20:21
Mark 8:11-38
Psalm 42:1-11
Proverbs 10:17
"Raise your hand if you think our goal should be to be different than the world." When I asked that question in class last night, almost every hand went up, except for the few skeptics that knew me well enough to know that the obvious questions are usually trick ones. The reality is that or goal needs to be that we have the mind of Christ. When we become like him, then we will automatically become different than the world.
How far are we willing to go with that?
The most basic of all human instincts is "self-preservation". It's in our instinct that when we hear a lion roar, our "fight or flight" reflexes begin to kick in. (more "flight" than "fight"!) As natural as this is, this must be something we overcome as we mature in Christ. We must die to our instinct of self preservation. I'm not saying that we should run to the zoo and jump into the cage, but we must be intentional about dying to the flesh. It must be our goal.
Jesus lays this out for us. "Then he began to tell them about the terrible things he would suffer, and that he would be rejected by the elders and the Chief Priests and the other Jewish leaders - and be killed, and that he would rise again three days afterwards. He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took him aside and chided him. 'You shouldn't say things like that,' he told Jesus.
"Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, 'Satan, get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God's.'"
How would you feel if you were Peter? I picture the cartoon where the character shrinks down to the size of a mouse. My thoughts would be, "But I'm just trying to help! Don't you see how I'm trying to help you? Don't you see that I'm trying to build up your ministry?" Peter had the best intentions. But they were wrong.
Why were they wrong? Because they were the result of a fleshly response: self-preservation. Jesus recognized that, and took it very seriously.
"Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. 'If any of you wants to be my follower,' he told them, 'you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live. And how does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process?"
We've talked in the past of "Dead Man Walking". It refers to taking every step with the knowledge that our goal is death. This should not be a "theory", or a catch phrase. It must be a way of life. "I lay down my desires, my pleasures, and I stay close to Christ, making intentional steps toward the death of my flesh."
That sounds so difficult, but what's the alternative? To live for me? To live the "Mediocre Christian Life"?
If my goal is to live for Christ, my objective must be to die for him.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Leviticus 19:1-20:21
Mark 8:11-38
Psalm 42:1-11
Proverbs 10:17
"Raise your hand if you think our goal should be to be different than the world." When I asked that question in class last night, almost every hand went up, except for the few skeptics that knew me well enough to know that the obvious questions are usually trick ones. The reality is that or goal needs to be that we have the mind of Christ. When we become like him, then we will automatically become different than the world.
How far are we willing to go with that?
The most basic of all human instincts is "self-preservation". It's in our instinct that when we hear a lion roar, our "fight or flight" reflexes begin to kick in. (more "flight" than "fight"!) As natural as this is, this must be something we overcome as we mature in Christ. We must die to our instinct of self preservation. I'm not saying that we should run to the zoo and jump into the cage, but we must be intentional about dying to the flesh. It must be our goal.
Jesus lays this out for us. "Then he began to tell them about the terrible things he would suffer, and that he would be rejected by the elders and the Chief Priests and the other Jewish leaders - and be killed, and that he would rise again three days afterwards. He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took him aside and chided him. 'You shouldn't say things like that,' he told Jesus.
"Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, 'Satan, get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God's.'"
How would you feel if you were Peter? I picture the cartoon where the character shrinks down to the size of a mouse. My thoughts would be, "But I'm just trying to help! Don't you see how I'm trying to help you? Don't you see that I'm trying to build up your ministry?" Peter had the best intentions. But they were wrong.
Why were they wrong? Because they were the result of a fleshly response: self-preservation. Jesus recognized that, and took it very seriously.
"Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. 'If any of you wants to be my follower,' he told them, 'you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live. And how does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process?"
We've talked in the past of "Dead Man Walking". It refers to taking every step with the knowledge that our goal is death. This should not be a "theory", or a catch phrase. It must be a way of life. "I lay down my desires, my pleasures, and I stay close to Christ, making intentional steps toward the death of my flesh."
That sounds so difficult, but what's the alternative? To live for me? To live the "Mediocre Christian Life"?
If my goal is to live for Christ, my objective must be to die for him.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Monday, February 9, 2009
2.9.9 "The Cost of Atonement"
"The Cost of Atonement"
Exodus 30:11-31:18
Matthew 26:47-68
Psalm 32:1-11
Proverbs 8:27-32
As we've been reading in Exodus, the Tabernacle has been built. There is now a place to meet with God. Today's reading describe what is necessary to make Aaron, the altar & the priests ready for meeting with God. This is not a pretty event. I wont go into details, but Aaron must place his hand on the head of a ram while it is being killed. The blood is collected and placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for the sins.
Why must this be done? I don't know that we will ever fully understand the magnitude of the cost of atonement. The price it takes to be at one with God. In reading the old testament descriptions of the sacrifices, it's easy to skip over these sections. We don't want the gory details. "Just make us right with God. Don't gross me out with what it takes."
The cost of atonement is so great. Jesus understood what it was going to take. In Matthew 26 he shares the Last Supper with the disciples. Judas has betrayed him. Peter declares that he will never leave, but Jesus knows he will deny him. Jesus brings the disciples to a garden to pray. He understands the cost of what is about to happen.
"Then he told them, 'My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death...'" Matt. 26:38
O so great a price. This is what it cost for my sin. The son of God in anguish over the reality of what he must go through. There were gory details. This blood would be placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for my sin.
Thank you Jesus, for the price you paid for me. Cover me in your precious blood. Make me yours. I set myself apart for your glory. I will keep myself from sin. Your love is incredible.
Never forget the price of atonement.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Exodus 30:11-31:18
Matthew 26:47-68
Psalm 32:1-11
Proverbs 8:27-32
As we've been reading in Exodus, the Tabernacle has been built. There is now a place to meet with God. Today's reading describe what is necessary to make Aaron, the altar & the priests ready for meeting with God. This is not a pretty event. I wont go into details, but Aaron must place his hand on the head of a ram while it is being killed. The blood is collected and placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for the sins.
Why must this be done? I don't know that we will ever fully understand the magnitude of the cost of atonement. The price it takes to be at one with God. In reading the old testament descriptions of the sacrifices, it's easy to skip over these sections. We don't want the gory details. "Just make us right with God. Don't gross me out with what it takes."
The cost of atonement is so great. Jesus understood what it was going to take. In Matthew 26 he shares the Last Supper with the disciples. Judas has betrayed him. Peter declares that he will never leave, but Jesus knows he will deny him. Jesus brings the disciples to a garden to pray. He understands the cost of what is about to happen.
"Then he told them, 'My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death...'" Matt. 26:38
O so great a price. This is what it cost for my sin. The son of God in anguish over the reality of what he must go through. There were gory details. This blood would be placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for my sin.
Thank you Jesus, for the price you paid for me. Cover me in your precious blood. Make me yours. I set myself apart for your glory. I will keep myself from sin. Your love is incredible.
Never forget the price of atonement.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, January 9, 2009
1.9.9 "Dead Man Walking"
"Dead Man Walking"
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 3 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. Every step of that 3 day walk is a blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Genesis 20:1-22:24
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22
Note: I originally wrote "Dead Man Walking" 3 years ago. I find this Chapter to be one of the most intense emotional stories of the Old Testament. I believe that for the dreams God has placed in our lives to come forth, we must bring them to Mount Moriah.
The chapters in Genesis we've been reading recount the story of Abraham and his son of promise. We've heard it many times, and we must make sure to apply it's truths to our lives.
"Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning 'Laughter!")." Gen 21:1-3
This is IT! you KNOW how long Abraham & Sarah have been waiting for this promise! You know what they've gone through in getting there. They made the mistake of trying to solve the promise on their own which resulted in Ishmael, they made the mistake of doubting and laughing AT God's promise. But now, in spite of all that, the promise is fulfilled. Their laughter is now that of the joy of a fulfilled promise.
In chapter 22, there's a new conversation between Abraham and the Lord.
"Abraham!" "Yes, Lord?" you can almost hear the joy in Abraham's voice his faith is so great because of seeing God's faithfulness. It's almost as if he can't wait to hear what God says next....
"Take with you your only son - yes, Isaac whom you love so much - and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..."
Scripture doesn't record Abraham replying to God. MY heart would cry, "BUT GOD!!!! THIS IS THE PROMISE!!!! YOU SAID!!!!"
There are things we can't understand. We have this silly notion that we have to understand, but the Lord only desires our obedience. EVERYTHING else pales in comparison to that.
Can you imagine what happened inside of Abraham's heart? Listen to his faithfulness:
"The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac..."
Verse 4 says, "On the third day of the journey..."
Can you imagine? walking 3 days toward the mountain where you are to sacrifice the most precious gift you have ever had?
I may not have the specifics right, but I believe that when a death row inmate walks down the corridor, someone yells, "Dead Man Walking!"
For Abraham to walk in obedience in this way, he has had to have died to his flesh. I'm certain that the journey carried all the painful intensity of the destination. Every step of that 3 day walk is a blow to the flesh.
Can you imagine what happened inside when Isaac looked up at him, met his eyes, and said, "Father," Isaac asked, "we have the wood and the flint to make the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
I can imagine a crack in his voice as he answered, "God will see to it, my son." And they went on...
I can hear heaven shouting, "DEAD MAN WALKING!" Those unknowing would think that these words branded Isaac, but to those who understand the life cycle of a dream, the proclamation wasn't for Isaac's death sentence. It was for the death of Abraham's flesh. It was for the death of his dream.
As horrible as this sounds, this should be our goal! We must die to the flesh. Isaac could so easily have become an idol in Abraham's life. If I were Abraham, my response would have so easily been, "NO, God! You promised him to me! He's MINE!" I say that because there are parts of me that need to die. How often we take the gifts and promises of God and we attach ourselves to them. We think they belong to us. They never do.
Needless to say, God does not call us all to literally take the path Abraham took. Family Child Services would definitely step in! However, the same death needs to occur within us in all things. We need to raise the knife to selfishness, insecurity, comfort, pride, image... Above all, we need to walk in obedience.
For Abraham, God stepped in. "Lay down the knife; don't hurt the lad in any way," the Angel said, "for I know that God is first in your life - you have not withheld even your beloved son from me." (Gen 22:12) in verse 16 it says, "I the Lord have sworn by myself that because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son from me, I will bless you with incredible blessings and multiply your descendants into countless thousands and millions..." verse 18 ends " - all because you have obeyed me."
Obedience is our objective. In Matthew 7 Jesus is talking about false teachers. He says in verse 21, "Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still wont get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven".
What is does a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship look like? It's a life of obedience. It's "Dead Man Walking!" When we make it a habit to die to the flesh, we learn to LIVE in the power of the Spirit! The first steps toward the mountain of sacrifice can seem so difficult, but when we live in the freedom of death to the flesh, life is AWESOME! There's nothing that can sway us from the plan of God! Circumstances that seemed so huge in the past are no longer giants. They are merely opportunities for God to make his name great!
"Dead Man Walking!"
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, June 5, 2008
6.5.8 "How Much Does it Cost?"
"How Much Does it Cost?"
2 Samuel 23:24-24:25
Acts 3:1-26
Psalm 123:1-4
Proverbs 16:21-23
"i don't want to offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24
Why not? Why not do the minimum God requires? God had instructed David to offer a sacrifice. This was in repentance of his taking a census. all God told him to do was offer the sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah. God didn't specifically say, "go pay for it.", so what's the big deal?
The difference is the big picture. It's knowing what God wants to complete in you. Forgiveness is free, but Repentance costs. Too many times what we think is repentance is merely a ritual of confession with no cost attached. To illustrate this point, I asked a friend to stand next to me while I was teaching a class. I kept slapping him & saying "I'm sorry." He was kind enough to stand there and not pummel me. I would confess my sin to him when I'd slap him, but there wasn't any repentance because I just kept on doing it. There's probably alot of Christians out there who think the apology of "I'm sorry" is repentance.
How much does "I'm sorry" cost? I guess that depends on the level of pride. It can be tough to be the first to apologize sometimes, but to repent... that's another price bracket. There needs to be a turning, an intentional effort that must be placed on establishing a "landmark" that this wont happen again. (build an altar).
When the Lord addresses sin in my life, I need to check on whether my "i'm sorry" is an act of ritual confession, or true repentance. What will it cost me to repent? What landmark will I place on my heart to make sure I don't go there again?
As we mature as believers we must not lose the concept of the cost of repentance. Treating repentance casually opens the door to habitual sin, compromise, idolatry, sin in the camp, etc.
Peter says to the Jewish people near the temple, "Now change your mind and attitude to God and turn to him so he can cleanse away your sins and send you wonderful times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)
We must turn away from anything that doesn't please God. We must work to cleanse our attitudes so that we can turn toward him, and allow his presence to fill us. Allow him to forgive our sin and purify us. Then we must discipline ourselves to stay the course and not go back the way we came.
The highest form of worship is obedience. We can't have the attitude that "i will obey as long as it costs me nothing." We must have the heart that drives us to say, "I will obey no matter what the cost."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
2 Samuel 23:24-24:25
Acts 3:1-26
Psalm 123:1-4
Proverbs 16:21-23
"i don't want to offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24
Why not? Why not do the minimum God requires? God had instructed David to offer a sacrifice. This was in repentance of his taking a census. all God told him to do was offer the sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah. God didn't specifically say, "go pay for it.", so what's the big deal?
The difference is the big picture. It's knowing what God wants to complete in you. Forgiveness is free, but Repentance costs. Too many times what we think is repentance is merely a ritual of confession with no cost attached. To illustrate this point, I asked a friend to stand next to me while I was teaching a class. I kept slapping him & saying "I'm sorry." He was kind enough to stand there and not pummel me. I would confess my sin to him when I'd slap him, but there wasn't any repentance because I just kept on doing it. There's probably alot of Christians out there who think the apology of "I'm sorry" is repentance.
How much does "I'm sorry" cost? I guess that depends on the level of pride. It can be tough to be the first to apologize sometimes, but to repent... that's another price bracket. There needs to be a turning, an intentional effort that must be placed on establishing a "landmark" that this wont happen again. (build an altar).
When the Lord addresses sin in my life, I need to check on whether my "i'm sorry" is an act of ritual confession, or true repentance. What will it cost me to repent? What landmark will I place on my heart to make sure I don't go there again?
As we mature as believers we must not lose the concept of the cost of repentance. Treating repentance casually opens the door to habitual sin, compromise, idolatry, sin in the camp, etc.
Peter says to the Jewish people near the temple, "Now change your mind and attitude to God and turn to him so he can cleanse away your sins and send you wonderful times of refreshment from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)
We must turn away from anything that doesn't please God. We must work to cleanse our attitudes so that we can turn toward him, and allow his presence to fill us. Allow him to forgive our sin and purify us. Then we must discipline ourselves to stay the course and not go back the way we came.
The highest form of worship is obedience. We can't have the attitude that "i will obey as long as it costs me nothing." We must have the heart that drives us to say, "I will obey no matter what the cost."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, February 9, 2008
2.9.8 "The Cost of Atonement"
"The Cost of Atonement"
Exodus 30:11-31:18
Matthew 26:47-68
Psalm 32:1-11
Proverbs 8:27-32
As we've been reading in Exodus, the Tabernacle has been built. There is now a place to meet with God. Today's reading describe what is necessary to make Aaron, the altar & the priests ready for meeting with God. This is not a pretty event. I wont go into details, but Aaron must place his hand on the head of a ram while it is being killed. The blood is collected and placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for the sins.
Why must this be done? I don't know that we will ever fully understand the magnitude of the cost of atonement. The price it takes to be at one with God. In reading the old testament descriptions of the sacrifices, it's easy to skip over these sections. We don't want the gory details. "Just make us right with God. Don't gross me out with what it takes."
The cost of atonement is so great. Jesus understood what it was going to take. In Matthew 26 he shares the Last Supper with the disciples. Judas has betrayed him. Peter declares that he will never leave, but Jesus knows he will deny him. Jesus brings the disciples to a garden to pray. He understands the cost of what is about to happen.
"Then he told them, 'My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death...'" Matt. 26:38
O so great a price. This is what it cost for my sin. The son of God in anguish over the reality of what he must go through. There were gory details. This blood would be placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for my sin.
Thank you Jesus, for the price you paid for me. Cover me in your precious blood. Make me yours. I set myself apart for your glory. I will keep myself from sin. Your love is incredible.
Never forget the price of atonement.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Exodus 30:11-31:18
Matthew 26:47-68
Psalm 32:1-11
Proverbs 8:27-32
As we've been reading in Exodus, the Tabernacle has been built. There is now a place to meet with God. Today's reading describe what is necessary to make Aaron, the altar & the priests ready for meeting with God. This is not a pretty event. I wont go into details, but Aaron must place his hand on the head of a ram while it is being killed. The blood is collected and placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for the sins.
Why must this be done? I don't know that we will ever fully understand the magnitude of the cost of atonement. The price it takes to be at one with God. In reading the old testament descriptions of the sacrifices, it's easy to skip over these sections. We don't want the gory details. "Just make us right with God. Don't gross me out with what it takes."
The cost of atonement is so great. Jesus understood what it was going to take. In Matthew 26 he shares the Last Supper with the disciples. Judas has betrayed him. Peter declares that he will never leave, but Jesus knows he will deny him. Jesus brings the disciples to a garden to pray. He understands the cost of what is about to happen.
"Then he told them, 'My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death...'" Matt. 26:38
O so great a price. This is what it cost for my sin. The son of God in anguish over the reality of what he must go through. There were gory details. This blood would be placed in various places as a sign of consecration, holiness, and ultimately to atone for my sin.
Thank you Jesus, for the price you paid for me. Cover me in your precious blood. Make me yours. I set myself apart for your glory. I will keep myself from sin. Your love is incredible.
Never forget the price of atonement.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
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