Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Don't Look Back

When Jesus says, "Follow me." don't look back at the things you will be leaving. He once told some guy to follow him BUT the guy wanted to go say bye to his family. Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9) Convicting, isn't it? Are you unwilling to follow Jesus like that? I don't know about myself. What earthly things do you prize above the Kingdom of Heaven? They can be very subtle. Sometimes we can't list them. Single-mindedness is hard, isn't it. But God is trustworthy to answer our prayers and fulfill his promises to us.

Dad's Gift

Humans seek things that have to play out a certain way. "Happiness" is dependent on results and reception of their dreams and goals come true. We work for these things ourselves and they are our own; romance, careers, adventure, warfare, power, status, success, athletics, family. Sometimes, no, most times, we don't receive what earthly things we have sought after; they don't satisfy anyway.

Good parents give their kids good stuff. God makes any human parent look bad and inadequate. He gives the best gifts. His best gift is his Holy Spirit. We are told to ask for this gift. Whenever we ask for something from God, we can be bold and persistent as though God were someone to have a relationship with instead of a dead habit of traditional belief passed down to us by our moms. I want a continual filling to the point of unashamedly overflowing. God does stuff through us when we are overflowing. When we continually receive God's best gift for us, his Holy Spirit, we are completely satisfied with him. We live within his purposes a life of worship and knowledge of God. No matter what happens, we have joy. Give me that Jesus. Luke 11:13 says it better than I do. When I read the bible God reveals new stuff to me. Turn off the internet and read the bible.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

flesh or SPIRIT

Even though I am a Jesus follower, I sometimes am in the flesh. I love walking in the Spirit. Sometimes I am not fully abiding.
The flesh is still bad. Just because I am a Christian does not mean I have a half-way flesh. I know that for me, now, the flesh in its fullness would be something rotten and disgusting. These things I would definitely be: an unflinching murderer, a daily seducer and adulterer, a dedicated terrorist, a liar, full of prideful arrogant boastings about myself. I would seek power and try to control people. In the flesh I could not succeed in a marriage; "love" would escape me. I would have friends as filthy as me. Could I trust them? I would hate myself. My own son would kill me. The flesh side of me reminds me of the anti-christ.

Middle ground is similar to living life as a zombie. There is no direction to middle ground. Christians with weeds? Rocky ground? Burn it all. Let the land have a sabbath. God will do something with it. Deliver it to the evil it loves so that some day it may see its need for YHWH.

Live in the Spirit. I can only begin to describe the times when I live in the Spirit. It is precious to me. When I don't have it I want it. The reason it is good is because it is close relations with God. In the flesh we have plans for our life but in the Spirit God gives us the words to speak.