We are dust held together by the breath of God.
When we worship God we are simply returning to God what he breathed into us.
Light represents God's precense. We are meant to be light of the world. Reflecting God's precense.
We need to remove the false things, the expectations of others and return to the real person we are, not the artificial us.
Who are we, the person others want or the beloved of God. We need to remove the armour (saul) that others would place on us.
What is built from our lives depends not on our fears or even hopes others have put on us but on the word of God, that which is written. See our Jesus responded to the (if) testing of the devil.
We need to not listen to the chatter (lies) the enemy says to us.
The hebrew translation of filthy rags is excrement. See zechariah 3:5 he clothes us with the best robes and a turban of his promises.
To hear the river which runs deep we must be still and know that he is God. Psalm 46.
Love in hebrew is "longing for a home".
There are 4 layers of revelation in God's word. The literal, the general message, the hint and the mystery as per hebrew learning.
When Jesus said eat my flesh in hebrew it literally means to suckle at the breast as babies do, not some weird flesh feast.
Bethel is communion with God but ai represents confusion. Abram pitched his tent between the two and built an altar of sacrifice. The middle ground represents the reality.
We come to God like babies, just loved, not for what we have or do. God's nature is loved, and we are the beloved of God.
Focusing or being aware of God is to turn or give God our attention.
The cleft of the rock is a safe place. A place that we can be when that which destroy us passes by. A bit like a mother's womb.
Jesus became the mercy seat of God, and this is what Mary saw when the two angels stood at either end of where Jesus was laying in the tomb.
Psalm 91, a picture of the mercy seat is the shelter (shadow) of the most high. God in the most high can see everthing.
Being all powerful he can respond to our needs. God is a covenant keeping God who is creative (able).
Even when we can't see God he can see us. He sees and knows everything that is going on.
He is almighty, able to do everything. He has all the power and might.
God's personal name guarantees the covenant. It is his signature on the contract (covenant).
He is a creative God who knows the end from the beginning. He can do the miraculous.
The word for redemption in hebrew means to go full circle. Such as gilgo, whenever we read go such as golgotha is God's redemptive work.
Saturday, 30 June 2018
Tuesday, 19 June 2018
There is no Love in Fear
1John4:18 says "There is no love in fear, but perfect love casts out all fear."
When we read this text we understand that fear is the opposite of love, that when fear is present, love cannot be seen or felt or even for that matter be spoken of. Paul writing to the Romans in chapter 8:15 says that "you have not received a spirit of fear which leads to death, but a spirit of adoption, by which we cry Abba, Father" Therefore the work of the Holy Spirit in us is to bring us out of fear into everlasting and resurrected life in Christ as God's adopted sons and daughters.
Paul speaking to Timothy says "for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and sound mind." So when fear is absent in our lives, we should therefore be able to live out our lives in love, power and a sound mind.
I recently realised that I was reacting to fear in my life. This fear stemmed from my upbringing and a sense of rejection I felt when my parents divorced at nine. I remember growing up I had a fear of water, after nearly drowning on three different occasions. Yet when I was asked by my step father to join him in learning to scuba dive my fear of water vanished. This did not come easily and I remember the first time I had to do an open dive, that is into open water off the beach of Cronulla on the east coast of Australia. I remember vividly how I shook uncontrollably as I walked into the water off the beach into the dark unknown and realising what I felt was a watery grave.
Yet, despite my fear of water, I was able to fulfil my desire and overcome these insurmountable odds that I felt. Though I felt amazing almost immediately when I saw the fish and other beautiful aspects of this underwater world, it was not this which caused me to defeat my fear of water or drowning. But is was a fear of not being accepted by my stepfather which enable me to put to death this fear. Yet putting a fear of water to death only strengthened my fear of rejection and needing of acceptance.
So I traded one fear for another, yet neither of these fears lead to the freedom and desires that God has to release us His creation into perfect love. In realising my fear of rejection, I can now ask the Holy Spirit, the very spirit of Christ to work through this fear with His love and grace for my life.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." I have learnt in recent years that I cannot trust my emotions and feelings. Indeed I feel that even the thoughts that I have must be measured against God's word and His promises for our lives. When we are under pressure, stressed or in the trials of life, it is then that we must truly examine our hearts, motives and every thought, knowing it is in these times that the works of the enemy, that is the devil, will be exposed in our lives.
Trials are truly, therefore, a real opportunity for God's everlasting fruit to be produced in our lives and the fruit of the enemy to be exposed and dealt with. What do we do with this bad fruit? We give it to God, we lay it down on the alter of our lives and allow God's Spirit to bring healing and restoration to our hearts. But it is in our willingness for righteousness to prevail and our desires for sanctification to complete it's work in us that makes this possible. As I am honest about the fruit of my life, only then can God's fruit be seen. When I am honest about my fears and allow God to expose them, only then can God's love be seen in me!
God Bless you on your journey with Christ and His Spirit
James
When we read this text we understand that fear is the opposite of love, that when fear is present, love cannot be seen or felt or even for that matter be spoken of. Paul writing to the Romans in chapter 8:15 says that "you have not received a spirit of fear which leads to death, but a spirit of adoption, by which we cry Abba, Father" Therefore the work of the Holy Spirit in us is to bring us out of fear into everlasting and resurrected life in Christ as God's adopted sons and daughters.
Paul speaking to Timothy says "for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and sound mind." So when fear is absent in our lives, we should therefore be able to live out our lives in love, power and a sound mind.
I recently realised that I was reacting to fear in my life. This fear stemmed from my upbringing and a sense of rejection I felt when my parents divorced at nine. I remember growing up I had a fear of water, after nearly drowning on three different occasions. Yet when I was asked by my step father to join him in learning to scuba dive my fear of water vanished. This did not come easily and I remember the first time I had to do an open dive, that is into open water off the beach of Cronulla on the east coast of Australia. I remember vividly how I shook uncontrollably as I walked into the water off the beach into the dark unknown and realising what I felt was a watery grave.
Yet, despite my fear of water, I was able to fulfil my desire and overcome these insurmountable odds that I felt. Though I felt amazing almost immediately when I saw the fish and other beautiful aspects of this underwater world, it was not this which caused me to defeat my fear of water or drowning. But is was a fear of not being accepted by my stepfather which enable me to put to death this fear. Yet putting a fear of water to death only strengthened my fear of rejection and needing of acceptance.
So I traded one fear for another, yet neither of these fears lead to the freedom and desires that God has to release us His creation into perfect love. In realising my fear of rejection, I can now ask the Holy Spirit, the very spirit of Christ to work through this fear with His love and grace for my life.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." I have learnt in recent years that I cannot trust my emotions and feelings. Indeed I feel that even the thoughts that I have must be measured against God's word and His promises for our lives. When we are under pressure, stressed or in the trials of life, it is then that we must truly examine our hearts, motives and every thought, knowing it is in these times that the works of the enemy, that is the devil, will be exposed in our lives.
Trials are truly, therefore, a real opportunity for God's everlasting fruit to be produced in our lives and the fruit of the enemy to be exposed and dealt with. What do we do with this bad fruit? We give it to God, we lay it down on the alter of our lives and allow God's Spirit to bring healing and restoration to our hearts. But it is in our willingness for righteousness to prevail and our desires for sanctification to complete it's work in us that makes this possible. As I am honest about the fruit of my life, only then can God's fruit be seen. When I am honest about my fears and allow God to expose them, only then can God's love be seen in me!
God Bless you on your journey with Christ and His Spirit
James
Sunday, 17 June 2018
Faith, Hope & Love
Faith, hope and love is certainly a concept that most Christians will appreciate from the book of Corinthians written by the Apostle Paul. As a Christian of some 32 years, I would probably say that I understand this concept myself fairly well but am also aware that God by his Holy Spirit continues to download new understanding.
Recently, my wife discussed another concept from scripture which is not as clear cut as it does not come from one particular passage of scripture but is certainly an underlying concept throughout God's word. That concept is Love, Empathy & Freedom.
Whilst most will know that God is love and therefore true love can only ultimately come from God to us and therefore through us to those around us, it is also clear that true love stems from the understanding we have of how God manifests his love to us.
Throughout scripture God's love is written in the Greek as "agape" love, a love that is completely sacrificial and always has the recipient in mind. We often quote from the book of Romans, 5:8 which says "God demonstrates his love for us, that whilst we were still yet sinners Christ died for us." This scripture I believe brings amazing revelation that even though God had no guarantees of his love being reciprocated that he still carried out his plan of salvation for us.
It is difficult to imagine scenarios that we experience that reflect the emotion and feelings God has for us His creation. After all, we know through scripture that "nothing can separate us from the love of God". But there are certainly glimpses we have that help us to feel what God feels towards us, his beloved children. I as a father, have two beautiful teenage children and though there was always an expectation that they would one day spread their wings and explore the world for themselves, nothing can prepare us for when that begins, as it is with me right now.
Seeing my children grow and develop into amazing people and reflect for themselves the nature of God in makes me immensely proud of them. But not having them around as much as I would like is also immensely difficult. Yet this was expected and though it hard to except I also know this must take place and will do everything I can as a loving father to make this transition as joyous as possible for them.
What then, do we feel when those we don't expect leave us, when they feel they must for whatever reason and separate themselves from us? This might be a family member or a close friend, how do respond to this? This is exactly what Love, Empathy & Freedom is all about. For if we truly love as God loves, then we will also understand (empathise) how the other person feels, even when this might break our own hearts.
Whilst God extends his love to us, I know also that he truly understands how we feel, perhaps even better than ourselves. Though He calls us into relationship with him, he understands the limitations we might have within ourselves to express that relationships in precisely the way he desires. This can be seen in scripture like Romans & Corinthians which says that only God knows what's in the heart of man.
If God is love, and God truly understands (empathises) us, how does God give us freedom? Whilst man made religion will try to constrain us with expectations of how we must relate to God, God does not! He releases us in love to express in our own way the love we have for him. Though he calls, he is very patient and leaves us with the promise that "He will never leave us or forsake us" as we read in Matthew 28.
God's love is therefore permanent, powerful and perfect in all it's ways. It is this love that we truly need in our lives. As a human, living in this flesh, I accept that this is a difficult thing to grasp, yet also know that if I truly wish to express God's love through me to those around me is something that I must learn. Indeed something that we all must learn!
This might be summed up in the saying that "if we love someone, then let them go. If they love you, they will return".
God bless you on your journey of salvation,
James
Recently, my wife discussed another concept from scripture which is not as clear cut as it does not come from one particular passage of scripture but is certainly an underlying concept throughout God's word. That concept is Love, Empathy & Freedom.
Whilst most will know that God is love and therefore true love can only ultimately come from God to us and therefore through us to those around us, it is also clear that true love stems from the understanding we have of how God manifests his love to us.
Throughout scripture God's love is written in the Greek as "agape" love, a love that is completely sacrificial and always has the recipient in mind. We often quote from the book of Romans, 5:8 which says "God demonstrates his love for us, that whilst we were still yet sinners Christ died for us." This scripture I believe brings amazing revelation that even though God had no guarantees of his love being reciprocated that he still carried out his plan of salvation for us.
It is difficult to imagine scenarios that we experience that reflect the emotion and feelings God has for us His creation. After all, we know through scripture that "nothing can separate us from the love of God". But there are certainly glimpses we have that help us to feel what God feels towards us, his beloved children. I as a father, have two beautiful teenage children and though there was always an expectation that they would one day spread their wings and explore the world for themselves, nothing can prepare us for when that begins, as it is with me right now.
Seeing my children grow and develop into amazing people and reflect for themselves the nature of God in makes me immensely proud of them. But not having them around as much as I would like is also immensely difficult. Yet this was expected and though it hard to except I also know this must take place and will do everything I can as a loving father to make this transition as joyous as possible for them.
What then, do we feel when those we don't expect leave us, when they feel they must for whatever reason and separate themselves from us? This might be a family member or a close friend, how do respond to this? This is exactly what Love, Empathy & Freedom is all about. For if we truly love as God loves, then we will also understand (empathise) how the other person feels, even when this might break our own hearts.
Whilst God extends his love to us, I know also that he truly understands how we feel, perhaps even better than ourselves. Though He calls us into relationship with him, he understands the limitations we might have within ourselves to express that relationships in precisely the way he desires. This can be seen in scripture like Romans & Corinthians which says that only God knows what's in the heart of man.
If God is love, and God truly understands (empathises) us, how does God give us freedom? Whilst man made religion will try to constrain us with expectations of how we must relate to God, God does not! He releases us in love to express in our own way the love we have for him. Though he calls, he is very patient and leaves us with the promise that "He will never leave us or forsake us" as we read in Matthew 28.
God's love is therefore permanent, powerful and perfect in all it's ways. It is this love that we truly need in our lives. As a human, living in this flesh, I accept that this is a difficult thing to grasp, yet also know that if I truly wish to express God's love through me to those around me is something that I must learn. Indeed something that we all must learn!
This might be summed up in the saying that "if we love someone, then let them go. If they love you, they will return".
God bless you on your journey of salvation,
James
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