The Opened Sight by Oswald Chambers

Oswald Chambers devotion for today has a boat load of information, we need for the Christian life. In fact, it is not stretching it if I say we have a lifetime of true Christianity in these few words and could be subject to several posts. One of the reasons I am so excited about this devotion is because it is so close to home. As I have shared with you before, my ministry is directly associated with these people who are in the Church, professed that they are Christians but have never made it to received true Salvation. Hence, my gifts of discernment and wisdom as well as the ability to judge according to the knowledge and leadership of the Holy Spirit in my life. If God felt that I needed these things in order that He can use me, can you imagine what He is able to bestow on those He truly called to occupy leadership and teaching positions in His Church?

Whether you are a pastor, an elder or evangelist, any kind of teaching position that He calls you to, there is no doubt that you will be equipped to see what needs to be seen through wisdom, discernment and more. The job is to open up other people’s eyes to the truth they do not know, to help them walk the walk. Why would He not do it for you first before He sent you? Why would Oswald Chambers able to see all these things and through his writings you can tell they are like natural abilities to him. He was not exceptional, he was just walking the walk.

His devotion today contains some truths that cannot be mere word that comes out of our mouths i.e receiving forgiveness of sin… This brings you face to face with a Holy repentance that you have never known in your life. This repentance could happen the same day you receive Christ in your life, but it could also happened few months down the road. Either way, you have to have the capability to receive this holy gift from Him. Too many people say they have received Christ but go on never knowing what it means to repent. Yet, this repentance is needed to make a 360 degree turn. Failing that, we live as people who are saved in their sins and not from sins. As long as you do not know the difference of what I just said, in your heart and in the quality of your life with God, well, you are not saved yet. Christ did not come to save us in our sins. This is not the real Salvation that He died on the cross for. The irony is that we keep saying salvation is through grace but we do not understand that getting there to the point where we know and compute that we have been saved from sins and we can see the ugliness of it and how and why God is disgusted by it is a MAJOR work of His grace in our lives.

Another truth in this devotion that must be considered very carefully is the fact that Oswald said “when a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God…” Do not take the word knows lightly. This knowing happened with an encounter with the Holy One that brings you to a place where you own that truth. You do not just repeat like a parrot that salvation is by grace, but it is your truth that is in the depth of your identity in Him, so deep within, that no one can take it away from you.

Another major truth in this devotion is that Oswald also said: “their eyes are open, but they have received nothing” this simply put you in the category of the seed that falls where there are rocks, and not much soil.

Another major truth is that even though our job is to open people’s eyes, we cannot do it by ourselves unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to move freely in our lives, with no hindrances to impede His work in others through us. That is a big responsibility that we learn the sacredness of it through being prepared by Him for service. This is where service to God becomes an extension of who you are in Him.

I have to stop in order to keep the length of this post to a reasonable document, but another truth that is devastating the Church is the fact that today’s preachers are not able to recognize which is which and how to deal with the lack of conversion in the pews and the pulpits. Please understand that I know there are some awesome pastor and teachers out there who have been called by God, took His personal training and walk in the Spirit with Him. They are the elite that God referred to in Jeremiah 3:15 “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding”. These shepherds after God’s own heart did not and will not become such just by taking a few courses in college or university. They are aware that after they are trained by man, they have to go through God’s university and curriculum before they are ready to lead His flock. This makes the difference between leading and leading.

The problem is that we are living in a time where anyone can be a pastor or teacher, because they feel like it or they want to work for God, notice the emphasis is for God not with God. We also have greed; the need for status, insecurities, resources at their disposal, being well connected which was the practice of the Pharisees (blind leading blind) etc. You can understand why they are not equipped to deal with dires strait situations in their congregations that require an abundance of God’s grace.

I can understand that you might be offended by my writings, but do not stop there. Do not make it about you or me. Know that if you stop there and make it about you and me, there is a major problem in your walk that Satan does not want you to know. Examine yourself, ask the Holy Spirit to help you, to get your pride and bondage out of the way so that you can see what needs to be seen and know for sure where you stand with Him. Ask Him to save you, not because you deserve it, but for His glory. Keep praying day in, day out until He answers you. If you truly ask Him with a sincere and open heart, you will be amazed at His response.  

Here is Oswald Chambers devotional

The Opened Sight

01

10

2013

I now send you, to open their eyes . . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . —Acts 26:17-18

This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.

God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.

This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others

This Oswald chamber devotion is the courtesy of http://utmost.org/

Salvation is a Gift from God….Not From Us!

There is a late Christian television show, I do not usually watch it, but once in a while I will check it out hoping it will be that day the host will have a nugget to share. It has not happened yet. A few weeks ago a young man called his show; he was upset with the direction of his life i.e., drugs, women, late parties, lots of personal problems etc. He mentioned he just came home where he is living alone, he was flipping channels and when he saw the show on television he decided to call in too. It is usually infomercials or his show if you do not have a good cable package.

While the caller was going on and on about his problems, the host mumbled something like Christ can take it all away. The caller continued talking, while wallowing in pity as if it was someone else’s fault. There was no awareness of his sinful nature. I have to give the host credit for saying something to the effect that we are all sinners but the caller did not hear him. In the meantime, the host not paying attention that the caller was talking his head off already started to say the sinner's prayer. The pause from the host came when he wanted the caller to repeat after him and the caller was still going on about his problems and loneliness. The host had to interject more than once with those words “I need you to repeat after me” Finally the caller realized the host wanted to say something. Before he even had time to breathe he was repeating the sinner's prayer so badly with a question mark and disappointment in his voice.

It was really bad to watch. The caller did not find what he was looking for, a sympathetic set of ears. So, to wrap it all up the host told the caller that he was now a Christian and he has been sealed with the Holy Spirit and he is now a child of God and can never lose his salvation. It was horrible! This host was satisfied with himself. You could tell he is totally blind to the fact that salvation is a gift from God but not from us. He was clueless to the fact that he jammed his salvation idea down the caller’s throat in less than 2 minutes. It was clear to anyone with an ounce of the Holy Spirit that the caller did not call because he was prepared to receive salvation from God.

The whole thing was sad. The Church is so corrupted with false doctrines and hollow rituals that it is painful to watch how we are destroying ourselves along with other people. We misunderstand the word grace and how it works from God’s viewpoint. We are spiritually ignorant and blind. We think just because the word of God says “call onto me and I will answer thee” this gives us the right to make a mockery out of the Gospel. When we are manipulating people (knowingly or not) to say the sinner's prayer, they are not calling upon God. Beside this verse has many implications that there is more than one sermon written about it. Even when we do not fully understand what we are dealing with, we can call on Him and He will answer. But, we call on Him because we have the desire to call and we are done with idolatry and worshiping false gods. We call on Him to deliver us because we are aware to some extend that He alone and no one else can help us. We call because He has given us some sort of light to see our spiritual need. Etc.

Some say well the Gospel say “believe and you will be saved” It is true the gospel says believe and you will be saved, I know it first hand. But, not when someone else is doing a bad job of believing for you. How convenient, when we quote this verse in Acts 16:31, we completely dismiss the unbelievable job that was done by Him to prepare the jailer for the Gospel. We missed out on the fact that the jailer had acquired a repentant heart because he could see his need for God, and we miss out on the fact that he became aware of his own depravity. This jailer had an encounter with God that was so powerful that he did not care what the Romans would do to Him if they found out he went with the prisoners. He did not even care that he left his post and did not bother about the state of the jail. – Because we miss the work of God in the process, we are not giving Him His glory back. But, then again, it makes sense we cannot see all these things if we are not walking with Him and never have an encounter with Him.

One can only believe when God gets involved and it does not take a genius to see in many cases God is nowhere to be found in our transactions. We are so deep into cheap grace we bestow on ourselves we are sharing it with others with no clue of the abomination of our acts. If we could learn to examine ourselves better, we would learn to deal with our need to bring people to Christ as if we don’t do it, Christ will not find them. Salvation is not a numbers game either. Our job is to make sure we are walking with God so closely and so unhindered that we are there for each one who is ready to accept Him. He alone prepares their hearts for us. How can we not see the difference between our shoddy jobs and the Spirit’s job is beyond me. Yes we do not know the heart, but where He is leading we do not have to worry about anything.

Some of our problems are the fact that we are not even aware that He is not leading. We are living fabricated lives with a man made understanding of righteous living and commitment to His truth. We are not aware that we are not living out His purpose for our lives. We are not aware that we are saturated with our sins, our disobedience and stubbornness and we are not aware of His life in us.  Yet while this life is completely elusive to us, we are happy in our assumptions that we must be okay. We have to get to know Christ a little bit better for ourselves first; we have to learn to walk with Him as our Master, not just as a savior before He can use us to save people through us. If you ever experienced God working unhindered through you to get to other people, you would never do anything in your own power anymore. Furthermore, you would repent for having done so in the past when you did not know Him well enough. The element we are missing out is “Him doing the work through us”

If the Holy Spirit ever showed you what the Word of God means by “being saved by the skin of your teeth” you would first of all shiver and remain speechless for a while. Instantly you would get out of your system, the idea that a shoddy salvation job is better than nothing. And you would make it your goal to stop working for Him and stop living out your own desires, goals and purposes. It is such an abomination to God when we are living out our own wishes and desired goals that we would never take our surrender to His will for our lives, lightly. This is more so for people who put themselves in teaching and leadership positions in the Church, this includes those who built their empires through television.  

If you believe that God called you to be in some sort of teachings or leadership position in the Church, yet, after years and years you are still spiritually blind, this should be an indication that you have moved forward with your own understanding without waiting for Him to make things clearer for you. Sadly, our pride won’t let us accept easily that we have messed up.

May God have mercy on us!

IF YOU HAVE THE TIME, CHECK OUT OSWALD CHAMBERS DEVOTION FOR TODAY

Claim The Christian Life Through His Grace!

Having been part of a Church where I was taught to learn to mimic godly behavior and I was also taught to pray for this Christian life, I could not reconcile what was going on in my life when God decided to move in and suddenly, inwardly, this life had become such a dynamic life. I was conscious of the fact that I had something alive in me; something was new inside of me. If it was not for the incomparable gentleness of the Holy Spirit, I would have been more apprehensive thinking that I was on my way of becoming schizophrenic. I simply could not understand why I was living literally with someone inside me.

It was only after I stumbled on A.W.Tozer book, “The Pursuit of God” that this Christian life made sense to me. Through it, I understood the realness of this life. I also understood, having surrendered my life completely, with no conditions and no reservations, few months back meant that I stopped praying for this life to happen to me. Instead I moved in to claim it through believing so that I could become part of it. Through reading Tozer’s book it felt as if my Christian life thus far was like I was holding onto half a dozen pieces of a puzzle, then someone came and said here is the box with all the other pieces. When I opened the box to put the half a dozen pieces I was holding onto, I found the puzzle was so big with millions of pieces. While the half a dozen pieces I was holding onto were important to complete the puzzle, but I would have never known what this puzzle was about with my few pieces.

You would make a mistake to think that this is no longer Salvation by grace. Because while I was sitting in the pews, learning to put into practice some sort of man made Christianity, I had never heard a sermon on surrendering to God, I had no idea that Christians could surrender to God either. I knew nothing of God, yet He stirred my heart. He provoked something in me that demanded an answer. In fact, I was so far from Him that even His stirring seemed unreal.  What God provoked in me was so faint I was still looking for help to understand, so, I talked to pastors and elders. In every case I was dismissed. Only one of the elder dared to say something and it would have been better not to have said anything at all because the answer I received was to make fun of me with my surrendering idea.

When I share with you how spiritually blinded people in my Church was and how stupid I was, I do not do it because I take pleasure in it. Not that I want to belittle people that I love dearly. I share because it is not about me or them. I top the cake when it comes to stupidity. In fact, when I examine myself and see how deep I was in my stupidity, and how deep the depth of my spiritual darkness was, I cannot help but being grateful that He got hold of me in spite of me. When God delivers us from certain situations, He intends for us to share the blessings. At the end of the day, it is not about me or the ego of the leaders of the Church I used to attend. It is about Him!

Through going with Him and living my life in Him, I have learned, each step I took in surrender, claiming the holy life to make it my own, claiming oneness with Him, learning to be a disciple, beholding the truth, grow in spiritual maturity etc, are all One Blessed  Continuous String of Grace. All the after effect of Salvation that I have received and continue to receive from Him, are the product of the work Christ has done on the cross. I was not aware of them, nor that I knew how to get anyone of these blessings to be inwardly mine. When we say “the old has passed away and behold everything new” this newness of life is deeper than we can possibly imagine and it continues daily throughout our earthly pilgrimage. 

Beloved, at one point, we have to stop praying this life in us, stop hiding behind excuses, stop blaming our leaders, and stop trying to corner God to make Salvation fit into our neat little boxes. I can tell you without a doubt that God will not hold our religions against us. But, He will certainly hold against us the fact that we have not found Him was not His fault but our sins of pride, stubbornness and laziness.  BELIEVE! This is the difference between the first “follow me” Christ said to Peter in Mathew 4:19 and the other “follow Me” in John 21:19. You cannot deny that Peter had become a new man to the point He was given to the Master completely and followed boldly His footsteps with no fear for his own life. He was not perfect, but work in progress.

It is all Salvation by grace through faith. We are saved! We are being saved! We will be saved! Oh! The beauty of it all. – I cannot wait to see Him!

The Law of Surrender!

By A.W. Tozer

The Bible says that we are to present our bodies "as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." Of course, if you give your body, you give everything it contains. That means giving yourself wholly to God, and the idea of giving yourself wholly to God contains three laws. The first law is the law of surrender. If you do not surrender, it will be totally impossible for the Lord to do anything for you. Surgeons have to have the surrender of their patients. If I went to a surgeon and insisted that I was going to tell him how to do the job and not only that but stay awake and resist him, the surgeon could not work. It would be impossible. Surgeons must put their patients to sleep so they cannot resist, so they are in a state of surrender. That is the law of surrender.

A more beautiful and biblical description is the story of the potter and the clay, which illustrates the law of surrender further. The potter has soft, yielding clay, but if the clay does not surrender, the potter cannot do a thing with it. If there are burnt places, hard places or unsurrendered places in the clay, though the potter be a genius in making vessels, the artist still could not make anything useful and beautiful out of an unyielding blob of clay. It is possible for an object to be useful but not beautiful, like a garbage can. It is also entirely possible to be beautiful and not useful, like the lily. The lily has no utilitarian place in the world. It is possible to have a vessel that is useful without being beautiful. 

The old cream crocks in our spring house on the farm were useful all right. You could pour the milk in them, wait for the cream to rise and skim it off. They were not beautiful, but they were quite useful. Everybody has in their home beautiful little knickknacks. They are utterly useless, simply to be enjoyed for their beauty. But God wants His vessels to be both useful and beautiful. If God is going to make those kinds of vessels out of us, however, we are going to have to yield to the law of surrender. Give yourself to God as a living sacrifice and let Him have you--all of you

My Heart Needs Thee, O Lord!

Devotion from George Matheson

My heart needs Thee, O Lord, my heart needs Thee! No part of my being needs Thee like my heart. All else within me can be filled by Thy gifts. My hunger can be satisfied by daily bread. My thirst can be allayed by earthly waters. My cold can be removed by household fires. My weariness can be relieved by outward rest. But no outward thing can make my heart pure. The calmest day will not calm my passions. The fairest scene will not beautify my soul. The richest music will not make harmony within. The breeze can cleanse the air; but no breeze ever cleansed a spirit.

The world has not provided for my heart. It has provided for my eyes; it has provided for my ear; it has provided for my touch; it has provided for my taste; it has provided for my sense of beauty--but it has not provided for my heart. Provide Thou for my heart, O Lord!

It is the only unwinged bird in all creation; give it wings, O Lord! Earth has failed to give it wings; its very power of loving has often dragged it in the mire. Be Thou the strength of my heart. Be Thou its fortress in temptation, its shield in remorse, its covert in the storm, its star in the night, its voice in the solitude! Guide it in its gloom; help it in its heat; direct it in its doubt; calm it in its conflict; fan it in its faintness; prompt it in its perplexity; lead it through its labyrinths; raise it from its ruins! I cannot rule this heart of mine; keep it under the shadow of Thine own wings!

The Life & Power to Follow!

I was reading this devotion today and I realize I ought to include it in today's post for various reasons. If you are a true Christian stucked in a rut never knowing the power of true Christianity, trying to guess whether you are holy or not, wondering why some people seems to talk about things that beyond your understanding. You need to read an Oswald Chambers devotion today with special attention. If you do not feel the Spirit talking to you, then put it aside and keep coming back to it until you are convicted.

The second “follow me” is brutal, it is painful, it is real, it is for all of us Christians and brings power, spirituality, authority and spiritual maturity. In short, it transforms us. It is the narrow gate that separates mediocre Christians strong in lip service and those prepared for heaven’s businesses.

 Once you read it, pray that God would help you see when He brings you to this point of the second follow me through the circumstances in your life, you do not miss out on it. In your prayer ask Him to give you strength and the courage to choose Him inspite of the uncertainties and the pain of choosing to go with Him. Remember, within a few months only Peter was transformed from a man who could not own up to the simple fact that he was his follower before the rooster crowed three times (Mark 14:66-72) to a man with boldness and with no fear for his life after Christ ascended into heaven.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others around you!

In His Agape love,

M.J Andre

The Life of Power to Follow

Jan

05

2013

Jesus answered him, ’Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’ —John 13:36

“And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ ” (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, “Follow Me” (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me” was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18).

Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. “. . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:22). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.

All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to “receive the Holy Spirit.” “Receive the Holy Spirit “— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Courtesy of http://utmost.org/

The Gifts of Discernment & Wisdom

I know I talk a lot about people in the Church who are not truly Christians and they do not know about it. I decided to write this post to shed some light on the matter because the people that are just dabbling with Christianity and those that are in it for a little corner of heaven tend to feel offended when they hear certain comments. Granted the internet is full of people going on and on about Christ, and they are willing to condemn everyone even the real Christians. They usually hide behind the fact that they are doing it just to defend the faith.

In fact, I can think of someone who has been very popular on the internet for years now. While this person appears knowledgeable to others who are not spiritual, what they do not know about this guy is that he himself has not been saved yet. In fact that is why there is so much rage and zeal in him to accuse everyone of apostasy. While the word Jesus is found everywhere on his site and he uses the word love a lot in his writings you would think that he is working for the real God that we Christians know. But the reality is that he is not. I am aware of his site because I was impressed with him about twelve to thirteen years ago. I have now been a Christian for fifteen years and I can say without fear of repercussions from God that this guy is not a Christian, but he does not know it. Satan knows the Bible by heart and can have lengthy conversations about it too. Demons too, believe, and they have more fear of God in them than some so called Christians.

Throughout my book “Apprehended & Apprehending” I tried to help readers about the type of questions they should honestly be asking themselves in order to examine their walk with God. But for some, I know it will be useless simply because Satan’s bondage can be so blinding that you cannot see what is right under your nose. You cannot see what is obvious to everyone else, even unbelievers have radar to spot those who are not truly Christians. Christ did not quote Mathew 23:15 just to hear Himself talk. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”

This crime Christ accused the Pharisees of, is also our crime today. We go around putting strenuous effort into getting people to come to know Jesus. We have not left one stone unturned just so we can find converts for our churches. Then instead of doing it for God’s glory we do it to satisfy our ego. (Just saying we are doing things for God's glory does not make it so) So we brag about the size of our Church, how it grew under our administration, we pad our resumes as if all these things make us real Christians. But, often what we fail to realize is that this is just the end result of running a business. At the end of the day, we fill the pews and pulpits with people who embrace our sects.

These people reject the true Gospel in favor of living out perverted doctrines. They have no idea what it means to ever be spiritually mature, you talk about things like brokenness, surrender, regeneration, holiness, the victorious life, Godly repentance and so on, they are totally in the dark. Some of the more educated one go about formulating some hypothesis on these subjects but never truly become real Christians. But, blessed be to God for scouting the Churches and single out His chosen ones.

So, when we are living a full Christian life, embracing the whole Bible as being God’s mercy, love and grace it is not difficult for us to decipher who is who. Through God’s grace, as you become Spirit filled mature Christian, you are like  a teacher standing in front of his class, he is able to tell which one knows the subject he is teaching, which one needs help which one is in the wrong class all together, and which one is completely out to lunch.

Sometimes we are able to see these things simply because of the gifts of the Holy Spirit which is discernment and/or wisdom. In my opinion, having those two gifts together is a little bit much for someone who is not in any kind of leadership position in Church business. It can be overwhelming, frustrating, sad, and so many emotions at the same time. These emotions seem to come from the fact that you feel so powerless with the information at your fingertips. But, like all the gifts we receive from the Holy Spirit, they grow with us, and we learn to use them better. Nevertheless, I find what does not go away is the need to sometimes be able to shut it all off and be “average” for a while.

Even if God has provided the gift of wisdom without the gift of discernment, I find with the gift of wisdom alone you can look at people and see right through them. You are able to let go of the shell on the outside and penetrate them deeper. To your mind, the outside looks like clear water. At first, I remember finding it a little bit like invading people’s privacy. But, I realized soon enough even if I close my eyes it does not change anything because you are dealing with the Spirit’s eyes. In fact this gift cannot even be contained by space. With your spiritual eyes, you are seeing with the mind of the Holy Spirit and you can be sure you are seeing what you are seeing for a good reason. I find that no matter how you turn it around, He shows you these things just so that you can see the need of the body of Christ.

I also find that sometimes God blocks Christians that He feels are not my business to see for now and sometimes He also blocks Christian leaders just because He wants to use this person in my life for a little while. Once it is done, it seems that He unblocks everything! The bottom line is that you would be surprised to see as you grow spiritually how the Holy Spirit is not stingy at all.

- IF YOU HAVE TIME -

THE REMAINING OF THIS POST IS ABOUT QUOTES RELATED TO THE POST THAT COULD BE USEFUL

Read what Oswald Chambers said:

A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him . . . .” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ.”

Read what J.C Ryle said:

“I think there can be no question that there is an immense difference among those who profess and call themselves Christians. Beyond all dispute, there are always two classes in the outward Church—the class of those who are Christians in name and form only, and the class of those who are Christians in deed and in truth. All were not Israel who were called Israel, and all are not Christians who are called Christians. "In the visible Church," says an article of the Church of England, "the evil be ever mingled with the good."

Read what James Smith said in 1859:

There is much spurious religion in the world. Many pass for Christians—who are not. This fact places professors in solemn circumstances. When there is much counterfeit coin in circulation, people in trade are doubly cautious. They look at the proffered piece carefully, they rub it, ring it, weigh it, and test it in a variety of ways. No one will take base coin—if they know it. Nor will people take what is suspicious without examination.

Friends, have we any religion? If so, are we sure it is the genuine article? Many are deceived, and deceived to the last! The foolish virgins were. The multitudes referred to by Jesus were, when he said, "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name cast out devils, and in your name have done many wonderful works? Then I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me you that work iniquity."

Choosing an Obedient Lifestyle!

Intouch magazine in by Pastor Charles Stanley September 2, 2008

“Choosing an Obedient Lifestyle
Romans 6:16-18

Though God is sovereign and omnipotent, many believers don’t trust Him to guide them. Instead they think about obedience on a case-by-case basis, evaluating how the consequences of various choices might affect their life. But the Lord desires followers whose lifestyle is submissive—in other words, people who've made a deliberate decision to surrender to His will in every circumstance.

When confronted with the idea of absolute submission, many of us are assaulted by anxious thoughts: What if the Lord wants me to do something I can’t? Or, What if I don’t want to do what He asks? We fear we wouldn't have the strength, wisdom, or faith to carry out commands He might give. And we’d be right—if we relied upon our own resources. But if we commit to obedience, God equips us at the right moment to follow where He leads.”

If you noticed on a few occasions in my blog I said to you guys “there is a different Christian life other than the one most of us are accustomed to” The truth is even though I know it is true, but whenever I said those words I always felt uncomfortable because I was always afraid that some Christians would think that I am referring to a different Gospel. My problem was that I could never find the right words to describe what I am living in the Spirit and the life that I come to know as my regular daily life with Him.

I started reading the Bible from Genesis 1 yesterday January 3. As I made it to chapter 3:6, it dawned on me, all of the sudden there was a burst of light and I said out loud, “I got it” “this is what I have been trying to explain”. I realized all the time that I have been saying to you there is a different kind of Christianity in union with Him, the difference really lies in the life of Adam & Eve before their eyes opened and they acquired their own wisdom after their eyes opened. In Genesis 3:6 “the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it”. The only word that did it for me so vividly that I could grasp it with my spiritual eyes is the word “wisdom” even as I am writing this, I am hoping God would give my readers the spiritual understanding to see what I also saw.

Now I know it is more than living a life in the Spirit, even though living in His divine life is so awesome and so out of this world, so pure and so restful that man has not created a word that could describe this life fully. The ingredient that makes the Christian life we live through the eyes of God and through our own understanding, so different, is the absence of the worldly wisdom that was acquired by Adam and Eve after they disobeyed. The whole difference I have been trying to share with you in just in that sentence and it is so powerful to my soul.

It is powerful because this wisdom Eve was seeking after has brought us sin, blindness, spiritual death, limitations, barriers and heaviness of the life in the flesh, the bondage, the filth in our souls, the miseries etc. Imagine being able to let go of it?

It is funny though that I have a whole chapter in my book “Apprehended & Apprehending” dedicated to how the life we have in Christ, as we live in oneness with Him, feels as if He is feeding us His life like a mother feeding the growing baby in her womb. The baby is us, taking all that we need as we are fed spiritually by Him. I also shared how essential it is to keep growing in this manner with Him. Yet, I did not realize the discovery of this “different kind of Christianity” that I have been sharing with you is simply the continuity and the growth that I am experiencing with Him as I am being fed by Him.

On a side note the feeding tube is His divine life we acquire only as we live in oneness with Him. It is the abiding life. If you could only see the beauty of being connected to Him, then you would fully understand what we are told in Romans 8:39 “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It was only then God allowed me to claim this promise for myself.

Beloved, I still have such a long way to go. I am not sharing this with you to show off or make you feel bad. I answer only to God, and if this was my aim, then He would deal with me accordingly. But, understand that my blog is not to condemn, or censure you, and even though my words can be so bold sometimes and I have no shame of telling you bluntly what I see with the gifts of discernment and wisdom given to me by God. Believe it or not, my heart is full of love and I am hoping that God could touch few of you to teach you to live a better life in Him.

There are three paths for us Christians and we have covered them all in the Church with Christians in the pews and in the pulpits. There is a group that fall in the category pastor Charles Stanley referred to as having obedience on a case by case basis. If you belong to that group then you are waking once in a while in the Spirit and that is not good enough to live the abiding life and your growth is slow and limited. There is a small group living deliberately the surrendered life. The third path is for those sitting in the pews and in the pulpits thinking they have truly made a decision for Christ, when in reality they never believe but they are not wiser. Unfortunately, this group is really big, much bigger than the other two combined, hence, my ministry.

Right here on earth, we are expected to live the Christian life having acquired eternal life, and the Kingdom of God within. If we do not have them here on earth, then they are not ours for the taking when we die, it would be too late. The diluted Gospel tells us that we are going to be missing out on some crowns, yes that is true. But, that is only part of it. Before worrying about missing out on a crown or two wouldn't you like to know that you have the very basic? It is like fantasizing about a fancy wedding ball that you are going to, yet you have never managed to secure the tickets you need for admission. Furthermore, you have never been fitted by the groom, with the proper attire. For some of you missing out on a few crowns is the last of your problem. You need to re-prioritize!

I read a long time ago that Andrew Murray was crossing the streets, before he got to the other side, he stood there in the middle of the street quietly for a moment. Someone when he reached the other side, a man asked him why he stopped in the middle of the street. He replied young man I lost contact with the Holy Spirit for a moment and I had to regain it before he continues crossing the street. I wish I could say I am there. Often, I am aware that I lose contact with Him, but I wait a few hours and even a day or two before I go back and reattached myself to Him. I am indeed work in progress.

Quote from Andrew Murray

“The purpose of redemption is Possession, and the purpose of Possession is likeness to Him who is Redeemer and Owner, is Holiness.

The link between Redemption and Holiness is Obedience.

The life of Christ is the holiness of Christ. The reason we so often fail in the pursuit of holiness is that the old life, the flesh, in its own strength seeks for holiness as a beautiful garment to wear and enter heaven with. It is the daily death to self out of which the life of Christ rises up.”
Andrew Murray, Holy in Christ.

Trials & Sorrows are Part of The Christian Life!

"In the world, you will have many trials and sorrows." John 16:33

A few years ago, right before my wilderness time with God I had so many challenges in my life. If it was not about problems encountered in the workplace, it was in the family or my finances and so on. My Bible study group was doing a study of the life of Paul. During the study I have acquired understanding and something now I know came from the Holy Spirit was strength to expect the unexpected and to learn to view my trials in His light. During our time of sharing with the group, I mentioned how through the study I have acquired so much understanding in regards to my trials, that I am no longer afraid of them, and I am now equipped to endure anything. The group leader corrected me right away and made sure that I understand it was not the right attitude to expect trials all the time in our Christian walk with God! I believed those words so much that they are still with me even today!

I understand now, while I did not know how to communicate with the Holy Spirit yet, but God used the study of Paul's life to give me a solid understanding of what was to come for me. While my life is far from being like Paul, but the pain and trials pattern that plagued his life have not escaped me. Paul's pain and trials were customized for his life and the time he was living in. Mine are customized for my life and the time that I am living in.  

Through my wilderness wanderings with Him, I have learned to acquire solid faith, as solid as an oak tree. Yet here I am, just finishing seven years of wilderness with Him. Then, just when I thought I was going to get a break and live free of troubles for a little while I found myself afflicted once more. To my surprise the Holy Spirit revealed to me the cause of my affliction this time is simply to learn to wait upon Him without discouragement. One would think because I have acquired solid faith, this waiting period he is putting me through now, would be a piece of cake, but, not so. If this kind of thinking was true, none of us Christians would ever backslide. David would not have gotten involved with Bathsheba, got her pregnant and killed her husband all the while thinking that God is not wiser. How did he get so deep into sinning so badly, when he knew God so well? He simply let his guard down and was not sober minded. Yesterday grace cannot carry us through today or a few months down the road.

Even though the Holy Spirit has told me the goal of this affliction I am in now, and even though I know Him so well, I still find that some days I have doubts, just because of those words the leader said to me a few years ago. It feels as if a tape is being played in my mind and my focus is on the message that is being played instead of focusing on God. Every time I get into those pockets of doubts I have to drag myself out of a state of discouragement and into God's grace and love and take my stand like a true soldier of Christ.

I have read the biography of several of those men that I admire so much for the depth of their walk with God and I found out most of them had some kind of trials that never stopped. An example of that would be Spurgeon who lived his life with continuously painful gout  constant depression, and critics that would not let up. Try having to deal with these things all your life with no relief in sight, I can imagine, his life was no picnic.

The purpose of our trials is to train our faith, sanctify us, and learn from Him while we unlearn those things we acquired on our own or through misguided leaderships. Things like, our explanations of His Word, characters, traits etc. Our trials are by-products of the redemptive life we have in Christ, so they truly prepare us for the life awaiting us in heaven, and teach us intimacy with the triune God. We take root in Him and so on. It is important that we learn not to give in to self-pity, rebel against God, or spend most of our time being so discouraged that Satan would gain the upper hand. During our trials, the right attitude toward God is to me maintained. If we don’t we never learned what it means to walk a steadfast life, persevere and endure in Him and through Him!

Even when life seems to have singled you out, you still have to believe that God has a purpose and nothing escape Him. We have to believe that the God we serve does not make mistakes and He is a good God. So, whatever is our lot, we take it all in His name. Through the pain we believe in Him, cling to Him and learn to choose Him over and over again and as we do, we position ourselves for more of His grace, we are comforted and strengthen.

To choose Him over and over again requires that we learn to focus on Him. Not His blessings and not what other people’s lives are in comparison to ours. So, look to Him on the cross and cling to Him, do not let go.

The Agape Love Of God!

I find that when it comes to Agape love, I am in the dark and I have so much to learn about it. I found out, we grow and learn how to make use of it only as we grow with God in union with Christ. I was amazed to see as we grow in our union with Christ, the Agape love of God grows so fast in our hearts like a plant near the water. May be other people reading this post will say I knew that. But, you see, I did not. If you are walking with God to a point where you already knew that, I say kudos to you and to Him be the glory!

This Agape love of His has become the center point in my life. The reason is, a few months ago someone who has been Christian for decades,  in words and rituals only, I know this person for years yet, I have yet to see an ounce of growth or changes in his/her life. Another thing about this person is that he/she despised being surrounded by true Christians and only feel comfortable if you are a nominal Christian, then you are fit for his/her friendship.

It was strange how strongly this person felt the need to correct me for having a lack of tolerance for Christians and unbelievers alike who have knowingly chosen to live in sin for years and not be bothered by it. One of the examples during the conversation was something like a pastor being openly gay while walking the Christian path. I chose to shrug it all that day because the Holy Spirit showed me there was malice behind it all and I was being tempted by that person. So, I keep quiet to avoid the trap of a heated discussion with a spiritually blind person who is not willing to do anything that has anything to do with God’s Word.

Knowing God the way I do, and knowing how much He hates sin and every single little detail in the world that is not in harmony with Him, grieve Him so much. I became hesitant that my past experiences of God’s wailing for this world and what we have made of Christ and His Salvation had affected my judgement in my hatred for sin whether in me or in someone else. I used the experience of what had happened with this person, to examine myself and see if I am acting in the light of God’s Word and nature.

Since then, I have been in conversation with God and I became mindful of God’s Agape love and the use of it. My only desire, the only thing I want to get out of it, is to love other people in a way that is pleasing to God. I want to be mindful of loving even the unlovable because I don’t want to take away my love for others just because they do not meet with my expectations. God keeps reminding me that there is a balance in loving that has to be sought after and we get there only through Him. He brought it to my attention on several occasions and every time I am reading the Bible, if there is something that pertains to His love, you can be sure He will remind me of it. For instance, Paul taught us to grieve for Christians who continue in sin. He taught us to be mindful in our dealing with Christians with questionable characters and corrupt behavior because they could lead us as well on the wrong path if we insist on keeping their companies. While love teaches us to be patient, bear each other’s burden, to love those that are different from us etc, we also know when to admonish and when to administer reproof in love, humility and gentleness.

As God reminded me, while He loves the world, and wailed for those that are perishing (in or outside the Church) but not everyone will go to heaven. It is actually His Holy love that demands that He is true to Himself. As for this person who tried to tempt me into a quarrel with him/her, God enlighten me  about the man that Paul had to deal with in 1 Corinthians 5  because of sexual immorality. The Corinthians actually tolerated him but Paul passed judgement on him and told the Church to get rid of him. There are times in using Agape love we know not to tolerate people who knowingly chose to sin, is the right thing to do so. This does not mean you take your love away, but you make a choice between them and God until they are able to come to their senses, then you are to open your heart and accept them back with open arms, in your life.

The Agape love of God can be misunderstood drastically, especially by those who chose not to walk the walk.  The Agape love of God, while it has no limit and is basically bottomless when it comes to its depth, God can only be loyal to Himself because He is holy and just. Furthermore, the Agape love we are using is not even ours but God’s love sheds in our heart to rise up to the occasion. I find myself in situation sometimes where I have no idea how to apply His Agape love because things might not be so black and white. But, I am learning to depend on Him to teach me how to reach a balance and apply His Agape love in all circumstances in my life, so that I can honour Him, while wearing the badge of Christianity.   

I find it somewhat bizarre how Christians are writing about Agape love and their focus is so much on emotions, attitude, choices etc, yet when you are using true Agape love, first of all you are aware of the fact that it is not yours for the taking, IT BELONGS TO GOD, IT IS PART OF GOD - PERIOD! The next thing is that while He is a passionate God, so you would think Agape love would involve passion. Well not really! This is not to say that Agape love does not have emotions in it, in fact it does because there is no being more passionate than God. My personal opinion is that God removes those emotions for us because we are already inundated with the wrong emotions when it comes to love, that we do not need to feel them as we use His Agape love. 

It is my experience while we are using His Agape love to interact with others, He makes sure the only concerns we are involved with are His priorities. There is an overwhelming sense of His priorities that is not of this world and one of them is that all our actions are for His sake.  We also have a sense of justice, fairness, righteousness and His Holiness. Then the next big thing that permeates the use of Agape love is the compulsion of being mindful of His glory. It is as if you cannot use Agape love without glorifying Him. There is an attitude that comes with it and whether we are aware of it or not, the glory has to go back to God. When you experience the beauty of His Agape love, in fact you have no use for any kind of love; you realize the pettiness, and the shallowness of Eros and Philos love.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1john 4:8)