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You were changed in Him!
“Brothers in the context of our inclusion in Christ, we are blameless; we participate in this heavenly identity. We have become fully acquainted with Christ Jesus as the Ambassador and Chief Priest of our confession. Our lives co-echo the logic of God’s eternal conversation in him.” Heb. 3:1(Mirror Word, trans.) This life seems to move and radiate with such shifts, sometimes they seem to contain such ecstasy and at other moments such devastation. As a people of experience, we sometimes think and begin to believe all these moments added together define our person. Yet, in the midst of it all there is a whisper. There is a voice, an echo,…
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“Do this in memory of me.” Breaking Your Bread
What a glorious gift you have, Beloved! “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” That piece, the broken Christ, is yours, particularly yours. And your sharing of this life-giving morsel, feeds His Beloved and gives them life. Cast off fear. Resist shame and unworthiness. Your piece is a glorious vessel-like responsibility! Feed Him forward. Binsey
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Favoring the Fig Leaf
In the beginning, when great innocence reigned, and fellowship with God was constant and normal, good and evil didn’t have residence in dust-made human flesh. Without an ear to listen to that loudest of deadly sounds, the knowledge of good and evil didn’t have a voice. But when that moment came, that moment of large enough doubt to tempt Eve to believe that God was holding out something desirable, something to “make one wise,” it happened: the knowledge of good and evil found an ear. An ear where its powerful and loud voice would lead to death by shame. Shame requires a cover and cover, we do. Most of us,…
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When God Takes You Off Your Throne
It’s not easy to be your own God. Think of all the variables you must foresee, have access to, manipulate and mold to your best interest. It’s a heavy task. So heavy, in fact, you will be emotionally and spiritually spent at the end of most days. You will sink onto your sofa for some distraction, take something to help you sleep, and wake up the next day with the same dilemma: If I can’t trust God, I have to trust myself. But wait! Because you are the Lord’s beloved, the day will come when He relieves you of those fragile substitutes. One by one, they must be exposed for…
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“Take My Yoke Upon You,” Matt 11:29
The Yoke You Can Give Up Yokes speak of confinement, heaviness, work. But what of the yoke described in Matthew 11:29 as “easy, light, and restful”? Is this a yoke from a different world? A yoke which is beyond our experience today? Right here? Right now? No. It’s ours and it’s ours right now, today. This is the yoke offered by Christ to all of His followers. This yoke takes hold of the mind of Christ as eagerly as Jacob took the firstborn’s birthright. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that a freely…
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How Death Brings Life
“As the tree is fertilized by its own broken branches and fallen leaves, and grows out of its own decay, so men and nations are bettered and improved by trial, and refined out of broken hopes and blighted expectations.” Frederick W. Robertson (1816-1853)
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You’re a Jacob Not an Esau
You know you’re different. From the beginning, you made your relationship with God number one. You wanted HIM and everything else paled in comparison. The depth of your love made you feel different from others but, How can anyone be lukewarm toward such a God? You’re a Jacob. You want what every firstborn wants: His kingdom come. Don’t feel bad that you held Esau’s heel. Don’t feel bad that the Esau’s around you despise their birthright. You’re a Jacob. You fight for your blessing! Even if the fight takes all night long. Your passion, your desire to know Him blesses Him; He loves Jacobs! “He shall choose our inheritance for…
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The Mind of Christ During Difficulties
Facing a trial with the Mind of Christ invites us into a dimension of glory foreign to our knowledge of good and evil. This glimpse into the eternal value of what we are suffering can set us above the landscape with its rocks and thorns. Remember when Satan tempted the suffering Jesus in the wilderness? None of his appeals to the flesh had any power when up against the Mind of Christ. In Christ, The Sum of All Spiritual Things, Watchman Nee describes what it is like to face obstacles with The Mind of Christ: “In 1923 I was invited to preach in a certain city. I took a small…
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One Foot Planted in the Dust of the Soul, John Wright Follette
Growth. The process is often not what we expect. It helps to smile at our dustiness. John Wright Follette expresses this masterfully in, Fruit of the Land: “. . . at times it is quite overwhelming for a soul tabernacling in a house of dust. A bit of truth like that was too overwhelming for my dust. God said, ‘Remember you are made of dust.’ I said, Thank You.’ He said, ‘Remember that you are made of dust; and since you are made of dust I will reveal Myself to you in a form to suit your need as dust. I am you Heavenly Father. I said, ‘Thank You. Now…
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The Mind of Christ, Rest
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:6 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14 Complete surrender. A living sacrifice. If…
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