Glory to the Reality of Jesus!

Hello.  Oh what a luxury it is to be able to read God's Living Word and to be able to worship and "hear" Him and "feel" His Presence in the midst of it all!  We need to NEVER be deceived that ANYTHING else can nourish us as we need to be nourished other than by God's Holy Spirit - His Eternal Flame - let all else upon which we "try" to feed ourselves become like chaff or straw so that we can be brought to that necessary place of hunger for that which ONLY God can give...

 

"Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.

 

“But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.

 

“Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be pleasant to the Lord...
(Malachi 3:1-4)

 

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:...  (Matthew 1:1)

 

Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament and precedes Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, which lays out the arrival of our Messiah on earth.  And oh what a smooth flow it is from one to the other. 

In Malachi chapter 3 (above), God so clearly announces His intentions to send His Son, our necessary sacrifice and Savior, to rescue us from our hearts turning from our Creator, our God. 

Prior to chapter 3, God laments about and severely rebukes the priests, those who were specially appointed to represent Him to the people.  To speak His Truth to them....(Malachi 2:1-2, 7-9).

No doubt, there are worse-than-critical problems in the institution called "the church" these days: that which, under the leadership of elders and deacons, is supposed to likewise be a place where congregants can come and feed on the Word of God...to truly hear from God Himself...to be set free by His Words of Truth (John 8:31-32).  We have come a far cry from the time when David spoke about how he delighted in the law of God (Psalm 119:174) and how the Truth flowing from God's Word enabled one to truly hear (Romans 10:17) and to be freed from the lies and deceptions of this world and of the enemy, satan (1 John 2:15-17; John 8:43-45; Acts 9:17-18).  We are receiving, overall, what Bob Dylan would call a "Watered Down Love" when those who claim to be spokespersons for God become captivated by the world and lured by satan and offer a message not of Truth, but what congregants' (fleshy and old-natured) itching ears want to hear...which amounts to nothing at best, poison to our souls at worst (2 Timothy 4:2-4). 

 

But this is a whole other story...or devotional...and one that is thankfully coming out more and more through solid Christian sources who both see and know the need for us to hear the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing BUT the Truth. 

 

Yet I believe that the anger expressed by God in Malachi extends to all of His Creation (not just the leaders in the church) for choosing to or allowing ourselves to be deceived into worshiping - giving our lives to - everything and everyone else but Him (Matthew 16:25-26)...the One Who Loves us with a love greater than we could ever understand (John 15:13), and Who would...and did...die for us...(Romans 5:8).

 

...which is right where the beginning of Malachi chapter 3 comes in! 

 

The "Messenger of the covenant (promise)"...the "He" who "is coming"...is the Son of God, Jesus, Himself!  Sent not just to die for the whole world and then to just leave it just like that, but to rise again in order to be able to come live within (by His Spirit) those off of whose eyes the scales fall and as a result are able to see their need for a refining of their hearts...a purging of the yuck within...a need for a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27).  And who realize that anything we think we have on our own merits to offer God is really like "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) compared to His Holiness and Beauty...and that we somehow need a "new righteousness" as well...one that can come only from and through and in Jesus...(Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21):

 

For He is like a refiner's fire

And like launderer's soap.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;

He will purify the sons of Levi, (He will purify us...)

And purge them as gold and silver, (He will purge us...)

That they may offer to the Lord

An offering in righteousness.

 

"Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem

Will be pleasant to the Lord...

 

Then we can be reunited with and bask in the Glory and Love of God...

 

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

 

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

 

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 

(Colossians 1:18-22)

 

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:... 

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 

 

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

 

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 

 

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  (John 1:1-13)

 

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God...

 

There is no other way...

 

“But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.

 

 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me..."

(John 14:6)

 

"I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."

 

"...except through Me..."

 

In His Eternal and Glorious Love, 

Terri 

Believing...is Seeing

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”   (John 11:40)

Seeing is believing...

...or is believing seeing...?

In the verse above, Jesus replies to Martha's understandable apprehension to his cry to her to take away the stone that typically sealed off the tomb of a dead person (John 11:38-39).  Yikes!  What could she expect?  Certainly it would be stinky (John 11:39)!  But what else?  This was not the usual way of doing things!!!

But Jesus was not about to do something predictable...He was about to raise Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus from the grave.  He was about to bring life back to the dead...(John 11:41-44)

...but Martha (and the other folks) had to see to believe...(John 11:45)

So what about us?  In fact, Jesus's promise to Martha that if she were to only believe she would see God's glory was not just for her, but for us.  Throughout His time on earth, Jesus emphasized the significance of believing: 

 

Belief leads to answered prayer: "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."  (Mark 11:24)

 

Belief leads to being healed:  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”  (Luke 8:50)

 

Belief leads to being able to cast out demons: "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons..."  (Mark 16:17)

 

Belief is what God wants us to do: Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  (John 6:29)

 

Belief enables us to be reborn as children of the Living God, and therefore reconciled to Him:  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  (John 1:12-13)

 

Belief leads to being saved and having a revived spirit, resulting in an eternal life with God both now and forever...:   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life...  (John 3:16)

BELIEVE...

 

And interestingly, believing...truly believing...in the Lord...the very first mention of it in God's Holy Word...attributes to the one believing, Abraham in this case, righteousness: not being kind and friendly, not any good works on his part, not doing anything other than believing...(Genesis 15:6).

 

BELIEVE...

 

Another not-accidental fact is that out of the whole Bible, the reference to believing occurs only 41 times in the Old Testament (prior to Jesus' physical arrival on earth); but after Jesus came, then died for us, then rose again for us...the plea or command or reminder to believe occurs 240 times!   As stated above:  NO accident. 

 

BELIEVE...

 

But why should believing (in Jesus) lead to seeing (Jesus)?  Is it our belief - like a child who trusts that a fairy tale is actually real - that conjures Him up or gives Him substance?  Absolutely not.  But it is that same type of almost other-worldly belief that demonstrates a heart inclined toward trusting that what God says is true...that GOD Himself is true, which includes Him sending His Son for us.  It is also that (similar, child-like) belief that recognizes that there is something bigger (and oh so much better) than one's self and this natural world we see only with our five physical senses (Luke 18:16-17).  And lastly, it is that same belief that presents us open-handed before our wonderful and almighty God, offering everything we are and have, not knowing if we will get anything in exchange, but then receiving in return...Life...Life that is renewed, alive, and increasingly FREED from all those things that tie us to our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and circumstances...Life back from the dead (John 5:24).  That is why Jesus said: "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  (Matthew 16:25) 

 

In the case of Jesus...

 

Believing IS seeing...

 

And yet oh how much help we need to truly believe...in fact, this belief IS "other-worldly" and must be supernaturally given, which is why one man cried out to Jesus with tears:

 

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  (Mark 9:23-24)

 

So the very thing that Jesus tells us will enable us to see the glory of God...belief...is also that which He offers to develop in us...all we need to do is recognize our desperate need and then ask. 

 

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

 

Do you want to see Jesus? 

 

"Believe" me, there is not a more beautiful sight to behold...

 

...and all you have to do is ask.

 

In His Love,

Terri

 

 

Violence

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  (Matthew 11:12)

"He that will take, get possession of the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and spiritual joy, must be in earnest: all hell will oppose him in every step he takes; and if a man be not absolutely determined to give up his sins and evil companions, and have his soul saved at all hazards, and at every expense, he will surely perish everlastingly. This requires a violent earnestness..."  (Study Light: Adam Clarke Commentary)

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34)

So many words to define..."proud"..."humble"..."violent"...and how do these passages above connect anyway???

Let's just choose one of those words: "violent"; in fact, that is the word upon which this whole devotional is based.  Sometimes things just need to get violent in the Kingdom of God.  Why not?  It was back then.  There are certainly handfuls of examples that illustrate this.  The ones that came to my mind were of course the type of death (and pre-death violence) that Jesus willingly endured, but also the miracle that occurred that announced one of the most monumental events (the other being Jesus' resurrection) in history: the moment Jesus gave up His life...for all mankind...and the veil (sin; our sinful nature) that separated us from God was "...torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life..."  (Matthew 27:50-52)

The ability now to be reconciled to God through Jesus was proclaimed in violence.   

Adam Clarke, in his commentary, also emphasizes that violence is necessary in the Kingdom of God.  Sadly these days, many are led to believe that "becoming a Christian" is a sweet, "good" thing to do, and that one can just utter the words "Jesus is my savior" and then go off feeling good about him or herself.  (In fact, in my own crisis of faith, this was the deception that needed to be busted before I was willing to even consider the Reality of Jesus: life was harder and more real than all that!!!).  It seems according to Mr. Clarke (above), if that is one's experience, then one may NOT actually have received the new life of Jesus within;  because apparently (and it's true!), this new life is so critical (and it is) to one's earthly and eternal relationship with God, that he or she will have to fight to receive it...and then to live in it...he or she will most definitely have to experience violence. 

Whoa, and I am not a Bible word scholar, but then there is the connection I think I found between "violence" (in the Kingdom of God) and...life.  When I looked up the original definition of the word "violent" in Matthew 11:12 (Greek word Biazo), what I found is that the origin of the word is intrinsically connected with the Greek word Bios, which means life or that by which life is sustained (StudyLight.org).  At least somehow the idea of "violence" and "life" are connected: and they certainly are once one enters God's Kingdom. 

And then sometimes God needs to get violent...or to allow something that seems rather radical to happen...in order to be able to fulfill what He so much wants to do: give grace to the humble.  I'm not saying this is the strategy He uses with everyone or every time...but in order so that one's pride does not become a severe stumbling block (He opposes the proud...)...and so that one can in fact live the life - to its fullest - the Eternal Life given by Jesus...sometimes He must allow something "violent" to occur.    

Picture this: a person...rushing around...acting as if everything is up to him/her...knowing God and His promises to take care, but still out to prove that he/she has to run the show...

...control...insisting on taking control and "having it his/her way" and becoming very angry when it's not.  Fuming, storming, almost maniacal at times, but refusing to let it go...

...not listening...not listening to the Voice of the Holy Spirit of Jesus crying out: "Live in Me!"... "Believe Me!"..."Follow ME!"... "Don't go on that path of control, that anger, that resentment...!" (God opposes the proud...)...

...(Literally) continues to walk in that direction...wrong direction...wrong stepppp....

...ankle turns...

...ankle swells...

...must...now.....slow.......down....... 

Now the person walks with a limp...has to hobble for now...(kinda humbling...), and now this person has to make a critical choice: feel sorry for one's self, even angrier at God, and argue that here is another piece of evidence that he/she needs to be in control and get his/her own way...

 ...or recognize that perhaps (some might disagree with me on this) if he/she had been focusing more on Jesus...been receiving the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7)...and had been relying on the yoke in which Jesus offers rest (Matthew 11:28-30)...perhaps the "violent" turning of the ankle would not have happened, simply because he/she would not have been responding so angrily (and thus so thoughtlessly), and with the pride that led to walking in the direction he/she did:

O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.  Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.  (Psalm 36:10-11)

Sometimes that foot of pride becomes our own, assisted by satan and his demons in being used against us and even against God; but then sometimes...God has to allow something "violent" to happen to that foot so that we are re-awakened to our dangerous missteps, are humbled, can turn back to Him, and once again receive His Overwhelming Grace and Loving-Kindness. 

Not always...not for everyone...but sometimes... 

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force... 

In His Magnificent and Incomprehensible Name, 

Love,  
Terri 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Aroma - March 29, 2014

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?   (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

A sweet aroma...

Have you ever walked by a particular tree or flower bush and suddenly been enveloped by the most lavish and nearly breath-taking scent that it caused you to halt in your tracks for a moment?  This is the old saying "stop and smell the roses" in real time!

Well when one truly knows Jesus Christ in all of His "Real Timeness" and Beauty, one could double, triple...quadruple this amazing smell and come only within miles of how sweet the spiritual aroma of Him Who Died and Rose Again for us really is.  This is because of the Unimaginable Love coursing through His Blood that He smells so sweet...

But as Believers, we too are now supposed to be carrying that heaven-sent scent to others...but how often is this the case?  How many can say that they truly feel that as they go through the week what is pouring out is the aroma of extravagant flowers...versus the "stench" of worry, self-concern, stress...and then the resulting guilt that this is actually what those in the world might be seeing and "smelling"...truly a type of death-smell (but not one that will even have a chance of eventually leading them to life!).

I can certainly relate with all of that...but then the Lord reminded me of something some weeks ago about what it means to give off a sweet aroma.

We can't.

And who is sufficient for these things?

We aren't.

He reminded me actually about a flower.  He said, "Does a flower have to try to give off its fragrance?  Or does it just flow from it naturally?"  Of course the answer is that a flower does not have to put forth any effort whatsoever because of what it is. 

If Christ is living in us, then we do not need to force a fragrance.  We don't have to try to smell good.  All we need to do is to let Him live in and through us.  That's it.  Then His Amazing Aroma will pour through.  And like the scripture states above, either people will be repelled by it (because they do not want or are not ready for Him) or they will be drawn to it (because He has prepared for them to receive Him).  May there be many more of the latter than the former before He actually returns.

Is there stuff we ourselves can do to block that beautiful scent from reaching the surface and flowing out?  Absolutely.  But that is perhaps for another devotional...

It came to mind a poem the Lord gave me a long time ago which I think sort of fits the theme of this devotional: that ultimately, we really do not have to try to give off the sweet, extravagant aroma of Jesus Christ...I'd like to share it with you here.  God bless you all.

Love in Jesus,  
Terri 

 I Tried

   I tried and tried with all my might to change my wicked ways

by being kinder, helping out and filling up my days

    I found that sometimes this would work gained temporary peace

but something still seemed oh so wrong oh where is the release?

And then I thought, “I must be bad since evil I pursue

why can’t I change?, I’m trying hard to please God through and through”

Why do I slip so easily and find it hard to be

that pleasing soul who is so good who loves consistently?      
                           
   I must be bad,” I told myself and started sinking low

“What can I do?”  I looked around and did not know where to go

   I sought relief from others found encouragement in church

but still I sensed this need inside to carry on a search

   I thought the answer was in reading Bible verses, sermons preached

as notes I scribbled daily an answer to be reached

but how easily distracted from these tasks I seem to be

so can they really be “the answer” to the Conflict inside of me?

  I even started asking God how my ways I could change

to become a “godly person” -  I thought the answer given strange

   He said, “Go into your Bible-  something found in Matthew 3

it’s where I say I love my Son it’s He who pleases Me

   He is the One I sent for you to save you from your sin

there’s no way you can change yourself or alter the state you’re in

and do not try to please Me using efforts of your own

it’s only pride that thinks you can it’s futile, you’ve been shown

It’s only when you see this fact that all of YOU must die

to you this may sound rather strange 

 

    I understand,  that’s why

You cannot do this by yourself my Spirit must have full reign

    He will take care of this procedure only then a peace you’ll gain

And then I can be very pleased with things I see you do

    I’ll see the glory of the Spirit’s work of Christ inside of you

And it isn’t just for here and now that this work will be done

it’s also so that in the end you too will be my “son”

So that when all are raised to life I’ll see the brand new you

the one changed by the Spirit’s hand glowing radiant through and through

So now, just remember a child lying in My hand

you are the one I’ve come for let Me help you understand

To save you from your wicked way It’s for this cause I died

and when I rose to change you

you no longer needed the words:  “I tried”