Something I read today....

[mizpeh]

Does this sound like someone you know?

As a Mule

“If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit” (Leviticus 26:18-20 – NIV).

I have a long history of stubbornness. I’m thickheaded, stiff-necked, arrogant and presumptuous. I’m pretty sure I know best. I’m pretty sure that if it needs to be done, I can get it done – and I certainly don’t need beings of lesser intelligence getting in my way. Sometimes I act like I don’t even need a being of infinitely greater intelligence getting in my way. I may not be large, but I love to be in charge.

Got a problem with that?

Apparently, God does. When he encounters it in one of his kids, he doesn’t beat around the bush. He promises bluntly that those who will not listen to him can expect him to punish them for their sins seven times over.

What’s the deal with that?

I ask, because that’s me he’s talking about. I don’t listen. When crisis strikes, you’d think I’d run to God. Instead, I set about determinedly doing things my way, on my time, with my brains, for my benefit. When stuff gets hard, I just try harder – and harder, and harder, and harder. Even when it’s clear I’m dramatically failing, I just keep stubbornly swinging away; listening ever less, embracing the delusion of self-sufficiency ever more.

I think it’s safe to say there’s only one I know more stubborn than me.

Him.

God has me beat. He can hold out longer than I can. Look at what he says in Leviticus: “I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.” I will. Not I might, I may, I could, I should, why I oughtta… I will. God’s going to break down my stubborn pride. My flimsy prayers and pleas are going to bounce off his iron heaven; my best attempts to dig into my own resources will only result in a bent and useless shovel.

Knowing this, seeing this, reading it clearly among the very words of God – you’d think I’d cave! Why prolong the inevitable? God isn’t trying to win some locker room bet with me; there’s no doubt in his mind who’s going to win this struggle for control. It’s just a matter of time. And God isn’t deriving some cruel delight from my agony either; that’s not the nature of a perfect father.

God knows that to bless me, he has to break me. I can’t go on to the next place of significance that he has planned for me still lugging around a two-ton weight of pride. I can’t fit through the door that leads to His next grand purpose for my life without personally decreasing. That iron heaven and bronze earth are actually gifts from God: reminders that resistance is futile. I’m not going to come through what I’m facing right now solely by tapping into my own IQ, charisma, or grit. I don’t have enough time, money, talent, or determination to make it to the close of this season intact, much less on top.

I might as well surrender now, crying out to God – and listening to him as he responds and directs me, showing me what to do and where to go. Otherwise, my strength will be spent in vain; my soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.

And I don’t want that.

I’m stubborn. As a mule. But I’m not anywhere near as stubborn as God. So God…

You win.

http://yourjourney.typepad.com/mark_.../01/index.html

[mizpeh]

I could read this guy's stuff all day long.

Bounce Back

Sneaky, slimy, lying monster.

That’s what I think of the devil. Conniving, cruel, relentlessly malicious. He hates what is right and celebrates what is wrong. He interferes, frustrates, and accuses. He turns truth into Play-dough and hope into rubble. He’s a filthy, faithless, backstabbing dirtbag.

He levels temptation after temptation at me and you; hurls trouble after trouble in our direction. He constantly messes with our lives, bombarding our minds with his garbage. He’ll milk any offense, exhaust any angle, and go to any level to distract, deter, and defeat us.

And there’s only one thing he doesn’t want us to do in response.

Bounce back.

He doesn’t care if his junk makes us mad or sad; cocky or depressed. The only threat to his little gig is the possibility that we’ll resist by faith and bounce back.

That’s exactly what we’re going to do, by the way.

Bounce back.

Believe anyway. Pray anyway. Hope anyway. Laugh anyway. Press anyway. Rest anyway. Plan anyway.

We’re going to put the entirety of our confidence in Jesus Christ. And then stand firm, trusting.

We’re going to bounce back. Every time. To the glory of God and dishonor of the devil.

Do you need to bounce back in some area of your life today? Let me pray for you: Father, I believe your word. It declares simply but emphatically that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. For every person reading this blog, whether we’re tempted, lonely, uncertain, guilty, greedy, lustful, or just living in spiritual la-la land, help us wake up – and bounce back by faith in Jesus, the Son of God, who has one-upped Satan by his blood and power. In Jesus’ name.

Amen. Bounce back.

So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you (James 4:7 – NCV).

http://yourjourney.typepad.com/mark_.../08/index.html

[mizpeh]

Another jewel by Jason Dulle:

Every denomination or religious tradition has its doctrinal peculiarities. Not only may these be unique to the religious tradition in question, but they are often thought of as strange to outsiders. Usually these doctrinal peculiarities are based on some Biblical text, but they either distort that text, fail to read it in light of other texts, or overemphasize it to the point that it becomes a distortion. And yet, people who were raised in that tradition not only accept it as true, but will work up all the intellectual muster they can in defense of it. While they manage to convince themselves with their reasons, they often fail to convince most others.

We need to be on guard that we do not become so intent on protecting all the teachings/traditions of our own particular religious tradition, that we will come up with, and actually settle for subpar arguments in their favor. Are there things we believe and argue for simply because they are part of our religious tradition – things we would not believe if we were raised in a different tradition, and would not be persuaded of if presented with the same evidence that we use to justify the teaching/tradition?

Sometimes I ask myself of certain teachings/traditions, “If I was not raised as a Oneness Pentecostal, and was freshly converted to Christianity, would I think this teaching/tradition was clearly taught in Scripture? Would I be persuaded by the evidence that I am offering others in defense of this teaching/tradition?” Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes the answer is no. While it is painful to come to the conclusion that your religious tradition is mistaken on some point or points, intellectual honesty and true Christianity requires that be more interested in the truth than in justifying our religious heritage.

Truth is a leader, not a follower. We ought to accept where it leads us, rather than protest when it brings us down an unexpected path – and God forbid that we ignore it. Truth is more valuable than tradition; truth is more valuable than fellowship; truth is more valuable than approval; truth is more valuable than ego; truth is more valuable than reputation; truth is more valuable than winning arguments; truth is more valuable than being right. Truth is valuable simply because it is true. Let us be seekers of the truth.


http://theosophical.wordpress.com/20...tions/#respond

[mizpeh]

I love the highlighted quote.

Types are pictures, object-lessons, by which God taught His people concerning His grace and saving power. The Mosaic system was a sort of kindergarten in which God's people were trained in divine things, by which also they were led to look for better things to come. An old writer thus expresses it: "God in the types of the last dispensation was teaching His children their letters. In this dispensation He is teaching them to put the letters together, and they find that the letters, arrange them as they will, spell Christ, and nothing but Christ."

http://www.bible-researcher.com/type.html



Ga 3:24 - 25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

[mizpeh]

Ocean by Mark Johnston

I'm at the ocean.

I awake at 6:20 and stretch clumsily. I stumble out of bed and try to steady my gaze upon the wide eastward window. The first rusty hues of sunrise are bleeding up over the horizon, spilling out from under the great endless gauze of the sea. The morning star rises and beams steadily above a single broad swath of dark gray and purple cloud.

I slide open the balcony door and sound joins sight – the rhythmic swoosh and bang of wave after wave encroaching upon the beach, each a daring soldier rushing forward into the fray and then slipping back to let another take its place.

The first hint of mustard colors the bottom of that stretch of cloud and the blueness of the sky – and of the ocean – becomes apparent. Light begins to glint and dance on the surface of the rolling waters. The roar of the waves’ approach and recession remains steady.

I sat in a restaurant aboard a cruise ship not long ago. The walls were covered with black and white portraits that suddenly became infused with color as we dined. The place was filled with oohs and ahhs, murmurs of appreciation – appreciation of artificial greens and blues and reds and purples.

Paltry in comparison to the picture my Father now paints outside my window.

The enormous basin of the ocean, brimming with its life-giving waters, stretches out in front of me infinite and boat-less. The morning star dims as blue surrounds it. The rust brightens and the cloud seems threatened by the light’s expansion, pieces of its once proud thickness breaking off and drifting away, led by a distant wind. And all the while, the waves march on.

Oh waves of God, crash upon my soul. Oh ocean of divine love, advance upon my soul.

Oh risen Son of God, rise upon my heart. Oh sky of God illuminate within my heart.

Oh daybreak of God, come – bring your bright heaven to my dark earth.

This is the depth of my pleasure: after viewing the unfolding of his work outside my window, I’m invited to converse with the artist.

http://yourjourney.typepad.com/mark_...9/10/ocean.htm

I felt something similar as I looked out of the 7th floor window of my doctor's office today. The large city park was before me and the leaves on the trees were beautifully full of color, all the shades of autumn. My thoughts were drawn to God again as I drove home down my tree-lined street. (We had a late autumn which followed a late summer this year. I'm hoping winter will be scratched and we'll go right into spring! )

[mizpeh]

obsession...

i think a lack of obsession plagues our society today. i think it's part of why there are so many who have left the faith, it's why the divorce rate is so high, it's why values are bought and sold lightely, and it's why people react angrily to people who are obsessed with something.
now i must make it clear that most things people are obsessed with are not good things to be obsessed with. for example, while animals aren't a bad thing to be interested in, they're not something that need consume the bulk of a person's interest (at the cost of other things). really, there's only one obsession that's good -- and that's an obsession about god.
think about it: what could possibly be worth dedicating your entire life to? what doesn't die, doesn't fade, and will never let you down? it seems like god is the only answer there.
i would take this idea of obsession a step further, though. rather than saying it is permissible and good to be obsessed with god, i'm going to argue that a life that isn't dedicated to god isn't worth living. sure, no one is going to be able to live entirely for god -- but if you're not trying to live for god, your life is worthless.
if your life isn't dedicated to something or someone eternal, unchanging, and perfect, your life is futile. you aren't going to do anything that lasts forever on your own. the human race in its entirety can't do anything with eternal value. everything will fade, and everyone will die. what does that leave for us to live for? does it not leave only a dedication to god? is he not our only lasting hope for life? i think it's obvious that he is.
there is another reason that i'd like to point out that god-obsessions make people mad. i think it's because there's conviction in encountering someone totally sold out to god. according to second corinthians chapter two verses fifteen through seventeen, christians have the aroma (in a figurative sense) of christ. when we come into contact with people, we smell like something. to the unbeliever, the god-obsessed christian smells like death. though they smell like life and love to fellow christians, they smell like conviction and condemnation to those that refuse to believe in the truth.
my main point in all this is that we should be god-obsessed not because it's just a good thing, but because it's the only possible hope in life. rely completely on him -- on his love, on his power, on his grace -- and on nothing else. this is the essence of the god-obsession. http://discoveringhope.blogspot.com/...obsession.html

Matthew 22: 37-40 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Paul, the apostle, was OBSESSED with Christ. Gal 2:20, Phil 1:21, Phil 3:8, 1 Cor 9:24-27
Christ calls us to be OBSESSED with Him. Matt 6:33

[*AQuietPlace*]

You read some great stuff, Miz.

[mizpeh]

Sentinels [Oh, Silver Birch Trees]

The bark is white
not pure
for there are streaks
and lines of different kinds
perhaps, from the land
in which they were born.
Like sentinels,
They guard the forest.
Bent and bowed
Knots and knobs
But standing tall
against the elements
that have beaten, torn apart
to bring them down.
And the young bending low
as though to pray
seeking strength
for time ahead.
For they know too
they are frail,
some will not survive.
As the bark is torn, ripped aside,
it exposes the soul
weeping, it dies
the wounds are deep.
Some will have scars
that are slow to heal.
They are won proudly,
the toll has been paid
for only a few are there
in the forest of tree.
Sentinels standing
for what they believe
but never alone.

Maude DiPietro

[BrotherWallace]

Amen, Mizpeh. With His stripes we are healed. It is not by our works, but by his grace we are saved through faith. and hope maketh not ashamed. We are HIS workmanship. We are bought with a price, and we are not our own.

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by BrotherWallace

Amen, Mizpeh. With His stripes we are healed. It is not by our works, but by his grace we are saved through faith. and hope maketh not ashamed. We are HIS workmanship. We are bought with a price, and we are not our own.