Abiding in Christ (Day 1)

I have started reading the book by Andrew Murray “Abiding in Christ”.  It’s a 31 day book, so I’ll likely have a quip or two every day for the next month or so…

Day 1  – ALL YOU WHO HAVE COME TO HIM

“Come unto me” – Matt 11:28

“Abide in me” – John 15:4

I recently had lunch with a dear friend who, when we began speaking of various books and authors that I had recently read, told me, “I only read dead guys.”  I laughed but knew he was serious.  “I read them because I know how they finished,” was his next sentence.  In some ways, I totally agree.

Andrew Murray is one of those authors.  I read one of his books a couple of years ago, or should I say, I started one of his books a couple of years ago and it took me nearly a year to read.  It was incredibly deep and meaty… hence the reason it took so long.  After 1 or 2 paragraphs, I had plenty to chew on for a while.

In this first day’s journey, Andrew Murry delineates between the two listed verses and sets up the premise of the 31 day exercise in intimacy with Christ.  There is a HUGE difference between “Come” and “Abide” and we often miss it.  While most of us realize that were it not for Christ’s grace, we could not “come” to him at all, we somehow think that “abiding” in Him is totally up to our own growth, maturation, and walk – in other words, our own strength.  This is where Murray drives on the point that it has nothing to do with my ability or strength… but, in fact, it has everything to do with Him.

“He had prepared for you an abiding dwelling with Himself, where your whole life and every moment of it might be spent, where the work of your daily life might be done, and where all the while you might be enjoying unbroken communion with Himself.”

Murray points out that Jesus did not say “Come to me and abide WITH me.”  No, Jesus said, “Abide IN me.”  Small words – big difference.

To make that change is significant.  To wake in the morning with first words of “Jesus, let me abide in you today…”

“Come, my brethren, and let us day by day set ourselves at His feet and meditate on this word of His with an eye fixed on Him alone.”

Great summary.  Great action item.  Great application.

Running After Papa…

Blisters (Eph 6:15)

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  (italics added) Ephesians 6:14-15, NKJV

I run.  I have for several years now.  I don’t really run because I like running, although I do enjoy the benefits and the feeling after a good long run.  I started running in order to get some discipline in my life, so I decided to train for a marathon.  Fast forward a few years.  I got really lazy in my training and only did the long runs one year and…. as you might guess… injured my heel which has plagued me with planar fasciitis for over a year.  Fast forward again.  About a year ago, I started changing my running style to take all the impact out of my running by going to more of a “barefoot style” running – simply put, I land on the ball of my foot and then let my heel touch before springing off my foot for the next step.  This style takes a while to build up stamina and strength in your calves as they do A LOT more work.

Last year, I purchased a pair of shoes called Vibram Five Fingers which are basically gloves for your feet with “fingers” for your toes and all.  They have zero support and are basically a sole for your foot so you can run barefoot style without gettting cut up or bruised from rocks and stuff in the road.

I say all that to say this.  Yesterday, I ran too far in my shoes and I got serious blisters on both feet.  I had been running about 2-2.25 miles in the Vibrams and then I would change into my running shoes and run 2 or 3 more miles.  That is my normal M.O.  That is what I do and how I build up endurance.

Yesterday, I tried to run 4 miles in my Vibrams.  This is NOT me.  At 3.3 miles, my feet were so hot (where the blisters are now brilliantly showing themselves) that I took my shoes off and walked the rest of the way home barefoot… in the grass… gingerly.

On the way home, Papa brought to mind Eph 6:15.  The NIV version says “…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.“ When I asked how this all fit together, He showed me:

Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad.  (I Peter 3:14-17, The Message)

and

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.  (Psalms  139:14, NKJV)

What God showed me in that I don’t have to be anyone else.  While I can look to others who are farther along this life of transformation; those I consider spiritual giants; those heroes of the faith;  I am NOT to strive to be like them. God made me to be me.  According to the Ephesians passage, I am to know and understand and live in Truth and Righteousness.  This brings all glory to God.  But I don’t have to wear anyone else’s shoes.  When I do, I get blisters, they rub my feet wrong.  They slow down my pace.   I just have to be me (crucified) in Him.  If I try to be someone else, I am not living the 1 Peter passage.  I won’t “Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why I’m living the way…” I am.  I praise him for make me just like I am.  I am free to be me in Him.  That’s how I’ll be most effective for His purposes and to give him all the glory and praise that He is due.

Running After Papa…

Overcoming – Updated (Rev 12:11)

How do we overcome the power of sin in our lives?

I was recently listening to “Overcome” by Jon Egan and the Desperation Band on the way home from my son’s Lacrosse game, when I was captured by one of the lyrics at the end of the song.  I’ve sung this song dozens of time, so it wasn’t a new song for me, but this time something clicked.  The repeated lyric is “And we will overcome, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, everyone overcome.”   Revelation 12:11 is the verse that bridge it taken from.

Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

I really began to ask the Lord about it.  So how do we overcome?  What is the significance of this verse?  How does the rubber meet the road and why?  (If you read my blogs very often, you’ll find that’s a very common question I ask…)

1. The blood of the Lamb

First things first… This is the fulfillment of God’s law.  This gives us the LEGAL RIGHT TO OVERCOME.  “Hebrews 9:22 (ESV) “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” When we’ve been washed in the blood of the Lamb, we are forever the possession of God himself.  There is MUCH that could be said here, but that’s for another day…  Here’s the meat of this post…

2. The word of their [our] testimony

This is gives us the POWER TO OVERCOME.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  We’re all familiar with Proverbs 18:21 “21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”  But for me, in getting to that verse, I’ve glossed over the prior one, verse 20.

Proverbs 18: 20-21 (NKJV) 20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

When those two verses are put together, we’re talking about a whole meal!  What we claim – the words that we speak – is what will fill our stomachs.  This is a very interesting picture as the stomach is essentially where digestion of our physical food begins after we eat.  “You are what you eat,”  is a saying we learned to help us make healthy choices of our meals.  How appropriate! So it is with the words we speak.  When we speak words, we listen to those words, we hear those words, we believe those words – we digest those words.  When we speak words of defeat over our lives, our character, our circumstances, our children, etc., etc., we begin digesting those words.  Those words “satisfy” our stomach and we continue to live in those things we believe.  “You are what you eat,” becomes much more like “You are what you speak.”

It’s time to stop the madness! It’s time to begin confessing the words of life.  Even if it’s not evident yet, speak it.  For example,  “I was unhappy, but God has given me joy and helped me overcome. (Gal 5:22)” or “I was an angry man; but God has given me patience and helped me overcome. (I Cor 13:4)” or “I was afraid and let fear rule my circumstances, but God has given me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind and helped me overcome. (2 Tim 1:7)” Speak what God has or is making you BASED on what HE says about you in his Word – the Bible.

Hear me… I am NOT advocating a “name it and claim it” theology.  God is NOT a Genie, but there is a “working out” of our salvation.  There is a process of transformation and I believe renewing our mind with the Word of God and what God says about us is part of that process.

The word of your testimony is what breaks the power of sin in your life, but only if you’ve been bought by the blood of the Lamb.

3. They died to themselves

“… and they did not loves their lives to the death,” is how Rev 12:11 ends.  This is the MEASURE OF OVERCOMING!

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

I find this to be the most difficult verse in the Bible to really live out.  My wants, my desires, my needs, my expectations, my rights… and the list goes on.  If I’m offended, my flesh is probably alive.  If I am angry, my flesh is probably alive.  If I feel slighted, cheated, short changed, cut off, hindered, delayed or detained, my flesh is probably alive.

Only when I am fully dead to me, can I be fully alive in Christ.

THIS is overcoming defined!

So here are three questions for today’s take-away:

1.  Are you legally God’s? This is critical and the first thing and most important thing.  All eternity rides on the answer to this one.  Without #1, you can’t do #2.

2. What is God helping you overcome in your life? Speak it OUT LOUD! verbalize it!  Hear yourself say it audibly!

3.  What part of you do you need to die to? This IS the victory!

If you want to discuss the answer to any of these questions, email me at shoe@3.148.167.37.

Running After Papa…

Overcoming (Rev 12:11)

I was listening to Overcome by Jon Egan and the Desperation Band.  The following verse is a bridge that’s sung over and over in the song.  As I was worshiping, the words of this verse really came alive and began to speak to me.

Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

So how do we overcome?

1. The blood of the Lamb

This is the fulfillment of the law of God that breaks satan’s legal right and claim to us.  “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. ”  (Heb 9:22, NKJV) When we’ve been washed in the blood of the Lamb, we are forever the possession of God himself.  There is much that could be said here, but that’s another post.

2. The word of their testimony

This is where we can break the power of sin the enemy holds over us.  This is where the rubber meets the road.

Proverbs 18: 20-21 (NKJV)

20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

What we claim – what we speak – is what will fill our stomachs.  Interesting picture as the stomach is essentially where digestion of our physical food begins after we eat.  So it goes with the words we speak.  When we speak words, we listen, we hear, we believe – we digest – those words.  “You are what you eat,” directly applies here!

It’s time to begin confessing the words of life.  Even if it’s not evident yet, speak it.  “I was a hypocrite, but God has helped me overcome.” or “I was an angry man; but God has helped me overcome.”  Speak what God has or is making you.

The word of your testimony is what breaks the power of sin in your life, but only if you’ve been bought by the blood of the Lamb.

1.  Are you legally God’s? This is critical and the first thing.  Without #1, you can’t do #2.

2. What is God helping you overcome in your life? Speak it OUT LOUD! verbalize it!  Hear yourself say it audibly!

The Kingdom of God (Luke 8:1-5)

Luke 8:1-15 (NKJV)
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
The Parable of the Soils
Matt. 13:1–23; Mark 4:1–20
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. 

The New King James Version. 1982 (Lk 8:1-15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
I have become fascinated with the phrase “Kingdom of God” and “the Gospel.”
Jesus preached the gospel. (See about a dozen or so verses in Matt, Mark & Luke)  That means my definition of “the gospel” and what Jesus preached are likely two different things… given that Jesus had not died or risen from the dead yet (key points in my definition of “the gospel”)… so what is it?
Jesus spent his time preaching about the good news (preaching the gospel) of the kingdom of God.
It was verse 10 that caught my attention… that Christ said the mysteries of the Kingdom of God had been given to us.  This is just the first post.  I have much to dig into…

Keeping Promises (Gen 35)

Genesis 35

In reading this chapter, I was struck by the fact that God held Jacob’s feet to the fire… God held Jacob accountable for his promises.   Back in chapter 28, when Jacob was in a pinch, he made a promise to God.

Gen 28:20-22 (NKJV)
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Guess what? Everything Jacob vowed – all the “if God will… then I will…” – came true. God was faithful to completely deliver in it. Now it was time for Jacob to hold up his end – even 20 years later.  It could be that Jacob forgot about his vow.  It had been 20 years since he made it.  It could be that Jacob was just continuing to live out his M.O. of deceiving and that he never had any intention of going back.  That was what his name meant.  His whole life was built around deception and scheming: Esau’s birthright; Esau’s blessing; his wives – he was deceived this time; his fortune of sheep from Laban;

Jacob may have forgotten about his vow – but God did not forget. Jacob may have intended to scam God – but God had other intentions.  Not only did God remind Jacob to go back to that place, he enabled him to do so by prevented Jacob’s enemies from attacking him(Gen 35:5); blessed him again; and changed his name (again) to Israel (Gen 35:9-14).  This was the second time God had changed his name to Israel (see Gen 32:28).  He confirmed the change of his name from from Jacob (which means “Deceiver, or Schemer”) to Israel (which means “God prevails”).

Isn’t that just like God? He wants to bless us, just like any good Father would… but he also wants to teach us to be men of integrity… to finish what we start… to fulfill our commitments and vows… to be men of Honor…. no matter how long ago we made the promise.  He wants us to recognize and know that HE WILL PREVAIL.

We’ve all done it.  We’ve all send up those requests to God.  Something like:  “God, if you’ll just ___(Fill in the blank)___ then I will ___(Fill in the blank)___.” I know I’m guilty of it.  I imagine we all are.

Challenge: Ask Father what vows are unfulfilled in your life.

Daddy, I open myself to you. I ask you to show me any unfulfilled promise I’ve made to You or anyone else that I need to make right, so I might be a man if Integrity, a man of Honor, the man you want me to be.

Running After Papa…

In Man's DNA (Rom 2:15)

15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. (Romans 2:15 NLT)

I’ve been contemplating (on and off again) the role of the mind in our transformation. I’ve written about it a few times on this site about the mind being the control center and such. I recently heard a teaching that the “gates of hell” could possibly be the mind itself.

I think this verse lends itself to confirming the importance of the mind. All too often, we’re asked as Christians to turn off our mind in order to walk in Faith. I don’t believe that accurate. I believe God built into the DNA of mankind His truth. This passage adds credence to that thought.

I’m still processing it. It certainly adds weight for me to “renew my mind” (Rom 12:2).

Still chewing on it…

Keeping Promises (Gen 35)

Genesis 35

I was struck by the fact that God held Jacob’s feet to the fire.  Back in chapter 28, when Jacob was in a pinch, he made a promise to God.

Gen 28:20-22 (NKJV)
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Guess what? Everything Jacob vowed – all the “if God will…” – came true. God was faithful to completely deliver in it. Now it is time for Jacob to hold up his end.

Jacob either had forgotten about his vow – I mean it had been at least 20 years – but God did not forget. Not only did God remind Jacob to go, he prevented Jacob’s enemies from attacking (Gen 35:5), blessed him again and changed his name to Israel (Gen 35:9-14).

Isn’t that just like God? He wants to bless us, just like any good Father would… but he also wants to teach us to be men of integrity… to finish what we start… to fulfill our commitments and vows… to be men of Honor…. no matter how long ago we made the promise

We’ve all done it. “God, if you’ll just ___(Fill in the blank)___ then I will ___(Fill in the blank)___.”

Challenge: Ask Father what vows are unfulfilled in your life.

Daddy, I open myself to you. I ask you to show me any unfulfilled promise I’ve made to You or anyone else that I need to make right, so I might be a man if Integrity, a man of Honor.

Free Indeed (John 8:36)

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NIV)

How does Jesus set us free?

1 Peter 5:8 tells me that my enemy is relentless . He is continually after you and me.  His methods have not changed since The Fall.  He knows those “barbs” and those “hooks” he can toss out our way and when you or I respond or react or agree with them – BAM! He comes in like a flood.   He is the master deceiver.  John 8:44 tells us his native tongue is falsehood.  He is a liar.  That is who he is. So every morning when you and I wake up, our enemy is looking for some deception for us to grab ahold of; some falsehood of who we are; some fallacy saying that WHAT WE DID is WHO WE ARE; some cock-and-bull story about some bondage we’ll never shake, some addiction we’ll never kick, some fear we’ll never be rid of. ALL OF IT LIES.  He just wants you and me to agree with him on something.

Jesus said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  Jesus said it. So I ask again… How does Jesus set you and me free?  Enter Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20, NASB)

Check this out. If I am dead. What power does my enemy hold over me? I am dead. What power does any thing hold over me? What power does any addiction, any fear, any bondage hold over me? None. I am dead.

That, my friend, is good news.

I was driving to our men’s Bible Study on Thursday morning knowing I was going to share the gist of this revelation during worship. I really began to contemplate and expound on the effects of being crucified… of being dead to myself.

Dead men…

  • … don’t have any rights to get stepped on
  • … don’t have any expectations to go unmet
  • … don’t have any fears to bind them
  • … can’t worry about yesterday, today or tomorrow
  • … can’t compare their lives to those around them
  • … can’t carry the weight of the world
  • … can’t believe the lies of the enemy

… and as I was enumerating this list, God said something kinda funny but poignant.  He said that dead men can’t believe the lies of the enemy because “DEAD MEN CANNOT HEAR” and I kinda laughed, but realized that is HUGE!  This is a big deal because not only is my enemy a LIAR, when I am dead – I CANNOT HEAR HIS LIES.

This is a really great litmus test.  If I am responding to my enemy’s relentless attack, their lies about who I am, or what I will or will never be, etc., etc.  – then SOME PART OF MY FLESH HAS CRAWLED OFF THE CROSS.

I have more thoughts stirring on this… stay tuned.

Running After Papa…

Deaf (Gal 2:20)

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20, NASB)

As I was driving to G8 this morning knowing I was going to share the gist of yesterday’s post, I was really contemplating the effects of being crucified… being dead to myself.

Dead men…

  • … don’t have any rights to get stepped on
  • … don’t have any expectations to go unmet
  • … don’t have any fears to bind them
  • … can’t worry about yesterday, today or tomorrow
  • … can’t compare their lives to those around them
  • … can’t carry the weight of the world
  • … can’t believe the lies of the enemy

… and as I was enumerating this list, God said something kinda funny but poignant.  He said that dead men can’t believe the lies of the enemy because “dead men can’t hear” and I kinda laughed, but realized that is HUGE!  This is a big deal because not only is my enemy a LIAR, when I am dead – I CANNOT HEAR HIS LIES.

This is a good test.  The devil and his minions are always lying about me, who I am, how I will be, what I will or will never be, etc.  When I can hear the lies – then SOME PART OF MY FLESH HAS CRAWLED OFF THE CROSS.

Daddy, may I always be deaf to the lies of my enemy and my spirit be in tune with yours.