And The Lamb Wept........
The angels couldn't move, they could barely draw a breath
The words they'd just heard told of violence, spoke of death
And as a crystal tear of grief slid slowly down His face,
The angel's hearts were breaking, for the Lamb, the Human Race
And the Lamb wept.................
Monday, September 10, 2018
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Why Can't We Please God Without Faith?
In Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) We read, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
And in James 2:17 (NIV) We read, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
And in 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) We read, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Faith is not a feeling, it is a belief that prompts action. People claim that they "can be good people without God" but that doesn't mean they are pleasing to God. Not without faith.
For example: A good person is walking down the street and encounters a beggar. This good person only has $5 to his name and quickly walks past the beggar because he doesn't believe he can spare any change. This doesn't make him a bad person....but it displeases God.
Why?
Here is the same story only this time, the good person is a person of faith. A good person of faith is walking down the street and encounters a beggar. This good person of faith only has $5 to his name. But because this good person truly has faith in God and His Word, he shares the last $5 he has with the beggar. His faith recognizes God as provider and because he believes God will provide, He fears no lack and shares. Now, not only is this a good person, but he has pleased God as well.
So why is God pleased?
Because when we live and act on our faith, we allow God to use us to accomplish His will. God used the good man of faith to help another human being. Faith has the power to turn the ordinary human into an extraordinary human.
When we walk by faith and not by sight, our faith will dictate our actions and not what we can see in the material realm.
A more sobering example: A good but poor woman discovers she is pregnant. Fearing that she will be unable to provide for her child, she aborts the child.
A poor woman of faith discovers that she too is pregnant but she has faith that God will provide so she carries the child to term and gives birth to Albert Einstein.
I wonder how many Einsteins, Bach's and Mother Theresa's have been aborted because of a lack of faith?
And finally, consider the story of Abraham and Isaac. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham was a man of great faith and regardless of what Abraham saw in the material realm, he had faith in the Divinity of God and acted on that faith. God saw Abraham's faith and spared Isaac and promised Abraham that he would make a great nation out of Abraham's descendants. That nation was Israel and from that nation came the Messiah.
Abraham's faith, allowed God to accomplish His Will which was to bless mankind with the greatest gift of all time - Jesus Christ.
It makes me wonder, how many blessings God has tried to give mankind but was unable to do so because of our lack of faith.
And in James 2:17 (NIV) We read, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
And in 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) We read, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Faith is not a feeling, it is a belief that prompts action. People claim that they "can be good people without God" but that doesn't mean they are pleasing to God. Not without faith.
For example: A good person is walking down the street and encounters a beggar. This good person only has $5 to his name and quickly walks past the beggar because he doesn't believe he can spare any change. This doesn't make him a bad person....but it displeases God.
Why?
Here is the same story only this time, the good person is a person of faith. A good person of faith is walking down the street and encounters a beggar. This good person of faith only has $5 to his name. But because this good person truly has faith in God and His Word, he shares the last $5 he has with the beggar. His faith recognizes God as provider and because he believes God will provide, He fears no lack and shares. Now, not only is this a good person, but he has pleased God as well.
So why is God pleased?
Because when we live and act on our faith, we allow God to use us to accomplish His will. God used the good man of faith to help another human being. Faith has the power to turn the ordinary human into an extraordinary human.
When we walk by faith and not by sight, our faith will dictate our actions and not what we can see in the material realm.
A more sobering example: A good but poor woman discovers she is pregnant. Fearing that she will be unable to provide for her child, she aborts the child.
A poor woman of faith discovers that she too is pregnant but she has faith that God will provide so she carries the child to term and gives birth to Albert Einstein.
I wonder how many Einsteins, Bach's and Mother Theresa's have been aborted because of a lack of faith?
And finally, consider the story of Abraham and Isaac. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham was a man of great faith and regardless of what Abraham saw in the material realm, he had faith in the Divinity of God and acted on that faith. God saw Abraham's faith and spared Isaac and promised Abraham that he would make a great nation out of Abraham's descendants. That nation was Israel and from that nation came the Messiah.
Abraham's faith, allowed God to accomplish His Will which was to bless mankind with the greatest gift of all time - Jesus Christ.
It makes me wonder, how many blessings God has tried to give mankind but was unable to do so because of our lack of faith.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Masks
I have had a couple of experiences in the last couple of months that got my little brain going. In the first one, I met an individual that I didn't really know and my "mask" popped off and my brokenness was revealed. I was shocked. How did that happen? And I realized that we only remember that we are wearing a mask, when it gets removed and our authentic self is exposed. We fall into the horrible trap of believing that this mask is who we are! This rattled me. Being that exposed is not a comfortable feeling. The other experience involved one of my FB friends that posted an authentic picture - no mask - and the soul that was revealed had a powerful effect on me.
Masks. We all wear them. Different masks for different people. Society demands that we wear a mask. Peer pressure and political correctness forces us to wear our masks. We wear masks to hide what we perceive to be our weaknesses or our ugly parts. But is this right? I'm a Christian so I look to Christ for answers. We often get so wrapped up in His Word, that we forget that actions speak louder than words....so what did Christ's actions say?
Did Christ wear a mask? Did He ever pretend to be something He was not? Did He wear a mask in the Garden of Gethsemane when He expressed His anguish? Did He wear a mask when He threw the tables in the temple over in anger? And in Luke 19:41, did He wear a mask when He wept over Jerusalem? No. Christ was authentic and true to who He was.
He actually condemned people who wore masks. Matthew 23:25..."Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Their "clean" masks didn't fool Him. Do you think that when you die, you will be congratulated on the beautiful mask you made for yourself while in this realm?
No. Matthew 7 beginning at verse 22...On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
God wants us to behave in a holy manner but He wants that behavior to flow from the heart. He wants it to be genuine. When we craft a mask for the world to see how "holy" we are, do we really think we're fooling God? I think not. Luke 12:2 "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." The masks get torn off.
Our masks are a lie and lies have no power. We need to support this lie to make it appear real. So how do we do that? Judgment and hypocrisy. All that can flow from our mask is judgment and hypocrisy. When we judge others, it is our attempt at justifying the mask we wear. Matthew 7:5 ...You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. I challenge you to look at how many times the Bible addresses hypocrisy and judgment and see for yourself how the underlying cause is our mask. The playing field is level in that ALL have fallen short of the glory of God. Regardless of what our masks would have us believe.
So why do we wear masks? They must serve a purpose or we wouldn't do it. I think the main reason is acceptance. But what does the Bible say about this? "You are in the world but not OF the world." Matthew 5:13 WARNS us about wearing a mask. ""You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." We lose our saltiness when we wear a mask to conform to the world for the sake of acceptance. Conformity to this world demands that we wear masks. But have we forgotten that Satan is the ruler of this world? Do we want to conform to his will?
John 15:18 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Why did the world hate Christ? Because He tore the masks off. He refused to honor their lie. He exposed the truth.
Many of us fail to grasp the fullness of the Gospel because we get so lost in our masks we think the Word applies to our mask and it does not. It applies to the genuine self in all of its weakness and ugliness. God loves us AS WE ARE....not as we perceive ourselves to be. God does NOT love our mask...He loves us. And therein lies the power of knowing God's love. Right there. When you turn your face to Him to pray, it is NOT your mask that He sees...it is your heart.
Masks. We all wear them. Different masks for different people. Society demands that we wear a mask. Peer pressure and political correctness forces us to wear our masks. We wear masks to hide what we perceive to be our weaknesses or our ugly parts. But is this right? I'm a Christian so I look to Christ for answers. We often get so wrapped up in His Word, that we forget that actions speak louder than words....so what did Christ's actions say?
Did Christ wear a mask? Did He ever pretend to be something He was not? Did He wear a mask in the Garden of Gethsemane when He expressed His anguish? Did He wear a mask when He threw the tables in the temple over in anger? And in Luke 19:41, did He wear a mask when He wept over Jerusalem? No. Christ was authentic and true to who He was.
He actually condemned people who wore masks. Matthew 23:25..."Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Their "clean" masks didn't fool Him. Do you think that when you die, you will be congratulated on the beautiful mask you made for yourself while in this realm?
No. Matthew 7 beginning at verse 22...On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
God wants us to behave in a holy manner but He wants that behavior to flow from the heart. He wants it to be genuine. When we craft a mask for the world to see how "holy" we are, do we really think we're fooling God? I think not. Luke 12:2 "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." The masks get torn off.
Our masks are a lie and lies have no power. We need to support this lie to make it appear real. So how do we do that? Judgment and hypocrisy. All that can flow from our mask is judgment and hypocrisy. When we judge others, it is our attempt at justifying the mask we wear. Matthew 7:5 ...You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. I challenge you to look at how many times the Bible addresses hypocrisy and judgment and see for yourself how the underlying cause is our mask. The playing field is level in that ALL have fallen short of the glory of God. Regardless of what our masks would have us believe.
So why do we wear masks? They must serve a purpose or we wouldn't do it. I think the main reason is acceptance. But what does the Bible say about this? "You are in the world but not OF the world." Matthew 5:13 WARNS us about wearing a mask. ""You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." We lose our saltiness when we wear a mask to conform to the world for the sake of acceptance. Conformity to this world demands that we wear masks. But have we forgotten that Satan is the ruler of this world? Do we want to conform to his will?
John 15:18 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Why did the world hate Christ? Because He tore the masks off. He refused to honor their lie. He exposed the truth.
Many of us fail to grasp the fullness of the Gospel because we get so lost in our masks we think the Word applies to our mask and it does not. It applies to the genuine self in all of its weakness and ugliness. God loves us AS WE ARE....not as we perceive ourselves to be. God does NOT love our mask...He loves us. And therein lies the power of knowing God's love. Right there. When you turn your face to Him to pray, it is NOT your mask that He sees...it is your heart.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Fear Not!
In these uncertain times, I thought I'd share a vision I had a few months back. In this vision, I saw a huge sheet of blank paper. Then, I saw a huge screen cover the paper. As I continued to watch, I could see that colors began to fill the little squares defined by the screen. There was no rhyme, no reason and no discernible pattern to the colors or their placement. Some little squares didn't even get color, they remained blank. After a few minutes, the screen was removed and all I could see was this chaotic mess of colors!! And then I understood the meaning of the vision.
As we look at the world and all of its seemingly unrelated events, as we hear about the chaos reported in the news, it appears as if the world has gone mad! But fear not! Because while what we see in the material realm does appear to be random and chaotic; there is a spiritual framework that overlays this realm, and it is neat and orderly. God IS in control. We just can't see it.
As we look at the world and all of its seemingly unrelated events, as we hear about the chaos reported in the news, it appears as if the world has gone mad! But fear not! Because while what we see in the material realm does appear to be random and chaotic; there is a spiritual framework that overlays this realm, and it is neat and orderly. God IS in control. We just can't see it.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Glass and Ball Ping Hammers
I had a vision the other day and in this vision, I saw a huge sheet of glass.
In this glass, I saw holes as if made by a ball ping hammer and from these
holes, cracks radiated outward. I understood in that moment, that every word we
say and every action we make, is felt through all eternity.
The holes in the glass, are acts or words of cruelty and the cracks that radiate out, touch the people closest to them. Consider the hole that Adam and Eve put in the glass of humanity. Are not the effects of that hole still felt today?
In my case, one of the holes for example would be the abusive words and actions of my mother. And the cracks from that hole touched my siblings and myself. If I had in turn, treated my children as I was treated, then I would have added my own hole and cracks to the glass and THAT is how our words and actions go on through eternity. Instead, I loved my children and instead of adding a hole to the glass, I stopped a crack. .. Just like the resurrection of the Christ stopped the cracks that Adam and Eve created. And that is what we are all called to be - "crack stoppers". :-)
The holes in the glass, are acts or words of cruelty and the cracks that radiate out, touch the people closest to them. Consider the hole that Adam and Eve put in the glass of humanity. Are not the effects of that hole still felt today?
In my case, one of the holes for example would be the abusive words and actions of my mother. And the cracks from that hole touched my siblings and myself. If I had in turn, treated my children as I was treated, then I would have added my own hole and cracks to the glass and THAT is how our words and actions go on through eternity. Instead, I loved my children and instead of adding a hole to the glass, I stopped a crack. .. Just like the resurrection of the Christ stopped the cracks that Adam and Eve created. And that is what we are all called to be - "crack stoppers". :-)
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Friday, March 25, 2011
They smile in your face........
I have had people, present themselves as "friend" when in reality, they were on a selfish, self-serving mission. And even though I was aware of their deception, I still gave them what they wanted. People who use deception see that as a foolish thing to do and congratulate themselves on their 'success' when in reality, they have deeply failed themselves.
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