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Christmas Dishes

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Romans 1:5-7 It is through Him that we have received grace (God’s unmerited favor) and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the nations,6 And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited [as you are] to belong to Him.7 To [you then] all God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jackie Hill Perry, from Outreach Magazine writes: There’s a sermon by Pastor Tony Evans in which he uses an illustration involving dishes to make sense of the term “holy” or “sanctified”. In his home, there are two types of dishes. There are the regular dishes. Those dishes that contain the average meal, on normal days, for your ordinary and unimpressive breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Some of them are chipped, maybe even cracked. Then there is another type of dish. These dishes don’t even see the light of day until a tall green tree with multicolored lights flicker. Something significant has to be happening under the roof to make their use a necessity. When all is normal again, the multi-colored lights are unplugged, the wrapping paper collected, and the guests have finally gotten up from the table – these “Christmas” dishes, after being cleaned, aren’t placed in the cabinets with the normal, average, unimpressive dishes. No, absolutely not. They’re placed in an entirely different cabinet, that may be in an entirely different room, separated from everything unlike them because there is nothing in the house like them. They are set apart, unique, different, other, distinct, cut off from what’s considered common. To put it metaphorically, these dishes are “holy.”

Called to be saints? The word saint comes from a root word from which we obtain our word “sanctify”. To be sanctified is to be set apart, and holy. What does it mean to be holy? To be above average, uniquely different from all that is normal, average, and expected. We refer to God as being Holy, and obviously He is above average, and uniquely different from all that is normal, average and expected. But guess what? Because of Jesus’ Blood, and anyone who trust’s in what it accomplishes, God sees them as holy, sanctified, saints. In fact I can confidently say, Saint Robert is writing these words to Saint (whomever is reading this – that is trusting in Jesus’ Blood). It’s not our confidence, or trust in our performance that distinguishes us as such. No, absolutely not. It’s our ongoing confidence, and trust in what Jesus did on the cross that qualifies, verifies, and validates us. Notice I say, ongoing. It’s not simply a past tense event. It’s an ongoing process till you see Jesus face to face. You weren’t simply saved from your past. You are in the process of being saved. The same can be said of sanctification.

Sanctified, set apart to Who or what? Well obviously to the Godhead: the Father, the Son – Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (He is not an IT). But there is more: Romans 1:17 For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith. You, and I, like Christmas dishes, are set apart to grow in faith, through faith, leading to more faith. If you believe in Jesus’ Blood you believe in what that Blood is doing for you, and in you. When you believe that – trust that – you seek to be sanctified, and you grow in faith, through faith, leading to more faith. One compliments the other. Like His Christmas dishes you are set aside to display the Bread and Water of Life – Jesus. During the Christmas season the atmosphere shifts and changes. People change reflecting the reminder of the reason for the season. Now the question becomes, What do you believe about Jesus, His Blood, and His cross? The deeper that work goes the greater the faith grows. Is your faith growing? Are you growing – spiritually? Is your way of thinking aligning more and more with the Word of God? Is your life becoming centered progressively around Jesus? Progressively centered around His Word? Then you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, Hello saint of Jesus. Merry Christmas!

The Lighthouse and the Battleship

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2 Peter 1:2 May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

For several months I have been asking the Lord to help me understand the remaining phrase in Revelation 3:18:…and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. The two questions I have been asking are: How do I anoint my eyes with eye salve that I may see? Once I have that answered the next question becomes, What difference does it make – to see spiritually?

Two battleships assigned to a training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days, making visibility very difficult. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”” “Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out. Lookout replied, “Steady, captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship. The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees.” Back came a signal, “Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees.” The captain said, “Send, I’m a captain, change course 20 degrees.” “I’m a seaman second class,” came the reply. “You had better change course 20 degrees.” By that time, the captain was furious. He spat out, “Send, I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees. “Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”

What difference does it make to see spiritually? Ask the captain of the battleship. When the Captain of our Lighthouse speaks we need to make the necessary adjustments to correct the course of our lives to Him. To answer the question, What does it mean to see spiritually, you need to understand Jesus’ exhortation. One of the clues to understanding Jesus’ exhortation is found in Mark 7:18 And He said to them, Then are you also unintelligent and dull and without understanding? Do you not discern and see that whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot make him unhallowed or unclean,…

Seeing, or not seeing, is connected to understanding. If you do not have a full, personal, precise, and correct knowledge of God (the Father) and of Jesus, you will not cooperate with His processes and purposes for your life. Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God states: “Your walk with God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is the single most important aspect of your life. If it is not as it should be, nothing else will function properly.”

You receive a full, personal, precise, and correct knowledge of the Godhead when you seek Jesus to understand Who He and the Godhead are. This revelation becomes your vision, and your light, guiding you into becoming like Jesus.

Trust Fall

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When I was a youth minister I used many exercises to develop team spirit and leadership. Inevitably we would use the trust fall. A trust fall is a team building exercise where one person falls backwards while others catch them, trusting that they will be caught. The exercise is intended to build trust between participants by having them rely on each other for safety and success. Once, while making a point about the reliability of even the weakest members of our group I decided to be the example. To make it even more impressive I stood on a wall and decided the point would be more powerful if I fell face first. After arranging the participants to form two lines – shoulder to shoulder, and face to face, I gave my encouraging pep talk. Taking my place on the wall I had them count to three and yell, “Fall!” And I did – believing, in theory, that the girls I had selected to catch me could do the job. Unfortunately for me some of the girls had not been adequately “pepped” causing them to scream and run away as I plummeted trustingly to the gym floor. Fortunately for me and the panicked girls I had some training in how to fall correctly breaking my fall through my extended fingers and feet. Nothing was broken, and nothing was bruised – but trust.

There are two passages in the Bible that have intrigued me for years when positioned side by side: John 2:24 But Jesus [for His part] did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all [men];…AMPC and 1 Corinthians 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. NIV

1 Corinthians 13 describes the Agape Love of God as ALWAYS trusting. While John 2:24 seems to contradict this statement. Is Jesus’ love different from the Father’s or is there a deeper truth the Spirit wants to convey? Both passages use the same Greek word but how they are used shines light on the difference. The word can be used to convey a variety of meanings: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in. Which helps us understand that Jesus was not putting His confidence in man’s nature because He knew all men. Which raises the question, Can you love someone without putting your confidence in them? Some may say an emphatic, “No!” But ask a father or mother this question regarding their toddling child, or hormonally charged teen ager. Can either parent love that child as God loves them and yet not trust their ability to do this or that? Absolutely! Can a marriage partner be unfaithful to a husband or wife through having an adulterous affair or looking at porn and still be loved by the faithful husband or wife? Some say, “No!” Yet, by the Grace and the Power of the Spirit, what seems to be humanly impossible becomes possible. Will the offended spouse trust them or have confidence in their fidelity? Probably not. But can that trust be rebuilt over time and through the Power of the Spirit? People may react strongly to this saying, Its impossible! It is – if you use soul power. But if you have become a new creation in Jesus you now have the Godhead living and expressing themselves through you and now you can do ALL things through Christ Jesus. You may quote the verse and display it proudly on your living room wall – but is it true – for you? Can you really do ALL things – loving those you don’t trust – through Jesus? If a parent can practice this – we all can. It simply comes down to a choice. Will I choose to be Jesus to this or that person? A person I don’t trust but I am commanded to love?

Confession & Declaration 26

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Today is Day 23 in your prayer journal for “Who’s Your One?” Which means you are 7 days away from sharing the Gospel with your “one.” The question is, What’s your strategy for sharing? Are you going to use The 3 Circles Gospel presentation, or a witnessing tract that you can walk them through? Or are you simply going to share your testimony – what your life was like before you came to Jesus, how you came to Jesus, and what your life is like now that you have accepted Jesus? Will you simply share your love and concern for their life? That quite frankly you really love and like them and want them to spend eternity with Jesus and you. Will you ask the 2 Diagnostic Questions attempting to discern where they really are in their relationship with Jesus; helping them to discover it for themselves? What are the 2 diagnostic questions? The very first is, Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that you have eternal life? The second question is even more telling because you ask what their assurance is for eternity. This second diagnostic question asks, If you were to dies today and stand before God and He asked, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” What would you say? If their answer is dependent upon themselves you know where their assurance lies. Even if they say that they prayed a prayer, received baptism, joined a church, or tried to be good people – you know exactly where they actually put their trust. That is the key difference: TRUST. Often people believe all the right things but they have not translated their beliefs into trust. They’ve simply become converted. They’ve exchanged their ideas and opinions for another set of ideas; changing sides, turning over a new leaf. Unfortunately for them their center is still SELF. Which brings me to todays declaration and confession. 1 John 5:11-12 And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.12 He who possesses the Son has that life; he who does not possess the Son of God does not have that life.

If you have met God’s covenant requirements – then you have been born-again of the Spirit. Converts have no idea what this term means. Nor do they understand what it means to have Jesus, or eternal life. Jesus defined eternal life totally different than what we’ve been taught or heard. Jesus’ definition was all about relationship. John 17:3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

The AMPC does a great job of breaking down the meaning of knowing. Knowing in the original language means that you are experiencing the individual, getting acquainted with them, understanding them, perceiving and recognizing who they really are. It’s progressive, personal, and intimate. It means that there is a co-sharing of personhood. If I co-share with another then there is going to be a give and take of feelings, and thoughts that are verbally expressed. It means that my sharing will be personal, vulnerable, honest, sincere, reflective, experiential, emotional, risky, trusting, loving, and respectful. If this is going on – I have Jesus. I have eternal life.

Now stop and process that. Through the Blood of Jesus you now have access to the Godhead, in a give and take of thoughts and feelings, that are personal, vulnerable, honest, sincere, reflective, experiential, emotional, risky, trusting, loving, and respectful. With the Godhead. With the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. You have Jesus. You have His heart, and He has yours.

In other words, you become like spouses that really love one another. When you apply that concept to your relationship with Jesus it means that Jesus loves, and likes you. He desires to be with You. Jesus wants to hear all of the details of your day. Jesus desires to hear you talk about all of these things. Even more amazing than that. He wants to express His words, thoughts and feelings to you.

It never dawned on me till this morning that Jesus has been waiting on me not to pray through my list of the needs of others. He doesn’t want me to simply read a devotional thought, or the Bible, and walk away. No, no, and absolutely not! He wants me to slow down, and connect with Him. I realized I had reaped what I had sown. What do I mean? For the past several years my focus has been on obedience. But in the process I have neglected co-sharing. As a result of my focus I had reaped what I had sown. Yet recently I broadened my focus to include practicing His Presence, and taking the time to talk with Him about concerns, struggles, and thoughts. Guess what has happened? He has started co-sharing with me. With that in mind, why don’t you take this time to make this declaration and draw near to Him.

Declaration 26: My Precious Father Jesus. Again and again, thank You! Thank You for Your Precious Blood that has made this possible. I have You, and You have me. I am yours, but greater than that – You are mine. Through Your precious Blood I now have the assurance that I have a relationship with You. I have eternal life. Through Your Blood I can now crawl up beside You and pour my heart out. Thank You that You also pour out your heart to me. Thank You that through these truths I can see that I need to broaden my focus to sow into Your life my words, thoughts and feelings that are personal, vulnerable, honest, sincere, reflective, experiential, emotional, risky, trusting, loving, and respectful. Through Jesus’ Blood I can crawl up in Your lap Father. I can wrap my arms around Your neck and hug You. Thank You that from Your Throne and Your Lap – I can see things from Your perspective, and be still and quiet. For You are My Rock, Refuge, and Safety. I love You for loving me. Thank You that I have Jesus, and He has me.