Working out God’s Natural Care
For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. (Phil 2:20-21)
Our cares betray our seeking. What is natural to us is ‘self’ but God desires that He build into us a care for others. To care for others beyond self is to ensure the best of the other. Jesus willingly lay down His rights and even reputation (Phil 2:6, 7) to fulfill the Father’s will…. ‘Thy will be done’ (Matt 26:42), the cup of self suffering has taken last place. It mattered most to Jesus that the Father’s will be done. Thus our prayer is the Father’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10).
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; (Matt 5:23)
There are situations in our life when God doesn’t desire our sacrifice, no matter how much it cost us. One of these situations is when there is a break down in relationship. Jesus didn’t say if we have something against someone else, but someone else has something against us. To win over an offended brother or sister ‘is harder to be won than a strong city’ (Prov 18:19), thus our ‘natural-self’ is one that would try cover up offense by our religious fervency. Offense toward each other bring about bitterness which Paul ask us to ‘put away’ with the correct response of being ‘kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you’ (Eph 4:31, 32). If Paul says to ‘put away’, it does not mean we have to fast, pray or perform any great spiritual feats, but reminding us that we have to put our will to doing it.
The working out is to ‘leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift’ (Matt 5:24). Working this out is seeking the things which are Jesus Christ’s, because He forgave that we can forgive.
Is there a brother, a sister, an in-law, a father, a mother, etc that we need to be reconciled? Are we willing to have the mind of Christ to lay aside our reputation as He has given us the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Cor 5:18)? He has given us this ministry; hence there is no need for us to pray or even fast over it. If this person is still alive, it is time we write that letter, pick up the phone or make that visit to reconcile, lest our offering of service to the Holy God is not received. If this person has passed on, work it out with the Lord; ‘Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…’ (Psa 51:4).
How sweet it is to the Lord, for He will not despise such a broken and contrite heart (Psa 51:17).
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Thursday, December 03, 2009
True Spirituality
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Phil 2:5)
We often struggle in our Christian walk because we try to ‘spiritualize’ our flesh life thus leading to lack of moral victory, weariness and depression. Haven’t we heard people telling us not to spiritualize the common things in life, could it be because they detected some irregularities in the way we walk, talk and live? If there is a lack of genuineness than there is a danger of us taking on a form of pseudo spirituality? This is true if we, in our weak human mind, attempt with our utmost to spiritualize our life and everything that we do daily. We try to bring in the spiritual into our lives by ‘cleaning up’ some clutter in our lives to make room for 'spirituality'. Failing to achieve spiritual victory brings about self disapproval. Paul says that ‘There is therefore now no condemnation’ (Rom 8:1) if we don’t make room but rather allow God to fully immerse us in spirituality. True spirituality is not something we are obligated to fulfill sometime during the course of our day, but instead being soaked in the spiritual life that compels us to be naturally fitted into God’s agenda. To achieve this is not in the trying, but hunger and thirst (Matt 5:6) and come to an end of ourselves with the realization of bankruptcy of our spirit (Matt 5:3). God in His Grace and Mercy will fulfill that prayer, because He has a greater desire to conform us to Him than we trying to make the Christian life fit to according to our needs and convenience.
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)
There is a danger that we make spirituality a showcase that ‘God has worked into me’. Jesus was very natural in the cooking of fish by the seashore and in His interaction with people. ‘It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself’ (Oswald Chambers). We need to understand oneness with Christ as the spiritual coming to us, not we fitting in the spiritual.
Jesus came from the realm of the spirit to dwell among man. He lived a very ‘real’ life and the people loved Him. The rejection of His Lordship was from the pseudo spiritual ones that had supposed deeper spiritual understanding and authority. He rose from death of the cross with scars and ate food (Luke 24:42). Let His mind be in us so that we live the life of the Son of God in power of spiritual authenticity without any form of inconsistencies (Jam 1:8, 4:8) that the world may see Christ in us the hope of glory (Col 1:27)
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Phil 2:5)
We often struggle in our Christian walk because we try to ‘spiritualize’ our flesh life thus leading to lack of moral victory, weariness and depression. Haven’t we heard people telling us not to spiritualize the common things in life, could it be because they detected some irregularities in the way we walk, talk and live? If there is a lack of genuineness than there is a danger of us taking on a form of pseudo spirituality? This is true if we, in our weak human mind, attempt with our utmost to spiritualize our life and everything that we do daily. We try to bring in the spiritual into our lives by ‘cleaning up’ some clutter in our lives to make room for 'spirituality'. Failing to achieve spiritual victory brings about self disapproval. Paul says that ‘There is therefore now no condemnation’ (Rom 8:1) if we don’t make room but rather allow God to fully immerse us in spirituality. True spirituality is not something we are obligated to fulfill sometime during the course of our day, but instead being soaked in the spiritual life that compels us to be naturally fitted into God’s agenda. To achieve this is not in the trying, but hunger and thirst (Matt 5:6) and come to an end of ourselves with the realization of bankruptcy of our spirit (Matt 5:3). God in His Grace and Mercy will fulfill that prayer, because He has a greater desire to conform us to Him than we trying to make the Christian life fit to according to our needs and convenience.
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)
There is a danger that we make spirituality a showcase that ‘God has worked into me’. Jesus was very natural in the cooking of fish by the seashore and in His interaction with people. ‘It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself’ (Oswald Chambers). We need to understand oneness with Christ as the spiritual coming to us, not we fitting in the spiritual.
Jesus came from the realm of the spirit to dwell among man. He lived a very ‘real’ life and the people loved Him. The rejection of His Lordship was from the pseudo spiritual ones that had supposed deeper spiritual understanding and authority. He rose from death of the cross with scars and ate food (Luke 24:42). Let His mind be in us so that we live the life of the Son of God in power of spiritual authenticity without any form of inconsistencies (Jam 1:8, 4:8) that the world may see Christ in us the hope of glory (Col 1:27)
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Whole Power of God
Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? (Mark 2:9)
There is another power of God that we cannot ignore that takes its full force in dealing with our human nature. This power is beyond human reasoning (Mark 2:8) for our thoughts will never be able to comprehend the full working of His power. Human thoughts can lead to despair and fear (Luke 24:38), confined to man’s laws (Luke 6:7,8) and basically evil because of our fallen nature (Mark 7:21). It took the work of the cross to reconcile even our minds to God (Col 1:20-21), hence the renewing happens to our mind to bring us into the good, perfect and acceptable will of God (Rom 12:2). Repentance is essentially the overhauling of our mind and thoughts to conform to the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (John 5:14)
The man sick of the palsy and the impotent man by the pool of Bethesda have one thing is common, immediate obedience as the demonstration of their faith in receiving the healing power by taking up their beds and walk. Both men also received the other power of Christ which is forgiveness. Have we indeed received the other power of God which has eternal consequences, that is forgiveness of sin? We must always remember that the primary reason for the cross of Jesus is the power to forgive (Rom 3:25), for the power of healing is temporal for ‘it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment’ (Heb 9:27). Therefore the more lasting power of God is to cleanse us whole not just to heal bodily.
Of all the multitudes that desired healing at the pool of Bethesda that day, why did Jesus only heal one? Perhaps He saw in this man a faith to respond quickly, meaning willing to put aside all forms of human reasoning to receive His healing power. Perhaps Jesus saw the man readily accepting His greater eternal power to deal with morality. Our discipleship is about the cross that deals daily with our sin. How effectual is this power of God over our lives, not just to meet our current needs, but for eternity past the temporal unto becoming glorious church whom He is waiting to receive (Rev 22:17)?
Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? (Mark 2:9)
There is another power of God that we cannot ignore that takes its full force in dealing with our human nature. This power is beyond human reasoning (Mark 2:8) for our thoughts will never be able to comprehend the full working of His power. Human thoughts can lead to despair and fear (Luke 24:38), confined to man’s laws (Luke 6:7,8) and basically evil because of our fallen nature (Mark 7:21). It took the work of the cross to reconcile even our minds to God (Col 1:20-21), hence the renewing happens to our mind to bring us into the good, perfect and acceptable will of God (Rom 12:2). Repentance is essentially the overhauling of our mind and thoughts to conform to the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)
Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (John 5:14)
The man sick of the palsy and the impotent man by the pool of Bethesda have one thing is common, immediate obedience as the demonstration of their faith in receiving the healing power by taking up their beds and walk. Both men also received the other power of Christ which is forgiveness. Have we indeed received the other power of God which has eternal consequences, that is forgiveness of sin? We must always remember that the primary reason for the cross of Jesus is the power to forgive (Rom 3:25), for the power of healing is temporal for ‘it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment’ (Heb 9:27). Therefore the more lasting power of God is to cleanse us whole not just to heal bodily.
Of all the multitudes that desired healing at the pool of Bethesda that day, why did Jesus only heal one? Perhaps He saw in this man a faith to respond quickly, meaning willing to put aside all forms of human reasoning to receive His healing power. Perhaps Jesus saw the man readily accepting His greater eternal power to deal with morality. Our discipleship is about the cross that deals daily with our sin. How effectual is this power of God over our lives, not just to meet our current needs, but for eternity past the temporal unto becoming glorious church whom He is waiting to receive (Rev 22:17)?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)