The Light That Came From Within!!!

We have a major problem at our house.

It all started one day while helping my son clean out all of the junk that had accumulated under his bed when I found it.

I was shocked to say the least and while no parent thinks that their son or daughter is capable of keeping something from them, it happens.

I did not know what to do. My own son.

He had in his possession a plastic Iron Man mask.


 

Where did I go wrong?

I named him Clark for a reason. Clark was Superman, and in no way shape or form Iron Man. It was as if a lifetime of raising this boy went out the window faster than a speeding bullet. Look up in the sky!!! It's a bird! It's a plane!!! No, it's daddy's dreams plummeting to the earth with the force of a mighty tidal wave.

Then insult to injury was added when he said, "Hey Dad! Do you want to play Iron Man? You can be the bad guy and I will be Iron man!!!"


"Son," I pleaded with him, "Why must you follow this path of insanity? The guy is just a man in a robot suit."

"No way Dad!", he excitedly told me, "He has a light in his chest that powers the suit and that light make his enemies run!"

That is when the light bulb came on!

What a PERFECT opportunity to teach my son about the power of the Indwelling Spirit of God!

"Tell you what Clark, let's play Iron Man but how about if Daddy builds you a real Arc Reactor for your chest so you can really look like Iron Man?" I asked.

Then we got to work building and it was more than just Arc Reactors.



We began to talk about David. One of the original Iron Men in the Bible who talked about a light that he had within him that enabled him to be powered as well as drive away enemies that were around him.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" ~Psalms 27:1 

It is an interesting thought!

Jesus refers to those who belong to God as His children as being "The light of the World". 

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." ~~Matthew 5:14-16

 I love this analogy!  

We have been illuminated by God through Christ. We now have the ability to shine in darkness where before we could not. The light came from God. We were not self starters. The Bible explains that we loved the darkness, but God draws us through the Holy Spirit and gives us the opportunity to receive the Light. If we receive Him, we become light. He indwells us!

The Holy  Spirit is not some sort of Jimmy Cricket that acts as our conscience now that we are saved. It is literally a new birth that takes place at Salvation! It is a total rewiring and the Holy Spirit of God now indwells us. He provides power to something that was dead and cold so that i can become LIGHT and Alive!. The book of Acts refers to it as "Dunamis" where we get our word Dynamite! He is power and He now indwells and powers the believer!


"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:" ~Ephesians 5:8 

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:5 
In other words, you shine because of a source. That source has enabled you to now shine, so shine!

The light is there, and God pulls it out of the darkness to allow us to complete the picture He has for us to be. The image of His son.

We are light and this is not based upon a feeling but upon a fact. This morning, you are Iron Man! You have a power source within you that has been prepared for you to reflect and show to those around you!

The power is there and the people are on their way. The choice is yours. Fire up the suit or hide it under a bushel?

When we were all done, I have to tell you that I truly did enjoy playing Iron Man and although Superman is still my favorite, I can live with the choices of my son.

                    

It's not about the costume that you wear, rather it's about the light that you shine! Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Superman, or just plain old Mom or Dad... Just get out there and shine for Him!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

 

What Is It????

I have to admit, I love to watch the show "Ask this Old House". Whenever I see this show it motivates me to get off the couch and find something useful to do around our house. I want to walk around in relaxed fit jeans, flannel shirts, and timberline boot all the while holding a cup of coffee in my hand and be sought after for my expertise about construction projects.

Although the best I can usually do is call my father-in-law (Master constructionator) and try to hold the tools and stay out of his way all the while wearing superman sweat pants.

One of my favorite parts about this show is a segment called, "What is it?".

During this segment of the show one of the hosts presents the other members with an item that they have never seen before and they all take turns guessing what that item is. After everyone has guessed the purpose of the item the presenter then explains the true identity of the object which in turn explains it's purpose. Once the identity and purpose of the item is announced, everyone on the show as well as those watching the show begin mentaly to think of reasons why they could justify the purchase of just such an item.

IDENTITY BRINGS PURPOSE

No matter what another person thinks of you, it is your identity that brings you purpose. It does not matter what another thinks that you are capable of doing, it is your Identity that brings you purpose. Who are you to God? Who did He make you to BE?

Identity is the one thing that Satan has done his best to keep us from discovering. He conned man out of it in the garden and he fights daily to keep us from discovering the two things that Jesus spent His time on earth teaching us: 1)Who we are to God and 2) Who we are IN Him.

How long has it been since you heard a message about "Who you are in Christ?" How about a message of "What was crucified with Christ?", "What is the Christ life?" , or even "What is the good news of the gospel AFTER you are saved?"

These truths are not taught very often because these truths are not understood by the ones teaching or because these truths take the control out of our hands and put it back where it has always belonged, in God's hands. If a person who is teaching is looking for control over others they will focus on teaching a lot of "Conforming". 
What made the teaching of Christ rub the "religious" crowd so badly was that He did not teach people to Conform, but rather taught people about how to Transform.

There is a difference between conforming to a checklist in order to gain acceptance and approval from a man and being transformed by the Holy Spirit of God.
Conforming is taught mainly because it is a faster process to arrive at a predetermined look or way of service. Teaching someone how to allow the Holy Spirit to teach them to transform does not make you look as impressive to others for the size of your buildings and the niceness of a property that others have been taught to conform into maintaining. Internal transforming is a work of the Holy Spirit and it is something that He alone can do. It starts on the inside and works it's way out and once a believer is told who they are in Christ and who they are to Christ, growth happens!
It is not on any ones time frame and it may not look just like the way it happened for the one teaching. It is through transformation that God is able to reveal to us our identity, and that in turn explains our purpose.

Imagine if you will a large table. The world mindset (What I have, what others think of me, and what I do) and God gathered around a table and on the table they placed a man. The presenter (God) asks the question, "Alright, what is it?"

Significance steps up to the table and proudly says, "I know what this is. This was made to be important and to have other ones like it look up to it with adoration, and once man receives that adoration from others like him, he will find that adoration and acceptance from others will give him intense value! This was made to be significant!"

"No way", Security says. "This was made to work hard and make as much money as it can so that it can be secure and have true stability. Stability brings value and success. In times like these, the one with the most money in the bank is important and has earned the right to lead and his monetary success will give him validation to others. This man was made to be secure in the profits he makes no matter what it takes to make the profits."

"You both have it wrong", says Intimacy. "This man was created to live for pleasure. Whatever it takes to be happy and with whoever he can find to be happy with. This is what brings him value! He was made to seek for love and connection and to be able to find it however it wants wherever it wants because after all, this man was made for pleasure"

After Security, Significance, and Intimacy have all had their contribution to the identity and purpose of man. God steps forward to the table, gently picks up man and says, "You all have it wrong." then He quietly calls Paul to the table from his place in the corner of the room. "Paul, would you mind sharing with these guests what the identity and purpose of this man are please?"

Paul leans his lips close to the ears of man and begins to speak to the man the things that God had spoken to Him years ago after he picked himself up off the dirt of a Damascus road. As Paul is whispering to the man we notice that the man's eyes begin to light up. This is amazing to Security, Significance, and Intimacy because all they were ever able to see was a flicker of light in their purpose for man, but this light  was not an external light that the others produced, this light came from an internal source!

Then Paul stepped back behind God and the man stood up boldly before God. God leaned closer to the man on the table and in front of Security, Significance, and Intimacy He asked man, "Man, in light of what you now know as Truth, tell these others who you are and what your purpose is!"

Man looked worldly Security, Significance, and Intimacy in eye and man began to boldly speak...

"I am a citizen of Heaven, seated in Heaven right now!" ~Ephesians 2:6, Philippians 3:20
"I am hidden with God!" ~ Colossians 3:3
"I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life!" ~ Colossians 3:4
"I am chosen of God, Holy and early loved!" ~ Colossians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:4
"I am a son of light and not darkness!" ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:5
"I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling!" ~ Hebrews 3:14
"I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house!" ~ 1 Peter 2:5
"I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God's own possession!" ~ 1 Peter 2:9-10
"I am an alien and a stranger to this world in which I temporarily live!" ~ 1 Peter 2:11
"I am an enemy of the devil!" ~ 1 Peter 5:8
"I am a child of God and i will resemble Christ when He returns!" ~ 1 John 3:1-2
"I am not the great "I am" (Exodus 3:14, John 8:24, 28, 58) , but by the grace of God, I am what I am!" ~ 1 Corinthians 15:10
"I am the salt of the earth!" ~Matthew 5:13
"I am the light of the world!" ~Matthew 5:14
"I am a child of God!" ~ John 1:12
"I am part of the True Vine, a channel of Christ's life!" ~ John 15:1,5
"I am Christ's friend!" ~John 15:15
"I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit!" ~John 15:16
"I am a slave of righteousness!" ~ Romans 6:22
"I am a child of God; God is spiritually my Father!" ~ Romans 8:14,15;  Galatians 3:26; 4:6
"I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him!" ~ Romans 8:17
"I am a temple - a dwelling place- of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me!" ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19
"I am united to the Lord and am one Spirit with Him!" ~ 1 Corinthians 6:17
"I am a member of Christ's body!" ~ 1 Corinthians 12:27;  Ephesians 2:19
"I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation!" ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
"I am God's child an one in Christ!" ~ Galatians 3:26,28
"I am an heir of God since I am a child of God!" ~ Galatians 4:6-7
"I am a saint!" ~ 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2
"I am God's workmanship, His handiwork, and born anew in Christ to do His work!"
~ Ephesians 2:10
"I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God's family!" ~ Ephesians 2:19
"I am a prisoner of Christ!" ~ Ephesians 3:1 ; 4:1
"I am righteous and holy!" ~Ephesians 4:24

Then the man looked back into the eyes of his creator and finished by saying, "I am yours and you made me all of these things when you created me and you restored my created identity in you through the shed blood of your Son Jesus." Turning to face the others at the table, the man added, "I was created to find all of my security, significance, and intimacy in the only place that can truly provide those things; they are only found in God. My purpose is to reflect the God who now indwells me to those around me."

You may have had a difficult time reading the list above because somewhere along the way someone has lied to you, and as you stood on that table, someone has convinced you that the list you just read is something that you have to somehow earn from God through "Godly" performance or scheduled rituals. This is a lie and at the root of any bondage is a lie. The only way to break bondage is to confront the lie with the truth.

The truth is, You were made these things through the shed blood of Christ!

This is the truth. I would encourage you to go back to the list and read through it again slowly and understand that this is your identity in Christ. It is not something that is based upon feeling or upon your performance or even your recognition, but this is something that is based entirely upon Him!

You were created for a purpose!

If you still don't believe this, ask Dad!




Climbing with you,
~Dan

The Purpose in the Prison

There is a lot on this site posted about seeing God at work in everything around us, and I think one of the cornerstones in my life was the day that He showed me that His purpose and NOT his fairness dictates the circumstances of our lives.

When God opened my eyes to this truth, not only did it set me free from bondage that I was in, it transformed the way that I view and live my life! Everywhere I read in scripture I cannot help but see "Purpose" displayed in and through the circumstances that God allows! Even in the prisons of life, His purpose stands out.

Have you ever felt stuck in a prison like circumstance? If God really loved you why would He allow you to be placed in an environment that seems to hurt you? I invite you to read on...

" And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." ~Acts 16:25

Of course we know that this preacher Paul was at one time a religious persecutor names Saul, but God took Saul, and as only he can changed him to be a vessel of Mercy As Paul himself would refer to in ROMANS 9:23

In this passage that we have just read we find that Paul and Silas were preaching their way through Macedonia at the command of the Lord. They were in a city called Philippi.

They meet a woman by the name of Lydia, and as they wander through the city of Phillip, They are being followed by a slave girl who is possessed by a spirit. The owners of this girl use her to tell fortunes in the agora, the market, the place where everything happens from trade to political discussions and prisoners were tried. It was the very center of Roman life. 

The demon inhabiting the girl keeps mocking Paul saying he is a slave of God. Ironic, the slave pronouncing another a slave.

The Bible tells us that Paul was grieved by this girl. It grieved him to see this slave girl, enslaved by a demon as well.

There is a mob scene; Paul and Silas are beaten with rods and thrown in prison. There they are put into stocks, Roman torture devices designed to keep the body in uncomfortable or “stress” positions. There they wait and wait to come to trial.

Prison was a very bad place to be in Paul’s time.

Most Prisoners wore chains; their feet might be shackled, their hands manacled or even attached to their neck by another chain, and their movements further restricted by a chain fastened to a post. The existence of laws prohibiting chains that were too short or too restrictive indicates that jailers sometimes employed such practices. The very word ‘chains’ became a synonym for imprisonment. Some prisoners were also kept in wooden stocks, devices to restrain the feet, hands, or even the neck of an individual

Prisons often were very dark (see Isa. 42:7); the inner area of the prison mentioned in Acts 16:24 was probably without windows. Although solitary confinement was known, prisoners generally were kept grouped together, accused and condemned, men and women alike.

Prisons often had poor air circulation, a lack of hygienic facilities, rats and vermin, and food of poor quality. Unscrupulous guards might at times use the withholding of food or even outright torture to extort money from prisoners or their relatives. Although various rulers, especially in Roman Imperial times, struggled to prevent such abuses, the quality of prison life largely remained the responsibility of local officials, and conditions undoubtedly varied considerably from place to place.

“Ancient prisons provided almost nothing for prisoners. To survive, a prisoner's family or friends had to bring him food, blankets, medicine, and other necessities. Without outside help, a prisoner could easily starve or die of illness before even coming to trial.” You can understand why Jesus talks about how important it was to visit those imprisoned.
 

 

So Paul and Silas end up in prison, beaten and bloodied and chained. “Locked in the innermost cell of the jail and shackled besides, they are free to sing.”

And so they sing forth praise to God, in fact we find that Paul and Silas sing until the middle of the night.

As things on the inside of their hearts begin to move, then things around them begin to move. An earthquake shudders the foundations and unlocks everyone’s chains. Fear runs through the building and the guard who would be executed if the prisoners escape on his watch is just about to fall on his sword, saving himself an ugly death and preserving his honor when Paul calls out for him to stop. The prisoners are all still there.

Why didn’t they run? The life of their captor, probably the same one who beat them, who tortured them, was hanging in the balance.

 

This story holds many miracles.

We have an Earthquake

Breaking Shackles
Busting locks on the cell doors
Paul and Silas freed


But the keeper of the prisoners himself becomes free that night as well! The one who held them captive was in reality the captive. He was enslaved by the Devil

Paul and Silas stayed in prison so that this man, the jailer, could preserve his life, the same man who had brutalized them. Then this man is so changed that he opens his home and family to those he had imprisoned. He bathes them and feeds them. This is the biggest miracle of all.

Lives changed.

Prisons opened, not just the one that Paul and Silas were jailed in. Spiritual Prisons.

I kept going back to this verse 25

 "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them."~ Acts 16:25

Paul and Silas singing while they are actually in prison.  They have just been stripped and severely beaten, and they are thrown in prison with their feet in stocks.  And in that condition, they sing to God.
 

 

I don’t know that Paul and Silas had ever had voice lessons.  I don’t know if the songs they sang were “Proper Hymnal” hymns, peppy little ditties that they learned at Church Camp, or just the same seven words sung over eleven times in a row.

I don’t know if they were just making songs up as they went.  I don’t know if it sounded like Pavarotti or like a dog in pain, but I do know that God responded with an earthquake that set them free, proving that God’s power is greater than all the chains and prisons that man can devise.

What a place for two preachers to be. I could not help but be struck by the fact of where they were at. God sent them to Macedonia, they went, and now...

 They were in Prison!!!

Throughout many of Paul’s writings we find the term Prisoner of Christ. He was in no doubt a prisoner for his Faith in Christ, he himself refers to the many times he was imprisoned (2 Cor. 6:5; 11:23) but I believe it went deeper than that.

We find he starts his ministry referring to himself as Paul and apostle of Jesus Christ, then Paul a servant of Jesus Christ, and then he finalizes his view with Paul a Prisoner of Jesus Christ.

You see the more Paul served the Lord Jesus Christ the more convinced he became, that outside of God there was nothing. To gain Christ was his goal, the high prize was his destination, and recorded in Acts 17:28 Paul States, “in him we live, in him we breathe, and in him we have our BEING!!!

Paul was wrapped up in Christ!”

Paul was more than apostle in his relationship with Christ, he was more than a volunteered servant, he was his Prisoner. He found himself a prisoner of Hope In whatever state he was in...To be thankful to God that he had been counted worthy to suffer for his name.

But here they were in a physical prison.

They did not fit in there, they did not feel comfortable there, they knew they were not "prison material anymore" they had a purpose. But so did God. There was a "PURPOSE FOR THE PRISON" if you will, they were held not only by confinements of wood and steel, but they were also held in chains of opportunity.

 

What was the opportunity of the Chains?

See, you and I can easily identify Paul and Silas to the extent that...

We do not fit in this world and circumstances that we go through, situations we go through...can seem like a prison at times.

Why would God allow us (Because nothing happens to us that he does not permit) to be placed in a circumstance, that seems so often like a prison? 

Here is the message, it all points back to Christ.
 

 

The chains of opportunity he wore explain the purpose of the prison.

It is not always about our benefit.

Yes, we benefit from those times, and we grow in Christ. We take a step in faith, and we draw tighter to him as walk with him...these are all benefits of the prison. However they are not the purpose of the prison, the purpose is found in Acts 16:25...in just five little words!

"And the prisoners heard them."

The purpose was not for Paul and Silas to see God rock the jailhouse, although they did benefit from seeing God move.

The purpose was for those who were bound with Chains of unbelief! The centurion, his family, and the prisoners throughout those cell bocks.

(The prisoners heard who they were and why they were there. Word gets around fast in a prison.) They heard the praising; they heard the singing, and the love being placed upon Christ! They openly demonstrated for the captives in sin to see that Prayer was not just a spare tire for them, it was the steering wheel!!!

You see what gave the prison a purpose was the prisoners.The shackles became the ministry.

 Christ is the Model of all we are to do and be in this life.

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." ~1 John 4:17

We find in…

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."~ Matthew 20:28

 

Therefore since he came to this world not to be ministered unto, but to minister so should we. This is one of the qualities that the Lord displays in abundance through out his ministry on this earth, and the desire for us to follow that pattern is a constant message preached all through our Bible.

Why would God allow us (Because nothing happens to us that he does not permit) to be placed in a circumstance, that seems so often like a prison? 

When we begin to see the prisons that have been permitted for us to be in as a ministry opportunity then we take another step toward Christ likeness and another step closer to the Lord is another step closer to joy.

 

GOD GIVES PERMISSION FOR THE PRISONS.

The Christian Life is not promised to be easy, in fact it is promised to be just the opposite.

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." ~ 1 Peter 4:12-14

 

GOD GIVES PURPOSE FOR THE PRISONS. 

 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." ~Matthew 5:14-16

How you view the prison that has been allowed in your life will affect the freedom of the prisoners that are in that allowed prison you have been placed into.

What would the spiritual prison system do, if tomorrow you punched in ready to sing for the entire world to hear? There is a song that I have had on my heart quite a bit lately and these are the words to it.

 

“God wants to hear you sing, when the waves are crashing round you, when the fiery darts surround you, when despair is all you see, God wants to hear your voice when the wisest man has spoken and says your circumstance is as hopeless as can be…That’s when God wants to hear you sing.”

 

"And the prisoners heard them."

Climbing with you,

~Dan

Reflections of What is Above!

The more I read about Jesus in the New Testament, the more I cannot help but fall deeper in love with God.

"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." ~John 14:9-10

Jesus, while on this earth, operated out of His humanity and in perfect surrender and yielding to the Father, perfectly expressed Him to mankind. When you see Him doing something, or speaking something, He was expressing the Father to us. Like a picture of a landscape near a body of water. The image that you saw on the surface was a direct reflection of what was above!

I remember a time in my life when I looked at the Father as this "Divine Employer" who was ready to write me up if I did not work my tail off for Him. It was a muddy reflection.

I would sit in weekly staff meetings at the church where I worked and cringe inside when the previous Sunday did not have the "Right amount of offering come in" or "not enough visitors in the front door" or "You are not working hard enough to keep people in their place" and it was always expressed to the assistant pastors that we were not working hard enough or making the right amount of "Connections" with people.

I would see men who worked very hard, belittled to the point of tears by a sharp and destructive tongue over their "poor performance" and would think of the words of the prophet Ezekiel in chapter thirty four.

"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. "~ Ezekiel 34:1-5

It was sad because if success and blessings were determined by the dollar amount cleared between Sunday School and church or by the number of heads in a service then where was God on those days where we did not work hard enough? He was only blessing when things were good? The reflection was anything but true. God was presented as a muddy riverbank who was only pleased when results were good.

I remember the day that I discovered that there was not one thing that I could do to make God love me any more than He already did. I sat there in my office and just cried because I had taken my first step down the section of trail that God had used every event and circumstance in my life to lead me to. He began to teach me about His clear reflection!

I would read how Jesus reached out to individuals in their individual needs and just be blown away that if He (Jesus) was expressing the God of the universe, then He (Jesus) proved that God noticed us as individuals with individual needs.

He reached out to a blind man in his need of sight and used that circumstance as an introduction between the blind man and a Holy God. In other words, "Your need was allowed by God to help you see His presence and nearness in your life. He has used this need to help you become closer to Him".

He used the wall of silence to help a deaf man hear.

He used a wall of illness to help a woman with an issue of blood step up to Him.

He used the wall of paralysis to help a man come through the  roof to meet Him!

He used the wall of death itself to become a step for all of us.

Jesus came to introduce us to God. He came so that we could be RECONCILED to Him!

Then I read a passage that I had literally heard misused my entire life.

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." ~Luke 19:10

I say misused because it was always used to motivate me into acts of service for Him. If Jesus was truly sent a as reflection of God to man then I needed to read the verse that came before this one.

"And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham." ~Luke 19:9 

Jesus had just met with Zacchaeus and as always, anytime Jesus meets someone a choice and opportunity to change is given.

He was making the statement in verse nine to emphasize verse ten's reference to Ezekiel 34. His people had been scattered by priests that had put themselves before the mission. It happens to this day because the flesh walk can be doing good things just as much as bad things. (See World War "Z" in Me)

They had destroyed and ran off people because quiet honestly, it was the easy thing to do. Just run them off and run them down and God's people then, just as today, began to become prey to the beasts of the field. They had displayed a muddy river bank reflection.

Jesus's statement that day was absolutely powerful! God was sending the message, "The men who were paid to represent me showed a horribly disfigured representation of me to men, so I am going to send a true reflection to them."

Zack was a tax man that Jesus encountered and when God, through Jesus, reached out to this man it brought to mind one of the most beautiful situations in the Bible of God personally reaching out to another tax man.
 

And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him." ~Matthew 9:9

Did you read that???

Let me underscore it because I missed it the first time too!

And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him." ~Matthew 9:9

Jesus saw Matthew. So? He saw everyone right?

Matthew was the son of Levi. Historians and biblical scholars tell us that Matthew was of Levite ancestry. The Levites were the tribe of Israel that were not to own property because they were to be God's ministers in the sacrifices of the tabernacles and the temple. It was the custom and duty of a male child born into the tribe of Levi to become a rabbi and fulfill those requirements. The only way to not do this was to fail the tests of the priests or just decide to walk away from your lineage. Why would someone do that?

If it was the first of these two theories than I can understand. The tests that these young boys were given before they could be approached by a Rabbi to be mentored were unbelievably difficult and the work was tedious to say the least. It makes it so powerful because you could not approach a Rabbi to request mentoring, they looked at your scores and chose you. Here he sat in a despised position and The Rabbi approaches him and says, "Follow me!"

If it was the second of the two theories than it would be equally as powerful.We may find a clue in the book of the Bible he would later write. The word "hypocrites" appears more times in Matthew (twelve) than it does anywhere else in the Bible. Perhaps he saw so many people who were hypocrites -- people that said they loved God but proved otherwise by their actions -- that he decided he was finished with God.

Jesus came to show us the Father. The Father sees you and He sees me right now today!

Did you know that He knows exactly what it is that has caused you hurt last week?

He approaches us in the very place of pain and wounding to allow us to see with our own heart that He wants us just as we are. He wants us to be in His presence.

Be it a wound, pain, wrongdoing, injustice, quiet word, or even this blog post today. He is reaching out to you in a voice that is beyond audible to say, "I love you, and I am well aware of you and I want to be part of your life!" He is waiting to introduce Himself to you or reveal a better view of Himself to you, even through an allowed circumstance that causes you to look up out of desperation.

There have been more times than I am comfortable admitting that I have reflected the Christ in me as if He were a muddy riverbank, and that is to my shame. The choices that we make daily to surrender ourselves to the Father are crucial. Walk in the flesh or walk in the Spirit? That is up to us because there have been many times when I was able to offer a view that was a clear reflection. What will you be today? A muddy reflection that blurs and distorts the Father or a clear reflection of the one that is above? The best way to be a clear reflection to others is to take a moment before the day begins and look up!
 
Based on what I find in Jesus, the reflected God is well worth lifting up your head and heart to see!



Climbing with you,
~Dan

 

Your Certified Letter

He shifted the position in which he was sitting because the hard surface of the stone bench that he was chained to had begun to, once again, put his legs to sleep.

The light that had earlier in the day streamed through the tiny window of this pit, was fast becoming a precious commodity with which a man could see what he was writing.

He laid the ink stalk down for just a moment in order to rub his swollen hands together in an attempt to restore circulation to his wrists and fingers.
Looking back down to the parchment in front of him, he dipped the stalk into the stone blotter, and continued to scratch out...

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"  ~Philipians 1:6

Paul, at the writing of this letter, was the prisoner of a madman.

Nero (15 December 37 – 9 June 68) was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the writing of this letter to the church at Philipi dates to about 64 A.D.
Historians tell us that,  during his reign, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions, including that of his mother, and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother.
He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned" and as an early persecutor of Christians. He was known for having captured Christians to burn them in his garden at night for a source of light for his parties.

Paul is writing to the church and from all that we gather from this letter, there is nothing wrong within the church. I guess what makes this letter stand out to me so much besides the beautiful passages that are found within it are the contrasts that are going on in the background.

The circumstances that Paul is in directly contrasts with the people that he is writing to. Paul is Nero's prisoner, and the church is celebrating victory and freedom.

Yet here in the opening of the letter we find a passage like verse six.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" ~Philipians 1:6
 

If we go through this letter we will find some other interesting passages, but ampilfied in power due to the condition of the environment from which they were birthed. I know that you have read these passages before, but i would ask, in light of the background that has been set, that you would please read these words again slowly and let them sink into your Spirit. (Read them out loud and listen to them as you read them.)

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." ~Philipians 1:21

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."
                                                                                                      ~ Philipians 2:13 

"But what things were gain to me, those i counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and i count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom i have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that i may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that i may know Him and the power of His ressurection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto death; if by any means i might attain unto the ressurection of the dead." ~Philipians 3: 7-10

"Not that i speak in respect of want: for i have learned , in whatsoever state i am, there with to be content. I know both how to be abased, and i know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~Philipians 4:11-13

Reading this blog post this today you may emotionally feel as though you are either on one side of this letter or the other. You may be in a season of visible victory and freedom of your mind, will, and emotions or you may be in a season of a prison like experience in those areas.

I want to encourage you to catch the essence of this letter. The Christian experience is NOT what is going on around the believer, but rather what is going on IN the believer.

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." ~Philipians 1:21

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."
                                                                                           ~ Philipians 2:13

I read passges like 1:21, and 2:13 and I am challenged because God desires to give me the strength and opportunity to work out what He has placed within me and that is Himself! God provides us opportunities and the strength to reveal Himself to those around us TODAY!

How can you write a letter with such passion and resolve Paul? You are imprisoned right?

I firmly believe that Paul discovered that both the prison and the pulpit were both the same: Opportunities provided by God to diplay Himself to the audiences that both of those extremes offered.

What is going on in your world today? Who has God allowed you to be surrounded by today? May I submit to you that God has allowed both of the answers to those two questions for the express purpose of displaying Himself and He has given you the strength and the ability to do so!

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~Philipians 4:13

Easy? No. God never promises that life is going to be easy, but HE does promise that life, lived through Him, is possible!

Climbing with you,
~Dan