Newness of Life

Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” He tenderly reached out to heal a soldier’s severed ear who had come to seize him for a crime he did not commit.                 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. He gave one of the highest honors to a disciple who totally abandoned him in his darkest hour.                 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. He washed the dirty feet of his companions, knowing that they would soon forsake him.                 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. He showed mercy to an adulterous woman who was brought to him for judgment, and told her to go and “sin no more.”                 Anyone w...

In 2 Kings 5:21, the King of Aram sends his army to surround the Israelites who were camped in the town of Dortham. Elisha the prophet was also there with his servant who awoke to discover that they were surrounded by a mighty army of horses and chariots intent on capturing them. “Oh my lord, what shall we do?” he said to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid.” The prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Oh, we need the vision that Elisha had! Paul prays   that the eyes of our hearts would be open to see the things that God has for us in Christ.   In every trial, temptation, and tribulation facing us, we can say with Elisha, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” This is true for every child of God, in all circumstances.    Howev...

Our sins are washed by his sacrifice, but it is his life that gives us righteousness and peace. "Churchianity" misses this point entirely, effectively placing us back under the weight of our own self-efforts to bring forth the life of God. Yet the law was meant to slay us and utterly demolish all self confidence in order that we would depend entirely on the Fountain of Life who springs eternal in those who are poor in spirit and believe on Him. Will- power cannot eradicate the sin that stems from the human heart; it can only, at best, curtail sinful behaviors, thus cleaning the "outside of the cup" while the inside is full of sin (Matt 23:25).  Only by the transformational power of the Holy Spirit who imparts the very life and nature of Christ can we walk in heart righteousness. "For in that day , I will write my laws on their hearts, and they will be my people, and I will be there God. (Jer 31:33). This is a ministry of the Holy Sp...

The Lord has been speaking to me about faith and doubt, and I have been seeing faith with new eyes.    I have always been interested in the matter of faith and its substance, where it comes from, and how it grows. Faith is of God and not of man. Faith can no more be generated by an act of will than a planet can be created by someone who wishes to do so. If we can't generate faith by an act of mental willpower,  how then does it grow?  It is a gift that is imparted from God to the one who is seeking God with all of His heart. As with anything else, faith comes as an answer to prayer. Faith comes when God speaks into the spirit of man thus making His word come to life. Faith see's reality because it has heard Him speak. The word teaches that faith comes by hearing the word of God. Not just the written word, but the word breathed into the heart of man by the Holy Spirit. The Lord is a quickening spirit, and His word quickens our spirit to life. When faith comes to l...

The Isreallites were constantly urged to remember all that God had done for them. I have been on a remembering journey lately. Tonight the Lord’s peace descended over me and I felt him leading me back to a particular memory. As I basked in the peace that filled me, I began to recall something that happened shortly after I had arrived at Regent University. It had been over a year since I had made the turn and come back to the Lord, but I was completely unable to feel his presence or sense his nearness. My heart and spirit felt dead and lifeless. At Regent, I would constantly talk to my new friends about how I used to be very close to the Lord. I had been searching for that closeness with the Lord for over a year, only to feel a great chasm that could not be crossed. I was constantly looking back at what I had lost. Eventually a very real fear began to seize my heart. What if I had gone to far? What if I was an "apostate?" since I had "tasted of the heavenly gift" o...

(from journal entry 9/8/10) “Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” Sometimes God may grant us the grace to be crushed under the weight and unmatched beauty of His love, and when we perceive it, we are torn asunder, but it is not a destructive tearing that shatters us.  There is a tearing that binds, a crushing that builds. Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted. Indeed, it is a crushing that fills us with the sweetness of his love and makes us totally whole. The sinful woman was crushed by that love, but Simon the Pharisee was not. He was too impressed with his own righteousness.  Simon was a religious man. He observed the law and kept all of the religious traditions-but he was blind to the truth that he too was a sinner in need of God's grace. Sitting in the presence of the Messiah who was to take away the sins of the world, his heart was stone ...

(this is a repost from 2012) Jesus has issued us an invitation. If you can believe you may cease from your striving and enter My rest. Labor in the Greek is translated kapiao, to feel fatigue, to work hard, to toil. We labor under the weight of our anxieties, fears, habits, and addictions. The ways in which we labor are many. We labor under the weight of our fears. We labor to pad our bank accounts, get out of debt, or keep up with some real or imaginary person. We labor to gain and keep the respect of significant others and the list goes on. We labor on and seldom experience more than a fleeting rest. Apart from the rest of Christ, we are indeed heavy-laden. We are to labor, but not for the things that perish because those things do not offer rest for our souls. This is really what we are after even if we don't realize it. If I just have this person, job, or salary, then I will feel joy and peace. Not so. After Jesus fed the 5,000 the crowds followed him across the lake. Inst...