It is, for the most part, always been thought that we, the thinking, knowing, feeling humankind are, ourselves, the concrete fact.
The reality, if you will.
And, the "spiritual" things, such as God, angels, Heaven, and Hell have all been thought of as the mysterious and translucent.
Something to ponder, but not tangibly feel.
Though, what if that perspective is jaded?
Is there a possibility that our perception of things is misconceived?
Have we inadvertently switched the proper place of what is ghost and what is not?
C.S. Lewis in his famed book, "The Great Divorce," expresses that men are like ghosts. Shades in comparison to the true reality of God and all that is His. He articulates that we, humanity, are without Christ, simply phantoms.
The band, Gungor, named their album, "Ghosts Upon the Earth" in an effort to exclaim that we do not compare to the raw reality of God.
We are but ghosts.
Until Christ comes.
Because, in Lewis' novel, people who had accepted the truth and reality of Christ in their heart began to harden and become real.
So, in the same manner, we are only phantoms, aimlessly wandering the earth unless we let the Lord bring us into a hardened reality, through His Son.
That reality is Christ Jesus.
The Gospel and the Word.
Do not continue as a ghost.
Step into reality.
August 12, 2013
August 2, 2013
Emmanuel (God With Us)
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus coming to earth and being willingly rejected by God, His Father due to our sin that He took upon Himself and disposed of on the Cross, was so that we could be with God and He with us.
It's a love story, people!
Boy meets girl, boy can't be with girl because of this or that, but by the end of the movie or book, we see that he makes a way.
God made a way!
It's Jesus, the only way, the only truth, and the only life!
Stop looking for Jesus under spiritual rocks!
You can't find Jesus in a wrist band!
You can't find Jesus in a special shirt!
Because, He has found you.
Stop searching, you're found!
All it takes is saying, "Yes."
He chose you. He made a way for you.
He sent His only Son to save you.
He did the work, He paid the price, He sacrificed.
You don't do the work.
You can't find God! Only He can reveal Himself to you.
And He has through the Cross!
Why do people say, "If I could just go to this place, or if I could just see a miracle, or just hear this person say this thing and then I'd be good, then I'll have what I'm searching for in God."
Since when has God conformed to our measure of thinking?
God does not work on our time table or level of comprehension.
You don't need a special situation to be with Him!
You know why? Because He's right with you!
He's in you! If you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your personal Savor and King, then He is dwelling inside you through the Holy Spirit.
Though going to Church is amazing, you don't need to go to church to be with Jesus!
You don't need anything but Him.
People all across the world in "third world countries" worship Jesus just fine with out a sound system, a guitar, or even a Bible.
Please don't hear me wrong, God reveals Himself through His Word, and through corporate worship, and through countless other things, but those are not the only way to worship Jesus.
Because Jesus is in you.
And you don't need anything else except Him to be able to worship Him and live in His glorious presence.
People! Stop "soaking" in His presence and start living in it!
Stop letting it just wash over you without letting if effect you!
Waiting upon the Lord is fantastic and is crucial to our relationship with Christ, but people,
Faith Without Works Is Dead!
Brothers, Sisters, fellow believers and human-beings, it is time to stop being so dependent on other humans to get to God. That is not how it was designed to be.
We were not made for a second hand relationship with God.
It's time to start meeting with God face to face, one on one, you and God, nothing and no one else.
It's time to start encountering Emmanuel for yourself.
August 1, 2013
Taking Our Place
Jesus did not die while we were loving Him!
Jesus did not subject Himself to be nailed on the cross whilst we were all on our knees worshiping and praying for Him.
Jesus did not have a prayer team, or a group of people who sent Him Bible verses and encouraging notes to keep Him going.
Jesus was rejected. He was beaten, detested, hated, despised.
People wanted Jesus dead!
And yet it says in God's Word, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NIV)
Jesus was not welcomed into this world on a flush bed of silk and cotton.
Jesus was not "blessed" in the eyes of men, though He is blessing.
He entered into this world through an outcast and was laid in a barn!
Jesus was on the run for the beginning of His life-time
He was not welcome!
And yet He came.
God illustrates the depth of His love even before Christ dies with the story of Barabbas.
This thief, this murderer, this child of the world and sin, was with Jesus as He was brought before the rulers of the land.
And Jesus was the one who was taken and killed. Not the sinner, not the cheat, not the killer, but Jesus.
God set Barabbas free in a foreshadowing of what He would later do for all of humanity.
Knowing very well that Barabbas would not thank Jesus, but would continue in his sin, God had Jesus take his place.
That is love! We don't know if Barabbas ever came to Christ or got saved, but God loved and set him free all the same.
Don't think that God hates you. That is the opposite of the truth.
Do not convince yourself that God doesn't want you. For that is false!
God sent His Son, His only child, His baby, people! He sent Him to earth to be beat and briused and killed, because He loves you!
God will never forsake you. He is not looking to see how many times you can mess up or turn away.
He is not a god of Greek mythology. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.
And He loves you!
God is relentlessly seeking after you and He will not stop until He has every last bit of you.
He wants to bless you, to bring life into you.
Don't ever imagine that He would do anything bad to you.
Accept Him as He accepted Barabbas and just as He has accepted you.
Largly based off Judah Smith's Video Sermon, "Jesus Is Loving Barabbas"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX_EpNR4CA
https://open.spotify.com/track/4i6stINijO5T8kPQ7PwqxP
Jesus did not subject Himself to be nailed on the cross whilst we were all on our knees worshiping and praying for Him.
Jesus did not have a prayer team, or a group of people who sent Him Bible verses and encouraging notes to keep Him going.
Jesus was rejected. He was beaten, detested, hated, despised.
People wanted Jesus dead!
And yet it says in God's Word, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NIV)
Jesus was not welcomed into this world on a flush bed of silk and cotton.
Jesus was not "blessed" in the eyes of men, though He is blessing.
He entered into this world through an outcast and was laid in a barn!
Jesus was on the run for the beginning of His life-time
He was not welcome!
And yet He came.
God illustrates the depth of His love even before Christ dies with the story of Barabbas.
This thief, this murderer, this child of the world and sin, was with Jesus as He was brought before the rulers of the land.
And Jesus was the one who was taken and killed. Not the sinner, not the cheat, not the killer, but Jesus.
God set Barabbas free in a foreshadowing of what He would later do for all of humanity.
Knowing very well that Barabbas would not thank Jesus, but would continue in his sin, God had Jesus take his place.
That is love! We don't know if Barabbas ever came to Christ or got saved, but God loved and set him free all the same.
Don't think that God hates you. That is the opposite of the truth.
Do not convince yourself that God doesn't want you. For that is false!
God sent His Son, His only child, His baby, people! He sent Him to earth to be beat and briused and killed, because He loves you!
God will never forsake you. He is not looking to see how many times you can mess up or turn away.
He is not a god of Greek mythology. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.
And He loves you!
God is relentlessly seeking after you and He will not stop until He has every last bit of you.
He wants to bless you, to bring life into you.
Don't ever imagine that He would do anything bad to you.
Accept Him as He accepted Barabbas and just as He has accepted you.
Largly based off Judah Smith's Video Sermon, "Jesus Is Loving Barabbas"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX_EpNR4CA
https://open.spotify.com/track/4i6stINijO5T8kPQ7PwqxP
June 4, 2013
Seek His Face
I'll start with this verse from Psalm 27 and verse
8,
"My heart says of You, 'Seek His face!' Your face, LORD, I will seek." (NIV)
One of my teachers made a very profound statement went he shared a little while back.
He said, "If God took away all His good works, would He still be enough for you?"
I'd heard this before, but never really got it. So, when he said that, I began to think about what my life would be like without all His blessings. As, I began to strip all of that away I slowly realized something: I don't know if I believe God would be enough for me. Because, He has blessed me so much and I begin to rely on just His works sometimes. And, I lose sight of His face. His blessings are so encouraging, they remind me that He's always there. But, when I strip that all away, I'm not so sure.
That said, you could never separate God from His nature, and His nature is to bless and love, etc. But, what my teacher said was something that really struck at my heart and made me realize where I am seeking the hand of the Master, not the face. And where I long for works, not relationship. I was quite convicting. It will be something that I will continue to ponder for the rest of my life.
"My heart says of You, 'Seek His face!' Your face, LORD, I will seek." (NIV)
One of my teachers made a very profound statement went he shared a little while back.
He said, "If God took away all His good works, would He still be enough for you?"
I'd heard this before, but never really got it. So, when he said that, I began to think about what my life would be like without all His blessings. As, I began to strip all of that away I slowly realized something: I don't know if I believe God would be enough for me. Because, He has blessed me so much and I begin to rely on just His works sometimes. And, I lose sight of His face. His blessings are so encouraging, they remind me that He's always there. But, when I strip that all away, I'm not so sure.
That said, you could never separate God from His nature, and His nature is to bless and love, etc. But, what my teacher said was something that really struck at my heart and made me realize where I am seeking the hand of the Master, not the face. And where I long for works, not relationship. I was quite convicting. It will be something that I will continue to ponder for the rest of my life.
May 1, 2013
"So, You Hear About Hosea? Pretty Crazy, Right?"
Recently I've been reading in Hosea. Now, Hosea is a book in the latter half of the old testament that is jumbled up along with the other prophets. Now, the prophets aren't exactly the book of psalms. They're pretty intense and take a little bit of time to read. But, let me tell you, it is so worth it.
While reading in Hosea I've found some pretty insane stuff.
First off, in the beginning of the book, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. Now, if God told me to do something like that I would be questioning if that was really God or not. But, Hosea steps out in faith and obeys God. So, they get married and have three kids. And, God tells Hosea what to name each kid. So, Hosea names his kids, Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Amm. The first name is a shout out to Israel and the house of Jehu saying that bad stuff is coming their way. (How would you like your name to be a warning sign?) The second kid's name means "Not Loved" or "No Mercy." (That'd be a great name!) Then finally, the last child's name translates as "Not My People."
Yup, so God has Hosea marry a prostitute and give his kids all depressing names. Just wait, it gets better.
Later in the book, Gomer (Hosea's prostitute wife), goes again and leaves her husband and kids and enters into the life of prostitution again. That alone is pretty crazy, because Hosea had done nothing but love her and bless her, but she still ran away. (Hmmm... reminds me of someone.[Oh, right: us])
So, there is Gomer up on a stage where she will be sold to the highest bidder. And, God says to Hosea, "Buy her back." You have to see this here, Gomer was already Hosea's, but God told Hosea to buy her back. Gomer was already his!!! But, nonetheless, Hosea goes and buys back his wife for the full price as she stands up on the stage in her shame. He takes her from the very place that she had run away from him to. And, he loves her even in her adultery.
All I can say is, "Wow!" That is a testimony of God's grace and love. And, really, that is what God has done and does for us every time we fall. That is love. That is God's love.
But, you say, "Jadon, you forgot about the kids." Oh, but I didn't. You see God had something to say about them as well: "And I will have mercy on 'No Mercy', and I will say to 'Not My People', ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.'" ~Hosea 2:23
That is amazing! Open up Hosea and read it sometime, it will blow your silly little mind.
If you want to hear an amazing sermon about Hosea and Gomer, I encourage you to listen to Judah Smith's sermon "God Loves the World.": http://thecity.org/message/god_loves_the_world
God's love and grace is absolutely crazy!
While reading in Hosea I've found some pretty insane stuff.
First off, in the beginning of the book, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. Now, if God told me to do something like that I would be questioning if that was really God or not. But, Hosea steps out in faith and obeys God. So, they get married and have three kids. And, God tells Hosea what to name each kid. So, Hosea names his kids, Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Amm. The first name is a shout out to Israel and the house of Jehu saying that bad stuff is coming their way. (How would you like your name to be a warning sign?) The second kid's name means "Not Loved" or "No Mercy." (That'd be a great name!) Then finally, the last child's name translates as "Not My People."
Yup, so God has Hosea marry a prostitute and give his kids all depressing names. Just wait, it gets better.
Later in the book, Gomer (Hosea's prostitute wife), goes again and leaves her husband and kids and enters into the life of prostitution again. That alone is pretty crazy, because Hosea had done nothing but love her and bless her, but she still ran away. (Hmmm... reminds me of someone.[Oh, right: us])
So, there is Gomer up on a stage where she will be sold to the highest bidder. And, God says to Hosea, "Buy her back." You have to see this here, Gomer was already Hosea's, but God told Hosea to buy her back. Gomer was already his!!! But, nonetheless, Hosea goes and buys back his wife for the full price as she stands up on the stage in her shame. He takes her from the very place that she had run away from him to. And, he loves her even in her adultery.
All I can say is, "Wow!" That is a testimony of God's grace and love. And, really, that is what God has done and does for us every time we fall. That is love. That is God's love.
But, you say, "Jadon, you forgot about the kids." Oh, but I didn't. You see God had something to say about them as well: "And I will have mercy on 'No Mercy', and I will say to 'Not My People', ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.'" ~Hosea 2:23
That is amazing! Open up Hosea and read it sometime, it will blow your silly little mind.
If you want to hear an amazing sermon about Hosea and Gomer, I encourage you to listen to Judah Smith's sermon "God Loves the World.": http://thecity.org/message/god_loves_the_world
God's love and grace is absolutely crazy!
April 14, 2013
Vous Êtes Ma Force
Vous Êtes Ma Force
You Are My Strength
Psalm 18:1
I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.
Psalm 59:9
O my Strength, I will watch for You,
For You, O God, are my fortress.
2 Samuel 22:33
God is my strength and power:
and He maketh my way perfect.
What does it mean to surrender control? Are we able to give up command over ourselves?
Think about if you were unable to move your body on your own accord, but that someone else had a remote control that was able to move you. How would you feel about that?
So, I ask you, have we actually given God complete control of our lives?
We say, "I surrender all," but do we really give up the reins all together?
For in truth, when you speak to God and declare what these previous verses say, you’re essentially saying, “Here’s control over me, move me where You wish.”
Is that true in our lives, though? For when you say, “God is my strength,” you say are saying that He is in control. And that without Him and His strength, you cannot survive.
In saying, “God is my strength,” you are giving up your self. All your choices, decisions, thoughts, actions, you’re giving all of that to God and declaring that it’s His and for Him to use.
So, I beseech you, friends! In everyday, seek that you, through God, would be able to further give yourself up to Christ and allow Him to truly become your strength.
January 16, 2013
"Resurrect These Bones"
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
These verses in a song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWpvknKuYrg
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
These verses in a song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWpvknKuYrg
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