Breaking Open the Flask

     Ephesians 3:14-21, "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do immeasureably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen."     It must disappoint God to see us floundering around when He desires to completely fill the void in our lives and we simply are too hard headed to understand the 

     II Timothy 2:24, "And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful."       My personal interpretation: Kick quarreling out the door, replace it with kindness to all those in your household, at your church, at your work and in your every day encounters which will enable you to teach and therefore eliminate resentfulness from your heart.     Therefore then, I am called to leave this Legacy to my children, my children's children and so on.  Since Paul was concerned for the next generation, I must be as well.  I am to be a Disciple Maker.  Since I'm not dead, I'm not done.  Paul feared being disobedient would make him a bench warmer spiritually.  I should fear the same.      This is just a small testimony to the sermon I heard in church yesterday by Dr. Jack Graham.  I definitely heard some toes barking on my pew.

     Mark 3:21, "But when His own people (family) heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him for they said, 'He is out of His mind.'"      Jesus isn't very far into His ministry in this passage.  He has just anointed the Twelve, entered a home and greeted by such a crowd that there is no room for he and his disciples to eat.  And, "just in the nick of time" his family decides they must rescue Him from Himself.  Even His very own family didn't get it.  We like to think that they understood His whole purpose.  However, we can clearly see in this scripture that they did not fully understand it.  The family was fully human like us; but Christ was fully God and man.      Continuing on, shouldn't we  expect that HIS life IN us will not be understood by all nor please everyone at all times; even our Christian friends?  We can expect to be despised or even rejected.  We can expect that our decisions, our choices, our obedience will not neces

     Once again, I see I have to get my self out of the way to see the Biblical truth from the passage in Matthew 25:37-40.  I reason on my own that the depth of this scripture intends for me to help the poor, the needy, the imprisoned, the lonely.  However, as I take a deeper look today with Oswald, I come to the harsh conclusion that I am to examine my motives for helping those in need.  Am I motivated because I can't stand to see someone in those conditions, ... because it makes me feel guilty, ... because I have more, ... because I want to make a name for myself?  After prayerful consideration, I realize that it's a matter of my heart.  I have to, as Oswald says so often, "Rouse myself up," to see those in need through the eyes of Christ.  And when I align my eyes and my heart with His, His perspective will transport me from my own reasoning and inspire me to do that which He commanded naturally as if it were His own hands doing the labor Himself.  "A channel

     Sometimes, the words strike as a knife after they leave the mouth.  Ever had that feeling when the stab from the lips of another penetrates your ears, then your heart?  Or perhaps worse still your own words as they leave your mouth penetrating the ears and the heart of another?  Sometimes, we find ourselves closer to a facsimile of something we wish we were not.  It's tough to look into our hearts.      Our hearts are the breeding ground for all of our emotions.  It is the one place where both physical and spiritual birth take place.  (Oswald, Bib. Psych.)  In Matthew 12 we are told the story of God's Chosen Servant.  We become aware of the Pharisees' ill will, the heart, towards this man who called himself the Son of God.  It seems that everything Jesus spoke and taught cut through the core of their teachings and caused them to be uncomfortable. Yet, Jesus spoke truth, truth that would set them free.  How then could it be that Jesus' teachings would become such

If someone asks me what my favorite holiday is I don't respond with the usual "Christmas" or "Thanksgiving". I enjoy those holidays but New Year's is my favorite because it is a great time for new beginnings. On January 1st this year, as I was driving, I saw a full rainbow. It was brilliant and reached all the away across the sky. It stayed only long enough to remind me of God's promise of new beginnings. It was exactly what I needed and the timing was perfect as God's timing always is. I always make New Year's resolutions. They are usually about the same and I use Luke 2:52 as my guide. "Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and in favor with God and men". I set my goals in those four areas. 1. Intelligence (educating myself and exercising my brain and praying for wisdom) I don't want to ever stop learning. 2. Physical (becoming physically fit through a healthy diet and exercise)3. Spiritually ( putting God first in my life and b

     When we choose obedience to Christ it costs us nothing.  Christ chose the long road of obedience much to the dismay of his tempter.  He didn't put a rush on it or order it up from the drive thru lane.  He spent 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.  So many times, I find myself wanting to hurry things up when that is not God's plan at all.  My motives are fleshly of course.  I just want to move quickly passed tough times or the inconvience it places on my heart.       Genesis 8:1, "Then God remembered Noah...."  I take comfort in the fact that God will remember me in my obedience.       Proverbs 1:20-22, "Wisdom calls aloud outside; ....How long you simple ones will you love simplicity?  For scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge."      Psalm 3:3, " But thou, O Lord , art a shield for me; my glory , and the lifter up of mine head .      Take time to delight in the long road of obedience that affords His shield of p