Who is Anything

Your story is based on the Foundation

 

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (1 Cor. 3:12, 13 ESV)

 
 

We are building on THE FOUNDATION.

Some assignments have been given and I admit that they are somewhat a no-brainer. Still, plenty of brains have been guilty of making horrible choices and so we know that it’s not really about the cerebral necessarily without the touch of the Holy Spirit on your story. That’s the whole matter of why these assignments then become important. They offer a place to let the mind open up the heart so that if there is something that God has been saying and you’ve not been listening, you, hopefully, will get that chance of paying careful attention. Reading through the Gospel of Luke will bring you in touch with the grand story of the ages, the metanarrative, if you will; upon which to relate your own history. For, without having the Gospel at the center of your story, your story goes along the seas without a real direction or substantive place of port. Plenty of people are content to amble along in the base pursuits of life only to find at the end of days that everything they thought was so valuable and important in their striving pales as they peer ever so keenly into the gates of death and ponder the glories of heaven or the become dumbstruck with their impending doom in the fire. The ability to articulate and reflect on your own history is important in fleshing out the personal attention God has given you in directing your steps. Some of us have more sensational accounts, some less so; either which way it is not the matter of flamboyance on this telling, only what matters is if you perceive the Hand of God in it all; apart from His attention and care, it is relatively meaningless to you for then you would simply draw your attention to escapades and addictions to distract yourself from the apparent shallowness of your own biography; and this is something that God cares not for you to do for God speaks if only we’d listen and the practice of listening always requires a measure of time. To broadcast your faith, to express what God has told you of not only who you are but also and specifically of what HE SEES the story as being will mean the difference many times in the lives of those around you, in your family, community, and city even; as to whether or not anyone perceives the provision of the Lord or not. For the occasions rise where the enemy comes to remove you and you can either kowtow to the story they tell of how the world is and about what they think you are to be or you can be in touch with the Holy Spirit and know who you are, what the story of God’s provision and deliverance is, and what is the reality that matters that makes the difference on whether or not a city is delivered or not. Belief is powerful when your belief stems from the Holy Spirit. THE FOUNDATION is Christ and now we close the brief series close to where we began. The foundation is Christ. While our text from Corinthians relates the issue Paul was dealing regarding the upbuilding through ministries upon the believer in his time and the apparent competition that seemed to present a schism within the peoples as priding in one ministry over another, the essential takeaway for us here regarding our application of the text is that there is only one foundation to your life, Christian, and He is Jesus the Christ; and we in some form or fashion are all building our lives upon this rock. While others may invest and share with us, how goes the work and labor that we ourselves put into this building? We are all building in a way and the truth remains that ultimately we will give account as to whether or not what is built is according to God’s design or not.

 

We are tested on THE FOUNDATION.

You will be tested. Every fabric, every stone, every wood column, and what not, will be tested in the Day. The test is from He who is our FOUNDATION. There is no bargaining on that day. What it’s going to be is simply this: FIRE. What doesn’t pass the test is burned away. So, think and choose carefully how you build this life. The life will be tested and while your faith may save you in the Last Day, you will know in that Day if your life was built up all in vanity or if your life actually meant something wonderful. Vanity is vanity but to have a life built upon the Lord and guided by Him to give the heavens glory, well, this life will come through the fire and will stand the test. Don’t live deceived by the global machine to live as an animal! Don’t put your spirit man to slumber and amble along in vain pursuits that are meaningless and don’t have any relevance to THE STORY! Put your trust in Jesus and let His Spirit guide building a life that matters that will stand the test of time! God bless and build strong in the Lord!

 
 
 
 
 
[interested in Euthetos? drop a message at the “Crux” contact page here. God bless!]
 
 
 
 
 

“If they kill us we shall but die”

The power of belief and the dread of unbelief

 

But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seah of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” (2 Kings 7:1, 2 ESV)

 

Unbelief will harm you

In our text, we read the story of when the prophet Elisha delivered the powerful Word of the Lord to a disparaged people. Unbelief can harm you. Now, for the people receiving the Word, those with enough sense to say nothing against the man of God, they were sensible. But, as you read the bible accentuate the fact that the captain was a man of influence, for the text reads that the king leaned on him, unbelief is a horrible thing. The bible repeats this again, actually, just before chronicling how this unbelieving captain was trampled to death by all the people rushing through the gate of the city to gather the spoils. Real quick, the history is such: God’s people were in trouble from oncoming Syrians. Elisha delivered the Word of deliverance. The captain speaks unbelief. Elisha pronounces the judgment. God scared the entire army of Syrians in the night. The empty camp was discovered by lepers. The lepers told the people and the people rushed out to get the spoils left behind. Well, that’s one aspect of the story. Another aspect is the fact that King Joram was unbelieving for not humbling himself. He was the child of Ahab, the king who opposed Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah. Joram blamed the prophet for the woes around him instead of getting right with God. The king went with his captain to get the prophet and cut of his head. So, in one sense we see the king’s unbelief of the Covenant line of David, as Joram was illegitimate to the throne. He refused to humble himself to the correction of the Lord through the prophet Elisha. In another way, we read of the unbelief of the captain, who was stationed at the gate, a very important position mind you, and this captain scoffed at the man of God. This captain made a mocking reference to Noah’s flood when the captain referenced the windows, or floodgates, of heaven. So, we read about his demise for his audacity to incite fear based upon his own inflated ego, based on a faulted life script he had for himself. He read to himself that he was an important man who had the power to execute life and deliver from death. He prided in a king, who actually wasn’t legitimate, but he told himself that it was alright anyway, because at a deeper level he despised God’s ways and the covenant, for if he honored God’s ways and the covenant then he should have recognized the abominable state of affairs and would have recognized the man of God and followed him instead; but, in the presence of the king and in the presence of the leaders who were with Elisha, the prophet of God, the captain uttered his shameless unbelief. While the captain was trampled by the people rushing to get food and supply, the king would be further shamed in losing his own hand, the captain, before the people; for if the king had believed the prophet and likewise lamented his own sins, then Joram would’ve sent his most capable and trusted captain to the Syrian camp to oversee its distribution instead of trying to uphold a now meaningless position at the gate, for what use is a gatekeeper in a city stricken with famine? The people need to leave to get food and not cower in fear.

Belief will bless you

The prophet showed his colors as we see Elisha held confidence where lesser men would cower to circumstance and intimidation. We don’t see unbelief in the man of God. The prophet Elisha didn’t cower when the lofty powerful king of Israel came to execute him. The Spirit of God informed Elisha of the coming Joram and told Elisha exactly what to do. So, as it is, the man of God delivered the Word and this very Word was the saving of the city. Before it even came to pass, before there was any inkling of triumph, the man of God already knew it for the Spirit of God told him so. So, instead of getting his head chopped off, Elisha’s prominence continued to grow and the people of God were delivered of the Syrians and of famine. When you believe and honor God, His covenant, and His ways, you, too, can be a target for the enemy. And the enemy uses his illegitimate authority to try and take you out. You have a story friend and it’s up to you to hold fast to the script God gives you. You’re not like the captain of the king who trusted in the appearance of the times, because at his hour of testing it seemed that all the power and security was with the king; believe in what God tells you, what He shares with you about what needs to happen, about who you are; and, most notably, about the message you are to deliver. If you’re choked in unbelief, you won’t hear what God is saying to help anybody. You can be that person who will hear exactly was God is saying to help everyone around you even when the times look like it’s just trouble and more trouble ahead. Hey, how would you handle the chief officer of the land personally coming to your door with his soldier to personally chop your head off? Don’t sweat the story the world will give you no matter the intimidations. Believe in God. Believe His story. Believe in who God has called you to be in these perilous times. Believe His story for you and deliver the message you’re supposed to no matter what. It may very well be the difference in people getting food on the table or the world getting your head on a platter! So, while the bluster and polish of the times may favor those who are deceived by their own apparent success, it’s not the strength of personal belief alone that matters. It’s the confidence that is based on God, on His Word, what He is saying about you and the times, what He says your story is and what the story is for the hour at hand, it’s the belief found in God that matters.

 
 
 
What are the intimidations working against you in your life right now? What is God’s Word specifically for your hour of testing? Here is what I’d like you to do. Articulate God’s provision as He says it and post this where people can see it. Do this this week and continue about your journey of faith. You will then have a reference point of public faith about God’s provision, not only for yourself but for as many as would believe. This will expose the unbelief and provoke those people who are more aligned with fear and the powers of the world and those people who would rather you weren’t around; and it will put you in a place to see God’s deliverance. It’s one thing to believe for good things in private, but, as you’ll see, and some of you know, it’s quite another to proclaim God’s truth and provision before the very people who try to intimidate you and would rather have you believe a story of their choosing, a story line where anyone who makes them look bad just disappears. No. Don’t disappear friend. Proclaim your belief and articulate God’s provision.
 
 
 
 
 
[interested in Euthetos? drop a message at the “Crux” contact page here. God bless!]

Starless Rising Tide that Blows the Devil to Pieces

Reflecting on your history, framing your story, and moving forward

 

“Ponder the paths of your feet;
Then all your ways will be sure.” (Prov. 4:26 ESV)

 
 

You’ve got to exercise the power of reflection.

What’s the story you keep telling yourself? Are you a winner? A Loser? You don’t know? What is the storyline you rehearse in your heart and what do you end up replaying out in real life? You’ve got to make time to reflect. Think. Consider your ways. Consider your paths. Consider the path. Did you end up going the wrong way? Well, it’s no use at that point to exercise all due diligence if you’re just travelling down the wrong road. Just because you find difficulty along your path doesn’t automatically mean you’re on the right path. It’s not like the de facto credifying validating characteristic of the will of God is trouble. How do you know you’re just simply facing trouble because you’re doing something silly? Something that just isn’t tailor made for you? Something that God isn’t into at all for you? Or are you facing this friction and the road is rough because you’re going uphill at this point and you simply need to keep on keeping on and get yourself over this hill? Without reflection, without stopping, if needs be, to consider your path, without walking, running, trailing circumspectly, how will you make that course correction if needs be? How will you make that push to accelerate past a sticking point on the way and get over the hill and on to the greener pastures? Ignorance is bliss they say; but it surely isn’t blessed. What is blessed? It’s making use to roll your path before the Lord. Reflect before Him. If you’re not mirroring what the Holy Spirit is up to in your life . . . then you need to know. If you reflect and you reflect rightly, then wouldn’t you want to know that as well? Reflect. Consider. Reflect. Blessing is past the guessing.

 

You’ve got to exercise the power of reframing.

Your story with God is powerful. It’s the difference in how you tell the story. It’s the difference in how the story is told to you, how it’s told to you deep in your spirit. Resiliency is a funny thing. Like, ha, ha. You know it’s bouncy. It’s supposed to be that way. If your bounce is gone, you’ve lost that lightness in your step, even in the trials, then you need to go back to the story. Obviously, you get into the Gospel story. From there God is speaking to you, He’s telling you about your worth. He’s sharing with you about His love. He is assuring you of His guidance. After all, any God who goes through all that trouble of procuring for all mankind the opportunity of a lifetime and eternity isn’t going to be absent minded about any of His own—and you belong to Him! So, you’re covered! He’s watching over you! Now, are you watching for His hand of blessing? Are you mindful of His vantage? Of His view of you? Well, that’s where the power of reframing is released. Now, the sinners can exercise the principle of it all day long but still end up in hell, but that’s not your story now is it? What is your story is that you’re saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Spirit; so you can base your reframing on something—no, SOMEONE substantial. You go by how God sees it, how God tells your story, and then you can get into His Presence and come to understand and see what He’s seeing. There. From the place of communion with God, from that place of fellowship and Holy Spirit union, even from that place of camaraderie in the brotherhood of saints, from here you can review and reframe what the devil meant for evil and see God’s handiwork to use it all for GOOD! Reframe! Retrain your flinching mechanism to stop wincing whenever the devil comes around the corner with a big 2 x 4; God’s got your back and you see by the Holy Spirit that God’s put the gold in you. You’re seated in the Spirit. There’s no K.O. for you; because you always get back up. Why? Because the Gospel story is TRUE! So, you get back in the game, get back to the track of the beat of that story God’s got for you. Lose a battle? Lost a grip? Lost a tear crying your eyes? Yes. That may be so. But, through the power of reframing by God’s Holy Spirit, where only the despondent see aches and ashes, you will see the divine exchange, even the promise of His WORD—BEAUTY FOR ASHES! That’s right. There’s no shame in seeing the good and reading the good into every bad situation. Why? Because where other storylines who don’t have God end, you don’t’ grieve like the world grieves. You have the Holy Spirit and He’ll help you see past the grim in every corner and see the sun past all the rain. There’s no storm you can’t pull through when you see God’s hand pulling on you. Reframe. Blessing is in the His story.

 

Forward momentum can keep you moving forward.

 
 
 
 
 
[interested in Euthetos? drop a message at the “Crux” contact page here. God bless!]

Ceremony Red

Making Use of Your Story

 

48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:48-51 NASU)

 
 

Jesus the child understood His place in the world and didn’t let that stop Him from proceeding unto adulthood.

Jesus was fortunate in his childhood. Jesus was fortunate to be God. You and I, well, we’re not even going to try to explain how many ways there’s no comparison. What can be compare is this, we all have a childhood. Now, we’re continuing on in the theme of “the story”. Remember, there is a global machine out there whose mission it is to devour your soul and I’m here to help make sure that doesn’t happen. The devil would love to derail you from your destiny all the same. If devils can’t stop you from believing your story in this world, that you’re special and you are a child of destiny in Christ Jesus; why, these devils would sure love for your to fail at maturing in it. Do you know your story? Surely by now, you understand that you were made for better things than selling your soul to the global machine. You know you’re precious and that the Big Picture is Jesus saved you and is coming back to end everything that simply deserves to go to the Lake of Fire. We live between the event of redemption and the moment of Judgment. The world is on edge. The nations of the world have a limited time. The devils fear the end. Satan is trying to devour as many souls as he can before it’s all over. You? Are you about the Father’s business?

Looking at our text, we may not be 12 years old looking forward. Possibly, and I do mean probably, we are looking back when we consider youth; but, there is a youth to following Jesus. There is a childhood and youth to discipleship. There is that season of maturing the story that belongs to you. You have to feel it and believe in the storyline for your life; and better yet, that new life in Jesus. Last week we attended to the person and prayer of Jabez. He had a life script that was handed to him. In many ways, we examined, we have life scripts that are handed to us. Now, through prayer, and more specifically through God’s answer to prayer, Jabez attuned to the heavenly persuasion and changed the destiny allotted to him by his own mother. Now, for us here, we are dealing not so much overcoming the life script handed down to us from the world, natural heritage, or our own past; it’s in receiving, nurturing, and maturing the new life script we have from Jesus. There is a timing to things.

 

There is a childhood to your storyline and you have to know how to work with it.

The age of spiritual maturity at times isn’t gauged quite as easily as counting birthdays. I can look at you or you or you and simply ask when you were born and this alone can give me an idea approximate or even determinate of your age; but, you try to necessarily apply that to how old or young someone is in the Gospel, you may hesitate on determining the age. Why is that? It’s because we all know that the age of the spirit is typically gathered around the maturity of one’s relationship with God and, to be frank, there are plenty enough young people who walk old and plenty of old people who walk like children. While we approximate, we know that the determinate is ultimately better left to time, wisdom, and the insight of the Lord. Given that, our approximations do serve us a utility. We can consider our maturity and do well in accepting our season of spiritual childhood—or adulthood. Jesus was close to the Father and understood well enough his role in the grand scheme of things. You have to understand that even as a child, He imbibed a spiritual maturity that marked his spirituality well into adulthood and even as being more spiritually minded, and obviously more personal with the Almighty, he was able to navigate through the perils of the apparent disparity between inward maturity and outward immaturity. Jesus was physically immature, but in His relationship as a human child to the Holy God, Jesus, the child, was a spiritual adult. Plenty of us are the other way around. We assume the garments of physical, economical, and vocational maturity; but, we are by no means spiritual adults. We are mere children in God’s Kingdom. You know what? You have to make like Jesus and know when where you are. There’s a timing to things. I have no doubt in my mind that as a child, Jesus knew full well by the Holy Spirit what His story was in securing redemption for humanity through the trial and payment of the cross; but, He didn’t try to make that all happen all at once. He lived his life through His humanity and was able to navigate through the maturing process until what was already a fact inwardly could make the full expression of destiny outwardly, when the time came. So, with you and me, we are not always in control of the time and seasons and while we like to assume control of many things, there is something of a maturity in knowing when either you or the time is immature.

 

There is an adulthood to your story that you simply have to walk in when the times demand you be the adult.

Do this for yourself. Make a list of how many ways you are an adult outwardly. Do the same for the inward assessment. Now, put in a journal or an audio log or video log how you know God is building the story of your life and where He is leading you and if you don’t know the details like Jesus did, for as a child He would easily explain the sacrifice of the cross; then recall the direction of your journey, for this of itself is part of the story. This is important for you to relate the story to yourself. For many, it will help to solidify the maturing process and validate the work of the Holy Spirit so far in your life. For others, it may make better sense down the road when you need to recall your own story during times of dire need, of perplexing stress, and through the hour of unbelief. So, make this log for yourself and it should, hopefully be more than a paragraph, or 3 minute log; but, it also shouldn’t be overly burdensome as to lose its poignancy through sheer verbosity (as this assignment is not for a five volume life chronicling). This assignment is to serve as a validation of God’s maturing process in your own story with Him and it is something that should be easily recalled and shared in the scope of 5 to 15 minutes or 2 to 3 pages. Well, God bless and remember, there’s a time and season of growth to walking out your destiny in Jesus!

 
 
 
 
 
[originally posted 2/16/2014 but “lost” by WordPress and reposted here backlogged to the original post date]
 
[interested in Euthetos? drop a message at the “Crux” contact page here. God bless!]

Miss Gnomer

Changing Your Life Script Through God in Prayer

 

9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” 10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested. (1 Chron. 4:9-10, NASU, emphasis mine)

 
 

The story you get sometime really gets to you if you let it.

Stories. Narrative. We’re on that today. Hopefully, you’ve become more attuned with Gospel literature of Luke from our assignment last week. We take a step back from the macro-picture of the Gospel literature of our previous reading to hone in on a very pertinent topic for many of us and this involves the micro-picture of the story, or, simply, what is the story of your life right now? To those who have been there, that tragic place of pain. Or of grief. Of anger. And this because of something that’s come upon us or of something that we’ve been complicit to. Or even directly from our own actions. There are those moments, and they be many, where you can care less about the big picture when the frame shot of your pain is so immense that it is the only thing you can focus in on because of the sheer stimulus of this unrelenting pain. Do you know what I mean? Ask anyone that has lost their livelihood, their industry, their family, the storms of circumstance; and some, to the triumphant trickery of the global machine, swallowing up souls whole. It’s too painful. It’s so painful in fact that the astounding news of the latest revelation of the cosmos, or the uncovered secrets of the origin of the species pales to offer any true value to the soul staggering from the sheer burden of pain. The force of the powers that be can really do a number on you when you’re in this vulnerable state. Sometimes in order to get aligned with the bigger picture, you’ve got to know the timing to really make do with getting your own picture in the rights first. You know. Take care of that undeniable urgent thing. Whatever it is. Take care of pressing intimidation that’s trying to hold you down to a life that, honesty, isn’t meant for you. You were made for better things than the best the devil has to offer or the world. Now, I say that not necessarily meaning that the global machine or that the powers that be presumably have only one trick up their sleeve in their campaign to devour souls. It’s not always the enticing dream they send your way. That wonderful “life” they offer if you’d only sell them your soul. If you’d pledge allegiance to the beast, or whatever. At times, and I’m talking to you, you get assaulted, get lambasted, get bludgeoned with the brute force attack of oppression. The global machine wants to mow you down and tear out your voice, any voice of an original, any voice that hasn’t been bought by the system. It wants you to buy into the story they’re wanting to ram down your throat. This isn’t the carrot anymore. It’s the stick. The world is coming at you with a stick wanting to beat you into the ground. What will you do? When the machine threatens to bury you and try to make you believe that you’re nothing, worthless, a mistake. . . to find solace in the lies that it offers so you can spend the rest of your days locked away from God’s best, will you give in? Or will you fight? Fight, brother. Fight sister. Here is where you take charge of the pain and turn to God with it all.

 

Changing your direction and finding a script to live from.

Our text; it’s easy to elaborate because there’s so much that really isn’t told us. So, you have to make with what is told us. Here’s what told. Jabez cursed by his own mother from birth. How would you like to go around town with a name that will tell anyone you’re cursed? His name is told us in the bible. His mother gave it to him and it points the this, “Because I bore him in pain”. The name is translated “he causes pain” (ISBE). It’s like being named “pain”. This is no passing blemish of childhood or a mere circumstance of season, his mother called him “he causes pain”. From his birth, Jabez was already stigmatized and cursed. It was no ennobled name he received. He was not named after anyone famous peradventure he should aspire to greatness. It wasn’t even a name that should inspire a trait of virtue or a value of desirable. The name was contemptuous. The name was foolish an drew attention to the heartlessness of the mother as well to name her own son, not with joy, but with pain. As would be the expected course of motherhood to love her own son and receive him in joy and leave the pain of delivering him to the past; this mother found no joy in the infant boy that she should bother to welcome him in gladness but cast her displeasure and accusation upon him to call the innocent child, “Jabez”. And this can be the same in varying ways to many of us. We are in our world assaulted with the names that people give us, the script, if you will, that the world would have for us telling you you’re not important or you will only suffer the curse of the stigma of the “name” given to you. You see this struggle, this wresting about with life scripting and this is a difficult thing to manage at times and some find a measure of success carving out their own little kingdom away from the stigma of their past or of the haters and hecklers of their time, the envy of the world, of peers; of the shunning contempt of those who should be family. This is what Jabez did with all it . . . he went to God in prayer, not simply to just vent his agony, but to plead his case that God might change his apparently destiny. The destiny his own name allotted him was a life of pain; but, Jabez believed God and knew that if God should bless him, then it didn’t matter what even his own mother would call him because the voice of God trumps it all!

 

Get a hold of God and get a hold of His story for you.

Don’t just take it from world system. Don’t just steam over the global machine trying destroy you. Don’t just seethe over the accusation of others trying to force you to be less than you know deep down inside you really are. Find a new script from God Himself and let God’s blessing trump the machinations at work against you. Plead your case and your cause with God. It is said of Jabez’ prayer: “And God granted him what he requested.”

 
 
 
 
 
[interested in Euthetos? drop a message at the “Crux” contact page here. God bless!]