Transcendent God

The Holy Spirit has been speaking so powerfully to my heart lately. Though my body is weak, and tired. Though my knowledge and understanding is limited. Though my time is limited. Though I lack many abilities. HE IS ABLE to use this fragile, weak, frail and "dis-abled" person in order to accomplish His magnificent purposes.

He is a God who transcends our limitations! He's placed His transcendent, Mighty power in these fragile earthen vessels, so that we might know it's Him, and NOT us.

It is through the Spirit of the Living God that we are able to live beyond the limitations of this body.

It is through the Spirit that we experience fullness of life.

It is through the Spirit that we experience peace, though our life's circumstances may be chaotic and crazy.

It is through the Spirit that we experience freedom, though we may be behind prison walls, or imprisoned in our own body through disability, imprisoned to live in a highly dysfunctional family or trapped by some other hindrance outside of our control.

It is through the Spirit that we live as wealthy sons and daughters of the King, though we may live in poverty, debt, or other need.

It is through the Spirit that we are pure, perfect, holy, and righteous though we still struggle with sin daily.

It is through the Spirit that we experience love to the very depths of our souls, though we may not have family or friends that love us.

It is through the Spirit that we experience healing, though our bodies may be filled with cancer, chronic disease, or other illnesses.

It is through the Spirit that we are made wise, though we may be uneducated, illiterate, and dumb.

It is through the Spirit that we are full of incomparable power, though we may have no position or influence in society or we may have bodies that strain to pick up a grain of rice.

It is through the Spirit that we have hope, when there seems to be no hope.

It's a mysterious and wonderful process that cannot be completely understood or explained. We need only to believe in order that this perfectly full life, might be experienced in a world that is FAR less than perfect. We're not doomed by life's circumstances, our own abilities, or our resources. All of His gifts transcend circumstances and abilities.

So we live by faith and not by what we see.

Here are some truths to ponder as you seek to live beyond your limitations.

..The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. Romans 8:26

For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom 2 Corithians 3:17

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Ephesians 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

2 peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature,having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Phil 3:20-21

Take More Risks

Take some risks in 2013.  Risk looking like a fool to love someone.  Risk sharing your heart.  Risk being misunderstood and rejected.  Risk failing as you do something BIG!  Risk making a mistake as you seek to listen and obey the voice of God.  Risk being wrong as you speak words of life to the spiritually dead.  Risk being couregous as you face your fears.  Hold nothing back.  Give EVERYTHING--EVERTHING, in order to serve our Majestic and loving King--Jesus.

Will you take more risks in 2013?

Impossibilities

I desire to do the impossible
to walk on water
but...
that takes faith
Because the impossible is...
well...
impossible,
without God
He makes all things possible
when my focus is on me,
the impossibilities of the situation
overwhelm
and I begin to sink under the waves of
doubt and fear
When I focus on Jesus
His power
His might
His absolute control
authority
magnificence
glory
greatness
and his constant personal care and compassion for me
I can walk confidently on Mighty waves as though walking on flat dry land
With every step I take
My heart says
My God is able
My God is ABLE
It's so easy for Him
My God is ABLE
He won't let my foot slip
He redeems all my failures
My God is ABLE
My God is ABLE

Naked and Thirsty

I've been reading through the gospels this year and more recently the Gospel of Luke.  I've been learning so much as I've been studying about the life of Jesus.  Several weeks ago I read something Jesus said that has confounded me for years.

 

Luke 5:36 He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. [37] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. [38] No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. [39] And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, `The old is better.' "

I've heard people talk about this referring to new paradigms.  Ok.  But I really wanted to understand this parable.  So I ask my Teacher to teach me.  And Oh boy!  The Holy Spirit opened my mind to understand this scripture, and spoke to me very personally.   I'd like to share what He revealed to me.

So Jesus gives two examples, to make a point.  First He uses clothes.  When your clothes or old, what do you do?  First, consider the culture in which Jesus lived.  The common person only owned one item of clothing--maybe two..  Believe it or not, many people around the world live like this.  Anyway, when clothes became worn, one would patch the holes, until it couldn't be patched anymore or until they were able to get a new garment.  Why would a person damage a new garment, to patch an old garment?  If you have access to a new garment, you would replace the old garment with the new garment, not patch up the old.  If a person were to patch up the old garment with the new cloth, the patch would be ineffective.  The new cloth would pull away from old cloth, and end up becoming an unwearable garment.  And guess what?  The new garment is ruined too!  The result:  No wearable garments.  

We end up naked!!!!

 Jesus uses wine and wineskin to illustrate the same point.  When a person was out of wine, they would need to make more wine.  If a person was to put new wine in an old wineskin, the wine would burst through the wineskin, leaving the person with no wine.  So instead of having wine, and a wineskin, they end up with nothing.  

They end up thirsty! 

So why would anyone do such absurd things?

Jesus answers that in His last statement.  "And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, `The old is better.' "  

No one wants "the new", because...

• The old is familiar
• The old is safe
• We think the good of the old will stay good

When we hold on too long to the old, being UNWILLING to change, we end up losing everything.  The good of the old is gone, and we don't experience the good of "the new" either.  We find ourselves in need of change, but instead of changing we want to patch our lives. You know, just fix the things in our lives that don't work.  

When "the new" presents itsself, take hold of the new.  Stop trying to make the new, fit into the old.

I'll be honest here.  The Holy Spirit is convicting me of this BIG TIME!  I've been praying that the Lord would change some things in my life, and I've been praying for a patch job.  God wants to give me a new garment.  Something I've never seen.  Something I'm not familiar with.  Something-- better.  Don't get me wrong.  The old garment wasn't bad.  It was good for a season, but now it's outdated and no longer provides the best for our family.  It's time to let go, before I lose all that I'm trying hold on to.  

Just as the old garment was good, I can trust that the new garment is good too.

Just as the old wine was good, the new wine will be just as good--maybe even better.

Are you in need of a big change in your life?

What are you refusing to let go of? 

 What are you asking God to patch in your life?  Are you asking Him to fix the things you don't like, so you don't have to really change?

Can you trust our Loving, and completely wise Heavenly Father to give you that which best for you?

Will you give Him permission to change anything He wants to change?  Anything.

 

He wants to replace your old and worn garments with a fresh new garment.  He wants you fully clothed, not naked.  He wants to replace your old and empty wineskins with new wineskins full of wine.  He wants you satisfied, not thirsty.

Let's encourage each other on this journey.

Let me know what big change you've been praying for, and how God surprised you (or is surprising you) with the most amazing blessings as you walked out into the unknown of "the new".  

I'll be sharing my story of change soon.  I think this post is long enough.  ;-)

Living a life of Faith--This is deep!

Recently, I was meditating on God's word, and man did He show me some amazing things!  Not necessarily new, but He took me to a deeper level.  I want to share just a bit.  Often I've been hesitant to FULLY trust what I've heard from God or to completely obey God, because I'm not sure that I've heard Him right.  It is so important to me to speak truth, and not my own opinion.  His words bring life, mine don't.  I've lived with so much doubt in my life, because I'm not sure I completely understand what God is saying.  The Holy Spirit has been rebuking me BIG TIME for this.  I like to have it ALL 100% right first before I make a move.  That'll certainly keep you paralyzed, because ....get this... I'm not perfect! (well, I am because Jesus gave me His perfection)  But what I'm saying is I make mistakes.  I fail.  I goof-up. I sin.  I misunderstand.  Have you noticed a pattern here?  I... I....I...I...  I can't trust God's words because of "I".

So here's the amazing revelation!  It's not about my ability or lack of ability.  It's about His ability.  He is ABLE to do exceedingly, abundantly MORE than I ask or even imagine.  My God is able to communicate so that I can hear and understand Him.  Think about it.  He spoke to the wicked and they heard and understood him.  He spoke to people just like us, with weaknesses, who were always misunderstanding, who were uneducated...  He spoke, and they heard.  (Many of those people wrote what we call "The Bible".  People like us wrote the Bible.  Amazing, Huh?  We hear, because He speaks.  We can trust His words to us, because HE IS FULLY TRUSTWORTHY.  GOD IS ABLE to open our minds so that we can understand.  GOD IS ABLE to open our eyes so that we can see.  We don't need to be timid.  We can trust that HE IS ABLE. 

And even if we still manage to misunderstand Him, (yes we certainly will), HE IS ABLE to redeem our mistakes, correct our course, and protect us. 

So with ALL that being said, I can put my complete trust in Him. in Him.  In HIM. He's great enough to overcome ALL my insufficiencies.  So I can be bold and confident in Him.  I can live my life fully trusting and obeying His every word to me, to the best of my ability, and as I understand it today. 

And He promises to greatly reward those who choose to trust HIM. 

No more "I".  It's all about HIM.  No more doubt. (Help me Lord)  I believe because your words are true and you are ABLE!