The Apostle John, the Lolli-Gagger

Things are not always what they seem are they? There is no end to 'specks' to pluck out of the eyes others, is there?

Is the plucking out of them a calling, or a ministry, or a just log in our own eye?
'Plucking' is always a human reaction to someone we think is not where they should be. That reaction only reflects what we assume about others. My question is; are any of us where we should be, performance wise?

When Peter questioned Jesus about John who was lolli-gagging behind, Jesus said, you follow me and leave him to me. We always got something to say to those we think are lolli-gagging don't we?

Amazing thing about John the 'Lolli-Gagger' He was the only apostle to die of natural causes and He wrote John, 1 -3 John, and the Revelation!
Leave the Lolli-gaggers to Jesus. 'For it is God who is able to make us stand,' not us . . . .

As a person who writes, I use words. Words are just pictures to me.
They are neither inherently good or bad. It is the intent of our words that is always the problem when they are not tempered by the Holy Spirit.
Do I sometimes do that? Yes, I do, because I am in the flesh, until Jesus comes for me.

If I use a word or phrase that offends you, think about my intent, not the word I chose. Intent is the thing that comes out of our hearts and saometimes brings words of life and sometimes death, when as I said my words are not of the Spirit and are of the flesh. The more I die to self the more my words will e of the Spirit.
Intent is the abundance of the heart that comes out of us and defiles us.

Even the word of God can be used as a weapon for harm and not for good. Satan uses it that way doesn't he. He uses PART of the word and so do we sometimes.

Words are often times just deemed good or bad by what we believe; at the time we read or say them. Don't know about you, but God is changing my thinking and saying every day.

In the end, it's not about our performance. It's about what we individually believe.
Whether you like that, or not, is of no consequence. It is how God planned it.

True honesty will always come to the same conclusion; We all fail and come short of perfection every day.
Ya see, that's Why Jesus had to come and be perfect for me. If I could be perfect, then He wouldn't have needed to come.

I post what I post here for a lot of reasons, they are not always readily understandable with just a surface look.
Sometimes they are just for fun, and sometimes they are just a reflection of a speck in my eye and sometimes they are a reflection of the Human being I am.

Jesus said, "look under the surface . . ."

My posts are posted with purpose and they are meant to get me to look at my own heart. That's what Jesus did . . . he tried to get us to look at our hearts . . . to see what is there already, and what is missing . . .

So lighten up and just let it go, if it offends you; cause gonna tell ya, responding out of correction to offenses . . . Is just plucking specks and is called Judgement and Jesus already took my judgement for me . . . didn't He yours?

Post Script:

Ya see, John was the first of the disciples who came to understand that Yeshua loved him, ALL the Time!! Even when he wasn't right . . .
There is no fear in Love; For it is the Perfect Love in me that threw and is throwing my fears away and it is the perfect love of God in me that is at work, Not me!
The good work God began in me will finally be completed when Yeshua returns, and not before. For now, I am only CONSIDERED righteous . . . but then . . . I will be . . . righteous . . . .

Finding Help

It's not just that we go to the Throne of Grace, for help, it is that we believed and acted on what we heard when we got there, that gets us help from the Throne of Grace. We got to do both. Go and Believe
Hebrews 4:1-2

Ever notice, when stuff starts hittin the fan, there is a sense of fear and dread about what the possible outcome might be? Well the Good News is it doesn't have to be that way!

We can now come boldly to the throne of GRACE, (the source of unmerited help,) that we might obtain mercy, (undeserved help), to help us, you and me, in time of need!
Hebrews 4:16
Jesus made that possible! Not our goodness, His!
We can REST assured in the knowledge of that!

The rest is found by ADDING faith or trust in the Goodness of God to what we hear in and from the word of God; an abiding restful sense that God is at work to do and to will in our situation,

FRETTING is not RESTING . . . and it is not Faith!

Have a bowl full of Faith this morning, It will give ya more then any 'Wonder Bread' ya can eat . . . Read Hebrews 4 before ya go out the door and face down your Giants today; I did!

When we fail to add Faith to what we hear from the word of God, it just causes everthing to go to hell in a hand basket. But when we do add faith all things become possible. Heck, it's possible then, for even me, to have somethin good happen!
(And you that know me, know that only God could do such a thing . . . .)

Ya see, Trusting is being confident of what we hope for and being convinced about the things we do not see . . .
It was for this that scripture attested the merit of the people of old."
Hebrews 11:1-2
Their merit was that they TRUSTED God, to give help, Not that they earned his help.
Go ahead, find ONE person in the Bible, besides Jesus, who earned Gods help.
God gives help, he doesn't sell it.

Our goodness and perfection cannot and does not earn God's help. we don't earn his help because we don't have any goodness or perfection that approximates God's standard for perfection.
Our merit was earned for us by the blood and resurrection of Yeshua.
That's what we are sposed to put our faith in.

Anything else is not good enough. Jesus is good enough for us and ya can only find rest in that!!
(see Hebrews chapters 4 and 11)

You've read that God will not allow us to be tempted or tested more than we can bear but with the test will make a WAY of escape, right?
The Way of escape, is faith or trust in the finished work of Christ.

Yeshua totally defeated the Accuser! Ya don't need to fear the Accuser any more because the Accuser is ALL READY defeated.
Ya don't have to fight him . . . just refer him to the Throne of GRACE!
If ya are under the blood . . . He will get His rejection notice when He gets to the right hand of God where Yeshua now sits.

Why do ya think Jesus is sitting down? It's because His work is finished!

Therefore, there is no more condemnation to those that are IN Christ!
Oh and don't forget to send the people who the Accuser uses to accuse you to the Throne of GRACE also . . . They will thank you for it in the end . . .
Ya all 'be' blessed taday, cause it's a choice

Babylon

'She has fallen she has fallen! Bavel the Great!' Revelation 17-18.
In chapter 17 Bavel or Babylon is revealed as a religious system, in chapter 18 it is revealed as a system of personal gain or profit, through politics and religion.

Bavel represents a system that brings glory or self aggrandizement to men and not to God.

If we take a moment and look inside our hearts we will quickly see what 'system' we are following. We are called to follow Christ, not systems.

Religion + commerce + politics = using the name of God for worldly gain. Hmmmmm ...... "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain." (One of the ten commandments).

Revelation 18:4 'And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'

'Come out of her, my people.' This is a call for God's people to disentangle themselves from the world system. It may also be an evangelistic call to God's elect to come to faith in Christ and come out of Satan's kingdom. In both cases, the message is to abandon the system.

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1

Art

Can anything be added to enhance something that is already finished and complete in every aspect?

We either accept that it is finished, or we spend a lot a time fluttering around that finished something till we wear ourself out trying to add something that doesn't need to be added or to make it more complex then it is'

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Eph 2:10
I guess ya got to be an art lover to appreciate art . . .

There are only two things that can be added to a 'finished' work of Art:
Love and appreciation.
"For we are God's Masterpiece . . ." Eph 2:10

I Wonder what happens to Art that is neither loved nor appreciated?

Most a the time it just gets hidden from view.  Luckily, the Artist will always Love and appreciate His work even though nobody else might.

Art is never out of the Artists heart because that's where it comes from.  The art created, was created to bring joy to the people who Love and appreciate the art and the Artist..

"The will of God is my prosperity" He loves me and appreciates me and has accepted me in the Beloved, (that's Jesus), my Artist.

Can what is not art, become art by itself? Or does it need an Artist? 

Where does a River of Water flow from? Well, the Source . . .

Active Faith

Saying what I believe, helps me to believe what I am saying.
Saying what I feel,, works the same way
Why? Faith comes from hearing; hearing the word of God as it is spoken out of our own mouths. Let the Redeemed of the Lord 'say' so . . .

It is a Law of God . . . (for the legalists out there)

What we say is generally a purty good indication of what we believe

The things of God can only be accessed by an Active Faith or Trust in Him, and what he says. If we fall apart when things don't seem to be going our way then our Faith or Trust in God through Jesus is not yet fully active, is it?

For instance:
Need a job? The Job for you, in God's plan, was planned for you already.
Just let him lead you into it. (see below) . . . go on ahead, tell Him you want His plan and His leading, then see what happens. (hint: ya really got to want His plan first and not yours)

"We are called to good works, planned for us by God BEFORE the foundation of the world." Paul of Tarsus

When you doubt, just declare the above verse till it manifests. It will, if ya really want it . . .

 "For without Faith it is impossible to please God." Our own efforts, by themselves, aren't good enough to please him, but Faith in Him, and His Word, does . . . Please Him.

Pretty important that Faith stuff I reckon . . .

Hunting

My Old Dad always said, "Until ya are ready to put up, maybe ya should just shut up."
When I was a kid, my Dad was a 'Ditch Rider' I think he made about 75 dollars a week. We lived in a little one room cabin.

We hunted and fished for our food. If we didn't, we didn't eat.
Hunting has become a multi - gazillion dollar industry in America since those days.
Many people make their living from it. Maybe in a different way then my family did all those years ago but they 'make their living just the same.'

It is also the money generated by hunters and the hunting industry through the sale of licenses and the taxes on hunting equipment that pay for habitat and wildlife enhancement programs that not only support the animals we hunt, but have propagated their existence in America for over 100 years!

No other group of people do this and especially NOT the anti hunter groups.

Listen kids, who don't get it . . . Here in Montana . . . we who live here . . . still hunt to eat . . . we enjoy the hunt and the food and we are still thankful we still have some a both.
If you would come spend a while with me . . . you would understand.

Ya see, a real hunter respects and loves the animal they hunt and they prove it by paying the bill . . .
Haven't we lost enough freedoms in America?

When there are no more Supermarkets and America becomes the 3rd world nation our government is working so hard to make it . . . ya all who are against hunting now . . . will become hunters then, or ya will starve.

A Shopper and a Hunter have this in common, they both eat.

The difference between a Shopper and a Hunter, is that the Hunter does his or her own killing. A Shopper lets someone else do the killing for him or her.

That is how and why we eat. The process is the same, just a different killer.

So what is that lowing of sheep on your plate . . . .???

"He gave us the animals and the plants for our food," but to eat them someones got to kill em, don't they . . . ?
Somethin about specks and logs isn't it? Or is it just straining at the Gnats and lettin the Camels go . . .
Freedom is about having choices. Doing good is about doing something to enhance someones freedom and life, not reducing them.

It's not about constantly telling people what's wrong with them, they know that. It's about being truly free to pursue Life, Liberty, and Happiness and to make room for others to do the same.

Whether or not I agree with or understand the choices a free person makes is irrelevant. What is relevant is that he had the freedom to choose.

Ya can be a Shopper or a Hunter but they both involve killing .  .  .

Following

"Dreams don't come true they are 'made' true"
Russel Wilson

Following someone as opposed to leading someone is a difficult thing to do when you don't have a paradigm to guide your choice of who you will or will not follow.

I've never been much of a follower of people. Anybody that knows me will tell you so.
Not that I am unwilling to follow anyone. I just need to know the person or persons wanting me to follow them are going where I want to go, know how to get there, understand my strengths and weaknesses, have integrity, and care about what happens to me, on some level, while on the way.

Who would you trust your life to? Because when you follow someone, for all intents and purposes, you ARE putting your life, future, and well being in their hands.

It's good to have a developed criteria when it comes to choosing who you will follow, who you will TRUST,
Who you will friend,
Who you will marry,
Who you will vote for,
Who you will support,
Who you will work for
Who you will die for,
It's called integrity . . .

The great thing about following someone is that you don't have to know much about where you are going or how you are going to get there. You just have to follow.

Mountain guides take people into some of the roughest country there is; country most would never return from if they didn't have someone to follow who knew the way and how to survive while on the way. Jesus is like that.

It's sorta like the old Greyhound bus motto . . .
"Take the Bus and leave the driving to us!"

Knowing and following Christ becomes problematic only when the differing opinions of men become involved; creating an imperative to search for Him, find Him, know him, and ultimately follow him, individually, in the direction we each see Him take.
Yet, we collectively form a body that operates out of unity!

How can that be????

Christ is the head of the body . . . the eyes, ears, and most importantly, the BRAIN, are found in the Head . . . I guess that's why our relationship with him and the relationships we have with people Have to be based on Trust that the Head knows what it's doing . . . .even when we don't . . . :)

Human Nature vs God's Nature

Scorn : a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval.
Harsh criticism that shows a lack of respect or approval for someone or something
Scornful : being full of it – scorn I mean
Important question . . . Am I full of scorn (human Nature), or am I full of Love, (God's nature), towards anyone, including myself?

Which should I be full of and how do I get there?

“A scorner does not like being corrected. He wont go to the wise for advice.”
Proverbs – 15:12

Pic - a new magazine for those of us who want to be proficient at scorn .. .

(The approved book for learning to be Love full is the Bible.
So how come we who say we read and understand the Bible are so often times filled with scorn . . . ? Answer Human nature at work and not God's nature at work.)

The approved book for experiencing being Love full is the Bible.
( So how come we who that say we read and understand the Bible are so often times filled with scorn . . . ? Answer: Human Nature

Love full is to experience being full of the nature of God, He is:
Patient, kind, never jealous, not boastful, rude or selfish, not easily angered.
Does not gloat over peoples sins, keeps no record of wrongs. He takes delight in the Truth, He always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures and there is no end to the fullness of His love and nothing can separate us from His Love. (see 1 Corinthians 13 & Romans 8).

A good way to measure how full our tank is and what it is full of, isn't it?

Reconciliation - Fence Mending

Fence mending . . . . done a lot a fence mending in my time . . . 

The thing about mending fence is, they don't mend their selves. Sombodies got to get off their Duff and go do it . . . Sometimes even in the Dark or when the weather aint too good. Sometimes ya got to walk and leave yer horse behind . . .

Sometimes ya got to do it without what ya would think are the right Tools . . .
ya just make do with what ya already got . . .
(A life meditation from 2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
 
Reconciliation - The restoration of friendly relations. Fence mending.

The act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement: The process of finding a way to make two different ideas, facts, etc., exist or be true at the same time.

"Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation — the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! AND IT IS ALL FROM GOD, who through the Messiah has reconciled us to himself and has given us the work of that reconciliation, which is that God in the Messiah WAS RECONCILING MANKIND TO HIMSELF, NOT COUNTING THEIR SINS AGAINST THEM, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors of the Messiah; in effect, God is making his appeal through us. What we do is appeal on behalf of the Messiah, “Be reconciled to God!"
2 Corinthians 5:17-20Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

Guess we got a lot a fence to mend. Reckon we ought a get at it, eh?

Something to think about . . . .

. . . If God, through Christ, is NOT counting our sins against us, why are we so focused on our sins, and not God, who is no longer counting our sins against us?

Since He has given us the message of this reconciliation, shouldn't our message be about what Christ has done for us instead of what we have done or not done?

The Point of Knowledge

The point of knowledge is to lead us somewhere . . .
Humor me for a minute and think about what I am going to say . . .

Adonai told Joshua this; "Meditate on this word day and night and be careful to do ALL that is written in it. Then you shall make your way prosperous and you will have Good Success!" That thought is repeated all throughout the Bible.

The point of all that is; the Word of God, our source of knowledge, is to LEAD us to The Way the Truth and the Life, Yeshua/Jesus, who tore down the dividing wall between us and God . . .

He took all of God's wrath, toward us, upon Himself! There is nothing keeping me, or you, out a the Throne Room of God anymore! I can come boldly to Him through the Blood of Christ, TO GET HELP WHEN I NEED IT. I do so by Faith. You can too!

Trust and belief in the the promises of God are what brings the promises of God to our lives. Not trying to earn them.

Remember, our best deeds are still not good enough. In fact He says, 'Our best deeds are as filthy menstrual rags." We can't earn what we can't earn! It comes through the blood of Christ.

God's Grace. (UNMERITED FAVOR), is made real in my life by my Faith, not by my works! My works are just evidence of His presence and Grace in me.
We are made worthy in God's sight because of the obedience of one man, Jesus Christ. Not our 'goodness.'

Why, because according to the Bible we have none. The only thing good in me, is Jesus. period.

Jesus Himself said, "I tell you, you can pray for ANYTHING, and if you BELIEVE, that you have already RECEIVED it, 'IT' . . . will be YOURS! Mark 11:24
 
What are some things we might need to ask for?
What does 'Anything' mean? 
What does Believe mean?
What does 'Already Received' mean?
What does 'It Will be Yours mean?

MEDITATE on that day and night and see what conclusions you come up with.

Baptisim

Since we are Baptizing people tomorrow, thought I would take a minute to share with you what it means and what it doesn't mean.

Baptism is publicly identifying with Christ. It is sharing His death and resurrection. It is dieing with Him, to self and the old life, on the cross.  It is being reborn in His resurrection to new life under his care and grace.

When Jesus went to the Jordan river to be baptized John said,  "I am not worthy to baptize you.  I'm not fit to tie or untie your shoes." 

Jesus said, "Let it be done so all righteousness will be fulfilled."
Christ was baptised to fulfill all the requirements of God's law for us, thus exchanging His perfection for our imperfection.

And like Christ, after his immersion, the Holy Spirit descended on him bodily like a dove and a voice from heaven identified him as His Son, so we who follow him in baptism receive the same. The Holy Spirit comes and we are identified through Christ, by God, that we are now His son's and daughters!

see Galatians 4:6-7

"And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.  And since you are his child, God has made you his heir."

It doesn't necessarily mean we are now religious, self righteous, a member of a particular denomination, or a follower of approved doctrine, or particularly better in the natural then any one else. It just means we are now his sons and daughters and that means EVERYTHING!!

Plagiarism

Plagiarism - Calling someone else's 'work' your own. Taking the credit for the work of someone else. There are penalties for plagiarism . . . .
Would you say Plagiarism is a sin?

Because God's Grace is solely based on Jesus work, and not mine, the only way I can 'fall from grace' is by believing I can earn, merit, and deserve it through my obedience and good works, when it is really a GIFT that is unearned and unmerited.

If it is unmerited and unearned, when I receive it, why would it require merit and effort to earn it to keep it?

My good works are just evidence of the good work of Christ in me . . . Without Christ, I can do things that seem good, but are really just selfish and not selfless.

Without Christ, in me, there would be no desire for truly good works in me. The desire to do good is the evidence of Christ present in someones life.

"You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by Law; you have fallen from Grace . . . (back into legalism) . . . .

"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." KJV

Galatians 5:4

Be careful you aren't plagiarizing the 'work" of Christ . . . by calling it your own

What is that Lowing of Sheep?

"There is nothing new under the Sun," said Solomon, the Teacher.

What God did in the past he is still doing today. The stories of the Garden, Creation, the Patriarchs, the Hebrew Children, Pharoah, the Wilderness, the Promised land, The Judges, the Kings, The Prophets . . . while these stories are true, in every detail, they are also meant to be a metaphor from God, if you will; of just how he works in our own lives, the Heirs of Salvation.

Take the Promised land for instance. My ancestors were told to rid the land of all who dwelt there . . . . they didn't. Remember "Saul's lowing of Sheep" If only he had followed Samuel's instruction . . . Even then, Saul wanted to APPEAR as though he had done no wrong . . . to the people. He wasn't quick to repent like his successor David did after committing murder and adultry.

We are told by Jesus to get rid a some stuff too aren't we?

Yet, We like Saul, are more concerned about what the people will think of us, then just admitting we blew it.

Or we have this problem or that problem. Kids our problems are why we need Jesus . . . He is not amazed or surprised that we have problems, but maybe he is when we trust Him enough to just be real about it. He is an ever present source of help in time of need. He's here to help us not beat us up!
It is a story about GRACE!

( Baaaa . . . There's that dang sheep lowin again.)

We are told to, 'Walk in the light as He is in the light' . . . that's just another way of saying, "Get real! That means, God wants us to come clean about our own weaknesses . . . . His grace is sufficient for Us! His Love covers it all when we just get real about stuff.

The tides and the ebb and flow of the Ocean will tell you that, if you sit and ponder it's message . . . . .long enough