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 . . . :)