The Hidden Man

I read in some blog this week (I wish I could remember which one! so I could give proper credit) about the "kind of Christianity that makes God merely a means to an end rather than an end in and of Himself," and it struck me afresh about the loveliness of laying aside all other agendas in our lives, and solely seeking the joy of fellowship with our Creator, hidden away in Him.

Awhile back, I kept pondering on the scripture 1 Peter 3:4, "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." This scripture is used in the context of wife winning over her husband without a word, and that has meant a great deal to me at other times in my life.

At this particular time, however, I felt that God was bringing out more about the hiddenness of our heart; here we are, hidden in the wounds of Christ, delighting in Him in the hidden place, the secret place of the most High. And yes, no one will see us as we spill over in thankfulness to Him, as we reverently bow before His throne in our empty living rooms, or raise our hands in awe of His majesty. But isn't that the whole point?

To find ourselves alone with Him, and fully satisfied with Him? Sozo---nothing missing, nothing broken?

I kept thinking about how Jesus called to task the hypocrites of His day for praying long prayers in the sanctuary, instead of going into their private closets. (I think you can tell people who have been "closeting" themselves away with God; they have a distinctive "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" glow :) )

Or how Jesus adjured us not to let the left hand know what the right hand was doing when giving to the poor...

It seems these days everyone wants to be known; even blogging itself has become a way of being known, with people seeking ways to rev up traffic to their site.

I couldn't help but think of Anna in the temple today while talking with someone else about this. Anna prayed for years and spent hours in the temple seeking God, unknown, until the Lord chose to make known to her the long-awaited Saviour before she died.

Throughout the world, there are Christians who are praying, worshipping God, dying to themselves, and giving their lives for the gospel, but the world, even the Christian population, will probably never know their names (though we will meet them all in heaven, bless them!) There are people who gladly speak the name of Jesus though it cost them everything dear to them, even possibly their very lives. Yet they never make it to the spotlight here on earth.

I guess what I am trying to get at here is that, in a culture where it has become popular to become a star, I am running to the cross once again. I am running to the cross because I do not want to be anything else but the sparrow that has found a resting place next to His heart (Psalm 84). I want to be the hidden man that is of great worth in God's sight. I want to stay where He puts me, no further, no less. I want to be obscure or well-known (ah, yes, for us quiet sparrows, the spotlight itself can be a cross - but that is a whole different post!), seeking only His "well done, good and faithful servant" as I live out my life dedicated to His purposes, to spreading His good news, to actually living out His love.

Lord, I am content with who You have made me, and wherever or however You place me, I have found the place You have prepared for me. It is with You, enjoying Your presence forever.

("No place I'd rather be").

Powerful Testimony - Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen

Dr. Dobson Interviews Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen
by Aimee Herd : Oct 22, 2008 : Citizen Linkhttp://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000008470.cfm

"…I am God's girl, and I know that if that [persecution] is coming, then I am on the right road. It fires me up to be like Esther and to live in this time, for such a time as this."

Gianna Jessen was born and survived against all odds—even against the odds of an abortion. Thirty-one years ago, a tiny baby withstood being burned alive in a saline abortion, and was born weighing just 2 lbs.

Fortunately for Gianna, the abortionist wasn't in the room when a nurse had her taken to a hospital and attended to medically. However, due to the attempted abortion, she was deprived of oxygen long enough to cause Cerebral Palsy; a condition she lives with today. Doctors had stated that Gianna would never hold her head up, crawl, or walk. But Gianna—an on-fire Christian—not only accomplished all of those, she has run in and completed several marathons.

Gianna has spoken out about her survival in an ad produced by BornAliveTruth.org, and in various interviews, such as the one excerpted below with Dr. James Dobson.
The following are excerpts from Dr. Dobson's interview with Gianna Jessen on Citizen Link. To download and listen to the interview, CLICK HERE.

Do you have hope Roe v. Wade will be overturned in your lifetime?I know God can do anything. The possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned is quite high—which is amazing to say. But the thing that does trouble me is the hardness of people. All I know is whether it is overturned or not, we will commit ourselves to care for women and children and stand up for them.

In a TV ad, you challenge Sen. Barack Obama over his repeated opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act. In response, a new ad calls you a liar, sleazy and vile. How do you respond to that?The exact opposite response of what they're expecting. It actually blesses me because I am God's girl, and I know that if that is coming, then I am on the right road. It fires me up to be like Esther and to live in this time, for such a time as this.

If you could sit down with Sen. Obama, what would you say to him? Do you think you could sway him?I've challenged him, and he won't meet with me so far, but maybe one day he will. [I would ask him…]"Sir, why do you discard life so easily? I just want to know why. When did you decide that you had the right to determine who lives and who dies? You are not God."
I think God could sway him. I think he's frightened of me, really. The fact that I have cerebral palsy as a direct result of having survived an abortion is very convicting to people. I mean, that's my sermon.

If the Lord was sitting right in front of me and said, "G ('cause that's my nickname), do you want Me to make you whole?" I would say, firstly, "I'm going to be whole when I get home. But, if You leave me this way, I have a sermon to preach without saying a word, and I'll get to know You in a way I (would) never [have] know[n] You had I not been schooled in the school of adversity."

From a blog by Josh Harris

Biblical Truth for the Financial Crisis

Do not toil to acquire wealth;be discerning enough to desist.When your eyes light on it, it is gone,for suddenly it sprouts wings,flying like an eagle toward heaven.Proverbs 23:4-5

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"Hebrews 13:5-6

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.1 Timothy 6:6-10

Posted by Josh Harris http://www.joshharris.com/ on October 11, 2008

A Prayer

Oh Father, let me open up my heart to you.

Let me be open and honest with you...

But not merely for the sake of being transparent.

Let me allow the searchlight of Your Word
to Break Down all of my defenses

Both those in my mind and my heart,

And replace my skewed and sinful thoughts and directions
And yes, even feelings,

With the cleanliness, the purity, the sanctifying power
of Your Life.

Let that Sword swiftly come and divide
All that needs to be divided,
(so RIGHTLY and RIGHTEOUSLY divided)

And let that Glory which I see mirrored
In the Light of Your Glorious Word

Change me into Your image.

Selah.

Firecrackers

I stood in wonder tonight and watched a spectacular fireworks show through the trees from the front of my yard.

There's something so memory-invoking about firecrackers; watching them instantly brings back thoughts of melting popsicles drizzling into sticky messes between your fingers on warm summer nights.

My most recent memory is of Becky and I standing together in our bare feet in the back yard glimpsing the biggest and brightest of the show over the top of the houses. Somehow it all seemed so fitting to watch this great pyrotechnical display as she prepared to be "launched" on her great adventure of a year in England to get her master's degree, as if she were some sort of shooting star.

I couldn't help but think of our own lives going up in that blaze of His glory; how the Father must love to see His children shine like lights in this increasingly dark place. I thought of how even the seeming "duds" would be a joy to Him, because they made a noise, and a bright light, no matter how brief that light.

After all, we all know that a big part of the fun of a firecracker show is the loud booms that echo in our ears and our lives. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)" Thanks, Lord!

A Lifestyle of Worship

Jesus, I am remembering the moment when I first met You,
and how I just wanted to do exactly what pleased You...

And now, I still want to be that fresh and up-to-date in Your presence

Because to love You
Is to obey You

It is not just the high-flying times of soaring in Your spirit
That gives you goose bumps,
Although I've experienced many wonderful moments like that...

It is the quiet commitment of a marriage....

The desire to communicate with the one you love,
Exclusively, unashamedly, and without reservation
In even the mundane happenings of my life...

To love You is to obey You (Your words, not mine)...

It is to bow in Your presence with humble, repentant heart,
Ready to move in more of You one moment...

And then to quiet myself in the awe of Your majesty the next.

Discernment and Judgement

I have been thinking a lot lately about the difference between judgement and discernment.

The word "judgement" carries a mostly negative connotation to a lot of people, since many believe it means to look down on someone because they do not agree with them.

In the Word of God, however, there are several different ways the word "judgement" is used.

God is a just God, and because He is a Holy God (Habukkuk 1:13), our sin separates us from Him (Is 59:2, Romans 6:23) Nothing we can do ourselves can restore our relationship with God (Gal 2:20); instead, God has provided the free gift of His precious Son, Jesus Christ; once we repent of our sins (turn completely away from them and walk in the other direction from them), accept His forgiveness for our sins and believe (adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth, Amplified Bible), our spirits are made alive in Christ (Eph 2:4)---we are born again (John 3:3) (the old has gone, the new has come--Christ living in us, the hope of glory!).


When God judges us for our sins, He is judging justly, and that judgement is accordance with His character, just as is His great love and mercy. In the natural, if something happened to someone near and dear to us, and the perpetrator went to the judge, we would expect the just judge to hold the person accountable for his actions. I am forever grateful for God's mercy, but also for His justice (Psalm 85:10); He is always merciful to those who confess their sins and repent (turn from doing them) I John 1:9, Romans 8:12,13.


There is unjust judgement, and the Word is very clear that we should not judge in this way since we will be judged ourselves as we judge others . In this context, the word "judge" implies condemnation of the person (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6), rather than the loving desire that they see and flow in the Truth.


Instead of judgement, I like the word "discernment" to describe what we are called by God to do, especially in present times when the spirit of deception is increasingly rampant. It is not enough to merely say we have studied the Word, that God has revealed His truths to us; we are called to be like the Bereans, searching the scriptures to see if what we hear a teacher or minister say is true (Acts 17:11). Even if you are only espousing another's ministry, and not your own, there is a great responsibility to ensure that the preacher/teacher you are endorsing speaks in accordance with the Word of God (James 3:1, Titus 2:1).


I love the Holy Spirit moving in my life :), but in no way will any way that God moves, speaks, or acts contradict what is scriptural. The Revealed Word of God, the Living Word, is pure and undefiled, and His Truth is the pure stream that we should continue to drink from, delight in, and use to spread the good news. It is only this True and Living Word that endures forever, and is promised to never return void.


How then are we to deal with those that refuse to come under this umbrella of Truth? Are we to argue with the person who persists on not lining up everything they are in Christ with the Truth of His Word, with the knowledge of who God says He is? No, for we are called to be servants of the Lord, able to teach patiently, gently, in Love, without strife or confusion (2 Tim 2:24).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us "hold fast to the sure and trustworthy Word of God as (we were) taught it, so that (we) may be able both to give stimulating instruction and encouragement in sound (wholesome) doctrine and to refute and convict those who contradict and oppose it [showing the wayward their error]. Titus 1:9 AMP.