Consider the Cost

We are called to preach the gospel, sometimes at the expense of our reputation, sometimes the result will cost us dear friendships or even family. The question we must ask ourselves is, "Do we value our standing before God, or our palatableness before men?" We are told to share the truth in love, however Jesus warns us in John 15:18-19 that the world will hate us. If it were possible to share the truth in love and never offend anyone there would be no need for His instructions in Mark 6:11 to "shake the dust off the souls of your feet if they don't receive or listen to you."
People will hate you when you bring the gospel of the Kingdom because they hate Jesus. We must decide who we want to please. Let me encourage you in Paul's words found in 1 Thessalonians 2:2,4 to "have boldness in our God to speak the gospel of God amid much opposition. Just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts."
Inevitably there will be some pain, but keep your hand to the plow, look straight ahead and prove yourself fit for the Kingdom. Luke 9:62
So, "As you go, preach, saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give." Matthew 10:7-8

Just Walk

In my time with the Lord this morning, I was praising God for some of His wonderful attributes. I started to think about His grace. As I was thanking Him for His grace, I thought of Ephesians 2:8-10. I was thinking of how I struggle to find ways to please God, how I strive to find "good things" to do that will garner His favor on my life. Nobody wants to be the servant that buried his talent only to give it back to Jesus upon His return, we want to be one of the "good and faithful servants" that will hear Jesus say "Well done." Growing up I was taught that salvation is free and that you could not earn it through works, but that they would be the fruit of a redeemed soul. I believe this, scripture bears it out, but it left me frustrated trying to "grow my own fruit" to validate my salvation experience. Then the Lord revealed something to me this morning that for some reason I had never seen before. Verse 10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Did you catch that? God prepared our good works beforehand, and all we have to do is walk in them! To me, It's a picture of a Thanksgiving meal that your mother spent the better half of 24 hours cooking. All you have to do is show up at the table and eat what she prepared. God already has our good works ready to go, and we were created specifically and uniquely to walk in those works.
I then thought of Matthew 28, the great commission given to us by Jesus. He said "Go therefore." Some translations say "As you go." In other words, as you walk through life, do the things that God leads you to. You don't have to beat the bushes and scare up some good work like a frightened quail, just walk in what He has already prepared.

God can pay taxes with a fish!

God's promises are put into motion when we believe and obey. His protection and provision are ours, however Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." You must not only believe that He is the God who provides, you must have faith that He is the God that provides for you. It is easy to believe that He will provide for others, but it is much different to have the faith that He will provide for you.
Not only must you have faith and believe, but it must be coupled with our obedience when we hear His voice. In Matthew 17:24-27, we find tax collectors asking Peter for money to go for the temple. When Peter came to Jesus, He told him to throw a hook into the water, take the first fish he caught and open it's mouth. Jesus said that inside the fishes mouth would be the money to pay the tax. This fish was created for one purpose, to swim around, find a coin on the sea floor, keep that coin in it's mouth and be caught by Peter. The fish already had the coin, but it would not matter if Peter did not obey the instructions of Jesus to cast his hook into the water. Peter not only believed that God would put the coin in the fishes mouth, but he obeyed by going fishing when Jesus told him to.
What do you need from God? Do you believe He will do what He promised, and have you obeyed His voice?

Consuming Fire

All throughout the bible, God's presence is represented as fire. He manifested Himself in a burning bush to Moses. In Exodus, He was the pillar of fire leading the Israelites by night. In Acts, the Holy Spirit came down and rested on the 120 as tongues of fire. On Mt Carmel, God consumed Elijah's sacrifice with fire. Moses described God as an all consuming fire. John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
This didn't really register with me until I was thinking about Romans 12:1, a familiar verse to all of us. It urges us to present our bodies as a holy sacrifice to God as a spiritual service of worship. Just as God has done all throughout scripture, if you offer yourself a sacrifice to God, He will rest His spirit on you and consume your life.
Is God a consuming fire in your life? Does His Spirit rest on your head as a tongue of fire? This is a promise to all believers, not just 1st century believers.
The only reason believers don't burn for God today is because we don't offer ourselves to Him.

I have been doing some things with this blog that I thought I would never do, but "Living Free In Christ" is all about obedience to His voice. Well I have heard Him speak to my spirit, and here it is. . .
Don't allow satan's counterfeit discredit God's genuine work.
satan will copy what God is doing in order to deceive some to follow what they think is God, or keep others from following what God is truly doing.
Don't allow the hypocrisy of others or the misuse of God's gifts keep you from experiencing all that He has for you.

Gone Fishin

I did something today that I haven't done since my dad died two years ago. My son and I went fishing and actually kept, cleaned, and ate what we caught. It made me think of my dad because he loved to fish, but hated cleaning and eating them. He knew that I love to eat fish so he would do all the work for me. Hat and I caught about 8 bass, 5 big enough to keep. He asked me out of the blue, "Dad can we eat these?" My first thought was, "You mean will you clean these for me so I can eat them." Then I thought of how my dad would selflessly do that for me. I always hoped that I could be half the man my dad was. I've often wondered what kind of legacy I could pass to my children that would reflect the kind of father he was, and then it came to me. It was a small, but significant piece of advise he gave me after my daughter was born. He said, "Don't say no if you don't have to, but mean it when you do." It was then that I realized that I can pass on his legacy by doing for my kids what he did for me. I miss my dad greatly, but somehow I feel closer to him than I have in two years. And hopefully my son feels the same way about me.

As You Go

I must apologize to the few of you that actually read my fledgling blog for my lengthy absence. I usually try to post at least once a week, or as often as God gives me something. One thing I did promise myself is that I would not bore you with a daily blog telling you about what frappuccino I ordered from Starbucks on my way to work that morning. Those of you who know me well are probably shocked that I do this at all. I have a friend who tried to convince me that keeping a journal was a good idea. I secretly joked with myself that the only reason he called it a "journal" was because it was a more manly word that would make him feel better about the fact that he kept a diary. He did however talk me into starting this blog, but I wanted it to be something that would help people to live victoriously in Christ. Which brings me to this posting that appears after a three week hiatus. I had not posted until now because I did not feel that God had revealed anything flashy enough to be considered worthy of my time or effort, but that is exactly the essence of what He was trying to teach me. His revelations are not always front page news. I have a wise friend with whom I often counsel with tell me, "Jeff, don't always look for the results." He knows me well enough to know that although I don't seek attention, my heart longs to see God do a supernatural work through my life, and that I often become frustrated when it seems that nothing is happening. Patience is not my strong suit, and I am not a big fan of waiting. When he said that, tears filled my eyes as something began to resonate in my spirit. It was the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19, the two words "go therefore." Some translations say, "as you go." To me that means life. Jesus was telling us the same thing my friend told me that night on the phone; as you live life, do these things I have commanded you to do. I have been so caught up in the end game, looking for results, that I neglected to go and do anything. I am convinced that the reason we do not live powerful Spirit filled lives with supernatural fruit is because we are not living His mission. If we will step out in obedience to His call, the Spirit will meet us there and do more than we are able to ask or think.

Offense or Blessing?

Throughout history, God has always shown up on the scene in a way that offended most of the religious establishment. He shows up as manna when the people are expecting bread, He shows up as a baby when the people are expecting a king, He shows up as Benny Hinn when the people expect Billy Graham. When God reveals Himself it will often offend your head before it will bless your heart. He does this to see if you will listen to His voice despite the offense. God's word is the divine revelation of His Son, and although He will never contradict it, He has absolutely no problem contradicting your understanding of it. It is of the utmost importance not to become distracted by the way He reveals Himself, if you do you will miss out on the blessing.
To illustrate this, let's take a look at Jesus. When He returned to His home town, the people took offense to Him. It says in Mark 6:5 that "He could do no miracles there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them." Because the people did not receive the prophet as a prophet, they did not receive the prophet's reward. (Matthew 10:41)
Now let's look at Elisha and the Shunammite woman in Second Kings 4:8-17. Verse 9 states that the woman perceived that Elisha was a holy man of God. In verse 17, she receives the prophet's blessing.
While in jail, the apostle Paul had only one thing on his mind. . . the advancement of the gospel. In Philippians 1:12-18, he admits that some preach the gospel out of envy and rivalry. Verse 17 says it was done out of selfish ambition, just wanting to stir up trouble. But look at his response in verse 18, "the important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached." If you cannot discipline yourself to hear God speaking through a vessel that you find distasteful, you may never hear Him speak at all.

Just Ask

James 4:2 says, "You do not have because you do not ask." This has never been more real to me until this last week. At my job, 30-35% of my income is overtime, half of that comes from working my day off. My employer has not allowed anyone to work off day overtime since January. My wife and I have recently gotten out of debt and have committed ourselves to living debt free. With the sudden decrease in the amount of money I was bringing home, we were forced to use our savings to make up the difference. As our savings dwindled, I realized I would have to find a part time job to help bridge the gap. I am more than willing to work two jobs, however it is difficult to find a business that can work around my first job's schedule. I was praying one morning, asking God to provide another job, and I mentioned to Him that it would be really convenient for me to just work my days off at the job I already have. Well guess what? I worked my day off this week, and my boss says that we will most likely be working our off days for the next 3-4 weeks! It is almost as if God was sitting on the edge of His throne waiting on me to just ask.
We are promised in scripture that we will never receive a stone when we ask for bread, or a snake when we ask for a fish. Why does it surprise us so when God steps into our situation and completely provides for our every need?
What is your need? Well He is waiting, just ask!

Mighty Warrior

All through the bible, God has made a habit of encountering men and changing them. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Chris, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold , new things have come." When you encounter God, everything about you is changed. He even changed the names of people to signify the difference that had been made in their very DNA.
In Genesis 17 we find God encountering Abram to establish His covenant. In vs. 5 God says, "no longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations."
In Genesis 32 we find Jacob wrestling with God almighty. Jacob would not let God go without a blessing. In vs. 28 God says, "your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with man and have prevailed."
In Acts 9 we find Saul on his way t arrest any that he found belonging to the way(vs. 2), that he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. It was on this road to Damascus that Jesus encountered Saul and blinded him. Saul emerged from this encounter as Paul, an apostle of Jesus.
In Matthew 16 we find Simon, all to eager to stick his foot in his mouth, all to willing to write checks with his mouth that his butt could not cash. Jesus is asking His disciples who they think that He is, in vs. 16 Simon answers, "you are the Christ, the son of the Living God." This encounter with God almighty(vs. 17), this revelation leads Jesus to change his name to Peter(vs. 18), and it is upon this rock that Jesus would build His church.
I had an encounter much like these about a month ago. This was an encounter where God found me, like Gideon, hiding in a wine press. Gideon told God that his family was the least in Manasseh, and that he was the least in his family, but in Judges 6:12, God calls this frightened young man a mighty warrior. It was not until a couple days ago, while having dinner with a good friend, that I realized the truth of what God had done in my life. I told him of my encounter with God and how I had changed as a result. I told him how this change had to be God because it was so unlike me to act in this way. He looked at me and said that this was exactly like me, for God had invaded my very being and changed my name. I was no longer a Christian to frightened to walk in the authority that God had given me, I am a mighty warrior taking the battle to satan.
You will remember in Matthew 16:18 when Jesus changed Simon's name, He said that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. This is not a picture of His church behind some wall, hiding from satan, this is a picture of His church storming the gates of hell to set the captives free!!
Have you had an encounter with God? What is your name?

The Gospel of the Kingdom

The example:

Matthew 4:23-24, Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics, and He healed them.

Matthew 9:35, Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Luke 4:18-19, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of our Lord.

The command:

Matthew 10:7-8, And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

Luke 9:1-2, And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.

The commission:

Matthew 28:18-20, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Church, go use the power and authority that Jesus has given you and preach the gospel of the kingdom!

Forgiveness

God has been teaching me a lot about forgiveness recently. My blog is called Living Free In Christ, and I have found that one of the keys to living free in Him is to forgive as He does. Christ's forgiveness is not subject to conditions such as an apology, or even a promise that the guilty party will try to do better next time. While hanging on the cross; Jesus asked the Father to do one thing, He asked God to forgive the very ones who put Him there. These people had not shown any signs of remorse for their actions, in fact they mocked Him as He hung there.
You will also recall Jesus telling Peter that if someone sins against you 70 times 7(translation - an unlimited number of times), you must forgive them. This shows me that repentance on the offenders part is not necessary. You must forgive regardless of his/her attitude, even when their offenses are repetitive. It also shows me that you can not truly forgive someone and hold them at arms length to protect yourself from future offenses. The very act of forgiving someone leaves you venerable to subsequent attacks. I would like to say that in the case of physical of sexual abuse, you must use caution to protect your life and health.
Did you know that the forgiveness we receive from God is directly related to the forgiveness we show others? Matthew 6:14-15 says, "for if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Jesus told a story in Matthew 18:23-35 of a king who was settling his accounts with his slaves. One slave owed the king a massive amount of money that he could not pay, the king ordered for the slave to be sold to pay his debt. The slave begged for the king to have patience, in verse 27 the king forgave him of his debt. Later that day the same slave ran into another slave that owed him a small amount of money. The second slave begged for patience, but the first slave had him thrown into prison. The king heard the news and was furious. It says in verse 34 that the king handed the slave over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. But wait, the king forgave him the money he owed, did he reinstate his debt? No; once God forgives, He remembers it no more. The debt the slave now owed was that of unforgiveness.
Do not satisfy your own selfish pride by withholding forgiveness until the guilty party meets your criteria for being worthy of a pardon, in doing so you will only imprison yourself. Forgiveness is a wonderful gift from God. Freely give as you have been freely given.

Strongholds

We all have experienced it at one time or another. That feeling of, "Why did I do that again?", or "Why do I continually struggle in this area of my life?" Even the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." This is called a stronghold. Now the question becomes, "How did the strongholds get there and what can be done about them? Satan built these fortresses in our minds, but we must remember that he can only do what we give him permission to do. He only has the power to make suggestions. We give him authority when we agree with his suggestion. Then, brick by brick, he begins to build the stronghold in our lives.
How do we destroy these fortresses? How do we tear these strongholds down? Remember, they were built in our mind so it is in the mind that we must wage our war. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 says, "For though we walk according to the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, (here is the key) and we are taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete."
We are not just spectators watching God fight our battles for us. We are mighty warriors on the attack and He has made us more than conquerors. If you choose to take this step into the next dimension of your Christian walk, get ready for a shock. You will be absolutely stunned at the things you have allowed to run free through your mind. Be diligent to arrest every thought that raises itself against the knowledge of God, and you will begin to experience His power working through you to give you victory.

vision

Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained. I have heard other versions say that my people die for a lack of vision.I found myself in such a place recently. Slowly dying, wondering what had happened to God's vision for my life. I grew tired of asking Him for His direction, asking but not recieving any response. I grew so comfortable with not hearing anything that I stopped asking. All the time thinking that I was close to God.It is funny, the Hebrew word for unrestrained means to draw away from or to neglect. That is what I found to be my problem. All the time thinking that God had withdrew from me to hide His purpose from my face, it was I who withdrew from Him. I had become so complacent that I began to allow things into my life that were not pleasing to God. I went to an encounter weekend to get a fresh vision, a new word from God and it was not until bedtime the first night that God began speaking to me. I laid in bed trying to sleep, I prayed for peace. It was then that the Holy Spirit began reminding me of people I had wronged. "Lord I am sorry for what I said about... Lord I am sorry for saying that to... Lord I am sorry for treating ... that way." After the Spirit was done I fell asleep. It was not until the next morning that the revelation came. God told me that I had thrown away individual lives for the sake of the bigger vision. And in the process I had allowed so much sin into my life that I no longer heard His voice. Not hearing His voice made me withdraw from seeking Him at all.Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.You see, God rewarded me with a new vision. It is the same one I had before with a few twists. Don't worry about what you will do tomorrow, seek Him and be obediant today.