Category: Jesus

Beneficiary

It seems in my life; I am often the beneficiary of the love and grace of others. Does it go without saying that I have unfathomably received of the love and grace of God? How can I let such a gift pass without a thank you?

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5

Thank you, Jesus!

The picture at the head of this post is of some garlic that I was gifted by my friend Cheryl last fall to plant in our garden. I harvested the results the middle of August. I needed a way to hang it to dry, as I understand one is supposed to do that.

That brings me to another gift that I was given. Another friend had an unsuccessful political campaign years back and had a lot of heavy wire sign frames, of the type that typically are used by stretching what is essentially a printed plastic bag over the frame, which is then poked in the ground. This friend figured since I was politically active, that I could make use of them. Frankly, political signs are always provided with new wires frames of one type or another. Still, I seem to have found a near endless array of things I could make from the heavy steel wire. Which brings me to this picture:

It occurred to me that if I had a really big heavy needle, I could use it to run a string though the stalks of the harvested garlic. So, with a bolt cutter I cut off a length of steel sign wire. I clamped it in a vise for my drill press and used a Dremel tool cut-off wheel and a steady hand to grind a slot through the wire, halfway on each side. I sharpened one end on my bench grinder and polished the rust off with a wire wheel. Viola! A needle!

And the result, hanging in the pole barn.

By the way, some pieces of that same sign wire became S-hooks to connect the string between some shelving units, via a simple loop tied on each end of the string.

The very presence of mature garlic from little cloves planted in the ground prior to winter is still one more example of my status as beneficiary.

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? Mark 4

God made all these mysterious things to work according to His design to sustain and keep us. I am thankful to Him! Praise His holy name!

P.S. I have been pretty occupied with things this summer and posting here has certainly suffered. But all is well.

Whose Faith is it, Anyway?

I am grateful for Your word!

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2)

Three times in the passage above, Paul refers to the “the faith of” Jesus the Son of God. It does not say faith in, it says faith of. [Translations other than the KJV (even the NKJV) have mostly translated this as “faith in”. My amateurish look at the Greek text did not help me much because the meaning of the possessives depends on parsing the language accurately. I must defer to someone trained in Greek grammar to sort this out. So, I refer to an article by Bobby Grow who takes a look at this exact passage in an evenhanded way. He favors the way the King James has it, all things considered.] If we are “crucified with Christ” and if the life that is now in us is the indwelling Christ, as stated clearly in verse 20, then “faith of” would lend credence to His faith being active in us.

On the other hand, the passage goes on the speak of the possibility of our “building again” as transgressors. This is most likely if we are not actively renewing our minds according to the word and submitting to it.

If it is the faith of Christ by which He did all the Father gave Him to do (and it is). If it is the faith of Jesus that allowed Him to conquer the grave, though He had become sin that its power in us might be broken when it was nailed to the cross in Him (and it is). Would we not do well to understand that it is now His faith that is the power by which we are to live. Does not our self-generated faith come fearfully close to the works of the Law that Paul was saying are totally ineffective at justifying us?

The Righteous Judge

The LORD executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. Psalm 103:6

From a purely physical perspective, it doesn’t always look like that to us, does it? My last post was from a conversational journal passage about the unrighteous judge. God, on the other hand, is a righteous Judge for all that are oppressed. That invites the question, are we oppressed? I believe that is a perspective that we often have because there has been some truth to it for all and that may be the actively downward-spiraling situation for others.

When Peter was sent to by the Spirit to minister the Gospel to Cornelius and his household, his discourse included this:

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Acts 10:38

Well, what manner of oppression might this be?

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

(This verse in John 10 is in the middle of a parable where Jesus is describing Himself as the Good Shepherd.)

Is something stealing your peace? Have you been involuntarily divested of property? Is health being destroyed in some fashion? Has death darkened the door of your house yet? If not, certainly the door of friends and loved ones. The methods of such oppression are varied and far reaching.

That is what makes the message of 1 John 3:8 so encouraging.

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

It is by sin that the devil gained access to trouble mankind with all manner of things leading ultimately to death. All of us have sinned and continue to do so. So what of Jesus’ statement that He came to give us abundant life? That is the good news, for sure.

I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9

(Remember in John 10, Jesus was likening Himself to a good shepherd.)

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21

The remainder of Psalm 103 gives quite a list of benefits we can expect from the Righteous Judge. It is certainly worth frequent reading to be reminded of God’s mercy, redemption, compassion, and more.

I will leave you with a cautionary reminder for all of us.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

On the positive side, this is great news given to believers in Jesus! But even for believers, the corollary is that the devil will not flee without resistance. Continuing to engage in intentional sin is not resistance, and in fact gives him further access.

Though His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), choose you this day whom you will serve. (Joshua 24:15)

Undead Yet?

I am grateful, Father, that You have enabled me to be in Jesus and to be raised with Him!

2 And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God]. 3 Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind]. 4 But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). 6 And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus, 7 [and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption]. 8 For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; 9 not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. 10 For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]. Ephesians 2:2-10 AMP

Me: Good morning, Father!

Abba: Good morning, Jon!

Me: Seems this revelation that we are dead unless regenerated, born again, in Jesus is mysterious to the still dead.

Abba: I told Adam, beforehand.

So the Lord God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].” Genesis 2:15-17

Eve was lied to, in Adam’s hearing, and the two of them bought what the deceiver was selling.

Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil.” And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Genesis 3:3-7

The serpent countered My message to Adam, “On the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die” with “You certainly will not die!”

In disobedience, stepping away from the Author and Sustainer of life is death. Spiritually in the moment, physically in due time. The serpent told a perverted “truth”. Though man’s spiritual connection to Me perished with the sin, his lungs kept filling with air and his heart kept circulating corpuscles to be aerated. Eventual physical death is a mercy to the spiritually dead.

Consider the “sons of disobedience”, who fight against My purposes. Contrary to what the serpent said, My will for man is only for good. Still, the disobedient spiral down into twisted decay. They seek to fill their cadaverous emptiness with anything they think will bring them pleasure or benefit of any kind. They become wholly self-absorbed. They harm others (even children) because they have no idea what the truth is. They call that which is evil, good. They call that which is good, evil. (Isaiah 5:20) The Devil comes but to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10) and they are sold into bondage to him.

Me: The redemption You have provided in Jesus is such a stark contrast to the ever-deepening darkness that follows sin! Thank You for the grace You have lavished upon us! What You have done is beyond comprehension. Yet we can enjoy freedom in the new life and express thanksgiving where there was only taking before. Thank You! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Rhonda Lisauckis Cross Stitch

Before the Cart

I am grateful for the provision Jesus has made for citizenship in the kingdom of God.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:1

Me: Good morning, Father!

Abba: Good morning, Jon!

Me: In English, the first word in John 14:1 implies that the state of my heart is under my control. Is that the intent?

Abba: It is, but I want you to understand more carefully, because you take the “Let not” as the primary instruction in the passage.

Μὴ (Not, lest) ταρασσέσθω (let be troubled, disturb, agitate) ὑμῶν (of you) ἡ (the) καρδία.(heart).

The first word has more depth than simple negation. If you take “let not” as a command, you are not wrong, exactly, but not seeing My full revelation. I do want you to have peace. The heart is where peace resides. Consider carefully the “lest” aspect of Μὴ. The sense is more explanatory. Jesus is saying, “Lest you be disturbed or agitated, you believe, in the Father and in Me.” The thing that is commanded, because of My loving desire for you, is the “believing”. The “letting” is taken care of in the “believing”, more accurately, in the object of your belief.  I Am precisely NOT saying, “Get control of your heart’s condition by some nebulous means, and that will help your believing”. Nor, “Get peace in your heart and belief in Jesus will come.” That would be “putting the cart before the horse”, so to speak.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27

Verse twenty-seven repeats verse one, in reverse order. Lest (See what I did there?) you miss the point, Jesus is making it clear that peace is in Him. Further, that He is giving it to “believers”. The “let not” language is exactly as in verse one: “I am giving you the same peace that is in Me lest your heart be troubled or afraid”.

So, the question is whether the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) is the dominant state of your heart. If it is not, what unbelief is blocking the promise?

Me: Thank You Father! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Graphic depicting some aspects related to the mind, heart, and spirit.

Cart image from Michael Porter, Pexels.com

Postscript – Given Over

Photo by Gabriele Brancati on Pexels.com

Postscript added to last post, instead of writing a new one. Seemed like it was better there than here. Praising Jesus for His guidance! He is the reason the truth is steadfast! – Jon

Given Over

I am grateful for revelation of God’s righteousness from faith to faith; that it is based on faith and delivered through faith, and not reliant on my performance!

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Romans 1

Me: Jesus, I read this morning of Susanne DeWitt who was arrested at age four sent to the Dachau concentration camp. As You know, she was speaking before the Berkly California City Council in favor of a Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation. I was quite taken back to see how this eighty-nine-year-old survivor was subjected to vile name-calling and shouted down by demonstrators because she is a Jew.

Jesus: Yes, there are not many of those interred in the Nazi concentration camps left living now. The camp was opened by Heinrich Himmler in 1933, but incarceration of Jews dramatically increased in 1938. You can see from her age that she was sent there around 1938. Her family was swept up during Kristallnacht (Nov. 9-10). Fortunately for her, she did not stay at Dachau too long, but was deported to Poland with her family. Poland would not accept them and that started a long string of events for Susanne that if you knew the half of it, you would clearly see My hand in it. Of course, her defamers in the City Council meeting cared nothing for any of that. The trials she endured, her precarious survival, did not matter to them. Giving voice to their hatred was the singular thing.

Me: Reading Romans 1, I reckon we are seeing symptoms of the “reprobate mind”, all over now. Verse 28 says You “gave them over” to it because they “did not like to retain God in their knowledge”. I want to put knowledge in an extra set of quotes, how can all the things that go along with the reprobate mind be called knowledge?

Jesus: Do you see verses 19 and 20? I have shown the truth. But it has been rejected, in favor of various forms of self-will, right down to vile affections (v 26).

Me: That should reveal the truth to anyone looking, that You have given us free will. The last verses sum up in an amazing way what is going on every day. The Amplified version really makes the last verse stand out:

Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.

Romans 1:32 Amp.

Jesus: I do hear the self-congratulatory applause. Please see verse 22.

Me: Thank You for letting me vent. I love You! I pray You will help me to respond to these situations with Your heart. I recognize that none of us stand except by your grace.

Jesus: You are welcome. I love you!

Post Script:

When I first started to write this post, I was making some assumptions that didn’t quite settle right in my spirit. When Jesus told me if knew the half of it, I would clearly see His hand in it, I was unwilling to publish until I tried to resolve that unrest. I believe Jesus led me to search for Susanne’s name in the Holocaust Museum archives. I mean, what were the chances? I skimmed the text of her oral history (The Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project conducted the interview with Susanne DeWitt on May 26, 1990, linked above at her name) and corrected some wrong assumptions I had made. I love the way the Spirit is faithful to guide us into all the truth! (John 16) What a magnificent promise! He doesn’t always deliver things whole and finished, but He does certainly guide. On the afternoon of Resurrection Day, I watched the entirety of the interview with Susanne. It takes about 2:21 to watch. Though one can read the 88-page transcript faster than that, only reading misses the vocal inflections that are crucial to full communication.

I saw no evidence that Susanne had met Jesus personally, as yet. I pray she will. Still, the thing Jesus told me about seeing His hand in her circumstances could not be more striking. She and her family separately dodged many situations that brought millions of other Jews to their deaths. I don’t know the “why” behind these unusual circumstances, but I trust Jesus when He said His hand was in it. I can see how those who survived might struggle to deal with their own survival. I am reminded of the passages in scripture when the people picked up rocks to stone Jesus, and he walked away in the midst of His accusers. He was not done with His work, and stoning was not His foretold death. I cannot explain His grace, but it is marvelous to behold!

One of the things Susanne said in the interview is that she was attracted to the field of genetics to show that racism is baseless. What she sensed intuitively; we know from the Scriptures. We are all descended from Adam.

Renewing Our Minds

I am grateful that our minds can be renewed.

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will

Romans 12:2, NIV

Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalms 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

Psalms 63:6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.    

Psalms 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Psalms 104:34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

Me: Good morning, Father!

Abba: Good morning, Jon!

Me: How marvelous and powerful are these verses! They speak of delight, acceptance, strength, redemption, steadfastness, song, praise, memory, speech, sweetness, and gladness!

Abba: All those passages speak of benefits of engaging with what I have said (I Am saying). Among those references from the Psalms, only Psalms 57:7 does not explicitly mention meditation. Look at the context in which David said it.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah.

God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Psalms 57

David uttered these words as he was hiding in a cave from King Saul, who wanted him dead. He was reminding himself of My mercy and faithfulness and thereby fortifying his heart against fear and despair. David consistently sang directly to Me from the heart. He found that this process diminished the fears plaguing the rational mind and strengthened his faith in Me. I will do the same for all who will turn their hearts to Me.

Consider your own time, you have not personally gotten down to hiding in caves yet, but there are plenty of voices vilifying any who would dare to say there is objective truth of any kind. Much more are those maligned who assert that My word is truth and that it ought to guide one’s actions from the heart. The one who wants to renew his mind from the lies the enemy of your souls is sowing into the world will assess what he hears in light of My word. My truth will set you free.

Me: Thank you, Father! I love You! I have long found You faithful. I have seen even long held destructive beliefs have eventually crumbled under the truth of Your word and the enlightenment afforded by Your Holy Spirit. David may have been hiding from Saul’s jealous wrath in a cave, but he was consistently putting his trust in You. I Pray You will continue to help me lay aside every wrong idea that I may have adopted. Some You have already dealt with, grew out of attempting to explain why certain things didn’t align with my expectations of how things “should” be. Never mind, that almost without exception, those things that were troubling me were consequences of my own unbelieving heart and sinful actions. When Your truth prompted me to finally lay those expectations aside and put my trust in what You have said, my life was able to soar above things that had mired me down for years. I know that Your way is beyond compare.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalms 139:23-24

Abba: You are welcome! I love you! I will continue speaking freeing truth to you as long as you keep seeking Me.

Graphic mine. Depicting some aspects related to the mind, heart, and spirit.

Easy?

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Me: Good afternoon, Jesus!

Jesus: Good afternoon, Jon!

Me: Tell me more about this passage?

Jesus: Let’s continue, shall we?

Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:29-30

Me: You have borne the weight of all the sins of all the world for all time. Or, should I say, “are bearing” instead of, “have borne”? How can you say, “My burden is light”?

Jesus: My burden is light for you if you are in the yoke with Me. I have, and I Am bearing the load. Do not miss the charge to learn of Me. The wisdom of the world is not like My Wisdom.

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

James 3:13-18

The wisdom of earth is based on the senses. Seeing is believing, the scientific method, and so forth. On the dark side, there is delusion, propaganda, lies and deception. These things masquerade as wisdom, when they are anything but. Examples go back to near the beginning.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Genesis 3:6

Note that Eve was deciding based on physical sight. The wisdom she was sold was a mirage. She already had access to the wisdom that is full of mercy. You can recognize wisdom that I give. It is first pure. No strife, no confusion, no conflicting accounts. When it comes from Me, it comes with a sense of peace, down in your spirit. Only don’t let fear lurking in the mind mask the peace I send to accompany wisdom from above. The rest of those characteristics listed in James 3 are important as well.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

Me: Thank You Jesus! I am grateful for Your wisdom and Your Peace! I love You!

Jesus: You are welcome! I love you!

Photo by Alan Cabello on Pexels.com

Featured: Photo of yoked oxen by Sarau00ed Carrasco on Pexels.com

Transformation for a Purpose

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1-2 K JV

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2, The Message

The Lord was speaking to me about these verses as I was spending time with Him with my journal open earlier today, especially as it relates to the process of salvation if one recognizes the conceptual division of body, soul, and spirit. A blogging friend recently mentioned to me some thoughts she was developing along these lines. She put forth the notion that we are 100% saved, our whole being; body soul and spirit. I believe this is true. But, I would assert that it is true only in the ultimate sense because of the perfect faithfulness of God. I believe in the short term this process is more nuanced.

An earlier journal that I shared, Body, Heart, Soul and Spirit, might be useful in laying some background for what I am saying here. It has been a while since that post went live. In that writing, I highlighted the idea of our born-again spirits being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit in a protected state. I sincerely believe this is immediate at our acceptance of Christ as Savior, and irrevocable, except potentially by our own intention. (I cannot see God holding the unwilling convert hostage to his own profession of faith.) Even so, this brings to mind a passage that, it seems to me, is one of the most awesome reassurances in the Scripture.

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

If we consider the opening passage from Romans 12 followed these observations of Paul in Romans 8, I think we can say some strong things about the process of salvation of soul and body, once the spirit is redeemed. One thing we can observe is that our mind, will, and emotions (soul) are not immediately replaced at salvation. Romans 12:2 told us the mind had to be transformed and brought into subjection to the will of God. This involves some time and diligent work (2 Timothy 2:15). Most of us on this journey, on some honest introspection, can point to many wrong ideas that the Spirit, using the word of God, has faithfully relieved us of. In effect, we are participating in that process of “proving” or testing that the will of God is good and perfect by our life experience. We hope others will observe this positive change in us and want to know how to come along on the same trip.

A second observation is that Romans 12:1 talks about our bodies being presented as a living sacrifice. It seems to me that the Message translation has a lot to offer about recognizing that it is important what we do with our bodies. We are obviously commissioned to be ambassadors for Jesus while we are walking around (Matthew 28:16-20). We are better able to carry out that calling if we are behaving as good stewards of the bodies we have been given.

Further, Romans 8 has made it glaringly clear that these bodies are in peril of many kinds of danger and damage. I accept that these dangers are real, but I am in no wise fatalistic about them. David was in danger before Goliath, but he emerged victorious by the power of God. Nonetheless, we have just seen that even death cannot separate the believer from His love.

Never forget, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). We are called to continue in His leading. For sure in our own lives, and upholding our brothers and sisters in the battle also. We are commanded to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). No armor would be necessary if we were completely immune from the devil’s attacks.

A final thought. What of the one who dies soon after salvation? Would that person be stuck in an untransformed state of mind? I don’t think so. In 1 John 3:2 we find this:

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

I think the Spirit’s transforming work in our lives mostly serves the purpose of fitting us for the calling we have to carry out our commissioned work. It is not for the faint of heart. Walking around spiritually unprotected and unarmed by knowledge of the word of God (our sword, our one offensive weapon) is unwise.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1 Peter 5:8