awake and aware

 
Yesterday at Refuge we began a series on spiritual warfare. We began by looking at the reality of the battle and the enemy that we face. I read a quote from A.W. Tozer's book "This World: Playground or Battleground?" I thought it would be good to share it with you also.
Vaya con Dios!
“In earlier days… men conceived the world to be a battleground. Our fathers believed in sin and the devil and hell as constituting on force; and they believed in God and righteousness and heaven as the other. These were opposed to each other in the nature of them forever in deep, grave, irreconcilable hostility. Man, so far as our fathers held, had to choose sides; he could not be neutral. For him it must be life or death, heaven or hell, and if he chose to come out on God’s side he could expect open war with “God’s enemies. The fight would be real and deadly and would last as long as life continued here below. Men looked forward to heaven as a return from the wars, a laying down of the sword to enjoy in peace the home prepared for them. Sermons and songs in those days often had a martial quality about them, or perhaps a trace of homesickness. The Christian soldier thought of home and rest and reunion, and his voice grew plaintive as he sang of battle ended and victory won. But whether he was charging into enemy guns or dreaming of war’s end and the father’s welcome home, he never forgot what kind of world he lived in. It was a battleground, and many were the wounded and the slain”

Christ in all of scripture!

Today I completed reading the Bible. This completion is not remarkable or special in anyway, except this
time I started in the New Testament book of Matthew and cycled around to end in the Old Testament book
of Malachi. I started by being introduced to Jesus and when I came around to the Old Testament, I had developed
my own sense of foreshadowing, knowing what was ahead. It is exciting to read with expectancy, knowing the next
discovery of Christ in the Old Testament is near.

Many people shy away from the Old Testament, because it is commonly thought that the Old Testament is about rules and the New Testament is about Jesus. Christians however, must not take this stance. When we read our Bibles, we must look for Christ in every place for we know "in the volume of the book, it is written of [Him]" Psalm 40:7.

The Old Testament is filled with places that speak of Christ! Even Jesus testified of this! In John 5:39-40 speaking to the Jews who sought to kill Him, Jesus declares, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you things you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me."

Furthermore, after His resurrection, He shared with the two men on the road to Emmaus. "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" Luke 24:27

When we read our Bibles, we must ask the Holy Spirit to teach us, instruct us, and reveal to us Christ in all of scripture!

Happy reading!

Four-Hundred And Ninety

Inevitably, at some point in our lives if not regularly, we find ourselves hurt or wronged by others. How we react or respond when wronged is a definite indicator of our spiritual health. Forgiveness is mandated by Scripture:

I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:22-24

But the application of reconciliation in real life is quite difficult, especially when the sin against you has been habitual and the pain is intimate and deep. So how is it possible to truly forgive?

1. Recognize our own sin - We must humble ourselves and realize that the sins we have committed against God far outweigh any sin someone could possibly commit against us. This is a difficult but necessary concept to accept when we feel the pain of personal sins against us.
2. Realize it takes work - Think about the incredible lengths that Christ went to for our reconciliation to God. Salvation was planed and worked out through the entirety of the Bible culminating in the death of Jesus on a cross meant to humiliate and demean the worst of Rome's criminals. Forgiveness takes the hardest of work.
3. Meditate on the depth of Christ's forgiveness extended towards us - "He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19
4. Surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit - for true forgiveness we need the Holy Spirit to be the motivator, anything less is generally just a suppression of our feelings of anger or frustration which will lead to an underlying bitterness towards the person who has sinned against us.

So, with David, ask the Holy Spirit to "search my heart and see if there is any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!" Don't let sin ruin your life. Good repenting!

It's Not Dark Yet

 
At our prayer meeting last night, this phrase kept going through my head "Night is coming, when no one can work".
This passage is found in John's gospel and it says, "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4) As I thought about it more and more, two things came to mind: urgency, and opportunity.

There is an urgency to our work, for night is coming, when no one can work. This means that the time of salvation is drawing to an end. As we know we have been living in the last days for over two thousand years and the Lord Jesus could return at any time, bringing salvation for some and judgment for others. As we live out our Christian faith in our community it is very important for us to remember that the time is short and the end of time will bring one of two destinations, eternal glory or eternal punishment. Paul tells us of two motivations for preaching/sharing the Gospel. He says that the love of Christ compelled him, and in another passage, he declared, "knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men".
If the love of God does not constrain us to preach the gospel, perhaps the wrath of God and the reality of eternal torment in hell will.
Secondly, we have a great opportunity before us because it is still day, it is not dark yet. Now is the day of salvation. Let's take full advantage of the day and labor for the kingdom of God!

Manhood

On Sunday mornings at Refuge Christian Fellowship we are currently going through the book of Ephesians and at the moment we are doing a mini-series on marriage and family. Last Sunday morning we discussed the role of husbands in the marriage relationship. This morning while reading Andreas J. Kostenberger's book "God, Marriage, And Family"(which i highly recommend), I came across this list from Albert Mohler on the marks of Manhood. I thought they were very challenging.
1) Spiritual maturity: sufficient to lead a wife and children.

2) Personal maturity: sufficient to be a responsible husband and father.

3) economic maturity: sufficient  to hold an adult job and handle money.

4) Physical maturity: to work and protect a family.

5) Sexual maturity: sufficient to marry and fulfill God's purposes.

6) Moral maturity: sufficient to lead as an example of righteousness.

7) Ethical maturity: sufficient to make responsible decisions.

8) Worldview maturity: sufficient to understand what is really important.

9) Relational maturity: sufficient to understand and respect others.

10) Social maturity: sufficient to make a contribution to society.

11) Verbal maturity: sufficient to communicate and articulate as a man.

12) Character maturity: sufficient to demonstrate courage under fire.

I hope that this list is challenging in a positive way to us who are men. I pray it will cause us to call on God for his ability in our insufficiency, and also spur us on towards Christlike leadership for today and for the future!
Vaya con Dios!

I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.

"Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are are my meditation." Psalm 119:97-99

I took a break from the spot I'm reading right now (Hosea), and spent a little time in Psalm 119 this morning. I am so blessed by the Psalmists love for the Word of God and the way that he rejoices in it. May we have the same love for the Word and the desire to delight in it day and night. ( Psalm 1:2 ). As we spend time with God, knowing Him through His Word, increasing in faith ( Romans 10:17 ) we will be blessed, He will be pleased and He will reveal Himself to us as we diligently seek Him ( Hebrews 11:6 ).

The Body

We've been studying 1 Corinthians on Thursday nights at Refuge. I thought that this article on the body was interesting because we will be discussing this topic Thursday.
http://theresurgence.com/2010/10/27/resurrection-your-body-is-for-eternity
Enjoy!
Vaya con Dios

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