Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Amen

The poorest of America is rich beyond measure still in many places.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Author Unknown

Take time to work
It is the price of success.
Take time to think.
It is the source of power.
Take time to play.
It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read.
It is the foundation of wisdom.
Take time to be friendly.
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to love and be loved.
It is the privilege of God.
Take time to share.
Life is to short to be selfish.
Take time to laugh.
Laughter is the music of the soul.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

BEHAVING LIKE CHILDREN

"Which of the two did what the father wanted?"
Matthew 21:31

"A man's real belief is that which he lives by."
---George McDonald

In this brief parable, one son says he will do what the father asks and then changes his mind later. The other son says he will not work for the father, but changes his mind and actually goes to the vineyard later. Both act in contradiction to their stated intentions. And Jesus gives them absolutely no credits or criticisms for their words; what they do is all that matters to Him. It is the surest evidence of their true beliefs.

The parable is a pointed statement to the Pharisees that it is possible to identify ourselves so much by our stated allegiances that we miss the whole point of faithful obedience to God. While we should trust and celebrate the fact that we are irrevocably God's children, we should not take our children's status for granted as our natural right. True children of the Father act as if they really are His children and He really is their Father. Our service in the vineyard really does matter. It's an accurate indication of where our hearts lie.

The problem with our discipleship may be that we are content to be God's children in name only while avoiding real participation in our new family. Like the son who was overtly willing but inwardly apathetic, we want the benefits of the kingdom of God without ever really getting our hearts attached and our hands dirty.

Those of us who were raised as churchgoers should beware of this problem. It is possible to be so comfortable with our standing before God that we miss Him when He speaks. We may believe that because we once said we were headed out to His vineyard, we are by nature obedient and faithful. We can be lulled to sleep in our own false sense of security. Meanwhile, the conspicuous sinners of our day find true security by coming when they're called. They understand the call as a demand for repentant faith, not an option for presumptuous children. We must remember that God measures our hearts by the fruit they actually bear.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

AN UNLIKELY AMBITION

"He who is least among you all----he is the greatest." Luke 9:48

"Jesus' life began in a borrowed stable and ended in a borrowed tomb."
----Alfred Plummer...

Jesus is always using unexpected examples. Tiny mustard seeds illustrate the potential of His kingdom. Despised Samaritans illustrate what it means to be a true neighbor. And when Jesus speaks of being great, He illustrates the concept with the lowliest people of all. In some passages, servants are the example. In this passage, it's children---not just children, in fact, but little children. The least self-conscience among us. The most naive about the world's understanding of "greatness." The last in line when it comes to "getting ahead."

This object lesson for the disciples, as for so many others, is yet another indication that God's whole value system contradicts our own. Ever since the Fall, we human beings have been caught in a misguided ambition---toward self-fulfillment, toward achievement, toward impressive accomplishments, and toward status. The problem with our ambition is that it strives toward unworthy goals. It misses what is truly valuable. It exalts self to the exclusion of God. We can even twist our ambition to make it appear godly, striving for influence and status allegedly for the sake of God's kingdom. But if it's not by God's means, it will never accomplish His purposes. And His means run contrary to Our instincts.

God's means for greatness are not climbing up the ladder, but going down. Why? Because when our ambition accomplishes much, we get the glory and we compete with God. When our ambition rests in what God can do, He gets glory. That's why God chose a wandering Aramean for a patriarch and a shepherd for a king. And that's why He came as an infant in an obscure little town. He is more clearly the author of greatness when the great get such lowly starts.

Do you desire to be the greatest in God's kingdom? It's not a bad desire---Jesus encourages it even in this verse. But the means may not be what you'd expect. Measure greatness not by status but by dependence on the One who is greater than all others.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

OUR HIGHEST VALUE

"What is highly valued among men? In the context of this passage; it is money. It was true in the Pharisees' and it is true in ours. But there are also other things highly valued among us; prestige, comfort, accolades, pleasure, accomplishments, property, and more. We even highly value some very good things; love, faithfulness, honesty, and a host of other virtues that both Christian and secular culture hold as ideals. Can Jesus really mean that all of these things are detestable in God's sight?

It is a constant principle of the Bible in general, and also of the gospel Jesus taught, that anything that motivates us other than a love for God Himself is detestable in
God's eyes. Anything we treasure more than Him is an object of idolatry and a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:3).

It is true that most of our values are inherently opposed to a loving pursuit of God, but even the values He endorses are detestable when they become an end in themselves. The "love" that our secular culture
pursues is not pleasing to God if it is not in the context of His love. If the virtues for which we honor others are not the work of God's Spirit in their lives, they are products of self-effort and monuments to the "goodness" of independent humanity. They are by nature dishonoring to God if they are not testimonies to His grace.

Yes, God detests the things we highly value if they are valued apart from Him. And we must constantly ask ourselves: Is there anything in my heart that did not originate from His Spirit? Is there anything I treasure as an entity in itself rather than as a gift from Him? If we can answer yes to these---and at times we all can---then we must redirect our passions and our ideals to the character of God Himself. He is our highest value.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

LOVERS OR H**ERS

"The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who h**es his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
John 12:25

"A man's greatest care should be for that place where he dwelleth longest; eternity should be his scope."
---Thomas Manton.....

Human nature wants it all. We want to live forever in God's presence, but we're reluctant to sacrifice anything in the meantime. We want heaven on earth as well as heaven in heaven. The fact that this is a spiritual impossibility doesn't phase us. We want it anyway.

Jesus doesn't offer His disciples an impossibility, He speaks in harsh realities. We must make a choice: Invest ourselves in this life---which is passing and subject to decay---or invest in the kingdom of God---which is eternal. There is no "all of the above" in Jesus' gospel presentation. It's either one or the other.

This is hard on us, especially those of us that have been trained to believe only what we see. We see this life; we want to be comfortable in it. We strive to regain Eden, creating our insulated lifestyles and filling them with conveniences and pleasures. It just isn't within our human nature to forsake all that the world offers us for a kingdom we can't even see. But Jesus never calls us to live according to our human nature; He calls us to die. The One who likens Himself to a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies, only to produce more wheat in the long run, tells His disciples to do the same. He is the prototype; we are the followers. Just as He makes His choice between the Cross and this passing world, so must we. There is no middle ground. We have to pick sides.

Can you honestly say that you h**e your life in this world? Or at least that your hope in eternal life pales your here---and---now plans by comparison. If not, Jesus calls you to radically change your perspective. You can not hang on to your visible life and your eternal life at the same time. One must be forsaken. Which will it be?

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

BELIEVERS OR FOLLOWERS

"Whoever serves Me must follow Me." John 12:26

"You must be willing to follow if you want God to lead."
---Anonymous ....

Much of the emphasis of modern evangelism is to create believers in Jesus. Faith is the overriding concern. Considering the overwhelming emphasis on faith in the Bible, this is an appropriate focus. But what kind of faith do we promote? What kind of faith does Jesus expect?

Jesus makes it clear that faith in Him does not mean simply an intellectual agreement with His claims. No, to believe in Jesus is to serve Him and follow Him. It is absolutely meaningless to claim faith in Jesus and then live contrary to His teachings with no apparent interest in aligning ourselves with them. Faith means h*****g the entire balance of our lives on His claims and His commands. It means not only accepting Him as our Savior, but following Him as our Lord. To separate these two roles of Jesus is to make Him into something He is not, and it is to make our beliefs almost meaningless. Whoever believes Him, loves Him, serves Him---that person will follow Him. Whoever does not follow Him does not serve Him, love Him, or really even believe in Him.

So what does it mean to follow Jesus? It means that wherever He is, that's where we'll be. Is He at the right hand of the Father? Then we who follow are seated there with Him (Ephesians 2:6). Is He on the Cross? Then we who follow Him are there also (Galatians 2:20). Is He in prisons and slums? Then we will be there too. Wherever God is reconciling this vile world in Christ, that's where Jesus' true followers will be.

Ask yourself the hard questions about your discipleship. Are you a believer or a follower? In modern English, there's a difference. But in Jesus' vocabulary, each of those words implies the other. To believe in Him means to serve Him., as He commanded; and to serve means to follow.

Where are you willing to follow Jesus? Many will follow Him as long as He does not rearrange their lives. But this isn't true following; it's self-deception. Jesus will often take us where we are reluctant to go. If we serve Him, we will go anyway.

Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...

Colossians 3:1
"If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God."

The apostle Paul's view of the Christian life is as a union and identification with the life of Jesus Christ throughout its different stages, teaching the Christian to endeavor to live spiritually the same life that Christ visibly lived before the world. He must humble himself like Christ, his old self must be crucified, he must be buried to the world and then rise again in a new life. We are able to see how the Ascension follows the Resurrection; as it was in the human experience of Christ, so to us, spiritually, we must rise to the things above, following our death to sin, in our new Christian life.

The resurrection must precede the ascension. Christ rose from the dead before he was received up into heaven. We have our resurrection. Without it we vainly strive to aspire to higher things. So long as the soul is dead in trespasses and sins it can have no power to rise to the heights of celestial experience. But this resurrection has taken place in every true Christian. Christianity does not satisfy itself with the death of the old life of sin. Our Christian endeavor springs from our new spiritual resurrection life.

The termination of old habits, evil pleasures, a wicked will, etc., are but the first process. The ending of the old makes way for the new life awakening. Christ could not have risen if he had not died that he might rise again. We die to sin that we may rise into newness of life. The Christian lives with the energy, faculties, expectations, and goals of a new life. This new birth, like natural birth, is the beginning of greater things, onward and upward.

Christian endeavor must soar above the sinful pleasures and habits of the past. It would be denying the work of redemption if the freed soul, now alive in Christ, were to be again taken captive by sin.

Forsaking sin through repentance and the birth of the new life would be in vain if, like a sow returning to its wallowing in the mire, the soul went back again to grovel in the low and evil pursuits of its former life. Of what use are the beautiful wings of the Monarch butterfly if it continues to dine on the same rubbish on which the caterpillar fed?

The Christian endeavor must carry him/her away from the old narrow restraints of legalism, formality and rituals of the former life. It is not to return to "ordinances" (Colossians 2:20-23).

20 "If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
21“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?
22 "These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings."
23 "Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."

Romans 13:14
"Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh."

Our ambition is toward that above, not merely that which is future. Merely longing for heaven as a future home may well degenerate into rambling sentiment. True Christian endeavor looks upward, rather than forward only. It seeks the heavenly things that may be already had to some degree. Its aims always are spiritually higher and better than the things at present experienced. The Christian should prefer heavenly treasure to earthly riches; the approval of God before the favor of humanity; spiritual t***h, purity, and love before those readily available pleasures that are fleetingly temporal.

Successful Christian endeavor requires the support of regular fellowship with Christ. The wings of the soul require sustenance. We lose ourselves in the clouds of our lower atmosphere before we have a glimpse of the stars above. Storms beat us back again to earth, weak, weary and temporarily vanquished. We can only safely aspire upward in Christ. As we die with him and rise from the grave of our old selves with him, so we ascend through continued fellowship with him.

We may hold it true, in the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson,

"That men may rise on stepping stones
Of their dead selves to higher things."

Experience teaches us that the process is slow and toilsome requiring a hand above to draw us up. As Christ is already in glory, when we seek to be near to Christ we prayerfully approach his high estate. Two important lessons flow from this t***h.

1. We cannot remain in fellowship with Christ if we grovel among the things of earth for the worldly minded Christian is the Christian without Christ.

2. Maintaining close fellowship with Christ is the one and only means by which we may ascend to the things which are above.


"If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1)

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Amen and Amen

Rose42

Amen to that and Armageddun’s post just above it.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Thanks for checking in Rose.



TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold…"
(1 Peter 1:6-7, NLTC)

Be A Bounce-Back Person
Life is full of things that try to push us down. We all face disappointments and setbacks. Maybe you got bad news concerning your health, or perhaps a relationship didn't work out. Maybe you lost your job. It was a setback. When we face setbacks, it's easy to get discouraged or lose our enthusiasm. Too often we are tempted to just settle where we are. But if we're going to see God's best, we have to have a bounce-back mentality. That means when you get knocked down, you don't stay down. You get back up again. It means when disappointments come, you shake them off knowing that what the enemy meant for your harm God is going to turn around and use for your good.

This is a new day. Things are changing in your favor. You need to get ready because there’s a bounce-back coming. You’re going to bounce back from sickness, bounce back from depression, bounce back from bad breaks, bounce back from loss. Keep standing, keep believing, and choose to be a bounce-back person because you are coming out better off than you were before! You are rising higher, and you will fulfill the destiny God has in store for you!

A Prayer for Today
"Father in heaven, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and favor. I ask for rain in the time of rain, I ask for an increase in Your favor and blessing so I can be a blessing to those around me today and always. In Jesus' Name. Amen."

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

Confusion About Purpose

Two of the enemy’s chief weapons in an attack aimed at moving someone outside of purpose are mental attacks and pressure.

Mental attacks: The devil attacks the mind and begins to twist thoughts and perspective in order to bring confusion. Satan’s mental attacks cause a person to be paralyzed in his thought life and left bewildered.

Pressure: This tactic is a lead indicator of a demonic plot. The kingdom of God is full of power and authority—but not pressure. The Holy Spirit leads us (Rom. 8:14); He does not force us or intimidate us into being obedient. Those are tactics of our enemy.

Set times in the presence of God are absolutely key for us; each of us must establish and maintain them in our lives. In prayer we are strengthened. A strong prayer life will abort the assignment and the foul plots of the enemy.

Prayer also releases much-needed wisdom strategies. When you recognize a spiritual attack, begin to seek God for His counsel and instruction. He already has the escape route mapped out and will lead you out with the spoils of the enemy.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭ASV‬‬

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Rose42

Excellent!

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

"Do you want to get well?"
John 5:6

"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better."
---Richard Hooker.....

It's an obvious question, isn't it? The man has been an invalid for over 38 years and was h*****g out at a pool that was alleged to have mystical healing powers. The Son of God, with all of His insight into people's hearts, comes to him with a no-brainer of a question. "Do you want to get well?" Everyone at the pool could have anticipated the answer. All the signs were right there on the surface.

But Jesus always goes beneath the surface. He understands well the divided minds we fallen people have. He knows that sometimes, as much as we think we want to change, we're comfortable with the status quo. Did the invalid really want to get well? He doesn't even give an answer, just an excuse: When the water stirs, no one helps him in the pool (v. 7). No one to help? For thirty-eight years? Mixed motives make for slow responses. Surely tired of being an invalid, he probably also feared the dramatic change in his life that healing would bring (v. 14 may indicate why). Jesus had to confront him with a pointed question as if to say, "Are you ready for what will happen to you when you've really encountered Me?"

Aren't we like the invalid? We say we want to be delivered out of our sins, but we still look for ways to be tempted by them. We say we're done with some bad attitude, but we continue to think the thoughts that cultivate it. We want to have our prayers answered, but wonder if people will still give us attention or sympathy when they are. We ask to be filled with His Spirit but are scared to death what he'll have us do. We'd love freedom but are comfortable captives. We want to change, but we don't want to change. We're divided souls.

Jesus comes to us with the same pointed question: "Do you want to get well?" It's not as obvious as it seems. We must be prepared for radical change if we want a real encounter with Him. We must be willing to leave old ways behind. If we really want to know Him, we must first know that nothing will ever be the same again.

Rose42

Another good one!

Joni Eareckson Tada comes to mind. An extraordinary woman with an incredible testimony. She's been a quadriplegic for 50 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVXJ8GyLgt0