For the sake of the world burn like a fire in me

Cool

Call to Intimacy

God calls us to intimacy – Genesis 15:1

After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

God promised Abraham a legacy that he would not be able to count. This is generally why we engage with God, either for the reward, protection, forgiveness, etc.

God tells Abraham, yes He will be his protection, but that He will also be Abraham’s very great reward. How often do we miss this? I know I do.

This brings me to my story… God is so faithful, He makes us long for this intimacy. He constantly calls us closer, He deepens that yearning for Him.

Like David writes in Psalm 63: 1.-11;

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips

I have noticed that when I respond to this call for deeper intimacy with the Father, I almost always get locked into a battle of life and death. Life being submitted to Christ Jesus, being obedient to the Holy Spirit and throwing off any burden that ensnares us. Death being pulling away from God, because of our shame or sin. I believe Satan hates us choosing Life. He hates us moving into closer intimacy with the Father, because when we walk in His court our peace, our contentment is complete. I believe when we have fully attained this intimacy, the lusts of the flesh, eyes and the pride of life rings a very small bell.

This is a call for encouragement, when you are called for deeper intimacy and the enemy comes upon you like a flood. When the lies, accusations and shame surround you, to choose Life. Life being Jesus.

John 3:17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

You see we condemn ourselves, others and allow the accuser arrows to hit our flesh.

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 

Father God, thank you for calling us into deeper intimacy with you. Father I pray that you will surround us with our Holy Spirit, the power of God. I pray that we will hold steadfast to your promises and your Son Jesus. Thank you for being our very great reward. Amen.

Freedom is simply another perspective away #Godsgold

I once felt very, very poor walking through Sandton. I have also felt very poor when I drive through Camps Bay and pass the fancy cars and the beautiful homes… When I went into the township this weekend and people are thanking God that they are alive! They have nothing. I realize that I am rich! Freedom can sometimes be just a perspective away. Father Help us…

Promises Based on the Will of God #Godsgold

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)”
Promises based on the will of God is another category of acceptable promises. People are frequently heard making predictive promises. “I will be a more faithful husband next year.” “I will get better grades in school this semester.” “I will not repeat my personal failures of last year.” “I will improve my business this quarter.” Such promises are only acceptable to God, if they are made contingent upon the will of God. Instead, we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

The will of God is to be the determining factor for all of our plans. God used James to reprimand the self-willed life. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’.” Such promises indicate the arrogance that people can embrace within their lives. “But now you boast in your arrogance” (James 4:16). Such arrogance prohibits us from living by grace, because grace is imparted to the humble heart. “Be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble'” (1 Peter 5:5).

David was a notable example of one who humbly yielded to, and sought after, the will of God. “I delight to do Your will, O my God…Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God” (Psalm 40:8; 143:10). Paul’s comprehensive commitment to God’s will could be seen even in the way he stated predictive promises about his personal travel plans. As he left Ephesus, he stated,”I will return again to you, God willing” (Acts 18:21). When writing to Corinth, he promised “I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills” (1 Corinthians 4:19).

Ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ taught and lived with His Father’s will as the absolute standard. Concerning how we should pray, He taught, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven…Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). He Himself prayed in this way. “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).

“Dear Father, I seek You for a heart that is fully committed to Your will. May I delight in Your will each day. May I speak of future days only in terms of Your will—”If it is Your will, I shall live and do this or that.””

The Inability of God to Lie # Godsgold

“Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation…In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. (Hebrews 6:17-18 and Titus 1:2)”
One benefit of living by the promises of God is related to something that God cannot do. He is unable to lie. “It is impossible for God to lie.” This “inability” magnifies His greatness and brings us great assurance.

This “inability” of God is linked here to His promises. We who live by faith are “heirs of promise.” We inherit the blessings of God by trusting Him to fulfill all that He has promised to do. These promises offer everlasting life and are anchored in eternity past: “In hope of eternal life which God… promised before time began.” Now, here in time and space, God wants to deeply impress us with the unchangeable character of His will: “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel.” The Lord wants to assure us that He will not declare one thing, and then later change His mind and do something else.

In order to provide us with solid assurance, God coupled His promise with an oath (“confirmed it by an oath”). People make oaths, attempting to convince others of their reliability. They swear by something greater than themselves. “For men indeed swear by the greater” (Hebrews 6:16). However, “when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you'” (Hebrews 6:13-14). This marks an amazing condescension on the part of our Lord toward us. We might say that He somewhat lowers Himself down to our level (which He would fully do in the incarnation, becoming a man). He uses a common human custom to grant us an assured understanding of His reliable commitment to us.

In this unusual communication from God, we receive assurance that is likened unto a “double certainty.” The “God, who cannot lie,” makes a promise and an oath, “that by two immutable things…we might have strong consolation.”

“Dear Lord, as one who has often proven my ability to lie, I worship You as the God who cannot lie! Your promises grant rich assurance. Your oath adds strong encouragement to rely upon You. Thank You for doing whatever is necessary to strengthen my hope in You. How gracious You are!”

Man’s Promises or God’s Promises #Godsgold

“Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” (Exodus 19:7-8)”
The promises of the old covenant of law depend upon the performance of man. “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them” (Leviticus 18:5). The better promises of the new covenant of grace depend upon the performance of God. “I will make a new covenant…I will put My law in their minds” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33).

When man attempts to live under the law (thereby needing to perform up to God’s standards by human resources), he typically tries to live by his promises to God. Israel was a vivid example of this futile tendency. “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” This well-intended promise to God was consistently broken. Moses’ words are a stinging indictment of the vanity of basing life with God on our promises to Him. “You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you” (Deuteronomy 9:24).

The desire to obey God resides appropriately within the hearts of His children. However, we must find a better way to obedience than relying upon our promises to God. That better way is the path of grace, which offers a life based upon God’s promises to man. “I will give you a new heart and [I will] put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and [I will] give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and [I will] cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

We are to live in dependence upon the promises of God to us (instead of relying upon our promises to Him). Living by God’s promises produces a growing confidence in the Lord, a confidence that results from His unique character. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). Man may make promises to God, but, eventually, he will fail. God is not like man. God is true to His word. He will not lie, nor will He change His mind. Whatever He says, He will do! We can fully rely upon the promises of God that we find in His word.

“Lord God of truth, forgive my multiple attempts to develop a Christian walk by my promises to You. Lord, You know how often I have failed. What a joyous option this is—to live in reliance upon Your promises to me! Please teach me how to think and live this way, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

God has never changed, He has never turned His back on us… He has always been there. #Godsgold http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YiBrLrYfb0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YiBrLrYfb0

God has never turned His back on us!!! We have turned our backs on Him…

Yet he comes after us again, and again and again… We spit in His face, we slap Him in His face. We kick, we fight… Yet He never gives up on us!!! Ever… He keeps coming after us. He keeps fighting for relationship with us… Her persues us…. he died for us so we can stand in rightstanding with Him as He soooo badly wants relationship with us…

Father God! Pappa!!! My heart burns from Your goodness….

God we thank you for every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, our life… That you been with us, holding us, keeping us safe, planning the road for us, loving us, saving us, caring for us, providing us with a home, enriching our lives, humbling us, nurturing us, guiding us, teaching us, leading us…. Thank you for never giving up on us! We will never give up on You! One heart, one life, one soul… Only one God! Forever you will reign!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Thank you for loving us soooo much!!! Thank you for Your son Jesus! Thank you for being our Dad!!! You are everything to us!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for loving us first!!

Yahweh

From the first break of light, to last days

Every echo of time, every evening fade

You’ve always been there

From a baby’s first cry to last breath

Every fight in our minds, every victory dance

You’ve always been there

Ancient One, so amazing, unfailing, You are

Holy One, overwhelming my heart with Your love

Yahweh, Yahweh, Faithful God You’re here to stay

Yahweh, Yahweh, Forever and always the same

Where the sky meets the sea and breaks free

When compassion and love are met with need

You’ve always been there

All consuming, everlasting

God Almighty, Lord of glor

Daily Rest #Godsgold

“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come…Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (Hebrews 10:1 and Colossians 2:16-17)”
Just as an approaching shadow points to the arrival of the person casting the shadow, so the law pointed to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus (with His abounding grace) is the substance which the law foreshadows. “The substance is of Christ.” Jesus is the one who brought “the good things to come.”

One of these “good things” that Jesus brings by His grace is the full rest seen in the shadow of the Sabbath. The law of God called for a day of rest every week for His people. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD” (Exodus 20:8; 31:15). This shadow provided regular physical rest for the Israelites. However, it pictured the substantial rest (true spiritual rest) that Jesus brings us. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus is now the daily Sabbath rest for all who humbly depend upon Him. “For we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3).

Another of the “good things” that Jesus provides by His grace is the full fellowship foreshadowed in the Tabernacle of the Old Covenant. The Tabernacle reveals God’s desire to dwell in the midst of men. “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle…just so you shall make it” (Exodus 25:8-9). This elaborate portable tent was to be set up right in the middle of God’s people. “You shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony…they shall carry the tabernacle…and camp around the tabernacle” (Numbers 1:50). The priests of the tribe of Levi would encircle the Tabernacle, with the other tribes of Israel encamped around them. This is a significant shadow: God dwelling at the center of His people. Yet, something far more substantial than this shadow is fulfilled in Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally, “tabernacled”] among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Now, this same Jesus has made the church collectively, and our lives individually, the tabernacle of His presence among men! “Do you not know that you are the temple of God…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (1 Corinthians 3:16 and Ephesians 3:17).

“Dear Lord Jesus, I praise You for coming to dwell in my life by grace through faith. I hope in You now for the daily rest my weary soul desperately needs, Amen.”

The Better Aspects of the New #Covenant of #Grace – #Godsgold

“He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Hebrews 8:6-8)”
These verses contrast the old covenant of law (“that first covenant”) with the new covenant of grace (“a second”). The old covenant of law was good, but the new covenant of grace is far better. The law is ordained of God, but it can never bring what God desires people to experience.

The law is good, but only if it is used properly. “We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners” (1 Timothy 1:8-9). The lawful use of God’s law pertains to the unrighteous, the rebellious. The law is not designed to give people a righteous standing in God’s sight (justification). “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). Nor is the law intended for developing a godly walk (sanctification) in those who are justified through faith in Christ. “For the law made nothing perfect” (Hebrews 7:19). The proper use of the law is to lead people to the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. “The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24).

Grace is far better than law. If the law was sufficient, then God would never have sent His Son to die for the establishing of a new covenant. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.” Since the law was lacking (regarding justification and sanctification), God’s plan included the new covenant of grace. “Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant’.” The new covenant of grace has Jesus, the giver of life, as the Mediator. “He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant.” This new covenant also has greater promises than the law: “a better covenant, which was established on better promises.” In the days ahead, we will examine the better aspects of the grace of God.

“Dear Father, I agree with You that Your law is good. It tutored me to Your magnificent grace. Lord, teach me the better aspects of Your grace, that I might fully embrace all that You want to accomplish in and through my life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

More Reflections on #Obedience by #God’s #Grace #Godsgold

“Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?…Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. (Galatians 3:3 and 2 Corinthians 3:5)”
Once again, let’s reflect on previously studied passages that show how obedience to God is related to His grace. Galatians 3:3 fits in this helpful category.

Our beginning with God was brought about by the work of His Spirit. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). We humbly admitted our sins, casting ourselves upon the mercy of God. The Holy Spirit brought us new birth, new life. This work of the Spirit is linked to the grace of God later in this same sentence: “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). Thus, starting out with God is related to His Spirit applying His grace to our need.

Now, having experienced spiritual birth by the Spirit (by grace), would we be so foolish as to think that we could be spiritually developed by the flesh (by mere human activity)? “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” The only way that spiritual growth can follow spiritual birth is by the work of the Holy Spirit (that is, by the grace of God continuing to impact our lives). These same terms are the only explanation for the development of obedience in the life of a child of God. It must come from the Spirit applying grace to our hearts. “It is good that the heart be established by grace” (Hebrews 13:9).

2 Corinthians 3:5 is another passage that carries this same message about obedience. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” We are hereby reminded that Christians are not the source of any godliness that is to develop in their lives. This would include obedience. We do not have within our own resources what it takes to produce an obedient life. Yet, we do have available to us daily all that we need to grow in pleasing God and doing His will. God is to be our source always for all things spiritual. How do we draw upon His comprehensive sufficiency? Humbly depend upon Him. God pours grace into the humble heart (James 4:6), and faith accesses grace (Romans 5:2).

“Heavenly Father, would You develop obedience in me the same way You brought new life to me—by Your Spirit, by Your grace. I again confess my need for Your sufficient resources for growing in obedience, and I rely on You, Amen.”