ALookintoT

The moment when we give way. Give way to what? Life, our soul, or something we think insignificant? I have written a lot about the basic elements needed to survive such as air, water and food. If we hold our breath as long as we can, is that an example of a breaking point? What if we prolong our agony by going without water until we reach that point? How about food? Mahatma Gandhi went 21 days without food and only had an occasional sip of water, during his hunger strike. There have been other cases where people have survived longer before they reached their breaking point. Some give way to temptation well before it becomes a life or death point. The desire to do something characterizes temptation. Temptation can raise its ugly head to do something that is wrong or unwise. I believe many of us have reached our breaking point aided by wrong or unwise council.

Do we submit to peer pressure to do something that our inner selves reject? Many of us, me included, are tempted by too much good food. We only need just enough to satisfy our basic bodily functions. Just enough is not desirable. I am tempted by the good stuff and the result for me is an over weight body. How do we resist temptation? How do we avoid being put to shame? “All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11) A more secular answer is to remain focused. I used to smoke over two packs of cigarettes per day. It took a lot of mental focus to break the habit. Is the temptation still there after 30 years? Yes, but much less a struggle now than then. I believe we can overcome any temptation to reach our breaking point. What will make you break? Will the deceiver break you or will you emerge triumphant, through your faith? Jesus broke his 40 day fast after much effort by the devil to tempt him. (Luke 4:1-13) Jesus ate only after the devil gave up tempting and departed looking for the next opportunity. There will be more chances to be tempted so be warned. We do not live on bread alone. We do not worship little gods but serve only Him. We do not test the Lord our God.

T

It is a misconception to think freedom means you do not have to pay a price. Freedom is not free. We can believe in the utopian society where everyone gets along with each other and we are all happy. Unfortunately, there are many beliefs and countless differing opinions. It is my opinion, that we cannot continue to hide behind a veil of secrecy. Veil is not gender specific as one definition says. It is not just a fine material worn by women to protect or conceal their face. Thousands of years ago, it was used to put over Moses face. Up to the present day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. “Even today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But whenever someone turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:15-17). We need to open the door to our heart and let the only source of true freedom enter. We need to reject secrecy and open our hearts to the possibilities when we proclaim the truth.

Transfiguration is a complete change of form or appearance as Christ appeared in radiant glory. (Luke 9:28-36) May we remove the veil covering our hearts and change into a new creation.

Some of you requested that I add my audio related to last week’s post. Here is a 3 minute short version, if you have time to listen. T

There is a song by Max Frost and the Troopers released in 1968 titled “Shape of Things to Come”. The lyrics begins with “There’s a new sun rising up angry in the sky. There’s a new voice crying but not afraid to die. Let the old world make believe it’s blind and deaf and dumb but nothing can change the shape of things to come.” Perhaps these words tell a story of an old world gone and new one emerging. Perhaps I am reading too much into the lyrics. Regardless, the appearance of someone or something as we see them from an external view defines their shape. Do we really know the shape of things to come? Is the shape we see a person now, the same as in the beginning or in the end?

If you look at a seed, can you tell what that seed will grow into when matured? Maybe, if you are a horticulturist, you may be able to recognize a certain seed and what it will transform into. What about the rest of us and what if the seed is of someone? Yes, there are experts in the medical field that can determine the sex of a human embryo. They may even be able to determine known medical defects in advance of the child’s birth. Can anyone determine the ultimate shape and contribution to the world by examining a seed? It’s a miracle of transformation from one shape to another. “God gives it the sort of shape that he chooses, and he gives each of the seeds its own shape..” (1 Cor 15:38) Now, I know some of you who read this may begin to formulate your opinions of where I am going with this line of communication. You may be thinking I am writing about the creation of life and at what stage does it start. I am not going to get into the timing, but I hope all agree that the physical shape of life changes from a seed to something we can all recognize from its external appearance. Do we treat people in the same way that we want to be treated? Sadly, in this 21st century, we still have preconceived notions of the shape a person should appear. I am not just referring to the pigment of our skin, but the physical shape perceived as acceptable. I saw a beautiful story on the TV about a girl with Down Syndrome who is a phenomenal golf player. She has a wonderful attitude on top of her excellent skills on the golf course. That shatters the mode of our understanding of what a person can accomplish based on their shape.

My challenge yesterday, today and in the future is to look beyond my limited understanding of the shape of a person and see the real miracle God has revealed. Treat all people as you want to be treated (Luke 6:31)

T

The word difference appears in 24 of my previous blog posts. That means to me the subject has a lot of substance. It is a point in which people are not the same. There are a lot of differences between a man and a woman. Don’t want to get in trouble with this example so will not go into any more details of the differences. LOL

What makes a person think differently than another? I am glad we do not all think alike as “group think” can get us all in trouble. I get so sick of the politics in today’s world. One group thinks one way while the other is in power. Then once the first group is back in power the conflicts before seem to evaporate and is all okay. All you have to do is go back about 8-10 years to hear what one politician said then and now to prove my point. It is all about who’s in power, in my opinion. I have written an entire book about the dangers of group think and how we can be convinced one way is the only way. Whether you believe in Divine Guidance or not, I am of the opinion, we are given a free will to make our own decisions. Some of our decisions are not supported by Divinity and even some are down right stupid. We may even pay an ultimate price for some of our wrong decisions. I am thankful that my bad decisions in the past have been overridden by a greater purpose.

It does not matter what side of the political arena you set up camp, in my opinion. To me, what matters most is your willingness to consider differences in the debate. I think we all have to be careful not to fall into group think which may lead to deception. Did you know that there are approximately 4,200 religions of which Christianity is the world’s largest followed by Islam, according to a quick Google search? That is amazing to me and indicates to me that we have many different tribes of common belief. You may say, yeah but they are wrong and we are correct. Says who? I happen to believe that Christianity is correct. My basis of belief is called the “mystery of faith”. I will let you follow up on that for yourselves and while you are at it, read 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. My point here is not to get into an argument about who is right or who is wrong, but welcome the debate. In my opinion, formal debate is good as it gives us a chance to better understand one another. What is bad to me is when we hide behind a banner refusing to hear the other’s point of view and never reach an agreement for the good of us all.

T

Before I get into the topic of grace in the following paragraphs, I want to announce that my first book is now completely publicized. You can access my webpage at http://www.pagepublishing.com/books/?book=sticks-and-stones

The word grace has been mentioned in 21 of my previous blogs. I tend to use that word sometimes to simply. The word itself is simple but the interactions between us humans and divinity is a complex maze of twist and turns. Us humans, make it complex by our un-willingness to accept that we need spiritual guidance in life. Make it simple! Go on faith.

A young man witnesses another explaining the lineage of greatness while being stoned to death. The young man even holds onto the coats of the people throwing the stones. This same man later actively persecutes the followers of the greatness described earlier. Yet, somehow this same man becomes an apostle. In my opinion, we are given a free will to decide the path in life. Some of us choose a path that may lead us to pain and destruction. But, if we listen to our inner selves telling us to go another route, we can receive a very precious gift. Continue reading to find out more.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, “I don’t deserve to be called an apostle, because I harassed God’s church. I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing.” That my friends is Prevenient Grace which is God’s active presence in our lives. It is a gift that is always available, but we have to take a huge step of faith to go beyond a feeling of being directed into an active participant.

I have often thought of where I may be without the acceptance of His grace. His grace was present well before I knew him. It is frightening to go out on faith but the alternative is even more frightening now that I look back on my life. Once we recognize and accept that even while we were sinners Christ died for us, we can move from prevenient to Justifying grace. Our relationship with God is restored through Christ’s death. The joy is that we grow into a new creation and a faithful servant ever growing in faith.

Like Paul who received a wake-up call in the form of temporary blindness to make him turn around, many of us may go from prevenient to justifying grace and linger much longer before we are converted. When we finally reach the point that we are assured of our salvation, we reach that level called Sanctifying Grace. We can grow in sanctification toward perfection according to God’s will for our lives. We never quite reach perfection but should continue towards that higher mark.

T