Category Archives: Our Spiritual Process

What About the ________________?

04 Thursday Aug 2011

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“… unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  Luke 13:3

      People have a lot of questions they desire to ask God.  They inquire:

  • What about the dinosaurs?
  • What about Cain’s wife?  Where did she come from in the first place?
  • How did all those animals know to come to Noah’s ark? 
  • What about all the hungry people around the world?  Isn’t God concerned about them?
  • What about UFO’s, ghosts, or scandals in the church? 

      Do you have a “what about” question?  If Jesus were standing here today, His answer to these questions would sound something like this; “Don’t be so concerned with the issues you don’t fully comprehend, but concern yourself with repentance and not perishing.”  His response would seem to be blunt to our ears.  It certainly was to the listeners of His day. 

      Unless we believe the Lord loves us and has our best interest at heart, we will view His words harshly.  Actually, Jesus is trying to save us from ourselves.  Most of the time when people ask “what about” questions, it is not out of genuine curiousity.  They ask these types of questions to justify themselves.  They desire to shield themselves from God’s word.  If they catch God in a theological dilemma, then they are freed from having to obey the rest of His word.   When you are seeking a “way out” of something, you will usually find it.    

      Notice, Jesus didn’t fall for this trap.  He directed those listening to a greater dilemma, perishing.  There is something worse here than dying.  It is being condemned in the afterlife. 

      For Jesus the answer is simple.  Repent and give your life back to God.  He will answer all your questions in due time.  When you love God, you hear His answers and receive them in truth.  What about it?

Has the Lord Given You the “Dung” Treatment Lately?

02 Tuesday Aug 2011

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 “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9

All parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Here are the working parts of this parable: 

  • The Owner of the vineyard is God.
  • The fig tree is you.
  • Roots are all of your physical and spiritual senses which allow you to understand truth and growth.
  • Fertilizer is refuse, compost, and manure.  It is anything (good or bad) that comes into our life that stimulates real spiritual growth.   

      Just think, God loves you so much…He plants your life in the middle of manure to assure growth.  How do you smell today? 

      According to this parable, the Father is always searching for real fruit in our lives.  The first type of fruit He desires to see in us is repentance.  In short, repentance is the belief, confession, and outward evidence that you have turned from sin.  The angels rejoice when we repent.  There is no need for anyone to stay in sin.  Real repentance is a fruit we all should be consistently bearing. 

      If the Father doesn’t discover fruit in our lives, He takes this corresponding action:

  1. He tills around our roots and exposes them to water, air, and nutrients.  This may shock our system as it does most plants, but it is just what we need. 
  2. Next, the manure is piled on!  Nutrient rich and easily digested truth should bring growth to our lives.  Since our destiny is to produce fruit, this is just what we need.    

      Understand, God always approaches us privately about our sin and the need for repentance.  When this does not work, His confrontations become more public.  If you stink today from God’s dung treatment, it is not because the Lord wanted it this way.  He would rather you live fertilizer free. 

      Decide now to be quick in your obedience to the Lord.  Your spiritual growth and well-being depends upon it.  Smell well, my friend!

Make Your Secrets Your Testimony

28 Thursday Jul 2011

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“But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” Luke 12:2     

      While most abhor hypocrisy in others, we all have certain actions, thoughts, and words we wished never saw the light of day. Jesus’ unconditional promise to us is “all words and deeds see the light and become known.”   Why?

      God knows that secret sins lead to certain bondage.  Keeping those secret sins a secret is a burden the Lord knows we cannot continue to bear.  It is the burdensome things we repeatedly do to keep our secrets that create a veil of hypocrisy in our lives. 

      The first step to freedom is knowing unconditionally that God loves you.  He values you so much He keeps a tally of the numbers of hair on your head.  Your picture is hanging on the front of the Father’s refrigerator in heaven.  God loves you and always has your best interest at heart. 

      Therefore, the Father wants an open dialogue concerning every issue in your life.  This includes the most secret of issues, even “things we don’t speak of.”  Allow the most intimate of secrets to be exposed by the Father so that your secrets become your testimony of God’s grace and your freedom in the kingdom.

Do You Want to Feel Clean?

26 Tuesday Jul 2011

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“But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.”  Luke 11:41

      Most believers struggle with really feeling clean, forgiven, and sanctified.  This has been an issue since Adam and Eve.  Even though we find and receive heaven’s forgiveness, we just don’t inwardly feel clean. 

      Christian culture contributes to this dilemma by focusing upon outward actions instead of inward transformation.  Ceremony alone will never accomplish change.  Ceremonies are supposed to be outward, physical demonstrations of inward manifestations.  But the church and its culture have allowed people to focus totally upon the outward acts, neglecting the inward transformation.  This is why Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, “stop washing the outside of the cup without washing the inside first.” 

      It is easy to focus upon the outward acts because we can see them and for a brief moment, they make us feel better about ourselves.  But outward activities, in-and-of-themselves do not bring inward change.  What does bring change?

      According to Jesus, as an act of love (charity), offer your inward man wholly to the Lord.  Picture yourself giving the Lord your heart and sincerely mean it.  This may be an act you will need to repeat every day.  It will help keep your heart soft and accountable to the Lord. 

      In addition, allow yourself to be “washed by the water of the word.”  (Ephesians 5:26)  Continue daily to read, pray, and meditate on God’s word.  Let the Lord’s word abide in you and you in it, “then all things are clean for you.”  Jesus’ promise is still available!  Will you follow Him?

Barriers Where Faith Will Not Go

22 Friday Jul 2011

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Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother (Lazarus) would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”    John 11: 32-37

      There was a common, unspoken belief among those who followed Jesus.  It was believed Jesus could heal anyone at anytime from any distance. Everyone in Lazarus’ circle kept telling the Lord, “If only You would have been here.”  These types of statements implied the Lord’s reach of healing extended only unto death, not beyond the grave. 

      We know from reading the beginning of this chapter Jesus purposefully delayed so that Lazarus would pass away before He arrived.  This helps explain why Jesus delayed.  He wanted to correct the false beliefs of those who surrounded His ministry.  Jesus purposefully delayed so that He might raise Lazarus from the dead, proving His power beyond the grave. I like the way Jesus dealt with false beliefs.  He didn’t kick people out of His circle, He confronted their wrong beliefs with POWER! 

      Why couldn’t the people’s belief system allow Jesus to operate outside the area of healing?  Remember, even the disciples couldn’t believe the Lord for food, calming the storms, or even for power to cast out demons.  Since they had never seen power manifested in this way, it was beyond their spiritual comprehension. 

      Please know … These types of barriers were purposefully exposed by the Lord in due season.  If the Lord confronted these good folks’ lack of faith, don’t you think He must do the same in our lives?  Unfortunately, when God does expose our lack, we interpret His movements as being something else.  Instead of correcting ourselves, we get angry, blame the Lord, and throw ourselves a spiritual pity party.  Martha and Mary could have become angry because Jesus didn’t arrive in a timely fashion as they requested.  They could have easily blamed the Lord for delaying and being unsympathetic to their needs.  Like many other believers I know, they could have held this resentment for the rest of their lives.  Thankfully, this was not the road they chose to travel and neither should you. 

      Jesus will never let us settle for less when the best real faith has to offer is fully available.  Allow the Lord to expose all your vulnerabilities and areas of lack.  If maturity is your goal, then only the best will do. 

If you need a place to attend church this Sunday, please visit us at 10 am (CST) – http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-church-of-providence#

He Loved Me So Much, He Was Late

21 Thursday Jul 2011

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“So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”  John 11:15

      This is a difficult statement to read and digest.  Put yourself in the disciples’ shoes for a moment.  We can be sure they all had love and affection for Lazarus and his extended family.  We are told Jesus did.  Now we discover Jesus is “glad” He wasn’t there so that Lazarus could die!  Does this sound cruel to you? 

      Most of us have had someone special or very close to us pass away.  Times of loss are especially difficult.  Was the Lord there by your side in your time of need?  Maybe you have been sick, even to the point of death, or knew of someone else in this condition.  Was the Lord there by your side during your time of need?  Hasn’t the Lord met you in all your moments of great need? 

      My point is this – One of the ways we know we are truly growing in the Lord is when He delays or postpones His answer or arrival.  It is in this precise moment of delay that we are not bothered or confused by the Lord’s actions because we trust Him.  Faith at its finest can undergo delay or postponement and not be detered. 

      If you are not really maturing in the Lord, then His presence or lack of presence may not mean much to you.  If you are in the process of growth and His friendship and nearness is vital, then this type of testing from heaven is what you can expect.  Lazarus, his family, and even the twelve disciples, were all expecting the Lord to move one way.  They believed Jesus could only heal Lazarus before he died.  But the Lord chose to  “delay” because He loved them and wanted their faith to grow beyond it’s current limitations. 

      Does the Lord love you so much today that He would purposefully procrastinate in answering your prayers?  Or are you one of those followers who completely falls apart when heaven appears to be inactive or indifferent.  If the Lord’s movements appear to be unusual, it just maybe He is attempting to stretch your faith.  Purpose today to “get over yourself” and grow past your fears to discover a deeper belief in the Lord.