WHEN THE PERFECT COMES...

“…when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:10).

Another year is passing away. Thank God. Not only for the massive amounts of "unquantifiable" grace we have received from Him, but also because we are one year closer to the passing away of this partial age and all of its incumbent sorrow and weariness.

“When the perfect comes.”
Those inspired words stir up deep longings for a time we have *never known* and yet desperately want.

Paul may have been talking about spiritual gifts when he used that phrase in 1 Corinthians 13, but we know because of Romans 8 that “the partial” means so much more. Right now even the best things are not what they should be. And so much goes so very wrong. In this partial age, our bodies, our loved ones, our careers, our creations, our investments, and our plans are all subject to the forces of futility (Romans 8:20). This age is *marked more by suffering* (8:18), *longing (8:19), *groaning (8:23), and hope (8:24) than by fulfillment.

So at year’s end, especially if what we feel at its passing is another disappointment, we must remind each other that the *partial, this age that is all that we’ve ever known, *is passing away and the perfect is coming.

To all you road-weary travelers who have found that the way that leads to life (Matthew 7:14) is harder than you ever imagined, the perfect day of rest is coming (Matthew 11:28).

To all you who find yourself, like me, at the end of this year... poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), humbled, desolate, and in desperate need of what only God can provide, the perfect day of the all-abundant kingdom is coming!!

To all you who are mourning the loss of a precious one (Matthew 5:4) and finding it hard to press on under the heavy cloak of sorrow, the perfect day of death’s death (1 Corinthians 15:26) is coming!

To all of you who are growing tired in the relentless struggle to hold back the flood of unrighteousness, both from within and without, and who long deeply for a time when all is made right (Matthew 5:6), the perfect day of your satisfaction is coming!

To all of you who have been injured by the maliciousness of another and have responded with a tear-filled mercy (Matthew 5:7), the perfect day of restoration is coming!

To all of you who whose soft heart (Matthew 5:8) is tormented over the sin-hardened, sin-infected world around you, the perfectly pure day is coming when you will see what your soul most longs for!

To all of you peacemakers who are blessed of God (Matthew 5:9) and yet find this blessed work heartbreaking, misunderstood, and under appreciated, the perfect day of reconciliation is coming!

To all of you who find yourselves in a *disorienting darkness that feels unbearable and wonder if God has abandoned you (Psalm 88:14), the perfect day is coming when the Light, in whom there is no darkness (1 John 1:5), will shine upon you (Numbers 6:25).

And to all of you who increasingly love and long for Jesus’ appearing (2 Timothy 4:8), who have an inconsolable homesickness for a country far better than any that exists here (Hebrews 11:16), your perfect home, a home prepared especially for you (John 14:2), is coming!

When the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. The promised “soon” (Revelation 22:20) is getting *sooner.
Let us keep encouraging one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Let us hold fast to the hope set before us (Hebrews 6:18). And let us press on to know the Lord (Hosea 6:3).

Thanks for joining me for coffee ...an so much more!

One day...soon.
Robbs

BITTERNESS & ANGER...Leave Me Alone!

Why can't I overcome my bitterness and anger?

Forgiveness defined: is the renunciation or cessation of resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, disagreement, abuse, or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offense or debt'.

Most of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be *profoundly amazed* at Christ's love for us in our sin.

If you are struggling with bitterness then it may be that the Lord is letting the very sin that is flowing from your inability to see Christ..... be the means by which you come to see Him!

In other words, perhaps this season of rage, anger, and a fed-up "I'm out of here and don't want anything to do with you" spirit is where you have had to come in order to see the "greatness" of your sin as a forgiven and justified saint. And the Lord has done it so that you would be *stunned at His grace in a *deeper way than you've ever been stunned by the grace of God before. And now.....out of THAT experience can flow grace towards others.

That's the only solution here. I don't doubt that another person is part of the problem. This is probably not just a one-way thing and your fault only. But the solution is not to fix the other person. The solution is to from Christ, that it spills over with grace towards others.

What I'm trying to draw attention to is that maybe God has brought you to this point of feeling your guilt so that grace would *taste sweeter than it ever has*.
We HAVE to see our sin, but some of us don't think we've ever done anything AS serious, as what was done to us.

But unforgiveness is a "hell-bent" sin. The Bible says that if you do not forgive those who sin against you, God will not forgive you (Matthew 6:15). In other words, this is a mortal issue. An ongoing, unforgiving, bitter, and angry spirit will kill a person's heart, *making them shipwreck their faith and *prove that they never belonged to God. God is showing you how serious this sin is!!

This means that now you have the potential of saying, "If he loves me still, and he forgives this, it's like forgiving the apostle Paul!" (It's like forgiving murderers, because the Bible says that if you hate your brother you've killed him [Matthew 5:21-22]).

And then maybe the emotional transaction of forgiveness and justification would so overwhelm you that the resources that you do not now have for loving this other person would be given you out of that fresh, new experience of grace.

Unforgiveness is a deal breaker. If it hounds you allow me to help you overcome it, by the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding brought about by grace through the Holy Spirit!

2 Grande Lattes Later....
Delighting in His Word,
Robbs

JESUS JIU-JITSU

LOVE EVERY-PART OF EVERYONE.

Jiu-Jitsu values efficiency, patience, and control.  It is designed for close quarter combat.  It values being soft, but not being weak.  It explains houw to approach adversity, but be gentle and humble during confrontation. Jiu-Jitsu, "The art of softness", uses an opponents energy against him.  It focuses on being gentle, yeilding, and giving way.  It traces its origins back to the east.  It was developed as a way for combatants to protect themselves without weapons using efficiency of energy. 

Jesus was the Master of verbal and spiritual Jiu-Jitsu!  This site is dedicated to learning to be like Him.
Its a site to learn and study God (theology: the science of the study of God) for personal growth and transformation. 

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. 

TALL.DRIP.COFFEE.

EVERYONE WHO PRACTICES SIN?

1 John 3:4–6

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.


I chose this text this morning for two reasons. One is because it is Christmas time when we are thinking about the coming of Christ into the world, and verse 8 is one of the clearest statements in the Bible about why Christ came. Verse 8b: "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil."
We will come back to see what that means in the next post!!
[piping hot delicious cup of JEHOVAH awaits you]

The second reason I chose this text is that I have been wrestling with the teaching in Romans 2:6-10 that eternal life is given to those who persevere in a life of good works or a life of love. I have tried to show that this does not contradict justification by faith alone, because our good deeds confirm faith, but don't replace faith as the means of our justification. This passage in 1 John, and indeed the whole book of 1 John, sheds light on this issue.

So let's begin by seeing what's helpful in this book in regard to the issue of Romans 2:6-10. Here's what's helpful.

1 John seems to be one of the most perfectionistic books in the New Testament and one of the least perfectionistic books in the New Testament. It has verses in it that sound like Christians "simply don't sin."
As if we are perfect. But it also has some of the verses that say "most clearly" that "everybody, including Christians, DOES sin."

So if we can understand why this is, it will help us grasp Paul's point in Romans 2:6ff that you have to persevere in a life of love in order to have eternal life, but this does not mean that you have to be perfect. [Cause you cannot in this life]

Christians are Perfect?

Let me show you these two sides of 1 John. First, let's look at a group of verses that seem to say Christians are perfect and don't sin. Maybe you would want to put "NS" in the margin beside these verses for "not sin".

1 John 2:3 - "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." Keeping the commandments is one means of our assurance.

1 John 3:6 - "No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him." And again in 3:9 - "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Same thing again in 5:18 - "We know that no one who is born of God sins."

1 John 4:8 - "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." Loving others is the evidence that you know God. If you don't love people, you don't know God.

These verses show you what I mean when I say that 1 John seems to be one of the most perfectionistic books in the New Testament. We will come back in a minute to see what this means.

Christians Are Not Perfect?

But look at the other side. I said that 1 John also seems to be one of the least perfectionistic books in the New Testament. It has some of the clearest statements that everyone sins, including Christians. Let's take a look at these. You might want to put "S" in the margin for "sin". Then you can show someone who is stumbling over the perfectionistic verses that there is another side to the issue.

1 John 1:8-10 - "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us." This is written to Christians. The "we" of verse 9 is believers. We must confess our sins, because we do sin.

1 John 2:1 - "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Here is the heartening realism: "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate." The AIM is that we NOT sin, but the REALITY is that we DO sin.

1 John 3:2 - "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." We are already God's children because of immense and incomprehensible love, but we are not yet like him the way we will be when he comes. There is yet a *purifying work to do.

1 John 5:16-17 - "If anyone sees his brother committing a [omit "a" - the Greek text does not require it] sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a [omit "a"] sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a [omit "a"] sin not leading to death." This last verse seems to be targeted pointedly at perfectionists who say: all sinning is equally damning and the only person who can escape judgment is the one who commits no sin. John emphatically says in verse 17b, "There is a [omit "a"] sin not leading to death."

What Does John Mean by "Sin"

Now let's go to our text and look at it against this bigger backdrop.

When 1 John 3:6 says, "No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him," and when verse 9 says, "No one who is born of God practices sin," the key is to realize that the present tense verbs used here in Greek for "sins" (verse 6) and "practices" (verse 9) imply ongoing, continuous action.

This probably means that, in John's mind, what is impossible for the Christian is a life of "unchanged continuation in sin" the same as when he was not born of God. In view of all his insistence that Christians do sin, we can't take these verses to mean Christians don't sin at all. We should take them to mean that Christians -don't go on sinning without conflict and confession!-

-Christians SEE it, HATE it, CONFESS it, AND FIGHT it. And they do so -with "increasing vigilance" as they grow up into Christ!

That is what Romans 2:7 is trying to say: "To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, [God will give] eternal life."

The point is not that doing good earns eternal life or gets us connected to the life of God in Christ.

The *point is that a changed life shows you are already connected to God as his child. 1 John 3:9 says that the reason born-again people don't go on casually sinning is that "no one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin."

In other words, God has come into their lives, caused them to be born again, put his "seed" - or his Spirit - in them, and is working in them to awaken them to the ugliness and folly and danger of sin so that they will be unable to choose it.

They don't avoid sin first, in order to get God into their lives. God gets into their lives first, and then they start overcoming sin.

You can see this clearly in 3:14, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren." Passing out of death into life happens first, and then we know that it has happened because of its effect in our lives. We start to love people like we never did before. You don't love people in order to get out of death into life by new birth. You experience new birth, pass out of death into life and the effect is love.

What Can I Do to Make New Birth Happen?

So if you ask, Well, what can I do, then, to make the new birth happen?, the answer is that you can't do anything to make the new birth happen, any more than an unborn baby can do anything to get born.

We can't believe the new birth into happening, we can't love the new birth into happening, because the new birth has to happen first so that we can believe and so that we can love.

The truth is that we are dead in trespasses and sins and cannot make ourselves alive, any more than Lazarus could raise himself from the dead. God must make us alive, as Paul said in Ephesians 2:5, so that we can believe. Look at 1 John 5:1, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." Not "will be born of God," but "is born of God," or more literally, "has been born of God." The new birth precedes and enables faith. Faith is the evidence of new birth, not the cause.

If you want to know what to do to be right with God, the answer is "believe that Jesus is the Christ." Put your trust in Jesus as the fulfillment of all God's promises and bank on those promises as your only hope. Treasure Christ. Find your pleasure in Christ. When you believe in Christ, you know that you are born of him. Therefore, believe this morning. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 6:31). You will find God working in your life to save you and you will rejoice and give him the glory.

Two cups of coffee.....later!

Enjoy God
(by reading the next post! v7-8)

JESUS, THE DESTROYER is BORN

1 John 3:7-8

Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:7–8)

But now go back to the text with me for a moment to get the Christmas message.

When verse 8b says, "The Son of God appeared [deity - clothed with humanity and born of virgin -who walked in obedience, laid down his life and rose from the dead] for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil," what are the "works of the devil" that he has in mind? The answer is clear from the context.

First, verse 5 is a clear parallel: "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins." The phrase "he appeared to . . ." occurs in verse 5 and verse 8b. So probably the "works of the devil" that Jesus came to destroy are sins. The first part of verse 8 makes this virtually certain: "The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning." The issue in this context is sinning, not sickness or broken cars or messed up schedules. Jesus came into the world to help us stop sinning.


Ponder this remarkable situation with me. If the Son of God came to help you stop sinning—to destroy the works of the devil—and if he also came to die so that, when you do sin, there is a propitiation, a removal of God’s wrath, then what does this imply for living your life?

Three things. And they are wonderful to have. I am giving them to you briefly as Christmas presents. (smile)

1. A Clear Purpose for Living

It implies that you have a clear purpose for living. Negatively, it is simply this: don’t sin. “I write these things to you so that you may not sin” (2:1). “The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil” (3:8).

If you ask, “Can you give us that positively, instead of negatively?” the answer is: Yes, it’s all summed up in 1 John 3:23. It’s a great summary of what John’s whole letter requires. Notice the singular “commandment”—

“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, *and* love one another, just as He commanded us.”

These two things are so closely connected for John he calls them one commandment: believe Jesus and love others. That is your purpose. That is the sum of the Christian life. Trusting Jesus, loving people. Trust Jesus, love people. There's the first gift: a purpose to live.

2. Hope That Our Failures Will Be Forgiven

Now consider the second implication of the twofold truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins.

It’s this: We *make progress* in overcoming our sin ....when... we have hope that our failures will be forgiven. If you don’t have hope that God will forgive your failures, when you start fighting sin, you give up. Point. Blank. Period.

Many of you are pondering some changes in the new year, because you have fallen into sinful patterns and want out. You want some new patterns of eating. New patterns for entertainment. New patterns of giving. New patterns of relating to your spouse. New patterns of family devotions. New patterns of sleep and exercise. New patterns of courage in witness. But you are struggling, wondering whether it’s any use.

Well here’s your second Christmas present: Christ not only came to destroy the works of the devil—our sinning— he also came to be an advocate for us when we fail in our fight!

So I plead with you, let the freedom to fail give you the hope to fight. But beware! If you turn the grace of God into license, and say, “Well, if I can fail, and it doesn’t matter, then why bother fighting?”—if you say that, and mean it, and go on acting on it, you are probably *NOT born again* and should tremble!

But that is not where most of you are. Most of you want to fight sinful patterns in your life. [That's why you read my blog... Teehee] And what God is saying to you is this: let the freedom to fail give you hope to fight. I write this to you that you might not sin, but if you sin you have an advocate, Jesus Christ.

3. Christ Will Help Us

Finally, the third implication of the double truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins, is this: Christ will REALLY help us in our fight! He REALLY will help you. He is on your side. No, REALLY! He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because it is FATAL. It is a deceptive work of the devil and will destroy us if we don't fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us. Scripture is for surgery, not for slaying!

So here’s your third Christmas gift:
Christ will help overcome sin in you. 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world.”
Jesus is alive, Jesus is almighty, Jesus lives in us by faith, changing us by the Spirit. And Jesus is for us, not against us. He will help you. Trust him.

LUKEWARM & BROKE! Rev 3:14-22

A LETTER FROM JESUS TO THE LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN
Rev 3:14-22

The Jesus Who Speaks to Laodicea

First, verse 14: "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation." 
In this letter Jesus is going to bear witness against the Laodiceans.

He is going to deliver an awful threat and an incomparable promise. It is fitting that he identifies himself as one who has the credibility and power to say such things. When he says that he is the "Amen," he means that he is reliable; he is God's confirmation, God's "yes" to all divine promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). "Amen" is simply a transliteration of a Hebrew word that means firm or true or faithful. So the next phrase defines it: "the faithful and true witness." So this letter is not to be taken lightly. It is the Word of God, with all his firmness and truth and reliability behind it.

The next phrase in verse 14, where Jesus is called "the beginning of God's creation," can mean "that from which creation begins." He is "the beginning of God's creation," then, in the sense of John 1:3, "All that was made." So, the one who speaks to us in this letter is God the Son, the source of all God's creation, including us. Therefore he has all power and reliability to accomplish his threats and fulfill his promises. So perk up your ears.

Jesus' Indictment and Threat

In verses 15 and 16 Jesus brings his indictment of the Laodicean church and delivers his threat. "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth." His indictment against the church is that they are half-hearted in their relation to him. They do not have the fervor and warmth and zeal of a true lover of Christ; nor are they outright unbelievers who flatly reject Jesus and make no pretense of faith. They are halfway in between. Christ has a *moderate influence on their lives. They are not uninfluenced by the Lord; but neither do they go overboard nor get very excited about the Creator of all. 

In relation to prayer, it would be safe to say that they probably pray at meals and pause for two or three minutes at bedtime. But they do not burn with a desire for more of God. They do not go hard after him in the secret place. They do not fling the door wide and welcome him into the innermost places of their emotions. But they keep him just outside the door and do their business with him coolly, lukewarmly, through the mail-slot. They like the ancient (but very unbiblical) proverb: Moderation in all things.

Jesus' threat to the lukewarm church is that he will spew them out of his mouth. If you wanted to shock a lukewarm Christian, you could hardly think of a more gross and startling image: Jesus Christ putting the cup of the church to his lips in the hope of tasting a pleasing drink (some refreshment), and then spitting it out on the ground. 

I find it very hard to make this mean that such people will, after all, be saved and enjoy the blessings and fellowship of Christ for all eternity. Surely the image of spitting people out of his mouth means that he has found them to be unacceptable and rejects them. The faith that saves is not a lukewarm, half-hearted faith. And so he warns Laodicea, and every other church, if you do not repent (as verse 19 says) and become zealous, or hot, then the mechanical, cool superficiality of your faith will be your destruction, and I will spew you out of my mouth. There is ample reason in these verses alone for us to be on our knees in fasting and prayer at the beginning of the week for at least a week.

Now in verse 17 Jesus tells us that an essential part of lukewarmness is *ignorance of our true spiritual condition* and *satisfaction with the way we are*.
"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." Here is how You can take your spiritual temperature today-- do you feel in your heart a great need for a week to seek God in prayer and fasting. The essence of lukewarmness is the statement, "I don't need it," "I need nothing." "I studied the bible and got baptized and confessed him as Lord, I don't need anything."

The lukewarm are spiritually self-satisfied. To find out whether you are among that number now, don't look into your head-- and ask whether you think you are a sinner, because you all do, you've been well taught. The way to tell whether you are among the spiritually self-satisfied is to look at your prayer life. It doesn't matter what you think in your head, the test of whether we are in bondage to spiritual self-satisfaction is how earnestly, frequently and how expectantly and how extendedly you strive with God to have a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Greater earnestness in prayer, for *more boldness in witness, for *sweeter joy in the Holy Spirit, for *deeper sorrow for sin, for *warmer compassion for the lost, for *more divine power to love? Are you going after God in your prayer life? Hard every day, often and long? And if not *that's* the barometer of whether you are spiritually self-satisfied, not what you think in your head. Or is the coolness and perfunctoriness of your prayer life Exhibit A that you are spiritually self-satisfied and, therefore lukewarm and , therefore, on the verge of being spit out of his mouth?

Now Jesus has a word to you and me In verse 17 if we feel that we need nothing, if there is no desperation for change in our hearts. For those who feel that a week of prayer and fasting is a bit melodramatic—over-doing it a bit--taking this business of spiritual hotness too far—the word of Jesus is this: "You are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked." Now, remember, these are the words of Jesus and the way he looks down upon us churchgoers. who don't have any passion for change in their lives. Who are content to go on day in and day out with two minutes with the Lord. And if such churchgoers don't begin to do something to change their condition, Jesus will eventually spit them out of his mouth.

Jesus' Counsel

Jesus has indicted and warned in verses 15–17. Now in verse 18 he begins to counsel. (Counseling is big business today, and I hope all of us who are involved in counseling hear the way the Master counselor is talking.) "Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see." The will of Christ for the church is that our poverty be replaced by spiritual wealth; that our nakedness and shame be covered with the robes of righteousness and good deeds (3:4; 7:14; 19:8); that our blindness be healed so we can see things as God see's them--as they really are and escape from the dream world of self-satisfaction. And there is only one place we can get that gold those garments and that medicine and that's from Jesus. So he says, "Buy from me gold!"

But how do you buy gold when you are broke? He just told you that you were POOR, BLIND, NAKED, MISERABLE and WRETCHED. Jesus knows we're broke. He just said so in verse 17. And not just broke, but blind—we can't work, you can't earn any money when you're blind. And not just blind, but shamefully naked—we can't even leave the closet. So how do you buy gold and garments and salve when you are poor and blind and naked? How do you get the wealth of Christ, the power to be clothed with obedience, and the wisdom to see things like God does, when your house is empty, and you are too frightened and ashamed to venture out of your closet?

After saying that, it is only love that is prompting his rebuke and discipline, he gives the answer in verse 20: you don't go out; you invite Jesus in!! You don't work; you pray! "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." This verse can be applied (without damage, I think) to an unbeliever (as we often use it), but that is not its purpose here. It is addressed to lukewarm Christians who think they have need of nothing more of Christ. It is addressed to churchgoers who do not enjoy the riches of Christ or the garments of Christ or the medicine of Christ because they keep the door shut to the inner room of their lives. All the dealings they have with Christ are businesslike lukewarm dealings with a salesman on the porch. You want to buy what he offers, but you don't want him to come in!

But Christ did not die to redeem a bride who would keep him on the porch while she watched television in the den. His will for the church is that we open the door, all the doors of our life. He wants to join you (this is the sweet part of the promise) in the dining room of your life, spread a candle-lit meal out for you, and eat with you and talk with you for an hour. And when Jesus Christ, the source of all God's creation, is dining with you in your heart, then you have all the gold, all the garments, and all the medicine in the world. 
To have Jesus is to have EVERYTHING!

How do you buy gold when you're broke? You pray, and trust the promise: "I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." There is an intimate communion and fellowship with Christ which many of us need to seek in earnest prayer. Because when he dwells in the innermost room of our affections, he brings the power we want more than anything —the power to make him the Supreme passion of our lives and give him glory!!

And so the text closes with a promise to those who conquer. Verse 21: "He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." Christ conquered sin and Satan and death by never veering from the path of love. It cost him his life; but he gained the world. And there he is "The Owner!" 

And now he writes to YOU —and this is as real for you this morning as if he were here handing you a letter himself—he says "if YOU will conquer this, you will reign over the universe with me! YOU will sit on the throne of Christ which is the throne of God! 

If you've got desires for power....here is the agenda for your praying. Conquer what? If we will overcome the menace of lukewarmness and spiritual self-satisfaction. And there is only one way to get that kind of power and victory, namely, by taking all the locks off the door and asking the living Christ to come in and eat with you. And that is what a life of prayer is all about . . . "that the power of Christ may dwell in us" (2 Corinthians 12:9;Ephesians 3:16–17). 

(My Prayer) "Lord there are some of us here whose hearts are hungry! We've tasted enough in our life with you to know that there is a meal to be enjoyed of which we have only had the appetizer. And I pray with those people right now, Come Lord Jesus! We open the door, we fling it wide, move in on us and ravish us with your holiness and your beauty, cause us to take the opportunity of a sitting quietly and constantly before you in prayer to go for BROKE as we go after you!! In the priceless name of the Amen, the faithful and true One I ask you to hasten this prayer!" YES!

BUY GOLD!

CHRISTMAS: DAYof DEATHS DESTRUCTION

DEATH IS DOOMED.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Anyone grieving the death of someone they love deeply will say that “sting” hardly begins to describe the pain. 

[I miss my father.  He was an incredible dad!]

And Christmas often heightens this pain. Certain decorations recall hands we will never hold again. Gatherings make visible precious absences. Sweet voices now stilled echo in our memories as we sing or share stories.

But this is not a bad thing. Christmas is actually a very good time for grief. Because sorrow has a way of disbursing fantasy nonsense and pointing us to what the birth of Jesus was all about: death’s destruction (1 Corinthians 15:26).

The "sting" Paul is talking about is not grief. He knows “sorrow upon sorrow” (Philippians 2:27). He is talking about something far worse: condemnation.

“The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56) because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). And physical death hardly begins to describe this death. Like all of us, Paul would have preferred to not die physically (2 Corinthians 5:4). But he knew he would (2 Timothy 4:6). The death Paul spent his life trying to save people from was spiritual death.

Paul’s main concern was the “wrath and fury” (Romans 2:8) people would experience if they stood before the “judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10) still in their sins  (1 Corinthians 15:16-20). He believed the worst possible thing a human being can experience is to be “accursed and cut off from Christ” (Romans 9:2). He believed Jesus, who said,

do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

This is the main issue in life. We must be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20) and have our sentence of hell cancelled (Colossians 2:14). And the only way to do that is to admit you have no good in you, you are a wretched wicked sinner who rebels against God, and then receive the free gift of God's kindness and grace, which is the forgiveness of sin and eternal life through his Son, Jesus (Romans 6:23).  

That’s why Jesus came.

His whole purpose for being born was to die,

that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver *all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

But not just to die. Jesus was born to be raised from the dead (Revelation 1:18). He is the Resurrection and the Life and whoever believes in him “though he die yet shall he live” (John 11:25). (That's for YOU!--That's GOOD NEWS!)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem it was the day of death’s destruction. It made possible the fast-approaching time when,

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8)

If you’re feeling grief this Christmas, then know that what you’re experiencing is very much a part of Christmas. Jesus came to deal with your grief. Hear with fresh ears the angel’s gospel: that Jesus came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). And if sin is removed, death’s days are numbered and your numbered tears (Psalm 56:8) will be wiped away.

May the Resurrection and the Life infuse your Christmas grief with hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

I miss you dad, but because of Christmas, Christs coming, I will see you shortly.

Today, I feel like hot eggnog, instead of coffee.

THE WINNING HAND

THE WINNING HAND

There are times when our lives unfold like a game of cards. 

We all want the winning hand, but the odds say we will not always get it.For some, this is frustrating. And, like in the game of poker, we try to make other players believe we have something we don’t. That is when “gambling” begins.Even with discipline and an understanding of risk versus reward, we can only win for a while before the odds beat us.

God wants us to understand that, although we do not control how the cards are dealt, we can choose to enjoy the game. He wants us to take each hand we are dealt…the good ones and the bad ones…and rely on Him to show us how to play them.

Life is not about winning, but about the journey. Without Him, we might as well fold.

Jeremiah 29:11

Espresso.....ahhhhhhhh!

DOUBT. FEAR. & JESUS Pt 1

DOUBT. FEAR. & JESUS

Many have reflected on Jesus’ suffering and said that Jesus experienced “doubt” and “fear” in the same way that we do. Of course the Bible does teach that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are and that He is therefore able to sympathize with us (Heb. 4:15).

But does that mean that He himself doubted God and feared death?

Here is a relevant excerpt from the transcript of the President Barak Obama's remarks, that are shared by many cultural Christians:

Like us, Jesus knew *doubt. Like us, Jesus knew *fear. In the garden of Gethsemane, with attackers closing in around him, Jesus told His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He fell to his knees, pleading with His Father, saying, “If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” And yet, in the end, He confronted Hisfear with words of humble surrender, saying, “If it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
So it is only because Jesus conquered His own anguish, conquered His *fear, that we’re able to celebrate the resurrection.

I appreciate that many want to highlight the courage of Jesus. But does it not diminish Jesus’ achievement to say that He experienced “doubt” and “fear” as He approached His crucifixion?

Does the Bible really teach that Christ had doubts and fears on the same order as our own?

The Bible in fact never teaches such a thing, and it diminishes Christ’s achievement to suggest otherwise.

Here’s why.

In the Bible, doubt and fear [towards God] are sins. In fact, Jesus Himself describes doubt as the opposite of faith (Matt. 14:31; 21:21; Mark 11:23).
In very explicit terms, Jesus himself commands his disciples not to “fear” those who persecute them (Matt. 10:26, 28, 31). No less than seven times, Jesus himself commands his disciples not to be “anxious” about their lives (Matt. 6:25, 31, 34; Mark 10:19; 13:11; Luke 12:11,22).

And then of course, Jesus’ half brother James had this to say about doubt:
James 1:6-8 The one who *doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man *expect that he will *receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a *double-minded man, *unstable in all his ways.


To say that Jesus had doubts and fears is to make him into a transgressor. But that is not at all the biblical depiction of Jesus. Yes, Jesus can sympathize with all of our weaknesses and, yes, he was tempted in all things as we are. But He did it without sin! (Heb. 4:15)

What was amazing and spectacular about Jesus’ suffering is that he never doubted His Father, and he never feared man.

“When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23). Not only that, the Bible says that Jesus was motivated by joy to endure the cross:
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus knew how awful the crucifixion would be before it happened (Matt. 16:21). There’s a reason that He prayed, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39). The anguish of the cross was real, and He knew it.

Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that Jesus’ vision never stalled-out on death. Jesus saw right through the cross to the resurrection on the other side!

You and I may fear death, but Jesus never did. You and I may doubt God’s purposes in suffering, but Jesus never did. Ever!

What was definitive for Jesus was the joy set before Him, not death.
Imagine that. Jesus knew that they would tear His skin from His body, that they would nail Him to a post, and that He would asphyxiate while enduring cruel pain. He knew that He would be betrayed and forsaken by His best friends. He even knew that the cup of God’s wrath would be poured out on Him in full (Isaiah 53:10; Matt. 27:46).

Yet He never feared man or doubted God. He was all courage and all love all the time. If you worship the Jesus of the Bible, that is the Savior that you worship.

The model that Jesus gives us is not that he had doubts and fears like we do. The model that He gives us is perfection. And TRUST. We don’t ever have to give in to doubt and to fear. Doubt and fear have no place in those who are trusting in the promises of the God who resurrects from the dead, and they certainly never had any place in Jesus.

So let’s be jealous for what Jesus accomplished for us. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He was without sin! He was obedient to His Father, even to the point of death on a bloody cross (Phil. 2:8). He never gave up, never lost heart, never flagged in zeal. And neither must we. We can take heart. Where you and I have failed, Jesus has overcome. Indeed Jesus has overcome the world! (John 16:33)

DOUBT. FEAR. & JESUS Pt 2

GOD DOUBTING... GOD?!

If Jesus did not experience doubt or fear, then what was he feeling? The synoptic Gospels tell us something of Jesus’ emotional state as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. As Jesus’ sweat became like great drops of blood, the darkness of His final hours seems to have reached a climax.

Matthew 26:37 “And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to besorrowful and troubled.”

Mark 14:33 “And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatlydistressed and troubled.”

Luke 22:44 “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

None of these underlined terms indicate anxiety, fear, or doubt. Instead, they emphasize Jesus’ anguish as He faced a cruel death under the wrath of His Father.

The word translated as “troubled” in Matthew and Mark is the Greek term ad?mone?, and it means “to be sorely troubled” or “to be in anguish” (LSJ). It’s the term used of Epaphroditus as he was longing to let his home church know that he was still alive (Phil. 2:26).

The word “sorrowful” in Matthew translates the Greek term lupe?, which indicates grief or sadness (BDAG). The word rendered as “distressed” probably doesn’t capture the intensity of the Greek term ekthambe?, which usually indicates something like amazement or astonishment (cf. Mark 9:15; 16:5).

The term indicates that Jesus’ emotional anguish was as severe as it gets; the pain reached levels that He had never before experienced. That is why Luke describes it as “agony.”

What is remarkable, however, is Jesus’ subsequent prayer: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39; par.Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42).

Notice that Jesus’ anguish focused not on his tormenters but on a “cup.” It appears that the most painful part of Jesus’ anticipation was His consideration of this “cup” that He was soon to drink from.

This is significant because the “cup” seems to be an allusion to Old Testament texts that associate God’s Holy Wrath with drinking from a cup.

Psalm 11:6 “Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their CUP."

Psalm 75:8 “For a CUP is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.”

Isaiah 51:17 “Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the LORD’s hand the CUP of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.”

Jeremiah 25:15 “For thus the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me, ‘Take this CUP of the wine of wrath from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.’”

Jeremiah 51:6-7 “This is the LORD’s time of vengeance; He is going to render recompense to her. Babylon has been a golden CUP in the hand of the LORD, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad.”

As Jesus prayed, He anticipated His drink from this cup. It appears that the most painful aspect of His suffering was His experience of the WRATH of God being poured out on Him. He walked into it willingly. He knew what was coming.
He felt the anguish of it deeply in Gethsemane, and yet he faced it anyway so that sinners wouldn’t have to.

In other words, He became our wrath-bearing substitute. What would have taken us an eternity in Hell to endure, Jesus experienced fully in the moment of the cross.

I love how Spurgeon spoke of Jesus’ drink from the cup.

"The whole of the tremendous debt was put upon his shoulders; the whole weight of the sins of all his people was placed upon him. Once he seemed to stagger under it: “Father, if it be possible.” But again he stood upright: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.”

The whole of the punishment of his people was distilled into one CUP; no mortal lip might give it so much as a solitary sip. When he put it to his own lips, it was so bitter, he well nigh spurned it:

“Let this cup pass from me.”

But his love for his people was so strong, that he took the cup in both his hands, and "At one tremendous draught of love
He drank damnation dry,” for all his people.

He drank it all, he endured all, he suffered all; so that now for ever there are no flames of hell for them, no racks of torment; they have no eternal woes; Christ hath suffered all they ought to have suffered, and they must, they shall go free. The work was completely done by himself, without a helper."- CHS

What pained Jesus in the garden is that He knew that very soon He would be saying,“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46)

It should evoke worship in us that Jesus faced this for us, that He never shrank back, that He never doubted God or feared man.

It is difficult to imagine that anyone could endure this kind of misery without doubting God or fearing man, and yet that is precisely how the Bible says Jesus faced it! He was fearless and full of faith. And He was all of these things for us.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Be of great faith my dear friends, be of great faith.

Robbs

CRAVE. LONG. DESIRE.

GUZZLE

Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
1 Peter 2:1-3

"*LIKE* newborn babes [crying every 3 hours], long for the pure milk of the word, that by it *you MAY grow* in RESPECT to SALVATION."

Say What?
I see here that DAILY Bible reading is imperative to salvation!

The word for "long" here is very simply the word "desire"—it's a command to desire. This is not to newly born believers but to all believers. It is a constant. A command for LIFE!

What this means is that if you feel stuck because you don't have the kind of spiritual desires that you should, this text says, You do not need to be stuck!
It says, "GET THEM!" -Get the desires you don't have." If you don't desire the milk of the Word, START desiring it!

Notice that verse 1 begins with the word "therefore." So what he is about to say is based on what just went before.
What was that? What just went before was the tremendous statement (v. 23) that we are born again (by God) through the Word of God. The point was that this Word is •imperishable (v. 23) and that it is •living and •active (v. 23) and that it is NOT like grass and flowers that DIE but that it endures forever. So IF you have been born again through THIS Word, then you will last forever. You are secure forever in the family of God, who caused you to be born again into that family.

THEREFORE—since you have new life by God's working and since you have confidence about the future—therefore (2:1), "putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word."

Since you have been born again BY the Word of God, now *LONG* for the Word of God. Do you see the connection between the Word of God in verses 23–25? Born again by the Word . . . therefore long for the milk of the Word. If you began your life with the Word, sustain your life with the Word.

What Exactly Is the "Spiritual Milk"?

But your version may not say "milk of the word" in verse 2. It may just have, "long for the spiritual milk." Well that's accurate. The NASB has an explanation, not just a translation. But the explanation is a good one, I think. Except, it's too limiting.
Is "the spiritual milk" merely the Word of God? Or is it something more specific in the Word? I think it is.

Verses 2–3 say,

Like newborn babes [who were born by the Word of God], long [the way babies do] for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if [that is, since!] you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Do you see the connection between the intense longing or craving for the "spiritual milk" in verse 2 and the tasting of the kindness of the Lord in verse 3?

Put them together: "Long for the spiritual milk, since you've tasted the kindness of the Lord." So it seems to me that the milk is the milk of God's kindness. That is what we are commanded to long for. So which is it: the milk of the Word (NASB)? Or the milk of God's kindness?

There doesn't have to be a contradiction. Look! Where did the readers taste the kindness of the Lord? The answer is: in the gospel, the Word of God (v. 25). They were born again by that kindness through the Word of God. So the spiritual milk is the kindness of the Lord experienced through the Word of God. Or you could say, the spiritual milk is the Word of God *revealing* or transmitting the kindness of the Lord.

You were born again by that Word—namely, by the powerful kindness of God in that Word, and now go on longing for that Word and for the day-by-day experience—tasting—of the kindness of the Lord through his Word.

Now What Is The Result

The result will be (v. 2b) "you will grow in respect to salvation." Literally: "you will grow into salvation." Salvation *is reached* by growth. To be sure, God gives the growth (1:5; 1 Corinthians 3:6). But growth *is necessary*.

Do not fall into the *spiritual fatalism* that says, "I can't grow; I can't change; I don't know how; I'll never be..., I'm just me; and that's just that; and I don't need to, I still love God. Throw that stinkin' thinkin' away like an old smelly shirt, and seek God with all your heart for help in "desiring" His Word, and let us grow up together...... to salvation.  

A Latte Love awaits you!

Robbs

SPIRITUAL PRAYER CARDIO

DON'T FORGET TO HYDRATE

I love thinking about prayer in this way, as a spiritual cardio workout. When we pray we are massaging our hearts with the pressure of God’s eternal perfections and subsequently producing in us the enduring praise to the glory of his grace.

In Jonathan Edwards’ book Religious Affections, he lobbies for the premise that Christians operate chiefly as pilgrims here on earth, with our hearts passionately enflamed from heaven. Even further, Edwards argues that God supernaturally keeps “making up the difference” of our earthliness and his heavenliness. In speaking of this grace Edwards writes: “their grace is the dawn of glory; and God fits them for that world by conforming them to it.”

One of the ways in which Edwards suggests that God does this conforming is through the privilege of prayer. When we pray we are not to think that we are somehow informing God of his perfections, as if he was not aware of his prevailing holiness, goodness, justice, love, mercy, & all sufficiency!

Nor are we telling God something he does not know in terms of our finiteness, dependence, and unworthiness that we might somehow convince God to do the things that we ask.

But rather, prayer is used by God in the lives of believers to mold, prepare and affect the hearts of his children “with the things we express, and so to prepare us to receive the blessings we ask.”

Edwards is connecting a pivotal dot here for us. So often we see in the Psalms, the Psalmists bemoaning their respective plights, only to meditate and extol God’s attributes, with the result being a worshipful recognition of divine goodness upon the receipt of answered prayer, whether or not the answer is ‘favorable’ to the petitioner (cf. Ps. 116; 118; 121; 123; etc..).

Prayer both prepares and sustains affections. In preparing our hearts it works to mold our imperfections closer to the perfect image of Christ and in sustaining it ignites within us an enduring passionate appreciation and pursuit of the glory of God.

So, your "praying" isn't really for you, prayer is for God.

This lays out the powerful privilege of prayer. Prayer is not only about making requests to God, praising God, or conversing with God – though all are great and biblical purposes for prayer. Prayer ultimately draws us to God and shapes us, by the grace of God, into a closer and closer expression of His Son, Jesus Christ (c.f. 2 Cor. 3:18).

One of the great tools for this kind of “prayer cardio” is praying the Scriptures, (sometimes called lectio divina.)

I have found great power in simply opening up the Bible (whether in the Psalms or simply where I am in my current reading) and praying God’s Word. This practice (spiritual workout discipline) helps me to tap into God’s written and revealed heart in Scriptures, allows the words of God (and His kindness through the gospel) to saturate my heart, and opens the door for God to use His Word to speak to me as I converse with Him and meditate in prayer over the Bible.

Beckoning you all to clear a place for a Bold Roast, the Elbows and the Book.

Working out daily,
RobbRobb

QUANDRY

EASIER READ THAN DONE

MATTHEW16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."20The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" 21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"26But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 

What might he have possessed? Above average paying job? Nice car(s)? Beautiful women? Comfortable house? Latest gadgets?  This is the quandry we are all faced with from time to time. Our lifestyles cause us to continue to choose what is convenient, comfortable and safe.
Jesus knows without Gods grace in making it possible for us walk away from these things, they will become a personal road block to what we really want.                                                     Just like the young man with lots of stuff...we want to follow Jesus into eternal life.