The Savage Five

My 17 year old cat died over Thanksgiving weekend and although she lived a long full life she left a vacancy in our hearts.   The morning following my cat's death I had an unusual visitor on my pillow for the next two mornings.  My calico cat, who is young and healthy, laid on the top of my pillow purring.  I couldn't help but remember how my cats from my childhood would do the same thing and how if brought me so much comfort. I don't' know why I am always surprised when the Lord uses ordinary things to comfort us. Jesus himself said,   "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."   Jeremiah 31:13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,  and the young men and the old shall be merry.   I will turn their mourning into joy;  I will comfort them,  and give them gladness for sorrow.   2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  the Father of mercies ...

Have you ever noticed all of the large rocks in a river or creek bed?  Water has the capability to move large rocks even boulders.  As the water flows over the rocks they become smooth due to erosion.  When a large amount of water flows through a river or creek it has the ability to overturn and displace these large obstructions. Much like a river bed our hearts accumulate large obstructions that hinder the flow of God's Spirit.  There are a variety of things that can ultimately hinder the movement of the Spirit of God in our lives.  There are also many things that can take up residence under these obstructions. I was walking through a creek bed with my youngest son this week looking for salamanders in a vernal pool.  A vernal pool is one in which the flow of water has stopped and little pockets or pools remain where animals can find refuge without being washed away.  Salamanders and other creatures like the spider I found, bank on this lack of m...

... UNLESS For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.    The scribes and Pharisees played the part of external righteousness.  Their appearance and behavior was aimed to please others and themselves so that they would gain approval, respect and control. But Jesus is saying that our righteousness must exceed or go beyond appearances. Jesus is saying that the reality of the kingdom must be present in the internal space of our hearts. What is happening on the inside of you?  Have you taken inventory of your heart lately?  Are you at rest or restless?  What are we thinking about?  How are you thinking of others?   All of these questions can give us insight into the domain of our hearts.  A domain is an area of territory owned or controlled by a ruler or government.  "The heart is the domain of the kingdom of God." Rande Greene  ...

On Sunday, my pastor taught from the Sermon on the Mount .   These messages reveal practical kingdom living and obedience to the King. He said that Jesus revealed kingdom righteousness as he spoke to his disciples and  a set of principles were brought to light that have the power to form an inward reality of the heart. As our minds are renewed by Jesus' teachings, our hearts are  conformed to a kingdom reality that resonates into a spiritual life reflective of the kingdom of God. Resonance is defined as: The quality in a sound of being deep, full and reverberating. That is kingdom living!  A life of depth and fullness in the presence of God that reverberates for all to hear!  Our lives should echo our King!  As we peer into His vastness, as someone peering into the grand canyon, we shout and our voice reverberates against His greatness!  We lean in and we get a sense of our smallness. Our lives are to be instruments, strung in tune with t...

My dear elderly cat had a stroke on Thanksgiving Day.  A stroke or "brain attack" is when either blood flows from an aneurism onto the brain causing damage or blood flow is restricted from flowing to the brain. When the flow of blood is restricted from nourishing the brain and providing oxygen then parts of the brain can be damaged and even die. A transient ischemic attack, where a blood clot temporarily blocks the flow of blood to the brain is usually a warning sign.  These mini strokes can be resolved once the material blocking the blood flow dislodges and is broken down by natural dissolvers. When we withhold love from other Christians, we in essence are in jeopardy of cutting off the love of God from vital parts of the body of Christ. Marks of the True Christian, reads the heading of Romans 12:9. Genuine Love Hates evil Holds fast to what is good Loves one another with brotherly affection Outdoing one another in showing honor Genuine in the Strong's co...

As I sat and prayed this morning about what the Lord may want me to write about, I heard the word 'unforgiveness'.  I knew it was not my idea because I had some ideas of things that I may write about but didn't have clear direction on any of those. When that word came up in my mind I felt as though I did not really want to write about unforgiveness but I realize now that as we come together with family during this Thanksgiving holiday, there are people that we encounter that we may need to forgive.  I cannot help but think of what a detriment to our ability to live lives of thanksgiving before God if we are resigned to hold onto an offense.  But the implications of unforgiveness are not just that we are unable to be truly thankful but we are unable to be forgiven ourselves. When we choose to hold on to unforgiveness in any area of our lives and relationships we drive a deep wedge between ourselves and the One who wants to be in relationship with us. After  Je...

What does it mean to have strong faith?  How do we get strong faith?  Our faith is nothing that we can boast about outside of the work of Jesus Christ. Although faith without works is dead, in other words as the NIV points out in James 2:17 , ... faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Who wants dead faith?  So we work and strive and try to do more to gain God's favor and  in so doing we often convince ourselves that our faith is dependent on us. In Tim Keller's book, Romans 1-7 for you , says that if saving faith equals obedience then we have something to boast about but faith is separate from our works.  He says that saving faith is a trust transfer. We trust in the promises of God through Jesus Christ and HIS work!  If we want to live by works of the law and not Christ's atoning work then the law of faith is nullified and the promises of God are bankrupt! Romans 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the law who ar...

"God wants us to trust Him for everything and with all of our lives."... "We sabotage every aspect of  life when we succumb to mistrust"... "Our level of trust determines the quality of our walk with God," "God is pleading with His people to trust Him." Duet. 7:9 These are a few words that  stood out from my Pastor's message yesterday.  Reading John 13 in conjunction with this message caused me to see the trust that Jesus placed in His Father and how, that trust, allowed Him to respond in love even though his current circumstances could have caused fearful anxiety.   Now before the Feast of the Passover,  when Jesus knew that his hour had come  to depart out of this world to the Father,  having loved his own who were in the world,  he loved them to the end.   Jesus knew what he was about to go through yet he positioned himself to continue loving those around him.   A quiet confident strength aro...

So often things that I read in scripture remind me of the natural laws of our physical universe that God has set in motion and sustains by His sovereign will. Newtons 3rd Law of Motion, which in essence says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction came to mind today when I was studying.  Like a loaded cannon that recoils when it is shot, so the load of our sin had an equal and opposite response in that Christ died for all sin. His response to our sin was more than enough to cancel out the force of our great sin!  I Corinthians 15:46 attests to this connectedness between the physical and spiritual arenas. However the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.  While I was studying Romans 5 today, this very scenario that Paul is referring to came to light.  Nestled nicely in the final third of Romans sits these statements: Now the law came in to increase the trespass , but where sin increased , grace abounde...

Earlier this week I spoke about how our association with God's word  gives form and function to our lives, creates the identity that we live in,  and is the life-giving power that arranges our lives into a life of blessing.  This association reminded me of the DNA molecule. The DNA molecule is a double helix that is bound together with chemical bonds that must be broken in order for the information that is stored there to come to life.  The word of God is a storehouse of information but unless God gives us insight we will not be able to decode the events that are housed in its pages. It is impossible for someone to understand the word of God by themselves. I Corinthians 2:14 But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit.  It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.   Much like the molecule DNA must have help from and enzyme cal...

Foundations are vitally important for the longevity of a building.  It not only matters what the foundation is built on but also what is built upon that foundation. If the foundation is not securely fixed on stable ground it can be washed away or crumble due to its instability and the lack of integrity where the foundation has been placed. As believers in Jesus, our spiritual foundation has been laid as Christ. I Corinthians 3:10-11 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.  Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.   It is only by the grace of God that our lives have been laid on the foundation, the very Rock of Christ and it is He that builds upon this sure foundation. When we rely on our own methods or modalities to 'build' upon our foundation in Christ we are in great jeop...

Inertia is a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion.  Newton's first law of motion is referred to as the law of inertia and states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an outside unbalanced force. You have experienced this law first hand when you are in the car and someone slams on the breaks,  Your body wants to continue moving forward due to inertia however the car stopping abruptly causes you to be drawn back into your seat, although you initially were leaning forward as your body tried to maintain the same rate of motion. Although the laws of physics dictate the response of the physical world around us, we as believers must maintain our state of rest no matter the unbalanced abrupt interactions we have throughout our day. Rest is of utmost importance in order to maintain a joy filled life that displays the gr...