There was only ever one hope!

Dear brothers and sisters,

I want to wear a button that says, "Repent, the end is here!!!!"

I am hardly fit company today after the results of the election.  That my "soul is cast down within me," is an understatement.

Of this, I am forced to repent and seek forgiveness.

I never realized how much hope I had placed in this election.  I am ashamed of how much I had looked to man and away from God.

I do know and I hope you do - that God is still sovereign - He still rules His creation, nothing is out of His control.

I am ashamed of the fear I have (surprise?) of the inevitable loss we will now suffer in terms of our material security.  I am ashamed of the thoughts that run through my mind.  I am ashamed at my lack of faith at God's answer to my payers.

I am ashamed at the thoughts that America, as we know it and love it is done.  I am ashamed of a desire to leave - either the country or civilization.  I am ashamed of my strong desire to drop off the grid and become one of the "invisibles."

I am ashamed of my lack of faith directed at the whole purpose of faith - His glory and honor.

I am haunted by one and only one statement made by Mr. Obama.  "Vote, it's the best revenge."  Though perhaps a slip of the tongue, for me it reveals the very heart of what we will now have to trust God in.   Revenge - the fundamental purpose behind what will not come to pass.

I don't know of anywhere else to go to live.  I don't know how to "get off the grid."  I do not know how to disappear.  Perhaps that's a good thing for I fear it would be an act of faithlessness.

Like many of you, I have been sorely distracted by all the political tension and hope.  My mind has been distracted and my heart wounded by taking my eye and mind off the call of God.

Gun sales and ammunition sales are sky-rocketing.  Self-protection?  From who?  I sense it is not from the "bad-guys" but from the guys who now have the bigger guns.

I have only two consolations.  the first is that my God is sovereign and His will is good.  The second is - well - the prophets, John the Baptist, the Apostles all lived under the cruelest of political powers and yet remained faithful and fruitful.  They stood for God against warped and insidious powers of their day - yet without sin.

We too must stand.  Not primarily for our "liberties," nor our "rights," for, as a nation of laws we are subject to the changing of the laws.

We must stand for Him.  perhaps this is why we find ourselves where we are.  For generations we have have stood for all sorts of social and cultural - even moral "issues," but we have not stood for Him.  I believe that He has been and is disciplining us and calling us back to His purpose for us.

Our fight is against the flesh.  Yes, the world and the devil are involved BUT at the very core of it all is - well - us, our flesh.  It is the flesh that battles against the spirit.  It is the flesh - this body of death - that is our primary enemy.  We must repent - in weeping and even gnashing of teeth at the faithlessness we have shown.

I am "in" the world by His will - certainly not my choice.  We are not to be "of" the world - we are not to fight as it fights - but we have and we must repent.

I am encouraging all of you to examine your hearts.  Look to see what matter most in your life and living.  If God, His glory and His will - your being conformed to the likeness of His Son, is not at the center, repent - please, repent.

I am praying to find brothers and sisters who will join with me in a commitment - a singular commitment -to turn back to the call of God to His prime directive -.

Jesus came to redeem - that is not our job.  Our calling is to call men and women to repentance through the preaching of the Gospel.  We are NOT called to change the world - we never could - we never can.

A subtle persecution has long existed - there is no need for subtlety any more.  There is also no excuse for "stealth" or "compromised" Christianity.  It is time to rebuild the wall between the Body of Christ and the world.  For too long we have allowed them to be dismantled for the sake of acceptance and congeniality.  The wall must rise again.  The distinction between believers, imposters, posers and unbelievers must be made clear.

I am ashamed of my lack of faith and faithfulness.  I never knew its depth until today and now I feel it deeply and painfully.

We must rebuild the wall around God's gate, God's door.  This must begin with each of us.  We must repent of claiming to not be "of" the world and yet craving all it's goodies and making use of all its ways.

The Puritans are our best examples of men and women who forsook the world - perhaps we would do well to follow their lead.

It is now - to what ever responsible degree we can and in God's truth and wisdom - that we must, "Come out from among them,"  Do we have the faith to do that?  Do we trust God enough to seek and follow His path in this?

The world hates Him - the world hates us - what part of that do we not want to understand?

Michael "sheepdog" Sanders
ms@tc2v1.com
336-549-2081

Half empty? Half full? 032612

Half empty or half full?

Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely

Are you a, “the glass is half empty,” or a “the glass is half full,” kind of person?

I’m a, “the glass is always full,” kind of guy.

The glass may be half full (or empty) of water but the rest is filled up with air.  So, it is really always full.

Are you a, “don’t sin,” or a “do good works,” person?

OK, we all sin and we’re all gonna sin till He returns BUT if you are just a “don’t sin,” person you are gonna have a tough time!

We are to lay aside every weight and sin which clings.  But that’s not the end of it!!!!!!!  We are to do that and then RUN.

What’s this “run” thing?

Duhhhhhhhh…….

It’s doing the work He prepared for us to do –

Duhhhhhhhh…….

Now, I’m not JUST talking about feeding the hungry or visiting the sick.  Yes, we need to be doing communal good deeds.  But the real work begins in us – working on our knowledge and understanding of our faith so we can better  and more faithfully live it out.

Trust me – or rather Him (I’m just telling)  if you work on:

Phil.4: 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

OR

2 Cor. 10:  . . . . take every thought captive to obey Christ.

sin will slowly diminish in your life.  It may never go away but it will begin to die.

You can’t DO a DON’T – you’ve got to DO a DO.  That’s where our focus needs to be.

From the bottom of our hearts to the far flung mission fields we need to be about doing our work he prepared.

It starts in our hearts.

2 Thes. 2: 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Note:  Comfort and ESTABLISH our HEARTS – in every good WORK AND WORD!

ESTABLISH: στηριζω   sterizo:  to set fast, i. e. ( literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or ( figuratively) to confirm: — fix, ( e-) stablish, stedfastly set, strengthen, to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix to strengthen, make firm to render constant, confirm, one's mind.

 

IN: preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality

It is through both the work and the word that our hearts are established – not by not sinning.

It is a both/and.  The Word instructs and directs and then the Work confirms and encourages.

Oh – just in case you forgot – the Spirit works in this mightily – and constantly.

Think of Words and Works as the hay and mud the Spirit uses to make strong durable bricks as He builds you up in Christ.

Yes, I will always struggle against the flesh and with sin BUT my intent is not to not sin.  Rather my intent is to so engage the work and the word that sin finds little opportunity.

Sin loves a vacuum.  Fill your cup with the work and the word and sin will find little room.

Temptation 032112

Wow ! !

“So temptation is like a knife, that may either cut the meat or the throat of a man; it may be his food or his poison, his exercise or his destruction.”  Over Coming Sin and Temptation  by John Owen

Old John didn’t mince words did he?

Temptation:  READ !!

πειρασμοσ peirasmos; from; a putting to proof (by experiment (of good), experience (of evil), solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication, adversity: — temptation, x try.  

An experiment, attempt, trial, proving trial;  the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy an enticement to sin, temptation, whether arising from the desires or from the outward circumstances an internal temptation to sin or a mental state, by which we are enticed to sin, or to a lapse from the faith and holiness adversity, affliction, trouble: sent by God and serving to test or prove one's character, faith, holiness temptation ( i. e. trial) of God by men rebellion against God, by which his power and justice are, as it were, put to the proof and challenged to show themselves.

Temptations can come in all kinds of wrappings.  The may be sweet smelling and pretty or they may stink and offend.  Allllllll tooooooo often we think of temptation in sexual terms – which is a shame.  There are more sins than the nasty ones.

I can be tempted to flatter for self-gain.

I can be tempted to defame for self-promotion.

I can be tempted to stand silent for self-protection.

I can be tempted to conform for self-worth.

I can be tempted to do a kindness to expose another’s miserliness.

I can be tempted to do good to obscure my bad acts.

Temptation – is a trial – of my heart, my faithfulness, my maturity.

I sometimes wonder if, when we are tempted, we see it too much a test of our faith as opposed to a test of our general condition “in Christ.”  Many folks seem to approach temptation as a test of whether or not the believe in the Redeemer – and maybe 

sometimes that’s what’s happening.  

But for the most part I find it to be a test of my:

Knowledge – Do I know it’s a test – do I know how to respond?

Understanding  – Are reasons X is a temptation to me clear?

Maturity – Have I so grown in Christ that I see the “fine points” of temptations I used to miss?

Surrender – Where am I on the continuum of “Not I but Christ?”  Depending on all the above I may still need a lot of growing.

Discernment – Hello!!! Am I paying attention?

Remember >>  TO BE TEMPTED IS AS PAIN BUT IT IS NOT A SIN !!!!!!!!

As a matter of (a Mikey) fact – did you ever stop to think that you can only be “tempted” if you are His?  Is that not GOOD news!  If you aren’t His then it is not a temptation.  Oh, it may be a challenge to cultural and societal expectations for the unbeliever BUT,for the believer, it ain’t no sin!

Now can you see why James says to “count it all joy?”  Temptations/trials demonstrate you are His – they bring assurance.  Failure to resist simply demonstrates that here is a place in your mind, heart and life where you need to grow more in Him. 

It also keeps us looking for His arrival.  Sometimes when I am entering a situation where I know there will be temptation (and these are unavoidable – quit thinking sex) or when a temptation pops up I laugh and pray, “Come quickly Lord!!!!”  It’s just a simple and funny way for me to keep in mind that there will be a day when there won’t be temptation – and OH Boy am I ready.  How about you?

Until them, to make a play on scripture, “Be tempted, and sin not!”  It may not be easy – but is really is that simple!

In ness

Jn 15:7
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  ESV

Abide = to remain, to tarry, to sojourn, not to leave.

We in Him
His words in us
equals
asking rightly.

The whole significance
of being in Him
must be
known,
understood,
and remembered ( kept n the forefront of one's mind).

This first and foremost
is the believer's privilege,
honor,
and duty.

And yet
how poorly we know,
understand
and remember.

So that we
do ourselves injury
when we pray
when we ask
for we ask
badly,
wrongly,
blindly.

We create
and feed
doubts
when we ask
outside of Him.

His words
in us
not just
with us
IN us.

Abiding.

His truth
connecting our facts,
our needs,
our wants,
to His will.

His words
pruning ours
and shaping our desires
and fears.

We don't eat
just once.
We don't drink
just once.

Nor do we do either
occasionally.

And, as with
food for the body's health
His word
food for the soul's health.

Wisely consumed
in its unprocessed condition,
unrefined by others,
raw.

No condiments,
no spices
just
His word
as received
consumed.

This "in-ness"
in Him
His word in us
is the gris for the
mill of the Spirit.