The Power of Want

Want is a chasm as deep and dark as death, resulting in the same,

A never ending pit that swallows everything you have including your name.

Nothing matters to it except that it requires more than what is good,

Satisfaction is a foreign idea and a concept not understood.

It lives in each and every one of us which is of great concern,

Feed it once and it turns into a fire, a conflagration of continuous burn.

Be warned there is only one thing that will bring it contentment,

Jesus Christ; the Son of God, too many a fools’ resentment.

If there is a God (Blank)

I have heard this phrase mentioned; and probably you have to, if there is a God why do bad things happen?

To answer this question you have to ask another, why do people actually ask the question in the first place? Obviously the person sees injustice in some sort of incident. But when you really think about it; where does this sense of injustice come from, is it not implanted in each of us? I mean when a murderer goes free on a technicality are we not all shaking our heads? Do we not as a collective body agree that actions have consequences? Is this sense not attributed to us as a result of being created and formed in the likeness of one who is just? And by extension a being who is perfect? I say perfect because in our world, no one is perfect or just, which means that this sense could not have originated within our society but be from somewhere other than our own understanding and realm. For who can produce justice from injustice, perfection from imperfection or even life from death?

Following that same logic then would not a God allow consequence for all of our actions? I understand that most people will respond to this with, well what about natural disasters like tornadoes, earth quakes and other major events?

The answer is easy, we are not perfect and the world was broken due to a breaking in our original relationship with God. We thought we knew better and chose to disobey his original command. We also continue to believe that we know better and invent and do things against this Earth such as pollution, consumption of resources, destruction of forests, extinction of species and generally ignoring and damaging the planet. Then when a disaster happens, we all get shocked and point a finger at God, without looking at the whole picture of cause and affect a very scientific concept.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So the next time you ask the question is there a God? Or why would a God let these things happen? I want you to take a hard look at yourself and ask what have we as a society and world done to cause said disaster.

But I will end this leaving you with hope, the hope of a new beginning, a new Earth, one that is perfect in every way. For this to be accomplished we require a perfect and just God to step in and once again bringing forth life from death. And he has done so, and the new world is coming the only difference is that this time there is no command for us to obey. What is required is an admission from us that we have sinned and broken away from him in the first place. There is a requirement that we must accept what we have done and the consequences of our actions. Thankfully, because our God is perfect, he knows that none would be able to withstand the consequences and he sent his perfect Son to stand in our stead to take on this correction. His name is Jesus, and to acknowledge and accept him and his life is to heal our relationship with his father.

And that is Why God.

Am I a friend of Christ?

Recently while on a prayer walk I was reflecting on my relationship with my Lord and Saviour, a verse came to mind that raised the above question.

This self-examination of personal motives and relational strength is a must for the Christian as it forces us to see things that normally we are unaware of or simply choose to ignore. Along with my usual prayers and songs, from time to time verses will come to mind as I converse with the Holy Spirit. These are usually the result of questions I ask which are sometimes answered, sometimes not. Silence is often echoed back and I am left to ponder other questions, motives and actions in my daily life.

Today was different, today I was confronted with John 3:29-30 (KJV)

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.

For Context, John at the time was speaking to his disciples and they were asking him about another who was baptizing people. As stated in the verse above the friend of the bridegroom; in which he is indicating himself as friend and Jesus as the bridegroom, rejoiceth greatly at his voice. And then he further states by extension that his joy is therefore full, before making the statement that he must decrease.

The big question here is why John said this and what impact it had on me and what impact it should have for all Christians. It took me a while to puzzle this out and what I am about to write is a revelation for my life and perhaps not the reader. I do however strongly believe that all scripture has meaning and speaks directly with every Christian where and when they are in their walk with Christ, so here we go.

For me John stating this to his fellow disciples; people who shared his belief in God and the message that he was preaching; the repentance of sin, has particular importance. He wanted them to know that Jesus was more important and that they should make a greater connection to him than anyone else. Sure John was a great preacher and helped bring others to God, but even he indicated his proper place by saying:

John 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

But for me; as a Christian, the question became, am I a friend of Jesus? Was I, and am I taking appropriate action so that those around me, believers and non-believers know the difference. I imagined being there that moment when John was speaking with his friends and I imagine his voice as a reverent whisper, he must increase, but I must decrease. You see, I believe that this moment in time was a revelation to him as well.

Since that event years have passed and Christ has left this Earth, however he dwells within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. And our goal and mission since that time is to spread the gospel to the whole world. This knowledge coupled with the understanding that we are called to be Christ’s hands and feet here on Earth until his return leaves no doubt in my mind. To ensure that I too am a friend of the bridegroom Christ and to fully exercise myself as a part of the body of Christ in service to him, I too must decrease and he must increase.

Now I hear some of you saying, that’s crazy, how is that possible? The key is by capturing every thought and daily submitting to the Holy Spirit. I must choose the will of the father over all along with the shedding of all personal goals, and agendas. The key to having God’s peace that passes all understanding and abundant joy lies in our ability to take a back seat in our own lives. By the way when I say decrease I me inwardly, in the soul, in the heart, and in the spirit. Ask any Christian you know if they would consider themselves to be worthy or perfect, I bet they say no. The same understanding works here, to fully be able to do Christ work here, the indwelling spirit needs to have control.  Remember this verse:

Acts 4: 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none othername under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

In order to reach those who we are spreading the word to, preaching to, sharing our lives with and calling to be saved; Christ must come first. In order that we are successful in this great commission it is imperative that Christ is seen and heard by those we interact with. So for me I choose this day to become a better friend to Jesus and look forward to the fruits of that commitment.

Sometimes fights in a marriage can point to God

I know what you are thinking, but Ed I thought all married couples were blissfully happy. Well I am here to tell you that every, and I do mean every couple has fights, tiffs, arguments and times when the just simply wished that they weren't married.

Now if you’re married you know EXACTLY what I mean, if you are single I just left you scratching your head and saying what? So for the purpose of educating those who are not married, the perspective I am going to break down in this piece is geared toward those who are single.

First I would like to point out that I do not know where the idea that marriage will solve a number of your problems came from, but I do know that it is a popular point of view. So I want to set the record straight. People; and by people I mean everyone, are unique. Each one of us has different likes, hopes, dreams, opinions and ways of doing things that are different from anyone else in the world. This fact means that we will never ever see eye to eye with anyone. Sure we can agree on basic principles, even share a like or two, but when it comes down to who you are and understanding all of your idiosyncrasies no one on Earth will be able  too.

Now given this revelation, how do you possibly believe that given the number of people you will meet in your lifespan and corner of the world that you could find someone, anyone who would understand all of those things and be okay with them on a permanent basis? You simply can’t, and if you believe you can you are deluding yourself and setting both you and your future partner a standard that you will never be able to attain.

So now that I have established that everyone is different and we will never be able to marry ourselves, hear is the bottom line. People who spend time with one another will eventually disagree and even fight. Now we all know that this is unavoidable, but the question remains what do we do after? Some people clam up and don’t talk for a while, there are others that want to talk everything out and then there is me, I want not only talk, but set the record straight, explain things until they are dead and or fix everything right away on the spot so we can get on with the good stuff.

Now I am not saying which way is right, but I am sure we can agree that reconciliation is what usually happens after a fight in most marriages. I know personally for myself; I feel a stronger urge then most to get back to that place as soon as possible. But I want you to think for a moment, perhaps about the last fight you had with your spouse or perhaps your best friend if you are single. What was the feeling you had before you began to patch things up? Or better yet why did you even feel the need to patch things up, after all your view point is still your viewpoint right? You didn't crumble and change your view point did you? Perhaps, but that is not the important question here. The important question is what was driving that need to reconcile?

I know for myself I have a strong need for my wife to forgive me, I mean she did profess to love me at the alter right? Shouldn't that statement of love be bigger, greater and stronger than any slight that I may have committed against her? But that is the very paradox here, we are imperfect, and the love we profess is imperfect even though we wish it was not. Even the need for forgiveness that I have is imperfect, because although I may not know it at the time I am looking for that all-encompassing, all correcting, all forgiving love that will block out all of my mistakes. I am sure if you thought about it a bit more, it’s what you want too. Phrases like I want to be accepted for who I am, and I want to be understood, are simply the top layers of what we really want which is to be forgiven for every error and mistake.

Here is the difficult part, your spouse or your best friend can’t give you what you want. That forgiveness you are seeking can only come from a single source. That source is the one true and pure love, which only comes from the perfection of God and specifically from his son, Jesus. The bible states, that no greater lover is there than a man lay down his life for a friend. And that is exactly what Jesus did for you and for me.

So the next time you fight, and I know you will. Remember that it doesn't matter that you are right or wrong, what matters is that the forgiveness you both need, and seek can only be found in Jesus. 

What I have in common.

There it hung in the last watches of the night as if suspended by invisible thread.

Glaring down at me with silent obedience, full round and perfect.

It's great light a mere powdery reflection of it's symbiotic counter part.

As I watched it wait patiently in the sky for the dawning of the sun I considered it's maker.

What struck me as odd is that even we two shared something other than our presence in that moment.

Although we are much different, I too had been put in place for a season to reflect the glory of another in the darkness and that someone is Jesus.

In the late dark watches of my life I pray that I too can be as obedient and silent as the full moon.

Wayward Plea

Despite my best efforts I lack, Try as I might all my deeds do not stack, Up to the standards for which you have set, My life’s efforts of greed and get, Leave rubble and destruction in its wake, May your will be done in me for your own sake, Take my will and let it be, Always and only for thee, Forgive this fool his wayward path, And guide me with your gentle Sheppard’s staff, To you be all Glory, Honour and Praise, I dedicate my life to you father and all my living days. Amen

I am no longer a captive are you?

 

Breaking the Chain, freeing the Captive.

This past Easter has given me the gift of remembrance, not just of what our Lord and Saviour Jesus did for us, but also why. I know it seems strange but the two are connected, it is just that sometimes we can get wrapped up with one and totally forget the other. As awkward as it is to admit, I forgot the why somewhere along the way.

When Jesus started his ministry his first sermon was all about the why and is documented by Luke:

Luke 4:17-19 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

This is the first message of hope to all of the world. Christ came to deliver us and set the captive free. The cross itself the end of Jesus' ministry in the physical world is a perfect example of how we can respond to this truth. I am sure that everyone knows about the two other criminals that were crucified with Jesus and that one mocked and scorned him while the other chose to accept Christ for the perfect innocent man/God that he was and asked him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. 

It is the perfect picture of the two options that we have, sometimes this choice is daily, but it boils down to this. We can either choose to acknowledge who we are in light of his presence or we can choose to focus on our current situation and struggle in the darkness alone, lost and afraid. As seen by the one who confessed his guilt before Christ, his faith was justified by Jesus. For he said this very day you will be with me in paradise.

So I remind myself and urge you to do the same, do not focus on where you are and your struggle to fix things yourself. Take that sin, whatever it is that has you captive and acknowledge it. Then acknowledge that Christ and he alone was sent to set the captive free. In order to be freed from darkness we must bring these things to light. The key is to remember the source of our strength, victory and power. It is in Christ and the fact that he died for US. Hallelujah! What a gift, what mercy and grace, what joy.

Philippians 4:13

King James Version (KJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Once we have brought all of our sin and failure to him then, and only then will we be free. It is good once in a while to remember ourselves as we were when we were children. I am sure each one of us remembers being caught in a lie or other petty, childish behaviour and how good it was to admit it to our parents and the relief that came with being reconciled to them. It is the same with our heavenly father. Repentance can be painful but the joy of reunion far out ways that brief discomfort.

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

 If you are interested in learning more about Jesus and his life I suggest that you attend Alpha. The Alpha course includes weekly meals and an amazing weekend getaway that comes halfway through the seven-week course. Participants meet once per week on a Tuesdays for a total of seven weeks.

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