Mannaword

I am sooooooo…… ready for spring! I know it is just mid-March and we are not quite finished with winter, but my heart is ready for my hands to get out in the flower gardens and feel the soil. That sounds strange, but in central New York at this time of the year we get really, really, really, really ready for spring! My photo of a beautiful garden full of tulips taken a few years ago in a neighbor’s yard, would tell the story, but since we are not quite there yet, just one highlighted. Amazing what photo programs can do.

In reality….

This is what is real. Another cold blast coming in. This was taken a few moments ago with my cell phone as I stood just outside the door of my office looking south. All Greek and Bible classes are canceled for today – a wise call indeed. But since I live close by, Joe and I are here working; Jim Corso also, since his activity was cancelled and he too lives near. So we work on other matters. But my heart just wanted to pour out a bit. Not quite a lament, but close I guess. It was 50 degrees yesterday, but here we are and it is to be only 7 for a low tonight. So those of you in warmer climates can know our hearts long to feel some of your warmth.

That being said, I love Central New York and all the beauty it offers through-out the year, so no real complaints really, just a bit of longing. The people are warm and friendly and the Body of Christ precious. So I am thankful for my appointment to this area of the world.

When we walk on assignment, then it is never just our choice as to where to live. It is the Lord’s will I choose and wherever He has need of us, we go. I love what He has done during the last 48 years by sending us from Texas to the Northeast. We spent 11 years in Vermont and the remaining 37 have been here in Central New York. We are blessed indeed.

So Spring will come and I will rejoice and be able to get dirt in my fingernails and enjoy the iris beds that will be in bloom. I will try to post that when it happens. It will be May before too much green appears, but next month some will begin to be seen.

So today will be used for study and preparation for days ahead. It is good. Thank you Lord, for the snow and the cold that allow us such joy in the springtime glory, when it appears. You know what you are about and we choose to bless you and our world in the process. May you be magnified in our hearts and in our mouths this very cold, snowy day.

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that I One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

When we accept Christ, our purpose in and for living completely changes. Now our purpose is defined by our destiny and our destiny is defined by and in Christ Jesus Himself. We have received the Christ of God! Therefore, we are infused with Him, His purpose and His destiny.

“Therefore, from now on, we, regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

The first difference listed in this passage is a switch in how we think of other people. We do not look at things outwardly but instead see with the eyes of Christ. I think this is not so much an effort thing on our part, but an empowerment thing in Christ. I have never been taught this, nor have I taught it much, because until recently, although reading it and teaching it many times, I did not understand this truth. Our perception of others has been switched into Holy Spirit mode. Oh we can just continue right on in the way we have been thinking, but we now have the power of Christ to see as He sees.

There is great power in the recognition of truth! Now we see that this is His supply, now we can adjust our thinking into truth and begin to “see” as He sees. This makes the assigned ministry of reconciliation an exciting development in our lives. Even in the Old Covenant God told Moses “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) I have read that and have known Moses as God's prophet had that ability, but never saw this passage telling us as new creatures in Him we too have been given that same ability in this New Covenant reality. Thank you Lord, we choose to look with a “switched” perspective.

(All passages are from the New King James Bible).

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In Christ Jesus, we are truly released into life to live in fullness and joy! I must learn to adjust my life to the truth of the Word of the Lord, not adjust the truth to my understanding of the word. Myriads of doctrines have been formed by the later. They are what ultimately side tract us and enslave us in the prisons of legalism and exclusion.

All my life I have tried and tried and tried to get rid of me so Jesus could be seen more and more. My understanding of the word was very flawed. I grew up singing a hymn called  “None of Self And All of Thee.” Each verse in the hymn takes us from all of self and none of Him, to none of self and all of Him. While on the surface, this looks to be in line with the truth of the Scripture, nothing could be further from the truth.

John the Baptist in John 3:3 said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” He was referencing his ministry, the work of his heart and hands, not his person. Then it is combined with Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “…I die daily.” These are combined to teach us that we need to disappear, empty ourselves of our selves, so that He can be seen in our life. Paul was not talking about trying to be less Paul than he was. He was stating a fact that in Ephesus he literally faced physical death every day. That is the context of the passage.

A text without a context is a pretext! That statement is not original with me, for I have known it most of my life. However, that statement is true as it stands.

When we become children of God through Jesus our Lord, He desires us to be all we can be in Him. He has created us very unique and filled with eternity’s possibilities – and that is just in the flesh. When we open to being His temple, then the possibilities resident within our person are beyond our comprehension. He does not want less of us to shine, He wants all of us in our fullness in Him to shine to a lost and dying world. He intends to “be” through us in all the fullness of His creation of us.

The “put-down” of our persons is actually a hang-over from some of the early gnostic teaching that the flesh was evil and the spirit good. So the more we abused the flesh, the more of the spirit could be seen. This is totally contrary to the gospel of grace and goodness in Jesus Christ.

Jesus paid all the debt my sin and nature owed. He has given me a new Spirit life. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,….” If this is true, then He does not want nor need less of you as His creation being yourself and fully Him, but He would like to release each of us as part of the manifold expression of who He is.

Yes, we get rid of the “old man,” who was crucified with Christ Jesus and put on the attributes of our redeemed nature and begin to walk in the newness of life.

Our good ole’ legalistic ways have once again confined us into a prison of “always sinful and always lacking.” when the word makes it clear that He has paid the price for my forgiveness and I have all sufficiency in Christ Jesus.

Now let’s adjust our thinking to the Word, instead of trying to make the Word agree with our thinking. I have a job here. My thoughts go to Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

We have already died in and with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14), so we are called to walk in resurrection life. We are to be living – fully alive – given to Him for breath and creative expression of His goodness. This makes us so much more than we have ever thought or hoped. So let’s stop trying to be less, and embrace the “more” of Him in us, therefore able to release into the life of the “us” He came to create. He has released us into life!!!

It is time for me to get back to writing on this blog. It takes time and study, so there is a tendency in me to think I will do it a bit later. So it gets untouched for days (or weeks as the case may be). My apologies to you my diligent readers. Many of you have discovered the key of ‘following’ the blogs you like to read so you do not have to check them each time. So if you get tired of checking to see if a new post is here, try ‘Following’ me. It will automatically show up in your email.

I have recently gotten a ‘TouchFire’ keyboard for my iPad Mini. I love the iPad for almost all my computer needs, except typing on it is difficult for me. I am not a ‘hunt and peck’ person. I am a trained typist, so I do not enjoy the tablet keyboards. The new keyboard is nice, but taking some adjustment time for me. So I am purposely using it to type Mannaword. They do provide typing lessons for us to helps us adjust, and I have completed them, but nothing will substitute for old fashioned practice. No flying over the keys as fast as I can think, which is my usual way. Now, slow and easy does it. I will fly on it, but not today. Thanks for putting up with my personal rambling. I seem to do it well – rambling that is.

I have observed that it is much easier to talk about a relationship with The Lord Jesus than it is to really have one. Experience has really gotten a bad rap in the Christian world. So as full-gospel people, we have become very proper, both in our worship styles and in our personal devotional and study habits. We read more books about people and their journeys than we read the actual word and works of The Lord Himself. It is easier to talk of the experiences of others than it is to have our own experiences in Him. He waits and loves and waits and loves.

He is so kind and longs for us to just choose to listen and respond to Him. Nike’s phrase occurs to me, “Just do it!” We really only need time to share intimately and everything in Him becomes very real. We cannot get closer as he lives inside of us, so it just takes turning our thoughts and awareness to Him, for Him to begin to interact with us deeply.

So I want to encourage you to get quiet with Him and let ‘stuff’ – you know – His kind do ‘stuff’ happen. I am going to do the same.

Having said that – now how do I feel about it all? I wrote the previous post just a bit ago. After I had published it, I felt lousy. So immediately I began to see how this gets undercut in its reality in our beings. 

For several days I have had symptoms of cold/flu like substance. Now I believe deeply in the total work of our Lord Jesus Christ in redemption, healing, and so on. Yet, there are times when we are not able, for some reason or another, to connect these things to our reality. 

That is where faith comes in. I often tell my students, “Faith is action based in trust, anchored in confidence.” We know that “faith without works is dead” from James. I go so far as to say that “faith is the action.” If there is no action, then there is no faith. It is not a system of belief, nor anything else we might think it is. So in my faith, I trust. I know only to take the action of resting, drinking plenty of liquids and trusting the Lord that my body is reflecting His power and glory even in this state I would call weak. 

There is no condemnation, but that that does not change the truth. He still is my healer and yes I would go to see a physician if that would help. In this case, no. My body is better to allow His healing through some rest and water and good food. 

As we trust Him, He does heal and He does make whole, and He does allow us to go home to Him in total, so I trust Him. That does not mean I will not face some rough stuff, nor does it mean I will never feel the ravages of illness and opposition. What it means is He is true though every man be false.

So today I am home and was with the Greek class via live-stream. It was a good class. You can watch it if you wish for the next few weeks as it is kept there for 30 or so days. We meet each week and study the Word of the Lord in Koine Greek. Our teacher, John Hernandez, does an outstanding job of teaching a brief grammar lesson, then we read the Greek and study together. It is an awesome eye opener. I joined from my easy chair today. Not quite the same but good. 

So re-read my last post and begin to put your feet down into that reality. It will be good for all of us!

“Come to Him as unto a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. Ye also as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4-5 KJ21

The point is “living stones.!” In 1 Corinthians 3 & 6 believers are called the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” People related to a “God” that was outside of them and related to Him as best they could before that wonderful Pentecost Day when the Holy Spirit was poured out into the called out in Acts 2. Then everything changed. Now a New Covenant, based on the atoning blood of Jesus Christ was ushered into reality. It has been promised by the prophets of old and now it had come. So we are His bone and flesh people. (I know most translations say “flesh & bone” when the two are mentioned together, but the King James has it right here. It is always bone first and that is because the blood is created within the bone then the flesh; so we are related to Him by blood and then flesh).

It has never been (and never will be) stones of earth, covered with gold that He has desired. He could create that with a word if He so chose. No, He wants a human (made with His hands and in His image to begin with) to choose Him and allow Him to take up residence within them, thus producing a “living temple” made out of living stones – us. 

Our value is not just as those who belong to Him, or worship Him or most of anything else we might think. No. Our value is in the fact that we are His living evidence that He lives. We carry about His glory, His power and His nature as we live on this earth. So in His power and glory our lives have the capability of displaying His grace, love and mercy to a desperate world. This is cause for us too realize how abundantly He has blessed us and included us in His thoughts and plans. May we turn our eyes to truth and no longer relate to Him as some separate and outside force, but relate to Him as One who by His choice and ours, has taken up residence within us and is a part of all we are. He includes us in Himself. We are His Body. We are His …. He is our life, purpose, power, intent, etc…. 

Too awesome to comprehend, but it is true! Oh Lord how we thank you for dwelling within and as we turn our awareness to your indwelling, may our hearts soar in your love, grace, mercy, glory and power. May we be an illustration of all you are. My mind has trouble comprehending that reality, but Lord I receive it by faith and we will spend our day together in everything! 

“Come to Him as unto a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. Ye also as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4-5 KJ21

The Holy Spirit speaking to us through these words of the Apostle Peter just as He spoke them to those of the people of the 1at century, brings to our memory the fact that we come to Jesus not because He is popular. For now as in the days of His life on this earth, the populace rejects Him as being much of anything more than a vague historic figure. He was certainly not vague and certainly not just a historic figure that was admired by many. He is living and still interacting within His people today – more than He ever did while confined to the flesh and movements His body allowed. 

We come to Him because He was chosen by God and precious to Him. We are the living stones that comprise His spiritual body, this house. As such we are a holy priesthood. The dream of the God-Head through the ages has come to pass! The mystery hidden through the centuries, but treasured by God – God in us – living! What an awesome fact! This is what the prophets longed to see and what their hearts long to understand. This is the mystery of all mysteries, unfolded in us who have chosen the same One God chose. This has made us the nation of priests that is spoken of in the Old Testament. He told the people then they would become a nation of priests. That is who we are! 

We have sacrifices to offer, just as the scripture says, but these precious, holy sacrifices are our bodies (Romans 12:1) and our words (Hebrews 13:15) “the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.” What joy we have in this living dedication of being in such a way that our very words and actions bring praise and glory to our God and our King. This is a holy calling Beloved and it is ours. Thank you Lord for empowering our lives to be in You the perfect praise that lives and lives and lives. 

“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:1-3 KJV

Many of our translations have this phrase “…that you may grow up into salvation” or something like that. The difference between the translations here is the Greek Text used by the translators. I am choosing to stay with the King James in this case, simply because the word always causes growth. The direction of the growth is understood in the passage. 

So we are to co-operate with the Word. That is our part of faith – to co-operate with the Word. In this case, to get rid of all ill-will, desire to see another wounded or hurt, insincerity (two-faced which is what hypocrisy means) and all forms of jealousy. These are deadly emotions and will not only eliminate our witness but will severely damage our own spiritual growth. Many of us have not understood that to be jealous of another person is to under cut our own power in the Holy Spirit. Such things must be eliminated by us personally. No one else can do this for us. 

Some of us need simply to allow His love and mercy to take care of such in us, while others of us may take some time in learning not to blame and receive Him in such fullness that these things drop away. Still others may need some professional help. However, Beloved in our Jesus, these are emotions that we are empowered to live beyond. So let’s us set our hope on our Lord Jesus and begin to get what help we need to allow such things to be conquered in us. 

We must choose not to participate in those emotions. We do have control of this in our emotions through our renewed minds. In the New Covenant, the Word of the Lord is written in our hearts and minds, (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:8-10, Hebrews 10:16-17) and as we believe that and allow the Word to become the first thing we think, these matters do change in us and instead being consumed by them, we have the ability and power in Jesus to not participate in these deadly emotions. So go for it. He in you is able. 

This is all conditioned on if we have “tasted that the Lord is gracious.” It is a spiritual “tasting” of course, but if we have lived any length of time in Him, we do know the “tasting” of His goodness and grace. If we only have a small “taste,” we have the ability to conquer whatever emotion we stumble on to in order to release His goodness and receive more and more of the milk of the Word. 

Thank you Lord Jesus, for your power in us and you love and grace in us.