Meditations – Page 263 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: July 31

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Heb 10:25

Is Church the place that we attend or a people in the process of being made? Many place more emphasis on place than in purpose. It is not a matter of getting what we consider to be our needs met. To be honest, we do not really know precisely what our needs are. There are symptoms, but our needs go much deeper. God knows. He knows our frame or the substance on which all that we have become was constructed upon. The foundation of our soul; mind, will, and emotion, is taken into account when the Word of God is spoken under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We are challenged at the very core of our being in order to discover His intentions for our lives. We are not in place to merely receive affirmations. They will only strengthen the soul in its rebellious state against the knowledge of God. He is our Father. He rebukes us, challenges us, and affirms us. Oftentimes Church becomes a very uncomfortable place. We are called to reckon with God in relation to the sin that so easily beset us in order for His character to be formed in us. We are not human beings, but rather human becomings. We are a work in process. Whatever we are becoming, all that we expose ourselves to contribute to the formation of our lives. Every moment counts. Time is too valuable to be wasted.

Many have opted out of attending Church altogether. Their expectations were not met, or a disappointment was so devastating that they distanced themselves from the Church. Maybe unrealistic expectations have driven you away. It could have been the test of character warranting a difference response from you. The Church does not comprise of perfect people, but rather committed people. The commitment will be tested but the Word of God will bring understanding over time. Patience is the virtue which must be established with our hearts. God is beckoning His people to come home and be established.

Attend Church this week in order to worship God. Allow Him to reveal Himself to you and do not lean to your own understanding. The definition that I use for worship is “worship is our active response to God’s revelation of Himself whereby we declare His worth.” It is not about us. If worship is to be real it must be about Him! Out of our worship He will be glorified and His glory will always be for our good. You may not see it now, but when patience is perfected we are made to see further. We can then see aspects of the Kingdom of God unknown to us before His work in us began!

30 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 30

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“ For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”( 1 Cor 2:2)

Memory is a gift from God. When appropriately used, it can serve as a blessing. But when the lingering effects of memory close our minds to God, it is then a curse. During times of stillness the mind can relive experiences of the past. Our memories capture those moments and freeze-frame them into the catalogue of our minds. Things we have learned lay the foundation for further knowledge.

Paul realized this and made a decision. He said, “for I determined…” The word “determined” in the Greek language is “krino” which means, “to separate.” Paul was in essence saying, “I separate the knowledge of the past from the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” God was determined to separate light from darkness. It is not that Paul was ignorant of other things. He knew many things, but now possessed the ability to separate what he knew from who he is in the process of knowing. To know Jesus Christ is a full time job that ought to occupy our undivided attention.

All other information must pass through the filter of the revelation of Jesus in order for it to translate into wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge effectively and skillfully applied to life. What should this mean to us? It is saying that since the life of Jesus is to become life to us, we cannot afford to allow competing information to separate us from what we are convinced of. The discernment of the Christian is the ability to see through the lenses of Christ what He sees. Only then can His judgments become our own. The wisdom that comes from beneath is sensual and self-seeking. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. James 3:17-18. It will not come through mere wishful thinking. It is yours only when you are determined to know nothing other than Jesus Christ, and to know Him as crucified for us as well as the rest of the world.

29 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 29

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5

When God is abstract, one must use his imagination in drawing a composite of Him. But when one is close enough to see Him, all they have to do is report to others what has been made known to them. What we hear of Him ought to wet the appetite of the hearer to be drawn closer by the Holy Spirit. When we are drawn close enough to see His features we see in Him what we so desperately need. Then it does not take any exaggerated language or overly dramatic expressions to convey to the heart of others the knowledge that has now become a part of us. It is as easy as breathing because we are reporting and not selling. He does the work in our hearts and imparts to us wisdom that is beyond their years. It is the personal experience that transforms us from seekers to saints. As eyewitnesses of His glory, we are changed. The change within us is sufficient to invoke the change in others. Once we have seen Him through the eyes of the Spirit, we have a story to tell and a message to deliver. He becomes greater than what we first thought of Him and we become diminish in size in our own eyes.

28 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 28

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30

God searches hearts in His pursuit of a man that carries His passion. He looks beyond the surface responses and reactions of those who make a good showing before others and will often find one who appears to have nothing going his way. This diligent soul appears to be benched and not actively recruited to participate on the world’s scene because the world does not see his qualities but God is fully aware of them all. This is the man that will build a wall between what God loves and what He loathes. He will also restore the wall of protection for inhabitants of the land that is now defenseless against the enemies of their souls. He stands before God in order to God as an intercessor, appealing to Him in order to avert the judgment that would come against all who rebel against God. But who is this man? He is a nobody in the sight of others, but to God he is the man for the season. It is not the applause of the crowd or its size that determines the measure of a man. It is the faithfulness of his heart towards God that matters most in these times of trials, tests, and temptations.

27 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 27

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30

God has designed man as such to respond to His initiative. His will is accomplished and we are complete when we are in the right place to receive from God and use what we receive in ways that glorify Him. Fragmentation is taking what God gives and using it for our own pleasure without any regard to His will. The world suffers for there is no man to cultivate God’s creation. Where there is no man there is chaos and confusion. The absence of a man who stewards the grace of God judgment is inevitable. It is the rule of the righteous that preserves the order so that God withholds His wrath. Wickedness positions the world for destruction. Many do not consider the devastation measured against the world when misguided people are allowed to have their way. God seeks out those who would stand and not wobble regardless of the cost that they may have to pay. Where they are received, the grace of God is abides.

26 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 26

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2

Once Jesus Christ is revealed to you, it is then necessary to measure all information by and through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Former experiences and former schools of thought may try to compete with this new gained knowledge. The logical mind searches through former experiences seeking out ways to deny Christ or to diminish the impact of experiencing Him. Then Christ becomes subjective while other things become the object of our faith. The intent is to get us to serve God for what we may gain personally rather than living for Him. To know Him as crucified is to live for Him alone. He gives us His resurrected live and we live in newness of life. No longer are we competing for the same prizes that the world is seeking after. Our goal is to know Him even as we are known. It takes determination for the message of Christ to remain relevant in an age of selfishness and self-centeredness. But when we are determined to know Him, He gives us the knowledge necessary to live the abundant life. It is a fulfilling life with purpose.

25 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 25

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?” Psalm 8:4 (MSG)

My smallness in contrast to His greatness and the vastness of His creation causes me to wonder. Why would God even bother with someone as small and seemingly insignificant as me? If it were only a case restricted to observation, my worth is very little. But since God looks at His creation from the perspective of potential, we all stand as His masterpieces and created for good works. What we have the potential to become and to do far outweighs the work of angels. We are to reflect His glory to all of His creation. Principalities and powers in heavenly places will know His many-faceted wisdom through those obedient souls that are surrendered to Him. God gives special attention to mankind. All of creation is held in subjection until the mature sons of God are manifested for its release. Therefore God is not merely looking at historical or current events. He is looking at those who are in Christ being prepared to carry out His work.

24 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 24

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” 2 Corinthians 9:15

The gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the description of His Personhood in words from heaven through vessels of clay yet ordained to carry the message. God uses ordinary people but imparts to them extraordinary power. They are no longer mere men but the Word that they carry changes them into becoming vessels of honor. The message preserves the messenger so that as he partakes of what he has to deliver, his heart is set ablaze with the unction that comes from the Holy Spirit. The gift of Jesus Christ is indescribable, but what is equally indescribable is how God can choose from among the people those whom He wills to chose and use them in such remarkable ways! The sufficiency is not in them, but He continues to remind them that without Him they can do nothing. Thanks be to God for the methodology He has chosen to get His Word to us. And most of all, thanks be to God for a changeless but a life-changing message.

23 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 23

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,” Hebrews 3:14

Our confidence in Christ must not waver even when we face adversities that appear stronger than our strength to maintain. It is not our strength that preserves us but God alone. Our beginning is of faith therefore we must not view the battles as ours alone. Christ being a part of us is involved in everything we do. He shares with us what belongs to Him and since He has already passed through the heavens, there is no goal higher than what He has already accomplished. He takes His victory and shares it with us therefore we have an identity in Him in heaven. We are admonished to hold fast to the confidence we had from the beginning. It is God’s gift to us to be maintained by us. Our faith is cultivated by and through the living Word. Even if we do not see an end to our dilemma, God is able to keep us to the end in order for us to receive what He has promised. There is an end or a reward to all who trust in Him.

22 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 22

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5

God gave Moses specific instructions as to how to build the Tabernacle. It was not arbitrary, but rather what God showed Him while he was in His Presence was the design for its construction on the earth. It requires both hearing and seeing from heaven to engage in such a sacred task as leading others in the way of God. We are not here merely to survive, but our lives are to be lived with such exactness as to leave a legacy for those who come after us to follow. They must see Christ in us if they are ever to impact their generation. They are to build upon the foundation that we have laid. The baton is passed from one hand to another. Even though great things are accomplished by those who are mighty in the eyes of the world, none of what they say or do will receive any rewards in heaven. It is only those things shown to us by God and proclaimed in concert with the whole Body of Christ that God will honor as His work. Take heed what we hear and how we hear it. The pattern of God in heaven is to be reflected on the earth.