give – Page 8 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: May 1

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don’t hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy.” 1 Corinthians 14:13 (MSG)

True love is never selfish. It takes pleasure in giving more than receiving. God has called us into deeper levels as our hearts are in sync with His own. Our thoughts and His thoughts become the same. Our passions and His passions align. Only then will our hearts soar beyond our intellect, or our abilities to articulate what is burning deeply within it. It is from the overflow of our hearts that a language that is not our own is given expression. Our prayers are in private and our language is privately expressed. Yet we are provoked by the Holy Spirit not to be ascetic with the pleasures of our private devotions. Pray that we may be able to share with others what we have privately shared with God. God is able to unleash within us the abilities to give expression to what He imparts so that all may benefit from the Divine impartation.

03 Sep 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: September 3

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Giving enables us to see the dimensions and depths of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without personal sacrifice, we merely theorize rather than experience what He offers us so freely. It is impossible to understand the dynamics of His message and the glory of His life without participating with Him in releasing those things left in our hands to manage. The Holy Spirit will direct us to channel all things to acquire the greatest benefit. True freedom is freedom from the bondage of sin bred in selfishness. What we have held too closely to have hindered the Lord from giving full expression of Himself to us. A freedom not yet experienced borne out of a need within us remains unmet. We were created to respond to God’s initiative in giving. None of what we manage is able to save our souls even though in the past we may have thought it would. True surrender is giving oneself completely to God. Only then is He given permission to direct us towards what is most important to Him. Today, what can you give that you thought that you could not do without? What is, or who is in need of your support that you might have thought was self-sufficient? Where is the Lord directing you that you would otherwise never go? Unless you break free from the binding shackles of your familiar, life for you will always be the same. There is a new place for you, a place of complete deliverance. You get there by receiving the gift of God which will enable you to give beyond your former level of giving.

15 Aug 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: August 15

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. (2) For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,(3) how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,” Heb 2:1-3

To “give the most earnest heed” is stretching in order to understand what has been spoken. It is to hasten and to fasten one’s eyes upon the truths revealed. To commit ones heart to them. The reason this is necessary is because our minds alone cannot contain all that is needed. Without a heart commitment, it will appear as if there had been no exposure to such life-transforming truths. God does not judge on the basis of what one avails oneself to hear. He judges on the basis of the availability of knowledge at that time. If one is privileged to know the truth but decides to opt out of being where truth is imparted, the neglect on his part would be the criteria on which he is judged. It is our responsibility to be where God’s Word is. Jesus paid the price for our salvation. No more can be done than what was fully accomplished by Him. Salvation is ours when His offer is fully accepted. Then our hearts are applied to wisdom to understand what has been freely given to us. Then the Holy Spirit will see to it that the Word of God is fully assimilated into one’s life.

09 Aug 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: August 9

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

Life takes on a new meaning once Christ has come into the heart of the believer. He does not merely exist among the other things once deemed important, but rather sets the priorities for ones existence. Any other place given to Him constitutes a warms feeling in His regards, but not the quality of life He promises and died to give. This was the revelation given to Paul, the Apostle by the Holy Spirit. “For me, the meaning of life has shifted. For me, it’s no longer a matter of consulting with God as to whether it is permissible for me or not to have my own way. For me, to live is for Christ to fully live His life through me.”

This ought to be the earnest desire of each and every Christian. This is a life of discovery whereas one is freed from pretense or attempting to force himself to do what he thinks that Jesus would do. But rather discovering in his own flesh the life and works of Jesus personally.

“To die is gain.” Death died on the Cross when Jesus was crucified and rose from the grave. The victory of resurrection life becomes our victory as we identify with His death. The more one dies to self, he provides the opportunity for Spirit Life rise within Him. It eradicates the fear of physical death because the assurance of God’s promise become ever present; “To live is Christ, and to die is gain for me.”

10 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 10

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Mal 3:3

God Himself will purge His people as silver and gold. He has invested in the lives of His own and is committed to removing the residue that would shroud the beauty of what is deposited deep within the heart and soul. There are desires polluted and misdirected by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. When the heart of His leaders are turned in the wrong direction, yet they remain His leaders; they are purged of the dross in order for His glory to shine through them. He is aware of the tendency within the heart of humanity to stray away, but fire of the refiner must burn away all that should not be. It is a painful thing to be refined but the end result is glorious! When we are tried, we will come forth as pure gold. Offerings are not enough to please our Lord. He seeks after an offering in righteousness. It is the life of the offerer that qualifies him to give Him what He has requested. The Lord is purifying His servants in order for a pure word to come forth from a pure heart.

01 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 1

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don’t hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy.” 1 Corinthians 14:13 (MSG)

True love is never selfish. It takes pleasure in giving more than receiving. God has called us into deeper levels as our hearts are in sync with His own. Our thoughts and His thoughts become the same. Our passions and His passions align. Only then will our hearts soar beyond our intellect, or our abilities to articulate what is burning deeply within it. It is from the overflow of our hearts that a language that is not our own is given expression. Our prayers are in private and our language is privately expressed. Yet we are provoked by the Holy Spirit not to be ascetic with the pleasures of our private devotions. Pray that we may be able to share with others what we have privately shared with God. God is able to unleash within us the abilities to give expression to what He imparts so that all may benefit from the Divine impartation.

23 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 23

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” John 19:30

Jesus came into the world for this very moment. He was on a mission to die for the sins of humanity. It required a sinless death and now the moment had arrived. The sufferings would come to an end. At least the bodily sufferings, but there awaited Him a degree of suffering of the soul that only one who loves deeply are able to experience. The purchased price for our redemption was completely paid. But there would be many who He loves that will yet reject all that He came into the world to provide. “He came into the world and the world rejected Him.” Those who did not understand rejected Him then, but now that it is finished, will there remain those who refuse to believe that what He gave was sufficient enough for them? His Spirit returned to the Father and the Holy Spirit has now been sent forth to give life to all who would receive Him. From the fall of Adam the promise was made for man’s reconciliation to God. The prophets spoke of this day, and now it had arrived. It is finished, but for us life had just begun!

01 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 1

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Later a few religion scholars and Pharisees got on him. “Teacher, we want to see your credentials. Give us some hard evidence that God is in this. How about a miracle?” Matthew 12:38

Those who appear before men as authorities in relation to God’s order seldom recognize the fact that He refuses to restrict Himself to their expectations. Formulas and theorems of success do not work. He will withhold from them what they expected, but show forth the unexpected. These few that approached Him thought that He would be anxious to validate Himself before such an impressive crowd. But Jesus had nothing to prove. He was as sure of Himself then as He was when Satan tempted Him on the pinnacle of the Temple requesting Him to show off His divine powers. When we are asked to prove ourselves to be what we have been called by God to be, we must first recognize who it is that requires of us evidence. If not God by way of His Spirit, a prophetic word is sufficient. We live by what God has said and it serves as the basis for all He is now saying. If not by the Word of God, we become performance oriented. We must live by the Word and allow the Word to be given full expression through us. Bur never should we hide behind our credentials of education to prove our pedigree nor miracles to prove our power before men. It is God who wills and performs His work in and through us.

18 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: March 18

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Joel 1:10

There are times when conditions are bleak and the people are called to repentance. Nothing occurs by chance. God withdraws His Hand among a people who think they have the abilities to manage their affairs. It is not that the people are completely abandoned but rather, they are allowed to feel the results of decisions made when He is no longer reverenced as Lord. Without His oversight, the field is wasted, the grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. Each requires what only God is able to give for their sustenance. Without His care the people must manage without the rain that must fall from heaven. Nothing planted is able to grow without the rain. When it touches the seed, it will then spring forth with new life. Spiritual dryness is a condition where the people have not come to realize the source of challenges facing the world. God’s people must in humility seek His face and turn in the direction of righteousness in order for the rain to fall from heaven and cause all things to flourish.

26 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 26

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” Luke 12:48

God’s requirements are commensurate to the measure of His grace. He gives to one a portion and to another a different portion. He does not expect the same from each but expects both to use what they have been given for His glory. When His boundaries are tested, whether it be from one who has full knowledge of the law or not, both must pay the penalty for their transgression. Yet again, what has been made known to them will determine the severity of their punishment. His gifts are freely given but to empower us to freely respond to His initiatives. To know to do what is good must be from the heart and not just the head if His grace is effectively working within us. We are then doing what we will to do, not just for the sake of avoiding punishment, but because it has been made known to us what is best for us. But if the knowledge is lacking or the willingness is not in place to do what is right, then God will judge on the merits of His investment.