give – Page 9 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: November 17

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” John 12:21

The religious activity today has been directed towards many causes. They tell us to be more relevant so that the Church may establish her position in society. Many leaders have risen to the occasion with the valor and courage to fight for what they believe, while others have affirmed the humanity and self-existence of mankind having rights and privileges given to them by God to enjoy life, or rather exploit this planet and its inhabitants for the sake of personal pleasure and gain. We have the selfless heroes of our day and the selfish demagogues who seek both fame and fortune merely for themselves. Yet in their pursuits for what they want to achieve remain vain and left without any eternal merit because Jesus would not have His place of prominence established among them. In the midst of the hurrying crowd looking for a reason to embrace that will give life meaning, we wish to see Jesus. He alone is able to provide what we really need. He postures us to ask the right questions so that in our seeking answers we may discover what really matters. Preachers, preach Jesus! There are too many options before us to choose when we are in preparation to address the crowd who has come to hear us. As we die to ourselves, He will take His rightful place among us and do what He alone is able to do.

02 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 2

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” Philippians 3:7

What a resolve! What a tremendous position one is placed in when his pursuit for Christ outweighs all the accolades of his past. He is then privileged to know Christ in a way in which he has never known Him before! Whatever value we place on any effort or accomplishment diminishes our view of Christ. It becomes difficult to see Him in the fullness of His glory when we have become so large in our own eyes and feel so important in comparison to the smallness of others who are around. We must decrease if He is ever to increase. When we have gained Christ, He is then given full permission to be Himself in us. We have the confidence that we are known by Him and will be with Him forever. If we are to be with Him forever, that implies we will live forever as He lives. To surrender what we currently have is a small thing in comparison to all we will gain as we count all other things as loss. They have no eternal value therefore they should not hold the most prominent place within our hearts. To know Him is to love Him exclusively. And with His love we are empowered to love others. We have so much to gain and so little to sacrifice when we give our all to Him.

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.

01 Jul 0Comments 1Like

July 2014 Article: “If the Truth Be Made Known”

Posted by wwalker Categories: Articles

“If you hear My voice and abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, you will know the truth, and the truth will give you freedom.” (The Voice)

The liberating power of truth exposes the false pretenses under which many people live their lives. They don’t know it, but the systems that people have relied upon are doomed to fail. These systems are constantly being modified to accommodate the latest craze, while in the process, pushing the truth further into a corner. Their problem is, however, that truth will not quietly retreat and allow them to have their own way. It cries out in protest against humanity’s self-government of independence from its Creator. Today’s battle is against the constraints that restrain the vices with tentacles that extend further than what the uninformed can rationalize. Who would consider that today’s idea of freedoms will result in tomorrow consequences of bondage?

In an isolated room of free expression, the heart translates every experience into law. Likewise, those who have been victimized have now taken their pain and institutionalized it. Truth is silenced by the noise of entertainment where subsequently, the mind is in a receptive mode rather than an active mode of discernment. Truth to them becomes relative, but if the truth be told, it is relative to their personal pain. Although they are in need of healing in order to see things differently, who is there to tell them that they are seeing wrong? Popular opinions outweigh the soundness of the tried and tested and as a result, history must repeat itself as this generation engages in an experiment with life as if no other generation has ever existed. As George Santayana famously said, “if we do not learn from history, we will be doomed to repeat it.” Truth is based upon historical facts and not merely scientific experiments. Yet true science reinforces what has been already proven to be true. If the objective is to gather information against the truth in order not to believe, then the theories developed by those who engage become more foolish in the end than before they began.

This is the ploy of the Adversary with his resounding question to each generation: “Hath not God said…?” His attempts to make God appear as a liar as he opens the door to ideas that seem rational are palatable to the dulled senses. Deception always hides behind a camouflage, often majoring in appearances by minimizing the truth. The challenge facing our culture today is if absolute truth is spoken, we are forced to reckon with an absolute Source of truth. If there is an absolute Source of truth, then we end up at the point of our departure, back to God alone. If God is God, then we must rely upon Him and surrender to His will if life is to ever work as He intended. But the experiment provided for this generation is the theory that God does not exist, and if He existed, His only requirement for us is to express love as we interpret love to be. The endless cycle continues to weave a web of deception, holding captive all whosin reject the truth.

Even when the theological argument regarding the existence of God is won by those who have made the point that God and religion are necessary, life still goes on without experiencing freedom. For even the devil believes and trembles…True freedom can only be experienced as result of surrendering to His will. Then, and only then, will every tentacle that attaches one to bondage will be broken. Life can be expressed without the constraints of the past transgressions that might have been translated into law. Thankfully, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has now set you free from the law of sin and death. He that the Son sets free is free indeed!

07 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 7, 2014

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children.” Ps 113:9

The exercise of affection in guiding the household and caring for children produces a joy in the heart of mothers. She was made to love her children and to maintain the household in which she has the pleasure to occupy. But what if there was no household to care for, nor child to guide? It would leave the woman who has the affection deep within without an outlet to express the innate love given to women. Yet God provides for her a home. Instead of being homeless, her place is in Christ with God. He draws her close to Himself so that nothing is lacking in her life. She will find in Him a satisfaction as joyful as that of a mother of children. It is only when she allow her mind to be influenced by thoughts of being incomplete will she be drawn away from the richness of God’s love. To some the circumstance is temporal until she is granted the privilege of mothering, while with others, her devotion is to be given over to God absolutely with a special grace to be drawn nearer each day. God will give her joy that is equal to what some mothers experience and surpassing many who do not have the right perspective godly motherhood. He has full knowledge of every woman’s lot in life and provides grace accordingly. None is cursed to a state of restlessness if He is acknowledged. He provides a home for those who will to live in Him.

07 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 7, 2014

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.” Psalm 119:10(MSG)

The heart has many paths available for it to follow. There are significant things that one must pay attention to that can easily grow into obsessions. Then one can find justification for having to give their undivided attention to them. But to be single-minded is to consider the Lord in all of our ways. It is to pursue Him, not merely first and then move on to other things. It is to pursue Him in the midst of everyday life. What pleases Him must become our priority even when other things are pressing us and vying for our attention. The signs along the way; His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. We are then able to read the signs leading us closer to Him. God is here to direct us through every decision if we just let Him have every area of our lives. There is a message for us as His Spirit guides us along the Way.

21 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: December 21, 2013

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs”. Psalm 103:10 (MSG)

If we received what we deserved, every inhabitant on the earth’s surface would warrant the consequences of their transgressions. Our treatment would be harsh while the sentence would be measured against the deserving. None would be able to survive the plight of heavy-handed justice from a God who would remain just in meeting all with the same treatment commensurate to their treatment of God’s Law. God does not give us what we deserve even when it is deserved many times over as result of repeated acts of rebellion. Instead of justice, He tempers justice with mercy. His sentiments remain the same in relation to our deeds. But continues to extend opportunities for us to hear something different than what we may have grown accustomed to hearing in order to give expression to a new way of living. His mercy cannot be demanded. It is arbitrarily granted. He will have mercy on whomever He wills. Yet we all receive it extended towards us. He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. The time will come when all will be both compensated and rewarded. They will either receive the wages of sin, death, or the gift of God, eternal life. He has given us a Savior that we did not deserve. Jesus is the gift of life that has paid the wages for our sins. Only He is able to free us from what every person deserves.