relationship – Page 2 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: February 9

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

”Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 10:22

We are invited to come closer to God as we meet the conditions of spiritual intimacy. His blessings are as the result of our moving in His direction. Many may attempt to confiscate the benefits without the relationship, but God will test the purity of our hearts. He knows when true love is the motive of our actions, and His Spirit will give witness that we are in agreement with Him. Then we can boldly approach the throne of grace and obtain mercy to find the grace to help in the time of need. Assurance of faith is a blessing reserved for the pure in heart. As we are being purified by the Holy Spirit, our passions will continue to conform to His will. We will want what He wants for us when we have been drawn to the place where He abides.

31 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 31

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” Mark 3:14

The series of events are in sequential order. First, they were appointed that they might be with Him; then they were sent out to preach. If they had not come to Him when He called them to be with Him, they would not be in position to be sent out. They learned from Him how to live and what to preach by being with Him. It is not enough to merely hear about Him from a book or word of mouth, the experience must be personal. We are called to an intimate relationship with Him. His life is an open book to those who will to know Him, but to the casual inquirer, He is misunderstood and often misaligned. They accuse Him of things that is not a part of His character because they only know Him from a distance. John, the beloved disciple, laid His head upon His breast; Peter, the Zealot, stepped out of the boat in order to join in on what Christ was experiencing while walking on the water. Intimacy includes both the emotional and experiential connection. Then we are sent out as His representative so that His Presence is wherever we may go.

29 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 29

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent”. Romans 14:22-23 (MSG)

Every relationship worthy of preserving requires cultivation. Silence and inactivity signifies disinterest and unconcern. When one’s heart is aligned with God’s heart, we are blessed with the will to do things that would cultivate our relationship with Him. We cannot Impose on others what has become uniquely our own; it is personal and intimate between us and God alone. Our response to Him is our response to what we have come to know of Him. He loves each of us, but loves each of us differently. We are loved into the destinies to which we have been called as He empowers us with His own strength. Our uniqueness ought to translate into a unique expression of worship and praise that only we are capable of expressing. Whether one is poetic, artistic, or oratorical, it will be to the praise of the glory of His grace. The most important matter is that both belief and behavior are cohesive. With this, you are most fortunate as we give both head, heart, and hand to Him.

01 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

November 2016 Article: “Your Call and Your Election”

Posted by wwalker Categories: Articles

The collective choices of a generation clearly reflect its sentiments. The way that people think at any given time is expressed through their voice by vote. If there are pockets of resistance or individuals who disagree with society’s direction, it serves only as an indication to the level of desperation that influences our need for change. The loss and lack of influence by those who possess the right position create a vacuum to be filled by opposing views that challenge their stance and contradict their position. When personal preferences are not questioned in the light of spiritual authority and absolute truth, every position taken can be justified in one’s own eyes. The spin on the argument in defense of the decision to go the wrong way, even though it may be convincing, only widens the gap away from civility and points towards barbarism. When intellectualism is added to the mix, the result is a sophisticated way of saying nothing well and becoming so broadminded that life itself has lost its meaning.

Thank God for the availability of choices. We are forced to make choices every day, and each momentary choice leads to our final destiny. The question is, where are we headed? How do we expect to get there? Who can tell us if we are on the right track? Throughout the Scriptures, we read of individuals and people groups choosing between two or more options. The consequences of their decisions are clearly revealed as an example and warning to this generation. Yet so many treat life as if historical facts are meaningless and the only thing that matters is how they presently feel. Choices either lead to an open door of opportunities or a closed prison door of slavery.

You have been given the privilege to choose because you were chosen for a purpose and a cause that extends beyond what you currently see. The initial call is Jesus Christ calling you to Himself. Then, out of your entering into right relationship with Him, you are enabled to see and understand life from an altogether different perspective. His everlasting Kingdom becomes your priority, and in time, every decision is measured from the basis of its eternal worth.

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; (11) for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11

You have been called to elect or choose what God has chosen for you. He has placed before you the options of life and death. It is not death immediate but rather the paths that either lead to life or lead to death. Your children and preceding generations will follow the path that you pave for them. The trends and values of our day will eventually become legalized and institutionalized so that our children will grow up in an environment based upon the pace that you have set. You are voting for more than a president, a congressman, or a senator. You are voting, even before you visit the polling place, by the decisions you are making right now. Who are you voting for with your life? Things can turn around and be different but it requires individuals who will first listen to the call of God. To elect is to choose or to make a choice. Neutrality is also a choice—more specifically, it is a choice not to choose. Then it leaves choices to others to make for us. Your destiny is then guided by chance and not choice. Today, ask God to reveal to you the things that He has chosen for your life, and allow His choice for you to become your choice for yourself.

03 Aug 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: August 3

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

A book, a letter, or a sermon is result of the deep meditation of the presenter. It is usually expressive of much of what has been read, prayed, and is birthed out of the relationship that person has with God and with others. Therefore, words may mean different things to different people. That is why I take pleasure in reading both the preface and the bibliography contained within books. I like to know what the person was thinking when he said what he was saying.

Jesus spoke with the deepest of thought. Everything He said was expressive of the heart and mind of His Father. He was asked on one occasion a question. “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22.35-40) Such a simple yet profound answer to a question would have baffled the most astute professor of religion. Yet His answer went far beyond the level of their understanding. All that Jesus was gave definition of the love that He addressed. Then to understand how love was to be applied to both God and to neighbor would send them back to their classrooms in pursuit of the elementary discussions of both categories.

In order to understand the statements of Jesus we need the mind of Christ. As His mind is developed within us, His Words will be accurately interpreted. It is the unrenewed mind that misconstrue and misapply messages processed through it. As we commit to God’s Word pray that His mind would be given to handle what comes your way.

19 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 19

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” Ephesians 3:14-15

The Father allows us to enter into the love relationship experienced between Himself and His Beloved Son. We are welcomed into His family as being the earthly portion adjoined to the heavenly portion. There the fellowship is complete. Here we anticipate the reunion that awaits us whereas through prayer we are able to tap into the resources that await us there. He gives us a glimpse of His glory now. Enough of what He has promised is fulfilled in our lifetimes to assure us of what we have yet to anticipate is glorious. Yet eye has not seen nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the thoughts what God has ultimately provided for us. As Jesus prayed to the Father, we pray having been given access to Him through the Blood to petition His Throne. Fathers on the earth can take what they have received from Him and bless their children with blessings from above. Our fatherhood is a derivative of His Fatherhood over us. Our prayer is that His love will be distributed through us as Christ would pray that the same love received by Him would be shared by us.

07 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 7

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” Mark 3:14

The series of events are in sequential order. First they were appointed that they might be with Him. Then they were sent out to preach. If they had not come to Him when He called them to be with Him, they would not be in position to be sent out. They learned from Him how to live and what to preach by being with Him. It is not enough to merely hear about Him from a book or word of mouth. The experience must be personal. We are called to an intimate relationship with Him. His life is an open book to those who will to know Him. But to the casual inquirer, He is misunderstood and often misaligned. They accuse Him of things that is not a part of His character because they only know Him from a distance. John, the beloved disciple laid His head upon His breast. Peter the Zealot stepped out of the boat in order to join in on what Christ was experiencing while walking on the water. Intimacy includes both the emotional and experiential connection. Then we are sent out as His representative so that His Presence is wherever we may go.

22 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 22

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

The keys unlock the doors to the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. With one key, the largest and the most difficult door can swing open on the hinges of faith. Peter was given the keys to unlock every door existing there. The possessing of keys is essential, but their proper use is still required. Peter received from the Father the revelation of the Person of Jesus Christ accompanied with the relationship that exists between them. The revelation that He is the Christ provides the keys given to man in order for him to correspond and commune with God. Now it takes spiritual growth and experience to know what things we should ask for thus aligning ourselves with the will of the Father. When earth reflects the will of heaven, then earth will have upon it an instrument that will use the keys as a means of having God’s kingdom to come, and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is Christ working His work through humanity. His prayer will be upon our lips and whatever Jesus prays for, the Father will hear and answer.

08 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 8

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” John 19:27

Jesus made an oral testament to John, the beloved disciple, to provide as He would for her after His death. It was a binding agreement in the company of others if accepted, to care for her needs as the second oldest son. Even though there were other children, his responsibility was to treat her as He would treat her in absentia. John knowing Jesus was to compensate for the void that would otherwise be in her life. This example is a challenge to every son and daughter to consider the needs of parents. To honor our father and mother is to provide for them what is needed. Jesus told John to look intensively at the woman that will become his mother. And He told His mother Mary to look intensively at the man who would become her son. A new relationship was to be forged at that very moment. As we look at our mothers, if we could for a moment see what Jesus saw in His own mother. She was the vessel chosen by God for Him to enter into the earth. We owe a great degree of gratitude to our mothers, regardless of their weaknesses. They were the chosen vessels from which we were born.

18 Feb 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: February 18

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Sit here while I pray.” Mark 14:32

When Jesus was facing the most agonizing moment in His life, He needed to be alone with the Father. He was away from the multitudes with pressing needs thus seeking Him out for assistance. Now He was with that small select group of disciples with whom He felt the liberty to be transparent. Yet His instruction to them was to sit as guards rather than participate with Him in that moment when He needed to talk to His Father. There are times when we need to pour out our hearts and express those deep feelings with God that only He is to hear. It is because only He is able to understand what we are not always able to fully articulate in words. On other occasions He would teach them to pray and corporately approach God as “our Father.” Now He wanted to speak to His as “My Father” because no other could understand the deep longings of His heart other than the One who knew Him best and love Him the most. We too need some alone time with God. Out of those times we are able to cultivate an intimate and personal relationship with Him.