believe – Page 24 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: May 2, 2013

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:10

Those who trust in the living God labor with a goal in view that is different from the activities of others. There are luxuries not afforded the faithful for he must live his life with purpose. Every day must have a degree of significance that further sets him aside as God’s representative on the earth, maintaining the course leading to a destination. Kingdom business is his primary business. Now the world system will notice the difference but will not know how to interpret it. His strangeness will be repulsive to many who would much rather he be silent rather than to speak. His activity appears to run counter to values of his contemporaries. Yet he has fully embraced his call and end to suffer reproach because his life is not his own; he has been bought with a price. Therefore he trusts in the living God who is his constant companion to guide him through this maze of life to his eternal home. His life is a gift to the world so that others who would come to believe that Christ suffered for a reason. That reason being the very ones who do not understand.

30 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 30, 2013

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“We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:6

The language of the Spirit of God rings differently in the ears of unbelievers than it does in the ears of believers. Those who have rejected God have an affinity towards things pertaining to the flesh. Any other message seems not to have any relevancy to them for their hearts are drawn in an opposite direction. When the Holy Spirit enters into one’s heart He makes room for the truth. Only then can it become sensible and for passions to rise within him to embrace a level of teaching beyond what is commonly understood. What God has to say to us is uncommon to mankind therefore it requires more than mere common sense. In his natural state it is foolishness. But when the spirit of truth replaces the spirit of error, he will seek out teachers that will teach him things that he did not see because they cannot be seen without divine assistance.

26 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 26, 2013

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“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” Phil 3:10

There is continuing aspects of Jesus Christ made available to us. Our spiritual hunger to fully identify with Him qualifies us to know what was unknown. We have come to know that He is our Savior and Lord through His Word. We believe on Him and apply faith in all of His promises. Yet the more we know of Him a fire is ignited within our hearts to experience Him. To share with Him in His experience of life is the grandest endeavor one could ever attain. The evidence that we know Him is that we recognize that there is much more to be known than what we have come to know. The height and depth of His love is to be explored throughout our lifetime. Oh the joy of knowing that it is Christ working in us and the sufficiency is not of us! We have been raised in newness of life. Now each experience whether it be painful or pleasurable, is ordered by our Master for a purpose far greater than any at this moment are able to see. “None of me, all of Thee; None of me, all unto Thee!” As portions of my self-life dies, I am attaining to the resurrection of the dead.

23 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 23, 2013

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“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!

22 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 22, 2013

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“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

The question is how can something be foolish to some but so necessary to others? There are some who believe more in their abilities and strength rather than the strength that is ours through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. We were once without strength, dead in trespasses and sins, but Christ died for us. Now as we believe on Him and in His Name, the power of God works within us to the saving of our souls. Both categories have to do with one’s future state of being. On one hand, there are those who are perishing, and on the other hand, there are those who are being saved. The seed of destruction is imbedded in the hearts of those who do not believe as it was in us all. Jesus died for sinners before they recognized their need for redemption. Those who reject His offer are perishing. But those who are being saved are in the process of living. The body of sin will perish, but just as He rose from the dead, we too shall be raised in newness of life. Jesus died on the cross that we might live. But there had to be a cross to bear leading to ultimate victory over death, hell, and the grave. Without the cross there can be no crown.

20 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 20, 2013

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“Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.” Mark 14:18

Before Jesus was crucified, He was identified through betrayal by one who sat at His table and ate with Him. One who loved so deeply would be exposed by a friend to His enemies. Jesus knew when it would happen and who it was who would be so used as a spy among them. Yet He did not make Him known among the brethren. There are times when sin must run its course. Any intervention on our part to defend ourselves or expose the adversary would be counterproductive. God will allow many to dwell among us who do not carry our heart or vision. Nevertheless, God uses all things for the fulfillment of His purpose. Jesus loved, provided for, and even dined with His betrayer. These events led to the cross, the inevitable end that marked a new beginning for all who would believe on Him. His will transcended the pain suffered by dishonest companions and even the pain of suffering and death on the cross. The glory that shall be revealed in us was worth all that He sacrificed. He was betrayed by a friend. He called Judas, “friend”. He is speaking of the beginning of their journey together. Jesus was yet focused upon what ought to have remained. He did not change His mind or position, but Judas shifted from where he once stood. We are His friends if we remain faithful to the end.

17 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 17, 2013

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” (NKJ)

“Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.” (MSG) Proverbs 5: 23

A warning to the wise is the anecdote to his falling away and divorcing himself from his wisdom. Disciples are to exercise disciplines in order to safeguard areas that would otherwise be vulnerable to the enemy. He is seeking to influence those who have taken pride in their stance as being invincible thus allowing their guards to be down. Death is the price paid for our redemption. Since we are alive to Christ and dead to the world, Satan’s ploy is to attempt in resurrecting things that once dominated and controlled our lives. Daily decisions have far-reaching and severe consequences. Nothing is done in isolation from a path leading to a destination. And nothing is done that does not follow a pattern of living modeled by a master. Our death in Jesus Christ produced life with a purpose. We are being led to triumph over all the works of darkness. Our thoughts must be directed towards the eternal unless we become entrapped by temporal pleasures requiring more than we have come to understand. We must allow wisdom to teach and guide us in a straight path.

09 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 9, 2013

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“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:6-7

His promises would have been mere empty words without power if the tomb had contained His Body without interruption. His Words would have faded off the scene as snowflakes in the heat of a warming sun if they were only good for the moment in which they were spoken. He said many things and made so many promises that built the faith of His followers and raised their hopes and dreams. They lived by His Word, but if the most dramatic and complex were false, then the least and the simplest were merely impressive conversation. The test would be the place where He was buried on the day on which He said He would rise from the dead. They arrived there with trepidation. But the tomb was empty validating the promise He made remembered. “He is not here.” If He is absent from this place, then where could He be? “As He said to us with Words to confirm all others spoken; now all that He has said can be trusted.” What else did He say? “Whatever He said I now believe because the empty tomb speaks of promises fulfilled.” Look at the place that now speaks loudly against all skeptics and critics. He is not here. The tomb is empty for all to see!

04 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 4, 2013

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“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19

The typology of the Old Testament symbolized the sufferings and death of the Messiah. He kept the ceremonial laws in order to illustrate what He had come to fulfill. At the end of His earthly ministry, the Bread of Life took bread from the table from which He and His disciples were to dine. Before they ate their last meal together prior to His death, He broke the bread and fed it to them from His own hands. His sufferings would be a shared experience. His would be immediate and theirs would be ultimate. Yet they would have the same power to withstand the pressure and remain in faith because of the sameness of Spirit.

Your body can bear under any pressure as long as you remain in faith. It is His life residing in you as a believer in Christ Jesus. The sacraments of bread and wine represented His Body and Blood. We are corporately the Body of Christ on the earth. As we share with Him in His experience we share with one another. His focus was not merely upon Himself, but He was looking at this day. He was seeing us together sharing this moment in fellowship, communing in remembrance of the sacrifice made on our behalf affording us the privilege of being one together with Him.

23 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: March 23, 2013

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“Now I will rise,” says the Lord; “Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up.” Isaiah 33:10

God rises above the heights of the loftiest mountains. He rises above the ingenuity of the wisest men on the face of the earth. Many who have settled for a level of truth based upon what can enter into the minds of men. But when He is exalted, no thought could ever be stretched to dimensions known only to Him. His judgments provide proof that we are wrong in our assessments of life and things excluding Him yet deemed to be important. He exposes the frailty of everything that did not originate from Him and remain attached to Him. God was awaiting the right moment in time, when unbelief had reached its peak among the doubters and skeptics. While those who believed on Him anticipated His return, eagerly longing for His rule and reign to be established among men on earth. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.