empower – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: June 1

“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” Luke 12:48

God expects a return on His investments. The gifts of God are given to each person in order for all to profit as result of His distributions. It is not based on what most would consider as the criteria for God’s judgments. God is not equal in His judgments, but He is equitable. Grace is freely given, but God determines who will receive what is being distributed. Yet we may covet what we deem as necessary, but it must only be for the advancement of His kingdom and not our own. When our hearts yearn to do more for God and we feel powerless to fully participate with Him in what He wills to do, it is in order to seek Him for the empowering gifts that would further qualify us. Yet in our earnestness to receive, it does not obligate Him to any measure to give us what we consider to be necessary. He will give us what He knows is best for ourselves as well as others. But the warning is not to frustrate the grace of God. What God gives must be used as He wills for it to be used. God requires faithfulness of His servants. Only then are they obedient and not wicked.

01 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: March 1

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“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34

A new commandment is given because a new power is made known. It is a power that existed in eternity but now is being revealed in time through Jesus Christ. He makes known to humanity a selfless love with the power to transform lives. It begins with the willingness to receive the love of Jesus Christ. He loved us first, but that love does us no good unless we first receive it. Allowing ourselves to be loved by the Lord is the first step. Then we are empowered to love one another as we are loved. It is a matter of allowing His love to flow through us along with His strength to do so. Those who are loved can be released from the bondage of self and Satan. They experience the presence of the Lord when we are instruments in His hands fulfilling the Lord’s command.

29 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 29

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“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.

26 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 26

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“This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Galatians 3:2

It is the Holy Spirit that empowers the believer to become what God wills for him to become. Out of his becoming, he is enabled to do what God would have him to do. The reversed order is to do what one may thinks may be His will with the expectation of God’s approval. Receiving the Spirit initiates the believer into a life in the Spirit. But the Spirit is quenched if the recipient does not yield to who he has received. God’s intention is for our efforts to be a response to His initiative. God’s interpretation of deeper meaning of His truth is hidden within our simple obedience to what is understood. Hearing the word preached is more than an exercise in attempting to retain the information made known. It is also a matter of receiving the Spirit of the Word that becomes life within the hearer. Works alone is one attempt at self-justification but void of God’s approval. Hearing sets the standard for Spirit-life in the believer. He then would have a target of which to aim. He is positioned to see Jesus Christ as He is and not a caricature, but as real. Paul’s question was a means of asking them, what has been added to their lives by the Spirit as the result of hearing the word preached. The teacher then may learn from his pupil by what is gained when the Spirit takes what is received and adds Spirit-life to it.

02 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 2

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“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.

25 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 25

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“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

The host of heaven gives witness to our challenge. All of the saints that have gone before us give witness to our challenge. They are awaiting us to finish well what we have been assigned to accomplish. Therefore all of the impediments of heart and mind must be dispensed of unless they restrict our mobility and entrap us, holding us as slaves to old habits. Our minds must constantly be renewed in order for us to know what the will of the Lord is. Never should our pursuit fall short of those that have gone before us. We are to build upon the foundation that has already been established by them. The weights are spurned from the sin that would remain as a stronghold. Whatever is our greatest weakness is the sin awaiting the opportunity to be given full expression. Only when we maintain our focus on the Jesus Christ could we be empowered to resist it.

13 Sep 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: September 13

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Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.” Songs of Solomon 2:15

The tender grapes are the daily benefits provided to us by God. It is the knowledge of God’s love producing within us a confidence that is not easily shaken. When we are confident that we are loved, then we are empowered to love others without pretense. True friendships can be forged to last a lifetime and the expectation of a future hope of eternity burns brightly within our hearts. How delicate the balance is between our faith and our love. We can now love because we by faith can see beyond the shortcoming and limitations of the misguided and the misinformed. We can see good intentions even when bad habits inhibit positive action. We can also see the possibility of change among those whose lives appear to be hopeless and they may be blind to the true remedy of their souls. But when careless and immature foxes enter into a well cultivated vineyard, they have the tendency of destroying the very vines on which the fruit is being developed. One mishap can raise such doubt as to cause one to abandon all of the beauty once experienced. One unkind word may throw out of balance the intricate details of a well ordered life. We must be aware of those little things that can make such a devastating difference. It is not always the most dynamic or earth-shattering experiences that destroy the lives of many and leave them shipwrecked. It is those little things that appear to be so benign. We must be on guard and guard the entrance of little foxes. They destroy all that is in their path merely to feast upon immediate gain. Catch them before they invade more prohibited territories. Our Beloved will produce within our lives precious fruit that is reserved for those who wish to grow in grace and knowledge and not those whose will is to take advantage of others. Catch the foxes in order for a future harvest to be made ready for the forthcoming generation.

29 Aug 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: August 29

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“So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'” Luke 10:27

God gives us the strength to love. The heart is guided in a direction and the soul agrees to give full expression to that particular emotion. To love is not a miracle. It is a part of man’s nature to love. Without guidance the heart gravitates by default away from God. Loving then is not deliberate, but the result of some forceful habit that captures the mind and heart in order to condemn the soul. The passions must be harnessed by an object that is capable of containing all that is offered and reciprocate by providing what is desperately needed in return. When love gives but does not provide the person with what is needed, he eventually becomes bankrupt and bitter having been taken advantage of. Then love is inverted and transforms into hatred that is primarily directed towards the true Lover of his soul. They feel shortchanged having not received from Him what they needed, but refused to give Him what He commanded. When God is loved with the whole heart, the heart is made whole. Then the heart guides the soul with every emotion towards what is good. One will engage in activities using his strength to glorify Him alone. Thought and action is unified when the Word and Spirit are experienced. They empower us to do what we will and will to please the One who provide both will and ability to do for His good pleasure. Then He will show us our neighbor in a different light. We see him through God’s eyes. He directs our affection towards them in ways far beyond the levels of selfishness and competition. We see ourselves in him, thus loving him as we love ourselves.

16 Aug 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: August 16

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“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

There is much about God that is attractive. His attributes will have an appeal to every part of our being if we are made aware of them. The Holy Spirit will provide the faith to see and understand what is missing. The necessary things are offered to us to fulfill us providing both life and godliness. Without this faith we are left empty, reaching out for things around us and slipping deeper into despair. It is the distractions that allure us away from being drawn near to God. To be drawn to God is : empowered to resist the devil in all of his deceptive ways. The world, the flesh, and the devil no longer will control you once the beauty of God’s holiness is realized. He is the Lover of your soul and your soul with know this perfectly well. He draws us with cords of love. We are drawn in response with the assurance of faith. He restores us with a confidence that all is well because we abide in the secret place of God.

06 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 6

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“God’s Way (the Kingdom) is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.” 1 Corinthians 4:20 (MSG)

The power to live according to the Word must be released to us by the Spirit of God if we are ever to become a witness of Christ to the world. A powerless speech may be impressive and even convincing, but once it is realized as being mere talk disappoints as surely as it once produced hope. It is God’s will for individuals to become partakers of His divine nature; the extension of His rule over those things that otherwise would dominate the earth. It was never to be an experience of diminishing returns, but an expansion of the Kingdom over all stubborn resistance. His rule must first be established within the heart of the believer in order that for him to be empowered with the authority to use heavenly language as a weapon against external forces. What a tragedy exists when all we have is mere talk. Who would look any further into the matter if all we had was a good conversation? God releases His power among those whose hearts are perfect towards Him. This is His way of demonstrating the effect of the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. “He went about do good….” His miraculous work provides evidence that the Kingdom of Heaven has come and God now dwells among men!