Jesus Christ – Page 42 – Cross Culture Church

November 2012 Article: “Lip Service or Life Service?”

Hebrews 13:15-16 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

Although our lips possess the potential of bearing good fruit, deep within our souls lies the memory of a life much different than that to which we are accustomed. We were not there, but God’s original intention for all of humanity is yet the yearning that continues to create a crisis that resides deep within. Even though we do not see it around us, the tensions continue to surmount within us. We are not condemned to merely regurgitate the information made available that gives expression to the ideals of our current environment. Nor are we sentenced to the fate of saying what is right while the heart remains divorced from truth and words becoming nothing but meaningless flattery. There is a truth that exists outside of our familiar references. It appears to be so strange to our system that it must pierce the darkness of the soul, causing a reaction to all that we once held true. Then it can penetrate the heart with a reality of the wrongness of our reasoning based upon our limited understanding. Only then can we embrace what is real with a reference that surpasses things that are soon to be proven false.

Have you ever said what you thought was right, or what you thought you meant merely to reach a point where you had to take your words back? Some say that you had reached a point where you had to eat your own words. The heart is radically joined to the lips in order to express the deepest feelings of the soul. Even with the art of training the lips to speak idealistically, there are those times when there is a slip of the tongue. Before the words are carefully and strategically crafted, you say what you really mean. However, the objective is to mean what you say and to say what you mean…but to be right in both thinking and saying. It requires the humility of admitting that you are wrong even when you think that you are right. Truth resides in a distance that is much higher than perceptions. The knowledge of the truth comes from above where Christ is seated. To comprehend the truth requires a heart transplant. God takes out the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh and He will make your heart pliable to correction and teachable so it can receive Godly instructions.

Not that you will always speak the right words at the right time. But a reference is there to correct idle words or expressions void of the knowledge that takes all factors into account. God knows the end before the beginning and all that exists between the two. When wisdom guides your heart and your words express the truth, then continuous praise is offered as a sacrifice unto the Lord. God has given you His word in the Person of Jesus Christ. You have been privileged to participate in His life and love that are directed towards His Father. What a tremendous opportunity for one so deserving! Your lips possess the potential to bear good fruit as your heart is full of praise giving thanks to His Name! This is life-service and not just lip-service, for you are now saying what you mean and meaning what you say through a life that reinforces your words!

30 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 30, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“ For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”( 1 Cor 2:2)

Memory is a gift from God. When appropriately used, it can serve as a blessing. But when the lingering effects of memory close our minds to God, it is then a curse. During times of stillness the mind can relive experiences of the past. Our memories capture those moments and freeze-frame them into the catalogue of our minds. Things we have learned lay the foundation for further knowledge.

Paul realized this and made a decision. He said, “for I determined…” The word “determined” in the Greek language is “krino” which means, “to separate.” Paul was in essence saying, “I separate the knowledge of the past from the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” God was determined to separate light from darkness. It is not that Paul was ignorant of other things. He knew many things, but now possessed the ability to separate what he knew from who he is in the process of knowing. To know Jesus Christ is a full time job that ought to occupy our undivided attention.

All other information must pass through the filter of the revelation of Jesus in order for it to translate into wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge effectively and skillfully applied to life. What should this mean to us? It is saying that since the life of Jesus is to become life to us, we cannot afford to allow competing information to separate us from what we are convinced of. The discernment of the Christian is the ability to see through the lenses of Christ what He sees. Only then can His judgments become our own. The wisdom that comes from beneath is sensual and self-seeking. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. James 3:17-18. It will not come through mere wishful thinking. It is yours only when you are determined to know nothing other than Jesus Christ, and to know Him as crucified for us as well as the rest of the world.

26 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 26, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2

Once Jesus Christ is revealed to you, it is then necessary to measure all information by and through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Former experiences and former schools of thought may try to compete with this new gained knowledge. The logical mind searches through former experiences seeking out ways to deny Christ or to diminish the impact of experiencing Him. Then Christ becomes subjective while other things become the object of our faith. The intent is to get us to serve God for what we may gain personally rather than living for Him. To know Him as crucified is to live for Him alone. He gives us His resurrected live and we live in newness of life. No longer are we competing for the same prizes that the world is seeking after. Our goal is to know Him even as we are known. It takes determination for the message of Christ to remain relevant in an age of selfishness and self-centeredness. But when we are determined to know Him, He gives us the knowledge necessary to live the abundant life. It is a fulfilling life with purpose.

24 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 24, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift”: 2 Corinthians 9:15

The gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the description of His Personhood in words from heaven through vessels of clay yet ordained to carry the message. God uses ordinary people but imparts to them extraordinary power. They are no longer mere men but the Word that they carry changes them into becoming vessels of honor. The message preserves the messenger so that as he partakes of what he has to deliver, his heart is set ablaze with the unction that comes from the Holy Spirit. The gift of Jesus Christ is indescribable, but what is equally indescribable is how God can choose from among the people those whom He wills to chose and use them in such remarkable ways! The sufficiency is not in them, but He continues to remind them that without Him they can do nothing. Thanks be to God for the methodology He has chosen to get His Word to us. And most of all, thanks be to God for a changeless but a life-changing message.

22 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 22, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5

God gave Moses specific instructions as to how to build the Tabernacle. It was not arbitrary, but rather what God showed Him while he was in His Presence was the design for its construction on the earth. It requires both hearing and seeing from heaven to engage in such a sacred task as leading others in the way of God. We are not here merely to survive, but our lives are to be lived with such exactness as to leave a legacy for those who come after us to follow. They must see Christ in us if they are ever to impact their generation. They are to build upon the foundation that we have laid. The baton is passed from one hand to another. Even though great things are accomplished by those who are mighty in the eyes of the world, none of what they say or do will receive any rewards in heaven. It is only those things shown to us by God and proclaimed in concert with the whole Body of Christ that God will honor as His work. Take heed what we hear and how we hear it. The pattern of God in heaven is to be reflected on the earth.

21 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 21, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:19

The grace of God produces works of righteousness. It is from a heart of love that we do the will of God and not for the sake of earning His favor. If we love Jesus Christ, we will do His will and find pleasure in doing it. Those who are rich often think of themselves as having all that they need. Paul’s admonishment was not that they become impoverished, but rather to make sure that their hearts are not held captive by the things of this world. Those who find greater pleasure here and now, but lack a heavenly perspective will sacrifice eternal life for what their money is able to buy them. When Christ is our foundation we store up riches for the time to come. Every act is centered in our love for the Lord and given full expression through how we use our resources. We participate with the Lord in what He is doing on the earth as fellow laborers in His garden and in the construction of His house. After our work is complete, we will spend eternity with Him giving full expression of what has been developed within us as result of our labor of love.

15 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 15, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah17:10

The Lord looks at the heart of every person and does not merely see its present condition. He looks into the heart at every contributing factor that motivates both mind and heart. We see the world and people through the lenses of past experiences whether good or bad. Our heart is set in a particular direction while our mind searches out new things to explore. God searches the heart in order to remove the debris that hinders our minds from thinking on things which are just, lovely, pure, and or a good report. Our thoughts will determine our action. Our truest motives are from either a pure or an impure heart. What God has ordained will continue to affect the lives of others bringing them to deeper and greater levels of understanding Jesus Christ. He must be seen in all that we do. When He is glorified through our efforts, our work will have eternal rewards rather than merely producing temporary relief. He rewards the fruit of our doings and not our deeds alone.

14 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 14, 2012

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“and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith” 1 Thessalonians 3:2

We are encouraged through others who have been well taught and learned the lesson of diligence and persistence in the faith. Timothy had learned much from Paul’s tutorship. His boldness came as result of the encouragement from a seasoned saint who had forsaken all for the cause of Christ. As he imitated his leader he gained a testimony which would do more for a new convert than what might be learned from the Apostle. Much more would be expected from Paul therefore it would more difficult to relate to his experiences. But when young Timothy would stand before a neophyte beginning the long journey from the start, it would be much easier to relate to. We need the testimony of young men and women if we are to reach this generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If they would speak convincingly to their peers, it could turn their generation around. We are praying that God would raise up more youthful and inspiring Timothy’s. We will send them out if they are willing and ready to go.

07 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 8, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’?” Numbers 24:13

Hearing and obeying the Word of the Lord is more important than the benefits of hard work and labor that would take us beyond it. There are those who ignore the standard established by God and wish to justify their position thinking that they are too busy or have risen above the instructions given. Their price is met through the fame, fortune, and acceptance of others who would reward them with tangible benefits or accolades affirming their significance to a particular cause. Yet if we are not speaking what God has spoken or doing what He has ordained, it is either blessing what God has cursed or cursing what God has blessed. We must not judge the Word of God has being optional but absolutely necessary in every endeavor. A transgression is going beyond the word whether it is for good or for bad. As ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must speak what God is saying in order for the people to fully participate in what God is doing. We too will be judged if we preach ourselves or address topics of interest to us and others at the expense of what thus sayeth the Lord. The judgment of a godly word is not what we may feel about it, but how can it transform us into the image of the Son of God? I must speak what God is saying and we both must do what God has instructed. Only then will He be pleased with our efforts.

06 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 6, 2012

Posted by Cross Culture Church Categories: Meditations

“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. ” 1 Thessalonians 1:10

The posture of the follower of Jesus Christ is anticipation for what lies ahead. The word of God received has lifted his sights above the persecution of trials and the tests that come against him. It has the ability to stabilize us even when the circumstances remain the same. It is word upon word that increases faith and raises the level of expectation for the return of our Lord. Nothing could be more valuable than this. Jesus, whom He raised from the dead provide for us a model of what awaits our future. He was delivered from death through death. The wrath of man measured against us in this world is nothing in comparison to the wrath of God. We must endure the intermediate in order to experience the ultimate. He has delivered us from the wrath to come against all unrighteousness and now we are a part of His kingdom where righteousness reigns. Our deliverance is as result of hearing and obeying the message delivered to us from heaven. It was delivered to us to deliver us from the wrath that is sure to come. As we wait for the return of the Son of God who is in heaven, we must patiently wait for Him to turn the tide in His favor. All things are working together towards this end.