mindset – Page 30 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: June 4, 2012

“For He says, In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation, I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; and behold now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

When the gospel of Jesus Christ is heard, the day of salvation and the accepted time of deliverance come. Eternity is interjected into time in order to produce within the soul what would otherwise be impossible. It may appear to be so simple and often is taken for granted and generalized among many other statements that are made when not fully understood. But something more dynamic has happened, but its entrance is so subtle that those seeking the spectacular will often miss it. The grace to become what the Lord has promised is introduced through such simple words as these. They prepare the heart and soul to be with Christ and to reign with Him throughout eternity. We have been given the assignment and the authority to deliver salvation to a dying world. As the Holy Spirit so directs us, we can speak His Word with power and at that very moment a life-changing experience occurs among the hearers. We cannot afford to be silent. God will use somebody. Why not us?

03 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 3, 2012

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“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3

In an age of diversity, tolerance, and political correctness, to speak exclusively that One would stand out among the crowd condemning all others beside as false, lifeless, and insignificant. So it is with God who has no respect for other gods. None other is to be worshiped and the exclusive course to the Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ. What is most difficult to many is to understand the effect of original sin. None had access because of man’s nature as sinners. When sin is ignored then the need for a Savior is unnecessary. But thanks be to God, a provision was made through the death of His own Son that we might be redeemed! Idolatry is the pursuit of a god that is either after Him or in place of Him. He must stand alone ii He is to be worshiped. Renounce any idols in your life that may be competing for your exclusive obedience to Him.

01 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 1, 2012

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“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.

13 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

April 2012 Article: “The Mind and Body”

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Grandiose ideas, however tall, are unfulfilled among a people who lack the means of fully expressing them. How many dreams are frustrated due to visionaries abandoning the cause? The future generation inherited the mantle and received the call by God to guarantee a continuum of progress. However, somebody dropped the ball for a distraction, leaving their children with the task of having to decide what they believe is best.

The origin of the dream has roots that extend deeper than a few preceding generations. It was the original idea of God for mankind. He allows some to get a glimpse of what He knows in this present age placing them in the category of revolutionaries. Although the zeal for righteousness burns deep within their souls, if there are no bodies to act upon their words, theirs would become a dream deferred for another time.

God so loved His creation of man as to view him as the extension of His own thoughts and ideas. He gave Adam the ability to name every animal He created by a scientific description. Thus man was to rule over His creation, giving further expression of God’s thoughts. But when the body refuses to cooperate with the Mind, disorder and confusion result. Man was intended to be the embodiment of the thoughts of God. Love is not love without a means of expression. First, He loved His only Begotten Son. Then, His love was extended to man and through man, thus providing proper order among all things made. Yet the rebellion and dysfunction of the body inhibits the flow of the original intent of the mind. The generation that rebels against God is a mindless generation.The wild man of Gadera in the Scriptures was unclothed and violent dwelt among the tombs. No man could control him as he caused harm to himself. Even though his body was out of control, he saw God’s order through His Son, Jesus Christ and he immediately worshiped Him.

Jesus asked him a profound question; “What’s your name?” There was a dream buried beneath the disorder of the wild man. There is a purpose for each life rooted in the origin of every creature. Man has lost his vision and cannot fulfill the ancient dreams of the past because he has taken on too many identities. The demons within the wild man answered, “I am Legion, for we are many.” The preoccupation with ideas, plans, and people apart from an exclusive commitment to God divides man’s personality into many. Identity is often determined by occupation, possessions, or vices rather than the thoughts of God. When we worship the Lord, the first question He will ask is “what is your name?” Our sanity is regained when our purpose for living is singular.

Jesus came to restore to us our true identity. Our inability to do because we were too insane to realize our demise as result of sin positioned God Himself to come in bodily form to redeem us. “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:”Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.”(Heb 10:5) He came to both illustrate and demonstrate how the Mind and Body should function as one unit. When we take on His identity, God’s thoughts flow to us and through us to the world, thereby reestablishing God’s mandate for creation. Only then will His love cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

13 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

March 2012 Article: “The Prevailing Purpose of God”

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“We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 (The Message Paraphrase)

God brings an end to the grandiose ideas and plans put into action that do not generate from Him. Many may even have the semblance of permanency, but their success is short lived. The seed of destruction and ruin is deeply embedded in its core because it did not originate from the Originator. Even though He will not allow a mere human to elevate his purpose above His own, many continue their pursuits because of their God-given abilities to reason. Instead of using it to seek deeper levels of knowledge regarding Him, they foolishly explore the contradictions of faulty reasoning to strengthen their resolve that they do not need Him.

We live between the tensions of self-determination and perpetual dependency. Many are telling us that we can make it if we only believe in ourselves, while Jesus reminds us in His Word, “without Me, you can do nothing.” Who are we to believe, when the popularized opinion is most palatable and God seems to be archaic and out of touch with our personal life’s experiences? Often the conclusion is to give Him an honorable mention as a fleeting thought confined to an hour or two on Sunday mornings after which, “His time is up, back to the real world.” How sad that so many will compete with God unknowingly yet taking deliberate action against Him by pushing our agendas without any consideration given to His will. Good intentions are not enough. We would be blinded to the larger picture and remain a prisoner to the smallness of ideas and efforts of vanity with severe consequences. They appear important because one’s position will determine one’s opinion. From heaven, God’s perspective of reality takes into consideration the past, the present, and the future. His purpose is defined from eternity, so how can we argue over what we do not understand? It would be much better to pray, asking Him to show us what we do not see.

Our destinies will not be determined by political decisions. We are to exercise our right to vote because we are in the world, but not of the world. Our plight is not so fatalistic as to hinge on the outcome of the consensus opinion of a fallen people, but rather, His eyes are upon His Church to judge her first before the judgments fall upon the nation. He will raise up prophetic voices to proclaim His purposes even among those who may be shortsighted and dismissive of the things that really matter. His voice will unstop deaf ears deafened by the soothing sounds of error lulling them into a state of stupor. The election will only reflect the ideals of our generation. We are allowed to measure the climate of our day by whoever the majority are willing to elect into office. But theKingdomofGodtranscends the limits of man’s decisions. His purposes shall prevail! “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Ps 127:1

Finally, God’s purposes will prevail over all opposition. As in the construction of theTowerofBabel, from all appearances, nothing was able to impede their progress and end their efforts but they did not consider the gift of communication as originating from God. Even though numerous avenues exist today where telecommunications can spread propaganda, if it were to be confounded, the people would be stilled enough to listen. God’s Word communicates truth to a confused world and He will have the final word and His purpose will prevail.

10 Feb 0Comments 0Likes

February 2012 Article: “Revival is Needed in Our Times”

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The Church during the times of revival has always been on the cutting edge of reform and restoration of the truth. When men would demoralize and dehumanize their brethren for the sake of economic expedience or adopt a position of superiority over others, it was the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that would challenge corrupt systems of discrimination and division. Revered Pastor and abolitionist Charles Finney believed his duty was to abolish slavery and accept former slaves as fellow members of a kindred body of believers. Although many people may have given attention to his message on revival of religion, they fail to examine the effects of a genuine move of God that challenges religious systems to reexamine their hearts and be purged of the roots of racism underneath the surface of their outward expressions of piety.

It will not be the world nor political or civic institutions that will provide the impetus for change. It will be the influence of a people that have returned to the foundation of biblical faith who believe that Jesus is the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. In recent years, Jesus Christ were conveniently attached as an addendum to a set agenda used only to validate a cause that men had already adapted. He was not the Author of their faith, but instead a confirmer of what men had authored themselves and a faith that only led them to a life of self-indulgence. They believed in themselves and had confidence that they could change the world. Yet, the global crises grew worse and people experienced an unprecedented level of despondency. As it was in the past, people continue to spur hatred and polarization among people-groups with little effort to understand the other side. If there is no change in today’s climate of racial tensions, this decade could lead to the eruption of a racial civil war as a result of clashing cultures. It is not just the Shiites and Sunnis that are diametrically opposed to one another. How many define the Christian faith and give expression to what they truly believe could lead to contention among those who profess in honoring and worshiping the Prince of Peace.

The Occupy Movement has directed our attention towards the civil unrest among the majority. While their message is a clarion call for change, who has been prepared to lead in an environment of change among the masses who are seeking something that none of our current civic leaders possess? Civil unrest can lead to anarchy unless there is a clear message directing people to a cause that is so great as to occupy the efforts of the Occupiers, and channel their energies towards a path of permanent change. The temporary resolution is what the Bible speaks of when it says, “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

We are in desperate need of a Third Awakening! The comatose state of the Church has rendered her disengaged in providing and protecting the principles of truth faith in God, yet fully engaged in the practice of erecting monuments that deify the strength of humanity. It sets the world on a collision course with God, awaiting His judgments to prove all that it purports as being wrong. As the tensions surmount and the apathetic decrease their concerns, the standard of righteousness seems to lose its potency. However, when it happens as it is happening now, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up His standard against all standards that do not measure up to His own. Pray for revival here…Pray for revival now…”Lord send revival!”

03 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

January 2012 Article: “2012, The Year of Divine Order”

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As each year is met with its special challenges, we must be prepared to navigate wisely and safely through it. Nothing is just circumstantial or by chance, but everything exists in a cause and effect relationship. Things might appear to be random, but there is an established order that must be maintained. Its origin is before the foundations of the world therefore we do not have to engage in guesswork and carelessly assemble what has been strategically designed. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Each of us was made for this time and a place fully known by God. When we are out of place, nature cries out in rebellion to our forceful habits of trying to make something that is not meant to be. We often wonder why things are not working right and life does not make any sense. It could be the disorder of one’s life working against the order for which all things are subjected to and must be surrendered if its truest purpose is ever to be realized.
God orchestrates order out of chaos. He is the only One who can bring forth light out of darkness. He does not have to find the light but rather, He produces the light that dispels the darkness regardless how dark it may be. “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” What if it was said to you that the only instrument of peace is Jesus Christ alone? In an environment of chaos, it would sound biased and extremely prejudiced against all other attempts to provide counsel and relief to our current crises. Yet there is no light without Him. A convergence of light and darkness will cast a gray shadow. The cloud of error has eclipsed the true Light thus contributing to the chaos and confusion of this generation. This is a generation of compromise. Compromise competes with the ageless truth requiring conformity to a more contemporary order that is sensible to this generation. There is no compromise sufficient enough for us to meet the deep and desperate needs of the soul. What price have we paid and are now paying for the allowances made for the vices of society that should be condemned? Only when we accept God’s choices will there be deliverance from influences that allure people further away from them. Either we believe that He is God or not. There is no safe middle ground. If He is God, then all things generate from Him and were made to glorify Him alone. If He is one among many other gods, then we are permitted to debate whether His way is the only way, and collaborate concerning the rightness or wrongness of His Word in light of other information made available to this present age.
We have prayerfully entitled this year “The Year of Divine Order” because God alone has established the order for government, family, religion, economics, education, world peace, and our personal lives. Every contending force is in opposition to His will and must be proven false and ineffective. Our objective this year is to provide historical evidence that manufactured kingdoms have ultimately fallen over time for no other reason than God stands alone in His sovereignty. When His Word is rightly divided, in essence, preached through those who are authorized by Him to speak on His behalf, the power of change is released enabling the hearers the privilege to conform to His will. Before one can receive His order, the disorder must be exposed and renounced through repentance. The Holy Spirit then does His work of constructing lives that can fulfill the purpose for which each was born. When God is pleased with our lives, we experience a dimension of peace that surpasses all understanding.

07 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

December 2011 Article: “Re-presenting Jesus”

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When a person or thing has been forgotten, or if the memory is reduced to a title, a symbol, or any fixture that is now void of life, there is the need for a fresh presentation in order for the truth to be known. Interpretations are often limited to perceptions that are usually influenced by personal desire. It would be much easier to have a Savior that fits perfectly into our thoughts of Him. He would then be non-threatening and pliable to whatever whim may come to mind. Then, when we grow weary of that perception, we can retire it and create another as we continue to change our minds about life and ourselves. Jesus Christ, however, is not that flexible. Malachi presents Him as unchanging and Revelations reflects His history, presence, and destiny as being the same. Since He is the same, why do many either embrace or reject a perception, but do not seek to know Him as He is? It is primarily because of the responsibility that accompanies the true knowledge of Him. What will we do if we were enabled to see Him as He is? Our agency as autonomous individuals would be compromised. There would be an authority would have determined what is right and wrong, what is good and what is evil. Society has primarily redirected their pursuits for a substitute rather than having to reckon with the One who presents Himself as the established truth.
His Word challenges our thinking and reaches deep into our souls. There is a part of every person that seeks to know more than what he currently knows. Yet it is pride that causes one to think that his pursuits can offer him complete satisfaction. He came to earth for us and we were made to acknowledge and glorify Him. Looking in any other direction merely hardens the heart against what the soul desperately craves. He abandons a life of temporal pleasures that merely anesthetizes the conscience so that things that were prohibited now become more sensible than the grace to participate in what He has granted freely. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift ever given to humanity, but He is not who we think He is. Our minds cannot reach those peaks of marvelous revelation that only His Spirit is able to manifest. When we strain to think of what He is like, we merely get a glimpse from a distance. He stands there welcoming us to approach Him, but not with the things we wish to keep. His will is to fill us with more than we are holding on to by giving us what we never had. Whether it is religiously maintained, it is a devotion and commitment, even if it is not the truest depiction. He comes to dispel all preconceived notions not by becoming a part of our lives but rather by becoming life to us.
Too many have built idols and worshiped without knowledge they were doing so. Little wonder that so much confusion remains all around us, especially among those who profess a faith. He is still here; the Christ of God who revealed Himself in history waits for the opportunity to reveal Himself to this generation. The challenge of the old misconceptions must take place if the original is to be made known. Wise men sought Him when He came as a child to the earth. Now that He has completed His task upon the earth, who will seek to know the resurrected Christ whose will is to dwell richly within the hearts of those who would make room for Him?

01 Aug 0Comments 1Like

AUGUST ARTICLE: “Things Have Changed”

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The world is changing at neck-breaking pace. Opinions are shifting in different directions and it is becoming more difficult to identify with individuals who adhere to the old standards of morality that appear archaic to a burgeoning moral system. The leaders of today study trends and patterns in order to keep tempo with the rest of the world. They logically conclude that if they do not change, and both methodologies and taboos are not destroyed, there can be no progress.

People continue to encroach up the line of demarcation, yet few oppose this egregious action. The gradual conditioning of our generation’s mass mind has prepared it for the societal changes without objection. There is a sense of camaraderie among those whose moral judgments keep them separated from others who remain indifferent to moral dilemmas. The question on the table is, “now that we have gotten these things out of the way, where are we headed?” This is a generation that has greater freedoms to do as they please, but lack direction to do what is wise. When we settle on hedonistic pursuits rather than what is right, we create a recipe for disaster. Once guiding principles are absent from our moral landscape, it is only a matter of time before the collapse in morality triggers a domino effect that erodes the economy, heightens criminal activity, and sparks the search for answers in places where they cannot be found. We desperately need a moral compass. Are we progressing or are we losing ground in the battle for the heart and soul of this generation? Every year, the criminal mind continues to develop earlier in children because even at a young age, pivotal decisions rest on their shoulders regarding the life they choose to live.

There are no paternal and maternal influences to guide them in the decision making process. This is being taken away in the form of children’s rights and jeopardizes parental rights to govern their own households. Yes, it is true that abusive behavior must be regulated and restricted, but now there are questions as to the definition of abuse. The State of Georgia tried a case where a parent was accused of invading the privacy of the child by kicking down the door to the room while the child was being stubborn and insubordinate. Is this intrusion when rebellion dwells in the household and order is enforced by children rather than law officials? This issue raises questions as to the extent of governmental involvement in policing the home of those who uphold the standards, methodologies, and morays from past generations. If we are not careful, it will be against the law to preach the Word of God lest someone be offended. Then those who uphold a biblical perspective will be considered our modern day criminals while the morally and spiritually bankrupt Barabbses will be celebrated.

There is a tremendous need for established absolutes in order to become a principled nation. The only absolute is God and the only way to know Him is through the preaching of His Word. Our prayer is that somebody is listening and paying attention to the shifts that have taken place and the shifts that are yet to come. If nothing more is done than what is being done now, we are in deep trouble. But the Word of God has been given to us. God is yet speaking to us that we might be changed. Hear His voice and do not allow the shifts of society to harden your hearts.