purpose – Page 7 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: August 10

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John 12:32

Jesus spoke of the benefits and advantages of His being Lifted up. It was not the elevation that many seek. It was not a platform of prominence, or the glitter and glamour of celebrity. It was the execution of the intentions of His enemies against Him. If they carry out their agenda, God will use it as a means to draw every people-group to a life of surrender. They would come to the very cross and die with Him.

What the devil intended for evil, God meant for good. His death was His life’s purpose. The dynamics of the death of Jesus Christ is too complex to fully explain. He became sin as a sinless sacrifice for our sins. The message is foolishness to those who consider themselves to be too wise and prudent even to need it, But there are those who sense the weight of sin damning their souls to hell. They are appreciative that the consequences of their fallen nature destined to express itself will not be held to their charge.

The message of the cross causes an explosion among people. Hope for eternal life is signaled to a terminal generation whereas a glimmer of hope reaches their soul. They rush in the direction of the new Light that burst forth before them. “Draw me away,” the Shulamite woman cries out to her Beloved. The power of the Holy Spirit implodes and all kinds of people are drawn in a strange direction of death to their self life with a promise and hope of resurrection. Do you desire the life that is lived after death or the death that denies true life because it is too busy giving expression to its own emptiness trying to just make a living?

31 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 31

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“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Heb 10:25

Is Church the place that we attend or a people in the process of being made? Many place more emphasis on place than in purpose. It is not a matter of getting what we consider to be our needs met. To be honest, we do not really know precisely what our needs are. There are symptoms, but our needs go much deeper. God knows. He knows our frame or the substance on which all that we have become was constructed upon. The foundation of our soul; mind, will, and emotion, is taken into account when the Word of God is spoken under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We are challenged at the very core of our being in order to discover His intentions for our lives. We are not in place to merely receive affirmations. They will only strengthen the soul in its rebellious state against the knowledge of God. He is our Father. He rebukes us, challenges us, and affirms us. Oftentimes Church becomes a very uncomfortable place. We are called to reckon with God in relation to the sin that so easily beset us in order for His character to be formed in us. We are not human beings, but rather human becomings. We are a work in process. Whatever we are becoming, all that we expose ourselves to contribute to the formation of our lives. Every moment counts. Time is too valuable to be wasted.

Many have opted out of attending Church altogether. Their expectations were not met, or a disappointment was so devastating that they distanced themselves from the Church. Maybe unrealistic expectations have driven you away. It could have been the test of character warranting a difference response from you. The Church does not comprise of perfect people, but rather committed people. The commitment will be tested but the Word of God will bring understanding over time. Patience is the virtue which must be established with our hearts. God is beckoning His people to come home and be established.

Attend Church this week in order to worship God. Allow Him to reveal Himself to you and do not lean to your own understanding. The definition that I use for worship is “worship is our active response to God’s revelation of Himself whereby we declare His worth.” It is not about us. If worship is to be real it must be about Him! Out of our worship He will be glorified and His glory will always be for our good. You may not see it now, but when patience is perfected we are made to see further. We can then see aspects of the Kingdom of God unknown to us before His work in us began!

26 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 26

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“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.

25 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 25

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“Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?” Psalm 8:4 (MSG)

My smallness in contrast to His greatness and the vastness of His creation causes me to wonder. Why would God even bother with someone as small and seemingly insignificant as me? If it were only a case restricted to observation, my worth is very little. But since God looks at His creation from the perspective of potential, we all stand as His masterpieces and created for good works. What we have the potential to become and to do far outweighs the work of angels. We are to reflect His glory to all of His creation. Principalities and powers in heavenly places will know His many-faceted wisdom through those obedient souls that are surrendered to Him. God gives special attention to mankind. All of creation is held in subjection until the mature sons of God are manifested for its release. Therefore God is not merely looking at historical or current events. He is looking at those who are in Christ being prepared to carry out His work.

16 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 16

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“You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples.” Psalm 77:14

God is at work among the peoples of the earth. He has ordered the whole of creation to bow at His feet. Nothing is able to remain standing in defiance of Him. He rules in power and in might. The raging of heathens who align themselves as armies will utterly fall. The conspiracies among the ruler s of this age will be confounded. God is not troubled by the circumstances that appear to overtake those who have placed their trust in Him. All will ultimately see that God is their strength and their present help in the time of trouble. He will bring down those who exalt themselves, and lift up all that humble themselves before Him. It will be a marvelous sight to see when God arises among those who belong to Him. They would have appeared to be the laughing stock of the world. They have suffered the loss of friends, fame, and fortune. But God, who has placed His Word within their hearts, will speak through them words of deliverance directed towards those who would be saved. A clear voice will be heard through the trials of His saints. None of their experiences will go without purpose. He will use their witness to the world that the weak things and foolish things are stronger and wiser than those who rely on their own strength and wisdom.

29 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 29

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“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” Philippians 1:12

The trials of the Apostle Paul was sent to destroy him on the part of the enemy, but allowed to prove him on the part of God. Faith is not a mere idea of the mind, but a disposition of the heart. It is able to withstand the onslaught of challenges that would otherwise wear one down. When we are tried and pass the test, on the other side of that victory is a special grace useful in the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can then all the more identify with the price He paid by enduring much more than we could ever face in this life. There is a message preached by some who are void of experience that may stir the emotions and impress its hearers. But there is another message deeply rooted in experiences aligned with the sufferings of Christ. That message is able to make a deep impact upon its hearers because they not only hear it but see it. We live our message much louder than we speak it. There were things Paul wanted them to know. He wanted them to know that things that happen are not isolated incidences. Everything serves a purpose in the overall plan of God. He uses it all as a means of building within us a message that can reach and transform the hearts of others if we are totally committed to His purpose.

08 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 8

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Col 2:2-4 “I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. (3) All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! (4) I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.” (MSG)

The knowledge of God connects as a woven tapestry of love. Each part finds its significance in the whole thus touching every aspect of each life. The problem lies in one trying to understand and find answers to the influx of life’s questions apart from the Truth. It is there and has always existed, but that aspect of Christ yet to be known contains what is presently needed. Do not lose Christ yet to be known contains what is presently needed. Do not lose your focus on Him. When you do, you are out of focus. Other things may appear as more than they are. They are but smoking mirrors, tricks of the enemy to allure you away from your primary purpose. The further you travel down that road the more confused you will become. Wisdom is embedded in the mysteries of Christ and nowhere else. Know this and you will be wise in your pursuit of wisdom.

06 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 6

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“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Eph 4:7

The Lord has dispensed to each member of the Body of Christ a measure of grace. We have been enabled to function as a whole but yet dependent on every part doing its share. It is from the wholeness of the Body of Christ the witness of Jesus is made known to the world. A fragment may have an effect to a degree, but the full effect can only be experienced when we come together as a whole. Coming together and sharing together as one is the prayer of Jesus Christ. The enemy’s attempts to divide the Body may have delayed the witness but can never destroy the witness. There will be a people equipped for service with understanding of the times, and a clearer knowledge of purpose in the last days. They will not hoard their gifts as exclusive to their party, but see the whole as being greater than the sum of all its parts. It is through the synergized efforts of the Church that the world will know that Christ has come down from the Father. Then the love of God can be shed abroad in our hearts by way of the Holy Spirit impacting the world in areas where the need is the greatest.

02 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 2

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“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.

01 May 0Comments 0Likes

May 2016 Article: “Mother, the Womb that Incubates Potential”

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It must be pointed out for one to fully realize how important a mother really is. When we take the time to cease from our daily efforts and ponder the value given to the second person of God’s creation, we cannot help but thank God for such as wonder. Yes, fathers originate the process. As God is our heavenly Father; Pater in Hebrew meaning, “brought forth from,” that which is produced must be developed if it is reach its destiny. The seed would remain impotent and eventually die unless it was not deposited into the womb. There it is nurtured and protected in order to be formed into the idea of its original design. Who but God could have thought of such a wondrous plan as to take two distinctly different people and use them as His instruments to bring forth life? Not only does God place this miracle within her physical body, but within her mind and soul is the passion and desire to see that life become all that God intended for it to be. Within the womb is God’s creative genius, and outside of the womb is the demonstration of His love. The continuous love of a mother provides an environment for a child to grow up knowing that he or she is cared for. The world is a vicious and violent place to live. People, not knowing who they are, will act out various roles of reality given to them by those that they admire. Their twisted thinking often lead them to violate the ethical code of humanity. They lose sight of their purpose and have no idea of life’s truest meaning. But the mother, from which nurture was first initiated serves as a reminder that there still remains a person that cares, therefore there must be a God that cares.

If love exists anywhere it reminds us of the fact that love still remains. If it remains, it must generate from its origin. Therefore, if there was no other indication that God is the same the dynamic of a mother and child would be enough to reveal to us of this truth. Jesus in His lamentation over Jerusalem expressed this love for His people. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt 23:37) Not only does a mother provide and protect her children but even in the animal world, that protective love is exhibited. You may threaten to rob a mother of her valuables, and even threaten to take her life, but woe be unto you if you threaten to do harm to her children. She will do whatever is necessary to protect that which was brought forth from her own womb. It is an extension of God’s love through Jesus Christ for His own. She is there regardless of the life altering decisions made by her children. She is willing to express her love but the only way to know it is when it is fully received.

When Jesus was being crucified; while He was hanging on the cross, He took time out of dying to speak to His disciple, John saying to him, “Behold Thy mother.” What He was saying to John was, “John, take care of mother and treat her has your own.” Why was this moment so special? Jesus was expressing His appreciation for the thirty-three years of nurture and love received from her. He was reminded of her value in His life and the encouragement He had received from her throughout the many years of life and ministry. He was saying to John; “treat her as I would treat her. The acts of kindness I had received, treat her as if it was you instead of Me.” Now as we celebrate our mothers, let us remember that God gave her to us as His gift. Love her as Jesus loved His mother. The potency of His love is expressed through her.

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