MIND OF TRUTH

Every once in a while, something rare and wonderful happens. Something unplanned, unfamiliar, and unexpected happens . . . I finish a book :) I do read a lot, I just can't seem to find books that keep my attention very long, except for the Bible of course, I've finished that one a few times. I read almost exclusively, Christian themed, spiritual life, discipleship kind of books. Some may see that as a flaw, but I'm just not interested in other topics, and usually I feel its a waste of time. I have whole book shelves full of half-read books. I do keep book marks in them with every intention of getting back to finish them up someday, but rarely ever do once I put them down. Anyway, I finished "Ruthless Trust". I highly recommend it as I'm sure you have guessed if you've been reading my recent blog entries. Brennan Manning says "Trust happens! You will trust him to the degree that you know you are loved by him". Our trust grows as we exper

In II Cor. 12:9 the Lord tells Paul "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." In response Paul says "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me." Our path to ruthless trust comes through our weakness. The Holy Spirit is faithful to lead us into situations where we have a chance to let go of our pride and embrace our need for Christ, but too many times we miss the opportunity and stand up in our own strength. Jesus said only when we lay down our life will we find it. The abundant life of Christ will only flow through a trusting heart. What is our motivation in life? If we desire to glorify Christ, then we can say like Paul most gladly will I boast in my weaknesses because then the power of Christ is at work within me. When our motivation is promoting self, we will continue in a place of striving and contention with no power and no trust. The church today want to be rea

There is no greater calling in all of eternity than to trust in Jesus. To truly trust Him, we must go beyond traditions, beyond knowledge, beyond believing, and beyond faith. Life in Christ is not about me, its not about the church, its not about winning the lost. It's simply all about Jesus. How can we stand in His majesty and sacrifice and glory and wholeness and holiness and love and say its about anything but Him? My redeemed life, His body, His bride, His precious shed blood, these are all expressions of Who He is. He is the ever living, transcendent God who exists beyond all comprehension, yet He is the intimate immanent Christ who lives within me. Can I give up everything to experience Him? Can I lay down my life to know Him? Can I truly trust Him? How can I do any less? I think most people who call themselves Christians would say they believe in Jesus. Of those, some would go so far as to exercise faith in Christ to follow Him and live their life to serve Him.

I have been reading "Ruthless Trust", by Brennan Manning. I'm about half way through and it has been excellent. Very few books capture my attention like this one. Dallas Willard says "Brennan Manning throws firebrands into your soul". I can attest to that. I thought I would share some ongoing notes and thoughts as I work my way through this book. As I have read Chapter 7 "Trusting Jesus", I feel my true self being ruthlessly exposed page by page as the Holy Spirit reveals my Jesus to me. Only Christ can penetrate the deepest parts of my soul, and still call me friend. I believe in you Lord, help me Trust! Brennan quotes John McKinzie who explains his experience of Jesus "The basic element seems to be recognition. We recognize that the person whom we have encountered speaks to our innermost being, supplies our needs, satisfies our desires. We recognize that this person gives life meaning. I do not say a new meaning, but meaning simply, for we rea

Now-a-days you don't have to look very hard to find advertisements for churches. We have everything from flashy cards in coffee shops, to little signs by the road, to TV commercials. I'm not saying advertising is necessarily wrong, but I know it is only a shadow of what God intended for His church. I think its just one example of how we try to live without the power God has given to His church. Anytime we limit or deny the power of the HS we are relegated to live in the realm of our own ability. We can clearly see the HS working through the church in the book of Acts. We live in a very different time and culture today, but I know our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and He still desires to have the life changing power of His Spirit flow through His people. I read an amazing account of the Holy Spirit drawing people to the church in Acts 3. After Pentecost, Peter and John, who are full of the Spirit, encounter a lame man in need. When they obey the Spirit an

Sometimes we can learn the most amazing things from our kids. My son loves Star Wars. His mind is so active and he will consume whatever he loves. He is limited in how much TV and PS time he gets, but that doesn't stop him. He will take his light saber and run around our yard completely immersed in an intricate battle scene. I know if I want him to really learn and posses something for himself, I need to get it down into that same place in his mind. We have been working with him to improve his reading skill, and he always says he cannot do it and he wants to give up. I then quoted Yoda who said "Do or do not, there is no try". I asked him what was his choice, do it or give up. He chose (reluctantly) to do it, and before he knew it we were through the book. I thought about that same principle in my own life. I'm not seven years old anymore and I don't have a parent standing over my shoulder telling me I need to do my homework, but I do have the Holy Spirit

This past week has been a time of refocusing for me. I have reached a point in my journey with Christ where I can't make it without being in daily contact with the Lord. I need His infilling of strength and hope. I need to hear Him speak truth and revelation to my heart and mind. Having said that, I still loose my focus from time to time and get distracted by stuff, church, people, work, responsibilities, self-will, and so many other thing. Those things can distract us from what really matters in our life, knowing Jesus. Our enemy is an opportunist and he will orchestrate circumstances and add pressure to situations to take us off course. We must learn to be in a constant state of resistance to maintain our focus. I don't want to loose my focus. I feel like Paul when he says the things I don't want to do, I do, and that which I want to do I don't do. We are all incapable of waking in the things of God unless we are being continually renewed day by day. I pray

I walked into a coffee shop last night to get my favorite Carmel Latte. I try other things once in a while, but I keep going back to the old standby for some reason. Anyway... I picked up a flashy card from a local church that advertised their upcoming services, promoted their uniqueness, and proudly stated they were free from religious mentalities. Since when did religion become a bad word? I know where they were going with that, but I think too many churches today have made being relevant and different a religion of it's own. We have just replaced the set of church rules our grandparents lived by with the ones we have made up now. You have to have fun at church, you have to dress casual, you can't sing hymns. Is no rules a rule? I can pretty much guarantee you that ever since Acts, people have been substituting one church thing for another and jumping from one new paradigm shift to the next. The problem is that somewhere we lost the ability to have an original though