Many
enjoyed the writings of my friend and brother in Christ, Michael Low. Mike is a
member of my Friday evening small group Bible Study, longtime adult Sunday
School teacher and fellow Ministry Board member at our church. He even preached
the Sunday Sermon last Father’s Day. Michael attends a Men's Bible Study called
"The Influences" and shares his notes via email, and has given me
permission to share them on my Blog once again, so, once more, for the next
week or so, you will be seeing Michael's thoughts, and I pray that you will be
blessed once more and take a gold nugget of truth for your life. Brian
Moralism
is a false doctrine that says just try harder.
The carnal nature is a prisoner to the appetites of the flesh. The world says "give in to your appetite." However, the Word says "Ye are slaves to the one whom you obey." Where do you run for comfort and consolation? Is it the pursuit of success, relationship, and things. You're a prisoner to that which you value most. What's your "drug of choice?"
Phil 2:12-13 (Continue to) Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We're in a marathon. Continue to pursue the prize of the high calling, for it is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.
The carnal nature is a prisoner to the appetites of the flesh. The world says "give in to your appetite." However, the Word says "Ye are slaves to the one whom you obey." Where do you run for comfort and consolation? Is it the pursuit of success, relationship, and things. You're a prisoner to that which you value most. What's your "drug of choice?"
Phil 2:12-13 (Continue to) Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We're in a marathon. Continue to pursue the prize of the high calling, for it is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.
We
may attempt to beat our flesh into submission. This is a futile
effort. In the words of Martin Luther, "Did we in our own strength
confide, our battle would be loosing, were not the right man on our side, the
man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is
he, and he must win the battle."
With God there is no difficulty. Difficulty is inversely proportional to the power that is used to overcome it. God is all-powerful. With God all things are possible to him that believeth. There are not four easy steps to being released from prison. Life is messy, it's convoluted, we don't know the end from the beginning, but he does. Where is your passion, what is it that you value most? When you find your passion, it's not about the difficulty in the effort, rather it's the joy of the pursuit of your passion.
There are four postures toward spiritual maturity.
1. The posture of confession. Without confession, we can't turn from the flesh and toward the spirit of life in Christ. Confession acknowledges that of ourselves we are nothing... that in him we live and move and have our being.
2. The posture of repentance: to turn from self and toward God. To change direction. Life is a series of "inflection points." Inflection points are changes of direction. In this convoluted life, God allows us to change our mind, to allow our minds to be renewed through the power of his Word.
3. The posture of being known. God created us to do life in community. He called us collectively to the body of Christ so that we could be fitly framed together, to edify and build up one another as God's building to God's glory. The adversary works in darkness. Allow the light to shine in our lives in order to build up the body of Christ.
4. Intimacy with our Heavenly Father. We must draw our hearts close to God. We must abide with him and within him to develop an intimate relationship with our father.
Meekness and humility are the keys to allowing God to lead captivity captive: to release us from the prisons of the carnal nature. Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
According to John 3:20, He that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. But He that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God.
According to the world, reproof, discipline, chastening, and chastisement are negative terms. However, God gave us his Word for doctrine, reproof, and correction. The chastening of The Lord is a positive term: it means to restore to an upright condition. God has called us to the church, the body of Christ as members in particular, so that we could bear one another's burdens, so that we could confess one to another. So that we can acknowledge our brokenness and allow the light of the Word to shine in our lives... So that we can turn away from the desires of the flesh and turn our hearts toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Our father sent his son Jesus Christ to bear our burden of sin. As Jesus has borne our sin, we have been called as a band of brothers to bear one another's' burdens. We have been called to liberty: only use not liberty as an occasion to sin, but in love serve one another. Jesus said that in that ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Jesus also said that my yoke is easy and my burden is light...
The road is long, with many a winding turn. But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him... he ain't heavy, he's my brother.
With God there is no difficulty. Difficulty is inversely proportional to the power that is used to overcome it. God is all-powerful. With God all things are possible to him that believeth. There are not four easy steps to being released from prison. Life is messy, it's convoluted, we don't know the end from the beginning, but he does. Where is your passion, what is it that you value most? When you find your passion, it's not about the difficulty in the effort, rather it's the joy of the pursuit of your passion.
There are four postures toward spiritual maturity.
1. The posture of confession. Without confession, we can't turn from the flesh and toward the spirit of life in Christ. Confession acknowledges that of ourselves we are nothing... that in him we live and move and have our being.
2. The posture of repentance: to turn from self and toward God. To change direction. Life is a series of "inflection points." Inflection points are changes of direction. In this convoluted life, God allows us to change our mind, to allow our minds to be renewed through the power of his Word.
3. The posture of being known. God created us to do life in community. He called us collectively to the body of Christ so that we could be fitly framed together, to edify and build up one another as God's building to God's glory. The adversary works in darkness. Allow the light to shine in our lives in order to build up the body of Christ.
4. Intimacy with our Heavenly Father. We must draw our hearts close to God. We must abide with him and within him to develop an intimate relationship with our father.
Meekness and humility are the keys to allowing God to lead captivity captive: to release us from the prisons of the carnal nature. Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
According to John 3:20, He that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. But He that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God.
According to the world, reproof, discipline, chastening, and chastisement are negative terms. However, God gave us his Word for doctrine, reproof, and correction. The chastening of The Lord is a positive term: it means to restore to an upright condition. God has called us to the church, the body of Christ as members in particular, so that we could bear one another's burdens, so that we could confess one to another. So that we can acknowledge our brokenness and allow the light of the Word to shine in our lives... So that we can turn away from the desires of the flesh and turn our hearts toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Our father sent his son Jesus Christ to bear our burden of sin. As Jesus has borne our sin, we have been called as a band of brothers to bear one another's' burdens. We have been called to liberty: only use not liberty as an occasion to sin, but in love serve one another. Jesus said that in that ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Jesus also said that my yoke is easy and my burden is light...
The road is long, with many a winding turn. But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him... he ain't heavy, he's my brother.
Your Brother in Christ, Michael
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