Things That Cannot Be Shaken

 

  Hebrews 12:25-29 (NIV)

²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Bible Gateway

   Television news is often filled with interviews and images of people who have suffered some unimaginable tragedy. One day we're shown tornado survivors whose homes were torn apart by powerful winds. Another day we may see massive floods sweeping through an unsuspecting neighborhood. Occasionally, we even view homes that are swallowed whole by terrible earthquakes. The expressions on the faces of those who have suffered loss can be haunting.
   Losses like these always draw our attention toward the fragility of those things we hold most dear - such as our homes, families and careers. We seldom like wake-up calls that remind us of the inherent instability of earthly life.
   But in a world that oftentimes seems to be falling apart, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have the privilege of sharing the best news imaginable: We have something that is stable, something that is completely secure. There is a rock on which we are able to stand, and it cannot be shaken. That foundation, of course, is almighty God.
   The Lord gives us other immovable truths as well. We can trust that Scripture is His unchanging, relevant truth for all time. We can forever depend on a secure eternal relationship with Him though His Son. And we can be sure that an everlasting heavenly home awaits all those who place their faith in Jesus Christ. We can have stability, even in this unstable world.
   Do you have someone in your life who needs this life-saving good news - someone who is drowning, desperately needing you to throw a lifeline? Don't wait; share it today.
Stanley, Charles F., Things That Cannot Be Shaken, In Touch Daily Readings for Devoted Living, Atlanta, GA: In Touch Ministries, August 2015, page 36.

The Mind of Christ

"The Mind of Christ"
1 Corinthians 2:12-16

1 Corinthians 2:12-16New King James Version (NKJV) from Bible Gateway

¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy^[a] Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶ For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”^[b] But we have the mind of Christ.

   The best life you could possibly live is the one your Creator has designed for you. He has given believers everything they need to become more like Him and to achieve all He has planned for them. Since the way we think is vitally important in this process, the Lord has given us the mind of Christ. Now we have the capacity to think as He does and to see situations from His perspective.
   This marvelous ability to align our thoughts with His is a gift that we receive from God at the moment of salvation. However, the practice of it is our responsibility. We all come to Christ with minds that are already "pre-programmed" to one degree or another. For example, a child who grows up hearing demeaning comments will probably incorporate them into his concept of who he is and what he can accomplish. Also, this world's system is constantly attempting to fit us into its mold, and Satan tries to inject his lies into our thinking.
   If we are to experience the abundant life the Lord wants us to have, old thoughts that do not agree with God's Word must be replaced with truth. Then we need to screen the ideas that bombard us each day. As we cooperate with God in this ongoing process, our lies will be transformed.
   Compare your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs with biblical teachings. If they don't match, reject wrong patterns of thinking, and fill your mind with corresponding truths from Scripture instead. Since the Lord has empowered believers to think right, let's cultivate the mind of Christ within us.

Stanley, Charles. In Touch, Daily Readings for Devoted Living. "The Mind of Christ." June 9, 2015. page 14.

"Love Covers"by Paul Billheimer

  

Love Covers

By Paul Billheimer

   “If all born-again people are members of the same Body, should not all born-again people fellowship with one another regardless of positions on nonessentials? This is a basic question… (John 13:34-34; John 17:20-23)

   “If you are scripturally born again you are a member of the Body of Christ and a son of my very own Father. As a member of the same family, you are my own brother, whether you realize it or acknowledge it or not… if you are born again, we still are members of the same family and organic parts of the same spiritual Body. I may think some of your beliefs are as crazy as a loon (as you may think some of my beliefs are crazy too), but if I have sufficient love for God, agape love, I will not reject you as a person.

He drew a circle that shut me out,

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout;

But Love and I had the wit to win-

We drew a circle and took him in.

Edwin Markham

    “‘Jesus said, ‘Judge not’ (Matthew 7:1).

   “‘Brothers, do not slander one another Anyone who speaks against his brother, or judges him, speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, by t sitting in judgment of it. There is only one Law-giver and Judge, one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?’ (James 4:11-12)

   “‘Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another’ (Romans 14:13).

   “‘Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God’ (Romans 15:7).

   “Judgmentalism may be defined nontechnically as unfavorable judgment, criticism, or condemnation of others because of their conduct or supposed erroneous beliefs, wrong motives, or character. It is an arbitrary evaluation of another person’s worth. In the realm of religion it often results in the rejection of a person because of his opinion in nonessentials to salvation. It is the most frequent cause of division and fragmentation of the Body of Christ…

   “One cannot become judgmental without elevating himself-and self-elevation is Lucifer’s syndrome. It caused his fall and all of the sin and sorrow that followed in its wake… If a wrong has been done or a wrong decision has been made which threatens division, is God aware of it? If I know a thing is wrong and needs to be corrected, is it possible that an all-wise God does not? If a wrong decision has been made, only God can correct it.

   “There is only one answer to division over nonessentials and that is growth in love, agape love…I know of no other way except by a deeper work of the cross, a deeper death to all the life of nature and self. When we are truly willing, God will order the exact set of circumstances that will slay the flesh and increase growth in agape love. Love grows mostly by exercise…

   “The real question is not who is right-not even who is most nearly right. The Real question is: Do we recognize that God loves and accepts other members of the Body who differ from us in matters nonessential to salvation? Are we sufficiently mature in agape love to accept those who He accepts?..

Prayer is where the action is…

Prayer is our answer.

Prayer is the only thing that Satan cannot handle.

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life News.

"Our times are in God's hands - not Satan's" Psalm 31:15

The book, Don’t Waste Your Sorrows by Paul Billheimer, gives new insight into God’s eternal purpose for each Christian in the midst of life’s greatest adversities.

   “Because tribulation is necessary for the decentralization of self and the development of deep dimensions of agape love, this love can be developed only in the school of suffering…” Romans 8:18, 5:3-5; John 16:33; 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4

Our Times Are in God’s Hands – Not Satan’s

Psalm 31:15

   “There is nothing accidental in the life of an obedient child of God. All born-again believers are in training for rulership. God Himself is personally supervising the training of His Son’s Eternal Companion who is to be His governing elite following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb… God Himself specifically chooses the tools and instruments which He knows are needed to fashion and qualify His Bride for the unique sphere of her operation and service in the eternal kingdom. Someone has said that the turning lathe that has the sharpest knives produces the finest work. When God makes a saint, He uses the sharpest knives on His turning lathe as well. He cannot shape one without pain, but He never uses needless pain...

   “When He laid down His life on Calvary, it was not for angels or archangels, cherubim or seraphim, nor for any of the other inhabitants of the unseen world, but for human beings made in His own image, who will constitute His Bride…

   “Marriage and the home is the center of all life on earth… It is a complete laboratory with all of the stresses and strains, trials and pressures packed under one roof… Everything needed to produce Christlikeness in us can be found in the home… Marriage is the most stressful fact of life. If the whole of life is stress, then marriage is the center of stress… most newlyweds have not yet learned the true meaning of unselfishness. They may be saved, sanctified or filled with the Holy Spirit, and still be unconsciously self-centered. One of God’s main purposes in ordaining marriage and the home is not primarily for pleasure, as is ordinarily supposed, but to decentralize the self, to teach agape love. The stresses of marriage and the home are designed to produce brokenness, to wean one from self-centeredness, and to produce the graces of sacrificial love and gentleness.

   “Because so few people understand the nature and purpose of marriage, when unexpected stresses and strains develop they are tempted to feel that they have made a mistake and perhaps have married the wrong person. The next step is to seek a way of escape by one means or another, sometimes through a professional marriage counselor or, more often, the divorce court…

   “If all born-again believers are in apprenticeship for rulership, and if a lofty dimension of agape love is the supreme qualification for high rank and authority in that eternal social order toward which the universe is moving, and if a high dimension of agape love cannot be achieved without suffering, could this explain why God permits many who seek healing to suffer on, even for a lifetime?

   “If God healed everyone immediately where would be the opportunity for character training? If God delivered everyone from conflict, oppression, and opposition at the first call, where would be the opportunity for the perseverance that creates character? If tribulation were lifted at the first cry, where would be the chance for exercise in patience which issues in heavenly character, the chief ingredient of which is agape love?” (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5)

“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” 2 Timothy 2:12 and “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” Romans 8:17

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life News. Volume 3 Issue 21. May 25, 2003.

What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? Who is man? What is the meaning of life?

   “The universe, including this planet, was created for one purpose: to provide a suitable habitation for the human race. The human race was created in the image and likeness of God for one purpose: to provide an eternal companion for the Son… The Church, then-the called-out body of redeemed mankind-turns out to be the central object, the goal, not only of mundane history but of all that God has been doing in all realms, from all eternity… From this it is implicit that romance is at the heart of the universe and is the key to all existence. From all eternity God purposed that at some time in the future His Son should have an Eternal Companion, described by John the Revelator as ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife’ (Rev. 21:9). John further revealed that this Eternal Companion in God’s eternal purpose is to share the Bridegroom’s throne following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 3:21).”

    Paul E. Billheimer answers many questions in his book, Destined for the Throne. Questions such as, “Who is man?” “Why is he here?” “What is the meaning of life?” “What is God’s purpose for the church?” “What is the legal basis for the authority of the church?” “Why do prayers go unanswered?”

    Following are a few quotes that answered some of my questions.

   “Redeemed members of the human race, the only race in all creation that was made in the image of God, will constitute this Eternal Companion. Since this companion is to share the throne of the universe with her Lover and Lord she must be trained, educated, and prepared for her queenly role… By practicing in her prayer closet the enforcement of Heaven’s decisions in mundane affairs, the Church is in ‘on-the-job’ training for co-sovereignty with Christ over His universal empire. She must learn the art of spiritual warfare, of overcoming evil forces in preparation for her assumption of the throne following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

   “As a part of Him, when He conquered the forces of darkness and left them disarmed and paralyzed before He arose from the dead, we who believe were participants in that victory… we were shares in that triumph… we were exalted with Him. Because Satan and all the hosts of hell are beneath His feet, they are likewise beneath ours. When He defeated Satan it was our victory… We forget that we are actually a part of Christ and that Satan is subject to us… We must constantly remind ourselves and affirm that we are in Christ-and because Satan cannot touch Christ, he cannot touch us. (1 John 5:18) Satan wants the believer to forget that he is risen and exalted with Christ, that he is now, in his real person, that is, his spirit, united with Christ on the throne with all enemies under his feet…

   “God has given us the keys of the kingdom of heaven, but He does not compel us to use them. He waits. The rest is up to us, His Church. In His triumph over Satan He has given us the needed weapons. How well we use them is our responsibility and may well determine our rank in the Bridehood.” (Matthew 16:18-19)

    In Col. 2:13-15 we read that sin is basically a spiritual thing, a thing of the spirit, and therefore must be dealt with in the spirit realm.

   “…prayer is an acknowledgement of need, of helplessness… All power originates in God and belongs to Him alone… Prayer is where the action is… Prayer is striking the winning blow…Service is gathering up the results… Therefore, prayer is where the action is. Since this is true, then prayer becomes the highest privilege of the redeemed because it places the intercessor as truly at the front line of spiritual conflict and conquest as the pastor, evangelist, missionary, or any other soldier of the cross. Moreover, the weapons available to him are as effective as those available to the most potent spiritual leader… From heaven’s standpoint, all spiritual victories are won… in the secret place of prayer. The only power that overcomes Satan and releases souls from his stranglehold is the power of the Holy Spirit, and the only power that releases the energy of the Holy Spirit is the power of believing prayer.”

PRAYER IS WHERE THE ACTION IS.

Blackmon, Selma, editor. the exchanged life news.

The Lord is My Shepherd

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

Phillip Keller

   As a way of introduction, Phillip Keller writes, “This book has been developed against a rather unique background which has perhaps given me a deeper appreciation than most men of what David had in mind when he wrote his beautiful poem. First of all I grew up and lived in East Africa, surrounded by simple native herders whose customs closely resembled those of their counterparts in the Middle East. So I am intimately acquainted with the romance, the pathos, the picturesque life of an Eastern shepherd. Secondly, as a young man, I actually made my own livelihood for about eight years as a sheep owner and sheep rancher. Consequently I write as one who has had firsthand experience with every phase of sheep management. Later, as the lay pastor of a community church, I shared the truths of this Psalm, as a shepherd, with my ‘flock,’ every Sunday for several months.”

   For this brief paper, I have chosen only one small part, “He Restoreth My Soul.” Now, I have picked again one section of this chapter regarding “cast” or “cast down.”

    Psalm 42:11 again cries out. There is an exact parallel to this in caring for sheep. This is an old English shepherd’s term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. If the owner does not arrive on the scene within a reasonably short time, the sheep will die. The author gives several reasons as to what caused the sheep to be “cast down.”

    “There is the aspect, too, of a sheep simply having too much wool. Often when the fleece becomes very long, and heavily matted with mud, manure, burrs and other debris, it is much easier for a sheep to become cast, literally weighed down with its own wool.

   “Wool in Scripture depicts the old self-life in the Christian. It is the outward expression of an inner attitude, the assertion of my own desire and hopes and aspirations. It is the area of my life in which and through which I am continually in contact with the world around me. Here is where I find the clinging accumulation of things, of possessions, of worldly ideas beginning to weigh me down, drag me down, hold me down.

   “It is significant that no high priest was ever allowed to wear wool when he entered the Holy of Holies. This spoke of self, of pride, of personal preference-and God could not tolerate it…

   “Whenever I found that a sheep was being cast because it had too long and heavy a fleece, I soon took swift steps to remedy the situation. In short order I would shear it clean and so forestall the danger of having the ewe lose her life. This was not always a pleasant process. Sheep do not really enjoy being sheared and it represents some hard work for the shepherd, but it must be done.

   “Actually when it is all over both sheep and owner are relieved… And similarly in dealing with our old self-life, there will come a day when the Master must take us in hand and apply the keen cutting edge of His Word to our lives. It may be an unpleasant business for a time. No doubt we’ll struggle and kick about it. We may get a few cuts and wounds. But what a relief when it is all over. Oh, the pleasure of being set free from ourselves! What a restoration!” How about reading Hebrews 12.

   “This Psalm opened with the proud, joyous statement, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd.’

   “Now it closes with the equally positive, buoyant affirmation, ‘And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’

   “Here is a sheep so utterly satisfied with its lot in life, so fully contented with the care it receives, so much ‘at home’ with the shepherd that there is not a shred of desire for a change… Conversely on the shepherd’s side there has developed a great affection and devotion to his flock. He would never think of parting with such a sheep. Healthy, contented, productive sheep are his delight and profit. So strong, now, are the bonds between them that it is in very truth-forever.”

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life News.

Sanctification and 54 relations of Christ to Christians

Sanctification and Fifty-four Relations of Christ to Christians by Charles G. Finney

   In the introduction W.E. Allen writes, “This book challenges us with the most important question of our Christian experience: are we in touch with the Source of spiritual life and power? It also points out that union with Christ as a real living Saviour is the secret of a happy and victorious Christian Life.”

   The following are miscellaneous quotes from this 105-page book.

   “A state of entire sanctification can never be attained by an indifferent waiting of God’s time… Not by any works of law, or works of any kind, performed in your own strength, irrespective of the grace of God… Not by any direct efforts to feel right. Many spend their time in vain efforts to force themselves into a right state of feeling… Not by any efforts to obtain grace by works of law… No works of law have the least tendency to overcome our sins, but rather to confirm the soul in self-righteousness and unbelief… the backslider and convicted sinner, when agonizing to overcome sin, will almost always betake themselves to works of law to obtain faith. They will fast, and pray, and read, and struggle, and outwardly reform, and thus endeavour to obtain grace.

   “Now all this is vain and wrong. Do you ask, shall we not fast, and pray, and read, and struggle? Shall we do nothing but sit down in antinomian security and inaction? I answer, you must do all that God commands you to do: but begin where He tells you to begin, and do it in the manner in which He commands you to do it; that is, in the exercise of faith that works by love. Purify your hearts by faith. Believe in the Son of God… A State of entire sanctification cannot be attained by attempting to copy the experience of others… Human experiences differ as human countenances differ… the Holy Spirit will reveal Christ to you, in the relations in which you need Him from time to time… Take God at His word. Believe that He means just what He says; and this will at once bring you into the state of mind after which you inquire… Sanctification is to be attained by faith alone… Faith is rather the instrument or condition, than the efficient agent that induces a state of present and permanent sanctification. Faith simply receives Christ, as King, to live and reign in the soul. It is Christ, in the exercise of His different offices, and appropriated in His different relations to the wants of the soul, by faith, Who secures our sanctification. This He does by Divine discoveries to the soul of His Divine perfections and fullness…”

   Christ, do you know Him as King, Mediator, Advocate, Redeemer, Justification, Judge, Repairer of the breach, Propitiation for our sins, Surety of a better covenant, Substitute, Risen for our justification, Man of sorrows, Healer, Made sin for us, Governor, Head over all things to the Church, All-powerful One, Prince of Peace, Captain of Salvation, Our Passover, Wisdom, Sanctification, Redemption of the Soul, Prophet, and High Priest (For the relations of Christ, read further in this book on pages 23-37).

  

   Sanctification results from the revelation of Christ to the soul in all His fullness and relations, and the soul’s renunciation of self and appropriation of Christ in these relations.

Christ-He is Our Life

Christ the Bread of Life

   “We need also to know ourselves as starving souls, and Christ as the Bread of Life, as ‘the bread that came down from heaven.’ We need to know spiritually and experimentally what it is to ‘eat of His flesh, and to drink of His blood,’ to receive Him as the Bread of Life, to appropriate Him to the nourishment of our souls as really as we appropriate bread, by digestion, to the nourishment of our bodies.

   “…Christ also needs to be revealed to the soul as the Fountain of the Water of Life. ‘If any man thirst,’ says He, ‘let him come unto Me and drink.’ ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To him that is athirst, I will give unto him of the fountain of the water of life freely…

   “…When our utter deficiency and emptiness, in any one respect or direction, is deeply revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, with the corresponding remedy and perfect fullness in Christ, it then remains for the soul, in this respect and direction, to cast off self and put on Christ... But I said that we need to know and to lay hold upon Christ as Our Life. Too much stress cannot be laid upon our personal responsibility to Christ, our individual relation to Him, our personal interest in Him and obligation to Him… Until man knows himself to be dead, and that he is wholly destitute of spiritual life in himself, he will never know Christ as his life…

Christ-He is Our Guide

Christ Our Shepherd

   “…This relation presupposed the helpless and defenseless condition of Christians in this life, and the indispensable necessity of guardianship and protection… If the sheep do thoroughly know and confide in the Shepherd, they will follow Him, will flee to Him for protection in every hour of danger, will at all times depend on Him for all things.

   “Christ is the Door, by and through which the soul enters the fold, and finds security and protection among the sheep…

   “Christ is the Way of Salvation… He is not a mere teacher of the way… Christ is truly ‘the Way’ itself or He is Himself ‘the Way… Works are not the way… Faith is not the way…Faith receives Him to reign in the soul, and to be its salvation; but it is   Christ Himself Who is ‘the Way.’ The soul is saved by Christ Himself, not be doctrine, not by the Holy Spirit, not by works of any kind, not by faith, not love, nor by anything whatever, but by Christ Himself…

   “Christ Himself is the truth… the truth lives, and has a being and a home in Christ… He is truth revealed… When the Holy Spirit reveals truth, He reveals Christ. When Christ reveals truth, He reveals Himself…

   “Christ Himself is the true light… Jesus says, ‘I am the Light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’

   “…Christ is the real and True Light who alone can cause us to see spiritual things as they are…”

 For a more detailed book on the subject of our shepherd, please read “A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23” by Phillip Keller.

Christ-He is Our Strength

Christ Within Us

   “The Spirit of Christ, or the real Deity of Christ,

dwells in the truly spiritual believer… Christ not only in heaven, but Christ Within Us, as really and truly inhabiting our bodies as we do, as really in us as we are in ourselves, is the teaching of the Bible, and must be spiritually apprehended by a divine, personal, and inward revelation, to secure our abiding in Him… Romans 8:9, 10.

   “…We must know Him as an inward Saviour, as Jesus risen and reigning in us, as having arisen and established His throne in our hearts, and as having written and established the authority of His law there. The old man dethroned and crucified, Christ risen within us and united to us…”

Christ-He is Our Portion

Christ Our Shield

   “A shield is a piece of defensive armour used in war…God is the Christian’s Shield in the spiritual warfare…

   “The truth is, beyond all question, that sanctification is by faith as opposed to works. That is, faith receives Christ in all His offices, and in all the fullness of his relations to the soul; and Christ, when received, works in the soul to will and to do of all His good pleasure, not by a physical, but by a moral or persuasive working. He influences the will… He influences the will to obey God, it must be by a divine moral persuasion. The soul never in any instance obeys, in a spiritual and true sense, except it be thus influenced by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. But whenever Christ is apprehended and received in any relation, in that relation He is full and perfect; so that we are complete in Him.”

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life News.