Costly Grace

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him… Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock… Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which he speaks as it pleases him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a world of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Where has the warrior gone in today's typical Christian "Church?"

"Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead And Christ will shine on you." 

Where are the mighty and strong warriors of God?
Where are the praying men of God? Where are the ones who will heal the sick and raise the dead? Where are the humble of spirit? Where are those with broken hearts for the lost?
Our purpose is more than meeting physical needs for people, we are to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, that men believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved.

Why are you sleeping? Wake Up!

There is much work to be done. Rise in the power of your God. 

This is a call to action, this is a battle cry, 
this is the heart of worship- to proclaim the sovereignty of God 
to all nations, all tribes, all people.

That we depart from the fear of what the world thinks about us.

We ARE meant to be more than timid children, we are spiritual warriors waging a war for the Kingdom of Heaven. The true Kingdom is in the heart and mind, and what we believe in our hearts and minds determines our actions. 
We must live what we believe. 

Seek the face and heart of God and He will reveal Himself to you. Come to Jesus with open hands and empty hearts, that He is all you hold onto, that He is all that fills your heart, He is your first love. A humble heart, a broken and contrite spirit is what God desires, that we are living a life of repentance but also living in the boldness of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. 
We are to be fearless in the face of death, because we are more than conquerors, we are disciples of the living God.

There is a movement just below the surface, a generation is waking up to the needs of the people. Living in obedience to the commands of Christ, living in the power of the Holy Spirit. We know not the specifics of the future, but it is safe to say from the knowledge of the understanding of history and events foretold in the scriptures that perilous times are ahead. Are you prepared to give an account to Almighty God? Have you been washed in the blood of Christ Jesus? Are you living in that truth?

Revival is the greatest need of our time but are we willing to pay the price? Are we willing to give all our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, all of our strength, every part of our being for His will to be done in our lives? For us to glorify Jesus the Messiah in that manner will consume us like a fire, are we ready for the world to come and watch us burn? We, just as the apostle Paul said, must die to ourselves daily. We must die to our selfish tendencies, our fleshly desires, our own will must be crucified so therefore we can rise in the resurrected power of Christ, living in submission to His will, obeying His commandments in love. 

Love God. Love People.

Our focus must remain on Jesus Christ! Just as Peter started to sink when he took his gaze away from Jesus, we must keep our eyes, our minds, our hearts fixated on Him. Christ is the Gospel, in Him is life, He is Salvation. 

Make this your prayer:
I am praying for my own heart as well as the hearts of my fellow believers in Jesus. That you will raise an army. Devoted and faithful to love, obedience and holiness. Move in our hearts in such a way that You are all we want, that we burn in our hearts to do Your will. God unleash Your Spirit on the world in such a way that we begin to walk in apostolic power; healing the sick, raising the dead, that we will glorify You Almighty LORD of heaven and earth and all that is under the earth, in Your Son Jesus the Messiah through the power of the Holy Spirit. Revive our hearts we are your people, oh LORD! You are our only hope. Amen

Where's the love? A series of introspective questions and thoughts for the Body of Christ

What's the deal with people falling through the cracks in the church?

What ever happened to the grace and redemptive and transformative power of Christ in the church? 

Has the glory really departed, have we let humanism and philanthropy dictate instead of seeking the presence of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Are some of us too busy doing good deeds to realize that our brothers and sisters and not just the "lost" are broken and hurting and are desperately seeking healing?

Are we as Christians, as leaders, as pastors, as friends truly investing in each others lives. Not just a shallow question here and there but legitimately caring for one another, through doubt, fear and pain are we pointing to Christ. Are we actively lifting up Christ as the means to not only salvation but continuing spiritual healing through out life?

A friend of mine stated that Christianity is not about going deeper but further. I strongly disagree. Look at the organic structures of trees. Trees that have a shallow root system are easily uprooted and are more susceptible to drought. Conversely, trees with deep root systems tend to endure and last longer. We see a similar analogy found in the teachings of Christ Jesus in the parable of the two houses, one being built on sand with a weak foundation and the other being built on the rock and having a firm foundation. While I may agree with this same friend in that we are able to see that scripture may have a multi-layered quality to it, that we can see multiple truths in it, we must never forget the foundational truth of Christ. 

So what is my point… 

That our lives, our faith, our hearts, must run deep! 

Not in a forced sense of duty, but in being compelled by a passionate desire for Christ himself.


How can we say we truly know God, truly have fellowship with the Father if we are not deeply in love with the Son? How can we love God and neglect our brothers and sisters? Are we not to feed the sheep? If we as humans are image bearers, than shouldn't we be reaching out to all humanity and even more so to those who confess Christ? If we are not actively caring for each other with in the Body of Christ, what example is that setting to the world?

I pray that we have both an individual/personal and also a unified/collective deep love for the living God in Spirit and Truth and also a deep love for one another, Christian/non-Christian, all image bearers of the Father. Because we have been redeemed, we must love and be loved, radically, in a transformative and spiritual way!

Weak and Powerless?

What is it, in the mental/internal sense, that causes us to feel weak and powerless?

That state of mind that seems to point out our defeats and failures? 

It is a struggle that all of us deal with, some more than others. Is it fear of commitment is it from past events that we have let them get the best of us or haunt us, we let those events or circumstances shape us instead of moving past and overcoming them in order to fulfill our greatest potential. It is understood that we cannot forget these instances that have molded us but we can break the mold! The power of Christ transforms, it doesn't leave us the way we came it renews us, makes us into a new creature, a new being, blameless and perfect in the sight of God. That is not to say we will not fight against the things of this world, temptation, the cravings of our sinful flesh, but our Spirit is made right. And in that instance of our Spirit being made new our hearts change, our desires change, we cease to love the hurtful things we once did, whether they be against others or our selves, we begin to hate those things, not wanting to do them anymore, yet still we wrestle with them and may fall but we cannot continue in that old pattern. Now we love to do the things we once thought silly and ridiculous, reading the Bible, praying, worshipping God, helping our neighbor for the love of God, these all seemed foolish and still do to many, but it is this foolishness to men that the world so desperately needs, they need the love of God manifested in us, those of the Body of Christ. We need to be loving others but we cannot truly fulfill that unless we first are loving God. We have to seek God with all that we are, our entire being, it is His truest desire. 

In doing that we obey in love, wanting to be closer to God, deepening that relationship. He fills us with His love overflowing so that we just create a mess of love all around us, loving our family, friends, co-workers, employers, employees, neighbors, enemies, politicians, government officials, strangers, the poor, the homeless, the elderly, the young, the tax collectors, the overly religious, the atheist, the garbage man, the postal worker, the retail teller, the janitor, everyone. God is not a respecter of persons as it says in Romans, so neither should we. That means we do respect people but it doesn't matter who they are what they've been through, His love and grace is for all. 

So don't get discouraged, don't feel like you've failed. Rise up in the power of God and live life abundantly, to the full, for His good pleasure, live a life of worship! Yes we were weak, we were powerless, but no longer, we have the power of Christ with in us, "Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world." 

So love God, seek Him out, call on His name.

We can endure all things through the power of Christ!

Thoughts on the Unity and Bride of Christ [the Church]

Looking into the heart of things we find it difficult to separate our desires from the things of this world to the things that truly matter, love, kindness, peace. We need to step back and look at things from a greater perspective and say, "Is what I am living for, striving for of God?" Are the things I am doing really benefitting the Kingdom of God, am I seeking to help love others to build up the Church, His Bride? We must seek unity in the Bride of Christ. We must seek God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; all our being, every fiber! This is call of Christ to be united with us in communion in fellowship with Him through His promise and gift of the Holy Spirit. May we all seek God to be filled with His Spirit that it may enable us to love Him more, to love others and strive to bring them into the Body of Christ. It starts in the heart, it moves to the souls, and is expressed in action. Are we living by faith, in tune to the Spirit? Are we living out that faith in action? In regards to the world, never back down, never surrender. In regards to Christ, the only way is surrender and submission to the will of the Father. 

Let this be our prayer: 
God let your Spirit revive this Body! Jesus, help us Your bride, as we wait for You. Minister to us in Your Spirit. Don't let us become lukewarm, stagnant, weak and powerless! Strengthen us almighty God in Your Spirit and in Your Truth, that we may worship and obey You in Love! Seeking You always, wanting to give You glory and honor in all things. We thank You for Your grace and You know we have need of more of it, bless us oh Father. Amen.

"For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]"

Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP

Do we really understand Grace?

I know there are times I think I do, then I realize that what I think I know is only a drop of water in a vast ocean. Like the author writes in the song "How he Loves"; 'if grace is an ocean we're all sinking.' This means so much to me, it illustrates further how we can never fully understand the size and scope of God's Grace, only be immersed in it, swim in it, be soaked thoroughly by it, in a sense. 

Do we believe in the power of Grace?

Just when I get to that point where I'm saying that I believe in it, God comes and shows me that what I think I believe is only a part, a fraction, a glimpse and that His power and love in His Grace are so unfathomable that we will never measure it's depths, never calculate it's value for it is truly priceless. The very God who made us died for us to reconcile the relationship he desires to have with us, not a "Jesus is my buddy" but a truly intimate relationship. As the Psalmist writes, 

"Deep calls to deep 
in the roar of your waterfalls; 
all your waves and breakers 
have swept over me." 
-Psalm 42:7

Our souls long for this relationship, God by His Grace has made it possible through our faith in His Son Jesus Christ to have a right relationship with Him, Amen! What a free and undeserving gift we have been giving! That alone should cause us to rejoice and turn from our wickedness that God in His goodness and kindness would do that. 

Father God I ask that You move among us, that You make Your presence known, that You would be real to us. Give us a fervent heart, a longing desire to commune with You, to love You with all our being; all our mind, soul, strength that You renew a right spirit within us, 
You're Spirit, and that we listen to Your Spirit. Give us words to speak, work through us to fulfill your plans, that You be glorified. In the name of Your Son Jesus we pray this. Amen.

Encouragement for workers in Divine Labor

"Do not depend on the hope of results. You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. You gradually struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationship that saves everything."

— Thomas Merton

There is great adversity in the walk of life. Each day bears it's own struggles. Every step seems difficult at times. 

This all seems so burdensome, but without these trials how can we grow? We must persevere, we must call upon the LORD for Divine help. But we must not give up. If our brother falls before us we must rush to their side to lift them up. If we are struck down there is another to take our place. Our labor is not in vain, eternity with the eternal God is our reward. Not heaven, not harps, not halos, but a person, Jesus Christ himself is our great reward. If we don't love Him here and now, and share His love with those in our lives, how can we possibly do so in eternity to come? 


Love starts here, eternity starts now.

"...the hour is coming, and is now here..."

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:23-24

On my way to work one day, I was praying and worshipping in the car and I got a word from the Lord. Usually, when people say that it's some thing more or less telling someone to do or not do an action etc. And honestly at times my human nature wants to question and often I am skeptical. This was unlike anything I can wholly explain.

This was God centered. What the Godhead wants from us, as men as leaders, as worshippers, as sons, as brothers, as image bearers. The word I received was "Magnify" and specifically to Magnify YHWH, His Name and his person. 
This is twofold: 1. Magnify as in exalt, lift up, make great and proclaim. despite the odds against us, corporately and individually. 2. Magnify as in looking through a lense to bring near or close in scope and in focus. 
We are to Worship God in emminance or position and worship him in His Immanence or closeness to us. 

My prayer for you this day is that you feel the warmth of God's Mercy and Grace brother(and sister). Lent has begun and we must take this time to look inwardly and repent to God then outwardly and repent to our brothers(and sisters). 
Amen

[For a spiritual exercise, listen to Audrey Assad's song Restless. Listen to the words, let your heart speak and worship God, make your faith your own seek the Lord Jesus Christ!]

Be blessed. 
Grace & Peace

The Path

Divine intimacy is the path to Christ. 


Christianity is not about doctrines alone it is about one thing and one thing alone, namely the person of Jesus Christ. Without Christ, faith is empty, grace has no value, and scripture is nothing but a fairy tale of moralism. If we are not Christ centered, we are self centered. If we are self centered, we are inherently doomed and are hopeless. Christ is our Hope, Christ is our faith, and by His grace we are saved. Christ is everything, thus concreting the necessity of Christ as foundation and cornerstone but also as the keystone and capstone of our faith.