Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Finding that balance between faith and what some mistake as works, which is often response to God not works, can be difficult. It is a subject that has been brought to me by people time and after time and quite a bit lately.

I will attempt to give you an extremely condensed explanation for a very spiritually deep subject. My objective always, is to take the spiritually rich things of God and communicate them in a simple way, nevertheless, in some cases that is difficult to do.

The basic question is, ‘Practically speaking, how does one allow God to work through or live through them?’

† You apply the work of the cross to your life.

† Everything God wants or desires you to accomplish or do was provided for by Christ’s death on the cross. The grace and power for anything we need to do was bought there.

† We invite and rely upon Christ to work through us in everything we do.

† If we “desire” to obey Christ that desire did not originate with us, it originated with Him and therefore we are able to response with willingness. Once we are willing, faith is born in us that this, whatever “this” might be, is what we need to do.

† Once the faith is born, that Jesus is prompting us to do a certain thing, change a certain behavior, etc. the grace and power to obey what God is requesting of us is present with us, available to us, should “we choose” to act on what Christ wants from us.

† When we make that choice to obey, we give our freewill over to His Divine Will, thus He pours out the grace, power, strength, etc. to empower us to act accordingly.

† That power remains with us as long as we continue to have faith in what God wants from us and we continue to rely on Christ, the finished work of the cross, and not ourselves to accomplish _______________________________ [fill in the blank] whatever it might be.

Our faith must remain in the Truth that He, Christ, has already accomplished for us what He is asking of us and therefore He will manifest that action in and through us.

Jesus said in Luke 21:19

‎‎KJV/AV – In your patience possess ye your souls.

NKJV – By your patience possess your souls.

As I have often reminded you, we must go back through the King James Bible to research and define the words used within Scripture.

That word “patience” in the Greek Language means the following:

Patience = 5281. ὑπομονή hupŏmŏnē, hoop-om-on-ay´; from 5278; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy:— enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting).

To appreciate what is being said here we must go further and look at the entirety of what the words endurance and constancy mean.

“endurance” per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary means:

1 : PERMANENCE, DURATION <the endurance of the play’s importance>
2 : the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially : the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity <a marathon runner’s endurance>
3 : the act or an instance of enduring or suffering <endurance of many hardships>

“constancy” per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary means:

1 a : steadfastness of mind under duress : FORTITUDE b : FIDELITY, LOYALTY
2 : a state of being constant or unchanging

For context, I wish to provide the entire portion of Scripture surrounding Jesus’ comment in Luke 21:19. The ability to possess ones soul effects our daily life – today, tomorrow, and in the last days just before Christ’s return.

Luke 21:8–19 (NKJV) – Jesus Speaking

Signs of Christ’s Coming

⁸ And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. ⁹ But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”

¹⁰ Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. ¹² But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. ¹³ But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. ¹⁴ Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; ¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head shall be lost. ¹⁹ By your patience possess your souls.

 

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.