Relationship Not Rank

More often than not whether intentional or not there seems to be a devise attitude and spirit that can smack of an “us verses them” especially when it comes to this grace exodus that is unfolding all around the world.
Many are being led by the Spirit to venture out and experience so much more than what has been obscured by religious ritualistic rites.
Please here me here, I have no hesitation in believing with all of my heart that at the same time there are those like wise being lead and directed into these religious establishments, not as show room trophies to impress those still ensnared by the matrix of religion but to be an unobtrusive witness to Christ plus nothing.

Just as the leaven of the Pharisees that can totally corrupt as Jesus pointed out, in my opinion there is like wise a ‘holy leaven’ that equally corrupts only this is something that infects and affects on a personal level that impresses others with the invisible God seen through our daily actions.
“Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

There are too many colors and nuances of the multifaceted displays of God’s amazing grace to relegate it to voila, "this is IT" mind set!
One thing I know for sure there is a definite propensity to fraternize and flirt with prideful thinking, but even this is not sufficient to deter us from ultimately going on with God.

The crud that is accomplished out of the energy of fleshly activity does promote and establish a superior rank and status amongst likewise fleshly minding siblings, but this is a moot point in those who are being lead by His spirit, the fruit coming from this leading is an obvious and tangible humility.
I love what my friend William (Bill) Landon has to say about this from his book “The Rise and Fall of Self” (The problem with us is us); “The old ways of thinking and understanding I speak of here are seeing God’s work in us as a means to obtain status, rank or some other worldly gain. This is an example of falling back into thinking in terms of comparison and reputation. If we are unguarded in our living, the work of God in us can be turned against us. If we allow the growth that God is working in us to become an issue of status or comparison we will suffer loss. In this diversion we can let the independent-self turn the great blessing of spiritual maturity into just another issue of legalism and pride.

The truth we need to keep in mind here is that walking with God is never to be an issue of rank or comparison. It is never a question of who is further along than someone else. We are all the children of God. This is the only distinction that matters. If we allow into our lives the kind of thinking that places people in orders of rank then we have fallen into the trap of thinking like the world.

If we are truly surrendered to the process of God’s influence growing in our lives the outcome of that growing will be humility. As we go on with God we should become more and more aware of our smallness. When we do this with God’s leading and resource we will not be diverted into seeing smallness as insignificance or unimportance. We are small compared with God’s greatness but the Father’s love for us makes us the most precious things in this world. This kind of humility is the natural outcome of seeing God’s true power and awesome abilities in ever clearer ways.”

Rich

Calling

Reading this article Spiritual Man is Mad, by Chip Brogden this morning opened up a whole can of worms for me. It was and continues to be something that relentlessly drives me to want to know the Truth for myself.

This whole thing of ‘calling’ and how it is perceived and interpreted has been something I’ve been working through for a very long time, consciously and unconsciously, trusting in Fathers’ wisdom to settle this matter, at least for me.
There was a definite time when I saw calling to be something far different than I now see it today. Then it was a ‘calling’ into the ministry, doing whatever it took to see this materialize in my life, and in the process, leaving a trail of debris, hurt and pain and frustration.
I have to laugh now in looking back how our loving Father uses ALL things to bring us to a place of seeing so much more of His heart and in this particular case what ‘calling’ just might be all about.

I love the heart-beat of the Father in this, especially this part, “so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you.”
Equally I love the authority of this established order in Jesus saying, “I have called you and ordained you to be my witnesses, to be fruitful etc.”
Because of not knowing our hearts and the hidden motives therein it seems to be far too easy to jump to very (in most cases) erroneous conclusions about the way the Lord works.
For example, my wife was with a friend the other day and found out her daughter was getting married, long story short this all came about because of different ‘prophetic words’ spoken over her (the daughter) that she would be married soon, within this year, wonderful, I rejoice with her.

The Father is NOT limited in his ability to use anything at any time anywhere to get our attention, but unfortunately more often than not it seems when he uses something, whatever, it inadvertently turns into a validation of what he uses rather than what or Whom He is pointing to, and in this case, the whole ‘prophetic’ world.

It appears to me that hidden from our understanding within our ‘flesh’ there is an innate proclivity towards spiritual adultery and idolatry. This exhibition is in my opinion heart reliance upon ‘something’ or ‘someone’ other than the Father of our spirit.
What did the prophet Jeremiah have to say about this, and for conversation sake, has the corrupting influence of the ‘flesh’ lusting after the spirit in man ever changed? “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

Wasn’t it an over preoccupation with his beauty (reflection), and position that Lucifer imbibed in becoming the reason for his demotion, his plummeting fall to earth later to become a prisoner within what man had become, ‘flesh’?
Surely one would think man was smart enough to be able to distinguish between what is real a reflection of ones self, verses a real and living person as in the case of Narcissus.

I have not come to any hard fast set in stone conclusions on any of this but only to offer this, that maybe being called, a ‘calling’, has produced within me an even more wide eyed wonder of being called unto Him, my Redeemer, Deliverer, King, Lord, Abba-Papa, Father and for His life to be seen in and through me as it was through Jesus of Nazareth!
Was Jesus the word made flesh merely a reflection of the invisible God and Father, or was he in fact, God in the flesh?

All I know is that no matter how great, insightful, or wonderful any experience we can receive from our Father, it will never negate the continued need to plod, trudge, move onward/forward in the faithfulness of Him who has called us to BE His!

Rich