|
|
|
Topic: Press into Glory by Rick Cruz Torres
|
|
Author
|
|
Jeffrey Stewart
Senior Member
Joined: 09/10/2009
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2217
|
|
Posted: 08/19/2010 at 10:41am
|
IP Logged
|
|
|
“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we
will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who does not love
me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am
telling you is from the Father who sent me."
~Jesus Of Nazareth
Many say, "I'm doing the best I can. He knows my heart. Nobody is perfect."
Many say, "I can't hear Him. He just doesn't talk to me. Prayer is boring because nothing happens."
Many say, "How is it possible to obey Jesus, while still in these bodies?"
Many say, "When we go to heaven we'll be able to obey Him; here on earth He knows we can't...that's why He died for us...right?"
Many say, "Oh, thank God for His grace. This destructive habit or that
wrong way of treating people...He's working with me to change these
things. He'll work it out."
Many say, "When we go to heaven, then all of His power will be in us to
make us holy and obedient. Wheeew, what a relief! It's just too hard
down here on this wicked earth."
Many say, "If I can just hang on by being a good person...you know,
going to church, paying my tithes, and I'm not really sinning... it's
not like I'm actually sleeping with a "real person"...they're just
images. It's all pretend, you know, fantasy. God would stop me if He had
a real problem with it."
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on
the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at
God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of
earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with
Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the
whole world, you will share in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have
nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.
Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the
things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is
coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of
this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious
behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you
have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put
on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator
and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a
Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,
slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe
yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone
who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive
others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all
together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ
rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live
in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.
Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever
you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks through him to God the Father.
(Colossians 3:1-17)
The pop culture church of today is cold, powerless, and dead.
If you are one of the remnant, living a life of fiery love in this hour
of apostasy, with the Fruit of the Spirit to balance the Gifts of the
Spirit...then this message will not offend you. These words will confirm
the burning desire of your heart; to prepare for the Lord Jesus
everything He died for.
The western church's version of hope is not true Hope.
The western church's version of joy is not true Joy.
The western church's version of authority is not true Authority.
The western church's version of peace is not true Peace.
The western church's version of love is not true Love.
The western church's version of holiness is not true Holiness.
The western church's version of freedom is not true Freedom.
The western church's version of power is not true Power.
The western church's version of prayer is not true Prayer.
The western church's version of humility is not true Humility.
The western church's version of wisdom is not true Wisdom.
The western church's version of mercy is not true Mercy.
The western church's version of grace is not true Grace.
The western church's version of truth is not Truth.
The western church's version of God is not God at all.
What has been accepted, in this hour, as the "life of the believer" is
but a cheap counterfeit. The false gospel of today is preached with the
power of demons; designed to deceive the proud hearer and lead them into
delusion and disillusion.
The delusion is that one may somehow be a "friend of God" while still
compromising with sin. The disillusionment, is that which accompanies
unanswered prayers and a powerless, loveless faith in a God who seems
aloof and beyond reach.
If one should happen to break through the gilded ceiling of religion and
discard the stale crust produced by "having the form of godliness while
denying the power thereof", those well meaning brethren which will
quickly surround ( at least initially) such a bright light, will set
about teaching, rebuking and exhorting the blazing heart with wise
sounding statements like "don't get out of balance", "make sure you're
not too extreme now", and "yeah, sure I've experienced what you're
feeling right now...I felt that same way many years ago."
Should the fiery heart of renewed love and gratitude escape these well
intended traps, the ensuing, unexpected loneliness and rejection are
almost sure to derail the believer into the dark forest of doubt and
second guessing. It is in this place of gnawing uncertainty that a
decision must be made. Press on through the dark and cold of being
misunderstood, ridiculed and mocked, or return to the bright, albeit
artificial light and warmth of friendlier, more familiar places.
"Just a little bit further"....a whispered Entreaty. The glimpse of
Perfection beckons. This darkened place is no forest at all, but a
garden. And these trees bear olives. Tears as great shining drops of
blood...crimson beauty splashing sweat upon trembling feet. Press...the
oil will come, fragrant and full of life. Press....there is no other
way. Jesus marked the way. Jesus is the Way. The narrow gate to wide
open places of exhilarating freedom and stunning beauty. No dim light of
religion found here. Only the radiant light from His face. No dusty
lies about God's inability. Only the vibrant life of conquered
impossibility. No cold dead traditions of Heaven's supposed
unwillingness. Only the unspeakable glory.
Glory...
Jesus.
Oh, Wonderful, Beautiful Jesus...
Glory.
I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I
want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s
mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted
arguments. For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And
I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in
Christ is strong.
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must
continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your
lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth
you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding
nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of
this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the
fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your
union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical
procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of
your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were
baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted
the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was
not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave
all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took
it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the
spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory
over them on the cross.
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not
celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For
these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ
himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on
pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions
about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they
are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the
whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God
nourishes it.
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual
powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the
world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules
are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.
These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious
self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in
conquering a person’s evil desires.
(Colossians 2:2-23)
__________________
My Home Page
The secret of great faith is being fully convinced of His great faithfulness to keep His Word.
|
Back to Top
|
|
Charity Miller
Senior Member
Joined: 08/08/2010
Location: Mexico
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 112
|
|
Posted: 08/19/2010 at 11:34am
|
IP Logged
|
|
|
Yes! & Amen
Edited by Charity Miller on 08/19/2010 at 11:36am
__________________
Weeping may endure through the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning!
Ps. 30:5
|
Back to Top
|
|
Jeffrey Stewart
Senior Member
Joined: 09/10/2009
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2217
|
|
Posted: 08/19/2010 at 12:14pm
|
IP Logged
|
|
|
Quote:
| "Just a little bit further"....a whispered Entreaty. The glimpse of
Perfection beckons. This darkened place is no forest at all, but a
garden. And these trees bear olives. Tears as great shining drops of
blood...crimson beauty splashing sweat upon trembling feet. Press...the
oil will come, fragrant and full of life. Press....there is no other
way. Jesus marked the way. Jesus is the Way. The narrow gate to wide
open places of exhilarating freedom and stunning beauty. No dim light of
religion found here. Only the radiant light from His face. No dusty
lies about God's inability. Only the vibrant life of conquered
impossibility. No cold dead traditions of Heaven's supposed
unwillingness. Only the unspeakable glory. |
|
|
__________________
My Home Page
The secret of great faith is being fully convinced of His great faithfulness to keep His Word.
|
Back to Top
|
|
Charity Miller
Senior Member
Joined: 08/08/2010
Location: Mexico
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 112
|
|
Posted: 08/19/2010 at 1:05pm
|
IP Logged
|
|
|
Edited by Charity Miller on 08/19/2010 at 1:16pm
__________________
Weeping may endure through the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning!
Ps. 30:5
|
Back to Top
|
|
Jeffrey Stewart
Senior Member
Joined: 09/10/2009
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2217
|
|
Posted: 08/19/2010 at 2:58pm
|
IP Logged
|
|
|
Beautiful!
__________________
My Home Page
The secret of great faith is being fully convinced of His great faithfulness to keep His Word.
|
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first
login
If you are not already registered you must first
register
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
