Mide a Aquellos Que Adoran Por Francis Frangipane

Al  final de los tiempos  habrá dos tipos de cristianos: aquellos quienes alaban en el atrio interior y aquellos fuera del lugar de intimidad.

“Entonces me fue dada una caña semejante a una vara de medir, y se me dijo: Levántate, y mide el templo de Dios, y el altar, y a los que adoran en él. Pero el patio que está fuera del templo déjalo aparte, y no lo midas, porque ha sido entregado a los gentiles; y ellos hollarán la ciudad santa cuarenta y dos meses.”
—Apocalipsis  11:1-2

En última instancia este versículo está diciendo que  ahora mismo el Espíritu de Dios está midiendo a los adoradores – aquellos individuos quienes su tesoro esta en el cielo, que permanecen en el atrio interior del templo de Dios. Amado, aquellos quienes verdaderamente habitan en un lugar medido y protegido.

Considere: En nuestro mundo de terrores, presiones y trauma, nuestro único refugio existe en la presencia viva de Dios. No debemos aceptar una religión acerca de Dios. Si verdaderamente vamos a morar en la Presencia Divina, quizá una cosa por encima de todas nos llevara ahí: Debemos volvernos en verdaderos adoradores de Dios.

Verdadera Adoración
Jesús enseño que ‘los verdaderos adoradores” son aquellos que adoran  “al Padre en espíritu y en verdad.” En otras palabras, su adoración a Dios fluye desde sus corazones sin impedimentos de difíciles condiciones externas.  La adoración “en espíritu y en verdad” es  adoración genuina. Ciertamente, ahora mismo sobre el planeta Tierra, el Padre está buscando a tales personas para que sean “Sus adoradores” (Juan 4: 23).

Considere correctamente la prioridad de Dios. El no nos está buscando para que seamos operadores de milagros o grandes apóstoles o profetas. El desea de nosotros más que el cultivar buenas habilidades de liderazgo o fortalezas administrativas. ¿Que busca El? El desea que nos volvamos en Sus adoradores en espíritu y en verdad.

La Adoración Genuina Hace Que Nos Volvamos en Cristianos Genuinos
Si nos enfocamos en  hacer de nuestra adoración una verdadera, nuestro estudio Bíblico, oración, y  servicio a Dios, cualquiera que este sea, se volverá también verdadero. Ciertamente, un corazón adorador inunda todas las otras disciplinas espirituales con legitimidad y sustancia. Si nos inclinamos en adoración antes de estudiar la palabra de Dios, Su palabra penetrara más profundo en nuestra alma; nuestro fruto será mas dulce y duradero. Si antes de abrir nuestra boca en oración, honramos a Dios en adoración, nuestra intercesión ascenderá a los cielos sobre alas de confianza sin fingimiento  y  fe expectante.

La adoración rescata nuestros esfuerzos espirituales de la rutina, religiosidad, orgullo y culpa; mueve completamente a nuestras mentes de nosotros mismos y nos  coloca dentro de la abrumadora vida de Dios.

Todos hemos escuchado enseñanzas acerca de que Dios desea tener una relación con nosotros, y es verdad.  Más todavía, la implicancia es que Su relación con nosotros es perfectamente complaciente, casi casual en su naturaleza y  definida en su mayor parte por nuestros términos y necesidades. Si, Dios desea que nuestra unión con El sea completa y maravillosa. Aun así, Su descender en nuestras vidas, Su compromiso a redimirnos y restaurarnos, tiene otro propósito: la realidad de Su presencia nos transforma en adoradores.
 
Ciertamente, la adoración es la evidencia de una vida transformada. Puede ser expresada con lágrimas de alegría o con deslumbrante silencio; puede crear una permanente gratitud hacia Dios o inspirar canciones durante la noche. Independientemente de la forma de expresión, la adoración que el Padre busca es absolutamente significativa. Vuelve todo nuestro ser hacia Dios en amor.
 
Si, sin embargo, la idea de “adoración” parece ser una cosa rara, si se siente mecánica o si las palabras expresadas parecen huecas (y no santificadas), es porque el alma del individuo no ha sido primeramente transformada. Cuanto más nos acercamos a Dios, mas somos transformados; cuanto mayor nuestra transformación, mas completamente respondemos en adoración. Vea, la verdadera adoración se profundiza y madura mientras caminamos con Dios.
 
Recuerde el anciano testimonio del apóstol Juan. El estaba en sus noventa cuando escribió “Y nosotros hemos llegado a conocer y hemos creído el amor que Dios tiene para nosotros” (1 Juan 4:16). Escuche esa primera frase: Hemos llegado a conocer.

Cuando recién llegamos a Dios, por necesidad debemos venir como somos con pecado y vergüenza. Si, buscamos arrepentirnos de nuestros obvios pecados, pero la obra de Dios está destinada a ir mucho más profundo. Como jóvenes Cristianos, cargamos todavía actitudes de orgullo, ambición y miedo, así como muchos otros pecados, los cuales nos hacen  mal representar la real naturaleza de Dios a otros. A pesar de que somos pecadores, Dios no nos abandona. En cambio, Su obra continúa. Su fuego iluminador ingresa en las oscurecidas cavernas de nuestros corazones. Aquí, en este horno de refinamiento divino, despojados de nuestras pretensiones y orgullo, desnudos espiritualmente, sin un trapo de auto justicia en el cual vestirnos – en esta  inhóspita realidad llegamos a conocer  el incondicional amor de Dios y aceptación.

Lo que una vez  pareció un mandamiento imposible,  “Amaras al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón, y con toda tu alma, y con toda tu mente” (Mat. 22:37), se transforma de una ley a una promesa llena de esperanza, una anticipación de que El transformara todo lo que somos y, en el proceso, creara la alabanza de nuestros labios. Es como si El dijera, Me amaras con todo tu Corazón porque es así exactamente como yo te amo, con todo Mi Corazón.

Nuestra alabanza es el resultado del acercamiento de Él a nosotros; es el efecto que El tiene sobre los redimidos. Aun así, es también una elección que hacemos. Yo elijo la adoración como una manera de demostrar mi confianza en Dios, cuando mis circunstancias se ven hostiles; yo elijo la adoración como mi medio de lanzarme dentro del corazón de Dios cuando todo a mí alrededor es confusión. Y mientras soy elevado  a Su presencia, soy también consciente que el carácter de mi vida está siendo medido,  y está siendo medido por mi adoración en Su altar.

Señor, ven a mi vida y cumple Tu promesa de transformación. Crea en mis labios adoración, y ayúdame a adorarte en espíritu y en verdad.

Measure Those Who Worship By Francis Frangipane

At the end of the age there will be two types of Christians: those who worship in the inner court and those outside the place of intimacy.

Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations" (Revelation 11:1-2).

For whatever else this verse ultimately means, it tells us now that the Spirit of God is measuring worshipers - those individuals whose treasure is in heaven, who abide in the inner court of God’s temple. Beloved, those who truly worship God dwell in a measured and protected place.

Consider: In our world of terrors, pressures and trauma, our only refuge exists in the living presence of God. We must not accept a religion about God instead of the presence of God. If we are to truly dwell in the Divine Presence, one thing perhaps above all others will take us there: We must become true worshipers of God.

True Worship
Jesus taught that "true worshipers" are those who worship "the Father in spirit and truth." In other words, their worship to God flows from their heart unhindered by difficult outward conditions. "Spirit and truth" worship is genuine worship. Indeed, right now on Planet Earth, the Father is seeking such people "to be His worshipers" (John 4: 23).

Consider well the priority of God. He isn’t seeking for us to be miracle workers or great apostles and prophets. He desires more from us than the cultivation of good leadership skills or administrative strengths. What does He seek? He desires that we become His worshipers in spirit and truth.

Genuine Worship Causes Us To Become Genuine Christians
If we focus on making our worship true, our Bible study, prayer, and extended service to God, whatever that may be, will also become true. Indeed, a worshiping heart floods all other spiritual disciplines with legitimacy and substance. If we bow in worship before studying God’s Word, His word will plunge more deeply into our soul; our fruit will be sweeter and more enduring. If, before we open our mouths in prayer, we honor God in worship, our intercession will ascend toward heaven on wings of unfeigned trust and expectant faith.

Worship rescues our spiritual efforts from routine, religiosity, pride and guilt; it takes our minds completely off ourselves and burrows us into the overwhelming life of God.

We have all heard teachings that God desires to have a relationship with us, and it is true. Yet, the implication is that His relationship with us is perfectly accommodating, nearly casual in its nature and mostly defined by our terms and needs. Yes, God desires that our union with Him be full and wonderful. Yet, His descent into our lives, His commitment to redeem and restore us, has another purpose: the reality of His presence transforms us into worshipers. 

Indeed, worship is the evidence of a transformed life. Worship may be expressed with tears of joy or in silent awe; it may create an abiding gratitude toward God or inspire songs in the night. Regardless of the form of expression, the worship the Father seeks is absolutely meaningful. It turns our complete being toward God in love.

If, however, the idea of "worship" seems to be a strange thing, if it feels mechanical or the words expressed seem hollow (and not hallowed), it is because the soul of the individual has not first been transformed. The closer we draw to God, the more we are transformed; the greater our transformation, the more completely we respond in worship. You see, true worship deepens and matures as we walk on with God.

Recall the aged apostle John’s testimony. He was in his nineties when he wrote, "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us" (1 John 4:16). Listen to that first phrase: We have come to know. 

When we first come to God, by necessity we must come as we are with sin and shame. Yes, we seek to repent of our obvious sins, but the work of God is destined to go much deeper. As young Christians, we still carry attitudes of pride, ambition and fear, as well as many other sins, which cause us to misrepresent the actual nature of God to others. Though we are sinful, God does not abandon us. Instead, His work continues. His illuminating fire enters the darkened caverns of our hearts. Here, in this furnace of divine refinement, stripped of our pretenses and pride, spiritually naked, without a rag of self-righteousness in which to clothe ourselves - in this stark reality we come to know God’s unconditional love and acceptance.

What once sounded like an impossible command, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37), is transformed from a law into a promise full of hope, an anticipation that He will transform all that we are and, in the process, create the praise of our lips. It is as though He says, You shall love Me with all your heart for that is exactly how I love you, with all My heart.

Our worship is the result of His drawing near to us; it is the effect He has upon the redeemed. Yet, it is also a choice we make. I choose worship as a way to demonstrate my trust in God when my circumstances appear hostile; I choose worship as my means of burrowing into the heart of God when all around me is in turmoil. And as I’m lifted into His presence, I am also aware that the character of my life is being measured, and it’s being measured by my worship at His altar.

Lord, come into my life and fulfill Your promise of transformation. Create praise on my lips, and help me to worship You in spirit and in truth.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The preceding message is adapted from a chapter in Francis' book, And I Will Be Found By You. For ordering information, please visit the Arrow Bookstore at www.arrowbookstore.com.

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Quit Dumbing Down the Gospel by Donald Miller

Donald Miller says the message of God is more than a 3 or 4-step program.

My friend Greg and I have been talking quite a bit about what it means to follow Jesus. Greg would not consider himself as somebody who takes Jesus seriously, but he admits to having questions. I didn’t have a formula for him to understand how a Christian conversion works, but I told him that many years ago, when I was a child, I had heard about Jesus and found the idea of Him compelling, then much later, while reading the Gospels, came to believe I wanted to follow Him. This changed things in my life, I said, because it involved giving up everything and choosing to go into a relationship with Him.

Greg told me he had seen a pamphlet with four or five ideas on it, ideas such as man was a sinner, sin separated man from God, and Christ died to absolve the separation. He asked me if this was what I believed, and I told him, essentially, that it was. “Those would be the facts of the story,” I said, “but that isn’t the story.”

“Those are the ideas, but it isn’t the narrative,” Greg stated rhetorically.

“Yes,” I told him.

Earlier that same year I had a conversation with my friend Omar, who is a student at a local college. For his humanities class, Omar was assigned to read the majority of the Bible. He asked to meet with me for coffee, and when we sat down he put a Bible on the table as well as a pamphlet containing the same five or six ideas Greg had mentioned. He opened the pamphlet, read the ideas and asked if these concepts were important to the central message of Christianity. I told Omar they were critical; that, basically, this was the gospel of Jesus, the backbone of Christian faith. Omar then opened his Bible and asked, “If these ideas are so important, why aren’t they in this book?”

“But the Scripture references are right here,” I said curiously, showing Omar that the verses were printed next to each idea.

“I see that,” he said. “But in the Bible they aren’t concise like they are in this pamphlet. They are spread out all over the book.”

“But this pamphlet is a summation of the ideas,” I clarified.

“Right,” Omar continued, “but it seems like, if these ideas are that critical, God would have taken the time to make bullet points out of them. Instead, He put some of them here and some of them there. And half the time, when Jesus is talking, He is speaking entirely in parables. It is hard to believe that whatever it is He is talking about can be summed up this simply.”

Omar’s point is well taken. And while the ideas presented in these pamphlets are certainly true, it struck me how simply we had begun to explain the ideas, not only how simply, but how nonrelationally, how propositionally. I don’t mean any of this to fault the pamphlets at all. Tracts such as the ones Omar and Greg encountered have been powerful tools in helping people understand the beauty of the message of Christ. Millions, perhaps, have come to know Jesus through these efficient presentations of the Gospel. But I did begin to wonder if there were better ways of explaining it than these pamphlets. After all, the pamphlets have been around for only the last 50 years or so (along with our formulaic presentation of the Gospel), and the church has shrunk, not grown, in Western countries in which these tools have been used. But the greater trouble with these reduced ideas is that modern evangelical culture is so accustomed to this summation that it is difficult for us to see the Gospel as anything other than a list of true statements with which a person must agree.

It makes me wonder if, because of this reduced version of the claims of Christ, we believe the Gospel is easy to understand, a simple mental exercise, not the least bit mysterious. And if you think about it, a person has a more difficult time explaining romantic love, for instance, or beauty, or the Trinity, than the gospel of Jesus. John would open his gospel by presenting the idea that God is the Word and Jesus is the Word and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Not exactly bullet points for easy consumption. Perhaps our reduction of these ideas has caused us to miss something.

Biblically, you are hard-pressed to find theological ideas divorced from their relational context. There are, essentially, three dominant metaphors describing our relationship with God: sheep to a shepherd, child to a father, and bride to a bridegroom. The idea of Christ’s disciples being His mother and father and brothers and sisters is also presented. In fact, few places in Scripture speak to the Christian conversion experience through any method other than relational metaphor.

To a culture that believes they “go to heaven” based on whether or not they are morally pure, or whether they understand some theological ideas, or they are very spiritual, Jesus is completely unnecessary. At best, He is an afterthought, a technicality by which we become morally pure, or a subject of which we know, or a founding father of our woo-woo spirituality.

In a culture that worships science, relational propositions will always be left out of arguments attempting to surface truth. We believe, quite simply, that unless we can chart something, it doesn’t exist. And you can’t chart relationships. Furthermore, in our attempts to make relational propositions look like chartable realities, all beauty and mystery is lost. And so when times get hard, when reality knocks us on our butts, mathematical propositions are unable to comfort our failing hearts. How many people have walked away from faith because their systematic theology proved unable to answer the deep longings and questions of the soul? What we need here, truly, is faith in a Being, not a list of ideas.

And one should not think our current method of interpreting Scripture has an ancient legacy. The modern view of Scripture originated in an age of industrial revolution when corporations were becoming more important than family (the husband, for the first time, left the home and joined Corporate America, building cars instead of families), and productivity was more important than relationships. "How can God help me get what I want?" was the idea, not, "Who is God, and how can I know Him?"

Imagine a pamphlet explaining the gospel of Jesus that said something like this:

You are the bride to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ. You must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to know Him, and your union with Him will make you one, and your oneness with Him will allow you to be identified with Him, His purity allowing God to interact with you, and because of this you will be with Him in eternity, sitting at His side and enjoying His companionship, which will be more fulfilling than an earthly husband or an earthly bride. All you must do to engage God is be willing to leave everything behind, be willing to walk away from your identity, and embrace joyfully the trials and tribulations, the torture and perhaps martyrdom that will come upon you for being a child of God in a broken world working out its own redemption in empty pursuits.

Though it sounds absurd, this is a much more accurate summation of the gospel of Jesus than the bullet points we like to consider when we think about Christ’s message to humanity.

This article is adapted from the newly revised Searching for God Knows What (Thomas Nelson, 2010). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tough Seasons to Grow Us Up by Robert Ricciardelli

Robert Ricciardelli: Your Destiny is Assured in Him: He is Using the Tough Seasons to Grow Us Up.

 

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

What an encouraging word of our destiny being "in Him" by Robert Ricciardelli. I felt Robert preaching this message as I was reading through it! Our destiny is assured in Him as the title suggests, nothing can change that. He uses the tough seasons to grow and stretch us, doesn't He? 

Blessings,

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

By now, most of us realize that we live in times of both great challenges and Kingdom advancement. Of course I've never been pregnant naturally, but I hear that labor pains feel a lot like dying. Yet, it is not death that is coming forth-but new life.

For many of us, we look at our nation and the world around us and it looks like death to so much of what we once thought of as foundations. I believe it is birth pains of life, birth pains of a Kingdom desiring to heal creation. Father is using the tough seasons to grow us up and to wake us up to His glory and His plans for all of humanity.

Romans 8:18-25 (MSG) That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within (and birthing destinies). These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance (and the increasing manifestation of sons and daughters of His glory). That is why waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see fully what is enlarging in us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

These challenging seasons are part of Father's divine maturation process for us. They are maturing us into His fullness, but we must be aware so that we do not get stuck in perpetual infancy. Religion has a way of comforting rather than truly demanding change within each of us. Through outward activities and rituals, we can go through the motion without dealing with the turmoil in our hearts.

Going to Heaven is not a goal but our destiny when we die. Our goal is becoming sons and daughters of the Living God fully formed into the image of Christ, the firstborn of all creation. He was the first born, and we are to be the next born in which the Father can say, "These are My beloved children, in whom I am well pleased."

Progressive Transitions

Here are five significant people in Biblical history that brought forth God's thoughts and plans for creation.

1. Adam
2. Abraham
3. Moses
4. David
5. Jesus

Each of the first four men carried the mandates and progression of God's promises and will upon the earth. They prepared the way for Jesus to usher in Father's Kingdom, while offering humanity the chance-through faith-to once again have relationship with God for all eternity. Jesus went beyond the old covenant and offered a new and better covenant for both Jew and Gentile. The earth will never have need for another significant man because Jesus has already fulfilled all, and established our present and future through ONE NEW MAN!

The Final Priest, King and Prophet is "Each and All of Us"!

God's will going forward has been established and will remain unchanged until the fullness of His Kingdom is established on earth as it is in Heaven. He chose us, and provided the way through Christ to live and move, and have His being in us and through us. We are His ambassadors to carry His love, His nature, and the Gospel of His present and ever-approaching Kingdom. Jesus told us that the Kingdom of God is within us and we can trust His presence to accomplish the changing of atmosphere and hearts wherever we go.

As the corporate "One New Man," we see now why Jesus prayed so fervently for us to be one with Him, the Father and each other. We are the message to the world; we are the ambassadors of His eternal Kingdom that presents the way, the truth and the life-Christ Himself to the world. He has allowed for and caused many challenges to grow us up in order for us to live a life that is fully pleasing to Him while bringing forth His glory.

Rise up, Beloved of God, you are the chosen and you are worthy in Christ to will and to do all to the glory of God. Challenges and changes are here to stay, and the wheat and the tares will continue to grow until finally the earth is filled with the knowledge of His glory like the waters cover the sea. Be of good cheer, nothing can separate you from His love as He uses every aspect of life to train and equip you. It may not always look or feel like life, but remember that ALL THINGS work together for good. Do not be discouraged and do not quit.

Your destiny is assured in Him. 

Robert Ricciardelli

Converging Zone Network & Visionary Advancement Strategies
Email: Agaperoad@gmail.com

Robert Ricciardelli, along with his wife Joyce, are the founders of the Converging Zone Network and Visionary Advancement Strategies. Through their connecting ministry, newsletters and social networking platforms, they bring collaboration to over 100,000 each week in various spheres of society. Robert's 25 years in Corporate America has given him a broad world-view of the Kingdom of God in everyday life. Robert speaks at churches and conferences regarding the Kingdom of God, and practical ways to advance His Kingdom into every sphere and mountain of society. Robert is also a Kingdom business consultant, and a transformational life coach, assisting in the discovery of solutions that advance the destinies of individuals, faith communities and businesses.

Pursuing Reality by Dr. Malcolm Webber

Too often, churches and ministry organizations allow themselves to be distracted by things other than the real issue. The real issue may be a key problem they need to face or a key opportunity for advancement they should explore. A crucial role of the leader is to focus attention on the real issue at the time.

Healthy leaders help people to face reality and to change their beliefs, values, attitudes and actions in order to deal with the real problems and the real opportunities. They resist false solutions and any attempt to bypass reality. With unrelenting precision, they pursue the truth.

In dramatic contrast to the Pharisees, who were highly accomplished at obscuring and avoiding reality, Jesus repeatedly brought the focus back to the real issue:

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” (Mark 7:5-8; see also Matt. 23:1-39; Luke 11:37-42)

Dealing with reality usually requires a considerable amount of both insight and courage on the leader’s part: insight to discern in the first place what the real issue actually is, and then the courage to address it. A healthy measure of honesty may also be demanded in the leader – he himself may have been a significant part of the problem in the past! Moreover, dealing with reality requires endurance; the real issue is rarely dealt with quickly or easily.

In many groups, considerable organizational energy is employed in obscuring or avoiding reality. This might be due to various vested interests that do not want the real issue to be uncovered or addressed, out of fear of loss of power, influence or money. For example, in the face of Jesus’ increasing popularity, the Pharisees feared the loss of their own control over the people (John 12:19; Mark 15:10). Consequently, they attempted to obscure the fact that Jesus had the truth and the power of God in His life and ministry (and they did not), by focusing on what it means to “keep the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:1-14; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-5; John 9:14-16).

Leaders may also avoid reality out of fear of potential conflict if the real issue is addressed, or they may simply be too busy, too impatient, or too lazy to do the arduous and often lengthy work that is involved in effectively dealing with the real issue.

It is not easy to pursue reality. People employ an almost limitless array of tactics to obscure or avoid it. Here are some examples:

• A church that lacks the presence and convicting power of the Holy Spirit blames the influence of the surrounding culture for the ineffectiveness of their ministry, when the true culprit is their own prayerlessness.

• A group that is bound by a negative tradition criticizes and rejects another group that is challenging that tradition for their lack of wisdom in the way they’re going about it, and thus avoids facing their true problem.

• Leaders can employ hype and “spiritual big-talk” to keep people superficially excited and to cover up their own lack of clear God-given direction.

• When all else fails, those in charge may resort to raw intimidation – using superior position, power, education or wealth – to silence those who challenge them (e.g., John 9:28-34).

In the short term, it can be more comfortable or convenient to avoid reality, but we will pay the price in the end.

To pursue reality requires honesty, insight, courage and endurance. Healthy leaders help people to face reality, to take responsibility and to deal with the real issue. This is our privilege and our high calling before God.

Roberts Quotes for the Week (#6) by Robert Ricciardelli

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Transformational Cloak by Robert Ricciardelli

Being a believer means being clothed by God. The cloak of His presence heals, delivers, and brings total transformation. It gives one the ability to declare death to selfish ways and to say, "I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me" Christ continues to reveal Himself through us so that the way, the truth, and the life, is becoming Christ.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Our True Identity by Robert Ricciardelli

We miss our true identity when we see Jesus as historic or inspiring rather than the reality of Christ in us, desiring and empowering us to be like Him. Jesus the Beloved Son of God came to reveal to us that we too are God's beloved children. One of life's greatest challenges is to claim the identity of Jesus for ourselves daily and be able to say: "We are the living Christ that reveal His love to the world today!"

Friday, July 23, 2010

Even Greater Works by Robert Ricciardelli

We distance ourselves from God when we think that we cannot know or do the things that Jesus knew and did. But God never puts distance between us, and Christ calls us friend, while teaching us of the Father. Jesus says, "In all truth I tell you, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as me, and even greater works." The power of Christ in us and wants to bring His glory to earth through EACH and ALL of us.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Not of This World and Making a Difference by Robert Ricciardelli

The Beatitudes offer a life that seems other worldly. Who can be truly gentle, merciful, pure in heart, and always concerned about justice? Loving our enemies, persecuted, what kind of life is that? We are in the world but we are of the Kingdom and of God's presence. We will be comforted and will be filled, while mercy overflows. We will be known as God's children and truly see God presently and in the life to come.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Persecution is a Promise by Robert Ricciardelli

 Jesus was persecuted, and promised His followers that persecution would also be their portion. Those who choose to live in God's nature of humility, gentleness, compassion, and mercy, will often be opposed by the world. When we want to become like Christ, we cannot expect always to be liked and admired. We will be received by those searching for God's authentic love, but we also must be prepared to face persecution.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Mercy Birthed in Compassion by Robert Ricciardelli

There is a difference between having pity and showing mercy. Mercy comes from a compassionate heart, and a desire to serve others as equals. Pity does not connect hearts and often becomes a looking downward towards a lesser being. Jesus didn't look down on us. He became one of us to feel deeply with us. Jesus lived miraculously through mercy birthed in compassion. May we show mercy that is empowered by His love and compassion.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Peace that the World Cannot Give by Robert Ricciardelli

Christ is a peacemaker. His peace doesn't mean only absence of war. It is not simply harmony and an all-is-calm atmosphere. His peace brings the fullness of well-being, abundantly given by God. Jesus gives us a gift of peace that the world cannot give. Shalom - peace is the  well-being of body, soul, and spirit, individually and communally. It can exist in the midst of unresolved problems and increasing human conflicts. This is peace we can receive and peace we can freely give in Him.

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The Sure and Proven Way by James Ryle

“Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Here is how The Message puts it — “Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. (Proverbs 3:5-10, The Message).

This passage of scripture gives us the sure and proven way to a life of real significance and security. I encourage you to read this from as many different translations of the Bible you can find. And then to memorize it.

There is much here that is worthy of your full and undivided attention. He tells us to “listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go.”

I assume you are a person who wants to hear God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; to be guided by Him into that which is best, and to be kept by Him from that which is worst. To stay on track when others are spinning out of control. Yes?

And I assume that you want to be healthy and vibrant; to live a full and meaningful life; to wake up in the morning with purpose, and go to sleep at night with satisfaction. Yes?

And I assume that you want to prosper in all things; that whatever you set your hand to do becomes successful and fulfilling? Yes?

Then this scripture is for you! Trust God in all things and at all times. Follow Him faithfully in each and every decision you make. Honor Him with your wealth by being generous towards others. This is the sure and proven way. Wouldn’t you like to navigate your life along its path? Yes?

Well, then do it! You will be glad you did….and so will everybody else around you.

Time to Pull Off the Glasses by John Paul Jackson

The spirit of rejection is no respecter of persons. Rejection is a universal experience that manifests itself to some degree in the life of every one of us.

When we are dealing with rejection, it is hard to see the truth. It works like dark sunglasses that subtly, or significantly, color everything in our field of vision. We then respond to this filtered reality as if it were truth: No one understands me. No one sees me the way I want to be seen. People think I’m stupid. I know this person doesn’t like me. No one ever likes me. Why did I just say that? I never do anything right.

Until we are able to put aside our human perspective and embrace God’s perspective, we won’t be able to move past what rejection tells us is true. Perspective is so important. We will either see God’s provision, love and life through spiritual eyes, or we will be trapped as victims, preoccupied with how we think we are doing based on our skewed vision and natural strength. If our vision is anything other than God’s vision, we won’t be able to see ourselves clearly.

For many years, I was anxious to exercise my spiritual gifts. I knew I had a prophetic calling and a destiny, and I wanted to do what God had put in my heart to do.

But just as there is often a “glass ceiling” in the corporate world, I experienced a similar phenomenon in the church world. And to my surprise, it had very little to do with church leaders who were putting me off. It had to do with me. I slowly became aware that God was much more interested in my heart than He was in putting me before prominent people. He desired to develop my character as much as He wanted to cultivate my gifting.

Growing up, I dealt with a lot of rejection. It colored my thoughts about myself and my gifting, and it didn’t allow me to see others clearly. It kept me from seeing what God sees when He looks at me. Though I would have moments of clarity, most of the time, I lived in fear and doubt. However, that began to change when I allowed God to adjust my thinking.

It can be frightening to step away from the familiar boundaries of past thought processes and emotions. But the only way we will survive in this world is by making a radical decision to leave behind our way of thinking and accept God’s way of thinking. The Bible calls this “renewing the mind” (Romans 12:2). Among other things, it means letting go of every thought, assumption and viewpoint that isn’t from Him. It means taking Him seriously when He says He loves us and not thinking of all the reasons we assume that couldn’t be true. If He says it, it is true. There is no question in His mind. He is not unsure.

Perhaps it is time to ask God to help you take off the dark glasses that keep you from seeing yourself and your circumstances through His eyes. You may find that it is the only thing standing between you and destiny.

Receiving the Kingdom by David Fredrickson

“Once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken will remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Keep on loving each other as brothers.” (Hebrews 12:26-13:1)

It could be argued that the world is undergoing a shaking unparalleled in scope to any other period of human history. Governments, economies, social orders, religious systems and nature itself is in a state of upheaval that grows more intense year by year. Yet God’s rule and reign remains unchallenged and his kingdom will be established on earth according to his eternal plan and purpose.

But many, even among those of us who profess Christ, have based our identity in the very world systems that are headed for destruction. If so, we are becoming fearful and angry in response to the feeling that “our world” is coming undone. Financial security and social status has figured strongly into our sense of wellbeing. Perhaps we’ve connected “who we are” with a political party, American citizenship, religious denomination or church affiliation. Others of us have allowed ministry position or notoriety to define our sense of self worth. These and other areas non-essential to a believer’s standing in Christ have served to fracture the true identity of many Christians today.

Yet if our confidence rests in the knowledge that we are the treasured sons and daughters of the One who’s shaking, we’ll remain as secure and confident as a baby resting in her mother’s arms. Well, almost, allowing for a whimper now and then. With our hope anchored in Christ alone we will be convinced that God is in absolute control. We will be content if our needs are supplied while our wants may not be. We will rejoice to see his unshakeable kingdom come in and around us as we yield to his will.

But what should be our objective response to the confusion, fear and turmoil surrounding us? A person’s identity is attached to that which he loves. John the apostle reminds us that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. But with our identity based completely in the Object of our love and devotion, our response to the exhortation above comes naturally: keep on loving one another. According to John that means laying down our life for one another, sharing our possessions as the need arises. He writes that “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of love and those who are losing what can be shaken will see that those who are rooted and grounded in love have a firm foundation. It will become evident that the foundation is Christ, for as John goes on to say of those in whom love has been made complete, “..as he is , so are we in this world.”

One can participate in tea parties, protests and petitions and miss his greatest potential to make a difference. The sphere of influence beginning with our household and extending to portions of our neighborhood, school, workplace, etc. is assigned to each one of us as a kingdom in which we have the privilege of extending God’s rule. It is our land to possess in partnership with the Landowner. Those who are no longer attached to world systems by false identification have the freedom to move within those systems in the life transforming power of love. They are threatened neither by the systems or the shaking and their Father can trust them with authority that is able to bring peace in the midst of chaos.

God is preparing weak and scarred human vessels for his purposes in the coming days. He’s calling out those who’ve tried on Saul’s armor and discovered it is no more effective against the enemy than a religious t-shirt. He’s moving in men and women who’ve tried in their own strength and failed again and again until they’ve finally given up to God. Those who’ve found there’s nothing left to hang onto but his hand will be instruments through which Father will reveal his glory in the midst of fear, hate, turmoil and disaster. Their lives will be expressions of worship and places of refuge and their love will reveal the Source of all that is good, life giving and eternal.

My Glory Cloud by Greg Austin

Greg Austin is a friend and brother. I felt prompted to share this for a few reasons. The first reason is that it reminds us of our own mortality and how fragile this phase of life is, and it gives a story of faith, but beyond faith, a God that brings peace and unspeakable comfort that go beyond faith or any human comprehension. Secondly, I would ask some of you to pray for Greg as he goes through this. He has touched thousands of lives, including Joyce and I, and we believe Father has more for him to do in the years to come. I hope you enjoy Greg's story. (Robert Ricciardelli)

There are buzz words that immediately captivate the imagination, that engage the mechanisms of hope and anticipation deep in our souls; words that seem to carry on their wings the very vibration of excitement and of fulfillment.

Combine the word “glory” with the word “cloud,” and like the old E.F. Hutton television commercial, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, everybody listens.”

The following is an intensely personal and therefore subjective description of what I currently call my own unique, but nevertheless I think, worthy of description, “Glory Cloud.”

First of all, basic foundation is in order. The word “glory” is variously translated, interpreted, understood. Not all interpretations are accurate.

I won’t weary the reader with a full rendering of the 12 Hebrew and 8 Greek usages of the word, but I do need to present at least a simple reference point for the sake of this discussion.  My focus in this brief introductory will be of the Hebrew kâbôd or Kavod. In the first sense, kâbôd is “to be heavy in the good sense of abundant or copious.”

Nothing there about a thick, gooey ethereal “something” that “comes on” people during revival meetings and that can be “cut with a knife,” as many have erroneously claimed.

“Glory” gives us the idea of weightiness, and the concept of “presence” through ornamentation, ‘swelling’, cloaking or sheer inherent magnificence. Finally we see the notion of praise, praiseworthiness, shining or brilliance described as glory.

Looking to the Greek and the New Testament we learn more: Among the 8 Greek words translated “glory,” the most frequent is doxa. The New Testament focus of “glory” is upon the perception of something as having worth or value and of “a distinction between” objects or entities.

In 1 Corinthians 11 and 15 (among others), the word doxa presents a distinction between one and another. Paul reveals that there is a glory of man and another glory of woman, a glory of the sun and another glory of the moon.

Further, Paul informs us that “ . . . we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, (doxa to doxa) even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”[1]

Permit me to provide my own, personally developed definition of “glory” in the sense I have here described: “Glory is the tangible and visible manifestation of the characteristics by which we know and are known.”

In other words, there is a unique “glory” or characteristic by which we discern that one orb above is called “sun” and another similar, but uniquely difference orb is called “moon.”

Thus, when we think of Moses on Mt. Sinai requesting of Yahweh, “Show me Your glory,” he is literally asking, “Show me Who You are!”

If you can accept my simple definition – that “glory” in the sense of God is at least partly the “Who are You” or the identification of His Person, His characteristics and therefore His character, we can move to the next word, “cloud.”

Climatologists, Meteorologists and Nephologists tell us that clouds are little more than water in a vaporous state. Clouds are simply condensed water vapor in the form of water droplets or ice crystals, suspended in the atmosphere.

The Bible uses “cloud” metaphorically to describe God’s presence. In Exodus 13 we discover that the Lord God “went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way.”[2]  The children of Israel identified God’s presence and the direction of His leading during the daytime by following the pillar of His cloud.

If we can bring together the two words, “glory” and “cloud,” we have “the tangible and visible manifestation of the characteristics of God evident and discernable.”

The Old Testament over and over joins these words together: Among them, Exodus 16:10, 24:16 and 40:34. In 1 Kings 8, “the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.”[3]

Jesus spoke of a time when the world will “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”[4]

Just over a year ago, I experienced two minor heart attacks. I ignored the first because my wife and I were in Palm Springs enjoying the hot, southern California sunshine, and I didn’t want to mar the trip with a hospital stay. I could not ignore or hide the second episode and found myself in the care of our local hospital staff. During that visit my good cardiologist Dr. Raed Fahmy, discovered my problem.

Unlike many other men in my age group, I do not have clogged arteries. In fact, the Internist who gave me the report of my angiogram said, “You have the veins of a 16 year-old! There’s virtually no plaque build-up.” Then my cardiologist stopped by my room bearing a diagnosis. The first time I heard the term “hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy” I thought Dr. Fahmy was speaking another language. Further, the condition meant little to me.

I would learn in the following months more than I wanted to know about what is abbreviated as “HOCM” and the term would roll off my tongue as it had Dr. Fahmy’s when he stopped by my room that evening in June 2009.

HOCM is a relatively rare disease or condition. In America, an estimated 500,000 people have HCM or HOCM. By contrast, there are approximately 65,000 sufferers in Canada and roughly 8,000 in Ireland. About 1 in 500 people have the disease, but a lesser number are symptomatic. Perhaps you’ve heard of young athletes collapsing on the basketball court or football field, dying of heart attacks – HCM / HOCM is typically the cause.

We attempted to regulate symptoms with medicines, but within six months, when tests were again conducted, the results were not encouraging. Sheila and I will not soon forget the image of Dr. Fahmy walking into the examination room, carrying a large file. Opening the file and placing it on the examination table, Dr. Fahmy slowly shook his head and said, “Greg, Greg, Greg.” We knew the news wasn’t what we had hoped for.

Dr. Fahmy informed us that we had come to the end of medicinal management of the disease, and that he had come to the end of what he could do to help me. We were informed that I am in the lower 4 percentile of those with HCM, which means that 96% of those with the disease are in better shape than I.

We were referred to the University of Washington, a facility with great doctors and a stellar record for treating heart problems.

After meeting with a surgeon, we met with another, Dr. Ed Verrier, a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at U.W. Dr. Verrier was not encouraging in his remarks. The bottom line was this: “I don’t want to do this surgery.” The risks involved in the very technical and challenging procedure were beyond what he found acceptable. Dr. Verrier told us, and the Physician’s Assistant who spoke with us before and after our consultation with Dr. Verrier, “If you need this surgery (it’s called a myectomy), you need to go to a facility and a surgeon who does a high volume of these (surgeries).”

And so we found ourselves speaking with staff at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As I write this, we are two days away from leaving the Seattle area for Mayo and appointments with Dr. Steve Ommen and Dr. Hartzell Schaff.

Dr. Schaff is been called “The” world’s top surgeon for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Not a bad guy to see if you’ve just got to have this surgery.

The surgery itself is a bit complicated, technically challenging and, well, “interesting” would be the word I choose to describe it.

Here is what the experts say about the procedure: “Surgical septal myectomy permanently abolishes systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve and mitral  regurgitation, while normalizing LV pressures and wall stress.” Translation – the patient feels lots better after surgery.

The surgery reduces or eliminates obstruction of blood flow through the heart. This simply means that following surgery, I will be able to breathe without feeling like I am at 28,000 feet on Mt. Everest without oxygen.

As in all “open heart” procedures, the heart is accessed by separating the sternum. The heart is removed and the patient (that’s me) is placed on a heart-lung machine, or “cardiopulmonary bypass” pump so that the surgeon can work on a “still” heart. Afterwards, I will be able to say I know what it is to have the biggest heart in the world – the machine is enormous! An incision is made to gain access to the interior of the heart, and a thumb-sized portion of the septum, the muscle tissue that separates the two sides (Left Ventricle and Right Ventricle) of the heart. It is this muscle in my heart that continues to grow thicker and thicker, obstructing blood flow and hence oxygen from moving through the heart and into the aorta, and then the body.

Septal myectomy (the surgery) removes the obstruction by thinning the septum, which then reduces or eliminates the pronounced symptoms of shortness of breath, syncope (passing out), chest pain and stress. While I am told I’ll still have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, I should no longer experience the limitations I’ve gotten used to in the past six months. We’ll have to pray about the condition and my prognosis post-op.

Which brings me to My Glory Cloud.

I’m not new to the challenges of life, and of death. I have been presented with numerous opportunities to depart this life - ahead of what God intended, I might add.

To list them would bore the reader, but here are a few examples of some “exit opportunities.” Being shot at and missed. Falling from the side of a granite mountain during descent from the summit. I was able to clearly see my obvious first “bounce” more than a thousand feet below me – I wasn’t sliding or tumbling, I was falling in clear air. I managed to crash into a ledge. Here is an excerpt from my Climbing Journal regarding that day, “Down climbed approx. 1,000 feet when I fell – pack hung up on a rock flake. Injuries: Broken left hand, fractured Rt. wrist and scaphoid (carpal bone in the wrist); three broken ribs, left rotator cuff, bruised knee.” That was the good news. I could have fallen another thousand feet or so had it not been for a strategically located ledge. Then there was being shot at and missed. Oh, did I mention that a moment ago? But then, this was another occasion. There are other examples, but you get the idea. This current adventure is nothing new.

I read an email message from a dear and close friend in Germany this morning. The church there has been praying – interceding – talking to the Father about my current health situation since they learned of my condition a year ago.

In the past weeks they have amped up their prayers, even volunteering to pray for me twenty-four hours a day. They entered into a “water only” fast on my behalf.

Phone calls have come to me from Iceland and from points across America. Emails have poured in from Ireland, England, Germany, Holland, Northern Ireland and America. My local Brothers and Sisters, with whom we experience regular and close fellowship, have prayed without ceasing since learning of this disease. Around the world, people are lifting my name to the Father.

Whatever you may believe about prayer, and the power of prayer, I will testify that among its functions and attributes, prayer is a creative force; it is much more than merely an outlet for the frustration of not knowing what otherwise to do for a friend. Prayer opens heaven’s doors so that glory may spill into our lives.

There are those who teach that God may be turned, that we may change God’s mind and purpose through prayer: I do not subscribe to this philosophy. I believe that through prayer, we enter into the Father’s plan, we engage His heart, we find His purposes and align ourselves with that “good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”[5]

A God Who could be made to conform to my wishes, my hopes, my plans would be no God at all.

He Who declared, “I am the Lord, I change not” is indeed “the same, yesterday, today and forever.”

Our place, our part in prayer is to activate both our faith and to tap into the pulse and the heartbeat of our heavenly Father, from Whom comes “Every good gift and every perfect gift,” and with Him “there is no variation or shadow of turning.”[6]

I don’t know the reason, or reasons, that God has not chosen to visit me with His healing touch. I have experienced divine healing on other occasions. I have prayed with many who have either instantaneously or gradually received His healing favor.

I do not lack faith to believe for healing. I am not concealing sin in my heart so that God will not hear my prayers. I am neither Job nor Judas. I believe and I trust, completely and implicitly in my Father’s good purposes and the reasons – even when I am not privy to them – that He heals this one and does not heal that one.

I can also testify that I am currently, and have been for some time, dwelling in a place of the realized manifest presence of my Savior and Friend, Jesus.

We have waited for this surgery date since the middle of May, now more than two months. During that time I read, researched and learned more about my condition and the surgical options for relieving my symptoms. If you are at all squeamish, you won’t want to know the details of the procedure. If you were at all “normal,” you wouldn’t want to undergo this surgery.

But as distasteful as this season may be, none of it moves me. Nothing that I have experienced, nothing that I anticipate has shaken me or given me cause to doubt the love, the faithfulness, the care or the nearness of my Savior. No, instead, I have become more aware of Him, until sometimes I find myself completely lost in Him and cannot easily discern between which of us is speaking, writing, thinking, breathing. He overwhelms me. I am overshadowed by His grace and His love. I am compressed by Him. I am surrounded, infused, pressed into and pressed upon by the real and nearly tangible presence of Jesus.

I’m not dreaming, nor am I fooling myself, fantasizing in the hope of overcoming dread or fear.

The verse that reveals, “Perfect love casts out fear”[7] is more than a nice saying; it is reality. I have determined that Trust trumps Fear at every turn. If my trust is in Jesus, fear can find no lodging in my heart or soul.

And so I am surrounded, lifted, protected, carried by this awareness, this knowledge; this experience, this “Glory Cloud.”

It is a Cloud of His presence, a cloud of His person. It is a cloud of His glory, of the realized manifestation of the characteristics, the very nature of Who God is.

And just as climatological conditions create the clouds that silently drift across the heavens above, so the conditions – the established climate of prayer and of God’s

willingness have conspired to create around me, My Glory Cloud.

Soaring above the minutiae of life in this cloud, I recognize that prayer does more than provide deliverance “from” . . . prayer provides deliverance “in.”

From my heart, there is a deep and unspeakable thankfulness for every person who has prayed for me, who continues to pray. Your prayers are being heard, they are having effect, they are moving me deeper into His purpose, His design, His will.

And so, from the high vantage of My Glory Cloud, may I encourage you –

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”[8] No matter your own challenge, regardless of what you may be facing today, God will carry you; He will keep you, in His Glory Cloud.

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[1] 2 Corinthians 3:18

[2] Exodus 13:21

[3] 1 Kings 8:11

[4] Luke 21:27

[5] Romans 12:2

[6] James 1:17

[7] 1 John 4:18

[8] Philippians 4:6