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| human effort |
| 10.26.04 (3:22 pm) [edit] |
For man to cultivate wood, takes human effort.
For man to cultivate hay, takes human effort.
For man to even gather stuble, takes human effort.
No effort of man can produce a single precious stone.
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| I have enough sin in me to damn a million souls. |
| 10.25.04 (10:23 am) [edit] |
I have enough sin in me to damn a million souls.
My illustration of this is blood. We have enough toxins in our body to kill 10 people, but we don't die. Blood cleans out the toxins ... non-stop. So, if I grasp my wrist and choke off the blood ... first it tingles, then it starts to burn, and before long ... it turns black and starts to decay. Soon, without the constant flow of blood ... my hand is lifeless. The toxins will do such harm that it cannot be repaired. Right now, my blood cleanses my physical body, just like the Blood of Christ is cleansing my spiritual identity. It is ongoing. It is by the blood, and there is little that I can do to stop it, though I never asked that it begin.
Remember when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples? He just did it. Nobody asked Him to ... in fact, Peter asked Jesus to stop! What is interesting is what Jesus said to Peter when Peter asked Him to stop. "If you do not let me wash your feet, then I can have nothing to do with you." Peter then, asked Jesus to wash him all over ... head to toe. Jesus explained, "You don't need a bath again, you just need your feet washed."
Notes of interest:
*The cleansing of feet is comparable to the daily need for forgiveness. It isn't optional
*The head-to-toe bath is like the need for the initial washing of rebirth (Titus 3:5)
*We don't need it over and over, like the foot washing.
The bath was voluntary, but the foot washing was completely the initiative of Jesus over and against the objections of those He was washing. Nobody asked Jesus for it, yet nobody was allowed to avoid it. (IMPORTANT)
We need ongoing forgiveness as we sin. It is done by Jesus. We don't have to ask (in fact none of us were around when it was provided,) but we can't do without it.
In all of this, I am not taking sin lightly ... I just am giving the blood of Christ, its due credit!
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| About asking God for forgiveness ... |
| 10.19.04 (10:53 am) [edit] |
It has been said (and I agree) that you don't rule your believing; your believing rules you.
So, if I convince you that a hungry bear is outside waiting to eat you, and you believe me and make up your mind to never go outside, then because you believe it ... it is AS IF that is true ... whether it is fiction or truth.
Here is the problem when it comes to believing that you must ask to be forgiven in order for you to be forgiven ... believing THAT makes it true for you in a real experiential way. When you work for what you have, it is AS IF you do not have it. And those that are hard at work trying to gain forgiveness ... it is AS IF they lack forgiveness ... even if they do not.
Here is a clue from the Bible: There is not a single person (neither sinner nor saint) that has been recorded ASKING for forgiveness after the death of Christ on the cross. Nobody at all ... yet this belief is central to many mainstream denominations. WHY? This false teaching is imprisoning people, and making a false notion AS IF it were true for them.
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| Is this a worthwhile distinction? |
| 10.11.04 (12:33 pm) [edit] |
There is a difference between self control (which is the fruit of the Spirit) and self-discipline (which is satans counterfeit.) The Word of God is sharp enough to divide between them and lay bare self-control as a manifestation of the Spirit, and self-discipline as a manifestation of the soul.
The difference is subtle, but I think that it is a worthwhile distinction.
A dieter is an example of self-discipline. They want candy, pizza, and cake ... you can cut the tension with a knife, when the ice-cream truck, drives by the fat farm. The dieters are not comfortable when they get to the "treat" section of the grocer. They are hindered, restricted, and of the mindset to say "no" at all costs.
Compare that to the athlete. The athlete does not have the mindset of the dieter, though they might have similar food intake. The athlete doesn't hear the music of the ice-creme truck. They don't even know where the "treat" section is. To them it is no sacrifice to give up candy, pizza, and cake. They have a different agenda. They have their eye on a prize, and whatever it is that stands in the way of that goal ... they WANT (key word) to be rid of it. It really isn't saying "no" to treats as much as saying "yes" to the prize.
Whereas self-discipline is a shackle from the outside placed over the wants ... Self-control (the fruit of the Spirit) is the free reign of spiritually motivated desires, unhindered ... because the wants of the self-controlled are holy, or being transformed to holiness by the Holy Spirit ... Who works in them to WILL and to DO according to His good pleasure.
1 Corinthians 9
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Paul's sentiment is a novel sentiment. Those that express likewise are likely holy, and seeking to be as they have become.
This stands is stark contrast to another of Paul's statements:
Colossians 2
20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Is this a worthwhile distinction?
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