Freedom

I woke up this morning feeling bitter.  I think sometimes we all get this way at times, when things in life just aren't moving fast enough.  It can be hard living in the middle of a season in a wilderness.  It has not been instant however, God has been showing me that things may not be where I would like them to be at this moment, but I am set free from so much.  So many things I have allowed myself to be taken captive by, have been loosed, and I have been able to stand up, and walk away, saying "You have no place in my life.  Leave, or I will!" 

Let's look at a city for example...  a city is not transformed over night.  Buildings take tons of work, and time to be remodeled, and tons of investment to afford this.  Likewise, being healed is like investing time in prayer, and surrounding oneself with people of greater knowledge, hope, and whom are at the places you desire to be in yourself.  Once you are in their place, you can then reach to those in your place at one point. 

I believe I have been set free of a few things so far, however have quite a way to go.  I still get down.  I still want to lay down, life is still hard, and I notice things around me, that may or may not be directed toward me, yet they crush me no less.  It can be so hard to find hope, however in these times of brokeness, the real healing takes place, the real character is formed, and the real liberation is happening.  A city is being reformed, restored, and exalted.

God Seems Distant...

   

These are all photos I have taken by the way.  You will see random photos time and again!

-Gordon

The world is in turmoil right now in many different nations.  Many are coming up against their leaders in violent acts, which can become a very dangerous and vital situation.  I notice things in my own life that seem like they shouldn't be going on.  We cry out to God in confusion and pain, seeking mercy, and His love, and power of the Holy Spirit to get us through and beyond our situations.  But why then, does He seem so distant?  It's like driving to the top of the mountain on a highway, it seems like you never reach the mountain you have seen for the last hour.  Little do we realize, that mountain we could already be on our way to the top.  God is at our side through it all.  I think of Job...

Job 38:33-37:Do you know the laws of Heaven? Can you impose its authority on earth?  Can you command the clouds so that a flood water covers you?  Can you send out lightening bolts and they go? Do they report to you "here we are"?  Who put wisdom in your heart or gave the mind understanding? Who has wisdom to number the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven?     

No worldly being is able to make a situation different, when we cannot make it different on our own, it is all God.  Since Jesus came and died for us, He sent a "counselor" a "comforter" known as the Holy Spirit, which makes this profound existence of God even closer than we know.  He is in every situation, yet not always summoned.  God seems so distant sometimes, hard to reach...

Sometimes we forget that God is at our side no matter where we are, or what our situation is.  Why then, does He not always respond to our pleas and cries right away?  Test.  Testing our faith.  Satain tested Job, by stripping him of everything, to the point of his own wife telling him to "Curse God and die."  Satain tempted Jesus at the begining of His ministry, while He was in the wilderness.  Telling Him about bread, offering rulership, etc.  God was there that whole entire time.  God was watching us, and keeping us going, though we may not have felt it, or realized it at the time.  All of the violence going on, there is no real answer for.  I cannot claim it is part of God's plan, nor can I say it is not.  Times like these do allow God to work miracles in different peoples lives, and can be seen and witnessed on a whole new level.  As upsetting as it is, God can work in the worst of any situation.  We need to summon Him, and the power of the Holy Spirit!

Currant

Today, walking across the famous footbridge that divides the North Park Campus diagonally, the North Branch was higher, from all the ice and snow that has melted.  Usually, well naturally when the water rises, the currant is stronger, so much I could see it churning, the water suddenly becomes this force that one can only imagine how quick it could pull you.  While it was rainy today, on a nice warm, or even hot day, one may consider cooling off in such a spot.  Well... maybe not actually, it's pretty bad.  Point being this:  What is your currant?  What is pulling you strongly, and rapidly away from God?  The battles we face each day, are the currants in the rivers, the constant swirl, between good and evil, in the spiritual realm.  Influences, temptations, things that seem harmless, they seem great.  Do we see them carrying us away from God?  I notice, usually later on, realizing my eyes were closed, because I was already underwater.  I didn't see.  Jesus made the blind see, and He set the captives free.  You better believe He will pull you out of a currant, time and time again.  His power and love are thousand times greater than anything one could imagine.  Many times chosing to get "caught up in God's love" may sound kind of funny compared to what the currant has to offer.  Just remember the river is full of the healing water known as the blood of Christ, which is never ending, a well that will never run dry. 

Relevancy

Today I had a realization about how the Bible works.  The Bible has been translated for thousands of years, yet totally inspired by God.  God, an all knowing God.  An eternal God.  Would you say that what God says through Jesus, is similar to what He says now?  Even before Jesus.  Jesus is a savior and a blessing for the universe, not just our world.  The planets were etched in detail by GOD.  I think it is very easy for us (myself as well) to look at the Bible and see some parts as irrelevant.  'This was when the dinosaurs lived, why think that NOW?'  :) I just thought I would start this off by mentioning that.  We forget how real the Word of God is in our world today.  We may not slaughter goats and drag the bloody carcasses to church on Sunday, that was before Jesus, and Jesus came to redeem us, and provide a way to God that we no longer needed to do those sacrificial rituals.  Regarding relevancy, Paul says in

 2 Colossians 2:4,5 "I am saying this so that no one will decieve youwith persuasive arguments.5 For I may be absent in the body, but I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the strength of your faith in Christ."

The world today has become more and more secular, and we need to be very careful.  Science has replaced biblical explanations in many ways.  While science can be very effective and useful, it can also lead many astray in what some believe.  Roman culture was very much this way in the time of Christ.  How intriguing it would be to be in that time! 

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ.  For in Him the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily, and you have been filled by Him, who is the leader over every ruler and authority."

Now that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the world in which we live.  I don't think believing in Jesus ought to restrict us from enjoying the creation, and inovations of man kind- whom are- remember- created in the image of God. 

In 2 Colossians 3:12-15 Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint about the other.  Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you ought to forgive.  Above all, love- the perfect bond of unity.  And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were calledin one Kingdom, control your hearts. Be thankful!

Flipping through and praying for inspiration today, I just found some treasure in 2 Colossians. 

The world is a place we can be free in.  Free from sin, and free will.  God does not restrain us.  But we must remember even though we have free will, we are all citizens in His great Kingdom, and in one body ( I view body as a gathering) By doing the best we can, living the best life, and seeking first His Kingdom, our lives will improve, and even through hard times, we will make it through stronger than ever. 

The Holy Spirit

Have you ever been doing something, and a peace rushes over you unlike anything you have experienced?  The Holy Spirit is present, and though His spirit is present, healing is not complete... as that takes time.  But it is gaining headway, momentum, a feeling like no other...  It's a love that can't be understood by the human psychological mind.  It's an energy that no green vegetable could nourish.  It's a realization, an epiphany of various things in our lives, that we could never figure out ourselves.  It's the Holy Spirit.  This is what Jesus sent as our counsel as He ascended into Heaven.  This is the part of Jesus, that Unified Him with God... Come, Holy Spirit!

Don't Demolish!

When I was down in New Orleans, in particular the Lower 9th Ward, I saw a lot of destruction, a lot of wounds still left untouched.  I saw family photos in rubble, I saw mold, embedded in what once were sheltered studs. I saw steps that led to nowhere but a vacant lot, with Mother Mary guarding the front steps.  I saw so much, that brought out some things that have come as a realization to me, and is something needed to be said about others. 

Humanity sees what we cannot have, and for some reason feel like we need to try it.  Adam and Eve saw what they could not have, and followed the deception that there was no harm in 'trying to find out'... It is one thing when you know what you're doing,and know your boundaries, and limits.  It is a different thing when you don't.  Through these times, we break.  Maybe not immediately.  It takes repetition, and worldly justification, but eventually we find ourselves in a position we never would have once imagined we would have to be in.  We become broken, introverted, timid beings, trying to get through each day, each day is a stretch, a struggle. 

Life becomes a chore to live, and memories linger in our minds that we would do anything to not remember. 

This is liberating:  by the grace of God, and Jesus, we are healed, forgiven, and exalted higher than we deserve.  Because He sees the best in us, only the good.  He knows we sin.  He knows our past.  He knows our current situations.  Through and through He will heal, and restore us.  That picture of the house that says 'Don't Demolish' is not only us, when we feel so broken and lost, that is what Jesus pleads to us, and His desire for us to not allow the sins and struggles people deal with, to demolish our relationships and views of who they are.  Especially if they can say they made mistakes.  They were not mistakes at the time of their sin.  They did it.  But when one is humbled before the Lord, and can be able to say "I messed up, God..."  THIS is when the integrity begins, and starts to grow once again.  They can become extraordinary in all they do, living blamelessly, using the mistakes they can now understand they once made, as tools and stories to tell others.  For inspiration.  For hope.  For reaching out.  We are all unique, and it is so common for us all to feel alone in all we do, even though our struggles are and can be quite similar if not identical. 

By the power and love of Christ and the Holy Spirit, we are liberated into unknown levels we have ever imagined!

Discipleship

This picture was taken when I was down in New Orleans on a missions trip.  Painted on the side of an old house, it really hit home for me.  I think about things a lot. This is my first post, and it is the first time I open up to the world, doing something I sincerely have dreamed of doing for quite some time:  inspiring people, giving people hope, connecting with people through writing, and music, as well as my photography.  While this does not have the music, it can do the first 2.  At least I pray it does hit somewhere close to home with some of you. 

So many times, churches get all over leaders, because they mess up in their lives.  Absolutely, they always should be held accountable for their actions, however sometimes we forget that our human nature is that we are imperfect beings.  The influences of this world are powerful, and many times opposite of what is expected of leaders.  It is a constant battle.  A spiritual war.  Temptation has been present since the beginning.  Romans 2:14-16 When outsiders who have never heard of God's law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God's law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God's yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God's yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences. Paul wrote Romans, and was a true disciple of God.  Although he was just as human as everyone else.  He knew that we all sin, knowing full well what we are doing.  He also knew that Christians sin sometimes more than non Christians.  Christianity is not relavent in my opinion.  Christianity has been given a name that is destroying itself.  People misconcieve a 'Christian' not as Jesus came to show the world. Many people are starting to see Christians are Pharisees.  Romans 3:10-11: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God, All have turned away...  Don't let this discourage you.  This gives us hope, because our standards are not set that high.  Jesus loves us amidst our struggles, and is here to forgive, and by our faith, and adoration and response to His grace, we are cleansed and given new beginnings every day.  Romans 6:14 For sin will NOT rule over you, because you are not under law, but under grace!  Praise God, because we are so blessed.  Paul was a leader, very much involved in ministry, and his life was dedicated to Christ.  He even says in Romans that he sins, and does even what he himself does not wish to do, but the enemy can overrule control.  By faith in Jesus, by our forgiveness not only for others, but ourselves and knowledge that we will fall, and God still adores our very souls... we are in great shape.  We all have a spot in His kingdom. 

I am not perfect myself.  The world is full of things that I love, that may not necessarily be the greatest things in the eyes of God.  My attitude is not right.  I am a sinner, saved by grace, and we ought not see ourselves as 'sinners' but disciples.  Believers and non-believers we share this title, because we are all on a journey together.  Disciples are followers.  In the Jewish traditions, there would be disciples assigned to a rabbi, whom learned from the rabbi.  Humanity are disciples, some of life, some of Christ, some of other religions, we are all doing our best to get through what is known as life.  That is beautiful.  Let's embrace our beautiful imperfections, and find hope in the realization that for every failure we find potential, and opportunity for growth.