Oh the Depths!

Most who know me know that my life verse is Romans 11:33-36 in fact the name of this blog "From Him Through Him To Him" is from those blessed verses. These verses are the apostle Paul kind of exploding in praise after taking a tour of the mind of God for a few chapters. Paul was exploring God's plans for Israel but I think this kind of praise follows any real revelation of the realities of God.
The reason these are my life verses is because this is my inheritance. My Hope, my joy, my life is all for and about this pursuit. BEHOLDING HIS BEAUTY! Is there any higher pleasure? Any deeper Joy? Any more worthy use of time energy and brain power? NO NO NO! This IS what Heaven will be! Any time the human mind is caught on fire with that everlasting burning that IS GOD we are doing what we were created to do above all else!

In John 14 Jesus says that to know God IS eternal life. Indeed! Then this IS all I want. To know God. Every time I get a fresh view of God I am FILLED with life eternal. The life more abundant promised by Jesus is mine in this. Knowing God. Jesus came to give life and that more abundant. Jesus came to show us the Father, this IS the life more abundant he described. In John 1 it says that in Jesus was LIFE and that LIFE was the LIGHT of men. OH I want to know this man! Holy Spirit show me His beauty!

I want to invite anyone who reads this into this joy! KNOW GOD! Search Him out!
OH the depths of the RICHES of the wisdom and the knowledge of God they are far beyond me to fully comprehend! For From Him Through Him and to Him be all THINGS to God be the Glory Forever!!!!
Amen

As the Father has sent me...

I am fascinated by men that changed the world. I would like to be one of them. I don’t say that out of pride or arrogance. I think everybody would like to change the world! I find myself drawn to people who influence generations both their generation and those that follow. To that end I watched a movie the other day about a man named Mohandas Gandhi. What an interesting man. He quite literally changed the world, but he did it in a very different way. He did it by going low. He did it by being humble and living a life of humility and weakness. He would fast almost to death just to prove a point, and the whole world took notice. He was inspired by Christ although he was not born again.

Now nobody worry I am not going to start wearing a tunic and I don’t plan on fasting to death, but I could not help but be moved by this man’s simple and powerful example.

In the middle of the movie I was praying about all of this and these words rang through my soul, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you”. They are the words of Jesus. How seriously have I taken these words? How did the Father send Jesus?

Jesus came humbly. To the low and the downcast, to those who knew they needed God. Jesus came to the ones who could not make Him great. He did not need them to make Him great. He came to the ones who could not make Him rich. He did not need them to make Him rich. Jesus came to be humble, and in that humility he glorified His Father. He came to do what His Father was doing. He came to be the servant of all. He came to seek and save those who were lost.

Jesus how do I do this? Show me day by day how to live the beatitudes, poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, and persecuted for the sake of YOUR name. Show ME how to change the world.

Blind to Blindness

My weak flesh is so unable to be holy! God has lately been answering my prayers in wonderful ways. I pray to be Holy so God begins slowly and deeply opening my eyes to the reality of how UNHOLY I am and on how many levels!

The worst part about it all is the more I realize how UNHOLY I am, how deeply my brokenness really goes, the more I realize that until today I was blind to that brokenness. I walk around in my little and powerless life and wonder why I don’t have more of God. Then He reveals my complete misunderstandings of his character and kindness. He unveils my profound blindness to His Beauty and Glory which are to be praised forever. I see in that instant that not only am I blind but that in my heart of hearts I didn’t even KNOW I was blind! I was blind to my own blindness! Just as I think that I wonder HOW MUCH MORE BLINDNESS is in me!

No WONDER He treasures a heart that is poor in spirit!

NO WONDER He HATES self-righteousness and pride!

In these brief moments of lucidity which pass by SO quickly I realize that more of my heart is dedicated to building up my walls. The walls of lies and sin that tell me I am ok. The walls that tell me I am better than my brother. The walls that tell me what I am and what I do is enough.

Oh it is NOT enough!

It will NEVER BE enough!

Jesus is enough. What He did it is enough.

Hebrews 4:9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

So then Lord teach me what it means to rest in what Jesus did. You will heal my blindness, but your Glory should not be terrible to me. It should be my deepest and most eternal joy. I love you!

Amen