Bought with a Price

Yesterday as a church body we stood together in the altar and dedicated ourselves and our facilities to the Lord again. As we did I was stirred by the Holy Spirit. I was stirred with a deep realization of the fact that I am no longer my own man. I've known this for a very long time of course but He brought it to me in a deeper way yesterday.

My life, my family, my marriage, my resource, my thoughts, my feelings, my days, hours minutes, years do not belong to me. They belong to my King. He is my master and my do with me as He wishes. He loves my cooperation. He rejoices when I do what He commands with joy in my heart, but that doesn't mean I have a choice about it.

So often I think of my life as mine, and the things I do for God are favors I do because I'm such a good guy. I have it so backward and wrong. I belong to Him and the things in my life that do not align with His precepts and desires for me are not OK. They are SIN and nothing less.
I was bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus. At every place I call my life my own I count his blood as worthless. This is inexcusable.
Oh God forgive me for the multiple hours waisted on nothing! The endless opportunities walked past for some flippant reason, the thousands of dollars thrown down the toilet! Truly I am full of sin and corruption. Forgive me beautiful God. Give me the grace to walk as your servant all the seconds of my life. In Jesus name.
Amen

Jesus the Antiself

I am so staggered by the life and ministry of Jesus. His whole existence was a shout into the face of the world that all they are is wrong, ugly, and destructive. Gayle Erwin has been such a help to me to understand the character and nature of Jesus. He gives some key scriptures that lay out the nature of Jesus with unquestionable clarity.

Matt – 18:1-5, 15 – like a child, forgiving, gracious but not tolerating sin

20:16, 20-28 – As the last, as the least

23:1-4, 11&12 – leads by example, Servant of All

Mark – 9:33-35 – last and servant to become the greatest

10:43-45 – ‘’

Luke – 9:46-48 – Least

14:11 – Humble

22:24-27 – servant

John 13:12 – 17 – The one who is the teacher is the servant of all

Philippians 22:5-11 – Human, obedient, even to death

These are some scary things to begin to apply to ourselves. I don’t LIKE serving people! And in truth the greek word is Dulos or check this, SLAVE. OUCH! No no no not for me man! I don’t like being last in line. I don’t like being least in the group. I like to think I am humble but doesn’t that make me proud? I am such a long way from Jesus. He was 100% others centered. Period. He did what He did on earth for everyone but Himself! He was here to glorify the Father (John 17 check it out). He was here to seek and save those that were lost. He was here to preach good news to the poor, to set at liberty the captive, to bind up the broken hearted, to comfort those who grieve in Zion, to bring the oil of gladness to the mourning and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He wasn’t here to have a good time, or make a few friends, or find a wife and family. Jesus was not here for Himself and because of that He has been exalted to the highest place! He is crowned with Glory and Honor! He has been given the name above every other name and was told by the Father to sit at His right hand until the Father had made His enemies a footstool at His feet!

Truly this is the path to victory! This is the path to joy! This is the path to reigning with Christ forever! Go LOW! SERVE ALL! GET MEEK! Wow what a world changing idea! God change my world with it!

Amen

The Jealous God

When I heard about God being a jealous God and I pictured some kind of fiery angry brute of a God forcing His will on those who do not want to obey Him. Images from movies run through my brain of an angry, usually drunk, always undeserving husband or boyfriend who is stumbling after the guy who stole his girl’s heart. He usually ends up falling face first in the snow and getting laughed at by the whole town. We all have seen that guy. That leaves me with a problem when the Lord says over and over that He is a jealous God Exodus 20:5 De 5:9 etc. In fact in one place he says that his name is Jealous Exodus 34:14. A couple of years ago the Lord had me study this out and straightened me out completely on this front. Today as I was studying for our Sunday School class on Song of Solomon I was confronted again with the Jealousy of God.

The Lord began my journey into understanding this in Numbers 25. The sin of the people has brought a plague upon them. One man brings a Mideonite woman into his family right in front of everyone; blatantly defying the Lord’s command, and Phinehas grandson of Aaron the High priest skewered them with a spear. This brings an end to the plague. God says that Phinehas was “jealous with my jealousy” and that is why the plague was stopped. This an incredible picture of intercession and the stopping of God’s wrath by agreeing with His heart, but that’s not where I want to linger today. Today I want to meditate on the jealousy of God. As I studied this the Lord said very loudly to me that jealousy was not about covetousness or wanting something that belongs to someone else, but it is about wanting something back that belongs to YOU! If someone took my wife from me they are taking what is mine. I would be jealous; burning with jealousy. It says in Proverbs 6:34 that jealousy is a husband’s fury therefore he will not relent on the day of vengeance. God will not allow that which is His to be stolen from Him for long. His wrath on Israel is out of jealousy. It is not so much His anger and lashing out in frustration at a woman who doesn’t want Him, no it is Him doing WHAT IT TAKES to get her back. It was then that this got turned around to me. Was he jealous because of me? How much of me wasn’t His? What would he do to get it? It scared me truly but it also gave me such confidence. I began to realize that this is why my life goes wrong sometimes. He is jealous for me, ALL of me. He is not happy with the 15% of me I willing give. He will do what it takes to make me His completely. The word of God over my life this year has been, “Josh I love you too much to let your comfort get in the way of your destiny!” Boy has that been true! This life is a story of jealousy and passion. My story, your story, His story; the drama of the ages. Oh how far will you go to get my heart? Can you hear His answer?

He says, with jealous fire in His eyes, “To Hell and back my love and I already have”.