Saturday, November 29, 2014

I Praise You, Abba....

In the words of author Ann Voskamp,
From all our beginnings, we keep reliving the Garden Story.
Satan, he wanted more.  More power, more glory.  Ultimately, in his essence, Satan is an ingrate.  And he sinks his venom into the heart of Eden.  Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude.  Adam and Eve are, simply, painfully, ungrateful for what God gave.
Isn’t that the catalyst of all my sin?
Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives.  We hunger for something more, something other.  {One Thousand Gifts, p. 15, Italics Mine}
Jesus lived a Life of supreme gratitude to God His Father, the Abba of Heaven and Earth.  The Scriptures recording His thanksgiving, His unashamed appreciation for Abba’s limitless largesse, are too numerous to even list.  But here are a couple.  “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Abba, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.  Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure” {Matt. 11:25-26}  The word for “praise” means ‘to profess, to acknowledge... openly, freely, from the heart.’
In the Feeding of the Four Thousand Mark records Peter’s eyewitness account.  He writes how Jesus “told the crowd to sit down on the ground.  When He had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, He broke them and gave them to His Disciples to set before the people, and they did so.  They had a few small fish as well; He gave thanks for them also and told the Disciples to distribute them.  The people ate and were satisfied.  Afterward the Disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over” {8:6-8}.  Just one more example of the lavish generosity of grace, which should cause us as His Followers to be immensely and eternally grateful beings.
John in Revelation 11:16-17 wrote, “And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped” Him, saying: “We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign!”
Peter say’s we “are a Chosen People, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People belonging to God, that” we “may declare the praises of Him who called” us “out of darkness into His wonderful Light” {1 Pet. 2:9}.
Paul goes for the trifecta in Colossians 3:15-17 and nails it.  “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one Body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Ringo said, “All you need is Love....”

HJC
Ric Webb  |  Shepherd
Heart’s Journey Community
9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204
t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Grace Is Our Eternal Residence.

The Messianic Age in which we currently reside, which began with the birth of Jesus and will close with His glorious Return, is the Age of Grace.  In Ephesians 2:6-7 Paul said, that God has raised us up with” Jesus, “and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ [which is our unique privilege and position as the Children of God in the Age of Grace] ...in order that [a phrase used to express a ‘final purpose clause’] in the coming Ages [all the Ages following this, including Eternity] He might show the incomparable riches of His grace ...expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
Scripture says we are to live our lives by means of grace through faith.  Colossians 2:6 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord….”  As Kurios, ‘as Master, as Sovereign,’ not Savior, not Redeemer, not Friend, not Lover, not Prince-ruler as Hebrews 12 puts it, “Author and Finisher of our Faith,” but “Lord” and Liege, Sovereign Ruler of our Creation.  Now, continue to live in Him ...rooted and built up in Him [When you build something up you ‘strengthen and secure’ it, you give it what it needs to grow, right?  We could say ‘grounded and growing in Him.’], strengthened in the Faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness,” v. 7.  Why?  Because grace is ‘the attitude of gratitude’ and our hearts are overflowing with a love of grace.  It was by grace through faith that we “received Christ Jesus as Lord,” therefore, by grace through faith we’re to “continue ...in Him”!
Grace is a glorious treasure and incredible resource to which we have access in and through the Lord of Glory— Romans 5:1-2.  Grace is both our present state and permanent condition.  And thank Abba it is!
Paul begins Romans 5 with, “Therefore,” drawing on his dissertation in ch. 4 concerning Abraham as the “father of the faithful” {vv. 11-17}, he says, “since we have been justified through faith….”  Dikaios was a legal term in ancient Greece; it means in context to ‘be vindicated’ before the Universe, ‘acquitted’ of all our crimes, ‘declared righteous’ in the eyes of Abba.  It’s a soul-shaking, heart-healing, Hallelujah-inducing fact of reality!  Because of this fact, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Which is what Scripture calls “reconciliation” {Rom. 5:10-11}, the offer of peace from holy God to fallen man …and fallen man’s embrace of it.
“Through whom [This Lord and Liege, this Savior and Sovereign] we have gained access by faith [There’s that little phrase for the second time in as many vv.: ‘by faith,’ and it opens the door to every single aspect of relationship with God and communion with our Creator.] into this grace in which we now stand.”  Notice “we,” first person, the Apostle included.
“Danger, Will Robinson, Danger:” technical point of grammar coming, so if you’re looking for an opportunity to glaze over, now is the time to do it.  The verb Paul uses is the perfect active indicative of histemi.  The indicative mood means this is an undoubtable occurrence.  You once stood ‘outside this grace, but now you are firmly ensconced within it!’  The active voice, which means the subject accomplishes the action, is used because our faith is the means by which we ‘gained access.’  We received this gift from the hand of God, and we did it willingly, knowingly, and consciously.  This, my friends, is critical to the concept of faith.  Trusting in, believing on, accepting and embracing does not happen by accident.  Faith, like love, is a choice we make, a conscious decision to accept a Reality far beyond what we can visibly and tangibly see, hear, smell, taste and touch.  That is the heartbeat of faith.  And finally, with the perfect tense Paul settles the issue unequivocally: the glorious grace of our glorious God is the realm of Freedom in which we stand forevermore.  Hallelujah!
HJC
Ric Webb  |  Shepherd
Heart’s Journey Community
9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204
t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Grace— the Foundation of Intimacy With the Trinity.

Grace is the sum total of our Spirituality.  Everything we have by way of divine power, resource, presence and provision is courtesy of grace.  Everything we know of the nature of Abba, every ounce of divine wisdom distilled in our souls, every step of maturity taken in concert with the Spirit, every Word of challenge, comfort or encouragement from the heart of God was given us in grace, received by us in grace, after having been communicated to us {you guessed it} by grace!
It’s a soul-freeing aspect of Life in the Spirit to know that as Abba’s Children we’re not under the harsh light of the Law, but rather the shadow of mercy and grace— Romans 6:14-18.  Jesus’ Followers are bound by something higher, deeper and stronger than any Law ever uttered... the Royal Law, the Life of Love— Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28; John 13:34-35; and James 2:8-13.  In Ephesians 5 Paul wrote, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved Children [The picture, the imagery here, is of little children who feel safe and secure in the love, acceptance, and protection of their parents, seeking to emulate and imitate them.  Paul’s saying this is precisely how it should be for you and I as the Children of God.]... and live a life of love, just as Messiah loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” vv. 1-2.  “Just as,” meaning ‘exactly like’ your “Messiah,” meaning you and I are to follow the footsteps of the One who “loved” us enough to give up everything on our behalf and “sacrifice” Himself “to Abba in our place.
“My Command is this,” said Jesus in John 15:12: “Love each other as I have loved you [Selflessly, sacrificially ...with blood, with sweat, with tears.].”  And what does this look like in praxis?  Well, Gentlemen, Ladies, Kings and Princesses: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” v. 13.  And there it is.
In Galatians 5:13 Paul wrote: “Do not use your freedom [‘Your liberty,’ which is the primary issue under grace— ‘freedom,’ not bondage.] to indulge the sinful nature [the ‘sin within’], but through love serve one another.  For the entire Law is summed up in a single command, ‘Love your neighbor [‘Love the other, any other’] as yourself,’” v. 14.  So, the Apostle repeats what the Master has stated over and over again in the course of His Mission: the totality of divine revelation comes down to this issue right here— our willingness to love the others, the different from, the opposite of, the weird, the wild, the wonderful.  And as a critical component of this, to let ourselves be loved …in the midst of our mess— not cleaned up, tidied up, washed up, dried up, polished up or prettied up; but here and now, alive and kicking, naked and exposed.
The Royal Law, the Life of Love, is a universal reality, a Code of Honor encapsulating Life in the Kingdom of Grace.  The Law of Moses, on the other hand, belonged to the nation of Israel in an Age when Israel was His Chosen Nation as a witness to the world.  It has never been given by God to any other nation besides Israel.  Furthermore, it wasn’t transferred to the Body and Bride of Christ in any way, shape or form; and any pastor, church, or organization functioning under the Law as the means of salvation, spirituality or service is doing so outside the dictates of Scripture, making themselves as Paul said in Philippians 3:18 “enemies of the Cross of Christ.”  The Truth is: Ignorance may be bliss, but it’s definitely not victory!  Can I get an ‘Amen’ for the glory of grace?
HJC
Ric Webb  |  Shepherd
Heart’s Journey Community
9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204
t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.