Can You Hear Me Now?

Can You Hear Me Now?

By Dwight Cunkle

Am I responsive to Jesus’ call to take up my cross daily, deny myself and come, follow Him into the world?

Luke 7: 31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;  we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’48 But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Jesus describes a people who are unresponsive, not in the mood. They can go through the motions of religion but lack passion to know and love Him and others. Like a sulky teenager, moping around, listless and bored, yet spurning all invitations and suggestions. But that is a space we have all inhabited from time to time.  What invitation to celebrate and give thanks might the Lord be making to me now, that I might not be in the mood to hear? And in what ways, that I tend not to notice, might the Lord be inviting me to sorrow and remorse for my sins-especially of focusing on others and things instead of love for Him and His word?

Read again. Can you hear the frustration in Jesus’s voice? The exasperation of one whose gentle invitations are spurned and ignored? Can I ask the Lord now to transform any moodiness in me? To help me hear his gentle  invitations in my life, and to respond with excitement and delight?

Reading biographical notes on the lives of saintly servants and martyrs inspires us to love and good works I think more than just reading popular books and certainly more than the social media and entertainment we subject ourselves to. Expose your mind to godly lives and see the Scripture come alive in daily living.

Baptized in Water and Infused by Holy Spirit

Baptized in Water 

and Infused by Holy Spirit

by Dwight Cunkle

Jn 20:22-23 receive Holy Spirit. Jn 7:37-39 those who believe could overflow with Holy Spirit after Jesus would be glorified. After apostles were filled and spoke then thousands believed and were baptized. Reading Acts we find numerous instances of people receiving Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues or prophesying. (Acts 2:37-41 See also 1 Cor 12 and 14)

     Imagine that you were an old broken down and abused car, You are bought restored to classic condition, with a filled fuel tank, and given new purpose and identity by being placed among a whole fleet of cars in a large garage. That is like being born again and even baptized in water. You are cleansed from the sins of your old nature and now belong to God as a member in His body. Holy Spirit enables you to share in the life of Jesus, But the car is waiting for combustion to move and the driver to direct.

     Now put the key in the ignition, strike the fire in the engine and feel the power of the engine and gas, Go out into the world to be and do what the car was remade to be and do. That is like being baptized into Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit infusing God’s power into you.

That is the Day of your Pentecost. Of course, like the disciples in Acts 4, you will need refilled as you give life to others and as God manifests gifts of Holy Spirit through you.

      Both baptismal experiences can happen at same time or may be separated because of lack of understanding or readiness and faith on our part. Water baptism is a sacrament offered by the authority of Christ’s representatives in the church (“whose sins you remit shall be remitted” Jn 20_22-23). Holy Spirit baptism can be effected by prayer of others for us but is like plunging cloth into dye until the whole cloth is transformed in the new color.

     We need the cleansing of water baptism and the joining in Christ’s body and life with other members. But we also need the fullness of Holy Spirit flowing from deep with us as Jesus said in John 7:37-38, that out of being will flow rivers of living water.  

     (Baptism in suffering is also a sharing in Christ’s life.)

     Luke 24 with Acts 1 shows how the disciples waited to be “clothed” and “filled” so they could be witnesses.

Tithe

Tithe

By Pastor Dwight

Our giving is a way of consecrating (setting aside for divine purpose) not only the part we bring but our whole life. Throughout the Old Testament we see that God commands us to dedicate ourselves and all we have to be holy. He sanctifies and blesses that which we offer to him as we present our whole selves “on the altar of God” (as Christ offered his whole self on the cross). The Biblical words are:

 Tithes- as the writer of Hebrews in the New Testament explains Abraham first offered a tenth 400 years before the law so tithes are not about Old Testament law so much as acknowledging God as our source and committing ourselves to do his will.

Firstfruits- Paul in the New Testament said to habitually give the first part of that which God provided for us. Freewill or love offerings for special needs of people or in the work of the church in the community or in care of it’s building dedicates us all to be holy-doing the will of God. God even commanded them to dedicate all firstborn animals and their own sons to the Lord by paying a tax to redeem them, or else to actually bring them as the sacrifice (as God gave his only Son to consecrate and make us holy).

Ex 34:20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed. Deut 12:6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.

1 Cor 16:2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

Nehemiah 10:35 We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; With Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

Ex 35:29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.

Confession

Confession

By Dwight Cunkle

The power of confession is in speaking God’s Word

Faith in Christ comes by listening to his word

Twice in Luke we read that Mary pondered, even treasured the words of the angel and prophets (Luke 2:19, 51) about her and the Holy Seed of the Word being incarnated (made flesh in her). She was also yielded and obedient to the Word from God, “Be it unto me according to your word.” The    angel assured her that “No word comes from God without the power of fulfillment within it.”

Jesus healed a woman then said to her, “Your faith has healed you.” From where did she get faith to be healed?

To another Jesus said, “Be unto to you according to your faith.” 

Yes (in case you are wondering) we can be like Mary, thinking (meditating) with our mind and heart what God’s specific word (rhema) means to us? The Word is not too high or too hard for you but is near you-even in your mouth… Faith comes by hearing the Word… Romans 10:6-8, 17 (see also verse 10-confess and believe and you will be saved).

We all can make time to prayerfully think over and over a short passage or phrase of Scripture. This pondering and treasuring leads us into what is called contemplation of God – a knowing and seeing and experiencing Him that results in our own being transformed into His image (2 Cor 3:17-18).

Meditating and confessing God’s word will naturally humble us even as Mary and those who sought healing humbled themselves and confessed their weakness and need. God will fill you and defend you. God will draw you into union with Him. You will know His love for you deeper and His grace will love others through you.

Is the cost of daily sitting at his feet and listening to his word and confessing our faults and sins worth it? Is He not the Pearl and Kingdom? Did He not think us worthy?

Darning the Damage from Darnel in Our Souls and Community

Darning the Damage from Darnel

in Our Souls and Community

By Tim McCoy

In our small group last Sunday one was moved with compassion to think that some people grow up where much evil has been sown in them, around and against them, while life is easier and freer for others.

Matt 13: 23 - 30. ‘The kingdom of heaven may be com-pared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was  asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel* all among the wheat, and made off…Jesus said, Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall  say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.” ’

*13:26 Zizanion, a kind of weed referred to as “darnel” or “tares,” has poisonous seeds but looks like wheat in its early stages of growth. Yet it is easily distinguishable at harvest. The sower of evil is "the devil" (verses 25, 28, 38-39) (diabolos: the accuser, deceiver, liar, and be-trayer, one who is against all that is true and righteous. Satan's sly nature is   revealed in his choice of the darkness for doing his            diabolical work, sowing what is evil among the good.

Darnel or Tares in our soul.

In our lives we have had bad experiences, bad con-clusions based on faulty facts, imperfect motives, and sins committed against us as well as evil thoughts so our minds by the world. Haven't you prayed, “Lord take this anger or hated away from me? Or Lord why can't this temptation be taken away”?

It's a mystery but God allows these subtle tares to co-exist in our hearts until he has matured the fruit He has planted becomes ripe and mature enough to over-power and become easily distinguished from the fruit of Satan. In Hebrews it is written. "For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of right-eousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil."

Our life maturity is based on growing in the ability to distinguish the in-fluence of both tares and the wheat within ourselves (not just seeing evil influences in the world around us). When we begin to see them, we can confess our faults and ask prayer and help to be healed (James 5:17). Jesus is a gentle shepherd, and if he only dealt with judgment and condemnation of sin where would we learn mercy? From Jesus we learn humility, mercy and patience, and in the church is grace to free us from evil within us.

The power of confession

Romans 7:  For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it... I see in my body war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my body. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin…9 If we confess our sins he will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.

So within or without, God is patient for His fruit to distinguish itself and for us to purge ourselves through His discerning Spirit and the mirror of God’s word. God give us grace to be patient with ourselves and others while we confess our faults and pray for one another to be healed in love. Then we shine as light in this world.

 “Although the tares hinder the wheat, yet they make it the more beautiful to behold”. 

Loving His Word

Loving His Word

By Richard Lineberry

No one can rise to spiritual maturity without a love affair with God's Word.  The Word is almost a synonym with the Christian message and remember that the Word is not just words on a page but the person of Christ manifested to us to demonstrate all that God is.

The Word purifies us by exposing good and evil and giving us power to chose the good. Through this Word comes faith to believe that our sins are forgiven and life becomes new through Christ's resurrection.  The Word is the agent of  spiritual rebirth.  In our sinful condition,  the needed change in our hearts to receive and give love is so great it requires a supernatural change on the inside that only God's Word can accomplish.

This Word must be HEARD.  We must open our hearts and minds to the Word's entrance.  It is possible to ignore and disregard it. The Word must not only be heard but HELD ON TO. It must be digested inwardly. We must hold it the forefront of our minds. In this way its power is released and we experience love.

The Word must be ACTED UPON if we are to fully  comprehend its worth. When we hear Him speaking deep within us. Sometimes it seems He speaks things that impossible for us to do but His Word comes complete with grace which is the power to do and become exactly what He prescribes.  Through acting on His Word we can do great things. The obstacles of the past can melt away as we learn what it means to follow Him. As we do this a new spiritual freedom comes that we had always longed for.

Finally, this Word within us longs to be spoken outwardly.  Every believer needs to share the Word that is within us with others.  Often that is just a simple encouragement we may give to others. If we ask, God will give us opportunities to speak to those that need to hear it. This is the Christian message that we receive this word of life and then give it away to those without.

I AM NOT A LEGO

I AM NOT A LEGO

By Dwight Cunkle

Recently I took two grandchildren to the LegoLand Movie. I think I enjoyed it much more than they did. It surprises me how much humor and truth is written into children’s cartoons that only “adults” will “get.”

What profound truth struck me from the movie?

Thankfully, our God is not like  “The man upstairs” in the  movie who is the “creator” and has ultimate “control,” but is unaware of mischief going on in Lego-Land. Our God came in the flesh and revealed himself as a personal and good God.

The different realms of Legos (Frontier, Castle, Pirates, etc. are all connected by mysterious passage ways (like the way C.S. Lewis has Aslan send the children to and from various worlds). The few who become aware of this realize they can affect what happens in the various realms for good or evil.

As I read Scripture this morning I contemplated God as Lord of the various heavens, the earth and things under the earth. Jesus humbly entered all these realms and ascended Victor but we are limited by time and space, except in spirit.

I pray God open our spiritual ears to listen with His ears and find his heart. We need to humbly enter into the “realms” of others and listen with them for God, following Jesus’ example. Our goal is to live fully in divine life and love in our daily life:  entering fully into all our times and places, bringing his life to those around us, always thanking God because He is working his glorious will in all realms.

Phil 2:3-11 In humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Look not only on your own interests but on the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.