Rightly ordered faith from a lifestyle of perspective can only be expressed toward God on this earth through genuine love for people and especially those in the family of God.
That genuine love for people takes the form of "the works" that is evidence of your living faith. Faith without works is dead faith. The manifest demonstrative evidence that faith exists in the life of the believer is the genuine love a person has for other people. It is seen by the works a person does.
All of this is the real aspect of a lifestyle of faith. A lifestyle that will be expressed in being a giver. While it is true that you can't give what you don't have, and God wants to richly bless you with all wealth and prosperity, the real root that defines us as believers is our rightly ordered faith expressed in genuine love and truth toward people. Our ability to give because of the prosperity in our lives is a fruit of a lifestyle of faith and genuine love, not the main objective. God will get it to you if He can get it THROUGH you. Jesus said to seek FIRST His Kingdom and His righteosness (Matt. 6:33) and all of these things (stuff) will be added unto you.
God's Kingdom is His will and purpose according to His perspective. You see the gold and the silver are so common in heaven that it is used to pave the roads. Why would anyone seek that stuff? God will give you wisdom and insight to apply Heaven's type of building material on this earth, but you need to have your head and your heart in the Kingdom of God to know what to do with the common stuff of heaven! Proper perspective that results in rightly ordered faith has only one outlet in this world, it is the corridor by which Heaven comes to Earth, it is our genuine love and truthfulness for and with others and especially those of the family of God.
The old sinful nature approach is to gather the stuff because of the lack and then give when you have enough. The sinful nature revolves around self. The new nature in Christ revolves around Christ, His will and purpose and nature of which we take on in our life.Our nature changes to His nature and is expressed through us uniquely according to the gifts and abilities designed within us. The abilities, the wealth, the wisdom and the insight are all side effects of the core lifestyle of proper perspective, rightly ordered faith expressed by genuine love and godly truthfulness toward people and especially the family of God.
When your head and heart are in heaven, then you will know what to do with the 'common stuff' of heaven on the earth. Wealth, wisdom and insight are side effects of a lifestyle of living, breathing, seeing, loving, interacting according to the Kingdom of God. Seek first really actually means JUST THAT. No addons, peripherals, accessories of imaginations of any vain mind can help it, change it or alter it. If it isn't it, then IT is not IT.
Your life is not expressed in an envelope, You are the envelope delivered to a lost and dying world! While your life will produce many envelopes of giving, careful not to make the material in an envelope your primary work on the earth sent in proxy for someone else to do. No. You are the primary work on the earth. Your lifestyle is what people will see both before they get to know Christ and afterwards. Your life is what will produce in the Kingdom of God. Yes, you will find yourself giving more offerings in envelopes at church, but that is only emanations of the real life that you live.
You can be no earthly good if you are not Kingdom of God minded. You need to be Heavenly minded in order to be genuinely a real force for righteousness and long lasting good on the earth. To be heavenly minded has only one real outlet of expression and it is right here on the earth through the life of the believer living in proper perspective, rightly ordered faith expressed in godly-truthfulness and genuine love toward people and especially those of the family of God.
While it may be true that you don't hear this preached everywhere, it is no less the repeated message of all of Paul's writing, the message that Jesus kept repeating and the entire synopsis of all of the Old Testament. It all boils down to this one thing. The heart of the matter.From here is where a person can produce in the Kingdom of God some 30, 60 and even 100 fold.What is produced in the Kingdom is the people who end up going there and are well equipped, heavenly minded folk who love God with all of there heart and use the stuff of heaven on the earth.
I mean when you step out today, this scarcity minded, fearful world ought to see you and take notice. Like a food truck at a starving, drought stricken village, our life should be decorated with the glory of Heaven. For even the most common things of heaven are priceless on the earth. Our very life lifts up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and HE WILL DRAW THEM TO HIM. Our lifestyle of being a heavenly steward, ushering those people (all people on the earth) to the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who loves them with an immeasurable love. Those people, including you, are God's passion, His treasure, His desire for them to be a part of His family. He wants to sit them together with Him in His heavenly place as He has with you. That they too can live a life of significance, meaning, purpose and value. Living in proper perspective and rightly ordered faith expressed in godly truthfulness and genuine love toward people AND ESPECIALLY for those in the family of God already!
Works. Friend that is works. Works that last and can be carried with us when we have run the race and finished the course.
Today is your day friend. There is no other day like today. Today is the an only day that will never happen again in all of history. What you do today can last all eternity.
Blessings to you, friend.
In Christ,
Brother Ben
Showing posts with label purpose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label purpose. Show all posts
Friday, January 26, 2007
Seeing as God sees...the foundation of right ordered insight
In 1989 I was shopping for a car. I found this car that was the same model as my dream car. The possibility of owningthat car was incredible to me at the time. It was a used model, but I didn't mind. I had eyed that model when it was new. What was interesting in this story was the sales guy's pitch.
The guy brought up detailed answers for questions I didn't ask. I later discovered that all of the points brought up the sales guy were actually just the opposite of what he said.
The guy lied. He could have just told me the straight scoop and I would have probably asked for some discounts or maybe just kept looking. But the lie covered over defects, knowing the truth so that he could get what he wanted. He valued the money and or position on the sales team more than his own integrity. I learned something from that moment.
In talking with people, be keen to where the other person takes the conversation and why they are focusing on a particular detail. The bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The tongue is like a ready pen writing from the thoughts of the heart.The pure of heart are wise as serpents and harmless as doves. From the good in a heart there is wholesome speech that flows. The doubleminded will say one thing, while knowing that what is being said is not the exact truth. A friend once told me that if you will lie to yourself then you will lie to anyone. Lying to self is convincing one's self of a reality separated from what is real, true or actual. Justifying actions while fully aware of the real intentions of the heart.
In studying psychology and interpersonal communications, the clues to a fabricated story is the amount of unsolicited details while skirting details in other areas. I noticed all of that behavior with this guy as I went over what happened a week after the sale.That sales guy knew exactly that what he was saying wasn't true. In an attempt to deflect attention to another area, he told me what he wanted me to hear and think. I didn't know any better to question it at the time. I mean, here's this guy talking to me, representing a large company, has all of the trappings of credibility, why wouldn't I believe him? He had trappings of all that was wholesome, good and trustworthy counting on such things to put to rest unsettled questioning. It did, at least for me at the time.
Wow, when I discovered that this guy was just a bold faced liar, I realized that it was too late for me to do anything about it. I was stuck with my decision because I believed the guys lies. I asked God to help me have wisdom and knowledge about such things in the future. I have had many opportunities to observe the same behavior since 1989. On every occasion the pattern is recognizable. The real deal is what to do about a situation like this encounter. A funny thing happened to me. I began to see people from God's right ordered perspective like I never had done before. Even though it would become obvious at least to me that a person isn't truthful, I would see them the way that God sees them. I learned that a person's lie stays the hand of God's opportunity but does not quench His desire and passion to be close to His treasure. His treasure is people.We can never see God's treasure with eyes outside of God's nature. This is how we know that we are partakers of his nature, if we do what He said. He said to love others like we love our self and have no other thing greater than our passion for God. Only those who would lie to themself would live any other way.
Friend if for some reason you discover that you habitually, intentionally, willfully plot ways to get your way by covering with lies, half truths or wrong and impure actions, there is hope that you can get back to reality and make life more simple. If you confess it, forsake it in the name of Jesus, God says that He will not hold it against you. Then take it one more step, make it right with those that you wronged. Tell the truth, even if it costs you. To gain the world is not worth loosing your soul and the value of who you are and were made to be in this present world.King Saul had the problem of covering his own sin, justifying his actions and making excuses for himself. He had a choice. You have a choice friend. Saul's end doesn't have to be your end.
Choose today. Would you do that? Like the father standing watch for the son who went his own way, God has promised to be right there at that moment. A life of proper perspective that brings rightly ordered faith expressed as genuine love for people and especially for those in the family of God.
Believing and speaking what is good of other people and notallowing haughtiness, pride, self willed ambitions or exclusions to separate you from the body of Christ worldwide.God knows you, knows the good, the bad and the ugly and yet still loves you. Your choice determines God's opportunity in your life and your opportunity in God's family here on the earth. You can pull out of the way of life that leads to all that is short term, lacks real value, meaning or long term purpose. Its your life and your choice, friend.
I trust that you will make the right choice. If so, get ready for real vision, purpose and destiny that far exceeds the most grand idea imaginable.
Hope this blesses you friend.
In Christ,
Brother Ben
The guy brought up detailed answers for questions I didn't ask. I later discovered that all of the points brought up the sales guy were actually just the opposite of what he said.
The guy lied. He could have just told me the straight scoop and I would have probably asked for some discounts or maybe just kept looking. But the lie covered over defects, knowing the truth so that he could get what he wanted. He valued the money and or position on the sales team more than his own integrity. I learned something from that moment.
In talking with people, be keen to where the other person takes the conversation and why they are focusing on a particular detail. The bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The tongue is like a ready pen writing from the thoughts of the heart.The pure of heart are wise as serpents and harmless as doves. From the good in a heart there is wholesome speech that flows. The doubleminded will say one thing, while knowing that what is being said is not the exact truth. A friend once told me that if you will lie to yourself then you will lie to anyone. Lying to self is convincing one's self of a reality separated from what is real, true or actual. Justifying actions while fully aware of the real intentions of the heart.
In studying psychology and interpersonal communications, the clues to a fabricated story is the amount of unsolicited details while skirting details in other areas. I noticed all of that behavior with this guy as I went over what happened a week after the sale.That sales guy knew exactly that what he was saying wasn't true. In an attempt to deflect attention to another area, he told me what he wanted me to hear and think. I didn't know any better to question it at the time. I mean, here's this guy talking to me, representing a large company, has all of the trappings of credibility, why wouldn't I believe him? He had trappings of all that was wholesome, good and trustworthy counting on such things to put to rest unsettled questioning. It did, at least for me at the time.
Wow, when I discovered that this guy was just a bold faced liar, I realized that it was too late for me to do anything about it. I was stuck with my decision because I believed the guys lies. I asked God to help me have wisdom and knowledge about such things in the future. I have had many opportunities to observe the same behavior since 1989. On every occasion the pattern is recognizable. The real deal is what to do about a situation like this encounter. A funny thing happened to me. I began to see people from God's right ordered perspective like I never had done before. Even though it would become obvious at least to me that a person isn't truthful, I would see them the way that God sees them. I learned that a person's lie stays the hand of God's opportunity but does not quench His desire and passion to be close to His treasure. His treasure is people.We can never see God's treasure with eyes outside of God's nature. This is how we know that we are partakers of his nature, if we do what He said. He said to love others like we love our self and have no other thing greater than our passion for God. Only those who would lie to themself would live any other way.
Friend if for some reason you discover that you habitually, intentionally, willfully plot ways to get your way by covering with lies, half truths or wrong and impure actions, there is hope that you can get back to reality and make life more simple. If you confess it, forsake it in the name of Jesus, God says that He will not hold it against you. Then take it one more step, make it right with those that you wronged. Tell the truth, even if it costs you. To gain the world is not worth loosing your soul and the value of who you are and were made to be in this present world.King Saul had the problem of covering his own sin, justifying his actions and making excuses for himself. He had a choice. You have a choice friend. Saul's end doesn't have to be your end.
Choose today. Would you do that? Like the father standing watch for the son who went his own way, God has promised to be right there at that moment. A life of proper perspective that brings rightly ordered faith expressed as genuine love for people and especially for those in the family of God.
Believing and speaking what is good of other people and notallowing haughtiness, pride, self willed ambitions or exclusions to separate you from the body of Christ worldwide.God knows you, knows the good, the bad and the ugly and yet still loves you. Your choice determines God's opportunity in your life and your opportunity in God's family here on the earth. You can pull out of the way of life that leads to all that is short term, lacks real value, meaning or long term purpose. Its your life and your choice, friend.
I trust that you will make the right choice. If so, get ready for real vision, purpose and destiny that far exceeds the most grand idea imaginable.
Hope this blesses you friend.
In Christ,
Brother Ben
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