Saturated

Saturated by the word

Full of the spirit

Overflowing from the heart

Soaked in God's presence 

Plunged into forgiveness 

Washed in his blood

Drenched with insight

Immersed in contentment 

Submerged into friendship

Awash with revelation 

Permeated with peace

Brimming with confidence

Flooded with love

Steeped in grace

No longer try to understand

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand

Hebrews 5:11

I want to continue to try to understand. I don't want to give up, to close my heart to fresh insight and revelation. I have understood enough to know that there is more to come, I have seen glimpses and I long for a better view. The writer of Hebrews is not only concerned that the readers of the letter understand what is written but that they continue to seek to understand more. They once tried to understand but they no longer do, once they were desperate to grasp the truth but now they had let their desire slip

My attitude to learning will strongly impact what and how I am able to understand. I cannot help but influence my understanding, the question is whether the difference I make will be positive or negative. 

Jesus makes a similar point. "Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Mark 4:24,25

How we respond will significantly affect what additional revelation we receive. Our attitude will either be a conduit for fresh insight and understanding or a blockage that will stop new revelation and eventual cause us to lose what we already have

The choice is up to us!

Culmination of the Ages

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come

1 Corinthians 10:11 

Apex of all high points

Climax of creation

Completion of all strategies

Pinnacle of Christ's purpose

Crown of his kingdom

Finale of the drama of redemption 

Summit of all achievement 

Zenith of all things

Peak of all powers

Finalisation of God's plan

Conclusion to all crises

Finish to all opposition

Goal of his glory

Destiny of all desires

End of all separation 

Fulfilment of all promises 

Result of his sacrifice 

Consummation of the ages

My Story

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story

Psalm 107:2

It is not enough to just tell his story, I must also tell my story. To share how the greatest story ever told has changed the direction of my own journey. How the path of his life crossed the path of my life and altered forever the destination that I was seeking

Once I encountered him my life was different, my goals changed, even how I viewed my past was forever transformed. I could never be the same again, I never wanted to be the same again, something had changed deep within that would have everlasting consequences 

My story changed, not just the overall direction of my life or the plans that I would pursue, but every cell in my body and every second that I breathed would be rooted in another reality. I was, at the same time, both lifted high from the filth and grime of my self-centred existence and humbled low under the sheer weight of God's beauty and magnificence

I heard differently, saw differently, thought differently, walked differently. Everything else was still the same but now I interacted with my surroundings in a new way. Being captivated by my saviour changed how I saw everything else. The lens through which I saw had been re-engineered to enable me to see detail that I had never previously experienced. Blurred images became sharp, dark places were overcome by the light, I could see clearly for the first time and I liked what I saw

How could I not want to tell my story?

One Day

One day we will fully understand the destructive reality of sin

One day we will grasp the staggering depth of God's love

One day we will see how truly wonderful creation is without the spoiling and degrading impact of mankind's rebellion

One day we will appreciate the full weight of our sin that Jesus carried on the cross

One day we will be able to look into the eyes of our brothers and sisters and enjoy our complete and total unity

One day we will be completely aware of the vast separation that exists between God and those who reject him

One day we will be totally content with who we are as we grasp God's unconditional acceptance

One day we will no longer see just a reflection as in a mirror, we will see face to face

One day we will know fully even as we are fully known

One day we will experience nothing else but faith, hope and love knowing that the greatest of them is love

To see and be seen

To hear and be heard

To know and be known

To love and be loved

One day

The Other Sin

He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord

2 Chronicles 12:14

He had not prepared his heart

He had not made his heart ready

He had not established his heart

He had not made his heart steadfast

He had not set his heart in the right place

...to seek the Lord

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Galatians 5:19,20

All of these (and other) sins are not in themselves the key issue, they point to a larger, more fundamental departure. Sins will never be overcome by trying hard not to do them, the heart needs a different attention, to be captivated by something or someone else

When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandments, he answered to love God and to love your neighbour. He then went on to say, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:40. If we get these two commandments right then we will find ourselves fulfilling all of the rest of the law

Matthew 6:33 makes a similar point, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Fix your attention on the highest and greatest and you will find the rest of your needs being met

Seeking the Lord will have the same impact on sin, get our priority right in our pursuit of God and we will find a declining inclination to sin. Focus on not sinning and we will try to do it in our own strength and fail, focus on seeking God will result in us sinning less

Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery have at their root cause a desire for pleasure that is not found in God. Idolatry and witchcraft are the rejection of the one true God for a god made in our own image. Discord and jealousy happen when we elevate ourselves in importance and lessen the importance of God. 

Fits of rage are the outcome of a life whose heart has not been softened by living in proximity to the Prince of Peace. Selfish ambition results from a heart that has a wrong focus, a heart that is not pre-occupied with seeking the Lord. Dissensions, factions and envy overflow from lives that are not focused on Christ and his kingdom. Drunkenness, orgies and the like will always occur when people get bored with life rather than set God as their life's goal

Whatever the sin is that causes us to stumble we should realise that it is 'the other sin' that is the real issue