Fellowship with God

The flow of words in Romans 8:14-17 reveal much about our relationship with God and how he communicates to us, especially verse 16. I used to think when God talked to people, He thundered or spoke with a voice that sounded like He was in an echo chamber. Those were the days I thought He was pretty scary.  God is spirit and it is through spirit that He can impress or lead anyone in an uncomplicated way.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.16 The Spirit (God) itself beareth witness with (summarturei) our spirit (gift of holy spirit), that we are the children of God:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with (sunklēronomoi) Christ; if so be that we suffer with (sumpaschomen) him, that we may be also glorified together (sundoxasthōmen).

Notice the Greek words in parentheses. They start with the same root word 'sun'( 'sum') which means: with, in association with , intimate relation with, or a fellowship with. There is another more common word used for 'with' in the New Testament. It is the greek word 'meta', but 'meta' is not as tight a relationship as 'sun'.  I have heard the word 'sun' described as 'two rivers that flow into one'.

The beauty of spirit of God in tight relation to our own spirit is thrilling. It is followed by 'heir, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ'! When a word is repeated like this it places added emphasis on the word.

 John relates a similar message in I John 1:3.

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. I John 1:3

Because we are joint-heirs with Christ, we can also be subject to the persecution suffered by Christ as anyone who has stood for God and His son has readily experienced, but that also means the glory is to be shared too. We can joyfully work through pressure and opposition knowing that we are strengthened by the His spirit in connection with our spirit. All of chapter 8 of Romans reflects this. It is a great chapter to read in its entirety, but verses 32-37 sum it up beautifully.

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Romans 8-32-37

It is simple to apply this as there are so many opportunities every day that call for its application. Everyday there is pressure and we can decide to give in to it or trust God as He works in our hearts.
There is great joy experienced when decide to trust God (I John 1:4).

Oh! Press on!

Even the sound of the word 'oppression' bears down. Last night we experienced an huge storm. Prior to its arrival the air felt thick and burdensome. This morning everything has cleared. As I went out for a walk, I was surrounded by the light, lifting music of the birds, the glistening of drops on leaves and nice gentle breezes. The air smelled clean and fresh!

In Isaiah 54: 14ff there are some pressure-relieving verses as to the effects of oppression:

Isaiah 54:14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. 15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17 No weapon that is formed (yatsar) against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

I have been looking at verse 17 for a while and the word 'formed' intrigues me. It is the Hebrew word 'yatsar' meaning an act of taking things already in existence and squeezing and pushing them together to get the desired results. This is an action verb for how things are put together to exert a force, good or evil. Everything around us exerts a force. A force for evil presses down, a force for good lifts. Depression is a result of a downward movement, freedom is a result of lifting. 

Force, in physics, equals mass x acceleration, in other words there is more than one component to a force. A system is a group of components that work together. Weather operates as a system or a group of systems. In order for a tornado to form or a bird to fly, a series of things need to happen.

When something begins to bear down on us, God is the best source of relief. He knows exactly how this world works. Both the blacksmith and the waster were given choice, therefore even though God created humans and spirit beings, they in of themselves can cause pressure. Ultimately God knows the component parts of the systems involved in their actions.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God (knowledge, righteousness and believing provided by the manifestations of holy spirit), that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (methodia- methods in reference to the systems of the world) of the devil.

We have choice too. We can choose to pray or not to pray. We can choose to look to God or away from him. We can choose the worldly guilt-ridden package of imperfection or truly accept perfection in the Lord that effectively and graciously lifts our heart.

Passion and Patience - the two 'P's of persistence

Many times we are faced with situations that push us into what seems like a whirlpool of nondescript craziness that we don't know what to do. Being a passionate person, I often find myself reacting quickly to these type of things. Quick reactions are good but they can also be bad. Whenever I find myself uneasy about what to do, if I can I turn off the water jets and chill, things get done God's way. If I can't, then it gets worse and worse. I have plenty of experience in both scenarios that I should know exactly what to do, but pressure and pull comes in many disguises and has many players, that it can be easy to be tricked.

Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the adversary. The word 'destroy' involves a component by component methodology. His life and mission provides us with the spiritual tool of holy spirit to stand up to the things of this world. That is our connection to God.

Every pressure situation that comes up is a multiplex of issues and only God can truly sort it all out and clean it up the way it needs to be done for full deliverance. God has equipped us with the resources to get the job done. As we rest in the spirit of God, fruit is produced and things get taken care of in a breathtaking way. Sometimes we have to wait, but in that waiting we stay ready to act because we know God will provide the moment to move. It is at those moments our passion rewards us.

Just because a situation presents itself chock full of things that are horrendously wrong, it is no cause for panic. It is cause for chilling on the Word and thankfulness to God that light will dispel darkness! It absolutely will. Take God's word for it.  If He could start the universe with four words "Let there be light", he surely can do the same in our tiny scenarios.

Don't let people, time, systems of the world, public opinion, guilt, irritation or anything of the same ilk, trap, burden or goad you into apathy, boredom or even sadness. Wait for the moment and be excited in the meantime that God will get it done!

4 But let patience (remain looking to God) have its perfect (teleion -go through the necessary steps to complete the project) work, that you may be perfect (teleioi - complete the project) and complete (in its entirety), lacking nothing (not left out in the cold). James 1:4

Real Liberty

This (Galatians 5:1) verse hit home this morning in a way that I am just giddy with gratitude for God's heart!

Have you ever felt powerless and inadequate? Welcome to the weak and beggarly elements of the world! (Galatians 4:3). The book of Galatians is an important book. It exposes legalism as to its misuse. Think, for example, about the 10 commandments. Are they weak (powerless) and beggarly (inadequate)? Not really, unless one gets the idea that by observing them, one earns his way into anything. Paul made this point over and over again in Galatians.

The book of Galatians is also addressed to pagan, gentile converts. Could we describe the ways of the world as powerless and inadequate? Yup! We see it everywhere. The world has got answers for absolutely everything! Sometimes - no wait!- usually, it is very, very frustrating. I have to remind myself over and over again that man isn't the smartest firecracker in the sky always, God is!

When you combine legalism and paganism together the whole thing is insane. Enough of that!

I love that we have the privilege of prayer! It is great to talk everything over with God. I recently read an interesting quote:  "As long as you know God is for you, it doesn't matter who is against you." If you just believe the first part of that quote, power and adequacy are unequivocally yours! The second part of that quote we don't have to worry about. Human beings naturally bump each other about, so why is it even shocking that it happens (reminder to self).

Absolute true freedom comes from a loving, wonderful God who sent His son to totally free us of all that renders us powerless and inadequate. Have a truly free day!