Shrink

Father, sometimes, I mean most of the time,
it’s tough to know just what to think.
We’re so accustomed to ‘claiming what’s mine’
but Your word encourages us to shrink.
We live in world that’s made us consumers:
The only message is “Here’s what you want”.
None of this stuff helps us get to You sooner,
there’s no shame in how much we flaunt.

Not saying that the stuff is bad in itself,
if it’s a blessing, then the focus is You.
Yet, we see so many ruined by wealth,
it seems we’re not getting the clue.
So in all of the things that comprise all my days,
help me step back away from the brink.
My concern; let Your word guide all of my ways
and most of all, help me to shrink.

Shrink the distance between my faith and my action.
Strengthen my heart to do right.
When I start slipping, help my feet regain traction
that I continue on shining Your light.
In a world where self is our main concern
and ‘finding yourself’ - a worthy endeavor.
To know more of Your heart is the thing that I yearn.
The less me in the way, the better.

It’s an interesting example if you stop to think.
When you consider the washing of The Word.
Just like clothes in the laundry, they often will shrink;
let’s look closer at what has occurred.
Not all clothes get smaller, it depends on the fabric,
and shrunk clothes cause us distress.
So synthetics and such that aren’t affected as much
are now popular because they shrink less.

Now what shrinks the most? It’s wool from a sheep’s coat;
I know you now see the connection.
I’ll be a shrinking sheep - in my Shepherd I’ll boast
as He leads me in the right direction.
I can’t clean myself. I’m in desperate need.
My attempts are filthy rags and they stink.
I’ll stay in the washing machine of your Word.
Purge my filthiness, Lord help me shrink.

It’s been said of old take the world and give me Jesus,
I can’t imagine what You have in store.
To lose my life for Your sake; there’s no better reason,
for in losing I gain more and more.
My ‘self’ is diminished, You’re HOLY and TRUE,
as you make me peculiar, distinct.
I want the biggest thing about me to be only You,
as You become more, and I shrink.

Here’s The Word;

2 Corinthians 5:15 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

In Him,
Cros

I Know I've Been Changed

As I blog, I try to expose the full presentation of a righteous "becoming" life, which in my opinion consists of; proper doctrine rightly applied, worship, prayer and personal testimony - in that order. Personal testimony can be distractingly questionable if the source of boasting is in anything other than obviously CHRIST. However, once that's solidified, we should all have evidence and a desire to express the reality of the changed life that we know most about.....ours.
So here goes -

There once was a time when my choices were mine,
my life was like mosts, nothing strange.
But The Word of God lured me and My Savior secured me.
From that moment, I know I've been changed.

I was persistently foolish, life utterly 'truthless'.
In His wisdom, He makes it all plain.
He steers my paths right and His burden is light.
He loves me and His desire is change.

As I looked to the skies, scales fell from my eyes.
Now His truth I long to proclaim.
It's not just about speaking, parroting or repeating,
My daily walk is what proves I've been changed.

I'd thought it was me, by intellect and sincerity.
Yet my goodness was in my own name.
But now seeking Him first, serve in His Body, The Church
His people help sharpen my change.

As He guides my life, bringing joy amidst strife,
I no longer bear sin's guilt nor its shame.
I rejoice in His presence. His Grace; What a blessing!
Overwhelmed by what He paid for my change.

I think now and again, where I could've, would've been
My completion is His to arrange
I can never go back. Why would I? What do I lack?
In Him I'm continually changed

Break free from your own way, no matter what 'THEY' say!
As this world looks on with disdain.
Live out your testimony and don't be a phony
Let your light shine and show you've been changed

Here's The Word:

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;


In Him,
Cros

Love In the Dark

Here's The Word;

John 3:18- 19 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

I was just pondering this the other day, thinking, "Why do I find it difficult to see darkness for what it is?" The only answer that came to my mind was - "Because, your eyes have adjusted to the darkness and even a life of stumbling around has become comfortably normal".

I thought about Adam and how in some ways, he had an advantage because he didn't start off loving darkness the way we do.
However, if you follow Scripture closely, it didn't take long before men fell head over heals in love with darkness. Genesis, chapter 5 runs down the lineage of Adam to Moses and if you do the math, Noah couldn't talk to Adam directly, but he had great and great, great grandfathers who did. My point being that Adam saw what God saw; how men fell increasingly more in love with 'the darkness' to the point where Genesis 6 sees God's decision to flood the earth; (verse 5 - And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.)
Of course, unbeknownst to Adam, he had the benefit of 'starting off' with God as his only love. For the rest of us, we start off with a love of darkness that grows and grows like it obviously did from the beginning of Genesis 5 to Genesis 6.
Why are we so in love with darkness? - I think the answer lies in what drew Adam and Eve into it in the first place: The darkness appeals to us. It promises us that it has what we want.

Sin is tricky and love in the dark is blindingly deceptive. I believe that my definition of evil is well thought out, especially when I can concede a few 'small things' all the while holding onto and protecting things that continue to do what ALL sin does....bring death and keep me separated and satisfied with small glimpses of light rather than total entry into its fullness.

I absolutely love this because this is the quintessential GOSPEL: The Sovereign Deity. The One and ONLY True and Living God who wraps Himself in Light, chose to come to us in the midst of us choosing darkness and beckon us to life in the light.

After this, our only problem is a truth problem. Primarily, we need to stop lying to ourselves about that old idea that the stuff we want to keep concealed in the darkness is in any way comparable to what can be given to us in the light. The honest response is to drag that whole wagon of treasures received in the dark into the light. You'll see that although they may give temporary pleasure, in the long run, they're all just emptiness and ash.

Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

John 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.


In Him,
Cros

How Much Christ?

If I asked you right now “How much gas do you have in your car?” most of you would come pretty close to a correct answer. Either you just recently filled up so you know that you’re pretty close to full. On the other hand, you know that the light is probably on (or getting ready to be) so you know that you’re close to empty. Other than that, barring any other mechanical problems, your mind goes to whenever you filled up last, subtracting how many days you’ve been driving around considering the errands you’ve ran. Funny thing is, we’re all keenly aware of what a confidence boost it is to have a full tank - especially if you have one of those considerate loved ones who fills your tank dutifully or as a surprise. Something about it feels like you could go anywhere or at the very least you know that it will be days before you have to worry about your fuel level (unless you have one heck of a commute).

Now in spiritual terms, it’s not much of a stretch to associate ‘fuel’ with spiritual confidence or faith or 'the mind of Christ'. Sadly, most of us live like we’re desperately poor: Our tanks are never full and we know just about how far we can go with the light on before we put just a few bucks in to where we can briefly feel just a little better that the light goes out. Why? I wish I knew. Sometimes I wonder do we avoid a full tank out of fear that The Lord will require us to go someplace far. Or could it be that everyone we know lives on empty, and although it’s a boost to our egos to have more than most, we’ve really become comfortable with having just enough for now and something about being a 'full tank Christian' conjures images of something less then desirable. Sometimes we just have to admit that there’s other things that we’d rather be full of.

Here’s The Word:

Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

If you’ve never heard Ephesians 5:18 explained, outside of the obvious, here’s what I think is one of the best points; In the original Greek, the phrase ‘but be filled’ is in the “emphatic” which is more aptly read as ‘keep on continually being filled all the way to the top’. I just think the phraseology is awesome and when I put it in the context of the car scenario, it’s like driving around with your car connected to a fuel truck where the fuel truck is also connected to a fuel truck …and so on…and so on.

So when The Word encourages us to be filled, it’s a testament to two parts: It’s not about getting a ‘fresh filling’ at some conference but a daily, continual desire for fullness, and also that there is a FULL GOD who can and desires to pour into you (to the full) continually – all you have to do is be where HE is.

So let this be an encouragement. Look at your situation, check your gauge and ask yourself – Am I comfortable with a less than full tank? Or do I desire to run on ‘other stuff’? Back in the day you couldn’t pump your own gas. You’d pull into the station and an attendant would run out and clean your windshield and ask you “How Much?” and you’d respond with how much gas of “Regular or Unleaded” you wanted him to pump. Running on FULL Christ is better than any other fuel. Its not cheap gas but here’s the good news; It’s paid for and abundantly available. So How much Christ can He fill you up with?


In Him,
Cros

Paid In Full

An interesting thing happened to me last week: I got a bill in the mail. I know what you’re thinking, “How is getting a bill in the mail interesting?” Well, it wasn’t just any bill, it was a pink bill that I’d obviously been negligent on regarding timely payment and honestly, that’s not the interesting part but the lesson I learned is definitely sticking with me.

The bill was for my water usage and the pink notification was telling me that if I didn’t pay immediately (in big red letters – IMMEDIATELY), that my water service would be cut off. Initially, my mind went to a conspiracy theory since I couldn't recall ever seeing the initial bill. After that I thought about how much I didn’t want my water cut off. So I called the utilities office to make an immediate payment. The customer service person was pleasant and simply asked me if I wanted to pay the entire amount. I don’t know why I thought it an odd request at the time but then it hit me: It’s obviously very common that people often call just to pay a portion of their bill. No big whoop right? But for me, these are the moments when God shows up to help me see things a little more clearly.

Here’s The Word:

Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Hebrews 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

See, The Law contained the sacrificial system for Israel whereby each transgression was identified along with its required atonement. Just like depending on how much water I used dictated how much money I owed. Now here’s the thing: Under The Law, no amount of MONEY (or rather, the blood of bulls and goats) could never fully pay off your bill so you could only ever expect to pay a ‘portion’ of your bill and a real part of normal life was the idea of paying recurring portions knowing that your name was still in the leger and monies would come due on a recurring basis as your natural affinity to sin was ever-present.

Here’s More Word:

Hebrews 4: 12 But this man(Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

You see what's being emphasized here? Jesus had a different kind of payment. The payment He offered – that ONLY HE COULD offer, not only absolutely zeroed your account, but it also took your name off the leger forever. You can never, ever receive another bill, let alone a pink one demanding immediate payment.

Without following this rabbit too far down its trail, it’s also apropos that it was the water bill as we know that Jesus is the giver of living water - seen in John 4:14 where spiritually, we see that the bill been taken care of, AND I now have access to a much better source with no restrictions in regard to amount or cost.

I hope that today’s ‘Word’ has given you a reason to rejoice and I hope the next time you receive a bill, any bill, that of course firstly, you’d pay it. However, after that, that you would thank God for Jesus and Jesus’ obedience which removed your name from the leger of that old water company as He Himself, by His blood as taken you out of that book of The Law and placed you in His book of Life - Titled, ‘Paid in Full’.


In Him,
Cros

Playin' Possum

I remember this from many years ago: It’s a question that you’re supposed to ask yourself; “If you were convicted of being a Christian, would the prosecution be able to convict you or would the case be thrown out due to lack of evidence?”

Honestly, these are uncomfortable waters I’m treading. I’m neither judging nor blaming. The work of becoming more adherent to the Word of God is an inward focus, not an outward one. However, because of the eternal ramifications, I’ve changed the way I pick the people that I would have closest to me. The Bible makes it substantially clear how seriously God takes the idea of ‘following Him’; I therefore find it crucial to have people around me who have more of a concern for my spiritual well-being rather than fun friends who I find entertaining.

Have you ever investigated what ‘playing possum’ really is – here’s an excerpt from a website.
A scared possum ‘can go into shock and appear dead. The shock causes the opossum to go into a comatose state in which it lies on its side, its body is limp, its front feet are balled up, and drool comes out of its mouth. The lips are drawn back and teeth are bared, and the eyes close or half close. It may appear that rigor mortis has set in. An opossum can also excrete a green mucus form its anal gland with a smell that makes other animals think the body is decaying. This discourages other animals from feeding on the opossum while it is “playing dead.” The opossum can stay in this state anywhere from 40 minutes to four hours.…When an opossum is in that state, no amount of prodding will elicit a response.’
http://www.andersonwildlifecontrolllc.com/blog/playing-possum/

That’s quite a visual and fitting example.

Everyone you see in your waking day is either dead, or used to be dead. Of course I’m not talking physically, but spiritually. This is an inescapable truth. We often think it an easy thing to identify those who are dead by the myriad of outright heinous acts that litter the news broadcasts on a daily basis; killing people randomly, suicidal bombers, deplorably mistreating children or the elderly, etc.
However, the state of being dead is not confined to extreme, deplorable acts, we know that there's something much more subtle going on. Many of us who were once dead have never done such things, but were still just as dead. So what’s the difference now? Those of us who have been made alive by the Spirit are exhorted to live by the Spirit – evidenced by spiritual fruit.
Sadly, and all too common, many of still find something desirable back there. We have yet to let go of those things we identified with in our former ‘dead’ selves. And even more subtle and disheartening are those who know how to mimic 'abundant life' even when they're struggling in, or perhaps have yet to escape, death's grip....probably another topic for another time.

Here’s The Word:

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Like I said, this is not about guilt, it’s about inner-reflection. I pray that the evidence that convicts us would be an open and shut case. I pray that our walk would show and shine brighter each day that we've grabbed ahold of life. We all live in a world that we used to be in lock-step with: As dead as any. Yet The Word of God exhorts us to realize the truth. Our old man is dead…and our life is new in Christ. This means then, for us who have been made alive, the only way to continue in (or be a slave to revisiting) our old dead selves is to play possum.


In Him,
Cros