Look Deep

There’s a difference between “looking at” and “looking into”.
I can’t even begin to assume that I know of anything that was going through Einstein’s head when he made this statement. However, if I had to guess at it, I can see where some people base their beliefs on what’s superficial about nature rather than what becomes clearer the more you look into it.
Now let’s look at this in the Spiritual.I think Einstein's thoughts convey easily:
“If you look deep into the spiritual, you will understand everything better.”
So many look AT the Bible without looking INTO it.
We pick favorite verses because the sound elevated and wise…on the surface.
We look at God’s word and all too often, we're trying to come up with lists;
Lists of promises
      Lists of rules
          Lists of lists.
We get a good list of Biblical truth and then off we go!
We have our well defined markers that we try and keep our feet in so we do this "right". When we fail, we go back to review and re-memorize the list and try to feel bad enough to avoid those pitfalls, helping us to do better next time.
Our behavior becomes very boxed in and restricted based on the lists.
I wonder how God feels about our superficial boxes...

Here's The Word:

James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We teach children to "Do because I said so", but as they grow older, we deal with them in the hopes that a deeper, richer understanding would be their motivation instead of simplistic rule-following. Is that a gift that God has given us? A piece of his heart that anticipates and drives us to maturity that we'd be less robotic and more intimate?

Don't get me wrong, looking at the Book of James the first chapter, it's very clear how important it is to do the right things. But looking more deeply, you see James is talking about doing, as opposed to some sort of spirituality that could be attributed to study only. As if what you know, read or heard is enough....that is not faith at all. Faith must be proved and strengthened IN action, even though salvation is not secured by these 'works'. Salvation is of grace only and understanding that Grace is a deeper matter.

Psalm 36:6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.

Psalm 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Psalm 92:5 O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

David is called "A man after God's own heart" but have you ever noticed that there's no one verse that clearly says why that is? I mean you look at David's life and you come away scratching your head - with all the crazy stuff David did, HE's a man after God's heart?
Seems like David's connection with God's heart was something that went deeper than what David did.

I have friends and family that I love dearly. I believe that they sincerely have some desire to live for and please The Lord. Yet, when trouble comes their way and they fall into such a dispassionate state of mind, I wonder. Are they distraught because they believed that God owed them something because they were 'doing it right'? Are they pushed aside emotionally because they were taught early on that God gives us want we want as long as we really want it and we think of Him? I admit that often times, I don't know what to say. I want them to know that the love that God has for you goes FAR beyond stopping bad habits. His love goes far beyond giving us something we really, really want. Of course stopping bad habits are good. They restrict our courage and cause us grief. Also God wants to be much more to us than gift giver. God wants us WAY deeper than that.

When you read your Bible, try to look past the lists. Try looking into the heart of a loving Father.
When you pray, pray not only that you would yield to the Spirit's leading, but that your heart would perceive His heart. Desire it.
When you find yourself trying to DO Christianity, look deeper at what God is trying to do IN you. He's not only trying to make you do things Jesus would do. He's making you the kind of person, with the kind of heart that grieves at the things He grieves at, that would stand against the things He stands against, and that would have a drive to love and serve broken people the way He came to love and serve the broken. These ideas are referenced in His Word easily as much as the other things like 'going to church' or 'not judging people'.

“If you look deep into the spiritual, you will understand everything better.”

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.



In Him,
Cros

Humble

One thing I’ve noticed that I absolutely LOVE about studying The Scriptures is the assumptions it makes about us. For me, it’s one of the main reasons I find God’s Word to be trustworthy: It knows us, deeply. Second Corinthians, chapter 2 opens with Paul continuing his letter to the Church at Corinth and he gets pretty discursive in making his points about sorrow, blame and forgiveness (see for yourself).
In verse 11, he talks about a real danger in misunderstanding the situation: It allows Satan to take advantage, but he concludes with this assumption, “for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

The point is, Satan continually seeks to find a way to disrupt God’s order and stir up confusion among God’s people. (in a group, or internally in our own minds)

In my opinion, the enemy has a deeply effective arrow in his quiver. Comedy.
Well, not simply comedy for comedy sake but humor at any cost of someone’s personhood. Everyone loves to laugh but no one wants to be laughed at. Don’t believe me? Just look at how undesirable it is to sit too close to the stage at a comedy show. Unless you’re really good and confident at defending yourself, being a possible target is an uncomfortable choice.

To be laughed at is to be belittled and we can conclude that as soon as we begin to see something as funny, it’s hard to take it seriously.
We all know the Genesis story of Eve talking to the serpent about what God said. We usually imagine it in a straightforward, serious-toned exchange. But look what happens when we imagine it differently; Imagine Satan, leaning back and slapping his knee (Serpents may have still had knees then) with a loud belly laugh “Is THAT what you think He said?”
See how that changes things?
Now it’s not just about Eve’s struggle for obedience. Now it’s about saving face, and trying to not look dumb or simple-minded. Mainstream Media loves making fun of Christianity and has effectively silenced much of a collective, responsive voice. We're called to contend for and defend the faith but we're not confident because we're not comfortable enough with the little we know. (1 Peter 3 and Jude 3)

The devil knows how careful we are to avoid being laughed at. This is where he takes advantage. This is where he nudges us to promote our pride rather than embrace humility.

If God walked up to you right now and said “I need you to do something.” What would your response be? Many of us think that we would jump at the chance and be like “Yes LORD! Finally, I get to do something for God and It’s gonna be AWESOME!!!”
Yet, if we’re really honest with ourselves, if God walked up to any of us RIGHT NOW, it’d be a near death experience. Scripture knows us and this is what we really see with 2 people; Moses and Isaiah.

Here’s The Word:

Exodus 3:6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (...and this was just a burning bush)

Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

When God first sought to send Moses to lead the Israelites from Egypt, Moses was not a proud recipient of the news. His first response was “Who am I to do this?” (Exodus 3). Moses also worried about his speech impediment (some believe he had a stuttering problem – Exodus 4:10).
We also see Isaiah’s response before he got to the point where he said “Here am I, send me.” Both of them were humble and their responses validated it.

Remember, humility is not seeing yourself as less, it’s about seeing yourself rightly. The Bible assumes our issue with pride and encourages us to fight against it. "Confess your sins one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed." - James 5:16 ...and as easy it is to say "Nobody's perfect", how hard it is to get personal and confess specifics!
The idea of 'humble pie' is never presented as something desirable. Why? We’re all error-prone mistake makers that should praise God way more than we do, and take credit way less than we do. But when presented with humble pie – we take it as we’ve been heckled and we need to defend ourselves. And some of us think we're good with our humility as long as we can dictate when and how much. Why?
I understand about clearing up confusion, but I know how small I am and I know my shortcomings: Sometimes I get angry too easily, I can be dismissive when I should be compassionate, I overthink and underact; Too many things to list here.
And if I’m not careful of the way Satan seeks to take advantage, my sensitivity about my short-comings, makes me all too ready to defend against someone belittling me. This pride puts me at risk. We often imagine pride as a grandiose display of bravado, it's also expressed when I'm resistant (for fear or otherwise) to embracing God's truth.

So I’m happy to be reminded just how human and imperfect I am. I’m happy to remember that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7. I’m happy to embrace humility and remove the stigma associated with humble pie - When the pie is mine to eat, I welcome it.
Not taking myself too seriously or not defending myself when others laugh at me, (even if they're wrong), is a source of strength, not weakness. I extract any validity of their view and use it to help myself become better. I can then be appreciative. I see myself for who and what I really am, and I remain aware of Satan's devices. I don't need to promote myself, God will.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

In Him,
Cros

Good, Better, Blessed

This is about a progression of faith that goes along with our profession of faith. We all start from dark places that actually made some kind of sense to us before Christ started showing us where we fall short. We look back on our shameful days, no longer in grief, but in reflection of the fact that Christ bought us, and He brought us from old, dead things. He's taking us to Life, and that more abundantly.


Good

What good is a kind heart, if Christ is not at its core?
What good is this life, blind to what He has in store?
What good is godliness, detached from any real power?
What good long suffering that gives up after an hour?
What good is a direction without Christ as the destination?
What good is patience that turns out to be procrastination?
What good is the word “love”, without any tangible proof?
What good is information that doesn’t enlighten you to the truth?
What good is 'faith occasionally', which comes and goes like the wind?
What good is having resources, which are never used to help a friend?
What good is encouragement, without really meeting one’s needs?
What good is saying “I belong to Him”, but not following where HE leads?
What good is it, being able to say “I’m blessed and highly favored”?
What good is it to be a witness, yet still a stranger to your neighbor?

Better

What could be better than living proof – it’s better to give than to receive?
What could be better than this resolve: “though not seeing, yet have believed”?
What could be better than unfolding His word, His truth that gives life meaning?
What could be better than beholding His Glory, unable to stop the tears from streaming ?
What could be better than to finally hear “Well done, they faithful servant”?
What could be better than receiving His grace knowing full well you don’t deserve it?
What could be better than letting it all go – strivings for prestige and possessions?
What could be better than the light coming on, when you’ve finally learned the lesson?
What could be better than intimate closeness with God forever and ever?
What could be better than the Son, glorified – all prophecy fulfilled to the letter?
What could be better than pain and suffering gone, never to return anymore?
What could be better than our soul’s rest, cause there’s nothing left to restore?
What could be better than a High view of God, seeking to give Him reverence?
What could be better at life’s final breath – being welcomed into His presence?

Here’s The Word:

Matthew 5:3 - 12

Blessed

Blessed are the poor in spirit: the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are they that mourn: they shall be comforted from all their cares.
Blessed are the meek: the whole earth is what they’ll receive.
And those who hunger and thirst to be righteous: God will fulfill that need.
Blessed are the merciful: mercy is what they'll obtain.
Blessed are the pure in heart: It is they who will see God reign.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called God’s heirs.
Blessed are those troubled for righteousness' sake: the kingdom is also theirs.
Blessed are you, when people insult and attack you falsely for Christ’s sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for your reward in Heaven is great.
The prophets before you were treated as such. Eternity is ours for the sharing.
How good, and better and blessed we’ll be when the eternal replaces ‘temporary’.

I was careful, yet creative with 'The Beatitudes' in bringing this together. Take a look and make sure I didn't twist anything.
Just a little something to make you think and rejoice!

In Him,
Cros

New

It seems I must be honest with you
Cause I see no other way
There’s a me, in me who denies what’s true,
Who avoids seeking your Way

Oh he wants the best that you have to offer
But doesn’t want to follow
Wants the promises, but not the Author
And boasts about tomorrow

Happy enough to better than most
Living mostly to compare
But deep inside, he still very broke
But he won’t allow You there.

Convinced that it’s his job to be strong
And control things as best he can
How will he ever see that he’s wrong?
He’s scared he’ll be seen a weak man

He wants to see you as more an assistant
Occasionally lending a hand
He can’t see the way you’re persistent
That His life should yield to YOUR plan

There always seems to be some excuse
So many who speak, don’t know
Varying between being too rigid or loose
He’s confused about which way to go.

I see in You stories, people You touched
Sometimes changing their name
I don’t want to feel like I’m asking too much
That in me, you’d do the same?

Help me let you in my deepest parts
And help me look on my shame
As you extract it out of my heart
As I glorify Thy Name

Fill the emptied chasms. Pour You into me
Down to the deepest of depths
Purge and clean, Oh! My God, set me free!
Show me the width, height and the breadth.

That me in me keeps rising up to pursue,
The old selfishness tries even still
change my "Let me help You", to "Help me let You".
Help me let go of my will

In conclusion, honestly, there’s no other way.
What’s in me rarely wants ALL that’s in You.
Please help me to give more of me each day.
I need you to make me New.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Revelation 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.



In Him,
Cros