Our part and God's part = child and parent

Hello family,

I want to take a moment to pause and remember that God is unchanging, but we are not.  We change, so if you've lost your way it's not God who needs to change (He is unchangeable) its you because you are changeable.

With God we are children, but sometimes when things don't go our way we forget who our Father is and we reverse the roles.  We make ourselves the boss and God our child, telling God what to do and how to do it.  But of course this never works because God is unchanging.  He cannot ever stop being God, but we can stop being His children.

We do our part as the child and God does His as the Parent, but what is our part?  Thank God our part is not about being perfect!  Christ took care of that for us.

When Israel was told how to walk before God, God was saying that this is the way- the unchanging way- to walk before Me.  The unchanging part was not about Israel's place before God as His people, but about the way to be.  Israel was graciously shown the way to be God's people, but they were responsible for responding to it.  They could choose or choose not to listen.  They chose not to.

“A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn’t I reveal Myself to your ancestral house when it was in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace?
Out of all the tribes of Israel, I selected your house to be priests, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence.
I also gave your house all the Israelite fire offerings.
Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship?
You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.’”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2:27-29‬ ‭

Basically God is saying, I told you who I was.  I'm God Almighty!  And is that how you respond to God?  By stealing my food and ignoring my presence?  If that's how you "honor me" then NO LONGER will I be your God.  God does not change the way He is.
You either treat God as God or you don't.  If He's not treated like He's your Father then He won't be.  Eli's sons disregarded God again and again without repentance so God disregarded them without mercy.  Repentance is a request for mercy, but you can't take hold of something you never reached for.  

1. "Then I will raise up a faithful priest for Myself.

2. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind.

3. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him,

4. and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2:35‬ ‭

Notice that this faithful priest is not a robot.
God is going to raise someone up, raising a child means teaching them what's right from wrong through a long process of falling and getting back up, mourning losses and celebrating victories.  God is saying He is going to enter into a Father-child relationship with one who will end up doing His will not by force but by learning and being taught.  Unlike the rebellious sons of Eli, this person would respond to God as their good Father which would produce repentance and growing obedience.  Any child who really trusts their parents will listen but the one who distrusts their parents will simply ignore them and do whatever they think is right in their own eyes--that's what Eli's sons did.  God was looking for a true son not a fake child.

--->We do as we are taught.  (Who is teaching you?  Choose your teachers wisely. <---

THEN! God said, after this person has been raised and trained by God, God will establish his ways because if you do things God's way then you'll get God's promised results.  God knows what we need and He knows how to get it.  So if He teaches us then He will prove Himself worthy of His own methods through our obedience.

Love you guys.
Jmegrey

When it doesn't go as you expected

Family, we are in the process of either building the kingdom of God which will last even after these bodies of ours give up their last dying breath, or we will be building up for ourselves a house made of sand soon to collapse.  

A house made of sand is one which we build just for this life.  Always trying to make more money for more comfort in life or to become more beautiful for more admiration, or build an outstanding career for more reputation and recognition here--these are sand castles.  If you find yourself falling a apart at the loss of these things (especially in the way you talk with one another and get angry or defensive) then recognize that you are building your life in the sand.   I can't stop you from doing so, I can only give you the knowledge but you have to receive it and humbly ask God to lead you out of it. 

After these bodies die so will the sand houses we built for them.  

Understand that we are all in the construction business.  

Whatever we lose today, let's lose it as a means of gaining Christ and remember that it's not about what we deserve in the flesh, it's about what we believe about the atoning work of Jesus on the cross--both for ourselves when it comes to our sins and for those who sin against us.  

"Complete your outdoor work, 

and prepare your field; 

afterward, build your house.

I went by the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense. Thistles had come up everywhere, weeds covered the ground, and the stone wall was ruined. 

I saw, and took it to heart; 

I looked, and received instruction: 

a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.”

Proverbs 24:27, 30-34 

We all want the best possible life we can get.  If yours is simply one that's awesome here on earth then be prepared to lose it all when you die.  But if the life you want includes this life and life eternal then pay close attention to the wisdom in Proverbs 24.  Every action has a reaction, don't do today alone.  If God calls you to the field then go with Him, if He calls you to tears then go with Him, if He calls you to lose your comfort then lose it with Him, whatever you do or whatever you lose, do it all and lose it all for surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus who did it all and lost it all for you.  He is our life both here and forever.  

My prayer for us is that we don't do today alone.  Things may not go as expected, that's because we are not in control. Haha.  But we can always rely on the One who is.  Do everything with Him who loves you today.

Love you guys.

Jmegrey

When good things become evil

“Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, 

it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:38 

The truth about God being God and us being obedient is to recognize the vast difference between what God says and what your flesh says. In the area of giving (our time, money, effort, food, or vulnerability, etc) we simply give away what will be given to us in return.  If you can only give others one thing then you will only get one thing in return.  If you give others everything you will get everything in return.  That's basically what God is saying.  Life starts when we give everything away, like Jesus did.  That's how God created it to be. This isn't a "to-do list" to check off--it's not about you giving tons of money away so you'll get tons of money back, or laying your time down for an annoying person so that when you're annoying someone will still have to lay their time down for you--it's not that kind of giving.  It's the belief in our hearts that what we lose from our giving is not really a loss, but is what we invest in receiving from God in His perfect timing.  No loss goes unnoticed, and we believe this.  That is why we can give even though we don't know when or how it will be given to us. The way we treat others reveals the way we know who God is.  

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort. 

Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. 

Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep. 

Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.”

Luke 6:24-26 

This is not a verse about how being rich or full or having a good reputation is evil. But they certainly can be!  When we don't put those gifts in God's hands to give us at His timing and in His method, usually because we are so anxious for them, we turn what is good into evil. Daily choices that don't trust God to give us comfort, fullness and acceptance are daily choices that distrust God to be good.  And that breeds in the heart like subtle poison as bitterness against God grows.  If God is not good then God is bad, and that suppressed lie in the heart is why good things can become evil.  

These verses all speak the same core message: belief in God. 

One looks at belief from the perspective of how we give and the other looks at the perspective of how we get. 

Belief begins in the heart where the Holy Spirit knows the depths of who we are and reveals the truth about our giving and our getting in order to lead us closer to knowing God.  

When you give today consider what you expect in return, then how you feel after giving, and talk to God.

When you try and get something (a good meal, clothes, a job, or time with friends) consider who gets the glory from your getting whatever it is you get.  

Love you guys. 

Jmegrey

Who gets the glory from your good works?

Goood afternoon family of forever!

Bible verse of the day blew me away!

“In the same way,
let your light shine
before men, so that
they may see your good works
and give glory
to your Father in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭

Let's break it down:
“In the same way,"

-As a light bulb turned on in a dark room is visible so your light will be visible compared to the darkness of this world.  You'll stick out if you're light in darkness.  People who don't know God, who live in darkness just as you once did (Eph. 5:8), will see something noticeably different about you because you have light.  But it doesn't stop there...

"let your light shine"

-We have light, but we can stifle it too.  If you put a box over a light bulb turned on it will not be as bright.  It can be muffled.  Covered by a box that we put over it if we are ashamed of it, scared of it, or feel unready to share it.  We have the ability to box in our light, usually a defense mechanism if you're not ready for what the light will do to your life.  One thing is certain, the light changes EVERYTHING.  When you step into a room that's pitch black you see nothing, but when you turn on a bright light...you see EVERYTHING: good and bad.  So to let your shine is to let the truth about who you are be made known to the world: your brokenness as well as your good transformations.

"before men, so that"

-Revealing our good and bad is one thing, but allowing others to see our worst features can feel too vulnerable.  People are watching and observing and thinking things all the time.  We show up in full light, exposing the truth about ourselves (and consequently about God), then they will be there to give their opinion.  But we do this SO THAT...

"they may see your good works"

-we have good and bad being revealed. But the point is to show our good (but not without hiding our bad).  The reason we need both is because anyone can do good.  Morality is formulaic in the sense that we all love the superheroes and the rescue team.  They are morally noble because of their good works to do good.  People admire the sacrifice of Schindler who saved many Jews during the Holocaust, or single mothers who work hard to make sure their kids do well--that's because Good Works are good works, but not all "good works" point to God.   Some good works point to the person doing the good work.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just the reality of a good work.  It brings praise.  So what kinds of good works are we called to do with our light?

"and give glory"

-Our good works guide our light.  We can do good to shine our light on our self, or we can do good works to shine our light somewhere else.  But good works always elicit praise.  We see a good work and we think "wow" or "awww" toward wherever that good work points.  But regardless, the principle to remember is that not every good work points glory in the same direction.

"to your Father in heaven.”

-The only way that our good works point upward in the direction of glorifying God is by our allowing the worst self to remain exposed as well.  To not filter the truth.  To not hide or try to cover our mess.  By not hiding the bad while showing the good it helps direct praise from men to give glory to the One responsible for any good they see in us.  Otherwise if all we try to show is our good the direction of glory will point to ourselves.  We get glory from men who see how good we are.  We get their praise, their admiration, and their affirmation/approval.  But the more we reveal our worst to people the more our best transformations point to God getting the glory for every change that people see.  They will know by our worst that it was God who was responsible for turning this into that.  The less we become the more He becomes.  A true disciple of Jesus lives to let their light shine before men so that the praise it elicits is ONLY directed toward God.  We help others see God by our light.

Because the truth is no one is good apart from God who gave us His good.  That's what having light shows.

Who will get glory today by your good works?

Whatever you do, do it for people to praise God.  We are all beggars in this life pointing to the one who has all the bread.  Be free in the truth.

Love you guys.
Jmegrey
‭‭

Come back

If you've fallen from grace--the place where all you know is that all you have is a gift and that what you do have is undeserved--if you've fallen from that place of grace you will find yourself in selfishness, vanity, greed, anger, jealousy, and a feeling of weariness.  Now let's come back.

Because we can. 

Paul writes in Galatians 5 to the church at Galatia to stop trying so hard to "do right."  Nothing right comes from us! We are cracked buckets that can't hold diddly squat!  Eventually everything slips from our grip.  Christ got between the cracks of our bucket, getting stabbed and squished and humiliated in the process-- and there He held us together through suffering and blood.  So that now only by Him we have life.  Our buckets are full of Christ's flesh and blood in the cracks so that if we hold anything good it's only because his pain allows us to have it.  

Sometimes we see our cracks and lose hope.  We can't handle family issues, we hate the way we look, our grades suck, we can't make good friends, or we don't have the money we want to live a certain way.  This is a fall from grace.  Perfect people get perfect families, perfect people are beautiful, perfect people get perfect grades, perfect people are loved by everyone, and perfect people live comfortably!  Right?  Right?! If so we will try try try to be perfect.  Work our way towards being perfect rather than finding perfection in the opposite thing: grace.  

“You who are trying 

to be justified by the law 

are alienated from Christ; 

you have fallen from grace."

--

So if you desire to come back to grace it means 2 things: 

1.  It means you have a certain freedom in the cracks of your life.  The freedom is that they can be there and they won't change your freedom.  It's like when school is out and you still have stuff you learned in your mind, but it's no longer needed for a test.   The test is over...but you still carry around what you learned.  In the same way, your life-cracks exist, but they are no longer a threat to survival.  Life has been won by Christ.  This is the first step into grace. 

2.  Grace-laced freedom is extremely potent. It does not mean perfection in itself, it simply means an opening has been made to perfection: which is to develop a relationship with Jesus.  But here we can use our freedom to go back to slavery too since freedom means we are not held back from anything. This second step is important: practice using this grace-laced freedom to pursue a life of loving others.  Instead of loving to get a good life, get a good life by loving.  Loving others is not the means to an end, it is the end.  So we focus on how to love more truly rather than focusing on the payout of our "acts of love."  This means we must walk with the Holy Spirit in us who searches our hearts and reveals when we truly love and when we are just faking it.  

"For you were called to be free, brothers; 

only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 

For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. 

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:4, 13-15‬ ‭

So there it is family.  

A fall from grace doesn't have to continue, but we can turn back to grace-laced freedom in Christ who is our life and avail ourselves to His transforming work in our hearts to love as He loved us.  

Stop trying to be perfect.

Let's choose to have life in Christ today. 

Come back. 

Love you guys