The Divine Cover-up

“The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it. 16 But the LORD God gave him this warning: "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden 17 except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely “die” (forfeit a living/intimate relationship with God)." (Genesis 2:15-17, NLT)

25 “Now, although Adam and his wife were both naked, neither of them felt any shame.” (Genesis 2: 25, NLT) Shame was born in dis-obedience. And so was mankind’s propensity to lean upon flawed understanding and call it “wisdom or knowledge”. This was the result of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! Their/our eyes were opened to what they weren’t equipped to understand or process. 

Mankind was awakened to deception and blinded to the trickery of illusion! “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. 7 Don't be impressed with your own wisdom.” (Proverbs 3: 5-7, NLT) 

“Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made.”Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" 2 "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him. 3 "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die." 4 "You won't die!" the serpent hissed.

5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil." 

 

6 The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too. 7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.” (Genesis 3:1-7, NLT) God clothed their nakedness with the skin of a wild animal.

God did not clothe Adam with the skin of a slain animal because of a divine need to be appeased. But because of their unconditional love for Adam! They also understood the language of judgment (Adam’s self judgments) and are touched by Adam’s infirmities. Adam, not God, was embarrassed about his nakedness. The clothing was not to make God look at Adam differently, but to make Adam feel better about himself! 

And ultimately it was to prepare Adam for the unveiling of the mystery of mankind’s redemption in the incarnation-Jesus coming as the Son of Man. Here Deity would clothe themselves in human skin in a son, and the Lion of Judah, would become the Lamb of God, in order to free our minds to re discover his image and likeness in our skin! Humankind is tailor-made for God!

When we are identified with Jesus-the new man (who lived our life, death and ultimate resurrection) and not Adam-the fallen man; we are empowered to walk in the Spirit, victory, freedom, grace, mercy, faith, and peace. And we are now clothed by His righteousness, instead of our shame and failure. Following are some of the wondrous gifts of being clothed by Christ!

1.”So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The Law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 

4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. 5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.

7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. 8 That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)

10 Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you. 12 So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you keep on following it, you will perish. 

But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family -- calling him "Father, dear Father." 16 For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God's children. 17 And since we are his children, we will share his treasures -- for everything God gives to his Son, Christ is ours, too. 

But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. 18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. 19 For all creation are waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. 21 All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 

23 And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

24 Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently. 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 

27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8: 1-28, NLT)

In the Grip of Grace! Ron Ross

A Thought from Papa's Heart

 

Lean in closely. Put your ear right up to His heart. He has something wonderful to say to His children ...

“A flesh commitment to law-keeping can modify your behavior for a time, but it cannot transform your life (Pure Grace)

The Law has no transformational power built into it. That was not its intent. The law was given to prove humanity’s helplessness to achieve right-standing (righteousness) with God. Christ’s perfection and atoning sacrifice fulfilled all that the Father required to reconcile the believer to Himself. Tirelessly managing ones’ behavior doesn’t transform the believer’s life, love does!

 

Update: Ron and Janis Ross

Thank You!

Words are often so inadequate in expressing heart-felt sentiments.  "I would maintain that 'gratitude' is the highest form of thought!"So know that there is so much more 'heart' here than meets the ear and eye.

Janis and I are continually overwhelmed by the gift of long term friendships, like yours. You never cease to bring timely support and encouragement to our life journey in Christ's Kingdom. The faithfulness of God in and through you is immeasurable in importance and significance in our life's calling as Servants of Jesus.

These days are proving to be the most challenging of our entire His-story! At the same time; thanks to mercy and grace, they are also the most fruitful. If you are led to be a part in prayer and/or financial support you can participate in the following way.

Make out checks to New Life Christian Fellowship or simply NLCF @ Ron Ross, 8370 NC Hwy 90E, Stony Point, NC 28678. We thank you in advance for standing with us for 33 very full and fruitful years!

If you would like to converse with either of us, call 704-929-6896 or (9665) or e-mail ronross11@hotmail.com. 

Our family has been through many challenges, not unlike any other family we know of. But, as we grow in grace everything is more than worthwhile. Send us any prayer need as we continue to love interceding for you.

In the grip of Grace, Ron and Janis

A Silent Sermon

The Silent Sermon

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.

Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The Pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave; he slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon.” I shall be back in church next Sunday."

Learning to Live From Your New Heart

Learning to Live From Your New Heart

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”( Hebrews 4: 7, 12, 13, The Message)

One thing is for sure for the follower of Jesus—God gives us a new heart! The significance of this gift is immeasurable. Our heart of birth had been broken, bruised, battered, used, diseased, rejected, hardened, and corrupted. In short; it is unfixable. That’s why we are candidates for nothing less than a ‘heart transplant’. Anything else would fall woefully short. Prior to the new birth our old heart is as the Prophet Jeremiah proclaimed: “sick, desperately wicked…Who can know it?”

“I’ll give you a new heart; I’ll put a new spirit in you. I’ll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm muscled heart.” (Ezekiel 11:19, The Message) “I will give them an un-divided heart…”

Too many of us characterized our old heart as shattered, decimated, and broken to pieces. King David expressed the cry of most, “Unite my heart to fear thy name.” This is what takes place slowly, day by day, as we take our Inner Journey and journal his encouraging words in our new heart.

The daily condition of our new heart will become a primary concern as you progress on this Inner Journey. All the experiences of our life, up to this moment, are not what shaped you. Rather: it is what has come out of your heart that makes the greatest difference.

Simply stated, how we respond to the experiences of life are the greater determinate in defining your human and/or spiritual condition. In the Inner Journey he will show you in simple specifics how it has not been what went into you that defiled you, but what came out of your heart diminished your life.

This does not challenge that you may be deeply wounded and left to fend for yourself. Most have suffered some form of trauma; either by abuses done to them by significant others or by being neglected or abandoned. Unfortunately, the pain and struggle during your journey has been devastating to your development and ability to function in life’s most critical areas.

Jesus, Immanuel; which means ‘God with you’ will come to your wounded life and embrace your heart with deep healing, restoration, forgiveness and peace. He will strengthen your inner life and deposit his joy to empower the remainder of your journey. He understands your condition and needs better than you could possibly imagine and he will take your hand and gently walk you all the way to wholeness and maturity.

Too many authentic believers have languished in the hurts of their dysfunctional upbringing, all the while sincerely longing to move beyond these issues to maturity. They were so impaired that if they do not get repaired it will be very hard for them to become prepared to live the rest of their journey in the fullness Jesus wants to bring to their heart. As we embrace Jesus in our heart he will nurture us to grow beyond past and present infirmities.

In the Bible, the word infirmity indicates a weakness or lack of strength that is the result of previous unhealed wounding or crippling. The word is rarely used in a purely physical sense. Rather, it indicates spiritual, moral, character, relational, developmental, mental, emotional weakness or a lack of strength. Having infirmities is not sin, but they do weaken one’s resistance to temptation.

The good news that you can look forward to from Jesus in your Inner Journey is that he not only understands the fact of your infirmities, but as your High Priest, he understands the feeling of your infirmities…not just the crippling, not just the weaknesses, not just the emotional hang-ups and chronic inner conflicts, but the woundedness, self-hate, and pain that come from them.

He understands the shame, the frustration, the anxiety, the depression, and the sense of failure. He also understands the rejection of self and others, the abandonment, the struggle to stay attached in healthy relational bonds, the loneliness and the isolation. He understands the addictions, self-medicating behaviors and the repeated failures.

He understands the vain attempts to cope and cover up. He understands your secret wars and your many losses. He uniquely understands it all and can be touched by the feeling of your infirmities. Jesus will embrace all of these infirmities through you Inner Journey. He alone can heal your history, present and future as you daily come to him as the High Priest of your new heart!  

“He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17)

“Like-wise his Holy Spirit also helps us with our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us…according to the will of God.” (Romans 8: 26-27)

In Hebrews 4: 15, Jesus is portrayed as the one “who can be touched by the feeling of your infirmities.” The scripture also exhorts the church in Romans 14 that the strong ought to bear with those who are weak, not passing judgment on them for their ongoing struggles.

His daily bread/word will penetrate your present heart condition. All of who you are will be laid bare before His and our eyes. His exposure is life-giving. It will enable you to better see and understand all the parts of your life that are out of harmony with his purposes.

Our heart directly affects our thinking, choices, emotions, memories, relational reality and ultimately our daily ‘obedience’.  In the Inner Journey we learn the heart attitudes that negatively affect your relationships with yourself, significant others and fellowship with him. This happens as we simply listen and put into action (obey) all that he says to us.

Samuel replied, “Has the Lord as much pleasure in your burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of rams to him.” (1 Samuel 16:22, LB)

Hearing and Seeing Hearts Jesus said, “I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual.” (Matthew 12:7, The Message)

This is how it works: whenever someone has a ready heart, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness of heart, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That is why Jesus taught using ‘stories’ or ‘parables’.

They create readiness, to nudge you toward receptive insight. In a hardened heart state we can stare at the obvious till doomsday and not see it, listen until we are blue in the face and not get it. Not only that, but we also tend to leak out and forget what seemed plain and simple yesterday.

This is how (Isaiah 6:9, 10) put it; ‘your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their finger in their ears so they won’t have to listen; they screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.’

Through the “Inner Journey” or your “daily Quiet time” with Jesus, He imparts to your new heart God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! Ask yourself the following questions; do I have a ready heart? Are my ears on? Are the eyes of my heart focused on Jesus abiding on the throne of my new heart? If the ears and eyes of your heart are receptive and tuned to Jesus insight and understanding will flow freely.

God is continually using the story of our own Inner Journey with him to create readiness and to nudge us toward receptive insight/God-sight and God-sound. His story in and through us creates a deepening hunger and thirst for intimacy (into—me—see). And it’s not only in us; but those around us gain fresh insight into their personal journey through our grace story as it is told in our daily journal and reflected through our heart.

According to the story of the sower in Luke, Jesus teaches that it is from our hearts that we gain all spiritual guidance and understanding. “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a ‘crop’. “ (Luke 8: 15 NIV) The Inner Journey will shape that noble and good heart, which increasingly enables you to hear, retain and persevere with Jesus through anything!

‘All valid spiritual direction comes to us through our heart—the seat of true knowing and our ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ in the spirit. If we discern the “will of God” it is through our heart. Knowing our true identity and destiny is achieved through our hearts as well.’ (Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You, pg. 67)

“In solitary silence we listen (in our new heart throne room) with great attentiveness to the voice that calls us beloved. God speaks into the deepest strata of our souls, into our self-hatred and shame, our narcissism (total self-focus), and takes us through the night into the daylight of His truth.” Brennan Manning

“A hostile world! I call to God (from my heart), I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence—a private audience! (Psalm 18: 16, The Message)

Just like the mother of a newborn; his ears are attentive to our heart-felt cry for him. He alone will suffice. A daily private audience with the King of Kings keeps our heart soft, broken and pliable. So we remind ourselves as we learn this new life lived from the heart—I will daily veil myself in thee and wrap my tender new heart with the softness of your presence.

Contrary to the viewpoint of pop culture, our hearts aren’t just the ‘feeling’ or ‘emotional’ side of us. Feelings are certainly generated and experienced from the heart, but also by the mind/body. “The function of the heart is to organize our life as a whole. (Dallas Willard) This is especially true for our prayer life—a life not previously understood or experienced.

Our disorganized, wounded, incongruent ‘old heart’ betrays our masks, and reflects our daily core need for a Savior. Jesus (from the throne of our heart) sweeps into our ‘brokenness’ with a new heart—one that is capable of containing the very love of God—one that also develops the capacity to express Father’s heart to our own core and then to the world.

The new heart Jesus gives us, passionately organizes our life around the Trinity. We tend to focus on either; ‘Jesus’ or ‘Father—yet we discover on our Inner Journey they are a relational community filled with their Holy Spirit. Jesus takes up residence in our new heart, the very essence of their community. From there, they model how we can live a whole, good and godly new life.

Their heart beats with fiery passion and contrite humility. And that new heart is empowered by the redemptive blood of Jesus. You/we are now charged with the high responsibility of caring for your/our new heart. The heart work of the Inner Journey keeps it pliable and molded to Father, Son and Holy Spirit’s awesome will lived out through us. Our new hearts literally become the ‘manager’ nurturing the life of Christ in and through us! That is why your Inner Journey is so critical!