Thanks~The Highest Form of Thought

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. G. K. Chesterton

Here are some of the countless blessings that will always provide fuel for a wildfire of gratitude in your soul! The Jesus experiences of each day are kindling for that wildfire. These awesome experiences (if you can see and hear from your heart) will continually stoke the embers of past experience into the blaze of present presence and grandeur in Him!

“Jesus did not just solve our problems by waving a magic wand from afar. He entered into the middle of the conflict, stepped into the domain of contradiction, entered our hell, faced death itself and from there He conquered. Atonement is His at-one-ment with us.” Andre Rabe Meditate each day upon the wonder of the Gospel of Jesus and you will remain ‘strangely warmed’.

Then, as you live from the place of gratitude you will become enraptured by the moment by moment revelation of Father that Jesus brings. The masses of the world will never be converted by a second rate Christian version of itself. And neither will you and me! They will however flock to places that can give them what nothing else can, a life that doesn't leave them fatherless and gives them truly heaven on earth.

From the perspective of shared Father Intimacy with Jesus will appear the following startling revelation. This reality will evoke untold gratitude! You're never too late. You can't outrun grace. Mercy doesn't care what you've done wrong. So prodigals come home. Finding God's goodness and his affection for you in the brutal realities of this age is how you discover the peace that passes all understanding.

Isn’t it strange? “We understand how storms are created. We map solar systems and transplant hearts.  We measure the depths of the ocean and send signals to distant planets.  We’re learning how it all works!  And for some, the loss of mystery has led to the loss of majesty!  The more we know, the less we believe.

But knowledge of the workings should not negate wonder. It should stir wonder (and gratitude)!  Who has more reason to worship than the astronomer who has seen the stars? Why then should we worship less?  We’re more impressed with our discovery of the light switch than with the one who invented electricity. And rather than worship the Creator, we worship the creation!” (Up Words, Max Lucado, parenthesis and emphasis mine)

Your gratitude will become happiness doubled by wonder! Ron Ross

Receiving the Real Stuff-God

How great a God is He who gives God! —AUGUSTINE

The Real God is the only One who can give Himself graciously and freely! 

Where would your life be if God withheld himself from you? What if you truly believed you were getting God and instead got a counterfeit? What if you were given ‘less than’ when you were simply and humbly asking for his help. Think of any aspect of God and how disappointed or disillusioned you would be if what you got was even partial. Take forgiveness for example-could you live with partial or fraudulent forgiveness? I don’t think so! God graciously gives Himself freely!

And how great a God who has within Himself inexhaustible Grace and absolutely loves to share it with any and all who ask him for it! By asking in simple faith they receive all that He is! They receive the Grace and Glory of adoption into the Father’s heart! Thus activating and living by/in the image and likeness of the One and Only True God!

“He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he (the) power to become the sons (and daughters) of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born (spoken/brought into existence; given a particular status or condition by birth; coming from a particular origin and having the qualities or character that represent that origin) not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”-JOHN 1: 11-14 (KJV)

 “Grace is God loving, God stooping, God coming to the rescue, God giving himself generously in and through Jesus Christ.” —JOHN STOTT 

His Grace is the inexhaustible origin, source and power of the lifestyle of all who believe upon His name! Grace upon Grace! We are not asking for help, ideas, suggestions, tools, input, technological savvy, paradigm shifts or new skill sets. That’s cool stuff; but it’s not enough. 

We (I) will not survive another second without the Great Shepherd, the Great Physician, and the Great High Priest! The Lord Jesus Christ; who is the Baptizer of Holy Spirit and Fire, the Only Begotten Son of God and is seated at the right hand of Heavenly Father in Overcoming Victory! Only in and through Him is what follows a moment by moment reality. It is not by our finally getting it right!

“We will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us.” (The obvious question is; why and how?) (The obvious answer-for those who are more than just acquainted with Him) “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” —1 JOHN 3: 19-20 (NLT)

(Hey Guys) “Brethren, this means that through what the blood of Jesus communicates and represents, we are now welcome to access this ultimate place of sacred encounter with unashamed confidence. A brand new way of life has been introduced. Because of his flesh torn on the cross (our own flesh can no longer be a valid excuse to interrupt the expression of the life of our design).” 

“We have a High Priest in the house!  We are free to approach him with absolute confidence, fully persuaded in our hearts that nothing can any longer separate us from him. We are invited to draw near now! We are thoroughly cleansed, inside and out, with no trace of sin’s stains on our conscience or conduct. The sprinkled blood purges our inner thought-patterns; our bodies also are bathed in clean water.  (Our behavior bears witness to this.) Our conversation echoes his persuasion; his faithfulness backs his promises.”  (His integrity inspires our confession.)

(So Guys) “Let us also think of creative ways by which we can influence one another to find inspired expression in doing things that benefit others. Good actions give voice and volume to the love of God. In the light of our free access to the Father, let us extend that embrace to one another. 

Our gatherings are no longer a repetition of tradition but an essential fellowship where we remind one another of our true identity. Let us do so with greater urgency now the day has dawned in our understanding. (The prophetic shadow has been replaced by the light of day.”) Hebrews 10: 19-25, (The Mirror)

“Righteousness by faith realized means unlimited 1friendship with God; this is the ultimate conclusion of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is the legal authority (Lord) of our testimony. 1Peace is a place of unhindered enjoyment of friendship beyond guilt, suspicion, blame or inferiority.” (1The word, eirene, peace, to join, the “dove-tail” joint in carpentry. The Sabbath rest celebrates God’s unhindered enjoyment of man and our unhindered enjoyment of him!) 

(Now, right now!) “He has welcomed us with open arms and reinforced the fact that our access into this grace-gift is guaranteed by faith. We stand fully established in grace while we boldly rejoice in everything God’s opinion communicates and 1anticipates for us.  Our joyful boasting in him remains uninterrupted in times of trouble; we know that pressure reveals patience.”

“Tribulation doesn’t have what it takes to nullify what hope knows we’ve got! Patience 1proves legal tender; which buys more positive expectation.” (1dokimos, proof. Thayer Definition: scrutinized and accepted, particularly of coins and money.) 

“This kind of hope does not disappoint; the gift of the Holy Spirit completes our every expectation and ignites the love of God within us like an artesian well.”(Ekxeo, to pour out. The Holy Spirit is an outpouring not an in-pouring! See John 7:37-39, also Titus 3:6) God’s timing was absolutely perfect; humanity was at their weakest when Christ died their death. (We were bankrupt in our efforts to save ourselves.) 

“It is most unlikely that someone will die for another man, even if he is righteous; yet it is remotely possible that someone can brave such devotion that he would actually lay down his own life in an effort to save the life of an extraordinary good person.” 

(Guys: We Are the Light of the World! They can’t see The Gospel of Grace without us showing up for our part! Also, through us they are awakened to an insatiable taste for the Kingdom of Jesus!)

“Herein is the extremity of God’s love gift: mankind was rotten to the core when Christ died their death. If God could love us that much when we were ungodly and guilty, how much more are we free to realize his love now that we are declared innocent by his blood?” (God does not love us more now that we are reconciled to him; we are now free to realize how much he loved us all along!)

“Our hostility and indifference towards God did not reduce his love for us; he saw equal value in us when he exchanged the life of his Son for ours. Now that the act of reconciliation is complete, his life in us saves us from the gutter-most to the uttermost. Thus, our joyful boasting in God continues; Jesus Christ has made reconciliation a reality.” Romans 5, (The Mirror, editing and emphasis mine)

From this point forward our lifestyle is a mirror image of His Lifestyle! Receiving the real stuff and sharing the real stuff-Jesus! Ron Ross

Love Gives Truth its Voice

“The Word became a human being; we are his address; he resides in us! He captivates our gaze! The glory we see there is not a religious replica; he is the authentic begotten son. The glory (that Adam lost) returns in fullness! Only grace can communicate truth in such complete context! He is the source of our completeness.

Grace against grace!  (Garin anti garitos, grace undeserved. Grace prevailed against the tide of darkness due to Adam’s fall. His fullness is the source of all that grace communicates as our portion, against all odds!) Against the stark backdrop of the law, with Moses representing the condemned state of mankind, Jesus Christ unveils grace and truth!” (John 1:14b, 16, 17, The Mirror)

”Love and Grace give truth its voice. The conversation that truth inspires creates the atmosphere wherein growth is both spontaneous and inevitable. The whole person is addressed in Christ who is the head of the body; he is the conclusion of God’s communication with man.” (Ephesians 4:15, The Mirror)

1:7 “Since we are (fully represented) in him, his blood is the ransom that secures our redemption. His forgiving us our sins measures the wealth of his grace. 1:8 This grace shown towards us communicates a wisdom and discernment of our worth that completely surpasses any definition. 1:9 The secret is out! His cherished love-dream now unfolds in front of our very eyes.” (Ephesians 1: 7-9, The Mirror)

All of these magnificent gifts are ours by way of Grace! “How great is the grace of God.” Father’s love gives the truth of Grace its voice.

Grace! What a declaration! What an unanswerable question that beckons a life long journey of seeking, searching, researching and being utterly amazed at how little we have yet discovered. Instead, we are left amazed by the moment by moment assaults it brings of authentic indescribable love.

Grace; 5 letters that explode into countless possibilities and experiences of help and hope. Grace seems to be right on the edge of heresy! And for the religionist, it is! Grace is so good, it defies comprehension or explanation. It seems surreal or even to be a ‘Divine Conspiracy’ that appears to skirt our senses/judgments of right or fair. Grace compensates all the servants with the same wage, no matter when they arrived on the scene.

Grace is centered and anchored in the character of a Sovereign Loving God. It overtakes sin, failure, hopelessness and death. It surprises the recipient with forgiveness and innocence. It never rests and always flows from the Abba echo in Heavenly Father’s heart toward any and all who would dare take Him up on it!

Grace is a conversation with Jesus that plumbs the depths of knowing and being known in secure safety! Grace opens the human heart to the discovery of identity, purpose, worth, destiny and restored innocence.

Grace! Do you dare partner with Grace in a journey into the endless dimensions of Christ’s Kingdom? Do you have the audacity to attempt life without Grace? Do you have the spiritual courage to believe the claims of Grace in the face of the challenges of the Goliath’s of religious taunting?

Grace is calling this generation like never before! What is your answer to Grace?

Embracing the Love that Gives the Truth of Grace its Voice! Ron Ross

Toit, Francois Du (2012-07-02). Mirror Bible (Kindle Locations 3985-3987). Mirror Word Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Running to Win

Running to Win

We are here to win! Paul exhorted young Timothy; “Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your faith before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, GNT) Paul summarized his journey in Christ in like manner; “This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way.” (2 Timothy 4:7, Msg) Faith is the one common denominator in all spiritual, Christ-Centered transactions.  For example, faith is the doorway into the depths of believing in God’s amazing and unconditional love.

A non-negotiable aspect of running to win by faith, that is rarely mentioned or understood, is living under the direction and influence of Holy Spirit throughout the race. “And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control (same word as under the management/influence of) in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown.” (1 Corinthians 9:25, BBE)  

Sometimes our crowns get tarnished by difficulties or momentary afflictions. And we try to control it or fix it in our strength. It is at these moments in our faith journey that we are humbled and cry out for merciful help. And we discover anew, Holy Spirit has already been gently guiding us toward Papa’s intervention of Grace by faith! Do the following scriptures from Romans 7-8 ring true to your faith journey?

17”But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! 18 I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. 19 I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. 20 My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. 21 It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. 22 I truly delight in God's commands, 23 but it's pretty obvious that not all of me join in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.  

24 I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? 25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.” (Romans 7: 17-25, Msg)

1” With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. 2 A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. 3 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.  

4 And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us. 5 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them - living and breathing God! 6 Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” (Romans 8: 1-6, Msg) These awesome truths are the heart of our freedom to run the race as an Overcomer in Jesus!

 “But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they.”(Acts 16:11 BBE) We run the race by faith in the Gospel of Grace. It is not run by our efforts or by keeping the law. “Faith would be emptied of its substance and the principle of promise would be meaningless if the law of personal performance was still in play to qualify the heirs (the children of God).” (Romans 4:14, The Mirror)

Therefore since faith sponsors the gift of grace, the promise is equally secured for all the children (the reward system cannot match the gift principle). Faith is our source (that makes us heirs to all the promises) and that makes Abraham our (faith) father. Faith gave substance to hope when everything seemed hopeless… (Romans 4: 16, 18a, The Mirror).

Then why does it seem that so few run this race with the faith of Overcomer’s; so as to win beyond any shadow of doubt? The following scriptures shed some light on this tragic dilemma.

“Mankind has forgotten their Maker and in the process, their identity. You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth” (Deut 32:18 RSV). The mission of Jesus was not to begin the Christian religion. His mandate was to reveal and redeem the image and likeness of God in human form. He restores innocence and imputes (ascribes, which makes it sheer gift-not performance) righteousness.

“In the incarnation (the living form of Christ as the Son of Man) God deleted every definition of distance; every possible excuse man could have to feel separated or even neglected by God was removed in one day, through one sacrifice, once and for all. Life documented in the Rock of ages is now inscribed on hearts of flesh. Hear the echo, feel the resonance. Christ is all and in all. You are living Epistles, known and read by all men.”(Toit, Francois Du, Mirror Bible) 

Ezekiel prophesied centuries before Jesus arrived on the scene that the gift of the Gospel (Grace through Faith) would come equipped with a new heart! And oh, what a gift it is! Winners have the heart it takes to press through to the victory that is always there in Christ! 

This new heart will enable all who will listen, the sheer ecstasy of running the race of faith with Holy Spirit empowering and coaching us from start to finish! And at the same time we will partake of the intimacy here-to-for only shared between Jesus, Holy Spirit and His Father.  

“25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees." (Ezekiel 36: 25-27, NIV) His heart in us is continually crying to any who will hear to come home to Jesus!

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God (Isa 40:3 RSV). Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; every crooked place shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth (Isa 40:4). And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa 40:5 RSV). 

“Beyond the tablet of stone, the papyrus scroll or parchment roll, (faith ignites) human life to become the articulate voice of God. Jesus is the crescendo of God’s conversation with humankind; he gives context and content to the authentic thought. Everything that God had in mind for man is voiced in him. Jesus is God’s language. His name declares his mission.” (Introduction, The Mirror, parenthesis mine) 

As Savior of the world he truly redeemed the image and likeness of the invisible God and made him apparent again in human form (Heb 1:1-3). The destiny of the logos was not the printed page. A mirror can only reflect the object; likewise, the purpose of the page was only to reflect the message which is “Christ in you.” He completes the deepest longing of every human heart. The incarnation is the ultimate translation. (Adapted from the Introduction, The Mirror) And Christ in us is the surety of victory at the finish line! What does winning look like?

“But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD.”(Jeremiah 29: 10b-14a, NLT) How can we not finish the race well with all this going for us?

Now, Go Run to Win! Ron Ross