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  Rushing Streams Ministries

Thinking out loud

The “Short-cut”

1/28/2016

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“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”  Romans 8:25 

I am quite cynical about some ads that offer to make my life, better, happier, easier and healthier. 
So, I give them little if any thought.  I am familiar with their pressure tactics; yet I am not immune to temptation; “Act now,” “Get it while it lasts,” “Seize the moment,” “Don’t miss out” …”Call now while supplies last.” All taken from Satan’s book of tactics—and it works! 
Which is very much like a “Huckster" offering me something that will make me feel better, happier, wealthier and make my life easier. 
It is aimed at my flesh nature, which so easily falls for the offer of pleasure, power or glory—gratification without cost or growth.   We live in a culture that is so self serving that it has adopted the belief, “If it feels good, it must be good.”  Any offer that promises to make life easier immediately draws our interest. 
Satan’s offer is easy enough to recognize; it comes with the same pressure to “Act now,” “Seize the moment,” “Don’t miss out” … Like all “Huckster” offers it plays on our fear of “missing out,” calling for immediate action, often without thought of the cost. 
Our flesh looks for these opportunities and short-cuts, even if they are outside God’s provision.  It schemes and dreams of getting something ‘good’ without paying the price. 
Pleasure, greed and power—all part of the flesh life—work that way. 
They offer rewards, but can’t deliver; only God can.  We fail to see beyond the moment and become easy prey to the enemy. 

That the offers appeal to the flesh and its sinful nature is clearly evident by the obvious exclusion of; preferring another, taking up another's  burden, loving your neighbor, honoring those in authority and laying down your life for the sake of another. John 15:17, Romans 12:10, Romans 13:7, Galatians 5:13-1; Galatians 6:2; 1 John 3:16.

Temptation is generally expedient and always self-serving. 

God is not a “huckster.”  He always speaks truth and His ways are peace and life.  (There are no short-cuts with God.) 

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.  All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:” Deuteronomy 28:1-3
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My Last Sparrow

1/17/2016

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I don’t remember my last sparrow. 
There are far too many and they are far too common and they are too unimportant to keep in mind. 

When we forget those things that once awed us, we are no longer participants in the divine play of creation. 
We fail to see the hand of God, and lose the ability to live in wonderment. 

We have matured and are focused, purpose driven, serious …and have lost our sense of awe and expectation. 
We try to be bigger and wiser than we are, managing our own universe; we thrill in wearing God pants in a world we create, destroying what we once held in wonder, replacing it with bobbles and trinkets.
Becoming limited and overwhelmed we soon lose our ability to be awed. 
We walk through our own limited creation, blinded to the majesty of God’s. 

Children can still do it.  They explore the wonders of God and living in a wonder-full world, they find God’s handy-work everywhere and delight in it. 

But we have been changed by the world.  

Most of what we did yesterday is not consider significant enough to remember—the colors, sights, smells, and smiles.  We recall very little of yesterday; our impressions are mostly neutral or negative.  There are very few, if any, “Aha,” moments. 
We fail to see the Master’s brush as He paints the world through which we walk unaware of everything except our worry, stress and fear. 

However, unlike us, God is constant in His delight.  He still sees His world as good and his greatest creation as very good. 
He takes joy and cares for what He loves. 

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6 

Nothing escapes His attention, nothing forgotten or insignificant; 
All of creation is important to him. I am important to Him.  He sees me as “…fearfully (awesomely) and wonderfully made.”  How can anything He made be seen any other way? 

While we look at the sparrow and immediately forget it, to God a sparrow is always marvelous and important. 
His attention on us is so intense that the notion that He might forget us or ignore us is impossible.  This is clearly evident when Isaiah quotes the Lord. 
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
”  Isaiah 49:15-16 

As a result, Jesus can say, "Don't be afraid, you are more valuable than sparrows.”   More valuable than we can ever imagine. 

Remember your last sparrow, God does.
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The Spirit in Paul

1/8/2016

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Acts 13:6-12

Worldly power always attracts the darkness; darkness and righteousness cannot co-exist. 
We see this played out in Cyprus, the place of Barnabas and Saul’s assignment. 

Sergius Paulus, the governor of Cyprus, has summoned Barnabas and Saul, wanting to hear what they have to say. 

But they are soon opposed by an attendant to the governor called Elymas. 
Elymas is a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet and an agent of Satan. 

There is an instantaneous power encounter. Saul, now called Paul, immediately confronts the sorcerer. “… Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right!” 

Evil’s aim is to pervert and destroy the individual or the culture that hosts it. It begins by undermining the moral mindsets of the people. Its fruit is soon evident. 
“…sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. "
Galatians 5:19-21 

Paul’s righteous anger confronts the spirit operating in Elymas. 
“You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. “ 
“Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? “ 
“Will you never stop?” Elymas knew the truth.
​
Evil is usually obvious to discern; it distorts and corrupts, beguiling and capturing the hearts of the unwary, thoughtless and unbelieving. 
Scripture warns us: 
“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” Hebrews 3:12 

Paul is not finished. His words must also display power. 
“Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
“Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.”
Acts 13:9-12 

Because Barnabas and Paul were assigned by the Holy Spirit to Cyprus they were also fully equipped to handle all the enemy could throw at them, and do so quickly. 
“…because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”  1 Thessalonians. 1:5 

When we are assigned, we carry truth and power and are assured of victory. 

“When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.”
Acts 13:12 

“Lord, make your word strong in me, that I may through Your Spirit, set the captive free.”
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Called, Chosen, Sent

1/1/2016

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Herod is dead. The persecution wanes, waiting for the next opportunity. 
But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.  Acts 12:24 

The ever present threat of death does not stop those fueled by passion for Christ; it never will. 
To become Christ centered is to live in tension. Barnabas and Saul lived in tension. 

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two:I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;” Philippians 1:21-23

Today, we live in a culture that proclaims a passionless allegiance to Christ, a culture that knows more about Him than ever, but whose life-style declares the opposite. 
Believing we have all we need, we have no need of Him. 
We do not see ourselves as needy and lost; as a result we have made Him a little more than a talisman, rather than our Lord and Savior. 

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."  Matthew 16:24-25 

His call challenges the heart to a change beyond its natural tendencies or abilities. It requires full, willing submission to the hand of God working in us. It is a call to put ego and self-serving aside for the sake of another. It can only happen through Christ’s life in us. 
Barnabas and Saul lived this: 
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.  Acts 13:2-3 

Only a heart that has been tempered, a heart on fire for the lost, is qualified to be set apart to fully answer the call of the Holy Spirit. 

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20 

The ‘Called Ones,’ those who “Know” Jesus, are easy to recognize; they have lost their care for their own comfort, life and for the things of earth. 
“…They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”  Acts 5:40-42 

“Lord, give me the passion to love and live for what Your love died for: the person next to me.”
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    Thinking Out Loud

    These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
    They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.


    Author

    In a counseling career spanning over 30 years, author and teacher Martin Frankena has shared the life-changing power of Christ’s redemption with individuals and churches in America, Canada, South America, and Europe.  Martin's heart is to further the Lord’s mandate of releasing people into freedom from bondages to experience greater wholeness and fulfillment in life. A major focus of the ministry is healing from generational issues.

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