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  Rushing Streams Ministries

Thinking out loud

Sinful Tolerance

6/24/2016

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       More and more we are confronted with a new ‘righteousness’: ‘Political correctness,’ it is quickly becoming the language of the new social religion. 

      Claiming kindness and tolerance as its mandate, while deeply rooted in deception. It denounces Godly righteousness, while tolerating and extolling anything that is not.
      “Political correctness,” no matter how it is staged or justified, is sin. 
       It is a deception! 
      Claiming to be the new standard of holiness, it poses as an angel of light, while denying the very Word of God.

      Our faith in Christ has no tolerance for unrighteousness; whether personal or cultural. 
      Jesus fiercely confronted the system and the rulers that promoted it. 
    
     "
Woe unto you, teachers of the law, and Pharisees, you hypocrites…”  Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29
          “Woe to you, blind guides!”  Matthew 23:16
      “You are like whitewashed tombs,…” Matthew 23: 27

      Jesus will not endure sin or unrighteousness. It is contrary to God’s word and nature.

      Yet, the world demands acceptance of sin and will not tolerate a Godly standard of righteousness. It preaches and demands adherence to the new standard; it vigorously strains to enforce it, even in the church of the living God. 
      Tolerance is not love. We are to love our enemies, and in so doing open their eyes to the truth of Christ. Love does not compromise with sin!

      We are to love and display the kindness of God, not the acceptance of evil.
      In this ‘new world,’ we often struggle to maintain our Christ-like integrity as we constantly face the seductive call to consensus and compromise.  

      The world offers a fraudulent peace conceived in tolerance of sin; in Jesus we draw a line, and have peace with God that the world will not accept.  

      In our hearts this war rages— Submit to Christ or Belial—it is one or the other. We cannot have both; where we live is our choice:  Peace with God or peace with the world. 
      Our choice is evident in our words and actions.


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The Honorable Father

6/17/2016

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When I look at my children, I wonder…
How well did I model being a man, a husband, a father, a neighbor?

As Jesus was a testimony of the Father, they are my testimony.
“Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me.”  John 14:8-10
When the Father saw Himself in Jesus, His heart let out a joyful cry.
“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  Mark 1:11

Jesus was recognized through the nature and character of the Father in him.
Even the demons saw this.

He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  In God’s name don’t torture me."   Mark 5:7

Whoever saw Jesus, saw the Father’s character and nature.

The power of a true father is hard to imagine; he lays the foundation for the character and nature of the child, either by declaring life or death into the soul.

The Father shapes character.
The Father imparts blessing, words of life.
The Father imparts identity, a call to purpose.
The Father imparts character, a call to greatness.
The Father imparts a vision for a unique destiny.

We live in a world with few fathers, and it is evident by the number of children stumbling through life with little if any true mentoring.
A father who operates in the spirit of fatherhood, is to be honored.  His children will be known as the “Sons and daughters of…” a true reflection of a life giver and an honorable father.
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Defilement

6/10/2016

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Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Proverbs 4:24

We live in a combative world, a world where words are often the weapons of choice, and we have learned to use them with careless disregard.

We have become dispensers of verbal pain and destruction and we don’t even recognize it.

The Lord warned us…
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.  Matthew 12:36-37

And these are the careless words we use! It seems that we have forgotten this, and thoughtlessly continue to speak bitterness and spite, unaware of the harm we cause.


​Words have power! ​  They buildup or tear down; they carry life or corruption.
The Word of God warns us…
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.  Proverbs 18:21

Our careless frivolous words undermine the culture of heaven in us and contaminate others.  In so doing, we elevate the things of the world that have no value in the Kingdom.

Isaiah is convicted by seeing a manifestation of the Living God:
And I said:“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.  Isaiah 6:5

We must recognize that the ‘words’ we speak or receive into our heart are an indication of who is living us. The greater the revelation of Christ Jesus, the greater the freedom we will have.

Words spoken into our hearts that are uplifting, life-giving, or honoring, are an essential component needed for our maturing in Christ Jesus.

Words that deprive us of honor, or life, will carry the bitter toxin that defiles, blocks and robs us of our identity and the ability to release life and light to a polluted world.
We are either vessels of life and light, or sources of bitterness.

Our words will be the evidence.
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Heroes Act

6/5/2016

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​Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  James 1:22-25

We hear so much, but obey so little.
When we hear the word and do not act, we remain unchanged.
We can hear the promises and we can stand on the promises, but if we are not moved by them, we live in deception.
The “Word of God” is a motivator; it is meant to inspire us to action.

When we agree with the Word, but do not put it into action, we are imprudent to say the least, and will sooner or later suffer the consequences of our foolishness.  Matthew 7:26.
We must establish every word by doing the word. Without doing, the word is not established.

Doing the word will bless us in what we do.  James 1:25

The doing is based on trusting whom we heard.
The doing gives evidence to what we heard.
The doing deepens, establishes, and strengthens what we heard.
The doing expands our ability to increase our faith.
The doing validates the word in us.

Not doing, (obeying) what we hear leads us into deceit.
Not doing what we hear causes us to forget the truth.
Not doing what we hear opens us to another voice.

Hearing and doing are part of the same thing; if we fail to do, what we heard is of no value to us.  It is of no use to the self-righteous, complacent and the self-satisfied, but It gives life to the hungry and dying.  Mark 2:17

The word offers hope.  It motivates us toward life.
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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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