There is a reality of Jesus abiding that changes life's very existence.~archie

Permanent Abiding 
by Hudson Taylor

The Spirit of God revealed to me the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never known it before.

As I read, I saw it all! "If we believe not, he abideth faithful." I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed)! That He had said, "I will never leave thee."

"Ah, there is rest!" I thought. "I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I'll strive no more. For has not He promised to abide with me never to leave me, never to fail me?" And, . . . He never will.

...As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured direct into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in wishing to get the sap, the fullness out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus will never leave me, but that I am a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine is not the root merely, but all root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit. And Jesus is not that alone  He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for or needed. Oh, the joy of seeing this truth! I do pray that the eyes of your understanding too may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ.

...It is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior, to be a member of Christ! Think what it involves. Can Christ be rich and I poor? Can your right hand be rich and your left poor? Or your head be well fed while your body starves? ...No more can your prayers or mine be discredited if offered in the name of Jesus (i.e., not for the sake of Jesus merely, but on the ground that we are His, His members) so long as we keep within the limits of Christ's credit a tolerably wide limit!

The sweetest part, ... is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient. ...So, if God should place me in serious perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trials, much strength? No fear that His resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.

And since Christ has thus dwelt in my heart by faith, how happy I have been! ...I am no better than before. In a sense, I do not wish to be, nor am I striving to be. But I am dead and buried with Christ ay, and risen too! And now Christ lives in me, and "the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

...Do not let us consider Him as far off, when God has made us one with Him, members of His very body. Nor should we look upon this experience, these truths, as for the few. They are the birthright of every child of God, and no one can dispense with them without dishonoring our Lord. The only power for deliverance from sin or for true service is Christ. And it is all so simple and practical!

"But are you always conscious of this abiding in Christ?" Mr. Taylor was asked many years later. "While sleeping last night," he replied, "did I cease to abide in your home because I was unconscious of the fact? We should never be conscious of not abiding in Christ."

(Taylor, Dr. and Mrs. Howard, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret. London: China Inland Mission. 1935. pgs. 114-116).

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Osama Bin Laden Made the News for the Last Time

Luis Rey 

My brothers and sisters, I understand emotions and feelings are high in the wake of this news. However, quite simply, Jeff you have taken great liberty in building an argument that was not even present, then accusing me to teach a "false do

ctrine." 

I made no appeal to "mourn a killer", nor in any way did I use Scripture for some "ethereal rant." Quite simply I stated that Jesus died for Osama Bin Laden and that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked...whether through execution or natural causes. If God does not take pleasure, why would we? Neither does He take pleasure in the loss of life of the righteous. 

This true message is a "heart check" for many people who have rejoiced at bin Laden's death claiming that he got what he deserved. Do not forget that you are not receiving what you deserve only because of the grace of Jesus, as He has taken what you deserve. Does it offend you that Jesus would have mercy on Bin Laden too?

God does not rejoice at his death even if it "supposedly" saves lives. What if his death incites his followers and they become more violent and kill more? Has God's wisdom now been found lacking? I tell you no, His wisdom is not man's logic. 

Zach, my brother, let us not try to pull our brothers into hypothetical traps that only ensnare men and insinuate men to be cowards. Peter said he would never deny Christ, but he did. Men don't always know how they will respond in a situation, even if they think they do. Let us not bless God then curse men with the same tongue.

My friends, the argument here is the difference in opinion of how the United States and any other government for that matter, would or should handle things compared to the Kingdom of God. Do not confuse the US government to be God's Kingdom. 

Why do some of you paint God as one who is out to "whack" people? You do not know what Spirit you are of, for the Son of man came to save men's lives not destroy them. 

Do you not remember those upon whom the tower fell in Siloam? Do you think their sin was greater than all the men of Jerusalem and that is why they died? I tell you no. 

Several of you comment on how Osama rejected Christ and must now face judgement and hell? How do you know, and are you the judge of that? 

I fear that the religious spirit will drive people to be more disappointed in who is not in Hell. 

What is the message that we send when we say as a Christian that we are proud of killing our enemy? We say the same thing the terrorists said on the day they flew into the towers. 

Quite simply, Jesus died for Osama bin Laden as He did for all mankind. We may be thankful that we "feel" safer tonight, but we know that to be an illusion, and in fact, the very opposite may be true. We ARE thankful that this man brings no more terror to anyone. But...I will not rejoice in the bloodshed of my enemy. 

If you want to comment further on this post, remember that the people you are writing to are not an enemy hidden away in some cave somewhere, that they are real people. Please don't assassinate each other's character with your words...

Shalom

11 minutes ago · Like

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I am not trying to convert anyone to 'my' viewpoint...

Guest post: Jim Taylor

It frightens some people to even think of questioning their beliefs. I am not sure why. I know in myself, though I question the things I believe I don't question Him! I have come to know Him as Love. I have come to see His character as kind, extremely patient, willing to give everything for me! He has never gotten angry with me when I walked away or denied Him. He has never cast me off when I made wrong choices - even when I knew I was making wrong choices. He has not gotten discouraged with me or given up on me in the many many times He could have.

So when I question beliefs, I am not questioning Him.

I do not know the answers to the eternal questions about the afterlife. Those who are assured that they understand it all do not bother me. I am not trying to convert anyone to 'my' viewpoint, for I am not sure I have one at this point, other than God's character is such that - in the end - no action of His will ever be judged by anyone as being wrong. 

I do know that Papa God is good .. All the Time! I know He is kind and loving .. much more so than earthly dads. And I know that He is right. I choose to bow my knees and willingly say that Jesus is my Lord. I trust my life to Him. Literally. I have no problem putting everything I have in His hands and going any place any time He wants. I have no problem selling all that I own and following Him. My life is His. I don't have to know or understand in order to live in Him. All I have to do is quit trusting in everything but Him ... let go and live in Him. 

I don't question Him. I choose to live in Him.

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"Some things will just have to stay UNKNOWN..."~Teri

 Guest Post by Teri Undreiner

For the last few days I've been in a few discussions where the Bible has been under fire. The discussions were on women and men, heaven and hell, baptism and not, saved, and unsaved, health and sickness, demonism and mental illness, etc. etc. etc...These were all great discussions and of course I have my own views and consider them "right". But...when it really comes down to it, no one really knows for sure. 

The Bible was written in a far off land in a whole different set of circumstances and languages. We can't REALLY know if Hell is literal or symbolic because we've never been there. We can't REALLY know if women and men should have different roles in the church because we can't exactly talk to the original authors of the letters. I use to be a person who took EVERYTHING literally (except the things I didn't want to;) One of these things was healing. 

When I read the Bible, Jesus seemed VERY sure that I could and should heal the sick and raise the dead. Well..He said that those who couldn't did not have faith. So...I wanted to be faithful. Hmmm, a couple people were actually healed ( or so it seemed) but still ....no dead came back to life. That made me mad cuz I gave it my ALL! My argument was, " If you told me to do it, GOD, then you have to follow through. I did my part!". And all it caused with stress and anger in me. I finally gave up trying . ( to the sadness of some friends on their deathbed. ) I couldn't take the stress anymore. 

I began looking at all our favorite belief systems in the christian church. What i found is that we all have our faves that we take literally and we throw others out because we don't see them happening, thus...not literal. I recall a verse where Jesus said, " what is easier to say, They sins be forgiven you, or, rise take up your bed and walk?" It's easier to say "your sins are forgiven you", than it is to heal somebody. I think it's because we can't SEE sins being forgiven but we can SEE whether someone is healed or not. 

Throughout all these controversial issues that surround us, I have come to a place in my life of realizing that we do pick and choose. Most all of us. "This is literal and this is not", depending how important we think something is to faith, to us, to OUR ministry or gender etc, to salvation, to others. This has cut me to the chase in my own life and beliefs. I realize how much I pick and choose and will defend something to the death of what I believe if I have to. But, there is something else. Some things are worth fighting for to me, except when it pulls people apart. 

NOW... I know that there were divisions in the Bible and many would say that it is good to divide so that the "true" and "false" followers would be revealed. When I look at the people that I love and know in the Christian Faith...I can't say that any of them are "false". Even when I disagree with them and their belief system makes me mad. I still know that they are doing the best they can with what they know and believe. JUST LIKE ME. And to be honest, I'm not willing to judge them or LOSE them from my life. They are IMPORTANT to me. I'm ONE OF THEM and they are ONE OF ME, regardless of our differences. 

That's just where I am. Some things will just have to stay UNKNOWN for sure until we get there. BUT, for right now? I got people. I'm not willing to let anyone go for the sake of differences in beliefs. I'm just being honest. AND, I'm not willing to allow strife and turmoil hinder the relationship with people I love, no matter what it is about. Beliefs come and go. Church politics come and go. But, my friends are here right now and I want to continue with them until they or I go. This has brought me to a place of peace. 

I have so many different types of friends and I like it that way. My world might be easier if we all believed the same or were the same, but that wouldn't be very colorful. What i have come to is this: The world will know we are christians by the love we have for one another. NOT by any other thing. Not by what we believe about Hell and Heaven, Women and Men, health or sickness, THIS or THAT. They will know me by how I love and honor others. 

So..I guess I'm becoming a MODERATE. LOL! Doing all things with moderation. I still have my STRONG beliefs that I feel very confident in, but not to the exclusion of others. I just can't do it. I want the fragrance that comes from my life to be sweet and uplifting, encouraging, and loving. I hope that I can be accepted for that, even if that is all I have to offer. In the end, when I'm dying and someone can't raise me from the dead, they can at least know how much they will miss me because of that fragrance when they were around me. 

So, here is my verse for the moment: 2 Cor: 6: 3-12 " we give no offense in anything but commend ourselves as ministers of God"..and then he goes on to say OUTRAGEOUS things! Paul and Jesus offended people all the time but it wasn't intentional. In this verse I am amazed at what things he wrote down that he would not give offense in. The hardest things! I can't even imagine. 

In that vein, I will probably offend people from time to time but know this: YOU are much more important to me than ANYTHING we could ever talk about or disagree about. YOU are who I love. Not pet peeves that I can't prove or disprove . It's all about YOU and it's all about Christ in ME and YOU. And to those who are reading this that do not want to be in Christ....it's all about YOU as well, for me. 

It's this simple, at least for me. Life is a journey and it's like being on a Potters wheel...we aren't finished till we're finished. We are all going to look so different than we look right now. We are going to be stretched and twisted, kneaded and baked and the outcome will be beautiful in it's time. Until then....GRACE to all.

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People are willing to die for their beliefs. How about you?

GUEST POST by believer in "the way":

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

I am deeply moved this recent month that the mainland government start a new wave of persecution....... in Beijing and all over China (except HongKong of cause) .....

 

I kindly ask for your precious pray for the Beijing Watchmen Church, the biggest underground church in Beijing. It faces a great persecution in Beijing. Pastors and church leaders are being custody in home. The government does not allow them to use their church building for service so they could only worship the Lord in the street. Then, the police catch them and put many of them in jail...... A few days ago, I have got a message from a sister from my Beijing church. She said that the situation their was very intense. Even my church pastor was called by the police.  Luckily the police do not make trouble to him.....

 

The underground church in Beijing now is starting a prayer and fast for BJ Watchmen Church. I kindly ask for your prayer support for standing together with our mainland Chinese brothers and sisters.

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Is there no higher calling than priest?

Guest post by my friend...

Luis Rey 

Most of the time, people are "alert" to the major doctrines that lead people down the obvious path of destruction. We often see "doctrines of demons" as the things that lead people to live radically different from what we view as "normal Christianity."

I would say that the most difficult false doctrine to discern is the one that actually enforces a "typical Christian life." In other words, the teachings of much of the Church today tell people that the typical Christian life is based on following certain steps to be a more effective Christian. It may sound good and even spiritual, and may even be used with Scripture to support it, but it in fact, has more to do with Spiritual self-help or works-based sanctification than as something that is accomplished through Jesus alone.

If there is still "work" for us to do regarding our salvation, righteousness and sanctification, then we can never fully rest in what Jesus has accomplished, and here is the danger. There are many men, who continue to preach what man must do to be "right" with God, and it usually involves pointing out problems in people's lives, and then giving the answer. It is a constant state of self evaluation, instead of a man or woman pointing to the constant state of beholding Christ. These teachings force people to constantly look at themselves in the mirror instead of beholding Christ.

As long as I can get you to look at yourself, you will always need me to tell you when and where to look, and how to fix it. In doing so, I have enabled you to live your faith in a form of voyeurism through what I believe, in which you are looking to me, and living your faith through what I am telling you should and shouldn't do. This makes faith passive, and relegates our faith to: going to church, tithing, joining a small group, serving in the church, trying to be a good person, etc. These things in themselves when understood are not bad, but they are not the totality of our faith.

Whenever a pastor or priest or whomever sees himself as the "bridge" between people and God, or when we see these men or women with "higher callings" than ourselves, then we have fallen to a form of man-made philosophy that is found in the doctrines of demons. These doctrines leave people watching someone else in front of them "perform" the service for God, while they sit and either applaud or complain. 

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There is a road less traveled and it may be to India...

• Ann Johnstone Back in 2009 God told me clearly to go to a remote village in India and stay with a woman there who, with her two sons, was starting up house churches in many of the surrounding villages. This was in an area where there is much persecution. I only knew of the woman via emails we had been sending each other over the previous year. (She found my name on a U.S. based House Church resource website). You can imagine how people thought I was crazy, but I just knew I had to go.

  My son works in South India but had been holidaying in Australia so I decided to travel back with him. I then went on my own by train to the nearest station to the village (about 4 hours away), not knowing if there would be anyone at the station to meet me. The people on the train thought I was a bit mad too when I told them I was going to meet someone for the first time. They all put their heads out the train window to see what would happen. Well, I stepped onto the platform and looked around at a couple of hundred people. Wasn't sure what to do next when a voice in the crowd called out, "Hello Maam, this is Babu". Mother and adult son were there to meet me.

Well, to cut it short, God did amazing things during my time in the village. People came streaming up to the 2-roomed house where I was staying (very basic - no plumbing etc) and wanted prayer. Even Hindus came. Little children kept following me and wanting to know more about Jesus. From morning til night I was praying for people (for salvation, healing, marriage-breakdowns, etc etc) and speaking to the crowds that met on the roof-top. It was an amazing time of God working in that village - and of me learning to trust Him to do the impossible.

I learned that other people's opinions, circumstances, etc, were all secondary. When God wants you to step out and do something that seems impossible, we can trust Him to be in control every step of the way. The opinions of others, circumstances, and barriers are all secondary ... and will change. God's faithfulness never changes. And all the glory is His.

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