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#nuffsaid

“For G-d is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit…”
-From Romans 1:9-
“…whom I serve with my…spirit…”
I had never seen it in the same way before. This phrase spoke deeply to me this afternoon.  
Don’t pass through Paul’s letter on the way to 3:10, 3-23, 6:23, and 10:9-10 and seek out the Romans Road, without taking some time to examine this little gem.  Paul served the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with his spirit, with his breath.  This was not a soul service, but a spiritual service.
We have an opportunity.  When we are born again, G-d breathed the breath of life, HIS breath, into us and we become living souls (from Genesis 2:7).  And we can live from our souls, and that is a good thing, we can walk with spiritually-influenced minds, wills, and emotional reserves, and we can serve others on the horizontal plane, from our minds, wills, and emotions, which have been touch by G-d, and that is good.
But…
“The good can become the eternal enemy of the best.” -Arthur Burk-
Many believers already serve others–the L-rd and humanity–with their souls, but comparatively few of us, myself included, serve out of the rich deposit that is our spirit.  The spirit that He has put into us is a life-giving wind and a river of artesian-clear water.  It is a river that no force on earth or hell can stop or stifle, if we will properly fight and overcome the enemy who wishes to stop up that well with earthly pursuits at the expense of the Kingdom.

We frequently meet the physical needs, the felt needs, the practical needs, and even what we think is sometimes the greatest need, their salvation in that moment.  Many times, evangelism carries, in the background of its outworking, a sense of guilt laid upon us by a visiting minister.  “Prophesy or else you will have their blood on your hands”, the visiting minister sometimes tells us.  And so we attempt to microwave redemption and force a decision for Jesus that is soulishly timed with little regard for Father’s timing.  And after this activity, when we burn out and decide that evangelism is not for us, we wonder why few respond.
The above is but a small way to attempt to work the 2nd Commandment (love your neighbor-Matthew 22:39).
However, little gets done when only our souls are involved and we neglect the vastness and richness of our very breath given by Almighty G-d. This is small thinking that was antithetical to the very heart of the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:9).
Many of us never go beyond that realm of the soul and drive with the deeper tools that we have in our possession for the deeper reality in others:  an affect on someone’s spirit, out of the flow of our spirit.
The Father has placed a rich deposit in each person, and He has sent His grace ahead of time and ahead of us, so that we may speak to that deposit and that deepest yearning in each man, woman, and child.  And we may do so without regard for a hurried agenda.
The effects of our soulish working with others, while good, may preoccupy us away from the best.
We may get so caught up in our agenda of what a gospel presentation looks like in our agenda, that we neglect the Father’s agenda. 
His agenda is to awaken in humanity something so deep and transformative that it shakes us with a revelation of His love and tenderness that no enemy can put to sleep.  And that revelation of His tenderness, love, and kindness, is what leads us toward repentance.
Consider the following as evidence of that:
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of G-d.”
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen”
Ephesians 3:14-21

I work a graveyard shift job. It entails changing pallet jack batteries for a large wholesale grocery distributer, in whose warehouse I used to select frozen product that went onto pallets.
Whereas my original post was very frustratingly physical, my current job is frustratingly tedious.
In a portion of my mental downtime, I have been considering Romans 1.
I am currently engaged in a close reading of Proverbs and Romans during my times with the Father. This is before I engage reading on the New Perspective, and free from a lot of the methods that have been handed me in interpreting that book.
One of those phrases that stood out to me was the phrase from 1:14.
“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians.”
Paul was not under obligation, in this context, to Jews. He was writing to a mostly non-Jewish audience, which gave Peter the willies (Arthur Burk paraphrase of Galatians 2:11-14), and to whom he was obligated because the Jews had rejected him (Acts 13:46).
Obligations and vows are something I have been studying a lot recently, and vows, covenants, and obligations are not inherently bad things for New Testament believers (Number 6:1-23, Deuteronomy 23:21, Psalm 76:11, Acts 18:18).
Next time someone questions those things as legalistic and attempts to throw Matthew 5:34 at you as a prooftext, talk to them about the vows we make when we marry, among other things.
A vow as an insurance against lying and in a court of law is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5, which is vastly different to a vow before G-d and covenant spouse. Questionability of integrity or truth-telling is what Matthew 5 is about.
And Job’s covenant with his eyes was, I dare say, anything but legalistic (Job 31:1).
An obligation that is Spirit-driven is an excellent thing, and indeed, we are called to walk in the whole counsel of G-d, and part of that counsel is to know the obligations G-d has assigned us and to take those obligations seriously.
Be blessed, church, and fulfill your obligations and vows.
The Paraclete’s Hammer

“…To bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name.”  -Romans 1:5-
“If you love me you will keep my commandments.” -John 14:15-
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” -John 15:14-
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I call you friends, for all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you.” -John 15:15-
What did Jesus command us?
Some examples that we either have forgotten or do not understand in context
Seek first the kingdom
-Matthew 6:33-
Love God first
-Deuteronomy 6;5-
Remove the speck in a brother’s eye.
-Matthew 7:5-
Leave a lifestyle of sin, including a sexually immoral lifestyle.
-John 8:11-
Heal the sick.
-Matthew 10:8-
Cast out demons.
-Matthew 10:8-
Speak in tongues.
-Mark 16:17-
Cure leprosy.
-Matthew 10:8-
Freely give.
-Matthew 10:8-
Preach the kingdom.
-Matthew 4:17-
Repent.
-Matthew 4:17-
The obedience of faith….  Faith possesses a certain level of obedience.  Are we walking in growing levels of obedience to His counsel?  If not, then we cannot call ourselves “believers” in any meaningful sense of the word.
“Faith without works is dead.”
-James 2:17-
That level increases as we grow in the Lord. The one who keeps refusing what the Lord tells him or her is the one who will not see growth in his or her life. Growth means more in our lives that is not Him will die, be thrown into the fire, etc.  There is a process of refinement. Painful, but necessary.
As we grow in the Lord, we will see more fruit…
“Thus you will recognize them by their fruit.”
-Matthew 7:20-
If there is no fruit, then the fruitless branches will be cut off and destroyed.  And, fruit-bearing branches will be pruned in order to bear much fruit.

Text:
Proverbs 3:13-18, focusing on verse 16
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
V. 16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
There are so many, especially it seems in the church, who refuse to apply verse 16. They refuse to create a culture of honor.
Today is a day where churches place a high value on their pastors teaching them how to apply what Scripture teaches. Well, first, we must get the basics. Wisdom is basic to the faith of Christ.
And honor is a basic aspect and application of wisdom. Scripture teaches us to honor others. Honoring parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:2) comes to mind as a good example. Honor in the church is a natural extension of this principle, as we are to honor those in authority. Likewise, those in positions of authority are to honor and minister to those under their care, given leaders are ministers who watch over us (Hebrews 13:17) and do so for our good (Romans 13:4).
I observe, perhaps, that the lack of honor appropriated in churches is rooted in rampant lack of wisdom. When Scriptures exhort us to cry out for wisdom in the areas where we lack it (James 1:5), are we following through, or are we refusing to do so? I speak to myself as much as to my audience.
I will share an example of this culture of dishonor.
One pastor who I know told me that the church of which he was part was “a graveyard for ministry callings”. He was acknowledging that his church had a way of swallowing up people who were called and gifted.
But something else was present when I conversed with him. I picked up that it was not accidental, but rather it was a tool the enemy could use to keep people from advancing into their callings.
One person at this church, in an example of that graveyard mentality, along with her family, has been called to missions work. However, this person has led another ministry at the church for a number of years, and is now recognized not as called to missions work, or for that zeal for teaching the Scriptures, but as the head of that ministry.
This individual has long since grown tired of this work, but the church has continued to only recognize the ministry title. They have felt trapped in an assigned identity. The church has left this person in place, without giving this person or their family a platform for the outworking of their calling.
This is a subtle form of dishonor that happens in churches everywhere.
It is dishonor to say of a woman who happens to play violin in your church, but may have a calling to preach, “Oh, that’s just our church’s violin player”, when the church may not provide a platform for her to excel at her calling.
When we grow to admit that a church is a graveyard for something, we admit we have death in our presence in that aspect. We resign ourselves to this fact and instead of fighting to change it, allow that death to repeatedly take place. Jesus, the author of life, is no author of death.
It is dishonor to allow Lazarus to moulder in the grave.
So, what is the antidote?
How do we honor others?
Churches, all, each, and every one of them, are put in place to build platforms underneath individuals for their success in whatever ministry to which the Father of Lights (James 1:17) has called them.
Jesus places us on a platform called the Cross, for our success in the ministry He chooses for us. This platform involves death to self and giving life to others. He gives only good and perfect gifts, and he gives them without repentance or variance. It is our responsibility as churches to follow His example and to do the same for others. It is our responsibility to give that life to others in the same way He gave it to us.
This is wisdom and this is honor.
Honor is found in wisdom. Where honor fails to flow, there is a good chance that wisdom is not present. When wisdom takes hold of a congregation or pastor, then honor is sure to follow.
If your church, pastor, is not doing this, not honoring, not seeking godly wisdom, you need to fight for it to do so. Cut whatever needs to be cut to make this happen. Arrange to meet with people who are not working according to their gift sets, and reorganize your staff, if need be. Reorganize your church’s leadership around the gift sets that are present. A missionary is not just a Sunday School Teacher, a violin player, a nursery coordinator, an usher, a greeter, or a youth pastor.
Acknowledge the gifts present, ALL OF THE GIFTS PRESENT, and use all of those gifts, even if you don’t understand one or more of those gifts, like prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, discerning of spirits. These often-seen-as-weird gifts have a place, even in a non-Pentecostal or non-Charismatic church. So, place them and place them well. And, if you are not familiar with them, then ask someone who is familiar with how those gifts can be used, and then begin to place those gifted people throughout your church.
A second responsibility of a pastor, which will keep that graveyard mentality at bay, is that, as honor toward others and their callings is developed, we should also help develop life-giving relationships among our congregation. Life fights and overcomes death. Biblically, death is swallowed up in victory. The grave has no more stinging capacity in either the life of a believer or a church. It is time we started walking according to that principle, and stop allowing the spirit of death to have so much territory in our churches because we allow for and practice a culture of dishonor.
A third responsibility of the church is to encourage individuals to discover and acknowledge their G-d-given gifts and callings, and to develop those, even if they do not seem relevant to the ministry in which those individuals are currently serving.
A fourth responsibility is that we need to develop others who can take over for those who have callings elsewhere besides their current area of service.
Consider these for today.
Honor is in the hand of wisdom. The one who finds wisdom will practice honor of others. The one who honors others will find life, wealth, and blessing.

Matt Redman wrote a song based on it.

Newsboys has done a cover of that song.

It has entered into our pop culture, for better or worse, and we often have it devoid of its context.

I speak of Job 1:21b

The L-RD gave and the L-RD has taken away; blessed be the name of the L-RD. 

Now, while I have no problem with this verse on it’s own, I do have a problem with its over-application and misapplication to an abundance of situations.

The L-rd does give us gifts and callings. Yet, many times, I have heard pastors say that G-d can take our gifts away if we abuse them. However, this is nowhere supported in Scripture.  Rather, the Word teaches that they are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). He gives gifts, and, under His covenant, does so without repentance.  

As I was in my devotional time this morning, I thought about circumstances in which G-d might take something away from us.  A couple of good examples of this follow.

First, if Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is impossible to please G-d without faith, then I would imagine G-d would seek to remove obstacles to faith in our lives.  If something keeps us from trusting G-d, then G-d might remove that, and so cause us to trust him. 

This does not include our callings.  The reason for that is that G-d is faithful to execute his word and keep us with the gifts that come from him.  Now, he might remove us from the scene where we are doing damage and abusing with our gifts, but He does not remove our gifts. He has no need to remove our gifts. 

Why?

Because, sooner or later, if we walk in gifts combined with bad character, then despite our gifts, our character will show who we truly are, and people will distance themselves naturally from us.  
If we keep operating in our gifts and bad character, either one of two scenarios usually results.
Either our opportunities for ministry will eventually dry up, or we will end up with a ministry to people who still see us as anointed without seeing our faults, and who end us as radically deceived as we are. I have witnessed this phenomenon in churches before, sadly.

 Secondly, G-d will frequently remove from us things that keep us from new levels of trust in Him.  This might be an unhealthy relationship, a job that distracts us from His calling on us, a wrong priority, or something that we hold as an idol.  

But it is not a spiritual gift.

Moreover, G-d does not steal, kill, or destroy.  That is Satan’s job (John 10:10). 

G-d does not kill off our family members or destroy the lives of others, nor does He steal our dreams and hopes in order to force us into a place of despair. His way is the way of breathing life into us.

I have seen people who attribute the loss of their child or the loss of an opportunity to the L-rd’s doing.
“We don’t know why it was their time. We don’t know why G-d called my baby home. The L-rd gave and the L-rd took away.”
Nothing is further from the truth. We can have a calling and a dream and a child that is from G-d and any attacks on those callings and dreams and children are not from the L-rd. Rather, they are from the enemy, who is allowed to attack us.
Now the reasons for those attacks are numerous, but G-d is not responsible for those attacks. He is not culpable. We need to understand and call attacks on things that give us life as attacks of the enemy.
And G-d desires us to handle these battles, not by getting bitter or angry at G-d, but by doing some spiritual warfare to stop Satan in his tracks and pull down some strongholds. G-d wants to use all things to breathe life into us.
And one aspect of G-d’s breathing life into us is by making us, as His sheep and flock, into His majestic warhorse (Zechariah 10:3b). He wants to take you, His sheep, and make you a vessel a weapon in His hand to destroy the works of the devil (Isaiah 54:16-17, 1 John 3:8, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5). And He will do and use whatever it takes to ready us for battle, even an enemy attack.
So my question is, who is really reaponsible for that attack in your life?
Is it an attack on some aspect that breathes life into you? If yes, then go to the Scriptures and go to the L-rd and handle the battle that awaits you.
It is time for us to quit treating Job 1:21 as a fatalistic refrain and behaving toward life with apathy. It is time for us to take an active stance and label that death in our lives as the work of Satan and go after him and teceive the abundant life the Father has for us. It is time for us to become the warhorse he wishes us to become (2 Corinthians 5:17).