AnneGreenBean

Oh wow, this is so cool! I had to share…

I was just reading 1 Timothy 1:12:

“And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12 AMP) http://bible.us/8/2ti.1.12.amp

And I was wondering what it was that Paul entrusted to God… It didn’t make sense that Paul would be entrusted with something BY GOD and then entrust it BACK TO GOD, and I thought something didn’t make sense… So I copied the verse and rewrote it in my own words, in a way that sounded less poetic and more REAL…

I personally know and love this God, I can attest to who he is; there is no doubt in my mind that I can trust him, not only that he will keep his promises, but also that he has the power to protect my best interests (not the Better Life of blessings I would like, but the Better Hope I long for, to no longer desire anything else more than I desire simply his presence, drawing close to him) that I have placed in his hands and I trust him to bring about whatever is necessary to bring me closer to him.

And as I researched the original Greek word for “entrusted” I learned that it meant “deposit” as in safe deposit box, or in a pawn shop on consignment until the debt is paid off… And it hit me that the only possible thing Paul could’ve been talking about that he entrusted God with, or that he gave BACK to God, was in fact his striving for the Better Life. He had given up on his hope of blessings and power and easiness, and had instead trusted God to bring him (Paul) wherever he needed to be to learn to draw near to God above everything else. He had given God the power over the pressure in his life. The pressure was off. Wow.

I STRONGLY, STRONGLY, STRONGLY encourage anyone to read the book “The Pressure’s Off” by Larry Crabb. This post will make much more sense… Here are a few excerpts and the link to ibooks:

“Whatever else I wanted that God could provide I assumed I could secure by making the right choice. My part was to figure out the required A and do it; His was to provide the B I wanted. [the Law of Linearity] I had it wrong. I didn’t do anything of merit to win heaven. I simply presented myself to God.”

“But there are two difficulties with this new arrangement [the Law of Liberty, which has replaced the Law of Linearity]. One, it requires us to yield control over what happens in our lives and to trust God to do whatever He thinks best…. We prefer to claim influence, if not control, over which blessings come our way. Two, it’s harder to enjoy God than His blessings. Offer a young child the choice of having Daddy present Christmas morning with no gifts or having Daddy absent and a stack of gifts piled high beneath the tree, and the child might choose the gifts. Only the mature value the blessing of presence over the blessing of presents. Until we develop a taste for God, we prefer a better life of blessings from God over a better hope of intimacy with Him. And because we prefer control over trust, we return to a more acceptable kind of linearity, a version of our own making—one that we can handle—to see to it life works as we want.”

Excerpts From: Crabb, Larry. “The Pressure’s Off.” WaterBrook Press, 2012-06-27. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=531976687

I can see this whole new world unfolding before me, into a miraculous picture I could never see before… Now that my eyes are open to the Better Life (physical blessings) VERSUS the Better Hope (intimate friendship with the Blesser). All our lives we thought they were one and the same, and so impossibly unattainable, and we were destined to be forever striving… THIS IS THE LIBERTY, THE FREEDOM WE HAVE HAD ALL ALONG, AND WE TRULY DO SIT IN CAGES OF OUR OWN MAKING. WE HAVE NO IDEA THAT THOUGH WE ARE TOLD THAT WE ARE FREE, WE CONTINUALLY/CONSTANTLY CHOOSE TO BE ENSLAVED.

God is so awesome, isn’t he? I love how when we ask him to draw us closer to him, and to grow that desire in us for us to draw closer to him, he never EVER says no!

If God makes a “new” law, this proves there is an “old” law. The new law stands and supersedes the old. The old is gone, obliterated, replaced. An old building is demolished and another is set on top of the old foundation. The old building is physically impossible to enter because it no longer exists. The only building that exists is the new one. There is no choice to choose the old because it literally does not exist.

“When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.” (Hebrews 8:13 AMP)

“Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell]. For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:11, 12 AMP)

“For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died; And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake. Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh]. Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).” (2 Corinthians 5:14-19 AMP)

“Since all this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away. For if the message given through angels [the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty, How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak].” (Hebrews 2:1-3 AMP)

“For it is impossible [to restore and bring again to repentance] those who have been once for all enlightened, who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit, And have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and world to come, If they then deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance—[it is impossible] to bring them back to repentance, for (because, while, as long as) they nail upon the cross the Son of God afresh [as far as they are concerned] and are holding [Him] up to contempt and shame and public disgrace.”(Hebrews 6:4-6 AMP)

Therefore, when he says the old is passed away. This is a less painful way to refer to death, so when someone is dead they cannot return to life. They are no longer considered part of the living world. What is dead is gone from the world for the rest of time. If the old mindset has passed away, and the new mindset has come, doesn’t that mean the old is obliterated and should no longer be believed to exist? We cannot live in the “passed” (pun happily intended). It does not exist. We are going against his wishes when we choose to believe what is not true. And when we continue to try to bring it back to life, we waste our time and God’s time, and our hearts no longer rely on Him to be our present and future. We slap him in the face and put Christ back up on the cross because he has already obliterated the old and we continue to set our minds back like a time machine to when we were “happy”, the most destructive lie Satan can get us to believe. When we live looking backward, we never go forward. What a waste of our precious time and privileges and freedom that is right in front of us. If only we would open our eyes and realize we are backwards. We are trying to bring back to life the old, outdated, pointless, inefficient, rotting zombie of a mindset when the living, breathing, fresh, new, updated and efficient and awesome freedom is in our reach!!!! Once we can see the truth, we cannot go back to the lie- we must fight hard to keep our minds seeing that truth. Once we see the truth, we will know what the lies look like. We would be idiots to choose the lie over the truth when we know the difference between the two.

“For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction].” (Isaiah 64:6 AMP)

I am continually being chased by the Hound of Heaven to let go of the old. It is gone and I have yet to see that completely. But moment by moment, God is opening my eyes to realize that the “passed” is gone for a reason- it is junk. He wants to replace my filthy rags (trash which I treasure) with the new and beautiful and truly valuable. Who in their right mind values a dirty piece of scrap metal from the dumpster over a hand-crafted, custom-made high quality diamond ring made by a master jeweler?! There no comparison! And yet this is how I hang onto my “passed,” and I refuse to see the truth. My crap is not comparable to the massive wealth that God has placed in my reach. All I have to do is turn around. And boy, is He working on me to do just that. I am getting there. Sometimes I feel discouraged and my hope seems so distant, but I am reminded again that if God loves me enough to chase me, he will not give up on me. And if he won’t give up on ME, why would he give up on YOU?

“For the Law never made anything perfect—but instead a better hope is introduced through which we [now] come close to God.” (Hebrews 7:19 AMP)

“Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” (Hebrews 4:16 AMP)

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT)

(originally posted on my other blog on Friday, June 10, 2011 at 7:58pm)

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:1-3

What stuck out to me in the preceding verses is that those who concern themselves with and delight in pleasing God first and foremost have… JOY! Their every ounce of energy and breath and thought is consumed with how to please God, to continually improve their relationship with God, like “bigger and better” and constant upgrades. BUT what stuck out the most to me was that they BEAR FRUIT EACH SEASON. Not every once in a while, not once a decade, not intermittently, but on a regular basis and after reasonable hard times (winter). “They are like trees planted by a riverbank”… With a constant source of nutrition- sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. What riverbank tree with sufficient, constant good food is not strong, upright, and continually producing growth? “their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”

I'm moving on to Proverbs 1 to see what wisdom is hidden there...

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” v7.

What is “Fear of the Lord”? Actually being simply afraid doesn’t sound like it would be the right answer…

According to God’s character, he has not given us the Holy Spirit so that we are afraid, but the Holy Spirit works in us, showing an outward display (maybe like fireworks) of God’s Unconditional Love, Confidence in God’s Power, and a Complete/Healthy /Undisturbed/Unsplit/ Focused/Perfected/ All-that-it-was-meant-to-be/Operating -at-100% mind. (all of which which he has given us access to, in order for us to use toward others as His ambassadors to the world). 2 Tim 1:7

So as for the “Fear of the Lord”, if the original term really meant respect, and respect literally means “to look at again,” then it sounds as if respect meant that it was how you looked at someone who was worth copying, someone who you admired and continued to watch and to emulate. I’ve never thought of that before, but it sure changes my view of what respecting someone should be.

Fear of Yahweh may mean:

”being afraid to offend God in any way”

”tremble in the presence of one who could take our life” Matthew 10:28

”fear of the judge who has the power and authority to sentence us or set us free”

”trembling and quaking if one knows they have offended God and have not obtained forgiveness!” -Hebrews 10:26-27, 30-31; 12:28-29

Hebrew, word “YIR’AH” (fear/terror, awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear), fear (of God)- respect/ reverence/piety)

Greek word “PHOBOS” (fear/dread/terror, that which strikes terror)

I guess when I think of God, I don’t look at him as “the great and terrible”, but more as a big softy. Where I get that, I don’t know. But I tend to see more of a personal God I can step on vs. Creator of the Universe and Universal-Judge- who-can-blank-out-my-existence- in-the-blink-of-an-eye. That’s definitely gotta be part of my problem. I see him much lower on the totem pole than I should.

“My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.” v. 8-9

I guess what this says is to pay attention when others offer wisdom. It is to your benefit to consider the wisdom you can learn from others. They probably know what they are talking about, especially elders. Weigh their wisdom against the Bible. The character of the person may also help you weigh the validity of the advice, and whether it is wisdom or foolishness.

“Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square…. ‘How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—…. When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord. They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes. For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.’” v. 20, 22-26, 28-33

So Wisdom is a literal part of God, at least that’s how she is portrayed here. Personification of an inanimate object or concept. I guess if you replaced “Wisdom” with “God” and you considered His character, it would not make any difference in the meaning of the passage.

“Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.” yeah, that sounds like me. I choose to not listen to wisdom, and to be complacent. Baer said because of a lot of my personality traits, I am partly phlegmatic. I bet the majority of lazy people in the world either are primarily phlegmatic personalities or have allowed the phlegmatic to take over. Complacent, mediocre, so-so, just okay… All boring, ho-hum, unspectacular and ordinary. Nothing special. Nothing memorable. Nothing worth a second look. Lukewarm & worthless.

Lukewarm is worthless, and therefore useless. No wonder God said he would spit the lukewarm out. It’s gross.

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.” Rev 3:15-19

“Lukewarm people are people that say they are Christ-followers, but they put more stock in the things of this world than they do the things of Christ. Lukewarm people care more about sports, academics, money, and hobbies than they do about the kingdom of God. God says he’s going to spit these people out of his mouth. What do you think this means? If this is right, what does it do to our conception of what it means to be Christian?”

“Can someone truly have an encounter with Jesus Christ and be lukewarm? I’m starting to believe that thinking there is such thing as a lukewarm Christian is a dangerous thought. It’s dangerous because it minimizes what it means to have Christ transform your life. It’s dangerous because it tricks people into having a false sense of security.”

“If Christ has truly transformed your life, then it seems like he would be your heart’s greatest desire.”

I had an epiphany a few days ago… There’s a horse whisperer and a dog whisperer, and who knows how many other whisperers there are out there, but I had the thought of writing a book about the Original Heart Whisperer.

I wondered if anyone else had had such an idea before me, so I did a google search- there is a woman that calls herself / accepts being called the Heart Whisperer, but there is really only one.

To my surprise I found this page which spoke of the True, Original Heart Whisperer, and it made me smile.