The Umber Heart

The following letter is a "Prayer for Welcoming Discipline and Life-Giving Reproofs", by Scotty Smith.

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To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction. ~Proverbs 12:1

Dear heavenly Father, I’ll never tire of thanking you for the privilege of calling you Father—Abba, Father. There’s no greater joy or safer refuge—there’s no better address to call my home than your heart.

Once I was separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in the true Israel, a foreigner to your promise-filled covenants, without hope and without you in the world. But through the work of Jesus, you brought me near—you made me one of your beloved children (Eph. 2:12-13). I worship, praise, and adore you for such a rich and firm standing in grace. I begin and end every day with this loud declaration ringing in the chambers of my heart, “No condemnation!”

And now, it’s only because you love us as your children that you discipline us as you do (Heb. 12:4-11). All of your rebukes are “life-giving” and all your corrections are heart-freeing. None of them are meant to be guilt inducing, shame producing, or contempt fueling. You humble your children, but you don’t humiliate us. You’re firm but never harsh. You have our eternal glorification in view, when we’re, too often, only thinking about instant gratification.

On the cross Jesus exhausted the punishment we deserve. Now you delight in us, even when you confront our immaturity and irresponsibility. That’s why I’m a foolish man to play dodge ball with the convicting work of your Holy Spirit. You only purpose our freedom through the gospel.

No Excuses With God!

I’m a foolish man, indeed, when I get defensive and try to make excuses for myself. What’s there to defend? Indeed, being “stupid” (Prov. 12:1) has nothing to do with my IQ, my SAT score, or my GPA from various schools. Stupid is what we are when we hate correction, despise your discipline, or run from your admonitions.

I want to be at home among the wise, Father, so whether you speak to me from your Word—by the voice of your Spirit, or even through my spouse, colleagues, children, or friends—I’ll trust you for a humble heart and submissive spirit. By the grace, truth, and power of the gospel, free me to welcome your every correction. So every Amen I pray in Jesus’ life-giving name.

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"Oh, Lord Jesus,

I'm still trying,

Wait for me.

I stay today,

And I'll run tomorrow,

But I know you wait for me."

The song is called "Tomorrows" and is done by the group Falling Up. It's a long song with not a lot of lyrics, but it's simple and true and something I felt like sharing.

Let us not keep the hearts of darkness and shadow and umber-colored stains that make up such human default, but allow for correction and endorse the awaiting healing to begin.

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said. ~Luke 1:45

Because we have faith.

Can Not Not Sin

Ever heard about the law? It is the rules God set in the old testament that reveal our sinful nature. For instance, in order to be pure in the eyes of the law, you must never bear false witness, or lie. Anyone here never told a little lie? A little half-truth? Nope. Immmpossible. Therefore, we can never ever get into heaven as liars, as sinners. Period.

 

The law gives sin its power. ~1 Corinthians 15:56

 

So we become immune to the law, and we kill it with Christ. Instead of obeying it, we can turn to Jesus for a way out, a way to become pure again in his eyes. And because we kill the sin inside of us, we kill ourselves and replace us with the Holy Spirit.

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

~Galatians 2:19-20

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the phyical (so real you could touch him!) example/representation of the stuff God put into keeping us alive in him.
 

Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

~1 Corinthians 3:23
 

Don't let the things you or others around you do impact how Christianic you are. What you do should be, rather, a product of the attitude that comes after having filled your dead body with the HS!

 

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. ~Colossians 2:20-23

 

 

Irrefrangibly Rooted

"But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, 'Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.'” 

~Mark 5:36

Have faith in a ghost? I suppose the term is reflecting more on how other people would view us: chasing after something that is not real, not there. Oh, but it is, I say!

“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king." ~Tolkien

Tolkien speaks of roots that are strong and not reached by the things that haunt the earth. That can be good and bad; it all depends on what you have rooted yourself upon. When you look at your own roots, do you see that ghost who is the invisible leader of so many lives? Do you see the visible presence of that invisible deity?

“It’s too bad war gets all the attention; it’s too bad the plant is easier to see than the root.” ~Cameron Conaway

Sometimes, roots mean beginnings, or the source of something (oftentimes, pain). Sometimes roots are referred to when wanting/examining a foundation/beginning that is firm and strong, as are the roots of many trees.

"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." ~Philippians 4:11-13

The strength of a strong faith is no small matter. Let it be built up by those around you, let it fester and grow until your roots are firm and your work might begin to flower and produce "offspring". Strive to live a life that is unbreakable and won't be easily distracted. Be an example, and your reward will overflow not only in the life to come, but the life that is within us now.

"Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." ~Colossians 2:7

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength

through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." ~Ephesians 3:14-21

The Perfect Law Of Liberty

 (James 1:25)

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:32/34/36) Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. For you, brethren have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galations 5:1/13-14) Having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:18) The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2) I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. (Psalm 119:45)

Excessive Reasonability Vs. Blind Credence

It's the hardest thing for people to see without eyes, and harder still to truly believe in that wholly-trusting version of "sight". In other words, being human is to believe in yourself and those around you upon instinct, but to believe in some untouchable, nonphysical alpha-presence is to go against your trustworthy, selfish mindset and put your insecurities behind you. This is the hardest bush for people, today, to hack past, and harder still (sometimes) for those of us who do see it to give that understanding to them.

"If someone says, 'I love God,' but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?"
~1John 4:20

The following piece is taken from an interview that the main character of a (fictional) story has with two men who are trying to believe the grand tales he tells of all his trying misadventures.

"The arrogance of big-city folk! You grant your metropolises all the animals of Eden, but you deny my hamlet the merest Bengal tiger!"
"Mr. Patel, please calm down."
"If you stumble at mere believability, what are you living for? Isn't love hard to believe?"
"Mr. Patel--"
"Don't you bully me with your politeness! Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?"
"We're just being reasonable."
"So am I! I applied my reason at every moment. Reason is excellent for getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best tool kit. Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater."
~Life of Pi (pg.297)

 

“It is faith alone, in Christ alone, which alone moves God, when you are alone.”

~Rex Rouis

Try that one out for some brain maze! Faith can go a long way, as with passion. It's like duct tape: it can solve any problem if you let it!

"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

~Ephesians 3:17-19

Get It While It's Hot!

Being able to love what is good even in times that are hell.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. ~2Corinthians 4:8-11

Putting this into somewhat of a bullet point format, and posing a question for the next hot topic: Why are we cornered by troubles like this? May-hap the weather's a bit wild lately, but it will calm in time....or God just hates us for a little while, but...he doesn't dare keep it so hot n' hellish forever down here, right? Or just stick to the road that says things are difficult only because they intend to get better the further you push on. No. All those options put the blame on the wrong things, essentially. There are only two things to blame 1) Ourselves, for taking the first bait and sinning, and 2) The devil himself, the master hot-head who will turn your life around at the first pinch of opportunity. Things can seem right or wrong just by our backward thinking, when really, the goodness of life is always there, no matter where we are beside it. 

"The devil can site scripture for his purpose." ~Shakespeare

A dangerous enemy, that. So when you are pressed, submit and call is a good start. Ring him up, because God's service is the SPIRIT, which has perfect reception 24/7. Serious, no AT&T dropped calls anymore, and the phones, texts, and minutes are all free too! You won't even get a monthly bill.

Christ is as near as our hearts.

Drilled To The Sole

"There was only death and the dying" (The Way of the Apprentice Pg.73). This line was describing a scene where hope was nearly lost, where life was eerily absent and those experiencing the suffering were utterly afraid and selfish for the quickest escape. Pain is what you make it, right? Not necessarily, but for Christians, the pain is not worth thinking about, for it is only temporary. Death does not have to be literal either. It just means the hard times in life where we get trapped in dark times and push ourselves far from the salvation that God offers. We are drilled and tested, it seems, to the very depths of our beings; drilled to the soul. This is the struggle that everyone faces in some way or another. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." Remember that one from Psalm 23:4? We really have nothing to fear.

"Start-up companies call it the Valley of Death – the arduous terrain between proof of concept and the beginning of mass production and significant sales." (Link)

Haha!

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." ~Matthew 10:28

Fear God because when the day of judgment comes...no.

Fear God with reverence and praise because he gives us the choice to trust in him and not have to worry about the grave, or afterlife. Because when we die, we will be neither living nor lost. (Which I got form "Catacombs And Orchards": Cuz I see four hundred bones in silence, but none of them making the laws) Yeah, without him, the outlook is pretty depressing, but for those who know to look to God in their troubles know that He's got it covered. There is No Grave.

There is no weapon
There is no blade
You wonder why I’m not afraid?

You’ll never kill Him that lives inside of me.

I’ve erased all of my fear of the grave

~"Butcher" by Project 86

I know I have already shared this line before, but what about those who don't necessarily suffer during their lives and are instead too fond of the worldly gifts God has allowed them to experience?

"When we die there are holes the size of the things we fear will be left behind."

~The Light Beam Rider

Now this is not to be used as a scare factor for converting people. That doesn't usually fly too well. Instead, it is an encouragement and a reminder for us. We always have that hope that we held when we first believed because never in our lives will there be the possibility of any other way around death. We are written down in the Book, and God will not allow us to stay in the depths one second longer than necessary. In fact, it is one thing we will never experience!

"For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." ~Psalm 16:10-11