Spurgeon had said it:

“To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred.
He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to him. 

He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament.
He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood.  

His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice.
He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence. 

To draw a hard and fast line and say, “This is sacred and this is secular,” is, to my mind, diametrically opposed to the teaching of Christ and the spirit of the gospel… 

Peter saw a sheet let down from heaven in which were all manner of beasts and four-footed creatures, which he was bidden to kill and eat, and when he refused because they were unclean, he was rebuked by a voice from heaven, saying, “What God hath cleansed that call not thou common” [Acts 10:15; 11:9]. 

The Lord hath cleansed your houses, he has cleansed your bed chambers, your tables…  He has made the common pots and pans of your kitchens to be as the bowls before the altar – if you know what you are and live according to your high calling.

You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you ploughmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors, your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, by living unto Him as you ought to live. 

The sacred has absorbed the secular.”
~ Spurgeon

Illuminated (On Coming Out of Hiding)

From Blogger " A Warm Cup of Coffee"  -

“God calls us, as He did Adam, to come out of hiding. No amount of spiritual makeup can render us more presentable to Him.” -Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child

My thoughts today are focused on being naked.

Totally exposed; completely bare; free.

For awhile now the clothes have been coming off, piece by piece, as I discover how bare I actually already am, and what it means to really be covered.

The first covering was given to Adam and Eve when they realized just how bare they were; it was uncomfortable and embarrassing; there was shame brought on by the fact that their sin was exposed. They were naked, and the knew it, and so they hid from the One who knew their nakedness before they did. For their sake, and out of His kindness, God covered them in a coat made of skin (Genesis 3:21). You don’t get skin without the kill. And so there it was, the first sacrifice, the spill of blood so that the people would be covered and their shame hidden.*

And still we hide. Even though God knows every woven piece of our being, we hide. Our eyes are wide open to our failures, and so we cover because we don’t want to be found out. We give pretense and we try to be and do in order to be accepted and loved, but what we forget is that God sees past all of it; He’s sees our bare selves and He loves us anyway. We can’t be more or better and think that we will someone get closer or be more loved by God; He loves us in spite of ourselves. And yet, He offers a covering still. He offers a covering of blood so that will be free to walk with Him in the garden without shame or pretense or posturing.

He offers the opportunity for freedom.

Our new covering is on the inside, over our spirits, and it transforms us from being shackled to sin and frees us to stretch into our new selves without fear.

We don’t have to hide from God (this is actually impossible anyway), and we don’t have to hide from people (oh, this one is possibe, and quite frequent).

We are cracked and swollen and desperate. And He already knows our mess.

I’m saying, let’s be messy and honest. Let’s not try to super glue the cracks, but instead let the Holy Spirit work through them to bring light to a messy world. You can’t let your light shine if you try to patch up the cracks.

So here  I am, losing my clothes, getting closer to naked. I wonder if this is really what sanctification is about? Not becoming more, but becoming less, until we are fully bare.


Covered yet naked. A gracious mystery that I am falling into. And it’s gloriously freeing.

“If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminate nor become a light for others.” -Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child

Related: Core Lies (free download)

*There is no concrete evidence that the skin God used to cover Adam and Eve came from an animal, but I think it makes sense that it did. The Hebrew word used is עוֹר (or), meaning skin, leather, or hide.

OUTRAGEOUS FAITH

 Sharing a devotional for a women's evening - some of this material came from "A Holy Experience" blog, and some from other studies.  Thank you.

OUTRAGEOUS FAITH

“How do we know?”

That even when we’re broken, we are to battle onward -  to place all our dependence on  Him who promises to cover us  --  all the fixing coming from God as we make steps to move forward despite the circumstances that life has presented.  No matter who we are, what we have done, where we are coming from -- without question of deserving the grace, love, and acceptance of the Almighty Creator.

Sometimes it’s hard to look love square in the eye and accept the acceptance. Is this why we turn from God?

“What do we do?”

From where we stand, we can’t see whether it’s something’s good or bad. All we can see is that God’s  sovereign and He is always good, working all things for good.

     How do we know that what has brought us to the place we are at is really a bad thing?

Listen to the Story of the White Horse, an old story from South America:

How a white stallion had rode into the paddocks of an old man and all the villagers had congratulated him on such good fortune. And the old man had only offered this: “Is it a curse or a blessing? All we can see is a sliver. Who can see what will come next?”

When the white horse ran off, the townsfolk were convinced the white stallion had been a curse. The old man lived surrendered and satisfied in the will of God alone:  “I cannot see as He sees.”

And when the horse returned with a dozen more horses, the townsfolk declared it a blessing, yet the old man said only,“It is as He wills and I give thanks for His will.”

Then the man’s only son broke his leg when thrown from the white stallion. The town folk all bemoaned the bad fortune of that white stallion. And the old man had only offered, “We’ll see. We’ll see. It is as He wills and I give thanks for His will.”

When a draft for a war took all the young men off to battle but the son with the broken leg, the villagers all proclaimed the good fortune of that white horse. And the old man said but this, “We see only a sliver of the sum. We cannot see how the bad might be good. God is sovereign and He is good and He sees and work all things together for good.”

“Hasn’t that been the lie right since the beginning of time?

        –  That we can see?” 

        When we ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Satan hissed then that we’d know what is good and evil — that we’d really see.

        But the father of lies, he’d duped us in the whole nine yards. Though we ate of that tree we did not become like God.

      We have no knowledge of good and evil apart from God. Our heart optics are not omniscient.

“So how can I really see if a seeming disaster or dilemma, is actually dire?”

        My focus need only be on Him, to only faithfully see His Word, to wholly obey. 

     Therein is the tree of life.

       God’s only up to good work.”

     “All we can see is Christ – and in Him all is grace.”

I can see it, just what we always have, what we can always only see —

     Just a sliver, a sliver of the sum, swaying behind us -- there   --  in a whisper of wind.

“Whatever You may do, I will thank You.

I am ready for all; I accept all.

Let only Your will be done in me…

And I’ll ask for nothing else, my Lord.”

Outrageous Faith  - not to be kept for the refined in life…..

        How outrageous is your faith?  Is it beyond the ordinary?

        For the kingdom shall be taken by force.  Our faith activates the power of God.  Sometimes you need to realize that the battle is not yours – but Gods.

     

Place your trust in God – not the world system.

• If you are disappointed in yourself it is because you have put your faith in yourself – not God.

• Set the Lord before you in all things.

• The antagonisms of others – cannot kill your joy unless you surrender it.

• Contend for the faith through visible manifestations – actions that show you trust wholly in God.

• The wrath of man does not work the works of God.

Step out first in obedience despite what you feel in your heart …… despair, desperation, anger, rage, hurt …… for what we see in the flesh is but a sliver of the sum.  God has the sum in the palm of His hand, and in it we can find rest.

Claims

Claim the promises of God in your life -- and for your life -- and the lives of your family -- and the lives of your loved ones and friends.

For by speaking God's Word out - we enable the beliefs of our heart to be made manifest in the world.

Thank you God for making me like a tree, firmly planted by streams of Your living water. Thank you Lord that You feed me daily in food that never causes me to hunger again, -- that it is food for the growth of my soul and for planting my feet so firmly in Your Ways and directing my thoughts ever toward You.

God, thank you for Your loving mercy and forgiveness of my sins.

God, thank you that You loved me so much that You chose me - me to live and to be Your child.  Thank you that You have pursued me in a mighty way - never ceasing.

Thank you God, that You have provided in mighty ways for me and my family.

I trust You Lord, for You are my Source, my Deliverer, my Strong Tower.

Lord, I thank you that You direct my paths in the way I should go.  Soften my heart Lord that I may be fully filled with You.  Let there not be any part of me that is hidden or not given to You.

God - I freely and fully give to You all that I am.  Please show me how I should go and what You would have me to pray about for You to change.

Thank you Lord, that You have my back.  That You watch over me, protecting me from the enemy and his assignments.  I rebuke, in the name of Jesus, the wiles of the devil against me and my family.

Thank you that Your grace has extended to me.  I receive it gratefully.

Thank you God, that You know my heart.

Thank you Father, that You are working on me and have not forsaken me, but You hold me dear to You, as Your precious own child.  Thank you that You formed me perfectly before I was yet born, that my name - my own name is written on the palm of Your hand.  I praise You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

God, You are Holy, and I worship You for who You are.

God, I pray for wisdom and discernment and the gift of prophecy.  Thank you Lord that Your Word belongs to me and gives me light for my heart and wisdom for Your work.

God, thank you for Your Holy Spirit, for the indwelling promise of God.

Thank you, Lord, that you have already provided a way for Your servant to accomplish the work You have put in front of me.

God give me patience to rest in You.  Thank you for Your peace in my soul and heart.

God prepare me for the work You have put before me.

Undiminished

God is not diminished by our lack of faith or level of faith.  Even with no faith - God can move.  

"It's a vision of who God is -  not of what He can do"  - ref Luke 17:5&6     God is so much more than His blessings.  Start with what you have - and ask for your faith to be increased.   Keep talking to God - His desire is to make Himself known to us.  
Remember, God is not bound by rules of nature, or of man.  He is Elohim - from the beginning - and He is the Almighty.  He was at the beginning the same as He is now and as He always will be.  He is the Provision, and the Provider.  He is the Way and the Destination. 

If fear is the greatest obstacle of faith - then we should remember Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in You."

For God  - the Almighty, Creator of all things, loves us with a great love.  He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with us.  He will never fail us.  He will never leave us.  He will never forsake us.   (Deut 31:6,8)  He holds us in the palm of His hand and will not allow us to be snatched away.  (John 10:29)

Great faith is a trusting faith.  Your Father God is always with you, so you don't need all the details - He wants to take care of those for you.  LET HIM.  After all - He is truly in control - and He is so much wiser and more powerful than we are - why would we want to try to take care of things ourselves when we have the great IAM - He who created all things - who wants us to depend upon Him?  He can do so much more than we can. 

He waits for our response - so that He may pour Himself out through His Spirit - into our hearts and lives ....
God longs to be known by His children, and we need to love Him --more than we desire His promises.

God's desire is for us - and our fullness is in Him and apart from Him there is no life, no peace, no joy.