Monday, September 28, 2009
Sept 28, 2009 Random ramblings
Its been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I would write a little. Life has a way of getting busy and time passes before you even realize it. There is really nothing profound going on... lately it seems like, work, work, work and more work. Amen, it is in these seemingly quiet times that God is usually up to his most profound work. And so we wait patiently for Him to be revealed, in His time.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Blabbing
So,
Today is another day, and I just trying to wake up. I am realizing how chemically dependend I am - as in STARBUCKS. Lets face it, The best part of waking up is NOT Folger's in your cup.. Its STARBUCKS! :) Actually, the best part of waking up is discovering you an go back to sleep for another 4 hours!
I find I have a tendency to over commit myself. I take on some simple projects, that turn into major nitemares... nest thing I know I am in over my head. I am sure we all have tendencies to over estimate our abilities, and underestimate what it will take to do the task before us.
Can anyone relate?
Today is another day, and I just trying to wake up. I am realizing how chemically dependend I am - as in STARBUCKS. Lets face it, The best part of waking up is NOT Folger's in your cup.. Its STARBUCKS! :) Actually, the best part of waking up is discovering you an go back to sleep for another 4 hours!
I find I have a tendency to over commit myself. I take on some simple projects, that turn into major nitemares... nest thing I know I am in over my head. I am sure we all have tendencies to over estimate our abilities, and underestimate what it will take to do the task before us.
Can anyone relate?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Selflessness
Selflessness
I have recently been pondering how we as believers are so often obsessed with being selfless. Let me be perfectly blunt: every one of us came to Christ for completely selfish reasons. We didn’t want to face hell in the future, we were convicted of our rottenness because of sin, and wanted to be restored to God in right relationship. Our reasons were all for self. Has anyone ever come to Christ for His sake? Yet, Jesus has met us in our totally self-centered condition and accepted us there.
We are created in the image and likeness of God, but we are also distorted because of sin. God’s desire is to be the center of all things but not for the same reasons that we are self-centered. It’s not for His gain; He desires to be the center of all things for OUR good. He is not like us! (See Psalm 50:21) In our fallen distorted condition, we also desire to be the center of all things – for our own benefit, not for the benefit of another.
The life of Christ is selfless, but in my flesh I am selfish. When I set out to be selfless, I end up being even more selfish because it is ME in the flesh trying to be something. The only reasons I have for being selfless when I walk in the flesh are to promote my own agenda, my own reputation, my own kingdom, my own glory, and my own righteousness. I love others in order to gain acceptance, significance, recognition and approval of men, and to be loved in return. In other words, when I attempt to be selfless in the power of the flesh, I am nothing but pure pride and am more selfish than ever. I am not thinking of my self less (often); I am thinking more about me!
So how do we overcome this? Who can save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God for Christ Jesus His Son. Christ’s life is selfless. If I will walk in Him as I have received Him – for selfish reasons -- turning to Him to meet all my selfish needs and desires, He will fill me up. His life will begin to flow out of me and I will become more characterized by selflessness. But it will not be me doing it; HE will be doing it through me. The reality is, the more obsessed I become with Him, and the more I turn to Him to meet my own needs, the more open I become to Him. I live with my heart open and my ear tuned to Him. When He speaks, leads and prompts, I respond to His leading because I cannot help but do so. However, I am so wrapped up in my life with Him that I am strangely unaware of how selfless I am becoming, and the excellence is of God, not us. I’m just an old earthen vessel – an old cracked pot – but I am full of rich treasure. I am speaking of a great mystery, that is, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.” (See Colossians 1:27)
John 5:44 CJB How can you trust? You’re busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.
I John 4:19 CJB We ourselves love now because He first loved us.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 And as for you, may the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed toward everyone, just as we do toward you…
Galatians 5:25 Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day.
http://livingcovenant.com
I have recently been pondering how we as believers are so often obsessed with being selfless. Let me be perfectly blunt: every one of us came to Christ for completely selfish reasons. We didn’t want to face hell in the future, we were convicted of our rottenness because of sin, and wanted to be restored to God in right relationship. Our reasons were all for self. Has anyone ever come to Christ for His sake? Yet, Jesus has met us in our totally self-centered condition and accepted us there.
We are created in the image and likeness of God, but we are also distorted because of sin. God’s desire is to be the center of all things but not for the same reasons that we are self-centered. It’s not for His gain; He desires to be the center of all things for OUR good. He is not like us! (See Psalm 50:21) In our fallen distorted condition, we also desire to be the center of all things – for our own benefit, not for the benefit of another.
The life of Christ is selfless, but in my flesh I am selfish. When I set out to be selfless, I end up being even more selfish because it is ME in the flesh trying to be something. The only reasons I have for being selfless when I walk in the flesh are to promote my own agenda, my own reputation, my own kingdom, my own glory, and my own righteousness. I love others in order to gain acceptance, significance, recognition and approval of men, and to be loved in return. In other words, when I attempt to be selfless in the power of the flesh, I am nothing but pure pride and am more selfish than ever. I am not thinking of my self less (often); I am thinking more about me!
So how do we overcome this? Who can save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God for Christ Jesus His Son. Christ’s life is selfless. If I will walk in Him as I have received Him – for selfish reasons -- turning to Him to meet all my selfish needs and desires, He will fill me up. His life will begin to flow out of me and I will become more characterized by selflessness. But it will not be me doing it; HE will be doing it through me. The reality is, the more obsessed I become with Him, and the more I turn to Him to meet my own needs, the more open I become to Him. I live with my heart open and my ear tuned to Him. When He speaks, leads and prompts, I respond to His leading because I cannot help but do so. However, I am so wrapped up in my life with Him that I am strangely unaware of how selfless I am becoming, and the excellence is of God, not us. I’m just an old earthen vessel – an old cracked pot – but I am full of rich treasure. I am speaking of a great mystery, that is, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.” (See Colossians 1:27)
John 5:44 CJB How can you trust? You’re busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.
I John 4:19 CJB We ourselves love now because He first loved us.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 And as for you, may the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed toward everyone, just as we do toward you…
Galatians 5:25 Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day.
http://livingcovenant.com
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Anchor
"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…" (Hebrews 6:19a)
Having Jesus as our anchor is such a blessing. No matter what we are facing we can have confidence that He keeps us held fast and sure.
Christian songwriter Ray Boltz sings a song that says even though our ship has been battered and the sails are torn, the anchor holds, in spite of the storm.
Have you ever thought about what is holding you?
Having Jesus as our anchor is such a blessing. No matter what we are facing we can have confidence that He keeps us held fast and sure.
Christian songwriter Ray Boltz sings a song that says even though our ship has been battered and the sails are torn, the anchor holds, in spite of the storm.
Have you ever thought about what is holding you?
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Desire?
Desire?
After preaching a sermon on a Sunday morning, a woman asked me a question about our nature in Christ. She wanted to know why we have desires that go against Christ’s nature; If Christ’s life is now my life and He is my very nature, then why the struggle?
We often believe that temptations and desires are the same thing. As a result we buy a lie and live in struggle and defeat, wondering what is wrong with us. If temptation is the same as desire, then Jesus Christ must have been the most wicked man who ever walked the face of the earth; He was tempted in ALL ways! Yet we know He was not the most wicked man because He is the Son of God and He knew NO sin.
Temptation is simply something attempting to lure me into unbelief and self-effort. No matter what it looks like, the result of choosing this route is sin – either un-righteousness or self-righteousness. As believers, a desire is what flows from the very heart of God. Christ is my deepest heart’s desire, and anything that would be His desire is also the desire of a believer’s heart. A believer may not act according to his or her desire, or even be aware of his or her true desires, but that does not change the reality. Jesus is in the process of moving us toward greater and greater belief, teaching us that His desires are our desires and our desires are His desires. In fact, when we act contrary to our God-given desires, it is because of our unbelief on this very issue.
I sensed chains breaking as the Lord ministered to this sister in Christ. Tears welled up in her eyes and there was an overwhelming sense of wonder and joy evident on her face.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
“Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.” Hebrews 13:18
“Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted (indeed, it is for this that we toil and strive): we have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially of those who trust. 1 Timothy 4:10
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them.” Psalm 145:18, 19
After preaching a sermon on a Sunday morning, a woman asked me a question about our nature in Christ. She wanted to know why we have desires that go against Christ’s nature; If Christ’s life is now my life and He is my very nature, then why the struggle?
We often believe that temptations and desires are the same thing. As a result we buy a lie and live in struggle and defeat, wondering what is wrong with us. If temptation is the same as desire, then Jesus Christ must have been the most wicked man who ever walked the face of the earth; He was tempted in ALL ways! Yet we know He was not the most wicked man because He is the Son of God and He knew NO sin.
Temptation is simply something attempting to lure me into unbelief and self-effort. No matter what it looks like, the result of choosing this route is sin – either un-righteousness or self-righteousness. As believers, a desire is what flows from the very heart of God. Christ is my deepest heart’s desire, and anything that would be His desire is also the desire of a believer’s heart. A believer may not act according to his or her desire, or even be aware of his or her true desires, but that does not change the reality. Jesus is in the process of moving us toward greater and greater belief, teaching us that His desires are our desires and our desires are His desires. In fact, when we act contrary to our God-given desires, it is because of our unbelief on this very issue.
I sensed chains breaking as the Lord ministered to this sister in Christ. Tears welled up in her eyes and there was an overwhelming sense of wonder and joy evident on her face.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
“Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.” Hebrews 13:18
“Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted (indeed, it is for this that we toil and strive): we have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially of those who trust. 1 Timothy 4:10
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them.” Psalm 145:18, 19
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Flesh, Failure, & Success
These past few days have been a real struggle, and as a result I fell into depression and anger in very real and tangible ways. I know that a major factor has been physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, but never-the-less there is no excuse for a believer walking in the flesh.
Yesterday the Lord reached out an took my eyes off of myself just for a few minutes, and it was such a blessing to realize His joy and peace again. Today I am thankful for Him letting me fall in to the flesh - the contrast truly shows a revelation of His life within! He truly DOES cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him!
"And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power would be of God, and not us." (See Corinthians 4)
How has He been revealing Himself to you through your failures????
Yesterday the Lord reached out an took my eyes off of myself just for a few minutes, and it was such a blessing to realize His joy and peace again. Today I am thankful for Him letting me fall in to the flesh - the contrast truly shows a revelation of His life within! He truly DOES cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him!
"And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power would be of God, and not us." (See Corinthians 4)
How has He been revealing Himself to you through your failures????
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Personal Update
Enough (Part 3)
By Mike Rule
It’s been a while since I have written. Life has been busy to say the least. I have had tons of counseling and other work to keep up with. I was in Canada March 27-29 to lead LCMI's Biblical Studies. It was a great weekend of seeing God movin in people and in His collective body, but it was a very quick trip.
Tomorrow I leave for Houston, Texas to do a week of intense counseling (April 8-14). My time there will be chock-a-block. The schedule is just starting to fill in, and there are many unknowns. But I know God has a plan for the time, and He is preparing the hearts of people who want to meet with me. (If anyone in the area wants to meet with me, please contact the LCMI office right away.) Houston is a new venue for us, and I am excited to show up and see what God is doing in that area.
I will only be home for a few weeks then I am off to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (May 4-8) Again, it will be a week of intense counseling. I am already receiving calls from people wanting to meet with me. I have worked in Milwaukee since 2000, and God has done so much there over the years. It almost feels like a second home to me.
But, that is enough of the updates. It is time to get on to more important things.
I am realizing more and more that our hope cannot be in what God is going to do in our situation. It cannot be in Him changing the circumstances; it cannot be in Him changing us IN the circumstances. Our hope can only be in Him, and Him alone. I teach, preach, and counsel that Jesus is enough, but in daily life I really struggle to believe it when God makes so little sense. Amen. I am glad to participate in His life, to be involved with a God who is not predictable, who really is not safe. But I am so thankful that He is good, all the time. However, there are SO many times when it does not FEEL like He is good.
Recently, as He and I were having a discussion, He point blank said, "Mike, I love you as you are. Flesh and all. Stop expecting yourself to change. Stop expecting me to do some miraculous thing to save you from your circumstances. Stop expecting me to do so miraculous thing to save you IN your circumstances. Am I not enough for you?" As I have continued to walk this journey and argue with God, I still continue to pray as He has led, "ENOUGH". During one of these discussion/arguments, He recently revealed something very profound. One of the Hebrew names of God - Shaddai - is translated into English as, "Almighty God", but it can also just as easily be translated to mean, "That's Enough." I find that interesting to say the least. The timing of His revelation is quite profound to me and not a coincidence I am sure. What does it all mean? I have no clue. In the past I would have made many assumptions about what it meant. Now? As I said, I have no clue. However, I trust Him to teach me in spite of all my kicking and screaming and cussing.
We all want so much attention from God. We want Him to make things go OUR way. We have huge temper tantrums when God does not do things the way we want, in the time we want. Most of us have made God into an idol, and we attempt to craft Him after our own designs, but He cannot be crafted. He cannot be forged. He does not play the game according to our rules, and so often He does not play the game according to our perception of His rules. Did it ever occur to you that your frustration is a revelation about your situation?
Can you take up the challenge to embrace this God who is untamable? It will be the greatest challenge of your life. He will not necessarily change you; He will not necessarily change your circumstances. Isn’t it arrogant of us to think He even wants to? We stress and fuss about our circumstances and think they are the problem. But the problem is rarely if ever the problem. WE fuss and stress about ourselves too, we conclude that maybe WE are the problem. Did it ever occur to you that it may not even be about your comfort or happiness.
Again, I ask, can you take up the challenge to embrace this God who is untamable? You will learn things about yourself that will make you shudder in revulsion. You will learn things about Him that you will not like. Yet you will also find encouragement and hope in spite of it all. Is it worth it? Honestly, I don't know. For me, the verdict is still out. But this I can say... just as the disciples said to Jesus, "To whom else can we go? Only You have the words of eternal life" Amen? Amen!
I am sure there will be a part 4 coming soon. Thanks for your patience as I work out my salvation and take my time in writing to you about my experiences.
Shalom!
Mike
By Mike Rule
It’s been a while since I have written. Life has been busy to say the least. I have had tons of counseling and other work to keep up with. I was in Canada March 27-29 to lead LCMI's Biblical Studies. It was a great weekend of seeing God movin in people and in His collective body, but it was a very quick trip.
Tomorrow I leave for Houston, Texas to do a week of intense counseling (April 8-14). My time there will be chock-a-block. The schedule is just starting to fill in, and there are many unknowns. But I know God has a plan for the time, and He is preparing the hearts of people who want to meet with me. (If anyone in the area wants to meet with me, please contact the LCMI office right away.) Houston is a new venue for us, and I am excited to show up and see what God is doing in that area.
I will only be home for a few weeks then I am off to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (May 4-8) Again, it will be a week of intense counseling. I am already receiving calls from people wanting to meet with me. I have worked in Milwaukee since 2000, and God has done so much there over the years. It almost feels like a second home to me.
But, that is enough of the updates. It is time to get on to more important things.
I am realizing more and more that our hope cannot be in what God is going to do in our situation. It cannot be in Him changing the circumstances; it cannot be in Him changing us IN the circumstances. Our hope can only be in Him, and Him alone. I teach, preach, and counsel that Jesus is enough, but in daily life I really struggle to believe it when God makes so little sense. Amen. I am glad to participate in His life, to be involved with a God who is not predictable, who really is not safe. But I am so thankful that He is good, all the time. However, there are SO many times when it does not FEEL like He is good.
Recently, as He and I were having a discussion, He point blank said, "Mike, I love you as you are. Flesh and all. Stop expecting yourself to change. Stop expecting me to do some miraculous thing to save you from your circumstances. Stop expecting me to do so miraculous thing to save you IN your circumstances. Am I not enough for you?" As I have continued to walk this journey and argue with God, I still continue to pray as He has led, "ENOUGH". During one of these discussion/arguments, He recently revealed something very profound. One of the Hebrew names of God - Shaddai - is translated into English as, "Almighty God", but it can also just as easily be translated to mean, "That's Enough." I find that interesting to say the least. The timing of His revelation is quite profound to me and not a coincidence I am sure. What does it all mean? I have no clue. In the past I would have made many assumptions about what it meant. Now? As I said, I have no clue. However, I trust Him to teach me in spite of all my kicking and screaming and cussing.
We all want so much attention from God. We want Him to make things go OUR way. We have huge temper tantrums when God does not do things the way we want, in the time we want. Most of us have made God into an idol, and we attempt to craft Him after our own designs, but He cannot be crafted. He cannot be forged. He does not play the game according to our rules, and so often He does not play the game according to our perception of His rules. Did it ever occur to you that your frustration is a revelation about your situation?
Can you take up the challenge to embrace this God who is untamable? It will be the greatest challenge of your life. He will not necessarily change you; He will not necessarily change your circumstances. Isn’t it arrogant of us to think He even wants to? We stress and fuss about our circumstances and think they are the problem. But the problem is rarely if ever the problem. WE fuss and stress about ourselves too, we conclude that maybe WE are the problem. Did it ever occur to you that it may not even be about your comfort or happiness.
Again, I ask, can you take up the challenge to embrace this God who is untamable? You will learn things about yourself that will make you shudder in revulsion. You will learn things about Him that you will not like. Yet you will also find encouragement and hope in spite of it all. Is it worth it? Honestly, I don't know. For me, the verdict is still out. But this I can say... just as the disciples said to Jesus, "To whom else can we go? Only You have the words of eternal life" Amen? Amen!
I am sure there will be a part 4 coming soon. Thanks for your patience as I work out my salvation and take my time in writing to you about my experiences.
Shalom!
Mike
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