I moved to the States from Scotland in 1990. I was 26. I came to Christ a year later. After several years in America a strange thing began to happen in me and it was very unsettling. After visiting Scotland I knew I could never go ” home.” I did not belong there any more, I had moved on. Yet, I did not feel like I belonged here in the States either. I felt like a stateless person. After months of soul-searching I realized that I was actually a pilgrim and that I was on my way home to my heavenly kingdom. I was an am truly a sojourner here on this earth, belonging wholly to God and to the Kingdom of God that is and yet is to come.

Strangely enough, I would have to deal with that feeling again and it was way more unsettling and took much longer to come to terms with. I started out my Christian life as a Pentecostal for lack of a better term. My mother had attended the Assemblies of God when I was a child and was a “tongue speaking Holy Ghost Christian.” Now I did not attend that church as a child, my father was a Catholic and detested my mothers faith and so I attended the Catholic church for most of my childhood. Yet, I knew the difference. I had witnessed my mothers transformation when she ” found Jesus.” It was total and radical and had a profound effect on me. So when I came to Christ at the age of 27, it was natural for me to seek out a ” Pentecostal,” church which I did. I myself was ” baptized in the Holy Spirit,” about eight months after being radically transformed in the new birth. I want to state that my born again experience was way more radical than my baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was life changing and profound and seemed to change my very DNA. I actually had a new heart, one that was capable of love. God took a profoundly dysfunctional man, addicted to drugs and alcohol and food and sex and every type of excess and turned it all around. It was a miracle of enormous proportions, this new birth, this resurrection from the dead and I praise God above all things for it.

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2 Cor 12:9 My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

I was walking in the rain today and the creek was running quite strong along a portion of the trail that I walk. Over the years it has gouged out quite a depth at a certain spot. It is has become several feet deeper at a particular narrow channel as the water runs faster there. It has exposed the roots of the trees that line that section. There is even a tree that has fallen over and has formed a bridge over the deep little gorge. It struck me that the deeper the waters run then the roots are exposed. If we as Christians have the deep waters of life running through us, if we allow the living waters that flow from the throne of grace to freely run through us then we become more transparent to the world. The world can see our foundations, it can see our roots, it can see who we are. It may weaken us in a sense, it may make us more vulnerable, but it will bring to light the foundations upon which we stand. No where is this more clearly apparent than in the storms of life as the waters run swift. When we are confident enough to allow the world to see not only our strengths and successes but also our weakness and failures then they world will see something authentic. They may not agree with the roots and foundations that hold us up but they will see it. God indeed is magnified much more so in our weaknesses rather than in our strengths.

His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength.(Isa 40:28)

Oh to rest in the unsearchable understanding of God. When the darkness presses in, when the trials of life are threatening to consume and we do not truly understand what is going on, there is a God who not only dwells in heaven but dwells within my beating heart. He knows, He knows and I can rest in that. There is a burden in knowing. I thank God that I do not know what is around the next corner. If I knew I would steel myself and the rigidity of that would break me. But in Him, I live and I move and I have my rest and my being. He is my sanity. He renews my mind and He takes the burdens of my heart. When I have no more love to give I drag myself to the well of glory and of life. If it were not for that eternal well of living water I would surely die and be consumed by the darkness that is never far away. Yet in Him, my Jesus, my Lord, my reconciler,my intercessor, the bearer of my burdens and the lover of my soul I live. I run when I should not even be able to crawl. Tomorrow I shall awaken the dawn and with everything that is in me I shall praise His name. He is the lifter of my soul and He lifted it from the miry clay to a high and lofty place. Lift up your eyes today brother, lift up your hands today sister. See the glory and begin to mount up high above the darkness.

Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Wow, can there be stronger words from Jesus to one of His disciples? How would you like to hear Jesus say that to you? It would be terrible. What is the context of this rebuke from Jesus? Jesus had just shared with the disciples how their declaration of Him as Lord was the foundation of the church, how whatever they loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven and whatever they bound on earth shall be bound in heaven. He tells them that they have the keys to the Kingdom of God. Excellent stuff, all positive and empowering, much like they would have felt when they were sent out by twos and welcomed everywhere and they healed and cast out demons.

Now Jesus explains to them the full dimension and cost of following the Father’s will here on earth. He must go to Jerusalem and be rejected by all men and suffer at the hands of these men. He would be tortured and then hung on a tree. At this, Peter rebukes Jesus. Think of that saints, a mere disciple rebukes Jesus the holy Son of the ever Living God! Peter is immediately rebuked in the harshest of terms. His rejection of future suffering for Jesus and for himself is evident. Jesus then makes it plain that if any man wants to follow him he must be willing to lose his life for Christ’s sake. He must be willing and expect to take up his cross and suffer. It is the heads and tail of the same coin. One faith equals ruling and reigning with Christ, walking in the power of the Kingdom of God triumphing over hell and darkness and doing it all in the midst of being rejected by those of this world and suffering and dying at their hands.

Saints, what is your attitude to suffering? Do you deny it and say ” God forbid?” Do you tell yourself that old lie that Christ suffered so that you do not have too? Is your goal in life to live your best life now? Is prospering in this world your main concern? Do you in fact mind the things of men and not the things of God? Can you worship and serve a God that has called you to enter into His sufferings? Those who are willing to enter into His sufferings are those who will rule and reign with Christ. Those who are unwilling to suffer and would rebuke anyone who would teach otherwise are counted unworthy of the Kingdom. Jesus goes on to say in the same breath that if you decide to avoid the sufferings that come from following Him and simply live in a fashion that produces your best life now then “what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” True joy and life is found in following the Lord wherever that narrow path takes us, whether through deep valleys of suffering or the high roads of victory. It turns out that they are one and the same road.

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Many times in my walk with the Lord I have forgotten this truth. Many times in the last twenty-five years I have come across brothers and sisters who have either never learned this or have forgotten it. If God so loved me as a sinner that He sent His Son to die for me and then I was reconciled to Him, how is it that I could ever think that some how I had blown it with Him? If Jesus died for me while I was yet in my sin, how much more does His eternal life in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, interceding for me, guarantee that He will never leave me nor forsake me and the He indeed is the author and the finisher of my faith. He died for my justification and He rose again victorious and reigns for my sanctification. This is the promise upon which I stand. He is the author and finisher of my faith. By His power I was saved and by His power I shall be sanctified, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe you are feeling very low today? Maybe you have fallen down and it seems like you shall not recover? Maybe you feel like you cannot be used by God, that you are not good enough, not Holy enough, not anointed enough, not gifted enough? Can I reassure you today that if you were saved by Jesus you shall be sanctified by Jesus, you shall be used by Jesus, you are a work in progress and the last chapter of your life is not written. All that the Lord requires from us is a broken and contrite spirit. If you live long enough you will know that life often breaks people. Yet right there, in the midst of your brokeness the Lord says ” Lift up your eyes, come to me, see where your help comes from.” Come to me in your brokenness and I will give you rest.

Too many people fall and then believe that they are not worthy enough to come to God. This is a lie from hell designed to keep your face in the mud. Jesus died for you and for your justification. He rose victoriously for you and reconciled you to your heavenly Father to whom you have access and can cry ” Abba.” God dwells with the lowly and the contrite, He is the healer of the broken. Do not make the mistake of falling and being broken but not coming to the Lord, this is the enemies desire. There is a world of brokenness which leads to despair, hopelessness and ruin. Do not let your brokenness lead you there, let it lead you to light and to life, the life of Christ and Him resurrected. Come unto Him today. He awaits.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (Jas 1:1-2)

Another way of saying this is that we count it pure joy when we face every kind of trial. Are you there brothers and sisters? Are you close? Do you want to be there? In order to see our trials as opportunities to be more like Jesus, we have to want to be like Jesus very much. When we find ourselves even close to this kind of thinking, we begin to elevate ourselves above the circumstances. In every trial and situation we can ask ourselves “what would bring God the most glory?” Just the mere asking yourself that question will bring so much clarity to your mind. As you begin to think of His name and how you can glorify Him in your trial, then you have taken your eyes off yourself. As you do this then you begin to walk in victory. Your trial becomes your vehicle that drives you deeper into the Fathers heart. When things are going well in our lives, we may not react that much differently from those in the world. Yet when we are facing dire circumstances and trials or infirmities, then it is a glorious opportunity to not only reveal God’s truth and glory in you to the world but also to the principalities and powers, the mockers and accusers of the brethren.

We have been called to live extraordinary lives. It is ordinary to bemoan our state when we experience trials. It is mediocre. Do you want to live a mediocre life for Christ? That word comes from two old Latin words , medius meaning middle and ocris meaning mountain. To be mediocre is to be neither at the top of the mountain nor the bottom, just somewhere in the middle. If you allow the trials of your faith to shape you for His glory then the Scriptures say that it will make you complete, wanting nothing. How would you like to be completely satisfied, content in Christ in this hard life? How would you like to walk in that kind of victory in the midst of the many trials of life that will be with us until the day that we die? How would you like to experience even a portion of this pure joy? Are you fighting your trial? Stop. Do not resist any longer. Your trial, if you allow it, will make you stronger and God will never be closer. Walking in this closeness, this proximity to God will cause you to triumph over every trial and circumstance. Now lift up your eyes and see that you are on top of the mountain. To summit the mountain is to conquer the mountain. We conquer our mountains and cast them into the sea by faith in God in every situation.

One last thing brothers and sisters, James writes this to the ” twelve tribes that are scattered abroad.” God’s remnant children are scattered all over this world. God encourages His own. And so to the remnant saints I want to say to you ” be of good cheer,” and count it all joy in the midst of your trials for our Lord is returning soon yet He is with you even now. He sees your trials, He sees your tears, He sees the afflictions of His people. He is with you in all of them.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

“I am the Truth.” Wow. Jesus had not come to teach us the truth, He had come to show us the Truth. Jesus was not another teacher teaching us about truth, He was Truth and He had come to reveal Himself. Jesus says in another place that if we abided in His Word then we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. In another place we are told that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Jesus is the Word. The Word and the Truth are Jesus. If we abide in Jesus, if we dwell with Him, if we come to Him, then we will know Him and in knowing Him we shall be set free. He who the Son sets free is free indeed, liberated from bondage and the curse of sin. Now, you can know the Bible and not know the Truth, but you cannot know the Truth and not know the Bible. Those who are in Christ and know Him are in the Word and the word is in them and they continue in it, they abide in it. There is a huge difference between memorizing Scripture and knowing the Word. He showed us the Way by showing us Himself who is the Truth and it led us deeper into Him, who is Life. All of that leads us to the Father. Show me a man with the life of Christ in Him and I will show you a man knows the Truth and walks the narrow way that leads to the Father and eternal life.