Final Posting of 2009

Now that the holiday season is upon us, I have decided to make this my last posting of 2009. We’ve finished our study of a portion of the life of Corrie ten Boom as relayed to us in her own words her from her book The Hiding Place. As I stated earlier in our study, this book tells of a few years in Corrie’s life, while a second book Tramp for the Lord, relates her experiences through the end of her life (another 20 years!) as she traveled all over the world in miraculously God-ordained ways for His Name’s sake. She who had such uncertain faith through these trials, had such strong faith in years to come, a testimony to the grace and mercy of God who brought her to that place, as His Word promises He will do for each of us! We might revisit her later years in a study sometime in the future, but as we close this year out, I think there is so much to remember and reflect upon from all that we have learned from Corrie and Betsie thus far.

We learned about obedience to God, no matter how difficult that road of obedience might be to walk. I am reminded of the words of the Lord from Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” The strait gate with the narrow road leading to it is the one that leads to suffering as our Lord suffered for us. Paul appears to be confirming this with his words in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8:16-17: “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

If the narrow road means following in the sufferings of Christ (denying our flesh, suffering persecution for His Name’s sake, and even death, as Betsie and Papa ten Boom did, rather than be disobedient to God), then the wide path must be the direct opposite of that: serving our flesh rather than God, doing whatever it takes to remain in our comfort zone even if it means being disobedient to God, leading lives not full of the Spirit of God, but full of self, rationalizing our way right into hell, but being deceived the entire time by the enemy, Satan, so that we will not correct our path, but continue on to destruction, taking many with us, rather than saving many from the fire.

What is important to remember is that unless we are surrendered completely to following Jesus Christ and surrendered also to being filled with the Holy Spirit (the One Who produces the courage and strength of Jesus Christ in us) we cannot walk that narrow road. In our own strength alone we will fail. Jesus told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for The Comforter, The Helper. Once they received the Holy Spirit, THEN their real ministry and service to God began. They did not go in their own strength. And in one day 3,000 were saved, and in another day 5,000 were saved, and today (because their ministry was of the Holy Spirit, not of themselves) 33% of the world population claim to be Christian (reported in 2000). No other religion even comes close in number, although it saddens me to think that only a 1/3 call themselves Christians world-wide, showing how much work there is left to be done for the Lord. But the point is, how can anything we do in our own efforts possibly come close to comparing to the work of God Himself? If God is to get the glory then it must be HIS power working through us. It can be no other way.

The second thing we learned from the ten Boom family was about faith. What faith looks like in action, and in fact, that without corresponding action it is not faith at all, but only lifeless words.

And on the opposite side of that coin, that actions without faith are sin for “without faith it is impossible to please God” no matter how many good works we do. I think of all the social do-gooders of Hollywood fame or those who are famous for their positions of wealth, who adopt orphans and feed the hungry and create social and educational programs for the poor...all of which are excellent works, but all of which mean nothing as far as saving their own souls or even the souls of the ones they help. Their work leads no one to Jesus Christ, and therefore none are saved; only some immediate suffering is relieved, but eternal despair looms on the horizon for both giver and receiver of this kind of salvation. The do-gooders have not pleased God at all, as there is no reconciliation between them and God, for the only reconciliation between man and God is Jesus Christ. The social do-gooders who walk the wide road (speaking of those only who do not know Christ, for there are a few in that social arena who DO know Christ) often deny and even mock the name of Jesus Christ, and the end of their road is destruction as we just read in Matthew 7.

I thank God for the faith He has provided each of us who believes, to receive His Son Jesus as our Lord and Savior, cleansing us of our sins, and causing us to live in ever-increasing faith in GOD! That faith then produces corresponding works of God, and when Christians go forth to help those suffering in the world, not only is suffering relieved, but that relief is eternal versus temporary, for along with the physical aid, spiritual salvation is offered to all who will receive it! Many are saved from the fire, both present and to come, and they are given real hope…an everlasting hope in the resurrection power of God through Jesus Christ in their lives for eternity!

The third thing we learned was about love. Specifically what our perception of love is: is it love as we know it (love for mankind as evidenced by even the God-less people of the preceding paragraphs), or love as GOD INTENDS it to be displayed through us?

The love of God is by choice and does not involve merit in the one receiving the love (agape). Many of us have “brotherly” love (phileo), which is altogether different, although there are some who lack even that. And as disciples of Christ, we are definitely to have phileo or brotherly love. But if that love begins and ends in us (as in the do-gooders example), then it is not of God (agape), but of the world alone. Agape love involves a deliberate decision to love, rather than love resulting from a sentiment or feeling. It is un-warranted love, unmerited love, and most importantly it is unchanging love since it is not subject to the caprice of emotions. Once decided upon, that love is faithful and consistent, never changing. That is the agape love, with which, the Bible tells us, God first loved us and then we loved Him.

Before we love our brethren as God intended, we must first have experienced and been filled with the agape love of God and towards God. That can only happen if we are born-again by the power of God through Jesus Christ. We are to be dead to self, and alive only to Jesus Christ who lives and reigns in our mortal bodies. The love that Jesus displayed while He walked this earth was the agape love of the Holy Spirit (God Himself) dwelling within Jesus, enabling Him (as the Holy Spirit does with us also) to love God first and foremost and then to love His brethren also, esteeming them to be higher than Himself, even to the point of crucifixion for their sakes. That love must reign in our mortal bodies so that we can then love God and others. But it comes from Him to us, it does not originate within ourselves, for there is nothing good in us. All of our own works that are not directed or born of God’s will, will be burned in the fire, they will not stand as evidence of our love in the courtroom of God.

Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.” (Matthew 22:38-40) To attempt to do the second commandment, without first having a new heart towards God given to us by God Himself enabling us to do the first commandment, results in us being fruitless (displaying no fruit of the Spirit as seen in Galatians 5 and therefore unable to draw other souls to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through our testimony) and any branch that bears no fruit is cut off and cast into the fire. In John 15:6 Jesus says “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” That last is a description of hell, of course, reserved for those in whom Christ does not dwell.

But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, who have been filled with God’s agape love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who have been born again, washed and set free from our sin by the resurrection power of God by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus shed for us, who recognize that our very existence and usefulness comes only from the root of the vine (Jesus) which sustains us as a branch bearing fruit, who abide in the Word as He abides in us, who love God as evidenced by our very acts of faithful obedience to Him, who rejoice in suffering for His Name’s sake, who worship God with a heart full of thanksgiving in all situations whether hungry or full, rich or poor...FOR US the horizon looms with love and joy and peace and all the blessings of God, including eternal life, no matter what the world’s economic or political future holds. For we serve the One True God who promises never to leave us nor forsake us and Who loved us enough to die for us.

There is a lot to be thankful to God for this Thanksgiving. There is a lot to worship God for this Christmas.

May you be a “fruitful giver” of God’s love toward all mankind through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, during these holidays and for years to come.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year, “prospering even as your soul prospers”, God keeping us all.

See you in January.

God's Agape

Agape describes God’s love. But we are to love with the love of God made possible through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, right? Not with our own human effort at love, but with God’s love working through us as we surrender to Him to do that work through us.

But remember the points in bold from last posting that tells us what this love will look like as it is manifested in us, by the Holy Spirit:

- The primary object of this love working in us will be God Himself
- To love this way is a deliberate choice versus an impulsive emotion or according to our “feelings”
- Expression of this love is known only from the actions it prompts (words have no value whatsoever unless the action corresponds, therefore the action is of extreme importance, not necessarily the words…we are talking about OUR words here, not GOD’S!)
- One of the actions that this love prompts is implicit obedience to God’s commandments (exactly as Jesus was perfect in His obedience to God)
- Another action it prompts is the desire to help others seek God, the Giver of this love

If we use Betsie as an example, her “agape” for all the concentration camp guards seems to fit every item above, doesn’t it? Corrie, on the other hand, was letting her emotions lead her (which did not appear to be agape towards the guards, in fact, it wasn’t even unregenerated man’s love for the guards…she was doing her best just to not outright hate them!) Can you see how Corrie did not fit all the items listed above, although she did fit some of them. It’s because her flesh was still reacting, but God brought her to that place of absolute surrender later, never fear! Just as He promises to do for us!

What does this say to us then? I think the most important thing is this: because it is God’s love that we are to love others with (and God Himself with), we have to quit trying to do it on our own, because it will never happen that way! God’s love can only work through us to others when we first love God and we can only love God by the power of God Himself…the Spirit of Jesus Christ living within us! We must stop TRYING to be Christ-like in the FLESH! We must BE Christ-like in the SPIRIT by the power of the SPIRIT!

“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 5:5 KJV)

Our responsibility is not to love others as God does. Our responsibility is to surrender to God so completely that HE loves others through us. Until we have completely surrendered all of our thoughts, feelings, desires, rights….until we have died to SELF…we are not completely surrendered to the Holy Spirit.

But, thanks be to God, the Holy Spirit is the “promise of God” to us; the Giver of faith to us. So that the work that He begins in us through the Spirit, He also finishes in us, through the Spirit.

“Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3 KJV)

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]

Love: Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” Galatians 5:22 KJV

As you can see, it’s been a few days since I last wrote. I confess, I got hung up on LOVE. There’s a lot to think about, a lot to study, concerning love, specifically what is meant by the word “love” as it is intended when described as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As this is something we grow in knowledge of, and in experience of, you might have a lot to add to my meager offering. But I’ll give you what I “know”, in other words, what I can tell you from my experience in the love of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you (whoever you are that read this blog) can give your understanding of what love is in the comments, to help in my understanding of the word.

But before I get into my experience (or lack of at times) with Christian love, let us examine definitions as described by the Bible itself. To begin with, let’s keep in mind that the “love” that comes from the Holy Spirit, cannot be compared, really, to the “love” that unregenerated man knows. And I think we have to be careful to keep the distinction clear. It is as simple again as flesh versus Spirit….really no comparison. We are to put away the things of the flesh, and focus on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5-6)

Let’s first check out what Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance has to say about the word used in Galatians, which is (in the Greek form): agape. [Note: This form of the word as used in Galatians is much different from the word used for brotherly love: phileo. Phileo implies an instinctive, affectionate attachment, and implies more passion, yet agape is deeper than phileo.]

Here are several descriptive examples of agape, the word used for the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, from Strong’s Concordance; pay special attention to the words in bold print:

The attitude of God towards His Son (John 17:26), the human race (John 3:16, Rom 5:8), and to believers on the Lord Jesus Christ particularly (John 14:2);

It is His will to his children concerning their attitude a) one toward another (John 13:34), and b) toward all men (I Thes 3:12; I Cor 16:14; 2 Peter 1:7);

He desires for them to express his essential nature (I John 4:8);

Love can be known only from the actions it prompts as God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son (I John 4: 9,10);

This is not love drawn out by any excellency in its objects (Rom 5:8);

It is an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself (Deut. 7:7-8);

It was perfectly expressed among men in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:14; Eph 2:4; 3:19; 5:2);

Christian love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian (Gal 5:22);

Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments (John 14:15, 21,23; 15:10; I John 2:5; 5:3, 2 John 6);

Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God;

Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered: a) it seeks the welfare of all (Rom 15:2), b) works no ill towards any (Rom 13:8-10), c) seeks opportunity to do good to all men, and especially toward them of the household of the faith (Gal 6:10); See also I Cor. 13 and Col. 3:11-14;

As used of God a) it expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, b) producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, c) a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and d) a desire to help others to seek the Giver.

Please take the time to read the scripture references, to add to your knowledge of the meaning of the word agape. We’ll look at additional scriptures on the next posting.

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]

The Promise of the Father

Having ended the last posting with a small mention of the Holy Spirit and one of the many things He does for us that strengthens our faith, I think it is important to spend some time in understanding the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for those, especially, who are not “sure” about the Holy Spirit. He is critical to our spiritual survival, and we must acknowledge that truth and walk in it.

The Old Testament contains at least 87 passages referring directly to the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament contains at least 259 passages referring directly to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the “Promise of the Father” as so named in Acts 1:4: “And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father…”

So much we have been given already: forgiveness of sins; reconciliation with the Father through our great High Priest, Jesus Christ; the wages of sin (which is death) taken from us and put on Jesus who suffered our punishment on the cross; the hope of eternal life as seen by the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. And now, one more gift…one more very vital gift: the promise of the fulfillment of our sanctification, accomplished by the Father for us for He knows our weakness, through the person of the Holy Ghost.

If the Father rejects us for our rejection of His gift of His Son, Jesus (who is our Justification), how does He feel towards us when we reject the gift of the Holy Spirit, (who is our Sanctification)? God can give the gift, but we still need to reach out and receive the gift He gives. Until we have reached for the gift (for HIM, in this case, as the Holy Spirit is a divine person of the Godhead) and received Him with thanksgiving, we cannot walk in Him….we cannot walk in the Spirit, if we are fearful or do not trust the Holy Spirit in any way.

And, sadly, many folks are fearful of the Holy Spirit. But we are in error, deadly error, if we do not see the Holy Spirit in the proper light….not in the light of man, but solely in the light of the Word of God.

The following passage is from a book published in 1896 (which I am blessed to have a copy of) entitled Through the Eternal Spirit:

“Page after page of Scripture is dark to men who cannot see. The Spirit who inspired must interpret the Word. Proof of this is furnished to us when the Holy Spirit, dwelling in us, makes us understand Scripture in a way we never did before He came to indwell us. In fact, it is by the combination of the two – the Word and the Spirit – that we learn. When they are separated, error and disaster are the result. And, unfortunately, they are often separated, to the grief of many, and the darkness of many more.

The Word without the Spirit, does not yield its meaning, is as an ordinary book, seems full of mistakes and half-truths. Attempting to interpret the Scriptures by learning, acumen, logic, study…all these alone, WITHOUT the Spirit to help us….results in barren sermons and teachings, full of the pride and error of man, always going further into darkness and closer to despair!

But the Spirit without the Word! That, too, is disastrous! It has been the secret of fanaticism, folly, error and sin. It begins with devotion, and ends in rebellion. It has placed men in the seat of God, and has made the whispers of human fancy to be the only oracles that carry authority. There is no more certain forerunner of spiritual shipwreck than the neglect of the written Word of God. The Holy Ghost is not honored, but dishonored, by the turning away from those teachings which He has Himself given to be the perpetual light and guide of men. We assert and prize the voice of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the “guidance” by which He still leads His own: but that voice never turns us away from the sacred Word of God. We are deceived and deluded by a Satanic mimicry of His voice whenever we are so led away.

Which error is the greater is difficult to say. The one which takes the bare book, and has no teaching of the Spirit to interpret it, leaves us in darkness; the other, which cares nothing for the book, is led by an ignis fatuus (an illusion, something that misleads or deludes), which ends in death.

The true and only safe course is thankfully to acknowledge the double source of Divine light, the Spirit in the Word!”

Much more to come…

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]

When Only God Can Provide

The miracle of the vitamin bottle experienced by Corrie and Betsie, was only one of several miracles that you will find as you read the book, The Hiding Place. When you find yourself dependent on God alone for sustenance, every moment of life IS a miracle…of HIS making.

The visions that Betsie “saw” were miracles in the working, promised by God, and later delivered by God in such a way that Corrie knew that it was strictly God alone who provided.

Just as the ten Boom story, and the Bible, are full of these miracles….so is the life of any born-again believer whose life is now lived in the Spirit, rather than in the flesh; who’s steps are ordered of God; who acknowledges that in ALL things Jesus Christ is LORD; who believes the Word of God in all things; who knows by faith that God is both willing and able.

His miracles are usually seen when we have come to the end of our own efforts, when there is nothing further that we can do, when now only a miracle can see us through, and when the clock has chimed the 11^th hour.

I had a cousin (second-cousin really) who saw God provide for him and his family in very desperate moments, several times in his life, and he said it was ALWAYS at the 11^th hour. He never told anyone how desperate the situation was, only God, and God always provided, but not til just before the end appeared to be coming. Sometimes the need was financial, sometimes it was healing that was needed. But at all times, he was able to witness God Himself make provision, and he knew without any doubt where the provision had come from, since the only ones who ever knew of the situations were himself and God.

I may already have mentioned George Muller, a man of great faith in God, who, along with his wife, trusted in God completely to provide “unsolicited” funds for the orphanage that began in their own home, but later expanded to many buildings housing over 23,000 orphans throughout the 1800’s alone. The George Muller Foundation still continues today, in 2009. George lived to be almost 90 years old, and at the age of 70, with the orphanages in capable hands back home, George, incredibly, began traveling around the world spreading the message of the gospel, at the very time in life when most of us hope to retire! But the point of his brief story here, is that he relied solely on God. He believed the scriptures to be the truth of God, and for all of his life trusted that he need only “ask and receive” from the Lord God. He asked God alone, believing that God alone was his provider, and would provide for him and all of his orphans. George never told anyone but God of the financial needs that were at time most desperate. He knew God was willing and able to provide, needing no special help from George. Just George’s faith was needed. And, of course, God always provided.

In the case of Corrie’s vitamin bottle, Corrie herself didn’t even have the faith, but it appeared that Betsie did. Yet, unless I am mistaken, we never hear that either of them even asked for this miracle, God just knew what was needed and provided. Corrie got to witness, first-hand, God’s provision, and it was a lesson that carried her through life after the concentration camp, into situations all over the world where, in unbelievable ways, she trusted on God’s provision and direction alone. She became an incredible testimony herself of the goodness and provision of God to His children.

The Holy Spirit is our comforter and our teacher. He reminds us of all of the miracles of God when desperate moments appear in our own lives. He is the One who grows our faith. And I trust Him to do so in each of us, as we surrender our lives to His direction.

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]

What the Law Can't Do, God Does!

Romans 8:3-11:

“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

The law could not save us, and lest you think God made a mistake in creating the law, think again. He intended that the law [His law which He Himself is able to keep because He is holy] would show us our inability to secure the heavenly places and eternal life by our own holiness [we have none of our own no matter who we are], so that we would call upon Him Who is so willing to save us and give us life abundantly and everlasting [rather than relying strictly on ourselves and thereby turning our backs on God]. Therefore, He Himself came in the flesh, to live as we live, yet perfectly keeping the law by His own perfect righteousness, which He then imparted as a free gift to us…who believe.

“For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

We do not have the Spirit of Christ in us, until we are born again. John 3:3-5: “Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God….except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.” AND…

Once we are born again, we do in fact have the Spirit of God dwelling within us, and God’s Word being True…which of course it cannot be anything but True…then we do not pay attention to the things of the flesh, we pay attention to the things of the Spirit. We might not always do what we want to do spiritually, but we no longer WANT to do those things of the flesh (as Paul said earlier on in Romans). We want ONLY to do the things of the Spirit. It therefore is our body that sins, while we are kept in righteousness, because the One Who dwells within us IS RIGHTEOUS. Once again, it is not us being righteous, EVER! It is only God Himself doing it in us, “lest any man boast.”

“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Do you see what He is telling us? Our bodies are dead because of sin; but we are alive in the Spirit of God, and just as God was able to raise the dead body of Jesus to immortal life, so has He already given us a new life in the Spirit, with our immortal bodies to follow at some later date. God does for us what the Law could not do! We cannot do it. The Law proved to us that we cannot do it. Then God came and proved to us that HE CAN! AND HE DID!

And we have much to be thankful for! We have everything to be thankful for! We have no reason to be anything but joyful! IF WE BELIEVE HIS WORD. If you cannot grasp the power of the things Paul states for us in Romans, please, please persevere in your study of Romans until you grasp it! It will change your life! It did mine!

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]