Christian??

Christianity in our culture has become something that is not “worn on your sleeve,” it is a layer of our self identity that is beneath or beyond the public purview. Or it may not even be a part of our self identity, rather, it is a sort of voluntary association, a group to which we pertain. Therefore, we may attain to “greatness” in our life, to fame in the world’s eyes, yet, the world may be unaware of our private social club, our “Christian circle of friends.” Religion and religious profession is not seen as pertaining to the public, it is in fact, something offensive to bring up in public conversation, unless at the request of those in the conversation. This can be seen by the fact that when a famous personage passes away, who holds to Christianity, this may or may not be brought into the light in the news. In fact, it may be omitted as something which does not pertain to the news story.

How does this contrast with the “biblical” world??? If we were to go back to the Old Testament, it is obvious that being “Jewish” or being the “chosen people of God” was at the core of the person’s identity, if you were a part of the people of God, you could not have concealed it even if you wished to. TO be Israel, meant that the whole world knew who you were, in fact this was on of the purposes of God in choosing Israel, to showcase His glory and power before the world’s eyes. In the New Testament, to be a Christian was the central element to one’ very existence, one could not conceive of relegating this to another level. A Christian was first a follower, a disciple of Christ, prior to anything else. Before and prior to family, was this not the purpose of Jesus’ parables? When He said we must hate our family, was this not meant to highlight in contrast our love and allegiance for and to Him?
DO I want people at my funeral to say….”oh and she was a Christian”?
NO! May people be confronted with Christ in me! Before knowing my name, may they be assaulted with the reality that I am a follower and lover of Jesus Christ. I say Assaulted, not because I will aggressively confront them, but because the reality of Jesus Christ in my life should be so apparent in my very being and in my words and actions that they are called to a decision, there is not sitting nor riding the fence, it’s Jesus Christ, or nothing else! You are either for Him or against Him! And in saying Jesus Christ I am not saying separate from the Father and the Holy Spirit, rather, united, the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit within me permeates and saturates my being, yet this is not to say that my whole being is submitted implicitly to Him, being Christian does not mean that happens without my will being involved in some way. This translates into the fact that I am continually confronted by the claims of the Lordship of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, applying His word to my entire being, which then brings the opportunity again to submit and surrender my will to His, in repentance.
Yet, when and if my very cells were to be taken apart, people should be confronted with the claims of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. The core of being shouts the reality of God, and my existence is wrapped up in and around Him.
Before I can be considered a mother or a wife, or a daughter or sister, I am a follower a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Eres nuestra Herencia!!

Siempre me cautivo el pasaje que dice, “Tu eres mi refugio, mi porcion en la tierra de los vivientes.” A la hora de la repartición de las tierras de Canaan, cada tribu recibio su herencia, sin embargo, la tribu de Levi, incluyendo a los sacerdotes, no recibieron herencia (aunque después les dieron las ciudades de los levitas – Jos. 18:7), ya que el Señor seria su porcion, su herencia.

En varios pasajes de Salmos se repite este tema (Sal 73:26; 119:57), y siempre resono en mi interior.

Hoy en dia, como en aquel tiempo, la mayoria de la gente se ocupa de su propia supervivencia, como salir adelante. Es por esta causa que trabajamos dia y noche, nos desvelamos, hacemos sacrificios por nuestra familia. E Israel tenia las tierras que Dios les habia prometido, sin embargo, David puede decir confiadamente, “TU Señor eres mi herencia!” Las riquezas del palacio, las comidas, los lujos, no son nada en comparación, si hay algo que yo quiera para mi, eres Tu Señor, TU ERES MI HERENCIA!!

Actualmente, la gente se desvive tratando de vivir…nunca tenemos suficiente, ni de cosas materiales, ni de logros, ni de aplausos, ni de reconocimientos, no estamos satisfechos. Si tenemos casa, queremos otra mejor… Que pasaria si hubiera una generacion que dijera “TU ERES MI HERENCIA SEÑOR! NO hay nada mas que yo quiera en este mundo!?
NO que dejen de trabajar, sino que la ganancia que obtengan del trabajo fuera para avanzar el reino de Dios. Una generacion tan enamorada de Cristo que pueden dejar todo lo que los atrae y lanzarse a llevar el maravilloso evangelio de Jesucristo a cada lengua, tribu, y nacion. Corriendo entre las naciones, con la vista clavada en el Amado, llevados de aquí para alla por el Espíritu Santo, los ojos consumidos por la mirada de Dios. Una generacion que ha sido “atrapada,” agarrada por la mano de Dios, de tal manera que son consumidos como Jeremias quien afirmo que la palabra de Dios era como fuego en sus huesos, no podia permanecer callado o arderia en llamas.

Es una generacion que se aferra a la palabra de Dios, no desviandose a derecha ni a izquierda, que busca interpretar correctamente la palabra de verdad. Una generacion que va a los basureros del mundo a levantar a la humanidad quebrantada y abandonada en oscuridad.

No tendremos temor del enemigo, puesto que Aquel que llena nuestro ser es mayor. Iremos al lugar mas oscuro, donde las tinieblas reinan imperantes, en el nombre de Jesucristo, invitando a los desechados de la sociedad al banquete del Maestro.

Porque El es nuestra herencia! No hay nada ni nadie que logre acercarse a lo maravilloso que El es! Su glorioso resplandor los ojos no pueden ver, apenas puede nuestro espíritu vislumbrar un poco del destello de Su presencia. Habiendo degustado del deleite de Su compañía, hemos quedado adictos, nada mas puede satisfacer la necesidad de El. El Espíritu que nos guia a toda la verdad es Quien nos une en relacion amorosa con Dios, y somos cuales naufragos, solo que en lugar de buscar la tierra, queremos perdernos mas en el mar de Su Espíritu Santo, inundados, en Su libertad, en Su amor. Amor que es cual llama ardiente, luz refulgente, calido abrazo, espada de correccion, animo, convicción, santidad pura.

Que El consuma toda nuestra vista! Que el lente por el cual vemos el mundo sea El. Entonces quiza nuestra generacion le llame…preparando el camino…atrayendo a las naciones de la tierrra a Sus pies, llevando la proclamación de la salvacion en Jesús. Quiza nuestro canto de enamorados lo llame irresistiblemente a nuestra tierra, quiza veamos en nuestros dias la culminacion de la evangelizacion del mundo. Por cuanto hemos decidido que EL ES NUESTRA HERENCIA!! Y echamos nuestra suerte con los pobres de la tierra, compartiendo nuestras riquezas, y extendiendonos a la meta del supremo llamamiento de Dios en Cristo Jesús!

En la comunión del Espíritu Santo,

R

Watch the movie “Eight Below!” You will love it” With those words, (and my love for dogs!) my curiosity was piqued, and so, I traveled on down to my local video rental and got “Eight Below.” In this movie, a man takes a scientist to explore a certain region in Antartica, but on the return the scientist is injured, which necessitates the whole team’s removal from the site in Antartica. As they all left immediately, it was impossible to take the heroic sled dogs, which had rescued the scientist as well as the owner. The promise was that as soon as they got to their other base of operations, someone would immediately fly back to retrieve the sled dogs. However, the team barely made it out, as a massive storm hit and no one was able to make it back.

The sled dog owner was crushed, how could his dogs survive through the terrible Antartic winter, especially since they had tied them securely to the chain? He tried all manner of things to attempt a rescue, meanwhile, the hope of the dogs survival dwindled. Begging, pleading, imploring, trying to raise the necessary funding to pay a crew to fly him back for his beloved dogs. For months he tried everything in his power, all without success. Still, not giving up hope, after months had passed, he headed to southmost point, to try to bribe a captain into taking him close enough attempt a landing, no captain would venture out.

Without telling you the end, I must draw on the commitment and the zeal which drove this man to try to rescue his beloved dogs, beyond all hope that they would ever survive, he pressed on. He knocked on every door, went to everyone who could possibly have helped him. Still, though no one would do anything, he was ready and willing to risk his whole life, facing into almost certain death, to accomplish his mission.

And this for dogs! We watch the movie and cry a few tears for the dogs abandoned, and we applaud this man’s courage and commitment, yet it was all for a few dogs! Now, don’t get me wrong, if there ever was a dog lover, I am one of them! I have had many dogs, and wept whenever one of them died. I love dogs.

BUT …. Not nearly as much as I love people…. And yet, how many of us can do half as much for the thousands, and yes, millions of people out there who do not know the name of Jesus, who do not call Him Savior? What of the people suffering through famine? The Christians enslaved or in prison? Those who trudge daily in the grime and mud of enforced slavery to pay back $100 lent over a hundred years ago? The children working in factories, to paint the wonderful jewelry we buy so cheaply here, the tiny hands weaving the prized tapestries of orient. The children on the streets of Mexico City, “huffing” inhaling gasoline, and glue to get a high and forget they do not have a place to spend the night and do not know whether they will last till morning – not that anyone cares or even knows their names…. Those who pick through and live in the garbage…Families who sell their children into slavery and prostitution…

Do I have the commitment, the enduring love to raise my voice for them, for months? While many will then say they do not want to be involved politically, this is not political, this is following in the footsteps of Jesus!
WoW! Will we even do as much as a committed man was willing to do for his dogs?

To blog or not to blog, that is the question!

Oh, if I could truly make a difference in this world, bloggin or otherwise! As a wise person I know said (regarding preparing food for starving people) “sounds like something Jesus would do!” I write, and yet don’t truly know why I write…perhaps to attempt to assuage the consuming fire within, the passion to see people come to Jesus and worship, finding the hole inside filled by His love, to see the starving fed, in body and soul; to bring transformation to societies that currently look upon abuse complacently and nonchalantly turn away! OH! The groaning of the Spirit to release those in bondage, those who cannot lift their heads for the iron ball and chain hung round it.


My heart aches from the knowledge of what 2 million + children endure daily, the sexual abuse and ritual prostitution more reliable than food or drink, beautiful children, like my own…deprived of their innocence condemned to probable death, swallowed up in the jowls of evil before they even had the chance to know they are valuable!

Perhaps this is too somber a blog to even be read, why read of such things? The world is full of evil, what can I do about it? Turn on “friends” instead, and help me forget what most of the world calls “life.”

Oh…that all may see, and all may know the wonders of GOD! That all may HEAR of HIS mercy! Compassion! Love! Goodness!
But these are abstract terms, incomprehensible even in our society, consumed as it is with its own self-absorption….how much more incomprehensible might they sound falling upon ears that can scarcely hear for the blows that have befallen them? What of those children? Beloved pride of their parents, raptured by terrorist armies and forced to commit atrocities…What of those in power, who, through the life blood and dreams of the poor line their homes with gold? What of the companies that pay their workers half what they need to survive, in order to turn a profit? Do these things concern me?


So we sit…and hear cultured and excellent music in our services, tailored just so (everyone knows that if you do not use the exact precise chord with the exact precise melody the Holy Spirit will depart). What makes us think the Holy Spirit would care to be in such a place in the first place, much less be dissuaded from staying by the mistaken chord???
Reminds me of something the prophets of old would say….”take away your music, I do not want to hear it! I am sick of your sacrifices! And when you pray I will stop up my ears! For when I looked for justice I did not find it, there is blood on your hands!” (Is. 1; Am – author’s interpretation/compilation)


Oh the cry of God’s heart! Yet, can we even hear it>?? It would seem that the God we have fashioned for ourselves is merely One who gives approval to whatever whim crosses the threshold of our consciousness, a god who is as consumerist as we ourselves are, a god who wants his children to have good things. Something is wrong when we think that our JUST and RIGHTEOUS GOD would love some of His children and starve others, that simply because we were born in more advanced societies and had the awesome privilege of hearing the gospel we are somehow in a “special” place and deserve to have our whims satisfied, while 2 1/ 2 million children are in forced child prostitution…and thousands hunger, millions do not even have the opportunity to hear of Jesus Christ for the first time, yet my God wants me to have the latest Ipod, car, house, guitar, piano, keyboard, Guess clothing, Nike shoes, Apple, HP computer, etc., etc., etc. Enough critiques…
WHAT AM I DOING??? Oh God! Is there hope for me yet?? Do not abandon me to myself! Do not give up on me yet! Holy Spirit of God! Awaken within me the fire, that will not be silenced, that will not back down, that will not step aside, lay down, shut up or go away! Help me to shout abroad the message of Your salvation in Jesus Christ, in word and in deed!