Marks Chapter in God's Story Being Told

My gratitude to each of you who shared your story with us last week.  It is always makes me smile to know I am not the only "character" God created :)

As I promised, we are going to look at God's storyline through the eyes of others while we merge our own for confirmation of His presence.  That is all our witness is for ya know - proof that He is real and cares deeply, honestly and passionately for us in order that we might all live freely forever.  What a perfect eternity that will be, don't you agree?

When I desire to read the view points of a gospel, keeping the focus on everyday life, I usually remember Mark.  With that in mind, Mark is where I started our journey to increase our understanding.  Mark decided his storyline would open with acknowledging the Good News by referencing Isaiah the prophet.  It was as if he wanted to know that without Isaiah lighting the pathway for him, he would not have been able to light it further for us.  We now are to light up to where our presence ends and pass our torch onto the sprinter up ahead of us; and so on and so forth.

As Mark was speaking about John the Baptizer and recanting the details of Jesus' baptism, I started thinking.  While the baptism in water is wonderful we know the might comes from the baptism of the Spirit.  The deed which we do publicly is an honor and glory to God due to our faithful witness.  But the profession of Spirit is displayed among people as we witness to attest to his power. The water is a witness for people to view, the transformation is the Spirits witness of Christ in us bringing Glory to our Creator and awareness of the relationship between our Father and His son.

The first time I recall reading about the heavens splitting open was in Mark as Christ came up out of the water and the Spirit descending as a dove upon Christ.  I love the imagery of that scene.  I wish I could have witnessed the voice of God speaking from the heavens to say, "You are My Son, whom I love and I am pleased with you!

I know that one day I will hear God say that to Christ.  It will be the day that every knee bends and head bows down to join in this acclamation.  Christ so deserves it.  And you know what, God loves you and I that much.  He would  not have allowed Christ to demonstrate His love like this if it were not so.

I have come to believe what I heard Him say one day:  If it is so, so it is, whether it is spoken by man or not.  As for me, I am going to speak it.  Christ wasn't ashamed of my sin, how dare I be ashamed of His goodness and God's love for us all.  As Peter stated, "May it NEVER be!"

With Love from and through Him to you all ~
Kisses,
Candace

©Candace Huffmaster 2012, All Copyrights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly™

Ever Hooked Yourself When Fishing?

However, I'm afraid that as the snake deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

I must apologize for the long pause.  But I guess it took 7 days for me to grasp the depths of the topic we are Honestly venturing into.  We last discussed how our soul lures us away and yet we must not allow ourselves the luxury of choosing to be naïve.  Knowing that guilt and condemnation have no place in our relationship with God through Christ, we have the advantage of holding our soul accountable while casting down it’s false, vain perceptions.  There is such a vast array of wisdom written for us on the topic of self deception, vain wisdom, and lethargic learning.  It is my opinion that learning through others flailing, falling or flying is what makes it real – not theology.  Not that we don’t need both; otherwise we would simply be foolish leaders luring others into harm’s way. 

Today we are going to glean understanding as we compare some pieces of Peter and Isaiah’s journeys.  Both of these men LOVE, LOVE, LOVED God – but Peter had the wonderful experience of actually being able to walk alongside Jesus Christ.  WOW….my heart leaps when I ponder what those experiences must have been like; but also, how devastating it must have been to Peter when he followed the lures his mind casted at times.  Talk about an abrupt HIGH / low experience!

To review:  Perceive means to be aware or discern while Deceived means cheated or mislead.  The common denominators are these two are: information, decision and right of free will.  Holding this variable equation together is our one and only ultimate constant; God’s purpose and personality are at the helm of the universe, not randomness. 

We stopped last with Peter wanting to go “right now” with Christ.  Can you imagine the fear that must have been luring him as he thought about Christ leaving him to go it alone?  Not to mention that Christ validates Peters fear by telling him (my paraphrase) Hey Pete, I know you THINK you would do anything, but I will let you SEE how unrealistic you are about the depth of your devotion to me.  I won’t even be far out of your view and you won’t be able to stand the pressure, much less let me REALLY be gone.  I thank God that we have these true tales to walk through, or else I would feel like an utter failure at times.

Now let’s look at a few moments in the life of Isaiah: chapter 6: 8-13  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and whom will go for Us?  Then I said “HERE I AM…send ME!”  and He said Go and tell this people: keep listening but do not perceive, keep on looking, but do not understand, render the hearts of this people insensitive their ears dull and their eyes dim; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and return and be healed.  Then I said “How Long?” and HE answered.

Do you hear any insecurity or second guessing in Isaiah?  I heard passion for supporting THEIR cause and a perseverance to WAIT on God’s direction. 

Today I want you to think about the contrast of each individual’s purpose, personality and continence. Consider these thoughts:

Could it have been a hindrance to Peter’s faith maturing because Christ was in His presence?

Could Isaiah have been at an advantage to step up because he had not been walking alongside Christ therefore alleviating self defeating thoughts of comparison?

It is my prayer for us today that in all ways we receive the good which God extends to each of us as we strive to bring honor to Him, glory to His son and unite in His spirit to testify the might of His ways.  I pray we are faithful and that we will not shrink back, but lean in and be girded up to be one with His patience.  May we be strength to those whose faith is not as strong, may we lay ourselves aside and be concerned with our neighbors and the good things that will build their faith.  May we be like Christ who did not think only of himself but allowed the insults of others to fall into the hands of God’s mercy and grace.  May we learn from those that witnessed before us so that we could perceive their endurance and find encouragement to continue to stand.  And lastly, I pray that it is God’s good pleasure to give us all this same endurance and encouragement so that we may live in harmony with each other as we unite to live out the fulfillment of all things to the maturity of Christ.

With Love,

Candace 

©Candace Huffmaster, 2011 All Rights Reserved

Kaleidoscope Butterfly Inc™

I Will Witness Send Me

Yesterday we read and thought about the letter written to believers from the book of Revelation.  Here are the scriptures from Isaiah 6 (GWT) which I said we were going to compare to that.  Think on these things today, if you wish write about them.  Please share anything you'd like or ask questions here and I (as well as anyone else) will reply.

I request wisdom, discernment and protection covering our lips as we share for His glory, for each of us.

With Love and a Holy Kiss to each of you, In Christ,
Candace

 ¹In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne. The bottom of his robe filled the temple. ²Angels were standing above him. Each had six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³They called to each other and said,
  
   “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies!
   The whole earth is filled with his glory.”
 ⁴Their voices shook the foundations of the doorposts, and the temple filled with smoke.
 ⁵So I said, “Oh, no!
  
   I’m doomed.
      Every word that passes through my lips is sinful.
         I live among people with sinful lips.
            I have seen the king, the Lord of Armies!”
 ⁶Then one of the angels flew to me. In his hand was a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷He touched my mouth with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin has been forgiven.”
 ⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
   I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
 ⁹And he said, “Go and tell these people,
  
   ‘No matter how closely you listen, you’ll never understand.
   No matter how closely you look, you’ll never see.’
    ¹⁰Make these people close-minded.
         Plug their ears.
            Shut their eyes.
            Otherwise, they may see with their eyes,
         hear with their ears,
      understand with their minds,
         and return and be healed.”