Radical Maybe it's not a bad word after all!

As you can see below radical really means from the root or growing from the base. Well If Jesus is your rock and your planted in Him you can call yourself radical and not be ashamed! How many radicals do we have here?


Main Entry: 1rad·i·cal
Pronunciation: \ˈra-di-kəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin radicalis, from Latin radic-, radix root — more at root
Date: 14th century

1 : of, relating to, or proceeding from a root: as a (1) : of or growing from the root of a plant (2) : growing from the base of a stem, from a rootlike stem, or from a stem that does not rise above the ground b : of, relating to, or constituting a linguistic root c : of or relating to a mathematical root d : designed to remove the root of a disease or all diseased and potentially diseased tissue
2 : of or relating to the origin : fundamental
3 a : marked by a considerable departure from the usual or traditional : extreme b : tending or disposed to make extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions c : of, relating to, or constituting a political group associated with views, practices, and policies of extreme change d : advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs
4 slang : excellent, cool

— rad·i·cal·ness noun

I believe there is a genuine walk with our Fathers that is so satisfying to us Once we taste it we will never settle.

Often when reading the bible we get off perspective. A main reason for this is we tend to look at the word as if it were written by people who have had a relationship with God much like our own. Imagine writing a letter to a group of people, that is not based on what you think or what you believe. But rather on the fact that you have been through it and have a genuine experience in what you are talking about. I always tell people I would choose to learn from one who has done the thing they teach before listening to another who has second hand knowledge in it. Take Flying for example if flight instructors only knew the manuals front to back and yet never flew how then could they really prepare others for the experience? So it is in this walk with the Lord. It is important to have the experience with Him to be able to effectively share the relationship with others. How could one say I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me if they are not walking it out? Sure I can point to it in scripture in Philippians 4:13 but does knowing how to find it or having it memorized qualify me to share this as an absolute Truth? When the man who has never been sick declares the truth “He is the God who heals me”. Does it carry the weight as a similar confession from a man who has come through a disease that almost took his life.

It seems to me we have come into a time period where we have more people confessing the word of God than we have those who have lived and experienced it. I often hear of the mountain top stories where people have set apart a time to go and just commune with God. Many of these stories have this common thought where they returned excited from the time they just had and can't stop talking about it. Yet as time goes by we seldom see any real change in their lives. I like to think a genuine encounter with God would be much like the one Moses had. When he came away from the presence of God it was obvious to others that the bible says his face shined. Moses did not have to come down and declare the experience to others they saw it in him. When was the last time someone could see God was working in your life with out you telling them? The bible says we are letters read of all men 2 Corinthian 3:2 and that this is the credentials of the ministers who God has placed in our lives.

I believe there is a genuine walk with our Fathers that is so satisfying to us Once we taste it we will never settle for being a believer or just a church person. But a person who walks with the Lord. Don't let the chance to know Him go by and substitute it with a 2nd hand relationship through others. He does not want this His desire is to be known by you Mark 4 tells us unto us is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.

Don't settle for less!

God Bless

I was naked!

I often see things from an angle that seems to be missed by others. For example I get many friends because of my passion for the word of God who often ask of me concerning prophecy. I do have some thoughts on the last days and prophetic writings, however I am more focused on the Love of God in us than any other element. I see the relationship with Him to be the ultimate part of my experience at this time and tend to speak more on the relationship we should desire to have with the Father His Son and the Holy Spirit. Curiosity drives me to wonder what tomorrow may hold but I am grounded in knowing better who holds tomorrow. Knowing that whatever He has in my tomorrow is also under his love for me, Causes me to rest from worry about tomorrow. Jesus told us Matthew 6:34 (New International Version) 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. So I look at Prophecy more with a what does this offer me now attitude. Lets look at a scene in the bible where the disciples were asking about the end and what Jesus told them.
Mathew 24:4-8
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Here He is telling them it will get bad but don't worry this must occur, This is not the end and then He describes a time that seems we are experiencing more than any other generation. With the wars the rumor of potential wars, Famines pestilences and even the natural disasters at such magnitude in our time. It seems before we get through a thing another comes on the scene. Daily we get new reports of all these things and we know this is not the end. That means there is more for us to do yet.

Look in Mathew 25:31-46 Where he describes judgment.
The Sheep and the Goats
 31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
He tells us we saw him in need some of us responded to the need while others didn't. IN essence He is saying here I was in need of love and you didn't love me. I know He could have kept going on and describing the many forms needs can take. Down to even simple ones we often overlook like you saw I needed grace and you gave me none. In need of prayer yet you kept silent. In need of a word of encouragement and you spoke not to me. Or even simpler needs like I was a single mom and I needed a babysitter yet you turned me away. I was walking to work and you drove by. Again the essence here is you saw I needed love and you closed your heart to me.

I used to read the word and think when did we see the three things He described and though maybe there would be those who are exceptions and never did see these things. But in light of what He has revealed to me concerning that it was a need to love someone we could see. I realized we all have been there. If that is not enough look at the time and the events going on. Wars create needs both at home and abroad moms at home while husband is in the service. Children waiting for a dad to return Men coming home broken emotionally some mentally. Disease crippling homes moms that can't cook due to illness's Children who need someone to sit with them while mom or dad get some rest.. Disasters that wipe out thousands in a moment. Who's going to rebuild the homes or help them till they get back to work again? I could type more than most of us are willing to read. This is not a beg to get a response this is real. Either you see the needs and are doing as love leads you or your not.
I pray your eyes be opened to see him naked, Hungry and in need of companionship. And that your heart full of His love responds with the answer for that need! May God bless you with His Presence and may you increase in the midst of pressure for His glory!

Losing Myself in Marriage

Losing Myself in Marriage

As I celebrate with my wife 22 years of growing together in marriage, as one in Christ I think of the many people who have yet to lose themselves in their relationships.

We were never designed to remain as we are. Yet it seems many of us enjoy where we are so much we never gain the next phase of our lives. Too often where we are to go requires a stripping of something we have and are so fond of. I can remember as a child, Parents who would take us from a house we loved and were familiar with, to a new place we didn't yet know. At 16 we as a family went from the city to the country, talk about an exchange. This is like thirty years ago but I can remember the thoughts of losing the friendships I had in exchange for the unknown. Today I can tell you I would not have wanted to go back to the citylife, but it took going through it to show this to me. I had much more in the country; a larger yard, ponds to fish in and even my mother was less worried and extended more freedoms to us. I could ride my ten speed for miles now not just on the street where she could look out and see me. I made new friends, new not better and I still remember the one's from the city. But had I refused to not let go of what I had in the city, I would never have realized what I could have. There are many stories like this in my past including choices to continue in the educational process or strike out in an employment venture. Jobs that I would leave for new ones. My own moving from state to state. I could write articles on each of these experiences.

Yet it seems in marriage we fail to comprehend that there has to be a losing of our single lives in order to experience fully the married life. Many of us try to hold on to the things in our single walk that won't fit in the marriage walk. I remember friends who refused to go from being a friend with me as being single to becoming friends of this marriage. I had to choose to walk away from them. I still love them I just could not separate me from the marriage anymore. This did not mean I could not do something without my wife it just meant that in all things, the marriage was considered before just planning or doing a thing.

The Lord designed marriage to be a blessing yet a marriage can be the closest experience to a heaven or a hell in this physical life. Look at the words God used in Genesis 2:18-25

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called 'woman, '

for she was taken out of man."

24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Not good to be alone.

Sometimes we need alone time to think or to meditate and this is only for a short time. What the Lord was saying here is not that type of getting alone to accomplish a thing. But he was talking of loneliness and how it is not a good thing. He made man first alone then declared that man should not be alone. He did this so we would know the truth and not believe the lie that often creeps up on us where we confess incorrectly I would be better off without anyone. I need my wife and she needs me. This applies to our heavenly marriage as well where we can all say we need each other.

A helper.

This one is abused so much in religion. We need a clearer picture of the Lords will. She is not given to be a helper to my self will; to do my bidding and my desires or as a slave to my needs. But the helper He referred to here is clearer in Christ in the New Testament where he declares the woman to be a joint heir or an equal partner in the marriage. She is not beneath but truly beside. Man brings the seed and woman the egg, but the woman provides the womb for these two to grow into a baby. Man cannot reproduce himself without the woman. And this is the first purpose in marriage, to be fruitful and multiply. Again this is a place we could explore for hours. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to see the true ministry in the marriage where you are joint heirs in Christ.

Woman came from man.

The Lord God made man from the earth. Why did he not go back there and create a peer for Adam? What we need to see is in creating Adam, God had already made the highest form of creation. This one had His image stamped on him and His nature impregnated in him. To make woman from anything other than what was already in man would have been to make her inferior to man. Man possessed at that time both the feminine and the masculine and so in His wisdom he separated those parts and made male and female. Each part was an equal opposite of the nature and image of God separated.

For this reason

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Now the two separated have need to be reassembled in order to achieve God's will of marriage, becoming one again. This is why we are told to leave the former and to cling to the new creation, the marriage. Picture if you can two pieces of play dough, one ball of yellow and one of blue. Put the two together and mesh them into each other and you have a new ball of clay. I see this in phases. You can press them together and yet the colors don't mingle much and so looking at it you still see the old parts clearly one half yellow and and the other blue just joined at an edge. Work them together a little and you see change in process. You can now see some of the yellow and some of the blue but you also see some new coming bits of green appearing. Tear these two apart now and they will never be what they once were. They carry parts with them from the meshing together. Keep on meshing these two and the colors that came into this marriage soon are all gone. They are now a new color. The yellow and blue balls of clay are now one ball of green clay. Here we have lost our singleness and no longer desire the former life.

Naked and not ashamed.

This was said after he made them one. Many people see this as being mankind naked in public. This is not so. Man and woman here are naked now in marriage. Not just physically but a triune nakedness, spirit, soul and body. In this place her emotions are naked before me and I still love her, yet my logic is exposed to her for it's impurities and she covers and loves me. This is the place where self is lost in the marriage and love is the cover for many shortcomings. As it grows into the for-ordained goals for this new creature.

Just look at this scripture and let the Holy Spirit give you a fresh picture of what He intended marriage to be!

God Bless You!

Ephesians 5:22-33 (The Message)

22-24Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

25-28Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.

29-33No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

Jesus is the best ....

So many teachings and so many hearers yet so few achieve the level of the teachings.

We run from conference to conference reading book after book. we listen to cd's and tapes over and over till we can quote them verbatim. Yet it seems we still lack what it takes to produce what we hear. There has to be a barrier between what we know and what we do. and it all comes down to a genuine change of heart.

It is easy to walk in a pattern as long as there is no friction to bring resistance. Yet when confronted with a challenge who we are comes out not what we know. An extreme example is the man who hits his thumb while nailing with a hammer. the words and thoughts he expresses are the ones that are rooted in His heart. Scripture tells us in luke 6:45 out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. I remember hearing someone say under pressure what is inside will come out. Squeeze a lemon you get lemon juice an orange releases orange juice. Pressure on a person will reveal what is inside. It is becoming clear in this hour of presssure to others who we truly are.

It amazes me how we try to improve areas of our lives with the books and teachings, thinking this is what a christian is supposed to do. If I struggle with an addiction I will read up on bondage and liberation. If I am struggling with my income I will search out truths on finances. If my marriage is rough I go to a marriage seminar. Or if I have trouble with my children I read up on parenting and take a seminar on it. these things are not bad per say however it is not the way the Lord builds us. His desire is to enable all who believe to be come Sons see john 1:12 . If we would just allow the Holy spirit to do what it is that he was sent for this would come to pass.
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
Learn to look at sentence structure and see the emphasis here the emphasis is on "guiding us into all truth" I see this like a man who walks a horse gently by the reins to take him into a stall or a trailer. The scripture does not say he will show us the truth but that he will takes into it. This is where you no longer see it from the outside apart from it but now see through it as a part of it. Jesus is the truth he lived from the position of being the truth. You see the goal is to become more like Jesus. Jesus is the best husband, Father, friend , servant and so much more not because of what he knows but because of who he is. This is the place the Holy Spirit is wanting to take us into where we are not just hearers who try an do the works of the truth. But where we become Servants who desire to be the work of the truth

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Self Esteem

Self Esteem

How one looks at one's self is an important part of life. It actually can propel you into greatness or cause you to shrink from your full potential. However for most of us in part due to the term “self esteem” we like in many things begin this on a wrong foot or an incorrect start.

The term self esteem leads us see it only as a value one places on one's self. Yet being told that we need to have better self esteem does not get us there. Nor does that instruct us as to why we should go there. It seems it is easier to value yourself based upon value others see in us. Yet what if they have an inflated or deflated perspective of our worth? Getting a healthy self image is needed in all parties to bring balance to a relationship.

So understanding the need for a good self image is the easy part. Learning how to view yourself is a little harder. There are so many messages out there on this however lets look into the scriptures to get some balance here.

1.Do not over value yourself.

Romans 12:3 (Amplified Bible) For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. This is straight forward a warning to be careful not to overvalue ourselves. This can lead to many different problems like treating people as if they are worth less than you. As well a sense of pride that will cause you to think you can do more than you actually can leading to a failure. As we can see in Proverbs 16:18 (Amplified Bible) Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

2 place a higher value in those around you.

God's love is constantly flowing much like liquid it is never still there is a constant exchange of energy back and forth. We are told to in Philippians 2:3-4 (New King James Version) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. I apply this to you and in return it gets applied back to me. As I write these thoughts I am reminded how Paul truly saw others this way. And look at you the reader as more important than me as I the writer and your calling to be greater than mine. Now some people reading this are tripping how can this be the emphasis here is in the “considered as” not in actuality no parent sees one child greater than the other but wants all of his children to treat each other “as if” they were. If we would love each other enough to do this can you imagine the harmony we would experience.

3.Let gods view of you take priority.

No matter the circumstances begin to see yourself in His eyes. Remember When no one saw your value He did. So much he describes Having you being worth all of His treasure. Luke 15 3-7 (New International Version) Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. He loved us so much that he left all he had to find us! John 3:16 says he loved us so much in essence you were worth as much to him as Jesus His son. That's why He gave Jesus to get you and me!

Now this is a healthy start to having a proper view of ones self and being able to esteem your self correctly amongst others. The bible never gives us suggestions to try it gives us commands to do. When we choose to not let our viewpoint be the same as God's whether we see it higher or lower in our own eyes. It is an indirect way of saying God is wrong and I am right and therefore I must be Higher than God. Most of us would never declare a thing as this but many of us do it in silence when we disagree with His view of our lives. If today you can't see yourself as he does ask Him to show you what he sees in you. And then get ready to be amazed because I read that you are wonderfully made or to paraphrase it.

I can see you were made to be full of the wonders of God!

http://breadfortoday.blogspot.com/

Matthew 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

-----Sometimes it seems the children of God forget this and try to be best friends with God's enemies.

-----We can not live as friends to this society and love the lord as well.

-----Share His love for them and not their love for this world.