Ambassadors For Jesus - Moving to Higher Ground in Jesus Equality at the Cross www.ambassadorsforJesus5.com There is a character in the bible that holds a warm place in my heart. His name is Nebuchadnezzar. I know, probably not a favorite of many yet I have grown quite fond of him. I mean I just see the guy as ignorant and how many of us have never been blinded by ignorance? Did you know that he was an idol worshiper and a brute and the Lord called him to be his Deputy? He was Father's rod of correction in returning Israel back to Himself. Nowhere else does his ignorance seem more apparent as when God would move on behalf of his people. See, Neb would boil with anger when others refused to bow down to his golden god so he would put them in a fiery furnace. Then when Neb saw God move on their behalf he would shout the most wonderful praises about the Mighty God of Israel. But here comes his ignorance in full bloom. He would then tell them that they all had better worship the one true and mighty God of Israel or he would tear them from limb to limb. Beyond the brutality, I find him comical at times. He's like the bad guy in some movie that you find endearing, even in his lack. And here is one of my favorite praises to our wonderful Lord. It was delivered from the mouth of Neb after Father humbled him because he got this brilliant idea that his great success was the result of his own doing. Check this out: "After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as He pleases among the angels in heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?' When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud." -Daniel 4:34-37 Isn't that awesome? I suspect Daniel knew this about Neb, that he was an ignorant brute. I mean when Daniel interpreted Neb's dream and realized what would happen to him, he told him he wished it would happen to his enemies instead. And that was after he threw his three buddies in that fiery fire. In many ways we all suffer from ignorance. The bible tells us that eyes to see and ears to hear are gifts from God. Apart from the Lord no one truly sees and in our own efforts at sight we tend to partake of that forbidden fruit. That deceptively enticing apple, the product of abiding in the knowledge of good and evil apart from Jesus Christ, our tree of Life. We have been lulled into a deep sleep, living in a matrix of sorts, acting like God apart from Him. We trade in his righteousness for a false sense of self-righteousness and stand in the judgment seat that is Christ's alone. His kingdom is within and as the King of hearts only He can adequately judge another's heart for apart from his Spirit who imparts life we judge with eyes prone to short-sightedness. From this short-sightedness and surface view, we use inadequate measuring scales limited to our own understanding. There is none that can see all the threads that make up the fabric of our lives except the Lord's Spirit Himself. In understanding the differing variables in our lives we need to understand the only place we intersect and find our commonality is in the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the only view that holds true and leaves no room for pride and prejudice. The cross with its invading agents traveling through the recesses of our slumbering souls, sharpening our view. It is this view that gives testimony to our wretchedness apart from Jesus and how in all our efforts to be good, we fail miserably. The old covenant has already proven the "old man" cannot be rehabilitated, his sentence is death. And the beauty of our Lord comes shining through as He saw all our efforts were not enough to save us so He took it upon Himself to take on our most deserved sentencing for nothing He had done. May we come to understand the incredible grace and mercy that has been extended to us and as a result, become extensions of the same. Freely have we received, freely should we give. I see a new man arising from the plain of injustice. He wears a handsome garment and carries a banner of justice. He surrounds himself in light but it is a light of his own making, a product of dining on the wrong fruit, pleasant to the senses but containing a worm of a snake at its pitted core. I recognize that man for in the recesses of my darkened soul I have found him hiding. His voice is not the voice of my Shepherd so I will choose not to follow. I hope we learn to put down our double-edged swords and trade it in for the one who is sharper and sees right through our souls, piercing it, to the heart of the matter, the matter of the heart. Our Lord himself warned us that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. How often we wield that sword, leaving Christ behind. If we do such we will eventually realize what all of us does at one time or another, that the sword will come back and strike us, this double-edged sword with its double agent properties. It has only one loyalty, to the Master Swordsman our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Only by living in Christ will we be able to handle such a sharp and dangerous tool for in Him have we been joined with Father's heart and can now be moved by love Himself where the target will be clear and we will not leave behind a bloody scene of our own making. Martin Luther King Jr. said quite effectively in these wonderful words, "But there is something I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads to the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking the cup of bitterness and hatred." In our quest to become good Samaritans and discussing the issues, may we be aware of the dangers of becoming the thieves and batterers instead of the instruments used to bind up wounds. May we remain alert to the dangers of becoming what we claim to detest. And may we learn the meaning of these wise words by Oswald Chambers, "I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God."

Ambassadors for Jesus

an Online Magazine

Moving to Higher Ground in Jesus

Equality at the Cross

www.ambassadorsforJesus5.com

There is a character in the bible that holds a warm place in my heart. His name is Nebuchadnezzar. I know, probably not a favorite of many yet I have grown quite fond of him. I mean I just see the guy as ignorant and how many of us have never been blinded by ignorance? Did you know that he was an idol worshiper and a brute and the Lord called him to be his Deputy? He was Father's rod of correction in returning Israel back to Himself.

Nowhere else does his ignorance seem more apparent as when God would move on behalf of his people. See, Neb would boil with anger when others refused to bow down to his golden god so he would put them in a fiery furnace. Then when Neb saw God move on their behalf he would shout the most wonderful praises about the Mighty God of Israel. But here comes his ignorance in full bloom. He would then tell them that they all had better worship the one true and mighty God of Israel or he would tear them from limb to limb. Beyond the brutality, I find him comical at times. He's like the bad guy in some movie that you find endearing, even in his lack.

And here is one of my favorite praises to our wonderful Lord. It was delivered from the mouth of Neb after Father humbled him because he got this brilliant idea that his great success was the result of his own doing.

Check this out:

"After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as He pleases among the angels in heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'

When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud." -Daniel 4:34-37

Isn't that awesome? I suspect Daniel knew this about Neb, that he was an ignorant brute. I mean when Daniel interpreted Neb's dream and realized what would happen to him, he told him he wished it would happen to his enemies instead. And that was after he threw his three buddies in that fiery fire.

In many ways we all suffer from ignorance. The bible tells us that eyes to see and ears to hear are gifts from God. Apart from the Lord no one truly sees and in our own efforts at sight we tend to partake of that forbidden fruit. That deceptively enticing apple, the product of abiding in the knowledge of good and evil apart from Jesus Christ, our tree of Life. We have been lulled into a deep sleep, living in a matrix of sorts, acting like God apart from Him. We trade in his righteousness for a false sense of self-righteousness and stand in the judgment seat that is Christ's alone. His kingdom is within and as the King of hearts only He can adequately judge another's heart for apart from his Spirit who imparts life we judge with eyes prone to short-sightedness. From this short-sightedness and surface view, we use inadequate measuring scales limited to our own understanding. There is none that can see all the threads that make up the fabric of our lives except the Lord's Spirit Himself. In understanding the differing variables in our lives we need to understand the only place we intersect and find our commonality is in the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the only view that holds true and leaves no room for pride and prejudice. The cross with its invading agents traveling through the recesses of our slumbering souls, sharpening our view. It is this view that gives testimony to our wretchedness apart from Jesus and how in all our efforts to be good, we fail miserably. The old covenant has already proven the "old man" cannot be rehabilitated, his sentence is death. And the beauty of our Lord comes shining through as He saw all our efforts were not enough to save us so He took it upon Himself to take on our most deserved sentencing for nothing He had done. May we come to understand the incredible grace and mercy that has been extended to us and as a result, become extensions of the same. Freely have we received, freely should we give.

I see a new man arising from the plain of injustice. He wears a handsome garment and carries a banner of justice. He surrounds himself in light but it is a light of his own making, a product of dining on the wrong fruit, pleasant to the senses but containing a worm of a snake at its pitted core. I recognize that man for in the recesses of my darkened soul I have found him hiding. His voice is not the voice of my Shepherd so I will choose not to follow.

I hope we learn to put down our double-edged swords and trade it in for the one who is sharper and sees right through our souls, piercing it, to the heart of the matter, the matter of the heart. Our Lord himself warned us that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. How often we wield that sword, leaving Christ behind. If we do such we will eventually realize what all of us does at one time or another, that the sword will come back and strike us, this double-edged sword with its double agent properties. It has only one loyalty, to the Master Swordsman our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Only by living in Christ will we be able to handle such a sharp and dangerous tool for in Him have we been joined with Father's heart and can now be moved by love Himself where the target will be clear and we will not leave behind a bloody scene of our own making.

Martin Luther King Jr. said quite effectively in these wonderful words, "But there is something I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads to the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking the cup of bitterness and hatred."

In our quest to become good Samaritans and discussing the issues, may we be aware of the dangers of becoming the thieves and batterers instead of the instruments used to bind up wounds. May we remain alert to the dangers of becoming what we claim to detest. And may we learn the meaning of these wise words by Oswald Chambers, "I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God."

jo@ambassadorsforjesus5.com