A pure God residing in tarnished flesh

by: Delarocha

A friend of mine and a great preacher, AJ Plazier, preached this past week in Encounter (student led service) on Self Control (I’ve always had a problem with the word “self”, as if it has to do with us.) Anyway, long story short, one of the major points he made was how self control comes from by the Spirit residing in us. It is by his empowering of us that we can be “self-controlled.” Powerful truth that we all may know - but rarely live out. That’s the Truth that hit me immediately, but here’s what has come out of his message since then.
The Holy Spirit is a pure God residing in a tarnished flesh. Indwelling the believer, is the Holy, perfect, pure God. In the midst of self, sin and flesh, resides not only the essence of God, but God himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit. How can that concept not blow your mind? We, the Temple, are host to God: The Holy Spirit. And to think that he chooses to stay even though the house leaves something to be desired. Even though my mind is not pure, and my heart is not fully bent towards the Father’s will – he still chooses to stay. Why? Because he loves me. That’s it. Only because he loves me and desires to see the work that Christ has begun to its completion. All out of pure, perfect love.

Boiled down: The Holy Spirit has humbled himself to live in what is contrary to himself: The Holy lives with the unholy. There is nothing that makes less sense than that, yet nothing that brings more hope.

I can’t imagine what sacrifice I can make that would be equivalent to his. I guess surrender of control would be a good start.
Roach out.

The Paradox of Growth

One of the great influencers in my life, John Symonds, said something in class last week that is still impacting me. He was speaking on asking ourselves the hard questions concerning our leadership. He then, in a moment of vulnerable transparency, spoke of how the closer her gets to the Father, the older he gets in his faith, the greater the gap gets between who he is, and who the father has created him to be. What a sobering thought. Here is a man who has been serving the Lord most, if not all, of his life. He is realizing, what Isaiah did in ch.6 of the Book, that in light of Christ, the gap is large, too large for us to close.
Here’s the paradox: the more we grow, the more we need to. The “holier” we get, the more we need to be. The deeper we go in love and faith, the deeper we realize the depths are. The more ground me gain, the more we realize is left.
This realization, though, is not discouraging, in no way. It is a glorious concept, because it greatly increases the awareness of our very real need for a Savior and a God. That’s the purpose. God draws us into his presence, not to primarily “fix” us, but to first of all make us aware that we need fixing. We must know the need, before we can seek the remedy. The greater then need, the more violently we seek the remedy.
Realize this: the need is greater than we could ever realize. Seek hard the remedy: Jesus.
Roach out.

Remnants of brokenness

We talked about gages last night in our Triad (which really was a Bi-ad last night. Is that a word??). Anyway, we talked about taking our spiritual pulse, and how can we possibly gage how we’re doing spiritually. We’ve been talking a lot about brokenness and surrender, as the ultimate end to our lives: to be wholly surrendered to the Father. But, if we as humans can only see the outer man, who can judge the inner man but the creator? What outer manifestation of the inner man is a accurate gage of the state of our hearts? The answer, I think, is love. Do I love?
If I am wholly surrendered (which means I have been completely broken) then I freely love all, unconditionally and unashamedly. That is the gage. Are there people that I do not love? Are there people that I just can’t stand to be around, that have hurt me and I can’t bear to be near them; that my blood boils when they talk? Well yes. Yes, there are people that I avoid, that I refuse, or am unable, to extend mercy and grace to.
Does that gage make me a hopeless case, by no means! But it does mean that must continue to seek His face, and continue to live in a state of need of his grace and presence. It means that I am not yet broken, but still being broken. The remnants of brokenness is love, perfect love.
Roach out.

You are what you read?

I’ve been reading a lot lately. Some for class, but mostly for myself. Some of the books I’ve been getting into are my Henri Nouwen (I recommend him to anyone who wants their paradigms challenged and are open to change). Most notably are: “Reaching Out”, “In the Name of Jesus”, and I am beginning “Wounded Healer”. I’ve really re-discovered the joy of reading to, as “The Gov” would say, feed my soul.
This past weekend I went down to my parents place for some R&R and there was much discussion (as per usual). As I observed and listened the people around me (both family and non), I started to look at what was on their minds, what they were talking about, and compared it to what they were reading. I noticed that most (if not all) of the people that are in my parents circle are only reading books and authors who fuel their already established beliefs. Once an author speaks anything different, the book is rejected and tossed aside. Sunday morning, the pastor read and excerpt from an famous author and gave a sermonette based on the excerpt. The excerpt, on prayer, was not Scriptural. But it lined up perfectly with the pastor’s own personal view of God and the purpose of prayer.
This concerns me and breaks my heart. I started to look at the past 15 years. There has been much change in all their lives, but very little growth. They have learned much about the power of God, the “prosperity Gospel”, etc… but very little has changed in their hearts concerning the lost, the hurting, their own grudges and hate.
All this to say…be careful what you read. If you find yourself always reading the same author that you always agree with or never challenges you to move from where you are, or makes you think of how others are falling short but you’re ok. Then you need to read something else. Or maybe it’s the way you’re reading it. The same goes for the Word of God. If you find the Word as only something that should convict other and only affirms you, then maybe you should re-read it and permit it to, as Wally would say, “totally wreck your life.”
I guess what I’m saying is that if what you read is superficial, then you’re life will reflect that. Concerning the Word, if you read it only superficially, then you’re life will reflect that. Content and Attitude will either be a catalyst or a retardant
for growth in your life.
Roach out.

At a loss for what to do…

The Mrs. and I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment complex. We like it here, cheap heat and close to campus. But we are at a loss as to what to do with the people upstairs. I don’t mind the noise. They is, a mother, a 4-5 year old boy, a 10 year old girl and another girl (unsure of her age). Every morning we wake up to hear screams of anger and much swearing. This past week, all day long we either can hear screaming and swearing or stuff being thrown. All day there is the sound of crying. It breaks our hearts. But I don’t know what to do. I thought maybe I was overreacting, kids were just being kids fighting amongst themselves., but the other morning I met the mom downstairs bringing her empties (beer bottles) down the stairs. There was a STACK of them. I thought nothing of if till the six year old was lugging them down too. It seems like she’s a single mom, but I’m not sure. I want to have compassion for her, but she’s always yelling and swearing at her kids. Part of me wants to intervene, but I don’t know he situation, or her frustrations. I guess all I can do is pray, but that frustrates me. I feel for these kids.
I just needed to get this off my chest.
Roach out.

The Tension Between Reverence and Freedom

A discussion held yesterday in one of my classes has got me thinking about reverence. What is reverence? What is the balance of reverence and freedom?
I am convinced that I need to be who I am, that freedom in Christ is to be who he created me to be, and in that he is glorified. But I also think that there needs to be a deep submission to Christ; that we can’t live vicariously and without care. This freedom doesn’t mean a license to sin. That’s where reverence comes in. I am also convinced that we need to fear and respect the Lord, and live as Ecc. 5 indicates; to “Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice5 like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong. Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.”
I guess I don’t know what this all means right now, but I think I’m being asked to look deeper inside. Maybe this freedom that I live in has been slipping to irreverence. Time spent with the master will reveal.
What is the balance?
Asking…
Roach out.

The gods in my life

One of the most wonderful things about the Word of God is that it is forever fresh. Regardless of how much time we may spend in a passage, section, chapter or book, there is always something that the Spirit can make us aware too. The words may not change, but the application can always be made on a deeper level. We’ve been reading Romans 1 this week for triad and part of the text I used this past Sunday in Encounter (College student service) was from Romans 1. As I have been reflecting on the part that speaks of fake gods, and how we have traded to True God for these fake gods, I am deeply convicted about the idolatry in my life. The dangerous things about these idols, are they don’t require or desire our worship (because their inanimate), but we still offer them our allegiance and reliance. Coffee for one. I love coffee, but it becomes my idol when I rely on it to keep me alert and awake. Why can’t I pray and ask God to help me with that one? Is it beyond his ability? My eloquence. When in a debate or conversation, I can rely on vocabulary and rhetoric to convince others of the Truth of the Word. Sure God may have gifted me, but I must submit to the Giver and not the Gift.
Maybe I’m not making sense, maybe this just applies to me. But I feel a deeper sense of surrender as of late. A deeper sense of opening myself up to full examination, to allow the Spirit access to every area of my heart/psyche/soul, so as to live in a deeper awareness of my need for God.
At this moment, I still can’t sing along to the song “I will give you all my worship” because I cringe at the fact that I quite possibly may be lying to God and myself. To sing such words would mean that I have been holistically examined and expunged of all idolatry. I am not convinced that this is a completed work in me. Maybe it is, but I can’t take that risk. But I can keep seeking him. Best advice I ever got: SEEK HIM!
(Thanks Falcon for living a life of authenticity and for showing me a life lived real. I am forever grateful.)
Roach out.

Broken for surrender

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about brokenness and surrender lately. On top of these, floating around in the vast space that is the Roach’s mind, is that God is the means to the desired end. It is my life, God is always the means to whatever the end. If it is humility, God is the means, not avoiding credit. If patience is the end, God is the means, not biting your tongue. You get the point. So as I’ve been thinking about the end of this Christian life I ask myself “what is God’s desired end in my life.” Easy: entire surrender; to be wholly yielded to the Father. But as I desire it (entire surrender) I have been wondering what the means is. I want to say the right thing and say that God is the means, but that seems too pat of an answer. This is what I’ve discovered.
God is the means, he is the ultimate catalyst. He is our starting point, forever and always. But there is a process that he chooses, his favorite road it seems, and that is the path of brokenness. But what is brokenness? It surely isn’t defeat (at least not in the hands of God) but it is a realization that you are helpless. Brennan Manning in The Ragamuffin Gospel writes that hookers and swindlers get grace first because they live in the realization that they have nothing to lose, they are as powerless to control their lives as a new born baby. That’s brokenness: The realization that you really have no control, or power of the will, to make your life right, that all sovereignty belongs to God. When a person is broken, the next natural step is surrender. Think of the soldier who is surrounded by his enemy. The second he realizes that he cannot do anything to get himself out of the predicament, his next course of action is surrender, to throw himself at the mercy of his captor. There is a slight different between the soldier and the Christian. The soldier’s enemy forces him into surrender, leaving him no option. The Christian’s God offers the option, and waits for his child to come to him.
Step 1: realize that you have nothing, no power for change, no control over your life. You need God.
Step 2: Let Go. Give Up. Rest in his arms.
Broken for Surrender
Roach out.

Ode to Diet Coke

Jason “Smiley” Little has done the Roach household a great service. This past weekend, he delivered 24 cans of American Diet Coke & 24 cans of American Diet Mountain Dew. Oh Glory! Now, I’m as patriotic as the next guy. I am proud to be Canadian and will stand up for my country when being mocked aboot our whacked oot accent eh? But when it comes to out pop, we have missed the boat. Regular Coke is just too sweet and I don’t need the extra sugar. Plus our Mountain Dew lacks caffeine. Our Diet pop here taste like a…well, it tastes bad. It’s like drinking club soda with food coloring. So when faced with the opportunity to receive these fine products of the USA, I jumped at the chance.
Now if I could only get Smiley to stop in at a Meijer and bring me back a fountain pop. One thing at a time I guess, one thing at a time.
Roach out.