Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
What leads to real repentance?
What leads to real repentance? There is only one enduring reason: a revelation of the goodness of God. Any other basis upon which you are changed is a short term fix. Your faith must find its rest in God who alone is eternally constant.
Repentance to a fault only magnifies the fault. Jesus never says "Repent and believe you can do better." Jesus says, "Repent and believe for the kingdom of God is near." Mark 1: 15 says "Repent and believe the good news."
The good news is not a message of self improvement. The gospel is a message of God involvement. The good news is being born from above and experiencing power from on high.
Look at Jesus' call of his disciples. Repentance comes from beyond our attempts to mend or improve our well-worn efforts. Repentance comes when we launch out into the deep because of the goodness of Jesus' words.
There is more to you than meets the eye. I pray it is "Christ in you - the hope of glory!"
Repentance to a fault only magnifies the fault. Jesus never says "Repent and believe you can do better." Jesus says, "Repent and believe for the kingdom of God is near." Mark 1: 15 says "Repent and believe the good news."
The good news is not a message of self improvement. The gospel is a message of God involvement. The good news is being born from above and experiencing power from on high.
Look at Jesus' call of his disciples. Repentance comes from beyond our attempts to mend or improve our well-worn efforts. Repentance comes when we launch out into the deep because of the goodness of Jesus' words.
There is more to you than meets the eye. I pray it is "Christ in you - the hope of glory!"
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Big IF
2nd Chronicles 7: 14 reads "If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land."
The Big IF marks the threshhold between the path of ruin and the path of redemption. There is always a Big IF at the beginning of every step we take. There is a Big IF that marks every turn on the pathway of grace. Today we look at the first.
"If my people" will humble themselves there is always hope. Why? God dwells with the one who is humble (Isaiah 57:15). Jesus when he heard a man pray "Be merciful to me, a sinner", says that the man went from his prayer justified. Humbling ourselves is the only means of transforming us from our own man to being God's. The Big IF only becomes active when that transformation of repentance takes place.
If a person clings to their own ways while trying to humble themselves they are not truly praying. Prayer here is defined as 'judging by comparison'. We are called by God's name. Our faith is defined then in comparison to God's name and word.
The Big IF then defines us. We seek God's ways and scorn our own rather than scorning God's ways and seeking our own.
Our Big IF becomes God's Big YES! God's "Yes" in Jesus Christ kicks in!
Now, if God hears from heaven God moves in the earth (I John 5: 14-15). God moves with forgiveness and healing and we who have answered the Big IF are never the same.
The Big IF marks the threshhold between the path of ruin and the path of redemption. There is always a Big IF at the beginning of every step we take. There is a Big IF that marks every turn on the pathway of grace. Today we look at the first.
"If my people" will humble themselves there is always hope. Why? God dwells with the one who is humble (Isaiah 57:15). Jesus when he heard a man pray "Be merciful to me, a sinner", says that the man went from his prayer justified. Humbling ourselves is the only means of transforming us from our own man to being God's. The Big IF only becomes active when that transformation of repentance takes place.
If a person clings to their own ways while trying to humble themselves they are not truly praying. Prayer here is defined as 'judging by comparison'. We are called by God's name. Our faith is defined then in comparison to God's name and word.
The Big IF then defines us. We seek God's ways and scorn our own rather than scorning God's ways and seeking our own.
Our Big IF becomes God's Big YES! God's "Yes" in Jesus Christ kicks in!
Now, if God hears from heaven God moves in the earth (I John 5: 14-15). God moves with forgiveness and healing and we who have answered the Big IF are never the same.
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Pathway of Grace Personified
If you read Romans 8: 28-30 you will see how the Apostle Paul lays out the pathway God's grace takes when God is up to his good work in us. In the book Moving at the Speed of Grace you can find this pathway outlined as...
Begin in repentance
Believe in the Lord
Build up your faith
Bless
Bring Life
Breakthrough
Well, I'm always looking for scriptural and real life representations of this path and I believe I have found another one.
A young man named Marcus recently started attending our early worship service at South Hill UMC. For about a month he came in with one of the families in our church and sat down near the back of the chapel. A couple of weeks ago he asked to speak with me and through our conversation I recognized the way in which he had already answered God's call to repentance. That day he professed his faith in Jesus as Lord and we have scheduled his baptism for August 15th at 3:00pm at Palmer Point.
Marcus had responded to God's call and begun to worship the Lord. He had believed God's prognosis or foreknowledge and not only turned from his troubles but put his faith in Jesus. I shared how he could be predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus that day in my office and he has been praying and studying his Bible daily.
That same day in my office he moved in obedience to God's call to serve when I asked him, "Now, that you're a Christian, how can I pray for you"? Marcus replied, "I'm alright now. I really want you to pray for my Mama. She needs the Lord." God has been bringing life to him ever since then in a marvelous way. In multiple ways - in the joy of his face, the confidence of his walk, his enrollment in college, and his gaining of a job; even the opportunity to go on vacation with the church family with whom he's living (Pray he learns how to swim while he is there.) caused Marcus to exclaim, "I have a life! I have a future!"
Indeed he does because God's pathway of grace always leads to breakthrough and beyond. Pray God will continue to show himself mighty to Marcus in ways he can recognize and praise!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The book is here!
Give God praise. The book is here. Learn how to walk the pathway of grace and move forward into breakthroughs in YOUR life!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sowing is an Extreme Act of Faith
Sowing is an extreme act of faith. How do I know this? The first thing you do to the seed after broadcasting it is cover it up. Anne D. LeClaire in her book Listening Below the Noise writes, "Just as a seed is first nourished in the dark and silent depths of earth, creativity begins in the void: the empty canvas, the blank page".
God is calling us to a deeper steadfastness and stillness: a repetitive and more consistent fidelity. Sowing to righteousness means I will never jump out on my own apart from God.
Would I have jumped all about from row to row sowing seeds as a child alongside my father? No way. I would have been told to quit my foolishness, stop jumping around, and stay steady.
This is our challenge today. Stay steady. Keep moving forward. Do not fret if your best efforts seem to get covered over by all the stuff that is going on these days. Keep on going and remember, sowing is an extreme act of faith.
God is calling us to a deeper steadfastness and stillness: a repetitive and more consistent fidelity. Sowing to righteousness means I will never jump out on my own apart from God.
Would I have jumped all about from row to row sowing seeds as a child alongside my father? No way. I would have been told to quit my foolishness, stop jumping around, and stay steady.
This is our challenge today. Stay steady. Keep moving forward. Do not fret if your best efforts seem to get covered over by all the stuff that is going on these days. Keep on going and remember, sowing is an extreme act of faith.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Try to Live Your Life (Not a Lifetime), Today
Remember our theme verse from Hosea 10: 12. “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”
Remember when it comes to you and God, Believe everything, force nothing. Sowing is always a deliberate action. Anything accidental is spillage. Even my father, who could broadcast seed quicker than anyone I know, always cast it forth with accuracy.
This is our calling during Lent and everyday. "Sow for yourselves righteousness." Have such a Jesus-centric life that even if your sowing appears quicker than most it retains its accuracy.
Believe everything. Force nothing. Today you are to live your life, not a lifetime. There is grace enough for that later. Today, dip your hand down into the bag of seed God gives you. Draw your hand out full and ready to match God stride for stride in sowing righteousness. Walk in rhythm to God's grace.
Try to live your life (not a lifetime), today.
Remember when it comes to you and God, Believe everything, force nothing. Sowing is always a deliberate action. Anything accidental is spillage. Even my father, who could broadcast seed quicker than anyone I know, always cast it forth with accuracy.
This is our calling during Lent and everyday. "Sow for yourselves righteousness." Have such a Jesus-centric life that even if your sowing appears quicker than most it retains its accuracy.
Believe everything. Force nothing. Today you are to live your life, not a lifetime. There is grace enough for that later. Today, dip your hand down into the bag of seed God gives you. Draw your hand out full and ready to match God stride for stride in sowing righteousness. Walk in rhythm to God's grace.
Try to live your life (not a lifetime), today.
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Yesterday, you saw my theme verse for Lent 2010- Hosea 10:12, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”
Today, we focus on seeing what might be delaying the showers of righteousness God wants to pour out on us. The first thing we notice is God expects us to do something for ourselves. The grace we need to get going has already been supplied. God's call to repent and believe has already gone out. They have been spoken to you. Now, and especially in Lent it is time for you to do something about it. The verse closes with this injunction: "for it is time to seek the Lord". What is the hold up?
The second thing we notice is the directive to reap. Sieze ahold of what is good and let the rest go. A 17th century contemplative said, "Four things a man must learn to do if he would make his record true: To think without confusion clearly, To love his fellow men sincerely, To act from honest motives purely, To trust in God and heaven securely." ... Is this what you are working towards doing during this Lenten season?
Finally, we are called to break up our unplowed ground. I know of three reasons why you can't plow the land. #1. The ground is too hard. I pray that is not your problem. If it is ask God right now to soften your soul with a good soaking of his word and Spirit. Father, heal the wounds that have scabbed and crusted over but have never become whole. #2. The ground is too wet, too slippery. Don't make decisions when you are tired or depressed. Don't rush to speak or answer when you haven't heard everything out or thought everything through. Act, but act with the certainty of Holy Spirit conviction and peace. #3. You try to plow too deep, too quickly. Move at the speed of grace. Be patient. Be kind to yourself.
The Lord stands ready to shower righteousness upon you!
Today, we focus on seeing what might be delaying the showers of righteousness God wants to pour out on us. The first thing we notice is God expects us to do something for ourselves. The grace we need to get going has already been supplied. God's call to repent and believe has already gone out. They have been spoken to you. Now, and especially in Lent it is time for you to do something about it. The verse closes with this injunction: "for it is time to seek the Lord". What is the hold up?
The second thing we notice is the directive to reap. Sieze ahold of what is good and let the rest go. A 17th century contemplative said, "Four things a man must learn to do if he would make his record true: To think without confusion clearly, To love his fellow men sincerely, To act from honest motives purely, To trust in God and heaven securely." ... Is this what you are working towards doing during this Lenten season?
Finally, we are called to break up our unplowed ground. I know of three reasons why you can't plow the land. #1. The ground is too hard. I pray that is not your problem. If it is ask God right now to soften your soul with a good soaking of his word and Spirit. Father, heal the wounds that have scabbed and crusted over but have never become whole. #2. The ground is too wet, too slippery. Don't make decisions when you are tired or depressed. Don't rush to speak or answer when you haven't heard everything out or thought everything through. Act, but act with the certainty of Holy Spirit conviction and peace. #3. You try to plow too deep, too quickly. Move at the speed of grace. Be patient. Be kind to yourself.
The Lord stands ready to shower righteousness upon you!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My Theme Verse for Lent
We are in the season of Lent: a time of preparation to meet the Risen Christ! My theme verse for these forty days is Hosea 10: 12, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” In this one verse, the prophet describes the three ways I can change everything that needs to change in my life.
First I sow to righteousness. I think long term. Will what I presently do yield a productive and pleasing life to God? Brendon Burchard, author of Life’s Golden Ticket, reminds us: “At the end of our lives, we all ask, ‘Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?’” Lent is the perfect time to ask those questions now. Hosea 10: 13 says we have all fed on lies. Sowing to righteousness means giving God the opportunity to break the power and influence of every lie and replace it with truth. Develop a habit in these forty days of feeding on God’s word.
The second thing we do is set short term goals for this Lenten season. Hosea 10: 12 says “reap the fruit of unfailing love”. The King Kames Version says, “Reap in mercy.” Take advantage of God’s grace to make a difference in your life and the life of others. When you reap you don’t try to carry away the whole stalk. You cut the heads off the grain. You grasp what you want. Do you have long term goals? Do you have big dreams? Run after them. Accomplish as much as you can. Our commitment is to be closer to our goal at the end of Lent than at its beginning. Heed the warning of Hosea 10: 13. We have already reaped more than enough, the results of short cuts, unhealthy choices and bad habits. Enough of that! We are now taking full advantage of God’s grace.
The final thing we do is “break up your unplowed ground”. We plow into our soul. We break in before the moisture of God’s leading evaporates. We do not wait until tomorrow to be serious about our Lenten preparation. We do not wait until the next distraction keeps us from obeying God in this moment. We act and act now. We turn over every tillable part of our heart.
“It is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” It is time to act until the fruit of our reaping and the results of our sowing are plain. Yoke up with Jesus today. Give, pray, and fast until your breakthrough comes.
First I sow to righteousness. I think long term. Will what I presently do yield a productive and pleasing life to God? Brendon Burchard, author of Life’s Golden Ticket, reminds us: “At the end of our lives, we all ask, ‘Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?’” Lent is the perfect time to ask those questions now. Hosea 10: 13 says we have all fed on lies. Sowing to righteousness means giving God the opportunity to break the power and influence of every lie and replace it with truth. Develop a habit in these forty days of feeding on God’s word.
The second thing we do is set short term goals for this Lenten season. Hosea 10: 12 says “reap the fruit of unfailing love”. The King Kames Version says, “Reap in mercy.” Take advantage of God’s grace to make a difference in your life and the life of others. When you reap you don’t try to carry away the whole stalk. You cut the heads off the grain. You grasp what you want. Do you have long term goals? Do you have big dreams? Run after them. Accomplish as much as you can. Our commitment is to be closer to our goal at the end of Lent than at its beginning. Heed the warning of Hosea 10: 13. We have already reaped more than enough, the results of short cuts, unhealthy choices and bad habits. Enough of that! We are now taking full advantage of God’s grace.
The final thing we do is “break up your unplowed ground”. We plow into our soul. We break in before the moisture of God’s leading evaporates. We do not wait until tomorrow to be serious about our Lenten preparation. We do not wait until the next distraction keeps us from obeying God in this moment. We act and act now. We turn over every tillable part of our heart.
“It is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” It is time to act until the fruit of our reaping and the results of our sowing are plain. Yoke up with Jesus today. Give, pray, and fast until your breakthrough comes.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Make Your Resolution for 2010
Make your resolution for 2010 to affirm the reliability of the scripture! I want to help you do this by sharing the first presentation of the gospel. It is found in Genesis 5. I have to thank Chuck Missler for teaching this on GodTV. You translate the names of the geneology and you have a perfect picture of God's good news in Jesus Christ. See for yourself!
Adam = Man (is)
Seth = appointed to
Enosh = incurable frailty
Kenan = (as his) dwelling place.
Mahalalel = Praise to God!
Jared = (He) descends (and)
Enoch = consecrates a narrow way
Methuselah = as a man in a given time and space
who is a weapon formed against our enemy,
Lamech = powerful (for our)
Noah = comfort!
These verses not only energized my Christmas; they have focused my attention for the year ahead. I want to present the gospel of Jesus Christ just as plainly as these names do.
Pray as we dive into 2010! We are in concert at Borders Bookstore at 1541 Beaver Creek Commons Drive in Apex, North Carolina on January 16th sharing the music from The Colors of Grace. Also, I received word, our first book- Moving at the Speed of Grace: Discovering the Way God Always Works will become available in May 2010.
Grace and peace be yours,
Norman Ramsey
P. S. E-mail me and let me know what you thought of Genesis 5 - reverendnorm@msn.com.
Adam = Man (is)
Seth = appointed to
Enosh = incurable frailty
Kenan = (as his) dwelling place.
Mahalalel = Praise to God!
Jared = (He) descends (and)
Enoch = consecrates a narrow way
Methuselah = as a man in a given time and space
who is a weapon formed against our enemy,
Lamech = powerful (for our)
Noah = comfort!
These verses not only energized my Christmas; they have focused my attention for the year ahead. I want to present the gospel of Jesus Christ just as plainly as these names do.
Pray as we dive into 2010! We are in concert at Borders Bookstore at 1541 Beaver Creek Commons Drive in Apex, North Carolina on January 16th sharing the music from The Colors of Grace. Also, I received word, our first book- Moving at the Speed of Grace: Discovering the Way God Always Works will become available in May 2010.
Grace and peace be yours,
Norman Ramsey
P. S. E-mail me and let me know what you thought of Genesis 5 - reverendnorm@msn.com.
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