Romans

The Dross of Silver

Dan

It was my observation in Ezekiel 22 that the message of Elohim becomes resolute. Bad stuff is at your doorstep. God tells His people that their defiance is soon to stop. Justice is the only remaining path. God tells us: I have offered you grace and mercy repeatedly. It is still on the table, but your defiance has hardened your heart. Only justice remains. You did this to yourself. I did not cause your troubles. You did!

These people were fully aware that Nebuchadnezzar was on the road. The Hebrews started moving from the hills toward the city for protection. They gathered together in the City of God—the city with walls that had never been defeated. They believed they were coming to a place of absolute safety. But then they find out they have gathered together for destruction. They were piling into a crucible, a forge, that was to hammer out all the dross from them. They are trapped by the very walls that were supposed to be their sanctuary.

Ezekiel 22:18-22 says: “Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath on you.” (NIV)

If you meditate on the notion of the City of God and all that it was intended to be, this is indeed a sad message. The melancholy is intense. The various turns of rebellion are defined in metaphors, and the use of the concept of dross is incredibly powerful. They are to be consumed in fire. If you take some time and review the message presented in Psalm 119:113-120, you will see a very similar theme.

Notice the declination of the source of dross, moving from the finer metals down to the common base metals. This appears to represent the wide strata of sin and worldviews present among the Hebrew people. These people were clearly dull of mind. The dross tells us of the dirt, the rubbish, and the useless nature of their thinking and lifestyle. It shows the vile nature of their degenerate thought leaders, and the contemptible reach of their influence to drag others down into their pit. All of this is dross compared to the holiness of Elohim. Hence, they have become useless for any service to man, and they are only suitable as firewood. These are hard words for me to write. I shudder because we deserve this same fate. May the mercy of God truly be everlasting. Selah.

We see the full wrath of Elohim defined in terms they understand. His wrath is kindled in a furnace—the very city Elohim established for them to be a candle on a candle stand. Now they are contained within a raging fire, soon to be destroyed, never to be seen again at the level of culture and beauty that God intended for them. This honor is moved to a new group, the Church, through a new covenant of grace. Elohim plans to rebuild again. His point is clear: He is full of mercy, but He will not be dismissed.

His mercy is forever, yet He requires honesty, walking in mercy, walking in humility, and treating others in a just way while showing kindness and forbearance. He delivers blessings in return. Elohim will provide the tools you need to walk with Him. Elohim tells us: I fill you with my Spirit, I write my laws upon your heart with the blood of Jesus, and I provide the ransom necessary to purchase your life.

What do I require from you? Nothing. Please exercise your free will to follow me. That is it. Take my yoke upon yourself and I will give you rest. Lordship and resurrection equal salvation, as noted in Romans 10:9. That is the whole story.  Yield your hearts and Elohim will meet you with an amazing life…

I choose Jesus.

It Is Not Where You Are Looking

Dan

It was my observation while reading the 28th chapter of Job, I noticed a central question that the writer asks: Can wisdom be found outside of God?  Twice, in Job 28:12 and Job 28:20, we read the echoing question, “Where is wisdom?” The short answer is simple: Elohim is the source. True wisdom as a spiritual gift only exists because it is inherent in Elohim and reflects one of his atributes. That is precisely why it cannot be dug up or discovered in the natural world.

While the natural world can and does point us toward wisdom, simply gaining power from natural resources does not make us wise. True wisdom is spiritual, not earthly.  As Colossians 1:9 says: “We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom.”

Ultimately, wisdom is about yielding to God and the scripture he has written in our heart so that we may know His will.  We are getting there (close to embracing Elohim’s wisdom) when we are able to see things from his perspective rather than our own perspective.

The Blueprint of Creation

Job 28:24 tells us, “He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.” God is omniscient, which means He sees and knows everything. He does not have to search the earth or scan the skies to discover what is there. He already knows it all because He is the very definition of wisdom (as implied in Romans 16:27).

Job 28:25 continues, “When He gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure…” God has the perfect wisdom required to adjust the atmospheric pressure of the wind and measure the exact amount of water vapor in the sky. If these cosmic proportions were changed even a tiny fraction, we would experience catastrophic disturbances in our environment.

Furthermore, Job 28:26-27 states: “…when He made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then He saw it and declared it, He established it and searched it out.”

Elohim commands the rain and guides the path of every storm as it moves across the globe. Flashes of lightning and peals of thunder may seem completely random and arbitrary to us, but Elohim controls every single one of them. This shows us that Elohim’s wisdom is applied knowledge.

Trusting the Architect of Our Lives

Elohim’s invisible attributes are woven directly into the fabric of creation. This is especially true of His wisdom, which is clearly demonstrated by how perfectly structured our universe is.

Romans 1:19-20 reminds us: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.”

As Job considered Elohim’s absolute sovereignty over the universe, it caused him to see God’s sovereignty over the painful events in his own life. Even though his current circumstances looked completely chaotic, he looked at how perfectly Elohim orders nature. This realization, I believe, allowed Job to accept that Elohim had permitted everything he was experiencing.

Job saw Elohim ‘s wisdom resting at the very bedrock of creation, enveloping all of life. This wisdom was established at the very beginning of Elohim’s work, as the first of His ancient acts (implied in Proverbs 8:22). Psalm 19:7 confirms this power: “The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.”

This is what ultimately led Job to ask for an audience with Elohim. If God can control all of creation—in its vastness, complexity, and majesty—how much easier can He control our individual circumstances? If we can trust Elohim to order all of nature so perfectly, how much more can we trust Him and yield to Him to order our daily lives?

The Only Reasonable Conclusion

We can learn a great deal about wisdom by analyzing Elohim’s sovereignty over physical things. When we do, we arrive at the only logical conclusion. Job 28:28 states: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”

The world warns us against relying on our own understanding. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” And 1 Corinthians 3:18 cautions, “Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise.”

Earlier in the chapter, Job told us where to find wisdom: it comes from Elohim. But here in verse 28, he tells us what wisdom actually is: fearing God. But what does fearing God really mean? In my final essay on this topic, I want to explore the depth of that famous phrase—the Fear of the Lord.

As for me, I choose Jesus.

Answering for our actions

Dan

It was my observation while researching God’s mercy, there exists within the nature of Elohim a characteristic to be actively compassionate. We call this God’s mercy. Consider this – we were once alienated from God by our disobedience, we were destined to face God and answer for our actions. Now, within the new covenant, we are part of the family, adapted into Abraham’s family. We walk with God. In the past we had earned banishment, now we are part of the community of God.

Isaiah 65: 16-19 says — Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the one true God; whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the one true God. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more [NIV].

Consider what Isaiah wrote — See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind [NIV]. It is possible to say Isaiah 65:17 teaches we will not remember much of our life on earth. He seems to be saying our memories will be purged. The preceding sentence (Isaiah 65:16) says — For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes [NIV].

Together, I think these two verses means, in God’s mercy, upon resurrection, our memories will be cleansed of the strife and troubles we experienced. But the good stuff remains in our memories. This is why John can write (Revelation 21:4) — He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away [NIV]. God’s mercy gives us a pass to heaven – Selah!


By what right do we obtain a pass to Heaven? Did we not by our sins, take part in rebellion which tried to dethrone Elohim? And did we not in times past move in this world by Lucifer’s nudge, sowing disobedience? Did we not live by the lust of our eyes and heart? How can God love us? Our struggle is with the notions of justice vs the notions of mercy. They complement each other, but one is applied more aggressively than the other in each case. Our answer to the question – how can God love us? The door pass (faith) is provided by his redemptive mercy and love which renews every morning.

Seem too simple? Could our resistance to the idea of pure mercy be part of a subtle resistance to faith. Sometimes I struggle to accept mercy being this simple. The Israelites had the same problem. Paul said, speaking of Israel — they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge (Romans 10:2). The Israelites did not understand the one thing that would make a difference in their life. Consider Hebrews 4:2 — For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us [believers], just as they [some of the Israelites] did; but the message they heard [in the wilderness] was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed [NIV].  

Goodness. To obtain mercy from God, we must believe it is achievable. It is not enough to know what he did in the past; we must believe it is available to each of us now. An endless supply of mercy – Why an endless supply? Because we know ourselves. We need an endless supply of mercy to survive. We have two choices. #1 — We starve to death, sitting on the doorstep of a banquet hall, rejecting the invitation. Or, #2 — we grab hold of God’s mercy (Romans 10:9), enter the hall, and sit down with the other brave souls who have embraced the redemptive power and mercy of the blood of Jesus.

I choose Jesus.

The Teacher of Truth

Dan

It has been my observation the Holy Spirit has many different tasks; this includes indwelling believers to bind them together with God and help them become more like Him. For Christians, the experience of eternal life does not begin at death but when they trust in Jesus and God places His Spirit within them (see 2 Timothy 1:14). Paul says — Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Holy Spirit equips people for ministry, is our guarantee (deposit) of eternal life, gives people insight and wisdom, teaches people truth, communicates with the Father on people’s behalf, and empowers Christians to walk with God.

He lives within followers of Jesus and produces lasting change in their character. John 14:26 says — But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said [NIV]. He produces God’s love in human hearts. Romans 5:5 says — “Hope does not put us to shame, … God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit [NIV]. The Holy Spirit speaks the truth. John 16:13 says — When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come [NIV]. This infusion of the Spirit is remarkable, life changing, stabilizing, and essential.

The Holy Spirit is a promise of the great things to come for those who trust God. Ephesians 1:13-14 says You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession [NIV]. He provides us with the skills and abilities necessary to share God’s love. Hebrews 2:4 says — God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will [NIV].

Jesus Himself was filled with the Holy Spirit to carry out His ministry. Luke 4:18 says — The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free [NIV]. Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the Holy Spirit and wanted His disciples to understand the power of the Spirit. He told them it was “better” for them that He leave, because then the Holy Spirit would be sent to them (implied in John 16:7).

The first followers of Jesus were filled with God’s Spirit to take the gospel to the known world, and so are we. Acts 2:1-4 says — When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them [NIV].

This passage from Acts is vital to understanding the Holy Spirit. After Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit came down and filled up every disciple and apostle of Christ to spread the gospel to the world. Now, whenever anyone puts their faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit immediately lives within them. God’s people get to experience the power of the Holy Spirit like Jesus did. The Holy Spirit provides believers with the strength to live the Christian life. John 15:5 says — Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing [NIV]. It is the Holy Spirit who convinces us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

I choose Jesus.

The Teacher of Truth

Dan

It has been my observation the Holy Spirit has many different tasks; this includes indwelling believers to bind them together with God and help them become more like Him. For Christians, the experience of eternal life does not begin at death but when they trust in Jesus and God places His Spirit within them (see 2 Timothy 1:14). Paul says — Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Holy Spirit equips people for ministry, is our guarantee (deposit) of eternal life, gives people insight and wisdom, teaches people truth, communicates with the Father on people’s behalf, and empowers Christians to walk with God.

He lives within followers of Jesus and produces lasting change in their character. John 14:26 says — But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said [NIV]. He produces God’s love in human hearts. Romans 5:5 says — “Hope does not put us to shame, … God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit [NIV]. The Holy Spirit speaks the truth. John 16:13 says — When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come [NIV]. This infusion of the Spirit is remarkable, life changing, stabilizing, and essential.

The Holy Spirit is a promise of the great things to come for those who trust God. Ephesians 1:13-14 says You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession [NIV]. He provides us with the skills and abilities necessary to share God’s love. Hebrews 2:4 says — God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will [NIV].

Jesus Himself was filled with the Holy Spirit to carry out His ministry. Luke 4:18 says — The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free [NIV]. Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the Holy Spirit and wanted His disciples to understand the power of the Spirit. He told them it was “better” for them that He leave, because then the Holy Spirit would be sent to them (implied in John 16:7).

The first followers of Jesus were filled with God’s Spirit to take the gospel to the known world, and so are we. Acts 2:1-4 says — When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them [NIV].

This passage from Acts is vital to understanding the Holy Spirit. After Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit came down and filled up every disciple and apostle of Christ to spread the gospel to the world. Now, whenever anyone puts their faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit immediately lives within them. God’s people get to experience the power of the Holy Spirit like Jesus did. The Holy Spirit provides believers with the strength to live the Christian life. John 15:5 says — Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing [NIV]. It is the Holy Spirit who convinces us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

I choose Jesus.

Rest In The Spirit

Dan

It has been my observation, while searching scripture for insight and wisdom concerning the Holy Spirit, there is much for me to learn about the mission accomplished by the Holy Spirit. This essay is a bit of muttering and emoting on the things I found as my research unfolded. I start with the Gospel of John asking a simple question; how does the Spirit rests upon us? What follows is a glimpse of my journey…

The Spirit of God is our advisor for all things true and fills our mind with the exact data we need, exactly when we need that data (John 14:17; 15:26-27; 16:13). If we are careful and are tuned to God’s channel, we will get the message. I think it goes without saying, the enemy will work to confuse and obscure the truth when we most need it.  Lucifer will try to make the power of this world look pretty cool and make God look distant, small, ineffective in a sea of confusion and angst. This is the key — never assume Lucifer is not on the job. He is. Lucifer will make the one true living God seem useless, equating God’s power to a broken power tool in the back of your Garage. Yet, the promise is – God will be there, every time, with all we need. The work of the Spirit, the infusion, infilling of the Spirit, will appear just in time, with all the power needed to crush Lucifer. The Devil is watching my keyboard and trying hard to block this message. Yet, God sends a thunderbolt crashing in to clear the path for truth. That is how it works. Selah.

When the Spirit comes, he comes full force, he carries the truth, he glorifies Jesus (John 16:13-14). When the Spirit rests upon us, we are filled with the amazing truth of God, the amazing power of God to accomplish our assigned mission. The essence of our individual ministries, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to magnify the beauty and majesty of Jesus. This does not usually happen without a little friction between humans as they try to touch the message without being touched by God. The Spirit sooths the friction. The Spirit of God, rest upon us and reveals the beauty, power, wisdom, and love of Jesus. Then the Holy Spirit empowers us to introduce the love of Jesus to others with demonstratable strength (the gifts of the Spirit). Paul tells us in Philippians 3:3 that we worship by the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit that fills us with an awareness of Jesus and empowers us to act internally and externally. Our sharing Jesus with others becomes an act of worship. This prayerful worship can be visualized as the smoke and incense that seeps into the throne room…

Peter said — The Spirit of Glory and full Power of God rests upon you (implied in 1 Peter 4:14). I think this suggests two things: the Spirit causes us to understand that the earthly glory we are losing here is not worth keeping, and the present heavenly glory we are embracing, coupled with the future glory we are moving towards, is infinitely better. He then makes the infilling unmistakable; we are changed, not by our feeble works but by the amazing works of God, he chooses to rest upon us. We become aware of the unmistakable presence, not feelings, but presence, the infilling of the shekinah glory, and the empowerment that envelops us and permeates our being. We just know.

In the early church, people were filled with the Spirit to deal with the difficult conditions of building something from nothing. Clearly, they had troubles, roman government troubles, priestly troubles, and Greeks polytheistic troubles; they even had leadership battles.  Not much has changed 2000 years later; we need the filling of the Spirit – we need the Holy Spirit to rest upon us – renewed every morning.

Peter said — after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10-11). I cannot say this message enough times — The Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you like a mantle of authority (implied in 1 Peter 4:14). Paul said — I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done — By the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. … I [Paul] have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. (Romans 13:17-19). Can I get an Amen?

The deeper truth — If you are uncertain, you will be restored to clarity; if you are broken, you will be healed; if you collapse, you will rise a concrete tower; if you slip into the mud, you will emerge on a firm foundation of Granite. You have been given an amazing mantle of authority to get stuff done. Just do it. Just stop struggling and find rest in the Holy Spirit.

I choose Jesus.

Find your Deliberate Dance

Dan

It has been my observation when searching for how the Holy Spirit empowers us (as defined in scripture) that we owe everything to the superior strategy and planning of God the Father, including the amazing purchase of our soul by the Son (redemption), and the transformative power and implementation of God’s Plan in us by the Holy Spirit (infilling).

We read in Romans 8:9 — Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. All believers have the Holy Spirit. Continuing, we read in Ephesians 5:18 — Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. This suggests we are not continually filled, but we are filled for a purpose, a season, then there is rest. Consider the plight of a Gas engine with a nitro injection system. We do not always use the nitro system, just when power is required. We are told to seek the infilling; seek all the fullness we can garner; and, at the same, we are cautioned to avoid quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and to avoid grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This is a deliberate dance.

Let us look at four overlapping ideas that lead to the infilling of the Spirit. First, we are told to meditate on Scripture. There is a life-giving connection between the Spirit of God and his Word. Jesus said — It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. (John 6:63). Paul says — Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. (Ephesians 5:18–19). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16).

Second, we are told to believe what we read in the Word. Paul asked (Galatians 3:5), “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” I think it is clear the Holy Spirit is supplied to us and works powerfully in us as we hear the word with faith — as we believe it – as we put it into practice. Stephen and Barnabas were men of faith and full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5, Acts 11:24). I think we are wise to not trivialize the relationship between faith and the infilling of the Spirit. It is by meditation and faith we experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. This leads to belief in what we read in scripture.

Third, we to be obedient to scripture. One of the disciples asked Jesus — Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world (John 14:22)? Jesus answered — “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). When you keep his word, he draws close – really close.

Fourth is the thirst, the desire to know God. The glue that brings together meditation, belief, and obedience is desire. We are told to thirst for Him. Our dance with God is to be Deliberate. Jesus says — If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink … Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive (John 7:37-39). The Psalms says — Drink from the river of [his] delights” (Psalms 36:8). As a deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God for the living God. (Psalms 42:1–2). O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalms 63:1).

Embrace meditation on scripture, believe what you read in scripture, become obedient to the guidelines in scripture, and thirst for God. You do this and the Spirit of glory will rest upon you (1 Peter 4:14). Do not hold back. Implement the plan. Seek his presence. Seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Find the ‘deliberate dance’ in your life.

I choose Jesus.