Note: Here at "Just the Boldfaced Print," I am careful to record as purely as I'm able only the Holy Spirit directed guidance the Lord provides to me. I seek not to muddy the waters with my own thoughts and feelings; but to be a vessel for His words. In this way, because of the Holy Spirit's unique and powerful ability to speak to many hearts at once with living and active words that become custom tailored to each need, most entries recorded here are for every believer. The following entry, however, is addressed to those who have made it their life's work to accept God's anointing as writers. A Christian scribe is one who opens his or her heart to the Holy Spirit's guidance, and labors to put the Lord's thoughts into words for the edification of this generation. This entry is addressed to the Lord's scribes, but with very little editing can also apply to every member of Christ's body by replacing the word "scribe" with whatever unique anointing God has given you. "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines" (1 Corinthians 12:11).
For every age scribes are chosen who will reveal the portion of God's word most needed for the people of that generation. You are a chosen scribe. Do not either overestimate or underestimate your own value to those who will receive your words; the Lord's words through you.
Always remember that you are of inestimable worth to God, apart from any work you may perform on His behalf.
Scripture: "And he said to them, 'Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.'" (Matthew 13:52, ESV).
"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" (Romans 12:3).
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
All Have Sinned
Don't be a whitewashed wall. The wall was crumbling away, but the builders painted over its flaws to make it appear better than it was (Ezekiel 13:10-16). You may possess greater skill at hiding your sin than the ones who have cost you pain, but the sin itself is no different than theirs.
You are upset and have difficulty admitting that the same sin that hurt you so badly in others is present in you. You feel devastated, as though to admit you are guilty of this same brand of sin dis-acknowledges the fact that you suffered at their hands. Think of it this way: if a child runs into the path of a car because he did not look both ways, and if the resulting accident is the child's fault, does a loving father withhold aid? NO!
Grace does not depend upon the one who is in need, but upon the One who grants the gift. Mercy does not depend on the one who cries out for help, but upon the One who is the source of all mercy and grace. God sees the state of the heart. You are under grace; you have received mercy, He is with you.
You are upset and have difficulty admitting that the same sin that hurt you so badly in others is present in you. You feel devastated, as though to admit you are guilty of this same brand of sin dis-acknowledges the fact that you suffered at their hands. Think of it this way: if a child runs into the path of a car because he did not look both ways, and if the resulting accident is the child's fault, does a loving father withhold aid? NO!
Grace does not depend upon the one who is in need, but upon the One who grants the gift. Mercy does not depend on the one who cries out for help, but upon the One who is the source of all mercy and grace. God sees the state of the heart. You are under grace; you have received mercy, He is with you.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
In Christ Alone
There can be no salvation without a savior. That seems obvious, and yet in popular culture there is found a motif wherein a Holy and powerful God (force, power) is presented as being all wise and kind, and yet paltry human beings in these imaginary worlds are able to interact with Him with no intermediary. In reality, the Lord our God is so immutably and terrifyingly holy that human beings cannot stand in His presence apart from Christ. Any plan of salvation that does not include Jesus is a lie, meant to lull people into a false sense of security through a fairy tale of weakly divine goodness that can be manipulated by mere human beings. We are less than nothing as compared to the magnificence and glory of the most Holy God, and why He has chosen to love us is a divine mystery, made known to us in Christ. In Christ alone lies our hope for eternal peace and life; only through Christ may we participate in the divine nature.
Scripture: "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10).
Scripture: "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10).
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Don't Hide From God
In this stressful season, you cannot spare time to indulge the luxury of avoidance. When you feel tired, rest; when you feel the urge for escapism, resist. This is not too difficult for you. Turn to the Lord each time you feel that restless sense of being overwhelmed or overtired.
It is natural to pull one’s hand back from a thorn prick. God does not chastise you for recoiling from the discomfort of stress, but He does want you to handle it differently. Do not hide from it. Take a step back, yes, but let that step bring you into His arms. Don’t hide.
Your tendency is to sit down between the stress and God's solace and cover your head. Flee to the Lord if you must flee, or stand firm and trust His deliverance; but when you run from the stress take care that you do not also hide your face from the Lord your God.
Scripture: "...they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:8-9)
"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers..." (John 15:6).
It is natural to pull one’s hand back from a thorn prick. God does not chastise you for recoiling from the discomfort of stress, but He does want you to handle it differently. Do not hide from it. Take a step back, yes, but let that step bring you into His arms. Don’t hide.
Your tendency is to sit down between the stress and God's solace and cover your head. Flee to the Lord if you must flee, or stand firm and trust His deliverance; but when you run from the stress take care that you do not also hide your face from the Lord your God.
Scripture: "...they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:8-9)
"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers..." (John 15:6).
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Key to Happiness
Abiding in the Lord is the key to happiness; not obedience, but abiding.
If obedience was a necessary precursor to happiness, you would be under the law. Your happiness would depend upon your ability to follow rules, and would ebb and flow depending upon how “good” you have been on a particular day.
However, if your happiness depends upon abiding in the Lord, then your supply of contentment fails only when you separate yourself from Him. And so you need never experience separation from the Lord. Jesus died so that you could have consistent, unfailing, permanent oneness with God.
And here is the wonderful benefit of abiding: the Lord counts it as obedience. Because abiding is the precursor of true obedience, it is tallied for you as obedience itself. In this instance the presence of the seed (abiding) assures the plant (obedience) will grow. This is how Abraham was accepted. His faith was counted as righteousness, and in the same way your abiding will be counted as obedience.
Simply because something is hidden does not mean that it is not present. You sometimes despair because your outward behaviors have not yet been drawn into alignment with your obedient heart. You must understand this: nothing can stop a process God has set into motion. That is why you must not judge your fellow human beings. You can’t tell from looking at the outward appearance what the heart holds.
God sees your heart and He knows you are abiding in Him. You are obedient and you are His own. Do not give way to fear. Trust the Lord and do not give way. You are accepted. All is well. Do not be afraid.
Scripture: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:4-7 ESV)
Note: The NIV translates the word "abide" as "remain." Here is the webster.com definition of "abide,": "to wait for, to endure without yielding, to bear patiently, to accept without objection; to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place."
If obedience was a necessary precursor to happiness, you would be under the law. Your happiness would depend upon your ability to follow rules, and would ebb and flow depending upon how “good” you have been on a particular day.
However, if your happiness depends upon abiding in the Lord, then your supply of contentment fails only when you separate yourself from Him. And so you need never experience separation from the Lord. Jesus died so that you could have consistent, unfailing, permanent oneness with God.
And here is the wonderful benefit of abiding: the Lord counts it as obedience. Because abiding is the precursor of true obedience, it is tallied for you as obedience itself. In this instance the presence of the seed (abiding) assures the plant (obedience) will grow. This is how Abraham was accepted. His faith was counted as righteousness, and in the same way your abiding will be counted as obedience.
Simply because something is hidden does not mean that it is not present. You sometimes despair because your outward behaviors have not yet been drawn into alignment with your obedient heart. You must understand this: nothing can stop a process God has set into motion. That is why you must not judge your fellow human beings. You can’t tell from looking at the outward appearance what the heart holds.
God sees your heart and He knows you are abiding in Him. You are obedient and you are His own. Do not give way to fear. Trust the Lord and do not give way. You are accepted. All is well. Do not be afraid.
Scripture: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:4-7 ESV)
Note: The NIV translates the word "abide" as "remain." Here is the webster.com definition of "abide,": "to wait for, to endure without yielding, to bear patiently, to accept without objection; to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place."
Thursday, June 16, 2011
He is God
God is not always “nice,” but God is good; terribly, perfectly, powerfully, dependably, irrevocably good. He is not bound by human conventions of niceness or manners. He is Holy. He is beyond human measure or comprehension. He is God and there is no other before Him; nothing and no one can stand against Him.
Scripture: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Scripture: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Align the Heart
God does not view a desire to obey as being the equivalent of obedience itself. Sometimes a desire to obey is actually this: “It’s too bad I can’t have the blessings of obedience in combination with this other thing I’m unwilling to release.” Your idols vie for equal status with your devotion to the Lord. Do not allow them access to His rightful place in your heart, and all will be well.
The ability to obey comes from God, but He does not enable until He sees that your heart is aligned correctly. This leads to a common misconception, “God could if He would.” The truth is, “God will when you will.”
The Almighty God awaits your decision to obey, and that decision does not come via the path you think. It is not an act of your will, but of the heart. He requires that you be devoted to Him above all others. He loves that you depend upon Him. Now give Him first place in your heart in all areas of your life. That which initially feels like great loss will become great gain.
You can’t trust your emotions. Trust what you know to be true; God is with you.
Scripture: "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints...is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27)
The ability to obey comes from God, but He does not enable until He sees that your heart is aligned correctly. This leads to a common misconception, “God could if He would.” The truth is, “God will when you will.”
The Almighty God awaits your decision to obey, and that decision does not come via the path you think. It is not an act of your will, but of the heart. He requires that you be devoted to Him above all others. He loves that you depend upon Him. Now give Him first place in your heart in all areas of your life. That which initially feels like great loss will become great gain.
You can’t trust your emotions. Trust what you know to be true; God is with you.
Scripture: "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints...is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27)
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