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Meditation Chip Brogden
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Fri 24 Jun 2011, 3:37 pm
JUNE 24
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Put on the new man which was created
according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
EPHESIANS 4:24
What is the Christian Life? It is leaving our ground altogether and coming onto the ground of Christ. It is deeper than a changed life - it is an exchanged life. Over time we can accomplish a change, but we can do nothing to exchange our life for His Life. This, from start to finish, is God's work, and it is a work of grace.
What, after all, is Righteousness? What is true Holiness? Christ is not righteous because He does righteous things; He does righteous things because He is Righteousness. Christ is not holy because He does holy things; He does holy things because He is Holiness. His "doing" flows out of His "being" - and OUR "doing" flows out of His "being" as well.
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Put on the new man which was created
according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
EPHESIANS 4:24
What is the Christian Life? It is leaving our ground altogether and coming onto the ground of Christ. It is deeper than a changed life - it is an exchanged life. Over time we can accomplish a change, but we can do nothing to exchange our life for His Life. This, from start to finish, is God's work, and it is a work of grace.
What, after all, is Righteousness? What is true Holiness? Christ is not righteous because He does righteous things; He does righteous things because He is Righteousness. Christ is not holy because He does holy things; He does holy things because He is Holiness. His "doing" flows out of His "being" - and OUR "doing" flows out of His "being" as well.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june24
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Thu 23 Jun 2011, 10:31 pm
JUNE 23
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Now as [Paul] reasoned about righteousness,
self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and
answered, 'Go away for now; when I have a convenient time
I will call for you.'"
ACTS 24:25
When the time is short we must make the most of every opportunity and waste nothing. Ordinarily if we speak the Word to someone and they send us away, the best advice is to leave. Unfortunately, Paul was in prison and could not get away. Felix sent for him often but nothing ever changed. In this manner Paul witnessed to Felix for two years without any result whatsoever. Clearly this was a ruse of the enemy designed to frustrate the gifted apostle and sap his strength.
Paul the prisoner had no choice but to come when Felix called for him; we who are free ought to be careful lest we find ourselves spending all our time talking to a Felix when there is a Cornelius praying to hear us speak the very words that Felix takes for granted.
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Now as [Paul] reasoned about righteousness,
self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and
answered, 'Go away for now; when I have a convenient time
I will call for you.'"
ACTS 24:25
When the time is short we must make the most of every opportunity and waste nothing. Ordinarily if we speak the Word to someone and they send us away, the best advice is to leave. Unfortunately, Paul was in prison and could not get away. Felix sent for him often but nothing ever changed. In this manner Paul witnessed to Felix for two years without any result whatsoever. Clearly this was a ruse of the enemy designed to frustrate the gifted apostle and sap his strength.
Paul the prisoner had no choice but to come when Felix called for him; we who are free ought to be careful lest we find ourselves spending all our time talking to a Felix when there is a Cornelius praying to hear us speak the very words that Felix takes for granted.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june23
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Wed 22 Jun 2011, 1:16 pm
JUNE 22
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter
the kingdom of God!' And the disciples were astonished at
His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, 'Children,
how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of
God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'"
MARK 10:23-25
The point is not that every disciple must be penniless. The point is that in this Kingdom, Christ alone has the preeminence, and you cannot serve two masters. Why are riches such a stumbling block? It all relates to Self. For the rich man, Self is mostly represented in his riches. For the wise man, Self is mostly represented in his wisdom. For the good man, Self is mostly represented in his goodness. For the strong man, Self is mostly represented in his strength.
YOU are your biggest obstacle to entering in. Why? Because there is no room in the Kingdom of God for Christ and Self.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june22
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter
the kingdom of God!' And the disciples were astonished at
His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, 'Children,
how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of
God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'"
MARK 10:23-25
The point is not that every disciple must be penniless. The point is that in this Kingdom, Christ alone has the preeminence, and you cannot serve two masters. Why are riches such a stumbling block? It all relates to Self. For the rich man, Self is mostly represented in his riches. For the wise man, Self is mostly represented in his wisdom. For the good man, Self is mostly represented in his goodness. For the strong man, Self is mostly represented in his strength.
YOU are your biggest obstacle to entering in. Why? Because there is no room in the Kingdom of God for Christ and Self.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june22
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Tue 21 Jun 2011, 6:00 pm
JUNE 21
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"We know that the Son of God has come
and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him..."
1 JOHN 5:20
There is a difference between salvation and a Savior; between deliverance and a Deliverer; between healing and a Healer; between redemption and a Redeemer. The first is a "thing," the second is a Person. This may sound self-evident and elementary, but before God the difference is vast, and in actual experience the difference is incalculable. If we are not clear on the matter of His Son we will find the Christian life very difficult, if not impossible, to live. I have the "thing" because I have Him; having Him, I do not need to search for the "thing" anymore.
What do you have? An experience? A word? A doctrine? A belief? Or a Man? This is the difference between a living Christianity and a dead religion.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june21
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"We know that the Son of God has come
and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him..."
1 JOHN 5:20
There is a difference between salvation and a Savior; between deliverance and a Deliverer; between healing and a Healer; between redemption and a Redeemer. The first is a "thing," the second is a Person. This may sound self-evident and elementary, but before God the difference is vast, and in actual experience the difference is incalculable. If we are not clear on the matter of His Son we will find the Christian life very difficult, if not impossible, to live. I have the "thing" because I have Him; having Him, I do not need to search for the "thing" anymore.
What do you have? An experience? A word? A doctrine? A belief? Or a Man? This is the difference between a living Christianity and a dead religion.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june21
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
Location : Wales UK -
Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Mon 20 Jun 2011, 11:31 pm
JUNE 20
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and teachers... for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come... to the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ."
EPHESIANS 4:11-13
Does the Body of Christ still need to be edified and encouraged? Have we all attained to the unity of the faith? Have we all obtained the full-knowledge of the Son of God? Have we all come to spiritual maturity? If the answer to all these questions is no, then these foundational ministries - ALL of them - are still needed today. And if they are still needed, then God has not withdrawn them.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june20
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends
JUNE 19
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"They overcame [the dragon] by
the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they did not love their lives to the death."
REVELATION 12:11
No one can overcome a spiritual adversary unless they embrace the Cross. The ones who overcome the dragon do so by the blood of the Lamb and by not loving their own lives. Their testimony is: "not I, but Christ." The blood, and loving not their life, and their testimony, all point to the same thing: these are people of the Cross. They did not love their own lives, but they gave up their lives; therefore God has raised them from the dead and they have entered into the victory of Christ.
You cannot kill a dead man. You cannot defeat a person who has already died. What more can you do to a man once he has died and been raised to life again?
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june19
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and teachers... for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come... to the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ."
EPHESIANS 4:11-13
Does the Body of Christ still need to be edified and encouraged? Have we all attained to the unity of the faith? Have we all obtained the full-knowledge of the Son of God? Have we all come to spiritual maturity? If the answer to all these questions is no, then these foundational ministries - ALL of them - are still needed today. And if they are still needed, then God has not withdrawn them.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june20
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends
JUNE 19
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"They overcame [the dragon] by
the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they did not love their lives to the death."
REVELATION 12:11
No one can overcome a spiritual adversary unless they embrace the Cross. The ones who overcome the dragon do so by the blood of the Lamb and by not loving their own lives. Their testimony is: "not I, but Christ." The blood, and loving not their life, and their testimony, all point to the same thing: these are people of the Cross. They did not love their own lives, but they gave up their lives; therefore God has raised them from the dead and they have entered into the victory of Christ.
You cannot kill a dead man. You cannot defeat a person who has already died. What more can you do to a man once he has died and been raised to life again?
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june19
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Sat 18 Jun 2011, 4:53 pm
UNE 18
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"I say, through the grace given to me,
to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think."
ROMANS 12:3
We do not need Self-Esteem, we need Christ-Esteem. The more we see of Jesus the less we will trust in ourselves.
That is why, once Paul learned his lesson, he wrote, "We have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). He then goes on to list quite a number of things that seem important in terms of religion, status, social order, education, and good works - all the things that tend to make one self-confident and self-righteous. With one grand stroke, Paul says, "Yet, I count them all as dung, that I may win Christ." He simply discards what some people spend a lifetime trying to achieve. Here is a man who knows the sufficiency of God as well as the insufficiency of himself.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june18
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"I say, through the grace given to me,
to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think."
ROMANS 12:3
We do not need Self-Esteem, we need Christ-Esteem. The more we see of Jesus the less we will trust in ourselves.
That is why, once Paul learned his lesson, he wrote, "We have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). He then goes on to list quite a number of things that seem important in terms of religion, status, social order, education, and good works - all the things that tend to make one self-confident and self-righteous. With one grand stroke, Paul says, "Yet, I count them all as dung, that I may win Christ." He simply discards what some people spend a lifetime trying to achieve. Here is a man who knows the sufficiency of God as well as the insufficiency of himself.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june18
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Fri 17 Jun 2011, 2:53 pm
UNE 17
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"When Daniel knew that the writing was signed,
he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open
toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times
that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
as was his custom since early days."
DANIEL 6:10
I have found through personal experience that the lion's den usually comes about the same time as the revelation. The burden to pray comes with the edict forbidding prayer; Daniel labors for God's purpose while Daniel's enemies labor for his death; the answer comes along with a death sentence. This is not unusual, but quite common. Apostolic revelation and apostolic persecution go hand-in-hand. Revelation does not come to us apart from our circumstance, our environment, our struggle, our wrestling.
Many want the revelation but they do not want the lion's den. They want the angels but not the enemies. Yet the depth of the revelation is measured by the depth of the suffering, and if our sufferings are light, then our revelation is shallow.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june17
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"When Daniel knew that the writing was signed,
he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open
toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times
that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
as was his custom since early days."
DANIEL 6:10
I have found through personal experience that the lion's den usually comes about the same time as the revelation. The burden to pray comes with the edict forbidding prayer; Daniel labors for God's purpose while Daniel's enemies labor for his death; the answer comes along with a death sentence. This is not unusual, but quite common. Apostolic revelation and apostolic persecution go hand-in-hand. Revelation does not come to us apart from our circumstance, our environment, our struggle, our wrestling.
Many want the revelation but they do not want the lion's den. They want the angels but not the enemies. Yet the depth of the revelation is measured by the depth of the suffering, and if our sufferings are light, then our revelation is shallow.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june17
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Thu 16 Jun 2011, 2:00 pm
JUNE 16
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me
shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
JOHN 6:35
So how do we touch Him directly? "He who comes to Me." Can it really be this easy? A better question is: why should it be difficult? I can come to Him whether I am driving down the street, walking down the sidewalk, or sitting in my chair. I can come to Him whether it is Sunday morning or Tuesday night or Friday afternoon. I can come to Him in a large group, or with two or three, or all by myself. I can come to Him in the desert, in the garden, in the church building, or in the prison camp. I am prevented from doing many things due to circumstance, location, state of mind, or resources. But one thing I cannot be prevented from doing is coming to the Lord.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june16
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me
shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
JOHN 6:35
So how do we touch Him directly? "He who comes to Me." Can it really be this easy? A better question is: why should it be difficult? I can come to Him whether I am driving down the street, walking down the sidewalk, or sitting in my chair. I can come to Him whether it is Sunday morning or Tuesday night or Friday afternoon. I can come to Him in a large group, or with two or three, or all by myself. I can come to Him in the desert, in the garden, in the church building, or in the prison camp. I am prevented from doing many things due to circumstance, location, state of mind, or resources. But one thing I cannot be prevented from doing is coming to the Lord.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june16
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Wed 15 Jun 2011, 12:34 pm
JUNE 15
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar
in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more."
REVELATION 3:12
Overcomers are pillars in the temple of God. It is not a question of how many times can we "attend" something, but whether or not we are abiding at all times. Pillars are an integral part of the structure; if they were to suddenly "go out," the building would collapse.
What are we saying? That God's highest is not for us to come in and to go out, but to be a pillar. Overcomers are pillars in the temple of God, and that is a heavenly matter. However you wish to interpret this, one thing is clear: they have learned how to minister to the Lord continually, regardless of time or place. It is Spirit and Truth worship the Father seeks, and they give Him what He is looking for. There is no holy day or sacred hour or special devotion. They do not have to "come into" the presence of the Lord because they LIVE IN the presence of the Lord continually. And so they overcome the earthly by abiding in the heavenly.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june14
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar
in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more."
REVELATION 3:12
Overcomers are pillars in the temple of God. It is not a question of how many times can we "attend" something, but whether or not we are abiding at all times. Pillars are an integral part of the structure; if they were to suddenly "go out," the building would collapse.
What are we saying? That God's highest is not for us to come in and to go out, but to be a pillar. Overcomers are pillars in the temple of God, and that is a heavenly matter. However you wish to interpret this, one thing is clear: they have learned how to minister to the Lord continually, regardless of time or place. It is Spirit and Truth worship the Father seeks, and they give Him what He is looking for. There is no holy day or sacred hour or special devotion. They do not have to "come into" the presence of the Lord because they LIVE IN the presence of the Lord continually. And so they overcome the earthly by abiding in the heavenly.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june14
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Tue 14 Jun 2011, 1:13 pm
JUNE 14
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is
good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles.'"
LUKE 9:33
Christians seek many spiritual things: anointing, power, gifts, blessing, fruit, wisdom, prosperity. I pray the Lord will make us thoroughly and completely dissatisfied with THINGS, even the things He gives us, and make us hungry and thirsty for Himself.
May we judge things not by whether they are "good for us," but whether they are good for the Lord, whether His Will is done in them, whether His Need is met by them, whether His Purpose is fulfilled in them, whether His Son is seen through them. He is the Only One, the Beloved Son of God. May the Lord be transfigured before us!
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june14
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is
good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles.'"
LUKE 9:33
Christians seek many spiritual things: anointing, power, gifts, blessing, fruit, wisdom, prosperity. I pray the Lord will make us thoroughly and completely dissatisfied with THINGS, even the things He gives us, and make us hungry and thirsty for Himself.
May we judge things not by whether they are "good for us," but whether they are good for the Lord, whether His Will is done in them, whether His Need is met by them, whether His Purpose is fulfilled in them, whether His Son is seen through them. He is the Only One, the Beloved Son of God. May the Lord be transfigured before us!
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june14
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
Location : Wales UK -
Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Mon 13 Jun 2011, 11:28 am
JUNE 13
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time."
1 PETER 5:6
When we are submitted to the Lord, we find Grace. We find Peace. We find Rest. All things are in His hands, and He does all things well. We need not fear what any devil or any man can do to us. To be submitted to the Lord is to be under His care, under His guidance, under His power, under His protection. Whom shall I fear? What can man do to me? What can the devil do to me?
If I have humbled myself beneath the mighty hand of God then He will exalt me in due season; He will justify me; He will defend me; He will fight for me. If our submission to God is complete, if our surrender to the Lord is total, then victory is assured.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june13
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time."
1 PETER 5:6
When we are submitted to the Lord, we find Grace. We find Peace. We find Rest. All things are in His hands, and He does all things well. We need not fear what any devil or any man can do to us. To be submitted to the Lord is to be under His care, under His guidance, under His power, under His protection. Whom shall I fear? What can man do to me? What can the devil do to me?
If I have humbled myself beneath the mighty hand of God then He will exalt me in due season; He will justify me; He will defend me; He will fight for me. If our submission to God is complete, if our surrender to the Lord is total, then victory is assured.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june13
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
Location : Wales UK -
Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Sun 12 Jun 2011, 7:18 pm
JUNE 12
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"In [Christ] are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
COLOSSIANS 2:3
It is not that God gives us revelation into five, ten, one hundred, or one thousand things. None of these "things" by themselves really matter. Rather, He has placed all those "things" within Christ, and reveals Christ to us. He will not reveal anything to us apart from the Revelation of Jesus Christ. To possess the Son is to possess all that pertains to the Son, for the Scriptures declare, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
It is not that God desires to give us revelation into these many things, but for us to have the Revelation of Jesus Christ. By apprehending Him we will subsequently gain insight in those "things." To seek revelation into the "things" apart from the Revelation of Christ fails to give Christ the preeminence. We dare not circumvent the knowledge of Him in the pursuit of "things," even spiritual things, for they are all summed up into Him.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june12
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"In [Christ] are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
COLOSSIANS 2:3
It is not that God gives us revelation into five, ten, one hundred, or one thousand things. None of these "things" by themselves really matter. Rather, He has placed all those "things" within Christ, and reveals Christ to us. He will not reveal anything to us apart from the Revelation of Jesus Christ. To possess the Son is to possess all that pertains to the Son, for the Scriptures declare, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
It is not that God desires to give us revelation into these many things, but for us to have the Revelation of Jesus Christ. By apprehending Him we will subsequently gain insight in those "things." To seek revelation into the "things" apart from the Revelation of Christ fails to give Christ the preeminence. We dare not circumvent the knowledge of Him in the pursuit of "things," even spiritual things, for they are all summed up into Him.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june12
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Sat 11 Jun 2011, 3:29 pm
JUNE 11
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Love your enemies, bless those
who curse you, do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you."
MATTHEW 5:44
The nature of the Kingdom of God is quite different, and its character reflects that difference. There is not a kingdom on the face of the earth that could ever adopt a philosophy that says "love your enemies." If you accept the premise that Jesus really is a King then you are compelled to acknowledge that this King and His Kingdom are truly not of this world.
A national defense policy based on "Love Your Enemies" would be political and national suicide for any earthly government. This Heavenly Order is such a radical departure from the ways of the world that it requires some rather deep experiences with God before a person can really enter into the service of the King, because that service is so unlike anything anyone has ever seen or experienced.
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JUNE 10
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."
PHILIPPIANS 3:21
What a mighty God we serve! Exactly how the Lord goes about bringing all things into submission unto Himself is... how can we describe it? It is an art. It is a science. There is a process at work in this universe. Do you see it? It is a process through which the Lord is continually refining, purging, molding, chastening, disciplining, judging, and conforming all things. This process is working itself out on every level, from galaxies, to nations, to the innermost recesses of the souls of men, right down to the very last disciple and sinner.
Throw yourself onto the Rock and be broken; or wait for it to fall on you and be ground into powder (Luke 20:18, Daniel 2:34,35). Either way, sooner or later, the Rock wins, for "He MUST increase, but I MUST decrease" (John 3:30).
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Love your enemies, bless those
who curse you, do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you."
MATTHEW 5:44
The nature of the Kingdom of God is quite different, and its character reflects that difference. There is not a kingdom on the face of the earth that could ever adopt a philosophy that says "love your enemies." If you accept the premise that Jesus really is a King then you are compelled to acknowledge that this King and His Kingdom are truly not of this world.
A national defense policy based on "Love Your Enemies" would be political and national suicide for any earthly government. This Heavenly Order is such a radical departure from the ways of the world that it requires some rather deep experiences with God before a person can really enter into the service of the King, because that service is so unlike anything anyone has ever seen or experienced.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june11
JUNE 10
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."
PHILIPPIANS 3:21
What a mighty God we serve! Exactly how the Lord goes about bringing all things into submission unto Himself is... how can we describe it? It is an art. It is a science. There is a process at work in this universe. Do you see it? It is a process through which the Lord is continually refining, purging, molding, chastening, disciplining, judging, and conforming all things. This process is working itself out on every level, from galaxies, to nations, to the innermost recesses of the souls of men, right down to the very last disciple and sinner.
Throw yourself onto the Rock and be broken; or wait for it to fall on you and be ground into powder (Luke 20:18, Daniel 2:34,35). Either way, sooner or later, the Rock wins, for "He MUST increase, but I MUST decrease" (John 3:30).
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june10
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Fri 10 Jun 2011, 12:11 pm
JUNE 9
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"The Truth shall make you free."
JOHN 8:32
The Cross must be embraced and taken up daily as a principle of living. This is the practical application of taking up the Cross. If we ever lay down the Cross and attempt anything in our own power then we will be defeated. But as we continually reckon ourselves "dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ" (Romans 6:11) then what is true in principle eventually becomes true in our experience: sin begins to lose its power to control us, and we begin to see that we do have a choice.
We will begin to see that we are no longer slaves to sin, but "if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).
Share your comments:
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"The Truth shall make you free."
JOHN 8:32
The Cross must be embraced and taken up daily as a principle of living. This is the practical application of taking up the Cross. If we ever lay down the Cross and attempt anything in our own power then we will be defeated. But as we continually reckon ourselves "dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ" (Romans 6:11) then what is true in principle eventually becomes true in our experience: sin begins to lose its power to control us, and we begin to see that we do have a choice.
We will begin to see that we are no longer slaves to sin, but "if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june9
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Thu 09 Jun 2011, 1:11 pm
JUNE 8
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"You know Him; for He dwells with you,
and will be in you."
JOHN 14:17
Just as Testimony follows Revelation, so Life follows Light. We simply know what to do because He Himself is doing it through us. If we have put on the Lord Jesus then we need not look to the past, or to the future. We need not look up to the heavens, or down upon the earth. We need not look outward at all, for the Kingdom of God is within us.
The One Who said, "I am with you, and will be in you" has now taken up residence within all who believe.
Share your comments:
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"You know Him; for He dwells with you,
and will be in you."
JOHN 14:17
Just as Testimony follows Revelation, so Life follows Light. We simply know what to do because He Himself is doing it through us. If we have put on the Lord Jesus then we need not look to the past, or to the future. We need not look up to the heavens, or down upon the earth. We need not look outward at all, for the Kingdom of God is within us.
The One Who said, "I am with you, and will be in you" has now taken up residence within all who believe.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june8
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Tue 07 Jun 2011, 2:28 pm
UNE 7
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"We who live are always
delivered to death for Jesus' sake."
2 CORINTHIANS 4:11
The answer to why there is so little power and genuine spiritual fruit in the lives of those who follow Jesus is a simple one: they desire the Life of the Lord, but not His Death. They want a daily pouring out of the Lord's Life, but they shun the prospect of daily sharing in His Death.
The saints of the Lord are well instructed in living victoriously, being blessed, walking in power, overcoming the enemy, and living up to their potential. By comparison, the majority of them know next to nothing about self-denial, bearing their Cross, boasting in their weaknesses, being joyful in trials, winning by losing, gaining by giving up, working by resting, accepting both the bitter and the sweet as gifts from God, enduring hardness and accepting suffering. God desires to increase us and enlarge us; He therefore calls us to go back to the Cross and start over again.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june7
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"We who live are always
delivered to death for Jesus' sake."
2 CORINTHIANS 4:11
The answer to why there is so little power and genuine spiritual fruit in the lives of those who follow Jesus is a simple one: they desire the Life of the Lord, but not His Death. They want a daily pouring out of the Lord's Life, but they shun the prospect of daily sharing in His Death.
The saints of the Lord are well instructed in living victoriously, being blessed, walking in power, overcoming the enemy, and living up to their potential. By comparison, the majority of them know next to nothing about self-denial, bearing their Cross, boasting in their weaknesses, being joyful in trials, winning by losing, gaining by giving up, working by resting, accepting both the bitter and the sweet as gifts from God, enduring hardness and accepting suffering. God desires to increase us and enlarge us; He therefore calls us to go back to the Cross and start over again.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june7
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Mon 06 Jun 2011, 9:04 pm
JUNE 6
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9
All those who want power with God must see that His power is released through our weakness. Do realize that you are weak whether you admit it or not, but the power of humility is in recognizing and agreeing before God that we really can do nothing of our own selves.
God's power is not for those with natural charisma, talent, leadership skills, education, training, or "connections." God is not looking for volunteers to serve at their own convenience as their schedule permits, but calls for disciples who will lay down their lives. The flesh counts for nothing in spiritual matters.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june6
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9
All those who want power with God must see that His power is released through our weakness. Do realize that you are weak whether you admit it or not, but the power of humility is in recognizing and agreeing before God that we really can do nothing of our own selves.
God's power is not for those with natural charisma, talent, leadership skills, education, training, or "connections." God is not looking for volunteers to serve at their own convenience as their schedule permits, but calls for disciples who will lay down their lives. The flesh counts for nothing in spiritual matters.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june6
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 81746
Join date : 2008-10-25
Age : 79
Location : Wales UK -
Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Sun 05 Jun 2011, 6:53 pm
JUNE 5
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
MATTHEW 5:6
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to look forward to the promise of new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13): to long for it, to desire it, to pine for it, to seek it, to prepare for it and to keep praying for it until it arrives. It implies that we are not content with things just the way they are, and we are not satisfied to just let things go along as they always have.
We hate sin, we hate the effects of sin upon this earth, and we mourn the consequences of man's inhumanity to man and rebellion towards God; but we have hope for a better day, a better life, a better world where Righteousness Himself is living among us. Until such time, we are hungry and thirsty for more of what we have only just begun to taste.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june5
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
The Prophetic Savant
by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-prophetic-savant.html
"...the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad..." (Hosea 9:7).
"What then is genius? Could it be that a genius is a man haunted by the speaking Voice [of God], laboring and striving like one possessed to achieve ends which he only vaguely understands?"
A. W. Tozer
(*The use of the male pronoun in this writing is for convenience only. We mean no partiality to our brothers, and no disrespect to our sisters.)
The prophetic savant is a person afflicted with a heavenly autism, making him nearly incapable of normal relations with those around him. Accused of being aloof, cold, and distant, he is apt to hide himself from people, withdrawing into a world of his own. He never seems to be all "there". Even if he forces himself to come down to Earth for a moment, those around him may have the sense that there is an unspoken dialogue going on somewhere inside of him, a secret communion carried on beneath the surface that never allows him to be fully "in the moment".
How do we explain this? As a prophetic savant he sees, hears, and relates to the world differently than the rest of the population. They have not seen what he has seen; they have not heard what he has heard. And so he finds very little camaraderie, very little sympathy or understanding, no one with whom he can open his heart and share his soul, because he no longer speaks the same language, and they no longer speak his. Of course, he may have surface-level exchanges with anyone: he is approachable, not haughty, or high-minded. He may even be personable and likeable. Yet there is something so other-worldly in his demeanor that he is more often frightening than friendly, in spite of his best efforts. He is a spiritual autistic, and no matter how hard you try to know him, he is generally unknowable, and to a certain degree, he resists all attempts to know him.
If a prophet is anything, he is extra-terrestrial - above the Earth. He walks the Earth with others, but he is not of the Earth. He is from beyond; he is from above. If we trace his history we will find that he may or may not have had a normal childhood. He may or may not have come through extraordinary experiences. But at some point in his life, either as a child, or as a young adult, or as an old man, something from another realm broke through the thin membrane between Heaven and Earth and took hold of him. It may have been a burning bush, or a Voice crying out to him from beyond the veil, or a Heavenly Vision which brought him briefly into contact with something and Someone that he could not completely fathom.
However it happened, for one moment at least, the clouds parted and the veil was rent, and he saw something that is unseeable; he heard something that is unhearable; Heaven itself was opened up to him, and he saw into another world. The thing he saw and heard now burdens him like a mantle that has been draped over his shoulders. He feels its weight, for it is with him day and night, whether he is eating or drinking, working or resting. It is the impression that everything around him is a lie, and what he has seen and heard is the Truth, and this Truth is not static, but it is living, growing, and increasing within him from the day it comes to him in the form of a seed.
For a long time he struggles to find words and vocabulary to express the inexpressible. He cannot explain why he feels the need to try and express it, but for some inexplicable reason something drives him to open his mouth, or take up his pen, and make it known. Whatever it is, it will not permit him to savor it or keep it to himself, and it seems intent on coming to the surface and interrupting the normal course of his life. This process can be frustrating and painful, so much so that he may give up several times, content to simply walk in what he has seen and heard and leave it at that.
But try as he might, he cannot run away from what he has seen and heard, and he cannot deny the compulsion to bring it forth. On the one hand he cries out for a "normal" life, while on the other hand he knows he cannot deny what has been revealed to him. When he does achieve some modest success in articulating something of Heaven he is pleased for a time, but soon grows impatient with it, and eventually is dissatisfied with it altogether, because it cannot do justice to what he has seen and heard. And so the process begins again, the continual search for words to more perfectly express what he is trying to communicate (and a subtle fear in the back of his mind that he may never be able to adequately express it), which leads him to invent words which may have never before existed, or to look for Spirit-inspired words in some unknown tongue that can be translated into something others can understand.
The prophets of old correctly called it the "burden of the Lord", for it is like a woman who must live the rest of her life being in perpetual labor, delivering the same child over and over again. What relief there is only comes in discharging the burden, but that is not to say it ever really leaves: it merely allows the prophet time to catch his breath until the next contraction doubles him over again. The burden is with him the rest of his life, and he never fully discharges it.
Even when he tries to be disobedient to the Heavenly Vision and flees from the presence of the Lord he is pursued and hunted down like some kind of a wild animal who has gotten loose, knowing it is only a matter of time before he is captured again. The Voice never leaves him, the Vision never lets him go. When he refuses to speak then the fire which is already kindled only burns hotter, until he ends up doing what he has resisted doing all along, just to relieve himself of the unbearable tension and inward pressure. He cannot extinguish or quench the fire no matter what he does, he can only be obedient and find temporary relief, until the next word comes, and then off he goes. He may beg God to send someone else, and may protest his inability to speak, or to write. But he is already ruined for anything else, and even when he denies the Lord Who called him and returns to his former occupation, it is all dull and lifeless, and he meets with nothing but frustration and failure. There is no way to escape it. He knows he is called to something Higher, even when he is clinging with everything he has to something Lower.
Like a wild horse, he resists the dealings of the Lord and must be broken before he will obey. Eventually he learns not to resist the Lord, but to cooperate with Him. He becomes pliable and bendable in order to survive. His very life now is bound up with what he has seen and heard. He cannot be disobedient to the Heavenly Vision, and if it means he dies, then he dies. If it means a renunciation of everything he once believed, then he renounces it - reluctantly at first, then cheerfully. If it means suffering the loss of all things, then he lets them go.
Over time the one who has seen and heard becomes the very essence of what he has seen and heard. The Man becomes the Message. He bears the Testimony in himself, and becomes one with it. He needs no preparation to speak; indeed, preparation does nothing to help the message he brings, and it often gets in the way. His whole life is the preparation, and since he is the Message, it is with him constantly. He can no more separate himself from the Message than he can separate his head from his body. If there is an "On/Off" switch then it was long ago turned on and then disabled so that it can never be turned off again. After many seasons of God's dealings he finally perceives that this is what the Lord has sought for all along, not just to GIVE him a Message, but to MAKE him a Message; to gain for Himself a Messenger and capture him completely, embossing the Message into his very being.
And so he goes about his daily business, constantly haunted by that Voice, torn between the menial task at hand which calls for his physical and mental exertion, and the Higher Calling which seeks his undivided attention. He knows he should do all things, great and small, as "unto the Lord". But he also knows that Heaven and Earth are locked in mortal combat over him while he stands there in the middle, torn between the two, desiring to depart the Earth altogether and be with Christ, but knowing that it is more profitable for his brethren if he remains. Heaven calls him to rise up, but Earth tells him to keep his feet firmly planted. His heart is constantly breaking and longing to go, to ascend, to rise up, to stop seeing through a dark glass, and see face to face, without the distraction of the natural, the fleshly, the temporal, because he knows the Earth is not his home. Yet he struggles with the fact that Earth is where he must live and work. This accounts for why he may sometimes seem difficult to be around.
As a savant he possesses insight and skill which others do not possess. But it is a gift, not anything of himself, nothing of which he could boast of. If you were to ask him if he considers this to be a blessing, he would probably say it is more like a curse, because it sets him apart from others even when he tries his best to be hidden and to blend in. He cannot read the Scriptures as others do, for after only a few verses the Heavens are opened up to him again and he is lost in its depths. A single passage may keep him occupied for months as Heaven unfolds it to him, and he cannot tear himself away from it.
His preaching is affected, because he cannot decide in advance what he will say, and even when he would like to bring forth something new and exciting, he usually ends up saying the same thing, like, "Repent!" He often does not say what he wants to say, and does not say it in the way he would like to say it. If he wants to be serious, he finds himself laughing. And when he wishes to be friendly, he finds himself screaming at the top of his voice to a startled congregation of people, who wonder how this fellow was ever allowed access to their inner sanctum in the first place. When he leaves a place he almost never sees the result of his labor, and only eternity can reveal the true significance of what was said. For now, it is all hidden, and he has to live with the fact that his fruitfulness will never be measured in terms that human beings, including himself, can see and appreciate.
He cannot go through the motions of religion like most mortals. It is a dead, shallow thing to him because it cannot compare to the reality of what he has already experienced. He finds it difficult to listen to another person preach when he knows they have not yet ascended to the heights nor plumbed the depths that he has already navigated. And when he tries to lead them into these heights and depths himself he is often misunderstood or rejected altogether. So either he attends the meeting and suffers in silence, or stays home and suffers in solitude; but either way, he suffers.
His seeing is affected by a sort of "spiritual dyslexia". While others view things from a one or two dimensional viewpoint, he sees them through several dimensions at once - forward, backward, reverse, upside-down, right-side up: life and death, light and dark, Spirit and flesh, Heavenly and Earthly - which often puts him at odds with his more pragmatic and doctrinally-correct brethren. He is so at one with what he has seen that he speaks of it as having already happened, because he has, in essence, already experienced it and lived it. It is the Prophetic Tense, which calls those things that be not as though they were. In his world, the world of the Spirit, they exist already. We call it "prediction" because we cannot yet see it with our natural eyes, but he simply stands outside of Time and views Past and Future as one unbroken and continuous Present.
His hearing is affected so that he is increasingly sensitive to his surroundings, even though it seems as if he is not paying attention. He is listening, but he is listening inwardly. He no longer trusts his natural ears, because the Heavenly Voice and the inner witness are more reliable. Thus, he is able to hear God speaking, while the rest of the crowd says, "It thundered!" or "It was an angel!" He is also able to hear when God is not speaking, and does not get carried away with the multitudes who claim to speak, see, and hear things from God when they have not heard or seen anything from Heaven. He cannot bear to listen to them.
His concentration is affected in such a way as to make him appear obstinate and unyielding to others. The truth is that he is actually quite flexible and pliable before the Lord, but before man he is as solid and impenetrable as a rock. No amount of persuasion or argument from man will move him - but the slightest touch from the Lord will bring him to his knees. Having discovered the One Thing that is needed, he will tenaciously and ruthlessly shun the "many things" which crowd in to seek his attention, for he sees everything else as a distraction. Indeed, he is quite willing to sacrifice the good in favor of the holy. And when the Lord has him focused on a particular thing he is as a beam of light fastened upon a singular point until everything melts before it.
Even his praying is affected, for he can no longer pray as he wills and for what he wants. He seemingly has no will of his own. Instead the Heavenly Voice bids him to pray with a Heavenly perspective, and all too often the Heavenly perspective is at odds with the Earthly perspective. So when his brothers and sisters pray for blessing and increase, he finds himself praying for destruction and decrease; and when they are resisting and praying against something, he finds himself asking God to perform the very thing the rest of the world is against.
To the rest of the world, the autistic savant is a bit of a retarded genius, an unfortunate mixture of idiocy and brilliance, caught up in a world of its own. The prophetic savant bears a similar stigma. But if you engage him at all, you soon discover that he sees all of this as absolutely normal; the way it is supposed to be. He no longer wishes for a normal life, because the life he has now IS normal: he has lost his own life in exchange for a new life. He lives in the Heavenlies while he walks on the Earth. He does not think of himself as special, as anything other than a regular person, but often wonders aloud why others cannot see what he has seen when it is all so self-evident and plain. To him, maybe; but the rest of us are blinded by the Light he exudes without knowing it.
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http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-prophetic-savant.html
I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org
THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion. To find out more about us, click here. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
©2011 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
MATTHEW 5:6
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to look forward to the promise of new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13): to long for it, to desire it, to pine for it, to seek it, to prepare for it and to keep praying for it until it arrives. It implies that we are not content with things just the way they are, and we are not satisfied to just let things go along as they always have.
We hate sin, we hate the effects of sin upon this earth, and we mourn the consequences of man's inhumanity to man and rebellion towards God; but we have hope for a better day, a better life, a better world where Righteousness Himself is living among us. Until such time, we are hungry and thirsty for more of what we have only just begun to taste.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june5
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
The Prophetic Savant
by Chip Brogden
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-prophetic-savant.html
"...the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad..." (Hosea 9:7).
"What then is genius? Could it be that a genius is a man haunted by the speaking Voice [of God], laboring and striving like one possessed to achieve ends which he only vaguely understands?"
A. W. Tozer
(*The use of the male pronoun in this writing is for convenience only. We mean no partiality to our brothers, and no disrespect to our sisters.)
The prophetic savant is a person afflicted with a heavenly autism, making him nearly incapable of normal relations with those around him. Accused of being aloof, cold, and distant, he is apt to hide himself from people, withdrawing into a world of his own. He never seems to be all "there". Even if he forces himself to come down to Earth for a moment, those around him may have the sense that there is an unspoken dialogue going on somewhere inside of him, a secret communion carried on beneath the surface that never allows him to be fully "in the moment".
How do we explain this? As a prophetic savant he sees, hears, and relates to the world differently than the rest of the population. They have not seen what he has seen; they have not heard what he has heard. And so he finds very little camaraderie, very little sympathy or understanding, no one with whom he can open his heart and share his soul, because he no longer speaks the same language, and they no longer speak his. Of course, he may have surface-level exchanges with anyone: he is approachable, not haughty, or high-minded. He may even be personable and likeable. Yet there is something so other-worldly in his demeanor that he is more often frightening than friendly, in spite of his best efforts. He is a spiritual autistic, and no matter how hard you try to know him, he is generally unknowable, and to a certain degree, he resists all attempts to know him.
If a prophet is anything, he is extra-terrestrial - above the Earth. He walks the Earth with others, but he is not of the Earth. He is from beyond; he is from above. If we trace his history we will find that he may or may not have had a normal childhood. He may or may not have come through extraordinary experiences. But at some point in his life, either as a child, or as a young adult, or as an old man, something from another realm broke through the thin membrane between Heaven and Earth and took hold of him. It may have been a burning bush, or a Voice crying out to him from beyond the veil, or a Heavenly Vision which brought him briefly into contact with something and Someone that he could not completely fathom.
However it happened, for one moment at least, the clouds parted and the veil was rent, and he saw something that is unseeable; he heard something that is unhearable; Heaven itself was opened up to him, and he saw into another world. The thing he saw and heard now burdens him like a mantle that has been draped over his shoulders. He feels its weight, for it is with him day and night, whether he is eating or drinking, working or resting. It is the impression that everything around him is a lie, and what he has seen and heard is the Truth, and this Truth is not static, but it is living, growing, and increasing within him from the day it comes to him in the form of a seed.
For a long time he struggles to find words and vocabulary to express the inexpressible. He cannot explain why he feels the need to try and express it, but for some inexplicable reason something drives him to open his mouth, or take up his pen, and make it known. Whatever it is, it will not permit him to savor it or keep it to himself, and it seems intent on coming to the surface and interrupting the normal course of his life. This process can be frustrating and painful, so much so that he may give up several times, content to simply walk in what he has seen and heard and leave it at that.
But try as he might, he cannot run away from what he has seen and heard, and he cannot deny the compulsion to bring it forth. On the one hand he cries out for a "normal" life, while on the other hand he knows he cannot deny what has been revealed to him. When he does achieve some modest success in articulating something of Heaven he is pleased for a time, but soon grows impatient with it, and eventually is dissatisfied with it altogether, because it cannot do justice to what he has seen and heard. And so the process begins again, the continual search for words to more perfectly express what he is trying to communicate (and a subtle fear in the back of his mind that he may never be able to adequately express it), which leads him to invent words which may have never before existed, or to look for Spirit-inspired words in some unknown tongue that can be translated into something others can understand.
The prophets of old correctly called it the "burden of the Lord", for it is like a woman who must live the rest of her life being in perpetual labor, delivering the same child over and over again. What relief there is only comes in discharging the burden, but that is not to say it ever really leaves: it merely allows the prophet time to catch his breath until the next contraction doubles him over again. The burden is with him the rest of his life, and he never fully discharges it.
Even when he tries to be disobedient to the Heavenly Vision and flees from the presence of the Lord he is pursued and hunted down like some kind of a wild animal who has gotten loose, knowing it is only a matter of time before he is captured again. The Voice never leaves him, the Vision never lets him go. When he refuses to speak then the fire which is already kindled only burns hotter, until he ends up doing what he has resisted doing all along, just to relieve himself of the unbearable tension and inward pressure. He cannot extinguish or quench the fire no matter what he does, he can only be obedient and find temporary relief, until the next word comes, and then off he goes. He may beg God to send someone else, and may protest his inability to speak, or to write. But he is already ruined for anything else, and even when he denies the Lord Who called him and returns to his former occupation, it is all dull and lifeless, and he meets with nothing but frustration and failure. There is no way to escape it. He knows he is called to something Higher, even when he is clinging with everything he has to something Lower.
Like a wild horse, he resists the dealings of the Lord and must be broken before he will obey. Eventually he learns not to resist the Lord, but to cooperate with Him. He becomes pliable and bendable in order to survive. His very life now is bound up with what he has seen and heard. He cannot be disobedient to the Heavenly Vision, and if it means he dies, then he dies. If it means a renunciation of everything he once believed, then he renounces it - reluctantly at first, then cheerfully. If it means suffering the loss of all things, then he lets them go.
Over time the one who has seen and heard becomes the very essence of what he has seen and heard. The Man becomes the Message. He bears the Testimony in himself, and becomes one with it. He needs no preparation to speak; indeed, preparation does nothing to help the message he brings, and it often gets in the way. His whole life is the preparation, and since he is the Message, it is with him constantly. He can no more separate himself from the Message than he can separate his head from his body. If there is an "On/Off" switch then it was long ago turned on and then disabled so that it can never be turned off again. After many seasons of God's dealings he finally perceives that this is what the Lord has sought for all along, not just to GIVE him a Message, but to MAKE him a Message; to gain for Himself a Messenger and capture him completely, embossing the Message into his very being.
And so he goes about his daily business, constantly haunted by that Voice, torn between the menial task at hand which calls for his physical and mental exertion, and the Higher Calling which seeks his undivided attention. He knows he should do all things, great and small, as "unto the Lord". But he also knows that Heaven and Earth are locked in mortal combat over him while he stands there in the middle, torn between the two, desiring to depart the Earth altogether and be with Christ, but knowing that it is more profitable for his brethren if he remains. Heaven calls him to rise up, but Earth tells him to keep his feet firmly planted. His heart is constantly breaking and longing to go, to ascend, to rise up, to stop seeing through a dark glass, and see face to face, without the distraction of the natural, the fleshly, the temporal, because he knows the Earth is not his home. Yet he struggles with the fact that Earth is where he must live and work. This accounts for why he may sometimes seem difficult to be around.
As a savant he possesses insight and skill which others do not possess. But it is a gift, not anything of himself, nothing of which he could boast of. If you were to ask him if he considers this to be a blessing, he would probably say it is more like a curse, because it sets him apart from others even when he tries his best to be hidden and to blend in. He cannot read the Scriptures as others do, for after only a few verses the Heavens are opened up to him again and he is lost in its depths. A single passage may keep him occupied for months as Heaven unfolds it to him, and he cannot tear himself away from it.
His preaching is affected, because he cannot decide in advance what he will say, and even when he would like to bring forth something new and exciting, he usually ends up saying the same thing, like, "Repent!" He often does not say what he wants to say, and does not say it in the way he would like to say it. If he wants to be serious, he finds himself laughing. And when he wishes to be friendly, he finds himself screaming at the top of his voice to a startled congregation of people, who wonder how this fellow was ever allowed access to their inner sanctum in the first place. When he leaves a place he almost never sees the result of his labor, and only eternity can reveal the true significance of what was said. For now, it is all hidden, and he has to live with the fact that his fruitfulness will never be measured in terms that human beings, including himself, can see and appreciate.
He cannot go through the motions of religion like most mortals. It is a dead, shallow thing to him because it cannot compare to the reality of what he has already experienced. He finds it difficult to listen to another person preach when he knows they have not yet ascended to the heights nor plumbed the depths that he has already navigated. And when he tries to lead them into these heights and depths himself he is often misunderstood or rejected altogether. So either he attends the meeting and suffers in silence, or stays home and suffers in solitude; but either way, he suffers.
His seeing is affected by a sort of "spiritual dyslexia". While others view things from a one or two dimensional viewpoint, he sees them through several dimensions at once - forward, backward, reverse, upside-down, right-side up: life and death, light and dark, Spirit and flesh, Heavenly and Earthly - which often puts him at odds with his more pragmatic and doctrinally-correct brethren. He is so at one with what he has seen that he speaks of it as having already happened, because he has, in essence, already experienced it and lived it. It is the Prophetic Tense, which calls those things that be not as though they were. In his world, the world of the Spirit, they exist already. We call it "prediction" because we cannot yet see it with our natural eyes, but he simply stands outside of Time and views Past and Future as one unbroken and continuous Present.
His hearing is affected so that he is increasingly sensitive to his surroundings, even though it seems as if he is not paying attention. He is listening, but he is listening inwardly. He no longer trusts his natural ears, because the Heavenly Voice and the inner witness are more reliable. Thus, he is able to hear God speaking, while the rest of the crowd says, "It thundered!" or "It was an angel!" He is also able to hear when God is not speaking, and does not get carried away with the multitudes who claim to speak, see, and hear things from God when they have not heard or seen anything from Heaven. He cannot bear to listen to them.
His concentration is affected in such a way as to make him appear obstinate and unyielding to others. The truth is that he is actually quite flexible and pliable before the Lord, but before man he is as solid and impenetrable as a rock. No amount of persuasion or argument from man will move him - but the slightest touch from the Lord will bring him to his knees. Having discovered the One Thing that is needed, he will tenaciously and ruthlessly shun the "many things" which crowd in to seek his attention, for he sees everything else as a distraction. Indeed, he is quite willing to sacrifice the good in favor of the holy. And when the Lord has him focused on a particular thing he is as a beam of light fastened upon a singular point until everything melts before it.
Even his praying is affected, for he can no longer pray as he wills and for what he wants. He seemingly has no will of his own. Instead the Heavenly Voice bids him to pray with a Heavenly perspective, and all too often the Heavenly perspective is at odds with the Earthly perspective. So when his brothers and sisters pray for blessing and increase, he finds himself praying for destruction and decrease; and when they are resisting and praying against something, he finds himself asking God to perform the very thing the rest of the world is against.
To the rest of the world, the autistic savant is a bit of a retarded genius, an unfortunate mixture of idiocy and brilliance, caught up in a world of its own. The prophetic savant bears a similar stigma. But if you engage him at all, you soon discover that he sees all of this as absolutely normal; the way it is supposed to be. He no longer wishes for a normal life, because the life he has now IS normal: he has lost his own life in exchange for a new life. He lives in the Heavenlies while he walks on the Earth. He does not think of himself as special, as anything other than a regular person, but often wonders aloud why others cannot see what he has seen when it is all so self-evident and plain. To him, maybe; but the rest of us are blinded by the Light he exudes without knowing it.
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Chip Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org
THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST is dedicated to your spiritual growth and maturity through Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-based discipleship that focuses on relationship, not religion. To find out more about us, click here. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
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Last edited by Admin on Sun 05 Jun 2011, 6:56 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : 2 messages)
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Sat 04 Jun 2011, 3:03 pm
JUNE 4
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have
toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word
I will let down the net.' And when they had done this, they
caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."
LUKE 5:5,6
To you and me this may sound like a coincidence, or luck. Some might call it a miracle, and it is miraculous, but it is more than a miracle; it is a sign given by Christ in order to reveal Himself to Peter. In Scriptural language, it is "revealing His glory."
Jesus merely said, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch of fish." Nevertheless, Peter perceived that Jesus was no ordinary man. For when he saw what happened, he fell down and sobbed, "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man." The One he called Teacher he now calls Lord, and Peter is immediately made to see the contrast of himself, a sinful man, and Christ, the Holy One of God. Everyone else heard the teaching, but Peter saw the Person.
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have
toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word
I will let down the net.' And when they had done this, they
caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."
LUKE 5:5,6
To you and me this may sound like a coincidence, or luck. Some might call it a miracle, and it is miraculous, but it is more than a miracle; it is a sign given by Christ in order to reveal Himself to Peter. In Scriptural language, it is "revealing His glory."
Jesus merely said, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch of fish." Nevertheless, Peter perceived that Jesus was no ordinary man. For when he saw what happened, he fell down and sobbed, "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man." The One he called Teacher he now calls Lord, and Peter is immediately made to see the contrast of himself, a sinful man, and Christ, the Holy One of God. Everyone else heard the teaching, but Peter saw the Person.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june4
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Fri 03 Jun 2011, 6:43 pm
JUNE 3
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"As you received Christ Jesus the Lord [the Narrow Gate],
so walk in Him [the Narrow Path]."
COLOSSIANS 2:6 ESV
We come to the Lord admitting that we cannot save ourselves, and He does the saving. That is the Gate. Now we come to the Lord every day, admitting that we cannot enter the Kingdom, and He does what it takes to conform us into His image. That is the Path.
Hence, I have no secret for the Christian Life, but Christ. I have no key, but Christ. I have no method, but Christ. I have no formula, but Christ. I have no technique, but Christ. I have no life, but Christ - for it is no longer I who lives, it is Christ Who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). In Him, through Him, because of Him, and by Him we may enter the Kingdom.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june3
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"As you received Christ Jesus the Lord [the Narrow Gate],
so walk in Him [the Narrow Path]."
COLOSSIANS 2:6 ESV
We come to the Lord admitting that we cannot save ourselves, and He does the saving. That is the Gate. Now we come to the Lord every day, admitting that we cannot enter the Kingdom, and He does what it takes to conform us into His image. That is the Path.
Hence, I have no secret for the Christian Life, but Christ. I have no key, but Christ. I have no method, but Christ. I have no formula, but Christ. I have no technique, but Christ. I have no life, but Christ - for it is no longer I who lives, it is Christ Who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). In Him, through Him, because of Him, and by Him we may enter the Kingdom.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june3
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Thu 02 Jun 2011, 2:36 pm
JUNE 2
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"You have come to Mount Zion and to
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem."
HEBREWS 12:22
All the prophets pointed to Jerusalem as the place where the Messiah would rule and reign. On the surface this seems self-evident. The trouble with this is that the nature of the Kingdom is spiritual, and so the location of the Kingdom is likewise spiritual. A spiritual kingdom is not going to have an earthly capital. Neither will it have an earthly temple, an earthly priesthood, or an earthly King. It will be in the earth, but it will not rise up from the earth.
Earthly problems cannot be solved with earthly solutions. Earthly problems require Heavenly solutions. The fact that John saw the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven and settling upon the earth shows that this is something established by God Himself, quite beyond the command and control of man.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june2
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"You have come to Mount Zion and to
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem."
HEBREWS 12:22
All the prophets pointed to Jerusalem as the place where the Messiah would rule and reign. On the surface this seems self-evident. The trouble with this is that the nature of the Kingdom is spiritual, and so the location of the Kingdom is likewise spiritual. A spiritual kingdom is not going to have an earthly capital. Neither will it have an earthly temple, an earthly priesthood, or an earthly King. It will be in the earth, but it will not rise up from the earth.
Earthly problems cannot be solved with earthly solutions. Earthly problems require Heavenly solutions. The fact that John saw the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven and settling upon the earth shows that this is something established by God Himself, quite beyond the command and control of man.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june2
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Wed 01 Jun 2011, 1:04 pm
JUNE 1
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind."
EPHESIANS 4:23
When we embrace the Cross in our thought life we will see that our own thinking is limited, and at times, completely the opposite of God's thoughts. We will readily see that our opinions, our prejudices, our very point of view, all need radical transformation. We will see how untrustworthy and unpredictable our mind, will and emotions can be apart from God.
As we submit ourselves to the Cross we see that God does not turn us into unthinking, unfeeling creatures of wood or stone; instead, He renews and transforms our mind so that our thoughts reflect His thoughts, and our mind reflects His mind. We will no longer be carried away by our emotions or find false comfort in our superior intellect. Our thoughts will be submitted to His wisdom and will assist us in understanding His Will and His Ways.
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind."
EPHESIANS 4:23
When we embrace the Cross in our thought life we will see that our own thinking is limited, and at times, completely the opposite of God's thoughts. We will readily see that our opinions, our prejudices, our very point of view, all need radical transformation. We will see how untrustworthy and unpredictable our mind, will and emotions can be apart from God.
As we submit ourselves to the Cross we see that God does not turn us into unthinking, unfeeling creatures of wood or stone; instead, He renews and transforms our mind so that our thoughts reflect His thoughts, and our mind reflects His mind. We will no longer be carried away by our emotions or find false comfort in our superior intellect. Our thoughts will be submitted to His wisdom and will assist us in understanding His Will and His Ways.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/june1
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Tue 31 May 2011, 1:45 pm
MAY 31
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"We regard no one according to the flesh.
Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet
now we know Him thus no longer."
2 CORINTHIANS 5:16
In our relationships it is easy to touch one another in the flesh. But to put on the Lord Jesus is to make no provision for the flesh, even in our relationships. To "know no man after the flesh" is truly a challenge. We "project" a certain something, and either it is ourselves, or it is Christ.
We note the personality differences between Paul, and Peter, and John, and James, and Barnabas; even so, they each have the same clothing, having put on the Lord Jesus. So we can touch them on a deeper level than who they are in themselves. We can still see the man, but we mostly see the Lord of the man. When we put on the Lord Jesus then the outward man becomes consistent with the inward man. This is fruitfulness, and this should be the normal experience of all disciples of the Lord.
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MAY 30
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"When I am weak, then I am strong."
2 CORINTHIANS 12:10
The way of the world says that in order to be stronger, we must build ourselves up and seek strength and dominance over others. Christians everywhere are keenly interested in how to be increased, how to be stronger, how to take authority, how to rise up, how to get more. They look for methods, formulas, and techniques for becoming bigger and better. The results have been disappointing. Many mistakes have been made and many people have been hurt and disillusioned.
The Lord has a different approach for us to take. He invites us to accept weakness in order to be strengthened. We do not become strong by embracing strength, but by embracing weakness! This is the secret of all spiritual power. When Paul learned this secret he was able to say, "When I am weak, then I am strong." This makes no sense to the natural man.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/may30
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"We regard no one according to the flesh.
Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet
now we know Him thus no longer."
2 CORINTHIANS 5:16
In our relationships it is easy to touch one another in the flesh. But to put on the Lord Jesus is to make no provision for the flesh, even in our relationships. To "know no man after the flesh" is truly a challenge. We "project" a certain something, and either it is ourselves, or it is Christ.
We note the personality differences between Paul, and Peter, and John, and James, and Barnabas; even so, they each have the same clothing, having put on the Lord Jesus. So we can touch them on a deeper level than who they are in themselves. We can still see the man, but we mostly see the Lord of the man. When we put on the Lord Jesus then the outward man becomes consistent with the inward man. This is fruitfulness, and this should be the normal experience of all disciples of the Lord.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/may31
MAY 30
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"When I am weak, then I am strong."
2 CORINTHIANS 12:10
The way of the world says that in order to be stronger, we must build ourselves up and seek strength and dominance over others. Christians everywhere are keenly interested in how to be increased, how to be stronger, how to take authority, how to rise up, how to get more. They look for methods, formulas, and techniques for becoming bigger and better. The results have been disappointing. Many mistakes have been made and many people have been hurt and disillusioned.
The Lord has a different approach for us to take. He invites us to accept weakness in order to be strengthened. We do not become strong by embracing strength, but by embracing weakness! This is the secret of all spiritual power. When Paul learned this secret he was able to say, "When I am weak, then I am strong." This makes no sense to the natural man.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/may30
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Mon 30 May 2011, 2:05 pm
MAY 29
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"I have suffered the
loss of all things... that I may know Him and
the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."
PHILIPPIANS 3:8,10
A disciple of Jesus is not someone who mentally embraces the idea of a crucified Christ, nor is it someone who simply reads and accepts the historical record of the crucifixion. A disciple of Jesus is one who enters into the experience of the Cross and is personally acquainted and familiar with it. He has taken up his own Cross and followed in the footsteps of Christ.
The objective work of the Cross was accomplished when Christ was crucified; the subjective work of the Cross is accomplished when I daily deny myself, take up my Cross, and follow after Him. His work on the Cross is finished and complete; my work through the Cross is ongoing. The Cross He bore accomplished the work of redemption, while the Cross I bear accomplishes the work of spiritual maturity.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/may29
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"I have suffered the
loss of all things... that I may know Him and
the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."
PHILIPPIANS 3:8,10
A disciple of Jesus is not someone who mentally embraces the idea of a crucified Christ, nor is it someone who simply reads and accepts the historical record of the crucifixion. A disciple of Jesus is one who enters into the experience of the Cross and is personally acquainted and familiar with it. He has taken up his own Cross and followed in the footsteps of Christ.
The objective work of the Cross was accomplished when Christ was crucified; the subjective work of the Cross is accomplished when I daily deny myself, take up my Cross, and follow after Him. His work on the Cross is finished and complete; my work through the Cross is ongoing. The Cross He bore accomplished the work of redemption, while the Cross I bear accomplishes the work of spiritual maturity.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/may29
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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Re: Meditation Chip Brogden
Admin Sun 29 May 2011, 1:35 pm
MAY 28
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but
My Father who is in heaven."
MATTHEW 16:17
Here, Jesus contrasts "flesh and blood" knowledge with Truth which is revealed by God (and of course, Jesus is Truth [John 14:6]). The two are as different as night and day. In the matter of flesh and blood knowledge that is obtained from human, earthly sources, we may have reason to boast in our ability to study, investigate, reason, and decide. This is the Tree of Knowledge.
In the case of revelation, we have definitely no room to boast, for revelation is simply that which is revealed to us from heaven by the Lord. We cannot work to obtain it nor do we merit it. Additionally, no man may give it to us. Its source is God working in us through His Holy Spirit. This is the Tree of Life.
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©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
Today's Message from Chip Brogden
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but
My Father who is in heaven."
MATTHEW 16:17
Here, Jesus contrasts "flesh and blood" knowledge with Truth which is revealed by God (and of course, Jesus is Truth [John 14:6]). The two are as different as night and day. In the matter of flesh and blood knowledge that is obtained from human, earthly sources, we may have reason to boast in our ability to study, investigate, reason, and decide. This is the Tree of Knowledge.
In the case of revelation, we have definitely no room to boast, for revelation is simply that which is revealed to us from heaven by the Lord. We cannot work to obtain it nor do we merit it. Additionally, no man may give it to us. Its source is God working in us through His Holy Spirit. This is the Tree of Life.
Share your comments:
http://InfiniteSupply.Org/may28
©2011 InfiniteSupply.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
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