“The highest spiritual condition is one where life is spontaneous and flows without effort, like the deep floods of Ezekiel’s river, where the struggles of the swimmer ceased, and he was borne by the current’s resistless force. So God leads us into spiritual conditions and habits which become the spontaneous impulses of our being, and we live and move in the fulness of the divine life. But these spiritual habits are not the outcome of some transitory impulse, but are often slowly acquired and established. They begin, like every true habit, in a definite act of will, and they are confirmed by the repetition of that act until it becomes a habit. The first stages always involve effort and choice. We have to take a stand and hold it steadily, and after we have done so a certain time, it becomes second nature, and carries us by its own force. The Holy Spirit is willing to form such habits in every direction of our Christian life, and if we will but obey Him in the first steps of faith, we will soon become established in the attitude of obedience, and duty will be delight.”

Resolutions that can have eternal benefit should top our lists and require the engagement of God’s Spirit.

A.W. Simpson

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Here is what Hudson Taylor, the Founder of The Inland China Mission says about “Quiet Time:”

“A word about the morning watch may not be out of place here. There is no time so profitably spent as the early hour given to JESUS only. Do we give sufficient attention to this hour? If possible, it should be redeemed; nothing can make up for it. We must take time to be holy! One other thought. When we bring our questions to GOD, do we not sometimes either go on to offer some other petition, or leave the closet without waiting for replies? Does not this seem to show little expectation of an answer, and little desire for one? Should we like to be treated so? Quiet waiting before GOD would save from many a mistake and from many a sorrow.”

Starting a Quiet Time

Learn a proven method for abiding in Christ by starting each day with a life-changing intimate time with our Father at www.themostimportanthour.com.

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What does it mean to Abide in Christ?

A life of abiding in Christ brings forth the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of the spirit brings forth the fruit of lives turned toward God.

The aroma of an abiding Christian life attracts those who pass through it.

Pointing others to God and/or the Kingdom of God was the focus of Jesus’ life and ministry.

Jesus teaches us that “A tree is known by its fruit.”

The fruit of the Spirit in our lives that blooms from abiding in Jesus is attractive if not irresistible, it draws others into us and points them to Him.

Each believer is a branch of the Vine, the Vine is Jesus. Father God is the gardener.

The Gardener cares for the Vine and the Vine supplies the branches with all they need to do all they are pruned and intended to do.

Branches are created to produce the fruit that the Gardener seeks.

He grafted the branches to the Vine giving them new life for that very purpose.

Different from natural branches though we are humans and human branches have free will and that brings choices into the equation.

Parable of the Sower

Consider the parable of the Sower.

It is the story of four seeds.

Jesus tells us that the seed is the Word of God. And the Sower sows the seed.

In the parable, the first and second seeds failed to take root and fell away.

The third and fourth seeds both took root but produced a very different crop of fruit.

What is the difference between the third and fourth seeds?

One bore fruit and the other did not.

One turned lives toward God and the other didn’t.

Again, a good tree produces good fruit.

The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things distracted the third seed and diverted its attention from abiding.

The fourth seed cast off the distractions and heeded Jesus’ call to come “abide with me.”

The fourth seed produced a 30-60-100 fold return while abiding in Him. Fruit.

More fruit, Much fruit.

The Gardner looked at the 4th seed and He said “That’s what I’m talkin” about!”

Does Your Life Bear Fruit?

So, as we examine our lives and those we influence, is there fruit that matters?

Are lives being turned toward God?

Are lost people being encouraged to be saved?

Are believers being transformed and becoming disciples?

Is a spirit of generous living obvious in us and in those we have influence with?

Are these things growing, increasing?

If we are truly abiding they should be.

Not necessarily exponentially, some branches grow faster than others, but God has designed that living things grow and branches, both natural and spiritual branches, are living things.

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This suggests how greatly the power to spend a day aright, to abide all the day in Jesus, depends on the morning hour. If the first-fruits be holy, the lump is holy.

During the day there come hours of intense occupation in the rush of business or the throng of men, when only the Father’s keeping can maintain the connection with Jesus unbroken.

The morning manna fed all the day; it is only when the believer in the morning secures his quiet time in secret to distinctly and effectually renew loving fellowship with his Saviour, that the abiding can be kept up all the day.

From – “Abiding In Christ” by Andrew Murray

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“I saw in my dream that Jesus came to a great city and stayed in the house of a certain businessman. And one morning, the man, thinking to please his Guest, said, ‘I will show you the church where I worship.’ But Jesus said, ‘No; show me the business where you work.’ So the man took Jesus and showed Him round his business, and Jesus took an interest in all He saw. But He was not allowed to see everything. He did not see rooms where men worked like rats in dark and dirty holes. Other things also the man concealed; but Jesus did not say anything. And in my dream I could not tell whether He knew that He was being deceived. Taking Him into a private office the man showed Jesus his books and his last balance sheet. Jesus sat in the office chair, and, His finger on the page, read through every item. At some items He paused, and, though He did not say a word, the man’s face was covered with blushes and his heart throbbed with shame, for he could see that Jesus knew all that had happened before some items could be entered into the credit side. Then, very quietly, Jesus spoke. ‘I will write the true balance sheet,’ He said. I could not see all that He wrote, but on the debit side were entries like this : ‘Men kept overtime so late that they were utterly fatigued, their spirits depressed, and temptation found them spent and exhausted’; ‘The wrong man-made fore-man in the workshop; a shrewd man but a bully; the lives of many embittered, the lives of some made fearful’; ‘Practices continued after the discovery that they were wrong.’ And on the credit side were entries such as these : ‘An interest in the personal happiness of certain men’; ‘The refusal to do a big stroke of business by an underhand method’; ‘A little trouble to see that really good work was turned out.’

And when Jesus had finished writing, I could see that there was something the man wanted to say, and at last, after much hesitation, he said it. ‘Business is business,’ he murmured; ‘everybody does these things. If I don’t do them my business will suffer, and with me my wife and children.’ And Jesus looked into the man’s eyes as though He perfectly understood, and, indeed, sympathized. But He said, ‘Don’t lose your life in trying to find it.’ And there were tears in the man’s eyes.

And the man took Jesus and showed Him all the things which previously he had concealed. But Jesus never said a word of condemnation. He just said, ‘You will be far happier when you have altered it all. Don’t be afraid. Your heavenly Father knows what you need.’

And in my dream I was allowed to look into the future, and I saw that the man became much poorer, and many said he was a fool. But there was peace in his heart, and a shining gladness in his eyes, and not a trace of worry in his soul. And I wondered in my dream whether he would become rich; but I learned that the man himself did not even care.

And so my dream of Jesus and the businessman ended.

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“Or do you not know that as many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised (resurrected) from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so (in the same way) we also should walk in the newness of life.
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

Romans 6:3-5

Resurrected, not raised. There is so much in this distinction. The teaching of human philosophy is that we are to raise humanity to a higher plane. This is not the Gospel. On the contrary, the teaching of the cross is that humanity must die and sink out of sight and then be resurrected, not raised. Resurrection is not an improvement. It is not elevation, but it is a new supernatural life lifting us from nothingness into God and making us partakers of the Divine nature. It is a new creation. It is an infinite elevation above the highest plane. Let us not take less than resurrection life. A.W. Tozer

“He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” I Corinthians 6:17

“If then you were raised (resurrected) with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

“For I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And this life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me!” Galatians 2:20

As we worship on Sunday may we worship in spirit and truth as reborn sons and daughters of our Father.

Hallelujah! He is risen!! (And so are we!)

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We are called to walk in The Spirit. We think of a “walk” as something that we do occasionally, but the Bible means something far greater. Our “walk” is our 24/7 life – all of it. All of it in The Spirit of Jesus. Jesus’ life in us, as us, through us. Not segregated or broken into parts, but so integrated that we are totally “leavened”. In a loaf of bread, there is no part where the leaven isn’t. In the sea, there is no place that the salt isn’t. So our lives are to be with The Spirit and His Lordship and direction. Jesus is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.

The world and most contemporary church members scoff at this idea. Jesus doesn’t scoff. He calls us to abide in Him. What does the word “abide” mean to you? Is it to visit occasionally? To pass by on the way to more important things? Think about it. The answer that you give yourself is the answer you will live by and your answer will have eternal consequences. Think about it. Eternity is a long time.

To abide or not to abide, that is the question.

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Calling. God’s calling. What is it and what does it mean to be called according to His purpose? And what does it mean specifically in the lives of those of us who are part of The C12 Group? (WWW.C12GROUP.COM)

Let’s start by a general discussion and definition of “calling”. Calling is often thought of as something that only happens when a Christian “surrenders” to the “call” to the professional ministry (i.e., to be a pastor, missionary, etc.). This is a cultural misunderstanding of the term. While it does apply to the offices within the Church (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher – Eph 4:11), it is by no means limited to them. It may be that no other misunderstanding of God’s Truth has so handicapped the work of Christ and held back the Kingdom of God on the Earth. The fact is that EVERY believer is “called” to full-time ministry in the Church. (Church = The Body of Christ) GOD DOES NOT CALL PART-TIME CHRISTIANS!

In this sense “calling is destiny”. We each have a destiny or purpose in God.

Each person is a unique design, specifically created to do very specific things that are intended to contribute to the completion of the wonderful Plan that God has had in His mind since before He created the Earth. (Eph 2:10) Every one of His children who respond to His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation in Jesus Christ is born again, not only to inherit eternal life with Him in heaven but also to do meaningful and specific things in His Kingdom building on Earth. The true “calling” of God is to “Come, follow Me.” To follow Him in the work that He has set aside for each of us to do, to “run the race that is set before us. (Heb.12:1) Notice that He picks the race. He picks it and calls us to follow Him in it.

Life’s highest honor and definition of success is to obey and to fulfill His purpose and “calling.”

Life’s greatest challenge is to find that purpose and live it out faithfully.

Our greatest enemy is the Deceiver whose sole purpose in the life of a believer, since he can’t steal our salvation, is to obscure, deflect, discourage, or if possible, prevent our understanding God’s call and block the fruit that would be borne within it. Our call and the fruitfulness potential within it is only realized in the center of God’s will for us. This is at least true in the sense of maximum potential. God will use us even when we are not centered in His will but the fruit produced in any other place will never be all that it could be. That’s why the Deceiver works so hard to deflect us. If he can’t steal our salvation he will try to steal our fruit. And he will steal just as much as we allow him to, even causing some to end their race barren and beaten.

The Deceiver offers his distractions in many forms. He knows our weaknesses in our flesh and he plays on them incessantly. His offerings always appear to be attractive, but they all have in common that they deflect us from God’s call and lead us on a different path. He often uses money, either the hope of getting some or the fear of losing some.

God doesn’t make junk! He doesn’t make or design any person without a specific purpose for that life. Each and every life is designed to fit perfectly into His Eternal Plan.

He gives perfect gifts, talents, and abilities while providing perfect training and preparation for each one to follow His calling and to participate in His plan.

He will provide everything each of us needs to fulfill His plan and calling in our lives. He must, or He is not the Sovereign God. God will meet every need of one living within His call.

His calling is always accomplished within His order, never contrary to His Word, and always produces His fruit.

Some characteristics regarding God’s calling:

Finding and fulfilling it will require faith (Heb 11:6). Finishing in it will require endurance (Heb. 10:36).
It will require sacrifice and may fly-in-the-face of worldly wisdom or custom (Phil. 1:28,29 – I Cor.1:26). It is very possible that following God in His calling will not be the most financially rewarding thing that we could do. It very well might mean that some others will not appreciate us or what we do. We will be asked to walk by faith and not by sight (Habakkuk 2:4).
No matter how it may appear to the flesh or the world, it is in the center of God’s will and in fulfilling His call that the highest fulfillment in life – the greatest peace, joy, and purpose – are found (I Peter 1:1-7).
Our commitment to God’s calling will always be tested by adversity. Often it will be challenged to the very point of breaking, the point where there is nothing left to hold on to except the knowledge that God has called and is able (I Peter 5:8,9 – 4:19). There is a storeroom in Heaven where the forfeited rewards lost to those who have been deterred from pressing into God’s calling rest, wasted to them forever, waiting to be passed to those who have faithfully persevered (Matt 25:28,29).
God desperately wants us to know His will and to fulfill His calling! He does not play games with us or try to confuse us. When confusion comes it is not from God (I Cor.14:33, Romans 12:1,2 and II Chron. 16:9).
Once we know our calling we can’t not do it and have peace (James 4:17). Sin destroys peace.

Are we, you and I, “called” to be a part of C12?

C12 is a business that is a ministry. God created C12. God has sustained C12. God has produced fruit through C12. Only God can do what has been done in C12.

C12 is a vehicle for some to fulfill God’s call in their lives. Not all, but some. Those that God calls.

C12 is a “for-profit business for a specific reason that has little to do with making a profit, but everything to do with responding to God’s call to minister God’s Truth to a very specific part of His Body, business owners and CEOs. To operate in the realm they do, to play by the same rules, to feel the same pressures they feel, and to model God’s way in them all. We are imperfect men, leading imperfect men, trying to let God’s light shine in an imperfect world.

To execute the plan and to take C12 into the future will require a team, a cadre, of “called” men. For over 40 years I have knowingly walked in my “calling”. In doing so, I have sacrificed nothing of meaning and have been richly blessed. It is my desire to commit the rest of my life to walking with, and helping, other “called” men. Some of them will be Chairs and some will be members, and some will be just men I come to know, but they will be “called” men. Are you one of them?

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Here is a quote from the back page of I,Radical:

“I will always have all I need to do all God wants!”

“Now that’s a pretty radical statement don’t you think? And yet it has been my way of life for over forty years. Think about that. For over forty years I have trusted in God in Christ to provide all that I have needed to feed and support my family, care for my personal needs, and to supply all I’ve needed in starting and growing a business that has become a national leader in its market-space. And now, as a 76 year-old, I am trusting Him to give me His strength and all I need to finish the race that He set before me, and to finish it strong! Yes, I realize that is radically different thinking from the norm in our culture, even our evangelical Christian church culture. But I’ve bet my life on the truth of that simple statement and this book is my story.

I’m an ordinary man who failed at most of the most important things in life until Jesus Christ reached down to me and saved me. My life changed forever on November 18, 1973 when I responded to the gospel and said to Jesus ” Lord, if this is real, and You died on the cross so that I could be forgiven for my sin, and You want my life, You can have it and I will do whatever You want with the rest of it.” I had no idea what that might mean or what would happen or how good an “abundant life” could be. I know now. Jesus, that’s how. Jesus is the answer. It is just that radically simple. I gave Him my life forty years ago and this is the story of what He has done with an ordinary man who trusts Him.”

It’s been quite a trip! I’d love to share it with you! If you would like to order a copy just click on the book and the link will take you to an order page.

The post It’s Here! “I, Radical – The story of a radical God’s work through an ordinary man” is now available! appeared first on Buck Jacobs.