transperency

1 Samuel 16:7

King James Version (KJV)

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Every person has two lives, public and private. For most people there are some differences between them. And this is right, because its all about how much we are known, how much do we reveal of our hearts to others and to God. And everybody doesn't need to know us completely, the bible teaches that only a fool utters his whole mind.

The result of Adam's sin was first shame and then hiding. This shows us that Adam's mind had immediately been darkened at the fall because it is not rational to make any feeble attempt to hide from All powerful, All knowing and searching all things God.

When we are restored to a right relationship with God by faith in Christ we realize that hiding from God is futile and that we need to open our hearts door and let Jesus in. We need him to come in because we have a problem that we cannot hide or solve by ourselves, A broken relationship with God our Father.

Christ must be allowed in to every room of our hearts and every area our our lives. If  He is not Lord of all then he is not Lord at all! This means that we are naked before Him hiding nothing. 

What does this mean? It means we are restored to the same pre-fall oneness that Adam & Eve enjoyed with God, our nakedness is no shame to us. 

God is still Holy and He still can not look upon sin, and there is still sin in us, so how can this be. Because we are in Christ, He has become our covering, he imputes His righteousness to us. 

We are now hidden in Christ. We can stand before a Holy God without perishing.

So I have established that we must allow ourselves to be transparent before God.  As believers we must transparent before men as well to different degrees, be able to pass inspection. If anyone wanted to accuse you of being a christian would they find any evidence?

I believe that there is a huge problem in our lives if we are Christian only publicly and not privately. And that public display might only mean attending meetings and talking the talk. If an investigator or an elder goes to our family members and asks for evidence of our faith in the private sphere, they better be able to give a good report without lying!  If they can't then we walk not in the truth.

There are actually three levels of public life. ( family life crosses over into private as well.) Some deceivers are able act falsely in all three. They are the self we present to our family, the self we present to our church and the self we present to the world. We  must walk in truth consistently in all three to be a faithful witness. 

It is also a problem of equal magnitude if we are champions privately and freeloaders in church and sinners to the world. Our witness to the world is vital if we are to for fill the Great Commission and make disciples.

  Oh Lord grant us more of you Grace that we might repent of our shortcomings,failures and pride and live truly and faithfully as your representatives, your image bearers, that the light of your Glory might shine brightly in us and pierce the darkness around us.

Fullness

The most common feeling of fullness in this life comes when we over indulge in food. The flesh makes the calculation that if food is good then more food must be better. And this is true for one small part of the body, the taste buds! However the rest of the body must carry the burden of excess consumption.
When I say burden I am reminded that as a 'tramper' (hiker or bush walker) the most light footed experience comes with a light pack (burden), heaviness generally keeps us weighted down to the earth, when in our hearts we would love to soar with the eagles.

There is a fullness that does actually reduces the force of gravity on our beings. Joy.
And there is a food can fill us with joy. The Bread of Heaven.

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven
Feed me now and evermore.
Feed me now and evermore.

Open thou the crystal fountain
Whence the healing stream shall flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer
Be thou still my strength and shield.
Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side:
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever give to thee.
I will ever give to thee.

- See more at: http://www.breadofheaven.me.uk/bread-of-heaven-lyrics/#sthash.fRtyjolZ.dpuf

I actually thought the lyrics where 'Feed me till I want no more'  thus I am full. But the idea is similar because this fullness means that we will not hunger evermore, or thirst.

Christ gave His life so that we can eat and drink of Him. And therefore live eternally.

Joy and peace are similar, Peace is pure contentment lacking no good thing nor fearing the loss of such. Joy is the completeness  and security of knowing our place is sure in Christ and that we can enjoy His fellowship now and evermore.

Psalm 16

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory

A Michtam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.

5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Yours presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  

Its all here. The entire Gospel of our Mighty Deliverer
Verse 5 is what I have been talking about above O Lord you are my food and drink my, my place, eternal securer and my sustain-er. Also my Redeemer as expressed in vs 2  'I am not good or Holy',' I cannot merit my own salvation' but  "you will not leave my soul in Sheol" vs 10.

Vs 7 Speaks of night seasons or periods of darkness in which we receive instruction. I might be just coming to the end of one of these 'tunnel's' other wise know as depression, black cloud, black dog etc. but there is a light at the end. And as we know we never appreciate wellness as much as after being healed of some illness, or we never appreciate a house until ours is burned to the ground, so we never really love The Light of the World until we have been without Him by wondering into darkness.
 I sought no help other than seeking the aid of the Great Counselor  and by His Grace I heard his voice calling me back. The Good Shepherd called and I knew His voice and followed Him back to the paths of Life and refreshing waters. Although I would not choose to go though that again, I know that I love Him more now, I depend on Him more and trust Him more deeply than ever. He really is my strength and my righteousness  He really is my All.

So I have been piggybacking off the inspiration of others by listening to uplifting sermons and singing. But lately I am so full  of joy, That I need to spend hours thanking the Lord and talking with Him One  on one. Its a wonderful season that I pray will produce lasting fruit in my life, and that I can share my joy with those about me.