|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

Jesus only taught one doctrine: John 5:19 NKJV — Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. He taught this one doctrine many ways.  "Take up your cross," "deny yourself," "follow me," "do everything to be seen by God and not man," "my sheep hear my voice," etc...  everything Jesus taught was that man should not lead himself, but must hear and see God and do what God says. Any other doctrine is false. That makes the doctrine of Jesus PRAYER.  Not talking at God, but rather listening to God.  This was also the apostle's doctrine. Acts 2:40-47 NKJV — And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued s...

To be after God's heart is to fully embrace the precepts of His mind, will, and emotions. A precept is a rule or direction that guides behavior or action. It can also be a general rule that helps people decide how to act in certain situations.  Synonyms: prescription, instruction, guide, order, and directive.  The "pre" in precept is "before." Before the circumstance you believe in the principle of how God sees, and expects us to agree with, truth. The "cept" in precept is "take." Pre-take God's word for it. If you agree with God's precepts, you don't need to make a decision in every circumstance.  You know it before the circumstance. For instance, if I believe in the precept that my wisdom is foolishness to God, I stop wasting time trying to find the wise thing to do, and I simply ask God and believe what He shows me in faith.  I start with the premise that a faint answer from God is certainly better than my misleading confidence...

To be a witness of Yeshua is to be a witness of someone who trusts God. If my witness becomes that of a person: -trying to save his career and burdened with worry. -trying to save his resources and burdened with effort. -trying to save my marriage and burdened with control. -trying to save my reputation and burdened with selfish ambition. -trying to save his church and burdened with disappointment. -trying to save his family and burdened with opinions. -trying to save his country and burdened with uncertainty. -trying to extend God's kingdom and burdened with accusation, judgment, and fear. -Etc. Then I'm not a witness of Jesus'.   Jesus isn't worried, disappointed, burdened, afraid, opinionated... Right now, in heaven, all the angels and elders see a Man alive.  They see a Lamb who was rescued from death. They see a Man vindicated for being faithful, while still waiting for a kingdom.  Witnesses of Jesus are like Him: Hebrews 11:35-40 NKJV — Women received their dea...

 Heaven isn't fighting for a righteous earth. Satan is.  He wants to be God. Heaven has already won the battle for a righteous earth.  Heaven fights for those who want to come out of the world. Satan is fighting to keep people in the world. John 17:9-21 NKJV — “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. “And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them beca...

It's much more important to pass through the season of testing learning meekness than to save your world. Only the meek will inherit the earth. Jesus already saved the world.  It's finished.  If I want into His world, I have to get into His emotions, thoughts, and will.  Jesus handled resistance, persecution, wind and waves a certain way.  Jesus already picked the life He lives.  If I want to be with Him, I need to pick that life, too. Listen to Yeshua's character in the face of injustice, uncertainty, and love growing cold: Isaiah 42:1-7 NKJV — “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,  My Elect One in whom My soul delights!  I have put My Spirit upon Him;  H e will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,  Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, a nd smoking flax He will not quench;  He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged,t ill H...

Worship begins with sight.  God is enthroned on praise and worship. What I look at determines what I become. Revelation 4:8-11 NLT — Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.  For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” Jesus heard the Father continually,  John 12:29-30 NLT — When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others...

IYKYK: Externality is an expression of uncertainty. It's looking for agreement with people so it can be confident about God. Internality is an expression of intimacy and confident faith.  It reaches for God, not man, so it can be confident agreeing with Him.   An internal connection will always overflow to the world around that one powerful internal connection in a way that is like God: peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, joyful, self controlled, loving, and good...  Confidence in God makes me confident in the way I relate to people.  A person growing in an abiding relationship with God isn't threatened by people.  They can freely love enemies.   External people are shaky/unstable.  They are easily put into fear of man by the way people relate to them. The kingdom is only coming one way: inside out. Matthew 23:5-13 NKJV — “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments....

All my emotions about loving God aren't the same as actually loving Him. A person can feel all kinds of emotions while still walking in selfishness.  Sincerity is very different from obedience. The only way to love God is to believe in who He says He is.  If I really believe in who God says He is and who He says I am, I would see all fear, uncertainty, anxiety, doubt, jealousy, selfish ambition, and manipulative ideas flee from my mind, will, and emotions.  Obviously, there is room for me to grow. Perfect love casts out fear. Emotions convince me I love God and I feel good in myself about my relationship with God... All the while, I can harbor accusations against Him. God knows the difference between truth and emotions.  Me feeling good about my relationship with Him is different than Him feeling good about it.  He is truth.  My sincere emotions hide from my mind that my uncertainty about the future is really an accusation against God and who He says He is ...

Whatever I put my trust in becomes my god. The worst hope is a vain hope. This is because it will fail at exactly the wrong moment. God will see to it that He is the only hope of the world. The wise settle it now. When the whole world says "peace and safety" but that peace and safety isn't in turning to God, you can be sure sudden destruction will quickly follow on the heels of false hope. Listen. Be a light in the darkness. Babylon has a hope, but it isn't the Lord. Babylon has unity, but God isn't in the center of it. Babylon has a plan, but it isn't from the Lord. Babylon has strength, but it will be turned against all who trust in it. Look at the history of the world and the history of God's people. Psalm 33:12-22 NKJV — Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; He...

The biggest threat in my life to hearing and obeying God is my own emotional traffic. Emotions mimic the experience of being in the presence of God. Something feeling powerful isn't the same as something being powerful. This takes sobriety and a true desire to let God into the secret places of my heart. I can discern between the lies my emotions tell me and the truth God tells me by the transformation of my will. It's only as I trade my will for God's that I am truly changing. Believing change is necessary isn't the same as letting God change me. Wanting God is very different from yielding to God. Being sincere is often where I get stuck in the journey of becoming wholehearted. This is because if I believe I really "love God" I can easily pacify the requirement to obey Him. Sincerity often becomes the kill switch to embracing poverty. God is looking for me to embrace poverty, not my own sincerity. God judges sincerity by what it actually produced in me. F...