Tag Archives: God

Water Before Spirit and Spirit Before Water

Posted by on April 14, 2012 No comments

For centuries the Christian Church has debated the connection between a believer being baptized with water and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The fact is they are related, but can be separated by time and space.

There are two passages in particular that speak to this fact.
 

Water Before Spirit:

In Acts 8:12-17 we have an example of Water Before Spirit.

Phillip goes down to Samaria and preaches the Gospel. As he does Acts 8:12 says,  "They believed the preaching of Phillip and we being baptized, men and women alike."

Then in Acts 8:14-17 we are told that "when the apostles heard that Samaria had received the word of God, Peter and John went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They laid hands upon them and they were receiving the Holy Spirit."

Here we have clear evidence that the Water Baptism precedes the Holy Spirit.
 

Spirit Before Water:

In Acts 10: 44-48 Peter is speaking to Gentiles in the home of Cornelius the Centurion. As he does it says, "the Holy Spirit fell upon those who were listening to the message."

After this, Peter said, "No one can refuse the water for these to be baptized as they have received the Holy Spirit, just as we did."

Peter then ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Here we have clear evidence that the Holy Spirit precedes the Water Baptism.


Conclusion:

In both of the above cases it should be understood that, although, from our perspective these events are separated by time and space, in God they are one in Christ.

© 2012, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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The Oracle Is, There Is No Oracle

Posted by on February 8, 2012 No comments

Jeremiah says that no one will remember the oracle of the Lord because it has been drowned out by every man's own word. So long have they listened to their own words that they no longer hear the oracle of the Lord. Each think their own words are now the oracle of the Lord.

So to this situation, where every man has his own oracle of the Lord, Jeremiah says the true oracle of the Lord is “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord’”. (Jeremiah 23:36-38)

This new oracle from the Lord creates the ultimate dilemma. Anyone who says “an oracle from the Lord” their words are false because the Lord’s oracle is “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord’”. If they do not say, “the oracle of the Lord”, then they have no oracle from the Lord and they are forced to sit in silence.

The oracle is the Word of the Lord. It is the presence of the Lord in their midst guiding them. Now, without the oracle of the Lord the Word of the Lord does not come into their presence by the active spoken word. Rather, the Lord’s presence is now only found in silence.

If the Lord never speaks, they have the Lord. If they say the Lord speaks, they do not have the Lord. This separates God from their day to day life where they speak.

As far as silence is from the spoken word so far is God from their current life.

In this silence they must listen to the echo of their own false oracles. In silence they are forced to leave their daily life. Only in silence may they touch God.

God is in the silence. In the silence God is their Lord.

© 2012, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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The Nike Prophecy

Posted by on February 1, 2012 No comments

Everyday on the street and at the baseball/softball training facility where I give lessons, I see kids and even adults wearing a shirt with the Nike trademarked slogan, "Just Do It". The idea behind this is, to make things happen, to reach our goals, "WE have to do it!".

This is the essence of what I call "The Nike Prophecy" which can be found in Ezekiel 18:1ff. Here the prophet lays out a new process for determining who is righteous and unrighteous.

"But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness,… if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully-he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 18:5 & 9)

Then Ezekiel says that if a father does evil he is unrighteous and will die. But if his son, even after observing all the evil acts his father did, does not follow after his father, and does not do likewise, he will not die for his father's iniquity, but will live.

"Now behold, he has a son who has observed all his father's sins which he committed, and observing does not do likewise…he will not die for his father's iniquity, he will surely live. As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity. (Ezekiel 18:14 & 17 & 18)

The prophet Ezekiel's message is simple. It is no longer genetics; It is not your mother, father, family, tribe, nation or where you were born that determines who you are and will be. Rather, it is what you do with what you have that is the determining factor.

Simply put, "It is not your birth, it is your choices that determines who you are and will be".

This simple yet powerful concept opens up options and realities as never before.

  1. First it eliminates family status. The fact that one may come from a prominent family does not make one righteous.
     
  2. Second it prevents the marginalization of those who are not from the right family or neighborhood.
     
  3. Third, since it is not about family, blood line or genetics but about the choices one makes, one can not only be different than their family, they can also be different today from what they were yesterday. The righteous man can become unrighteous by his choices. The unrighteous man can become righteous by his choices. And if the unrighteous can become righteous then repentance and forgiveness takes precedence over family, tribe and nation.
    .
    "But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:21-23)
     
  4. Fourth, free choice has been restored. Things are no longer determined by a theocracy, plutocracy, ochlocracy, democracy, aristocracy, but a meritocracy. It is each person's merit that is the determining factor.
     
  5. Fifth, responsibility has been restored. One can no longer maintain righteousness based on their status apart from their actions. Now righteousness is determined by ones actions. This makes each person responsible for who they are based on what they do, not who they know or where they come from.

Ezekiel's message frees us from our past. But this is only done through our own actions. Thus, this makes us accountable. Our freedom does not make us less responsible, rather it makes us more responsible for what we do, who we are, and who we become.

Such a simple change that brings a mighty result. We are no longer determined by our birth or our past. We are now liberated. We are now accountable. We are now responsible.

Now we have no one to blame but ourselves.

This is Ezekiel's message. This is Ezekiel's prophecy. This is Ezekiel's Word from the Lord. And once the Lord's Word goes forth it does not come back empty.

"So just do it!"

© 2012, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Appended Mind

Posted by on February 25, 2011 No comments

The central part of the Old Testament teaching was “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength”. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

In the Gospels, to the first and greatest of all the commandments, Christ appends mind — “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”. Luke 10:27

Echoing this, Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:1 and following, addresses the contrast between those who speak in tongues and those who prophesy. All though he wishes that all would speak in tongues, even more so he wishes that all would prophesy. Why?

Because when a person speaks in tongues, if there is no one to interpret the tongues, only he who speaks is edified. But when a person  prophesies, the entire church is edified.

Paul says that those who speak in tongues do not speak to men but to God. Those who prophesy, speaks to men's edification, exhortation and comfort.

Prophecy takes precedence over tongues because it loves God with the mind. Even though tongues come from the Spirit, they are secondary to prophecy because they remain a mystery to the mind. As Paul says,

2) For the one who speaks in tongues does not speak to men, but to God; for no one understands except in the Spirit he speaks mysteries.
3) But one who prophesies speaks to men edification…
5)Greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets the tongues so that he church may receive edification.
— 1 Corinthians 14:2-5

The value of the spiritual gift is determined by the extent to which it edifies the mind. When the mind is edified we love God with that portion that Christ appended to the command "Love the Lord your God…" In this we love with the mind appended. In this we love God completely.
 

© 2011, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Silence Before Evil Refrains from Good

Posted by on November 17, 2010 No comments

When events place us in a bad situation and things are not going right, we attempt to take back control of the situation through a process of elimination. But as we eliminate events, even though we may halt the bad and even the evil within these events, we also are then cut off from the good that could arise from these events if we would just step up and act.

For it is through us, those who are bothered by the evil events around us, that the good that would transform these events would come. So when we shut down, when we become silent in the face of evil, we not only cut off the evil from us, but we cut off the good we would bring to the event and to the land.

It is in these types of situations that we can contribute to God's creation. But we can only do so if we do not remain silent. And here in lies the issue — we must speak out for good in the presence of the evil. We must take the risk.

So in Psalm 39 the Psalmist at first convinced himself that to remain silent would be an appropriate protest to the evil around him. But his silence in the presence of evil even cut off the good that he could offer.

I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.

I was mute and silent,
I refrained even from good,
And my sorrow grew worse.

His courage to speak out will only come when he remembers,

Lord , make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.

When we are mindful of the limits of this life in comparison to the eternal, we understand that we cannot control our outcome by remaining silent. Silence in this life may cut us off from evil in this life, but it does not provide any benefit in eternity.

In fact, since this life is but a breath when compared to our eternal existence, we should no longer fear speaking out against the evil in this world that will soon end.

In the end, our courage to act comes from the knowledge that this life is but a breath.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Compressed Lips Chases Equality with God

Posted by on September 23, 2010 No comments

"He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass."
(Proverbs 16:30)

The discipline of Body Language says that when a person compresses their lips they are holding back information and truth.

When we hold back truth it allows events to flow in directions towards which they were never intended to flow.

Do those who compress the lips and hold back truth, hold back truth that will allow events to move in a direction where they will benefit others more than themselves? Or do those who compress the lips withhold information to give them the advantage over others? Surely the later is true.

And herein lies the issue.

When we compress the lip and withhold information what we are really doing is we are trying to get what we want outside the truth. We are saying that the full information, the truth of life that God created, will not give us what we want so we will attempt to manipulate the situation to get it.

But in so doing we have said the truth of life is less than what we desire. And since God created this life, and the truth of this life, any time we attempt to get what we want outside this truth of life, we make ourselves equal to God.

And this is the evil that is brought to pass.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Silence Before Evil Refrains From Good

Posted by on July 17, 2010 No comments

When events place us in a difficult situation and things are not going right, we often attempt to take back control of the situation through a process of elimination. But as we eliminate events, even though we may halt the bad, and even the evil within these events, we also are then cut off from the good that could arise from these events if we would just step up and act.

For it is through us, those who are bothered by the evil events around us, that the good that would transform these events is to come. So when we shut down, when we become silent in the face of evil, we not only cut off the evil from us, but we also cut off the good we would bring to these events and to the land.

More than any other time, it is in these types of situations that we can contribute to God's creation. But we can only do so if we do not remain silent. And here in lies the issue — we must speak out for good in the presence of the evil. This means we must take the risk.

So in Psalm 39 the Psalmist at first convinces himself that to remain silent would be an appropriate protest to the evil around him. But his silence in the presence of evil also cut off any good he could contribute to the situation.

I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.

I was mute and silent,
I refrained even from good,
And my sorrow grew worse.

His courage to speak out will only comes when he remembers,

Lord , make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.

When we are mindful of the limits of this life in comparison to the eternal, we understand that we cannot control our outcome by remaining silent. Silence in this life may cut us off from evil in this life, but it does not provide any benefit in eternity.

In fact, since this life is but a breath when compared to our eternal existence, we should no longer fear speaking out against the evil in this world that will soon end.

In the end, our courage to act comes from the knowledge that this life is but a breath. Our courage to act comes when we understand and acknowledge that this life pails in comparison to the eternal. The courage to act comes when we are guided by the eternal rather than this passing life.

© 2010 – 2011, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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All Blessings Overtake You

Posted by on June 29, 2010 No comments

"All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 28:2)

Reading this passage I was struck by the term "overtake" you. This is a very interesting phrase. The idea that God's blessing will "overtake" us is a very powerful image. Especially when we understand that this term is also used to describe military actions such as pursing, coming upon, overwhelming and thus gaining victory over the enemy.

In other words, when we follow God's commands and teachings, even though from our perspective it may not seem to be beneficial, God has promised that His blessings will overtake us like an army that pursues and overtakes the enemy on the battle field.

This is an important concept that many often miss. Some see blessings as a passive process. But God is clear that His blessings are not passive but active and even aggressive to the point that they will pursue us and overtake us.

It is comforting to know that God's blessings are not passive and something we have to look for or seek out. Rather, when we honor and obey God, His blessings find us.

So here is my prayer for those of you who are reading this;

"May God pursue you and overtake you with His blessings. And may this be today!"

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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God’s Provisions Endless With Time Limits

Posted by on June 21, 2010 No comments

In Joshua 5:11-12 it states that:

"On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and parched grain. The manna ceased on that day after they ate some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan that year."

As Israel set out from Egypt to the promise land, part of this transition included passing through the desert, During this transition, God provided food for them in the form of manna. This lasted up to the moment they entered the promise land and ate of the fruit of that land.

During any journey through life, whether as an individual, as a family or as a group of believers, we will hit a point of transition from one way of life to another. During these times of transition, we cannot produce from the old way of life what we will need in the new life. It is at these points of transition in life that God enters and provides for us. However, once we have transitioned from the previous life to the new, that provision needs to end.

This is the message in Joshua 5:11-12. As Israel transitioned from a people in slavery to a self sustaining nation, God provided for them during this transition. But once they entered on the other side of this transition, God ceased to provide and they became responsible for this part of their life.

So many of us, as we go through a transition, find that God steps up and takes care of us. Once we have completed this transition, we wonder why God is no longer with us in the same way He was during our transition.

Actually He is, its just that what He once had to do for us, in the same way a parent does things for a child, He now is able to hand over to us so we can do it for ourselves. This does not mean God is not with us any longer. Rather, what use to come to us as a gift from outside, and appeared to be miraculous, now comes to us through a more natural process. And yet God is no less present in this than He was in the miraculous.

Just as God provided manna until the people of Israel entered and ate of the fruit of the land, so also for us, during times of transition, God will provide for us until the time when we can do so for ourselves. This does not mean God has left us, rather it means we have successfully transitioned into our new life.

In fact our attempt to hold on to how God comes to us during times of transition, will only cut us off from taking full possession of the our new promise land He intends for us.

God's provisions are boundless. But God's provisions have time limits. Failure to acknowledge the time limits creates stagnation in the transition rather than entrance into the promise land.

© 2010 – 2011, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Not Belief but Confession Allows Entry into God’s Glory

Posted by on May 27, 2010 No comments

John 12:40 says, “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”

John the writes in 12:41, "This Isaiah said because he (Isaiah) saw His (the Lord's) glory and he spoke concerning him."

So what John is saying is Isaiah saw the glory of our Lord and prophesied that when some men saw it, they would not be drawn to it, rather they would be blinded by this glory.

John gives proof of this in 12:42 "Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;"

So there were many who believed. And among these many of these were rulers (people of high standing in their community). But even though they believed in Christ, they would not confess him because they feared being cut off from the synagogue.

John then concludes this section by saying, " for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God."

Two points:

  1. 1.The term translated "cut off from the synagogue" is the Greek term ἀποσυνάγωγοι. It comes from the root wood άγω which literally mean lead or bring. It is then given the prefix of συν which means with, in company with or together. Thus the meaning of συνάγωγ (synagogue) is assembly or Jewish place of worship. It also takes on the meaning of the "holy assembly" because God is present in the assembly of his people.

    So the Greek term ἀποσυνάγωγοι is συνάγωγοι with the prefix ἀπο added. ἀπο means "from" or "away from". This gives the meaning of being "put out of the synagogue.

    But remembering the original meaning of συνάγωγ, that it is the holy gathering of God's people. So to be cut off from this literally means to be cut off from the holy or sacred assembly or the holy presence of God among His people.
     

  2. The Greek term translated "approval" in verse 42 is δόξαν which is usually translated "glory". Literally it means "what is not concealed", "denotes the recognition which anyone finds of a person or what belongs to him". It then moves to the meaning of "appearance, form or aspect" or "that appearance of a person that attracts attention or COMMANDS recognition, splendor, brilliance, glory". It is not the person themselves that attracts attention but the appearance that attracts attention".

Basically what John is saying is, "They want an appearance that is acknowledges and recognized by man rather than the "glory" or "appearance" of Christ. Even though they believed in Christ, and believed Christ was true, they could not confess this because they would loose the recognition among men. They would be cut off from the holy among men.

The reason the above is important is we Christians today, when we see in Scripture the terms, "Jews", Jewish Rulers or synagogues, we can too easily attribute the content of these passages to "them" the Jews rather than open up the possibility that this content could just as easily apply to us.

In light of this, it is important that we not stop at "put out of the synagogue" because it is too easy to then assume this passage does not apply to us, today. Rather, we need to dig deeper into the base meaning of the terms as I outlined above. In this case what we discover is the rulers who believed in Jesus, would not openly confess to this because they feared being "cut off from the sacred gathering" or they feared being cut off from what men honored as sacred because they preferred the "appearance or glory" of the connection to the "assembly" to the connection to the glory of the truth that Christ represented.

Most Christians do not belong to a synagogue, but we do choose to follow those persons and groups whose appearance would give us an advantage in the appearance of being holy. And we often do this even when following these persons or group works in direct opposition to the work of Christ and service to Him.

When we do this we are just like the Jewish Rulers who preferred the "glory" of men rather than the "glory" of God.
 

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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