OUTSIDE THE BOX

Dear friend, After last night's heavy lesson on philosophy and world view I thought I'd work some thoughts into a new poem; I'm still contemplating the question from "Tour One", a good question: Do I really believe what I believe? and haven't finished that one yet. This truth stuff can be rather heady, but there's no better addiction on earth to be found! Encouraged in Christ (or am I?), Jeff

The Truth Project  Tour Two - Session 2

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Here on the inside,
Searching for the truth;
We must sort through lies,
Which bear no lasting fruit.

Here on the inside,
Working with all the answers;
We cannot forget JESUS CHRIST,
Who came to bring what really matters.

Here on the inside,
Learning how to really live;
We must stay in the Only Light,
That leads our souls to holy discipline.

Here on the inside,
Thirsting after hope and love;
We mustn't lay The Lord aside,
Who is grace and truth from Above.

Here on the inside,
Worshiping men and rocks and calling them gods;

We must surrender our hearts and return to what is right,
The One and Only Source of eternal wisdom outside the box.

JEPollock
09282009

WISDOM

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THE TRUTH PROJECT
http://thetruthproject.org
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The Book of JOHN from All About GOD:
http://AllAboutGod.com/book-of-john.htm

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"Sin is not an unfortunate slip or a regrettable act;
it is a posture of defiance against a holy God." -- ML

HOLY FOR YOU

Father, Abba Father,

Give me holy strength;

Help me fight harder,

Against sin and hate.

Jesus, Savior Jesus,

Let me know your grace;

Hold me when I try to run,

And make my getaway.

Spirit, Holy Spirit,

Stay me to Your course;

Please hear me when cry for mercy,

But don't forget to consider the source.

Perfect God, Three in One,

Thank You for Your wondrous Love;

Heal my heart and make it new,

Only then will I live wholly for You.

JEFFREYEPOLLOCK

September2009

The Examined Life We've heard it said, and it proves to be true, the unexamined life is not worth living. If we flow through life without evaluating who we are and what we believe, we have not really lived. Deep down, we all desire to take a stand and live according to a consistent set of beliefs. This requires a boldness to explore beneath the surface of our beliefs, into our very soul! Without this boldness we may give the appearance of living, and may even fool ourselves for a number of years, but there will always be an emptiness until we look deep within and deal with what we find. God knows every detail of our heart; "Everything is uncoveredand laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give ac-count" (Hebrews 4:13). But our Heavenly Father desires for us to know our own heart as we are being transformed; "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves" (2 Corinthians 13:5). As we seek to understand who we are - with all our hidden motives, pride, and selfishness - we find we're somewhat difficult to understand. Without the spiritual help which God freely gives, there will be parts of our life which remain covered and dark. There may also be portions of our heart we would rather not face. Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and l ead me in the way everlasting." It's foolish to think we can hide anything from God! It's equally foolish to intentionally close areas of our heart from examination when we know those areas are keeping us separated from God. What do we really believe? And are we living consistent with that belief? We have been given God's Word as a guide, "a lamp to my feet" (Psalm 119:105). And as we dig deeper into His Word, we find the same lamp which guides our steps also reveals our heart: "The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being" (Proverbs 20:27). Using God's Word to truly examine our heart can be painful. It seems we strip back one layer only to expose additional layers of sin we didn't even know we had; but this process must continue without fear! If we desire to live in His presence and bring Him glory and honor in all we do, we must determine today to know ourselves. We must know what we believe, with all our strengths and weaknesses, and know our level of resolve to follow where He leads. Let's open our heart and allow His Spirit to search and wash us with His Word. Let's follow according to a consistent belief and commit to living the examined life. Have a Christ Centered Day! Steve Troxel God's Daily Word Ministries ***************************************************** Send Invitation: http://www.gdwm.org/invite.htm Encouragement: http://www.gdwm.org/verses/ Blog: http://www.gdwm-blog.org *****************************************************

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Home > Devotionals > My Utmost for His Highest

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Destined To Be Holy . . . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ -1 Peter 1:16 We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the mean- time God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God. Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atone- ment through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer. Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

MORE My Utmost for His Highest <<> NEXT DAY >> My Utmost RSS Feed All Heartlight Feeds Christianbook.com offers several print versions of My Utmost For His Highest. Search:

John 14:5-7 (in Context)

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth,

and the life. No one comes to the Father

except through Me.

LIFE WITHIN MY GRASP

It must have been awful up on The Cross

To not have your Son-Light recognized

You were content to be my everything

You will always go before me

You are The Truth most never see

Who leads the Way from cradle to grave

Jesus, an all-too-common name

The Son of God who came to save

I think You know that You're my Hero

The Joy and Salvation of my soul

Jesus, You alone give me faith to ask

For You are The Life within my grasp

Jeffrey E Pollock

August 22 2009

I admit the following song was the main
inspiration for that poem; YOU MAY
NOTICE SOME SIMILARITIES.

WIND BENEATH MY WINGS

It must have been cold there in my shadow,

To never have the sunlight on your face.

You've been content to see me shine.

You always walked a step behind.

I was the one with all the glory

While you were the one with all strain.

Only a face without a name.

I never once heard you complain.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

And everything I'd like to be?

I can fly higher than an eagle,

For you are the wind beneath my wings.

---Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar

"Wind Beneath My Wings," lyrics and music by Larry Henley and
Jeff Silbar (ASCAP). Copyright © 1982 by WB Gold Music Corp.,
(Admin. by Warner Chappell Music).

If the blind put their hand in God's they find their way more surely than those who see but have not faith or purpose. -- Helen Keller Sparked by that quote this is an example of one of my favorite poetry exercises: where you begin and finish the poem with the same word and start each line with the word that ended the line before while trying (this is the hard part) to make the whole poem make sense; although if you want to be technical the first and last words are not the same but thought I'd share this one. Enjoy! CLOSE YOUR EYES Close your eyes and see, See your world in the dark; Dark and blue sky come together, Together like clouds in midnight dreams. Dreams tell their own stories, Stories so full of anxiety and joy; Joy and worry paint fading pictures, Pictures made with watercolors in the rain. Rain falls against the windows, Windows shut against raging storms, Storms of life: storms of anger, storms of sorrow, Sorrow like bloody tears falling from the eyes of Christ. Christ and Christ alone opens our hearts, Hearts with eyes closed in fear of what will get in; In place of sorrow He gives joy, for anger grace, Grace withstands faithless fury and holds the sainted sinner close. Jeffrey E Pollock August 13, 2009 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.[b] 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him. EPHESIANS 1 OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD I WANT TO SEE YOU

Hebrews 13:5

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

GOD WON'T LEAVE

God won't leave you lying,

On the far side of the road;

He won't leave you dying,

And not offer Living Hope.

Jesus won't leave you thirsty,

Leaning on the Fountain of True Life;

The Lord won't leave you searching,

When you're looking for His Light.

God won't leave you crying,

In the belly of a whale;

He won't leave you trying,

To discern a great fish tale.

Jesus Christ won't leave us wanting,

When HE IS exactly what we need;

God hasn't left His children hungry,

We have His Truth to set us free!

Jeffree!
August 2009

Joshua 1:5

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

www.bible-guide-online.com/inspirational-
bible-verses-never-leave-nor-forsake.htm

Duet. 31:6

"[T]he LORD your God goes with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you."

WHISTLIN' IN THE DARK

Ephesians 3:17-19 "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge."

HOW DEEP THE LOVE‏

How wide the arms that took us in,
Fastened securely to a wooden beam;
How wide the eyes that look within,
Forgiven in Truth we are set free.

How long the patience that forgives,
The length of eternity waits for me;
How long the pressure of heady sins,
Held the Lamb of God upon that beam.

How high the power that heals hearts,
Strengthened in Spirit by purest joy;
How high the passion of Our Master's art,
Redeemed by Blood the prodigals rejoice.

How deep the love that suffered my death,
The depth of pain endured to cancel sin;
How deep the love that conquered hell,  
Dissolved our chains and bid us live!  

 J. E. Pollock  
 July 12, 2009  

In the last hours of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke with His disciples and gave a command which was considered new: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). Should this command really have been new? Shouldn't the disciples have known they were to love one another? Or is it possible to spend three years with a Master Teacher and yet not under- stand that learning must translate to action, and that we teach truth by first being an example of truth? If we desire to teach love, we must first be loving; to teach the concept of grace, we must first be gracious; and in order to "make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19), we must begin by first being a true disciple! As I continue to study and learn the wonderful truths of God's Word - and as I diligently try to teach these truths to others - I never want to stop at simply being better educated: "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22). I'll be the first to admit that I fall short in many ways, but I sin- cerely strive to make His Word real and apply it in all areas of my life. Our spiritual growth must never be measured by how much we know, but by how much we are transformed- by how much the Word pen- etrates to the innermost part of our heart. We have all been blessed by God's love far more than we deserve. We must now better under- stand this love and then learn how to become His expression of love to others. Ephesians 3:17-19 "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge." The ultimate expression of love was that God gave His Son to an undeserving world so "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is a love we will never fully understand. Paul had such a deep appreciation for the love contained inGod's plan of Salvation through the sacrificial gift of Jesus,that he was often completely overwhelmed; "When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father" (Eph 3:14). When we begin to truly grasp His love, all we can do is say, Thank You! Let's pray for a greater understanding of His love and then return His love through a de- voted life of worship. Let's makeHis love real by demonstrating love to those He places in our path. Let's begin to grasp, and then give back and share, the true love of Christ. Have a Christ Centered Day! Steve Troxel God's Daily Word Ministries

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