Jesus, God's Wisdom

God deliver me!

Jesus is much more than just a very wise man.  He is literally the wisdom of God.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” I Corn. 1:30-31

In Jesus all the wisdom of God is hidden and that same wisdom is now hidden in every disciple because Jesus abides in every disciple.

For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Col. 2:1-3

May God deliver me from arguments that are convincing but are not Jesus’ wisdom.
May God deliver me from the idea that I am wiser because I studied theology.
May God deliver me from the conviction that I gained wisdom from leading churches.
May God deliver me from the subtle desire to be wiser than Jesus by explaining what He meant instead of simply saying what He said.
May God deliver me from trying to find a single subject where I can be wiser and more intelligent than Jesus.
May God deliver me from my own wisdom.

When God really does deliver me from all that convinces me except Jesus, I will be free to live the wisdom which is hidden in Jesus who is abiding in me.

Bud McCord

Abide International

My Entire Christian Life

The entire Christian life I will ever live is Jesus in me. The new essential fact about me is I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.

Each day and moment by moment I must consider myself dead to sin which once inspired and governed my life and alive to God who now inspires and governs me through my eternal union to the Spirit of Christ.

Any attempt on my part to blend what was my old life inspired by sin with what now is my new life inspired by the life of God in Christ will only destroy my peace, stop my love and cause my soul to fall from the grace of Christ within.

I must identify continuously  and put off immediately the old things of my old life which no longer match my new life in Christ. Having begun once and forever my new life in Christ by the Spirit I must live once and forever by the Spirit which is my new inspiration and freedom to love.

The only attention my old life deserves is the time it takes me to say to it when I hear it call from its grave is "I am dead to you and alive to God in Christ!"  The time my new life in Christ needs my attention is 24/7 and moment by moment. As I give Jesus in me by the Spirit my undivided attention He will reveal more and more of my entire Christian He is to me and through me.

"For to me to live is Christ" is not a fancy Christian motto I enjoy. It is the entire normal Christian life I live. It is same truth Jesus taught me when he called me to abide in Him as the true Vine who is my entire Christian life.

My entire Christian life already lives in me!  It is Jesus!
Your entire Christian life already lives in you!  It is Jesus!

Bud McCord

Abide International

Not Biblical Enough

The people who most resisted Jesus during his ministry were the Pharisees.  The Pharisees of Jesus’ day considered themselves to be the final word on all Biblical interpretation and practice.  Tragically, they were so fixated on teaching others the Scriptures they failed to be Biblical enough.

In a moment of confrontation Jesus clearly tells the Pharisees their Biblical search had not yielded the true Biblical goal.

And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 

 John 5:37-40

The Pharisees could not see that the Scriptures are all about Jesus.  The mark of all Bible teaching that is not Biblical enough is Jesus is missed  even though He is clearly revealed through the Scriptures.

To all who teach the Scriptures these words of Jesus in John 5 should give reason to be very careful. If our search of the Scriptures does not make us clearly see, hear, love and live Jesus then we are not Biblical enough.

No matter how passionate and authoritative a Bible teacher seems to be, listen carefully to see if the beginning and end of the teaching is Jesus.  Anything less than seeing, hearing, loving and living Jesus is just not Biblical enough.

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Hidden

“…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Col. 2:3

Christianity is meant to be mysterious.  Everything about Jesus and the Father is mysterious and unexpected.

When we try and make Christianity a list of doctrines, principles and techniques for living we don’t diminish Christianity.  We diminish ourselves.  We need mystery.  We need something for which we search.

Jesus is where we search.  Once we have found Jesus as our Saviour it is only the beginning of discovering the mysterious love of the Father.

How we can be forgiven by the Father is perhaps the greatest of all mysteries Jesus solves for us, but from forgiveness we begin to uncover all the hidden things of the Father for us in Christ.

If your experience with the Father and  Jesus is not mysterious, then you missed the mystery that you need to keep you searching in Jesus for all the treasure the Father has given us.
 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Spirituality and Attention

Spirituality and attention are forever linked. The focus of your attention will determine what controls and inspires you to behave as you do today.

In Psalm 1 the man who meditates on the law of the Lord (God's intentions) will live an abundant life and have success as a human being. The key is the continuous focus on what God wants with a desire to cooperate.

Do you have habits that keep your focus on what a God wants? Create some very simple habits that immediately focus you on Jesus.  Jesus is everything God wants for you and from you today!

As your day begins put your hand over your heart and say "Jesus, you are welcome here!".  During the day stop several times and say "Jesus, You are my life."

Whatever gets your attention gets you!  So simple yet so true.

Bud McCord

Abide International

The Knowledge of Evil

When Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they got their first taste of knowing personally what evil is.  Human history is the story of each of person getting a taste for evil and paying the price for this taste in pain, misery and death.

When Jesus came as the last Adam He was born with no taste for evil and never tasted evil when tempted.   With no taste for evil He became the bread of life we now eat to rid ourselves of our own taste for evil.  As we eat from Jesus’ holy life day by day we lose our taste for evil and begin to live only to love with Him.

The first Adam introduced us to the taste of evil. The last Adam takes away our taste for evil one day at a time.   Eating from the bread of life day by day we will lose forever our taste for evil.

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Is Jesus Enough?

Is Jesus Enough?

Each generation and each person must answer the question “Is Jesus Enough?.” It may inspire us to know that others felt He was enough in the past.  Even so, we must know He is  enough right now.

Consider this inspired statement written by the Apostle Paul nearly 2000 years ago.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,  and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”  Colossians 1:15-20
The Spirit of God inspired the Apostle to know Jesus was enough in his day.  Day by day the Apostle answered this question with a resounding “Yes!.” The same Spirit will inspire you to know He is enough today.  Ask and you will know.

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Only By Death

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."

Matthew 5:29-30
 

God does not want you to sacrifice your body one piece at a time. What He is after is the alignment of your will to His 100% of the time.

They way we use our eyes and our hands is a public demonstration of just how out of alignment we are. This becomes so obvious to us that we grow deeply offended at our own state and we get frustrated enough to even consider cutting off that part of us which offends us and God.

What Jesus is pointing us toward with this shocking illustration is not a part by part process for human reform.  He is saying that nothing less than public, permanent death can end the battle of our will and God’s will. To live His will we must be willing to see our will publicly die and His will publicly live.

Fortunately for us this death of the human will already took place and all we have to do each day is believe we have already died and are now living God’s will in Jesus.

Paul put it like this in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

The Christian life is not a piece by piece, part by part human sacrifice.

It is a once and for all death and ressurrection in Christ. Can you see this?

Your death with Christ on Calvary should be as clear as it would be to you to look down and see where one of your hands was cut off because it offended you and God. If Jesus’ death is not that clear to you, look again to the Cross and see not just His public death but yours.

Now seeing yourself dead to sin and alive to God, live the will of God in union with Christ who lives in you day by day.

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

A Plan For Peace

 

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3

“Whatever gets your attention gets you.”   This simple statement carries a tremendous power because it is true for all of us.  There is nothing more important to evaluate in our lives than what gets most of our attention.

Attention  becomes even more powerful when attention is combined with trust.   Attention can be mixed with many forces for good or evil, but attention with trust is the greatest of all  human forces.

Giving something or someone one’s attention is one thing.  Giving attention and trust is another much more powerful thing. In fact, there is nothing more precious that we can give to another person than our attention and trust.  

This is why Jesus told people who wanted to do the works of God that they needed to believe on the One He had sent.  To believe is to give one’s attention and trust and this is what God wants us to work at toward Jesus moment by moment.

Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

John 6 :28-29

The single most significant thing I can do to cooperate with God day by day and  be kept in perfect peace by God in the process is to give my undivided attention to God in Christ with growing trust.  The quality of my inner life will be determined by giving my attention with trust to Jesus moment by moment. The quality of my love will also depend on my attention and trust in Jesus.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  John 7:37-38

We cannot really know what a new year may bring to our day to day lives.  What we can know is how to plan our peace for any new year.  We can simply plan on being kept at peace by God as we give Jesus our attention with increasing trust moment by moment and day by day.
Make paying attention to Jesus with increasing trust your plan for being kept in perfect peace at all times this year and every year.
 

Bud McCord

Abide International

OUR FATHER--- Squeeze!

OUR FATHER
Squeeze!

One of my wife’s dearest friends is in the process of seeing her dear mom leave this world.  Pam also said goodbye to her mom this year.  Pam sent her friend these words of encouragment and comfort about OUR FATHER.

“As OUR FATHER gathers your mom to her true home, I am 100% confident that He will give you the comfort and strength that you will need,
And your needs will clock in at one moment at a time, only.

The entire essence of our  EverlastingTrue Vine will pass
into the receptive branch of your life, one moment at a time.  That is the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. You will be amazed at the comfort
and thoughts He will whisper into your mind, heart, emotions. Yes, there is pain. But there is equal comfort from Him. Hang on to His hand
tightly and do not let go not even for a moment.

I remember my dad telling me to SQUEEZE his finger as hard as the pain hurt.  I was just 5 years old, sitting in his lap at the dentist, having
a tooth pulled. He told me I could never hurt him no matter how hard I squeezed. I am sure our Lord inspired him to tell me that. I was so
scared, but my dad was holding me and I could hold his finger and SQUEEZE!!!

Hold onto Jesus' finger and SQUEEZE however hard it may hurt, my friend.”

God does not offer us answers to all of our questions during times of pain, but He does invite us all to “SQUEEZE” and be comforted.
 

A Good Father

No good father will ever raise his children to live as permanent victims of the evil behavior of others. A good father will teach his children to rise above evil and live free of all barriers and injustice suffered at the hands of evil men and women.

Politicians and people who want to manipulate us to support them permanently will always want us to see ourselves as permanent victims of permanent evil so we will vote for them to keep them in power to permanently protect us. It is to their advantage that we remain victims under their control and protection.  True freedom is not in their vocabulary.
 .
A good father will always tell his children to flee from those who only want to feed from their pain and gain control over their future.
A good father will weep over the injustice but he will never leave his child living the life of a victim.

God, our perfect and permanent Father in heaven, would never want any of his children to live as victims of their past or live in the hope of human protection instead of His protection.  God frees all of His children to be free indeed.

To all who have been victimized and suffered injustice at the hands of men Jesus says: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32  Victimization is real but freedom given by the Father in Jesus is our permanent state.

For a Christian to live as a victim is to deny the kind of Father we truly have and reject the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus suffered at the hands of evil men but He never saw himself as a victim.

Disciples of Jesus make no victims and never live as victims.  Doing this they are like Jesus.

Bud McCord

Abide International

Neither Toil Nor Spin

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”  Matthew 6:28-30 The way to human beauty is not through toil or spin.  The way is through rest and receiving the beauty the Father sends for us. The human pursuit of the beautiful life is written into our DNA.  We know that humans should be the most beautiful of all of God’s creation.  So, we toil and spin until we are weary and exhausted.  In our pursuit of beauty we literally wear ourselves down to the place that we can do nothing but quit in defeat and dizziness. It is in this moment called quitting that the very first light of God’s original plan can take root in us.  We finally see we were not originally created to toil and spin for beauty.  We were created to rest and receive beauty from the Father.   We were created to believe God will send that which can and will make us beautiful. if we will simply believe and receive by grace the beauty the Creator has sent for us the toil and spin can stop.  The human beauty God sent for us all is Jesus. Jesus said in John 6 that the work God wants from us is  to believe in Him. Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  John 6:28-29 The world in which we live is filled with toil and spin.  It is through this toil and spin process that we are left weary and heavy laden.  It is though the toil and spin that we finally hear Jesus saying  “Come to Me and I will give you rest.” Tired of toil and spin?  Isn’t it time to rest and receive the beauty God sent in Jesus?   Bud McCord Abide International

When Our Heart Speaks

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

We spend our entire lives without personally seeing inside our own physical heart.  We know our heart is there and it is critical to our survival but we have a hard time knowing how our physical heart really is doing.  Our heart, however, has a way of letting us know when it is really sick.  Usually the message the sick heart sends stops our world and makes us pay attention to our heart.

Most people also know they have a spiritual heart, but they do not know how it tells them when it is sick.  They do not know the spiritual heart speaks.

To know the condition of our spiritual heart, we simply have to listen to what comes out of our mouth.  If evil comes out of our mouth we know our inner, hidden spiritual heart is very sick.  If good comes out of our mouth we know our spiritual heart is filled with God’s love.

Evil is anything that I think, feel or do that gives me permission to stop loving others.  When I hear words coming from my mouth that give me permission to hate, ignore, condemn or criticize others, I can know my spiritual heart is having a heart attack.

When our physical heart speaks through weakness, pain or a heart attack,  we must stop and pay complete attention because our life is at stake.  When something evil comes out of our mouths we must stop and pay complete attention because love is at stake.

Learn to listen to the voice of your body to know your physical heart and live.
Learn to listen to the words of your mouth to know your spiritual heart and love

Bud McCord

Abide International

"Like the Dew..."

 “Like the dew…”

God says, "I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily." Hosea 14:5 

”Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” Luke 12:27


It is amazing how gentle God is willing to be in our lives!  Meditate on how the Lord wants to gently  influence you on a daily basis.  Think of the kind of power one must have to be so gentle!

As you try to influence other people are you able to be as gentle as the “dew” and simply believe your continous and daily kindness and gentleness will make the difference?  Are you so convinced of the power of love that you do not need to force yourself into view to influence?

The next time you are tempted to say  “Where is God?”, be sure to check for the gentleness of God which is like the dew.
 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Surprising Love

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 

John 13:3-5  

We often think that being a disciple of Jesus is a call to do things that are big and important in the eyes of others.  We think people need to see really big and important things if they are believe in God’s love.

In reality to be a disciple of Jesus is to be as He is in us day by day and moment by moment. Jesus never looked for the big and important things to do. Jesus looked for ways to surprise people with the reach God’s love.

Jesus looked for people around Him who needed love and He touched them.  Jesus noticed people with dirty feet because that is where the love of God needed to touch and bring cleansing, surprising love.  To wash people’s feet is to surprise them with the reach of God’s love.

As disciples we are called to do more than imitate the life of Jesus.  We are called to surprise people with Jesus’ continuing presence in the world in us and through us.  We are to be His hands on dirty feet not just our hands on dirty feet.

 Have you surprised anyone lately with the touch of Jesus hands?  If not, you may be simply imitating Jesus instead of living Jesus.

Surprise someone with the love of Jesus that abides in you today.  Look down for dirty feet not up for power.
 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Love is Forever

The most abundant resource in the universe is pure, Divine love.  There is no shortage of love in the universe and there never will be a shortage.  God is forever and God is forever love.  Love does not have to win, it has never lost and never will.

At any moment when we as humans love as God would have us love, we are cooperating with the eternal.  No act of love goes unnoticed by God and no act of love is ever forgotten by God.  Love is forever.

“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42

To believe in Jesus is experience firsthand our eternal, personal connection to God’s forever love.  To be loved by Jesus more and more deeply is to be drawn deeper and deeper into eternal life and love.

Anyone who is deeply loved by Jesus will also begin to love others more deeply. Being continuously loved by Jesus draws us little by little into the conviction that love that originates in God through Christ is the source of eternal life and this love must be shared with others. Disciples know that they exist to love.

The perfecting of our love in Christ becomes the goal of all true discipleship because discipleship is not just preparation for today, Discipleship is preparation to love forever.

 

Bud McCord

Abide Internationa

Illusions

The sensation we feel when we discover we have put our faith in an illusion is deeply disturbing and life changing.  Anyone who passes through a disillusion can become a cynic and completely incapable of exercising faith except with a long list of guarantees attached.

Focusing on Jesus will not produce a disillusion.  Jesus said “Whoever sees me sees the Father.”  With this simple statement Jesus was either telling the pure truth or lying in order to create a horrible illusion.  With these words Jesus invites humanity to look to Him to see God.  He guarantees His claim with His life.

Focusing on Jesus moment by moment will never leave a human disillusioned.  Jesus is God made visible and available for us and among us.  Jesus does not offer a list of guarantees.  He is the guarantee.  He is not an illusion.

Jesus invites especially the disillusioned to believe again.

Bud McCord

Abide International

Be Good At Love

If you want to be good at anything, be good at love.  Love is the only human endeavor that lasts.  We were made to be good at love.

Success may look like control of circumstances, but love is success.  Jesus dying on the cross was not an attempt to control His unpleasant circumstances created by the Romans and the religious leaders of His day.  His death was a demonstration of the love He came to deliver.

Success may look like accumulation of money or power, but love is success.  Jesus died penniless and nude on a cross.  Even so, there was never a moment in human history where love was more clearly visible in a human life.  His lack of money or human power was overshadowed by His love. He died powerfully clothed in love.

Success may look like living a long life and retiring well, but love is success.  Jesus did not live long and His plan for retirement here was non-existent, His “early” death was perfectly timed love.

If you want to be good at anything, be good at love.

Bud McCord

Abide International

What Love Does

There is nothing more life improving than being deeply and truly loved by someone who sees what God has in mind for us.  There is nothing that makes people better people than someone loving them back into God’s beauty.
That is what love does.

The Apostle Paul tells husbands in Ephesians 5 to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.  He tells husbands that Christ loved the church so “He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”  Love takes away the “spots”, “wrinkles” or “any such thing”  that life in this troubled world leaves on our souls.

That is what love does.

So, when I say to my wife “I love you.”, I am saying I will give her the best of me so I can one day I see the kind of beauty God intends for her . I will love her for a lifetime to remove from her mind, emotions and will the “spots” and “wrinkles” or “any such thing” that distracts from her God desired beauty.  I will love her in such a way that “spots”,  “wrinkles” or “any such thing” disappear because of my love.
That is what love does.

Love restores original beauty over time.

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

The Presence of Christ

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
John 8:58

The Presence of Christ was "in the Beginning"

The Presence of Christ was "in the Garden of Eden"

The Presence of Christ was "in the world since the fall".

The Presence of Christ was “with God’s people In Egypt”.
 
The Presence of Christ was “with Israel in the Desert”.

The Presence of Christ was “with Israel throughout its history”.
  
The Presence of Christ “became flesh and dwelt among us”.

The Presence of Christ by the Spirit “filled the church at Pentecost”.

The Presence of Christ “abides in every believer”.

The Presence of Christ “is in me and sends me into the world to love for God's glory”.

Every good thing that has every happened to mankind is from His Presence.

Abide in His Presence right now!

Bud McCord

Abide International