Servias Ministries Blog

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We have now changed the website for those who sign up as “members”.  Members can ask for a complimentary copy of any combination of books at no charge.  Clearly those who can afford to contribute should be encouraged to pay the suggested price.  However, we do not want to restrict anyone from being blessed by these writers.

If you sign in to Your Information, we have added this option for your complimentary copy(s).  We will send them to the address in your profile.  As we do with all complimentary copies, we will pay the shipping/mailing costs. If you are overseas, be sure to double check the address info, we know international mailing can be a challenge.

We appreciate our donors whose contributions allow us to expand the ministry to those who are finding difficult to make ends meet… most all of us have been there!

Paul  wrote in Colossians:

1:21   And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

First of all, we were all vessels of dishonor doing evil deeds by the wickedness in our minds.  None of us started out righteous but all of us were in sin.  Those yet to be reconciled are still in that condition.  This world’s systems are being sustained by the masses of carnal men and women.  The current economic system is based on carnality and fraud.  The current legal system is controlled by the unrighteous to insure others who are lawless outside the norm of carnality are kept in line.  Will the truly righteous person in the courtroom please stand up!

What does it mean to be above reproach?  We must be blameless, unaccused, unreproveable, in other words our words and actions must conform to the standard of truth in Love.  If we endorse or participate in anything else we are guilty of the same carnality.  How is it possible to maintain such a state of being above reproach?  It occurs when you are led by the Spirit of Our Heavenly Father.

The serpent is the most subtle of all the animals.  Our carnal nature or ego is equally subtle.  It would draw us to philosophy of man over the wisdom of Our Heavenly Father.  It would place its reliance on legalism rather than truth in Love.  We must set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth.  Paul wrote:

Colossians 3:

5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

Each of us is accountable to “put off” and put to death actions and thoughts of the old man.  We must put on the new man and renew ourselves by the cleansing of the Word of Our Heavenly Father.

My goal is to be above reproach in all areas of my life.  My flesh has to die for this to come to pass.  The old man would tempt me to give into the path that leads to destruction.  As I dwell with Father, my interests move away from the priorities of the old man.  When you are presented with a fork in the path you are on- stop!  See which path Our Heavenly Father wants you to take.  The other option may be very subtle and appear okay yet there is something slightly off about it.  Internally,  there is something tugging at you.  The serpent would have you slightly alter your focus just enough to lead you astray.  The more mature in Christ you are, the more subtle these alternate paths tend to be.  You may passively rely on other mature saints to check the path for you.  That’s a mistake.  There is no assurance of their witness or decision.  Instead, each of us should individually rely on the witness of the Holy Spirit.  As we do, we will be above reproach.

As you become sensitive and walk according to the standard of truth in Love, your fruit will abound.  Paul notes this as he writes:

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Those who conform to this standard are called “the elect”.  These are the ones being perfected and are being raised up to minister life to those who are trapped in the world’s systems.  The elect are being perfected at this very hour and as you might imagine, the bonding agent is Love:

14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Ultimately in order to be above approach, you must walk in Love.

The word “philosophy” means love of wisdom.  Man’s philosophy is based on theory from a carnal perspective.  This carnal wisdom will surely lead you to death and destruction.  It will steer you away from the revelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and move your focus to one of distractions.

Colossians 2:1 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,

2 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,

3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Our hearts are to be encouraged and joined together in Love.  We are to be united in one conclusion.  That conclusion is that the attaining of wisdom, understanding and the riches through Christ.  Notice where the treasures are hidden- in Christ.

The true riches are hidden in Christ and the key to unlocking those hidden treasures is Agape Love.  Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are attained as we are knit together in Love.  Love moves us to become a servant for all of mankind, not just those who deserve it in our eyes.  None were deserving when Our Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross for all of mankind.  All were vessels of dishonor.  Those riches are reserved for those who are found worthy through Christ.

4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.

5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

As we are rooted and grounded in Love, rooted in Him, established in faith, we will then be able to see through the philosophies of men and their empty deceit.  Their views are based according to worldly principles, not Christ’s.  Their love of wisdom is counterfeit to the Love of Christ.  They would have the old man believe that by seeking out worldly wisdom, you will arise in godliness.  This counterfeit path leads to death and destruction.  We must resist the temptation to substitute true Love with love of wisdom.  Paul states:

1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

And he continues:

1 Corinthians 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;

Paul further states:

1 Corinthians 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Today I warn you against blindly accepting everything men speak or write.  It is up to each of us to discern what we receive in our hearts.  We must protect our heart from the world’s cunning and crafty attempts to lead us astray.  Even well-meaning brethren are subject to error, including myself.  Each of us are at a different level of maturity.  Those of us who have been followers of Christ for years must be careful to be led by the Spirit each and every day.  Those who are less mature are more easily impacted by those who appear to be seasoned.  Each of us should assess our current path to see if some doctrine has diverted us off course.  Don’t be deceive by false philosophies which present themselves as truth when in fact they are just man’s carnal wisdom packaged up to exalt the one who promotes such views .

We have been transferred or conveyed from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of HIS Love (Col 1:13).  Jesus Christ is the Head of this kingdom.  If we are to function as citizens of this Kingdom, we should take on the characteristics of the Kingdom as well.  We are to be perfected in Christ.  As we move toward this perfection, we must set aside vain philosophies by men who would use empty philosophies and false humility according to worldly principles and theories.

We must seek those things above.  We must put to death anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, and lies.  Instead we must first and above all clothe ourselves in Love and:

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Let us walk as citizens of HIS Kingdom and we will then be able to properly expect the promises and laws of HIS Kingdom to apply toward us.  Simple.

John 3:21  "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

In this verse Jesus clearly states that we have a choice to do the Truth, or not.  If we had no choice, then what is the point of being observed?  The road to maturity is replete with choices.  We start out immature and our choices to satisfy the ego far outweigh the choices to submit to the Word of OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.  Some  of us learn over time that by submitting to HIS Word, life becomes bearable and even enjoyable.  Tests and trials are not eliminated.  They simply don’t impact us like they did when we were immature.  They are now embraced rather than feared.

Jesus initiated works that caused the Jews to seek to confront Him.  This was not unexpected for it was needful to establish the Truth versus man’s tradition.  In John 5, Jesus went to the Pool of Bethesda and healed the man who had an infirmity for 38 years.  He healed him on the Sabbath.  Jesus knew what the ramifications would be and that a confrontation was at hand.  This did not dissuade Him for He was “Doing the Truth”.

The Jews then confronted Him:

19 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.

20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

The Father’s Love necessitated this confrontation so as to reveal HIS plan, will, and purpose.  It also revealed what was in the hearts of the accusers.  A revelation came forth during the confrontation.  If fell on deaf ears of the Jews for their hearts were intent on retaining the status quo.  Here they were before the Son of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and challenging Him.

Each of us is challenged by the Truth.  We can either remain at a lower level of maturity and live under those conditions or we can pursue the higher truths that might challenge our current doctrine, or set of beliefs.  Love draws us higher.  Doing the Truth expands our willingness to hear deeper Truths are yet to be revealed.  Doing the Truth allows us to see what the Father does and then we will do the same in like manner.  As we are drawn higher, we will also raise the dead, heal the sick, and set the captives free.