The truth matters.
No one gets to claim: "Everyone has their own truth."
That's a different story when the operator cutting you open suddenly admits that he is not a doctor, and is actually afraid of blood.
The truth matters, because when we know the truth, then the truth sets us free.
The truth, as revealed in the Bible, is all about Jesus, full of grace and truth (John 1: 14)
Throughout the Bible, from the Old Testament to the final words of Revelation, grace and truth is one, a unified whole which cannot be separated.
"The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came (has come) by Jesus Christ." (John 1: 17)
We cannot talk about the grace of God without the truth. They are inseparable.
Truth matters, and we cannot run away from the clear cut expectation that either something is in place, or it is not.
While men can play in their minds with multiple realities, and accept two contradictory principles in their mind, the truth is that the pain of holding to irreconcilable revelations in our minds creates pain, conflict, and can lead to death.
The truth matters, because it is a matter of life and death.
This fact is not open for debate.
There can be no debate if there is no qualified acceptance that a proposition is true, or it is not true. A sense of outrage takes over us when someone lies to us, and that upset surges for a reason.
The truth matters. We are living in living world, even if decay and dysfunction defines it.
The truth matters, because our souls, our minds, our spirits were designed for it, and we will not settle for anything less.
When we know the truth, we are set free (John 8: 32)
The Truth is a person, a bold individual who stood up and declared to His disciples:
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." (John 14: 6)
The truth is the middle element which unifies the Way and the Life. The truth is the means by which we find the Way, and we have Life.
The truth, what is, the Gospel which speaks of full justification in Christ apart from our works, cannot be adulterated, balanced, or mitigated with anything else. Either we believe the testimony or Jesus, or we don't.
Balance and moderation are not the primary characteristics which matter. The truth matters, regardless of whether the statements are conflicted, controversial, or a matter of consensus. Balance and moderation are gaining all the traction and spotlight, as though balancing or mixing the diverse opinions is the best route to peace and freedom.
No. The truth shall set you free. You are saved by grace, which we receive by faith.
The truth matters, and the truth is not open for debate.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
No More Buts -- Just Believe
The problem for us is not the believing, but all the added-on doing, doubting, and disputing which we bring to the discussion.
We have what our parents taught us, and what the Word of God teaches us.
We have what the world tells us, and we have what the Holy Spirit tells us.
We have the testimony of a hurried, busy world which declares: "It's not finished."
And we have Jesus, who declared: "It is Finished."
You and I today have a choice.
We can rest in the truth of all that Jesus has done and is doing.
Or we can step around the truth, and keep not believing.
I would read the scriptures, I would meditate on the Word, and yet in the back of the head, I would hear: "But what about . . .? What if? But. . .But. . . But."
There had been so many buts in my life.
There is not but against what Jesus says about us.
There is disputing what the Bible makes diligently clear to us.
We are not called to "But", but to believe.
That's it!
We have what our parents taught us, and what the Word of God teaches us.
We have what the world tells us, and we have what the Holy Spirit tells us.
We have the testimony of a hurried, busy world which declares: "It's not finished."
And we have Jesus, who declared: "It is Finished."
You and I today have a choice.
We can rest in the truth of all that Jesus has done and is doing.
Or we can step around the truth, and keep not believing.
I would read the scriptures, I would meditate on the Word, and yet in the back of the head, I would hear: "But what about . . .? What if? But. . .But. . . But."
There had been so many buts in my life.
There is not but against what Jesus says about us.
There is disputing what the Bible makes diligently clear to us.
We are not called to "But", but to believe.
That's it!
Emotions Flag Our Thinking
So many of us spend more time thinking about what we are feeling.
We want to feel better, we want God to take away our problems, take away our pain.
The truth is, that we need the truth.
We need to remove the errors and lies in our lives, and invite the truth of Christ and Him Crucified to enlighten our understanding.
I had started saying this to friends of mine, but now the statement stands out even more:
"I don't want to feel better. I want to know the truth."
I had shared this during a very difficult and emotional moment in June. There was so much pain, so much pressure, and I had believed that all of these responsibilities were falling on me.
I had so many negative concerns, bad thoughts, burdened emotions.
What if? What about? bounced around in my mind.
Then when I recognized that Jesus is holding this world together, regardless of what I feel, then all the pain went away.
That was more of the truth which sets me free. We are not on good or bad standing with our father depending on how we feel or what we think.
Any fears or concerns are pushed away with the truth.
Any feelings of upset and pain come from the lie that those concerns have to be answered.
No, they do not need to be answered, because they have been answered.
I noticed today that individuals would snap at me for things that I did or did not do. I did find myself getting upset.
But then I recognized what I was thinking, and the thoughts that had ministered those feelings began to make sense.
I realized that I was thinking that I had to do something about the disrespect.
Then I realized the truth of God's Word, and the fullness of all that He is. "Vengeance is mine". I do not have to reward the wrong-doing of others.
Yet why did I hesitate to take God at His Word in the first place?
Because the god that I was learning about was not the god in the Bible. Everything was mixed up with the false teachings of AA, versus the full and forever forgiveness of the Gospel of Grace.
While AA teaches us that we must watch out for our bad feelings, and confess our bad thoughts and sins to other people, the Word of God provides us with the proper renewal of our minds, brings us into oneness with the truth of who we are in Christ.
Our upsets, hurts, anger, bitterness, cannot separate us from the love of God, for nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8: 38-39)
Why did I struggle to believe this? Because the law is not of faith, nor is any other tenet based on our efforts instead of His Work.
"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1: 8)
James provided the answer to this double-mindedness, which speaks of trying to live under both covenants:
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4: 8)
How do we purify our hearts? We believe on Jesus and what He has done for us:
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" (1 Peter 1: 22)
Then we grow into maturity, trusting Christ Jesus for all things:
"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; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" (Ephesians 4: 14-15)
The debate ends right there. We no longer go back and forth in our minds about the truth because of our feelings. We rest in Him, trusting that He is our peace (Isaiah 26: 3; Ephesians 2: 10)
We do not go back and forth in our minds trying to figure out whether we are OK with God based on our feelings. One of the biggest lies I had to overcome, was that my feelings had nothing to do with who I am before God. Yet because of the mind-control of the AA cult, I was in bondage to what was going through my head.
If there is any fear or tremor or upset in my life, all of it comes from believing a lie. Our bitter or toxic emotions will reveal to us that we are believing something that is not true.
We want to feel better, we want God to take away our problems, take away our pain.
The truth is, that we need the truth.
We need to remove the errors and lies in our lives, and invite the truth of Christ and Him Crucified to enlighten our understanding.
I had started saying this to friends of mine, but now the statement stands out even more:
"I don't want to feel better. I want to know the truth."
I had shared this during a very difficult and emotional moment in June. There was so much pain, so much pressure, and I had believed that all of these responsibilities were falling on me.
I had so many negative concerns, bad thoughts, burdened emotions.
What if? What about? bounced around in my mind.
Then when I recognized that Jesus is holding this world together, regardless of what I feel, then all the pain went away.
That was more of the truth which sets me free. We are not on good or bad standing with our father depending on how we feel or what we think.
Any fears or concerns are pushed away with the truth.
Any feelings of upset and pain come from the lie that those concerns have to be answered.
No, they do not need to be answered, because they have been answered.
I noticed today that individuals would snap at me for things that I did or did not do. I did find myself getting upset.
But then I recognized what I was thinking, and the thoughts that had ministered those feelings began to make sense.
I realized that I was thinking that I had to do something about the disrespect.
Then I realized the truth of God's Word, and the fullness of all that He is. "Vengeance is mine". I do not have to reward the wrong-doing of others.
Yet why did I hesitate to take God at His Word in the first place?
Because the god that I was learning about was not the god in the Bible. Everything was mixed up with the false teachings of AA, versus the full and forever forgiveness of the Gospel of Grace.
While AA teaches us that we must watch out for our bad feelings, and confess our bad thoughts and sins to other people, the Word of God provides us with the proper renewal of our minds, brings us into oneness with the truth of who we are in Christ.
Our upsets, hurts, anger, bitterness, cannot separate us from the love of God, for nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8: 38-39)
Why did I struggle to believe this? Because the law is not of faith, nor is any other tenet based on our efforts instead of His Work.
"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1: 8)
James provided the answer to this double-mindedness, which speaks of trying to live under both covenants:
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4: 8)
How do we purify our hearts? We believe on Jesus and what He has done for us:
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" (1 Peter 1: 22)
Then we grow into maturity, trusting Christ Jesus for all things:
"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; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" (Ephesians 4: 14-15)
The debate ends right there. We no longer go back and forth in our minds about the truth because of our feelings. We rest in Him, trusting that He is our peace (Isaiah 26: 3; Ephesians 2: 10)
We do not go back and forth in our minds trying to figure out whether we are OK with God based on our feelings. One of the biggest lies I had to overcome, was that my feelings had nothing to do with who I am before God. Yet because of the mind-control of the AA cult, I was in bondage to what was going through my head.
If there is any fear or tremor or upset in my life, all of it comes from believing a lie. Our bitter or toxic emotions will reveal to us that we are believing something that is not true.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Source of Pain: Truth and Error
We cannot believe what is true, and then hold onto what is not true at the same time.
We cannot believe that we are forgiven all of our sins, then turn around and confess our sins in the hopes that God will forgive us.
All of this activity on our part makes no sense whatsoever.
I had wrestled with a great deal of this when I was younger.
I never understood why I had to confess my sins in order to be forgiven, if I had been forgiven of all my sins because of what Jesus did for me at the Cross.
The pain for a great deal of my life, then, was resolving in my mind two different accounts.
I was forgiven, yet I had to be forgiven.
God is taking care of all my needs, yet I have to do my part.
What?
For the last week, I have started to understand to a greater extent the pain and hurt.
I was believing two things at once.
I was surrounded by people who either told me that I could believe whatever I wanted to do, or that I had to work Twelve Steps.
All of this is totally wrong.
It really frustrates me, it really angers me to find that many parents are not training their children in the way to go.
What does the Bible say?
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22: 6)
The impetus of this verse speaks more to what a child does, but who a child is. "Train" can also mean "dedicate". Parents are called to dedicated their children to the Word of God, not the meandering pandering of men. Twelve Step programs are all about man focusing on himself.
There is no life or hope there.
We need life in another. We life need in Himself.
This is the truth of God's Word. We do not vacillate between truth and error, but we rest in the truth of God's grace, and we stop playing "Yeah, but" with all that Jesus has done for us.
"13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 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;" (Ephesians 4: 13-14)
If the Bible says: "I will be a God to you" (Hebrews 8: 10-12), then it's time for us to take God at His Word.
Why do we not take God at His Word/ Because we are trying to reconcile two accounts, which are fully opposed to each other. Either we believe that Jesus died for us, or He did not. Either He is our Savior, or He is not, and thus we seek/attain salvation through someone else.
We cannot believe that we are forgiven all of our sins, then turn around and confess our sins in the hopes that God will forgive us.
All of this activity on our part makes no sense whatsoever.
I had wrestled with a great deal of this when I was younger.
I never understood why I had to confess my sins in order to be forgiven, if I had been forgiven of all my sins because of what Jesus did for me at the Cross.
The pain for a great deal of my life, then, was resolving in my mind two different accounts.
I was forgiven, yet I had to be forgiven.
God is taking care of all my needs, yet I have to do my part.
What?
For the last week, I have started to understand to a greater extent the pain and hurt.
I was believing two things at once.
I was surrounded by people who either told me that I could believe whatever I wanted to do, or that I had to work Twelve Steps.
All of this is totally wrong.
It really frustrates me, it really angers me to find that many parents are not training their children in the way to go.
What does the Bible say?
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22: 6)
The impetus of this verse speaks more to what a child does, but who a child is. "Train" can also mean "dedicate". Parents are called to dedicated their children to the Word of God, not the meandering pandering of men. Twelve Step programs are all about man focusing on himself.
There is no life or hope there.
We need life in another. We life need in Himself.
This is the truth of God's Word. We do not vacillate between truth and error, but we rest in the truth of God's grace, and we stop playing "Yeah, but" with all that Jesus has done for us.
"13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 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;" (Ephesians 4: 13-14)
If the Bible says: "I will be a God to you" (Hebrews 8: 10-12), then it's time for us to take God at His Word.
Why do we not take God at His Word/ Because we are trying to reconcile two accounts, which are fully opposed to each other. Either we believe that Jesus died for us, or He did not. Either He is our Savior, or He is not, and thus we seek/attain salvation through someone else.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Reject the Lies, Rest in the Truth
Fear really is based on "False Evidence Appearing Real."
If we believe something that is not true, then we will be afraid.
Instead of trying to fix our feelings, however, we need to deal with what we are believing.
We have to focus on what we are thinking.
The AA cult teaches people to focus on their feelings. This program really is mind control at its worst.
The last thing that we need to believe is that our feelings are as arbitrary as the weather. No wonder so many people find themselves in terrible bondage.
What we think and feel may come and go, but who we are in Christ Jesus is based on different matters entirely.
We are called to renew our minds to the truth of God's Word, not rest on the fraud and deceit of the enemy, nor the opinions of men.
Belief is not about believing something long enough and hard enough, either. Faith is about resting in the truth, an intelligent submission to what is real, what God has declared about us. Not our feelings, not our thoughts, nor our inferences based on past experiences or present difficulties.
When you believe that your feelings block you from God, what happens? You spend time going around in circles trying to put out bad feelings. No, the answer is to rest in the truth of God's Word.
Instead of returning to what man thinks of us, let us rest in the truth of all that God says about us. Today, He sees us in Christ, and therefore we declare:
"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as He us so are we in this world!" (1 John 4: 17)
If we believe something that is not true, then we will be afraid.
Instead of trying to fix our feelings, however, we need to deal with what we are believing.
We have to focus on what we are thinking.
The AA cult teaches people to focus on their feelings. This program really is mind control at its worst.
The last thing that we need to believe is that our feelings are as arbitrary as the weather. No wonder so many people find themselves in terrible bondage.
What we think and feel may come and go, but who we are in Christ Jesus is based on different matters entirely.
We are called to renew our minds to the truth of God's Word, not rest on the fraud and deceit of the enemy, nor the opinions of men.
Belief is not about believing something long enough and hard enough, either. Faith is about resting in the truth, an intelligent submission to what is real, what God has declared about us. Not our feelings, not our thoughts, nor our inferences based on past experiences or present difficulties.
When you believe that your feelings block you from God, what happens? You spend time going around in circles trying to put out bad feelings. No, the answer is to rest in the truth of God's Word.
Instead of returning to what man thinks of us, let us rest in the truth of all that God says about us. Today, He sees us in Christ, and therefore we declare:
"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as He us so are we in this world!" (1 John 4: 17)
Friday, November 14, 2014
His Mind, Not Yours
"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2: 16)
I am not interested any more in my thoughts on any matter.
Let us rather be interested in what God thinks of us. Let us be mindful of what Jesus has done for us.
I was so caught up on thinking that I had to know what was going on from day to day.
We are not called to figure everything out.
We are not called to have the world mapped out, or our days figured out.
Why would we? He has all our times in His hands.
So, we now understand what faith is really all about. It's about seeing Him who has been from the beginning.
It's not about us, not what is on our minds. It's about Him, and He has nothing but good things in mind for us.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."" (Jeremiah 29: 11)
Now, God spoke these words through His prophet Jeremiah after the Israelites had rejected His grace and relied on the sacrifices of other gods. Today, we have the blood of Jesus, and all the promises which accompany His perfect sacrifices.
We do not have to mind what we are thinking. We can rest in the mind of Christ, and know that He is teaching us all things, and taking care of all things for us.
I am not interested any more in my thoughts on any matter.
Let us rather be interested in what God thinks of us. Let us be mindful of what Jesus has done for us.
I was so caught up on thinking that I had to know what was going on from day to day.
We are not called to figure everything out.
We are not called to have the world mapped out, or our days figured out.
Why would we? He has all our times in His hands.
So, we now understand what faith is really all about. It's about seeing Him who has been from the beginning.
It's not about us, not what is on our minds. It's about Him, and He has nothing but good things in mind for us.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."" (Jeremiah 29: 11)
Now, God spoke these words through His prophet Jeremiah after the Israelites had rejected His grace and relied on the sacrifices of other gods. Today, we have the blood of Jesus, and all the promises which accompany His perfect sacrifices.
We do not have to mind what we are thinking. We can rest in the mind of Christ, and know that He is teaching us all things, and taking care of all things for us.
The Sources of the Morning Struggles
We are too caught up in trying to fix our thinking.
We are too busy trying to feel good when God wants us to see how good He is.
We do not have to feel bad about feeling bad. We do not have to care about our feelings.
They merely register what we are thinking. Nothing more.
In the morning, sometimes the most negative assaults take over in my head.
The conflicts and frustrations then intercept, and sometimes I spend too much trying to undo or remove whatever it is that is on my mind.
There is no peace in that internal, fight.
We are not set free looking at ourselves. We are not set free trying to free ourselves.
Otherwise, we would have never been in bondage in the first place.
What were those fights all about, anyway?
I had believed that what I was thinking would determine whether God was there for me or not.
The ugly depths that a person will fall into fighting with his head -- those plunges are just staggering, and quite painful.
We are not set free through our efforts. We are released from bondage and pain by resting in the truth of all that Jesus has done for us.
This revelation is just wonderful.
For the longest time, I would take as truth whatever I was thinking or feeling, as though I had to take it seriously.
Bringing every thought into captivity to the Obedience of Christ: that is what it is all about. We do not submit to our minds, but rather our minds submit to Christ Jesus!
Cool!
This morning, and the mornings after, I can rest in the truth that He is taking care of all things for me. The falsehood of trying to take care of tomorrow has been put away forever. I am not responsible for tomorrow, because He has already taken are of it.
We are too busy trying to feel good when God wants us to see how good He is.
We do not have to feel bad about feeling bad. We do not have to care about our feelings.
They merely register what we are thinking. Nothing more.
In the morning, sometimes the most negative assaults take over in my head.
The conflicts and frustrations then intercept, and sometimes I spend too much trying to undo or remove whatever it is that is on my mind.
There is no peace in that internal, fight.
We are not set free looking at ourselves. We are not set free trying to free ourselves.
Otherwise, we would have never been in bondage in the first place.
What were those fights all about, anyway?
I had believed that what I was thinking would determine whether God was there for me or not.
The ugly depths that a person will fall into fighting with his head -- those plunges are just staggering, and quite painful.
We are not set free through our efforts. We are released from bondage and pain by resting in the truth of all that Jesus has done for us.
This revelation is just wonderful.
For the longest time, I would take as truth whatever I was thinking or feeling, as though I had to take it seriously.
Bringing every thought into captivity to the Obedience of Christ: that is what it is all about. We do not submit to our minds, but rather our minds submit to Christ Jesus!
Cool!
This morning, and the mornings after, I can rest in the truth that He is taking care of all things for me. The falsehood of trying to take care of tomorrow has been put away forever. I am not responsible for tomorrow, because He has already taken are of it.
Not Fighting Bad Thoughts, But Believing Good Ones
Another element of the AA cult which is particularly disturbing rests on the notion that our fears and resentments require direct action, along with consultation with a sponsor.
We do not fight bad thoughts with will power or effort.
We fight bad thoughts, falsehoods, with the truth of God's Word.
This is the truth which sets us free.
Look at this passage from Philippians:
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We do not fight bad thoughts with will power or effort.
We fight bad thoughts, falsehoods, with the truth of God's Word.
This is the truth which sets us free.
Look at this passage from Philippians:
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Think on These Things
8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 4: 6-9)
This passage had granted me great comfort at one period in my life.
Yet the fears and worries would still wash over me.
Why? Because I did not see Jesus as a loving Savior saving me today, as well as when He died on the Cross two thousand years ago.
Every time that I had fearful or angry thoughts, I believed that I had lost fellowship with God. I then believed that He was one thousand miles away. The truth is, His presence in our lives does not depend on us.
His life in us depends on Jesus, who gave His life for us:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
What did Jesus overcome in granting us eternal life?
17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3: 17)
With this promise of no condemnation comes the fullness of the New Covenant:
"0For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
I am once again grateful for the ministry of Pastor Joseph Prince. He struggled with his thought life, struggling to control bad thoughts. The truth is, that we do not have to be ashamed of what we are thinking but rather recognize that every though is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 4-5)
The bondage for me for so long was that I had believed that what I felt would drive God away. It cannot drive Him away, for He has promised to be a God to us.
We do not struggle against bad thoughts with will power, but we meditate on His Word, and let the negatives subside.
I did not believe it for the longest time, but it's true: AA is mind control at its worst. Why? The program communicates the lie that we cannot control our thinking, that we are powerless over just about everything, and that we have to succumb to the negatives in our lives, our thoughts, our inner being, looking at ourselves while ignoring God who is above and outside of us.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
The Waves of Pain Have Gone Away
I was trying to protect myself for the longest time.
Whenever I felt afraid, whenever a sense of panic welled up in the back of my head, I was convinced that I had to do something about.
Who God was, all of that was tied up in how I felt.
Crazy, but true.
The sense of pain that welled up in my head made it almost impossible to function.
I was trying to quell the sense of fear and pain within me.
This inexpressible burden was so great.
I did not see God as a living Savior. I had a conception in my mind about who God was.
I did not realize that He is alive and well, living in and through me.
Like many Christians, I was stuck on this notion that I had to create this life myself.
This pressure was so grand, so overwhelming.
The emptiness in my life was total. I had everything on the outside, but I was empty on the inside.
Such was the result of trying to create this life on my own. Then came the frustrations.
The lies in my head chronically pressed me. Everything was up to, I had believed.
The issue was thinking that I had to get rid of feeling in order to walk in God's power and might.
The truth is that God's power and might are readily present and available, regardless of how I may feel.
How sweet it is -- to be free at last from putting out every fire in my brain.
Thank you, Jesus, for the truth that sets me free.
Whenever I felt afraid, whenever a sense of panic welled up in the back of my head, I was convinced that I had to do something about.
Who God was, all of that was tied up in how I felt.
Crazy, but true.
The sense of pain that welled up in my head made it almost impossible to function.
I was trying to quell the sense of fear and pain within me.
This inexpressible burden was so great.
I did not see God as a living Savior. I had a conception in my mind about who God was.
I did not realize that He is alive and well, living in and through me.
Like many Christians, I was stuck on this notion that I had to create this life myself.
This pressure was so grand, so overwhelming.
The emptiness in my life was total. I had everything on the outside, but I was empty on the inside.
Such was the result of trying to create this life on my own. Then came the frustrations.
The lies in my head chronically pressed me. Everything was up to, I had believed.
The issue was thinking that I had to get rid of feeling in order to walk in God's power and might.
The truth is that God's power and might are readily present and available, regardless of how I may feel.
How sweet it is -- to be free at last from putting out every fire in my brain.
Thank you, Jesus, for the truth that sets me free.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
We Have to Let Him Live!
I am so tired of hearing Christians saying over and over:
"You have to live it!"
Live what? We cannot live the Christian life.
No one can.
Man who is dead in his trespasses needs life.
This life we find in one Person: Jesus!
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5: 12)
For too long, our focus has been on behaving right. We need to believe on Him whom the Father sent for us: Jesus!
We live because of Jesus, not ourselves. Because He lives, we live, too!
"You have to live it!"
Live what? We cannot live the Christian life.
No one can.
Man who is dead in his trespasses needs life.
This life we find in one Person: Jesus!
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5: 12)
For too long, our focus has been on behaving right. We need to believe on Him whom the Father sent for us: Jesus!
We live because of Jesus, not ourselves. Because He lives, we live, too!
Bringing Every Lie into Captivity
When we have bad thoughts about the future, people like me are convinced that we have to do something about them.
The Scriptures are very clear about who does what:
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10: 4-6)
Our weapons are mighty through God, not through ourselves.
We do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4: 13), not through our own efforts.
Paul was not mincing words when he wrote: "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." (Galatians 5: 16)
For too many of us, including me, the spirit seemed like a mindset. The Holy Spirit is a person, the blessed Third Person of the Trinity.
It is not our job to bring our thoughts into captivity in order for Him to live and work in us.
Sadly, though, that is exactly what I had believed for the longest time.
Every time a sentiment of fear emerges in the back of our minds, we need only consult the Word of God, and there we find the truth which sets us free!
The Scriptures are very clear about who does what:
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10: 4-6)
Our weapons are mighty through God, not through ourselves.
We do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4: 13), not through our own efforts.
Paul was not mincing words when he wrote: "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." (Galatians 5: 16)
For too many of us, including me, the spirit seemed like a mindset. The Holy Spirit is a person, the blessed Third Person of the Trinity.
It is not our job to bring our thoughts into captivity in order for Him to live and work in us.
Sadly, though, that is exactly what I had believed for the longest time.
Every time a sentiment of fear emerges in the back of our minds, we need only consult the Word of God, and there we find the truth which sets us free!
Friday, November 7, 2014
He is My Protector
I was overactive in my mind.
I would project the worst to protect me from the worst.
I lived in constant fear of bad things happening to me.
It is amazing how vivid our imagination can be.,
We are not called to worship our thinking, but to renew our minds to the truth of God's Word:
"1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12: 1-2)
and
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10: 5)
Jesus is my protector!
I did not know that/
I thought that I had to be my own protector!
One of the best sermons I have heard in a long time goes like this:
"You were never meant to live life alone. You were meant to be a loved person, a cared-for person."
Why else did Paul pray for us to have a revelation of God's love for us!
When you read the AA book, however, there are these terrible undercurrents which feed a terrible lie -- I have to do my part so that God will do His part.
That is nonsense.
We have no part apart from Him.
Why did I believe that He was not watching out for me?
Because I was under bondage to the Old Covenant, convinced that how I felt and what I thought determined whether He was there for me or not.
Even a Christian brother tried to explain to me: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13: 8)
Yet I did not believe that -- at the time.
Jesus is my protector, today!
I would project the worst to protect me from the worst.
I lived in constant fear of bad things happening to me.
It is amazing how vivid our imagination can be.,
We are not called to worship our thinking, but to renew our minds to the truth of God's Word:
"1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12: 1-2)
and
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10: 5)
Jesus is my protector!
I did not know that/
I thought that I had to be my own protector!
One of the best sermons I have heard in a long time goes like this:
"You were never meant to live life alone. You were meant to be a loved person, a cared-for person."
Why else did Paul pray for us to have a revelation of God's love for us!
When you read the AA book, however, there are these terrible undercurrents which feed a terrible lie -- I have to do my part so that God will do His part.
That is nonsense.
We have no part apart from Him.
Why did I believe that He was not watching out for me?
Because I was under bondage to the Old Covenant, convinced that how I felt and what I thought determined whether He was there for me or not.
Even a Christian brother tried to explain to me: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13: 8)
Yet I did not believe that -- at the time.
Jesus is my protector, today!
He is Bringing and Guarding, Not Us!
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 6-7)
God keeps our hearts and minds.
We don't.
It is not our job to do this.
I thought that it was, and for the longest time, in my mind, that is exactly what I had tried to do.
I have had a terrible time of letting go. For all the talk about "Let Go, Let God", I found that it simply did not work in my life.
The reason? We cannot let go if we do not believe that God is holding on for us.
If we think that every negative projection in our lives must be answered, then we can never trust Him.
And there you have the biggest reasons why I panicked at length in my life.
I was convinced that I had to answer every fearful premonition in my mind.
Never did I realize that they do not stop through our efforts.
What does the Bible say?
"12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Peter 1: 12)
Then
"13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Peter 1: 13-16)
We are not supposed to honor every fear and hurt. We do not give heed to the fretting and worrying in our minds, either. Every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
Like many people, I was given to the notion that I had to fight every thought. Every premonition of fear was something that I had to take care of.
That is not what the Bible teaches at all!
He guards our hearts and minds, not us. He brings every thought into captivity, not us.
Years ago, I had read that verse, and yet I felt no peace. I loved the idea of not worrying about anything, yet for some reason, I still felt agitated. "What do I do about this? What is my part?"
All of these questions never left my mind. The reason why?
Because I did not see Him as alive! I did not see Jesus beyond my head. I was still too big.
Like many Christians, I knew that Jesus died for me, but I did not know that He lives for me!
He is bringing and guarding us, not we ourselves. He is taking care of all things, not us.
God keeps our hearts and minds.
We don't.
It is not our job to do this.
I thought that it was, and for the longest time, in my mind, that is exactly what I had tried to do.
I have had a terrible time of letting go. For all the talk about "Let Go, Let God", I found that it simply did not work in my life.
The reason? We cannot let go if we do not believe that God is holding on for us.
If we think that every negative projection in our lives must be answered, then we can never trust Him.
And there you have the biggest reasons why I panicked at length in my life.
I was convinced that I had to answer every fearful premonition in my mind.
Never did I realize that they do not stop through our efforts.
What does the Bible say?
"12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Peter 1: 12)
Then
"13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Peter 1: 13-16)
We are not supposed to honor every fear and hurt. We do not give heed to the fretting and worrying in our minds, either. Every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
Like many people, I was given to the notion that I had to fight every thought. Every premonition of fear was something that I had to take care of.
That is not what the Bible teaches at all!
He guards our hearts and minds, not us. He brings every thought into captivity, not us.
Years ago, I had read that verse, and yet I felt no peace. I loved the idea of not worrying about anything, yet for some reason, I still felt agitated. "What do I do about this? What is my part?"
All of these questions never left my mind. The reason why?
Because I did not see Him as alive! I did not see Jesus beyond my head. I was still too big.
Like many Christians, I knew that Jesus died for me, but I did not know that He lives for me!
He is bringing and guarding us, not we ourselves. He is taking care of all things, not us.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Speak Good Things, King-Priest in Christ!
"12And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be." (Leviticus 27: 12)
We have a High Priest in heaven today, and He speaks nothing but good on our behalf before God the Father:
"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)
Not only that, but we are in Christ today, and God sees us in His Son, and we are now His own children:
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 15)
and also
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)
Now, look at the wickedness perpetrated by Alcoholics Anonymous.
Men and women go to a room every week (or sometimes every day!) and tell themselves and listen to others say: "I am an alcoholic."
God the Father did not send His Son to die on the Cross for us to label ourselves with such demeaning, shameful identities.
He took away the sin, and made us all sons.
It is a deep shame that for so many years, I lived in a home where my other mother told me that I was an alcoholic, simply because she had been programmed to believe that garbage for so many years.
She also talked about how she was a flea, a dog, and a worm, as if there was any kind of humility in that.
We need to be freed from ourselves, and look at Jesus, the author and Finished of faith (Hebrews 12: 1-2).
Not at ourselves, but at Jesus, and we are saved (Isaiah 45: 22), for He is our salvation.
He has made us kings and priests (1 Peter 2: 9), and in the words of a king there is power, and the word of a priest determines value.
We need to speak God's word over our lives, our circumstances, not our thinking, nor the opinions of men.
We have a High Priest in heaven today, and He speaks nothing but good on our behalf before God the Father:
"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)
Not only that, but we are in Christ today, and God sees us in His Son, and we are now His own children:
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 15)
and also
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)
Now, look at the wickedness perpetrated by Alcoholics Anonymous.
Men and women go to a room every week (or sometimes every day!) and tell themselves and listen to others say: "I am an alcoholic."
God the Father did not send His Son to die on the Cross for us to label ourselves with such demeaning, shameful identities.
He took away the sin, and made us all sons.
It is a deep shame that for so many years, I lived in a home where my other mother told me that I was an alcoholic, simply because she had been programmed to believe that garbage for so many years.
She also talked about how she was a flea, a dog, and a worm, as if there was any kind of humility in that.
We need to be freed from ourselves, and look at Jesus, the author and Finished of faith (Hebrews 12: 1-2).
Not at ourselves, but at Jesus, and we are saved (Isaiah 45: 22), for He is our salvation.
He has made us kings and priests (1 Peter 2: 9), and in the words of a king there is power, and the word of a priest determines value.
We need to speak God's word over our lives, our circumstances, not our thinking, nor the opinions of men.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Maxine Waters: Alcoholics Anonymous Can Go Straight to Hell!
Maxine Waters has been an easy target in the press for her inflammatory remarks.
She once shouted:
"I'm not afraid of anybody! This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the TEA Party can go straight to hell!"
Today, I wish that she had said the same thing about Alcoholics Anonymous.
So today, I will write it loudly and proudly:
She once shouted:
"I'm not afraid of anybody! This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the TEA Party can go straight to hell!"
Today, I wish that she had said the same thing about Alcoholics Anonymous.
So today, I will write it loudly and proudly:
 |
Alcoholics
Anonymous
Can
Go
Straight
To
Hell!
(and I intend to help it get there!)
Knowing His Love for Me
When my mother took my sister and me away from our father for a period of time, she attempted to reconcile us from time to time with our father.
Yet she had been the very the person who had taken us away from him in the first place.
All of this behind-the-scenes micromanaging caused more problems than it ever solved.
Such are the consequences of trying to live the Christian life, or being in bondage to an adulterated cult, rather than taking God at His Word, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
I remember one afternoon, when we were seated in the back of the car, and she had arranged for us to meet with our dad.
She had spent the past few months demonizing and shamimg him to us, and now she wanted us to meet with him and reconcile ourselves to him?
We were not ready or willing to do that.
Then she started yelling at us, breaking into tears.
"You guys need to love! You need to love. I am tired of doing all the work!"
She had been putting us into this difficult place, forcing us to move out of one home to another, and now she was shaming us for not wanting to meet with the man whom she had been defaming for months.
My sister and I were so young. We had no idea what was going on. Much of the time, we found ourselves just going along with whatever someone else, in this case our mother, had been telling us.
She was in bondage to an evil cult, one which forced on people a dead-set training to try and stay one step ahead of one's sin.
All our sin has been taken care of once for all at the Cross. When Jesus comes again, it will be apart from sin, having nothing to do with sin.
Today, it's all about the Son.
I did not know that at the time, and neither did my mother or my sister.
Yet our mother was pushing on me, and everyone around her, the outrageous and evil demands of the AA cult, convinced as she was at the time that every one of us needs a program of living.
No -- we need life, and that more abundantly, and we receive this life in Christ Jesus!
"He who hath the Son hath life, and He who hath not the Son, hath not life." (1 John 5: 12)
Instead of my mother berating my sister and me about loving others, we needed to know about the ever-present love of Jesus Christ in our lives, and how much He loves us today!
Yet she had been the very the person who had taken us away from him in the first place.
All of this behind-the-scenes micromanaging caused more problems than it ever solved.
Such are the consequences of trying to live the Christian life, or being in bondage to an adulterated cult, rather than taking God at His Word, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
I remember one afternoon, when we were seated in the back of the car, and she had arranged for us to meet with our dad.
She had spent the past few months demonizing and shamimg him to us, and now she wanted us to meet with him and reconcile ourselves to him?
We were not ready or willing to do that.
Then she started yelling at us, breaking into tears.
"You guys need to love! You need to love. I am tired of doing all the work!"
She had been putting us into this difficult place, forcing us to move out of one home to another, and now she was shaming us for not wanting to meet with the man whom she had been defaming for months.
My sister and I were so young. We had no idea what was going on. Much of the time, we found ourselves just going along with whatever someone else, in this case our mother, had been telling us.
She was in bondage to an evil cult, one which forced on people a dead-set training to try and stay one step ahead of one's sin.
All our sin has been taken care of once for all at the Cross. When Jesus comes again, it will be apart from sin, having nothing to do with sin.
Today, it's all about the Son.
I did not know that at the time, and neither did my mother or my sister.
Yet our mother was pushing on me, and everyone around her, the outrageous and evil demands of the AA cult, convinced as she was at the time that every one of us needs a program of living.
No -- we need life, and that more abundantly, and we receive this life in Christ Jesus!
"He who hath the Son hath life, and He who hath not the Son, hath not life." (1 John 5: 12)
Instead of my mother berating my sister and me about loving others, we needed to know about the ever-present love of Jesus Christ in our lives, and how much He loves us today!
Know How Much He Loves You
The AA cult teaches people that they have to keep working.
They have to remain vigilant, so that the disease of alcoholism does not rear its ugly head and take down the alcoholic.
What kind of a life is that? It is not a life.
In fact, a habit of constantly looking at one's thoughts and feelings creates nothing but pain and frustration, followed by the depression of handing your peace away to someone else every time someone says or impresses you with something that offends you.
For a program which seeks to rid people of self-centeredness, AA makes people more self-centered than ever. How can one escape from oneself if you are still looking at yourself?
I had written in a prior blog post that the last person we need to be looking at is. . .ourselves.
We are invited to look on Jesus, the author and Finisher of Faith, and when we look at Him, we are transformed from glory glory by His Spirit (2 Peter 3: 18)
Now, today, or rather yesterday, I have begun to understand the importance of looking at Jesus, not thinking about Him, not conjuring Him up, but recognizing Him as alive and well in my life, regardless of how I feel or what I think.
We are released from dead Adam to serve Christ Jesus in the newness of the Spirit.
This Spirit is a real power, a true force, the same Spirit who brooded over the face of the waters, like a mother hen warming and comforting her chicks.
This Spirit does not depend on our thoughts and feelings. This Spirit is alive and well, and He wishes to abide in us.
Today, we do not have to pray the prayer that David had prayed: "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me."
Today, we know that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13: 6)
This security has nothing to do with what we feel.
Now, the focus needs to focus on knowing how much God our Father loves us.
I had some misplaced understandings about God's love for me. I had confused love with feelings. Many of us do.
Yet Paul is very clear about understanding God's love for us:
"14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3: 14-19)
Many people ignore that this prayer was Paul's Number One prayer: That we would have the strength to understand God's love for us. That Jesus would feel at home in our hearts, not feel left out or restricted.
Many Christians get saved, but then they lock Jesus up. Instead of allowing His life to flow, we stifle His life through our efforts.
Paul warned against this return to self-effort based Galatianism:
"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
We do not understand how much He loves us, and we do not understand how widespread is His love for us, either. That is why so many Christians struggle with "the Christian Life". There is no way that anyone of us can live this life. Jesus is our Life, and He is alive!
Today, the goal of our walk with Christ Jesus is not doing more for Him, but rather letting Him do more through us.
Still struggling with this revelation? We all do. That is what it means to grow in grace!
Faith is all about seeing what is not visible to our eyes, yet it is there nonetheless. Not by feelings, because we know that there is a sun, even on cloudy days. If we could see God, then we would be God, and that was the very temptation which brought down Adam:
"No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." (1 John 4: 12)
Now, do not think that you need to start loving so that God will abide in you. That is not what it's about. John clears up that potential misunderstanding very quickly:
"9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 9-10)
Then
"17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4: 17-19)
God is Love, and He manifested this love toward us, then perfected this love with us thorugh His Son, then we in turn love others.
If we want to love others, we need to know how much God loves us.
This love cannot rest in our minds as a static understanding, but a dynamic revelation outside of us. Just as the sun is shining in the solar system, just as the strong force holds all molecules together right now, so too God's love toward you and me is red hot, and we need to understand more of it.
While the AA cult claims love and tolerance is its code, the truth is the God's love does not tolerate any substitute but Jesus as our Savior, at the Cross and at the Father's right hand.
They have to remain vigilant, so that the disease of alcoholism does not rear its ugly head and take down the alcoholic.
What kind of a life is that? It is not a life.
In fact, a habit of constantly looking at one's thoughts and feelings creates nothing but pain and frustration, followed by the depression of handing your peace away to someone else every time someone says or impresses you with something that offends you.
For a program which seeks to rid people of self-centeredness, AA makes people more self-centered than ever. How can one escape from oneself if you are still looking at yourself?
I had written in a prior blog post that the last person we need to be looking at is. . .ourselves.
We are invited to look on Jesus, the author and Finisher of Faith, and when we look at Him, we are transformed from glory glory by His Spirit (2 Peter 3: 18)
Now, today, or rather yesterday, I have begun to understand the importance of looking at Jesus, not thinking about Him, not conjuring Him up, but recognizing Him as alive and well in my life, regardless of how I feel or what I think.
We are released from dead Adam to serve Christ Jesus in the newness of the Spirit.
This Spirit is a real power, a true force, the same Spirit who brooded over the face of the waters, like a mother hen warming and comforting her chicks.
This Spirit does not depend on our thoughts and feelings. This Spirit is alive and well, and He wishes to abide in us.
Today, we do not have to pray the prayer that David had prayed: "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me."
Today, we know that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13: 6)
This security has nothing to do with what we feel.
Now, the focus needs to focus on knowing how much God our Father loves us.
I had some misplaced understandings about God's love for me. I had confused love with feelings. Many of us do.
Yet Paul is very clear about understanding God's love for us:
"14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3: 14-19)
Many people ignore that this prayer was Paul's Number One prayer: That we would have the strength to understand God's love for us. That Jesus would feel at home in our hearts, not feel left out or restricted.
Many Christians get saved, but then they lock Jesus up. Instead of allowing His life to flow, we stifle His life through our efforts.
Paul warned against this return to self-effort based Galatianism:
"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)
We do not understand how much He loves us, and we do not understand how widespread is His love for us, either. That is why so many Christians struggle with "the Christian Life". There is no way that anyone of us can live this life. Jesus is our Life, and He is alive!
Today, the goal of our walk with Christ Jesus is not doing more for Him, but rather letting Him do more through us.
Still struggling with this revelation? We all do. That is what it means to grow in grace!
Faith is all about seeing what is not visible to our eyes, yet it is there nonetheless. Not by feelings, because we know that there is a sun, even on cloudy days. If we could see God, then we would be God, and that was the very temptation which brought down Adam:
"No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." (1 John 4: 12)
Now, do not think that you need to start loving so that God will abide in you. That is not what it's about. John clears up that potential misunderstanding very quickly:
"9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 9-10)
Then
"17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4: 17-19)
God is Love, and He manifested this love toward us, then perfected this love with us thorugh His Son, then we in turn love others.
If we want to love others, we need to know how much God loves us.
This love cannot rest in our minds as a static understanding, but a dynamic revelation outside of us. Just as the sun is shining in the solar system, just as the strong force holds all molecules together right now, so too God's love toward you and me is red hot, and we need to understand more of it.
While the AA cult claims love and tolerance is its code, the truth is the God's love does not tolerate any substitute but Jesus as our Savior, at the Cross and at the Father's right hand.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Not Self-Help, but Spirit-Help
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)
We are not transformed by our efforts.
Man is dead in his trespasses, and there is no way that we can create life or recover from this sin through our efforts.
We need Jesus, we need His Life, and we need Him every day.
Notice that the Spirit of God transforms us.
Not ourselves, but His Spirit.
There was so much noise in my head.
Now I realize today -- you do not pay attention to that noise at all.
Especially the noise that presses you with: "What are you going to do about tomorrow? The next day?"
He has all of my times in His hands. Is there any reason for me to worry about tomorrow?
This is still taking me time to accept.
I was straining through my feelings to bring Him into my life. If I was full of cares, I was holding onto them, as though God was far away because I was feeling bad.
That is crazy!
Yet I believed it, and for a long time, too.
Not self-help, but spirit-help, that is what it is all about!
We are not transformed by our efforts.
Man is dead in his trespasses, and there is no way that we can create life or recover from this sin through our efforts.
We need Jesus, we need His Life, and we need Him every day.
Notice that the Spirit of God transforms us.
Not ourselves, but His Spirit.
There was so much noise in my head.
Now I realize today -- you do not pay attention to that noise at all.
Especially the noise that presses you with: "What are you going to do about tomorrow? The next day?"
He has all of my times in His hands. Is there any reason for me to worry about tomorrow?
This is still taking me time to accept.
I was straining through my feelings to bring Him into my life. If I was full of cares, I was holding onto them, as though God was far away because I was feeling bad.
That is crazy!
Yet I believed it, and for a long time, too.
Not self-help, but spirit-help, that is what it is all about!
Not Sin, but the Son (and See Him, Too!)
The Son is not far away.
He lives in us, and lives all around us too, because He holds the universe together.
Like some people, I believed that His presence in my life depended on how I felt.
It has nothing to do with how we feel.
The sense of panic which had been so induced in my life, that come from the feeling that I had to hold everything together on my own.
That is not the case at all.
He holds all things together:
"17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1: 17)
He calls all of us to look at Jesus, who is alive and reigning, not at ourselves.
This is a hard saying for many of us, because we live in these modern times, in which we make our own way in the world (supposedly).
He is alive today, and helping all of us.
He does not need our help to be here.
However, Beloved, we need more than His help. We need His everything.
This revelation has been incredibly important for me to accept, as well.
For the longest time, I was asking God to help me with the struggles in my life.
I was praying: "Help me to. . ."
That kind of prayer is not good enough.
He is all about doing all things through us, and merely asks us to receive all things with Him (Romans 8: 32-33)
Consider what Jesus told the disciples of His day, and what He offers to us, His adopted brethren:
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
Jesus did not say: "I have come to help you live your life better."
He also did not say: "I have come to make your life better", or "I have come that you might live a better life."
He furthermore did not say: "I have come that you would have an example to live by."
No! Jesus said: "I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly!"
John was more pointed in his comments:
"11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5: 10-12)
I kid you not - I was trying to live this life on my own. I believed that Jesus had died for my sins, but I was filled with fear and panic every day because I had believed that I was on my own to live this life myself.
This has been a difficult revelation for me to explain, but explain I will as God gives me grace to write.
I was trying to create Him inside of my head. I was convinced that I had to make Him alive through my thinking and my feeling.
As a result, I was constantly looking at my feelings and thoughts, making sure that they were not straying or running away.
I have only learned that I can be mad or angry, and Jesus does not go away. God does not huff off or get blocked from me.
Even in David's psalm prophesying the Messiah's crucifixion, we find these verses:
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? " (Psalm 22: 1)
But later:
"
He lives in us, and lives all around us too, because He holds the universe together.
Like some people, I believed that His presence in my life depended on how I felt.
It has nothing to do with how we feel.
The sense of panic which had been so induced in my life, that come from the feeling that I had to hold everything together on my own.
That is not the case at all.
He holds all things together:
"17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1: 17)
He calls all of us to look at Jesus, who is alive and reigning, not at ourselves.
This is a hard saying for many of us, because we live in these modern times, in which we make our own way in the world (supposedly).
He is alive today, and helping all of us.
He does not need our help to be here.
However, Beloved, we need more than His help. We need His everything.
This revelation has been incredibly important for me to accept, as well.
For the longest time, I was asking God to help me with the struggles in my life.
I was praying: "Help me to. . ."
That kind of prayer is not good enough.
He is all about doing all things through us, and merely asks us to receive all things with Him (Romans 8: 32-33)
Consider what Jesus told the disciples of His day, and what He offers to us, His adopted brethren:
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
Jesus did not say: "I have come to help you live your life better."
He also did not say: "I have come to make your life better", or "I have come that you might live a better life."
He furthermore did not say: "I have come that you would have an example to live by."
No! Jesus said: "I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly!"
John was more pointed in his comments:
"11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5: 10-12)
I kid you not - I was trying to live this life on my own. I believed that Jesus had died for my sins, but I was filled with fear and panic every day because I had believed that I was on my own to live this life myself.
This has been a difficult revelation for me to explain, but explain I will as God gives me grace to write.
I was trying to create Him inside of my head. I was convinced that I had to make Him alive through my thinking and my feeling.
As a result, I was constantly looking at my feelings and thoughts, making sure that they were not straying or running away.
I have only learned that I can be mad or angry, and Jesus does not go away. God does not huff off or get blocked from me.
Even in David's psalm prophesying the Messiah's crucifixion, we find these verses:
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? " (Psalm 22: 1)
But later:
"
22I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard." (Psalm 22: 22-24)
David was saved, and Jesus came back to life and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.
The tension and wrong believing that had crippled had everything to do with the lie that God would come or go depending on how I felt.
I had misunderstood too many scriptures without rightly dividing the Word.
I was living in my head, and caught up in my feelings, convinced that what I was thinking or feeling had to be answered or resolved.
He calls us to cast all our cares, and keep casting our cares on Him. That was something I was not good at either. I had been so used to holding onto all my cares.
I had spent so much time and energy trying to quiet down my mind, when the Bible is very clear about how we are transformed and changed: not through our efforts, but beholding, seeing His Son!
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