Stop Fighting with Lies: Rest in the Truth

I was spending too much time fighting with lies.

That was why I was going  around and around in frustration. I kept trying to figure out what I did or needed to do in order to put away sentiments of anger of frustration in my life.

The sense of fear and panic in my life was so great, and the chronic fears would creep up into my mind:

"What are you going to do about this? What about that? What if they found out what you said or thought, or did?"

All of that anxiety and frustration is answered in one word: Jesus.

He died on the Cross, He took away all our sins, and He gave us His Life.

For the longest time, I was convinced that there was something more that I needed to be doing.

There was so much turmoil in my mind, in my body. Why the wrestling? Why the struggling?

Because I was trying to reconcile two opinions which were in never-ending conflict, typified in the womb of Rebekah:

"22And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.

23And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." (Genesis 25:22-23)

 

Or how about:

 

"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." (1 Kings 18: 21)

 

We need to stop wavering on what God has spoken to us in His Word, no longer being tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine (Ephesians 4: 14)

 

Oftentimes, we identify with the truth of God's Word, that by grace we are saved through faith, yet many times we want to retreat to our flesh, our efforts, ourselves.

 

We are convinced that we can add something to all that Jesus did at the Cross for us. Yet there is nothing more than for us to believe, and there is nothing else which we can do:

 

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15: 5)

 

We have God's Word for all things. If we struggle with believing anything that He has declared to us, it is only because we are trying to believe something else, and whatever that "something else" is, we must get rid of it:

 

"28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

 

30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." (Galatians 4: 28-30)

 

and also

 

"

10For 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.

13In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

 

Notice in Hebrews 8: 13 -- "That which is old decays and goes away."

 

So, stop holding onto the lies of the past, the Old Covenant which had its place, yet no longer plays a role in our lives, for He is our life (Colossians 3: 1-4)

 

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)

 

That is the work, which cut down the "works" which the Israelites of Jesus' day wanted to know about and do.

 

The problem in the Body of Christ today, as I see it and as many have shared, is that we are too busy working, doing, trying to fulfill. In churches and pulpits, as well as everywhere else, the pressure for us to do something, or something more, reigns supreme, when Jesus is asking us to resign all things to His hands (1 Peter 5: 6-7), and to let us reign in life with Him (Romans 5: 17)

Why did I feel bad? Why was I so easily angry? Simply put: I was not aware of the truth, I was not walking in the truth that in Christ, all my sins are forgiven, and I am dead to sin (Romans 6:11-14)

There is no need to fight with pain and hurt, or to fear that I would well up into pain and suffering again. I know the truth who sets me free today.

Bringing Lies Down in the Face of the Truth

I had spent so much time running away from feeling bad.

Life is not about wonder why we feel bad.

We feel bad only because we do not believe the truth.

Lo and behold, I had been lied to for a long, long time about many things.

Far too often, we associate the truth with the authorities in our lives.

If our parents told us something, or anything, we are inclined to take those comments seriously, even if they are not true.

We have to understand today that truth is not subject to time or space, to blood lines or life lines.

Truth is based on one person: Jesus.

Not what someone tells us of Him, but what His Word reveals about Him.

It could not be any simpler.

Yet for the longest time, I was convinced that if I had negative thoughts or feelings, then I was dead-set responsible to do something about what I was feeling, to get rid of those bad feelings, so that they would not trouble me any further.

That is not the life that we are called to accept.

We are called to walk in the truth, and accept nothing which rises up against that truth of who He is and what He has done:

"(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)

Notice that Paul writes about the obedience of Christ, not our obedience, but His.

And what is His obedience?

8Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec." (Hebrews 5: 8-10)

He suffered for our sins, our sickness, our sorrows, for everything. He was perfected, in that He completed the work and rose from the dead. Today, He is our High Priest, and He is justifying us at the right hand of God the Father now and forger (Romans 8: 31-32)

We need to see Him, and He transforms us to be like Him:

"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)

and then

"1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3: 1-3)

Not looking at ourselves, but Himself. Not fighting with the lies, but resting in the truth: that is what this life is all about!

Eternal Consequence of Jesus' Work

Thank You, Jesus, for the ministry of Bob George.

He explained to me and many others the importance of understanding the eternal consequences of Jesus' Finished Work at the Cross.

All my sins are forgiven and paid for, because all of my sins were in the future when Jesus died on the Cross.

He put aside all my sins.

The eternal consequences of this revelation cannot be ignored.

When we understand the fullness of what Jesus has done, that it has eternal significance, that no matter what happens, His grace cannot be stopped: we find ourselves reigning in life:

"15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" (Romans 5: 15-17)

Jesus came that we would have life and that more abundantly, too (John 10: 10)

Notice that this life is not qualified by us, but by Himself:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14: 6)

He did not come to make our life better, but to give us Himself, His life.

We cannot have His life without understanding the full consequences of His death.

He died for all sins, ours and the entire world. He is the propitiation who has finished the work for all time:

"1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2: 1-2)

and also

"13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)

All our sins. Now, modern day skeptics challenge the notion that Jesus died for all our sins for all time. "How could He have died for my future sins?" Answer this rebuttal with a question: "Where were your sins when Jesus died on the Cross?" They were all in the future.

When we understand the eternal consequences of Jesus' work at the Cross, then we can understand why He grants us eternal life:

"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)

This life comes from Himself:

"I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly" (John 10: 10). . ."I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14: 6)

Now, sin creates death:

"
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin." (Proverbs 10: 16)

and

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 23)

We must live in the New Testament dispensation. Life is a gift which God our Father has given us, and we receive this gift because of His righteousness (He became sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ: 2 Corinthians 5: 21)

This righteousness is a never-ending gift, because His blood never stop cleansing:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 John 1: 7)

We need to understand the eternal consequence of what Jesus' did, and what His blood does, so that we can receive and keep receiving His life in us!

The problem today is not just that people have a poor knowledge of God's Word, but they have too much knowledge of things which are not true, mixed in with all that they have been taught.

I have faced this problem head on recently in my life, but Jesus had warned about this, even during His earthly ministry:

"5And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." (Matthew 16: 5-12)

Paul also told New Testament believers to watch out for the leaven of men's doctrines and perversions:

"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" (1 Corinthians 5: 6)

and also

"A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." (Galatians 5: 9)

The Master's Work needs no additions. The blood of Jesus accomplishes a perfect work, and speaks better things than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12: 24)

Not only has Jesus' Work at the Cross done a perfect work, the blood is still working, and nothing can take that away. We need to rest in His Work, to grow in grace, and to see that Jesus has taken care of and continues to take care of all things (Romans 8: 31-32)

Not Achieving, but Receiving!

Another despicable aspect of the AA cult -- that we must keep trying to make ourselves OK with God.

That is wrong.

We are already made acceptable, even gracious before God:

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 6)

If we do not feel strong, or if we feel condemned, the answer is not for us to do something but for us to keep receiving the truth of God's grace and righteousness given to us in abundance:

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 17)

For the longest time, I have been trying to make myself better. If I was feeling bad, or thinking bad, I was so obsessed with correcting the mistakes. I was obsessed with fixing my thoughts.

Today, I recognize not only that I have been forgiven of all my sins, but that I am called to receive more of the grace of God in my life.

This life is not about not sinning, this life is not about my trying, my efforts. This life is His Life in you and  me, which we receive, and keep receiving from Jesus!

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)

and also

"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)

and also

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)

We need to recognize that He is our life. It is not our life, nor is it a life we are trying to generate on our own.

This has been a hard saying for me. This is not a life about being better, but about Him making us better:

"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)

Receiving, not achieving, that is what it is all about!

Solution to a Lonely Heart

The solution to a lonely heart is not getting together with other people.

In fact, meeting with others, hanging out with them and then sensing the loneliness, will not help matters.

It only makes things worse, because the frustration is still there.

I know, because I have been there, as have many people.

The solution to a lonely heart is to know that you are cared for.

That Someone (notice the Big "S") cares for you.

"6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5: 6-7)

He does not stop caring for us, just because we sin.

He paid for all our sins forever!

The solution to a lonely heart is to know that He is not leaving us, nor every will.

It is to know that He is for us, even when we are not for Him (all the time).

He is Not Going Anywhere

Someone had tried to comfort me with the truth:

"5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13: 5)

Today, I was meditating on this verse, and behold, the preacher on TV was talking about this verse, too.

The next question finally came to me: why have I not believed this?

Because I was going by my feelings. I was going by my thoughts, and determining that what I felt or believed determined whether he was with me or not.

I was not believing the truth.

We cannot accommodate these frauds in our lives.

You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

This was the truth which I had not known as true.

The physical pain because of the thoughts and feelings that I was trying to block, had created so much pain.

When we rest on truth, though, it will not matter what we feel, because the perfect love of God casts out the fears, and puts away all frauds.

Where did this lie come from, by the way?. . .

It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. (AA, pg 66)

That statement is a flat out lie. How we feel is a manifestation of what we are thinking.

If we believe that how we feel is going to block us from God our Loving Father, then we are not walking in the truth. (3 John 2-4)

It could not be any simpler.

It does not matter how we feel, at all:

"37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 37-39)

So, I was once again asking myself today -- why did I not believe this?

Because of the garbage which I had been taught as a youth.

Now more than ever, I have begun to understand. What I needed was not a greater revelation of Jesus only, but also to get rid of the lies and frauds which I had been taught as a kid.

It's not the things you don't know that hurt you. It's the things you know that ain't so.

And that is the way it is:

"Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." (Galatisn 4: 30)

Notice "what says the Scripture?", not "what does your mother say?" or "what does the preacher say?" or "what do you say?" (and certainly not "How does Bill see it?"

What does the Bible say, and what does the Gospel reveal:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13: 38-39)

For the longest time, I was so frightened and worried about how I felt. I was guided by the stupid feelings, rather than resting in the truth of what Jesus says  (not just "said" but says!- about me and you!)

That is a lie, and that lie is defeated in the truth of God's Word!

For so long, I was reading the Bible just to feel better. Now I know better, and I read the Bible to know Him better and keep receiving His favor.

I also realize that he is not going anywhere, and the lie that how I feel determines whether He is there or not, well, it's just not there anymore!

I Need to Know a Savior Who Is Alive

I was talking with a friend of mine last night (Christmas Night!)

I was telling him that there is no talk about Jesus who is alive.

He is living in us.

We celebrate His birth, we celebrate His death, but we do celebrate His Life, for He lives in us today!

He ministers on our behalf forever, too!

This is the part which I have been trying to see more of.

He is living and caring for us in every way.

This has taken me a long time to understand, but that is what growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord is really all about!

The reason why so many people are lonely, too, is that they do not see this Savior who is alive for us.

They do not know that, they do not know Him.

Today, I am learning more about Him, and I am not running away!

Focusing on His Righteousness, not Our Actions

The chastening of our Lord is not easy.

And it is not about punishing us for not doing enough.

Following a set of rules, and doing more or less, all of this appeals to us.

We live in a world drowning with suggestions, tips, commandments.

Jesus invites us to receive Himself and His caring:

"28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

and then

"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)

For so long, I have spent my time looking at my thoughts and feeling, convinced that how I felt or what I was thinking was blocking me from seeing and receiving more of Jesus in my life.

God does not ask us to fix ourselves, but rather to fix our eyes on Jesus:

"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)

This is the harder struggle. So much in our lives, our prior experience tempts us to look at ourselves, to fix ourselves.

Yet even if we do, we should not despair, because Jesus is right there, in fact He is right here, guiding us and living in us.

He asks us to take His yoke, and let Him lead. Too many have turned this invitation into another work, but Jesus was not kidding when He said "My burden is easy, and my yoke is light."

When we see what He accomplished at the Cross, taking our sin, becoming son, and making us the righteousness of God in Him, then we are transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

We are not transformed by fixing ourselves, or looking at ourselves, but looking at all that Jesus is and has done for us:

"25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1: 25)

Now, many will read this and say: "Look at the Ten Commandments", but the Mosaic Law, the Ten Commandments, is a ministry of condemnation and death:

"4And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Corinthians 3: 4-6)

The letter kills, people. How can we have liberty if we are dead?

"7But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." (2 Corinthians 3:7-11)

So, what is James talking about?

A little translation adjustment will help. James actually writes about "The perfected law of liberty."

How was the law perfected, or completed? Through Jesus' death on the Cross:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5: 17)

and

"13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)

Jesus rendered the law inoperative against us because He fulfilled all of its demands:

"1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8: 1-4)

In the passage above, we find the law that we look on, that we meditate on: the law of the spirit of life.

The Holy Spirit now lives in us and guides us:

"4Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:4-6)

and also

"20But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." (1 John 2: 20)

and also

"27But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." (1 John 2: 27)

As we focus on Himself, and receive His righteousness and grace, we reign in life, and the sins, hurts, bad habits, addictions do not.

Not by trying to remove the bad in our lives, but receiving the better what He has given us.

The Truth of Grace is All that Matters

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8: 32)

Grace and truth are connected as one whole in the New Testament, and both are united in Christ:

"The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1: 17)

Instead of fighting with the lies and frustrations we face with people who want to fight with us, our goal should be to know more about Jesus, to see Him who has been from the beginning (1 John 2: 14-15)

Instead of looking for points of division and conflict, we seek unity, but not in ourselves. We do not seek consensus based on what we believe, but rather who we believe in.

I used to get upset with preachers because of the people they were hanging out with, or the statements would make. I was so quick to reject people because they held views which were not in line with the Bible.

Today, I realize that I can rest in the truth of God's grace, and anything which is not of the truth diminishes God's goodness and in some way augments what we must do.

Maturity is based on unity in Christ, not conformity to any cause in order to avoid conflict:

"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4: 1-5)

In the next part of Ephesians Four, Paul takes about growing in to the Head, which is Christ. It is all about Jesus, and seeing all that He is.

"4That 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: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4: 14-16)

Grace and truth are met in Christ. We cannot understand grace without seeing the truth, and we know the truth when we see Jesus:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14: 6)

and also

"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)

Instead of looking for points of disagreement, we must seek to see more of Jesus. He is real, He is alive, and He is looking for as many ways to reach out and let us allow Him to care for us.

Anything which diminishes the grace of God, and expounds what we must do, we must reject. We are not called to trust in ourselves, but to walk in His Spirit. We are not called to understand ourselves, but receive more of Himself in our daily walk.

Grace, not Force

What is it about worrying which takes over so many of us?

We think that with all our fretting, we are actually accomplishing something.

The truth is that we think that we must do something, because we do not believe that God is doing something for us, or that He is working behind the scenes taking care of everything on our behalf.

Such is the result of living with the idea that God is based on our conception of Him, rather than resting in the truth that He is taking care of all things for us.

The above revelation has been very difficult for me, since for so long I have grown accustomed to forcing everything to fall into place.

I am since then learning so much about the grace of God, and how His favor opens more doors than my labor or the fears and fervors of men.

This has been so difficult for me to accept, yet we must recognize that in the Beginning, God created. . .everything, then planned our redemption before man fell:

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" (Ephesians 1: 4)

and

"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you," (1 Peter 1: 20)

and also

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13: 8)

We do not need our efforts, but we need to see His efforts at work in our lives:

"27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." (Colossians 1: 27-29)

He is working in you and me (Philippians 2: 12-13). We are not trying to conjure Him up, and we should never succumb to sense of aloneness in our situations:

"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?" (Romans 8: 31-32)

and also

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Corinthians 2: 12)

It's about the grace of God working in our lives, which we receive because of Jesus!

God is About Giving Us Something Better

"38And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. 40So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. 41But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot." (2 Kings 4: 38-41)

In this passage, we see Elisha, a picture of Jesus our Savior, providing something more to the sons of the prophets, men who were training to be like Elisha.

Notice that Elisha commanded them to prepare something to eat. Then they tried to improve on what the Master had already prepared, a picture of men and women adding something to the Good News.

How did Elisha fix the food which they had poisoned? He put something more into the pot. He added something better: meal, or flour.

This flour is picture of Jesus and His Finished Work, which he accomplished for us and we can rejoice in through the Holy Communion. The first mention of meal (Genesis 18: 6), plus the references to the fine flour in Leviticus (1-2), speak of all that Jesus has done for us.

So, what do we draw from this passage?

Growing in grace is not about avoiding bad things. Growing in grace is not about removing bad things from our lives.

Life is about receiving something better in Christ.

We are called to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3: 18).

We are transformed from glory to glory by looking at Jesus, too (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

I just noticed again that the two verses above are based on 3 and 18.

For now, I want to focus on this revelation: God does not improve us by taking something away.

He causes us to grow by giving us more of Himself:

"15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 15-17)

We are called to receive and keep receiving the gift of righteousness and abundance of grace.

The first thing I want to do is fix myself.

The first thing He asks us to do is. . .fix our eyes on Himself.

God is all about us giving us something better, which we receive through Him:

"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? " (Romans 8: 31-32)

How shall He not freely give us all things with Him?

Now, I am also realizing this part, too. I have spent so much time fighting against what is not true. It is so tempting to fight with the lies. It is much easier to know the truth, for the truth shall make you and me free (John 8: 31-32)

I do not have to put out the lies, when I can just receive the truth.

God is all about giving us something better. He gave us the best in His Son, and there is so much we can receive from Him today.

AA is like the bad gourds, or the wild (literally "shiny") herbs. It seems like a good idea, as though all that Jesus has done is great, but we can add something else to make it better.

Wrong and wrong again. To bring anything of our part to what Jesus did for us, is to adulterated the grace of God:

"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." (Romans 11: 6)

God gives us better when we make something worse. We add nothing, because we cannot improve when He makes is better.

Shame is a Lie from Satan

Alcoholics Anonymous is a brilliant, yet evil cult.

Teaching people to identify with something shameful ensures that individual will remain dependent and feeble in their lives, unable to stand up for themselves, putting up with all kinds of abuse.

If you are an alcoholic, then you will behave like one.

Where does anyone get the idea that we break free of shameful habits by identifying with them?

What does Paul say to the Corinthians, who still were living in sin?

"15Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (1 Corinthians 6: 15-17)

Know you not? Know you not?

Don't you know who you are? You are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Why would you abuse your body?

Then:

"18Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6: 18-20)


We are called to identify with the truth of Christ living in us, our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)

We are no longer in dead Adam, but alive in Christ Jesus. We have received Himself, and because we live in Him, free from condemnation (Romans 8:1 )

Because there is no condemnation in Christ, we bring every thought into captivity to Christ Jesus, (2 Corinthians 10: 5), which indicates that we are free of the law of sin and death, and now living by the law of the Spirit of life!

Shame is a lie from Satan, and because Jesus has fulfilled the law for us, we are free from condemnation, and called to reign in life in His Son (Romans 5:15-17)

He is Our Life (Not My Efforts)

Why was I so frustrated with what I was thinking and feeling?

Because I had believed that what I was thinking or feeling determined whether God was living and working in my life, or not.

Hence, the deep-rooted frustration and pain with fearing whatever I was thinking or feeling.

The sense that His presence would come or go depending on what I was thinking or feeling was just too painful to put into words.

Such bondage was the result of believing a lie.

For so long, I was caught up in trying to fix myself, rather than fixing my eyes on Himself.

Today, that is all different.

I had no idea that He is alive, and that He is living in me.

It is not my job to make Him do His job.

He is already at work, taking care of me. This is all wonderful to learn about it.

Every time there was a premonition of fear or panic, I now simply respond with: Lie!

If it's a lie, then there is no reason to tangle and fight about it.

There is a new life which I am recognizing within me, and the Law of the Spirit of Life is quickening me to follow him.

For so long,  I was caught up in trying to guard my thoughts, my feelings, myself. Instead of resting in the truth of everything which Christ Jesus is, I was walking around in bondage to some deep, penetrating lies.

There is no room for adding anything else to a perfect work which Jesus Finished at the Cross.

That includes AA, and thus another reason why I am avoiding many churches at this time.

He is our Life, and this is not something which we conjure up in our lives through strenuous efforts. It's not believing something long and hard enough, but resting in the truth of all that Jesus is.

Set Free Some More

We need to hear the Truth of the Gospel, and keeping hearing it.

I have spent so much of my time reacting to how I felt.

I was so busy dealing with my feelings.

We need to know the truth, and the truth sets us free.

This life is not about feeling better, but seeing  more of Him.

For the longest time, I was deeply caught up in trying to feel better.

There was pain and fear in my life for so long.

We are not called to be in the business of making ourselves feel better.

We are called to believe the truth that sets us free.

Our negative thinking, or negative feelings merely reflect a backward or incomplete knowledge of the truth, pure and simple.

For the longest time,  I was focusing on how I felt, and trying to fix that.

Wow, I was so wrong.

"2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 2-4)

We need to walk in the truth of the Gospel, that in Christ all our sins are forgiven, and that we have entered into a New Covenant because of the blood of Jesus and His High Priesthood forever.

I have spent my whole life feeling bad about what I was thinking, when the reality is simply to believe the truth, and not condemn ourselves for not believing the truth.

We have nothing to be ashamed of, because there is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

Why People Made Me Feel Bad

I find that there are certain people I tend to avoid.

One person called it "intimidation". Others might call it "fear".

Now I know what to call it: shame.

People shame us from time to time, they make us feel bad about doing something wrong.

Shame has been a hard thing to push away. A sense of pain is strong in the back of our minds, a sense of wrong-doing, that someone has to pay for what we have done.

Yet that Cross provides that very relief, and we are called to receive and keep receiving that relief:

"28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

Shame is a terrible teacher. Condemnation ensures that individuals will continue engaging in the same bad behavior.

Jesus preached grace to the woman caught in the act of adultery:

"10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8: 10-11)

I have to stress that Jesus did not arbitrarily forgive her. The same phrase "lifted up himself" is the same verb to describe what Moses did with the bronzed serpent, and what Jesus would become for all the world:

"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me. 33This he said, signifying what death he should die." (John 12: 31-33)

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29). He took our sins away, and therefore He could preach to the woman in adultery, and Paul writes to us in Romans:

"1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8: 1)

Now, for the longest time, I would feel bad, and then I would automatically think - what did I do to feel bad? What did I do wrong?

The fact is, that question does not matter. What we did does not matter. What Jesus did, that is what matters. People need to stop looking at themselves, and start looking at Jesus, our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1: 30)

People will make you feel bad if you let them, and oftentimes we let people make us feel bad because we do not understand the fullness of all that Jesus has done for us. There is no shame at all, and we are not supposed to give it any credence or attention, just as Jesus did:

"Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12: 2)

People cannot make us feel bad. We may think badly in response to how people treat us, or we can scorn the shame and keep receiving His grace. Today, I choose the latter.

We understand that He took all our sin, and His blood has eternal consequences, ever-cleansing us (1 John 1:7)

The Essense of AA: Shame

What makes AA work so well, in spite of the fact that it is an evil cult inflicting great harm on people?

The program is based on shame.

Making people feel bad about themselves, and fearful at all times that God will be angry at them and not want to talk to them.

There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8: 1), but outside of Him, we are susceptible to all kinds of shame and dishonor.

He took our shame, he took our wrongdoing, and in its place we receive His glory, we receive His righteousness.

That and so much more took place at the Cross.

To this day, there are wicked people who want to minimize the Cross, and maximize man's efforts.

This is evil.

Alcoholics Anonymous wants to teach people to see themselves as filthy and dirty alcoholics, men and women who are unable to think for themselves, who end up turning themselves over to some God, or rather the projection of another individual's inner deity.

Such was my life, and I fear that this conflict defines the lives of many people who have grown under the frauds and deceptions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

For  years, I was taught to see myself as "A flea, a dog, a worm."

Yet what did God the Father do for us through His Son:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 3-6)

I was raised to believe that if I thought highly of myself, or regarded myself well, then it would inflate my ego.

Yet we cannot compete with what God our Father has done for us, nor can we run away from the truth that we are nothing without Him. We did not make ourselves, yet He has made us for all things, because He is good, not us. Because He is lovely, not because we are loveable in and of ourselves.

"3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 

4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

 

5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100: 3-5)

 

I do not want my conception of God. Not at all! I want to know more about the Good LORD revealed in the Word of God!

 

So, the essence of AA, of all man-centered cults, is to induct people into a false identity,  and to fill them with a sense of shame and self-loathing. We hate ourselves because of the sin in our lives, the failures in our behavior and our thinking.

 

The cult teaches people to try to stay one step ahead of our sin.

 

The Bible teaches that Jesus paid for all our sins, and for sin in our flesh, and that His blood continues to cleanse us from all our sins:

 

"2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8: 2-4)

 

and

 

"13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)

 

and

 

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1: 7)

 

There is no more shame, there is no more condemnation in Christ Jesus:

 

"Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more." (Isaiah 54: 4)

 

and

 

"And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more." (Ezekiel 34: 29)

 

and

 

"11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2: 11-14)

 

We are redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3: 13), and the condemnation of our sin, because Jesus has taken it all for us.

 

There is no need for us to feel shame, and in fact we must rest in the Truth of God's Grace, that all of our sins are paid for forever. There is no more shame.