The Gospel of Grace is incredibly good news to those who believe. We've been taught in this life that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is not true. But the rules of this planet don't apply to this Gospel. It's so good people can't believe its true, and so they either miss out, or make it suitably complicated or hard to reach so they can feel they have 'qualified' somehow.
I hope, if you have read all of my prayer blog so far, that you have understood there is no 'formula' for prayer, or style that is more successful than another, etc. Even as I finished with 'Rest, Listen, give Permission' in my last post, that this is not the be all and end all. I made it quite clear that if all you ever get to do in prayer is Rest in Him, that is His greatest joy - that you enjoy Him and He you. That you dive into His arms and soak up all that He is in you, is the Spirit's highest priority. And as I said back in the 'rest' posts, if that seems too 'touchy feely' for you and isn't your language, then find what is! There is something God has placed in you that is the way you will enjoy connecting with Him. What do you love doing? (Okay, 'really like' if you still withdraw from the love thing!)
There are times in my life when things get so crazy I have not been able to have a 'quiet' time as people understand the concept. What I found (to my displeasure) is that if I still got into rest at the very beginning of the day and connected with God for just a few minutes, it made the hugest difference to the way my day panned out. Stuff didn't knock me around half as much as when I tried just praying about stuff on the wing during the day. The reason this annoyed me so much is because I am a freedom rebel, and don't like the concept that 'doing' something should make a difference. But then I was reminded that I'm not doing, I'm being, and this is what makes the difference. Being One with Christ and continually letting Him live your Christian life.
Practicing being a 'dead man' takes no effort whatsoever, and is really about getting out of the way.
I love this so much! I love the fact there is nothing I can do to change anything, it is not in my power or ability to save the world. But the Spirit of Christ can. The Maker of the Universe can. What is more, He already has. You were 'saved' at the Cross. You qualified back then. And this super good news is for everyone! No wonder dancing and singing is part of the Jesus culture! Shake off the old you, the failures and operating under the 'law'. Jesus hated religion more than any other sin. If you are feeling trapped in dullness, perpetually guilty, or your faith has disintegrated into powerlessness; I encourage you - get free and rest again!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
How to Pray IX - Practical Stuff #3
3. Speak it Out:
Hearing is one thing, and sometimes that really is enough depending on the nature of our prayer request, but usually God is waiting for our interaction on the subject. Prayer has been called 'earthly permission for divine intervention' (Dr Myles Munro) and I'm liking that. Of course God knows what you need and what to do, but His hands are basically tied due to a fairly generous thing He did at creation: He gave the earth to us to rule -Genesis 1:26. (And then we pretty promptly handed it on to the arch enemy of God.)
Anyway, part of being made in His image included having the power to change things with our words. We make agreements everyday just about every time we open our mouths - either with lies or with truth, with light or dark, life or death, God, Satan, others or ourselves. Scary eh? However that's a big subject so let me just stick with the currant prayer permission thing:
Take what the answer looks like and speak it out.
Now over the years this has been packaged a bit dubiously and we ended up with positive confession catch phrases that had as much bounce as a soggy paper towel: 'name it and claim it', 'blab it and grab it' to name two. But we're not talking about magic formulas or mind power. Nor are we talking about living in denial. "I don't deny the existence of the mountain. I deny the right of it to exist in my way. I see it as God sees it - removed." (Charles Capps) There is an important difference here: we need to be speaking God's words. That why we spent time making sure we heard God's heart on the subject first. Remember mother Mary's words at the 'water into wine' wedding: "Whatever He tells you to do, do it"? This gives you the confidence to know that what you're announcing to all the unseen powers is the answer that God most certainly decreed.
Hearing is one thing, and sometimes that really is enough depending on the nature of our prayer request, but usually God is waiting for our interaction on the subject. Prayer has been called 'earthly permission for divine intervention' (Dr Myles Munro) and I'm liking that. Of course God knows what you need and what to do, but His hands are basically tied due to a fairly generous thing He did at creation: He gave the earth to us to rule -Genesis 1:26. (And then we pretty promptly handed it on to the arch enemy of God.)
Anyway, part of being made in His image included having the power to change things with our words. We make agreements everyday just about every time we open our mouths - either with lies or with truth, with light or dark, life or death, God, Satan, others or ourselves. Scary eh? However that's a big subject so let me just stick with the currant prayer permission thing:
Take what the answer looks like and speak it out.
Now over the years this has been packaged a bit dubiously and we ended up with positive confession catch phrases that had as much bounce as a soggy paper towel: 'name it and claim it', 'blab it and grab it' to name two. But we're not talking about magic formulas or mind power. Nor are we talking about living in denial. "I don't deny the existence of the mountain. I deny the right of it to exist in my way. I see it as God sees it - removed." (Charles Capps) There is an important difference here: we need to be speaking God's words. That why we spent time making sure we heard God's heart on the subject first. Remember mother Mary's words at the 'water into wine' wedding: "Whatever He tells you to do, do it"? This gives you the confidence to know that what you're announcing to all the unseen powers is the answer that God most certainly decreed.
Now for you WhatDidJesusDo? folks - the following is paraphrased from Charles Capps' 'The Tongue, A Creative Force':
1. He spent much time in prayer, but He never prayed the problem, He prayed the answer - what God said is the answer.
2. He spoke accurately. His conversation always consisted of what God said.
3. He always spoke the end results. Never did He confess present circumstances. He spoke the desired results.
4. He used the written word to defeat Satan.
5. Jesus spoke directly to the problem, such as trees, storms, waves, demons and Satan, and they all obeyed Him...not because He was the Son of God, but because He was the Son of man (John 5:26-27). He operated as a man on the authority of His Father's Word.
People who are born on this earth are the only ones who have authority here. That is why God works through mankind/humans.
That is why it was so important that Jesus came to earth as a human, left all His supernaturalness behind, and then showed us 'here, this is how you do it.'
Practical stuff: if in doubt; rest, listen, give permission. That's how you pray. And like I said at the start, this is not a formula, you need to find how this looks for you. But you gotta START somewhere! So give it a go.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
How to Pray V111 - Practical Stuff #2
2: 'See what He sees'
Its been a while since I last updated, so it might pay to read my previous post again to reconnect with the Practical Stuff and familiarise yourself with what number1 was about. (I've been flat out having to put #1 into action!)
Once you know you're ready to listen in your prayer time (after having got into Rest first) - and remember I said you'll just 'feel the conclusion' - it might help to start by imagining the Lord whispering to you; "Do you see what I see?"
Now if we were dealing with pure logic and intellect here, you could get quite far just by knowing your Bible well enough to intuit the answer. Say if you were praying for healing for yourself, for example, what do you know for sure the Father's heart is about your healing? Reminding yourself of His promises found in scripture is a fairly safe way of trying to see what He sees. Remember when He looks at you He sees not you, but Christ in you. So He sees you perfect, healed, whole, full of righteousness, wisdom and power.
However, I am not actually talking about this kind of self-effort way of pumping yourself up by what you already know. This takes you out of grace and back into your own efforts. So SURPRISE if you thought the answer was something like this! (No harm in this of course, if it comes naturally to you anyway. Its a great habit if it comes bubbling out of your relationship with Christ.)
Listen, our relationship with Him is supposed to be one of encounter as a regular happening thing. That means we can tangibly feel His Presence and understand where He is leading us. He can drop thoughts into our brains and if we spend time listening we'll actually realise it! The key to this is the same thing that got you saved in the first place - just BELIEVE that He lives in you, and TRUST that He WILL speak to you/lead you.
But it will help if you are specific. So specifically put before Him the thing that concerns you the most (just THINK it or briefly verbalise it - He does know already), and then just listen. Yes, wait. Wait until you hear. Have music on if you like, or look at the sunrise if you like, or be in complete silence, or whatever as we have discussed before - your peculiar tastes. But try not to get out of rest until you know you have heard from the Living God. You need the encouragement this sort of encounter brings. (And you need it to happen often.)
Now I know I just said be specific, but I have to warn you our God has a wry sense of humour and seldom answers any question humans ask Him directly. (Look in the Jesus stories - each time He answered a question with a question of His own, or chastised them, or told them something else altogether!)
I have found while I'm waiting on Him I suddenly become aware I have been thinking about something else and a piece of wisdom about it has materialised! It's so random and cool and so, well, Jesus for you.
Some of you will 'see' things visually - dream dreams and see visions, etc. Some of you will learn in metaphors, parables or parallel universes. Some of you will just experience logic and reason coz that's the way you roll. But if it lines up with what you know about the character and nature of God, you have heard right! Enjoy seeing what He sees.
Now you're ready to give permission for it to happen - next post!
Its been a while since I last updated, so it might pay to read my previous post again to reconnect with the Practical Stuff and familiarise yourself with what number1 was about. (I've been flat out having to put #1 into action!)
Once you know you're ready to listen in your prayer time (after having got into Rest first) - and remember I said you'll just 'feel the conclusion' - it might help to start by imagining the Lord whispering to you; "Do you see what I see?"
Now if we were dealing with pure logic and intellect here, you could get quite far just by knowing your Bible well enough to intuit the answer. Say if you were praying for healing for yourself, for example, what do you know for sure the Father's heart is about your healing? Reminding yourself of His promises found in scripture is a fairly safe way of trying to see what He sees. Remember when He looks at you He sees not you, but Christ in you. So He sees you perfect, healed, whole, full of righteousness, wisdom and power.
However, I am not actually talking about this kind of self-effort way of pumping yourself up by what you already know. This takes you out of grace and back into your own efforts. So SURPRISE if you thought the answer was something like this! (No harm in this of course, if it comes naturally to you anyway. Its a great habit if it comes bubbling out of your relationship with Christ.)
Listen, our relationship with Him is supposed to be one of encounter as a regular happening thing. That means we can tangibly feel His Presence and understand where He is leading us. He can drop thoughts into our brains and if we spend time listening we'll actually realise it! The key to this is the same thing that got you saved in the first place - just BELIEVE that He lives in you, and TRUST that He WILL speak to you/lead you.
But it will help if you are specific. So specifically put before Him the thing that concerns you the most (just THINK it or briefly verbalise it - He does know already), and then just listen. Yes, wait. Wait until you hear. Have music on if you like, or look at the sunrise if you like, or be in complete silence, or whatever as we have discussed before - your peculiar tastes. But try not to get out of rest until you know you have heard from the Living God. You need the encouragement this sort of encounter brings. (And you need it to happen often.)
Now I know I just said be specific, but I have to warn you our God has a wry sense of humour and seldom answers any question humans ask Him directly. (Look in the Jesus stories - each time He answered a question with a question of His own, or chastised them, or told them something else altogether!)
I have found while I'm waiting on Him I suddenly become aware I have been thinking about something else and a piece of wisdom about it has materialised! It's so random and cool and so, well, Jesus for you.
Some of you will 'see' things visually - dream dreams and see visions, etc. Some of you will learn in metaphors, parables or parallel universes. Some of you will just experience logic and reason coz that's the way you roll. But if it lines up with what you know about the character and nature of God, you have heard right! Enjoy seeing what He sees.
Now you're ready to give permission for it to happen - next post!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
How to Pray VII - Practical Stuff #1
If anyone tries to tell you exactly how to pray, take their advice with a great big grain of freedom - i.e. don't listen unless the Holy Spirit is jumping around inside you going YES, YES, I wanna do that! (Thought I'd just start with that qualifier.)
If you have been following these posts, you'll see I'm trying to take you on a journey of dumping the old stuff, going back to the beginning - the Cross - and starting all over again to lift your expectations for who you are now in Christ - a saint, full of Love and Power because Jesus has taken over your body. We are zombies for Christ! Only these zombies don't belong to the dark side at all - we are totally full of Light, and because He is holy, we are holy. Woohoo! Can't earn that there - so as long as we give up trying to earn anything and learn to rest in His awesomeness, the Planet is ours!
Remember why you are on planet earth - ENJOYMENT in relationship with God, and the inevitable consequence is bringing a bit of Heaven to earth wherever you go.
That's where what we call 'prayer' comes in. Really what we are talking about is spending time with God to hear what He wants to do. No matter what our need is (or how urgent) the answer is in the question mate (John 5:19):
What is the Father saying? What is Heaven's perspective on this?
So in my books, prayer is whatever action you take to 'position' yourself to hear what Heaven is saying. I said last time that in prayer "we listen to what the Father is wanting to do and simply agree with Him." If there were three recommendations I could give as a basis of prayer, it would be: 1. Rest in Him 2. See what He sees 3. Speak it out.
1. We covered 'Rest is a Weapon' in post #3. Remember Jesus said in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you...Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." If we allow ourselves to get stressed out, worried, anxious or fearful about something, this can displace our peace and makes us vulnerable to reacting to the 'something' instead of responding to Heaven. The enemy seeks to pull us out of rest, therefore step number 1 is to make sure we get back into it.
How this looks for you is completely tailored by you. You need to connect with how you are wired to answer that. For example, what causes you to rest? Is it music? Singing? Praise? Worship? Dancing? Lying prostrate? Staring at the sunrise/sunset? Being immersed in nature? Reading the Bible or speaking out verses? Kneeling in silence? Going for a walk? (Prayer-walking). Focusing on some aspect of God's being?
You'll probably need to access at least three different ways in order to be able to enter 'rest' no matter whether you're at home, work, driving in the car, or at a party. So try different things out and see which you really get a buzz out of. Prayer is not supposed to be a chore! Mix it up depending on what you sense is going to work for that time. It could be different every time! No limits! Complete freedom. (As long as it doesn't wake the baby next door).
How do you know you've entered into rest? Believe me, YOU'LL KNOW! (I mean - whispers you'll know). You will know you're ready to move on from there and get into the good stuff. And quite frankly sometimes all you'll get to do is soak in rest and THAT actually is the answer for you at that time. You'll feel the conclusion (or get interrupted if you're a mum!) and all will still be well with the world.
Number 2 next time. Homework this time: get busy and rest!
If you have been following these posts, you'll see I'm trying to take you on a journey of dumping the old stuff, going back to the beginning - the Cross - and starting all over again to lift your expectations for who you are now in Christ - a saint, full of Love and Power because Jesus has taken over your body. We are zombies for Christ! Only these zombies don't belong to the dark side at all - we are totally full of Light, and because He is holy, we are holy. Woohoo! Can't earn that there - so as long as we give up trying to earn anything and learn to rest in His awesomeness, the Planet is ours!
Remember why you are on planet earth - ENJOYMENT in relationship with God, and the inevitable consequence is bringing a bit of Heaven to earth wherever you go.
That's where what we call 'prayer' comes in. Really what we are talking about is spending time with God to hear what He wants to do. No matter what our need is (or how urgent) the answer is in the question mate (John 5:19):
What is the Father saying? What is Heaven's perspective on this?
So in my books, prayer is whatever action you take to 'position' yourself to hear what Heaven is saying. I said last time that in prayer "we listen to what the Father is wanting to do and simply agree with Him." If there were three recommendations I could give as a basis of prayer, it would be: 1. Rest in Him 2. See what He sees 3. Speak it out.
1. We covered 'Rest is a Weapon' in post #3. Remember Jesus said in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you...Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." If we allow ourselves to get stressed out, worried, anxious or fearful about something, this can displace our peace and makes us vulnerable to reacting to the 'something' instead of responding to Heaven. The enemy seeks to pull us out of rest, therefore step number 1 is to make sure we get back into it.
How this looks for you is completely tailored by you. You need to connect with how you are wired to answer that. For example, what causes you to rest? Is it music? Singing? Praise? Worship? Dancing? Lying prostrate? Staring at the sunrise/sunset? Being immersed in nature? Reading the Bible or speaking out verses? Kneeling in silence? Going for a walk? (Prayer-walking). Focusing on some aspect of God's being?
You'll probably need to access at least three different ways in order to be able to enter 'rest' no matter whether you're at home, work, driving in the car, or at a party. So try different things out and see which you really get a buzz out of. Prayer is not supposed to be a chore! Mix it up depending on what you sense is going to work for that time. It could be different every time! No limits! Complete freedom. (As long as it doesn't wake the baby next door).
How do you know you've entered into rest? Believe me, YOU'LL KNOW! (I mean - whispers you'll know). You will know you're ready to move on from there and get into the good stuff. And quite frankly sometimes all you'll get to do is soak in rest and THAT actually is the answer for you at that time. You'll feel the conclusion (or get interrupted if you're a mum!) and all will still be well with the world.
Number 2 next time. Homework this time: get busy and rest!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
How to Pray VI - Enjoyment!
Another wonderful book has just been devoured. Oh the wonder of the marvels of what God is up to on the planet! I highly recommend Beni Johnson's 'The Happy Intercessor'. That's my kind of title too.
So far we have looked at wanting to change, learning to rest, cleansing, and being properly saved/i.e. totally exchanged at the cross and letting Jesus run our Christianity. But I have got so caught up in getting across all the theological barriers to true relationship with God and leaving behind religion, that I have just about let the whole point I started this blog slip:
Love and Enjoyment.
See, the reason God created you was because He delighted in you, enjoyed you, and wanted you to enjoy Him too! You were created for pleasure, and as such, you have a pleasure seeking missile within you. We get into strife of course when we try to try to fill up outside of anything other than the King Himself. Short term gain = lifelong pain!
Not only that, but He made you unique and so the things that bring you great enjoyment will be unique to you. That means that other people's formula's for fulfilment in Christ aren't necessarily going to work for you. No kidding! You've probably already discovered that! The Christian life gets pretty dull if we take a look around at some of God's children 'sacrificing' for Jesus, striving and straining to make the goal, burdened and weary, dancing one minute and crashing the next. No more. No more.
Where does prayer come into this? Let me give you a picture of what it could look like: Prayer is just a side effect, if you like, of being completely enraptured with the Creator. We are, in the end, compelled to take action as we become aware of our God given authority and ability to bring the purposes of Heaven to earth. We love to do it! We are so moved by a certain passion (that will be unique to us) that we listen to what the Father is wanting to do and simply agree with Him. We know we don't have to drum up some great prayer words, but just rest in Him, see what He sees, then speak it out prophetically - how it looks from Heaven's perspective.
Once we are enjoying God and learning what our purpose is, prayer, Bible reading, evangelism, and any other 'Christian' action just become side effects of the relationship. This is the ONLY way these things are effective- when we do them because we utterly want to, are drawn to it, or know we have heard from the Holy Spirit. We LOVE to pray. Therefore we don't do it as a habit or an obligation at any time! Can you ever feel like this? YES YOU CAN! Hang in there - the Spirit of Christ is contending for you, interceding for you, drawing you to Himself in love and enjoyment.
Next post: I'll give you some practical ideas of how to pray.
So far we have looked at wanting to change, learning to rest, cleansing, and being properly saved/i.e. totally exchanged at the cross and letting Jesus run our Christianity. But I have got so caught up in getting across all the theological barriers to true relationship with God and leaving behind religion, that I have just about let the whole point I started this blog slip:
Love and Enjoyment.
See, the reason God created you was because He delighted in you, enjoyed you, and wanted you to enjoy Him too! You were created for pleasure, and as such, you have a pleasure seeking missile within you. We get into strife of course when we try to try to fill up outside of anything other than the King Himself. Short term gain = lifelong pain!
Not only that, but He made you unique and so the things that bring you great enjoyment will be unique to you. That means that other people's formula's for fulfilment in Christ aren't necessarily going to work for you. No kidding! You've probably already discovered that! The Christian life gets pretty dull if we take a look around at some of God's children 'sacrificing' for Jesus, striving and straining to make the goal, burdened and weary, dancing one minute and crashing the next. No more. No more.
Where does prayer come into this? Let me give you a picture of what it could look like: Prayer is just a side effect, if you like, of being completely enraptured with the Creator. We are, in the end, compelled to take action as we become aware of our God given authority and ability to bring the purposes of Heaven to earth. We love to do it! We are so moved by a certain passion (that will be unique to us) that we listen to what the Father is wanting to do and simply agree with Him. We know we don't have to drum up some great prayer words, but just rest in Him, see what He sees, then speak it out prophetically - how it looks from Heaven's perspective.
Once we are enjoying God and learning what our purpose is, prayer, Bible reading, evangelism, and any other 'Christian' action just become side effects of the relationship. This is the ONLY way these things are effective- when we do them because we utterly want to, are drawn to it, or know we have heard from the Holy Spirit. We LOVE to pray. Therefore we don't do it as a habit or an obligation at any time! Can you ever feel like this? YES YOU CAN! Hang in there - the Spirit of Christ is contending for you, interceding for you, drawing you to Himself in love and enjoyment.
Next post: I'll give you some practical ideas of how to pray.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
How to Pray V - Back to the Cross
Sorry about the pause in blogging; got busy (coughs). Actually I was caught up in reading 'Mystical Union' by John Crowder and really needed to finish it so I could accurately get across the RADICAL and THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING points he gets across. It's perfect timing for this Brilliant Prayer Life journey.
Last blog we ended with 'let it go' referring to all the stuff that holds you back from right relationship with God. It all ends here. Now lets just make sure you know what a scandalous gospel you have got yourself into.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
The rest of this blog is made up of excerpts from Crowder: (I'll be back)
Everything that hindered you from God was eradicated on the cross. Your complete merger with God took place on the cross, and thanks to that work, you are now an inseparable entity with Him...The very thing that separated you from God - sin itself - was evaporated there, as far as you are concerned.
You 'died to sin'. This means it is no longer a part of you. You are not a 'sinner saved by grace'. You are a saint. Grace transformed you from one thing into another. (check out Romans 6:2 to 5). The old self is annihilated. That means it no longer exists. Death to self is not a lifelong process that is dependent on your own efforts. I love the way Crowder puts this:
"He didn't just give you a pretty screen saver, ignoring all the viruses, porn and spyware on your hard drive. He wiped the whole hard drive out."
What died? The entire fallen personality. Your old depressed self. Your old sinful self. The old fearful you was buried. The old anxious, unbelieving you took a bullet. Your poverty died with Him. Every bit of darkness and disease died with Him. Your old religiously sober self was also crucified. The boring you as well.
Whether you feel it or not, you are now one body and one spirit with Christ. Rest in that reality, and you will feel His Presence. Faith comes before the feeling. And faith is simply trust. Believe that this mystical death really took place, and you will cease to act like that dead man.
Very simply, the gospel is a revelation that you have died with Him.
If you've been taught that Christianity is a lifelong process of struggling and brokenness, I would invite you to be whole. Give up and let Jesus run your Christianity.
Maybe you've been going to church for decades, but still never heard or believed the gospel. If you thought Christianity was a do-it-yourself morality club, a clean-yourself-up process of continually seeking but never finding God- and you were never actually transformed by the glorious finished work of Christ, don't cry over those wasted years. Here's your chance...get saved!
The moment you decide to do something to be holy, you have trusted in yourself, instead of Christ, for salvation.
You need to know who you are. You are a pure, holy, child of God. There is no effort or work involved for you to be who you are. A tree does not labour or strive to be a tree. In the same way, you do not labour or strive to be holy. Holiness is simply your first and primary nature. Just be yourself.
You have to believe what you are. Sin is like a third shoe. It doesn't fit you anymore, because you don't even have that leg! If you have been wrestling with sin, you have been shadowboxing a lie. Struggling completely in vain. I am not telling you to pretend the sinful nature is not there. I am saying that it doesn't even exist. The only power that a lie has is the degree to which you believe it. To the degree that you believe you are somehow a saint/sinner mutant, you will manifest unending struggle. To the degree you believe you are completely whole, thanks to His work, you will effortlessly shine forth Christ.
It is a myth that Christians must overcome their flesh.
Don't believe the hype about how difficult temptation will be - nor how the devil will immediately come after you to make things difficult when you get saved. You crossed over from the kingdom of darkness into light. Light and darkness cannot co-exist. When Christ comes into your life, flipping on the switch means that darkness flees the room. You are now evil free. Not half good/half evil. Lift your expectations for this glorious new existence.
We'll have a look at what that looks like next time.
Last blog we ended with 'let it go' referring to all the stuff that holds you back from right relationship with God. It all ends here. Now lets just make sure you know what a scandalous gospel you have got yourself into.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
The rest of this blog is made up of excerpts from Crowder: (I'll be back)
Everything that hindered you from God was eradicated on the cross. Your complete merger with God took place on the cross, and thanks to that work, you are now an inseparable entity with Him...The very thing that separated you from God - sin itself - was evaporated there, as far as you are concerned.
You 'died to sin'. This means it is no longer a part of you. You are not a 'sinner saved by grace'. You are a saint. Grace transformed you from one thing into another. (check out Romans 6:2 to 5). The old self is annihilated. That means it no longer exists. Death to self is not a lifelong process that is dependent on your own efforts. I love the way Crowder puts this:
"He didn't just give you a pretty screen saver, ignoring all the viruses, porn and spyware on your hard drive. He wiped the whole hard drive out."
What died? The entire fallen personality. Your old depressed self. Your old sinful self. The old fearful you was buried. The old anxious, unbelieving you took a bullet. Your poverty died with Him. Every bit of darkness and disease died with Him. Your old religiously sober self was also crucified. The boring you as well.
Whether you feel it or not, you are now one body and one spirit with Christ. Rest in that reality, and you will feel His Presence. Faith comes before the feeling. And faith is simply trust. Believe that this mystical death really took place, and you will cease to act like that dead man.
Very simply, the gospel is a revelation that you have died with Him.
If you've been taught that Christianity is a lifelong process of struggling and brokenness, I would invite you to be whole. Give up and let Jesus run your Christianity.
Maybe you've been going to church for decades, but still never heard or believed the gospel. If you thought Christianity was a do-it-yourself morality club, a clean-yourself-up process of continually seeking but never finding God- and you were never actually transformed by the glorious finished work of Christ, don't cry over those wasted years. Here's your chance...get saved!
The moment you decide to do something to be holy, you have trusted in yourself, instead of Christ, for salvation.
You need to know who you are. You are a pure, holy, child of God. There is no effort or work involved for you to be who you are. A tree does not labour or strive to be a tree. In the same way, you do not labour or strive to be holy. Holiness is simply your first and primary nature. Just be yourself.
You have to believe what you are. Sin is like a third shoe. It doesn't fit you anymore, because you don't even have that leg! If you have been wrestling with sin, you have been shadowboxing a lie. Struggling completely in vain. I am not telling you to pretend the sinful nature is not there. I am saying that it doesn't even exist. The only power that a lie has is the degree to which you believe it. To the degree that you believe you are somehow a saint/sinner mutant, you will manifest unending struggle. To the degree you believe you are completely whole, thanks to His work, you will effortlessly shine forth Christ.
It is a myth that Christians must overcome their flesh.
Don't believe the hype about how difficult temptation will be - nor how the devil will immediately come after you to make things difficult when you get saved. You crossed over from the kingdom of darkness into light. Light and darkness cannot co-exist. When Christ comes into your life, flipping on the switch means that darkness flees the room. You are now evil free. Not half good/half evil. Lift your expectations for this glorious new existence.
We'll have a look at what that looks like next time.
Monday, June 6, 2011
How to Pray IV - Wash Up
Wow okay, so the last blog was really long as I read it again! Back to small bites. But I hope you caught the way to start a new prayer life in all of that: learn to rest in God, that's how we access hearing from God eventually. To live in Christ means to be where He's at: and presently He is in heaven having done all His work, at rest and interceding for us.
You may be struggling with this rest thing and getting into a head space of meditation/intimacy/peace/chillin'/soaking in His Presence. So I had better mention a very important thing for those starting out or restarting out. You ain't gonna like it. You need the greatest courage for this. But we can't advance without it....... Good hygiene.
WHAAAAT?!
Sorry what I really mean is a decent wash. Okay that sounds worse. Spiritual speak?...you need to humble yourself and ask God to forgive and wash away ANYTHING that might be getting in the way of connecting with Him. Even if you can't think of a darn thing. (How 'bout - coarse language? That'll get most of us. Did I say 'darn'? Dagnabit!). Here's an exercise that might help:
Assignment: Get on your own with some time up your sleeve and kneel (on a cushion) or lie flat on the floor. Speak these words aloud: "Heavenly Father, wash over me now and remove any sin, shame, fear, doubt or grudge that I may have against you. I cancel any debt of unforgiveness hanging over my life. I cancel any permission I may have given to any unclean or ungodly spirit, and revoke any curse spoken over my life either by myself or others. I break the hold of disappointment, discouragement, and unmet dreams. Thank you Lord for washing these things away by the precious blood of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen."
You may find if you spend some time just listening, that specific things come to mind, and if so just speak out your own 'words of washing'. Now, let it all go (no use hanging on to any of that stuff!).
You may be struggling with this rest thing and getting into a head space of meditation/intimacy/peace/chillin'/soaking in His Presence. So I had better mention a very important thing for those starting out or restarting out. You ain't gonna like it. You need the greatest courage for this. But we can't advance without it....... Good hygiene.
WHAAAAT?!
Sorry what I really mean is a decent wash. Okay that sounds worse. Spiritual speak?...you need to humble yourself and ask God to forgive and wash away ANYTHING that might be getting in the way of connecting with Him. Even if you can't think of a darn thing. (How 'bout - coarse language? That'll get most of us. Did I say 'darn'? Dagnabit!). Here's an exercise that might help:
Assignment: Get on your own with some time up your sleeve and kneel (on a cushion) or lie flat on the floor. Speak these words aloud: "Heavenly Father, wash over me now and remove any sin, shame, fear, doubt or grudge that I may have against you. I cancel any debt of unforgiveness hanging over my life. I cancel any permission I may have given to any unclean or ungodly spirit, and revoke any curse spoken over my life either by myself or others. I break the hold of disappointment, discouragement, and unmet dreams. Thank you Lord for washing these things away by the precious blood of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen."
You may find if you spend some time just listening, that specific things come to mind, and if so just speak out your own 'words of washing'. Now, let it all go (no use hanging on to any of that stuff!).
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