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.

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!).