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The Freedom In Jesus Christ Our Lord

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“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?”
– Isaiah 58:5

Guest Post by James Hill:
For most of my life as a professing Christian I had always thought fasting was a humbling of ourselves before God … until I read Isaiah 58 completely, and prayerfully sought to understand. 

It was forty days ago that I woke one morning and realized I was on a fast.  I had tried a few times earlier in the year but only went a day each attempt, but this time I knew God had decided to lead me in it.  The previous year I had embarked on a fast that lasted forty days – drinking only liquids, water, coffee, diet soda, and the occasional French Vanilla.  I didn’t really understand what I was seeking at that time, but God met me and opened my eyes to insights that helped me grow as a man – as His man.  This year I knew what I wanted.

Freedom.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter– when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
– Isaiah 58:6-7

It occurred to me that God was not just speaking of loosing chains and yokes that bind others – He was also speaking of the chains and yokes that bind me.  As my fast began God shone light on this passage within the first day or two.  It was obvious to me that God had drawn me to the fast because I was successfully and enthusiastically moving forward, but it was also quickly obvious that freedom is what He wanted me to seek.

As the days passed I began to wonder what deep aspects of myself God would reveal that have kept me bound, unawares over the years.  What mysteries deeply hidden within would God bring to the surface?  I’m afraid I still often regard my Creator as some grande mysterious Sudoku that I can unravel if I just concentrate hard enough.  Or that He is some omniscient psychologist Who will take me back to the hidden secrets of my past.  Much of the world can and has influenced my thinking and perspectives in this respect.  What He did eventually first reveal to me was, at first realization, more profound than I could have imagined because it had nothing to do with me … not really.  Instead of probing the roots of my beginnings He shared with me the roots of His creation.

I realized two truths in His revelation:

  1. God created us perfectly.
  2. God’s original plan for us was perfectly designed.

At first this baffled me because I have always had difficulty resolving that the creation was perfect, yet we are advised that the world and the flesh are wicked.

God created us perfectly.

There was no flaw in His design of mankind.  The human body is an amazing system of functions that interact with such complexity on an ongoing basis.  And it is perfectly designed to be selfish.  Yes, I said selfish – but not with the negative connotation we would automatically assume.  When our bodies are injured they proceed to heal.  If they are hungry we are compelled to feed them.  When they tire we rest.  The body is designed to be self-sustaining, to look after itself.  Perfectly selfish, but without the taints of greed or lust or ambitions that our own hearts can add.  Our body can hunger, but we can then decide we need more than it needs and seek to amass to ourselves more than enough.  We can pervert that hunger into greed.  Our bodies were never flawed, and never the problem.  Our souls, tainted by perversion, are.

God’s original plan for us was perfectly designed.

Before God opened my ears and eyes to better understand, I thought our gaining the knowledge of good and evil was our ruin, but it was always God’s intention that we have that knowledge.  It was a must for our perfectly designed ability to reason and choose.  So did God intend for us to fall?  I pondered this question with a friend one morning.  He also wondered if God designed us to fail.  Yet if our design was perfect and His plan was perfect, and this is the way it went – disobey, eat the fruit, cast out of the garden, death – then that must be His design?  No.  Emphatically, no!  Man ate the fruit, disobeyed God and experienced that disobedience in order to become aware of good and evil.  Yet if man refused to eat and obeyed God, man would have experienced obedience and again become aware of good and evil.  God wanted us to have that knowledge through obedience.  Our tainted souls chose otherwise.

This was a huge release for me to finally understand the perfection of our Creator and all that He does.  That our fall is not a consequence of either His secret motives or fallibility.  Our God is awesomely perfect!

This gave me much to consider going forward.  And it was in the latter weeks and days of my fast that two thoughts were impressed upon me that I verified through God’s Word in Scripture.

  1. There is enough time … for everything.
  2. The last shall be first.

The first idea was impressed upon me early morning at the gym.  Yes, God kept me strong and active during my fast 🙂  The second was impressed upon me in the last couple days, during the evening while listing to a radio ministry program.

There is enough time … for everything.

When this thought first rose up in my mind I was deeply impressed at how thoughts of immediacy and urgency faded before it.  There is no reason to be anxious or concerned about anything, because there is enough time … for everything.  I was, however, concerned because I could not recall any Scripture that said that same thing.  I was worried I just made something up for myself, so I set to prayer and searching to understand.

“Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.””
– Exodus 3:13,14

“‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ they said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ ‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I AM!'”
– John 8:57,58

I AM is the very present moment.  And our God is omnipresent – everywhere at once, both in space and in time because He is not contained by either.  If time were a straight line drawn on paper, then God is the paper it is drawn on.  A thousand years ago God is present I AM, and a thousand years from now He is present I AM.

“I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
– Revelation 22:13

With such an awesome God Who is unlimited by space or time, and perfect in all His ways, how could anxiousness or fear stand before His way?  Trust in Him means there is enough time … for everything.

The last shall be first.

I sat quietly in my van, listening to the radio.  It was evening and I was considering how my fast was coming to an end.  The inspirational program included a song about the first being last and the last being first.  I could recall reading those words many times that our Lord spoke, and they were never so profound as they suddenly were in that moment.  The last shall be first.  I realized with such startling clarity that our Lord Jesus, for all intents and purposes, was always last.  He never sought His own.  He never argued to gain His own way.  He never asserted Himself so that others would not take advantage.  He put Himself last.  If I argue with another over a parking spot, or a table at a cafe, or their noise at the library … I’m seeking my own.  Trying to be first and only setting myself to the back instead.  It’s turning my cheek, and taking the loss, conceding the parking spot or table; that is to put myself last and give the enemy nothing to work with.  And God will honour me whenever I step out for His purpose.  Jesus gave His life – any dreams or hopes or aspirations dying with Him.  And now He has everything!  God has my good in mind, so I should easily trust Him and stop trying to establish my own good.  I do not have to fear, or to be anxious, or to entertain doubts.  The awesome, perfect God Who is unlimited by space or time, seeks to honour and raise me up!  Why worry?

The awesome, perfect God Who is unlimited by space or time, seeks to honour and raise me up!

And in this freedom God is preparing me to be of real use in His commitment to the well being of others.  To help in their freedom from chains and yokes and to never be a cause of them.

  This fast has been awesome 🙂 

James Hill, President and CEO of UserTutor Corporation, is a guest author sharing his experience in walking with Jesus Christ.  This article is printed with James’ permission and our appreciation.

It Is Christ Who Lives In Me

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“And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
– Acts 10:38

This same Jesus of Nazareth, the risen and eternal Lord Jesus, now resides in all those who believe in Him.  And we go around doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, for God is with us.

Or do we?  For many of us, we do not yet realize the great potential of Christ now living our lives.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
– Galatians 2:20

Do you see the amazing glory in Paul’s encouragement?  The same Spirit that lived in Jesus of Nazareth is the same Spirit that lives in you!  And we know that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8.  His purpose as a man in this world has not changed – to destroy the works of the devil and to bring all men from darkness to Light and to the love of our Father.  And He is still in this world as a human being – in you!

Even as we have died with Christ through His cross, we are now alive in Him through His resurrection.  We now live His life, and we now live His purpose.

And we go around doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, for God is with us.

Unfortunately we talk ourselves out of living His purpose because our faith is weak.  Where we should be interceding on behalf of others, opening their eyes to the truth and freeing them from sickness and oppression, we still wonder if it’s actually possible to walk in the path of our Lord.  What if we fail?  What if we didn’t understand properly?  What if our faith fails?

Our answer is, your faith can only fail when it isn’t used.  Try.  Step out and intercede.  Offer to pray for someone for help, or healing, or freedom.  What you are doing is allowing Christ to live through you.  Ask the Father for His grace, tell the sick body to be healed, command oppressive spirits to be silent and depart, and invite the person you are interceding for to see the love of God for them.  Christ, Whose commands were obeyed 2,000 years ago is our eternal King with all authority.  His commands are still obeyed, and more so, and He is alive and active through your act of faith – you tried.  You stepped out.

And (you) go around doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, for God is with (you).

Remember that this new life you live is by faith.  Christ does indeed live in you, and when you step out and try He lives through you as well.  Your act of trust allows the Lord to honour your requests and your commands in His name.  Step out and try.  It’s an uncertain and frightening step when every experience you know as a human being says you won’t make a difference because life is life – it happens.  But step out and try.  Let Christ live through you and soon your experiences will be radically changed as you see His faithfulness proven time and again.  Step out and try.

But how do I know that the Lord wants to heal someone or free them from an oppression?  Allow Him to lead you.  If you see someone hurting and the desire rising within you is to help them, that is Jesus inspiring your compassion and desire.  Step out and try.

But what it I’m not feeling inspired?  What if I think I’m just trying to prove something, or testing Jesus just to see what He does?  Then pray.  Talk to our Father and ask Him to open your heart to Jesus’ desires and to open your mind to His will.  Look at the person you would intercede for and allow God to stir you.  Your doubts will fade and your desire for that person’s good will grow.  Step out and try.

Christ does indeed live in you, and when you step out and try He lives through you as well.

Step out and try.  Our God is big enough to take our little faith and grow a huge tree with it 🙂  When your heart is for Him and your desire is for His will, you cannot make a wrong decision because God will work with and through your faith.

Settle it in the truth, the Lord Jesus lives in you.  And when you step out and try He lives through you as well.

And (you) go around doing good and healing all who are oppressed by the devil, for God is with (you).

The Nature Of Sin In The Flesh

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“Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.”
– Romans 7:13

Sin is a natural part of our life in the flesh – the same as hunger and exhaustion – inherited from our fall in Eden. There are no moral implications about sin in the flesh because it just is. Now that may cause a bit of a stir or give rise to objections, but what we would like to share is a better understanding of sin as it affects every one of us so that we can better realize who we are in Christ.  Many of us struggle in bondage to our guilt and never seem to fulfill our purposes in Christ.  Our heart too often gets defeated within us because we believe so strongly in our sinfulness and how terrible we are.

So again we say, there are no moral implications about sin in the flesh because it just is.  Where the moral implications come into play is in our responses and subsequent choices to the urges and demands it places on us.

“It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, as well as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, false testimony, and slander.”
– Matthew 15:19

When Adam disbelieved and disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he from that moment was separated from God.  His thoughts were his alone without the influence of God within as one Spirit.  His thoughts were those of a flesh and blood human being.  If he hurt himself his response would be, “ow”.  If he became tired his response would be to nap.  If he was confronted and accused his response would be to lie.  We have that fallen nature, and before Christ came into our lives we responded in the same manner.  We would act contrary to God’s ways as easily as we would sneeze from dust.  Without God we lived in accordance to our flesh.

So why did God have a problem with sin if it was just what it was?  For the same reason that darkness cannot continue to exist when the light is turned on, our sinful nature could not exist in the presence of God.  We would cease to be, and He didn’t want us to not exist.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
– John 3:16

What we’re saying so far is that our sinful nature is not something we can take to ourselves, to enlarge it or reduce it.  It just is, and it is why we are separated from God and why we would have no hope without Him.  None of us is more sinful than another, and none of us is less sinful, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23.  Many of us berate ourselves and put ourselves down because we moan over our sinful nature like it was something we had a say in.  We don’t.  It is a condition, a terminal condition with no cure and we are destined for death and destruction because of it.

there are no moral implications about sin in the flesh because it just is

Kind of makes moaning about our sinfulness seem useless, don’t you think?  And it’s good that it does because as long as we waste time considering that we have a say in our sinful nature, we can never fully understand or realize the gift of grace from our Father and our Lord Jesus.  What we should realize instead is our need for rescue.  We need to be rescued from this body of sin because there are no other options that we can implement.  We need the grace and salvation of God.

“remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
– Ephesians 2:12-13

Once this is realized we can then better and more fully understand the love and mercy of our Father in Jesus Christ the Lord.  We are not just the recipients of forgiveness for all the contrary and wayward things we have done – we are the recipients of a life giving cure for our terminal disease of sinful flesh – in spite of all the contrary and wayward things we have done!  

“…whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” – Luke 7:47b.

Being forgiven all our acts of sin and wickedness has a quantity assigned to it.  We measure how bad we are by the things we’ve done, and the level of our love for our Lord demonstrates that, but being saved from our terminal, sinful nature covers everything!  There is now no limit to the love God can stir within our hearts through His Gift in Jesus!  God Himself is our cure by dwelling in us through His Spirit and Son, thinking His thoughts within our minds and inspiring His will within our hearts.  The sins we have committed in our ignorance before we knew Him are forgiven, and the sins we may have committed since we knew Him are forgiven, and the sins we may commit in the future are forgiven.  His Grace covers it all!  What love and gratitude and willingness that must stir up within the heart that sees this!  What an amazing God we serve Who chose to cure us of our fatal disease rather than let us die – even though we were so contrary to all He created and ungrateful for all He intended!

There is now no limit to the love God can stir within our hearts through His Gift in Jesus!

Now this may be mistaken as a license to sin doctrine but it certainly is not, so let’s look at where the moral implications do come to bear.  What is our responsibility in the nature of sin?  We are responsible in what we choose.

When our flesh demands we leer at a pretty woman or a handsome man, we are inclined to do so, except now we also know it is contrary to the will of our Father.  We can choose to not look with lust, or we can hate it if we do and wish we never did, or we can not look but struggle afterwards with recurring flesh-minded imaginations.  We want God’s way regardless of what our flesh tries to force upon us, but the flesh is still flesh and subject to the sinful nature.  Although it no longer has the power to kill us it still reacts and interacts in our flesh.  It still just is, and it will trip us up at times, but we choose God because He dwells in us and inspires us always to choose Him.  If we fail, we regret because our minds are for Him.  If we overcome we rejoice because our minds are for Him.  In every way it’s always Him.

IMPORTANT! The moral implications of sin come into play when we choose to follow the demands of the flesh, and continue in them, to practice them and make excuses for why they’re okay.  We have Christ dwelling in us so we have no excuse if we were to continue a life of practiced sin.  May it never happen to any of us!  If we turn from this wonderful, saving Grace and give preference to the demands of our flesh – if we do so willfully and without any remorse, we have rejected His Gift and have chosen death and separation instead.

“It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.”
– 2 Peter 2:21

Again, may it never happen to any of us!  And it will not because we have God the Father and Lord Jesus the Son dwelling inside us through their Spirit, ever reminding us of His will and ways.  And we have one another to encourage each other and exhort each other to keep our minds on Jesus.  We strive daily to keep our minds focused on our Lord and to hear His thoughts and respond to His inspirations.  And sin, though it may cause trouble at times, will not rule over us and it cannot kill us.

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
– Isaiah 26:3

Settle it in the truth that you are cured from your very nature of sinfulness – all of it – and there is no more counting and measuring the extent of it.  We are all forgiven – and we are all forgiven much!  Let us begin to love much to the glory of Jesus.

we have God the Father and Lord Jesus the Son dwelling inside us through their Spirit, ever reminding us of His will and ways.  And we have one another to encourage us and exhort us to keep our minds on Jesus.

Being The Unforgivable Sinner

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“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
– Hebrews 4:16

We have all heard talk and teachings about the unforgivable sin, but the unforgivable sinner is rarely spoken of.  We don’t talk about sinners not being forgiven because as Christians our entire faith is built upon the belief of forgiveness for all who ask.  And because as Christians we know that we ourselves are forgiven … aren’t we?

The truth is, yes, we are fully forgiven in Christ.  Yet a sad fact is many of us live our new lives as if we were still without forgiveness.  We conduct our days from confession to confession, ever seeking God’s mercy on us for who we are and what we’ve done.  Our mood is marked by a sense of apology and contrition as we seek mercy for ourselves, not understanding that we are being rendered ineffective in the service of our King.

We fail to come boldly to the throne of His grace.

a sad fact is many of us live our new lives as if we were still without forgiveness

To gain a better understanding of this, consider someone in your life who you respect and who has authority in your life.  Maybe a parent or grandparent, a teacher, an older sibling – someone whose opinion really matters to you.  Now imagine you did something against them, perhaps you stole money or a possession of theirs, and you were discovered.  Your first thought might be to try and make an excuse or to justify it, but inside you know there really is no excuse so you eventually confess to them your guilt, and you try to tell them how sorry you are for what you did to them.  You offer to restore or make up for what you’ve cost them because you can feel your own heart breaking for what you’ve done to them.

Now imagine they smiled, gave you a big hug and said not to worry about it.  They tell you that you are completely forgiven and ask you to stay for supper.  During supper they laugh with you about funny times you’ve shared with them in the past and it is as if you never stole from them.  You are happy with them just like before.

The next morning you wake up and begin to think again about what you had done to them when you stole.  When the phone rings you don’t answer because you can see on call display it’s them.  When they come to the door you keep quiet and don’t answer, pretending that no one is home.  When you accidentally bump into them in the afternoon you quickly make an excuse why you weren’t at home – even though you were there – and nervously laugh when they ask how you’re doing and make up another excuse of having to be somewhere soon.  You start to believe in your own guilt again, and you feel ashamed to be around them.  You find every reason you can to avoid them from then on.

But let’s look at another option:

The next morning you wake up and begin to think again about what you had done to them when you stole.  When the phone rings, this time you answer it and talk with them.  You tell them how you’re still feeling bad about what you’ve done, and they begin to assure you it’s all good.  You’re forgiven.  And after a little while you begin to feel as happy and accepted as you did the night before.  You go on with your day, confident because that dark weight is not on your shoulders.  You don’t avoid phone calls or meeting people and you are useful for many things throughout that day.  And you aren’t afraid to go visit them or to give them a call because you are reminded by their attitude that what you did will never be brought up by them again – it’s as if you never stole from them at all.  You can boldly approach them just like before.

You’re forgiven.

And it’s the same with our forgiveness in Christ.  The more time we spend with Him in prayer and in His word, the more we grow in being convinced of our forgiveness and the bolder we can be to approach Him at any time – for any reason.  It is as if we never sinned in His eyes.  He will never bring those things up again.

“And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.”
– Psalms 103:12
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
– Isaiah 43:25

Unfortunately, so many of us get distracted and caught up in our day to day lives and we let go of that communication with our Lord.  And as that assurance He provides diminishes it gets replaced with the old guilt – that same guilt that leads us to find excuses to not pray or read His word.  Then as that guilt builds we eventually turn to Him and agonize about how bad we are and how sorry we are, and we beg Him to forgive us, and then we return to our distractions once again only to repeat that cycle – over and over and over again.

But shouldn’t our turning to Him cleanse us and give us a fresh start?  Not in the way we might think.  If, as a Christian, we told a lie or stole, that is an act that would cause us guilt and one that we would turn to Him for.  He in His faithfulness would tell us that He forgave us ALL our sin – past, present, and future – and He would assure us of our value and worth.  We would go forward from there confident and assured – boldly.  So in that case, yes, He picks us up and inspires in us that fresh start feeling of going forward and not looking back.  But, the guilt that renders us useless is not related to an act of sin but an ongoing state of sin.  We come to believe in how unworthy we are and we act worthless as a result.  Christ cleansed us and made us new creations, but that state of guilt is seeking forgiveness for something that no longer exists.  We’re bringing up the things He said He will no longer remember.

we beg Him to forgive us, and then we return to our distractions once again only to repeat that cycle – over and over and over again

Jesus certainly does not want us stuck in such a cycle.  He desires our hearts to be good ground that bears fruit to the glory of our Father.  And that good ground is a heart that believes Him, and believes in His righteousness.  Believing Him is the easier of the two.  James wrote in chapter 2, verse 19, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”  What is harder for many of us to believe is His righteousness.  Did you know that righteousness and justice are the same word used in the Greek and the same word in the Hebrew?  They define as equitable, fair, without prejudice.  And that means what Scripture already tells us – God does not get influenced by the status or state of any person, but is good to all without variance.  That means if He forgives one who turns to Him, He forgives all.  There is no one who turns to Him where He would say, “Not this one.”  There is no unforgivable sinner.

And because we are blessed to share in His righteousness then we, too, learn to not be influenced by the status or state of any person.  And we do not say, “Not this one.”  And we do not say, “Not me.”  But we all must – must – continue daily with our Lord, speaking with Him and listening to His word.  He is the encouragement that reminds us of our forgiveness and acceptance, and our confidence to boldly approach Him and to serve Him usefully.  Without His influence we are left to the ways of a sinful world, of flesh, and of the devil.  And they do not understand God’s righteousness and so our ears and hearts are not reminded of our forgiveness – only about how bad we are.  We need God daily.

There is no unforgivable sinner.

A forgiven person dares to ask Jesus to heal another.  They dare to help the elderly and the young with their strength.  They dare to ask help from their Father for their needs.  They dare to intercede on behalf of another’s needs.  They dare to give freely and with joy.  They are useful to our Master and His service because they are reminded daily how loved and accepted they are by the Lord Himself.

An unforgiven person sits often alone, lamenting their shame and begging forgiveness.  They try to serve but joy often escapes them.  They neglect fellowship with Jesus and His children and only hear the words of condemnation that the world and the devil reinforce daily.  They cannot usefully serve the Master.

Settle it in  the truth then.  You are forgiven, and you must to be reminded of this daily through your abiding in Christ and in His word and in His fellowship.  Then boldly go forth – fully forgiven and fully useful in His service 🙂

Live By And Walk In The Spirit

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“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in [be guided by] the Spirit.”
– Galatians 5:25

There is so much said in such a short verse of Scripture.  “If we live in the Spirit” is a hypothetical statement used by Paul to encourage believers who have received Jesus to walk in accordance to His Spirit.  It is an intended redundant statement since as believers we have been raised to new life by the Spirit of God, even as our Lord was raised and emerged from the tomb by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Its intended purpose is for all believers to respond, “Yes, let us walk in the Spirit!”, yet there are many who feel an absence of the experience to this new life in the Spirit.  For many the conviction that comes from forces greater than ourselves seems missing.

Shouldn’t the experience of the Spirit of God joining with ours be something notable?  Shouldn’t it go beyond the feeling that maybe we’re only just stirring ourselves up because we want so much to believe?  The early church of Acts seems filled with examples of those who experienced something unique that stirred them to a greater participation and faith in Christ.

yet there are many who feel an absence of the experience to this new life in the Spirit

Our answer is, Yes, it is something notable and it does stir us up to greater faith!  But our observation is that Acts also contains examples of those who did not seem to experience anything new, but instead continued on as they were before.  Simon the sorcerer is recorded as believing, then he offered money to get the gift of laying on hands so others can receive the Spirit.  Peter quickly rebuked him for turning the gift of God into merchandise.  Ananias and Sapphira sold their possessions along with many others but kept back part of the proceeds for themselves.  That greed led to lying about it which then led to their falling dead when faced with what they had done.

Those two examples were of believers who apparently received Christ, but continued to walk in their worldly ways and thinking in accordance to their worldly reasoning.  Did they receive the Spirit when they believed?  Yes, because the promise of God’s Spirit is for all who call on the name of Jesus – however –  as notable and stirring as that impartation is, for many there are things still more notable and stirring to them than that Gift from God.

“For we also received the good news, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.”
– Hebrews 4:2

Our faith is a reasoned choice and often tied into our worldly ways of reasoning.  We rely on our experiences to determine what methods and outcomes we can expect in any given situation.  To give you some examples to consider, who among us would have thought to look in a fish’s mouth for the temple tax?  Or who would have reasoned that to feed a multitude with very little food we just simply multiply that food?  Or to get to the other side of a stormy lake with no boat, who of us would have considered walking across it?  Our worldly ways of logic would never have considered those options.

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
– 1 Corinthians 2:16

When the Spirit of God raises us to new life what happens is our spirit is blended with His – and we become one Spirit.  The unity is so close and complete that one could not tell where he or she ends and God begins.  Before we were raised to new life, the spirit that was in us as normal human beings is what stirred us to our actions and responses.  It was the motivator and content used by our reasoning.  Now we are one with God’s Spirit and the motivator and content has changed dramatically – but the reasoning still tends to remain the same.  So we have the mind of Christ to think His thoughts – and our minds to think ours.  And more often than not we rule out the promptings of Christ’s thoughts because they don’t seem logical to our minds.

We rely on our experiences to determine what methods and outcomes we can expect in any given situation

Being raised to new life in the Spirit means we have to die first.  We need to die so we can no longer hold to the values and passions of our worldly experiences.  When anyone dies all their attachments, affections, passions, guilt, ambitions, and possessions no longer have influence on them or attachment to them.  When we die in Christ it is the same.  All that we have held as important in our lives gives way to the importance we now place on our new life in Jesus.

But didn’t Jesus die in our place on the cross?  Yes, but not so we would not have to die, but so that we could choose to die – with Him.  And dying with Him means being raised to eternal life with Him also.  We do not – and cannot – bypass the cross.  Our act of faith in baptism or public confession is our declaration that we follow Jesus to the cross and die with Him.

“For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.”
– Romans 6:3-4

[NOTE: There are many differing approaches to baptism from sprinkling to full water immersion to a no water public confession.  The position we hold on this is that the method is not a point of debate.  Our Father regards the hearts and when we come to Jesus and His cross in our response to declare and share in His death, whether sprinkled or immersed or neither, or in a church or a river or a bathtub, our answer is accepted before our Father.  And we emerge in newness of life – a new creation!]

We do not – and cannot – bypass the cross.

Whatever the method of your baptism or public confession we encourage you to settle that in the truth that you have died with Christ and are accepted by the Father.  The life you now live is in union with the risen Christ!  And now “If we live in the Spirit” is answered.  We do indeed live by the Spirit, as does everyone who turns to Jesus Christ.

So, are we then guided by the Spirit?

“Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples. Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.”
– Matthew 10:37-39

The phrase “not fit to be my disciples” means unable to be students, or unable to be taught and guided.  Those who are still governed by their worldly reasoning cannot be guided by the Spirit of God.  Consider receiving advice from someone you hardly know, and from someone you respect highly – who would you listen to?  The one you respect highly, of course.  And if the Spirit is guiding you, and your own reasoning is guiding you, if you have any attachments or affections that exceed your love for Christ then you will not listen to God’s Spirit … you would be unable to be taught or guided by Him.

Those who are still governed by their worldly reasoning cannot be guided by the Spirit of God.

“Jesus tells us not to seek after the things of this world, but the rent is due and He doesn’t seem to be taking care of it!  And we need groceries, too!!  I’ll need to get more hours at work, then, or a second job!!!“  Sound familiar?  That’s our worldly reasoning looking into our wallet for God’s answers and provision.  “Trust my Father” is Christ’s reasoning.  Our reasoning has us anxiously borrowing, seeking, asking, focusing on our need and our reasoned solution.  Christ’s reasoning has us convinced God has our need in mind and our solution at hand so we can move forward in the day without distraction, focused on what He wishes to accomplish through us by the guidance of His Spirit.

“I really should be calling for additional work because we need the money! … But I really feel like I should call old Mrs. Smith to see how she’s doing.  Yet she’ll keep me on the phone for hours!!“  You have your worldly reasoning that has your best interests at heart, and you have the mind of Christ that says trust God and do good because your needs are met and the best interests of others is what’s at heart.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
– Romans 12:2

Practice trusting God at every opportunity.  Start developing new experiences that will form the new basis of your reasoning.  Settle it in the truth that God is a good Father who is deeply interested in you and your needs, and is willing and capable to meet and exceed those needs so that you are free to respond to His thoughts and guidance.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
– Psalm 34:8

Experience the Father and your new life in Him by trusting Him.  You will never be disappointed!  Filter every thought and reasoning through trust in Him and let it become your practiced response, and you will find yourself walking in and guided by the Spirit.  And encourage others because you’re not the only one learning this 🙂

* A closing thought:  It’s not all about you.  If it were all about you then you’d be in Heaven now.  No, you’re still here in this life because it’s about others.  Trust Him and find yourself extremely useful to His purposes for those others.

In the Name of Jesus Christ

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“Truly, I tell all of you with certainty, the one who believes in me will also do what I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.”
– John 14:12-14

To work the works of our Lord we may find ourselves summoning up our resolve and will to believe.  We envision the mightiness and strength of our majestic King and so we stand in that power declaring healing to occur or unclean spirits to depart.  Our jaw is firm and our will is iron as we strain out our certainty … and nothing happens!

Why is that?  Why does apparent failure seem to be the majority of our results?  The strength of our Lord is without question, as is His authority and majesty.  We believe those things fully and walk in them, so why doesn’t sickness and uncleanness tremble and flee when we command in His name?  Because strength, and mightiness, and majesty are not His name for us.

“Place my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls,”
– Matthew 11:29

Gentle.  Humble.  That is His name for us.  And that is what we are to be when we walk in His name.  We are to be what He is, representing Him to the world, and submitting ourselves to all He has commanded and taught.  Trying to emulate only the power renders us useless because He has chosen how He works.

“But the Lord said, ‘My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.’ So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me.”
– 2 Corinthians 12:9

Instead we seek to walk as our Lord walked, gentle and humble.  When we read accounts of Christ healing and commanding demons to go, what we do not see is Him straining out the power with gritted teeth, or firmly asserting that power with a commanding tone, or even pleading for that power to work.  He spoke and it was done, and even just touching His cloak was enough.  There was nothing in Jesus’ manner that drew attention to Him or His efforts because He knew Who His Father was, and He knew His Father would never fail Him in His mission.  So He walked as a man, mortal and weak, but sent by and authorized by God.

Trying to emulate only the power renders us useless because He has chosen how He works.

Of ourselves, we are not the power – we are the vessels.  And as the vessels, we carry His power on the mission He has given to each of us.  And what is our mission?  In short, to do good.

“We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:7

Jesus was sent to find what was lost and to save what was perishing.  Though He was only sent to the house of Israel God’s desire and intent for Jesus was for all of us to be saved and brought into fellowship with Him.  Israel had to reject Him first in order to fulfill Scripture and allow the rest of mankind to receive His grace.  His mission – ultimately to all of us – was to preach the good news, heal the brokenhearted, give sight to the blind, set the captives free, and release from bondage all who were oppressed.  To declare the acceptable year of the Lord while God’s Spirit confirmed the truth.

Our mission then is also to declare the good news – and do good.  Pointing people to Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven is our purpose, with healing and deliverance the proof of how good it is to trust in Jesus.  We do not need to make it happen by our force of will or our intellectual prowess.  We just follow His yearning within us for the lost.  That heart we share in God’s Spirit is what compels us to tell others the truth that is the Gospel, gently and humbly, because we know it is and we want others to experience and receive the same.  And that same shared heart is what tells unclean spirits to leave and bodies to heal, gently and humbly, because we know God does set free and heal and we want them to experience His goodness.

That’s it.  That’s in the name of Jesus Christ – when He seeks through us and yearns through us and we respond in agreement.

as the vessels, we carry His power on the mission He has given to each of us

If you brace yourself when stepping out, be comforted in the fact that you are not alone.  It’s our natural, soulish way of thinking to doubt.  Have you ever wanted to share about a healing with someone and inside you begin to debate if you are exaggerating?  That’s the doubt at work.

Settle in the truth that Jesus came to save the lost, and to do good, and that is what He continues to do through each of us.  If you were given $100,000 to distribute to the poor would you hesitate?  Would you be afraid to approach the poor in case you couldn’t help them, and maybe look like a fraud?  Of course not!  You have the money in hand and the mission ahead of you.  Settle it in the truth then that you have the authority to do good in hand and the mission ahead of you is known.  Just do because Jesus does!

Back to the $100,000 analogy.  With the money in hand do you need to declare it to be?  Do you have to command, or exert, or even plead to give it its value?  No.  It just is, so you just go ahead and make use of it.  Gently and humbly because it already is.  The value and authority it represents is already in place and does not need to be summoned.  And that desire for the lost – it also just is and evidences that the value and authority it represents is already in place and does not need to be summoned.

Share the good news – and do good.  You’re in His name.

Just do because Jesus does!