Forbidden Fruit

I love fishing, though for many years I have not fulfilled this desire.I do know that it is possible to catch fish on a bare hook (I was there, saw it with my own eyes) but usually it’s best to put some bait on it. This reminds me of the temptation scene in the Garden of Eden. I have been musing about the baited hook dangled before Adam and Eve.

The serpent appealed to their souls (which were created for Him, the Living God), conveying to the couple that personal fulfillment was within their grasp. There was no need to wait upon the whimsical timing of God. The serpent, though not all-knowing, was aware that there was to be a new ruling, reigning monarchy on the earth. It was evident that these two would be the viceroys, and their royal descendents would be the fruit of their loins.

The serpent decided to prepare a tasty feast for them. The main dish he presented to Adam and Eve was called ‘personal self-fulfillment.’

Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Hook, line and sinker, what a catch! Thank God that is not the end of His-Story. So much of salvation is regarded only in terms of forgiveness. Yes it is that, and so much more - restoration, for example.

Jesus said it best:
(Mark 8:35)
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
(John 12:25) 25"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

The Message of the gospel is not about personal fulfillment or the preservation of self at all costs. There are no contradictions here. If we cling to or endeavour to save our life, we lose it. It isn’t about losing our salvation, but losing out on His life, His likeness being formed and established within us, and Life is best depicted in laying it down on behalf of others.

It is so very easy to miss out on our birthright, for the momentary thrill of self-fulfillment.

I am reminded in the movie, ‘Field of Dreams’. The main character, Ray Kinsella, hears a voice which states repeatedly, “Build it and he will come”. If you haven’t seen the movie, to Ray this meant he was to build a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield. Sure enough, long-dead baseball legends eventually appear and are able to enjoy some practice sessions. Near the end of the movie, these ghostly baseball buddies invite another character, Terrance Mann to follow them into the mysterious and heavenly-looking cornfield. At this point, even though Ray has been most heroic and noble in all that he has done thus far in building the baseball field (even to be regarded as being totally selfless) his fleshly sense of personal fulfillment tries to derail him from the heart to heart reconciliation and secret dream of his heart that is about to transpire. HE wants to be the one to be invited to see what’s in his own cornfield! The star baseball player, Shoeless Joe Jackson, asks, Ray, “What are you saying, Ray? Are you saying, ‘What’s in it for me”? Ray replies “Yes!” Shoeless Joe goes on to say, “Ray, if you build it, HE will come!”
How the enemy of our soul longs with hellish hatred to take us out of the picture - to nullify our effect as bright shining lights in a dark and lost world.

thevoice.wav(38K)
‘If you build it he will come’ is at a pivotal point in the movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/

Rich

Sanctification

Sanctification

Oswald Chambers

“Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us…sanctification.” 1 Cor 1. 30.

The Life Side. The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to me, not gradually, but instantly when by faith I enter into the realization that Jesus Christ is made unto me sanctification. Sanctification does not mean anything less than the holiness of Jesus being made mine manifestly.

The one marvelous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is “Christ in you.” It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification, and imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His word?

Sanctification means the impartation of the Holy qualities of Jesus Christ. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness, that is manifested in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is on a different line. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly an surely I begin to live a life of ineffable order and sanity and holiness: “Kept by the power of God.”



Father, thank you, that you will not spare me from the storms of life, let the viciousness of these trials do unto me that which is purposed for your glory and my good.
Thank you Lord, that truth will be turned into Truth, and will be established in the hidden recesses of my being.
Thank you for being so much more than answers to my questioning soul, for the many things that seem to go unanswered.
Thank you for the repeated face to face encounters with hopelessness, in order to know what and where true Hope is found.
Thank you Father for shaking everything within my soul, everything that needs to wither and die, in order for that which can not be shaken to come forth.

”O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

Rich

Consternation

The miracle of being re-birthed caused indelible transformation in us. We now not only bear His image, but His glory. We simultaneously live in two realms, the physical and the spiritual. Consequently, much of what happens to us after being re-birthed is totally foreign in this respect: we cannot fathom the out-of-proportion assaults exacted upon our lives. In your incredulity or frustration, have you ever said anything remotely like this: ‘Before I came to know the reality of the Lord I never had these kinds of things happening to me! Why is this happening?’

Why, indeed?

Before Lucifer allowed pride to enter his heart (and with that pride the notion he would try to put God out of business), all glory and praise was directed through him towards the God of Glory. However, all that drastically changed in a heartbeat when Lucifer plummeted to earth. He has an objective now. He hates God with a hellish hatred, fuelled by a fiendish resolve to take those now entrusted not only to bear His image but His likeness (you and me) out of the picture.

Having said that (lest anyone think that I am impressed with the devil but only remotely aware of God), let me set the record straight: the exact opposite is true. Our Father has made us to be people who ‘notice’ things. We can get all bent out of shape over the injustices we see, or we can deposit the outrage we feel into prayer and intercession on behalf of those He puts upon our hearts.

I love the following quote from the book, ‘The Barbarian Way’:

“Jesus is being lost in a religion bearing His name. People are being lost because they cannot reconcile Jesus’ association with Christianity. Christianity has become docile, domesticated, civilized. We have forgotten that there is a kingdom of darkness stealing the hopes and dreams and souls of a humanity without God. It is time to hear the barbarian call, to form a barbarian tribe, and to unleash the barbarian revolt. Let the invasion begin.

”Matthew 11:12 (Amp.):

”And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force (as a precious prize, a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion).

Nowadays, the reality of heaven and hell being reduced to nothing more than religious blether is indicative of how Satan has in fact ensnared so many in the matrix of lies. After all, he is called the father of lies. Give him his due - he is very good at what he does!

Everything outside of Christ Jesus is religion, and Satan is the father of religion (‘religion’ being anything that causes adherents to think that by their right living they can ‘be like God’). The on-going training being worked within us has much to do with setting us free from the matrix of religion which has watered the gospel down to less than tepid tea-water.

The original movie, ‘The Matrix’, though fictional, has more spiritual truth than meets the eye. The main character, Thomas Anderson, a.k.a. Neo, only knows reality that comes to him via the Matrix, a self- generated program existing solely in his mind. In the process of being disconnected from the matrix, reality is almost more than he can bear. Likewise, the reality that the Father is awakening in many of his sons and daughters, is more than we can fathom. That is why the quote from The Barbarian Way spoke such encouragement to me.

In the garden, when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their eyes were opened…but what they saw did not resemble life and freedom. Is it any wonder that even though we have been re-birthed, it is the Father’s desire to have the eyes of our heart opened up, that we might be flooded with light in the true knowledge of Him being our all? We are here in the now for a purpose, (His) and though most of us do not know or see the reality of this purpose, Satan does. He may be defeated, but he is not stupid insofar as having successfully taken many Christians out of the picture.

The ‘necessity’ of knowing the love of our Father is the only thing that will keep us from losing heart, from capitulating and becoming a statistic or prisoner of war – that and knowing that as the re-birthed we are in a battle for our very souls, and the onslaughts are relentless. However, most Christians don’t realize this. I once heard it said that when most believers give their lives to Christ, they sincerely believe they were signing onto a cruise liner. They had no idea they were boarding a warship!

”Grow not weary in well doing, for in due time you shall reap. If we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him.” That reigning is in the now, but it is the out-working that results in much suffering.

"The full value of this life can only be got by fighting; the violent take it by storm. And if we have accepted everything we have missed something — war. This life of ours is a very enjoyable fight, but a very miserable truce."

Rich

The Grace of God

‘The on-going work of the grace of God in a believer’s life'…Wow, what a mouthful! It is nothing short of being glorious, the unfolding, revealing, glorifying work of the Holy Spirit, making known to believers who the Father is, and who they are in Him.

The above picture speaks to me on so many levels, but mostly in a facetious and humorous way. It is mind-numbing to consider that so many believers are in a fixed orbit of believing that when they were re-birthed, it was a total deal or nothing.We hate perceived contradictions, paradoxes or incongruent things we see not apparently meshing in the scriptures.
Rather than admit we might be the ones with the problems in our limited perceptions and bow to the Father, trusting him for the needed illumination, we defend to the death that which has only been seen thus far in part.There is much that is on my heart that I would like to think out loud about concerning the continuing work of grace (metamorphosis) in the believer’s soul, but I think I will stop here for now.
Hopefully the picture will stimulate some needful heart-to-heart fellowship with one another. I anticipate hearing from you.

Rich

Awaken, Sleepy Man!

Continued

Our coming to the living God who, unbeknownst to us, was to become our Father was a simple, but miraculous response to His initiative. Everything from that point forward would have been most wonderful had we continued to listen to His spirit wanting to make known to us Who it was who had become our Life (Jesus speaking of the Holy Sprit’s agenda, ‘He will reveal and glorify me’).

We chose to do what we did. Unless the Holy Spirit has been permitted to reveal to us that the enemy of our soul is still resident within our flesh, we were and are still clueless. This in no way diminishes the perfect and finished work of the cross, which did not, by the way, proclaim “Jesus in, Satan out!”

Food for thought here: nowhere in scripture is there mentioned anything about man having a ‘human nature’. I personally believe that the two trees in the garden spoke of a reality pertaining to a nature humankind could choose to have: one was death (the knowledge of good and evil); the other was Life, as represented by the Tree of Life. The soul of man was meant to be governed by someone, ergo, the choice of the trees. Who are we going to serve?

Despite the fact that our spirit has been reborn, our soul has not. Clearly, life and death issues are paramount in our continued walk with the Lord. ”The mind set upon the spirit is life; the mind set upon the flesh is death.” It is in this area of our lives we are most blind and ignorant. Although saved, we do not yet grasp that the enemy of our soul still beckons to us from his hidden position within our flesh. He appeals to our soul, trying to dazzle and beguile us through the mind, will and emotions.

Genesis 3:5-7 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

I am learning to love the apparent contradictions and paradoxes that keep popping up in scripture. For example, the above scriptures refer to eyes being opened, but the results did not benefit humankind. This one-time eye-opening experience spelled death for man.
Yet in Ephesians 1:17-18, it says,
17 For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

This continuous eye-opening experience spells Life, in that we see Him as our only Life. Many would think that this is a one-time event, rather than a journey of learning to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and not leaning unto our own understanding. Oh, the glory that beckons us, as the Spirit of Truth has access into opening the eyes of our heart more and more!

Everything outside of Christ is religion, and the father of it all is Satan.

It’s amusing when one mentions ‘religion’. Those within the institutional church agree, yes it’s ‘out there’, but they do not see it existing within the confines of their doctrines. A co-mingled gospel, i.e. ‘another gospel’, results from mixing anything, such as performance or works, with God’s 100% grace.

”Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold, but be transformed by the continuous renewing of your mind.

”Being renewed in the spirit of our mind frees us from the matrix of religion.

Rich

Awaken, Sleepy Man!

Ephesians 5:13-14
13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead,and Christ will shine on you."


Is it the Sandman or one of his cohorts who has put so many to sleep within the institutional church? Not asleep towards religious activities, but asleep towards the Lord - alive in their spirit, but fast asleep in their soul.

John Eldridge in “The Sacred Romance” writes (and this quote is like smelling salts right up the nostrils):

”We tell ourselves that this small, passionate voice is an intruder who has gained entry because we have not been diligent enough in practising our religion. Our pastor seems to agree with this assessment and exhorts us from the pulpit to be more faithful. We try to silence the voice with outward activity, redoubling our efforts at Christian service. We join a small group and read a book on establishing a more effective prayer life. We train to be part of a church evangelism team. We tell ourselves that the malaise of spirit we feel even as we step up our religious activity is a sign of spiritual immaturity and we scold our heart for its lack of fervor.

Sometimes later, the voice in our heart dares to speak to us again, more insistently this time. Listen to me—there is something missing in all this. You long to be in a love affair, an adventure. You were made for something more. You know it.When the young prophet Samuel heard the voice of God calling to him in the night, he had the counsel from his priestly mentor, Eli, to tell him how to respond. Even so, it took them three times to realize it was God calling. Rather than ignoring the voice, or rebuking it, Samuel finally listened.In our modern, pragmatic world we often have no such mentor, so we do not understand it is God speaking to us in our heart. Having so long been out of touch with our deepest longing, we fail to recognize the voice and the One who is calling to us through it. Frustrated by our heart’s continuing sabotage of a dutiful Christian life, some of us silence the voice by locking our heart away in the attic, feeding it only bread and water of duty and obligation until it is almost dead, the voice now small and weak. But sometimes in the night, when our defences are down, we still hear it call to us, oh so faintly—a distant whisper. Come morning, the new day’s activities scream for our attention, the sound of the cry is gone, and we congratulate ourselves on finally overcoming the flesh.”

”For what shall we do when we wake one day to find we have lost touch with our heart and with it the very refuge where God’s presence resides.”

”This longing is the most powerful part of any personality. It fuels our search for meaning, for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive. However we may describe this deep desire, it is the most important thing about us, our heart of hearts, the passion of our life. And that voice that calls to us in this place is none other than the voice of God.
We cannot hear this voice if we have lost touch with our heart.”

To be continued…

Rich

Bring Back The Glory Daze

Proverbs 29:18, (Amp), Where there is no vision (no redemptive revelation of God), the people perish.

In this battle we are in, we are either being tempted to ‘lose heart’, or we’re ‘being dazzled’ by the enemy of our soul. Either way, to give in to him, is to lose. This ongoing unfolding revelation of ‘Christ in us the hope of glory’ is not a static position. In Him we live, move and have our being.

The saving of our spirit was an event, but the outworking of our salvation within our soul is a process, a glorious journey. The notion that somehow, in the miracle of being re-birthed, our soul was also instantly transformed is as ludicrous as straining at gnats and swallowing camels.

If the scripture is true (‘Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever’), why is there an enticement to long after something other than Him?

I love reading and seeing how the Father expressed the one life of His Son in and through our early brothers and sisters in the church, but instead of worshipping Him, we begin to worship that ‘expression’ of Him operating in and through others.Is he not bigger than that limited expression? I mean the whole thing of communal living and its many spin-offs is most commendable, but who He is has not changed.Without the eyes of our heart being constantly opened to the unfolding revelation of the Christ in us, it is very easy to view Him being somewhere out there, kind of like Fox Mulder on the X-Files: ‘The truth is out there.’

I remember when my wife discovered she was pregnant (with our first child) and not just sick with the flu as she had thought. Talk about a revelation! I don’t think it is stretching things too far, using the illustration of our family Doctor clearly detecting the real cause of my wife’s situation, than it is with God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, clearly defining what has and is happening in us since being re-birthed.

The present need to see Him and know Him in the now of our moment is going to be life or death for us. Paul asked, ‘Who has bewitched (bedazzled) you?’ (and of course he was addressing stupid pagan gentiles right? I don’t think so!). ’O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.’

Is there really much difference between us and the prodigal son famished eating pig food, refusing to listen to the Holy Spirit? Rather than feasting upon the hidden manna we have in Him, in our blindness and hunger, we imbibe in another gospel than only intensifies the leanness of soul.

Rich

It's Not My Fault

I had left "church", but didn't know why. I just knew I was sick of all the crap I saw and was a victim of.

"What could be done to fix all the problems we saw?" "How could things flow as smoothly as we saw in the New Testament?" "How come we can't get back to the new testament model of church?"

I'm not sure the word 'victim' fits in, in light of the many repeated warnings that are given, about not giving heed to 'another' gospel!
It is not about ‘blame,’ it has nothing to do with the IC (institutional church) or its man made leadership.
Was Adam/Eve, victims? Or, was it a choice they made with their eyes wide open so to speak?!
Was He not speaking, warning us in our journey? 'In the day you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts.'
How could any of us come to see the Truth in the person of the living Christ apart from being brought to see that 'we choose' a path that seemed right in our own eyes, but that path lead away from knowing Him, into a place of becoming very religious, which resulted in, having a form of godliness, but having no power.

It is of my opinion that until we come to not only seeing the reality of Christ in us the hope of Glory along with, It is no longer I that lives, but Christ, tempered with the knowing, (revelation) although re-birthed, us still having Satan in our flesh, it will continue to be the blame game.
Hey you wouldn't hit a person wearing their victim glasses would you?

Another gospel that bites us on the ass is this one. "How could things flow as smoothly as we saw in the New Testament?" "How come we can't get back to the New Testament model of church?"

Without a continuously growing revelation of Him being our only Life, (he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit) we gravitate towards models, types, shadows.
If in fact He IS the same yesterday, today, and forever, why are we looking to anything other than to Him today??? 'Today is the day of salvation.'
Most of churcianity is consumed with an external Jesus...reach out and touch the Lord as he passes by...or if He would only step down from heaven, then surely the gates of hell would fall. Or take me past the brazen alter into the Holy of Holies etc, etc.
What crap! Apart from being deceived, why do we insist on having a shadowy relationship with the Lord?

2 Corinthians 11: 1
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

Rather than turning our eyes upon Jesus, we look to the past or the future, why, because He is seemingly nowhere to be found in the now of our daily living.Is it possible along with our other brothers and sisters we also need,
Ephesians 1

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe,

Rich

What is That String Tied Around my Finger For?

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to and end,They are new every morning, new every morning,Great is your faithfulness to me, oh Lord, great is your faithfulness to me.

I am so over come in how the Lord continues to reveal the greatness of his heart for me. I so delight in how His spirit is confirming to my heart the Truth of Christ in me the Hope of Glory. It has been most thrilling the reading I have been doing of late.I am just finishing the book, The Journey of Desire by John Eldridge. In it on page 199, he makes a reference to a story he laid out in the previous pages about how a village in Mexico had been subjected to a plague of insomnia, and how it seeped into every day living.He goes on to say under the heading of,

Our Worst Enemy

The first time I read this story I simply laughed. But it haunted me, and on a second reading I began to realize that it’s my story too. I said to myself, it’s not a bad plan. Right above my bed I think I shall hang a sign that says, God Exists. You see, I wake most mornings an unbeliever. It seems that during the night, I slip into forgetfulness, and by the time the new day comes, I am lost. The deep and precious truths that God has brought to me over the years and even yesterday seem a thousand miles away. It doesn’t happen every morning, but enough to make it an ongoing reality. And I know I am not alone in this.”

Later on page 200, he continues; Forgetting is no small problem. Of all the enemies our hearts must face, this may be the worst because it is insidious.Forgetfulness does not come against us like an enemy in full battle formation, banners waving. Nor does it come temptingly, seductively, like the lady in red. It works slowly, commonly, unnoticed. Forgetfulness, it can so easily cut us off from our Life, so slowly, we barely notice, until one day the blooms of our faith are suddenly gone.”

I love this quote from Deut. 4:9 Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children--Later on Paul is appalled, (Gal.1:6) I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way.

He has to send Timothy to the Corinthians to “remind you of what I teach about Christ Jesus in all the churches wherever I go” (1Cor.4:17)

Peter, who knew firsthand the grief that comes from forgetting, writes his letters to combat this cancer of the soul:1Pet.5:10And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

2Pet.1:11-13
for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,

People tie strings to their fingers to offset forgetfulness.God told the Jews to bind what He told them to their foreheads. Some of them took him literally and what exists today is hilarious in their antics.I need it strapped right there in front of me, every single day.

God Exists!

Rich

Which Way Did He Go?

What options do I have? Let’s see, there’s the ‘right way, and the wrong way.’
I guess that math would work except for the G Word~God, and oh yeah, His WAY!

Is it any wonder that God in the person of the Christ seems to have vanished? (move over Houdini) But this disappearing act seems to plague most ‘Christians’, what’s that all about?

This is a great article that I believe addresses much of the malady believer’s face today.

http://www.christ-life.org/LIS-Mag/LIS300.pdf

Has God Disappeared Part 2

Rich

The Gospel According To Me

Sovereignty, election, predestination, freedom to choose… Why does it have to be an ‘either-or?’ Maybe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Calvinism vs. Armenism for example: maybe it’s both and then some!
I was discussing this issue today with a friend and brother, musing about the wild and almost unthinkable possibility of coming to see and know the Truth totally apart from either Calvin or Arminius!

For as long as the church has been around, the flesh in believers wants to try to come to the pontificating forefront with its absolute and adamant conclusions regarding the scriptures, much like two doctors congratulating each other on the brave, ground-breaking, never-having-been-done-before open heart surgery they performed.What we don’t see in this picture is that unfortunately the patient died. However, as long as the doctors’ perceptions were right, that’s all that matters, I guess.

Maybe there is so little known about the Truth Himself because of the propensity of us worshiping our erroneous conclusions. Rather than focusing on simply what it might mean ‘to know Christ as our life’ we are too busy making sure no one gets to God apart from our particular brand or version of the truth. For example, maybe “grace” encompasses far more than what we have determined it to be or mean, including things that we are so certain would have nothing to do with Grace.

For example: (2Corinthians12:8-10 1Corinthians 15:10)
These are but two examples of the same thing, His grace.
In the first picture of grace, Paul is empowered to accept the buffeting messenger of Satan (in his flesh) to be God’s will for his life. Actually, Paul was glad to let it happen. In the second picture we see him ‘laboring more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God.’It’s the same grace at work accomplishing two (according the natural way of thinking) diametrically opposed things. One is to accept, the other is to rise up and fight.

To not allow ourselves to think, ponder, and muse over what the Father may in fact be trying to lead us to see, is to set one’s self up as the final authority!

As I have witnessed repeatedly in the institutional church, the moment a child of God (possibly prompted by the Father of their spirit) begins to ask questions of those in leadership, these ‘anointed ones’’, prompted by pride, fear and reputation, seek to put an end to this unholy disruption. The collective working body of knowledge (the truth according to man) will not allow for upstarts to begin thinking for themselves.

It reminds me of the movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, when Dorothy’s dog Toto begins to pull back the curtain concealing the machinery orchestrating the wizard’s ‘magic’. Hiding behind this curtain was a mere man, masquerading as the “Great Oz” bellowing out with fire and smoke, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

Seems to me, that Pharisaical attitude was most prevalent when Jesus, the Word was made flesh and walked among us. It was hard (understatement of huge proportions) for those professing their certainty that maybe they just might be wrong in their understanding of what they perceived as truth up to that point (John 5:39). Fear-based thinking dictates that everything line up and fit in with the way it is supposed to, and of course that way is ‘our way.’

I remember a brother sharing just such a dilemma. He had been struggling with the whole thing of election vs. free will. While he was sleeping, he said he sensed the Lord boil it all down most simply for him in a dream. In the dream, he was about to enter a tunnel. Above the tunnel a sign read, ‘Predestined from the Foundations of the Earth.’ As he emerged out of the tunnel, he was prompted to look back, and to his chagrin he noticed a new sign above the tunnel that read, ‘Whosoever will!’ Upon awakening, my friend saw it did not have to be either-or, but both were working in harmony creating a perfect balance.

Rather than admitting we just don’t know about a lot of things, (which by the way, would make plenty of room for most of us that are in the same boat to have some very real heart-to-heart fellowship), we instead declare our perceived but adamant gospels of truth which serve to broaden the gap between us. Of course, this gospel of ours makes no bones or room for anyone to think contrary to our collective body of knowledge, which is at best, having a form of godliness, but lacking the power.

I remember hearing that yesterday’s heresy usually becomes today’s dogma.
Funny thing is that there was a time that it was perceived to be a ‘Godly’ thing to burn or drown such heretical thinkers. Is it possible that not too far under the veneer of our religiosity, there still exists this ‘godly desire?’

Instead of seeing all 'truth' summed up in The Truth, our perceived conclusions may amount to nothing more than successfully to alienate us from those with the same Seed, Son, and Spirit within them.The basis of all that we share in this common union (communion) in Christ, is abandoned for a much greater prize, our desire for prominence and recognition.

Rich

Light shall shine out of darkness

2Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, " Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

From the movie The Matrix, http://www.moviesounds.com/matrix/choice.wav

It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth~what truth? That you are a slave Neo, like everyone else you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell, taste or touch; a prison for your mind.

This is from a friend of mine:

Deception is the first and greatest mark of a life of futility. This is so because deception is the one all-encompassing ingredient needed to keep people trapped in lives that go nowhere. The working of deception is the goal of God's primary enemy - Satan. Deception is a worldwide phenomenon because it is a human phenomenon. We should expect this would be so because the entire world is under the influence and control of the evil one: "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." (1 John 5:19). We should also expect Satan's first and primary tool for injury in this world to be the lie and the practice of deception. After all, this is how Satan got control of the world in the first place: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"" (Genesis 3:1).

We should expect considerable resistance from the evil one toward our efforts to allow the Father to bring us out of the futile life of deception we were born into in the natural. Make no mistake about this point - we were all born (in the natural) into a spiritually generated dream world. Humanity is trapped in a dead-end existence leading to personal and corporate failure and ultimately to self-destruction. Yet, we have no legitimate or necessary need to feel either trapped or hopeless. The trap of a hopeless life is a self-imposed trap.

The reason we may have hope even in a fallen world is because there is a loving God who is in ultimate control over all of creation. This loving God desires to be our loving Father and to release us from the bondage of the life of futility. The means of this release is found in the verse just before the one quoted above from 1 John: "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him." (1 John 5:18). The apostle John does a marvelous job of giving us the entire picture of reality in two short verses. If we are born of God (reborn or born again) then we are safe, even though we still live in a world under the control of the evil one.

Rich

Who You Gonna Serve

2 Timothy 1:8

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,

Ephesians 3:1

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--

Rich

Gotta Serve Somebody

Bob Dylan

You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,You may call me R.J.,
you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

You're gonna have to serve somebody,
yes indeedYou're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

God, You Need us to Help

I find it quite incredulous as I browse and peruse various blog’s, not them as much as the responses to these ‘gifted ones.’
Meaning, you’d swear it was the fourth part of the trinity coming down from heaven speaking such unheard of and profound statements.
Mouths opened wide, in awe of such ‘insight’, obviously something that the everyday Christian could not attain to. Where is the reality of, 1 John 2:26-27
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Bowing at the feet of a so called ‘anointed’ person like a spiritual groupie, is totally whacked. It appears to be impossible to many, for the Father of the rebirthed one to learn directly from Him alone.
As one person said years ago, ‘there are so many Dr.’s in the pulpits today, you’d think God was sick.’
As the rebirthing was miraculous, so is the ongoing training of the Father, Him making known to the believer what s/he needs to know. The wonderful joy that comes in hearing from the mouths of the redeemed as well as the lost, that confirming witness to their spirit what He in fact has been doing and showing them.
I love what Oswald Chambers said, “Don’t necessarily look for the person trying to tell you something new, but be ready to hear as the Father puts a name and a face on what you have been struggling with from deep within.” In other words, a confirmation.
In closing, another thing I want to say here about the whole deal of ‘discipleship,’ rather than seeing it is Him alone that disciples each of us.
All of us being on the same level footing in Christ Jesus. Each learning from Him through each other. More often than not much of what goes down in the name of making disciples is making them converts of our opinions.

Rich

Desire

I have been reading some of John Eldredge's books of late, and this quote from his book, "The Journey of Desire" is most breathtaking.

"Do we form no friendships because our friends might be taken from us? Do we refuse to love because we may be hurt? Do we forsake our dreams because hope has been deferred? To desire is to open our hearts to the possibility of pain; to shut down our hearts is to die altogether. The full proverb reads this way: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy."
The road to life and joy lies through, not around, the heart-sickness of hope deferred."

Rich

Still Waiting

Hello,

Still waiting for the next call. Other than the two friends I chat with pretty much on a regular basis, it would be great to hear a new voice.

Rich

Pick up, Pick up....

Bottom line, sure God can use anything~"anything", but again, this trying to communicate via forums, etc seems too platonic in a sense.
Is it wrong to share what we know to be the Truth, don't think so, but not being able to connect in real time (live voice chat) is most frustrating, at least to me.
Again, it all boils down to a trust/transparency thing, if its not there, many truthful things can be shared, but it’s just talk, rather than hearts being brought to life in His presence. Again, I put out an appeal to any who want to share this One Life we have in Christ!

Rich

Magic Carpet Ride

The following is from my brother Dave Aldrich, I love how the Father is becoming so real to him!

Rich

Weird, wild, strange, bizarre. Don't those words describe well this Life in Him? Maybe even (may I go as far as saying that) they describe God himself? Is that thunder? Otherwise it's... "Step right up folks and get your god in a box. Don't worry, he won't bite. Heck you don't even need to get close to him. He's just there when you need him, nice and safe like... real predictable. All ya gotta do is check the owner's manual for a list of ingredients and how to operate the little fella. Batteries not included."

Call Me

I have decided to make a change in my life.

I have had this blog for about a year. As much as I looked forward to being able to use it as a vehicle to share my thoughts, writing the blog has been an exercise in frustration for me. The spontaneous, intuitive flow I enjoy when talking, totally dries up when I try to fit into the blog world. I love nothing more than to share with other believers about the Lord. He is my life, my reason for being, and my breath. However, that passion gets short-circuited when I try to capture that spontaneity in the written word. I feel totally restricted and confined. I am not a writer by nature. I am a communicator, yes, but in a verbal sense.

For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, there is a scene depicting the character Sundance, a crack-shot gunfighter, trying to ‘go straight’. He has a sort of job interview with a grizzled old guy who’s in charge of ensuring the payroll gets transported safely in the wilderness region of Bolivia. Since the area is crawling with bandits, the old man wants to know how well Sundance can shoot, so he picks a target and tells Sundance to aim at it. Time after time, Sundance misses, which doesn’t inspire confidence in his potential boss. Just as the old man is about to dismiss him, Sundance asks, “Can I move?” (meaning, he wanted to show his shooting ability on his own terms and in his own way). When allowed to move, he hit everything thrown his way with rapid-fire precision. “Yer hired!” was his boss’s incredulous reply.

I can identify totally. That line, “Can I move?” is representative of who I am. As Paul said in Acts, “In Him I live, move and have my being”. I simply cannot express myself in the written word. God has simply not wired me that way. To me, it is just another expression of that which appeals and is alluring to me to try to connect, fit in and belong, as I did for a good portion of my life in the institutional church. Case in point – even this final entry is being edited by my wife!

I’m not planning on shutting my blog down for the moment. But I am extending, once again, the offer to connect, fellowship with you via SKYPE (see the icon on this site. It’s a free download with no spy-ware). Using SKYPE, you can send instant messages via Yahoo Messenger as well as participate in a live voice chat. In both cases my user name is ‘ptemailman’.

As I was sharing with a friend via SKYPE, I realize God gives us the choice to settle for something far less than Him. How grateful I am for the fact that He wants me to know the truth! In the process the truth will set me free. Stopping this blog is the first step.

I extend the invitation to reciprocate, to get to know me beyond the printed word. I would absolutely love to fellowship with other believers who want to know Christ. If that does or doesn’t happen, I’m going on with the Lord.

Hello???....Can you hear me now?...over….

Rich

Rats In A Maze

C. S. Lewis was bold enough to put words to: "We're the rats in the cosmic laboratory." Sure, he may have our good in mind, but that still makes him the "vivisectionist"--the experimenter.

Rich

Taste and See

I was reading from a Brothers blog today, something I hadn’t read before, (most encouraging) but also something I had previously read. I wanted to make it available here for any that visit me, which may not visit his blog.

A Wild Ride http://weblogs.oxegen.us/lifestream/archive/2005/08/17/9841.aspx

Also a previous article entitled, "Feasting on the Tree of Life"

http://www.lifestream.org/LSBL.Aug05.html

Rich

Blackout Anniversary: August 14th

Following is a letter my wife wrote to a friend two years ago after a widespread blackout caused mayhem in southern Ontario and northern-eastern United States. Since August 14th is the anniversary of the blackout, I thought it was worth printing - if only to remind us of how dependent we are on things we take for granted - like electricity!

My Blackout Adventure
by
M. Broadbent

You may have heard it all started in Cleveland. This is incorrect.

It started with a loaf of bread and a computer programme.

The truth is, my husband Richard caused the blackout. He was trying to install a new programme on our computer at 4:14 PM. The instant he pressed ‘Enter’, the computer made a terrible grinding sound, flashed very bright, then went black. After that, 50 million people were in the dark.

And now for the rest of the story:

We were out of bread, so at about 4 PM I left home to go to the supermarket. You know the slide-y kind of doors that open automatically? Well, they would not open! I stamped my feet, jumped and waved to get the sensor's attention, but to no avail. A customer had to pry the doors open to let me in.

About two dozen people were standing with their carts in the eerily dark front entrance of the supermarket, but the manager would not let us proceed. Customers, their carts loaded with groceries, were emerging from the black bowels of the store like zombies from “The Night of the Living Dead”. But – they had bread. Dark thoughts wormed through my carbohydrate-crazed mind. "HAND OVER YOUR BREAD, AND NOBODY GETS HURT!!!" I concocted a scheme to grab a loaf and make a run for it. However, I restrained myself with my Superior Restraining Ability (plus, the manager was way bigger than I am).

While waiting for the lights to go back on, I spotted a friend and we had a nice chat. The manager told us the power was out all the way to Kitchener, 45 minutes away. A fellow customer figured somebody must have hit a hydro pole. I called Richard on my cell phone to tell him I would be late. Richard told me my brother had just called and informed him the power was out all the way to Windsor, 3 hours the other way! I mused, that had to be some telephone pole! Using great wisdom and foresight (to avoid triggering a riot right there in the supermarket entrance), I whispered my news to the manager. I felt very important. His eyes widened. He then suggested we all go home, because it looked as if the situation was going to take a while to resolve.

I made two new friends in the parking lot. We each informed the other of whatever information we had, chatted a bit, then went our way. I'll likely never see them again.

I got in my van and turned on the radio. The announcer said the station was in 'emergency mode' and was relying on battery power. I started to get concerned. Nobody knew what the heck was going on! Was North American under some kind of terrorist attack? There was a rumour there had been an explosion at a Con Ed plant in New York. Land lines were no longer working. Within minutes of calling Richard on my cell phone, I tried again, but even it wouldn't work. The only contact we had with the outside world was by car or battery operated radios.

I decided to go to a convenience store to buy bread, but found our local variety had already closed down (I did, however, peer into the darkened store and spied the clerk crouched down behind the counter). I travelled four blocks to the next one. It was open, but the tiny parking lot was crammed with cars. I went in, and found a line of people snaked all the way to the back of the dark, sweltering store. People were buying whatever they could, especially batteries and ice. To my dismay, I found the store was already out of bread…groan… but in true Canadian style, everybody was being so nice, joking and using very good manners. I was impressed with my fellow countrymen. Since I had to wait in line anyway, I also bought batteries and ice, two very hot commodities.

I travelled across town to three other stores. All were closed.

Bank machines were inoperable, all planes were grounded at every airport, nobody could get gas at the service stations, it was an extremely hot and humid day and there was no electric fan or air conditioning to be found, anywhere! Fridges, freezers stopped dead. The most dangerous thing was that there wasn't a working traffic light in all of southwestern Ontario, and the Blackout occurred at the beginning of the rush hour. The radio announcer was advising everyone to consider every intersection a 4-way stop. Citizens jumped out of their cars and began directing traffic. Dairy Queen gave away their melting ice cream cakes. Officials were advising people not to drink tap water. This was getting very serious and more than a bit scary.

There was nothing to do! Couldn't watch TV or get on the computer. The local swimming pool shut down because the pump wasn't working. When I got home, I ate some cheese and crackers washed down with lukewarm milk for supper and listened to the radio. Then I went outside to read "East of Eden" until the sun went down.

It was really remarkable how people were helping each other out. Because bank machines didn't work, thousands of people were caught not having enough change to buy anything to drink, so strangers were just giving them money. Grocery stores gave away cases of bottled water. I noticed a whole lot of people outside walking their dogs or just chatting with neighbours. Kids were playing ball, riding bikes or running around - many more than usual. I walked down to the park to see the stars. It was pretty cool without the urban glow - the stars were magnificent. We lit some candles and navigated with flashlights.

We were really lucky, because our power came back on at 9:30 PM Thursday. However, in London, an hour away, power was not restored until Saturday. Our Ontario premier declared a state of emergency. He told anybody who was not an essential worker to stay home Friday to cut down on the amount of energy being used by factories and office buildings. Toronto, Canada's largest city, was absolutely and totally shut down. Subways didn't work, people were stuck in high-rise elevators, and streetcars were inoperable. Nobody could get home, yet everybody was very nice about it - patient and good-humoured. Most spent the night sleeping on the sidewalks or in city parks (Toronto has many beautiful parks).

So, as soon as the lights came on in most Ontario cities, guess where people headed in droves? Can ya guess?

Tim Hortons! People were waiting more than half an hour in line just to get a cup of coffee, and the line to go for the drive-through was several city blocks long!

Many things I learned from the Blackout. We, like most people, were totally unprepared. I will buy many emergency candles and ensure we have plenty of matches. I will replace my flashlight batteries twice a year. I will always have the fuel tank in the van full. I will have a sufficient supply of soup, water and dry packaged goods. I will fill my freezer with bread. I will buy stock in Tim Hortons.

And Richard is forbidden from installing any more computer programmes.

The Alchemist

Following is a letter my wife wrote to a friend. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie "Bruce Almighty", the character of God, as played by Morgan Freeman, had endued the character, Bruce (Jim Carrey) with his powers to answer prayer. Bruce had been complaining that God (at the very least) was cruel, ignorant or indifferent, but God showed him differently:

Richard and I were talking this morning about the movie "Bruce Almighty". One line in particular spoke to us, so I looked it up on the Internet. Prior to Morgan Freeman (God) saying the line, God had allowed Bruce to give people 'yes' answers to their prayers (letting people win the lottery, etc.). However, Bruce found out that just by giving people what THEY thought was best for them, it ended up tragically in case after case.

Bruce was about to discover God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want. He has a purpose in allowing things to happen the way they do:

God: Triumph is born out of struggle. Faith is the alchemist. If you want to paint pictures like this, you have to use some dark colours.

***

I LOVE that line! I looked up the word 'alchemy' and here's the definition:
2 : a power or process of transforming something common into something special
Isn't that cool?

So then - we ended up watching the DVD just for scenes that had been cut from the movie. One scene depicted a chubby young boy in PE class being ridiculed by the 'jocks' as he attempted to climb the ropes. One of the kids said something like, "Oh, yeah. This oughta be good - Filbert's gonna try to climb the rope! Maybe if there was a hot dog on top he could do it!" and they all laughed. Filbert prayed, "God help me!" and Bruce (acting as God) answered his prayer by giving Filbert incredible strength. He all of a sudden found himself with the ability to race up the rope like lightning, much to the admiration of his peers. The boy whispered, "Thank you, God!"

But...when God showed Bruce the ramifications of his intervention in Filbert's life, Bruce was amazed at how Filbert's personality had changed. In one scene, Filbert is beating up another kid in the school yard, while the same 'jocks' who had previously ridiculed him cheered him on. Bruce said, "Why, that's Filbert! What's gotten into him?" This is how God replied:

God: Oh, yes... Filbert. Brilliant young man. He was going to be a great poet. The soul of his work would have been built around his childhood pain. Now he's headed for a career as a professional wrestler. He'll eventually test positive for steroid use and end up managing a muffin shop.
Bruce: That's a disappointment.
God: He got what he prayed for.
God: Since when do people have a clue what they want?

So, this is what came to me:

As Richard said, Bruce had been endued with power, but did not have God's wisdom.

So, all the above made me think of our children in particular. Who's to say that the struggles they're experiencing right now is not EXACTLY what God will use in their future to birth a revelation of who He is? And even though we are appalled at what SEEMS to be, and we question God's methods and if He even cares about our kids...our Heaven Father is saying, "Well? What do you thnk? I'm the one painting this picture. Will you allow me to paint it as I see fit? Will you trust me that I know what colours to use? No matter how bad it looks, no matter how seemingly awful it may get from your human perspective, will you believe Me that I am in total control?"

"Triumph is born out of struggle. Faith is the alchemist".

Yahoo! We get to struggle!!! But we also get to triumph!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rich

'Christian' - Label or Life?

'Christ-ones': nameless, faceless...







The following was written by a believer named Tripp at http://muchmoreofjesus.blogspot.com/

Since the Church was birthed on Pentecost, many have only embraced a historical Jesus versus The Indwelling presence of the "Anointed One." In-"Christ" (Christos-Anointed One)Interestingly enough, The Disciples were first called "Christians" in Antioch....Why?It is well known that Saul, who was later to be called Paul, spent thirteen years in Tarsus developing his trade as a tentmaker. Moreover, as Saul was growing in a practical sense, he also was being given/ministered to, by the Holy Spirit a far deeper revelation, which would ultimately change the world.You may ask, well, what was this great "revelation"? Listen to Paul's own words inspired by God in His Epistle to the Church of Ephesus.

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” (Eph. 3:1-12) nasb

Again, what is this mystery?

“I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in me/you, the hope of glory.”(Col.1:25-27)nasb

Now, Saul/Paul, after thirteen years was hunted by Barnabas and brought from Tarsus to Antioch. And it was here, that a large number of people assembled over the course of a year, and Paul ministered this new-found mystery, which had now been revealed, which is Christ In Me, the hope of Glory...and in Antioch the Disciples were first called "Christians" (Christ- In- Ones).

(It is my prayer, that all will begin to embrace, the Reality of "Christ-In" me, versus the Historical Jesus of the past, and the word "Christian" will be known, as it was known in Antioch... Amen)

The following is from Connie, another believer:

Hey Tripp,
Thanks for a wonderful message of truth.

This very concept seemed to seep through my noggin the other day after I'd visited a "christian" website. I used those quote marks around the word so as to make a point. They were promoting services and workshops and such for people to get involved with. Like arty things,,,,dance, theater, etc. Anyway this idea just occured to me: They promoted "christian" art and "christian" theater and I knew that there really was just art and theater, but performed by christians. The art exists without a "christian" adjective, you know. Like you pointed out, the word is used as an adjective, when in reality it is a noun. A Christian is a person who can do anything: art, business, family, learning, etc. and those things don't have to be "christian" to be acceptable. The things done are acceptable if the Person doing them deems them so. It might seem nitpicking, but to me, it seems a matter of true vs. false.

Your teaching helped to confirm that to me, thanks.

Wouldn't it be so nice and cool and peaceful if christians would just do their thing without telling anyone it was a christian thing they were doing. Let the life speak for itself. Let the light shine for itself. Maybe a whole lot more people would pay attention to christians if they (christians) weren't so enamored with their own selves and the things they were doing.

_______________________________

Rich speaking: this is what I gleaned from what Tripp wrote:

Since coming to know Jesus as my life, I found it exceedingly interesting to learn that believers were first called Christians at Antioch. Why? It’s because Antioch was FAR AWAY from JERUSALEM! Jerusalem was the ‘happenin’ city. All the religious big shots hung out there. You would expect that something as dramatic and explosive, in terms of God revealing the mystery He had kept hidden through the ages (that being ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’) would have been proclaimed with much fanfare in Jerusalem. But, no – God had a different idea. The ‘Christ-ones’ became known as such in Antioch…little-known, far-away Antioch. The religious leaders, the ones who had been entrusted with conveying God’s truths to the masses, weren’t privy to God’s astounding revelation! This isn’t the only time this happened. He was Lord at His birth, but no one knew this except the God the Father. Jesus said, ‘no one knows the Father, except the Son makes this known, and no one knows the Son, except that Father makes it known’.

Re: Connie’s reply to Tripp: as she wrote, the term ‘Christian’ is a noun, not an adjective. Christ is neither a prefix nor a suffix! It is either Life we are seeking, or it is religious superstition or religious trappings. I, too, cringe when I hear the word ‘Christian’ being placed in front of words such as festival, business, radio, music, novel, art, etc. I particularly wince at the term ‘Christian Ministry’. Now, the person at the helm of it may think s/he has a ministry, but it’s not necessarily of God. What’s more difficult - for the Lord to work through General Motors or the institutional church? Can He work through IBM as well as through a 2000 member congregation? Yes! There is no sacred or secular as far as God is concerned.

Most Christians seem to relate more to applying Christ as a label, a tag-on to their lives instead of as their VERY life. As a good friend put it, he used to plan aspects of his daily life something like this: “Well, the person who runs this business is a Christian therefore it's best to go to him, or this lady on the radio is a Christian psychologist... got to listen to her”. Nonsense!

From what is becoming most clear to me (in light of Connie's words) being a Christ-one means something far different from what we have traditionally believed. Jesus’ desire is that we not be seen at all, as far as what most would understand a Christian to be. We are to be nameless and faceless. We have nothing about which to boast or flaunt - our race, gender, ‘stock’, ancestry, etc. died at the cross. We are becoming more and more unobtrusive, to be of no reputation, living supernaturally in the natural world. The more we need to be ‘seen’, the less He is seen. We will eventually not be seen at all, meaning, what people will see is Christ, not us. And as Christ is being fleshed out in whomever, it is going to cause great consternation; even amongst those we would call brothers. There will be no room for the independent self. The independent self knows nothing of grace, nor does s/he want it. God will severely deal with this.

When we prefix the name of Christ to anything, it becomes a mockery (I would even go so far as to say it is anti-Christ). He is NOT in buildings, programs clubs or anything of the kind. He dwells in folks He has sired. These people may have never been part of the institutional church, but they know to Whom they belong. Anyone who has partaken of His grace is among the re-birthed, and the Father knows the ones who are His. Jesus said, “No one knows the Father, except the Son makes this known, and no one knows the Son, except that the Father makes it known”.

According to biblical accounts, a man named Phillip was sent to speak to a high-ranking eunuch about Jesus. The eunuch asked, “Is this about one that is to come, or one that has already come?” Phillip began to preach Christ to him. Phillip wouldn't have even been there except the Lord dialed him into what was happening! And that is why God says we are in this world, but not of it. His life in us has free access to reach out and touch those with whom we come in contact daily. The focus is not upon what we do, but knowing He is there in me in spite of whatever is going down around me. IT'S NOT ABOUT "OUR" MINISTRY! It’s purely about His ministry operating in us.

It amazes me every time I think about how that for most of Jesus' earthly life, no one knew He was God in the flesh, and I see that being equally true of the Living Word being fleshed out in us.

Are we willing to forego the limelight? Are we willing to be made of no reputation? Are we willing to have no identity? Are we willing to be, as it were, planted in the ground, unseen, unheard, so that His life can be formed in us? THAT is what it means to be a Christ-one.
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Rich

Freedom

As we are partaking of His increase there is at the same time a separation taking place between our soul and its ties with our flesh, and that my friend is where this hellish battle is warring intensely.
His increase spells a most painful but needed decreasing.

Simply because we have been re-birthed (born-again) this has not in itself freed us yet from the many entanglements our soul has in its ties to our flesh.

If you continue in this relationship I have called you into, you will know the Truth, and the Truth will (continually) set you free.

Rich

The Self in Control

Our whole problem with sin began as a desire to be in control of our own life. The cruel irony of this issue is that this was never really an option for us. At least, control as we wanted it was never really an option.What we wanted in the Garden of Eden and what we want to this day as independent selves is total control to go our own way. The problem is that we do not have “a way.”We can choose Satan’s influence or God’s influence but we cannot choose to be “self-influenced.” Our choice is to accept either the truth or the lie. The truth is that God is the Lord over our life. Satan’s lie is that we can be the lord of our own life. In truth, trying to be lord of our own life means letting Satan be the “power behind the throne” in our life.

The independent self is caught in the middle of a paradox. The dilemma we find ourselves in is that we want the one thing we are incapable of achieving. This one thing is the pure and complete independence to go our own way. We find it difficult (or impossible) to accept that we were simply never equipped by our creation to do this. It is for this reason that trying to run our own life inevitably leads to frustration and stress.

We get into trouble when we accept the lie of the evil one that we can walk apart from both God and Satan. This is the grand deception. What Satan neglects to tell us is that walking apart from God’s lordship simultaneously results in Satan’s lordship operating in our life. In the end, the only legitimate control that we can exercise in our life is self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23
Not only is self-control seen as legitimate but it is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit. Self-control is a gift from God.The ability to control the self is something we can only receive from the Father. Because the control of self is a property derived from the Spirit, it can only come from the individual-self. Self-control only comes through the individual self that is focused on and directed by the Holy Spirit in our spirit. Therefore the only path available to us to receive this gift is through the individual or spirit directed self. The independent self can never exercise true self-control.

(From my good friend Bill Landon)

Rich

Confidence

2Cor.1:8-11

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came {to us} in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;who delivered us from so great a {peril of} death, and will deliver {us,} He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through {the prayers} {of} many.

Rich

Oxymorons

James 1:20-22

20For man's anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires].
21So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. (and receive with meekness the engrafted word)
22But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].1…Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.
2If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know’.

Receiving the implanted, engrafted Word of God with meekness is a wonderful thing because therein lies the power to save my soul. Power derived from weakness? God seems to delight in such oxymorons!

I believe with all of my heart that the moment a Christian is translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom reality of the Father’s love and light, it was God’s intention to begin the needed and necessary 24/7 working, training and disciplining in our souls. However, this does not come without a price. We know the Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. To me, this means that grace is ineffective without the necessary, crucial humbling required in our lives to bring us to see our need for Him, the grace-full One.

Many think that the various spiritual or physical maladies that seem to plague Christians exist because the believer is somehow defective. Actually, deficiency is not the issue. Defiance is the issue. This defiance (Satan in our flesh) expresses itself in the believer operating out of the knowledge of good and evil. This knowledge is Satan’s stronghold over our souls, deceiving us into believing we are doing the ‘Christian’ thing - in fact, even trying to be like Jesus, when in actuality we are not. Here’s the test - is our so-called knowledge of the Lord really transforming our souls (mind, will and emotions), or is this knowledge we possess as Christians being used to keep us self-centred, self-absorbed, divisive and derisive of other believers?

’Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart’.

I wonder how this 'meek and lowly', yet all-powerful Saviour is making Himself known to us. Maybe He will appear to be anything but kind or loving as he unveils the enemy’s lies we have believed all our lives. These are the strongholds that have kept us locked into trying to get Him to help us versus allowing Him to expand and expound upon the grace that wants to transform us, and these strongholds don't give up without a fight.

Jesus said, ‘All of you who labour and are heavy laden; come unto me, and I will give you rest’.
Is this rest some thing, or is it in fact somebody? If rest is somebody – the person of Jesus – then we need to seek Him only. The bible states that God is love and just maybe what the Lord is endeavouring to relate is this: ‘I want to give you true knowledge of my love for you, and in so doing it will allow Me to continue to set you free. Where - in your spirit? No – your spirit was already set free when my Son’s spirit was birthed within you. The freedom I want to work in you will be processed in your soul.’

Christians tend to use catch-phrases such as the following: ‘establish truth in our innermost being’, ‘reflect His likeness and image’, ‘be a self-for-others’, etc. Although these statements are good and valid, the truths resident within them will not set us free. The best we’ll have are glorious statements or correct terminology. As stated earlier, the processing occurs in our soul as we learn to submit to this discipline.

Rich