You get hammered in life, but you get hammered into interesting shapes.
Like most, I'd prefer my blessings to come without disguises! And then Life happened.......
A son discovering the reality of God as his Father.
Words that do not become flesh in us remain "just words." They have no power to affect our lives. If someone says, "I love you," without any deep emotion, the words do more harm than good. But if these same words are spoken from the heart, they can create new life.
It is important that we keep in touch with the source of our words. Our great temptation is to become "pleasers," people who say the right words to please others but whose words have no roots in their interior lives. We have to keep making sure our words are rooted in our hearts. The best way to do that is in prayerful silence.
The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.
'Until the crisis-dis-illusionments come into our lives, the greater-higher purposes of the Father remain hidden.' (totally obscure to us)
No assembly, no church, no movement, no testimony, no fellowship, is justified in its existence from God's standpoint except insofar as Christ is expressed by it.
We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.
Here are some thoughts I offered in response to comments a friend shared in one of my recent blog posts.
“It is my opinion that because there are NO vacuums in life, out of necessity if it isn’t going to be about life, then it is all about death. Most, however, do not or would not see it quite this starkly!
“Self was intended to be clothed inwardly and outwardly in the adornment of the living God (life). In forsaking this God-designed expression, self then had to be defined apart from its original purpose. Self-reliance became part of this craving to carve out and establish an identity apart from God (death). I see self-reliance as one of Self's offspring, others being self-esteem, self-worth, self-confidence, etc. All these things emanate from the corruption within our soul. Everything pertaining to 'self' is opposed to God, and feeds into our inherent sin/Satan nature. When Satan said, "I shall be like the most high God...I will ascend..." etc. I think he was trying to carve out an identity for himself separate from his maker. When we rely on 'self-anything' aren't we doing the same? As born-again children of the most high God, we are to live out of his indwelling spirit. Putting us into impossible situations forces us into a position whereby we canNOT resort to relying on 'self' but on God alone.
“Out of defying God and trying to become like God, man, having his eyes opened, was plunged into total darkness, and in this darkness the father of lies and religion began to make his presence known in the world through human agents.”
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” The construction of man consisted of body, soul and spirit, and each of these three components were to be united when man freely chose to eat from the Tree of Life; this spoke of a ruling nature that up to that point he was yet without. Consequently, the other tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil likewise figuratively represented a nature.
In my opinion, Satan, the fallen archangel who once radiated all light, glory and worship back to God, grew tired of being in a subservient position and up to that point was found blameless until, pride welled up in his heart, “I will ascend to the highest heights, I will be greater than God.” This insidious malignant cancer became the inward impetus that propelled his meteor-like crash landing upon the earth. I love this quote from Jesus, “I was watching Satan falling from heaven like lightening.”
Jesus highlighted who and what Satan was, “a father of lies” (a usurper) but it is important to realise that only God has the capacity to create. Satan can only replicate. Satan was never ever a bona fide father like God, so Satan, knowing this, had to lie, cheat and trick Adam into acquiescing of his own choosing to swallow his baited pitch, hook, line and sinker.
What and how much Satan knew of God’s purposes and plans for man was obviously enough to do what he did in his covert, stealth-morphed disguise. He knew that man had or was to become a fuller expression of what Satan (Lucifer) had once been, a glory-bearer, one who would radiate the wonder, beauty and majesty of this living God!
In his mutinous defiance, man then became a host for Satan to have his spirit, likeness, image and nature represented throughout the earth. The only thing was, that man was blinded to his now having a nature that he would think was 'human', but in fact (according to Jesus) he became by nature a child of wrath, a son of disobedience.
It is out of this that man carved his identity. Prior to the fall, he lacked an identity - much like a pumpkin which lacks an identity until a face is carved into its flesh. Man's craving for identity was metaphorically carved into his flesh the moment the father or lies entered his soul.
I was listening to a pod-cast today entitled“Picking Scabs”broadcast by the guys over at Rock Canada,“Two Fools on The Road to Emmaus”. These two brothers are like so many who are sorting things out and processing ideas they never before questioned. I love the ongoing conversations they continue to share with anyone wanting to listen.
I want to share some of my thoughts regarding what they were discussing regarding the “system”. This system is also seen in conjunction with what many are calling the institutional and organized entity commonly alluded to as the church. Without worrying about sounding redundant and repetitive, I will once again openly share what I know to be true as I continue to grow in the grace and true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The title I chose for this entry, The Unholy Trinity, is a composite picture of an alliance that is usually perceived as being some nebulous force out there, somewhere. Where? Not really sure, just way out there, man. I see this trinity as consisting of the “world, the flesh and the devil”. As it says in the scriptures, “The whole world lies under the direct influence of (the evil one) Satan”. In my opinion these three components are in fact one, residing within a nameless and faceless entity within us all, within our flesh in the form of Sin. But Sin is only a concept at best for most of us, and Satan loves this kind of hazy ambivalence (I wrote about this reality in another blog entry,The Invisible Third Strand).
The fellows over at Rock Canada were discussing the same complaint regarding the hurt, pain and devastation that has been wreaked on so many in that they hold the system and its leaders responsible for the anguish that they’ve experienced. But they’re not seeing that the so-called ‘system’ is but an outer description of a far more clandestine and diabolic entity that exists inside the finger pointers as well!
This entity we have tagged as the “system” is within all flesh. Those who point fingers at the leaders within that corrupt system who inflicted so much pain are the same ones who at one time ‘gave a mind to’ those likewise blinded teachers. We may nod our heads in agreement with what the scriptures say about the world, the flesh and the devil: “Our battle (wrestling match) is not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” This sounds like something straight out of the pages of one of Frank Peretti’s novels. Sorry, but what Frank shared in those novels is lame in comparison to what is going on largely undetected in our own lives as believers. As long as anyone of us continues to rail at the leaders within the “system” for our sufferings, the devil, Satan, has won again, laughing his ass off, seeing that we are blind to his presence but yet fixated with our unresolved and misdirected hurt and anger.
There is a finely tuned and honed clarity that some might refer to as discernment that is coming to the surface in my siblings throughout the earth in recognizing wherein our true battle lies, and it’s the exposure of the father of the “system” in their flesh.
Is it remotely possible that out of His great love for us, God has allowed us to exercise our free will choices knowing full well the outcome of untold wreckage and carnage that would result, and that only in our total bankruptcy would we discover to our embarrassment we know nothing of the power of forgiveness beyond a powerless concept?
Borrowing and expanding on the Pogo cartoon, “We have gone out to see the enemy, and discovered that he is in us.” The enemy of our soul cares not what or whom we blame, be it the “system” we call the organized, institutional ‘church’, or the government, or whatever. As long as this detracts our vision from the truth, we remain crippled and blind. Without a vision or a revelation, God’s people are perishing, but he has made a way of escape for us as we choose to turn our hearts toward our Father.
This was the truth being revealed (presented) to Neo by Morpheus in the movie The Matrix, it was so violent, so extreme that it caused him to throw up.
As much as we are convinced we are ready to receive the truth, I really wonder how much of a dream world we unknowingly participate in. I wonder if it would be all shouting and happy, happy celebrating that we are no longer deluded and kept prisoner to an in the box religious system, only to have revealed to us that within our very physiology in our flesh, lies not only the father of lies, but the father of all religion! You know the whole deal of escaping Egypt only to sadly discover how much of the very spirit of Egypt was in us.
As long as we are duped into dumbing down to those other voices that unequivocally denounce the believer from having two natures, then get ready for a long and continued hellish ride. Let me say although this may sound at first like a contradiction, it is not. The believer only has one nature and that is the nature of God the Father, he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. But in our flesh resides a hidden but very real nature, and that is the nature of the father of lies. Without this dynamic tension, freedom is but an illusion, there is NO freedom without having a choice to make, moment by moment.
The greatest trick the devil has ever done is to convince the Christian that after being re-born, he is but a moot point, ergo he successfully keeps us believing our fettered institutionalized daze is over!
Father in Jesus name I ask that you would give unto your church the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the true knowledge of your Son Jesus Christ, and that the eyes of our heart would be opened and flooded with light to see and know you, the Truth.
The blindness of the world, both Christian and non-Christian, comes from within ourselves. Out of our desire to be ‘righteous’ through our own efforts we create blackness. It is through the desire of the self to see itself as moral and upright that we are led into the deepest deception.
In this regard those people who elect to follow Satan openly are possessed of a clearer vision of what they are about than most of humanity. Witches and Satan worshipers at least openly acknowledge and understand who it is they serve. They are deceived only in the understanding of the true nature of the one they serve.
Most of humanity serves Satan without knowing or admitting it. The unsaved world serves Satan while they think they are “looking out for number one.” Even Christians unwittingly serve the evil one when they insist on abiding in a physical orientation (practicing carnal Christianity). In all these cases the prop that Satan uses for his disguise is “self.”
When we allow the independent self to operate unchecked, we are allowing the leading of Satan to provide our moral direction. The self that is directed toward the flesh and primarily concerned with the physical world is influenced by the evil one. This is what Paul refers to as the “sinful nature”: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galatians 5:17).
Remember that Paul is addressing these comments to Christians and not to unbelievers. The only creature that desires what is contrary to the Spirit is Satan (John 8:44). The term “sinful nature” in the NIV rendering of this verse is translated more literally in the King James as “the flesh.” It is a hard truth but when we stop abiding in the Christ in our spirit we must seek elsewhere for our moral guidance. Once we turn our attention to the world we are open to the direction of Satan in our flesh.
Before we despair, we should remember that Christians have an advantage over the rest of the world in this matter. As Christian’s, we are advantaged over the world in this struggle in two key areas. First, we have the leading of God available to us. We have the life of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit resident in our spirit. This is the only cure the Father provides for this situation. The cure is provided but we must avail ourselves of it. Second, through the teaching of the Holy Spirit, we have the knowledge of the truth of this spiritual situation available to us. Again, however, we must avail ourselves of that truth.
Some of these thoughts are mine, but most are from my friend Bill Landon, from his book: The Rise and Fall of Self
What I am about to share here from my friend Bill Landon and his book, “The Devil You Don’t Know”, is one of the best kept secrets from ever showing up on our built in radar screens. Is this some new thing, or has it been something that has been made known by the Father through his spirit down through the centuries. But with its visibility is an assured unleashed assault from the father of lies through the flesh of even those we would call brothers and sister of the faith. But really, has it ever been other wise, as soon as what was shown to us of the Father becomes the primary object of our heart focus rather than receiving what He wants to impart to us through the opening of our eyes, we once gain begin to worship things (even good things) instead of this lover.
My heart breaks over the blood and the lives sacrificed all in the name of the “right doctrine’ or “theology”, or something that was seen to be more valuable than rejoicing in Him the giver of every good and perfect gift he has bestowed upon His church! There is a resounding knowing and ever increasing witness within my spirit, shouting out a loud amen to the one who said, “And I will build my church and though the gates of hell will lash out against it, they will not overcome it.”
What I am about to share I know will be offensive, and yet I know in this hour we are living, He is offending our minds in order to reveal our hearts, for it is out of our hearts-union with the Father that Life flows. The constipation or crappy thinking we all have is going to be lovingly, but firmly addressed/undressed in each of our lives, that’s a given, aren’t we a privileged people!
Rich
God in the Flesh Jesus---God Comes in the Flesh
It may seem blasphemous to many Christians to say that Jesus had the presence of Satan alive in Him in His physical body. Many people will refuse to accept this truth out of a perceived sense of reverence. Nonetheless, I believe this exactly what happened when God came in human form as Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus got his physical body from Mary who was a sinful human being. Mary was sinful as we are all sinful: (Galatians 4:4-5). The human body that Jesus received from Mary was fully human. In being fully human, this body must have had both physical (bodily) and metaphysical (fleshly) components. I appreciate that this is extremely difficult for many people to accept. We can get some feeling for how hard it is for many to come to terms with this fact from the veneration that Mary receives in some religious denominations.
What people do not seem to understand is that if you deny that Jesus had a physical body that included a fleshly part, you deny the full humanity of Christ as Jesus. While many Christians find the idea of Christ with Satan in his flesh near blasphemy, I contend that God has a much different view of this situation. For the Father, Jesus having a fleshly component was essential to God’s plan. With out Satan in His flesh, Jesus could not have been fully human. If you deny the full humanity of Jesus Christ you deny the full glory of what God has done through Christ in Jesus: (1John 4:2). Further, if God is all powerful He should have no problem dealing with His adversary face-to-face. In fact, the Father has no problem with this situation.
For the life and sacrifice of Christ as Jesus to make a difference at all, He needed to be made just as we are, except that He was without sin. As we have said before, to have Satan in our flesh is a source of temptation. This condition does not, in itself, constitute sin. This part of the makeup we receive as our human heritage. Sin is giving that fleshly nature the use of our minds, wills and emotions to control our physical bodies: (Romans 8:13). We can have Satan in our flesh and not sin. This is our state of being when we give our souls over to the leading of Christ’s life in our spirit. This was Jesus’ state on earth. He always followed the leading of the Father from His human spirit and, in so doing, denied the leading of the flesh. In this act alone we see the defeat of Satan by God in our world and in our lives.
In closing, these couple of lines from two different movies speaks loud and clear to me of that which I have shared from Bill’s book. From The Matrix: “The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. 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. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.”
And from the movie, The Italian Job: “I trust everyone; it’s the devil within them I don’t trust.”
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