Fight The Good Fight

I said to a friend recently, "we're not trying to get a hold of the Truth, the Truth has got a hold of us."
The truth more often than not is seen as something separate from Him, the Truth, Life and Way.
I like where it talks about the flesh waring after the spirit and the spirit waring after the flesh. Without knowing Him as our Rest, we resort to carnal tactics.
The Truth is always wanting to make himself known to us in our daily living, as I like to say, in the nasty-now-in-now.
I'm so grateful for the ongoing and much needed illumination the spirit of God brings to me so that I can face life's challenges rather than trying to escape. Learning to live out of my spirit rather than out of my soul.
I wonder if in fact that was one of the issues Paul addressed at one point when he said, "You are living as mere natural men." Natural in the sense even though rebirthed, they were living as if the spirit of the Lord was not in them.
Nothing is as it appears to be. The natural man is fading away daily, but the inward man is being renewed daily.
His grace is the ability to fight this "good fight" of trusting in His faithfulness.

Rich

It's All His Gig

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain"

It's interesting seeing how those who have been so bound under law/rule doing have come to see grace much like this quote from the Wizard of Oz.

Meaning, it does not matter at all how much of an ass hole I can be at times, bottom line, It's a done deal, it's all His gig, just rest, or whatever else one likes to mix in there with no sense of having to address behaviour that does not flow out of Him being my life.
Meaning, just maybe my soul needs to partake of the same salvation my spirit has? Of course if one perceives they are crazy-glued to the permanent ON position, this much ado about nothing.

Like a husband or father, though he is a "Christian", flies off in a tirade, fit, at his kids or wife, and then excuses himself by saying, I'm totally accepted in Him. Too bad you just got slimed by my flesh, but hey, I'm forgiven.
Pay no attention to that outburst, I'm not responsible for that anymore. Why, because I'm in Christ.
Hummmmm?

Rich

Sifting

The Parable of the Lost Son

Is it possible that even though the Father demonstrated in many varied ways his total acceptance of his son on his return home, that the son may have had difficulty in believing it? Is it possible the ending of this story was in fact just a new beginning between Father and son? Is it possible that the Father would have to continue to address issues in the son’s life?
Without a progressive awareness of His unchangeable and unconditional love, it would be easy for the son to believe that the Father was in fact picking on him.
Is it possible that some of these issues were in fact issues of the soul?
The Truth will either be my greatest friend or worst enemy.
Is it Truth you are seeking, then be prepared to have your soul shaken (sifted) to the core.
The proof of Father’s love for us is His continuing correction.

Rich

Prayer?

Inigo Montoya: You are sure nobody's follow' us? Vizzini: As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable. No one in Guilder knows what we've done, and no one in Florin could have gotten here so fast. - Out of curiosity, why do you ask? Inigo Montoya: No reason. It's only... I just happened to look behind us and something is there. Vizzini: What? Probably some local fisherman, out for a pleasure cruise, at night... in... eel-infested waters...
Vizzini: INCONCEIVABLE.

[In the boat in the morning] Inigo Montoya: He's right on top of us. I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using.
[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up] Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE. Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

This dialogue prompts the thought about prayer..
Christian, you keep using that word “prayer." There is much that could be said about this thing called prayer I’m sure, but as in this movie, even though Vizzini kept using this word he was most sure of, maybe prayer does not mean what we think it does.

Rich

Who Do You Say That I AM?

Christ in you!
Apart from the Holy Spirits illumination as to some of the depths of this present reality of Christ being our only Life, are we in fact not much more than mere natural men? Meaning, (1 Corinthians 2:13-15) our point of reference is not Him alone but any number of things, and that can encompass many good things, but the good has a tendency to become the enemy (a substitute) of the best, knowing Him as Life.

Rich

It’s a Process

As Christians we appear worse off than the rest of the world because we sometimes show forth Christ and sometimes our self-centered independent self. This inconsistency is unnerving both to those around us and to ourselves. Again, this is not due to our being inherently worse than anyone else. We are merely suffering under the influence of old habits and ways of living.
We spent a lifetime to the point of our salvation living as the world taught us to live. This was an extensive schooling in the fine art of self-centered existence. We were taught by experts and we learned our lessons well. It is not responsible for us to expect to come out from under this teaching quickly or cleanly.
The Father does not expect our instant transformation and we should not expect it either.
Our progress is further slowed by the fact that we still posses a free will. We will be allowed by the Father to make choices every day that we live this life.
As we exercise the freedom to choose to let God lead us, we grow in God and Christ. As we grow in Christ we are led away from the old understandings and habits. I am not encouraged in this matter by any progress I make away from my old self-centered ways. What does encourage me however is the Father’s patience in leading me away from the old ways of living.

The soul requires training in the ways of God. You can see the results of this training in the increasing facility we gain as the schooling goes on. As we submit to God’s progressive killing of the “independent-self” we find it easier to turn to God. In this process we see more of the individual self coming forth. This is sometimes a painfully slow process. There are areas in our lives that require lessons that are repeated (seemingly) millions of times before we begin to get it.

The Dark Side of God

It is out of God’s goodness that He created us with the intention that we should become His children. In our original created state we were very good. We were very good but we were not yet the children God wanted for His household.
The Father had already shown that loving children could not be produced by direct creation. This is the lesson of the demons and Satan. If created beings could rebel against God even while living in His direct presence then creation would not produce the children God wanted. No, the children suited for God’s house would have to be born into His family. Further, these birthed children would have to be born by God’s Spirit being placed in them in response to their free will choice.
Out of this intention to create (birth) a family a potential for evil arises. The only way that anyone can make choices that have any significance is to be able to choose freely between options. These options must be equally available to the individual. This is true of both people and God. To say that God is good (Psalm 34:8) implies that God possesses the ability to choose between good and evil. If God could not choose either good or evil then he would be amoral. In this way God would be no different than gravity or electricity.
It is only in choosing of good and rejecting evil that one can be considered “good.” The dark side of God resides in just this fact. The dark side of God is God’s “NO” to evil because He has freely chosen to say “YES” to goodness and holiness. In choosing to be good God has eternally rejected evil.
There was no force that compelled the Father to make this choice. God is purely self contained and does whatever He pleases. It pleases the Father to be (choose) good.This brings us back to the original misconception that God would create anything “bad.” If this is so, where did Satan come from? Clearly God created Satan (Ezekiel 28:15). Just as certainly, the Father knew full well what Satan would turn into. The creation and corruption of Satan parallels humanity’s history. We were both created “very good” and we both were corrupted by our own choice.

Rich

In Him

For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;

This has become an all encompassing signature on and in my life. I would like to know what it might say to others?

Rich

Ultimate Knowing

The ultimate knowing in growing with the Father is not really an accumulation of knowledge (knowing facts) at all. Rather, the ultimate knowing is the knowledge of Christ: “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3) When we know Christ, we have all wisdom and knowledge. By knowing Christ, we know ourselves because Christ is our only life.
Knowing Christ is a living, spontaneous knowledge. (In Him we move, live, and have our being.)
This is not an understanding that you possess so much as it is a knowing that possess you. The purpose for receiving this understanding is not to be the smartest Christian that ever lived or the wisest elder in the church. The Father’s purpose for growing us in this understanding is so that we can be the people that God created us to be. A key part of this knowledge is accepting that our old self was crucified (rendered powerless) with Christ. As we are grown in this acceptance we (the old self) are gotten out of the way so Christ can come out of us as us. This is the unique expression of Christ that God intended each of us to be.By allowing the Father to grow us up to be the people He intended us to be, we are cooperating in the fulfilment of His plan for the creation. You see, the growing of a family for God has contained within it our growth. Our Father’s desire for a family includes not only birth of children with His life in them. This desire also includes the growth of those children to be the fulfilment of our creation-----being grown up to the fullness of Christ.
This fullness is spontaneous and living. Our full growth includes both intellectual knowing and intuitive knowing: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11) We can see from this passage that Paul did not have a complete intellectual knowing of the workings of God. But he knew that everything he needed to know was expressed in knowing Christ.

Rich

The Making of a Son

It is God’s greatest desire that we should be both the children of His family and that we should grow in that estate to the full measure of Christ that we were created by the Father to attain. This is the ultimate expression of the family of God. But the greatness of the Father’s love for us constrains Him. We are not forced to grow (*) and we are not forced to seek. The great promise of the Father to us is that if we seek we will find. If we desire growth, then the Father will take us to the full measure of His desire for us.

* Many would persuade you to believe the Father crazy-glued the the switch to ON, or that we were put on auto-pilot when we were rebirthed.
The Father's house will not be filled because we had no choice in the matter. Missing hell and gaining heaven is cool, but what about the Now we are living in?

Rich

Christ for us...Christ in us...Christ as us...

The plan of the Father is not just for a family of birthed children but that these children should also be grown up to the full measure of Christ: “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the (true) knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)
This is not a call to each of us to become Christ but to become the full expression of Christ as you (and me) that God intended that we should be. This is the full and complete expression of the heart of the Father. The deepest expression of God’s desire for His creation is that we would be a family of birthed children for Him and that we would realize the full expression of His life as our life.It is in this fulfillment of both birth and growth that the family of God will be a complete and perfect manifestation of the deepest desire of the Father’s heart. It is for this birth and growth event that the entire creation yearns: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19) The revelation of the sons of God is the outcome of our allowing the Father to grow us up to the fullness of Christ. Our growth in this way is the last frontier of the battle between Satan and God.

We only impose a desire for the Father’s heart on ourselves if we elect to go on in growing in our relationship with Him. The saddest aspect of this part of the Christian experience is that we so often let it be hijacked by either Satan through religion or by deceptions of our minds. I believe that this routinely occurs in church organizations and in our own thinking. The failure of people to seek God is rooted in our failure to ever let God deal with our flesh directed self and the religion it produces.As a result of never letting the Father deal with us as selves living independently from Him, we are trapped by the deceptions of organizations and religion. We long for the full expression of God: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:22-23)

The full expression of the family of God requires only our open-minded acceptance that this is God’s work to be done God’s way.

Rich

Perfection, Being Worked Out

Question, regarding the following scripture, how do you see Him Christ Jesus being formed within you?

There are those that either see themselves having no soul, or that in the rebirthing along with their spirit being made perfect, their soul likewise was made perfect.
I'm sure there are many other ideas floating around as well.
Somehow because of the unseen details of our soul/spirit, talking about such matters seems none relevant to knowing Him?

Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you...

I look forward to any thoughts the Father is making known to you!!!

Rich

Limiting God

I was walking to work as usual, pausing for a moment on the bridge to admire the sparkling white, snow-covered river while traffic droned past in both directions. I hadn’t been sleeping well the last few weeks. Cares, worries and concerns seemed to be accumulating in my mind like fuzz on a lint brush. I feared for my kids’ spiritual well-being, for their relationships, for financial situations, for deadlines at work, for unsaved loved ones, for upcoming major decisions – you name it, I feared it. And I was tired.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that the only difference between me, a believer, and a non-believer was…that I believed! I believed in God, the Alpha and the Omega and in the finished work of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, but that was it, apparently. I no longer trusted He could or would act on my behalf. From having endured many hard knocks, I had grown to expect disappointment. I no longer trusted Him to work because I figured He wouldn’t. I believed in a powerless God of my own making.

Shame on me!

Quick-fire questions popped into my mind: Is there a God, or isn’t there? Did He not create the universe? Did He not take my place on the cross? Did He not rise from the dead/defeat the enemy/redeem my soul? Was He not all-powerful? “Behold, I am God. Is anything too hard for Me?” What difference, then, was there between me and nonbelievers? “You say you believe…but so do the demons and they tremble in fear!”

I was taken aback. I had been putting limits on my Heavenly Father for so long that defeatist thinking had become the norm. How had I reached this point? When did my joy and confidence in a mighty God begin to wane? Until I saw it face to face for what it was, I honestly hadn’t been aware of this decline. I had been sucked into this mindset by my own choosing (I’d like to blame the enemy who delights in planting such thoughts, but I hadn’t put up much of a fight).

Then and there, I determined I would break free from this habit-pattern of thinking. I had made deliberate choices to limit God – I would no longer do so. There IS a God in Heaven. He IS all-powerful. He CAN do anything. He IS trustworthy. What liberating thoughts! My shoulders suddenly felt lighter. In contrast to my former doom and gloom outlook, I felt positively buoyant!

This is NOT to say that everything will be smooth-sailing from here on in. I know I will be constantly assaulted in my mind by an enemy whose sole intent is my ultimate destruction. However, my hope rests in the sober realization that my only power to resist these thoughts is derived from the indwelling spirit of Christ. It is warfare. Taking every thought captive to determine its source requires constant vigilance, but it is essential if my desire is to know a limitless God.

Mgo

Where The Spirit Is Lord

One of the most meaningful and liberating things that has so enriched my life, is in meeting others coming to see and know Him as Life, and allowing/extending grace to me, to be able to think out loud without trying to censor or critic these unformed and unfinished fluid thoughts.

Rich

True Discipline

From: My Father and Your Father

Most of us have had trouble with the disciplining aspect of the Father’s parenting. We have trouble with it because we were taught an unbalanced message about correction. This is the gospel of correction. In this teaching, we are encouraged to see ourselves as defective rather than dependent and the Father as judicial rather than loving. Where this distortion comes from is out of our own judgementalism. And our judgementalism arises not from our Christ indwelt human spirit but from (you guessed it) the Satan indwelt flesh.
It does not matter whether we are speaking of our own correction or the correction of others. If we see disciplining by the Father as punishment because the person being punished is “no good” or even just “not quite good enough” we are being judgemental. The truth is that we are being grown up to the full stature of Christ that the Father desires for each of us. The growth process by necessity involves some error. Error, in its turn requires correction. This is not a big deal if we remember that we are well-loved children being grown and instructed by a loving Father.
The word translated “punishes” in Hebrews 12:6 is really the word for “scourge.” This is not a judicial punishment for wrong doing but is a correction in the sense of an experiential teaching. One of the hardest things that any of us must come to accept about ourselves is the fact that we are not perfect. We all have ways of getting around the fact that we are just plain rotten in our natural self. We are “not quite as bad as Hitler” but we are “good in the important things."
But the plain fact of the matter is that we, in our souls, need a lot of work. Fortunately, we have a loving Father that is willing to do that work.It is a loving Father that will not indulge his children in their errors and imperfections. Such indulgences was the sin of Eli (1Samuel 2:30-33). The truly loving father corrects and disciplines his children for their improvement. This is often referred to as “tough love.” This is the kind of love the Father has for us. The loving Father will not indulge His children’s misdeeds. In this same way, the loving Father does not punish judicially. We are not punished to make up for our errors. We are corrected to bring us away from our errors and this is a big distinction. Correction is for learning and not “paying dues.”
In order to see this distinction, we must come beyond the superficial idea of pleasant and unpleasant. These distinctions are important to the physical part of us but they are nearly so important in the spiritual. All correction is unpleasant: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11) The question we must all ask ourselves is this: In the end, if we submit to correction we will end up not only with righteousness and peace but also a better kind of pleasure than we could have any other way.
We need to keep in mind the true face of adversity. In physical understanding it is easy and natural to see hardship as punishment. This is not necessarily or even often true. The hardships allowed by the Father in our lives are as much for our growth and instruction as anything. Seeing difficulties exclusively or even primarily as punishment causes the age-old dilemma of “why do bad things happen to good people?” We grow in adversity if we let the Father work that growth in us.

Rich

A Better Mouse Trap

This portion in particular really spoke to me afresh, of NOT SEEING the reality of Satan within our Flesh!

I just don't see how the Holy Spirit - who is part of the Holy and Blameless Almighty - could reside in a stained and sinful person. I thought sin separated man from God... then how can God dwell within us, lest we be cleansed? If the Spirit is in me, I'm free from the chains of sin. Sinless!

We are FOREVER clean in our spirit-union, BUT, in our soul where there is to be an outer expression of this dynamic and miraculous union, it will not come into any visibility by clinging to the "right to myself". "He who losses his (soul) life will find it. It is in this arena (in our soul) the battle unfolds moment by moment. I see the overcoming we are called to do, is also in this same arena. My soul needs to be enlightened and the only source is the Light-Christ Jesus. Not knowledge, 2+2=?? Its as if our soul is a mirror,..... mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the pharisee-est of them all? Who's grooming who?

A quote from my friend Bill:

"If Jesus was different at any point from what any person who accepts God's offer of salvation can be, then Christ's earthly life was ineffective.
What would God prove by coming to earth as Holy God and living a sinless life? The answer, I believe, is "nothing". Not only did Christ have a fleshly (Satan or sin) part in His physical body, He had to have such a part. The only way that Christ could possibly touch us was to become like us, exactly like us except without committing sins. The only way that Christ could fully relate to us in our earthly condition was to experience our life:
"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)
It is only in this way that Christ could become the perfect sacrifice to create a way to freedom for us. To take this even further, it was essential for Jesus to have a component of Satan in the flesh because Christ came not just to provide forgiveness of sins. The Father's plan was much more comprehensive than just extending to the remission of sins. After all, the temple service provided animal sacrifices for the purpose of forgiving sins. What the Father was looking to do through the life, and death and resurrection of Christ was far deeper than simple forgiveness:
"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man." (Romans 8:3)
The shed blood is for the remission of sins. The broken body is for the breaking of Satan's (sins) power over our lives. When Christ was taken to the cross, Satan (in His flesh) had to go with Him: "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2:15) If for no other reason than this, Jesus had to have a flesh part of His makeup. This allows the sacrifice of Christ to extend to us as the offer of a new life through our death to the old sin-slave nature."

Rich

Freedom to be...

Faith without works is dead…What work/s are we talking about here?
This is the work of God that you believe on Him, whom the Father has sent!No longer trying to get it right..justfying myself.
Whatever is not of faith is sin.
Jesus is the fully finished/processed work of the Father, and now He is the Life-quickening Spirit that wants to awaken within us that same Life that does WORK.

The finished work of God is a bright and shining light, and as we simply move, live,and have our being in that finished and perfect work of the Father, others will see Him, and glorify Him.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Rich

In Him, we move, live, and have our being…

We go through our days confronted by a series of choices. As long as we are making choices that are acceptable to the Father we feel no hesitation. If we consider a course that is harmful (to our self or others) we will experience a “check” or sense to not go there. We can heed the check or we can ignore that check and live with the consequences of walking in our own way. These consequences need not be dire but we will see our plans fail or our expectations not be met. This is not a big deal. We learn to follow the Lord’s leading by our mistakes as well as our successes.
The Father knows this is part of the process---this is why Christ died for all our sins everywhere; past, present and future: “For Christ died for sins once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,” (1Peter 3:18)
As we gain experience in listening to the Father’s leading we will make fewer mistakes. We will learn to listen better and turn more quickly.
In the end there is no substitute for dependence on the Father’s life as our only life and resource for living: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)Living independently from the Father is bankrupt living. There is no legitimate for walking apart from the moment by moment resting in dependence on the Father for all things. This is the way we were meant to live. There is the ONLY way we can live effectively.

Rich

Truth In the Strangest Places - Million Dollar Baby

I loved the following quotes from Wayne Jacobson's blog regarding the movie, Million Dollar Baby:

http://www.lifestream.org/wblog.html

But I kept hearing this movie wasn’t really about boxing. That was only the context for a compelling human story.



“Extremism is so easy. You’ve got your position, and that’s it. It doesn’t take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots coming around from the left.”

The times call not for idiotic extremism, but the ability for God's people to articulate his truth with his compassion.
Don’t believe everything you read. I’m sure this situation is far more complicated than any of the advocates want us to know. Human stories rarely fall into such one-dimensional morality plays with the villains and the good guys so clearly visible. I do know this, we shouldn’t trust what others say if we don’t have our own firsthand knowledge. And until we can see God’s compassion for all the people in the story, we won’t be redemptive in it. We’ll just use it to bash people who disagree with us.

Maybe like Wayne shared on his blog, how many things did not fit what I saw as being important to "look at" simply because I did not like or agree with the context/setting? How many compelling stories are happening around me every day?
Like the movie because of the subject matter, (judging a book by its cover mentality) can cause me to read so much religious crap into it, that I maintain my so called separation from the evils of life.

BTW, my wife and I saw the movie, fantastic!



Rich

Grooming

Part 2

Satan uses circumstances and situations to mould us into his image. He is constantly there to corrupt the truth. He grooms us. When we are hurt, he pacifies us with self-pity. When others get more attention, he is sure to point it out to us, so we compete by escalating our self-seeking behaviour. He convinces us that we can get what we want by our looks, money or our charm, so we become manipulative and self-absorbed. Contrarily, perhaps we make a concerted effort to become ‘good people’ and choose to live our lives in a seemingly moral and just fashion, looking down our noses at those who do not share our ‘values’…becoming self-righteous in the process. Self-pity, self-seeking, self-absorbed, self-righteous…is there a common thread here?

Little children lack the capacity to assess an experience accurately or rationally. As my husband has often said, “Children are great observers but terrible interpreters”. For instance, a parent can tell little Mary over and over that she is loved, but if she notices her baby brother getting attention, she might perceive that she is not quite as beloved as he. The groomer is present, not only to suggest that subtle lie to little Mary, but to fan it into flame as years go by. “Hey, Mary!” whispers the devil. “Did you notice how your mom just hugged your brother? She didn’t hug you! She loves him more!” Because he not only planted the initial lie but feeds and waters it, Satan has set Mary up. He knows EXACTLY what buttons to push when it comes to feeding her self-pity. In years to come, he’ll point out to her how she is ignored when he is noticed, when he gets something she doesn’t, how people pay more attention to him than to her. For the rest of Mary’s life, she will believe the lie that her parents love her brother more than they do her, no matter how insistent her parents are that it is not true or how much they try to convince her - even to the point of spending MORE time and effort with Mary than with her brother. As the years go by, she’ll transfer her wounded self-pity into other aspects of her life. She’ll become the victim that can never get a break – the one that gets the dirty end of the stick, the martyr. The grooming is successful. The target is putty in Satan’s hands. The lie becomes entrenched. Black becomes white.

It is essential that believers acknowledge this grooming process. We are the roaring lion’s prey, seeking whom he may devour. The assaults do not stop when we become born again – they may even escalate. Satan initially attacks when we are helpless, naïve children. He takes advantage of our innocence and trust. He appears as an angel of light. He beguiles, charms and woos us. He becomes our confidante and coddles our wounded sense of self. We trust his motives. We are mesmerized. Then, when we are at our most vulnerable, he goes in for the kill.

We believers tend to blame parents, teachers, friends, co-workers or even the institutional church for our shortcomings and failures, but we fail to realize that they have also been groomed and fallen victim to this diabolical molestation. Like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” who is admonished to ‘pay no attention to that man behind the curtain’, they simply cannot see who is orchestrating the deception. As many have said, Satan’s greatest triumph has been to convince humankind he doesn’t exist!

In the movie, “The Matrix”, Morpheus gives Neo an insight into this hidden world:
“The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save… You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”

As years go by, we become so convinced of Satan’s lies, ‘so inured, so hopelessly dependent’ that the lies become the building blocks of our identity, who we perceive ourselves to be and how we behave. However, as believers, it is crucial that we begin to recognize the truth - but this means making a conscious decision to turn away from the groomer’s lies. This is not an easy task, but it is ultimately a glorious one. It means wrenching away from the stranglehold that has gripped us for years. It is warfare. In ‘The Matrix’, Morpheus describes the devil’s arena: “…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.”

When we believers begin to see the man behind the curtain for what he is and how he has blinded the eyes of men and women since the beginning of time, we can begin to be set free in our thinking. We recognize the enemy for who he is, and that he is resident in all of us. The grip of the molestation we have endured for years is broken when we acknowledge the truth - that we are brand new creatures, unshackled by events of the past. When we see how fellow human beings have been similarly groomed, manipulated and controlled by the enemy of their souls, we are no longer in a position to judge but to feel compassion. We see everything in a different light – the light of truth.


Mgo

Grooming

Part 1

Recently, a pedophile was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. He acknowledged that he was a sexual deviant who had molested his two step-daughters, one of whom was mentally handicapped. He decided to appear on the show because he wanted parents to get a handle on the perverse inward workings of the mind of a child molester so that they could be on the lookout for others of his ilk.

He described the process of setting a child up for eventual molestation as a gradual one. He referred to it as ‘grooming’. Child molesters often don’t simply attack their victims outright. Typically, they worm their way into a child’s confidence by being a ‘pal’, a confidante or by showering him/her with gifts. The ‘grooms’ frequently seek children with emotional wounds or who come from a broken family. They’ll begin the molestation by assessing the child’s comfort level with such seemingly harmless activities as patting the child’s shoulder, stroking his/her hair, etc. Later, they’ll advance to engaging in rough-housing or tickling. If the pedophile can sense a child is comfortable with that, s/he’ll begin to touch the targeted victim in more familiar ways. The molester comes to know the child so well, that s/he will back off if the child objects in any way but will then try another tactic (or look for a more compliant victim).

I began to think that this is exactly the way Satan operates in us from birth, if not before. He ‘grooms’ us. He knows the circumstances into which we were born, for example into a single-parent situation, as a result of a rape, into a loving two-parent family, etc. Were we born in poverty or in the lap of luxury? Where did our birth place us in the family dynamic – first? Last? Middle? What were our caregivers like? Did we have siblings and how did they treat us?

Because we were ALL ‘born in sin and shapen in iniquity’, Satan was there from the beginning to deceive, distort and beguile. It is his modus operandi. He knows us intimately from the inside out. His deception is so alluring that ultimately we become convinced that black is white. His fiendish desire is that we never come to the realization that God exists, or if we do manage to become born-again, to make us ineffective as believers. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he whispers, “Yay, hath God said?” He is the father of religion – he convinces us that by our works we ‘can be like God’. He soothes us with comforting scripture. He does not want us to know that there is absolutely nothing in us that can make us acceptable to God because the truth is, by nature of our birthing, we are irreparably corrupted. Only Jesus’ sacrifice, obliterating Satan’s handiwork, can set us free, but of course, the Father of Lies will do anything in his power to keep us from seeing that. He hides the fact that he is in it for his own monstrous gratification – our ultimate destruction.

Mgo

why do you call me Good...

There is no human attribute that is so good that it cannot be turned to wickedness by the unrestrained, egocentric self. Because self is only interested in the unlimited glorification of itself it can pervert anything. Satan fell because he sought his own glorification and not God's glory.
Satan forgot that all the assets he had came from God. The devil is God's object lesson about the power to do evil that resides in the part of our self that wants to be the god of its own life. This is the self that has submitted to the moral and spiritual leadership of Satan in the flesh.

Rich

Unity, Part 2

It was Christ’s express desire that we should be a testimony about Him in the world. He was quite clear on how we should do this: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) It is very difficult for us to convince anyone that we love one another when we cannot tolerate even the most minor differences in understanding between brothers and sisters in Christ. It is not through evangelical programs but through love relationships that we truly testify to the world about Christ.We are to love one another as members of the same spiritual and eternal family---the family of God the Father. It is in this way only that the world will know the glory of Christ our Savior.All the witnessing programs and all the efforts at evangelism that have ever been will result in little apart from the love of Christ demonstrated in the lives of believers. If we are to demonstrate the love Christ, it must begin with Christians loving one another. You may well say that Christians loving each other is too elementary an act to have much effect on the unsaved world. However, the strength of this “simple thing” resides in its elementary nature. If we cannot do so basic a thing as loving each other, we shall never convince the world that we sincerely love them. The power of the love Christ to change lives must first be expressed in the tolerance we show to each other.

Used with permission from the book, "My Father and Your Father" by Wm. Landon

Rich

* Unity

E Pluribus Unum

The motto on the seal of the United States is the Latin phrase “the many are one.” This should be the description on the Christian church. However, the reality of Christianity today is that we are fragmented and are daily becoming more divided. As more and more organizational church denominations spring up the fragmentation grows. What message does this send to the unsaved world? A South African bishop once noted: “The presence of denominations is Christianity’s testimony to the world about how much we hate each other.”
Sadly, the bishop’s statement is most correct. We cannot show forth the love of Christ if we cannot tolerate any shade of difference among the members of our own spiritual family (the family of God) The hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of Christian denominations that exist today are the result of our intolerance of each other that grows out of our insecurity. I believe that our denominationalism is the principle reason why Christians are seen by the world at large as being a group marked by intolerance. The world has no vested interest in church organizations and therefore has no reason to gloss over this shortcoming. For this simple reason, the world sees this situation clearly---more clearly than most Christians. No Christian should wonder why the person from the world is inherently distrustful of our intentions.

* Used by permission from my friend Bill Landon

Rich

The second Man, the last Adam

The ever subtle seduction that would try to steal the affections of our hearts for Him.
Without the innate and intuitive ability of His life in us, we are moved to worship that which has the form of Godliness, but is void of any true power.There is still very much alive and active within some, a predisposition towards all of the so called outward markings of a true man, woman of God.
Natural (the first Adam was a living soul, a natural man) fleshly abilities that have nothing to do with who He truly is.As our spirit was originally created to be a container for Him, the one that wanted to become the Father of our spirit, so the unique self that we are was designed to be complete in displaying Him alone.
When was the last time you heard of a mirror getting bent out of shape because everybody was busily looking at themselves in it? A mirrors function is to reflect another’s image, much like the moon reflecting a light and glory of another, the sun.Without understanding who He is, and who we are in Him, it will be a perpetual jockeying for self-recognition one way or another.Too many identities are derived from our fleshly abilities, and it is theses that oppose Him.
I know of folks that I refer to as “steady eddies”, never too high, or too low. Mistakenly so many that are not that way, look upon a person displaying these traits as being spiritual, under the control of the Holy Spirit. When in fact it is nothing more than a soulish expression. Without the inner illumination of the Holy Spirit we blindly accept remnants of the first Adam to be Life for us.Our Father is a jealous lover (God), and in the process of being permitted to make Himself known to us, there will in fact be idols that must come down.He is the Living Sword, wanting to bring moment by moment separation between our soul and our spirit. As the Light shines, anything that has become a substitute for Him the Prince of Peace will have the sword applied to their life. I believe He said, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Rich

An Exchange Of Life

The following is a copy of an instant message sent by my good friend Rick to another brother.
I asked him if I could post it here on my blog, because in it I see so much that revolves around the Truth-Life-Reality of what it means to be in Christ.

I have never met Rick in person, but our meeting with one another is no less real. I am indebted to our Father for the richness of His life that I have to come to experience in my brother.
In Him we move, live, and have our being!!!!!! A link to his blog http://acceptedinthebeloved.blogspot.com/

I do not have time right now to have my precious English Major wife to go through all of this and bring in the magical final touches needed, but it shall happen.

Rich



Everyone no doubt has a perspective, brother Frank. Of that there is no doubt. What I hear your soul crying out for is the Truth. Receiving the Love of the Truth is a good thing! You won’t go too far wrong in seeking the one Truth, for that is who He is.

As one who spent years in both the Charismatic movement and the “Grace” camp, I have seen the destruction that both can cause, when Truth is abandoned. What I found in the Charismatic movement is that much (but certainly not all) of what is attributed to demon spirits is demonic all right, but has its root, not in the celestial cities, but in the flesh of man. Casting out spirits of lust, fornication, lying, etc., does not really free anyone in the long run, because the primary manifestation of the enemy against a person’s soul is through their own flesh, something that cannot simply be exterminated or cast out, unless one can somehow remove his own brain (as it dwells in the body of man).

“Grace” people, for the most part, as you have probably noticed, make much sport of anything demonic. The devil/the demonic is really just the big boogey man/illusion, with no power to war against the soul of the saint. But this is not what the scriptures teach. Haven’t you asked yourself why in much of “Grace” teaching scripture use is either very selective, must be re-interpreted, or is disregarded altogether? If Jesus is the Truth, and the scriptures testify of that Truth, and I love the Truth, why would the writings of Christ or the Apostles be a stumbling block to my soul, unless I don’t really love the Truth. And who possibly would be directing and deceiving my soul away from the Truth and Light? My friend and Counselor, the Holy Spirit? Or perhaps the enemy of my soul? Is the Jesus of Revelation speaking to the churches the evil twin brother of the Jesus with the children on His lap? I used to think so. But as I awoke out of my soul slumber, I found that it is indeed the same Jesus, the Lover of my soul, and the one who speaks Truth, for that is what/who He is. If that Truth produces both Love and Reverence in my soul, is that not a good thing?

Those who would tell you that their message of license and liberty cannot possibly lead to vice, are either not being honest (would not be the first time for that on the Internet), or not being truthful (wouldn’t be the first time anyone was deceived), either totally reinterpreting what vice means, what sin means, even what Grace means (nothing more than an altered state of mind that a good hypnotist can accomplish. I know the latter because I used to be involved in “ministry” that used hypnosis).

I can only tell you what I have seen. We had a mini-“Grace revival” years ago, where a “Grace” teacher came in and taught that it was ALL finished. That you could live your life as you pleased. That this is God’s will and good pleasure. That sin is only an illusion now because it had been fully paid for. That All are reconciled to God and will experience Salvation, etc. Strangely, the fruit of that message in my own and others lives did not resemble the fruit of the Spirit, but the fruit or works of the flesh. I have seen widespread divorce, adultery, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, alcoholism, drug addiction, hatred, self-seeking, you name it, all done under the banner of “Grace”. Heck, even the “Grace” teacher himself returned to a homosexual lifestyle. Are these manifestations particular to the “Grace” movement? Certainly not. Are they evidence of deception/darkness in operation rather than Truth/Light? I think you know the answer to that yourself. Anyone who says that sin does not, when full grown, produce destruction in my soul, needs to think again.

Am I saying that these folk aren’t children of God anymore? Not in the least. Our spirits are in perfect union with Him. However, Is this “gospel” (or any other which is not of the Truth) the Path to sonship, to salvation of the soul? Does it lead us to walk in the Light, or in the darkness? Does it lead me to walk in the Spirit and treasure His Counsel, or walk in the flesh, and value its “advice.” Does it lead me to Love his Appearing, or dread it (or even make His Appearing into something it is not)? Does it lead me to a Love of the Truth, or a disdain for the same? Does it lead to a perfecting and maturity of my faith, or possibly a shipwreck of that same? Does it lead me to a yearning to see His good works borne through my soul, that He may be glorified, or a mind set on the things of the world/flesh, and how I might please myself? Does it lead to real Life working in me to overcome the desires of the flesh/enemy directed against my soul (aka temptation), or does it lead to justifying the desires and works of the flesh? Does it lead to putting on the full armour of God to stand against the wiles or strategies of the evil one, or to laying that same armour down, thinking either that the war is over, or even that it is impossible for me to be deceived.

Have you asked yourself why much of what you hear seems to be such a shell game, with no real answers to your questions? Perhaps because it is. Anyway, I am not trying to promote any agenda. And this is Robert’s site, so he obviously is paying the freight here. But maybe that Voice telling you that something is not right in this teaching is not “stinking thinking” but of your and my True Friend. He doesn’t disagree with the Scriptures. Amazingly the Life He desires to manifest through our souls does nothing but affirm the Truth witnessed to in the Scriptures, and the Scriptures themselves are meant to affirm the witness borne through our own soul, by that same Spirit.

Anyway, I just want to encourage you in your walk in Him. As one who spent years asleep in my soul in the darkness, I can testify that this is a very unprofitable path. Thank God for His Mercy! Blessings to you brother!

Your brother in Christ,
Rick

The Warm Fuzzies, Or The Truth

Knowing The Truth

If Jesus was and is (as He declared to be) The Only Truth, Way and Life of the Father, then there has to be so much more than what we’re seeing in ‘churchianity’, meaning, so many see truth being “ a wonderful concept”. What is the definition of ‘concept’?
Main Entry: con·cept Function: noun Etymology: Latin conceptum, neuter of conceptus, past participle of concipere to conceive -- more at CONCEIVE1 : something conceived in the mind : THOUGHT, NOTION2 : an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances synonym see IDEA
Do the scriptures indicate that He who has the Son, has a great thought, notion or idea?? No! He who has the Son has LIFE, for the Life is in the Son!
Somehow, I do not see Paul, the Apostle of Grace saying, “Hey do you want to hear some great concepts?” Conceptual thinking, in my opinion, has nothing to do with knowing Him. It takes revelation, not special glasses or self-proclaimed holy anointed gurus! (Eph. 1:16-19)
Truth has to be much more than good doctrine or ecclesiastical fodder aimlessly thrown about. It’s not MY truth versus YOUR truth. That’s nonsense.The Truth is a Person. Salvation is a Person. God has so much more than a wonderful plan for each of us. He has a Son He wants us to know. Oh, that I might know Him!
If there is to be any meaningful fellowship, then it must flow out of the source of all truth, God’s Son Christ Jesus.
TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.
Without listening or taking heed to His voice we are left with conceptual thinking. Truth is inseparable from a Person; otherwise we are left with nothing but concepts and abstract thoughts that cause dissension and division within the body of Christ. It is this kind of thinking that has done anything but foster a mutual love for each other.

Rich

The Truth Telling Us the Truth...

The Truth Will Make You Free

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make (set) you free."

If you read this encounter in John chapter 8 you will see the folks Jesus is speaking to trying to cling to a lie that is coming from their father, (not God). It is seen by them as being truth, but the Living Truth is shining through all their smoke and mirrors stuff.

Is it possible for any of us to be so zealously convinced that just because we say, 'we believe something', that, that in fact is the truth?
In the ongoing process of the Father training us to become fully mature sons, no longer being children, I see a very real possibility of us coming to see many things (in the Light of Him being the Truth) that we have accepted as truth, but in fact were mere substitutes for the Truth!
Jesus was not a new spin-doctor trying to flatter fleshly thinking. Instead, He being that Living sword that separates between spirit and soul was clearly exposing the fleshly thinking for what it was.
As long as we are in these tents of flesh, this will be the order of the day...the Truth setting us free, if in fact, that is what we want.

Rich

In The Beginning Was The Word....

2Tim.3:16

All Scripture is Godbreathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I don't see the scriptures being the fourth part of the trinity, but in light of the preceding scriptures what cha going to do eh? Throw the baby out with the (bad) water?

In Luke 24, one of my favourite close encounter places, it says Jesus (the WORD) opened their minds to understand the scriptures.

I wonder what would happen if He the Living Word would do that for each of us the re-birthed, heck there might even be a real connecting in fellowship, you know each of us having the one and same Life in us.

Rich

Does God laugh or cry.....?

It never ceases to amaze me how many folks are convinced that God has let Himself be stripped of His sovereignty by giving man.....freedom to choose. Or does having freedom to choose, point to Someone even more powerful and loving than any have ever imagined?
Father God, I thank you that your house isn't going to be full because you programed us like wind up toys....to infinity and beyond....ha!!

Rich

Are We There Yet?

Somehow being brought to see that salvation is a Living Person rather than a destination changes so much, where, in the NOW!

Rich

Cloning Around

The following blog entry was from when I was using Type-Pad. I just came across the entries of this blog and thought I would post some of them here as I see fit.
Who's having a fit??

Rich


February 16, 2004

Cloning Around
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!!
I love how the Spirit of God is pulling back the curtain (veil) for us to see the Truth.The Lord Jesus Christ did not use any hocus-pocus, or genetic manipulation, in bringing about this miraculous life we have in Him.God has a wonderful sense of humour, but He don't 'clone' around!
The following is an excerpt from a friend who posted on a forum. The truth that was being communicated in the words she was using seized me in a fit of wonder!
"Yeah, there's growth... in knowing Him and receiving His wonderful gift of intimate, oneness, relationship with Him! The by-product of knowing Him is the reflection of His life in our lives... and it's that reflection of His life that many would call "growing in Christ".Then they set out to duplicate it... in total blindness to the fact that they don't need a copy of Who they already have. He grows us into a reflection of Himself in ways that man cannot accomplish by any effort of his own... Our thing is to let go of the control of the things of God and receive the free gift of what it means to have the Living One living in us."
Angie

This was my response to her.

"I have seen for years how man, led by his soul, has tried to take the 'spiritual DNA' from something, anything God has done, and then using his carnal hypodermic needle endeavoured to inject that DNA into other believers - totally apart from Him being the Father of that unique work.Simply because man is capable of messing around with the DNA of animals and "creating" new ones, he has believed the lie he can do the same in the spiritual."

Lords Jesus I love you!!!!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

No Good Flesh

Here are some thoughts contained in Margi's letter to a friend:

("There's never been a kid born yet with good flesh" (and there never will be)...quote from my husband, Richard)

It's a constant thing these days, being aware of the workings of Satan in my flesh and in others. It is a particularly interesting study to me while observing my Kindergarten kids on a daily basis. They certainly do learn early to manifest his presence! Some things are laughable because the children haven't yet developed the cunning they'll learn as they grow - such as hiding a stolen item behind their back, insisting up and down they don't have a clue where it is! But other things are more serious, like Susan who says unbelievably mean things to the other children, who threatens them and bullies them in an attempt to control them, Martha who at the age of 4 has become a master liar, and Devin who has already developed a very defiant, 'nobody's gonna push me around' attitude. Yet, these children are no different at heart than little blue-eyed blonde Jasmine, who has a solid, financially stable homelife surrounded by people who adore her, who to all intents and purposes (in the eyes of the world) would be considered a delightful, lovely little girl - mannerly, honest, considerate of others, a real sweetie-pie.

I struggled with this issue a long time and think I am finally getting a bit of an understanding of it.

I teach in an inner-city school - lots of single-parent homes, moms or dads who switch partners frequently, rampant divorce or common-law living, financial hardship, spousal abuse, etc. I couldn't reconcile how a few of the kids, like Jasmine, will likely have a relatively easy life, meaning, she will be brought up well, will be favoured by teachers because of her sunny disposition, good manners and consideration for others and who will have support at home available for her if she ever struggles academically. Then there's Tyler, living in poverty, whose mom left a violent and emotionally abusive marriage to move in with 'John' who abandoned her after a few months, devastating little Tyler who had grown to love and trust him. His mom criticizes his biological dad constantly, telling Tyler he's no good...which doesn't sound too far off because he constantly tells Tyler he's a burden and a disappointment and that he's going to grow up to be a 'faggot'. Tyler is already doing destructive things, like deliberately slamming the door on his pet cat's tail.

I know both Jasmine and Tyler operate out of their flesh but I couldn't reconcile how different their futures would be - how Jasmine will likely have a relatively easy go of it, while Tyler could conceivably end up (despite his great intelligence) defiant, rebellious, in trouble with the law. It did not compute...until I began to see that the Jasmines of the world have been controlled and manipulated no differently than the Tylers - except in Jasmine's case, Satan manifests himself as good, sweet, lovable, the Salt of the Earth type. However, the world LOVES this type of individual because s/he has 'integrity', lives commendably, is easy to get along with, a do-gooder. Nonetheless, Satan operates out of her choice-maker, her soul, just as effectively as he does out of Tyler. He just appears differently, disguising his perversity under a guise of goodness.

Richard and I were discussing this one day. The Bible admonishes us to raise up our children the way they should go - to be mannerly, to know right from wrong, to be loving and kind. But to me, all we are doing is civilizing them in order that they can function in a fallen world. Otherwise, there'd be mayhem and rioting and murder constantly. When we teach children 'the way they should go', are we not merely teaching them to function out of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? I call this 'Satanic morality'. Neither Jasmine nor Tyler have real life until the day comes that they accept Jesus' finished work on the cross. In some ways, it may be harder for Jasmine even to be able to acknowledge her need for a saviour, because she will have lived such an apparently good, commendable life. Or maybe Tyler will find it difficult to acknowledge the Lord, having hardened his heart for so many years. Either way, Satan does his damndest to ensure NEITHER ever comes to the point of salvation.

I've also become aware of how 'flesh calls to flesh' just as 'spirit calls to spirit'. It's like a subterranean diabolical message system! I've often marvelled at how my own kids have made choices that would be the EXACT opposite of the choices I wanted them to make or thought they would make, or what all the Christian parenting books claimed they would make - because I had raised them so carefully. 'What I feared has [indeed] come upon me'! It seems as if Satan knew just what buttons to push in me, and boy, has he pushed them! I now see this whole scenario, however, as his attempt to hurt me, to wound me, to inspire me to give up or rail against God...and when I say hurt 'me', actually his goal is to get back at the Christ who indwells me. When I recognize and acknowledge this, it helps me to see my kids' choices as tools, and my kids being used as pawns by the devil in this cosmic battle. They, of course, don't see this at all, but it certainly helps me to put things in proper perspective. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt - I'm saying I'm beginning to see it for what it is. I just wish I could get my kids to understand this! They have no concept that the enemy of their soul is manipulating them for his own sick purposes.

One more thing - it is apparent to me that we are beginning, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, to see behind the curtain. I don't know why we have been allowed to do so, but it makes us soberly vigilant. We are well aware that the world at large and most Christians would gnash their collective teeth over this issue. I don't know what the Lord has in store for us but I don't think it's gonna be pretty...at least this side of heaven! I'm also very aware of the state of world affairs and how nations appear to be getting into position to usher in some disturbing new realities.

He Is Our Life

Why do we continue to live in the illusion of life apart from Him, when He is our "LIFE"

Why, because we have a choice in the matter. Also, because there are no vacuums, either we will operate out of our union in Him (the Fruitful Vine) or we will be governed by the only other moral being, Satan himself, through our soul. Our soul is going to be governed by someone...Bob Dylan's slow train coming album/// song...You've Got To Serve Somebody.

The Truth is a Person the Living Christ, to the degree we only know 2+2 = whatever (so called right) answer, and not really know Him the Truth, we will operate out of the knowledge of good and evil.
This knowledge has produced an acceptability amongst our fellow human beings. But in fact it is nothing more than a satanic morality, divided into sinful flesh or religious flesh.

There are those who believe that Jesus has a twin brother, his name being Osmosis, so if in fact the Life of the Father is not going to be displayed through us, with us having no say in it, then it will be accomplished by His twin brother Osmosis.

Somehow having the ability to freely choose Life vs death is looked upon by some as being a work we can BOAST in...what a crock!!!

Rich

Cambodia

A brief snipit from the famous author, my daughter.

When I went to the Grove alone I felt I was in a place that was right. School wasn't right, home wasn't right, work wasn't right. This forest was right and it would never brag about it. If a person ever has to tell you he's good and he's right, he probably isn't-like that girl in the sushi bar: she didn't have to say anything-her presence was enough.
Only someone who knows solitutde can tell what perfect company nature is. It's like hanging out with God. Heaven is a forest.

Rich

Saved Yet Being Saved

The following is an excerpt from my friend Art's article, entitled, Saved Yet Being Saved.

Rich


Needing a Renewal in Soul
2 Cor. 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Even after our initial salvation our soul’s mind, emotions, and will is unchanged, awaiting a process of renewal. This we might say is the second salvation that we refer to in this paper. We all need renewal in our soul, to “be saved by His life,” not just those who may have suffered abuse or made a mess of life, none of us are righteous (Rom 3:23), we are all needy of both kinds of salvations in Christ. If we will be honest we will have to admit that we aren’t much changed after our initial salvation, not for many years, if at all. We all bear the remnants of the old fallen Adamic man and the scars of having lived in a crooked and perverse world. It is our Father’s desire that we should grow up from children of God (Rom 8:16) to become the “sons of God” who walk with Him, being “led by the Spirit” (Rom 8:14). Thankfully, it is God our Father’s work to bring us to that grown up relationship with Him – to trust and yield to Him. Such trust requires a new mindset and the yielded will of our soul.

A Great Article!

Hi,

This is a great online article by James Fowler for those that might be interested.

http://www.christinyou.net/pages/noindependentself.html

Rich

You Talking To Me?

Why is it that the love of the Father is brought into question anytime I need correcting?
I thought the proof of His love for me was in fact His ongoing correction.

Hebrews 12:5 So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Somehow the lies of our former 'surrogate' father Satan, seem to click in when my Father is bringing correction into my life.
Such as, this correction is really Him rejecting me!
I guess so long as one believes that they have arrived, and are simply putting in time until they get called up, any perceived correction coming from the Father are just lies trying to make me believe He really does not love me.

Rich

How are we saved and continue to be saved, by grace, through faith...

......."God covets the unique features and characteristics of our soul, and yearns to combine them with the beauties of His own person. He does not intend to destroy our personality. Rather, He intends to "conform" it to His own image and fill it with the __expression of His life.God longs to redeem our soul; but the soul is the seat of our independence, pride, and rebellion. Independence finds its assertion through our soul, until we have experienced the work of the Cross and are made aware of our {utter depravity}"*. We are strong in our soul, but this so-called 'strength' is an illusion. It is in actuality anti-Christ. Our souls are the fertile, breeding ground from which grow all things concerned with 'self' - self-reliance, self-awareness, self-concept, self-righteousness, self-esteem, self-worth, self-image, etc., attributes that are in direct opposition to God. "His dealings bring us into extremities which we would rather resist; but in them we come to appreciate the Lord." Only as our souls are broken of the illusion of being in control; only as we come to that crisis, and are thoroughly convinced that "in my flesh dwells no good thing" is there true sobriety.

(*the author originally used the word 'weakness' which is not accurate, in my humble opinion. We have NOTHING to offer the Lord - neither strengths nor weaknesses.
Our soul is hopelessly corrupt, in opposition to God, and needs to be renewed, transformed, quickened by the life of God that exists in our spirit-union.

Rich

By One Spirit

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

That which the Father has accomplished is wonder-full!
The same Seed in all of the rebirthed, and yet one would think that there is a Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Catholic, Greek Orthodox Jesus. What is this all about anyway?
Without the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, we will strive for that which is already ours in Him.
The wonder of Him being able to uniquely express His life through each of us, and each displaying flavours and colours of His grace that makes the most beautiful sunset pale in comparrison.
In looking at a sunset, being part of a crowd, I'm sure each person would see their favourite colour, but in fact each is seeing that which is being reflected from the same sun.
No wonder Paul prayed so fervently for the eyes of our heart to be opened (and flooded with light) to "see" the same Jesus in all of the rebirthed.

Rich

Delivered Unto Death For Jesus' Sake

"FOR JESUS’ SAKE" Some thoughts from Cornelius Stam, passed on with some thoughts from Art Licursi

"Delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake" (II Cor. 4:11).There is much that we all do for our own sake, for the sake of our children, our loved ones or others, but the real test of the believer’s love for the Lord is what he does "for Jesus’ sake." One such thing the grace Apostle, Paul, calls us to undertake "for Jesus sake" is the matter of forgiveness of others. Now considering the contrast between dispensations of ... law and ... grace, concerning forgiveness. - LAW: Our Lord, born under the dispensation of the law (Gal 4:4), told His disciples that to be forgiven they must forgive: "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke 6:37), "but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:15). This is law, NOT grace. Anytime we see an "if ye" we now we are seeing law, since grace is unconditional. - GRACE: But now, under the Pauline dispensation of grace of the grace of God (Eph 3:2), Paul exhorts us to forgive one another "even as God for Christ’s sake HATH forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). Consider the striking difference. - Before the cross: If you want to be forgiven, you MUST forgive. - Now, in the light of the cross: You have been graciously forgiven "for Christ’s sake." Paul says, In the light of this "be tenderhearted and forgiving toward others." Thankfully, we as the regenerated children of God are "no longer under the law, but under grace" (Rom 6:14b, 7:4, 10:4, Col 1:26). And we are to go yet farther than this: Not only are we to forgive our brethren in Christ, but we are to be prepared to have this attitude toward the world as well. Paul said: "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all" (I Cor. 9:19), and referring to his persecutions by unbelievers, he said: "We... are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake" (II Cor. 4:11). How many unbelievers would be won to Christ; how many of our Christian friends would be strengthened and helped, if we adopted this attitude toward others? As to suffering itself, the Apostle also gladly bore this "for Jesus’ sake." In writing to the Corinthians, he said: "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Cor. 12:10). He had learned that in weakness he leaned all the harder, and was brought closer to His Lord, and herein lay his spiritual strength of life.

In Him We Move, Live and BE

As I was sharing with a friend, it is a fundamental and foundational thing He must work within us, that our soul has nothing to offer us in the way of enlightenment
All of the "wilderness" talk irks me to no end. The wilderness that is so often refereed too, is nothing more than us still trying within our soulishness to see, know, understand
It ain't going to happen, and that frustrates us to no end
But it is this very frustration being used of our Father to bring us into sobriety.

Life Happening

2 Corinthians 3:16 (1) but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where (2) the Spirit of the Lord is, (3) there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, (4) beholding as in a mirror the (5) glory of the Lord, are being (6) transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from (7) the Lord, the Spirit.

Where there is on going illumination, and transformation, won't there be an outer transparency?
Is the Holy Spirit producing more self-consciousness within us, or is he in fact wanting us to move, live and have our being in a Christ-consciousness? The facts are ,those whom He loves, he corrects.
If this correction is viewed as rejection, is it not possible that we can frustrate the grace of God in our lives?

I wonder about the on going workings of the Father within us as His child, Him wanting to bring a separation within us, separation from the soul and spirit.
The worth, value, significance we all want is found only in Him and His love for us. True validation of our worth! But to the degree we continue to operate out of our soul rather than out of our spirit, we endlessly look for that validation based solely upon our endeavours, religious dead works.
If we reject the inner truthful illumination that the Holy Spirit brings regarding our total acceptance in Him, then we will look for "fig leaves" to cover our supposed nakedness.
The necessity of seeing 'salvation' as being Someone, rather than something that happened to us.
Apart from this inner illumination, we will view ourselves as trying, still trying to measure up...find acceptance, and in so doing, we frustrate His grace.

Take a look at these thoughts from James Fowler, (from his on-line book Spirit-union Allows for Soul-rest) I see them to succinctly tie in here.

http://www.christinyou.net/pages/spiritsoulrest.htm

"Soul-rest relies on the “finished work” of Jesus Christ. When Jesus exclaimed, “It is finished,” from the cross, He knew that redemption was accomplished and He had set in motion the restoration of humanity by the available presence and function of His own life in man. We rest in the dynamic of His continuing “finished work” of manifesting His life in us.
The Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9) is the “Spirit of liberty” (II Cor. 3:18), and “it was for freedom that Christ set us free” (Gal. 5:1,13). The freedom of the Christian is not only a freedom from sin, law, and death, but also a freedom to be and do all that God wants to be and do in us. Religious bondage always produces restlessness, but our freedom in Christ allows for soul-rest. We are free to celebrate and enjoy life. By His abundance of “party parables” Jesus often portrayed the Christian life as a celebratory opportunity.
Living as Who We Are

Knowing our spiritual identity, who we are in spirit-union with Christ, allows us to experience the soul-rest freedom to be ourselves. We are each unique and novel expressions of the life of Jesus Christ. We do not have to conform to others’ expectations of what they think a Christian ought to be or to do. With a “positive personal concept” of who we are in Christ, we can “be real” and avoid the hypocritical masks of trying to be what we are not and do what others expect of us in religious role-playing. Avoiding the self-protective barriers of self-consciousness and self-reputation, and comfortable with who we are, we can spontaneously express Christ as us. We can be open and transparent, not embarrassed to share feelings of tenderness, compassion, joy or sorrow. We can be vulnerable to engage in emotional intimacy with others. In our unique expression of the life of Jesus Christ, it is permissible to be different, to “take a stand” and “stand alone,” to “march to the beat of the distinctive drummer that Christ wants to be in us.” Unfazed by what others think, we have the soul-rest to be bold, courageous, uninhibited, confrontational, or whatever Christ wants to be in us. Such behavioral expressions will, however, always manifest the character of Christ, the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22,23), for Christ always “acts in character.”
Living in soul-rest allows for a Christ-consistent spontaneity that might even be expressed as “doing what comes naturally.” Since we are “partakers of the divine nature” (II Pet. 1:4), when we live out of that nature of Christ within, we live in the realm of the Spirit-natural (almost an oxymoron) wherein it seems natural to manifest His character of holiness, righteousness, goodness, etc. In fact, it can become so natural that the Christian has no recollection of being loving or humble, no awareness of sufferings or trials for they are regarded as opportunities, and no consciousness of temptation for it rolls off “like water off of a duck’s back.” Ceasing to analyze every detail of what he is doing, the Christian can live so spontaneously that he feels like he is not “doing” anything, as he lives by the Life of Another."

Rich