Searching For Significance

Maybe significance is defined in coming to know the significant One, Jesus Christ.
The quest in our trying to establish an identity, a sense of significance is foundationally rooted in being born and raised in a world that only knows conditional love.

In coming to know Him and His unconditional love, He meets the need I was born with and couldn't ever seem to fill, no matter how much I achieved or gained.
The growing knowledge of His love frees the grasping one from within and replaces it with a longing to freely receive.

Never have any continued in His initial loving embrace, I dare say all Christan's have grown within various amounts and degrees of knowledge, but not in, (as Peter puts it), 'continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
There are many who are rich in having experiences and in knowledge, but poor, desperately poor in being intimately acquainted with Him.

It was and always will be the worthy One loving the unworthy. The treasured One coming to live in jars of clay. A value and significance made ours in being joined to Him.

Daily growing in the experiential knowledge of this Father's love will not only save us, but free us to BE the nameless faceless people whose soul purpose is to love the Lover of our soul.

The reason religion in any fashion or form is so palatable is that it temporarily covers the shame we all feel, and allows us to play act much like little children dressing up in adult clothing, pretending to be someone they are not.

Not knowing in an ever increasing way, this Lovers love for us, poisons us into believing this God is one that has to be appeased, and without ardent, diligent effort, will fall dismally short.
In the same manner as you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, continue to walk in Him....how does this line up with all of the pretense and performance seen within churchianity?

Rich

Clarification

The four part paper/article I posted on my blog from my friend Art back a short while ago had this to say regarding his dispensational view, which I totally agree with.

Rich

Many may misconstrue my purpose of always approaching the Bible dispensationally. Dispensational Bible study is not a hobby horse or "my thing", rather it is the proper means of Biblical hermeneutics that is so critical because it clearly points us and permits us to clearly focus upon, not Paul, but his consistent gospel message, for us.
That message is that the person of Christ, via the cross, was resurrected as the "Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:2a), such that His life and nature may come to indwell each believer, to the believer's all.

Troubling Situations

Here is where I see the residual effect of the matrix working in our soul..when troubling situations seemingly surround us, and rather than seeing that we have in this setting the opportunity to come to 'know' Christ our Life in an even deeper way, we are more often directed towards some form of fleshly religious performance.

I am and will always be grateful for the scriptures, i.e. the book, but when stuff hits ya between the eyes, is it the book we're supposed to be turning to, or the One who wrote the book?
Its amazing how thoroughly trained and sharp a person can be in knowing what the 'letter' says, and yet be devoid of the spirit that quickens~makes alive the letter of the word.
People say, well, lets see what the scriptures say..how much safer can one be in turning to 'God's word'~Ha, and yet, not realizing His words are in fact pointing to the Word we're joined to.....very interesting.Maybe this might have something to do with, 'ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth'~Christ, the living Word.

Rich

Dressed To Kill

In a conversation with a friend, we were discussing a particular distressing and frustrating experience that he seemingly never saw himself getting free of.
I mentioned that as we are learning to turn to Him the one who is our only Life, he will address those thoughts that seem to plague us, and then it came out of my mouth, maybe better yet, the Lord will undress the lies clothed in seemingly such fine attire.

Christians who are living defeated lives are really not defeated, they have been beguiled into believing an illusion.
The Christian life is inseparable from Christ living in you as you. It is this reality that is endeavoring to transform our thinking.
Apart from seeing and knowing, growing in the truth/reality of Christ as our all, we will strive to gain something, be it victory or whatever, which is nothing more than a proverbial pursuit into madness.

Jesus said that in and of himself (the son of man) he could do nothing, he had to learn as a man that in looking to his self-soul, he would fine no power or strength to that which purposed to destroy him. It was only in a ever growing knowledge of the Father that he was joined to, that he was able to over come.

We have all been trained/conditioned/groomed by our enemy, we have learned repeated behavior responses/reactions..the truth is, although saved in our spirit, we have at our disposal the Father's life, but will we trust Him, not just for saving us from hell, but for our daily living??

We have been feed so many lies, and they only continue after being rebirthed..it is a knee jerk reaction in most of (if not all) our lives, we come under assault in our minds..what do we do? Most often we instinctively turn to our soul-self, and draw from an empty well, and we wonder why we have wandered in the wilderness of our soul for such a very long time?

It is only in the Light of Him that these finely attired lies are disrobed/undressed..as a matter of fact in the book of Revelation there is a point in time where Satan is escorted to his demise, and it says something to this effect...Is this the one that troubled the nations? It was a major revelation to actually see him for who he was.

It is in the present moment of living that we look to Him alone, and as the Light shines into the depths of our soul, the lies loose their hold, and afresh we discover the Victorious One we are joined to.

All of creation stands on tip-toe with baited breath, with longing expectation of being released form its captivity... Lord bring forth your manifest sons of God!!

Rich

In Or Out?

Jesus Christ is the answer, right~WRONG!!
Jesus Christ IN you is the answer!

It has been from before the foundations of the earth, the Father's eternal purpose to display the manifold rich and glorious expressions of His grace in and through His body, which is the Church.
As long as Christ is seen (perceived) as being separate from us, is it any wonder, no matter what we might say, at best our so called relationship is but just another religion?

Father continue to open (my) our eyes to see and to know You, as our only Life.

Rich

The Fellowship Of The Mystery

The necessity of having revelation, and continued revelation of all and anything God the Father wants us to know, i.e. true knowledge.
Because there are NO vacuum's, the other alternative, is so aptly put, 'ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth.'

What greater truth is there to experience apart from His unspeakable gift, His Son Christ Jesus!

Rich

Our Union with Christ - The Head of the Body
Is “The Fellowship of the Mystery”

By Arthur J Licursi
Part 4 of 4

We are not God or the Head, but we are in union with the One who is God and Head of the body. This is indeed a marvelous thought - the union of the creature and The Creator, possessing the very same life, being one. God indwells the container called “man”. The focus is upon the content, not the container, just as the focus is upon the coffee in the cup. We do not say – “Pass the coffee with the cup”. We say “Pass the coffee”; since the coffee and cup are one, yet we know that are two. The cup never becomes the coffee, but it contains the coffee.

The key point here is our primary, inseparable, oneness with God. This union we have with God is as true as that of our individual physical body parts that are in union with, and dependent upon our physical head. Just as Jesus was and is dependent upon the Father (John 5:19), so also are we dependent upon the Godhead for our life, maturity, direction and well-being. The Godhead is found in Christ who indwells us as our life sufficiency ( Col 2:9-10) and our Head. He then completes our creation as it was meant to be.

Note this paper’s title includes the words “Christ - The Head”; it is not “ Christ AS The Head”. That is because “Christ-The Literal Head” is the indispensable member of His literal Body. His headship is with all the believing body members. By our union with Him, His life surges through each body member’s spirit every moment of the day. His life is our full sufficiency in every situation of life – the good the bad and the ugly. We need to come to “see” this truth of our union with spiritual eyes. That “seeing” is called revelation and it is then life-changing; only then will we trust what we have then seen with our spirit eyes.

Having such sight, living the Christian life then becomes an adventure in learning of our union and His sufficiency by our daily experiences of living; we learn more and more to trust in Him who is our overcoming life within, in a normal spontaneous way – “not I, but Christ”. With this revelation of our union, we can see the worth of being on earth for the time that He has ordained. This time on earth now affords us opportunity to learn what we could not otherwise learn. If we never suffered problems; we couldn’t come to know that we could trust Him in us to handle them.

Consider that patience is a factor in learning to trust Him? We learn to endure patiently as we learn to trust Him. We may need to wait in patience for His Spirit to reveal the truth of our union with Him. We know that we can trust that He is at work in our life, positioning us, our hearts and minds, to receive direction and light from Him, who is the Head.

Philip. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Fellowship Of The Mystery

The pictures I have selected for this four part article that my friend Art wrote, are all from when we were in Florida with him and his wife on the March break.
It had been many years since my first time to Florida, and seeing the Palm Trees was something that touched me deeply, their sheer beauty and majesty.

I know there are those viewing/reading this four part article, and I look forward to hearing any feed back.

Rich

Our Union with Christ - The Head of the Body
Is “The Fellowship of the Mystery”

By Arthur J Licursi
Part 3 of 4

The Apostle Paul’s Gospel, which he calls “my gospel” in several Scriptures, concerns “the church, which is His body”. The literal body of Christ consist of all believers, having received Christ who is the Head and life-source of His body, now living through that One body and each member in particular. 1 Cor. 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

The body of Christ consists of all the individual grace dispensation believers who have received Christ by simple faith; believing, and simultaneously receiving Christ’s Spirit of life into each one’s human spirit. Each body member thereby is a member of actual, literal (not metaphorical), body of Christ.

Thus, it is by Christ in us that He is literally incarnated on earth today, and for eternity. Today He still walks the earth, He speaks, and He is ministering grace, love and life to people, even toward those who may still reject Him. How does He do this? It is through His literal body members alive physically on earth today, those who have come to know Him as their life and lord. Also, Paul says this is our commission today - to make all men see what is the fellowship (union) of the mystery (secret gospel).

Many misinterpret the point of Eph 5:22-23. From it they claim to see the body of Christ as Christ’s wife or even His bride, but this is not true and not at all the point of this Scripture reference.
Ephes. 5:22-23 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

I trust that you see that the term body of Christ speaks of a literal life-relationship that we as believers have with Christ, one that is more intimate than the union of a man and wife. Paul here is simply describing for the Ephesians the proper submissive union and relationship between man and wife is like that of Christ as Head of His body. Don’t our physical body parts obey that instruction which emanates from our head? Elsewhere, Paul says husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves and gave Himself for the church. You might say, “How can this be?” Well, consider this question. “What is closer to you, your spouse, or your own body.” Of course, it is your body. Scripture rightly divided speaks of Israel as God’s wife, often an adulterous wife, but never of “the church which is His body” as being the wife or bride of Christ.

The fact is that for “the church which is His body” today, Christ is the genuine head of His literal body, and the metaphor is that of a man being head of the wife, operating in love, with understanding (1Peter 3:7). All physical life and relationships seen on earth are but metaphors for the reality of our relationship that makes us the literally united with Christ. This is why Paul says the things of God may be clearly seen in the creation (Rom 1:20); e.g., the tree with its physical branches is but a metaphor for the reality of our dependency seen in the life that flows issuing from the vine to the branches. Our husband and wife relationship is but a metaphor; while the body of Christ is not a metaphor, but rather reality in fact, since it is not physical, but spiritual.

We must see our union and oneness with God in the matter of Christ as head of the believing “church, which is His body” in order to see what we possess in that relationship. The legal aspects of God’s justice were fully settled on the cross; this was so we could proceed on to God’s heart desire – for us to have a restful, dependent, relationship with God, who is in Christ, now as “the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus”; now in literal union with us.

Fellowship Of The Mystery

Is there any good thing that can come from the www, you bet there is.
It was the tool used by the Father in connecting me with my friend Art, the brother that has written this four part article.

It continues to amaze me how our Father is orchestrating everything, working in the depths of peoples lives, for all intents and purposes without any outer evidence, and yet, when things seem to suddenly all fall into place, it would lead one to think it was simply by osmosis.

I have never loved Jesus more than I do today, and I am so blessed in having a wife that wants only to grow in the grace and true knowledge of this friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Each day is a day that will never be repeated. I love the one line from Russel Crow in the movie The Gladiator, just before going into the last battle before going home to Rome for good, he yells out to his loyal and trusted officers, 'what we do today, echoes throughout eternity.'

This resonates with such truth, and wanting more than ever to cooperate with God my Father with His eternal purpose...those He foreknew, he predestined them to BE conformed (transformed) into the likeness of His only Son!!

Rich

Our Union with Christ - The Head of the Body
Is “The Fellowship of the Mystery”

By Arthur J Licursi
Part 2 of 4

This union by Christ indwelling each believer as their life is what Paul calls the “fellowship of the mystery” that was revealed to Him, to be explained to us. Ephes. 3:8-9 Unto me (Paul), who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

This “fellowship” in Greek is “koinonia”, meaning a participatory partnership. We participate in this partnership of life, since we are living members of the body of Christ. We have consciousness and free will such that we may or may not co-operate within the very real living union relationship we have with Christ. In that union we have the sense of His life in us prompting or restraining us form within in a normal life way – Paul writes of this union in this way. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God…

The “fellowship of the mystery” is the union that comes not by simply receiving Jesus of Nazareth, but by receiving the crucified and resurrected Jesus into our very being- “Christ according to the revelation of the mystery (secret gospel)” (Rom 16:25) that Paul preached. Paul’s mystery (secret) gospel, succinctly stated, is “Christ in you the hope of glory” ( Col 1:26-27).

Paul here in Eph 3:9 also tells us the proclamation of this union with Christ is Paul’s commission – it was his work, given to Him by the ascended Christ. Paul says he was commissioned “to make all men see what is the fellowship (or union) of the mystery”. That fellowship or union is the crowning purpose of Christ birth, death, and resurrection. Christ became the life-giving (1Cor 15:45) out of His resurrection (2Cor 3:17a), such that He as the “Spirit of life” then could be received by every man – into their human spirit. Now, by His indwelling and our union with Christ, as being one in spirit, we also are living expressions of the fellowship of the mystery that permits all men to see “the fellowship of the mystery”.

We must come to agree with Paul who wrote 2 Cor. 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore we do not preach the God-man Jesus of Nazareth and all that He said or did in His earthly ministry. Rather, we preach the fruit of the cross – Christ in His celestial ministry. That message is Christ crucified, resurrected and now available as the “Spirit of life” to come and indwell every believer, to be their new and uplifted life, in place of their old life. Though we rarely hear this message in its simplicity, it alone is the gospel for today in “the dispensation of the grace of God”.

The fellowship of the mystery is the fruitful union we may now have with Him, who now is our only indwelling life (Col 3:4a), and Lord (Rom 10:9). No greater “mystery” could exist than the union of God and man, being one in spirit. The core of Paul’s gospel is not “Jesus died for your sins”, though Paul is the one who explains that fact to us as a “first” step (1Cor 15:3) of His message. No, Paul saw beyond our reconciliation by Christ’s blood and death (Rom 5:10), he saw to the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose (Eph 3:11) that was in Christ before the world began. Paul preached Christ crucified, and now living in and through the believers. Col. 1:27b-28a …this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach… Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The Fellowship of the Mystery

On the March break my wife and I for the first time in our marriage of 33 years were able to get the same week off together....thank you Jesus!
Friends of ours that use to live in Connecticut that had retired and moved to Florida had invited us down several times, thing is, as much as we would have loved to go and reconnect, it was not an viable option, until this year...long story short we went.

I am going to be sharing over the next short while four parts of something my friend and brother wrote, it has been and continues to bless and encourage me and my wife as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the lover of our soul, the Lord Jesus Christ.

No wonder our brother Paul prayed for the church which is His body, that the eyes of our heart would be opened to see and know His purpose for the saints.

Rich


Our Union with Christ - The Head of the Body
Is "The Fellowship of the Mystery"

By Arthur J Licursi

Part 1 of 4

Col. 1:18-20 And he (Christ) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness (repletion) dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile (fully) all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
In "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph 3:2), Christ is the Head of the Body, which is the church. There was no "church, which is His body" (Eph 1:22b, 23a) in previous dispensations. We today are "branches," "vessels," "temples," "slaves," "body members," of and for Christ who manifests Himself by His nature in us, through us, and as us, as we enjoy our spirit union with Him.

The New Testament uses many metaphors to describe our union with Christ, but, the term "body of Christ" is not a metaphor, since it literally is true. Let’s consider some of these metaphors.

In John 15:1 Christ is seen as the vine tree and we are the branches. This speaks of our utter dependence upon the flow of His life that is made possible by our union with the resurrected "Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:2a, 1Cor 15:45, 6:17, 2Cor 3:17a), which came by our having received Christ.

In Romans 11:17 Christ is seen as the root of the tree, and in Isa 53:2 He is the prophesied "root out of dry ground". He alone is the root life-source who is not dependent upon any external supply. Jn 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. Thus, by our union with His Spirit in our spirit (1Cor 6:17), we may find a fully sufficient Christ to be our all, both now and for eternity.

Paul writes of the one loaf of the body of Christ in … 1 Cor. 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. How do we interpret the one bread with the One body? This "one bread" is a metaphor for the reality of the one body of Christ. Paul is the only writer who uses the term "body of Christ"; this is because it is part and parcel of the mystery (secret) gospel that was revealed to him by the ascended, celestial Christ (Gal 1:12), for us (Eph 3:1). We, who are of "the church, which is his body" are those who have been regenerated in the time of "the dispensation of the grace of God"; we are the one bread in full union with the "the bread of life" Himself (John 6:48). He is our inner content as the One who constitutes this one bread, entirely.

Here Paul uses the loaf of bread and the constituent unity of each grain of milled wheat, as a metaphor to demonstrate the union we have with Christ and each other by our becoming constituted with Christ as our life-content. He is in us, as the many individual grains of wheat constituting the loaf, and by this He then is also the whole bread.

We each contain all of Christ’s Spirit, by which we are complete ( Col 2:9-10). Jesus said, God does not give His spirit "by measure" (Jn 3:34). He, with His life and nature, indwells each of us individually, yet he is not divided in parts. He is totally in each of us, and yet also He is in us together as His whole body. As there are many individual grains of wheat in one loaf of bread, there are many members of the One Body of Christ, which is the church collectively.

This Isn't My Mail

Say you and I are neighbours, we both shop at a certain store and we both receive in the mail our monthly statement, thing is, this time the mailman (that's what I do for a living~deliver the mail-ha) puts your statement in my box and mine in yours.
Without even looking at who it was addressed to I open it up and discover a huge amount charged to me and in a flash I phone the store and immediately ensure them there has been some kind of mistake...I did not make the said purchase on my bill.
They ask for my account #, I rattle it off to them, only to discover with great chagrin, it is not my account, not my bill..not my mail.

I see what has been happening for a very long time within churchianity, I believe as it clearly says that ALL scripture has been written for us, but not everything is TO us!
Reading someone else's mail is what most of us do, very much like my illustration of mistakenly getting someone else's mail in my mail box.

No wonder there is such consternation within our lives, trying desperately to make it (the scriptures) all line up, heck, some have even used their trusty jig-saws and saying, see how it all fits so nicely together.

Just a thought here, as Moses was the mouth piece of God to the Jews, maybe Paul our brother is the Moses to us in Christ, and maybe in hearing what the Father has said TO us, as Paul has said in his letters, we will be established in all that the Father has purposed for us.

On a side note here and yet I see it fitting in very rightly, plus no use of a jig-saw whatsoever~ha!

As I am seeing more clearly in what is to me in the scriptures vs what is for me, I see such an emphasis upon a 'kingdom' mindset that permeates so many believers today, especially amongest those outside of the institutional churches.
As I was reading today in the letters of Paul, the overwhelming weight seemed to rest upon the choice of wording in the following, 'the body, which is the church.' Nowhere is there a mentioning of any kingdom thinking, I wonder why that is?
As a good friend once said to me, Rich, who or what is closer to you, your wife or your body? I think it is my body.
Is He the Head of the one body He calls the church, or is it about reading someone else's mail, maybe that written to the Jews and thinking, hey, we want to be part of the kingdom club as well?

Rich

The Murder Mystery

Was Jesus trying to alter/change the society he lived in for a mere three decades, or was all of humanity brought to the cross in the last Adam~Christ? A place where this previous race (in the first Adam) was terminated, and another was being germinated.

What will a person give in exchange for their soul? Apart from knowing Him (God) as our only Life, at best its but dust blowing in the wind, as the philosophers and singers chime.

There is only One reality and it is found in Him, Christ Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. It is not found in being of the right social or economic or racial or whatever standing, otherwise, this gospel of so called good news is but for the limited few, much like the hyped up message called the 'Secret' that will only work for the few at best.

In coming to know Him as our only Life, no matter where or what we face as human beings, we can turn to the I AM that now indwells us, to BE to us whatever we stand in need of.

Rich

Instinct, Behavior, or Life?

The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.

In the Greek the word 'law,' means to self-regulate. There are external laws trying regulate us, i.e. behavior conforming to an outer regulation. In us is the regulating law of Life, that life is the very life of Christ in us the hope of glory.
Here is where things get muddy, meaning, if there is a self-regulating law, (an internal law) one full of Life, why do we need any substitutes or anyone trying to take the place of the spirit of God in directing us?

Isn't it a wonder seeing for i.e. that hidden but ever working law called instinct within the animal world, geese knowing just when to fly south, also the butterflies doing the same, salmon knowing innately when its time to swim up stream to spawn in the very place they were birthed?

How much more of a wonder is it in what Christ has done, putting within man a law of Life that far transcends mere instinct, a self-governing, regulating law, and we are but merely co-operating with that law of Life.

Is it possible to be in that group that according to scripture is, 'ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth'? Meaning, if there is NO witness of the spirit of God with/in our spirit that we are in fact a child of God, then no matter how much we learn, it will remain in the realm of behavior vs an inner self-regulating law of Life.

Maybe if we knew that we have in fact been certified okay by God himself, that much if not all condemnation most Christians seem to be plagued with would simply be displaced?

Rich

Making A Difference

It's like the after quakes from a major earth quake, and that major earth quake I see being when man disobeyed God. Those rippling shock waves infected and affected a whole race of people born out of Adam and Eve.
The trauma and devastation that has permeated each soul born into this world may not be evident or readily seen at first, but sooner or later, as in, like what goes up has to come down, what has been hidden from view under a thin veneer, covering the 'best of lives' will become evident, a need to be loved.

Apart from experiencing the present and endless love of God in Christ Jesus, there is little hope or reason for wanting to delay the inevitable awaiting each of us.
I love the reality that is bursting slowing into my world, and with it bringing such sobriety.
Is it really any different than it was 2,000 years ago when the God man showed up and how as he grew as a man and God, without few exceptions, nobody knew that Jesus was God in the flesh. Not since the fall of man had God been able to come into man's world without terrorizing him...He was incognito.
Is that not what is happening today, once again He is incognito in me, and others?

My wife shared with me some very real battles she faces that I don't see being particularly unique to herself, but none the less very real. Many on her staff compliment. praise and affirm her in her being so patient, kind, considerate etc toward her children at school.
Somehow she thinks, if they only knew the selfish me, would they be so inclined to freely say such wonderful and kind things?

What appeared to be most evident to me with her dilemma was sharing this with her. Jesus said we were to live in such a way that in all that we do, people would see through our actions-works, Him our Heavenly Father.
I encouraged her to know that those, how ever far away in seeing or knowing this 'from a distance God', were in fact seeing Him in and through her actions, a least a wonderful glimpse of Him, and His heart for those that do not believe in Him yet.
I encouraged her to acknowledge Him in all of this, Hey Jesus, Father, look and listen to what all these people are saying about YOU!!

If we are not coming into contact with His loving heart for us, we will simply exist, putting in time until we check out, but in experiencing the one and only true source of unconditional love, it will continue to free me/us to be a self-for-others. Being aware, of His love for others around us, frees us in so many different ways to simply love people, with no agenda other than having freely received of His love wanting to express it in tangible everyday ways.

It is becoming very evident to me as I continue to grow and learn of His love for me, that in my daily involvement and interacting with others that the Living God I know as my Father, is touching these very people in ways that go far beyond my understanding.

Rich

Coming Into The Light

I wonder if we view our Father's correction through the eyes/mindset of shame, how can we not perceive Him actually rejecting us?
Without the needed ongoing correction being brought into our lives (the proof of His love is in fact, Him correcting us) we will have His image in us but not His likeness.

Hebrews 12:7-9 (The Message)

In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! 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. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

Maybe it's because of not knowing/seeing the truth of who we are (how we ARE accepted in Him) and who we are becoming, that the only recourse for so many is in trying to obey the rules, making the outside of the cup to look so pretty, while all the time hidden inside is one cowering in shame.
Without coming to know of our acceptance in the Father's love, we will work hard at being known for who we're not....'If folks really knew me, they would reject me.' If we believe God (the Father) sees us as losers, then why try to be someone we're not?

One of the greatest benefits of walking free of this shame, is being set free to BE the person He has called us to be, before sin ever entered the world.

Rich

Not Kingdom People, But Family

Many Christians speak of being "kingdom people."
The point of Christianity, as many see it, is to get into the kingdom of God, or to take hold of the kingdom.
This mistaken idea is another offshoot of the lack of clear understanding about not only who we are, but also about relationship. Many in the body do not understand their true relationship with the Father. God has only two roles--that of King and that of Father. What many Christians do not understand is that the role of Father is more precious to God than the role of King. God is King over all creation. Every person on the face of the earth will one day acknowledge God's sovereignty. However, only God's children can call Him "Father." We often do not understand that the kingdom refers to the nation of Israel, not to Christians. It was never God's intention that we were to become kingdom people. Our relationship is deeper and more intimate than a kingdom relationship.

Many of Jesus' teachings show that there is a definite difference between the kingdom people and the children of God, for example, "I say unto you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:11-12)
How can Jesus say both that many will come to the kingdom and that the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown out? Obviously, Jesus speaks here of two different kingdoms.

The first kingdom Christ refers to in this passage is the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom is the family of God. The second kingdom mentioned is the kingdom of earthly people, or Israel. Being members of God's family is a relational matter which is not dissolvable. Membership in an earthly kingdom is a temporary state of affairs and can change with changing situations. It is for this reason that when a Jew accepts Christ, he is reborn and ceases to be a Jew. Just as anyone who accepts Christ ceases to be who they once were and becomes something new--a Christ-person (2 Corinthians 5:17).
If the idea of loosing your national, racial, or cultural identity is offensive to you, there is a question you need to ask yourself. You need to ask yourself, "Is my culture or racial identity more important to me than Christ?"

Too often, the people of the family of God are trying to establish themselves in a lower place that God would have for them. Often the Father's children try to be citizens of an earthly nation or God's employees or to engage in some other non-personal relationship. God's desire, however, is that we should have a personal relationship with Him. God seeks from us intimacy in our relationship with Him. God desires the intimacy of family relationship, because this is a permanent state of relation. It is because God is eternal that He desires permanence in His relations with us. Employees are hindered and fired. Citizens can be exiled or banished. But children are children forever. It is the permanent family relationship that God desires to have with us.

Rich

Excerpt taken from my good friend Bill Lnadon, from his book, Life In The Leper Colony

Darkness, Trying To Be Light

In my opinion, what was offered in the garden of Eden, was a heart relationship with God the Father. That was not fully realized in that they (man) choose to accept the lies of another father, the 'father of lies' as Jesus referred to him.

There is no sense in trying to copy something that has no intrinsic value, you won't see any bogus brown paper lunch bags being made, why, they are of little worth.

What was being offered on the baited hook of the serpents offer to Adam and Eve was in its purest form, nothing but religion, in fact I see Satan disguised as the serpent being the father of all religion. Could the heart beat of religion be, that Satan wanted to be worshiped as god?

In giving man the freedom to choose, i.e. the two trees in the garden,God was setting man up so that he could serve somebody....Bob Dylan sang a song about that I think?
Man was created to be dependent upon another for the impetus to be propelled forward in his living, the lie or at least part of it was that he, in listening to the serpent, thought he could be self-propelled. (self-governed)

Question, how can that which was created to be dependent upon another ever become independent? Man choosing to imbibe in the lie, saw himself becoming what appeared to be, independent.

Is it a religious contract the Father offers to us today, our is it to know Him? I am come that you might have Life!!

Rich

He is the Life-Way-Reality

It's not our ideas that define the truth-reality, it is Him in us wanting to bring us into the Truth, defining that which is real.
This realness (reality) will be the only thing that can transform us-set us free..free from what, evil, bad stuff? No, more often than not what I see Him setting me free from is anything that has tried to take the place of knowing Him as my all.

Is it possible to have a 'faith' passed down to us by others, as it was in the case of Job..the basis of his faith hinged upon the repeated oral teachings from father to son.
It was only after all hell was loosed upon Job that he was brought into contact with the One who allowed this hellish nightmare to be unleashed in his life.
His faith-relationship was now dependent upon the truth of seeing God for himself.

Job answered God: "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans.You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?'I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head.You told me, 'Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.'I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."

Who do you say that I AM?

Rich

His Life, The True Matrix

After reading something from another blog, I would like to share my thoughts here.

‘Once you’ve stepped out of the bonds of organized religion and come face to face with the fresh reality of your relationship with your Father, something slowly begins to happen.’

I’m wondering about your thought here? Is/was ‘organized religion’ restricted/confined within a set place/building/program etc?
Where it talks about not letting the world squeeze us into its mold, (but be transformed by the living breathing Matrix of Christ in you) maybe speaks of the fact that all/the whole world outside of knowing Christ as our only Life is religion in one form, flavor or color?

I often see this kind of thinking, that it all ends by stepping away from the building/temple worship and all that clings to that one expression of religion, but in fact the father of religion is resident within all flesh, relentlessly appealing to our yet imperfect soul to imbibe in something not necessarily bad/evil, but in fact a mere substitute for Him as our All.

Rich

A Consuming Fire

What is about to be unleashed upon the earth is a storm unparalleled, this will eclipse all other storms, and yet He speaks to me, 'Let not your heart be troubled (unbelieving) be of good cheer, for I have over come the world.'

I am beginning to recognize that the physical storms are nothing in and of them selves, but they must come to bring to the surface the truth of what/Who is real in me.Jesus spoke long ago to His disciples, follow me, it has not changed, He speaks to me/us today, Follow Me.
I will never face, or overcome the storms of life while pretending there are no storms hidden within my soul.

You have breathed your Life/breath into me, the wind of your Spirit is wreaking havoc from deep within, oh how I welcome this Holy terror, this impenetrable darkness gnaws at my bones, come devour me.

Rich

Try me, and know my anxieties

"Many of us have been brought up to believe that to judge is wrong but to discern is alright; judgment is negative, discernment is positive. Somehow discerning and perceiving sounds much better (and more 'spiritual') to us than 'judging'. However, our English dictionaries define discernment as judgment and judgment as "discernment - making critical distinctions to achieve a balanced viewpoint".


Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!

Father, the longing of my being is to see You, to have a singleness of vision. Make my eye single, that my whole body might be filled with Light.

Rich