IN CASE OF CONFUSION

Just in case there is any confusion about my last post I believe that as we become conformed to the image of Christ then we do out of that. We are to be obedient but that obedience needs to bring forth the works that will stand up to fire. If we do it out of our flesh, not out of our love and BEing in Christ then we produce hay, straw and stubble. We are not different than the Pharisees.

Christ said to make disciples. We have a choice to walk in love or flesh and from there share the gospel but we will either bring people into an atmosphere where God's love and ways are wonderful or into a religious institution where condemnation is heard more often than forgiveness and growth are experienced or just feel good that we led them to Christ and leave them. Disciples are made through time and caring...

Where's the Love

Yesterday I went with my daughter, son-in-law and their 3 sons to a "seeker sensitive" church. My son-in-law needs Jesus. He needs to know how much Father truly loves him. What we found was do do do. The entire service was so oriented on doing that I wanted to weep.

It began with some old praise and worship songs. Then went into a one person skit. She was talking to God about His wanting obedience and how, in essence, she couldn't live up to His expectations. It went on to her father and how she had wanted to please him and whenever he wanted something he'd order her to get it and never say, "thank you". It seemed to me what it was about was wanting relationship and not finding it with her natural dad so she couldn't find it with Father. She ended by saying, "I'd just like you to tell me Thanks for the coffee". I knew exactly how she felt. BUT GOD has brought me past that; however, the skit didn't.

That made me want to weep, then scream. God's love goes so far beyond that and when we get a revelation of that we start to BE. From that we can then do. I now know he was talking to me and wrapping His arms around me but fear kept it away. The church we visited is so caught up in doing that they never thought to bring God into this skit as He wants to be. They don't seem to know Him that way. And neither did most of the churches I've ever attended.

Religion said, "You HAVE to be here when the doors are open or you are not spiritual", etc. Guilt/condemnation...the pastor's message was full of guilt and condemnation...I want NO MORE of it. I want JESUS! I want Father! I want the Holy Spirit.

A few years ago I was talking to God about not being able to feel His love. It came from the same thing as the skit...I'd never be good enough. And I told God that I knew I didn't love Him like I should. That His Word says I love Him because He first loved me and that I really needed a life changing revelation of that love. It's come! and will continue to come! I am being and from that the desire to love Him and others His way is seeping forth. It will eventually gush forth. I now desire to obey Him because He truly loves me and wants the best for me. I know it deep down. Transformation is happening.

God wants us restored to who He meant us to be. He wants us conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-30). But it is His work that does all that. It is our yielding to Him that brings the changes. We can not be or do on our own. We can't save ourselves, He provided that. We can't love on our own, we respond to His love so again He provided the way. He has to give us what He wants because on our own we can't do it. I couldn't be holy on my own. He knows I tried and failed miserably. And so it is with all He wants for us. He provides it.

His love for me is amazing. It's always been there, it's just been polluted with religion and the expectations of others and performance Christianity. If I do all the right things without love then I'm sounding brass. But if I obey God out of a heart of love there is joy!

My son-in-law won't talk to me about Jesus, yet. He needs to know that love that I have and have been doing my best to give, without preaching to my family. Father, Help me and your people GET it and give it to others.

DELIGHT

After Jesus' Baptism He heard:
You are My beloved Son;
I take delight in You! (Holman translation)

When I read this a flood hit my spirit and soul--wonderful God flood.

First I was imagining how Jesus would have felt. Because His father was not his biological father there is a chance He would not have had Bar Mitzvah. This is the time when Jewish boys are validated by thier fathers. Jesus' Father validated Him in an incredible display! Since everything Jesus did on earth was done in His humanity He would have had some kind of emotion about this. From a human standpoint I think it would have been pleasing, exciting, liberating, encouraging and a lot more adjectives besides.

Secondly, it hit me that in this translation they made what was said more PERSONAL. There was something about say, "I delight"...that really spoke to my heart. Then I realized how often we have de-personalized the Gospel. I do not believe this has been intentional but it has happened. Somehow the Gospel was presented to my intellect, not to my heart. The Holy Spirit has been taking it there but when I got saved I repented of my sins and received Jesus as my Savior, even though the words "Come into my heart forever" were part of what I said my intellect was what grew. In fact having an emotional response was taught against. We were not to experience anything spiritual. Yet God wanted to touch me spirit, soul and body. There have been people who prayed for me and I knew deep down that what they were saying came directly from Father to me. Other times I have known the truth of their prayers but the heart of Father was missing.

I have lots of Bible Knowledge but am just getting to know Jesus experientially. Rejection by people and the fear of Father rejecting me caused a fear I was not aware of and it kept Jesus at arm's length. Thankfully that deception has been routed and my relationship with Him is deepening and becoming exciting. I sense Father saying that He's delighting in me too.

Compound National Stronghold: Gossip

A few mornings ago a friend was awakened with this:
Compound national stronghold: GOSSIP.

As I've thought about this The Holy Spirit has been showing me things, how He's worked on me in the past and where this is going.


PROVERBS 18:21 Death and Life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it eat it's fruit. When I realized that this meant I needed to watch my mouth (about 10 years or so ago) God started showing me how often I spoke "death". Not only did I not say loving things to people when I was upset but I gossiped and that is a form of death speaking. There was a time in my life that gossip helped me feel better about myself. If I pointed a finger at someone else then maybe I was better than they were and also maybe someone wouldn't look too closely at me. Root: needed to know God's LOVE for me and others. When I finally got a beginning revelation of that it was easier to have compassion for others. While writing this I heard, "I resist the proud but give grace to the humble". When pointing fingers at someone else pride was there, not humility.
Lately I've been having to be very careful about what I'm saying regarding some people That frustration springs from not liking the way people at my husband's work treat him. For years he and I both spoke "words of death" over them. By that I mean that we talked badly about them, not that we spoke things like I wish they'd die......... BUT GOD has shown us that He's in control, that we need to speak blessings and we don't have a clue what they are rally dealing with in their lives. Most of what I suspect God is showing me right now is my own heart's motives. He's even asking me why I watch so much news and other programs. I'm turning the news off when gossip starts. I always loved reading mysteries and from that came an interesting in the forensic shows, yet there's lot of gossip in them.
In this time of purifying His Body I suspect the core of our thought-life will be challenged and this will have to be implemented: Phil 4: 8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Because out of the abundance of our heart our mouths speak so we have to have His heart in ours.

This is just the beginning of understanding this. There is gossip every where I turn. God says in Romans 1 it is one of the sins worthy of death.

Giving Credit

I just realized I had not given credit in my last two postings for the quotes. They have come from CD's by Graham Cooke. His website is www.grahamcooke.com.

Negative to Positive

A few weeks ago I was in Florida at my DD's house. My 7 year old grandson and I went out walking. During the conversation I noticed, once again, how much negativity was coming out of his mouth. He loves to make-up stories and they had a negative feel and so did his talk about his friends. Later in the day I was "reading" a book to my 2 year old grandson. He kept pointing to pictures of kids crying and kept saying crying. No matter how hard I tried to show him the next page where things were put right, he went back to the crying page. My DGD (dear granddaughter) who lives with us is also 2. She brought a book to me the other night and when it got to the point where the puppies' bones had been stolen she kept pointing out they were crying and like her cousin, just seemed to be stuck on it.

When God created He said, "It is good".

God is Joy along with all His other attributes and that is GOOD. When Satan fell and then caused man to sin he brought us negativity. We read the Word and don't see God's love, we just see what will happen if we don't toe the line. BUT GOD wants us to have His perspective. His view says that He has good plans for us, for good and not for evil. Recently on a teaching CD I heard, "If the thought you have has gotten you to a point you don't want to be -- GET ANOTHER THOUGHT". As we dig into God's Word we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. If we will allow His Spirit to show us what we are thinking and what to replace it with we will find ourselves in a new place--probably the place God meant for us to be to begin with, the place of good and not evil.

PRESENT-PAST OR PRESENT-FUTURE

Recently I heard a question on a teaching CD -- this question:
"Are you living in your Present-past or your Present-future?"

That began me thinking about where I am now compared to 5 years ago and beyond. For years I was controlled by my past, even though I knew I needed to move past it. Things that had hurt me deeply and caused me to have a wrong idea of who I am and who God is hindered me and I allowed that. It was allowed partly because I didn't know how to rid myself of it.

BUT GOD...most people who know me know that is one of my favorite phrases.

BUT GOD showed up, delivered me of some majorly oppressive spirits and brought people into my life who helped me on a path of inner healing. I no longer had to feel that I was useless, would never measure up or any other negative thing. because God sees me differently and HE LOVES ME! Oh, how He loves me. He's been breaking through all my fears of rejection and helping me experience, feel, rejoice in His Love and that makes all the difference.

One day I told Him that I don't know where I belong. He told me, "You belong to me". What more do I want?

So now I know that I know He's with me, loving me and guiding me. I can live in my Present-future now because no matter what He will be there, see me through it and bring good out of it.