The God Who Overcomes. . . Us

Jesus is alive and real. . .  yet how do we act?

In reality, we who claim to know Jesus often act the same as the rest of the world. Essentially, we act as if He were not real. We live our lives day by day, sometimes applying the principles that we have diligently studied through Scripture. We go to a place we call church on Sundays. . . where we make our sacrifices, maybe feel regret about our lives, possibly just zone out, but ultimately we feel better after going. We leave saying, "How refreshing to be in the house of the Lord."

But is that what refreshment really is? Is that what the living water is? Do we grow hungry once more? Do we find the fulfillment of a life that has been made NEW? The water from the well that DOES NOT go dry but wells up inside of us, satisfying us with an unfailing, everlasting love?

If we are honest, the answer is probably 'no.'

So what is real life, this Living Water? Is it the same as the thing we call, "the Christian life"? A life where we believe that THINGS are bad, and we shouldn't do them. So for example, don't steal because it's bad, don't drink because it's bad, don't have sex before marriage because it's bad, don't kill because it's bad. And other things are good . . . reading the Bible, going to church, talking about God, praying, giving, witnessing. These are the things we ought to do. . . to please God, right?

But...what about our hearts? Do you not see that despite all of our efforts to pursue "holiness," there is a much darker law at work within our hearts? That we actually desire to do the very things we are taught not to do. Despite what we know to be right, we actually hunger for sin. We hunger for ourselves.

"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me." For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to GOD through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans 7)

This reflection by Paul gives thoughtful reflection upon Jesus' own words, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." So... do we simply give an intellectual nod of assent to this statement but continue to live as Jesus and Paul are describing? If we do, it is the very indication that we merely have a mindful understanding of who Jesus is, not a redemptive salvation by the powerful and living God through the Spirit of Jesus that comes to live within your heart.

Isn't this what the normal Christian life is, though? A daily battle against sin, a struggle, an uphill journey every day, hard work? Isn't this normal?

No!!! If the Spirit of Christ has truly come to live in us, then Jesus has set us FREE from all these things. Freedom even from the desire for such things that we know lead to death. Freedom from our very selves. Just as Paul said, 'What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?' The answer is . . . JESUS. Jesus Himself in Spirit and in TRUTH. He HAS given us eternal life. . .  'a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 2 Corinthians 3:6

Put to death all these qualities of the flesh (Col 3:5,8). For a child of God is not someone who looks like they are or even feels like they are, it is the one who IS one inwardly . The one who is circumcised with a circumcision not done with hands. A circumcision of the heart, and what does that mean? It means to cut off all that makes you, you. This is done not by you yourself but by the Spirit of God. If you try to cut off your sinful flesh by not doing "bad" things anymore, you will find nothing but emptiness and a lack of success. (Rom 2:29) For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if your heart is willing, the Spirit of God will put the way of your self to death by HIS power. (Rom 8:13) This is what it means to be circumcised without hands. (Col 2:11) This is what it means to put off your old self and take on the new. (Eph 4:22-24) For whoever does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The REASON the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:8-9)

"Ok, yeah, I believe in Jesus," we say. "I am a Christian and I have a personal relationship with God. But I still don't know what you're talking about. I struggle with sin every day."

But I tell you, to believe is to receive. He who claims to believe yet has not received demonstrates that their hearts are in reality still a desert that have not yet been filled and made fertile by the water of Life. Jesus has simply called you to come. . . to Him. To repent. This means to turn not from "sinful acts' or "bad things' but to turn from YOU. This is where the real test, the real trial is revealed. But if you are thirsty enough, if you have realized that your heart is really a desert that needs the water of Life, then you will LISTEN! 

"Whoever is thirsty, let him come, and whoever wishes, let him take of the free gift of the water of life."(Revelation 22:17) The free gift is not Jesus died for me so that I can try hard to do things and please God. The free gift is Jesus actually cleansing my sinful heart and filling my heart with HIS heart. . . a heart that truly pleases God. 

God is pleased with nothing less. :)

It has been foretold for ages of a time where:

'The captives will be set free'

'They will beat their swords into plowshares'

'The salt water will become fresh'

'His children will never thirst nor hunger'

'God will set up a Kingdom that will never be destroyed'

'Many will be purified, made spotless and refined'

'His children will be betrothed to God forever'

'Christ will present us holy, without blemish, and free'

'God will not be worshiped in temples/buildings'

'His children will have the mind of Christ, knowing even the deep things of God'

'We will no longer be slave to sin'

'Christ will live in our hearts'

'We will have a new self'

'The lawless one will be revealed and destroyed'

'The God of peace will crush Satan under our feet'

'God will destroy the sinful kingdom' (which is within our hearts)

He is the God who overcomes . . . who you are.

What EVERY Christian needs to know about relationships

Relationships...the topic everyone wants to know about, right?

But... if you are reading this right now, first of all, take a moment to ask your heart, "why did I click on this post?"

It's because you are interested in knowing how to improve your relationships, of course. Maybe how to get into a relationship, maybe how to improve the one you are in, how to understand the women in your life, or the men in your life, maybe even to "see what God thinks" about relationships.You want fulfillment in your relationships, you want love, satisfaction, happiness. This is what we all want.

But what if the title of this post was "What Every Christian needs to know about letting him/herself die so that Christ would live instead" ? Would you still be interested in knowing more?

Because actually...God is not concerned about your relationships with the opposite sex. He's also not concerned about serving YOU. He is concerned about who YOU are dying. Your flesh dying. Your normal desires dying. It is only when these die in you that Christ's life can be manifested fully in you.

If you're reading this then you need to know that you are in the wrong spirit. The purpose of life is not to satisfy your own heart, but the opposite--to bear your cross.

The wrong spirit that lead you here IS death--the death of which God spoke when He said to Adam in the garden, 'If you eat of the fruit you will die.' It was not the fruit itself that was the problem; it was the abandoning of obedience to God's gentle and loving direction. Instead of living by the image in which He was made, Adam relied on his own mind, deciding for himself what was good and bad. Since the fall we have relied on the thoughts and decisions of our own minds and imaginations to direct our lives; but the imagination of all men is wrong. Our normal way of thinking actually fights against God and is unwilling/unable to submit to Him.

So today, when God allows pain and suffering to happen in our lives, or when we don't have what we want--whether it is a relationship, or money, a job, food, good health, power, etc... our 'normal way' of thinking screams "BAD!!!" It is natural for us to be offended and recoil away from God in this way, labeling it bad, evil, or the work of the devil--when in fact it is God. That recoiling is the evidence that the most important thing in our lives is ourselves. God's purpose in sending Jesus was actually to destroy this nature and replace it with a new one. It was NOT to let us keep all of our normal desires and then fit Jesus into our life somehow. We cannot fit HIM into OUR lives. He came to end OUR lives, to replace OUR nature with the ' the mind of Christ... The Holy Spirit Himself.

Some words from Jesus to consider:
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me...And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

"So likewise, whoever does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple...For whoever would save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."

We ought to say: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved  me and gave Himself for me."

When these things are true in our lives, I mean really true...why would we need, or even want, to click on blog posts seeking advice about the relationships that I think would bring ME happiness?