RELIGION

Religion is the counterfeit to authentic Christian expression. Christianity becomes religion when the Lordship of Christ is removed from ones' practical expression of life. . .hearing and obeying God.

Religion creates appetites it can not fulfill.
By nature it carries a value for form without power to live the Christ Life.
It carries a value for information and knowledge without experience.
It carries a value for outward appearance over issues of the heart.

Judiasm became religious, settling for form and law, instead of a living relationship with the God who gave it meaning. Hebrews speaks much of this and points us to the New Covenant that Christ ratified by His death. (Isaiah 58 John 5:42 (37-40) John 8:55-56) Hebrews 3 and 4 urge us to enter God's REST. Begin to enjoy retreating within yourself to relax with the indwelling Jesus and listen to Him. Get in touch with His celebrating heart and dance until your fears and negative inner dialogue is silenced.

Ask the Lord to make you aware of the many expressions of the spirit of religion in the church today. Would the Lord say to us what He said in John 10:1-4? (Read the whole chapter. Better yet, read John 10 through 17)

"I have come to lead My sheep out of the sheep pen, and give them abundant life." I think the sheep pen Jesus refers to is Judiasm. It had become a religion of rules, law that condemned, restricted God-fearing men from enjoying God and recognizing the Messiah when He came.

Labor to enter into His REST. The labor here refers to a determination to make time for your soul to rest. "Come away My beloved." Hear Jesus call you? Don't keep Him waiting due to busyness.

A DOMINATING IMPACT

The Church of Jesus Christ is to be a dominating influence, prevailing against the kingdom of darkness. It has been commissioned to carry on the works of the Lord Jesus and to do even greater things than He did.

How could anyone think that a dominating influence could be brought about by violence and force? The Crusades are a dark blot on the history of Christianity, but remember that this does not represent the heart of the Father. When the disciples wanted to call down fire on some trouble makers, Jesus said, "You do not know of what spirit you are speaking."

Put these two together: We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and strength AND we are to love our neighbor as ourself.

Is it really possible to force one to love? Don't we create and draw love out of another by loving them with tenderness and appreciation? This is how the Lord Jesus treated those around Him. We who are called by His name will be known by the way that we love. We may be surprised at the end of life that God will reward us for how well we loved, rather than the volume of our accomplishments.

In the light of our crumbling world order, we may soon be called on to let go of many hopes and dreams of this temporary life and test our spiritual promises to actually see God's Kingdom coming in power and authority through us, as Heaven sees it.

God plans is to do far beyond anything we can ask and think through those who love Him better than life. Ephesians 3:20

The Church of Jesus Christ will have a dominating impact on the world before Jesus comes in bodily form, to the praise of all the world.

WORSHIP START WITH SEEING JESUS

"Worship starts with seeing You. Our hearts rejoice at Your revelation, Lord." as Matt Redman sings in his album Face Down.

You are the only true God:
Holy One
Worthy One
Famous One
Righteous One
Faithful One

I behold You. . . .Lamb. . .Lion
You are the reason I sing. . .the reason I bow down.

All my fresh springs are in You Lord.


The Lord upholds all who fall
He lifts all who are bowed down with care.
The Lord opens His arms to bid me come to Him.


I am not a victim of this godless society.
I am not a victim to deception from the spirit of the age.
I am not a victim to bondage from my personal brokenness
BECAUSE the "three-in-one" God has come to live in me.

I have a Helper for my infirmities. Roman 8
. . . .Counselor as my life coach. John 14
. . . .Shepherd, for I am sheep like. John 10 Psalms 23
. . . .Father who never takes His eyes off of me. Hebrews 13:5
. . . .Healer to make me whole. I Peter 2:24 Psalms 103
. . . .Revealer of all Truth. I can know His heart and His will. John 15

You are a God who communicates with Your human creation. John 14 & 15
You have given me ears to hear, a heart that understands, a will to obey and to follow You.
You have opened my heart/mind to receive revelation knowledge from the throne of the universe.

GOD IS MY STRONGHOLD

God is a stronghold in the time of trouble. God takes care of those who take refuge in Him.

"I, Adonai your God, say to you, as I hold your right hand with my right hand.
Do not be afraid! Because I am with you.
Do not fear! Because I am your God.
Do not be distressed! Because I give you help.
I support you always with My victorious right hand. I say to you, Have no fear!"

Even though Isaiah 41:8-10 13-14 is God's message to the Hebrew nation, it expresses His heart to each one of us and the Body of Christ.

Visualize Jesus before you, extending His right hand. You take His hand and He steps behind you, still holding your right hand with His right hand. As Jesus's arms embrace you from around your shoulders, you feel so secure. If you lean against Him, you feel His heart beat, strong and steady. . .not fearful. If you need to hear a word of encouragement or direction, your ears are close enough to hear His whisper.

Now visualize Jesus melting into your body, filling the space you call you.

This is my reality. And it is your reality if you believe that you are in Christ and He is in you. Union Oneness

Lord, You are my hiding place
my resting place
my laughing place where joy abounds with You.

THE WORKS AND CHARACTER OF CHRIST

"Whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do. Yes indeed! Whoever trusts me will go greater works, because I am going to the Father." John 14:10-14

Jesus, am I doing SOME of the works You did? My authenticity as a disciple rests on me releasing You in me to continue your life and works.

You loved people unconditionally. You looked beyond their faults and saw their needs. And you did something about their need. Shouldn't I be able to do the same as you did, since You are in me? "I am in the Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you." John 14:20

You interceeded for those who were enemies. "Father forgive them. They know not what they do." You told us followers that whose sins we remit, they would be remitted. My emotions & judgments sure do get in the way of that. I choose not to lean on my understanding of any thing, but look to You. Unfortunately, too often the church wants to call fire down on those who don't walk in line with us. You reminded the disciples, "You do not know of what spirit that desire is."

You took authority over the elements when needed. Multiplying food to feed a multitude was part of the disciple's training for "reigning in life by Christ". How often You rebuked the discipes for fear and helplessness in the face of a presenting problem. Would I have climbed out of the boat as Peter did at Your invitation to defy gravity and walk on water? You were so pleased with peter's response; unlike the rebuke earlier of fear, victim mentality, and helplessness.

You moved in authority over the works of the devil in the souls of men. You healed the sick, raised the dead, brought freedom to the captives, and You expected the disciples to do so. You were training them to continue the works that You did to bring glory to the Father and advance the Kingdom.

I am learning to express God's heart of love and compassion toward those who are not like me. I want to move away from legalism that causes a spirit of criticism and judgment. I want to live in limitless power in union with You, Jesus. I can release your peace into a place of conflict and agitation so that calmness reigns again. I can release anything Jesus was and did because He is in me being who He is. I am learning to stand firm against all the works of the devil by declaring the superior works of God. Greater is God whose works are life, peace, joy and truth; than the enemy's works of death and destruction, deception and accusation. I will continue to contend for "greater works" Jesus promised.

Lord, I give you permission to do whatever is needed in me to make me an open Heaven. Thy Kingdom come (at my core heart level)so that Father's will can be done in my enviornment as it is in Heaven.

What grace, that God would allow us, even insists that we be part of the transformation of what we have all but destroyed. We do not have to be defeated by our fleshly passions. I have agonized over why the Church is in such a weakened state. Why is it so hard to move into the WORKS AND CHARACTER of Jesus Christ? I do not think that each individual saint will do all the works Jesus did, but we have the ability because of Christ in us. We are all in different places in our journey, but collectively the Church ought to be a healing, nourishing place, where each can grow up into Christ, being real about our struggles. We ought to be able to minister in power to those in need the same way Jesus modled, seeing measurable results. Everyone does not have to flow in all the gifts, but people ought to be able to find help for any problem in a healthy family of Believers. We preach transformation of life, power, peace and joy because of our union with Christ, but what does the world usually experience when they enteract with the traditional evangelical church?

And what are the greater works we should be doing? Stop and think about it.

INCARNATIONAL REALITY

Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Fahter." "I am united with the Father and the Father is united with me. What I say and do is not my own initiative. The Father living in me is doing His own works. Trust me, that I am ONE with the Father, but if you can't because I tell you so, trust because of the works themselves."

Jesus seems to be saying that the works he does should validate who he says he is.

Then comes the shocker:
"Yes indeed! I tell you that whoever trust in me will also do the works I do."

This has always disturbed me. Why do so many American Christians believe that the time of signs and wonders, miracles of healing and the authority to confront the darkness is over? When miracles do happen, we are never sure of the source of the miracle. We are very skeptical that it even happened as reported. Yet, Jesus expected the people to trust him based on the works He did.

Much of the Church today assigns the miraculous to be the works of the devil, when once they were the very things Jesus said affirmed the authenticity of one who was united to the Father.

Jesus was the incarnation of the Father. He represented Him perfectly and his works represented the heart of the Father flowing through Jesus. He has called us and commissioned us to do the same things he did. Jesus is in us, ready to live the same way he did in his human body.

Isn't the New Testament clear that the redeemed "whosoevers" are to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ the Son?

Is it reasonable to think that, for the first time in history, God would strip His followers of power and the tools to face the darkness that is increasing in these End Times?

Shouldn't the world say about us, "if we don't see the works Jesus did, then maybe you are not authentic." Think about it.

OH TO LOVE LIKE GOD LOVES

God's love is so extravagant that most of us have trouble receiving it freely. We may know better on the conscious level, but we feel strongly that our wrong choices, our weaknesses, our failures must hinder God's love and more certainly, our usefullness in Kingdom building.

God's grace also gives us a problem. How can it be true that God would take on Himself the judgement and condemnation we deserve, inorder to gain our love, inorder that He might restore us to Himself and to our original assignment.

Grace to me means that God's love covers all my defects, lack, wrong motivations, self-serving empulses, mixed motives of service, my easy fear, anger and hurt feelings. . . .you get the idea.

And His love whispers to my shame, "No condemnation. I forgive you. Go share My love and grace."



God's grace treats me with tenderness and compassion. So why do I find myself so easily moved to impatience and irritation with my husband? Why do I expect more out of him than I myself can give. Why do I find it so easy to endulge in self-pity and worse, to justify my negative attitude and hurt feelings? Grow up Liz! Grow into His love and grace.

Why do we separate from one another when we disagree in opinions, doctrine, ways of worship? God's grace does not treat me differently when I fail to interpret Scriptures correctly. I am still learning and changing in my understanding of God and His ways. God sees that my heart longs for truth and to know His heart. This should guide me as I respond to those who see things differently and are in another place of pilgrimage. We are all God's work in progress.

I am learning to lift to the Lord those I strongly disagree with or fear or those I feel disgust for. My ego wants to glow with pride that I am not where they are. I may be in a better place, but I see the seeds of deception in me and the potential for me is the same.

As the Spirit of love and mercy prompts me, I now see me stand in their place and I meditate and pray, expanding four short statements.
I am so sorry.
Forgive me.
Thank You Father.
I love You Lord.

I believe this honors the Lord who stood in for me and asked the Father to forgive me, for I know not what I am doing, nor understand as I ought.