"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to Yahweh your Elohim, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
~Joel 2:13
I've been thinking about the term "dying daily" recently (1 Cor. 15:31). And I think it means something subtly different than what many Christians assume.
"But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation." ~Colossians 1:22
The truth in Messiah is that we've already died, once and for all. You died with Christ -- thus, there is no more dying to do! The Holy Spirit already cleansed you, sanctified you, and gave you the seal of Resurrection life (Ephesians 1:13). What Jesus did was enough. So I don't think Paul was talking about constantly spiritually 'killing' oneself, again and again and again. He wasn't saying that we must obsessively purge ourselves from each and every sin. No...Dying daily is about remembrance.
Martin Luther (supposedly?) said, "we need to hear the gospel everyday because we forget it everyday". And it's true! The good news is almost too good to be true. It's almost unbelievable, and it would be, without the power of the Spirit drawing us in (John 6:44). Even after belief, our minds must be continually renewed (Romans 12:2). The Gospel can be hard to get a grasp on!
If you're stressed out, if you are anxious, it's ultimately because you've had a short term crisis in faith. Perfect peace have they that love Yah's law (Psalm 119:165). That's the law of love, which you are currently living under (Romans 8:2)! If you are not being in peace, it's because of unbelief.
All it takes to get your peace back is to rest and remember. It's critical that we are always remembering the gospel. In the Old Testament, Yahweh commanded Joshua and fellow Israelites to set up memorial stones after having passed through the Jordan (Joshua 4). Symbolically speaking, they had just been baptized. They'd just entered into the Promise (Hebrews 4:8).
They had arrived. Yet the good news is -- so have you! And your conversion experience has been far more glorious (2 Cor. 4). Christ is the stone that commemorates your arrival into the Kingdom (Matthew 21:42). But to live in the bliss of this truth, belief and contemplation is required.
There is a violence that comes with believing (Matthew 11:12). There is a necessity to tear and to rend your heart; to return to the truth. There is a putting off of the old and a welcoming of the new. There is a dying to oneself -- but only in the sense of remembering that you've already been reborn and made new! Belief will always produce tangible results.
Showing posts with label Crossing Over. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crossing Over. Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Snapshot: Entering the Promised Land
A few days ago God spoke to me about my pathway through life. This was the same day He was telling me to ask for details. But in addition to this, we need to allow the Spirit to control our will and our dreams. We need to imagine God's Will, and walk into it. We need to see what He sees, feel what He feels, and follow His leadings step by step into the Promised Land.
I remember that a Christian figure from past times coined the term "Holy Imagination". And that's what we need to have. We need to have Holy thoughts and pure minds. Only then can we dream big.
And only then can God implant Himself into our visions and our dreams . Infact, this was the way that He called many old testament prophets. So many were called and received their calling from a Spirit filled, almost otherworldly dream.
This past Spring, I had a dream that I was crossing the Jordan river. The dream wasn't set in ancient times, though; instead, I was on a steamboat that was slowly being evacuated. Many passengers were on this boat, and many were scared about whatever might happen while they were stuck on this stalled boat. Other passengers, however, didn't seem to see any problem in their situation. I was left wondering what to do myself.
After some time, a militia-type group had also been sent onto the scene. These military leaders searched for passengers willing to be recruited into their evacuation team. Brave passengers became compelled to join this team, which was preparing to leave the ship and search for help on the mainland nearby. I remember that the ship was fairly close to the riverbank, although the evacuation team was facing a jungle once across the river. I listened as the military personnel spoke about the dangers of the mission ahead, and I felt more than slightly intimidated by my own prospects of joining this voluntary team. But the situation on the boat was boring and lifeless, and people were left to waste away through their own devices. So I decided I would go. I was going to join this team and cross the Jordan! I was told that the mission would be long and hard. I was told it would be dangerous. But I wanted to get off of that boat--it wasn't going anywhere and the people on board were not motivated to do much. This is where the dream ended.
When I woke up I felt it was a dream from the Lord. I felt His leading to be bold for Him and venture into uncharted territory. I felt His desire to take me into new places, and report back to those 'stuck' what I tasted and saw. Shortly after waking up that morning, God led me to the Joshua 1, 2 and 3, which strongly matched my dream. God was beginning a new season in my life, and I was being exhorted to enter into the promised land. Around the same time I had this dream, I started doing healing ministry on the street. I was just starting to be used by our Lord to pray for the afflicted. I was out of my comfort zone oftentimes. But I had made the choice; I had crossed the Jordan!
God's recently began speaking about this to me again. I believe that I'm in a new season now, and I've just crossed another river of roadblocks. In the life of a strong believer, there may well be many "Jordans" to cross. God wants His children to personally walk through the exploits in the Bible, and in that dream He gave me, I was shown that He wanted me to live out Jordan crossing of Joshua.
Confirmed 12/13: God showed me that I've crossed the Jordan, because His commandments were more important.
Confirmed 12/14: I was reading the book of Judges, and through 'quickened eye-glances' (see the Quickened Word for more on this), God revealed to me that I had been called out with Him. This is exactly what the military leaders were doing in my dream all those months ago. And He went on and showed me that I was to follow His lead. How critical! Just as the Israelites could not cross the Jordan without the Presence of God, in the Ark, guiding them, we cannot enter the Promised Land that He's called us to unless we follow Him into it.
Confirmed 12/15: Recent Themes have been: Lush, green gardens. Green trees. The Tree of Life. Milk and Honey. The finest of foods. Open Door to His Promises!
Confirmed 12/15: I was reading the Bible Commentary book again, and God really spoke through it. Random reading (search the 'labels' feature for this, if you're interested). I was led to the subtitles "Canaan" and "Canaan as a type of Heaven". God wants to lead us all into a land where the Promises He's given us become manifest. He wants to lead all those who will listen into a land of heaven on earth. The Promised Land symbolizes that our Lord has given us another chance to return to the Garden. The Promised Land symbolizes that our God has great things planned for us, even before we enter Heaven itself. Praise God!
I remember that a Christian figure from past times coined the term "Holy Imagination". And that's what we need to have. We need to have Holy thoughts and pure minds. Only then can we dream big.
And only then can God implant Himself into our visions and our dreams . Infact, this was the way that He called many old testament prophets. So many were called and received their calling from a Spirit filled, almost otherworldly dream.
This past Spring, I had a dream that I was crossing the Jordan river. The dream wasn't set in ancient times, though; instead, I was on a steamboat that was slowly being evacuated. Many passengers were on this boat, and many were scared about whatever might happen while they were stuck on this stalled boat. Other passengers, however, didn't seem to see any problem in their situation. I was left wondering what to do myself.
After some time, a militia-type group had also been sent onto the scene. These military leaders searched for passengers willing to be recruited into their evacuation team. Brave passengers became compelled to join this team, which was preparing to leave the ship and search for help on the mainland nearby. I remember that the ship was fairly close to the riverbank, although the evacuation team was facing a jungle once across the river. I listened as the military personnel spoke about the dangers of the mission ahead, and I felt more than slightly intimidated by my own prospects of joining this voluntary team. But the situation on the boat was boring and lifeless, and people were left to waste away through their own devices. So I decided I would go. I was going to join this team and cross the Jordan! I was told that the mission would be long and hard. I was told it would be dangerous. But I wanted to get off of that boat--it wasn't going anywhere and the people on board were not motivated to do much. This is where the dream ended.
When I woke up I felt it was a dream from the Lord. I felt His leading to be bold for Him and venture into uncharted territory. I felt His desire to take me into new places, and report back to those 'stuck' what I tasted and saw. Shortly after waking up that morning, God led me to the Joshua 1, 2 and 3, which strongly matched my dream. God was beginning a new season in my life, and I was being exhorted to enter into the promised land. Around the same time I had this dream, I started doing healing ministry on the street. I was just starting to be used by our Lord to pray for the afflicted. I was out of my comfort zone oftentimes. But I had made the choice; I had crossed the Jordan!
God's recently began speaking about this to me again. I believe that I'm in a new season now, and I've just crossed another river of roadblocks. In the life of a strong believer, there may well be many "Jordans" to cross. God wants His children to personally walk through the exploits in the Bible, and in that dream He gave me, I was shown that He wanted me to live out Jordan crossing of Joshua.
Confirmed 12/13: God showed me that I've crossed the Jordan, because His commandments were more important.
Confirmed 12/14: I was reading the book of Judges, and through 'quickened eye-glances' (see the Quickened Word for more on this), God revealed to me that I had been called out with Him. This is exactly what the military leaders were doing in my dream all those months ago. And He went on and showed me that I was to follow His lead. How critical! Just as the Israelites could not cross the Jordan without the Presence of God, in the Ark, guiding them, we cannot enter the Promised Land that He's called us to unless we follow Him into it.
Confirmed 12/15: Recent Themes have been: Lush, green gardens. Green trees. The Tree of Life. Milk and Honey. The finest of foods. Open Door to His Promises!
Confirmed 12/15: I was reading the Bible Commentary book again, and God really spoke through it. Random reading (search the 'labels' feature for this, if you're interested). I was led to the subtitles "Canaan" and "Canaan as a type of Heaven". God wants to lead us all into a land where the Promises He's given us become manifest. He wants to lead all those who will listen into a land of heaven on earth. The Promised Land symbolizes that our Lord has given us another chance to return to the Garden. The Promised Land symbolizes that our God has great things planned for us, even before we enter Heaven itself. Praise God!
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