Living Light

Stirring The Deep

Author Archives: Rachel


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Church Social Clubs

Church Social Clubs

 

Most of us are familiar with the social club mentality of many churches; extravagant entertainment, feel-good programs, focus on busyness, and messages that are a self-improvement book covered in Christian lingo.

Our knee jerk reaction is that being a glorified social club is wrong. However, with some further thought, I think what we all need to realize, especially if we are in a church, is that all churches are social clubs.  It is a healthier and safer viewpoint because that is the extent of what they provide; encouragement, support, connections, activities, and stimulating conversations. The problem is that people want and look to them as a source of truth, to enhance their relationship with God, to bind their wounds, to give them freedom, to bring peace, hope and rest to their lives; all the things that only truly come from cultivating intimacy with God in His truth, His Word.

However, churches appear to be gladly taking on this other role, which is outside the scope of their abilities, because when people are dependent on you it is good for business.  Even with good intentions, trying to be what they can’t misleads people and destroys souls. I was such a soul.  Our souls starve because we mistakenly rely on the wrong one for true life.  God and His Word is the fountain of truth which brings true life. Churches are a reservoir of people’s interpretations, doctrines, rules and regulations with some truth sprinkled in.  Many people end up worse off than when they started because they don’t realize they are hanging out at the wrong watering hole and thinking they have arrived at truth they stopped looking.

The majority of Christians are not living the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give because they are relying on other broken people when they need to rely on God. People try to get out of teachers, pastors, leaders, programs, and ministries what they should be seeking from God and churches reinforce their warped dependency in what they don’t say, in what they praise and what they encourage.

As I read the New Testament, it seems clear that truth and an intimate relationship with God which brings abundant life come from time with Him in the Holy Scriptures being taught by the Spirit. (John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, 1 Corinthians 15:34, 1 John 2:27, 2 Timothy 2:15, 7, 2 Timothy 3: 14-15.) Yet this truth is often overlooked and people continue to give fallible humans, who are trying to figure it out just as they are, God’s role.

Churches are playing a role that they weren’t meant to play.  If we openly acknowledge and call church what it is, a social club, then maybe we will start heading in the right direction; looking to our God not man for truth and life. Even then we need to be very careful and aware of churches’ influence over our thinking, beliefs and lives.

 


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God’s Toolbox: Our Past

 God’s Toolbox: Our Past

 

Over the past couple of years, God has been unpacking my past. He has shown me the deep seeded lies I’ve lived by since childhood and the ripple affect they caused of bad decisions, poor behaviors, destructive relationships, depression, and on and on.  It is thought provoking to see how a couple of lies can create so much damage.

I have often viewed the things of my past as a bunch of screw ups and mistakes that revealed a person in need of a complete overhaul. They were things that didn’t have to happen but what was done was done and I needed God to come in and clean things up. I tried to be the sweeper but I just flung dirt around.

But the other night, my insightful husband re-framed it for me.

He said it isn’t that my past, his or anyone else’s is a big mess that would be better off voided like a bad check, but all the things we went through brought us to where we are today. Each detail served a purpose in chiseling us into who we are. We went through those things to grow and learn what we needed to learn.

I started thinking about what he said and though the things I faced were painful, hard, and sometimes pushed me to the edge of insanity, he was right. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I can’t believe I am saying that, but you know it is true. Through each experience God has taught me His wisdom that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

As God’s kids what we consider the wreckage of our lives are His tools to teach us what we need to learn, if we are willing. If we aren’t willing we remain on the hamster wheel running in the same destructive circles until we decide to sit up and listen.  A past unaddressed remains a controlling force in our lives. We aren’t to live in the past, but grow from it and live free.

As a good teacher, God won’t let us move on to the next level until we learn our ABCs. It is either keep running or starting listening. And the lessons are much deeper than we are a mess in need of Him. Each situation holds a deeper truth that will surprise you, as I am finding out.

This earthly existence is a training ground. It is a place where our spirits learn that our way is not the way to go and God’s is.  We are supposed to make mistakes that is how we learn that only God’s ways bring life, joy, peace, and intimacy with Him.  We start going backwards if we get wrapped up in this life and cease to realize that everything is to bring us into union with God.

Trying out many different paths that promised success and failing miserably inside and out is what brought me to my knees and when I fell before Him in every area of my life; I started to live the life I desired for the first time. So if everything I went through was to bring me closer to God and to create unity between us in purpose, will and desire – yeah it was all worth it and I am thankful for it.


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Feeling Christ Jesus’ Heart

Feeling Christ Jesus’ Heart

 

Most of us at some point have had a boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse who acted in a manner toward the opposite sex that was only appropriate for us. When it happens the pain cuts deep. Looking back on my past experiences, I couldn’t understand logically why it hurt so much?

I asked God about these experiences and this is what He told me.

It isn’t just your pain you feel but a taste of mine that is why it is so intense.

I have taught you how the relationship between a man and a woman is symbolic of my relationship with you. It is only a shadow pointing to something much deeper. I am your husband and you are my bride. I use your relationships to show you how I feel. Becoming one with me means feeling what I feel.

When you feel the pain of a loved one giving affections to another that was meant for you it is similar to how I feel when my people look to others, trust them, go to them for truth, rely on them and not me.

And in these days my people are breaking my heart.

They trust in their pastors, teachers and leaders and look to them for truth and not me. Their priorities are upside down and as a result they are being led away from me. They go to them and not my Word as I have instructed them. They seek first the voice of man instead of my voice. They don’t believe me because they don’t follow me.  They follow their man made rules and codes of Christian behavior and all the while ignore me when all I want is to be with them. I want them to come to me, know me, talk with me, put me first, trust me, rely on me, and love me above all others like they would a husband. I desire a relationship not man-made religion. They have fooled themselves to thinking they are aligned with my will with their “good works”, but I see into their hearts, and I am not first. And that is what matters. Matthew 7:22-23

I have called them to love me as they would a husband, but most have turned their eyes to other concerns. They have left their first love. Revelation 2:3-4 I am a God who feels, cares and loves, but I will not let this situation continue on. The time is short. Judgment is upon my people. Today is the day to decide who they will follow; me and my truth or someone else’s interpretation of it. They are relying on the wrong thing, man instead of Me, and it will be their downfall.


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Women and Men: Church and Christ: Part IV

Women and Men: Church and Christ

Part IV

 

This is the fourth and final section. I hope you have found this article insightful and helpful to understanding your own relationships with God and others.

Drawing a parallel between the physical and spiritual, we can better understand the negative effects we experience when we aren’t in a right relationship with God. In each illustration above we can replace women with church and men with false images and see the outcome. Like the oppressive or passive woman, when the church replaces the role of Christ in individual lives or when the church has a negative influence, then souls are bound instead of free. There is one Good Shepherd, Teacher and Father. (John 10:14; Matt 23:8,9) We should be depending on Him for our spiritual nourishment, protection and growth.  It isn’t the church’s role. The confusion of roles becomes manifested in weak and afflicted souls. The church is to support, encourage, and remind us to depend on Christ not a man-made system. Like women emulating men, people often look to the church system to provide where it shouldn’t. We need to get back to who is who.

On the other hand, like the domineering or disengaged man, when God is perceived as either a wrathful tyrant or a passive leader, the false image robs us of freedom. We will live either in an unholy fear that paralyzes us from engaging with God or we become our personal dictator unyielding to His authority. In both scenarios we forfeit abundant life. We all come to God with warped images of Him. He understands our condition and surrounds us with tools to know the truth; His creation, His Word, and His Spirit. It is our part to diligently seek Him as He is. Believing a lie is just as bad as not believing.

Helping each other understand our roles is critical to a healthy person, physically and spiritually. When we live as God created us everyone benefits. We are to live as we are called and we each have our part. We can’t control others and we are responsible only for our actions in relationship with one another and with God, but we can seek and share the truth in love. There is much to understand about how we relate to God and thus to one another. He has provided ample material to learn from if we will look with spiritual minds and hearts.


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Women and Men: Equality is Not Sameness: Part III

Women and Men: Equality is Not Sameness

Part III

This is the third part of the essay I wrote with one more section to go. . . hope you are enjoying it . .

When people either abuse or neglect their respective roles, the ripple effect is vast and extends to future generations. Many men and women have fallen prey to power distortions and exploitation. The Women’s Liberation movement was born out of good intentions. But like many movements that start out in the right direction it went sideways. Understandably, it has left women trying to live at the helm. A man’s strength is honored in many societies and the woman’s is overlooked and suppressed. This oppression causes an over reaction in women.  To survive, some women try to fill man’s position; others have given up altogether and become passive. Many men have disengaged from the fact that women serve as a compass that they can’t accurately steer their ship without. Women are harming themselves by marginalizing the roles they were created to fulfill, and men are neglecting to act for the benefit of those under their care. In their blindness, both shatter the necessary function of women to the destruction of everyone’s wellbeing.

On the flip side, there has been a movement in recent years to make men more like women; to be sensitive, in touch with their emotions and to confide intimately in others. Although well intended, the direction of this trend is eroding the power of men as leaders. It is stealing the strength of many and creating weak captains who are unable to lead. They don’t protect, take responsibility, provide or act with the authority they have been given. Women complain that these men aren’t being leaders but they, the influencers, are sending mixed messages; be like us but be a man. In response to these messages, the man shuts down, lets her have her way, escapes to his haven of sports or work and all suffer. (Proverbs 21:19)

The underscoring lie is that equality is sameness. Equality means having comparable value, not being identical. In fulfilling our respective positions, we increase each other’s value. In neglecting them, we devalue everyone. Whether in the workplace, at home, in families, or in organizations, the power women and men possess needs to be recognized and honored.  Their powers are at work regardless of whether they are acknowledged. If they are suppressed or abused they negatively impact everyone. Men and women were created to work side by side as a team. Both are given what they have to serve the other.  Blinded by the world’s philosophies and dogmatic religions, they have lost sight of who they are. They need to find their way back for their survival.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Church Sedation

 Church Sedation

 

The other morning I was thinking . .  how many times do we hear from fellow believers or out of our own mouths wasn’t that a great teaching or a good sermon? But was it truth?  It may have been entertaining and made us feel good, but was it truth? They may have read a passage from the Bible, but their opinions, philosophies, interpretations of the scripture, but was it truth?  We are instructed to test all things preached, taught, or spoken of but now many of us honestly do that? If we do test what are actually testing it by; our intuition, gut, or someone else’s teaching?  True testing is done by the Word so that means we have to be consistently in the Word and put it above all others. The Bible is our foundation and not man’s words because it is the source of pure unadulterated truth.

1 Corinthians 14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world

 Before I spent one-on-one time with God, just His Word and me, I relied on my own discernment, not a good idea. But when I started to spend that time, layer by layer He started to unveil the real truth. I was amazed by all the lies I believed that I learned in a religious institution or setting. How could I have been so mislead? There are lots of reasons, but one stood out – the power of feeling good.

Sedating my guilt, putting my time in with God for the week, looking good to those around me, feeling like a good person, people accepting and liking me were a lot of the reasons why I went to church – when I am brutally honest with myself. Who doesn’t like to feel good about themselves? But all those are the wrong reasons first because no one is good, so why was I trying to prove I was and second focusing on these blinded me to the truth. My motives got in the way of taking time to be in God’s word and testing what I heard. Ultimately I was focusing on me instead of getting to know my God. Many things are good, until they are used or done for the wrong reasons. Then what was intended for good can become damaging.

Luke 18:19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God

The other day, I read an article on the power of praise.  Praise of others and others making us feel good are very powerful and they can blind us if we aren’t careful. That’s why love can be so blinding. Nothing and no one is perfect but God and His Word, He is the source of truth and of our beliefs.  I think it is good practice to carefully examine our motives now and then so we stay clear headed to be discerning as we are called to be. Now, I often ask, why am I really doing this?

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Women and Men: Influencers & Leaders: Part II

Women and Men: Influencers and Leaders

Part II

Continuing on with my thoughts on women and men, below is the next part of the article I wrote. I jump right into women being influencers and men being leaders at their core (it doesn’t mean women can’t lead and men can’t influence, but it is how they do those things). If you take time to really mediate on this I think you will see what I am saying .  . . I believe it is important to seek out and understand the strengths that we were made with because then we can honor one another instead of overpower or abuse.

One core dynamic between women and men is in the complementary powers of influence and leadership. Women are influencers, representing the church. The men are leaders, representing Christ. We influence Christ’s heart toward us and others through respect and honoring His leadership. We depend on His leadership for the benefit of our lives.

Though marriage is the exemplar of this dynamic, these two qualities of influence and leadership underscore all aspects of life. Whether single, married or widowed, a woman’s power is in her influence and a man’s power is in his leadership. These attributes speak not so much to what we do but how we do it. They are the underlying force energizing our actions. Men influence and women lead, but how they carry out those roles is what makes them different and compliment one another, not create discord.

Among other traits, a woman manifests the qualities of beauty, compassion, sensitivity, and intuitiveness.  She possesses these attributes to accomplish her role of influencing the actions of others for good. Influence involves the ability to produce an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command. Just about every woman in the Bible was an influencer to a leader; Eve to Adam, Ruth to Boaz, Esther to King Ahasuerus, Sarah to Abraham, Herodias to Herod, Rebecca to Jacob, Rachel to Jacob, Delilah and Samson, and Pilate’s wife to Pilate. These women modeled both the negative and positive outcomes of this role.  Remaining behind the scenes, their influence on history is astounding; they were the progenitors of significant events.  Influencers hold a powerful position, and women are accountable for the ability that has been given them. How a woman fulfills her role will determine whether she will be a positive or negative influence in the lives of others. In lacking understanding of her role, abusing or suppressing it, she will create mayhem. It is her responsibility to learn from God about her role and trust His working in her to execute it with confidence and humility. In a similar fashion, the church influences the body of Christ.

A man represents the qualities of strength, protection, passion, provision and authority. All these attributes enable him to lead others. Christ set the perfect example.  God put us under His care. (John 17:9) Representing the head, men have been given others to care for, whether those “others” are families, businesses, or nations. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Joseph, Jesus, and the Apostles are a few examples of leaders who provided, protected, and loved those they were responsible for. Follow a proficient leader and there will be provision, protection, organization, vision, and growth.  Leaders set the course, steer the ship and take command. The goal of their leadership is to benefit others. Their authority isn’t a dictatorship; it is a stewardship to those whom they lead. Being at the helm is a tremendous responsibility and requires courage and humility. (Mark 10:43) In a similar manner, Christ, as our leader, is our preeminent example.

As leaders, it is critical for men to see the situation from a fuller perspective and here is where oneness between man, the leader, and woman, the influencer, comes into play. Men bear the responsibility for the ones they lead. God has placed men at the helm and if they are negligent all will suffer. Using keen discernment, men profit when they take heed of the influencers whose role it is to help them. God gave women different strengths that benefit men. They see, feel, and experience what men don’t.  The combined wisdom and insight produces a better result. Alone all suffer, together all prevail. God created them to work together not in isolation.


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Women and Men: Who’s Who

Women and Men: Who’s Who

Part I

Understanding the woman-man dynamic as God intended is a passion of mine. I have been exploring this topic for some time and I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts I wrote about it awhile ago. This blog is the first of four.

Nations, cultures, societies, and individuals are in a quandary over the ill-defined and uncertain roles of men and women.  In attempts to figure out who is who, the roles are becoming more entangled; men trying to be like women, women trying to be like men, men suppressing women, and women dominating men. What a conundrum we’ve created of God’s design; a design perfectly constructed to teach us about Him and His relationship with us. Through a lack of understanding His plan, thinking we know best, or a resistance to submit to a higher order, we have birthed chaos in our attitudes about the sexes. The devastating result is broken families, dysfunctional children, staggering divorce rates, unrealistic expectations, emotional abuse, and shattered souls.

The secret to understanding our intended roles is to focus on the Designer’s higher purpose; to teach us about Him. The Apostle Paul instructed us to be spiritually minded, not carnally minded. By narrowly focusing on the physical aspects, we miss the deeper enduring truth. The physical things, like genders and the roles we play, will pass away.  (Matthew 22:30) They are important but they are only a tool to teach and to direct our attention to the bigger picture. The big picture of the roles of men and women is that they are a model to educate us about our reciprocal relationship with God. If we lose sight of this bigger picture we lose sight of the truth.

Like two puzzle pieces, individual, harmonious, and complementary, woman was created to fit with man as we fit with Christ. Men represent Christ, the head. Women represent the church, the body, and together they are one. Ephesians 5:30-32 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Physically and emotionally women and men complete each other, and spiritually we are complete with God.

Observing how men and women relate to one another and the outcome of those interactions serves as a metaphor to teach us how we should relate to Christ. Witnessing the pain from separation, domination, suppression, and abuse between the genders signifies the damage done to our spirits if our relationship with God is askew. Dissention between men and women hurts because it is connected to the spiritual truth, our relation to God. Conversely, understanding what creates unity between a man and a woman points to what produces oneness with God.

The culture is confusing how we see ourselves as men and women. My desire is explore and learn God’s design for men and women in today’s world and we can’t examine one gender without looking at both because they work together. My goal is to learn more about God and His ways and to honor each other and Him by living in His truth.


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Beyond the Literal Meaning

Beyond the Literal Meaning

 

After I posted my blog on women and angels, I read a response by Monte Wolverton and Greg Albrecht at Plain Truth Magazine to a woman’s question about the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 11.

I enjoy many of their comments, but they stopped short on this issue. Though what they said may be true about the culture and beliefs at the time, I believe everything in the Word is for us today because I believe everything has an underlining spiritual meaning and purpose. If we don’t look beyond a cultural explanation we miss the deeper spiritual truths.

The Word is living, complex, layer upon layer, symbolic and everlasting. It is not a just a book of historical events that we can learn from or a set of rules for good living – that’s the least of what it offers. It is alive and spirit that transforms our souls and deepens our communion with God. Hebrews 4:12

God’s Word isn’t straightforward. There are physical layers covering spiritual layers. It’s that way because what God says in the Word is not for the world but for those whom He has chosen to draw near. Matthew 13:11 The spiritual truths are hidden so that for His chosen they are revealed by the Spirit and to others they remain concealed. Symbolism is a tool that God uses to accomplish this purpose. When believers don’t seek beyond the illustration they not only miss out on the deeper truth but also can end up acting from a carnal mindset living by the law instead of a spiritual mindset living by grace.

It is the spiritual realm lying beneath the physical words that is the real treasure that brings freedom and life. Sometimes we have to wait for years to understand a passage because this deeper truth only comes by revelation of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the truths are there to be discovered by you and me who have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. Our part is to ask and to seek.

God’s Word is alive, pure, and eternal, so the question to any passage is why is it included? Why is it in His Word that lasts throughout the ages?

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Understanding the physical shadows the spiritual is especially pertinent when it comes to women, because over the years the illustration has been exploited. What was meant as a teaching tool has been used to dominate and oppress women to the harm of both women and men. When one is harmed both are.

The Word tells us not to get hung up on the illustrations. Like in 1 Corinthians 11:16 where it says that whether you have the customs of head coverings or not it doesn’t matter. What matters is if we understand the spiritual truth that we all need to be covered in Jesus’ righteousness. Ephesians 5:32-33 emphasizes a similar thing, be spiritually minded not carnal. Living out the spiritual truth should be our focus.

This manner of digging deeper is important for any passage. When we seek truth at this level we live in truth, faith, grace and love. Go deep into all passages and don’t give up, because that is where the treasures lie.

 


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Women and Angels: Part 2

Women and Angels

Part II

 

The relationship between a woman and a man symbolizes the relationship between the church (true body of believers) and Christ. The first is designed to teach us about the second. It illustrates in a physical context the spiritual aspects of our relationship with Christ like unity and oneness, different yet complementary roles, respect, love, mercy, and so on.  Ephesians 5:23

I have been seeking the underling truth of 1 Corinthians 11, specifically verse 10 for some time.  I feel like I am finally getting somewhere, thanks to the Spirit of course. To understand any of that chapter, you have to replace women with church and men with Christ.  So before I jump to the verse in question, vs 10, I am going to work through a couple of verses so you can see how I ended up where I did with that particular verse.

In verse 3 we learn the head of a woman is man and the head of a man is Christ – decoding it we learn the head or authority of the church is Christ.

In verse 4-7, a woman’s head being covered symbolizes the church being covered in Christ’s righteousness. A man’s head, which represents Christ, isn’t covered because Christ is righteousness.

In verse 7, you can now understand why women are the glory of man because they represent the church and why men are the glory of God because they represent Christ.  See how this works? You have to use the symbolism to unlock the spiritual truths.

Then we come to verse 10. What confused me for years was the statement, because of the angels. It seemed to come out of nowhere and not make much sense. Why do women or the church need an authority (Christ) over her because of the angels who are God’s messengers and ministers in the spiritual realm?

1 Corinthians 11:10 For this cause ought the woman to have power (authority) on her head because of the angels. 

Looking at other verses that talk about angels, we learn that their role is to carry out God’s work. They are the reapers, the ones who gather the elect, and carry out God’s plans of judgment and deliverance.

Matthew 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Matthew 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

When the angels do their work like gather the elect, how do they know who to gather?  They know by the authority on their heads, in other words, those who have Christ as their Lord. This idea of having an authority on the head is similar to being sealed that is talked about in The Revelation Chapter 7. Sealing is simply instilling the truth in someone’s mind determining what they believe.  Sealing the tribes is showing them the truth so that they believe in Christ as their Lord and Savior. Once they are sealed they are covered in Christ’s righteousness they are saved from God’s wrath, which is administered by the angels. Sealing, marking, and having an authority on our heads all share a similar meaning.

The way the angels are going to know to gather you to Christ is if He is your Lord. Therefore the women (church) require an authority (Christ as Lord) on her head so that when the time comes the angels will gather them to Christ.

Now there are probably more layers of truth to this passage, but I think this is one.