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Stirring The Deep

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Why Leave the Church System??

Why Leave the Church System??

In this society, we’ve been conditioned to be handed things with instant gratification. (money – credit cards, food – McDonald’s, necessities – Walmart, relationships – Facebook, success – network marketing). We’re being taught and conditioned to this mindset. This mentality has become foundational to the church system – people tell you who God is and what God wants from you; then you do it.

Being a part of organized religion is often a first step for many of us, because we don’t know what else to do. So we follow what others tell us to do. But some of us come to a place where we sense there is “more”. And a restless awakens our hearts to seek after that “more” we are being called to and often that means moving beyond the boundaries of organized religion.

In organized religion as a whole, instead of you seeking to deeply know God, you are handed a pre-packaged God; a package deal of say a prayer, join the church, serve the church, and go to heaven. The church institution tells you how to pray, how to worship, how to tithe, and how to serve God. Instead of being lead by the Holy Spirit; you are led by a human. Each week you’re instructed by others on who God is, how to act and what He wants – instead of seeking Him yourself. However, seeking is foundational to a life with God. This is the one act that should be done above all others; yet it is deemed optional and not necessary. That slight in error has a grievous ripple effect.

1 Chronicles 16:10-11 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually

As God (and what a life following Him entails) are “handed” to you, seeking isn’t necessary. The act of spending time one-on-one daily with God seeking His face and the instruction of the Holy Spirit isn’t deemed essential to eternal life; therefore that’s why most don’t do it. However, in reality you gain the essentials to true life through seeking. Seeking leads to knowing, which leads to trusting, which leads to a true belief, repentance of self, dying to self, true surrender and a love for God that puts Him first. In addition, there is often a fear instilled in believers by the church in seeking on their own. They are warned to be careful to not go astray – in other words, the church will protect you from going astray. This false fear breeds the blind leading the blind mentality. Matthew 15:14

Since we’ve been conditioned by the society at large to be “handed” things it doesn’t cause us to pause when it pertains to God – though it should. God is not calling us to a religion but to a relationship. The church structure today is like giving someone a distorted painting of a place verses travelling there and experiencing it yourself. The church hands you a picture of the kingdom, a relationship with God, yet prohibits people from entering in by this plug and play mentality. Matthew 23:13 As one is captivated by the spoon-feeding, because it does have a temporary high as all instant things do, no “personal” relationship is developed by the believer. There is only an engagement to a structured system telling you who God is and what He wants from you. The relationship is with the church, not God.

With this pre-packaged God, people can’t hear God. It’s not part of the package because all they receive is from a person, not God. They aren’t connected to God. They only have a faulty image, and haven’t walked, talked and gone through life with Him. Thus their beliefs are in the system and not God. Their trust is in the words of people and not God. They’ve gone through life with an image and praying to that image, because they haven’t spent time seeking God’s face to know Him as He is, something no one else can do for them. Because they haven’t sought; they don’t see the difference. Only in the light, do you realize the darkness. Therefore they aren’t listening to God. They are listening to people talk about God believing they have a relationship because that is what they are told. This “receiving” and not “seeking”  is how many are and will be deceived.

This ever increasing mentality is one reason why those who are seeking are leaving the church – they see it for what it is; an offering of pre-packaged God. They aren’t into following people but God. They don’t want a faulty image handed to them. They want a real relationship. They want true fellowship with God and others. They see the idolatry of it. They see the damage of it; the plug and play that leaves souls starving and bound in affliction, pain, and loneliness as they once were.

As the church system is structured – individual seeking isn’t necessary. It’s optional. Yet, that is the one act that is to be above all others for a believer. Seeking leads to knowing, trusting and abiding with God in truth and spirit. It isn’t instant. It’s a journey that most are kept from walking by this erroneous mentality.

Like the other instant gratifications in our lives that have brought more problems than good, quadruple that and you have a taste of what this mentality does to a soul as it keeps them from an intimate union with God. Matthew 23:15

God loves us more than we can imagine. He wants us to intimately know Him, not live in some substitute reality of Him. Seek Him and you’ll find true life.

Pre-Packaged God

Come and see what we have to offer thee
A God of instant play, don’t delay
A ticket to heaven, come eat the leaven
No time to waste, come in haste

We give all you seek, we are humble and meek
Worship with us, as us, be us
One of our kind is a path for the blind
Say a prayer, live without care
Be good to your brother, love your mother

All is fulfilled with only a small bill
Your soul to keep, to own, to reap
We’ll fill your need, we’ll stop the bleed
Look no more, serve the board

Grow our club, to one blood
By a pre-packaged God to give a lost mob
Count the numbers, rejoice in the plunder
Souls trapped in lies, bound by disguise

In us you can trust, listen to us you must
No need to seek, we have the answers to keep
Don’t seek in private, don’t even try it
You’ll be taken away by evil’s sway
Stay with us, be us, trust us

A pre-packaged God, the path to trod

~Rachel DiPaolo


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Abiding in God’s Love

Blog Talk Radio: Abiding in God’s Love

A new PODCAST (click here to listen)is available on abiding in God’s love.

Overview: God’s love is far more perfect and pure than any love we know. To truly know His love we have to know Him. We have to know Him as He is and not some image. In this show, I talk about that love and how we come to know it and abide in it so that not only do we experience it but we have it to give to others.


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“Marriage” with God

“Marriage” with God

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Psalm 105:4

A true union, marriage, with God comes from seeking Him in truth and Spirit. Romans 7:4 God tells us to seek Him. The purpose of seeking God is to know Him as He is so we can trust and walk in His will so that ultimately we are one with God in love. That oneness is eternal life. The goal of our faith is to become deeply connected to God and seeking is what makes that relationship a reality. God calls us His bride, we know that means to desire Him and be with Him like one we love, but to understand more closely the nature of our union with God, let’s dive into the heart of a good marriage.

A man and a woman dwell together in a bond fused by intimate knowledge, solid trust and boundless love. They are singularly committed to one another in this passionate union. She knows when he needs a comforting touch with his favorite meal, what outfit ignites his passion, and when he needs down time with a pizza and football game. He knows what dress always fits just right, when to listen and not advise, and the importance of one more pair of shoes. Held in the space between them is the delicacy of family dynamics, the secrets that give a mischievous smile, and the irritations that push all the wrong buttons. Protected in sensitive awareness are vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and challenges. Hopes, dreams, and aspirations are shared and supported. These are the valuables that pass between a husband and wife. This closeness and openness is possible because they know each other enough to trust one another with the most guarded parts of their souls. A trust that knows they won’t deliberately harm or hurt one another and that they are accepted, safe and protected. They have faith in one another because they know one another and in the midst of this closeness true love blossoms in their hearts.

Now, consider your marriage with God. You dwell together within His kingdom because His truth is in your heart. He is in you and you are in Him. He gives you His life, and you give yours. Your souls are knit together by the interlocking of knowledge, trust and love. The deepest mysteries and truths are shared between you; thoughts, dreams, desires, hopes, and promises. Guarded in a protective embrace are your life and His truth. Love and delight for one another fills your hearts. You abide in His Word and He transforms your soul. Under the care of His love, He tends to your needs, concerns, weaknesses and fears. You call out to Him and He hears you, and He speaks and you listen. You cling to Him because He is your life and He loves you because you are His bride. This picture is a slice of what a marriage looks like to God.

What we are in search for is this personal, passionate connection with God. It’s manifested from the interplay of knowledge, trust and love. Both the example of an earthly marriage and our marriage to God contains these three characteristics and without them the bond would not exist. Seeking brings knowledge. With knowledge comes trust. Trust is a prerequisite in a relationship like marriage where there is a high degree of intimacy.

Psalm 9:10 “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You”

Finally trust leads to love, the goal of our quest. Love is the motivation and the desired outcome of any intimate relationship. Love cares, gives, forgives, heals, restores, hopes and endures. It is selfless, humble, longsuffering, gentle, and kind. Love is based on truth, faithfulness, devotion and loyalty. It is this attribute that defines all other truths. Dwelling in God’s love far exceeds the experience of any earthly expression and seeking for it is unlike anything we have experienced before. It is a pure, consuming, transforming, and powerful. When we abide in God and Him in us, we possess this true love to know and give.

Seeking is our means to this union because it leads to knowing. Knowledge fosters trust which enables us to live the life God has called us to live in Him; a life of abiding in His love, the sum of all His desires for us. He wants to get under our skin and we under His to the point that we are enraptured by His presence. To consider this deeply is astounding, and this is God’s desire for us.

God loves you, what will be your response to that love?


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Seeking God in Truth and Spirit

Blog Talk Radio: Seeking God in Truth and Spirit

A new PODCAST (click here to listen)is available on trusting Seeking God in Truth and Spirit.

Overview: The main difference from a maturing believer and one who isn’t is a seeking heart. Those who diligently seek to know, trust and love God are those who experience Him and abide in His kingdom. In this show, I talk about what this seeking entails, why it is important and how God rewards those who seek Him. Seeking is the key to knowing God in truth and Spirit and walking in His power. It is what changes your life to be united to Him.


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Holy Spirit as Our Teacher

Blog Talk Radio:  Holy Spirit as Our Teacher

 

20150224_141008A new PODCAST (click here to listen)is available on trusting the Holy Spirit as our Teacher. It’s an important topic for us all to consider and to examine our lives by.

Overview: An essential element to cultivating a deep and real relationship with God is trusting God to teach us about Himself. Believers have been given the Holy Spirit to teach them all things. But often we lack trust in this perfect teacher. In this audio, I talk about the Holy Spirit as our teacher and why it is critical to trust Him in this role in our lives.


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What Are You Made Of?

What Are You Made Of?


Mark of Self – the one you don’t want
Revelation 13:17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

Mark of God – the One you want
Ezekiel 9:4 and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”

The other day at the gym, I saw a man with a tattoo on his forearm of a bar code with the words “Made in Rio” above it. It struck me, the mark we bear reflects by whom we are made, thus by what we are made of? The man with the tattoo was “made in Rio” – a part of that heritage, culture, beliefs, and family. Each of us is a part of one of two entities made up of a heritage, beliefs, and family …

Ultimately, there are two options by which you can “be made of”; self or God. There is no neutral ground. Either you are made of God or made of self, which is under the sway of “evil” (what is contrary to love) because it is counter to God. 1 John 5:19 What we are made of starts in our minds and in our wills – that is why the mark is on the head (mind) or on the hand (will). Revelation 13:16

Which mark do you bear? Take time to contemplate this question in the light of Truth. Many are deceived in thinking they bear the mark of God when it’s truly of self; for that is what deception is.

What makes up your thoughts? What do you meditate on? Ideas of people, religion, or philosophies of this world? In what do you really trust? What do your actions show?

Have you experienced a renewal of your mind, a mind transformed from seeking your will to God’s will? To be spiritually minded instead of carnally minded?

Whose will do you truly desire to do? Yours or God’s? Do you desire to do what you think God wants or do you spend time daily with Him to truly know Him and His will so you can walk in it?

Who do you serve truly?

To have the mark of man is to strive to serve this life. It means you live by the wisdom of the world. You trust this wisdom fulfill your desires and purposes. You try to be the best in and of this world. Your mind is filled with thoughts and beliefs of people, institutions, etc. It’s ultimately about serving you; of course this can wear many disguises because to outwardly do so would be “selfish”. But that is at its core. You know best. The world tells you if you don’t live according to its wisdom, then you won’t advance. You can’t “buy and sell” unless you follow its protocol, bear its mark, own its philosophies and follow them, that is the only way you’ll advance to becoming to who you want to be, which will ultimately fulfill you and be good, of course.

Let’s dig a bit deeper. You feel you strive to do what is right and good. Even if you are oriented to be a good person isn’t that really serving your own need to be good and feel justified? Jesus said only God is good. Luke 18:19 So why do people strive for to be good outside of God? Possibly it makes us believe there is a change. We are different. We are special. We will be in God’s good graces, though we aren’t seeking His goodness. The only true transformation comes by the hand of God and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. It isn’t about our efforts but Him living and working through us. Many will be surprised in the end to see that they were really serving self, or the image of God constructed by self, but not God. They haven’t sought God to know Him to truly follow Him. How can you follow who you don’t know?

To be truly born again from above and to have a transformed mind is to “be made of” God. It means you have sought the truth to the extent to make a choice between self or God. Only the truth dispelling the lies of this world enables you to see past the deception the self will for what it is, death and destruction. With the knowledge of the truth of God and His ways, you let self go (true repentance) to follow God’s ways that bring peace, love, joy, rest, and life. Bearing God’s mark means you seek to live with God as Lord of your life, not you. Therefore, you seek to know God, know His ways and seek His counsel in all areas so you can walk in it. He is your first love. You meditate on the things of God. You want to advance and grow in the wisdom of God, not man, therefore you spend time seeking God’s wisdom not man’s. To seek God, to know, trust and live in and by Him is to be made of God.

Who owns you truly? Do you feel like a slave to this life? To the things of this life? How much time do you spend seeking God? How are you trying to advance in your life? All these things tell you who you are really serving, thus what mark you truly bear.


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Just a Label or the Real Deal

Just a Label

or

The Real Deal

 

Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

There is a sad epidemic in our nation, the “Christian” image. It’s one of the greatest distractions/deceptions to prohibiting people from truly seeking God as He is. For those on the outside, they see the masquerade and turn away not only from it but from God as well. For those on the inside and a part of it, they think it’s life (as they have been taught), yet fail to enter into the kingdom of God. Thus, many are living a deprived and unfilled life and believe that is the life Christ came to give them. They’ve never entered into the true kingdom because they believe what they’ve been told; that they’ve already entered.

For years, I lived this image. However, bound in the deception of it, I didn’t know I was living the image. I thought I was the real deal. So I didn’t seek any further. Yet, my life was a miserable mud-pit (of which I had no idea the extent of until I started experiencing true life). In my deception, I actually thought my mud-pit was pretty good. See how Satan keeps us in bondage?

On the outside, I looked like a follower of God, but I was a follower of self. Even in regards to my “religion”. I did and trusted what I had been taught by religious leaders, not God. Therefore, I couldn’t trust God because I never spent time with God to really know Him to trust Him. I spent time with religious people. I knew them and what they taught, so it was in them that I trusted – in the name of God. I didn’t realize this was the case until I was taught by God and “saw” the difference. It’s a HUGE difference, creating a HUGE chasm between living an image and true life in Christ. Mark 7:6-7

Spirit teaches spirit. It’s through revelation of the Holy Spirit that we gain truth and learn who God is so we can trust Him. When Peter said Jesus was the Christ, Jesus told him that he didn’t learn this from a person but the Holy Spirit. It was by this method of revelation that Christ would build His true Church. Matthew 16:17-18 We truly come to know God by being taught about God from the Holy Spirit. It’s not by flesh and blood that we learn. That is why it’s impossible to explain spiritual truths to someone without the spirit. They’ll never get it. But when you talk to someone who has also been taught by God they get it.

We learn about God from God because it fosters intimacy and love as God desires; just as you learn most about your spouse from your spouse. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is given to us to teach us all things, especially about Him. We only know God when we seek Him one-on-one being grounded in the Bible and taught by the Holy Spirit. Those bound by this “image” have never diligently sought God trusting the Holy Spirit to reveal and teach them the truth of God and His ways. Instead they’ve relied on a person to show them.

So, what does this Christian image entail … well a lot of things, like going to church, tithing to the church, not saying certain things because you shouldn’t, being under the “authority” of your church leaders, living a certain “lifestyle” in accordance to the church, speaking the church lingo, helping out at the church, helping the church system to prosper, and leading others to come to church. When you really look at this… it is all about the church, not God.

Finally, as I mentioned in a previous post, one of the defining elements of this image is that there is no real need to seek God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength because you’ve already arrived. Sure, you can always learn more, but no big deal, leave that up to the pastors to learn then regurgitate back to you. Luke 16:14-15 (This belief often isn’t said blatantly, but it’s said clearly.) Yet, this seeking is the one thing that leads you to truly trust, surrender and move into the abundant life Christ came to give.

This “image” is one of the most deceptive works out there because once you think you’ve found you stop seeking. People come to a church say “the sinner’s prayer” and are “encouraged” by others to get involved in all kings of activities. When people are busy doing these “wonderful” acts and receiving praise for them, they feel good about themselves and think something has changed, when it has all been self induced.

Now this message may seem “tough” to some of you. But this image is spoken of throughout the Bible. Psalm 50:21, Revelation 13, Matthew 23:27, Isaiah 29:13 People are living one way claiming they are of God, but in their hearts they are still lord. Their trust is in what they think is best and that is being a good Christian. They don’t diligently seek God’s will daily to follow His voice, not some person’s. Here is the catch; you won’t see this masquerade in your own life because you are in deception until you seek God and the light of truth floods your soul. So you may think this isn’t you as I did; but if you truly seek and you will find. So bottom line regardless, is seek God in truth trusting the Holy Spirit to teach you all things. God wants us to be real with Him and in a real relationship. He has so much to give us if we will draw near in TRUTH and SPIRIT.

So what does a true Christian look like?

There is no image. And eventually you lose all labels, and you are who you are as a child of God, of which we all are. This realization comes as we seek God and all He is with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and are taught by Him. John 6:45  When we have a single focus to do the will of God, not the will of man in the name of God. Matthew 21:31 Therefore we can look like a lot of things because God’s ways aren’t our ways.


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Audio Series – Developing a Relationship with God

Audio Series – Developing a Relationship with God

 

RachelDiPaolo1On Blog Talk Radio, I’m recording a series of shows all around cultivating a deep relationhsip with God, which I encourage you to check out. The shows are interconnected and build upon one another, but you don’t have to listen to them in order, though I recommend it.

To access them, you can either click on the link to the right and go to Blog Talk Radio or go to Itunes and subscribe to them. In Itunes under podcasts, search for Stirring the Deep and they will come up.

Ones now available are:

Tasting God’s Goodness
Adorned as God’s Bride
Growing in Intimacy with God through the Bible


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The Choice

The Choice
Whom Will We Serve

 

2 Chronicles 15:12-13 – and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Some powerful verses, aren’t they?

The Choice

We have a choice to make; a choice between God’s will and our will. Are we going to follow our way and what we think is best or are we going to follow God? Which we choose will determine if we enter into the kingdom of God.

We can only choose if we know what our choice is. Therefore, we have to learn who God TRULY is and who we TRULY are. Only then can we decide. Otherwise we may be choosing ourselves and not realize it or choosing a false image of God, not God.

This choice is the one Adam had to make. He chose himself when he chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He decided he could choose what was right, good and best in his life. Like Adam, we all have this choice to make, our way or God’s. But first we have to see God and see ourselves.

Born into Self-Will (sin)

We are born in this world following our self (sin) – like the fallen Adam. Bound to this self will, we learn to trust our pride, strength, intellect, ideas of what good is, and goodness. Our trust is in us. What we trust is our idol/god. We experience life with us at the helm. We see what it manifests. We have no idea that there is another option because it is all we know. We are blinded to God’s way. We haven’t learned of it therefore can’t chose Him or walk in it. We will do what we know. What we know we trust.

Then something in our spirit awakens. We become aware that there is another way; to trust God instead of us. This first awakening is what people acknowledge with the “sinner’s prayer” – it’s simply awareness. This awareness plays out in four ways as in the parable of the sower of the field. Matthew 13 Only the seed, the Word, that falls on good soil continues on and prospers. Good soil is the soul nourished with the spirit and truth. Though many have awareness only a fraction choose God.

Seeking God to Choose Him

Until we seek God grounded in the Bible with the instruction of the Holy Spirit, we don’t have the information to make the choice of truly denying ourselves to follow God. John 6:45 One, we aren’t fully aware of the self that is contrary to God (sin is a symptom of self, it’s self, the source, we are to repent, turn from) second we don’t know God deeply enough to trust Him with our lives. How do you really trust what you don’t know?

At this awakening, we can choose to pursue God or not. Pursuing God means seeking Him with all our hearts to know Him deeply and personally. It isn’t easy. It takes commitment to diligently seek. We need to get to know God amidst all the deception that fills our lives, which keeps us from this very act. Lies like you don’t need to seek, you don’t need to read the Bible, you just need to do be a good person, and you are too busy. There are many counterfeit substitutes within spirituality to keep us from digging deeper so we can truly make a choice for God and believe.

If you believe there is gold in your backyard what will you do? Go dig. If you believe God is your God what will you do? Go dig. If you believe only God is righteous and you aren’t therefore you don’t know what is truly good, then you will seek God and His ways and truth because you are clueless. You’ll desire to draw near and know Him. Faith without works is dead. Faith is believing and trusting in God and His ways. You can’t follow what you don’t know. To truly know God as He is and not some image concocted by you or this world, you have to get to intimately know Him. You have to get to know God and His ways in order to follow them. You don’t choose what you don’t know and trust. Believe is a loaded word.

This need to seek is why the path is narrow to life and few find it. Matthew 7:13-14 It takes commitment and diligence in seeking God. This is why many are called few are chosen. Matthew 22:14 Of the called, few choose to seek out God and get to know Him as He is. For those who truly seek God, they are able to choose between themselves and God because they understand what the choice entails.

Christian Image – False Security

One of the greatest distractions from seeking is buying into the image of a follower of God. Once you think you’ve found, you stop seeking.

This “image of a Christian” keeps people from seeking. (One who lives the manufactured Christian lifestyle) This manufactured image misleads people into thinking they made a choice when they haven’t. This “image” has a fundamental trait – no real necessity to seek God to get to know Him. It deludes people into thinking they have God when they don’t because outwardly they’ve changed their actions. They have only heard the call but they haven’t sought to really be able to make the choice. They are still following self.

In Matthew 7:22-23, people were doing great acts in God’s name. But they were doing what they thought best, thus living by their righteousness and not God’s. They never spent time to really get to know God. They lived the image of a Christian but were far from truly being a Christian.

This is why God says to seek Him. Amos 5:4 In seeking, you get to see who He truly is and who you truly are. In that awareness, you are able to choose between Him and you. Choosing Him is believing in Him. Believing means He is Lord in word and action. This is true faith.