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Knowing Christ is In You

How to Know

Christ is Within You

To abide in unity with the heavenly Father is the greatest communion you can seek for your soul; for in that union is immortality of living in the purest love.

To abide in this unity; you have to walk in the Father’s ways; for His holiness requires it. John 17:3

Christ IN you enables you to walk in the Father’s ways.

Christ is the Word of God. When Christ is in you, the truths of the Father are in you. And those truths, when followed, create true life out of your once dead life.

When the truths of the Father are in you, the result is you live according to them. If they are in you; they govern you, this is the power they hold. You embrace them because you know they are the means to your deepest desires, and all else is not. The Father’s ways are the means to the fulfillment of the purest love, peace, honor, beauty, purpose, rest and all else you deeply desire. These desires are the very nature of the Father, for He is spirit; thus the supreme desire is to be in unity with the Father.

If you look to or seek some other means to fulfill these desires, you keep yourself from experiencing the attainment of your desires, from being filled with Christ, and from experiencing a true bond with the Father. These other means are your idols; marriage, children, jobs, vocations, status, possessions, appearance, relationships, compulsions etc.

1 John 2:4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

To know the Father, thus have unity with Him, is to know and live in the truths of His ways. When you know His ways in wisdom and understanding, you DESIRE to do them and DO them because by them you receive all you deeply desire without corruption.

1 John 2:5-6 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

You know you are in Christ and He is in you, when you look at yourself and you see His nature as your nature. We look at ourselves from within out. We look at others from outside in. When He is in you, when you look at yourself you no longer see your old self and nature, but you see His nature; His desires, wisdom, love, mercy, purity, and power. You know that though He is beyond you; He is also in you. Your life is governed by His spirit and no longer your old self. The old self has become an ash heap from the fires you walked through that burned away all that was contrary to His spirit; which is of the purest righteous love. To come to the Father, you have to walk through the fires of refinement to purify yourself unto righteousness.

This union with Christ WITHIN US has begun to take place among the elect.

I don’t know how Jesus Himself will return, what it will look like, for the images we conjecture of the physical in our minds are often off.  But Christ returns WITHIN US as a spirit; as He is now doing in the elect – that is why they are the elect. He gives us the eyes and ears to see and hear so we can turn from our lies, idols, and ALL that is contrary to Him so we can abide in His truth; thus eternal life. His spirit in us is the power we need to live from our thoughts outward in truth and in love.


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The Truth and Your “Truth”

The Truth and Your “Truth”

There is The Truth; The Truth of God. It’s what is truly real in this universe and beyond. Then there is each one of our truths, which are our unique perspectives on this world. No one views this world the same, which is amazing when you consider it. There are groups of people who view certain concepts similarly, but even among those, there are differences.

Most don’t consider these differences. For the most part in day to day normal interactions, we assume others see the world as we do. Yet, we all see life differently, and how we see it is truth to us, but that doesn’t mean it’s THE Truth; in fact, it never fully is. Our unique perspectives are a mix of different viewpoints of The Truth, as well as lies. The proportions of these vary for each of us.

How did we get this way? What is solution to the cohesiveness we seek? Why does it matter?

How did we get this way?

We each have different lenses affecting how we look upon this world. The makeup of our lenses comes from a wide variety of sources; our genetics, family, culture, society, heritage, media, teachers, experiences, religion, and so on.  Ultimately, it’s mostly the influence of others in some way shaping our beliefs and perspectives.

It’s my belief that God desires to shape us with The Truth removing all else, otherwise He wouldn’t tell us to seek for it above all else. Proverbs 4:7 When we diligently seek The Truth from the Creator Himself, He slowly opens our eyes to it. As a loving God who desires to be known by His creation, if we seek then He will reveal. Matthew 7:7 Over time, The Truth starts to replace our own mixed truth. However, being in this world surrounded by a multitude of influences, this relearning is an extensive process and takes patience and perseverance. To truly alter our beliefs isn’t a straightforward endeavor. It’s an intricate process for each one of us dependent upon the lies we believe. However, knowing and living by The Truth is the only path to becoming who we were created to be and living in peace, harmony and true love.

Realizing everyone is operating from a different perspective can lead to compassion, patience and willingness to understand their unique view. It can help us have a bigger picture of The Truth when directed by God. But challenges will persist, because we are all different as we operate based on varying realities. In our ability to have such different outlooks on life, it can broaden our understanding, but it also can foster misunderstandings and miscommunication. We can never truly walk in another’s shoes, only our own. We can seek to understand, but that is it. To truly know another’s perspective, we can not.

What is the solution to the cohesiveness we seek?

The problem with operating in our own reality or by our mixed truth is that it doesn’t work. Take a look around, you’ll see how true this statement is. You don’t have to look far; look at your own life. Following our own mixed truths and not seeking to follow The Truth doesn’t foster a harmonious and unified world. God created this world and it was good. Genesis 1 If we functioned as He designed, then we and this world would function very well. If we all were in line with one will, God’s will, things would look totally different. They would be much better, which is an understatement.

The problem is we all have followed our own way and not sought God’s way. Isaiah 53:6 In our extremely limited and warped understanding, we don’t know what is truly beneficial for ourselves much less others, as all we do has ripple effects. This dynamic doesn’t equate to a good outcome for anyone. How many decisions do we make in a day? How many are based totally on THE Truth? Who can possibly know what decision is best for all?

The One who does know is God. When we believe more in line with His Truth, then we act more in line with His Truth in the uniqueness of our characters. This is why our work is to believe in God and The Truth. John 6:29 Only by living life according to His will, do we do what is truly best for all. We’ve shown we can’t walk in His will perfectly on our own, so the solution? God gives us His Spirit, to move through us according to His will, which is bound by true love.

Yet, anyone who has truly sought God, knows this unity with God is a process and not easy. So in the meantime, God generously gives us His mercy, which reaches to the heavens. Psalm 57:10 He gives mercy in perfect proportion to sustain us and yet keep us groping for Him as we seek to be freed from the suffering we’ve manifested in our lives. How dependent we are upon His mercy. How grateful I am for it. Psalm 130:3

Despite our great imperfections and struggle on this path to abiding in God’s Truth, we need to diligently persist to seek the indwelling spirit of God. God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 Seeking His face is the path to having His Spirit dwell within us. It’s a lifelong journey as we are transformed glory unto glory, and in my opinion it’s the only worth while way to live. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Why does it matter?

It’s God’s will that we are united to Him because it’s life to all. To remain abiding in lies causes pain and destruction to us and others for we each play a part in the outcome of this world.

God has made a way to Truth. The more Truth that we believe, the more our lives are a blessing to ourselves and others. Seeking and abiding in His Truth is the journey that God requires of us to walk. Matthew 7:14. We are to seek The Truth from Him, the source of Truth. When He is our Teacher, there is unity with others regarding The Truth because He is instilling in us the same Truth.

Jesus was an embodiment of the Truth. May we seek and not grow weary to be like-minded with Him, for this is the path to life, harmony, peace, and true love.


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Grace: A license to sin?

Grace: A License to Sin?

For years, I thought sins (anything contrary to God’s truth and ways), the little ones, were not that big of a deal. I assumed they were a part of life. On some level, I accepted them. On some level I enjoyed them – though it was a false joy proliferating pain. How often do you hear among professing believers, “well, we ARE sinners”, as if it’s an excuse for the little sins we knowingly sow? Whether true or not, after hearing something often enough you begin to believe it.

I “faithfully” trusted God’s grace to cover me and believed it would somehow negate the ramifications of those little sins that didn’t seem that big of a deal. (Though my life proved differently, which I refused to acknowledge.) Subconsciously, I assumed “I’m forgiven, this hardship can’t be happening because of those little insignificant sins” so I never learned. More than any other, we are best at deceiving ourselves. Further, for conscious sake, we often don’t call those little sins what they are, but they are covered in excuses, justifications, rationalizations … basically self-deception.

How many of us trust God’s grace to cover the sins of:

Not seeking God as He instructs us? Amos 5:4
Not pursuing His wisdom and understanding? Proverbs 4:7
Relying on our own strength and wisdom of the world to get us what we need? Psalm 147:10, Isaiah 31:1
Not loving God with all our heart, soul and mind as we neglect to spend time with Him and deeply get to know Him one-on-one? Mark 12:30
“Loving” others in a way that is really for our acceptance by them, rather than for true love? Mark 12:31

We overlook certain transgressions in the name of grace. This thinking shows we don’t understand God’s forgiveness in Christ and our new life in Him. (Now no one is perfect, obviously. But do we willing accept sins? Do we tolerate them? Or do we fight to live in God’s truth?)

In rebellion to legalism, many warp the doctrine of grace. True, the Old Testament law was fulfilled in Christ. However, there are instructions of God, like those above, that we are to follow, thus still His “law”. Grace doesn’t mean we don’t have to listen and obey our heavenly Father. It means God forgives us, by no action of ourselves, so we are reconciled back to the Him and able to receive His truth, to walk in it, and gain a spirit that is eternally united to Him.

If we truly understand God’s forgiveness and how that allows us to dwell in His presence, that knowledge changes us. We will act on this new understanding by seeking God and learning truth. This truth refashions our minds; preparing us to dwell in oneness with God.

If we really believe something, what do we do? We act on it. Once we truly understand God’s gift of forgiveness, we embark upon a journey of drawing near to God in truth and spirit. We want to know the One who showed us an incomparable love. This is the natural response to truly believing. What would our response be to someone who shows us true love? We would cultivate a relationship with him/her; same with God.

As we grow in truth, our lives are altered by that truth. John 17:17 We are the sum of our beliefs. In time, our lives are purified by the truth of God, and then God establishes His home in our souls. With Him a part of us, we desire to walk fully in His will. We see the little sins for what they are – the top of the stairs leading to the pit. No matter how small or big, anything contrary to God is following a self-will that creates destruction, pain and hardship. But in Him, our will no longer wants to have anything to do with any sin. This is why John said that those of God are without sin – our will doesn’t desire it. 1 John 3:9

If we have the truth abiding in us, will we willingly continue to sin? No. Will we desire complete obedience to God? Yes; an obedience that comes out of knowing and loving Him. John 14:23

It isn’t legalism; it’s love. What we do doesn’t “save” us. God forgave us, so He “saved” us. Seeking and walking in truth is the outcome of our understanding of God’s forgiveness. As God’s truth begins to dwell in us, our desires change because our truth is changing. We want to obey His truths as they are life and love. They aren’t burdensome because they are love and we abound in love with God. 1 John 5:3 It’s a burden when there is no love.

To willingly sin not only shows we aren’t rightly related to God, but also we readily invite a life of destruction, pain and hardship. There are many professing believers who hae been misled about grace and excusing sin and suffering for it, but have been blinded to the cause of their hardships because of the ill-communicated doctrine of grace.

To continue to knowingly sin shows we are foolish and unwise. We reap what we sow. If we sow truth, by following God’s will, we will reap deliverance, joy and love. If we sow lies, by following our self-will, we will reap pain, hardship, and suffering. There is a way to live that prospers our soul and a way that doesn’t. There are spiritual laws and physical laws. God designed us and this world to function in a certain way. When we honor His design, we live in peace; this is the essence of true wisdom. (verses honoring the world’s wisdom that destroys.) As a child of God, these laws still apply. God will not be mocked. Thinking God’s forgiveness is an excuse to go our own way is to mock God. Not a good idea.

Embrace God’s forgiveness given in grace, which enables you to live in unity with Him, by sowing truth and His love in your life. In time, as your beliefs are purged and renewed, you will reap a prospering soul. As you diligently cultivate a relationship with God, you will experience His love; a treasure that far exceeds anything you’ve known.


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Our Core Issue Affecting All Else

 

Our Core Issue Affecting All Else

I’m discovering when you dive into the issues, fears, bad choices, and unhealthy behaviors of people, the core cause is a lack of inherent value, which comes from a feeling of rejection.

I’m beginning to think this core issue (which has many faces) is the black hole in each one of our souls, which the only remedy is oneness with God.

At birth, Our Creator, the One who matters above all, is disconnected from us because of the sin nature we are born into. In this disconnect, we experience a sense of rejection that breeds a lack of value. (Deep unchanging value comes from God. A fullness and completeness of us comes by being connected to Him.)

However, this gap between God and us isn’t our intended state. We were created to be one with God in a bond of love. But because of our corruption that comes from choosing self over Him, we are rejected. God can’t be united to that which isn’t holy, for He is holy. That self-seeking aspect of us that leads us to follow self verses God is the sin that was passed along through Adam. He chose to follow himself and do what he thought best instead of walk in unity with God. Thus, he severed the bond with God and was cast out of His presence. Because we are all connected, that corrupted state is a part of us.

To our further destruction, we spend our lives trying to fill that void with everything but God. The world, governed by the first one to reject God and go his own way (Lucifer), offers a smorgasbord of lies promising to fill that vast hole. They are empty vanities of how we can gain the value we desperately need to rid ourselves of that feeling of rejection. Relationships, sex, lust, goodness, self-righteousness, the perfect parents, children who love us, success, financial wealth, perfect bodies, power, perfect health, fame, control, and so on.

In trying to fill this void and suppress the feeling of rejection, we develop all kinds of bad habits to “protect” ourselves and gain value. We build walls, lash out to control others, manipulate emotionally, withdraw from others, and become people pleasers. We become slaves to others brokenness as we try to earn approval and acceptance. We stomp on others to make ourselves stronger. We become addicted to substances/things to subdue our feelings. We surround ourselves with people trying to fill the void, yet remain completely alone.

The only way to remedy our state is to be reconciled to the One by which that void was created, God. All those other things can’t accomplish what we desire, because they can’t. God loves us. He wants us to be reconciled back to Him as He showed us through Christ Jesus.

Only through Christ, our eternal forgiveness and reconciliation, is the pathway to God opened. However, Jesus is only the door. To find deliverance from the destruction we created and oneness, we have to journey into gate and into God’s presence. By abiding in God’s presence, (seeking His face to know Him and be one with Him), we are put on a path of healing and restoration for our souls. We experience God and His love. We understand how our ways lead to death and how His lead to life and the fulfillment and satisfaction of our souls. Through this journey, we chose God above all else.

Having spent our lives trying to obtain value from all these other sources, it takes time to develop a relationship with God that is strong enough to trust Him to let go of all these other things. Though they haven’t worked, we hold onto the hope that they do, because the world tells us they do. We have to intimately know God to the extent to be able to truly turn from all that we have held on to, thus turn from self (true repentance) and be deeply rooted to Him, nothing else.

God wants nothing to fill that void but Him because only He can. He created us to be in a bond of love with Him, therefore nothing else will suffice. Anything else is an idol, which is full of empty hope. God is offering Himself to us; we only need to embrace Him in truth and spirit.

In theory, turning from self and embracing God sounds easy. I’ve found it isn’t. The path to oneness with God is narrow and few find it, because the multitude of lies in this world that tells us the contrary. It’s a journey that has to be walked with God one-on-one. No one can do it for us. We can’t do it by listening to others talk about it or talk about God. Others can only point the way. We have to spend time with God like someone we love. Though this process we get to know Him, so we can trust Him and let go of everything we tried to use to fill that void and be united to Him. In giving up the empty hopes, what we lose is the superficial temple we built trying to find our own glory. What we gain is who we were created to be as one united to God.

Dig deep into God. What are those things that you are defining yourself by? Those things you are trying to fill that void with? Seek God to know Him as He is. In time, you will start letting all vanity to embrace the One who can fill you as you desire.


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Unity of LOVE – Why Jesus?

Unity of LOVE – Why Jesus?

There are many who don’t believe in Jesus but believe in a universal force, a “god”, that is love and that love is fundamental in our lives and we should be connecting with it. But as you will see if you believe in love, there is a need for Jesus Christ. For you can’t abide in true love without Him.

Our Creator is a God of love and desires to be in a bond of love with us – that is why we were created. It’s our eternal purpose that will never change. With each one of us, as we are united to Him His love expands. Love entails unity and oneness. It also requires truth and honesty because love doesn’t exist without these; otherwise the relationship is a product of the imagination.

What is Needed for a Unity of Love

Our Creator designed relationships to teach us how to relate to Him. In any relationship, there are certain characteristics that are required for there to be unity and oneness. When those characteristics are present the relationship flourishes, and all parties benefit. Fundamentally, there needs to be truth, trust, and love, and each one needs to be and live as they were created. In a relationship with God, we are to be united to Him in truth and REAL love (not our warped interpretations that are really contrary to love). Further, we have to let God be God in our relationship and all that entails. If we don’t honor or try to do His role the relationship breaks down. It’s like a man trying to be the woman in a relationship it doesn’t work. He was created a man and that is all he can be.

What is Broken

When God isn’t OUR God and we aren’t abiding in truth and love, then we are severed from Him. A lack these characteristics is a sign of a broken relationship. All of us have acted exceedingly contrary on these points; therefore all of us have been severed from God. As in a relationship between a man and woman, we have been unfaithful or “cheated” on God because we’ve not been faithful in these areas. Therefore, everyone needs reconciling.

The Way Back to Love

The only way to be reconciled is if the one “cheated” on offers forgiveness, meaning they humble themselves and lay down their hurt, pain and a part of themselves (the respect, loyalty, honor, and love they deserved) for the cheater. If that happens then reconciliation is initiated.

God initiates this act of reconciliation for us. He humbles Himself and lays down His life (perfect love as He is perfect) and forgives us so that we may be reconciled to Him. To abide in unity thus love there has to be forgiveness.

God shows us the act of reconciliation that is occurring on a spiritual level in the physical life of Jesus Christ. God came to earth taking on the human form, far different from His own, to show us that He laid down His life and forgave us of all our rebellion that we might be reconciled to Him. It is difficult for us to fully understand what this act meant – for a perfect being to lay down a life for a being far less perfect, broken, and undeserving – because when we forgive others we are very similar to them in our wretchedness. But with God it was perfection laying down His life for corruption – a MUCH bigger cost and a MUCH greater love. And with a perfect holy God forgiveness can’t be based on works (how good we act) because no one could live up to the perfection required. It has to be all Him, all grace, to achieve complete unity. The way of Jesus Christ was the only way without works and is the only way to complete unity.

Imagine, it you were the god of the ants, who you loved very much and their purpose was to abide in love with you. Imagine they went their own way doing their own thing and weren’t abiding in the bond of love, but were doing the opposite in destroying themselves and each other with their rebellion. You could kill them and start over. Or, in the ultimate act of love you could humble yourself and go to them as one of them. You could tell them and show them what you did because you love them. You could even go a bit farther by giving them part of your divine spirit to dwell within them to lead and guide them in the ways of truth and love. Now in that new awareness and oneness they would understand how they went their own way and rebelled against you, and reenter into a bond of love with you. In a similar way, this is what God did for us. Jesus Christ, God taking on human form, came to lay down His life, so that we could be reconciled back to Him in truth and love.

What is Our Part

Now, ONLY if the cheater recognizes what is happening 1. he cheated or rebelled 2. he needs forgiveness 3. he accepts that act of forgiveness of the one cheated and 4. he begins to act in a way that fosters unity can the reconciliation take place. Otherwise the separation remains. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are acknowledging that we have rebelled, reconciliation is needed, God is giving us forgiveness, we accept it, and we seek to be rightly related to Him in every way. Otherwise, we don’t understand our rebellion or that only God could reconcile us. We can’t do the reconciling because He has to lay down his life in the act of forgiveness.

If we don’t understand and accept these points there is no reconciliation. Just as if you are in a relationship and someone cheats on you and they don’t understand what they did and you don’t truly forgive – then there is no true unity and love is blocked. Further, when we reunite ourselves back to another we fully understand our error, and with all our hearts desire to be in a relationship upholding the characteristics that foster unity. And with God that means we abide in truth and love, and He is OUR God. We can’t truly have this understanding of what He did and what it meant and God not be LORD of our life. If He isn’t LORD or moving into that place in our lives, it’s similar to your spouse forgaving you for cheating, but you continue to cheat. You aren’t really reconciled.

It’s the ultimate act of love to lay down your life for someone – especially for someone who didn’t earn or deserve it. God laid it down for us though we didn’t deserve it because of His love. His act of reconciliation was so extensive and complete that every thought and act of rebellion is completely forgiven – so He keeps no record of wrongs. In other words, we are pure in His eyes. Do you know of any other relationship where someone is wiling to do that? I don’t. Because God’s love is so much greater than any other we know.

When we are reconciled back to God then we can truly experience all of Him and be united to Him in every way. Then, we can know REAL love. When you realize what God has done for us – His love overwhelms you. In this act, we didn’t do anything – He did it all. We only acknowledge what He did for us to be reconnected to Him in the relationship of true love and faithfulness – a relationship we were always meant to be in. That act is real love expressed to the fullest. And if we are truly reconciled, our lives will show it, and it has nothing to do with “religion” but a relationship.

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