Dead Men Only Have Christ

I am in the middle of a storm. It is the storm that God is using to give me revelation and set me free. The storm is bringing the answers to my prayers. This morning the trials were difficult although they brought great revelation. Here is what I’m learning:

Is it not true that dead men don’t have standards, opinions or beliefs?  Don’t dead men only have Christ?

There is sufficiency in Christ only when I am dead to self.  When I’m dead to self do I need a standard, opinions or beliefs?  Dead men have no needs.  Christ is the fulfillment of my needs because He is the LIFE.  Christ fulfilled God’s standard because He is the WAY, opinions and beliefs are replaced with truth because He is the TRUTH.  Opinions and beliefs imply a lack of truth which begs the question, can they coexist together?  Standards and rules require a judge and enforcement.  Christ did not need a standard, because the Father established the standard.  Since Christ did not establish the standard He did not judge but yielded to the Father whom established it.  Jesus did not act on his own, he did what he saw the Father do and said what the Father said.1  2

When the rich man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, he was asking what the standard is.3 Jesus spoke the standard the Father established.  When the man claimed he had kept them all.  The word says that Jesus loved him.  Jesus had no judgment, opinion or belief so he remained free to love him.  Out of love Jesus told him to sell everything, give to the poor and follow Him.

Are not Jesus and the Father one?4  5  6 If I were in Christ and He was in me would we not be one?7  8  9  10 If Christ and I were one and because Christ and the Father are one wouldn’t we both have the Father’s standards?

My Prayer: God, this is the place I want to be. I let go of my standards. I forgive all debts. I surrender my opinions and beliefs.  God, please forgive me for setting standards, judging myself and others by them, and establishing myself as king.  Forgive me for holding myself and others in judgment and allowing bitterness to grow.  Thank you for hearing me and canceling my debts.  I receive Your forgiveness, mercy, grace and truth.  I want my only debt to be the continued debt to love because you God, first loved me.11 Help me to receive and experience your love fully so that I know how to love in return.12 I receive Your love.  Thank you for loving me an providing a way for me.

Help me to love my wife like Christ loves the church.13 Help me to cover her sins with love.  Help me to renew her mind by the washing of your word.  Help me to be the spiritual leader of my home and lead by example.

God, remember me when you knit me together in my mother’s womb, remember the purpose for which You created me?14 Please have mercy on me.  Show me the depth of Your compassion.  Close the gap between where I am and where You created me to be. Amen.

05.17.11

Lies, Lies, and More Lies

Remember the enemy speaks lies.15 Lies are his native tongue.  Let’s look through the eyes of faith at our circumstances.  Is anything impossible for God?2  3 God is not sleeping4 – He sees the totality of our circumstances.  He is able to make ALL THINGS work for our good.5 In faith let’s continue to do good for at the proper time we will reap a reward!6 As men we are called to love our wives like Christ loved the church.7  8 Remember he didn’t lose His life, He laid it down.9 Let’s see all things as an opportunity to love.  It’s way bigger than us, we cannot go it alone.  Remember Jesus said he could do nothing on His own.10  11 It is an impossible task that is possible with God.  We must ask Him to give us His love for our wives.  It is important for us to remove all hindrances to love by confessing our sins in agreement with God.  God is love12  13 therefore if we are in agreement with Him we are in agreement with love.  Our hardened hearts create blind spots within us.  We must examine the overflow of our hearts through our words and actions to see the areas that are in opposition with God.14  15 If we ask God to soften our hearts, He will through repentance.  To maintain a softened heart we must confess every time we sin even if we commit it over and over.  The enemy will tell us we don’t need to confess it again because we just confessed it 5 minutes ago.  He is a liar!

05.17.11

Love My Wife?

I received a wonderful revelation from the Lord this morning.  A call to be the husband He created me to be:

Ephesians 5:25-30  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

The countenance of my wife reflects my love for her.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Who / what shall separate my wife from my love?  Shall hardship or persecution?

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If I love my wife like Christ loved the church, will she be persuaded that nothing will separate her from the love of God which is in me?

I have utterly failed to fulfill the call of my Lord and Savior to love.

My Prayer:  Lord, please forgive me for being selfish, for setting myself up as an idol and neglecting your call upon my life.  I have discounted the work Jesus completed on the cross by not expressing it to my wife.  Please forgive me.  Thank you for your example of love.  Through your Holy Spirit teach me to love.  Search me and reveal the hindrances to love and give me the grace to lay them all at your feet as a personal sacrifice of my will.  That I may love you with my whole heart, my entire soul, and all of my strength.  Please God, I am utterly sinful without your mercy and grace – I am lost without You.  Change my selfish nature and give me your nature of love and self sacrifice.

01.19.2011