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Prayed up...what could that mean??!! There are are a lot of buzz words over the years and things people do that really miss the mark of truth. Someone comes up with a concept and all of a sudden it snowballs because it "sounds good". One of these old Charismatic catch words was "He's got the Spirit". This was in reference to someone who had experienced what is called the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit". But truth be known, anyone that has received Christs' forgiveness has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and with it the ability to walk in the gifts of the Spirit as needed and guided by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise it becomes elitism. I could point to many scriptures regarding God is not a respecter of men and the such. Jesus did not die for just a celebrate few as the Calvinists believe and he doesn't play favorites. If he did, Jesus would not leave the 99 to rescue the one. It tells us we are no longer servants but friends. The truth is, in the New Covenant, all are grafted not into Judaism, but into Christ. Its that simple. We are all added that choose to believe. Christ is the head of all born again believers and not any man. When a man is, corruption begins. There would be no place to begin with all of that. God is indeed tribunal. Father, and Holy Spirit. All point to Truth. Anything taught otherwise is man getting involved. When that happens the mess begins to transact. The Gospel is simple. Believe. Believe and you shall be saved. You are saved by faith and not by any work that you should boast. People so misunderstand what James is saying when he says faith without works is dead. Performers often point to this and construe it as a stance on salvation. All it really means is that when you are in Christ, its just a natural flow to do good works by the spirit. Be available and be spirit led. It doesn't mean because someone is stagnant in appearance to others, they are not saved. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling. In the Spirit, you are saved. The obstacle for us is found in the Soul, which is the flesh. Our Mind, our Emotions, and our Will. The word says that God is Spirit and we are formed in his Image. This means our eternal being is our Spirit man that comes alive when we receive Christ. Another words we can cast down the strong holds in our mind and will and emotions. We have the mind of Christ. We are exhorted to renew our minds daily. But we are also told that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and might in the Holy Spirit. There is a distinct separation there. The Apostle Paul said to strive for one thing. To enter into the peace of the Gospel. That is our place of rest. That's it. Don't strive to be perfect, or perform good works. Enter into peace of Jesus. Jesus said that the words he spoke and the miracles he did were NOT his but were the Father doing them THROUGH him. That in spiritual terms is called abiding. Jesus explained it by also stating that he is the vine and we are the branches and that we are to also abide in him. All life and all nutrition comes from the vine. Paul, as he matured made the statement that "It is no longer I that live, but Christ Jesus living through me. That is Christianity in a nutshell. Believe and allow him to live through you! Paul also said the Mystery of the Gospel is this. Christ in you, the hope of Glory. Some people will tell you that you need to know who you are in Christ. Know your place in him. I believe the exact opposite. Know who Christ in you is. It is about him and not us. We will always have our ups and downs. Always fail in some manner. But of the end of the day it is about who he is in us. The word says we are righteous because of how good we have become right? No it says we are righteous before God because of what Jesus did on that cross. The reason Jesus came is because we can not do it. We need a savior. Prayer. You do not have to be on your knees or in a closet to pray. We are told not to stand on street corners and shout our prayers out. We are told not to do our alms before men. I often wonder why people proclaim fasts when the scriptures plainly tell us to keep it to ourselves. Prayer is communication. What about the people who can not speak? God hears our thoughts as well as our spoken words. Scary isn't it? Our lives are in essence a continual communication with God. he knows the good and bad. Why else would he say that for us to even think something wrong is not that much different from having done it. So pray up right? If God counted sin against the believer, our salvation would be so on again off again that a super ball in a paint shaker would have better chance of Salvation than you or I. What can you do to "make" yourself righteous? Think about it. If you could, would Jesus ever need come? No he would not. Our righteousness is only found in belief. Psychologists will always teach dealing with the esteem of a person. You can spend a whole lifetime chasing your own tail on that one. You can spend a whole lifetime trying to fix yourself, love yourself and hope others love you as well. The bible does not teach that. It teaches we are already filthy rags. So in essence you are trying to constantly wash yourself. That is what the Old Covenant was, all about trying to make yourself clean and acceptable when you could not. There was always a spot or blemish. But there is good news. Relief exists. God says that if we believe on his , we are seen by him as righteous.We are considered complete and Holy in Gods eyes because of the sacrifice on that Cross that Christ called "finished". Complete. There is nothing to add. How much better to enter into completeness found in Jesus, as opposed to chasing our tails, which is futile. Yet done on a continual basis. Do your need to be "prayed up" in order to remain your . Is their standing in your family based on something they can do to make it better? Or is it the fact that they were born to you and life is a journey with them. They can leave and not have you any longer in their daily life and....they are still your . Life is better when you do hear from them. God is the same way. When we receive Christ we are born into his family. Placed in the position that he always hoped for us to be. People who have 4 or 5 know the distinction in personalities and approaches to life. God gets all that too. The real peace in life for a Christian is found in knowing God loves them unconditionally. Despite our stupid failures from time to time. So, with that in mind, how destructive is it in a Christians life when they are continually taught that their standing is based upon how they perform? Something to keep in mind. The Father of the Prodigal was always watching for his return. He saw him from a distance. He ran to him. Unfortunately innate in man is the position of the brother who instead of rejoicing at the return of the brother to fellowship that his father so dearly loved. The prodigal proclaimed how sorry he was, but the father never said don't do that again. Okay, I will let you back this time. He said, kill the fatted calf, get my a robe and a ring. God is not a task master. He is an understanding, loving father that loves much deeper than our understanding can follow. Maybe thats why we misunderstand him so much. Misunderstand the simplicity and Covenant of Grace, which is never "Cheap". Why? Because his sons' blood was the price. There is no price we can offer up to cover that. So as Paul stated best, strive to enter into the peace of the Gospel. |
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4/26/2011 5:27 am |
Hi Dennis, interesting read! God bless you.
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Hey Pat, how are you doing?
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