My only struggle is the struggle not to struggle. . .

Came across some choice sayings this evening. Thought whoever might come across this blog would enjoy them as much as I. . .

"Jesus declare,"All power has been given unto me in heaven and in
earth."
(Matt 28:18) Is this true? If it is, how much power has the devil got?"

Gee wilikers. How sound is that?! Jesus has all power. Yippee! How reassuring and emboldening is that?!!

"By glory we mean credit due. God cannot share the glory because all
things are of Him and him alone. He would virtually deny Himself. This
he cannot do(2Tim. 2:13). If only half the work is God's then only half
the credit is Gods; but if all the work is God's then all the glory is God's!"

So then, glory is what it is. When man tries to deny the glory of God it truly is the same as denying God. It is who God is. It is a deceived person who tries to touch His Glory. Impossible for God to deny Himself.

"For twenty-five years I tried, like a good Christian, to carry out the
of the Sermon on the Mount and found that I couldn't do it; I failed!
I gave it up in disgust and decided to leave the Sermon of the Mount up
the Mount. It was some years later that I discovered that the Christian
life isn't hard to live; it's impossible to live, and only Jesus can live
it. Then I recognized that my only struggle was the struggle not to
struggle."

Therein lies the rub. We can't do it.

Therein lies the rest. We can't do it.

Therein lies the joy. Jesus did it all for us!

Therein lies the oxymoron. Strive to enter the Rest.

Pride has no room to stand at the feet of Jesus.

No self effort is required. Only selflessness in the truest sense of the word. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

Therein lies the truth. Jesus blood shed for us was enough. "Christ in Me, the hope of glory."

What you believe defines you. And if you believe the truth then all the better, for it can't be taken from you. If one clings to the lies, then how troublesome will it be when the lies are revealed and destroyed. AKA building your house upon the rock vs building your house upon the sand. . .

(All 3 quotes were taken from Arthur Burt's book "Surrender, your key to Spiritual Success")

Good things Nasty things

I don't know if we are the only ones this happens to, but it so often seems that when God is doing a rather obvious thing in our hearts / lives that often these nasty things pop up. Now, this is all rather small scale in comparison to what others endure, but as it's happened more than once, it seems there is more to it than just coincidence. Such as last night driving home from a weekend in the big city D and I are talking of truly good things. Being reminded of the truth in unison. So, we get home and big dog goes and deliberately pees (very very stinky urine might I add) in the office all over the carpet we just steam cleaned not a week ago. Then our other little dog poops upstairs. Then baby of the family (20 months as of now) sleeps badly, while our stomachs gurgle and feel a little off. Next day, whiny clingy toddler and then a 4 year old who throws up.

Okay, I am just reminded of something. . .

We have a friend who we have known since he was born of the Spirit. (almost 10 years now). Ended up in a pastoral postion etc etc. This last year has been utterly brutal for him. We hadn't actually been in touch for over a year until this last August. Anyway, we get in touch (due to D having a freaky dream with him in it) and say we are passing by his way and he invites us to stay and visit. So, off we are to visit. Well, the night before we are due to arrive D comes down with the stomach flu. The next day as we travel through the mountains to our friends abode I get sick. So of course we are thinking, gee maybe we shouldn't bring the stomach bug to their house (they have 2 little kids). So we phone and inform them of the problem, but they insist we come regardless. Then we arrive, I come down with a fever now. I take some meds and listen to the horrific story of all the brutal slander, rejection, hatred from a good amount his church members. . . We had no clue as we really had gone through a distant patch with them. Other than the dreams that my husband had that turned out to be right on.

So, anyway, we leave the next day, glad that we were in unity once again, glad that our friend had a neutral friend to share his heart to and quite shocked by the brutality of it all. Anyway, we don't hear from him for a few months, until just before Christmas. He calls, and he and D talk for hours and hours. Just painful stuff that he has been enduring. Lo and behold, whilst they talk I come down with the stomach flu. And D the next day. So, they talked again this last Sat (the weekend in the city) via msn in the hotel. Gee is it any surprise that our daughter has come down with a stomach thing once again - not to mention my stomach feeling fairly lousy at the mo. It didn't even occur to me til I started writing this that we had yet again been in touch with our friend. The three times we (or D - me vicariously) have been in touch with our friend we have come down with a stomach upset! The only 3 times we have been sick and the only 3 times we have been in touch with him, just listening and encouraging Him in the love of God.

3 times in a row!

Oh and get this. while we are travelling (back in August), before we get to our friends house (who has been enduring all this stuff. . .) we are visiting other friends we haven't seen in a long time along the way (travelling from Vancouver Island (where we used to live and friends and family live) to Saskatchen (where we live now). So we get to the first friends house. Have a wonderful edifying unifying time with them. The morning we are to leave our host lifts up a patio chair and accidently breaks her outdoor light. We stop by some dear old friends on the way out of that city for a quick visit. There their coffee table gives way and a bowl breaks. D and I look at each other in bemused amazement. Twice in one day. That evening we arrive at the last friends we are set to visit before we head to our pastor friends home. Would you believe it?! (I would). Our host breaks his wine glass!! 3 in one day.

So yeah, just interesting stuff like that happens sometimes. . .

Golly.

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last wrote. Can I blame it on the fact that I have small children? Okay, so I live in a small town, homeschool my oldest (the other 2 are not yet school age), have a couple dogs and have very few friends that I hang out with here (as we recently moved to Saskatchewan) and yet I feel so busy. That is nuts. I don't work and my husband doesn't even work more than 34 hours a week. So, you would look at my situation and think that I've got it good. And really, I do! But I can't figure out where the time goes!!

I sometimes want to move to some needy place in Africa, so that I know that at least my busyness is spent on worthwhile endevours. I have no fear of not measuring up when I die and transfer from here to There, but I do have this constant sense of not wanting to waste my time on earth on frivolous things, when I could be spending it on eternal things of value. So, I don't think it's an identity thing, but rather a genuine urge for spending my time on things of eternal value. And yes, I do consider my family and friends "things" of eternal value. I am talking more of the lifestyle thing. Spending my free time redecorating our house, or watching some tv show, or whatever else. But you know what? I don't live by myself. I don't have the option of popping up and heading for Mozambique and running an orphanage. Dan and I would have to be of like mind in such a move and right now I am the only one who feels this way. It's really not in my hands. I just have to leave this in my Fathers hands, because He is the only one who can sort this all out and place me in the most perfect location.

Okay, so I love it when He sends people our way who are so ready to receive the GRACE of God. Maybe it just feels a little quiet now and I am trying to over analyze everything instead of basking in the pure wonderfulness of God. Yep, I think I am in dire need of basking. If you are reading this, feel free to ask Him to bring me to that lovely spot of revelling in His love and being filled up to overflowing with His love, reality, joy, peace, patience. Tired of my fruits. Not so tasty anymore! Just want to move from His percpective, His power, His life, His love. . . !

Passivity vs Passion

What a lazy blogger i am. . . Personally I think my laziness is why God is so fond of me. . . ha ha. That way it is quite clear that it is Him, when something wonderful happens and i am left without a doubt. . .

Did that make sense? Of course i don't really believe that, but I could not resist saying such an inane thing!

I am a lazy blogger, because i go to all these wonderful blogs and hear all the wonderful things people are thinking and hearing and then I go to bed. I rarely comment, I hide in the shadows, luking here and there. But tonight, i have decided to pop out for a moment and say 'Hi'. Hi!

Actually, I kind of coast from blog to blog enjoying my ride. And because the ride is so pleasant and encouaraging I generally lack the inclination to write. Because there are so many people of sound mind, that I just keep going on. . . It's when i get to a blog where there is such insanity that I feel compelled to throw in some lovely freedom truth. It is there that i see such a barreness of freedom and all of a sudden I feel a "charge" in my spirit and off i go. . .

Nevertheless

Jesus is my passion

And I had this thought the other day

Nothing overly profound - it's been said before - however, yet again I was seeing how "there is No passivity in the Love of God".

His Love is awesome and wonderful and graceful and fearful. Because Love is all those things. You don't mess with Love's Child, for Love is not passive. That is why all that mamby pamby new age feel good yoga stuff is not the answer. Because my father LOVES me and Love is dangerous and wonderful and unpredictable and perfect! Who knows what'll happen next! Not safe, but safe. Wonderful dichotomy!

Good night

Transparency

Lately, while reading Matthew's blog and related blogs I have found myself weeping. It is rather inexplicable. . . There is such an utter transparency I see there than causes me to cry. I see such a child-likeness that is simplicity and beauty. I feel myself propelled toward the heart of God which beckons me come and abandon all. Which gentle voice tells me that it the place I long to be.

I take the blame

It is the most wonderful freeing thing to know that when you've just done something stupid, be it large or small, that Jesus takes the blame for it all! All our imperfections gone! Taken by Jesus Himself! I want to upload the song 'Blame' by LSU. . . I am going to have to figure out how to upload music to blogger. I've never tried to do anything more technical than upload pics, so. . . But the song is so wonderful to listen to and actually believe!

Jesus always whispering to our hearts.'I take the blame'

What joy, what peace, what fellowship!

Some great songs. . .

Here are some lyrics from a band called LSU. It is from their album Grace Shaker.
Brilliant Lyrics:

'Grace'
striving for the answer
in fighting for the streets of gold
hope you're not forgotten
you wonder if you've killed your soul
i've heard the words of judgment
but not from the one i know

it falls down on me
it falls down on you
grace falls free
the proud feel the need to work the loom
yet grace falls free

holding up to heaven
the winnings of your plow
look into the poor man
show him what he must do now
you've got all the answers
but he's got a book that shows him how

it falls down on me...

think about the river
how it always flows
they're still digging in the desert
but that's not where this river goes
it's filled with all the living
and quenches every wantin' soul

it falls down on me...

'Blame'

[I so hear Jesus saying this to us!]


I 'll pick you up when you go down
I'll fight your battle everytime
I'll ride with you to bring you round
Though the doubts form in your mind

Oh I take the blame

So if your mind hurts from this sound
You can't see beyond this wall
Forget that heavy load right now
I'll be the one to take the fall

I take the blame
I take the blame
I take the blame
I take the blame

Away
Right now
Away

I'll show you heaven in this town
You'll have to love more than you know
When it all starts to fall down
Just trust in me and I will show you how

I'll take the blame

Apologies

It would appear that I started something that I am not keeping up. I find myself writing less and less these days (unless someones blog really spurs me). But there is always hope.

LOVE

A voice calling out in the wilderness
"Prepare the way of the Lord"

Love is the way
The fire of Lord goes before Him
The hills melting like wax
At His presence

The Glory of the Lord
is His all consuming love
Why do we run?

Instead cry out
Fall on us fire of God
Spirit of God
Melt our hearts
Make straight the path

Destroy all the lies
that stand in opposition
Flow river of fire
From your throne
So Poor
So Pour

Burn our hearts
Kindle the flame
Dross removed
By the fire of Your love

Burdenlifter

Satan, our spiritual adversary, has a ministry. I think that it would be best described as a 'ministry of condemnation'. He seems to take pleasure in administering condemnation to us folk who just like to rest in the love and graciousness of God.

Jesus isn't out to condemn us. He's out to save us from ourselves, right? So, Jesus isn't about to condemn us for anything. In fact, it is written that all things become brand new in Christ. So, if everything is given over to him - all our stupidity, all our sin, all our failings, then they aren't ours anymore. That makes sense to me at the moment. However, Satan would have us believe that we can't give everything to Jesus, that we can't hand over our guilt, our mistakes, etc.

That would be old Satan, the liar, deceiver, destroyer. . .
So, I guess all that I am trying to say here is that it is true that 'all things are possible with God'. So, there is hope no matter how much we do what is wrong etc. It's not on us anymore. It's on Jesus Christ. We give it all to him, because we are hopeless in our own strength. And that encourages me when I realize this. It is too easy to forget and take on all the burdens that Jesus had taken for us. That's what His shed blood has done for us. . .

Believe

It is refreshing to hear what David says in one of His Psalms for he reminds me not to lean on my own understanding or strength:

“You are my King oh God! Through you we will push down our enemies, through Your name we will trample on those who rise up against us. For I shall not trust in my bow. Nor shall my sword save me.”

It's so simple! Just believe! In Christ. In what Christ has done. He told us it is finished. He has overcome the evil one. As I just read, ‘That which is overcome has no more power.’ Do we believe that Jesus Christ overcame our sins and the evil one by shedding his blood on our behalf? Unbelief denies the power and truth of God. Christ never denied. God cannot deny Himself. That's how He created! He spoke creation into existence, because HE never doubted Himself. That's why He calls Himself I Am. That's why if we had faith the size of a mustard seed we could speak and send a mountain into the sea. The name of Jesus! All we are called to do is believe. Belief works! How do we believe? By acknowledging that what Christ did on the cross paid for our sins and overcame the evil one. By not going with the deception and denying that God is and can do anything! Unbelief is of the world! We must recognize Who God is and what He has done. Our own ways are unbelief because our ways deny God! Apathy denies God, therefore in that we deny Him. Selfish ambition and lust denies Him, therefore when we move in that we deny Him. His will is perfect. His will is that we believe in Him. Belief moves mountains! There is no such thing as faith without works because faith in itself is that which works. That's why we cannot question the Lord. He is unquestionable. That is why we cannot lean on our own understanding. He is the peace that passes our understanding. We just believe as we move one foot or 5,000 miles. We look to Him, knowing that Christ has filled all things! That the enemy is defeated! That Christ is the end of the law! We look to the things unseen for the things seen were created by that which was unseen!

Isn't that incredible! I am only beginning to truly believe.

Oh, consider this! Abraham took Isaac and was ready to sacrifice him cause the Lord told Him to. Nowhere does it say that Abraham had any worry concern or sadness about sacrificing Isaac. Now why would he worry if He had faith in God and God could easily raise Isaac from the dead? That's how we are to move! There is no fear or worry in trusting God. God keeps His promises. He can't do anything else, but keep His word - WORD - He has spoken through Christ. Christ is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith. 'Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words alone will remain'. In Him we live and move. . . Remember the song 'The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and they are saved'. The name of the Lord!

The Lord has nothing to do with our own understanding। That's why we could study the bible all day long and know nothing! Love your neighbour. Move out in the power of Jesus name, with His authority and shatter the obstacles! Sometimes shattering those obstacles might cause pain. Especially if that obstacle was apathy. Shatter the walls of religion at that place! Shatter the mountains of intellect and leaning on their own understanding. Make the path straight and lead others to the eternal water. We don't point the finger or condemn. We say 'Here let me show you a better way, let me remove that hindrance, that ignorance which causes fear and blindness, so that you might see and know the power of the love of the Risen Lord! We have all authority in His name to do that. We rely on Him alone!

Dan was sharing with me the part in ‘The Call’ about praising our Father in the midst of adversity, for that is what gives Him such joy. I read it this morning and I nearly wept. That is faith in the greatest sense of the meaning. That's where we truly please the Lord. It's definitely not the easiest, but that would be the refining fire now, would it not!? We recognize that we have nowhere else to go and we praise Him for we recognize it as such and therefore run to him. Oh, how I long to be so burnt as gold, that in it's purest form it is as clear as glass and stronger than anything. And, as a result of that longing I am confronted with my petty ways, my selfishness and all He asks us to do is to look to Him, not ourselves. We have nothing to justify! It's been finished for us. We move forward. And it is not without wounds of all sorts. The pain can be phenomenal. But just to stand on the truth in the midst of adversity, as Daniel did. Knowing that there is nothing that can come against us in Jesus Christ! There is no safer place to be.

Revelatiom

Gal 1:11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin।
Gal 1:12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ।

Is Jesus Enough?

Is Jesus Enough?

Is His Blood enough? Is what He did on the cross enough to cover us? Or do we need to throw in some good works as well? Who do we think we are?! The issue here is not so much lack of repentances as it is knowing what to repent from. What is our focus here? The blood of Jesus or ourselves? The fact is we need to know what Jesus has done. And it seems that in order to know what Jesus has done we need to know that we need what He has done. Now, it appears that it is the arrogance of man that stands in the way of receiving the FINISHED power of the cross. All these “sins” that we are being told to repent from are merely symptoms of a condition. If we focus on “repenting “ from these sins without having a revelation of our condition of self we will merely enter into the stage of self righteousness. And it seems the majority of conservative and charismatic churchgoers are moving under the burden of self-righteousness, not to mention many other burdens. Why is it that we keep trying to put people who have apparently repented and believed in Jesus back under the law? Did Christ die for us so that we could become “good” people: do the right things, say the right things etc. No. That is merely an external thing. He looks to the heart. He is looking for people who seek hard after Him, who long for fellowship with Him, who know they are nothing without Him.

Just as it was in the garden when He told Adam and Eve the results of their disobedience. Just as it was when he gave the law through Moses, stating the results that their disobedience would incur. Those results were merely cause and effect. The fact was Adam and Eve could no longer have access to the tree of life because their eyes had been opened and they were now partaking of the fruits of disobedience. Had they had access to the Tree of Life in that State, it would have kept them in that state forever. So, they had to be cast out of the garden. That was the result. It wasn’t as though God was yelling at them after they had eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. No, He was merely stating the consequences of their actions.

I can’t do it.

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.


I can’t do it.
I can’t do it.
I can’t do it.
I cannot do it.
I just can’t.
I am not able.
No, I can not.
Who thinks that they can do it?
Who has the arrogance to think that they can do it.
Tell me the man who thinks He can do anything.
Nonsense!
We are deceived!
We think we can do it!
We think that we are the “one”.
I cannot change my heart.
Tell me the man who can.
I can’t
I cannot do it!
I am not the propitiation!
I am not the sinless one.
I am helpless.Within my self there is no good thing and I can NOT change my heart!
I am not able.
I cannot overcome sin.
I am useless.
There is no way that I can do anything good.

I am not my own. I have been bought with a price.
I am not my own.

IT IS FINISHED ENOUGH IT HAS BEEN DONE FOR US

You cannot do it

You thought you could do it.

WE so often think we can do it. Who has bewitched us?

That is the lie, the deception, that which has ensnared the world.

So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and ate. Ensnared.

Self Denial

Deny your self
Self denial is not so much an action as it is the realization that our self is actually deceived and our self can do nothing. Only Christ. Christ and Christ alone. Do not deny Christ. Deny your self. No flesh can glory.

FREE!

A few years ago, while I was attending a Missions College, the Lord began burning on my heart the desire to KNOW Him, not just about Him. I also really wanted to know what Jesus had really done on the cross. I knew my sins were forgiven, but I knew there was far more to that than I had yet come across. Of course I was taking all sorts of bible classes and I was attaining much knowledge, but it was intellectual and I just was not satisfied. I was just being taught someone elses “theology”, someone elses “experience” with the Living God. There was such a hunger burning in me and yet I thought that I would never be able to attain what I desired. Soon a verse started coming into my head that I could not get away from: ‘Lean not on your own understanding’.

A few months passed and I found myself just being completely honest with a friend and admitting that my motives, a lot of the time, were not pure. A few days after that I went out to coffee with a couple friends who I’d just begun to get to know at the College. We ended up at a Denny’s like restaurant called Embers. It was midnight and there were prostitutes and transvestites and drunkards all around us. And in that place my friend Dan was sharing something that the Lord had shown a few of them a few days ago. It was a picture of what Jesus had done on the cross. But it was a picture I had never seen before.

It was a picture of an endless tunnel of light that shot through the universe. And that Tunnel was Jesus, what He had done on the cross when He cried out, ‘It is Finished’. It was a tunnel of light that had no beginning and no end. And what made up the tunnel was righteousness, holiness, sinlessness. . . And we saw that when we put our faith in Jesus we were instantly transferred into this tunnel and immersed in it. We became part of that tunnel. And we partook of every aspect of that tunnel, every aspect of Jesus and what He had done FOR us.
I saw (truly saw – not intellectually) that I was totally Holy, totally pure, totally righteous only because of what Jesus had done FOR me. That I was FREE! Free from my self. Free, free, free. . . Free from striving to be sinless and holy and righteous in my own effort.

They overcame him (adversary) by the blood of the Lamb.

They overcame him (adversary) by the blood of the Lamb.

By what did they overcome the adversary?

The Blood of the Lamb.

Why the blood of the Lamb?

How does the Blood of the Lamb overcome the adversary?

What did the Lamb do?

Took away the sins through a sacrifice of shed blood.

Life given up to take on the sins of the world.

So, the taking away of sins is how the adversary is overcome.

Think about that for a minute.

Why would the adversary be overcome, overwhelmed, crushed, engulfed, overpowered, prostrated, devastated, staggered, confounded, by the sacrifice of the Lamb?

Because the sin is taken away, covered, removed, gone, sin is no more.

Thus the power of the adversary must lie in the sin of mankind.

If the sin has been taken away, then the adversary would be stripped of his power.

“Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”

Our sin has been removed from us as far as the East is from the West.

It has been taken away

We have boldness to enter the Holy of Holies because of the blood of the Lamb.

We are sinless because of the Lamb of God who has removed the sin from us.

We are cleansed from sin. We are clean and free from sin.

The adversary has nothing against us.

Our faith does not rely on ourselves, on our efforts, on our goodness, on our ability to feel victorious.

Our faith relies only on what Christ has done: taken away the sin of the world.

Our faith lies in Jesus Christ and we testify alone of the shed blood of Jesus.

That is why Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith.

A living testimony of those who believe in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ: true prophecy.

This is it! All we need to know is Christ and His death that took our sins away!




And I heard a great voice saying in Heaven, Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul until death.


The Deceiver

We heard a story from a friend of ours the other night about a type of snake that they have in Ontario. He thinks that it might be called a ‘mud’ snake. Anyway, if you were to tread anywhere near the snake it would quickly rise up off the ground and blow up its face just like a cobra would. Upon seeing it most anyone would assume it was a cobra and quickly make their escape. Now, if you had been forewarned about this particular snake, you would have been informed that this snake actually had no venom, that it was completely harmless, and it’s whole rising and face blowing up was just a façade and nothing more. The fact is, is that if you were to continue to come closer to the snake it would fall down to the ground and play dead. It appears dangerous, but it is actually completely harmless.