"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
Thank...you...JESUS!!
The Glory of t
hese verses were washing over my mind with such soothing ebb and flows, but a sadness pierced in.
What has so subtly, yet ruthlessly intercepted this glorious gospel we have in Christ, when the revelation of an INESCAPABLE LOVE encountered by David and Paul centuries ago, has been replaced by a striving for devine affection and acceptance?
We have layers of filth that has illegally caught a free ride on a naturally too-good-to-be-true gospel for hundreds of years (and I certainly don't profess to recognize all of it. But with discernment, grace, and scripture in context, I have pealed a few off already).
Abundant life is not prescribed by just singing songs like David sang, nor is it encountered by quoting statements that Paul made.
The glory of "unconditional" is that it's unconditional.
Wherever you go...you are absolutely loved;
Whatever you do...you are absolutely loved;
Whoever you are; you are absolutely loved;
Whether you like it or not,
Whether you believe it or not;
You are absolutely loved!
Friends, purpose begins to unravel itself as we become "paralysed" by His love for us. Not by verses or songs about it, but by the revelation of a jealous God ("His name is Jealous, and He is a jealous God"...He LOVES you! He loves you, loves you, LOVES YOU! And you cannot escape this Love).
This wasn't "scripture" to David or Paul, it was a personal revelation of truth, and I believe that all that they were and did in Christ was compelled by this very truth.
This "process of paralysis" does not refer to "another christian thing we need to do". In fact, it's the very opposite. It refers to the undoing of this very mindset, and it does not come without its critics in the religious world, unfortunately.
Look at Jesus, who was aggressively accused of "neglecting scripture", all-the-while declaring to be the very source of life (He knew that He and the Father were one in spirit).
Or Martha, who was jealously accused of being lazy, while in fact mesmerised by the 'abnormal' love of Christ.
Peter, who, although a pillar in the early church, struggled in his earlier days, since his gaze was on "noble self-sacrifice" instead of RECEIVING a sacrifice made. This lack of revelation in Peter's early days was made evident in his response to Jesus wanting to wash his feet.
To try and stop doing things in our own strength, however, is a contradiction in terms...think about it.
We don't simply just sit still on a couch to be rendered physically paralysed (although you could fool many that way). No! The source of your mobility needs to be cut off (and Christ did this by fulfilling the law).
Declaring that "we don't need to", isn't an indication that we have "caught grace", it's understanding WHY we don't need to, that empowers us - it's that He already has, because He LOVES US! His love WILL compel; it DOES compel.
We become "paralysed" by His love when we discover that His love is the beginning and the end, and all the chewy bits in the middle. It immobilizes us from our own efforts, fills us with rest, and compels us to trust - in His unfailing love.
The effervescent joy and trust that begins to bubble up from this supernatural revelation is ABUNDANT LIFE, which distinguishes the Spirit-lead person (compelled by love), from the religious busy bodies scratching the ground for their crumbs of blessings, oblivious to the fattened calf freely available to them.
You are personally loved by God...regardless!
Have a lovely day just knowing that :-)
What has so subtly, yet ruthlessly intercepted this glorious gospel we have in Christ, when the revelation of an INESCAPABLE LOVE encountered by David and Paul centuries ago, has been replaced by a striving for devine affection and acceptance?
We have layers of filth that has illegally caught a free ride on a naturally too-good-to-be-true gospel for hundreds of years (and I certainly don't profess to recognize all of it. But with discernment, grace, and scripture in context, I have pealed a few off already).
Abundant life is not prescribed by just singing songs like David sang, nor is it encountered by quoting statements that Paul made.
The glory of "unconditional" is that it's unconditional.
Wherever you go...you are absolutely loved;
Whatever you do...you are absolutely loved;
Whoever you are; you are absolutely loved;
Whether you like it or not,
Whether you believe it or not;
You are absolutely loved!
Friends, purpose begins to unravel itself as we become "paralysed" by His love for us. Not by verses or songs about it, but by the revelation of a jealous God ("His name is Jealous, and He is a jealous God"...He LOVES you! He loves you, loves you, LOVES YOU! And you cannot escape this Love).
This wasn't "scripture" to David or Paul, it was a personal revelation of truth, and I believe that all that they were and did in Christ was compelled by this very truth.
This "process of paralysis" does not refer to "another christian thing we need to do". In fact, it's the very opposite. It refers to the undoing of this very mindset, and it does not come without its critics in the religious world, unfortunately.
Look at Jesus, who was aggressively accused of "neglecting scripture", all-the-while declaring to be the very source of life (He knew that He and the Father were one in spirit).
Or Martha, who was jealously accused of being lazy, while in fact mesmerised by the 'abnormal' love of Christ.
Peter, who, although a pillar in the early church, struggled in his earlier days, since his gaze was on "noble self-sacrifice" instead of RECEIVING a sacrifice made. This lack of revelation in Peter's early days was made evident in his response to Jesus wanting to wash his feet.
To try and stop doing things in our own strength, however, is a contradiction in terms...think about it.
We don't simply just sit still on a couch to be rendered physically paralysed (although you could fool many that way). No! The source of your mobility needs to be cut off (and Christ did this by fulfilling the law).
Declaring that "we don't need to", isn't an indication that we have "caught grace", it's understanding WHY we don't need to, that empowers us - it's that He already has, because He LOVES US! His love WILL compel; it DOES compel.
We become "paralysed" by His love when we discover that His love is the beginning and the end, and all the chewy bits in the middle. It immobilizes us from our own efforts, fills us with rest, and compels us to trust - in His unfailing love.
The effervescent joy and trust that begins to bubble up from this supernatural revelation is ABUNDANT LIFE, which distinguishes the Spirit-lead person (compelled by love), from the religious busy bodies scratching the ground for their crumbs of blessings, oblivious to the fattened calf freely available to them.
You are personally loved by God...regardless!
Have a lovely day just knowing that :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment