Mystical Union

How can I even attempt to summarise a book in one post? Can't. So I'll try at least to explain the title. Mystical Union by John Crowder is one of those very few books I'd tell you is a must read. It is also quite controversial in the Christian world (at least, the author is) but I've met him and he is not the kook some would make him. Only a kook in the same way the apostle Paul was a kook for Jesus. Read the book and you only hear a man who is passionate about Jesus and about people believing the right thing about salvation.
That He uses the word 'mystical' is just to provoke the unlearned masses - mystical was a word used by early Christians to describe our union with Christ, and the word 'mystery' was used all through the new testament. We owned the mystical realm way before the occultic factions nabbed it as a phrase.

Why do I like this book? Because it helped set me free from a whole lot of entanglement that can insidiously take over your Christian life. I was seeking 'nothing but the truth' because I had a feeling deep down that life was meant to be so much simpler than what it had become. By the time you have been involved with a number of different ministries over the decades, all well intentioned, passionate, but tunnel visioned and sub-effective, you may come to this point too. Why so some people never get free? Why do they slip and struggle and turn back to the worlds pleasures? Why is it not fun? How can you have joy when the job is so serious? How was I ever going to convince someone who is obviously oppressed and weighed down that they need to take these seven steps to freedom? Or three steps to salvation. Or 10 steps to improve your prayer life. Or say these scriptures over and over until your faith increases. How come as an intercessor it was suddenly my job to stand in the gap for people, to be responsible for healing or success? To 'step up' and lead folks who were unashamedly leaning on whoever would let them? Why do people come back to the altar for prayer time after time with minimal progress? Am I some warrior who gets movie kudos for bringing in a lost soul? Why does that seem so lame?

Because none of these things has anything to do with the original gospel. And mankind is really good at defaulting to making it complicated and hard work. 'Religion' sucks, and has wormed her way even into good Pentecostal churches - those churches who proclaim they are most free of it! There is a form of 'Galatian Bewitchment' (advocating that we 'work' for our holiness) that has crept into the Body and created a fog over the minds of many. I too, had been sucked in, and now I was tired. But Holy Spirit had never stopped whispering hope into my ear and as I turned to find the Truth again, He lead me back into the green pastures alongside quiet waters, where I could listen and hear.

Now, before you think I'm playing the Hallelujah chorus in the background at this point, I must warn you. John Crowder barbecues a lot of sacred theological cows (his own confession, page 10) and messes with some things you might not ready to be messed with. I loved it. And I was ready. As he also says "It takes a brave person to allow their world to be flipped on its head."

Here are a few quotes from the book that may help set the scene. By the way, for those of you who need scripture references, this book is fat with them; I just haven't put any here for now:

"There is a reason that the gospel was first called "good news." It is a gloriously happy message of effortless union with God. It comes as an utter shock and outrage to the depressive human willpower that is common to religion."
"There is a faulty assumption that union is something we progressively climb into, rather than a state we begin with at salvation."
"Modern Christianity is chock full of bite-sized, cliché words that refer to completely unbiblical concepts. There is a prevailing language of unbelief in the church. Most of the church is still in an Old Covenant, do-it-yourself perspective. When people today talk about "pressing in" they refer to somehow obtaining "more of God" or "getting into God's glory". It is sacrilege to believe God could give you anything more than the fullness of Himself on the cross. It is also sacrilege to think there's something you could do to "position" yourself to get into His Glory. Jesus positioned Himself to get you into the Glory."
"Most of our worship songs are begging God to do things He has already done."

I hope you don't think I am meaning to be devisive. Churches are doing a fine job of that without Crowder adding to it. So instead, we just so much want Christians to be free, to be energised by the One who works so powerfully from within, and for unbelievers to realise they have been saved all along.
My Shelfari/Mystical-Union

Permission to be gloriously Woman

I've just watched another Trinny and Susannah special - the duo who specialise in taking women who have committed 'crimes against fashion' and teach them how to make the most of their body shape. This time they were attacking a westie Australian city (yay for westies!) - grabbing women of all ages and shapes for a makeover and parading them in a catwalk at the end of the day. It's great television! These are real people and its really happening to them. There are tears and tantrums of course. But here's the thing that really stands out - most of these women have had a rough life of some sort and have just given up caring, either trying to hide and fade into the background or becoming loud and brash with no sense of appropriateness. Most had low self esteem and just needed a confidence boost - which certainly happened because someone took the time to care and give them a new perspective on life, even it was only about wardrobe. Now there's one ministry I could love being a part of! (Do you think we could convince our churches to have a 'look good/feel good' department? Hmmm.)
Why does this happen to such a large proportion of the female population? Let me quote from John & Stasi Eldredge in their book 'Captivating':
"The story of the treatment of women down through the ages is not a noble history. It has noble moments in it to be sure, but taken as a whole, women have endured what seems to be a special hatred ever since we left Eden...(They go on to list the history of abuse from Creation to the present day. It is too graphic to repeat here.) Dear God - what is to account for the systemic, often brutal, nearly universal assault on femininity?...Why is it so diabolical?"
Ephesians 6:12 gives us the answer: For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.

"The assault on femininity cannot be understood apart from the spiritual forces of evil we are warned about in the Scriptures. This is not to say that men (and women) have no accountability in their treatment of women. Not at all. It is simply to say that no explanation for the assault upon Eve and her daughters is sufficient unless it opens our eyes to the Prince of Darkness and his special hatred of femininity."
They go on to propose that Satan chose to go after Eve not just because he might have considered her weaker therefore the easier target (and he is utterly ruthless so there may be some truth to that) but because he was insanely jealous of the beauty and glory the woman was created to be. Read Ezekiel 28:12-14 to see what I mean: Lucifer was originally a guardian angel of quite some standing, specifically in his dazzling beauty. "You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty...every precious stone adorned you..." In the end it was his ruin - pride entered his heart. Verse 17 "Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour." We all know what happened after his unsuccessful take-over bid. As 'Captivating' continues: "Now his heart for revenge is to assault beauty. He destroys it in the natural world wherever he can...he wreaks destruction on the glory of God in the earth like a pyschopath committed to destroying great works of art.
But most especially, he hates Eve.
Because she is captivating, uniquely glorious, and he cannot be. She is the incarnation of the Beauty of God. More than anything else in all creation, she embodies the glory of God."

So you see through all the ages Satan continues to vent his fury against fallen women, and for the most part she has no protection unless a godly person stands in her defence. The occasional man stood and intervened for her in history, but on the whole she was treated as property and with disdain. Men have hated that they love and are drawn to her (that's Satans corruption of God's purposes for the love relationship). Eve also gave life; she was the 'reproducer', and that was another good reason for the 'Master of Death' villain to go after the one who brings life. Eve means 'lifegiver'. Satan is the lifetaker. So, two good reasons to hate you forever!

Why am I telling you this? Not to scare you, please. In fact, the very opposite. This shines a massive spotlight on something women do very well: guilt! Whatever bad things happen to us, most of us interpret it deep down as 'our fault'. That somehow we deserved it. If only we were prettier or smarter or done more; if only we weren't so demanding, or weren't so insufficient. Too much or too little. That's the message that gets drummed into us at every turn. No matter how absurd this is given the evidence of the circumstances in most cases: we still manage to take the blame.
"It changes things to realise that, no, it is because you are glorious that these things happened! You are a major threat to the kingdom of darkness. You are hated because of your beauty and power... He fears who you are; what you are; what you might become."
What's going on with a lot of women is attempts at covering up this pain. We don't feel worthy of pursuit, we don't feel irreplaceable, we don't believe we are beautiful, we feel alone and abandoned or rejected because of past failures, and so to deal with this there are multitudes of armour options: the 'do not disturb' sign on our personality, the 'back off' facebook message to the world, the 'desperately seeking somebody' approach nearing on promiscuity, or maybe even the 'strive for perfection' suzy persona. We try hard at outward beauty, or try hard to make ourselves useful (beware the 'rescuer' syndrome). Conversely we could be shrinking violets hiding in the corner in beige, or the increasingly popular 'keep so busy it doesn' hurt' option. Actually once your eyes are opened to the possibilities, its amazing how many coping facades are deployed out there. That's why watching Trinny & Susannah brings me to tears - not the awful grabbing of body parts the two partake in and their overuse of the word 'sexy' - its the brokenness of the lovely victims and how they have no idea of what's really ailing them.

Here's the good news; a man did intervene in history, a man who was in fact God and by tricking Satan into thinking he had killed the Son of God, he destroyed forever the death grip Satan had on the planet. He released once again the created ones, man and woman, to fulfill their destiny and purpose and take back the planet in His Name. For women it means realising that you are passionately loved by the God of the Universe. He is waaaay greater than your enemy, has sought you out since the beginning of time, has come to heal your broken heart and restore your feminine soul. We can stop relying on our own resources, our self-redemptive plans, our controlling and our hiding. He only asks us to trust Him and rest in Him; He does the fighting for us! We will never be lonely again, never rejected, never abandoned, never used. His love is PERFECT and that means just what it says: there can be nothing wrong with it! He is perfectly good and therefore will never turn into anything else but our Hero and Champion. The rescuer of our souls, restorer of brokenness, lover of lovers, Captain of the Army of heaven.
Only by learning to rely on Him and Him alone will we be free from the enemy's assault. Too easy? Yes! Yes! And He's a lot gentler with the makeover than Trinny and Susannah, too.

(Much of this material is thanks to the book 'Captivating' as mentioned above)

God's Medicine - more from Charles Capp

These declarations are to be spoken by mouth three times a day until faith comes, then once a day to maintain faith. If circumstances grow worse, double the dosage. There are no harmful side effects.
For those afflicted by mental health issues:
"Father, because of Your Word I am an overcomer. I overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony." (1 John 4:4, Rev 12:11)
"My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I make a demand on my body to release the right chemicals. My body is in perfect chemical balance." (1 Cor 6:19)
"You have forgiven all my sins; You have healed all my diseases; You have redeemed my life from destruction; You have satisfied my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed as the eagles." (Ps 103:2-5)
"Father, I resist the enemy in every form that he comes against me - I require my body to be strong and healthy, and I enforce it with Your Word. I reject the curse, and I enforce life in this mind and body." (James 4:7)
In Jesus name!

The Most Powerful Thing In the Universe

This post is largely dedicated to the work of Charles Capps, author of 'The Tongue - A Creative Force.
His theory is simple; "The words you speak will either put you over (create victory) or hold you in bondage."
It is not a foreign concept that words are the most powerful thing in the universe; for good or for evil. "Those that say they can and those that say they can't are both right." Some people have made a living going around teaching seminars on how to change your future by changing your words - the power of positive thinking and positive reinforcement, etc. They get away with it because they are somewhat right: God has weaved into the fabric of the universe, and thus our planet and humankind, that words have an effect both in the spiritual and physical world.
In fact, the universe was formed at God's command (Hebrews 11:3). He said 'Let there be light' and there was light! There has been light ever since, so we can conclude God's Word is just as powerful today as it was the day He spoke it. Not one bit of power has left God's Word.
Then He turned around and gave mankind the same power. In Genesis 1:26 we read "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule...'" By design, we have the same ability to create something out of nothing with our words. Creative power was in God's mouth. It is in your mouth also.
So, everything we say is basically operating as a declaration of reality. It is either creating or destroying. (There is a place for destroying - "The reason the Son of God came was to destroy the devil's work." (1 John 3:8) I love that! But otherwise, destroying is bad.)
This doesn't mean we live in denial about what is afflicting us or the reality of our life here on (contaminated) planet earth. But we have the chance to agree with what God says about us and about how things work, by speaking faith-filled, God-inspired words of life at every opportunity!
This requires some re-learning, self discipline, and 'not giving in to fear'. It takes a fair amount of determination and perseverance to change our language. It takes being conscious of what is coming out of our mouths - 'Was what I just said going to work as a blessing or as a curse?' and then making a correction if we have to. It means getting the Word of God (yes I mean the Bible) into our heart and mind so that we know what He said in the first place, and that it is right on the tip of our tongue when we need it.
Using God's Words is way safer than coming up with our own stuff, which for all we know has come from the wrong motives. The closer we get to God (the better we know Him) and the more our thoughts line up with His thoughts, the safer our own language will be, and it is God's intention that we grow into this creative side (which will incorporate our God-given personality and gifts.)
But I digress!
The purpose of this post is to point out that permission largely operates by our words.