Silence is a Note

I am a recent-ish convert to listening to the National Concert radio programme on the way to work. As a lover of alternative music in general, it's not too much of a stretch to embrace the epic and varied items of classical music. It's like listening to movie soundtracks. I love the many changes of mood experienced within one piece. The downside of the lulls and dramatic pauses in the music is that if you tune in to the radio station at one of these points you may think the reception is lost!
More than once I have racked the volume up trying to hear what's going on only to be blasted by the continuing score. Sometimes the strings drop low, or there is a sudden gap of silence before a change of pace. The effect is you listen more intently and tune in, anticipating the next notes or movement. It is a valid part of the arrangement. The conductor is still giving signals to the orchestra in these moments. There is power in the silence. 
And that brings me to my point. Yes! I'm not just rambling about music. The lesson I have embraced in recent years is that silence is a legitimate thing. I think the symbol for gaps in the music is called a 'rest'. Moments in life that to the onlooker might seem like inaction can be valuable - downtime, rest, centre-ing.  Little gaps in our story that help us to tune in - experiencing peace while building anticipation for the next chapter. Don't despise the gaps, nor turn the volume up to drown out the silence (or the next note could deafen you!) and don't presume you've missed the station - remember the Conductor is still giving signals. Maybe a job, relationship or prized pastime has come to an end. Whatever the 'lull' is in your life, rest, and listen intently. Don't be in a hurry to fill the gap with random stuff for the sake of feeling useful or loved. It may well ruin the design of this moment in time for you.
Selah.

Carrying the Milk

Random thought today to share with you. I was talking with a guy who was pretty frustrated with that morning's sermon at church. Some guest speaker had been talking about prayer and had given a typical law-based 'to do' list of striving and jumping hoops that just didn't sit right with his new-found freedom in Christ. So we chatted about having the grace to understand where other people were coming from who were still stuck in ignorance about the good news of the gospel. And how it made him think about why he would even want to join a church 'fast' event or prayer meeting if it was being presented in such a fashion.

Well, we do know it is a good thing to get together with other Christians, and sometimes this is reason enough - gosh, if you look forward to being with these people why not? Have fun and enjoy the Presence you all carry together.

But why would I want to do all that 'work' labouring in prayer or fasting when Jesus has done it all on the cross? The Bridegroom is with me, the time of fasting has passed. Jesus intercedes for me, He knows everything so I don't have to go listing my problems or begging for answers. I just need to listen for the answer and speak it out. There ain't a lot of listening done in too many prayer meetings I know of! But still, these people mean well and they sure are in love with Jesus. So shouldn't I support them and wink inside with Christ knowing He's gonna take care of their requests - when faith hits them - despite all the shouting and singing? That could be fun!

So when is it alright to go on a fast? Or to tackle something in prayer 'old' style?

I went for a walk today to the shops to get some milk. Not too radical. We desperately needed milk, and I needed the exercise. Now usually in this sort of shopping emergency I would jump in my ADORABLE little june-bug of a car, which I usually love doing, love parking and zooming around in, and it is not such a chore to pick up a couple of things from the supermarket down the road.
But this time I knew because of the day I'd had (no, week really) that it would just do me a lot of good to walk. It was late afternoon, the sun was warm but not too hot, and it was a very pleasant excursion with opportunity for some 'thinking' time in the fresh air.
I had a bag slung over my shoulder that would have just room enough for two 2L milk containers. Of course  there was a bag of coffee thrown in at the shop last minute as I remembered we (I) needed some at home soon too.
Setting off for the return journey it quickly became apparent that things were not going to stay so pleasant. 4L of milk is really heavy! I had anticipated that of course, but the reality still bit. I had to keep adjusting the bag so it didn't thump me off balance, and hold it out a little for bracing so I didn't look too awkward striding along. You become aware of every step and it does become a labour of love for the family - we had been living off reconstituted milk all day which is just not the same.
And then it struck me. Here I was choosing to do it the hard way because it was the better choice for me at the time - to get some exercise. I didn't need to walk - I have a car and this task could be easy. But I had the time and enjoyed the thinking side of it too. There was no listening to the concert channel or LifeFm on the stereo. Just pure 'exposed to what is going on inside my head' stuff mixed with a little necessary traffic awareness. So it was, I guess, a little less cluttered than a road trip. It also made me focus on getting just the things we needed - no temptation to get distracted with other shopping while I was there, because I knew I needed to carry it home! Boy that milk tasted good too in the end.
So....
...this is where there is a place for doing a fast or prayer session. When it is good for you. When you just know it is what God gives you permission for. When it is an uncluttered thinking time benefit for you. When the labour is not even required, but a pleasant choice. When you don't mind the awkward load because it is just temporary and everything tastes good in the end.
Hope that helps clarify things for you. If you are more confused than ever, tune in next week when you hear about my shaving epiphany. (KIDDING!)

Grace: not a license to sin

'Let us do evil, so that good may come of it'

 I think Paul was pretty astounded he even had to explain this to early Christians, but sadly it is an attitude still around today. With the rise of the 'Grace movement' where Christians are rediscovering the true gospel in droves, there comes a handful of people who hear what they want to hear still (the same malfunction that got them believing the law contaminated gospel previously).


^{Romans 5:20} God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. (NLT)

Some people have taken this to mean they can do what they like because - no worries - God's grace will cover them. But earlier in Romans 3 Paul had already preempted this line of thought:
⁷ “But,” you say, “if, through my lie, God’s truth is enhanced and brings him greater glory, why am I still judged merely for being a sinner?” ⁸ Indeed! Why not say (as some people slander us by claiming we do say), “Let us do evil, so that good may come of it”? Against them the judgment is a just one! (CJB)

Grace does abound, but Grace is a Person, and the Person of Grace only applies if you believe the gospel message (see Romans 5:22-25). 
Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was a replacement act - He replaced us.  And it is only because God now sees Jesus when He looks at us that we can be in His kingdom at all. No Jesus, no kingdom. And it is not dependent on our behaviour or brownie points or 'level of' whatever.

But something else happens when Christ is allowed into our lives - we are not just covered by Him but also filled with Him - the Spirit of Christ. (Gal 2:20) And God doesn't share any space with the devil. When you turn on the light the darkness has no option but to flee!
So why would you want to get drunk still? Or experiment with drugs, or sex, or  get addicted to food? These are all sins against your own body, now the property returned to God your Creator. I can only surmise it's because one is under the illusion that salvation is a process rather than a one time totally finished event. And I used to think that too! I would excuse my lack of self control (or others') by repeating the cliche lines I had heard over the years: life is a journey, we are saved BUT we have to overcome the flesh, etc. This I then discovered was a lie. A subtle lie that keeps us giving ourselves permission to 'fail' and gives us a job to add to the work of the cross: overcoming our flesh (sinful self). What an insult to the Cross! Did Jesus not do a good enough job of resurrection that your old 'flesh' is still hanging off the new creation? Eeww!

The true gospel is a radical one - it tells us we have no place for sin now. It tells us the 'old sinner me' has been totally annihilated - not just overcome! 

What you believe absolutely has the power
to change the way you feel about things.

So the only reason we think we still have to wrestle with sin; whether they be addictions, old habits, or desires borne out of boredom, is because we believe it. What you believe absolutely has the power to change the way you feel about things. If you totally believe the old sinner you has been eradicated and no longer exists, you will not entertain it in the slightest. 
What's more, if you meditated on the fact that the Creator of the Universe, the greatest and goodest mega power in existence, chooses to dwell in you and empower you with all the energy and wisdom needed for kingdom living - let that blow your mind and take over your every thought, you'd probably have no room left to entertain sinning. You'd most certainly no longer be bored.

But I probably better clarify two things I'm NOT saying here. I'm not saying true Christians never sin. (This is a big topic I can't really do justice here.) I'm just saying they are not obsessed with whether or not they have sinned, do sin, or try to overcome as such. They just don't care about their old status anymore! It is irrelevant under Grace.

And I'm NOT saying there is anything you need to do to reach this nirvana gospel-of-grace full-of-all-the-fullness-of-God-possible existence. You were totally in this place the very second salvation flowed to mankind through God on the Cross. The entire humanity was. You just need to believe it. Set yourself free of trying to be a Christian, and just be in His kingdom! The only difference between you and an unbeliever is - guess what? They are saved, but just don't know it. They are just as qualified as you are, but just haven't realised it or accepted it. Wow! Grace is all over the planet and soooo much greater than the one who is presently in control of it (thanks to blimmin' Adam & Eve handing over planet earth to the evil one. But that's another topic.)

I am saying that when truly full of the Spirit of Christ, there is no desire to sin. So that leaves you a big question to ask yourself then doesn't it? Are you playing Christian or are you a believer?
Ouch! Don't panic, just start believing! Read your New Testament again in the light of Grace. Start listening to true gospel teachers (I can give you a couple of pointers here!) Stop listening to fear-fuelled, diluted, law-contaminated, works-based preaching. It only brings more hoops to jump through and exhaustion. You don't need to pray more, fast more, study more, evangelise more or give more! Those things imply that what Jesus did on the Cross was not 'complete' enough! The Person of Grace will fill you completely and you may be compelled to do these things from the sheer energy of Joy and Love busting out in overflow. Maybe. Or maybe what He tells you to do is just rest in Him for a while and soak in the sanctuary of son-ship.

What He won't tell you to do is go out and get drunk, sleep with someone you are not married to, or lie to your boss about being sick to get a sleep in (not all in the same day I might add!) Which is getting back to the topic of Grace: not a licence to sin. Some of us need to wake up! The dirty big lie is these things are fun. Your Creator most certainly wants you to have fun. You just gotta figure out what your true 'fun bone' is connected to.

There are some Grace-filled believers out there having a hang of a lot of fun setting Christians free from the boring and the bewitched stuff. I love a good controversy! Which is why I blog of course. Waking people up is fun. You don't have to agree (with me) but if it makes you think then that's a healthy thing.

Grace in you, the Hope of glory.

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