Archive for the 'fear' Category

51st state of Disarray

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revelator
on June 19th, 2010
in fear, life and love
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The big cities in this state are envy, strife,

Phil. 2:3, “[Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

James 3;16, “For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion and every evil work.”

Envy: ζῆλος zēlos - “(zelos from zeo = to be hot or fervent) describes an eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something and can have a good sense but in context (and as used most often in NT) here zelos has an evil sense, meaning envy, jealousy, anger.”

Strife: ἐριθεία eritheia - “denotes “ambition, self-seeking, rivalry,” self-will being an underlying idea in the word; hence it denotes “party-making.” It is derived, not from eris, “strife,” but from erithos, “a hireling;” hence the meaning of “seeking to win followers,” “factions,”

Confusion: ἀκαταστασία akatastasia - “”instability,” (a, negative, kata, “down,” stasis, “a standing”), denotes “a state of disorder, disturbance, confusion, tumult,”

I was reading in Philippians 2 this morning and Blue Letter Bible took me to James 3:16 where I discovered the Greek word for confusion. Apart from Christ, in our fallen nature, we are unstable and in a state of disarray. Our souls are unregenerate and dead. They have no life, Eph. 2:1. We are separated from God’s love & life energy through His Son because of the hardening of our hearts and ignorance of the truth, Eph. 4:18. Before Christ, we are willfully ignorantly suppressing righteousness, Rom. 1:18 (NIV), “Wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness..” We suppressed righteousness in fear, but His perfect, beautiful, fulfilling love thrusts it out. There is no room for it.

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Perfect love, by its nature, habitually thrusts and throws out the imperfect. It builds up and edifies 1 Cor. 8:1. See The beauty of nullification. The imperfect could be the fragments of the old nature and lack that creates fear and separation from His love & life. These fragments of the old man are nullified, obsolesced, absorbed and absolved by the revelation of Christ and we grow from pattern to pattern, image to image unto the fullness of the Godhead bodily in us, Col. 1:19.

Set your affection..

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on June 14th, 2010
in battle, bondage, fear, hearing, heart, motive and personal experience
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Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”

Col. 3:2 paraphrase: “Through the enabling ability of God by His faith in you, habitually (present tense active voice) set and commit (imperative mood), your thought patterns 2 Cor. 10:5, orientation, heart purpose Rom. 1:5, and direction on things that are heaven-based, things that are spiritual in Christ.”

The word affection can mean,

  • to feel, to think
    • to have an opinion of one’s self, think of one’s self

Set…mind (5426) (phroneo from phren = literally the diaphragm and thus that which curbs or restrains. Figuratively, phren is the supposed seat of all mental and emotional activity) refers to the basic orientation, bent, and thought patterns of the mind, rather than to the mind or intellect itself (that is the Greek word nous). Phroneo includes a person’s affections and will as well as his reasoning.  In other words phroneo refers not simply to intellectual activity but also to direction and purpose of heart.

The Greek verb tense is present tense, active voice, imperative mood. This means the individual sets his or her opinion of themselves habitually over and over again in a committed fashion.

The next question is why would I set my affection on things below? Possibly because my value is where I place it. Reminds me of Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” I believe the Lord was addressing motive once again.

I have discovered that at times, the “phroneo” of the old man attempts to take responsibility for other people’s feelings and doesn’t want to hurt them. In turn, this puts pre-eminence with that person. This is idolatry. Wow, look at 3 verses down in Col. 3:5, “…which is idolatry.” This also reminds me of the motive behind Another gŏs’pəl. That is to please man and his ego.

My mother died when I was 13. My father was an alcoholic and workaholic at times. I am beginning to see the correlation here.  A little boy would naturally take responsibility for his parent’s feelings because he doesn’t want them to leave or abandon him. During my childhood, I recall saying I felt like the parent. I was a nurse to my handicap mother and a co-worker of support for my father when he would binge drink. As a child, the thought came and went that my mom may die one day. I was not emotionally connected with my father until years later. Overall, I also felt this was unfair and bore resentment towards my parents. Now, the Lord has put His understanding, grace and love in my heart for my mom and dad. I am thankful for them in my life and have no regrets. It is what it is. I’m sure this is a redundant story on the planet. I am not alone. Thank God. Father, thank you for your Son.

The lie is this, “If you take responsibility for others feelings and/or cater to this then they will not leave you.” This is a lie from the pit of Sheol. In naivety, ignorance and fear, the old nature believed this lie and in fear established this fear-based control pattern to avoid hurt and pain, but in reality it causes so much more.

The truth and reality is in Jesus, Eph. 4:21, and the truth is people will leave if they want to leave regardless of what you say or do. In Christ, our emotional welfare is not rooted or founded in man, but the Last Man or Adam, Christ.

The writer of Hebrews talks of a rest provided for God’s people. The word says the truth sets us free. The Truth says, “I will Never leave you or forsake you.” If that is true and it is then He is more than sufficient. Also, trying to be responsible for other’s feelings or emotions is coercive and ultimately selfish. Some might say a form of witchcraft. Hey, watch it. Oh well, I said it.

In Christ, we are dead to these old earthly types and patterns that the world says we should adhere to.

Colossians 2:20-23, “If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations– “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using–according (intrinsicly) to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”

Christ sets us free from us. Rom. 7:24.

Controlling the future

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revelator
on February 20th, 2010
in faith, fear, hope, life and love
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Matt. 6:34 (NIV), “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”

If we worry about tomorrow then we could be trying to control or predict the future. In self-strength apart from His faith in us, vain imaginations (thoughts inspired by self-imposed law and fear) are created that self-imposed law attaches to. In turn, the fear of not fulfilling those expectations manifests.

The Word says, “The just shall live by faith.” Faith is not based on what we assume, think or suppose. Faith is revelatory and not time-based. Love, hope and faith do not hinge on fear, but on Him in us. Christ is the pattern of the Last Man or Adam. His pattern in us is according to grace, truth and faith.

When Lazarus died Jesus did not panic. Why? The fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. What does that mean? It means all faith is in Him. Moreover, all FULLNESS. He does not lack. He is all self-sufficient. He said, “I AM the resurrection and the life.” Before the foundations of the earth, He IS and always will BE.

He was moved with compassion and love to do the will of Him who sent Him and raised Lazarus from the dead.

Who’s in control? Really..

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on January 2nd, 2010
in fear and love
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Control, manipulation and/or passive aggression say, “I am afraid and I can’t control. So, I am going to try to control <fill in the blank>.”

This not living by faith, but by our intelligence, experience and natural understanding based on the pattern this world, social system, family history, education and oh yes religion. None of these are necessarily truth and revelation according to hearing and hearing the word of truth. Truth sets you free and then ‘you know’. You know you are free. And you are not compelled to try to control because truth is self-sufficient and has no need to free itself. There is not liberty without truth. Jesus said, “I am the truth.” John says, “He came from the Father full of grace and truth.” Truth is real and does not go away. Jesus said, “I am the TRUE vine and you are the branches.” He is truth and our root is in Him by grace. He sets me free from trying to control myself. Huh? Yes, He sets me free from trying to control my life, body, mind and anything else attached, acquainted or affiliated. So, what now? Now, by faith, I love and am becoming love. Love is not afraid to loose control because it does not try to control. That is not its nature. That is not is motive. Love is patient. How patient? Well, the Lord is still waiting isn’t He? Moreover, He IS and in Him is patience. We wait, but He is. We also though are growing to be like Him. Love is intrinsically not manipulative. Love can be influential and inspirational which gives the recipient choice.

1 John 4:8, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Rom. 10: 9, “That IF thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

IF here in Rom. 10:9 is a conditional particle. Love gives a choice because it loves!

Old is gone. Total detachment.

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revelator
on December 22nd, 2009
in condemnation, death, faith, fear, forgiveness and identity
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on 12/21/09, I saw and am seeing when the word says I am a new creation in Christ or that the old is gone it really means it more than I ever thought! Paul says in Rom. 7:24-25, “24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The body of this death. This sounds like someone trapped and wanting to escape. I believe Paul says this in regard to our spiritual state and lives prior to salvation and NOT post-salvation. The suggestion of pre-salvation conflicts with all of his other writings and overall core doctrine.

Recently, I have encountered a situation in which the best and really only resolution was and is forgiveness. It took me a while to figure out why I felt the way I did, but clarity revealed itself. I thought to myself, “I think I can do this.” I remember a while back the Lord told me, ” I give you the willingness, but you make the choice.” I make the choice because I am not a robot, but a living soul and person like the first Adam as well as a quickening or ever-life giving spirit like the Last Adam Christ. Love is a willing choice…”For God so loved the world.” God is not a robot. He IS love.

When I made the decision to forgive which is daily not once in a blue moon, I saw something. I saw that I can’t stay angry, bitter, resentful and the like. It really bothers me. Are you serious? Why? Hmmm, maybe because of what I initially stated in the first paragraph. The old is gone and a new creation is truly a new creation in Christ! Even if I wasn’t saved it would still bother me, but I would not be able to genuinely forgive because forgiveness had yet to be revealed to me.

When the old nature died its motive died. The motive ‘to die’ died. Huh? The old man’s nature is bent and predicated on self-imposed law. Fear, guilt and condemnation is the expectation of self-imposed law. Self-imposed law empowers sin or the manifestation of the flesh. In essence, this could be the motive to die.

The motive, desire and willingness to not want to stay resentful and bitter, but to forgive is Him in me. Paul says in Philippians 3, “Not having a righteousness (based on self-imposed law) of my own, but a righteousness by Christ’s faith in me.” The impartation of this divine nature is supernatural and spiritual. It is through the Holy Spirit of promise by whom we are sealed. The impartation of His divine nature diffuses into the believer by revelation of Him.

Running for dear life

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on December 4th, 2009
in fear
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1 Kings 19:1-2, “1-3 Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: “The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets. And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.”

Jezebel could be a metaphor of “self-imposed” law setting expectations. Could Elijah have been evading self-imposed law? His conscience was definitely not purged from dead works. He was under the Old Covenant. He ran in fear. I am going out on  a limb and saying yes. Christ told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Essence of fear

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revelator
on October 22nd, 2009
in faith, fear and flesh
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In cafeteria this morning, 10/22/09, getting coffee. I noticed a woman next to me. I sensed her fear. The thought came to mind, “Self-imposed law creates fear.”

So, what is this ’self’ apart from Christ? It seems like a fragmented, dead, insecure, self-willed, non-redemptive, unregenerate, spiritually uncircumcised, willfully ignorant, stubborn soul and dead in spirit.

Paul speaks of the ‘old man.’ The old man does not know love. Perfect love casts out fear and torment forever.

So, self-imposed law, Col. 2:14, creates an expectation and need for approval. It is never satisfied apart from Christ. The old man along with the intrinsic self-imposed law creates fear because of judgment and condemnation. Fear or the lack of the knowledge of perfect love can manifest in various ways, Gal. 5:19-21. The flesh manifests itself because of fear. The fruit of the Spirit bears itself because of grace and revelation. Therefore, the just shall live by faith or His faith in them. The just shall live their lives on this planet in revelation of Christ in them through faith and grace. This is the New Covenant.

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