If there is one thing I've struggled with (and there are several, I assure you!) in the past couple of years its how to describe who we are and what we do as a Community of Christ-followers at The River. I often tell people, "I can't explain it, you just have to experience it."
I think the reason that I have trouble describing it is because I've never been a part of expressing the Body of Christ like this before. I was riding along with a friend of mine this week when we stumbled upon "The God Journey" podcast from the week before Thanksgiving. In it, Wayne talks about an article that he had read recently that put words to this dilemma for me. (The text of the article is posted on The River Redemptive Community's Facebook page if you're interested.)
In the podcast, he reads the bulk of the article but its their interaction ABOUT the article that was so reaffirming to me personally. I hope you find as much encouragement as I did. Enjoy!
*To access, click on the title of this post.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
My Journey into discovering what True Love is
Several weeks ago, God asked me if I would be willing to let Him teach me what True Love really is and so I began my journey. It amazing how many people can quote the words of
the Father but how many of us actually believe them. After all the wearisome lists of the do's and the don'ts that I had been taught were so necessary in a relationship with the Father, who, not I, could believe it can be so easy? I made a choice to say I Will and so here
begins my journey. I am coming to this conclusion: since I have been raised with Christ, I will believe Him. I am going to seek the things that are above (where He dwells, at the right
hand of God). I am going to seek the things that flow from His throne alone. Yes, I know that I will fail along the way. I will sin again but I also will repent again and I KNOW that He will forgive me again. I know that I am drawing closer to Him in spite of myself and I know
that He Will deliver me from All my unrighteousness. I know that He is working inside of me
while I walk this journey with Him. I am free from condemnation and the accusations of
those who sit in the seat of the scornful. I am free to follow my Father and yes, I no longer
care what they say or how they accuse me or even how they will dis-fellowhsip me. Yes, I
know it may and will cost me friends and it may and will cost me my reputation; but I am gaining Him who lives outside the controls of religion and the rules that these modern day
Pharisees establish to control in their feeble, fleshly attempts to legitimize their own
kingdom building efforts. They will call us, the hungry & thirsty, heretics and fanatics. I
have found that this is an accusation that flows far too easily from the lips of a lifeless &
morbid system of religious idology that has no power, no truth and certainly no Savior. It really doesn't matter to me anymore because I have discoverd the voice of mortal man sounds so different than the voice of my beloved Father. I am discovering that every time I've heard someone say "God doesn't, God won't or God can't" means that He does, He can
and He will. Now that I've found Him again, I pray that He will continue to fan this flame of passion for Him that He has ignited in my soul. I pray that He will help me not to allow anything that would cause my relationship with HIm to become lost again in that religous black hole of mediocrity and death that I lived in for so long. I just want to be so lost in His presence that there will be no shadow of myself as I walk with Him. As the song goes: I feel like I'm born again and breathing for the very first time.
the Father but how many of us actually believe them. After all the wearisome lists of the do's and the don'ts that I had been taught were so necessary in a relationship with the Father, who, not I, could believe it can be so easy? I made a choice to say I Will and so here
begins my journey. I am coming to this conclusion: since I have been raised with Christ, I will believe Him. I am going to seek the things that are above (where He dwells, at the right
hand of God). I am going to seek the things that flow from His throne alone. Yes, I know that I will fail along the way. I will sin again but I also will repent again and I KNOW that He will forgive me again. I know that I am drawing closer to Him in spite of myself and I know
that He Will deliver me from All my unrighteousness. I know that He is working inside of me
while I walk this journey with Him. I am free from condemnation and the accusations of
those who sit in the seat of the scornful. I am free to follow my Father and yes, I no longer
care what they say or how they accuse me or even how they will dis-fellowhsip me. Yes, I
know it may and will cost me friends and it may and will cost me my reputation; but I am gaining Him who lives outside the controls of religion and the rules that these modern day
Pharisees establish to control in their feeble, fleshly attempts to legitimize their own
kingdom building efforts. They will call us, the hungry & thirsty, heretics and fanatics. I
have found that this is an accusation that flows far too easily from the lips of a lifeless &
morbid system of religious idology that has no power, no truth and certainly no Savior. It really doesn't matter to me anymore because I have discoverd the voice of mortal man sounds so different than the voice of my beloved Father. I am discovering that every time I've heard someone say "God doesn't, God won't or God can't" means that He does, He can
and He will. Now that I've found Him again, I pray that He will continue to fan this flame of passion for Him that He has ignited in my soul. I pray that He will help me not to allow anything that would cause my relationship with HIm to become lost again in that religous black hole of mediocrity and death that I lived in for so long. I just want to be so lost in His presence that there will be no shadow of myself as I walk with Him. As the song goes: I feel like I'm born again and breathing for the very first time.
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