Can we really be free?

April 20, 2009 · Filed Under freedom, spiritual hearing · Comment 

From BobHamp.com

“I have just learned that this is something I will have to deal with the rest of my life… the good news is, I am learning how to cope with it.”

I have heard this statement, and variations of it for years.  I always have a visceral reaction to this thought.  On one hand, the person usually speaks with a certain amount of relief.  At least  the monster has been named, and they are learning how to tame it.  At the same time I hear the disappointment, the surrender, as they finally give in to “inevitable fate”.  This, they have resolved, is my cross to bear.  It is easier to give up, than to fight and be disappointed one more time.  The struggle comes to an end, but it ends by putting hope to death.

Is it fair for me to try to inject hope back into this “relief”? With hope the struggle returns, but without it, what is left?

For years we have received the Message of Christianity as tasks and stances we must achieve and maintain.  Be good, try hard, restrain your urges, and believe.  As if “believe” is something we must manufacture against all odds.  Real faith doesn’t come from us, it comes from hearing Him.  Stop and listen.  It is so sad, that somehow out of Jesus’ words and life, we have once again shouldered the very yoke He came to remove.

A disease, a habit, a mindset, or any other struggle, these are the chains He came to remove.  He, Immanuel, God, The God, continually in the midst of us, reaches out to change something we perceive as unchangeable.  We look back and with our best understanding we say, “I have learned that this is something I will have to live with the rest of my life, the good new is, I am learning to cope with it.”

Jesus forgives, but forgiveness is just the entrance.  It is the open door that allows us to interact freely with the Divine Nature.  Through that open door, He now hands us the key, He makes us new.  He may or may not change our circumstances immediately, but in the worst of outward experiences, He renews our inward self.  This is revolutionary.  It means that no outward circumstance can hold us in bondage, because we can be free to connect and respond to the inward reality of the Ultimate Creator in us!

Desparately wanting to respect the real struggle of the human race, and the courage and nobility with which men and women face their foes, I still want to stand and declare:  Do Not Cope with what you can Be Free From.  Hope Again.  Jesus changed the game when introduced the power of God again into the human realm.  He may not interven the way you expect, or when you would like, but He spent His whole Life so you could be free!! Not relieved; Free.  Look again, ask Him to help you Think Differently.

Tags: , , , , ,

Whispered Agreements

August 17, 2008 · Filed Under faith/believe, spiritual hearing · Comment 

For the next few posts, I want to talk a bit about another voice—the voice of the enemy.

I tend to believe that the enemy has very little power to cause us physical harm. I know there are examples in the Bible where Jesus would rebuke a demon, and then some sort of sickness or condition would leave, like seizures or hemorrhaging.

Maybe I should say it this way—I believe that most of the physical conditions people struggle with today are not a direct result of some physical demonic attack. I do, however, believe that demons are sill very influential in the various sicknesses that come upon us.

Think about this scripture: “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NLT).

Notice that the devil is a roaring lion. Why do lions roar? To create a sense of fear and domination, to assert authority. But you see, the devil no longer has authority in a Christian’s life. So, he just roars.

So, how is that related to our physical conditions? I believe the enemy is constantly roaring into our lives. He is constantly speaking negative things. Why? To get us to agree with him.

Listen carefully to this scripture: “The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it was withered from the roots. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, ‘Look, Teacher! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’ Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. I assure you that you can say to this mountain, “May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,” and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it’” (Mark 11:20-24, NLT).

Did you catch that last part? If you believe, you will have it. While it’s often quoted on the positive side of faith, I believe it also applies to the negative side of faith. If you choose to agree with the enemy, then you will have it. Proverbs 23:7 confirms this, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

The enemy is trying really hard to get you to agree with him, because once you make that agreement with him, the negative side of faith kicks into action. As you think in your heart, so it is.

Let me give you an example of an agreement.

Early this year, my teenage son would tell me, “Dad, I can’t hear God. I try and try, but I guess I just can’t hear God.”

Can you hear the agreement in his words?

I sat down with him and showed him scriptures like John 10:3, “The sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” And later in John 10:16, “They will listen to my voice.” I explained to him that we can hear God, and that it’s his desire that we hear him. I explained to him that as his father, my desire is to spend quality time with him—talking, sharing, engaging. It’s the same with God.

I asked him if he remembered ever agreeing with a thought that he couldn’t hear God. He said yes. That’s the voice of the enemy. My son made an agreement with this thought, and it wasn’t his thought at all. So, we prayed and broke that agreement. We declared to the enemy that we can hear the voice God, and cancelled all those unholy assignments.

I told him to pray and listen. Then, tell me what he heard. After a moment, he said, “Dad, I heard God. He said: I love you!” It’s always about love.

When it comes to sickness and physical conditions, I think many people have just made agreements and don’t fight the good fight of faith. Do any of these sound familiar:

  • My dad died from cancer. I’ll probably get it too.
  • This depression is so strong. I just can’t fight it.
  • My nose is stopped up. I’m probably coming down with something.
  • I always get the flu this time of year.
  • It has been a hard day. I guess the stress is normal.
  • I can’t hear God.

When we have these thoughts, we think it’s our own. So, we agree. We let down our guard. We stop fighting. We receive it.

Please understand, I’m not condemning you if you’ve made any agreements. I have made my fair share of agreements, even recently. I just want to make you aware that the enemy’s voice is very subtle but incredibly influential. We must monitor our thoughts, and measure them up against God’s word, against the truth. The war we fight is not a physical war, but a mental war engaged in the spiritual realm.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5).

What agreements have you made in your life? What have you chosen to believe without first challenging that thought in light of God’s word?

Tags: , , , , ,

    My Journey with God Image

    Receive blog updates by email

  • Recent Posts

  • Categories

  • Tag Cloud


  • Archives

  • Admin

Christianity Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory